Standard vs. Bio-Based Oligomers to Improve 3D Resin Strength

Mechanical property improvement is a constant topic in 3D printing. Work is ongoing everywhere to improve performance in one area, while maintaining performance in others.

Here we will investigate such work using one of RAHN's bio-based materials so that we can help formulators with their sustainability goals.  

Here, we will look at improving strength while maintaining elongation in an acceptable range. A 50:50 blend of Genomer 4212 and Genomer 1121Y yields good elongation (54%) but relatively poor strength (17 MPa).

We can use hard oligomers to improve the strength. In this example, we will look at GENOMER* 4247 a urethane di-methacrylate, and GENOMER* 4293 a bio-based urethane di-acrylate.

Furthermore, the use of GENOMER* 4293 provides an additional boost in bio-renewable content even at a low loading level of 10%.

This work shows that both GENOMER* 4247 and GENOMER* 4293 can be used to notably improve strength and modulus of a 3D print while maintaining a reasonable amount of elongation. GENOMER*4247 does this with a lower viscosity advantage, while GENOMER* 4293 does this with a higher bio-renewable content.

Material choice will be dependent on those factors deemed most important to the formulator.

At RAHN, we can help you with your 3D printing solutions and 3D resins. For more information, or sample requests please get in touch or contact your RAHN Sales representative.