Materials Overview

The choice of materials for 3D printing is growing, with 5 technologies and ten printers we have covered most applications, but by no means all. We have still to invest in metal printing and nylon materials. Choosing the right material can save you money and achieve a better result than compromising with only one print material.

Here are our materials below. Please contact us if you have any queries about which material to use for you application, we will be delighted at help. This list is a accurate at the time of creation but changing in a fast moving world.

The list in no particular order is:-

ABS – Created on our FDM machines (fused deposition modeling) Suitable for larger models, as the layer thickness is 250 microns. Can be useful for engineering applications such as boxes, enclosures, cowls and extrusions. A cheaper option for this material is to create a sparse model and create an internal scaffolding, rather than a solid structure. This makes the parts lighter and uses less material, therefore costing less. Single colour options are Black, White, Blue, Red, green or Yellow. The support material is dissolved away in a hot caustic tank.

Detailed single material – Created on Objet 3D printers (UV cured Acrylic) 600 x 600 dpi per layer This is our most commonly used material as it represents a plastic injection moulded part with high accuracy. 16 or 28 micron layers, means that parts with thin sections or complex geometry can be printed precisely. Single colour options are White, Black, Blue and Semi-transparent. Support material is removed by a cold water jet wash, or if a delicate part is printed the support is gently removed by hand. The new digital materials will be available soon. Materials The Objet Eden500V offers a wide variety of materials overview including: Semi Transparent material (RGD720) for standard plastics simulation requiring dimensional stability and smooth surfaces

Transparent material (VeroClear) for fit and form testing of detailed transparent parts and simulation of transparent thermoplastics such as PMMA

Family of Rigid Opaque materials(Vero family) in a variety of colors including white, gray, blue and black

Polypropylene-like material (DurusWhite) for polypropylene-like snap fit applications

Family of Rubber-like materials (Tango family) suitable for a range of applications requiring non-slip or soft surfaces

Detailed – polypropylene look-a-like Objet Durus White 16 micron layers Allows objects to be printed with extra flexibility that is associated with polypropylene, which is white and opaque. The applications are:- lids for vessels, bottles, clamps where tightening the closing screw makes the whole body flex and generally any model where Objet Vero white is too brittle.

Detailed – Flexibles:- the Tango group of materials from Objet Printed in 28 micron layers Flexible material is used to prototype objects made in rubber and silicon, applications include hoses for cars, gaiter for sealing bearings and gear sticks, kitchen silicon items like mats and hand protectors, Vacuum cleaner seals, lighting seals, masking components, boots and underwater breathing apparatus. 3 Shore A harnesses are currently available in Tango Plus semi-transparent shore 27A, Tango black shore 61A and Tango Grey shore 75A. Objet flexible materials offer good flexibility, and will demonstrate flexible models for a limited time, continuous flexing will cause them to shear.

Z Corp – White (powder based systems with layer thickness of 100 microns) Largely used in architecture and large hollow models such as vases, bowls, teapots and hollow structures when making visual representations. The support structure is vacuum cleaned and recycled.

ZCorp – Multi Coloured 600 x 540 dpi per layer Using the same 2D printing technology from an ordinary HP desktop printer, you can print any photo or jpeg straight on to your model. This requires a VRML file containing the colour data, or send as an STL file, add your colour choice and we can create your colour model for you. ZCorp is currently the only 3D colour printer manufacturer in the world. (We believe others will follow).

Projet HD3000plus Extreme High Definition Printing(wax support structure melted away in an oven) 3D systems Projet 3000 has one material option, EX200, which is a hard Semi-transparent Acrylic plastic. Our customers tell us it is useful for creating masters in the white metal casting process, because of the high Glass transition temperature. This printer allows silicon moulds to be made directly from the models without needing a significant clean up, 3 levels of layer thickness can be specified:- 32 micron HD, 375 x 375 dpi, High Definition printing suitable for models where Objet materials are not acceptable. This material is appropriate for casting masters, but also rapid manufacturing due to the materials stability. 28 micron UHD, 750 x 750 dpi, Ultra High Definition printing for where Objet and Projet HD are not adequate and we need a better resolution result, but features don’t need the eXtreme definition. 16 micron XHD, eXtreme High Definition where you need the finest feature finish at a realistic price. This is our best solution for a cost effective highest definition model.