Can we use Effect Pigments in Resin Printers?

The range of resin colors that you can buy is super limited - so let's DIY some that are actually pretty!
Thanks to Siraya Tech for sponsoring this video! Check out their BLU resin on Amazon go.toms3d.org/SirayaBlu or from Siraya Tech directly at siraya.tech/collections/all
Model is the Medusozoa Mushroom www.prusaprinters.org/prints/...
Printed on the SL1 / CW1 combo go.toms3d.org/SL1/
Get effect pigments on Amazon go.toms3d.org/ResinPigments
I also used pigments from Kremer, e.g. www.kremer-pigmente.com/de/sh...
Product links are affiliate links - I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases (at no extra cost to you)
🎥 All my video gear toms3d.org/my-gear
I use Epidemic Sound, sign up for a 30-day free trial here share.epidemicsound.com/MadeWi...
🎧 Check out the Meltzone Podcast (with CNC Kitchen)! / @themeltzone
👐 Enjoying the videos? Support my work on Patreon! / toms3dp

[@syntheticephemera]

Glad to see the mica/dye printing is finally being taken seriously. in the 3 years now I've been doing mica/glitter printing I've found a few things: Print orientation plays a HUGE part in getting mica and glitter to show up and visually pop. took me ages to nail down the correct angle so you dont get that one angle only "cat eye effect" but once you find the right one for each part you can get absolutely stunning results. A printer with tilt is almost an absolute must, especially with the heavier micas and glitter unless you want to sit and stir every few layers. you can also play with chunkier glitter, especially if you know you'll be sanding the part afterwards. I've played with flake style glitter/mylar bits and while it sticks out of the layers, clipping it off is easy.

[@AlexWhittemore]

I notice Tom's all have iridescence at basically the exact same angle, axial with the print direction. Is that also your experience? Do you orient expecting the most stunning angle to be either vertical or anti-vertical?

[@AlexWhittemore]

I should probably finish the video before commenting :P

[@syntheticephemera]

@@AlexWhittemore in my experience and test with mica only (no other additives) you're limited to the layer facing the build plate and vat surfaces with a little bit of bleed over onto the surrounding edges as far as visibility of the shimmer/shine (cat/tiger eye) effect goes.That being said, you can maximize surface area exposed to the build plate and vat surface to drastically increase how much of your part gets the shimmer/shine effect. With pigments (dye or powder) or glitter (fine or large particle), distribution depends on how long and well the particle, powder or liquid stays fully mixed and suspended within the resin during the printing process. This is why thicker resins work best, and a printer that utilizes a vat tilt, or wipe are almost necessary.

[@J0SHUAKANE]

Do you find that glitter makes your parts weaker?

[@syntheticephemera]

@@J0SHUAKANE if you go absolutely overboard with some of the chunkier stuff, yes because you'll have more glitter than resin in some spots. but if you use it in a reasonable matter it doesn't seem to make much difference for *most* models.

[@Gameboygenius]

The iron powder might make a nice effect combined with another pigment. Instead of just disappearing near the top, it might make an attractive dark-light gradient across the part.

[@b-rad7708]

was thinking that s ame things as he showed the part with it all settled at the bottom. kept thinking that if the iron powder is so heavy its going to settle on the bottom and being such a fine powder it is more likely to float to the top, especially when mixxed with the iron, and that just sounds like it would create a beautiful gradient across the whole part.

[@The_Engineering_Experience]

Depending on the Stainless this could make the part magnetic on one end and like you said you could add a different pigment to give you a pretty cool look. I might try this in my printed miniatures. This could be a cool way to magnetize the miniature so it works with different themed bases.

[@Fly_High_FPV]

Love to see them printed at 90 degrees, so the holographic effect is on the front face of the part.

[@marsgizmo]

I love how these came out! Very nice pigment combinations and wonderful video! 🙌😎

[@feltron]

I can see use for the iron if it makes the print magnetic.

