Materials for 3-D printing comes in different flavors, so it might be hard to know what is the exact type that is needed for a certain application. Luckily, these next few sections are meant to educate and inform anyone interested in using our services and know which material is best!
Polylactic acid (PLA) is the most common form of printing material for this type of printing. As with most materials that are used in FDM printing, it's a thermoplastic made from corn starch, with a lower temperature point than most plastics. PLA is mostly used in a rapid prototyping. It can come in many different finishes and properties, but on average, is a relatively strong material which can withstand most forces. PLA is most common for any type of household items, items that will see little outside use, excessive heat, or any type of outside weathering
Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) is the second most common form of printing material for FDM. ABS is a more rigid material when it comes to impact resistance, and better heat resistance than PLA. ABS is common plastic in most commercial products, especially in form casted parts. ABS, because of some of it's properties, require more specialized printing techniques in order to get the material to print properly. But once an ABS print is made, it has a higher impact resistance than PLA, with a comparable tension strength as PLA. ABS can undergo chemical smoothing to harsh chemicals, such as isopropyl alcohol and acetone.
(PETG) is a material which has a higher impact resistance than PLA and ABS, a higher temperature printing point than PLA, but less than ABS. It is also lot less tricky to print than ABS, where warping and odors can be common place with ABS printing, PETG has no order and does not warp when printing. PETG has a good surface finish with certain colors, but it can't be chemically finished like ABS, but can still be sanded down pretty decently for a good surface finish. PETG is considered the perfect medium between PLA and ABS.
Resin as a whole is a different process of printing, specific to digital light processing (DLP) printing. Most resins that are used in this process are washed using isopropyl alcohol, which can produce more fumes, more post processing, and more PPE. We specifically use water washable resin, as to save on costs and time simply using water. Water washable resin is a photopolymer, which cures under ultraviolet (UV) light. Because of this, there are more considerations when handling this material, such as making sure it is not exposed to light and heat when printing, which can cause issues to the model. Resin model also require a post processing, where excess resin is washed off, and then finally exposed to UV light in order to ensure the model is completely cured. While a lot tedious of a process, the prints can be done in a higher quality with smaller models, which would be difficult for another printer to do.
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