UV exposure impact on brittleness of SLA 3D parts

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Stefan M.

18.03.2024 at 10:22

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Hello! I’ve never had experience with SLA 3D printing, but I’m looking to try it now for prototyping purposes in the electronics/med-tech industry. I’ve heard that parts can become brittle over time due to UV light exposure. How does prolonged exposure to UV light (sunlight) specifically affect the brittleness and mechanical properties of SLA 3D prints made from ABS-like and PC-like resins? Would love to hear any practical experiences or insights on this. Thank you!

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    Nikolaus Mroncz

    18.03.2024 at 11:50

    Xometry Engineer

    Hi Stefan,

    for prototypes, SLA still is fine. I would say, you can observe an aging and a change in proberties (by  getting brittle) after a couple of month. I don’t see big differences between the standard resins here. To prevent this, you can , for example, spray paint the parts. Also SLS/ MJF combined with vapour smoothing could be an option.

    BR

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      Stefan M.

      18.03.2024 at 12:01

      Nikolaus Mroncz

      Thank you, Nikolaus!

      I see that Xometry offers “quick clear coating” for Industrial Transparent, ABS-like material for SLA. Could this be an effective finish to mitigate UV light’s impact on the properties of the parts? If yes, can you please share how effective it is?

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    Nikolaus Mroncz

    19.03.2024 at 15:18

    Xometry Engineer

    Quick Clear Coating is a spray painting with clear spray. It prevents the parts from the SLA typical yellowish and also to get fast brittle. It is very effective!

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      Stefan M.

      19.03.2024 at 16:25

      Nikolaus Mroncz

      Thank you!

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