What Is Metal Binder Jetting?
In Technical Guides by AZOTH3D
The additive manufacturing industry consists of a number of technologies that can build an object one layer at a time. One of these technologies is known as Binder jetting. This technology originated at MIT in 1993, and is basically a variation of material jetting.
It involves a liquid binding agent that joins powder particles to form an object. Like all additive processes, the object or part is built layer by layer. The powder build material can be polymer or metal, but we will deal with metal powder in this article.
Most binder jetting 3D printers consist of two tanks, one housing a build platform. The other tank holds the raw build powder. In operation, a spreader blade or roller mechanism pushes a thin layer of powder from the tank holding the raw powder over and onto the build platform. Then, an inkjet style printhead moves over the build platform and deposits the binding material over specific areas that will “grow” as the part. The build platform is then moved up or down (depending on make of the binder jetting 3d printer) and readied to receive the next layer of powder. This process is repeated until the part or parts are complete.
Binder jetting is considered a cold process. No heat is used to unite the powder and binder. The high heat used in other additive processes can introduce residual stresses into a part, so binder jetting offers an advantage here.
Because this is a powder-bed process where powder totally surrounds the part, designers seldom need to include support structures in their part designs.
When the process is complete, the second tank consists of the completed parts and excess powder. Typically, the part, which is now considered a green part, undergoes a curing step to activate the binder. Following this, the lose powder is removed to reveal the green parts. These Green parts are considered unfinished and some may be physically fragile to handle immediately.
The next step is post processing to finish the part. Most post processing consists of a heat treatment, known as sintering, in which the green part is heated to near its melting temperature to become a fully dense metal part. Temperatures can easily reach 1400 C. This process removes the binder material and strengthens the part’s mechanical properties. This process shrinks the overall dimensions of a part by roughly 20%, but this is accounted for in the green part. Proper design can account for the potential of shrinkage so that tolerances are not affected.
A final finishing step may occur in the form of polishing or plating to achieve aesthetically pleasing surfaces. Post heat treatment and machining are also options to improve part performance.
Some of the benefits of binder jetting include:
–the binder 3D printers tend to have a lower cost than others. Part of the reason for this is that other 3D printers require the use of lasers or other expensive components.
—an increasing range of material choices. Some of the newer systems can use metal injection molding (MIM) powders, which can lower the overall cost of materials.
–fast build speed. Metal binder jetting is usually a faster process than other forms of 3D printing.
— Improved surface finish and dimensional accuracy compared to other additive process.
Metal binder jetting suits a number of applications, including making custom tooling, jigs, and fixtures; some medical devices, firearms and munitions, and in aerospace and automotive applications. The additive manufacturing industry consists of a number of technologies that can build an object one layer at a time. One of these technologies is known as Binder jetting. This technology originated at MIT in 1993, and is basically a variation of material jetting.
It involves a liquid binding agent that joins powder particles to form an object. Like all additive processes, the object or part is built layer by layer. The powder build material can be polymer or metal, but we will deal with metal powder in this article.
Most binder jetting 3D printers consist of two tanks, one housing a build platform. The other tank holds the raw build powder. In operation, a spreader blade or roller mechanism pushes a thin layer of powder from the tank holding the raw powder over and onto the build platform. Then, an inkjet style printhead moves over the build platform and deposits the binding material over specific areas that will “grow” as the part. The build platform is then moved up or down (depending on make of the binder jetting 3d printer) and readied to receive the next layer of powder. This process is repeated until the part or parts are complete.
Binder jetting is considered a cold process. No heat is used to unite the powder and binder. The high heat used in other additive processes can introduce residual stresses into a part, so binder jetting offers an advantage here.
Because this is a powder-bed process where powder totally surrounds the part, designers seldom need to include support structures in their part designs.
When the process is complete, the second tank consists of the completed parts and excess powder. Typically, the part, which is now considered a green part, undergoes a curing step to activate the binder. Following this, the lose powder is removed to reveal the green parts. These Green parts are considered unfinished and some may be physically fragile to handle immediately.
The next step is post processing to finish the part. Most post processing consists of a heat treatment, known as sintering, in which the green part is heated to near its melting temperature to become a fully dense metal part. Temperatures can easily reach 1400 C. This process removes the binder material and strengthens the part’s mechanical properties. This process shrinks the overall dimensions of a part by roughly 20%, but this is accounted for in the green part. Proper design can account for the potential of shrinkage so that tolerances are not affected.
A final finishing step may occur in the form of polishing or plating to achieve aesthetically pleasing surfaces. Post heat treatment and machining are also options to improve part performance.
Some of the benefits of binder jetting include:
–the binder 3D printers tend to have a lower cost than others. Part of the reason for this is that other 3D printers require the use of lasers or other expensive components.
—an increasing range of material choices. Some of the newer systems can use metal injection molding (MIM) powders, which can lower the overall cost of materials.
–fast build speed. Metal binder jetting is usually a faster process than other forms of 3D printing.
— Improved surface finish and dimensional accuracy compared to other additive process.
