Fine detail and a smooth finish, built from photopolymer resin.
Stereolithography (SLA) is a resin-based 3D printing process that builds parts by selectively curing liquid photopolymer resin, layer by layer, using a light source. Compared with filament-based processes, SLA is known for producing parts with fine surface detail and a smooth finish straight off the printer, which makes it a strong choice whenever the visual and dimensional quality of a part matters as much as its function.
The process is particularly good at capturing small features and intricate geometry accurately, which is why it's often chosen for parts where fine detail would be difficult to reproduce with other additive processes.
We use SLA for prototypes where surface finish and detail are the priority — presentation models that need to represent a finished product convincingly, concept models for design reviews, and prototypes with fine or intricate features that need to be captured accurately. It's a good fit anywhere in the product-development process where a part needs to look and feel close to final, ahead of committing to production.
SLA parts are printed in photopolymer resins, a material family generally chosen for the surface quality and dimensional accuracy it produces rather than for high mechanical toughness. Different resins within this family behave differently — some are formulated for a rigid, detailed finish, others for greater flexibility or durability — so the right resin depends on what the part needs to demonstrate. We help you select an appropriate resin for your part during the quoting process, based on how the model will be used and displayed.
SLA's strength is fine detail, so parts with small text, thin features or intricate surface texture are generally well suited to the process. Because parts are built with support structures where geometry requires them, design intent should account for where supports will contact the model, since those contact points typically need light finishing after removal. Printed parts also go through a post-curing step to reach their final material properties, which is factored into our production process. Our team reviews part orientation and support placement before printing to protect the surfaces that matter most for your application.
If your part needs to look and feel refined — fine detail, a smooth finish, dimensional accuracy — share your CAD file with our team and request a quote.
Share your CAD file with our engineering team and request a project-specific quote.