uDesign Manufacturing offers 2 high-quality 3D printing processes, fused deposition modeling (FDM) and stereolithography (SLA), to help build precise custom 3D printed parts at an affordable price. Whether you need prototypes or production parts, we can make them for you on demand using our industrial-grade printers.
Black Resin: 3D Print durable models with a matte finished and precise details. Ready to use and ideal for painting. Black Resin is perfect for intricate features.
White Resin: 3D print precise models with a matte finish, ready to use immediately. Ideal for painting or other finishes. White Resin is perfect for detailed, presentation-ready pieces.
Tough Resin: yields stiff, pliable parts resembling polypropylene’s strength and stiffness. Ideal for prototypes needing bending and fast shape return, and for jigs requiring repeat deflection.
Clear Resin: is great for fluidics and mould making, optics, lighting, and any parts requiring translucency or showcasing internal features.
Elastic Resin (Shore 50A): can be used to prototype models that are intended to compress, stretch or bend, similarly to silicone. Featuring a tear strength of 19.1kN/m, the parts it produces can endure repeat cycles of use without breaking.
High Temperature: Formulated to withstand extensive testing and preform under stress. High Temperature Resin is ideal to print functional parts subject to high temperature. Its Heat Deflection Temperature (HDT)@0.45MPa is 238°C.
Horizontal resolution: 25 microns
The horizontal resolution is the smallest increment that the laser can be moved to harden the resin.
Laser dot size: 0.85 microns
This is the size of the laser dot as it hits the resin and is the minimum thickness that can be achieved, any detail smaller than this will either not be able to print or will print thicker than intended giving unwanted results.
Print volume: 145mm × 145mm × 185mm
This is the maximum size of any part that can be printed.
Supports
SLA 3D Printing uses many supports to hold the parts to the print bed ensuring good platform adhesion. If any parts have overhangs or will be free-floating until later in the printing process, support will be needed to print properly, Supports should be accessible after printing to ensure that they are removable.
Layer height
SLA Printers can print at varying layer heights depending on the level of detail required. A smaller print height corresponds to a longer print time. As the resin keeps polymerizing throughout the print process, delamination is not an issue and is not affected by layer height. The Formlabs Form 3 can print at layer heights ranging from 25 microns to 300 microns depending on a project’s needs.
Print orientation
Parts are usually printed at an angle so as to not create a pool of resin that may distort the part or give an undesirable surface finish. When preparing a print, the orientation of parts should be considered to ensure optimal results.
PLA: PLA (Polylactic Acid) is a very common and versatile bioplastic used in FDM 3D printing, able to create robust parts with minimal warping.
Tough PLA: is a technical PLA filament with toughness that’s comparable to ABS. Offering the same safe and easy to use as regular PLA, our Tough PLA is ideal for reliably printing technical models at larger sizes.
ABS: With its great mechanical properties, ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) is used worldwide to create functional prototypes and end-use parts. ABS is formulated to minimize warping and maximize layer adhesion.
CPE: Thanks to its chemical resistance and dimensional stability, CPE is a favorite for the creation of functional prototypes and mechanical parts. CPE is tough and adheres well to itself during printing.
Horizontal resolution: 6.9 micron
The horizontal resolution is the smallest increment that the nozzle can be moved to place plastic.
Standard nozzle size: 0.4mm
The nozzle size is the minimum thickness of the deposited plastic, any detail smaller than this will either not be able to print or will print much thicker than intended giving unwanted results.
Print volume: 330mm × 240mm × 300mm
This is the maximum size of any part that can be printed.
Infill
FDM 3D printing creates a solid plastic shell with an adjustable infill ranging from 0% (completely hollow) to 100% (completely solid). 12% to 15% infill is recommended for any part with low mechanical stress whilst remaining quite strong and lightweight. 15% to 25% infill is ideal for lightweight parts that need to support a moderate to heavy load. 100% infill is recommended for parts that need to survive harsh treatment such as heavy impacts or strong shearing and torsion forces.
Delamination
Due to the fact that FDM creates layers of superimposed plastic, it is possible for mechanical stress to separate these layers which is known as delamination. When designing parts it is important to consider in which orientation parts are printed to minimize the effects of delamination, forces should ideally be normal to the print layers.
Overhangs
3D printing complex parts may require additional, automatically generated, structures called supports. Support material helps printing overhangs and minimizes sagging from geometry that would otherwise be strongly affected by gravity while printing. When designing parts with overhangs it is important to make sure that the support material can be accessed to be removed once the print is done. If it is impossible to do so it is recommended that the overhang has a slope of at least 30 degrees or an arch so that support materials can be avoided completely.
Bed contact
The first few layers of a 3D print are deposited on a glass bed coated with an adhesive to assure that the print will stay in place. If a part is designed with very little contact to the print bed, such as a single point, the deposited plastic may be unstable and has a higher possibility to move as it is being printed. It is recommended that a print has a flat surface to contact the print bed to guarantee good adhesion.
Layer height
While the horizontal resolution of the printer is limited by the nozzle size, it is possible to adjust the thickness of each layer. Layer height can be adjusted from 0.05mm to 0.4mm in increments of 0.05mm. A thicker layer height offers faster printing as well as better contact between layers creating stronger parts that are less prone to delaminate at the cost of smoothness. A thin layer height creates a very smooth surface at the cost of print time and slightly weaker layer bonding. 0.2mm layers offer a good middle ground of strong layers, fast printing, and a good surface finish.
Benefits of 3D Printing
3D printing allows for faster design iterations and speed to market.
3D printing can offer great impact strength, medium flexibility, and high resistance to environmental factors.
3D printing can achieve precise parts and feature details.
3D printing with uDesign Manufacturing helps you produce end-use parts on demand, increasing throughput.
3D printing can offer great impact strength, medium flexibility, and high resistance to environmental factors.
Geometries can be built more easily due to the 3D printing process, adding complexity without additional cost.
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