Which SLA resin should you choose for your part?

Choose standard SLA resin for most parts: it holds fine detail and gives the smoothest base for primer, paint and plating. Step up only when the job asks for it: a tough grade for parts that get handled, a fine-detail grade for tiny parts, high-temperature resin near heat, clear resin to see through, rubber-like resin for a soft touch and chemical-resistant resin near fluids.

Every resin below prints on our SLA resin 3D printing line in Singapore, in layers 0.08 to 0.1 mm thick.

SLA resin types at a glance

Every resin is for indoors: sunlight turns resin brittle and changes its colour (what heat and sun do to prints).

Source: our resin data sheets, which describe each grade but give no heat or strength figures, so ask us when a number matters.

Upload your file and price it in resin

Standard resin: the right pick for most parts

Standard resin carries most of our resin work: figurines, trophies, architectural and scale models, and masters for silicone moulds. It comes off the printer smooth, keeps sharp edges and sands cleanly.

• Painting: every painted part gets a primer first, then colour.
• Plating: resin takes electroplating better than most printed plastics, which is why our chrome and gold trophies start as resin prints.

Its one real limit is brittleness, so it suits parts that are looked at more than they are knocked about.

Strong and tough resin: for parts that get handled

The tough grades keep resin’s smooth surface but stand up to being fitted, carried and passed around. Pick one for parts that are assembled or handled often, and for the occasional snap fit.

Be honest about the load, though. A clip that flexes many times, or a living hinge, breaks in any resin. Nylon powder, printed by selective laser sintering (SLS), is built for that. Our guide to clips that snap in resin shows how to design a clip that lasts.

Fine-detail and accurate resin: for tiny parts and close fits

Two grades go further than standard. The brown one gives the finest surface, with crisp edges and corners. The black one is highly accurate and strong too, so it suits parts that must fit closely.

Pick them for miniatures, small masters and pieces that slot into something else. The brown grade prints up to 600 x 600 x 400 mm, the smallest of the range.

High-temperature resin: for parts near heat, figure on request

This semi-translucent yellow-green resin is made for fixtures and moulds that sit near warmth. Our data sheet says it resists high temperatures but gives no figure, so tell us how hot the part will get and we check it before we print.

Like every resin, it still belongs indoors and out of the sun.

Clear resin: frosted or fully clear, finished as you ask

Clear resin (called PMMA-like, after acrylic) comes in two grades. The frosted one looks like frosted glass: light passes, detail does not. The fully clear one is for lenses, light guides, windows and covers you look through.

Even the fully clear grade comes off the printer translucent rather than window-clear. We finish it polished clear or frosted, whichever you ask for: wet-sanding, polishing and a clear coat take it close to glass on the faces we can reach. Clear resin also yellows slowly over time, faster in a window. Our transparent parts guide covers how clear each route gets, including when laser-cut acrylic beats printing.

Rubber-like and chemical-resistant resin: for grips and fluids

The rubber-like resin is white and flexible, for grips, soft covers and parts that need some give. For a truly rubbery part that stretches, TPU filament is often the better fit (filaments compared).

The chemical-resistant resin (called PP-like, after polypropylene) is semi-translucent and made to resist chemicals, for parts that touch fluids. Tell us exactly what the part will touch, and for how long, and we check it against the data sheet.

Still weighing resin against filament, nylon or metal? The materials guide compares them all.