DIC to Commence Full-Scale R&D of Compounds for Stereolithography 3D Printing —Facilitating the fabrication in high precision applications for industrial, dental, and others—

Tokyo, Japan–DIC Corporation announced that it has commenced full-scale R&D of compounds used as materials for stereolithography 3D printing. By leveraging its distinctive polymer designing and compounding technologies, DIC promotes the development of a lineup of products outstanding in mechanical strength and printing precision, which contributes to the productions like industrial products, dental instruments, and a wide range of other items.

With applications expanding in the sectors such as aerospace, automotive and medical, the global market for 3D printing is growing at a torrid pace of 20%-plus annually. Specifically, stereolithography (SLA), a 3D printing process that uses photoirradiation to create layer after layer of an object, is now under the spotlight: it originally facilitated the formation of plastic parts with complicated shapes that were impossible to reproduce with injection molding, and now the emergence of high-speed printers have further attracted attention to SLA as a process to produce industrial-use parts.

DICs core printing inks and polymers businesses has boasted it with a wealth of distinctive dispersion and polymer design technologies. By combining its technologies for composite materials accumulated over many years, DIC is advancing the development of compounds for both SLA and digital light processing (DLP), two vat polymerization 3D printing processes that continue to see rapid growth.

In addition to conducting R&D in Japan, DIC has established a dedicated research department on the site of the Fine Chemicals Technical Center Korea, which is a technical facility in the Republic of Korea that commenced full-scale operations in 2018.Having its department in the country home to a diverse range of companies involved in 3D printing industry, this configuration will enable R&D teams in the two countries to liaise closely.

With the goal of creating next-generation businesses, the DIC Group continues working to build optimal business models that respond to social imperatives around the world.

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