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Sacrificial Resin

Sacrificial resins enable clean, precise, and fully removable 3D printed cores or molds for casting, composite, and fluid channel applications in advanced manufacturing.

Introduction to Sacrificial Resins for 3D Printing

Sacrificial resins are temporary-use photopolymers designed to be removed during or after the manufacturing process. They are used to create internal channels, cores, or cavities in composite parts, investment casting, or tooling where the printed structure is later dissolved or burned out cleanly.

Stereolithography (SLA) and Digital Light Processing (DLP) are ideal for sacrificial resin printing, offering fine detail, smooth surfaces, and dimensional accuracy up to ±0.05 mm for temporary geometries used in high-precision manufacturing workflows.

International Equivalent Grades of Sacrificial Resin

Resin Type	Resin Code	Application Examples
Sacrificial Core Resin	SR-Core100	Hollow composite structures, ducts
Burnout Resin	SR-Burnout200	Investment casting, mold patterns
ISO Standard	ISO 1172	Ash residue testing
ASTM Standard	D2584	Combustion residue measurement

Comprehensive Properties of Sacrificial Resins

Property Category	Property	Value
Physical	Density	1.05–1.10 g/cm³
	UV Curing Wavelength	405 nm
Mechanical	Tensile Strength	25–35 MPa
	Elongation at Break	5–10%
	Hardness	80–85 Shore D
Thermal/Burnout	Ash Residue (ISO 1172)	<0.01%
	Burnout or Solubility Temperature	600–850°C or 50–70°C

Suitable 3D Printing Processes for Sacrificial Resins

Process	Typical Density Achieved	Surface Roughness (Ra)	Dimensional Accuracy	Application Highlights
SLA	≥99%	3–5 µm	±0.05 mm	Best for internal sacrificial geometries in composites and investment casting
DLP	≥99%	4–6 µm	±0.05 mm	Ideal for small, precise core structures or temporary functional forms

Selection Criteria for Sacrificial Resin 3D Printing

Clean Removal Capability: Select resins that are designed to either melt, dissolve, or combust cleanly with <0.01% ash for clean internal cavities or investment castings.
Thermal vs Soluble Formulations: Choose thermal burnout resins for metal casting workflows and water-soluble resins for composite core removals or lab-on-chip systems.
Geometric Complexity: Supports intricate internal channels, lattice structures, or negative volumes that would be impossible to mold conventionally.
Dimensional Precision: Maintains tolerance within ±0.05 mm, critical for aerodynamic ducts, conformal cooling, and tight internal pathways.

Essential Post-Processing Methods for Sacrificial Resin Parts

UV Post-Curing: Cure under 405 nm UV for 20–40 minutes to improve handling and ensure complete polymerization before embedding or burnout.
IPA Cleaning and Drying: Remove excess resin before use in casting, layups, or mold embedding.
Burnout Cycle or Dissolution: Follow precise temperature ramping for thermal resins or submerge in solvent/water bath for dissolvable variants.
Surface Sealing (Optional): Apply sealing coat if using resin as core in composite layups to prevent resin penetration during curing.

Challenges and Solutions in Sacrificial Resin 3D Printing

Ash Residue in Mold Cavities: Use certified burnout resins with <0.01% ash and follow staged burnout protocols to avoid mold damage.
Shrinkage During Burnout: Account for thermal expansion or shrinkage in design phase; use simulation where applicable for critical features.
Premature Softening in Layups: If using water-soluble cores in composite tooling, avoid exceeding resin’s deformation temperature before removal.

Applications and Industry Case Studies

Sacrificial resin is widely used in:

Aerospace & Composites: Hollow ducting, internal cooling channels, sacrificial cores in fiber layups.
Investment Casting: Wax-like burnout parts for precision casting of titanium, aluminum, and precious metals.
Medical Devices: Lab-on-chip prototypes with embedded channels, surgical simulation molds.
Industrial Tooling: Complex inserts for molding, flow simulations, and parting line engineering.

Case Study: A composite manufacturer used SLA sacrificial core resin to print complex internal channels for carbon-fiber ducting. After layup and autoclaving, the resin was dissolved in a 60°C bath with no residual blockage, reducing tooling cost by 80%.