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RadTech Europe 2005 Conference & Exhibition

Ink-Jet 3D Printing of Photopolymers Materials: An Emerging Rapid

Prototyping Technology

Eduardo Napadensky, Objet Geometries Ltd., Israel

Abstract:

3D printing using UV curable compositions is an emerging technology developed and perfected at

Objet Geometries Ltd, which combines Ink-jet and UV-Curing technologies to build 3-dimensional
objects directly from CAD (Computerized Aided Design) data. This technology being far less
expensive than traditional rapid prototyping technologies is also office-oriented and has high accuracy
(+/- 200 microns). Advances in 3D printing and UV curing technologies today enable the use of
materials with mechanical properties ranging from hard and tough to flexible and elastomer-like.

Introduction

It is well known that UV-curing technology enables the transformation of certain liquid compositions
into solids, as, for example, in applications such as UV curable-coatings, adhesives and inks. Less
well known is the fact that in recent decades UV-curing technology has been adopted jointly with
digital technologies, to provide a manufacturing or prototyping technology for real 3-dimensional
objects.

In the 1980’s and beginning of the 90’s, a number of new rapid prototyping technologies emerged.
These technologies combined UV-curing technology and CAD data, to enable the manufacture of 3-
dimensional objects, however with relatively limited success. Although they produced 3-dimensional
objects directly from CAD data, they failed in that they proved to be too expensive, too complicated
and relatively slow in building bulky objects or with varying and complex geometries.

Apart from UV-curing, these rapid prototyping technologies have in common the use of an additive
building process, in which the 3-dimensional object is built by repeated addition of material. This is in
contrast to the more standard subtractive technologies, e.g., CNC (Computer Numerical Control),
where the 3-dimensional object is produced by calculated removal of material from a block of raw
material (Figure 1).

The new rapid prototyping technologies manipulate and “slice” the CAD data of a 3-dimensional object
into a set of virtual layers (Figure 2); the thinner the layers, the more accurate the 3-dimensional
object representation. According to the resulting 3-dimensional representation, the object is built by a
process of building each layer separately, one on top of the other.

In Stereolithography (SLA) and Solid Ground Curing (SGC) technologies, each layer is built by
provision of a fresh layer of UV-curable material and its selective curing according to the data of each
virtual “slice”. In SLA, curing is achieved by selective laser irradiation of each layer of fluid material,
while in SGC each layer was irradiated via a mask, where each mask delineates a new, successive
layer.
 RadTech Europe 2005 Conference & Exhibition

Figure 1: Additive v/s Subtractive manufacturing processes

A wall as an example of a product A sculpture as an example of a product

produced by an additive process produced by a subtractive process

Figure 2: CAD data transformation into slices

Representation of a 3-
dimensional ball as an The ball divided into a set of
example of the original CAD thin slices as an example of
file the “slicing” process

By the mid 90’s, however, inkjet-printing technology was being exploited in the development of
relatively low cost and simple systems (Thermal Phase Change technology). The disadvantage of
these early systems was the relatively low accuracy of the objects built and the very poor mechanical
properties of the wax-type materials used.

PolyJet Technology

By the end of the 90’s, PolyJet, a new technology developed by Objet Geometries Ltd., had emerged
and for the very first time enabled not only the building of 3-dimensional objects directly from CAD
data, but also a very easy, straightforward and cost-effective process for their construction.

When comparing PolyJet technology to traditional rapid prototyping technologies such as SLA and
SGC, it is immediately apparent that the approach adopted by PolyJet is completely different to that
used in SLA and SGC:

• In PolyJet technology, 3-dimensional objects are built by selective deposition of UV-curable

compositions only where required and the compositions are cured in their entirety immediately
after deposition, by exposure to UV radiation from a bulb source. This is a significant
advantage for PolyJet, since upon completion of the building process of an object, all the resin
is cured and thus the user is not exposed to any uncured resin.

• In contrast, in Stereolithography for example, the building process results in an object

immersed in a bath of non-cured resin, with the risk of the user’s exposure to uncured resin
(Figure 3).
 RadTech Europe 2005 Conference & Exhibition

Figure 3: The result of building an object using SLA and PolyJet

SLA- The object is immersed into non-cured PolyJet- All the deposited resin (model and
resin support) is cured

Alternatively, when comparing PolyJet technology to Thermal Phase Change ink-jet systems:

• PolyJet uses UV-curable liquid compositions that are transformed after curing into sturdy,
high-quality materials, instead of relatively fragile wax-type materials in Thermal Phase
Change systems.
• In addition, PolyJet uses 2 different materials in the building process instead of only one. The
result is a significant improvement in object accuracy and surface quality.