[@daze8410]

Iridescent is the effect that you keep calling holographic

[@Four9sFineJewelry]

FINALLY someone on KZbin does this. I tried it a few months ago with mica pigment powders and it worked surprisingly well.

[@Cleanblue1990]

Some glow in the dark pigments would be cool to see

[@slin3232]

Glow in the dark = UV reactive, which doesn't get along nicely with a process that cures the resin with UV light. If you want to print glow in the dark parts you need a filament printer or you paint them afterwards.

[@C64-Museum]

@@slin3232 I tested exactly that and being uv reactiv is not the problem! It printed just fine but the pigments are too heavy and settled down to quick and the results are like the metal pigments which Thomas tested.

[@joseholguin436]

@@C64-Museum Exactly same thing over here. Prints just fine on my moai, but settles quickly. A wipper like the one on the forms would be greatly to mix it up.

[@thebluestig2654]

Instead of UV reactive glow in the dark stuff, look into a paint called Lumilor, with a power source it can glow by itself without needing UV light to activate it.

[@C64-Museum]

@@thebluestig2654 I am not sure, if it is conductive enough when mixed with resin and how bright it is when mixed?! I would just print as normal and paint the item with lumilor. "Power source" and "glow by itself" does not realy fit! If it could be charged by electricity and than "glow by itself" like the powder after uv/sun-light. Switching off power and no glow anymore is not realy "by itself"?!

[@RegularOldDan]

Super cool application and even though I'm exclusively FDM in my house, I love watching your experiments simply from an educational standpoint. Whatever you want to continue doing is fine by me - I've been a fan of the variety!

[@blackwolfecc]

Soooooo happy to see Siraya Tech sponsor. They have become the only brand of resin I use. Love ‘em. Excellent video, been using a similar technique with both these types of pigments and alcohol inks. I’ve had some decent results on my OG Photon. But it does require stirring throughout the print. Excellent video. As always.

[@jyomi7506]

The shimmer on those is awesome. Really cool effect, it always surprises me how easily you can add to the resin without messing it up.

[@TheThrustProject]

3D-Printing + Resin + Pigments - did anyone already told Evan and Katelyn about this video? 😂

[@ronnetgrazer362]

I think they've already seen Billie Ruben do it.

[@LorenzoCatacchini]

Hey Tom, what about finish the print with a spray coat of clear varnish? It should increase the sparkly and shimmer effect :)

[@blackwolfecc]

It does indeed. Polyurethane is my go to for this. Satin finish is my favorite and really brings out the pigments. It’s like a perfect blend of gloss and dull, and depending on how you view the piece can look both shiny and soft. Dull works well for the more solid colors or alcohol inks, and the gloss for transparency and straight up shine. Best part, polyurethane protects from UV exposure so clears don’t yellow over time and colors don’t fade.

[@josephgauthier5018]

glad to see someone already suggested it. nothing like a gloss coat to bring out the shine of the pearlescent powders

[@zaprodk]

Test the iron powder print with a magnet :)

[@PraxZimmerman]

stainless steel is not magnetic :/

[@zaprodk]

@@PraxZimmerman it depends on how "stainless" it is. Most consumer "stainless" is magnetic

[@TAGSlays]

@@PraxZimmerman So, IRON POWDER is actually Stainless Steel powder?!?

[@mightymadTV]

Would love to see you try florescent pigments and Stuart Semple's pigments (black 1.0, pinkest pink etc), maybe a collab with him?

[@crussty3d]

Really loved that blue! One thing you will find if you play with this further is you can start thinking about print orientation to further increase the effects on the print. You can maximize it by getting those surfaces you want to really pop in the horizontal.

