Material properties after printing: FDM, SLA, SLS

Dear all, I need to print strong parts, the finish and accuracy is less important, a low price is important.
The parts will be used outdoors, in the sunlight, in around freezing temperature.

What I would like to know is the following:

When printing the same model with the same material in different printing techniques, for instance:
ABS in:
- FDM
- SLA
- SLS (if possible)
-> how do the mechanical properties of the final product compare?

I am interested in:

- tensile strength
- Impact strength (Izod test value) (the product will experience cyclical impact)

Also, more focussed on SLA, I have read some statements about this technology:

  • Is it so that SLA will deteriorate in terms of mechanical properties in the sun (UV radiation)?
  • Is it so that SLA parts are generally not at full strength because the used laser is generally relatively cheap and does not cure the material completely?
  • Is it so that SLA parts need to go in a curing chamber after printing? And after this curing, what are then the mechanical properties and the influence of UV radiation?

Help will be much appreciated!
I can find until now only comparisons between the technologies where they take into account the access to different materials such as PC and thus the possibility to print stronger parts. This is not helpful, I would like to compare the same material in different techniques. Thanks!

Hi,

as far I’m aware you can’t really compare the same material for fdm and sla (for instance) simply because there are not the same materials. Maybe you can find a resin that emulates the properties of a certain material but it won’t be the same material.

For SLA you usually need a curing chamber to completely cure the object after the printing process.

I don’t know, but if you end up using FDM remember that the layer adesion is usually the weak point of a printed object, probably with the other technologies you will obtain less issue with layer adesion.