The new resin, Tough 1500, offers stiffness and pliability to Formlabs line of desktop stereolithography (SLA) 3D printers, including the Form 3 and Form 2.

The “1500” in Tough 1500 Resin represents its tensile modulus (in MPa). Here’s a chart showing its features.

Ultimate Tensile Strength	Tensile Modulus	Elongation at Break	Flexural Modulus	Notched Izod
33 MPa	1500 MPa	51%	1400 MPa	67 J/m

Data was obtained from parts printed using Form 2, 100 μm and post-cured with a Form Cure for 60 minutes at 70 C.

Tough 1500 Resin produces stiff and pliable parts that bend and spring back quickly under cyclic loading. This material is suitable for functional prototypes, jigs and fixtures, and connectors undergoing temporary deflection. It also simulates polypropylene in terms of stiffness and strength.

Formlabs says that Tough 1500 Resin is the most resilient material in its family of Tough and Durable Resins. This family includes Tough Resin, Tough 1500 Resin, and Durable Resin, which all behave similarly under an applied force, but offer different levels of stiffness and elongation.

Tough 1500 Resin is suitable for prototypes and connectors that bend and quickly return to shape, such as springs, snap fits, press fits, and hinges. It can also be used for jigs and fixtures that require repeated deflection and impact absorption.

Recently, this material was used to create sensor mounts in Tesla vehicles.

Unplugged Performance, a leader in premium performance upgrades for Tesla vehicles, used the material to create custom car bumpers.

Before 3D printing, it would take Unplugged Performance engineers roughly 45 minutes to remove each sensor mount from the existing bumper and another 10 minutes to bond it onto the new bumper. At six sensors per car, in addition to other custom upgrades, they were only able to complete one car every one-and-a-half days.

With their Formlabs printer, though, the engineers now print new sensor mounts in batches of 30. They no longer spend time removing the sensor mounts from the existing bumper. Thus, the only assembly step left is to bonding the new sensors. They have improved throughput to three cars per day.

Unplugged Performance uses Tough 1500 Resin for the printed mounts due to its compliant nature, which enables it to clip onto and secure the various sensors.

Sample parts made of Tough 1500 Resin are available on request: Tough 1500 Resin spring system sample part.

Formlabs
www.formlabs.com