[@felixgraber2415]

Amazing how constantly the quality of your Videos improves every Time! Liebe Grüße aus Mainz😉

[@PerformanceTechEngineering]

Great video! I'd love to see a strength test comparison for the different pigments, especially after seeing what the graphite powder did. I make functional parts for a customer who wants more variation in colors, but strength and durability are paramount. I've learned a lot from your videos, so keep them coming!

[@lordfordification]

I wouldn't recommend printing gun parts with resin

[@joetkeshub]

I live in Strasburg at the french-german border and it's really amazing how it's so easy to get chemistry products from Germany. Those guys are really good at it... historically. Great demo once again. Instructive as well and so entertaining. Thank you Thomas! Vive l'Allemagne!

[@d3tach3d]

That Blue and Green ones were beautiful. I love those colorshifts.

[@ZakLeek]

This is a very cool idea. I really liked the look of the "alien" glittery iridescent resin and also the Turquoise one, I love it when they change colour depending on the light. Thanks for sharing this with us Tom! 💙💜

[@minibigs5259]

Amazing work. It will be great to see what cosplayers etc can do with this - would love to see some specifically designed parts taking advantage of the effects - Staff jewels etc

[@muskokaliving2072]

I like your videos about SLA and FDM printers. I have both SLA and FDM printers so I like to see anything new from either one. Thanks Tom!

[@forestbirdoriginals4917]

I just got myself a Anycubic Photon Mono, So I am happy to watch all your resin videos!

[@3DMusketeers]

Great video Tom! Those mica pigments look amazing!

[@KyleTaylorOrionCUSD223]

I like the new resin videos. I've been on the fence about purchasing one and I think your content is helping demystify the process. Much like your filament content in th epast. I'd suggest go with whatever is most interesting to you. You have a comprehensive and easy style. Thanks!

[@funx24X7]

Great video, I've been inspired to test various pigments in my resin prints including glow in the dark which I am very excited to try.

[@dakey2k6]

Perfect! DIPON Effect Pigments are absolutely fantastic! By far the best I’ve seen.

[@AllDayBikes]

That green one is beautiful, the best.

[@7Trident3]

Love this channel, you do experiments on the questions I have. Bravo, cheers from Canada!

[@kailin1496]

im always happy when a new video comes out and this one is just amazing

[@memejeff]

I really like them all. Each is so unique

[@olafb.2929]

Great test and comparison. Thank you Thomas!

[@Monocure3DProTips]

Great to see other people trying out powders and pigments in their resin of choice. We've been playing with various glitters in our resin range for a year now and I think we have come to the conclusion that the reason most of the reflections are seen from the top and bottom of the finished print is that the particles get arranged flat when the build plate presses down on each 0.05mm layer. I'm going to check next week if we can get the particles to be more random if the layer height is increased to either 0.075 or even 0.1mm. Might even try running a pump or some way to oscillate the resin during the print to keep the resin moving just before the UV light cures the layers. Only other way to get the glitter to reflect on the sides of the model is to paint it with the same resin after the print and then post cure that. Keep the experimentation up Tom!

[@spamcan9208]

You were dropping parts so often I thought I was watching Linus lol 😂

[@bernds6587]

same thoughts! Just the cool version of Linus 😁

[@sorengoll9818]

May I add ... The more sympathetic version of Linus ;)

[@bernds6587]

@Sören Goll you may do that! It is interesting if I think about it, since I am subbed to Steve, Jay, Nick, Roman and Igor, but not Linus. Probably because I don't like his "style". Also I'm not really sure how many of Linus "drops" are genuine though. Ugh, sorry for derailing, lol 😅

[@spamcan9208]

@@bernds6587 I think he's actually really that clumsy and it's not an act lol

[@andymuzzo8568]

Gotta love those Ikea containers. I’ve done this with glow in the dark powder. It worked great. Also looks awesome when your have the UV lights on it

[@stanshearer7343]

Definitely do some more resin videos! I'm still new to resin and NEED more reference material. Side note: I was stationed in West Germany (yes it was that long ago) at the American Consulate in Stuttgart. Loved the country. I got to visit some sights around Europe. Once in a lifetime experience.

