New materials at Shapeways!
"On April 15th we will be retiring Frosted Detail and introducing Frosted Extreme Detail
What's happening? On April 15th we are:
• Introducing Frosted Extreme Detail (FXD), with a higher resolution than Frosted Ultra Detail (FUD)
• Retiring Frosted Detail (FD); FUD will remain unchanged
• Renaming the Detail Plastics materials Acrylic Plastics
Frosted Extreme Detail has a higher resolution than Frosted Ultra Detail, decreasing the layer height from 29 to 16 microns (the shorter the layer, the higher the resolution). While more expensive to produce, thinner layers means unprecedented detail and surface finish, sharper edges, less stepping, and stronger models. It’s perfect for the most demanding miniatures, figurines, and molds and masters for casting.
Frosted Detail is a fragile material that often breaks during 3D printing, requiring reprints that make the process costly and slow. Because it is printed enclosed in support material that is difficult to completely clean, it's also hard to give you the quality you deserve. Unfortunately, after trying hard to improve the process, we've decided to stop production and focus on better alternatives for you.
Finally, we are renaming Detail Plastic to help reinforce that it is stronger but less detailed than our Frosted Detail Plastic."
...So, maybe hold off on ordering a coin for a little while?
-MJ