With the development of 100x speed light curing 3D printing technology, more and more 3D printing companies have introduced this type of equipment, such as Carbon, Envison TEC, Plastic Technology, Qingfeng era, UNEZ, etc. However, to achieve ultra-high speed 3D printing, there must be specially matched photosensitive resin materials.
On March 17, 2020, Sartomer, a subsidiary of the French advanced materials company Arkema, announced that it has collaborated with the US chemical startup Sirrus to develop a new type of fast-curing resin for 3D printing.
Mark Holzer, vice president of application development at Sirrus, said that these resins are based on the copolymerization of methylene malonate and methacrylate and are said to increase the speed of the UV light curing process: "Research shows that propylene glycol malonate can significantly Increase the UV curing rate of certain methyl acrylates. "
Sartomer's 3D printed resin
Sartomer specializes in developing advanced light-curing resin solutions for 3D printing. In addition, it is a global supplier of (meth) acrylate monomers, oligomers and other specialty chemicals that can be used in various market areas, such as coatings, graphic arts, adhesives, etc.
Sartomer has been working with many partners to assist in the development of new and advanced light-curing resins. For example, in late 2019, Sartomer developed a water-soluble resin called E-Aquasol in collaboration with global 3D printer and material manufacturer EnvisionTEC. This resin is mainly used in EnvisionTEC's proprietary continuous digital light manufacturing (cDLM) 3D printing platform.
In the same year, they also collaborated with Additive Manufacturing Materials Company Continuous Composites, which combined its patented Continuous Fiber 3D (CF3D) printing technology with Arkema ’s light-curable resin solutions.
Sartomer's parent company Arkema announced in early 2019 that it has opened a new production line at its Nansha plant in China to increase the output of Sartomer 3D printing resins by 30%.
Development of fast curing resin for 3D printing
The partnership between Sartomer and Sirrus will make full use of their respective expertise.
Sirrus was established in 2009 as a developer of new methylene malonate monomers and oligomers. Its chemical solutions have been used by customers in many industries, especially for coatings, adhesives, sealants and other polymer products. The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nippon Shokubai, a global chemical company and a supplier of monomers, functional chemicals and polymer catalysts.
Therefore, Sirrus' methylene malonate monomer will be used with Sartomer's methacrylate solution to help develop fast-curing 3D printing resins. Jeff Klang, Global R & D Director of Sartomer 3D Printing explained: "The collaboration between Sirrus and Sartomer is leading the development of new 3D printing resins."