Material Jetting is one of the standard 3D printing technologies that has scope and design pattern suitable for desktop version of 3D printers like industrial 3D printers. The technology manufactures a 3D part in the same way that an inkjet printer prints a two-dimensional image. The 3D model is built on a target surface onto which droplets or continuous fluids of the building material are dropped layer by layer and each layer is then cured with ultraviolet radiation to solidify it. The term “Drop on Demand” is used to refer to the drop-by-drop manufacturing of the 3D model in the context of technology.
A typical device for 3D printing by jetting material has a print head made up of two nozzles and a UV source. One nozzle is used to blast the construction material while another nozzle is used to blast the support material. The support material is not part of the model, but is often deposited along the build material to keep the model in a fixed orientation while it is 3D printed. Both the building material and the supporting material are deposited on a platform, layer by layer. The support structure is constructed from material choices that can be removed after the model is finished manufacturing. Thus, the printer head deposits a computer-controlled sequence of build material as well as support material, layer by layer, while the UV source directs radiation to the immediately deposited droplet of material (whether build or support) to solidify it with the adjacent drop. Once the model is finished, it is allowed to cool and harden. Later, the support structures are scraped off.
The main advantage of using the material blasting process is the speed and high precision in creating the model. High-level precision is obvious due to dropwise deposition and immediate hardening. The process allows different colors of material to be incorporated into a single part and multiple parts can be formed on the same platform at the same time. However, the process can only be used to make 3D parts from plastics and waxes. Therefore, the choice of material is limited by the Material Blasting Process. Polymers commonly used in blasting materials are Polypropylene, Polystyrene (PS), Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), Polyamide (PA), Polycarbonate (PC), High Impact Polystyrene (HIPS), High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) and Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA).
Some examples of material jet 3D printers are Objet 30 Pro, Objet 24, Objet Eden 260V, Objet Eden 500V, Objet Eden 350/350 V, Objet 260 Connex, Objet 500 Connex, Objet 350 Connex and Objet 1000.
In the final article of this series, Sheet Lamination Process for 3D Printing will be discussed.
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