Additive Manufacturing: Material Jetting and Binder Jetting
Both material jetting and binder jetting are similar additive manufacturing techniques which involve using a nozzle to deposit the printed material. Much in the same way a two-dimensional ink jet printer does, these methods jet the material onto a build platform as the nozzle moves horizontally. But whereas material jetting simply deposits the material layer by layer, binder jetting alternates materials when putting down layers, using a binder to fuse the part together.
Because of the way of depositing the material, which depends on the viscosity of the material, material jetting is limited to polymers and waxes. Once deposited, the layers are typically cured or hardened using UV light. Material jetting can be done continuously, or using the drop on demand (DOD) method. This method has high accuracy with little waste, and can alternate materials or colors within a single final product, but is limited in the materials available for use.
Binder jetting functions in much the same way, differing mainly in the materials used. The final product is composed of a powder based material, held together by a binder. The print head moves horizontally, depositing alternating layers of the build and binding materials. Because of this, parts are not often suited for structural applications, but they can be made with a range of materials - metals, ceramics, and polymers - in a variety of combinations, and it is typically a faster method. Binder jetting, copyrighted under the name 3DP, also has the capability of printing very large parts. Post processing is often required to strengthen finished parts.
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