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Illustration: a freshly washed clear resin part lifted from the build plate on the workshop bench, fine surface detail catching the light
UK · POOLE · RESIN 3D PRINTING SERVICE
★★★★★ Rated 4.9 across 48 Google reviews

Resin 3D printing service (SLA) for detailed and clear parts

Fine detail, smooth surfaces and clear finishes, with the material chosen to suit the part. Engineer-reviewed quote in 2 hours, and resin orders start at £100.

What are you making?
A part that has to look rightDisplay models, figures and character parts, fine surface detail. A mould or a master patternA pattern to cast from, or a mould that has to release cleanly. Something that needs to be clearLight pipes, covers, lenses and see-through prototypes.

A UK resin 3D printing service, engineer-reviewed in Poole

Resin 3D printing, also called SLA or stereolithography, builds a part by curing liquid resin layer by layer rather than laying down melted filament. That is why it holds fine detail and comes off the plate with a smooth surface. Send the file or a photograph and an engineer will tell you whether resin is the right process for your part, or whether another process gets you there for less.

RELIABILITY
9,500+
parts shipped this year
SPEED
2 hrs
to an engineer-reviewed quote
JUDGEMENT
FDM too
so we can tell you when resin is the wrong answer

Parts shipped is a live figure from our own order record, updated daily. Reviews are the current Google rating for 3D Printing Express.

What resin 3D printing is used for

Resin earns its place when the surface and the detail are the point. It is used for parts that have to be looked at rather than hidden inside an assembly, for small components whose features are too fine to survive being drawn in melted plastic, for patterns and moulds that something else will be cast from, and for anything that needs to be see-through.

Detail and finishCrisp edges, readable text and a smooth surface straight off the plate, with far less of the layer texture you get from filament.
Small precise partsComponents where the features are small enough that a filament nozzle would round them off before they existed.
Clear partsCovers, light pipes and see-through prototypes, where you need to look into the part rather than at it.
Moulds and mastersPatterns to cast from and moulds that have to release cleanly, which is a job resin does properly.

What we have actually printed in resin

Not a capability list. These are jobs that came through the door, were quoted, printed here in resin and shipped.

  • Shoe mould prototypes for a footwear label, printed on an express turnaround while they iterated the design.
  • A clear cover, where the part had to be transparent and still fit.
  • Figure and character parts, where the detail was the whole reason for the job.
  • Board game pieces, small, repeated and needing to match each other.
  • Medals, where a flat filament finish would have shown.

We have not named the clients on this page. Some of this work is unreleased product, and we ask before we put anyone's name next to it.

Illustration: a group of small resin printed parts on a bench, a clear cover, a figure part and a set of game pieces

Resin or FDM: what the difference between resin and FDM 3D printing means for your part

We run both, so we have no reason to push you either way. This is the short version. If you want the full process comparison including SLS, we keep that on which 3D printing process.

What your part needsBetter routeWhy
A surface someone will look atResinResin cures in much finer layers, so the finish comes off the plate smooth instead of ribbed.
Fine features on a small partResinDetail survives at a scale where a filament nozzle would simply round it away.
To be transparentResinClear parts are a resin job. Filament will not give you a part you can see through.
A pattern or mould to cast fromResinA smooth, crisp master releases cleanly and does not print its own layer lines into whatever you cast.
A large structural componentFDMResin can print it, but it is not cost effective at that size. FDM gives you the same part for less money.
A functional bracket hidden inside an assemblyFDMNobody sees the finish, so you would be paying for a surface that does no work.
Dozens or hundreds of the same partBatch productionOnce quantity is the driver, the process choice changes and we quote the run rather than the part.

When resin is the wrong choice for a part

Large structural components. We can print them in resin. We usually tell you not to. At that size resin stops being cost effective and FDM gives you the same part for less, so unless the finish is genuinely doing a job, that is the call we will make with you.

Anything where the surface is invisible. If the part lives inside a housing, you are buying a finish nobody will ever see.

