Within the MultiJet Printing materials portfolio, the 3D Systems VisiJet RWT-ENT-A50 Multi-Material Composites is not a single resin but a paired cartridge set. The order code combines VisiJet CE-NT, an elastomeric natural-translucent part material, with VisiJet CR-WT 200, a melt-away wax support. The trailing A50 designation is aligned with a target indentation hardness of 50 Shore A for the CE-NT part after post-processing, as measured under ASTM D2240-15. The support material is mechanically sacrificial and is formulated for the low-modulus CE-NT part rather than for rigid MJP photopolymers. The material set is intended for MultiJet Printing platforms that accept dual-material elastomer/wax cartridges, including the ProJet MJP 2500 Plus class of equipment. In this configuration, the wax and elastomer are jetted through separate printhead channels and cured by integrated ultraviolet exposure.

The CE-NT part material produces flexible, translucent sections with Shore A hardness in the 50 range. Candidate geometries include soft-touch grips, gaskets, bellows, sealing surfaces, flexible duct prototypes, and overmold-like covers. Because the material is translucent, optical clarity depends on wall thickness and internal stress distribution; abrupt cross-section changes can create visible stress-whitening and non-uniform light transmission. Parts produced from the A50 set should be evaluated as elastomeric structures, not as rigid acrylic or epoxy-like MJP components. The published mechanical data for CE-NT is generated from test prints produced on the recommended platform using the manufacturer’s defined print profile.

What mechanical test methods define the CE-NT and CR-WT 200 material pair?

CE-NT is characterized under tensile, tear, and indentation-resistance protocols. The primary standard for tensile strength and elongation is ASTM D638-14; tear strength is evaluated under ASTM D624-00, and hardness under ASTM D2240-15. Datasheet values for CE-NT typically place tensile strength in the low single-digit megapascal range, with elongation-at-break exceeding 200% and tear strength in the 15–20 kN/m range. The exact values depend on print orientation, wall thickness, post-processing temperature, and the age of the material cartridge. Published data for this specific RWT-ENT-A50 bundle configuration is limited to the manufacturer’s controlled material-profile dataset; users should verify properties on printed coupons at the intended orientation and layer thickness. The CR-WT 200 support is not rated for mechanical performance. Its functional properties are melt-removal temperature, ash or residue after removal, dimensional compatibility with CE-NT during thermal processing, and storage stability under ultraviolet-shielded conditions. The wax support is not a substitute for the VisiJet M2 SUP support system used with rigid M2R materials.

On a ProJet MJP 2500 Plus platform with a build envelope of 294 mm × 211 mm × 144 mm, the A50 set is installed as separate heated material cartridges. The printer’s resolution is specified as 800 dpi × 900 dpi in the X/Y plane, with a native Z-resolution of 790 dpi and a layer thickness on the order of 32 µm for fine-profile rigid materials. The CE-NT profile may use a different layer height selected automatically by the printer firmware. Build chamber temperature, printhead temperature, and ultraviolet output are controlled by the machine profile and are not user-adjustable. Because CE-NT is a soft elastomer, ejection forces during part removal can induce local deformation. Operators should allow the build tray to reach the prescribed removal temperature before separating parts from the wax mass. Cartridge handling should minimize exposure to ambient ultraviolet lighting and moisture; the wax support is sensitive to prolonged temperatures above its storage specification. The manufacturer’s cartridge shelf-life and storage temperature limits should be followed to avoid viscosity drift and jetting channel blockage.

Material handling and compliance boundaries for the A50 set are governed by the safety data sheets and the printer manufacturer’s cartridge lifecycle documentation. Unprocessed CE-NT and CR-WT 200 should be stored in shielded containers at temperatures within the manufacturer’s range, typically between 15 °C and 30 °C, and should not be returned to production after exposure below recommended minimum transport temperatures. Part material that exhibits gelation, separation, or color shift should be rejected. The support wax can settle if stored motionless for extended periods; cartridge agitation may be specified but should follow the manufacturer’s cartridge preparation procedure. In mixed-material machine cells, cross-contamination between the wax support and M2 SUP support can be detected by melt-point shift or by residue accumulation in post-processing baths. Industrial material declarations may reference RoHS 2011/65/EU and REACH 1907/2006; the user must verify that the specific lot carries the required declaration for the target market. The uncured material is not rated for food-contact end use, and users requiring medical, food-contact, or skin-contact compliance must verify the final printed article under application-specific regulations such as ISO 10993-5 or FDA 21 CFR 175.300 as applicable. The base MJP material declarations generally support industrial use; they do not automatically confer end-use medical-grade status.

Support removal, dimensional recovery, and solvent incompatibility

CR-WT 200 is removed by thermal melt-out and not by manual breakout in the RWT-ENT-A50 workflow. The recommended post-processing sequence typically begins with a heated oven or wax-removal unit set below 60 °C, followed by a warm ultrasonic bath using a process oil or aqueous detergent specified by the printer manufacturer. The required dwell time is influenced by part cross-section, support mass, and the density of internal channels. Thick elastomeric sections with embedded support retain heat differently than thin walls and may require staged heating to prevent localized swelling or surface marring. CE-NT parts can recover as-printed dimensions after support removal if thermal exposure is controlled; however, parts that are stretched or scraped during warm-wax extraction may retain residual strain. Solvent cleaning should avoid ketone-based and chlorinated solvents, which can swell the low-crosslink-density elastomer. Alcohol-based surface cleaning may be used only after verification on a non-critical part. The support removal equipment must be dedicated or thoroughly cleaned because wax carryover into other post-processing tanks can change bath surface tension and contaminate rigid MJP parts in mixed-production cells.

