27-Nov-21

Material Jetting Processes

Radha Raman Mishra, Ph. D.

Course Instructor & Assistant Professor
Department of Mechanical Engineering

This chapter

Introduction

Material Basic principles

Jetting
Process
Process and Technology

Benefits and Drawbacks

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Introduction

• AM technologies in which all of the part material is dispensed from a print head

• Liquid droplets of build material are selectively deposited and become solid via –
 cooling (e.g., by crystallization or vitrification),
 Chemical changes (e.g., cross-linking of a polymer), or
 Solvent evaporation

• Initially used for printing parts out of wax and polymers

• Most appropriate for concept modeling and investment casting patterns

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Ian Gibson, David W. Rosen, Brent Stucker, Additive manufacturing technologies: rapid prototyping to direct digital manufacturing Springer, 2010.

MJ Process

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Ian Gibson, David W. Rosen, Brent Stucker, Additive manufacturing technologies: rapid prototyping to direct digital manufacturing Springer, 2010.

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Material Processing Fundamentals

• Phase changes in existing printing technologies are –
 Solidification of a melted material (e.g., wax, solder),
 Evaporation of the liquid portion of a solution (e.g., some ceramic approaches)
 Curing of a photopolymer (e.g., Objet, ProJet machines)
 Other chemical reactions

• The phase change must occur either during droplet flight or soon after impact

• The time and place of this conversion will also affect –

 Droplet’s interaction with the substrate and
 Final deposition created

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Ian Gibson, David W. Rosen, Brent Stucker, Additive manufacturing technologies: rapid prototyping to direct digital manufacturing Springer, 2010.

Material Processing Fundamentals

Considering energy conservation during droplet generation mechanisms for printing –

losses due to the Energy needed to kinetic energy required

viscosity of the fluid form the free surface to propel the liquid

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Ian Gibson, David W. Rosen, Brent Stucker, Additive manufacturing technologies: rapid prototyping to direct digital manufacturing Springer, 2010.

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Droplet Formation Technologies

Can be categorized based on the possible modes of expulsion:

• Advantages: High throughput rate • Advantages:

 Smaller drop size
• Application: such as food and pharmaceutical
 High accuracy of drops placement
labeling
• Application: such as PCB board printing
• Constraints:
• Constraints:
 Materials must be able to carry a charge
 Time consumption is high
 Efficient waste management
 Control over drop formation
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Ian Gibson, David W. Rosen, Brent Stucker, Additive manufacturing technologies: rapid prototyping to direct digital manufacturing Springer, 2010.

Advantages of MJ

• Low cost

• High speed

• Scalability

• Ease of building parts in multiple materials

• Capability of printing colors

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Ian Gibson, David W. Rosen, Brent Stucker, Additive manufacturing technologies: rapid prototyping to direct digital manufacturing Springer, 2010.

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Technical challenges in MJ
• Formulation of the liquid material
• Droplet formation
• Control of the deposition of droplets –
 Droplet flight path
 Impact
 Substrate wetting or interaction
 Droplet velocity and size
• Control of the deposition of droplets on top of previously deposited layers

• Challenges in process planning (Nozzle clogging and droplet existing etc.)

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Ian Gibson, David W. Rosen, Brent Stucker, Additive manufacturing technologies: rapid prototyping to direct digital manufacturing Springer, 2010.

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