Formlabs
Formlabs Clear Cast Resin
Formlabs has announced the launch of two new materials and range of post-processing tools to support its desktop SLA and SLS 3D printing technologies.
The company has introduced Clear Cast Resin, aimed at investment casting applications, to its library of 45+ materials. The material is said to provide ‘best in class’ thermal expansion that will enable foundries to cast designs in-house in record time, and accuracy within 0.25 mm, to produce reliable casting shells with minimal cracking.
The second material is BEGOTM VarseoSmile TriniQ Resin, a ceramic-filled biocompatible material designed for printing permanent and provisional restorations and bridges on the Form 4B dental printer. It follows shortly after Formlabs’ Premium Teeth Resin received FDA 510(k) Medical Device Clearance for the 3D printing of several dental appliances. Formlabs has also released the Open Material Mode add-on for the Form 4 generation of printers, originally introduced on the Form 3, to enable Formlabs SLA printers to print with any 405nm Resin.
Formlabs
Formlabs Fuse Blast polishing system
In addition to new materials, the company has launched the Formlabs Resin Washing Solution, a non-flammable solution for cleaning resin from 3D printed parts, that is said to dissolve twice as much resin before becoming saturated compared to IPA. For SLS, an upgrade to its Fuse Blast system, which cleans and polishes parts straight from the Fuse Sift, will enable users to add a smooth, semi-gloss, scuff-resistant, and dye-ready surface finish to SLS printed parts. It has also introduced the Fuse Sift Glovebox Bundle in which the Fuse Sift Glovebox Panel and Fuse Parts Carrier are paired into an easily installed bundle for the Fuse Sift powder management station to streamline part extraction and minimise powder exposure.
“The whole [Formlabs] ecosystem and support system made sense to us. The fit and finish of the printers, the software, it seems better than everything else in the price point by a long-shot,” says John Farr VP of Technology at Diversified Metalsmiths. “The Clear Cast parts slotted straight into the workflow, [and] the amount of time saved with 3D printing where I push a button and go off to do something else, then skip the machining and hand-work after the cast, will make up for the cost of 3D printed patterns.”
