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Everything you need to know to get started with Cyclic Olefin Resin

Print with COR

How to print, clean, and post-cure Cyclic Olefin Resin

Quickstart Guides

Step-by-step guides to get you up and running with select resin 3D printers.

COR Performance

Materials performance data for COR products, including COR Alpha and COR Black

Design Guidelines

Designing for Cyclic Olefin Resin, DfAM for COR parts and parts.polySpectra.com

Frequently Asked Questions

What is required to print with COR photopolymer resins?

Cyclic Olefin Resin (COR) is a family of industrial photopolymer resins developed for DLP 3D printers.

polySpectra currently supports validated printers from Asiga, Stratasys (Origin), and Desktop Metal (ETEC) - the full list can be found on the requirements page.

We recommend that the printer and part-cleaning work areas are well ventilated, within a manufacturing or laboratory environment. At this time, we discourage at-home or in-office printing of COR photopolymer products.

COR photopolymers require a thermal post-cure. Review our validated and exploratory post-curing options here.

For long-term storage, we recommend cold storage. Read more about storage.

What is the difference between validated workflows and exploratory options?

polySpectra fully supports and guarantees the printability and material performance of our validated workflows.

At the same time, we do not want to limit the creativity of our customers to explore additional workflows that may be more suited to their needs and applications. To encourage our customers and partners to innovate, we additionally share exploratory options. However, we cannot guarantee the same performance criteria, or offer in-depth troubleshooting or customer support for our exploratory options.

How much does COR Alpha cost?

Introductory pricing for COR Alpha is $600/kg, and can be purchased directly here. For bulk pricing or to learn more about our partnerships, please contact partners [at] polyspectra [dot] com.

Is COR Alpha FDA-approved?

For most medical devices, the FDA certifies the device, not the material. COR Alpha can be used to 3D print medical-grade products.

COR Alpha, COR Black, and COR Bio feature Grade-0 cytotoxicity (10993-5), a very high working temperature (Tg >150 °C) and incredibly low moisture absorption, which make it a highly bio-inert material.

Please contact partners [at] polyspectra [dot] com to learn more about our options for medical devices and dental products.

Do you have a data sheet?

Absolutely!

Will polySpectra print a sample for me?

Yes, polySpectra offers a parts printing service. Please upload your .STL to https://parts.polyspectra.com/ for our team to review. In addition, we sell a number of small and very affordable demo parts on our shop.

What is the difference between COR Alpha and COR Black?

Mostly just the color. The elongation at break of COR Black is slightly lower than COR Alpha, but both materials have the same tensile strength, thermal properties, chemical resistance and Young’s modulus.

What is a typical exposure time for a model layer with COR?

The typical exposure time for a model layer with COR can vary depending on the specific printer and settings used. On most DLP & LCD printers that can be heated to 30-35 °C, the model layer doses of COR Alpha, COR Black, and COR Bio would be in the range of 100-300 mJ/cm2.

What is polySpectra’s phone number?

You can reach us at 510-390-9145. Please note that our office hours are from 9 AM to 5 PM PST, Monday through Friday.

How many burn layers are optimal?

The optimal number of burn layers can vary depending on the specific printer and settings used. However, a general guideline for printing COR at 100 micron layers would be to use 3 burn-in layers.

What solvent should I use?

Cyclic Olefin Resins are incredibly easy to clean, compared to most photopolymer resins.

Validated Cleaning Solvents:

  • polySpectra supaRinse is an advanced cleaning solution that guarantees the best thermomechanical performance of COR parts. supaRinse can be purchased here. supaRinse is currently only available directly from polySpectra.

Exploratory Cleaning Solvents:

  • Mineral spirits (for example Gamblin Gamsol or Klean Strip)
  • Weber Odorless Terpenoid
  • Hexanes
  • Isopropanol

What is the shelf life of COR?

For long-term storage, we recommend cold storage - which will provide a shelf life of at least 6 months at -20 °C. Read more about storage.

What is the difference between COR Alpha and COR Bio?

Both COR Alpha and COR Bio perform exceptionally well in a wide range of applications. COR Bio features a higher elongation at break, and is engineered to be a bio-inert and biocompatible material for healthcare applications that require harsh conditions, such as steam autoclave.

What is the post-curing process for polySpectra COR?

The validated production post-cure is in a vacuum oven at 175 C for 2 hours. waveCure is also a method of post-curing COR parts rapidly in a microwave, in as little as 3 minutes. Read more here: https://docs.polyspectra.com/print-cor/post-curing/

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