The tables below summarise established and emerging direct and indirect manufacturing and production routes where Additive Manufacturing (AM) is based on SLA, DLP, LCD and Inkjet 3D printing technologies.
Direct Additive Manufacturing (AM) of 3D Printed Products
| 3D resin / system | Process | Product | Properties | Benefits | Limitations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3D resins | Direct AM | 3D-printed resin parts, optionally filled with functional additives, ceramics, metals, polymers and exotic materials | Properties of cured resins and polymers, enhanced by functional additives and fillers | Cost-effective direct production for short runs | Generally cost-effective only for short-run production |
| Direct printing of sinterable ceramics, metals, polymers and exotic materials | Resin printing followed by debinding and sintering | Fully or near-fully sintered ceramics, metals, polymers and exotic materials | Properties of sintered technical ceramics, metals and polymers | Direct production of short runs of sintered parts | Expensive printers, difficult tuning, slower debinding, limited feature sizes (≈1–3 mm) and higher micro-cracking risk compared to indirect routes |
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Indirect Additive Manufacturing (AM) of 3D Printed Products
| 3D resin / system | Process | Product | Properties | Benefits | Limitations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castable 3D resins | Direct investment casting (DC) | Metal cast parts | Typical properties of cast metals | Cost-effective direct investment casting of metal parts | Many competitor castable resins show fine-detail and surface imperfections |
| Non-castable 3D resins | Indirect investment casting (IC) | Metal cast parts | Typical properties of cast metals | Very high-resolution master models for premium casting workflows | Slower and more complex multi-step production process |
| Durable injection-molding 3D resins | Injection of plastics, ceramics, metals, polymers (e.g. polyimide) and exotic feedstocks in 3D-printed durable molds | Plastics, ceramics, metals, polymers and exotic materials | Properties of the injected or sintered materials | Cost-effective molds for short and medium production runs with simple geometries | Not suitable for complex or highly intertwined internal geometries |
| Easy-break sacrificial 3D resins | Plastic injection in easy-break sacrificial molds | Soft plastics, rubbers or silicone parts | Properties of soft plastics, rubbers and silicones | Enables molding of complex geometries with mechanical mold removal | Mold is destroyed during production; unnecessary for simple shapes |
| Water-soluble sacrificial 3D resins | Injection of plastics, ceramics, metals, polymers and exotic feedstocks in water-soluble sacrificial molds | Plastics, ceramics, metals, polymers and exotic materials | Properties of the injected or sintered materials | Ideal for complex geometries with easy mold removal using water | Mold is lost during production; unnecessary for simple geometries |
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Read our flagship technical analysis explaining why indirect additive manufacturing often outperforms direct AM in ceramics, metals and advanced materials when density, purity, debinding efficiency, process robustness and industrial scalability matter more than direct-print immediacy.
This white paper is especially relevant for users evaluating printed molds, sacrificial mold strategies, CIM and MIM feedstocks, and other indirect manufacturing routes where final material performance matters more than printing the loaded system directly.
Alternative Technologies: Direct AM by SLS with Binder Powders
- Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), where layers of plastic or metal powders are selectively sintered to create 3D objects
- 3Dresyns has developed universal bio-based, non-photoreactive binder powders for cold SLS printing (CMF, CCF, CEPF), compatible with ceramic, metal, polymer and exotic powders: Powder binders for cold SLS printing
Benefits of 3Dresyns SLS Bio-Based Binder Powders
- Suitable for SLS printing of traditional ceramics, metals, polymers (e.g. PTFE, PEEK) and exotic materials