Introduction to 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing

3Dresyns statement:

"3D printing makes possible the direct and indirect additive manufacturing of an endless number of high performing and biocompatible materials, with unlimited physical, chemical, and mechanical properties, with precise dimensions, and with a minimum investment. It is the revolution of the 21st century, since it empowers and turns individuals and companies into manufacturers of multifunctional 3D printed materials"

Discover examples of printed products with our 3D resins:

Do you want to make plastic, ceramic, metal, and exotic objects or parts with 3D printing and rapid additive manufacturing technologies?

We will mainly focus on manufacturing processes where Stereolithography SLA printing is used because of its:

Improved printing resolution, precision, and dimensional accuracy vs other printing techniques, such as FDM
Low relative costs since professional SLA, DLP, and LCD printer prices range from 200-2.000 Euro upwards
Widest range of material availability: Discover our overwhelming 3Dresyns collections and porfolio of printable exotic materials

3D printing with photoreactive 3D resins

Laser SLA: a laser scans and cures the 3D resin on a selected area layer by layer with SLA 3D printers
Digital Light Processing DLP projection: a light projection of the image cures the 3D resin on a selected area layer by layer with SLA DLP 3D printers
LCD Liquid Crystal Display: a LCD panel acts as a mask selecting the transmission of light in certain selected area for curing the 3D resin layer by layer with light from a LED source positioned underneath. Types:
- Multicolor RGB LCD panels: SLA DLP LCD printers
- Monochrome LCD panels: SLA DLP MLCD printers
Inkjet: photoreactive 3D resins are injected hot and photocured layer by layer with inkjet 3D printers
Other printing technologies

Types of Additive Manufacturing AM processes:

Direct AM: 1 step/process:

Direct printing of 3D resins (including ceramic, metal 3D resins) by SLA, DLP, LCD, Inkjet & other 3D printing technologies

Indirect AM: 2 steps/processes:

Printing of injection molds by SLA, DLP, LCD, Inkjet & other 3D printing technologies + injection or casting of plastic resins, sintering ceramics, metals, polymers, and exotic materials

Direct AM: 1 step/process

Benefits:

1 step process: direct printing of models, prototypes and functional parts
Expensive molds can be avoided
Faster for short runs (low number of produced units)
Ideal for “changing” designs
Low printer costs for 3D resin printing with SLA, DLP & LCD
Functional materials with very high flexural strengths can be obtained with our functional 3D resins

Drawbacks:

Expensive for long runs (high number of produced units)
Slow for long runs
Lower mechanical properties for competitors´ products than indirect manufacturing made with injected engineering materials such as polyamide "nylon", unless our 3Dresyn Nylon-like and 3Dresyns like best functional resins are used
Most competitors´ resins are fragile like eggshells or Christmas balls
Each 3D resin needs to be tuned/adjusted to each printer model: this limitation is overcome with our fast & easy printing instructions
Sintering ceramics, metals, polymers, and exotic materials by direct manufacturing have significant limitations vs indirect manufacturing:

Slower debinding + sintering vs traditional CIM, MIM & PIM
More expensive ceramic and metal printers 80.000-350.000 Euro
Worse sintered material properties: lower isotropy, density, higher porosity, etc…
difficult "tuning" of direct printing of sintering Ceramics, metals, polymers, and exotic materials in SLA, DLP & LCD printers

Alternative Technologies: Direct AM by SLS 3D printing with non-photoreactive 3D resin binder powders

Selective Laser Sintering SLS where layers of plastic or metal binder powders are selectively sintered to create 3D printed objects
3Dresyns has developed universal bio based non-photoreactive powders for easy physical mixing with any Ceramic, Metal, Polymer/Plastic, or exotic powder or fiber for plastic / polymer powder Selective Laser Printing SLS, also known as Cold Metal Fusion (CMF), Cold Ceramic Fusion (CCF), Cold Polymer Fusion (CPF), and and Cold Exotic Powders Fusion CEPF: Powder Binders for SLS printing of Ceramic, Metal & Polymer powders
This technology can also be considered Direct AM since SLS prints keep their original shape (mold free system), despite shrinking and needing chemical and thermal debinding and sintering after printing

Indirect AM: 2 steps/processes

Printing of injection molds by SLA, DLP, LCD and Inkjet 3D printing + injection or casting resins, plastics, ceramics, metals, polymers, and exotic materials

Types of injection molds:

