Engineering and Industrial Materials
Additive manufacturing is only as useful as the material behind it. We work across a broad range of filament and resin materials — from basic prototype plastics to reinforced engineering-grade polymers — and we help customers select the right one before the job runs.
Filament Materials
Our FDM/FFF capability covers the common workhorse materials: PLA, PETG, PCTG, ABS, ASA, and HIPS for general prototype and production work, and TPU and related flexibles where compliance or impact absorption matters.
For structural and engineering applications, we work with nylon-family materials including PA6 and PA12, as well as carbon-fiber-filled and glass-fiber-filled variants in nylon, PETG, and ABS. These materials offer meaningful improvements in stiffness, strength, and temperature resistance over standard filaments — but they require appropriate print settings, hardware, and part design to perform as intended.
We also work with polycarbonate and PC blends, ESD-safe and static-dissipative materials for electronics and sensitive-component applications, and a range of specialty filaments where appearance, fill type, or application-specific properties are required.
Castable and Burnout Materials
We support investment casting, lost-pattern casting, and related foundry workflows with materials selected for clean burnout, meltout, or dissolution. Material behavior in the foundry — not just on the print bed — drives our recommendations here.
PVB (Polyvinyl Butyral) PVB — Commercially available in products like Polymaker’s Polycast — is one of the more practical filament options for investment casting patterns. It dissolves in isopropyl alcohol, which allows the bulk of the pattern to be removed before burnout, reducing thermal stress on the mold and minimizing ash. Surface finish after dissolution is smooth relative to most FDM filaments, which matters for casting surface quality.
PVA (Polyvinyl Alcohol) – PVA is water-soluble and occasionally used in casting workflows, typically as a support material or as a pattern that is water-dissolved prior to wax coating and conventional investment. It is not a direct burnout material in most foundry applications, but it has a role in hybrid pattern strategies where a printed core is removed before the mold is set.
HIPS (High Impact Polystyrene) – HIPS dissolves in limonene and behaves in burnout similarly to expanded polystyrene foam — making it a functional analog to lost-foam casting. For foundries already running lost-foam processes or working with sand casting, HIPS patterns can fit naturally into existing workflows. Burnout produces gases consistent with polystyrene combustion, which should be managed appropriately for the casting environment.
Wax-Like and Wax-Blend Filaments – Several filament formulations are engineered to approximate the burnout behavior of traditional injection wax. These are intended for direct investment casting use: shell or flask investment, burnout, and pour without a dissolution pre-step. Ash content and thermal expansion behavior vary by product and should be evaluated against the specific casting process and alloy.
PLA – PLA is widely used for lost-PLA casting, particularly in non-ferrous sand and investment work. It burns out at moderate temperatures but produces more ash than wax or PVB and expands before it softens — which can crack molds if geometry, wall thickness, and burnout ramp rates are not managed carefully. For precision investment casting it requires more attention; for sand casting and open-mold work it is often adequate and cost-effective.
Castable and Low-Ash Burnout Resins – Photopolymer resins formulated for casting burnout are available for resin-printed patterns. These are well suited for detailed jewelry, dental, and small industrial casting patterns where surface resolution and fine feature retention matter. Low-ash formulations are preferred for precision investment work. Resin patterns are typically used in flask investment with purpose-specific burnout cycles.
Material selection for casting and pattern work depends on the casting process, mold type, burnout equipment, alloy, pour temperature, and required surface finish. We can help evaluate which approach fits your foundry workflow.
Resin Materials
Our resin capability covers standard and high-detail modeling resins, tough and rigid formulations, ABS-like resins for functional parts, flexible and semi-flexible materials, and castable and burnout resins for investment casting applications. Specialty engineering resins are available where the application warrants.
Material Selection
Not every material is appropriate for every job. Before recommending a material, we review the application, mechanical loading, heat and chemical exposure, surface finish requirements, dimensional tolerances, handling conditions, and budget. The goal is a part that actually performs, not just one that prints.