A new multimaterial SLA concept from Polysynth swaps colors without extra wash steps, using a fast spin to clear uncured resin.
If multimaterial 3D printing has been mostly a story for filament machines, a new SLA approach is trying to change that narrative—by making a resin printer handle multiple materials using a spinning cleanup cycle.
For the last few years. companies have competed to showcase multi-material filament deposition printers. pushing features like tool swapping and material-changing systems so makers can produce multi-colored plastic objects.. In home resin printing. however. multimaterial capability hasn’t been as straightforward—until now. according to a concept coming from a company called Polysynth. led by Eric.
Polysynth’s key idea is that the printer doesn’t rely on a single resin tank.. Instead, it uses a carousel holding up to eight small, circular resin vats.. That setup is designed to make alternating between different resins practical within the same overall build process. letting a single part be formed from multiple resin types.
The challenge with moving between resins is contamination: uncured resin carryover could spoil details and blur the material boundaries.. To address that without adding a traditional wash vat that would slow everything down. the system cleanses the build between alternating dips using centrifugal force.. The printer spins the part at very high speed to fling uncured resin outward and away from where it needs to stay controlled.
Where the approach gets genuinely difficult is not removing resin. but stopping the spinning phase at the exact orientation the part started with.. The report describes the goal as holding alignment within a few microns. because even a small rotational mismatch could affect layer placement and surface finish.
To achieve that precise stop, Eric’s design uses a kinematic linkage paired with a servo to lock the spinning portion back into place. A demonstration video reportedly shows that the mechanism can return the part to the correct orientation reliably enough for multimaterial printing.
Beyond color and material variation, the concept also highlights a resin suitable for conductive, fully printed multilayer PCBs.. If that capability translates from demo to repeatable production. the implications for rapid prototyping could be significant—especially for workflows that can’t easily wait on parts shipped from overseas fabrication services.
The report also points to dental as a promising application area. In this framing, printing gums and teeth of denture sets in one solid go could appeal to dental users who prioritize turnaround time and simplified production steps.
However, there’s a practical ceiling to the excitement: it’s early days, and the machines aren’t available for purchase yet. Because this is positioned as a commercial product, anyone hoping to build from scratch would need to start from the ground up rather than relying on off-the-shelf kits.
For makers who are still deciding whether to invest in multimaterial capability. the report notes that building a home resin printer yourself remains an option. and it even suggests trying the spinning trick if you go that route.. The underlying message is simple: even if a full commercial system isn’t accessible yet. the physics-based cleanup idea could be adapted by experimenters looking for faster resin transitions.
What comes next will likely hinge on reproducibility and usability.. Multimaterial SLA printing only becomes truly valuable when the timing. cleaning. and alignment are consistent enough for complex parts—not just a successful demonstration—so the next milestones will be less about proving the concept works and more about making it dependable for everyday workflows.
multimaterial SLA printer Polysynth resin tanks resin 3D printing conductive resin PCBs dental 3D printing