Bendy… AmeraLabs TGM-7 3D printing resin – let’s give it a review.
Hey guys, Every time I use a new resin, you’ve seen
me test it with the AmeraLabs Town Test print. So when AmeraLabs asked me to review their
TGM-7 resin, I was keen to give it a go. AmeraLabs are pitching this resin squarely
at tabletop gamers and there’s a valid reason for this. We all love our standard resin prints,
but they can be very brittle. Drop a 3D print and the chances are you’ll break a chunk
off it. This resin, however, is highly flexible – maybe
even unbreakable? But first we need to know if it will print.
AmeraLabs have an excellent library of printer settings and I was quickly able to find what
I was looking for and feed this information into my slicer of choice.
AmeraLabs claim this resin is high detail, so I opted for my Phrozen Sonic 4K to give
it the best chance of impressing me and, of course, I printed the Town Test print.
And impress me it did. The settings AmeraLabs provided seemed perfect for the job and the
details certainly seem to be there. I quickly got on with printing some miniatures
but I have to take issue with AmeraLabs at this point. They say “TGM-7 is one of the
FASTEST curing resins for LCD printers” and with my MonoChrome screen and a layer
time of 1.7 seconds you might think this is true. But look again.
These lifting speeds are quite slow and the lift height is higher than normal and that’s
to contend with the viscosity of this resin. It’s quite thick and heavy, so slowing things
down should prevent tears. So one of the fastest? I don’t think so.
It certainly sticks well to the build plate, which is always a good thing.
Washing is tricky though. Viscosity causes issues again as a quick dip in IPA doesn’t
do the job. You’ll really appreciate a wash and cure with this resin and even then, I
found a 4 minute cycle was needed instead of my usual 2 minute wash.
If you like tearing away the supports, firstly – tut tut – cut them away, you’ll get
better results. But secondly, tough luck. Being flexible, only the lightest supports
will break free with ease. It’s possible to pull away thick supports, but it gets tricky
and risks damage, so I’d stick with cutting. After another quick wash to remove IPA hidden
behind the supports, the prints are sticky to the touch. But a spin under the curing
lamp will sort that out nicely. Sanding is useful if you’re looking for
tip top results and this resin certainly sands nicely.
If you hadn’t already guessed, these miniatures are from our friends at Archvillain Games
and as always they’re packed with detail. Sure enough the resin holds plenty of detail.
I’m genuinely pleased with the results. However, I did run into trouble when trying
to print something a little bigger. As mentioned this resin is heavy and even
hollowed out and well supported, I found larger prints tended to tear themselves apart under
their own weight. Simply put, standard supports weren’t up to the job. On my third print
attempt, I really beefed up the supports, with a 2mm thickness and a 1mm tip in several
places. Fortunately, this extra strengthening did the job nicely, but it’s a valuable
thing to keep in mind. Heavy resins need heavier supports.
So it prints nicely, but how flexible is it? Well, very.
I daresay if you try to break it you’ll succeed, but in an accidental knock situation,
I think you’ll be safe. Tabletop miniatures and fancy chess pieces can be handled with
confidence with little worry of breakage. But just remember, the bent pieces have no
memory, so they’ll stay bent unless you straighten them back.
The flexibility of this resin got me wondering about other applications.
I found this buckle on Thingiverse and thought I’d see how well this stood up to the challenge.
Normal resins would likely snap quite quickly and PLA is probably a better option. But let’s
give it a try. Another use I considered was in mold making.
I’ve tried this a few times and snapped off the odd delicate piece when it was inconvenient.
But knowing your print won’t break would be a definite advantage.
So what else does AmeraLabs claim…? Low odour: Well this is a personal preference
thing. What one guy doesn’t mind another will find thoroughly stinky, but personally
whilst there’s an odour, I didn’t find it strong.
Compatible with most printers: Looking at this list, I’d have to say that was true.
Hard non-sticky paintable surface: I normally prime before painting, but here
I just went for it with Citadel Paints to test the theory. Ignoring the poor skills
of the painter, I think it performed pretty well.
So there’s only one other factor to consider and that’s price.
It has to be said, it’s not the cheapest resin out there. Yes it’s high detail, but
there’s cheaper resins that can match the printing quality for sure. However, this is
a speciality resin. It’s designed to bend and not break and so for that, I guess you’re
going to have to pay a little more. But if this is an issue you regularly face, such
as with tabletop gaming, it may well be worth it.
So, what are my thoughts on AmeraLabs TGM-7? I’m not sure I’d agree that it’s one
of the fastest printing resins out there, but I’ve not investigated this either as
frankly it’s not much of an issue to me. However, I have to agree with the rest of
AmeraLabs claims. So as long as you’re happy to give extra support if necessary and spend
a little longer than normal cleaning, then sure enough, it’s a tough, flexible, high-detailed,
low odour resin that won’t disappoint. So that’s it for this video guys. If you
have any questions, as always, let me know. Take care and thanks for watching.