3D Printing

Clear 3D printing: Clear choices for transparent parts

How would you go about clear 3d printing? You have a few choices in either material selection or 3D printing process. Creating a perfectly transparent product, however, is a challenge with 3D printing. Recently, Luxexcel patented a 3D printing process specifically for optics manufacturing that can be used to build transparent designs.

Here’s a quick look at the different Additive Manufacturing technologies available for clear 3d printing. Each will have different transparency grades. But the definition of transparent within the 3D printing community still needs to be determined.

clear 3d printing
The image shows that there are different gradients of transparency. From the left to the right different 3D printing technologies are displayed: Printoptical Technology, Stereolithography (SLA), Multi Jet Modeling (MJM) and Polyjet printing. Transparent 3D printing is difficult to achieve and with most of the used technologies visible layers are inevitable.

Printoptical Technology

Printoptical Technology is a proprietary digital additive manufacturing process from Luxexcel to 3D print transparent products without visible layering. A UV-curable acrylic ink is used to print transparent products by flowing and merging droplets before curing them. Objects made from this process do not require any additional post-processing like grinding or polishing. The printed product is immediately ready for use out straight out of the printer.

Stereolithography (SL)

Stereolithography (SL) uses a laser to cure a photopolymer material that can have the feature of transparency. This technology will display some layers, which could lead to some additional post-processes like sanding or polishing. 3D Systems,  Formlabs, and EnvisionTec offer SL systems.

Multi Jet Modeling (MJM)

Multi Jet Modeling uses an industrial print head to jet material layer by layer, along with support material, which can be wax. After printing, the wax support material is melted away, leaving a finished end product. Multi Jet Modeling is known for its accuracy. The post processing process of polishing will often be needed to attain the desired level of transparency. Stratasys and 3D Systems are vendors for this type of 3D printing.

Polyjet (Objet)

Polyjet 3D printing uses a photopolymer that is cured with UV-light. Often, the printed model has to be polished to become more smooth and transparent. These systems are available from Stratasys.

Luxexcel offers an ebook that goes into more details about the differences in transparency with the various 3D printing methods: Comparing Printoptical Technology to other transparent printing techniques