Tough Resin V5 simulates the feel and many of the important mechanical properties of Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) plastic. ABS is a very common thermoplastic that provides a good balance of strength and flexibility. Tough Resin V5 creates strong engineering prototypes and has been developed to withstand high stress and strain. Consider using this material for “works-like” prototypes and assemblies, including designs with snap fit joints and living hinges. For further finishing, Tough Resin V5 can also be machined once printed.

Tough Resin V5 prints at 50 microns and 100 microns.

Toughness refers to a material’s ability to absorb energy before fracturing. When a tough material yields, it will undergo some deformation rather than just shattering. In other words, tough materials have a little more “give” than brittle ones.

Toughness is also defined as the area under a stress-strain curve. Tough materials generally have a good balance of strength (the amount of stress a material can withstand) and ductility (the elongation or percentage strain). Because of this, the area under a tough material's stress-strain curve is much larger than that of a very strong material with low elongation. Toughness directly correlates to the amount of energy each material can absorb before failure. Formlabs Tough Resin V5 has lower stiffness and withstands more elongation than Standard Resins.

To learn more about the performance properties of each Formlabs resin, refer to the library of material properties datasheets.

Print Tough Resin V5 with supports, and avoid printing directly on the build platform due to the high likelihood that the print will be difficult to remove from the build platform. For very bulky parts, increase the support touchpoint size to prevent print failures.

Parts printed with Tough Resin V5 may be more difficult to remove from the build platform than parts printed with standard resins. To improve part removal, warm the build platform with heated air.

Wash Tough Resin V5 parts in isopropyl alcohol (IPA) for 20 minutes. The Form Wash agitates the alcohol bath and removes parts from the bath after a set time.

Do not leave Tough Resin V5 in IPA for more than 20 minutes. Leaving parts in IPA too long may cause the parts to become flexible and weak.

Tough Resin V5 requires post-curing to reach its optimal mechanical properties.

Refer to the Form Cure time and temperature settings for post-curing recommendations.