When you have not decided what the part is for yet. Send us the photo or the file first. An engineer looks at every enquiry before it is quoted, and telling you resin is the wrong process costs us a job and saves you money, which is why we would rather say it early.

How a resin job runs with us

1
Send the partA file, or a photograph if you do not have one. Tell us what the part is for and where it has to look right. Start here.
2
An engineer reviews itNot an instant algorithm. Someone looks at whether resin suits the part, and says so if it does not.
3
You get a quote in 2 hoursWith the process we recommend and the reason, so you can disagree with us.
4
We print, finish and shipPrinted here in Poole, washed and cured, then finished and sent out to anywhere in the UK.

From one part to a run of them

One part to prove a shape is a sensible place to start. When it is right and you need a hundred of them, the process choice changes, because what is sensible for one is rarely the cheapest route to a run. That is a different conversation and we would rather have it before you have paid for the first one.

Tell us the quantity you expect at the end, even roughly, and the quote will say whether resin still makes sense at that number or whether batch production gets you there for less.

Why send resin work here

  • We run FDM as well. A bureau that only sells resin has no reason to tell you resin is wrong for your part. We do, and we will.
  • A person reviews every enquiry. Not a calculator pricing a bounding box. You get the reason with the number.
  • Printed in-house, shipped UK-wide. Your resin work is printed on our own machines by the people who quoted it, not passed to a third party.
  • A written quote in 2 hours. Resin orders start at £100, and you will know the price before you commit to anything.
Illustration: a tray of identical small resin printed parts after washing, lined up on the workshop bench ready for finishing

Resin 3D printing FAQs

Resin 3D printing is used where the detail and the surface of the part matter. That means parts someone will actually look at, small components with features too fine to hold in melted filament, clear parts you need to see through, and masters and moulds that something else gets cast from. It is also called SLA, or stereolithography. If your part is large, structural or hidden inside an assembly, resin is usually the wrong process and we will tell you so.
FDM builds a part by laying down melted plastic filament in lines. Resin builds it by curing liquid resin in much finer layers. The practical difference is finish and detail: a resin part comes off the plate smooth and holds fine features, where an FDM part shows its layers and rounds off the smallest detail. FDM wins on cost, especially as parts get bigger. We run both processes, so the honest answer for your part depends on whether the surface is doing a job. The full comparison, including SLS, is on our which 3D printing process page.
Large structural components. We can print them in resin, but it stops being cost effective at that size and FDM gives you the same part for less money. The same goes for anything hidden inside an assembly, where you would be paying for a surface nobody sees. This is a cost judgement rather than a limit on what we can do, and an engineer will make it with you before you are quoted rather than after.
Yes, and it is one of the jobs resin does properly. A resin master is smooth and crisp, so it releases cleanly and does not print its own layer lines into whatever you cast from it. We have printed mould and pattern work in resin for a customer iterating a design, on an express turnaround. Tell us what you are casting into it when you send the enquiry, because that changes which material we choose for the job.
Size first, then how much of the machine and the operator your part takes up: a bigger part uses more material and more time, and awkward geometry needs more support and more finishing afterwards. How many you need matters too, because setup is shared across the run. Resin orders start at £100, which is our minimum, and an engineer prices the actual part rather than a calculator guessing at it. Send a photo or a file through the quote form and you will have a real price within 2 hours.
We do. 3D Printing Express is a UK resin 3D printing service based in Poole, Dorset, printing in-house and shipping nationwide. What separates us from a bureau that only sells resin is that we run FDM as well, so when resin is not the right answer for your part we can say so and still quote you the job. Every enquiry is reviewed by an engineer before it is priced, and you get that quote within 2 hours.
RESIN AND SLA · PRINTED IN POOLE · UK DELIVERY

Send us the part and we will tell you whether resin is right for it

A file, or a photograph if that is all you have. An engineer looks at it, tells you which process suits it and why, and you get a written price within 2 hours. Resin orders start at £100.

Send Your Part for a Quote in 2 Hours Ask If Resin Suits Your Part

Rather talk it through? Call 01202 618797.