Ultra durable: made with Aluminum or steel by CNC
- ideal for long runs of the same design
Durable: 3D printed molds by SLA, DLP, LCD and Inkjet printers
- ideal for short and medium runs of the same design
Sacrificial: 3D printed sacrificial molds by SLA, DLP, LCD and Inkjet printers where parts/objects are intertwined with the mold, which need to be sacrificed or eliminated with:

Water: water soluble molds
Solvent: solvent soluble molds
Burnable: castable
Meltable: Heat soluble "meltable" 3D resins
Pressure: easy breakable cocoon molds without damaging parts

Types of Indirect Additive Manufacturing:

Resin and plastic injection & Casting: conventional liquid casting resins at room temperature or our injection and casting resins at >70-80ºC are cast by gravity in the mold
Metal casting: molten metals are cast by gravity in gypsum molds made by
- Castable 3D resins with excellent burn-out printed by SLA, DLP, LCD and Inkjet printers
- Waxes
Resin and plastic injection at high temperature: solid or high viscous thermoplastic resins such as our injection resins, or conventional plastics, such as polyamide are injected hot at certain pressure in molds printed by SLA, DLP, LCD and Inkjet printers
Ceramic and metal slurries "feedstock" for Ceramic & Metal Injection Molding CIM & MIM of technical ceramics and metals containing binders are injected hot at certain pressure in molds printed by SLA, DLP, LCD and Inkjet printers
Powder slurries "feedstock" for Powder Injection Molding PIM & additive manufacturing of polymers and exotic nano and micron materials containing binders are injected hot at certain pressure in molds printed by SLA, DLP, LCD and Inkjet printers

Injection systems

Required equipment for indirect manufacturing by injection of feedstocks of plastic resins, ceramics, metals, polymers, and exotic materials, to produce composites, or 100% pure sintered materials after debinding the binder and sintering your chosen ceramics, metals, polymers such as polyimide, and exotic materials:

Types of Injection units/machines:

Manual micro syringes for <50€ for micro injections, such as borosilicate glass syringes or metal syringes
Manual injection units for dental applications for 300-3000€, such as this type of manual injection machines
Automatic injection machines with prices from 3000-7000€ or higher

Where solid or viscous injection resin, plastic, ceramic, and metal feedstocks are heated and injected under pressure in molds.

Ceramic and metal parts need debinding and sintering at high temperature in furnaces to produce 100% sintered ceramics and metals parts/objects

Indirect manufacturing

The injection of Powder Injection Molding PIM binder slurries (including ceramic, metal, polymer (such as polyimide) and exotic material feedstocks) in 3D printed durable, and/or sacrificial molds (or printed by high temperature powder jetting) has unique benefits in comparison to direct printing of highly loaded 3D photopolymer resins with powders.

Benefits:

Faster for medium and long runs (high number of produced units)
Cost effective for long runs (high number of produced units)
Ideal for making tougher biocompatible plastic materials such as polyamide "nylon", which can not directly printed by SLA, DLP, LCD or Inkjet, unless our unique 3Dresyn Nylon-like and 3Dresyns like best functional resins are used
Ideal for cost effective manufacturing of pure ceramics, metals, sinterable polymers such as polyimide, and exotic materials by combining the best of 3D printing and CIM & MIM technologies
Each “3D resin” does not need to be tuned/adjusted to each printer: only durable or sacrificial 3D resins for printing molds are tuned once in the printer
The injection of sintering ceramics, metals, polymers (such as polyimide), and exotic material feedstocks in 3D printed durable, and/or sacrificial molds has unique benefits in comparison to direct printing of highly loaded 3D photopolymer resins with powders:

Faster debinding + sintering
Affordable printers below 1000 Euro can be used for printing the molds
Better sintered material properties: higher isotropy, density, lower porosity, etc…

"Our goal in 3D printing: any color, any material, any process, any finishing, any end use application and any SLA, DLP, LCD and Inkjet 3D printer"

"3Dresyns offers the widest range of safe functional Stereolithography SLA, DLP, LCD and Inkjet 3D resins for safe printing of functional and biocompatible materials"

How To Buy: Online Shopping of 3Dresyns in just few clicks: the widest range of 3D resins in the market to help you to attain the desired finish and quality of your 3D prints.

“The aim of 3Dresyns is to provide the best Stereolithography and Inkjet resins and find solutions to unmet 3D printing market needs for any material, process and application”

"3Dresyns is committed to innovation and development of safe and biocompatible 3Dresyns with safe synthetic and bio based raw materials from renewable sources"

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