An Inside Look at Binder Jetting 3D Printing
Binder jetting is an additive manufacturing or 3D printing process that creates objects by selectively depositing a liquid bonding agent onto layers of powder material. This bonding agent or “binder” fuses areas of powder together to form a solid part, layer by layer.
In this in-depth guide, we’ll explore how binder jetting works, its advantages, materials used, applications, and more. Read on to uncover this unique 3D printing technique that’s especially suitable for metal parts production.
Table of contents
· How Does Binder Jetting 3D Printing Work?
· Advantages of Binder Jetting 3D Printing
· Materials Used in Binder Jet 3D Printing
· Applications of Binder Jetting Additive Manufacturing
· The Future of Binder Jetting Additive Manufacturing
How Does Binder Jetting 3D Printing Work?
Video Source; voxeljet
The binder jetting process typically involves the following key steps:
- Powder Spreading– A roller or blade spreads a thin layer of powder material over the build platform. Common powders are metals, sand, ceramics etc.
- Binder Deposition– An inkjet print head moves over the powder bed to deposit droplets of a liquid bonding agent or binder at locations where the part will be formed.
- Layer Bonding and Solidification– The binder bonds the powder particles in selected areas to form a layer of the part.
- Lower Powder Bed and Repeat– The build platform is lowered, and more powder is spread over it. Steps 2–4 repeat until the part is completed.
- Curing and Sintering– After printing, the green part is cured and excess powder removed. The part may also undergo sinteringto improve strength.
This video shows binder jetting in action. As each layer is printed, the binder binds the powder particles together, while the surrounding powder supports the part.
Advantages of Binder Jetting 3D Printing
Advanced binder jetting 3D printer beginning the layering process on a fresh bed of powder.
Here are some major advantages of binder jetting additive manufacturing:
- High speed– Binder jet printers can work very fast with layer times under a minute. This makes it suitable for mass production.
- Wide material choices– A vast variety of powders work with binder jetting, including stainless steels, tool steels, titanium, nickel alloys, tungsten carbide etc.
- Good surface finish– The post-processing produces smooth surfaces. Certain binder-powder combinations facilitate super detailing and accuracy.
- Cost efficiency– It is a low waste process with unused powder being fully recyclable for the next print. Thus, binder jetting can be economical for batch production.
Materials Used in Binder Jet 3D Printing
Diagram illustrating the process of binder jetting 3D printing, showing the powder roller, inkjet printhead, liquid binder, and the powder bed with the object being printed.
As binder jetting involves selectively bonding powder particles, suitable powder-binder combinations are essential. Some materials used are:
Powders: Stainless steels, tool steels, Inconel, titanium, tungsten, copper, bronze etc. Ceramics like aluminum oxide, silica sand, zirconium are also used.
Binders: Water based binders with polymers like polyvinyl alcohol. Epoxy or furan resin based binders. Silica gels, phosphates, magnesium and zinc bridging liquids.
The specific materials selected will depend on part use and post-processing needs. The binder should facilitate sufficient interlayer bonding and sintering.
Applications of Binder Jetting Additive Manufacturing
The versatility of binder jetting makes it suitable for these applications:
- Metal part prototyping and production– It is used extensively to manufacture complex stainless steel, alloy steel, titanium and tungsten metal parts usually requiring minimal post-processing.
- Sand casting– Binder jet 3D printing is used to produce sand molds and cores for metal castings, directly eliminating the pattern making step.
- Ceramics manufacturing– Technical and decorative ceramic objects are produced using binder jetting of porcelain and silicon dioxide powders.
- Tooling and tool inserts– Durable metal tooling for injection molding or sheet metal forming is suitably and rapidly made by this technique.
In addition, binder jetting sees innovative usage in making sculptures, jewelry, dental implants and applications across aerospace, automotive and healthcare industries.
The Future of Binder Jetting Additive Manufacturing
Binder jetting is one of the fastest growing metal 3D printing methods. With increasing large-scale adoption across industries, further advancements and more affordable binder jetting systems are on the horizon.
Ongoing research is expanding material capabilities, precision and output strength to open more applications for this technology. Composite powders development will enable functionally graded components.
From rapid tooling to end-use metal and ceramic part production, binder jetting provides design freedom and economical solutions that position it as a key manufacturing process going forward.
Hopefully this has provided comprehensive insight into binder jetting additive manufacturing. Its unique use of liquid binders to selectively bond powders layer-by-layer offers exciting capabilities for current and future applications across many industries.
Let me know if you would like me to modify or add anything to this blog post on binder jetting 3D printing. I can update it based on your feedback.
This post is originally published at 3dprintjunction.com
We thank everybody who has been supporting our work and requests you check out 3dprintjunction.com for more such articles
