Stereolithography 3D Printing Resins
Stereolithography (SL) was the world’s first 3D printing technology, and it remains a great option for highly detailed prototypes that require tight tolerances and smooth surfaces. It uses a UV laser to cure and solidify fine layers of photopolymer in an open vat.
SL is great for prototyping parts that will ultimately be painted or coated because the models can be finished using the same materials and processes as the end product. Transparent, heat resistant and moisture-resistant materials are also attractive for medical, automotive and other prototypes that call for flow visualization, light transmittance or thermo-stability. Product designers opt for SL models when a quick build time is crucial, and they can invest time and resources into additional finishing processes. SL can also produce master patterns for urethane casting, and investment casting patterns that are used to produce metal parts for aerospace, automotive, power generation and medical applications.
Quick Links
- Somos 9120
- Somos BioClear
- Somos Element
- Somos EvoLVe 128
- Somos NeXt
- Somos PerFORM
- Somos PerFORM Reflect
- Somos ProtoTherm
- Somos Taurus
- Somos WaterClear Ultra
- Somos WaterShed XC
- Somos ProtoGen
Stereolithography Materials
Somos 9120
Somos® 9120 is a transparent stereolithography resin that is easy to use and fast to build. This stereolithography resin produces translucent, accurate parts that are semiflexible. Parts produced with Somos® 9120 exhibit excellent water and temperature resistance and mimic polypropylene.
Somos® 9120 is ideal for applications such as fluid flow analysis, electrical casings and automotive parts. As this material is semi-flexible, it can also be used for snap-fit functional testing.
Somos BioClear
Somos® BioClear is the material for printing clear guides and models with peace of mind. It is ideal for small run, customized, non-implantable limited body contact (<24hr) medical and dental applications.
Parts produced from Somos® BioClear are clear, have ABS-like mechanical properties and a good combination of strength and toughness. The material is very accurate, meeting the high level of detail required in the medical and dental industry. Somos® BioClear is also very resistant to moisture and many common solvents and chemicals.
Somos Element
Through continuous interaction with customers, pattern makers and foundries, Somos® developed the groundbreaking stereolithography resin Somos® Element — the new standard for producing Investment Casting patterns.
Somos® Element is an antimony-free stereolithography material that has been specifically designed to improve the repeatability and quality of 3D printed casting patterns. Patterns created with Somos® Element leave trace amounts of lightweight, easily-removable ash residue after burnout and have good green strength, so there’s no worry of breakage during handling, while being dimensionally stable during storage. Any residue that is left behind is easily removed, leaving a perfectly clean void in the ceramic mold. This translates into lower mold prep times and lower rates of rework, saving customers time and money.
Somos EvoLVe 128
Somos® EvoLVe 128 is a durable stereolithography material that procudes accurate, high-detailed parts and has been designed for easy finishing. It has a look and feel that is almost indistinguishable from finished traditional thermoplastics, making it perfect for building parts and prototypes for functional testing applications – resulting in time, money and material savings during product development.
Somos® EvoLVe 128 is an outstanding material for industries such as aerospace, automotive, medical, consumer products and electronics.
Somos NeXt
Somos® NeXt is a highly durable stereolithography material which produces very accurate parts with high feature resolution. This material is ideal for the production of tough, complex parts that also exhibit excellent moisture and thermal resistance. Somos® NeXt has a look and feel that is almost indistinguishable from finished traditional thermoplastics, making it perfect for building parts and prototypes for functional testing applications — resulting in time, money and material savings during product development.
Somos® NeXt is an outstanding material for industries such as aerospace, automotive, medical, consumer products and electronics.
Somos PerFORM
Somos® PerFORM produces strong, stiff, high temperature resistant composite parts that are ideal for tooling and wind tunnel testing applications.
With the lowest viscosity of any composite stereolithography material, parts made from Somos® PerFORM are faster to build, easier to post-process clean, possess superior sidewall quality and provide unmatched detail resolution.
It is the ideal material for creating strong, stiff parts with excellent high heat resistance, including wind tunnel models for aerospace and automotive applications, as well as rapid tooling for injection molding.
