This technical reference summarizes established and emerging indirect additive manufacturing routes in which SLA, DLP, LCD and Inkjet 3D printing technologies are used as enabling steps for end-use production.
Use this page as a process map. For route selection and manufacturing strategy, start with the main indirect AM and direct-vs-indirect AM guides.
This page is a technical reference layer for comparing indirect AM production routes. It should not replace the main decision pages.
Indirect AM process map
| 3D resin / system | Process | Product | Properties | Benefits | Limitations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castable 3D resins | Direct investment casting using printed patterns | Metal cast parts | Typical properties of cast metals | Cost-effective investment casting of metal parts using printed patterns | Requires controlled burnout, compatible investment material and validated casting workflow |
| Non-castable master model resins | Indirect investment casting through master models and wax injection | 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 mold 3D resins | Injection or casting of plastics, ceramics, metals, polymers and composite feedstocks in 3D printed durable molds | Plastics, ceramics, metals, polymers and advanced materials | Properties of the injected, cast or sintered material | Reusable or semi-reusable mold route for simple or moderately complex geometries | Not ideal for highly intertwined shapes or geometries that cannot be demolded without damaging the part or mold |
| Easy-breakable sacrificial 3D resins | Injection or casting in mechanically removable sacrificial molds | Soft plastics, rubbers, silicones and selected cast or injected systems | Properties of the injected or cast material | Enables molding of complex shapes where mold removal by mechanical breakage is acceptable | Mold is consumed during production and is unnecessary for simple demoldable shapes |
| Water-soluble sacrificial 3D resins | Injection or casting in water-soluble sacrificial molds | Plastics, ceramics, metals, polymers and advanced feedstock materials | Properties of the injected, cast or sintered material | Useful for complex cavities, internal channels and geometries requiring mild mold removal | Mold is consumed during production and removal depends on water access, part geometry and material compatibility |
| Solvent-soluble sacrificial 3D resins | Injection or casting in solvent-removable sacrificial molds | Plastics, elastomers, composites and selected advanced material systems | Properties of the injected or cast material | Useful when water removal is not suitable and solvent-assisted mold elimination is preferred | Requires solvent compatibility, safety control and validation of residue removal |
| Ceramic, metal and polymer powder feedstock slurries | Injection of powder feedstock into 3D printed molds followed by debinding and sintering where applicable | Ceramic, metal, polymer and advanced powder-based parts | Properties of the final thermally processed material | Separates mold geometry from powder feedstock optimization, supporting higher loading and improved final material performance | Requires control of mold filling, shrinkage, debinding, sintering and final dimensional compensation |
Mobile: scroll horizontally to view all columns. The first column remains visible while scrolling.
Note: sacrificial molds are especially useful when the mold and injected material are geometrically entangled, or when the final part contains internal cavities, undercuts or complex channels that cannot be demolded conventionally.
Read the 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.
Illustrations
Related powder-based routes
Some powder-based manufacturing workflows may also use binder-assisted or feedstock-based processing routes. For powder-process implementation, use the dedicated SLS and powder binder pages rather than treating them as part of the indirect mold map.