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  1. #1

    What printer style to purchase for high density thermoset peices?

    What printer technology is preferred for 3D printed pieces of high density (98%+) that can print in a UV curable photopolymer thermoset plastic? SLA perhaps?

    Need to be able to print in materials having a melting temperature of 250°C+ would be great. (ABS?)

    This would be a desk-top home use printer for a small company venture.
    Budget of ~$1000

  2. #2
    Super Moderator curious aardvark's Avatar
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    Umm, you either want an sla or you don't

    As for the 250c - would the part need to withstand that high a temp ?

  3. #3
    Staff Engineer LambdaFF's Avatar
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    ABS melts at 100°C but you print it at 250°C. Are you confusing the 2 ?

    ABS is not a laser curable resin and as such irrelevant to SLA...

  4. #4
    Staff Engineer Davo's Avatar
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    Please educate me. I know a little about thermoset plastics, and I know a little about UV crosslinking. I've never heard of a material which gets melted, then... what? UV cures? Cools off? Both?

  5. #5
    Super Moderator curious aardvark's Avatar
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    just out of curiosity - what temperature do the uv resins for sla machines actually melt at ?
    I'd think it would be quite high - but no clue really :-)

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by curious aardvark View Post
    Umm, you either want an sla or you don't

    As for the 250c - would the part need to withstand that high a temp ?
    Ultimately I am looking for an alternative to the Stratasys PolyJet Process using DigitalABS (due to the extreme expense of the Stratsys printers).
    I will be using the printer to produce injection mold tooling for prototyping.

    For that reason I need to be able to produce 3D prints having very high density (low porosity) and high melting temps.
    The plastic also must be a thermoset material so that it will not interact with the thermoplastic injected into the mold.

    I believe SLA is my best bet, but wanted to tap the collective knowledge of this community first.

    Quote Originally Posted by curious aardvark View Post
    just out of curiosity - what temperature do the uv resins for sla machines actually melt at ?
    I'd think it would be quite high - but no clue really :-)
    This is a good question as well. I would like to know the post-cured melting temp of the UV resins used for SLA.

    Looks like 3Dsystems make a producte that when post-cured and heat treated can achieve a Heat Deflection temp of 513°F+

    http://www.3dsystems.com/sites/www.3...uestone_US.pdf

  7. #7
    Staff Engineer LambdaFF's Avatar
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    how about good old fashioned CNCed aluminium injection moulds ?

  8. #8
    Super Moderator curious aardvark's Avatar
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    The short answer is no.

    There is no fdm material that has a glass point over 250C

    Like I said no idea on resin melting/softening temps. And a couple internet searches came up blank as well. Doesn't seem to be information anyone wants to share.

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by LambdaFF View Post
    how about good old fashioned CNCed aluminium injection moulds ?
    Cost of Proto-typing an SLA injection mold = ~$200

    Cost to Proto-type an Aluminum mold = ~$3000 to $5000

    If there are issues with the SLA mold I can easily make correction to confirm proper production of the injected parts.
    Once the design is finalized I will foot the bill to produce the aluminum / steel molds.

  10. #10
    Staff Engineer LambdaFF's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Overlord475 View Post
    Cost of Proto-typing an SLA injection mold = ~$200

    Cost to Proto-type an Aluminum mold = ~$3000 to $5000
    That would be true if you were to find a thermoplastic/curable resin that can live up to these temperatures.

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