A recent study conducted by Henkels Loctite 3D Printing team has revealed that UV curing resins can compete with established engineering thermoplastics in many durability conditions relevant for industrial applications.According to Henkel, additive manufacturing has transformed how functional plastic parts can be produced, providing superior design flexibility, complexity, and speed in production. As the range of materials expands, particularly UV curing resins, a growing need exists to evaluate their performance compared to traditional thermoplastics.Based on frequent customer requests, Loctite 3D Printing conducted a study that compared their UV curing resins Loctite 3D 3843 BK and Loctite 3D IND403 BK with two traditional thermoplastics used for injection molding, namely PA6 and POM.In this study the mechanical properties of the 3D printed samples were compared with the Injection molded samples. The individual performances were assessed after following an extensive series of durability tests, like accelerated weathering, accelerated heat ageing, immersion in chemicals, climate cycling and mechanical properties at different temperatures. Depending on the respective test conditions PA6 or POM could demonstrate better durability performance, while in others Loctite3DIND403BK showed equal performance to POM and in several test conditions Loctite3D3843BK even outperformed PA6.The study highlights the advantages of UV curing resins used in additive manufacturing in terms of durability performance, making them a promising option for advanced manufacturing needs and was conducted in cooperation with Protolabs, who provided the injection molded samples of PA6 and POM.Download the full white paper to learn more about the findings.Who won the 2024 3D Printing Industry Awards?All the news from Formnext 2024.To stay up to date with the latest 3D printing news, dont forget to subscribe to the 3D Printing Industry newsletter or follow us on Twitter, or like our page on Facebook.While youre here, why not subscribe to our Youtube channel? Featuring discussion, debriefs, video shorts, and webinar replays.Featured image shows a picture of test setup for tensile testing using ASTM D638 Type IV specimens. Photo via Henkel.