[@andre267]

The one with the Channel Colors looks awesome! Thx for the Video 👍

[@d3tach3d]

the last few were so awesome looking.

[@benupde1979]

That blue 😍 The green looks pretty cool with that off angle sheen too 👌🏻

[@JeffDM]

Absolutely please keep doing resin printing videos. I don’t know why anyone has a problem with you covering resin printing. It would be nice to see those other color pigments tested.

[@Demonskunk]

I like the grey one that glows when you turn it

[@jlg23us]

I've been having fun with this for several months now. I love the flexibility, better than FFF... tho resin printing is messy and post process can be where the time suck is. I would like to make a at home color match or Pantone system

[@The_Mimewar]

I use mica glitter, the fine pigment powder. Also, I color my own clear resin with UV resin dye. Works a treat, and I can blend my own shades. White and clear are best to add to

[@C-M-E]

After devoting a goodly chunk of projecting time lately to find an additive for standard resin reinforcement, I ended up going the extra mile and formulating my own. Surprisingly I got very good results from mostly "off the shelf and green"/enviro-friendly components, and as of currently, I'm one step away from turning my additive into a full-blown UV-curable resin. Thomas, if you're like the type I am, I'll bet this could be a fun exercise for you. There's tons of whitepapers available to get you in the right direction and they're worth a read even if just curious of how to go about getting a better and tougher resin formula. Add: Coincidentally in the form of fine particles, I've found that the suction pop on every layer change of a fairly firm FEP film is perfectly enough agitation to keep my mixes in suspension.

[@dastompa]

Note that the reason you can see the one being green from the one angle is the glitter particles are flat, so they are aligning with the layers when the build plate comes down and all facing the same direction

[@EurekaStuff2]

If the particles are 50um then they CANNOT stack on top of each other because the bed clearance to the the build plate will force them to 1 layer. (This most likely for the larger particles that you can easily see.) Then they wind up following the layer lines - just like you saw! I love the blue one too - good experiment!

[@Backbeardjack99]

I like both the resin and the filament content!

[@quinnjdq]

Great video! Do whatever you most wanna do, the passion is what matters!

[@BC-fy1wn]

I like the variety and creativity of the experiments Doc BC

[@Crafter0323]

Love these experiment videos

[@MamasFunkyMonkey]

Nice video i tried this awhile back some things work some dont but you learn real quick what will work strontium powder was the worst

[@blenderbuch]

Tom speaks about the shimmers and stuff like he is tasting a fine red wine :)

[@technodrone313]

i had some prismatic color change spray paint that i used on an unwound spool of clear pla. It definitely worked.

[@Crypt1cmyst1c]

definitely liked the blue as well. From how SLA printers work, the shimmer effect being aligned with the layers makes sense. the shimmer is inevitably going to come from a flat face, and with the layers so thin, it's inevitably going to push a majority of the particles up flat against the build plate. no complaint, it's pretty cool! as for the stainless steel powder, it looks like the density of the powder prevented it from flowing with the resin as it filled in the spot where the previous layer came out, so by the end there was virtually no powder going into the print. ironic that it manifests in the print looking like it's "settled down" inside the print as well, but it's a pretty neat effect. you could two-tone some prints if you got some heavy pigments! definitely looking forward to more experiments with resin prints!

[@EJTechandDIY]

I really love the blue and the green ones, should try to combine them with some alcohol inks.

[@charleyedwards2121]

adding a second colour part way through the print can create some really cool marbled effects too

[@TodayIMade]

Great stuff, once again! This I'll definitely be trying out, as I've got a big bottle of clear Prusa resin that cures into a nasty yellowish colour no matter how I do it - it'll be perfect for mixing with some nice strong pigments!

