Cured Standard Resin material is found to have a slightly higher tensile strength as compared to extruded thermoplastics such as ABS, PLA and Nylon. Whereas, the tensile strength of castable materials such as wax, castable resin, and polystyrene is significantly lower than the strength of extruded thermoplastics and cured photopolymer resins.
For 3D printing materials available at Fabforma, generally speaking, the tensile strength values can be stated in the following order,
silicone rubber < castable resins < thermoplastics < standard resins < metals
Within the thermoplastics group, PETG-Glass polymer composite has a significantly higher tensile strength as compared to other materials. The next strongest material is found to be PC-ABS polymer blend.
It must be noted that for 3D printing processes, especially for the extrusion based process (FDM), the tensile strength of the printed part along the vertical orientation (z-axis) is significantly lower than the strength of the part along the x and y directions. This is particularly due to the weak bonding between the horizontal layers printed one on top of the other.
