Resin 3D printing
in professional electronics

Additive manufacturing is changing the way professional electronic devices are developed. Flexibility, speed, and precision of modern resin 3D printers have to offer significantly shorten the time to market (TTM) of products intended for mass production and lower the cost of custom-made equipment.

Why thousands of engineers use resin 3D printers in professional electronics design

Professional electronics are made to constantly work in challenging environments over long periods of time. Resin 3D printers are precise and fast enough to rapidly apply even minuscule changes in the design necessary to make them fail-safe. Because the development process is usually long and thorough, a reliable resin 3D printer saves a lot of time and money in comparison with injection molding.

Rapid prototyping

Resin 3D printers allow to cost-effectively go through multiple iterations of a prototype to achieve the optimal design.

Detailed designs

Being surgically precise, resin 3D printers can rapidly print very small, yet intricately designed parts commonly used in professional electronics.

Economics behind

Making prototypes internally instead of outsourcing it to third-party manufacturers saves time, money, and contributes to better intellectual property protection.

Customized parts

Resin 3D printers significantly lower the cost of manufacturing parts designed for custom-made equipment.

What a resin 3D printer can
do in professional electronics

Resin 3D printers can be used to make functional prototypes similar to final products, parts for custom-made devices,
and for manufacturing the first short series of the final product.

Residual current devices

The RCDs are devices that instantly break electric circuits to prevent serious harm from electric shock or damaging the equipment. With a resin 3D printer it is possible to tailor the RCD's design to a particular circuit.

EV charging connectors

Charging stations for electric vehicles support various different socket types. Resin 3D printers allow to easily make EV charging connectors compatible with a chosen standard.

Industrial parts

Replacement parts for custom-made equipment are usually very expensive. With a resin 3D printer it is possible to print them in-house which saves money and shortens lead times.

Workflow in professional electronics design

From CAD/CAM design, through building the first conceptual model and rapid prototyping, to early stages of manufacturing, resin 3D printers have become widely used in professional electronics design. Here's how a typical product development process looks like with resin 3D printers onboard.

Step 1 CAD/CAM design

Each device begins its life in a CAD/CAM design software. There are different programs for designing printed circuit boards (PCBs), electrical engineering, and for modeling the casings.

Step 2 Prototyping

Once the particular PCBs and wiring layout is chosen, an appropriate casings and other parts designed to hold them in place can be 3D printed to build the first conceptual model and all its further versions.

Step 3 Manufacturing

3D printers used at the prototyping stage can produce the first short series of the new product meant either for beta-testing or for generating income which is then reinvested in scaling up to mass production.

What makes Zortrax Inkspire a perfect 3D printer for professional electronics?

Zortrax Inkspire is a resin UV LCD 3D printer with significant precision and speed. It works with 50x50 microns XY resolution and 25 microns minimal layer height which is enough to print small casings and other elements necessary for modern electronics. Because its LCD screen with UV LED backlighting cures each model's layer all at once, Zortrax Inkspire has up to 8x speed advantage over leading SLA 3D printers. That's why it can be easily scaled up to work in a 3D printing farm offering medium to large manufacturing output.

Key features for engineers

Four most important questions to ask when choosing a resin 3D printer for engineering in electronics are how precise it is, how fast it is, how well does it scale up, and how effective it is in supporting early stages of manufacturing. Zortrax Inkspire is better than a leading SLA 3D printer in all those areas.

Microscopic precision

The smallest possible object Zortrax Inkspire can 3D print is a cuboid measuring 50x50x25 microns. It is capable of printing casings designed to host complex layouts of PCBs and electrical wiring.

Speed

Zortrax Inkspire works with constant high speed no matter how much of the workspace is used. There is no time lost when printing multiple detailed parts in one go.

Small to large production

Zortrax UV LCD technology can be scaled up to offer small to large volume manufacturing capabilities. It makes it a perfect solution for bridge manufacturing and making jigs and fixtures for traditional production lines.

Wide range of resins

Zortrax Inkspire works with dedicated Zortrax resins but is fully compatible with all 405 nm photopolymers. Engineers can choose the best resin for their needs without being limited to a single provider.

Bridge manufacturing

Bridge manufacturing is meant to mitigate the risks that come with moving on from the prototyping stage to mass production. The initial series of the new product can be manufactured on a farm of Zortrax Inkspire 3D printers. Large businesses tend to use this technique to build a number of products which are then used in beta testing or sent to stakeholders or influencers. Smaller businesses rely on bridge manufacturing to generate income needed for scaling up.

Z-SUITE for Zortrax Inkspire

Z-SUITE is a dedicated slicing and 3D printing farm management software that comes free with every Zortrax 3D printer. It is compatible with the most popular CAD/CAM software solution. Zortrax Inskpire can also work with third-party slicers.

Rotation Optimization

Rotation Optimization Tool is an algorithm that optimizes the model's position on the build platform. It can reduce the amount of required support, improve the model's adhesion to the platform, or speed up the printing process. This way even unexperienced users can get high-quality prints.

Resin profiles

Z-SUITE makes it easy to work with all available resins. Settings for dedicated Zortrax Resins are already there to choose from. For external resins, all printing parameters can be set manually and saved to be reused in the future.

Smart supports

Times of exposure to UV light for the model and support structures can be set independently. More exposure means harder and thinner supports. This way their footprint on the model is reduced and less post-processing is needed.

Remote management

Prints can be paused or resumed and progress can be monitored remotely on each Zortrax Inkspire connected to the same Wi-Fi network. Larger dental labs can easily manage multiple Zortrax Inkspire 3D printers from one workstation.

Zortrax resins

Zortrax Inkspire works with a range of dedicated resins. Third-party photopolymers are fully supported, provided they can be cured by light with a 405 nm wavelength.

Available Zortrax Resins: PRO, , FLEXIBLE, , BASIC

Zortrax Resin PRO

Improved resilience

Zortrax Resin PRO is an epoxy-based resin with improved impact and bending resistance in comparison with Zortrax Resin Basic. It offers short curing times, high degree of detail, and ease of post-processing.

Zortrax Resin FLEXIBLE

Strength and flexibility

Zortrax Resin FLEXIBLE is an elastic, epoxy based resin that comes back to its original shape after bending. It offers smooth surfaces, high level of detail, and sharp edges.

Zortrax Resin BASIC

Impeccable precision

Zortrax Resin BASIC is an epoxy-based resin dedicated for Zortrax Inkspire. It guarantees impeccable details and great mechanical properties. It's also durable, easy to paint and needs short curing times.

Zortrax Inkspire main features

  • UV LCD is up to 8x faster than SLA
  • UV LCD is up to 9x more precise than SLA
  • The speed of operation is 20-36 mm/h
  • The XY resolution is 50x50 microns
  • Calibrates build platform automatically
  • The minimal layer height is 25 microns
  • Has a built-in carbon filter
  • Offers serial production capability
  • External 405 nm resins are supported
  • External slicing software is supported
  • zcodex and .cws file formats are supported
  • Workspace measures 74x132x175 mm
  • Wi-Fi and Ethernet connectivity
  • Has an intuitive touch interface
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