There are indications that 2014 will see a similar explosion of light-based (direct light processing and stereolithography) 3D printers that 2012 and 2013 saw with FDM/FFF machines. After FormLabs kicked off the SLA revolution on Kickstarter and bore the brunt of accompanying legal implications, we’ve witnessed a number of other light-based machines come to market: the Pegasus Touch from FSL3D, the Owl Nano from Old World Labs, the XFAB from DWS Lab, the Unica 3D, the M-One from MAKEX, and, most recently, the Stalactite 102. A further marker that this year will be all about light-based printers is the number of new consumables for such machines being released, including castable resins from Spot-A-Materials and MadeSolid. MakerJuice is yet another company that hopes to fill the resin materials niche, announcing a new resin that is meant to be compatible with the Form1.
After popular demand from its clientele, MakerJuice, with help from CG Cookie, has developed a new resin called SubSF for use with Form1 3D printers. The company has said that SubSF features “less pigment settling, more vibrant colours and more opaqueness, less shrink, and slightly more bend making it PERFECT for snap-fit parts.” Currently available in two colours, grey and green, MakerJuice has plans to expand their colour offering and to adapt other MakerJuice formulas to Form1 machines, as well. Aside from additional colours for the Form1 – FormLabs only sells white, grey, and clear resins – the MakerJuice material comes with a significantly reduced price tag. FormLabs resins run at about $150 per 1 liter bottle, while MakerJuice is selling SubSF for $55 per liter.
In response to the announcement, FormLabs has said:
We’re excited that there is so much interest in the Form 1 — and our community is definitely a testament to that. It’s great that so many people are experimenting and finding solutions that fit their needs. We’re working as fast as we can to meet them.
We’re focused on developing high-performance materials with our in-house materials science team, who works closely with our software and engineering teams in designing materials that work perfectly with the Form 1.
It should be noted that price isn’t everything when it comes to purchasing chemicals to cure in your home or office. The quality of different materials from competing suppliers may vary and customers of any 3D printing material should make sure to check for the material safety data sheets of any resin that they purchase.
Source: MakerJuice