Comparative property data for the A50 elastomer and a representative rigid MJP material are shown in Table 1. The ranges are based on published datasheet values and test coupons printed under default manufacturer profiles.

Design rules for the A50 elastomeric grade follow from the low tensile modulus and Shore A 50 hardness. Snap-fit tabs, press-fitting pins, threaded bosses, and self-tapping screw features that perform adequately in rigid M2R-WT frequently fail or loosen when produced in CE-NT because the material deforms at lower insertion force and does not retain thread engagement in the same manner. Thin sections below approximately 1 mm may collapse or deform under their own mass unless supported by the wax during printing and post-processing. Sharp internal corners and notches concentrate tear energy; tear strength under ASTM D624-00 becomes a more relevant design limit than tensile strength in such geometries. Multi-cycle flexural fatigue performance of CE-NT is not fully covered by published datasheets. Users intending dynamic flexing or repetitive compression should run production-like coupon tests under the intended displacement or force control. Continuous exposure to hot water, steam, or polar solvents above ambient temperature should be avoided because the elastomer matrix has lower thermal and hydrolytic stability than rigid MJP grades.

Build orientation directly affects mechanical anisotropy in CE-NT. Parts built with tensile axes parallel to the X/Y plane typically show higher elongation and tear resistance than parts built perpendicular to the print plane, because interlayer interfaces function as weak planes for tear propagation. Supports are more difficult to remove from downward-facing surfaces; operators should design sacrificial surfaces and orient critical sealing faces away from the support-prone side. The tear energy required to propagate a crack along a layer interface may be below the bulk tear strength measured on standard dogbones. Published data for this specific configuration is limited; orientation-specific testing under ASTM D624-00 is required for critical applications. The wax support’s thermal expansion can create differential stress during the melt-out stage if large elastomeric pads are surrounded by confined wax reservoirs. A staged thermal ramp rather than direct immersion into a preheated bath is used in some production cells to reduce warpage.

Under continuous production, the CE-NT and CR-WT 200 combination introduces operational failure modes not seen with rigid MJP materials. The most frequently reported issues are wax entrapment inside blind elastomeric channels and localized wall collapse during heated support removal. Blind channels without a drainage path can retain wax even after the standard melt-out cycle because the low modulus of CE-NT does not permit aggressive manual wax removal without surface damage. Production layouts should provide multiple melt-out openings and avoid fully enclosed hollow volumes unless the part is intended to be cut open. Ultrasonic tanks with high cavitation intensity can erode the outer skin of thin elastomer walls; this is more pronounced when the bath is operated above the manufacturer’s recommended temperature range. Mixed-lot parts that combine thick and thin sections in one basket may experience non-uniform cleaning because the thick sections shadow the thin sections from cavitation.

Incoming lot validation for the A50 set should include a fixed build job containing horizontal and vertical tensile specimens. Horizontal and vertical specimens can detect orientation-dependent strength loss before production parts are committed. For each lot, the Shore A hardness under ASTM D2240-15 should remain within the manufacturer’s acceptance band around 50; excursions above the upper bound may indicate premature crosslinking, while excursions below the lower bound may indicate incomplete cure or contamination. The CR-WT 200 support lot can be evaluated for melt-out time and residue mass using a standardized coupon block. Increases in melt-out time beyond the established control limit can indicate batch-to-batch variation or moisture intrusion.

When the A50 composite set replaces rigid MJP materials, the failure modes shift from brittle fracture to tear-driven rupture

The operational difference between the A50 composite set and rigid MJP materials is not limited to hardness. A rigid VisiJet M2R-WT part under ASTM D638-14 typically fails at low elongation with a brittle or semi-brittle fracture surface. In contrast, a CE-NT part reaches large strains before rupture, and the dominant design failure is usually tear propagation from a notch or surface defect. This shift in failure mode means that fillet radii, gate vestige removal, and surface scoring from post-processing tools have a greater effect on CE-NT part life than on rigid MJP components. Support selection is equally distinct: the CR-WT 200 wax in the A50 set is matched to the CE-NT elastomer’s thermal expansion and surface energy, whereas the M2 SUP support used with M2R rigid materials is not validated for the elastomer/wax build profile. Attempting to interchange support cartridges can produce jetting anomalies, poor layer coalescence, and difficult support removal. In low-volume production of soft grippers or sealing prototypes, the A50 set can replace cast silicone tooling for form-and-fit evaluation, but it does not replicate the long-term dynamic properties of compression-molded silicone elastomers. Direct substitution of compression-molded Shore A 50 silicone parts without verification is not recommended because crosslink density, filler content, and strain-rate response differ from the photopolymer network.

For sealing components in automated equipment, compression set testing under ASTM D395 or comparable methods is performed on production-run coupons after conditioning. Published data for this specific configuration is limited, and part performance varies with print orientation, post-processing history, and section thickness. Coupons should be printed at the intended production orientation and section thickness rather than as isolated test slabs, because wall thickness and interlayer boundaries influence compressive recovery. The measured compression set and Shore A 50 hardness are then applied as acceptance limits for the specific seal geometry and operating temperature.