Netherlands-based 3D printing material manufacturer Liqcreate has launched its new Tough-X photopolymer resin.
Liqcreate’s latest material provides high durability, which lends itself to the manufacturing of spare parts and consumer goods such as insoles.
Liqcreate’s new Tough-X resin
Liqcreate specializes in developing and manufacturing photopolymer resins for Stereolithography (SLA) and Digital Light Projector (DLP) 3D printers. The company also offers custom resin development, enabling customers to create photopolymers with different colors and properties for any DLP, LCD or SLA 3D-printer.
The material manufacturer’s existing range of polymers are catered for general purpose users wanting to achieve smooth surfaces, and even includes glow in the dark resins for creative clients. Liqcreate’s polymer resins have been utilized in a variety of industries ranging from entertainment to consumer goods.
Tough-X meanwhile, is an opaque black photopolymer exhibiting high impact strength, making it suitable for producing industrial spare parts and functional ABS-type products. During testing, the material demonstrated high tensile strength and durability, resisting 2.2ksi of pressure, and 100-150 percent elongation before breaking.
The resin requires only UV post-curing which shortens production times and is suitable for use on all open materials DLP, LCD, and SLA 3D-printers ranging from 385 to 420nm.
Photopolymer resins and 3D printing
Liqcreate is not the only 3D printing company developing photopolymer resins, with other manufacturers also working to improve the properties and applications of the material.
Last month, California-based SLA 3D printer manufacturer Nexa3D, announced it was producing co-branded photopolymer SLA resins with the chemical company Henkel. Optimized for Nexa3D’s NXE400 3D printer, the ABS 3D material is intended for a variety of applications including mechanical assemblies for robotics and automation machinery.
In March 2019, on-demand manufacturing provider Protolabs launched its MicroFine Green resin for SLA 3D printing. The material, which possesses similar mechanical properties to ABS, is specifically formulated for the fabrication of small parts in high definition.
Adaptive3D Technologies, a resin supplier from Dallas, revealed the “the world’s highest-strain 3D-printable photopolymer” at RAPID + TCT in 2018. The new material demonstrated a strain capacity of 450 percent, leading Adaptive3D to claim this was 115 percent higher than the nearest competitor, and the strongest in the world.
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Featured image shows a model produced using Liqcreate’s premium black resin. Photo via Liqcreate.
