{"id":164426,"date":"2022-02-18T10:45:25","date_gmt":"2022-02-18T02:45:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/facfox.com\/docs\/?post_type=kb&p=164426"},"modified":"2022-11-08T11:33:30","modified_gmt":"2022-11-08T03:33:30","slug":"what-is-material-jetting-3d-printing-simply-explained","status":"publish","type":"kb","link":"https:\/\/facfox.com\/docs\/kb\/what-is-material-jetting-3d-printing-simply-explained","title":{"rendered":"What Is Material Jetting? \u2013 3D Printing Simply Explained"},"content":{"rendered":"

Material jetting is a relatively new 3D printing technique that uses liquid photopolymer and UV light. Learn all about this speedy technology, including how it works, its pros and cons, and its ideal application areas.<\/p>\n

What Is It?<\/h3>\n
\"\"
Stratasys Objet100 Plus material jetting 3D printer Source: Javelin Technologies<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Material jetting (MJ) is one of the fastest and most accurate 3D printing technologies. It builds parts using liquid photopolymer droplets, which are cured (made solid) with UV light.<\/p>\n

Because the photopolymer resin is\u00a0sprayed in droplets before it\u2019s solidified,\u00a0MJ is often compared to the 2D\u00a0inkjet process. However, while inkjet printers deposit only a single layer of ink droplets, MJ builds layer upon layer until the part is finished.<\/p>\n

MJ is also quite similar to SLA since it uses a UV light\u00a0source to cure the resin. Here, the difference is that MJ 3D printers spray hundreds of tiny droplets at a time, while\u00a0SLA 3D printers<\/a>\u00a0hold an entire vat of resin, which is selectively (point-wise) cured by a laser.<\/p>\n

Line-Wise Deposition<\/strong><\/p>\n

Another aspect that makes MJ\u00a0unique is how material is deposited (and therefore cured). Essentially, MJ printers jet resin\u00a0from multiple print heads along an X-axis carrier, which\u00a0sweeps back and\u00a0forth across an evolving print. To help visualize the movement of the apparatus, think\u00a0of the light source in a\u00a02D scanner or the windshield wiper of a car.<\/p>\n

In contrast, the three most popular 3D printing technologies \u2014 FDM, SLA and SLS \u2014 deposit, cure, and sinter material in a pointwise fashion. For this reason, MJ is considered to be one of the fastest and most accurate 3D printing technologies.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Multiple print heads deposit droplets in an X-axis line, which scans back and forth along the Y-axis. Source: 3D Hubs<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the following sections, we\u2019ll take a closer look at how MJ works, what are its pros\u00a0and cons, and where it\u2019s being applied.<\/p>\n

How Does It Work?<\/h3>\n
\"\"
The various components of an MJ 3D printer. Source: 3D Hubs<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The main components of an MJ 3D printer are print heads, UV light sources, a build platform, and a material container. The print heads and the light sources are suspended along the same X-axis carriage.<\/p>\n

The printing process begins with pouring the resin into the material container. Just like SLA, MJ makes use of thermoset photopolymer resin, meaning it must heated\u00a0(to between 30 and 60 \u00b0C) in order to reach the appropriate viscosity.<\/p>\n

As the X-axis carriage starts to travel across the build platform, the print heads begin selectively jetting hundreds of tiny resin droplets. Following the print heads are the UV light sources, which immediately cure the sprayed resin. After an entire layer is completed, the build platform drops one layer in height and the process is repeated until the part is complete.<\/p>\n