Todd,
SOMOS 7110 can be polished so that it is see-through. The part will still
have a golden/amber hue but if polished properly you will be able to see
right through it. It does take a lot of work depending upon the geometry
you are working with. If you have a flat panel and want to make it clear it
is fairly easy. Progressively moving up from 320 grit sand paper to 1500
will often do the trick. We, on occasion, use Micro Mesh sanding sheets
which go up to 12000 grit (their scale) when we really want a part to be
clear. Using several coats of lacquer and buffing each one will certainly
help the appearance.
Some of you may have seen the "baby toy" that Bruce Okkema, of Eagle Design
and Technology, has had at several of the RP shows. The SL parts that they
used for masters in their vacuum casting process looked like they were
injection molded to begin with. They made several copies out of a clear
urethane with a blue tint that really, really looked like production parts.
It all depends upon the level of effort you are willing to put forth. We
have made simple lenses from SLA that were actually used for testing. Flat
pieces are of course the easiest to make clear. The more complex the
geometry the more effort you must put into the parts.
Good luck,
Bruce E. LeMaster
Todd Reese wrote:
> hi all,
>
> i'm wondering what sla resins you have found to be the 'clearest' right
> out of the pca. we're looking at polishing some sla's up without having
> to go to rtv to get a clear part. we're not looking for crystal clear,
> but the clearer, the better. sl5520 is the best i've found so far, but
> wanted some other input from you. i'd also be interested in a few of
> you that run those resins.
>
> thanks,
> todd
>
> --
> Todd Reese
> Realize, Inc.
> 12999 Parkside Drive
> Fishers, IN 46038
> Phone: (317) 915-0295
> Fax/Modem: (317) 915-0296
> Website: www.realizeinc.com
> Email: todd.reese@realizeinc.com
>
> For more information about the rp-ml, see http://ltk.hut.fi/rp-ml/
-- Applied Rapid Technologies Corporation 265 Cambridge Street, Suite 100 Fredericksburg, Virginia 22405 (540) 371-1100 / (540) 371-4100 fax http://www.artcorp.comFor more information about the rp-ml, see http://ltk.hut.fi/rp-ml/
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