Mixing Resins in Open Material Mode: Seeking optimal settings for Durable + High Temp / Clear blends

General Discussion
1

Hi everyone,

I’m currently working on a project at Brazil focused on 3D-printed eyewear for children. To achieve the specific balance of translucency and mechanical resistance we need, we’ve been experimenting with custom resin blends using the Open Material Mode.

Specifically, we are testing:

  • Durable + High Temp (aiming for thermal resistance + flexibility)

  • Durable + Clear (aiming for impact resistance + high transparency)

While the material properties are looking great, we are hitting a wall regarding support optimization and surface finish. Since these blends change the viscosity and curing speed compared to the standard profiles, the supports are either too hard to remove or leaving significant marks on the frames.

Formlabs support (rightfully) cannot provide fine-tuning for custom settings, so I’m turning to this community.

  • Has anyone here experimented with similar blends (Durable mixes)?

  • Which “Base Profile” have you found most successful for hybrid resins?

  • Any tips on adjusting touchpoint size or density in PreForm when the resin is “stickier” than usual?

Our goal is a 2026 launch, and any insights on how to improve the surface quality of these custom mixtures would be incredibly helpful!

Thanks in advance!

2

Can you provide some pictures of the issues you’re encountering? I’ve worked with clear resins in the past and was able to get some great results. I might be able to give you a few insights!

3

This is super interesting actually and I’ve also been wanting a more durable clear material (although they are phasing durable out with Tough 1000 which will no longer work for you in the future).

You probably need to a) reduce support touch points down to their minimum (for standard materials we usually operate at 0.3-0.4mm) and then also might need to change b) supports exposure in the print settings editor

What have you tried so far? Have you tested just running it using Clear or Durable stock profiles? I would probably guess that it’s best to start with the Durable profile first and then tune from there.