PolyJet Process

PolyJet systems work very similarly to standard 2-dimensional printing systems. Two UV curable
materials are used: one mainly for the building of the object (model resin) and one mainly for the
building of undercut areas (support resin). Immediately after resin deposition, the newly deposited
resin is briefly exposed to UV radiation before a subsequent layer of resin is deposited. At the end of
the building process, the cured support resin is removed using a standard water jet.

Figure 4 schematically shows the main elements of Stereolithography, Solid Ground Curing, Ink-Jet
Thermal Phase Change and PolyJet.

Today PolyJet enables the building of 3-dimensional objects directly from CAD data, in a swift, simple
and cost-effective process and without the necessity of tooling.

Figure 4: Comparison of different rapid prototyping technologies

Particle
UV light source collector
Z stage X-Y
elevator Stage
Liquid UV
curable resin
surface
Milling
head Object &
Object Support
being materials
formed

Stereolithography Phase Change

 RadTech Europe 2005 Conference & Exhibition

Photopolymer Milling 2 UV lamps (right and left)

Exposure resin Wax Cooling head
cell applicator
Aero- applicator plate Inkjet
dynamic Jetting
wiper Heads
Electro-
photographic
mask

Object being built

within matrix of wax
support material

Support resin Model resin

Solid Ground Curing PolyJet

PolyJet materials

One of the big challenges of any manufacturing technology is found in the properties of the materials
that can be used in such technology.

Objet Geometries has already developed a broad range of materials with properties that fit the needs
of many different applications:
• Clear materials for applications requiring transparency
• Colored materials (white, gray, black, red, green, blue, etc.), for better visualization
• Hard and tough materials
• Flexible materials for applications requiring rubber-like properties (Figure 5).

Figure 5: innovative rubber like material implemented in different applications

Objet PolyJet materials are based mainly on the chemistry of the functional acrylic group, which permit
the attainment of copolymers through a radical polymerization mechanism.
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RadTech Europe 2005 Conference & Exhibition

As a matter of example, Table 1 shows the properties of a material specially developed for
applications requiring hard and tough material properties. Table 2 shows the properties of a material
specially developed for use in applications requiring a material with elastomer-like properties.

Table 1: Hard and tough material properties Table 2: elastomer-like material

ties
Property Standard Value Value Property Standard Value (Metric
(Metric (Imperial units)
units) units)
Tensile Strength, MPa ASTM D- 2.0 (0.28)
Tensile D-638 42.3 MPa 6.09 Ksi (Ksi) 412
Strength
Elongation at Break ASTM D- 47.7%
Elongation at D-638 15-25 % 15-25% 412
Break
Compression set ASTM D- 0.8%
Modulus of D-638 2000 MPa 309 Ksi 395
Elasticity
Shore A Hardness ASTM D- 61

Flexural D790 70.6 MPa 10.2 Ksi 2240

Strength
Tensile Tear ASTM D- 3.8KGr/cm

Flexural D790 1978 MPa 286.8 Ksi Resistance 624

Modulus
Tg, ºC DSC (- First run: -10.7

Impact D256 25-38 J/m 0.44-0.68 ft 80ºC -> Second run: -13

Strength lb/in +100ºC)

(Notched
Izod)

Heat D648 43°C at 1820 109°F at 264

Distortion KPa psi
Temperature 46°C at 455 115°F at 66
KPa psi

Summary and conclusions

PolyJet technology is an innovative technology that enables the building of 3-dimensional objects
directly from CAD data, in a swift, simple and cost-effective process, without the need of any tooling.
In this way, PolyJet significantly decreases the time (and cost) involved in proceeding from design to
manufacture, from what in the past took several days to only a few hours.

Owing to the broad spectrum of applications in which PolyJet technology has been found to be
beneficial, PolyJet has been adopted by many different industries, amongst them the toy, automotive
and consumer goods industries (figure 5).

Acknowledgement: E. N. specially thanks Mrs. Beverley Soffer for her help writing this paper.