Formlabs has released a new ESD material for manufacturing static-dissipative parts, creating new 3D printing opportunities in electronics manufacturing.
ESD Resin is formulated for electrical applications that demand durability. Manufacturers can print jigs and fixtures, casings, enclosures, holding trays, tubes and connectors in ESD Resin to precise specifications.
Traditionally, jigs and fixtures are machined from metals, natural conductors that offer a long lifespan. ESD Resin replaces metals with a high modulus and toughness, offering the same longevity with greater design freedom.
ESD Resin
ESD Resin is static-dissipative and tough, suitable for tooling and fixturing for electronics manufacturing, custom trays for component handling and storage, and anti-static prototype and end-use components across most applications.
When designing ESD Resin, a key focus was ensuring that parts had the toughness and durability to survive the factory floor. With its 44.2 Mpa ultimate tensile strength, 61 Mpa flexural strength and 62.2 °C HDT, it certainly achieves that.
The material supports print resolutions of 100 µm and 50µm and requires post-curing to transform printed parts into functional parts. Curing takes 60 minutes at 70 °C, and it’s also good practice to use the Form Wash.
ESD Resin has already found a use case with indoor air quality company HAVEN, which uses ESD Resin to manufacture ESD safe fixtures.
“Because of the ESD requirements, historically, we used the printers to prototype first, then CNC machine. When we didn’t have ESD constraints we would print directly and get parts in two days instead of two weeks,” said HAVEN lead engineer Phil Tsao.
“It was an all-hands, tools down, find the root-cause situation. It really forced us to have a higher standard of care forever, and it forced eternal vigilance when it comes to anything ESD-related,” said Lavrovsky.
“There were definitely solutions to dealing with ESD in the past, but they were slow and expensive. One of our small aluminium parts is around $500. We printed it in ESD Resin and had it the next day for a 10th of the cost, or less,” said Tsao.
“Our objective is to make our manufacturing workflow perfect. We want there to be minimal uncertainty… You take all possible measures. ESD Resin gives us the chance to reduce risk further,” said Lavrovsky.
To find out more about ESD Resin, request a Formlabs sample, call us on 01765 694 007, or send us an email at sales@additive-x.com. You can also book a discovery call with our Formlabs specialists Elaine Rutledge or Tammy O’Neill.
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