Bio-resins for 3D printing

01Overview and value chain#

Markers EC: EU REACH substance registration | OECD: Bio-based materials | Regulator: REACH (EU)

Bio-resins for 3D printing replace part of the petrochemical acrylate content in UV-curable photopolymer resin with soybean oil or other plant-derived feedstock, targeting the SLA, DLP and LCD/MSLA resin-printing segment where conventional resins are criticized for strong odor and VOC content. Every producer confirmed here discloses a partial rather than complete bio-based content — Photocentric’s Rigid DL240 and UV240 lines specify 50% plant-based material, and broader market coverage of Anycubic’s formulation cites roughly 45% soybean oil — making “plant-based” a partial-substitution claim rather than a fully biodegradable or fully renewable material, distinct from how bio-based framing works in some other materials categories on this site. The category’s commercial driver is primarily user-facing: lower odor and reduced VOC exposure during printing, particularly relevant for hobbyist and small-workshop users printing indoors, rather than a downstream biodegradability or composting claim about the finished printed part.

The key directions of bio-resins for 3D printing are:

1. General-purpose plant-based UV resins: soybean-oil-substituted standard resin formulations marketed primarily on lower odor and reduced VOC exposure, compatible with mainstream consumer LCD/MSLA printers.
2. Rigid and engineering-grade plant-based resins: higher-performance formulations targeting dimensional accuracy and surface finish for prototyping and dental-model applications, carrying the same partial plant-based content as general-purpose lines.
3. Recyclable and biobased photopolymer research-to-product formulations: resin lines explicitly framed around recyclability alongside bio-based content, addressing end-of-life alongside the odor and VOC improvements that drove initial adoption.
4. Biocompatible resin lines adjacent to plant-based formulation: medical and dental-grade biocompatible resins (non-cytotoxic, autoclavable) offered by the same producers alongside their plant-based general-purpose lines, a related but distinct product category sharing manufacturing infrastructure.

Sectoral value chain#

[Plant Oil Feedstock Sourcing] ──> [Acrylate Modification] ──> [Resin Formulation & Bottling] ──> [Retail & Direct Sale]
                                            │
                                    (Print Performance & Odor Testing)
                                            │
                                            ▼
                                    [Consumer/Prosumer 3D Printing]

Value chain levels#

Cross-cutting technologies of the sector:

• Epoxidized soybean oil acrylation: the dominant chemical route for converting plant oil into a UV-curable acrylate component, the shared underlying chemistry across most producers in this category regardless of brand.
• Partial bio-based content disclosure: producers specifying a percentage (45-50% in confirmed cases) rather than claiming full bio-based or biodegradable status, reflecting the genuine chemistry limit of current plant-oil-acrylate substitution.
• Cross-printer compatibility formulation: engineering plant-based resins to work across multiple printer brands (Elegoo, Anycubic, Phrozen, Creality) rather than a single proprietary hardware ecosystem, since most producers in this category sell resin independent of a captive printer platform.

02US#

The United States hosts a resin specialist producing plant-based formulations engineered for cross-compatibility with the major consumer 3D-printer brands.

Cross-compatible plant-based resin from a US specialist#

• Siraya Tech: produces Easy Plant-Based Resin, a soy-derived formulation engineered for compatibility across Elegoo, Anycubic, Phrozen and Creality printers, marketed on reduced VOCs, low odor and BPA-free safety alongside its conventional engineering-grade resin lines (Blu Tough, Blu Lava).

03CN#

China hosts a major consumer 3D-printer manufacturer selling a dedicated plant-based resin line as part of its broader hardware and materials catalog.

Plant-based UV resin from a major consumer 3D-printer manufacturer#

• Anycubic: sells Plant-Based UV Resin 2.0, a soybean-oil-substituted formulation (roughly 45% plant-based per market coverage) marketed on low odor, high toughness and precision printing, sold in bulk multi-bottle formats alongside its printer hardware line.

04EU#

Europe hosts a producer spanning general-purpose plant-based resin research-to-market formulations alongside a broader biocompatible resin catalog.

Recyclable bio-based photopolymer resin#

• Liqcreate: produces recyclable, biobased UV-curable photopolymer resin lines alongside a broader biocompatible resin catalog (Bio-Med Clear, Bio-Med Flex) for medical and biomedical 3D-printing applications, based in the Netherlands.

