Rob Chron
Formlabs new engineering grade resins.
Formlabs has unveiled a new line of high-performance functional 3D printing resins designed for engineering applications: High Temp, Durable, and Tough.
Formlabs’ High Temp Resin is the first of the set and features the highest HDT (heat deflection temperature) of any 3D printing material on the market, withstanding 289 °C at 0.45 MPa. This allows users to create parts that are more temperature-resistant than traditional 3D printed parts making it ideal for prototyping injection moulding tools and testing hot air or fluid flow. It’s also well suited to static applications that will undergo higher temperatures, or for production processes such as casting and thermoforming.
Durable Resin is a wear-resistant, ductile material that simulates the stiffness and smooth, glossy finish of everyday plastics. With stiffness and high-impact strength comparable to polypropylene (PP) plastic, Durable Resin produces parts that can bend without breaking and is suited to applications from prototyping consumer products to packaging.
The third development is an updated formulation of Formlabs’ Tough material, one of the company’s bestselling materials for engineering needs. This update brings Tough even closer to injection-moulded ABS properties thanks to its ability to absorb high impact and other mechanical stresses that can cause 3D printed parts to break.
L-R: Durable Resin, Tough Resin and High Temp Resin.
“With today’s expanded suite of materials, Formlabs is introducing the most comprehensive library of high-performance functional resins for engineering applications on the desktop 3D printing market, and making accessible industrial-grade 3D printing engineering materials at a fraction of a cost,” Dávid Lakatos, chief product officer at Formlabs explained. “We want to equip and enable our users with an even bigger and more powerful toolbox of high-performance resins so that they can achieve reliable, precise prints and can pursue even more remarkable endeavours in engineering, design, and manufacturing.”
Formlabs will exhibit at formnext powered by tct on 15-19th November at Messe Frankfurt. Sample parts produced using the new resin range will be on display on booth K18. Register to attend.
