Water soluble sacrificial 3D resins

Choose your water-soluble sacrificial family

Use the routes below to navigate the collection by mechanical profile and water-removal logic.

• Water-removable sacrificial systems with controlled dissolution or swelling-assisted release.
• Stable printing and handling during molding and casting workflows.
• Suitable for complex cavities and enclosed features.
• Supports indirect manufacturing workflows with water-based release.
• Includes both water-soluble and water-swellable profiles across hard, rigid, tough and soft material routes.
• Cyan, magenta, yellow and especially black typically provide higher resolution than clear and white.
• Improved water solubility is generally obtained with low light power printers, especially standard LCD printers.

Typical use scenarios across the collection

This collection is suitable for workflows where sacrificial printed features must remain stable during processing and then be removed using water-based dissolution or swelling.

• Sacrificial molds and mandrels: removable internal or external sacrificial structures.
• Complex internal channels: water-removable hidden geometries and access-limited features.
• Undercuts and enclosed cavities: sacrificial printed forms that cannot be removed mechanically.
• Indirect manufacturing for casting and molding workflows: especially where water-based release is preferred.
• Sacrificial injection molding workflows: including high-temperature, medium-temperature and very soft swellable routes visible in the current range.

How to choose the right water-soluble sacrificial resin

Select the most suitable material according to the temperature demand, required rigidity or toughness, and whether the workflow needs true dissolution or a swellable soft-sacrificial route.

• Need very high temperature sacrificial injection molding route → choose IM-HDT-WS
• Need ultra-rigid high-temperature sacrificial route → choose IM-UHR-WS
• Need ultra-tough medium-temperature sacrificial route → choose IM-UHT-WS
• Need hard and tough low/medium-temperature sacrificial route → choose IM-HT-WS
• Need very soft water-swellable sacrificial route → choose IM-SF-WS

• Water solubility generally decreases from HDT toward SF → the higher-temperature and more rigid routes tend to be the most water-soluble, while the softer SF route tends to move more toward swelling-assisted removal.
• True dissolution cannot be guaranteed in every case → depending on geometry, cure state, printer power and resin route, the material may partially swell instead of fully dissolving.
• For best removal → start with water, and preferably alkaline water.
• Higher alkalinity usually means faster dissolution → more alkaline water generally accelerates removal.

Decision tree summary

Use this simplified logic before detailed printing and release validation.

• Need highest-temperature water-soluble route → IM-HDT-WS
• Need ultra-rigid high-temperature water-soluble route → IM-UHR-WS
• Need ultra-tough medium-temperature water-soluble route → IM-UHT-WS
• Need hard & tough low/medium-temperature water-soluble route → IM-HT-WS
• Need soft / flexible water-swellable route → IM-SF-WS

Then validate the final route under the intended geometry, exposure settings, shell thickness, color, printer light power and water-release workflow.

Water-soluble sacrificial routes for high-temperature and ultra-rigid workflows

For workflows requiring stronger sacrificial support, higher rigidity or higher thermal performance before water-based removal.

Tough sacrificial routes for medium and lower-temperature workflows

For workflows requiring sacrificial structures with higher toughness or a more balanced hard-tough profile before dissolution.

Very soft water-swellable sacrificial route

For workflows requiring highly compliant sacrificial molds or features that release through a water-swellable route rather than purely rigid dissolution logic.

A water-release platform rather than a single sacrificial-resin type

This collection is structured around different mechanical and thermal profiles under the same water-removal logic, helping users choose the sacrificial behavior that best matches the supported geometry and process temperature.

• IM-HDT-WS covers the very-high-temperature water-soluble route.
• IM-UHR-WS covers the ultra-rigid high-temperature water-soluble route.
• IM-UHT-WS covers the ultra-tough medium-temperature water-soluble route.
• IM-HT-WS covers the hard & tough low/medium-temperature water-soluble route.
• IM-SF-WS covers the soft / flexible water-swellable route.

As a practical rule, water-solubility generally decreases from HDT toward SF, while the tendency toward swelling becomes more relevant in the softer routes.

Water removal depends on printer power, color and post-cure history

These materials are most useful when the removal objective is defined first: true dissolution of rigid sacrificial features, tougher removable internal supports, or soft swellable sacrificial geometries.

Improved water solubility is generally achieved with low light power printers, such as standard LCD printers. In addition, cyan, magenta, yellow and especially black usually provide higher resolution than clear and white.

Water solubility cannot be guaranteed as an unconditional outcome. Depending on exposure, part thickness and chemistry, the resin may partially or mainly swell instead of fully dissolving.

For removal, it is recommended to start with water, and if possible with alkaline water. In general, the more alkaline the water, the faster the dissolution.

Documentation, technical selection help and workflow support

Use the resources below to move from WS preselection to printing validation, exposure calibration or indirect-manufacturing support.

Select the right water-removable sacrificial route and validate the final release workflow

Use the route-based navigation above to identify the most relevant WS resin, compare candidates in the technical overview table, and move forward with geometry-specific validation for indirect manufacturing, enclosed cavities and controlled water-based release.