Photocentric (UK) is a fourth confirmed producer that falls outside the US/CN/EU section structure (UK-headquartered, outside the EU post-Brexit): it produces Rigid DL240 and UV240 plant-based resins (50% plant-based content) targeting fast prototyping and dental-model production, alongside a Durable DL902 plant-based resin for daylight-curing systems. It is carried in the Leading Companies table below.

05Leading companies and research institutes#

06Tech stack and innovations#

The stack centers on a single dominant chemical route — epoxidized soybean oil acrylation — with the main points of differentiation being disclosed bio-based percentage, cross-printer compatibility engineering and application-specific performance grade.

1. Epoxidized Soybean Oil Acrylation as the Shared Route:
   • Converting plant oil (predominantly soybean) into a UV-curable acrylate component through epoxidation and acrylation is the chemistry underlying most plant-based resins in this category, regardless of brand.
   • This shared chemical route is why disclosed bio-based content clusters around 45-50% across independently confirmed producers — it reflects a genuine current ceiling on plant-oil-acrylate substitution rather than differing formulation ambition between producers.
2. Cross-Printer Compatibility as a Business-Model Choice:
   • Siraya Tech’s Easy Plant-Based Resin and similar formulations are explicitly engineered to work across competing printer brands (Elegoo, Anycubic, Phrozen, Creality) rather than being locked to a single proprietary hardware platform.
   • This is a deliberate business-model choice distinct from a hardware manufacturer like Anycubic, which sells its plant-based resin alongside its own printers but still markets cross-compatibility as a feature rather than restricting the resin to its own hardware.
3. Application-Specific Performance Grades Layered on the Same Base Chemistry:
   • Photocentric’s Rigid DL240/UV240 (dental and prototyping) and Durable DL902 (daylight-curing systems) apply the same plant-based acrylate chemistry to different target applications through formulation-level engineering rather than a different base feedstock.
   • This is why evaluating a “plant-based resin” claim requires checking the specific product’s target application and mechanical grade — the underlying bio-based chemistry is similar, but the finished-part performance characteristics differ substantially by formulation.

07Value chains and production pipelines#

Industrial pipeline of a bio-resins-3d-printing product line#

┌───────────────────────────┐      ┌───────────────────────────┐
│ 1. Plant Oil Sourcing      │ ───> │ 2. Acrylate Modification   │
└───────────────────────────┘      └───────────────────────────┘
                                                 │
                                                 ▼
┌───────────────────────────┐      ┌───────────────────────────┐
│ 4. Performance/Odor Testing│ <─── │ 3. Formulation & Bottling  │
└───────────────────────────┘      └───────────────────────────┘
              │
              ▼
┌───────────────────────────┐      ┌───────────────────────────┐
│ 5. Retail & Direct Sale    │ ───> │ 6. Consumer/Prosumer Print │
└───────────────────────────┘      └───────────────────────────┘

Stage 1: Plant oil feedstock sourcing

Soybean oil or other plant-derived oil is sourced as the bio-based feedstock component, setting the formulation’s bio-based content ceiling before chemical modification begins.

Stage 2: Acrylate modification

The plant oil is chemically modified (epoxidized and acrylated) into a UV-curable acrylate component compatible with standard photopolymer resin chemistry.

Stage 3: Resin formulation and bottling

The bio-based acrylate is compounded with remaining petrochemical components, photoinitiators and pigments into a working resin formula, then bottled for retail, the stage where producers diverge in bio-based percentage and application-specific additives.

Stage 4: Print performance and odor testing

The finished resin is tested for print accuracy, mechanical properties and odor/VOC profile against conventional resin benchmarks, substantiating the specific performance and odor-reduction claims each producer publishes.

Stage 5: Retail and direct sale

Tested resin is sold through 3D-printing hobbyist retail, printer-manufacturer bundling or direct-to-consumer e-commerce, competing on disclosed bio-based percentage, odor reduction and cross-printer compatibility.

Stage 6: Consumer/prosumer 3D printing

The resin is used in an LCD/MSLA, DLP or SLA printer to produce finished printed parts, the stage where the printing user directly experiences the odor and VOC reduction that is this category’s primary commercial claim.