Crafted in 3D | Resin Material Selector

Resin Material Selector

Job Requirements

Set what the part has to do. The list narrows to resins that qualify.

Operating temperature

°C

Bears mechanical load at that temperature

Checked against heat deflection at the light load, and with the box ticked at the heavier load as well. A resin with no heat deflection figure drops out when a temperature is entered.

Priority

Sets the sort order. Click any column heading to override.

Feel

Needs Flame retardant Static-dissipative (ESD) Pattern for investment casting Clear or translucent Prints at the Fine detail level

Resin families

0 of 0 resins qualify

Select a resin's name for what it is good for and all of its figures. Click a column's i for what it means.

Figures are typical values for test bars of each resin in its finished state; a real part also depends on its shape, its wall thickness and how it is loaded. Heat deflection is the temperature at which a loaded test bar bends a set amount, under a light load (0.45 MPa) or a heavier one (1.82 MPa). Cells are shaded by where each resin ranks among those shown in that column, low to high. n/a means there is no figure for that resin.

What each column means, in plain terms, for choosing a resin for a part. Tap any row to open it.

Choosing a resin

The family decides most of what follows. General purpose resins are stiff with a smooth matte surface, for appearance work and fit checks. Tough resins are for parts that get bent, snapped into or knocked around, each modeled after an everyday plastic. Rigid resins are glass-filled and stiff. Heat resistant, flame retardant and ESD safe resins each do one special job. Flexible and silicone resins are rubbery. Casting resins make burn-out patterns for investment casting.

Pick the family from the job, then use the columns to pick the resin within it. Each family has its own page, linked from every row.

Two detail levels: Standard for most parts, Fine for curved surfaces and small detail. Most resins print at both; some print at one only, and the quote page offers only the levels each resin prints at.

Strength and stiffness

The most pulling force the material carries before it breaks, per unit of cross-section. Use it to compare resins for parts that hang, clamp or carry a load in tension. Higher is stronger.

A rubbery resin breaks at a low figure but only after stretching a long way, so read it together with elongation.

How hard the material resists stretching at the start of the pull test, before anything permanent happens. A high figure is a part that stays put under load; a low figure is one that springs or bends.

If a part flexes when it should not, pick a stiffer resin, or give the part a thicker wall, a rib or a box section.

The same idea as tensile modulus, measured by bending a bar supported at both ends. It is the closer match for a part that bends in use: a clip, a lever, an arm that sticks out.

How far a test bar stretches before it breaks, as a percent of its length. A few percent is a stiff resin that cracks rather than bends. Tens of percent is a resin that gives and bends before it fails. The rubbery resins stretch to more than their own length.

Impact and feel

A pendulum strikes a notched test bar, and the figure is the energy it takes to break it, per meter of notch. Higher is a part that survives a knock or a drop. It matters for clips, housings and anything handled roughly.

Shore A is the scale for rubbery materials and Shore D for rigid plastics. On either scale a higher number is harder. The scales overlap: a high Shore A figure is about as hard as a low Shore D one.

For a gasket, a grip or a bumper, hardness is the feel of the part in the hand.

The force it takes to keep a tear going from a cut, per unit of thickness. It matters for rubbery parts that stretch over an edge or get pulled on and off: seals, straps, sleeves.

Heat

Heat deflection temperature: a test bar is loaded and warmed until it bends a set amount. The light-load figure suits a part that carries little weight while it is warm. Stay well under it for a part that has to keep its shape.

The heavier load is the better guide for a part under real stress while it is warm: a bracket, a clamp, a fixture. The Operating temperature filter uses it when the load box is ticked.

Special properties, in the row detail

Lower lets static drain faster. A static-dissipative material drains it slowly enough that a charge leaves without a spark, which is what trays and fixtures around sensitive electronics need.

The residue left in the mold after the pattern burns out, as a percent of its weight. Lower leaves a cleaner mold for the metal.