The molding principle of PolyJet technology is somewhat similar to that of 3DP, but it is not an adhesive but a resin material that is sprayed. Although not as widely used as SLS or SLA, it still occupies an important position in the field of 3d printing process segmentation and is also an effective production tool. With the help of this technology, parts, prototypes and tooling with smooth surfaces and precise dimensions can be manufactured. This technology provides micro-layer resolution and accuracy as low as 0.1 mm, and can use a variety of materials suitable for any technology to create thin-walled and complex geometric structures. Its applications include:
1. Fine prototypes with smooth surfaces can be printed to show the beauty of the final product.
2. It can manufacture precise molds, drilling dies, fixtures and other manufacturing tools.
3. It can handle complex shapes and details and present delicate features.
4. Multi-color and material types can be applied to a single model together to improve efficiency.
working principle
PolyJet can be considered a close cousin of fused deposition technology. Like FDM, it works by using the extruder head to print parts one layer at a time. However, PolyJet does not use filaments to deposit materials on the printing bed, but works closer to 2D inkjet printing. The extruder deposits tiny droplets of the selected photopolymer material on the printing bed and then cures with UV light. .
Polyjet 3D printing can provide a naturally smooth surface quality, which means that additional grinding or polishing work during post-processing can be greatly reduced. On the other hand, polymer parts can be dyed and painted like SLS parts, which provides many options when creating unique finishes. Polyjet parts can also be glued when needed, which gives you the option of printing larger parts as separate components and then fixing them together.
Materials used
The polyJet technology generally uses resins instead of plastics used in other 3D printing methods. The most basic printers can only use one type of resin at a time, but more complex printers can combine multiple resins during the printing process, providing great flexibility in creating the unique appearance of the part, and even providing different areas of the same part. Independent material quality.
Polyjet resin has a variety of colors and properties, and the stiffness ranges from flexible and rubber-like (26-28 Shore D) materials (such as Objet TangoPlus) to more rigid materials (83-86 Shore D), such as Objet VeroClear. In addition, overmolding materials can be provided to add a layer of rubber-like material to harder parts. The visual effects can range from opaque to transparent, as well as pure black or white, and composite materials of different resins can also be provided to provide specific material quality.
Preparation before printing
When designing polyjet parts, please note the following useful guidelines:
1. Consider the support structure. Polyjet printing requires the support structure of all the overhangs, although these can be printed with special soluble materials, which can greatly speed up the removal speed in the post-processing process.
2. Balance layer thickness and speed. Although the polyjet can print layers as thin as 0.00063 inches, this will significantly reduce the printing speed. A reasonable balance needs to be struck between the level of detail of the part and the necessary production time.
3. Plan your material costs. Compared to other 3D printing materials, Polyjet resin is very dense, which means you need more resin to successfully print parts. So, be sure to consider the cost of supporting materials.
4. Consider your purpose. Multi-jet materials are not suitable for functional production parts, although as mentioned above, the technology is good at creating molds and patterns for other manufacturing techniques. If you are looking to create functional production parts, another SLS 3D printing method may serve you better.
Which file format is most suitable? Color multi-jet parts are usually captured in the familiar STL file format or Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) format. For STL files, colors are expressed as RGD codes, while VRML files provide many complex methods for applying colors, such as texture modeling. Although VRML files are not common in additive manufacturing, the flexibility of full-color printing makes them a useful enhancement for polyjet printing.
Although polyjet 3D printing is still not as extensive as other methods, it is the preferred technology to provide a more beautiful surface quality and level of detail~