Dutch health, nutrition, and materials company DSM (AMS:DSM) has launched a new grade in its Somos range of SLA materials. Known as Somos Taurus, the 3D printable material has high levels of heat resistance and mechanical properties only previously producible in FFF and SLS methods.
Trains, planes and automobiles
When 3D printed, Somos Taurus has a heat deflection temperature (HDT) of 95°C (203°F). After UV and thermal post-curing, the material has a tensile strength (at yield) of 51 MPa, just above the ultimate tensile strength of typical ABS plastic, which measures around 49 MPa.
These properties combined with the detail of SLA 3D printing gives Somos Tauras a range of applications in high-performance industries. Jasper van Dieten-Blom, Global Marketing Manager for Somos Materials, explains,
The higher HDT of Somos Taurus allows us to expand into new applications for the automotive, aerospace and electronics markets where high temperature performance and durability are required.
Used by Toyota Motorsport
Toyota Motorsport GmbH, based in Germany, worked with DSM to produce the material. Gerard Winstanley, Manager Composites Fabrication and Additive Manufacturing at Toyota Motorsport, comments,
The added temperature resistance of the material has allowed us to expand where we use the material to test new prototype parts for our high-performance race cars, giving us a competitive edge in design and testing.
High performance SLA materials
At 3D Printing Industry we’ve recently reported on several other companies and researchers working with high performance SLA 3D printing materials.
Italian SLA 3D printer company DWS has a range of ABS-like materials with high tensile strength. Furthermore, research at University of Illinois is also looking at ways to improve the SLA process.
Carbon’s vat polymerization technique using Continuous Liquid Interface Production instead of SLA also has a high-performance resin capable of deflecting temperatures up to 140°C (284°F).
Somos Taurus is the first in a series of high-performance heat materials still to come from DSM.
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Featured images shows wind tunnel testing at Toyota Motorsport GmbH. Photo via Toyota Motorsport
