Specifics of the Stereolithography (SLA) process

Stereolithography (SLA) parts are produced by laser curing of an epoxy resin based photopolymer. The parts created are generally very crisp and rigid, but can be prone to breaking if overstressed.

SLA Materials Overview

Our preferred resins are DSM Somos 9120 for one-off design verification or for polyprop like prototypes and NeXt and DSM Somos XC11122 watershed, a water resistant clear resin, for masters used for making vacuum casting moulds. View and download all technical and material data sheets here.

SLA Models Layering and Resolution

Parts can be built at 0.1mm layering (normal) in 11110 or 0.05mm layering (high res) in si50 or 9120 or 11120. High resolution builds are generally more expensive but necessary for intricate, thin-walled parts and features.The expected tolerances for SLA parts are .1% - .2% or 0.1 - 0.2mm, whichever is the greater.

Files quality and formats acceptable for SLA

SLA and SLS models are created from 3D .stl part files. It is important to generate good resolution .stl files with enough triangles to prevent flatting over curved surfaces.

Each CAD package has different settings to adjust when you generate your .stl file, however, generally, look to set the chord height deviation / absolute faceting to 0.01mm.

You can check your .stl files using a free .stl file viewer which you can download here. Alternatively, send us your CAD files in .iges/.STEP/.x_t format and we will generate the .stls ourselves.

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Due to their good accuracy and definition, SLA models are our preferred RP masters for the manufacture of vacuum cast polyurethane resin prototypes. Up to 50 durable plastic prototype parts with excellent cosmetic finish can be produced from one low cost silicone rubber mould. Go to our Vacuum Casting page for more information.