Clear Cast Resin is specifically designed for investment casting, allowing you to directly print patterns that can be invested and cast in metal. It enables in-house production of casting patterns, reducing costs, decreasing turnaround times, and improving flexibility for iteration and production compared to traditional wax pattern workflows.

Clear Cast Resin excels at demanding engineering applications, particularly geometries thicker than 3 mm. When paired with a latticing software tool such as Materialise Magics or Formware, it is recommended for larger parts that would be challenging to produce with other castable resins.

Formlabs offers several castable resins for different use cases. Castable Wax Resin is best for ultrafine jewelry structures and filigree. True Cast Resin handles precision casting for intricate jewelry and engineering components up to 5 mm thick. Clear Cast Resin is optimized for demanding engineering applications, particularly parts thicker than 3 mm.

Clear Cast Resin is engineered for a clean burnout. It has a low ash content of less than 0.20%, contains no trace heavy metals at high concentrations, and is fully antimony free. This means it leaves nothing behind to contaminate the final cast metal part.

Clear Cast Resin offers best-in-class thermal expansion for a castable resin, with a thermal expansion coefficient of 94.8 μm/m/°C across the range of -30 to 140°C. This low thermal expansion supports reliable casting shells with minimal cracking during the burnout process.

Patterns printed with Clear Cast Resin can be created within 0.25 mm of the original design. The resin is compatible with any metal or shelling system, allowing foundries to cast new designs quickly and accurately.

The process generally follows these steps: shell, lattice, and add drain holes using a tool like Materialise Magics or Formware; orient, support, and slice the pattern in PreForm; print the pattern; wash, post-cure, and remove supports; plug drain holes with wax or a small amount of cured Clear Cast Resin; then attach the pattern to a casting tree and proceed with the standard casting process. For full details, download the Investment Casting White Paper.

Clear Cast Resin is compatible with a broad range of Formlabs SLA printers, including Form 2, Form 3/B/+, Form 3L/BL, Form 4/B, and Form 4L/BL. For larger parts and higher-volume production, the Form 4L is a particularly capable option.

Post-processing involves two main steps. First, wash the part using isopropyl alcohol or an ether-based solution to remove uncured resin from the surface. Formlabs Form Wash or Form Wash L are both compatible. Second, post-cure the part using a Form Cure or Form Cure L unit. Post-curing is essential for parts to achieve their full strength and intended functional properties by completing the chemical reaction initiated during printing.

Wash time settings are available on the Formlabs support site for Form Wash and Form Wash L. Cure settings are available separately for Form Cure V1, Form Cure V2, Form Cure L V1, and Form Cure L V2.

Full mechanical and burnout properties are available in the Clear Cast Resin Technical Data Sheet. For pricing information, volume discount tiers, and bulk order options, visit the Clear Cast Resin product page or contact the Formlabs sales team.