Tough Resin: density, exposure and when to choose it
Tough Resin is a resin with additives that boost impact resistance and wear resistance compared to Standard Resin. It's not as rigid or brittle: models withstand drops and moderate bending without shattering. It's the choice for functional prototypes and parts that need to not just look good, but actually work under load.
Key properties
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Density (cured) | ≈1.13 g/cm³ |
| Exposure | 405 nm (LCD/DLP) |
| Post-cure | 90–120 sec UV chamber |
| Printer type | MSLA/LCD, DLP |
| Post-processing | IPA wash 4–6 min + UV post-cure |
| Toxicity before curing | the liquid resin irritates skin and is toxic on contact — gloves and ventilation are mandatory |
When to use it
- Functional prototypes of parts subject to bending or impact loads.
- Fasteners, latches, housing elements with moving joints.
- Test assemblies before moving to injection molding or FDM production.
- Workshop tooling and fixtures where both accuracy and drop resistance matter.
When to pick something else
- Maximum detail without load requirements — go back to Standard Resin for a sharper surface.
- You need flexibility, not just impact resistance — go with Flexible Resin.
- The part operates at elevated temperature (hot water, an engine) — you need High Temp Resin.
- Large structural parts — it's more reliable and cheaper to print in Nylon or ABS via FDM.
Pros and cons
Pros: noticeably higher impact and wear resistance than Standard Resin, retains good print detail, suitable for functional as well as decorative parts.
Cons: more expensive than Standard Resin per liter, needs a longer post-cure to unlock its mechanical properties, still trails engineering FDM plastics like Nylon in strength, the liquid phase is toxic and needs skin protection.
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A liter of Tough Resin costs noticeably more than Standard Resin — budget that into the part price up front rather than discovering it as a surprise at the end of the calculation. The longer post-cure takes up UV-chamber time, and thus equipment time you could otherwise put toward the next order — that's also part of the cost if you're calculating by printer utilization. IPA gets used up as actively as with Standard Resin, but the defect risk is lower thanks to the strength — fewer chips when removing parts from the platform and handling them, which partly offsets the higher material price.