3D Systems projet mjp 2500, User Manual, Page: 72 / 92

SHRINK COMPENSATION
Shrink Compensation for ProJet VisiJet® Materials
Material shrinkage occurs in thermosets as they transition from liquid state to solid state during the curing process.
The 3DSPRINT Client Software has features that allow the user to compensate for the natural shrinkage of the material in order to fine tune the accuracy of a
part.
These shrink compensation values serve as general guidelines to setting shrink compensation. Part building and cleaning in a controlled process will best
determine the optimal shrink compensation values for a particular geometry.
ProJet 2500 Default Shrink Compensation Values for all materials (as of 20150930) are as follows. New default values MAY be rolled out without software update
notification.
Material X Value Y Value Z Value
VisiJet® M2 RWT (Rigid White) 0.50% 0.50% 0.00%
VisiJet® M2 RCL (Rigid Clear) 0.50% 0.50% 0.00%
VisiJet® M2 RBK (Rigid Black) 0.50% 0.50% 0.00%
VisiJet® M2 EBK (Elastomeric Black) 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
VisiJet® M2 ENT (Elastomeric Natural) 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Identify the exact X and Y dimensions of the part using a CAD program.
Most CAD programs and simple .stl file viewers will provide a way to view a part with its dimensions.
Make note of the actual X and Y dimensions as XCAD and YCAD.
Build and clean the part and take measurements of the finished part.
It is recommended to measure along the critical dimensions of the geometry, take measurements in multiple areas and take an average of the values.
Measurements can be made using calipers or more advanced metrology methods.
Make note of the X and Y dimensions of the printed part and mark them as XPART and YPART.
NOTE: If the measurement of the finished part is different from the measurement of the CAD model, fine tune the accuracy using scaling
factors.
Determine the Scaling Factor to use for the next build
Use the following formula to calculate the scaling percentage to be used for fine tuning the build:
XCAD = XCAD x (1 + X Scaling Factor) x (XPART / (divided by) XCAD)
YCAD = XCAD x (1 + Y Scaling Factor) x (YPART / YCAD)
Therefore,
X Scaling Factor = (XCAD - XPART) / XCAD x 100 (answer will be a percentage)
Y Scaling Factor = (YCAD - YPART) / YCAD x 100 (answer will be a percentage)
Example:
X measurement of CAD model = 3.000"
Y measurement of CAD model = 5.000"
X measurement of printed part = 2.998"
Y measurement of printed part = 4.989"
X Scaling Factor = (3.000 - 2.998) / 2.998 x 100 = 0.067%
Y Scaling Factor = (5.00 - 4.989) / 4.989 x 100 = 0.22%
Applying Shrink Compensation Values
There are two ways (Methods A and B) to select or enter new custom Shrink Compensation for the job and one method (Method C) to deal with individual parts:
Method A
Enter standard Shrink Compensation Values for the material or entire print job.