Discover our consulting services
3Dresyns provides technical consulting to help you select the right materials, technologies, processes and workflows for reliable additive manufacturing implementation and scale up.
A photopolymer is one component of a system that also includes a printer, an exposure strategy, a cleaning step and a post curing step, and the properties of the final part are produced by all of them together. Most of the problems we are asked to solve turn out to sit in that system rather than in the resin, which is why our consulting starts from the application and works backwards to the material.
Main service pathways
Four routes, from a single technical question to a full implementation programme. If you are not sure which one applies, write to us and we will tell you.
Which one do I need?
You have a material that almost works. Start with printing and processing consulting, or with resin customization if the material itself needs adjusting. These are the fastest and least expensive routes, and they resolve most cases. A surprising number of problems attributed to the resin turn out to be exposure, washing or post curing.
No catalogue product meets your specification. Customization services. We formulate to a defined target rather than adapting an existing grade, covering mechanical, thermal, optical and electrical properties together with viscosity, reactivity and curing behaviour. Scope and cost are quoted per project. See also material development, custom material systems for how these projects are structured, and custom materials and consulting if you would rather scope the work before committing to it.
The whole workflow has to be engineered, not just the material. Professional 3D Printing Architecture. For cases where material, process and hardware have to be designed together, including parameter development, radiometric analysis, working curve construction and regulated environments. Related work is covered under our engineering programs, which include validation, characterisation and technology transfer.
Customized materials remain proprietary systems manufactured and supplied by us. Full formulation disclosure is a separate matter and requires a technology transfer agreement.
What we need from you
The quality of our answer depends almost entirely on the quality of the brief. The six points below are what we end up asking for in nearly every enquiry, so sending them at the start saves a round of emails.
Send us these six things
- The application and the intended use. What the part does, and whether it is a prototype, a tool, an end use part or a regulated device.
- The technology and the machine. SLA, DLP, LCD, inkjet, 2PP, VAM, SLS or another route, with the exact printer make and model, wavelength, and whether it has vat heating or temperature control.
- The properties you need, with numbers and conditions. Not "high temperature" but the service temperature, the load, the duration of exposure and whether it is continuous or cyclic. The same applies to strength, elongation, transparency, refractive index, conductivity and chemical resistance.
- The geometry. Minimum wall thickness, smallest feature, overall dimensions and aspect ratios. These often constrain the material more than the property targets do.
- The post processing route. Cleaning solvent, curing unit and protocol, and any secondary operation such as debinding, sintering, coating, sterilisation or machining.
- Constraints and quantities. Regulatory requirements, substance exclusion lists, timeline and expected annual volume.
If some of these are still open, say so. Knowing which variables are fixed and which are negotiable is itself useful information, and we will tell you which ones actually need deciding before we can specify anything.
What we will and will not tell you
We will tell you when the answer is no. If a requirement cannot be met by vat photopolymerization, or by any material we can formulate, we would rather say so than sell you a development that will disappoint. That answer is worth more to both of us than a project that fails at validation.
We do not disclose compositions. Formulations, raw material grades and supplier identities remain proprietary. What we share is results, methods, application guidance and the reasoning behind a recommendation. Customized materials remain proprietary systems manufactured and supplied by us; full formulation disclosure requires a separate technology transfer agreement.
Application and technology consulting areas
Representative topics and application domains where we provide consulting and material driven support:
- Water soluble sacrificial resins
- Resins for printing injection molds
- Biocompatible resins for biomedicine
- 3D resins for bio sensors
- Orthodontic & dental resins
- Microfluidic 3D resins
- Silicone resins
- Biodegradable resins
- UV nanoimprint lithography
- Resins for ceramics and metals
- Resins for scaffolds
- Conductive resins for electronics
- Reinforced composite resins
- Viscous & hot lithography resins
- Resins for security systems
- Piezoelectric & ferroelectric resins
- 4D reversible resins
- 3D resins for printing plates
- Two photon polymerization, 2PP
- Resins for multiwavelength printing
- Resins with variable composition
- Resins for VAM
This list is not exhaustive. We also work on metamaterials, optical and photonic structures, high temperature and chemically resistant systems, and other emerging areas. If your field is not listed, that is not an indication that we cannot help.
Before you write, these may already answer your question
A large part of what we are asked is documented and open access. If your question is about calibration, material selection or process behaviour, one of these may resolve it faster than an email.
Contact
You are welcome to contact us with any technical question. We would rather answer a short question early than a long one late.
Write to info@3Dresyns.com, or use the contact page.
Advanced 3D printing resins and technical expertise for medical, dental and industrial additive manufacturing.