Researchers develop 3D printing resin from vegetable oil

With global concern for fast depleting natural resources and environmental pollution growing, sustainable economy has been a hot topic in recent years. More and more companies are starting to feel the need to invest in circular economy development, and the additive manufacturing field is no exception. Therefore, vegetable oil has been the subject of more than just one research – it is one of the best biodegradable base-materials, particularly for resins. A few days ago, a new research was published on this topic by scientists from Guangdong University of Technology, China. They have discovered that dual-curing resin with vegetable oil can be the key to high-performance environmentally-friendly 3D printing!

Resins for SLA technology

3D printing technologies based on photopolymerization use UV-sensitive resins to create objects layer by layer. Technologies include SLA, DLP, and even Material Jetting (PolyJet). When it comes to the “standard” resin, the surface finish of the part will be good given the photopolymerization process, but mechanical properties will be moderate. However, if we take the biodegradable photopolymers, their mechanical properties are even less impressive.

In additive manufacturing, biodegradable photopolymers are the ones that can be recycled and repurposed, in order to not end up on a landfill contributing to the environmental pollution. Such resins are typically made from acrylate-modified polymers, cellulose-derived polymers, and vegetable oil-based acrylates.