Somos PerFORM Reflect
In motorsports – as in automotive, rail and aerospace - speed is key. Getting ready for a race, from design to the track you need to be the fastest. Printing your wind tunnel models with Somos® PerFORM Reflect saves more than 30% post treatment. So, you can get your aerodynamic designs onto your vehicle faster - and be more competitive on the track, road, rail or air.
Somos® PerFORM Reflect utilizes patented new technology that allows for reducing and even eliminating much of the finishing work required with traditional materials. Based on DSM’s industry standard Somos® PerFORM, the new resin demonstrates all the performance attributes that customers rely on such as low viscosity, low settling, fast processing and high stiffness and heat resistance
Somos ProtoTherm 12120
Somos® ProtoTherm 12120 stereolithography material is the perfect solution for applications requiring resistance to heat and humidity.
Somos® ProtoTherm 12120 excels at producing highly detailed, extremely accurate parts. The material is dimensionally stable when exposed to heat and humidity making it a good candidate for high temperature fluid flow analysis, functional prototypes, and limited run, non-critical end-use parts such as wiring harnesses and support connectors in electronic devices.
Somos Taurus
Somos® Taurus is the latest addition to the high impact family of stereolithography (SLA) materials from Somos®. Parts printed with this material are easy to clean and finish. The higher heat deflection temperature of this material increases the number of applications for the part producer and user. Somos® Taurus brings the combination of thermal and mechanical performance that until now has only been achieved using thermoplastic 3D printing techniques such as FDM and SLS.
With Somos® Taurus, you can create large, accurate parts with excellent surface quality and isotropic mechanical properties. Its robustness combined with a charcoal grey appearance makes it ideal for the most demanding functional prototyping and even end-use applications.
Somos WaterClear Ultra 10122
Somos® WaterClear Ultra 10122 is an optically clear stereolithography material that is easy to use and fast to build. This material produces colorless, functional and accurate parts that simulate an acrylic appearance. Parts produced with Somos® WaterClear Ultra 10122 exhibit excellent temperature resistance.
Somos® WaterClear Ultra 10122 is ideal for applications such as master patterns, concept and functional models. This material also provides refractive values similar to engineered plastics for functional testing in optical light transmission work.
Somos WaterClear Ultra 10122 Material Spec Sheet
Somos WaterShed XC 11122
As one of the industry’s most popular materials, Somos® WaterShed XC 11122 is the clear solution for numerous applications. Whether you’re a designer looking for highly detailed parts with superior clarity and water resistance, or an engineer focusing on durability for functional testing, Somos® WaterShed XC 11122 mimicks the look and feel of clear thermoplastics, such as ABS and PBT.
Somos® WaterShed XC 11122 produces optically clear parts with a smooth finish and it’s ease of use helps to shorten product development and testing. This versatility means Somos® WaterShed XC 11122 is the ideal material in markets such as automotive, aerospace and consumer electronics for applications including packaging, RTV patterns, durable concept models, wind tunnel testing and investment casting patterns.
Somos ProtoGen 18420
DSM’s Somos® ProtoGen 18420 is a liquid, ABS-like, photopolymer that produces accurate parts ideal for general purpose applications. Somos® ProtoGen resins are the first stereolithography resins to demonstrate different material properties based on machine exposure control. Based on Somos® Oxetane™ chemistry, Somos® ProtoGen 18420 offers superior chemical resistance, a wide processing latitude and excellent tolerance to a broad range of temperatures and humidity, both during and after the build.
PolyJet photopolymers offer an astonishing level of detail and final-product realism that surpasses all other 3D printing technologies. With chameleon-like ability to simulate clear, flexible and rigid materials and engineering plastics — and even combine multiple material properties into one model — your prototypes could easily be mistaken for final products.
By enabling the use of metal powders from the MIM (Metal Injection Molding) industry, our systems have access to a wide range of existing materials—from steels and aluminum to superalloys and titanium. Over 30 metal materials available.
The unique pairing of a dielectric ink optimized for mechanical support, thermal resistance and electrical insulation with a highly conductive nano-Silver ink that sinters at low temperatures is solving key challenges in the electronics world.