[@BurninGems]

I like the video but in the future can you consider having the pigments listed in the description. Also missed a good Amazon affiliate chance, I was looking to buy! Keep up the great videos! Edit: spell check subbed wrong word!

[@satibel]

My favorite is the iron, because of the gradient. It should be magnetic though, so you can make a part with a magnet in with no glue

[@hightde13]

I'd love to see these with a clear coat or a dip in clear floor polish. Might let some of the color shift/shine effects show better. Thanks for trying this! I"ve been curious about it for a spell but haven't had a chance to try it out!

[@mephistosprincipium]

that’s some really cool results, would love to see some hyper shift pigments

[@philipbyrnes7501]

Great job as usual Thomas, thank you for all of your hard work and your expertise that you share with us. Down here in Australia we have some pigments from a company called Health of Mind Art and they have a few variants of what they call Super Chamelion such as Orange/Green/Purple and Blue/Purple/Red/Purple. I’ve seen this chamelion stuff on car paint jobs which is astounding as the car changes colour as you walk by it depending on the angle of the light. Truly nothing else I’ve ever seen can compare to it, absolutely extraordinary in the truest sense of the wording. Would love to see you test out some of this stuff as it could potentially be a real eye opener. Whether or not you do, I really do want to thank you for the inspiration you’ve given me over the last few years, it’s been a fun ride so far, more power to ya to continue for many years to come mate, thank you again from the bottom of my heart, 11 out of 10 any and every day mate, thank you 😎👍

[@jeremysaise]

did you try a magnet on the iron powder one?

[@Gainn]

was wondering if he's try that, and also thinking that popping a couple of small magnets on the plate might help to keep it more even.

[@johnjon4688]

he kept calling it "iron" powder, but he originally described it as stainless steel, which would not be magnetic.

[@JakeDiToro]

The green is my favorite for much the same reason that the blue is yours. It's matches a color palette that I'm partial to. But I agree with you in general on those 3 colors.

[@keizard]

resin experiments are definetly interesting! :D keep going!

[@p.pf.8758]

I tried it with cacao powder once, and it looks surprisingly good.

[@richard3365]

I think the iron particles would be great for making miniature bases that you can attach to a magnet. One way I've thought of for storing my D&D minis was to get one of those carts with all the tiny drawers, and line the drawers with magnetic sheets. Originally, this would require gluing a metal washer of some sort on the bottom, but if the base itself is magnetic, that would be perfect. The idea was you could put any size or shape (you can't do that with the foam with the rectangle cutouts, and the pick-and-pluck foam has a lot of wasted space) and it would stay put, no rattling around and chipping off the paint as you move the cart around.

[@OMentertainment]

I love everything about this

[@JosiahsMakerCave]

Finally a logical use for extra, cheap hex keys! Also love the blue!

[@spamcan9208]

I bet someone who knows how light behaves could design parts that take advantage of these colors. Lamps, nightlights, figurines, there is a world possibilities. And since you asked, while I like seeing the resin videos the reason why I found your channel in the first place was because I needed help with my filament printer. I know it's a tricky balancing act. The world of 3D printing is evolving, expanding and more accessible than ever.

[@RiotDemon]

Love that jacket. Looks great on you.

[@geeklany]

My fav is the iron one. I really like the marble effect of it. 👍

[@shamanfryd]

A lot of these would be great for doing like the irises of eyes. Giving it kind of a reflective cat's eye effect. Also imagine artistic prints where you want certain colors to pop up when you look from a certain angle.

[@mrbilky]

I make custom fishing tackle they have some really nice pigment options you should check that out it’s used with plastisol for making soft baits suspends really well

[@Panda_Gibs]

Some resins are much more viscous, and I know you can add modifiers to up the viscosity. I wonder if you could use that extra thickness to stop the ferrous particles from settling out so fast. Awesome demonstration, as always!