Metal binder jetting suits a number of applications, including making custom tooling, jigs, and fixtures; some medical devices, firearms and munitions, and in aerospace and automotive applications. The additive manufacturing industry consists of a number of technologies that can build an object one layer at a time. One of these technologies is known as Binder jetting. This technology originated at MIT in 1993, and is basically a variation of material jetting.
It involves a liquid binding agent that joins powder particles to form an object. Like all additive processes, the object or part is built layer by layer. The powder build material can be polymer or metal, but we will deal with metal powder in this article.
Most binder jetting 3D printers consist of two tanks, one housing a build platform. The other tank holds the raw build powder. In operation, a spreader blade or roller mechanism pushes a thin layer of powder from the tank holding the raw powder over and onto the build platform. Then, an inkjet style printhead moves over the build platform and deposits the binding material over specific areas that will “grow” as the part. The build platform is then moved up or down (depending on make of the binder jetting 3d printer) and readied to receive the next layer of powder. This process is repeated until the part or parts are complete.
Binder jetting is considered a cold process. No heat is used to unite the powder and binder. The high heat used in other additive processes can introduce residual stresses into a part, so binder jetting offers an advantage here.
Because this is a powder-bed process where powder totally surrounds the part, designers seldom need to include support structures in their part designs.
When the process is complete, the second tank consists of the completed parts and excess powder. Typically, the part, which is now considered a green part, undergoes a curing step to activate the binder. Following this, the lose powder is removed to reveal the green parts. These Green parts are considered unfinished and some may be physically fragile to handle immediately.
The next step is post processing to finish the part. Most post processing consists of a heat treatment, known as sintering, in which the green part is heated to near its melting temperature to become a fully dense metal part. Temperatures can easily reach 1400 C. This process removes the binder material and strengthens the part’s mechanical properties. This process shrinks the overall dimensions of a part by roughly 20%, but this is accounted for in the green part. Proper design can account for the potential of shrinkage so that tolerances are not affected.
A final finishing step may occur in the form of polishing or plating to achieve aesthetically pleasing surfaces. Post heat treatment and machining are also options to improve part performance.
Some of the benefits of binder jetting include:
–the binder 3D printers tend to have a lower cost than others. Part of the reason for this is that other 3D printers require the use of lasers or other expensive components.
—an increasing range of material choices. Some of the newer systems can use metal injection molding (MIM) powders, which can lower the overall cost of materials.
–fast build speed. Metal binder jetting is usually a faster process than other forms of 3D printing.
— Improved surface finish and dimensional accuracy compared to other additive process.
Metal binder jetting suits a number of applications, including making custom tooling, jigs, and fixtures; some medical devices, firearms and munitions, and in aerospace and automotive applications. The additive manufacturing industry consists of a number of technologies that can build an object one layer at a time. One of these technologies is known as Binder jetting. This technology originated at MIT in 1993, and is basically a variation of material jetting.
It involves a liquid binding agent that joins powder particles to form an object. Like all additive processes, the object or part is built layer by layer. The powder build material can be polymer or metal, but we will deal with metal powder in this article.
Most binder jetting 3D printers consist of two tanks, one housing a build platform. The other tank holds the raw build powder. In operation, a spreader blade or roller mechanism pushes a thin layer of powder from the tank holding the raw powder over and onto the build platform. Then, an inkjet style printhead moves over the build platform and deposits the binding material over specific areas that will “grow” as the part. The build platform is then moved up or down (depending on make of the binder jetting 3d printer) and readied to receive the next layer of powder. This process is repeated until the part or parts are complete.
Binder jetting is considered a cold process. No heat is used to unite the powder and binder. The high heat used in other additive processes can introduce residual stresses into a part, so binder jetting offers an advantage here.
Because this is a powder-bed process where powder totally surrounds the part, designers seldom need to include support structures in their part designs.
When the process is complete, the second tank consists of the completed parts and excess powder. Typically, the part, which is now considered a green part, undergoes a curing step to activate the binder. Following this, the lose powder is removed to reveal the green parts. These Green parts are considered unfinished and some may be physically fragile to handle immediately.
The next step is post processing to finish the part. Most post processing consists of a heat treatment, known as sintering, in which the green part is heated to near its melting temperature to become a fully dense metal part. Temperatures can easily reach 1400 C. This process removes the binder material and strengthens the part’s mechanical properties. This process shrinks the overall dimensions of a part by roughly 20%, but this is accounted for in the green part. Proper design can account for the potential of shrinkage so that tolerances are not affected.
A final finishing step may occur in the form of polishing or plating to achieve aesthetically pleasing surfaces. Post heat treatment and machining are also options to improve part performance.
Some of the benefits of binder jetting include:
–the binder 3D printers tend to have a lower cost than others. Part of the reason for this is that other 3D printers require the use of lasers or other expensive components.
—an increasing range of material choices. Some of the newer systems can use metal injection molding (MIM) powders, which can lower the overall cost of materials.
–fast build speed. Metal binder jetting is usually a faster process than other forms of 3D printing.
— Improved surface finish and dimensional accuracy compared to other additive process.
Metal binder jetting suits a number of applications, including making custom tooling, jigs, and fixtures; some medical devices, firearms and munitions, and in aerospace and automotive applications.