Photo Reactive Resin

I just came across this light curing resin used on surfboards, I wonder if any of you had tried this as possible raw material. The price seems quite cheap compared to other photo curing resins.

Solarez

I am wondering whether this stuff would cure when exposed specifically to light or, sets off a chain reaction like most fibreglass resins to cure the whole part.

Reading the linked website, it looks like the latter. Solarez is an "initiator" for catalyzing polyester (or vinylester), much like MEKP. A Polyester/Solarez mix could work for stereolithography, but the Solarez site says it takes 3 minutes of UV exposure to cure, which would make for very slow printing.

Here they show this chemical formula for uv curable resin being used in 3d printing:
Prepare polymer

• Mass .006 g of Sudan I, Mass 2.00 g of phenylbis(2,4,6-trimethylbenzoyl)-phosphine oxide, measure 98 mL of 1,6-Hexanediol dicrylate
• Mix all three components in 100 mL amber bottle. Add stirbar, put on stir plate gently mixing, allow to mix for a minimum of three days to allow all chemicals to dissolve

cemms
Is anyone aware if this compound would be expensive or cheap ?

Expensive.
I have seen quotes for 1,6-Hexanediol diacrylate at 93€ for 500g and for Phenylbis(2,4,6-trimethylbenzoyl)phosphine oxide I have seen 42€ for 10g.

If you are looking for UV applications at lower wavelengths there are cheaper mixes. If you want to use the close to visible spectrum, those are the expenses you will typically be looking at.

Photoreactive resins use photoinitiators along with UV to trigger the polymerization. It works kind of like dominoes where you need enough energy to knock the first one over and then it starts a cascade down the line. Some are inexpensive and are used in high volumes in the printing industry.

We are talking about open plans for a DIY printer using a photopolymer and a DLP projector since the other project that was mentioned on this site closed their plans. $25/L for a resin is very realistic.

You guys , Please heck out our webside about our rapid prototype printer

here

There is lots and lots of info resins,eletronics,aluminum etc everything you need to build a DIY printer.
TJ SNYMAN
Rapid prototype printing development