[@NiyaKouya]

You know Thomas has a technical/tinkering hobby when he uses a screwdriver for dosing the pigments and allen keys for mixing them xD Great video and interesting what you can do with resin printers, but I'll still stick to filament since I have absolutely no space where I could set up all the preparation, cleaning and curing equipment and material...

[@cwbh10]

as someone who works with small particles and resin, I appreciate the attention to safety :)

[@g0balot]

This is great info. I didn't the courage to try this with my printers but I think I will now!

[@sommeone]

Thanks for making these! They look super cool, and I'm very tempted to try this myself!!! The first 3 (the ones that came out cloudy white) look like they might use iridescent particles, which look different depending on the base colour. I'd be really curious how they look in a coloured transparent resin!

[@AnarchicAnubis]

That hoodie Is super dope, i want it now

[@Cassiusisback]

hah, thats great! really appreciated the video! a few weeks ago, i tried the very same pigments and had very similar results, especially those colorshift effects only apperaring in layer direction. those "dipon" car pigments settle really fast aswell from my experience. that makes the 1% ratio more like 10% after a while. which made my prints even more brittle. but im sure, cnc-kitchen will do some tests in a few weeks anyway :)

[@nemesis851_]

2:30 That is so DOPE !!! Never seen a magnetic stir machine !!

[@BenjaminVaterlaus]

Both Resin and Filament, please!! I love both types of content!!

[@TechnologistAtWork]

Do both. I'm enjoying your videos regardless. Just do whatever you're comfortable with.

[@lcdvasrm]

Most satisfying youtube video about SLA

[@MakerCuisine]

Such an interesting video, i was curious of you could actually tint sla resin

[@adamarcher3089]

the steel looks great

[@FSDraconis]

@Thomas Sanladerer - You should of checked if the iron pigmented miniature ended up with any magnetic properties. You could also potentially use a couple high power neodymium magnets on the platform that the print is attached to. This should in theory help pull the particles up and keep them in a magnetic alignment.

[@ashleechan22]

amazing video!!! Thank you SO much!

[@TaylorSchumacher255]

Excellent video. I need a SLA printer now

[@janreinertz2775]

This would put the SLA Printing to a whole New Level

[@DebraDaun]

More resin videos would be great! I love showing my MakerLab members new applications and techniques for these machines.

[@aartadventure]

Interesting but very niche. The best results I get in terms of "special" effects is when I print in clear resin, and after curing, stain the print with alcohol inks. Add a gloss varnish to finish, and you get some pretty amazing magic looking effects. With the correct lighting, they seem to glow and/or look like magical spells.

[@SeanSiem]

Thomas, as always this is fantastic - and with all your work, it makes me think of the possibilities! I would love to see a couple of things: Agitate the resin somehow - stir the particulate around while the layers are being flashed. I think this will result in a much wider variety of particulate orientation. Please consider printing spheres and cubes (oriented off square 45deg) - this would illustrate how the particles are being oriented easier than your intricate test models. know you can't cater to every whim, thanks and good luck!

[@MendeNajdovTO]

I've been hoping for this experiment :) I have a bunch of pigment around and I wanted to use it :)

[@thomasfeix7979]

As for the metal one you now have a material that reacts to a magnet, that might be the cool feature of this.

[@SaschaUncia]

The peridot colour shift micro flakes print looks a lot like labradorite (moonstone-like mineral). I love that stuff!

[@hughessay1372]

Thanks--Great video! I've been thinking about doing this for a while but didn't want to risk screwing up one of MY printers. I was also wondering if increasing the lift distance would help keep the pigment mixed since none of my printers have the tilting release mechanism.

[@txukoo]

Thanks for doing this, I have some pigments I wanted to test but I just didn't have the courage to risk my printer, now I do!

[@diii8840]

The angled shimmer is caused by the mica forming a rheoscopic fluid. The up and down motion aligns the mica flakes. I'm surprised you had so few issues, when I was playing with pigments I had pretty severe under-curing and adhesion problems.