Professional resin users know a speed hack. In the world of 3D printing, speed is often the biggest bottleneck. While we can't speed up the chemical reaction of resin curing, we can change the workflow. The real "hack" is knowing that increasing layer height does not proportionally increase exposure time.
Curing a 100um layer doesn't take twice as long as curing a 50um layer. It might only take 20-30% longer. This means by doubling your layer height, you almost halve your total print time. You're cutting out half the mechanical movements—the lifts, the retracts, the pauses—that consume the majority of the clock.
Many of our pro users have already caught on, standardizing their "draft" or "production" prints at 80um, 100um, or even 120um.
But this is where most resins hit a wall.
The 150um "Wall"
There's a hard limit to this trick. To cure a thick layer, UV light must penetrate all the way to the bottom. For most resins, especially those with dark or opaque pigments, the light gets blocked. The resin at the top of the layer cures, but the bottom half remains jelly, leading to delamination, print failures, and a mess.
For the vast majority of resins on the market, pushing past 150um is simply not reliable.
Push the Envelope with Magna Durable Clear
This is where Magna Durable Clear changes the game!
For those who want to push the envelope on speed—not just for prototypes, but for production—we developed an engineering resin that can be printed reliably at 200um layer heights.
Let's be clear: this isn't a brittle "draft" resin. It's an engineering-grade material that is amazingly tough, with high impact resistance and excellent tensile and flexural strength. It's a resin you can use for functional, load-bearing parts.
Magna Durable Clear Resin - Engineered for Toughness
Printing at 200um instead of the standard 50um means 75% fewer layers. When you factor in the massive reduction in lift cycles, you can cut total print times by as much as 70%.
Real-World Speed: A Case Study
We put Magna Durable Clear to the test with a complex engineering part. (This example uses the Anycubic M7 Max)
- At 50um layer height: This part took a staggering 14 hours to print.
- At 200um layer height with Magna Durable Clear: The exact same part finished in just 4 hours!
That's an incredible ~71.43% reduction in print time, giving you almost four times the throughput. Imagine what that does for your production schedule or your ability to iterate on designs quickly.
Why "Clear" is the Key to Speed
How is this possible? The secret is in the "Clear."
Because Magna Durable Clear is optically clear, it allows for deep and powerful UV light penetration. It doesn't have pigments to block the light, allowing a single exposure to successfully cure a massive 200um layer from top to bottom. (200um printing effect 👇 )
This clarity also gives you two other advantages:
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See-Thru Parts: While prints will have a natural translucent finish from layer lines, they can be clear-coated to achieve a glass-like transparency.
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Custom Coloring: It's a perfect neutral base to add your own pigments and create any custom color you need.
A Quick Note: Adding pigments will, of course, begin to block UV light. If you add color, you will need to increase your exposure time and will likely lose the ability to print at 200um. The "speed hack" is most effective with the resin in its clear state.
Strength Meets Speed for Production
Speed is useless if the final part is weak. Magna Durable Clear was built to be a workhorse. It's tough enough to be drilled and tapped, and it even features excellent anti-scratch ability, making it perfect for parts that need to look good even after handling.
When you combine this level of toughness with a 70% reduction in print time—all at a price that's affordable for mass production—Magna Durable Clear isn't just a prototyping resin. It's a production solution.
If you're a print farm, an engineering shop, or a creator who is tired of waiting, it's time to stop printing at 50um.
Stop waiting. Start producing.