SLA Resin Spotlight: Somos® Watershed Black
Somos Watershed Black is a pristine black SLA resin material with excellent surface finish right off the printer. The Watershed Black resin is excellent for small or large scale end-use parts.
It is a general purpose material similar to Covestro’s Somos Taurus with a lower heat deflection temperature. Stratasys’s SLA resin printer, Neo, has machine settings for this material already dialed in for those interested in industrial-scale resin printing.
Watershed Black SLA Resin Part
Watershed Black has deeper pigmentation than many competitors, which results in a smooth surface finish with a clean glossy sheen. Designers will be able to visually inspect their parts with ease and expect a professional functional part. Thanks to the deep black pigmentation, the resin can be cured up to 50% faster than most other black resins, which results in faster time-to-part. Watershed resins such as this have superior chemical resistance, a tensile modulus over 2,700 MPa, and an Izod impact resistance of 25 J/m. The material resists IPA, water, grease, and oils. Even thin-walled parts remain opaque with Watershed Black!
The Somos Watershed XC 11122 resin has identical properties but is clear in appearance.
Somos Watershed XC 11122
Applications for Watershed Black SLA Resin
How is the material being used? This material largely has the attention of the automotive industry for prototyping of dashboard parts, electronic/sensor housing, brackets, etc. At TriMech’s Advanced Manufacturing Services (AMS) facility, the Neo SLA printer is dedicated to Watershed Black for prototyping parts. We provide parts for a variety of customers in the automotive, aerospace, and consumer electronics industries. This ABS-like material can be used as master patterns due to the great durability and accuracy.
The table below provides a comparison of some general-purpose resin and filament materials from FDM, SLA, and P3 printing technologies. As you can see, thermosets typically have greater mechanical properties than thermoplastics. In addition to this, thermosets can be printed in higher resolutions (50-100 microns); compared to thermoplastics in FDM (178 microns) making them excellent for form, fit, and functional testing.
| Material | Technology | Plastic Type | Tensile Strength | Young’s Modulus | Elongation at Break | HDT | Izod Impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABS | FDM | Thermoplastic | 30.8 MPa | 58.7 MPa | 8.10% | 99.9°C | 101 J/m |
| Watershed Black | SLA | Thermoset | 50.4 MPa | 2,770 MPa | 15.50% | 50°C | 25 J/m |
| Dura56 | P3 | Thermoset | 44 MPa | 1,595 MPa | 78% | 50°C | 56 J/m |
Learn more
Learn more about our Stereolithography 3D Printing service and the other SLA Resin materials available.
Written by TriMech Marketing
TriMech Manufacturing, a division of the global TriMech Group, is a strategic technology and business solutions paartner for designers, engineers, and manufacturers.
With a legacy spanning decades, the division focuses on helping clients design, build, and deliver products faster through a comprehensive ecosystem of manufacturing tools and expertise.
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