MakerJuice’s WaxCast Resin Offers New Opportunity for Jewelry Makers & SLA 3D Printing

Today, one doesn’t exactly require enormous powers of observation to see that 3D printing is changing our world in many ways already—and is on the brink of making many other more important transformations. As sectors like automotive and aerospace are displaying huge strides everywhere from making car prototypes and parts to rocket engines set for Mars one day in the near future, it’s easy to overlook the multitude of areas that are changing for the normal people over here with their feet firmly planted on the ground.

Companies like MakerJuice are, however, well aware that their users are savvy, and constantly looking for something new to work with. And in making jewelry, the goals are generally the same for most designers: to show a sense of quality and individualism through aesthetically pleasing adornment. The needs for producing goods are generally the same too: creativity, tools, and materials. As we see so many innovative and unique pieces coming out today, the challenge to find new ways to present designs grows larger.

For those who prefer to fabricate designs from the SLA 3D printer, MakerJuice is now offering a new resin that will allow anyone from pros to hobbyists to get a great result. WaxCast is a premium, direct investment casting resin that you should find works very well with your SLA printer.

The resin has been in development for over two years with an emphasis on use for jewelry makers, but MakerJuice states that this resin is also meant for use in dental and engineering applications.

“WaxCast has gone through countless iterations to arrive at a finalized formulation,” the MakerJuice team states in a recent press release. “The persistence has paid off, resulting in a material which prints extremely well on a wide variety of SLA printers including the LittleRP, B9Creator, Form1+, and many more.”

Designed specifically for artisans hoping for more options in casting, the MakerJuice team sent this new resin out for testing by a small group of different jewelers and engineers spanning the globe. With their feedback during the process, MakerJuice was able to offer what they consider to be the features which are most sought after by those making jewelry:

• Less than 0.1% residual ash after burnout
• Non-reactive with common investments such as Plasticast
• Optimized for 25µm – 50µm layers, but can be adjusted by exposure
• Low degradation of PDMS vat coatings
• Quick layer times
• Low odor for use in commercial settings
• Resistant to most solvents, including alcohol and acetone
• No pigments to settle out

“WaxCast is a great new addition to the jewelry industry, allowing jewelers the ability to have great prints and castability all in one affordable resin.” states one user, John Matthews, who is a jeweler for Moseley’s Diamond Showcase in Lexington, SC.

Along with the most common features, MakerJuice has also added some unique details. With this resin, they promise you are looking forward to one of the highest quality, natural waxes that should propel you toward excellence in working with items like jewelry. They state that because of this quality, normal working wax can be used for attaching to sprues and modifying prints.

They’ve also added UV reactive coloring to show cure level.

“Often it is hard to know if you have post-cured a print properly,” states the MakerJuice team. “With WaxCast, the print changes color from a darker red to a light orange when fully cured.”

MakerJuice offers more than just user-friendly products—they cater to the user’s budget as well, and know that as creativity and innovation swell, often so does cost. With that in mind, they’ve worked throughout the development process to produce a new material that offers high quality with affordability, at $95/liter.

As the arts are experiencing a wide range of positive and inspirational new trends thanks to 3D scanning, 3D printing, and more, jewelry stands out one of the main winners in the technological lottery of benefits being offered. While it’s certainly not crucial to our survival, and jewelry making in no way compares to complex engineering or rocket science, the wearing of jewelry is a cultural custom in nearly every part of the world. Being able to 3D print and use a variety of materials for casting just adds to the long list of benefits being afforded to artists today, as their toolboxes for making creative magic just continue to expand. Will you be trying this resin? Discuss in the MakerJuice WaxCast Resin for SLA 3D Printers forum over at 3DPB.com.