SLA ( Stereolithography )

SLA is the short form of stereolithography. SLA was way ahead of its time as surprisingly the patent was filed for it in 1986. Gradually as the technology became more mature and commercial, people got to know about it. The SLA technology works by projecting UV lasers on liquid resin and hardening it. This process is repeated layer by layer till the desired part is formed. SLA Tech has several other variations like LCD, MSLA, DLP etc.

SLA has several advantages over other 3D Printing technologies:

It is the most accurate 3D Printing process available for prototyping as it can achieve layer heights less than 25 microns. It provides very accurate dimensional tolerances and it highly recommended for complex parts. The surface of the part 3d printed from SLA Technology is smooth.

There are always two sides of a coin, SLA may seem the perfect solution for your next project but parts 3D Printed from SLA cannot be used as end use parts for mechanical testing and in other Industrial conditions due to limitation of properties of resin. Also 3D Printed SLA parts tend to be more costly.

SLA is a 100% Suitable for the following purposes

Creating a master for vacuum casting/silicon molds.
Checking the dimensional accuracy of the parts.
Scale models
Figurines
Industry specific applications in Healthcare Industry and Jewelry Industry