Formlabs has released six new resins for use in engineering, healthcare and dentistry

On July 2, 2020, Formlabs, maker of SLA 3D printers, announced six new resins for its Form 3, Form 3B and Form 2 3D printers.The release of these six new materials further expands the possibilities for Formlabs 3D printers, which currently have a total of more than 25 proprietary materials.

Formlabs’ six resins fall into three categories, according to Formlabs:

New series of Flexible and elastic resin for product design and manufacturing purposes –Flexible 80A;

Two resins are included in the BioMed series of biocompatible resins used in healthcare applications –BioMed Clear and BioMed Amber;

The last three kinds of resin are prepared through the material cooperation platform with BEGO, which is specially for dental professionals.

Flexible and elastic series

Formlabs reformulated the current Flexible resin and provided a new Flexible 80A resin.It is described as a hard soft tactile material and its name comes from its Shaw hardness class 80A, which simulates flexible rubber or TPU.It can withstand multiple cycles of bending and compression, making it an ideal material for robots, grippers, seals and buffers.

Formlabs’ existing Elastic resin (renamed Elastic 50A) joins Flexible and Elastic resin series with Flexible 80A.It is the company’s softest engineered material and is often used in place of silicone.Much like the newly formulated 80A, it can be repeatedly bent, stretched and compressed without tearing.

BioMed series

The first biocompatible resin was simply called BioMed Clear.It is a strong, rigid material designed for long-term medical devices, surgical planning, custom implants and research.In addition, it has the characteristics of wear resistance, low water absorption, and is compatible with most common disinfection methods.

BioMed Amber, on the other hand, is better suited for biocompatible applications that require short-term skin or mucous membrane contact, though it is still fairly rigid and can be sterilized with the usual solvent disinfect method.Both BioMed resins are manufactured in Formlabs in-house at a compound to ISO 13485.

The family of dental

With the addition of three new members to the dental resin family, Formlabs seems to want to cover all the basics of a dental professional’s workflow.The first resin, Dental LT Clear V2, has the characteristics of anti-breaking and anti-discoloration, and can be polished to transparent.Therefore, it is the perfect choice for long-term splint and occlusal protector (transparent mouthguard).

A second dental Resin, aptly named The Custom Tray Resin, was designed for Custom impression trays.It is one of Formlabs’ fastest curing resins and can produce a tray in less than an hour for higher yields.The directly printed plate can be used to produce accurate impressions of crowns, Bridges, implants and dentures.

The third new resin aims to expand Formlabs’ business into the temporary repair market.Available in four VITA tones, the interim CB resin can produce durable seven-unit Bridges and other small temporary repairs lasting up to 12 months.A wide selection of this resin includes crowns, Bridges, inlays, inlays and veneers.

Compiled from 3Dprintingindustry