Hi,
I’m experimenting with custom resins with our Form 1+ for science. The main goal is the resin material itself, not low price or very good printing quality. I can’t say for now what the bulk components of the resin are but they are very non-standard, not the common in SLA, and they polymerize through a radical-mediated process.
I’m starting with BASF Irgacure TPO-L as photoinitiator. It’s not optimized for 405 nm but seems to work quite well. BASF has a few better ones but the problem might be purchasing them since BASF is a large scale industrial supplier.
An absorbent for limiting the curing depth is of course needed. I’m trying first beta-carotene, but something more soluble might be needed at some point. A high enough concentration of non-soluble beta-carotene makes the resin totally opaque, which is not ideal.
Do you have ideas of improvement or important points to consider? Has anyone else developed totally new resin formulations?