Compact polymeric 3D prints of high stability
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The media advertizes that soon everybody can manufacture models and parts of all kinds via computer-aided design –computer-aided manufacturing by additive manufacturing (AM) technologies. That can boost the do-it-yourself activities enormously. But it can also revolutionize the industries: Most conventional technologies of manufacture are profitable only in big lots of production. For single specimens and small lots of production, they are too expensive. But with AM, one or a few original or spare parts can be produced at low cost. However, to succeed in the market, the AM products must become competitive. They must have reproducibility of an exact shape, even in tiny details, a perfect surface and, above all, sufficient mechanical strength. This article deals with three-dimensional ink-jet printing with monomer inks and polymer powders. Since powder beds are always porous, the main aim was to fill the pores permanently with high amounts of the ink polymer. A new polymer powder that rapidly dissolves in monomer inks is reported.
I. INTRODUCTION
Polymer parts are normally prepared by the technique of injection molding.1 It is the basis of the success story of the polymers because it is fast, inexpensive, and well-developed. But it has one disadvantage: A metal mold, the negative of the part, into which the polymer melt can be injected, is needed for every newly designed part. That mold is too expensive for single parts and small production lots. But the demand of just those single parts and small production lots is rising, especially in branches as for instance medicine where tailor-made parts are needed. 2–4 To meet that demand, the additive manufacturing (AM) techniques are the only answer. 5–7 The subject matter of this article is the three-dimensional (3D) ink-jet printing (3DP) of polymer parts where polymer powder layers are compacted successively by a computeraided design (CAD)-guided ink jet.8–10 Advantages of the 3DP method are that (i) it needs only a small and inexpensive apparatus similar to a two-dimensional (2D) printer, (ii) that multicolor is possible, and (iii) that no supporting structures need to be printed, since the surrounding powder acts as a support itself. An important parameter in 3DP is the degree F to which the ink and its polymer fills the pores within the a)
Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: [email protected] Present address: TU Darmstadt, Makromolekulare Chemie I, Darmstadt 64287, Germany b) Present address: Department Research & Development, Finma Chemie GmbH, Rosbach 61191, Germany c) Present address: Department Research & Development, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG, Heidelberg 69115, Germany DOI: 10.1557/jmr.2014.137 J. Mater. Res., Vol. 29, No. 17, Sep 14, 2014
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powder bed. In an ideal 3DP process, the ink fills all pores (F 5 100%), dissolves the powder grains and finally polymerizes. The end product is then compact, free of pores, and consists of the two polymers of the ink and the powder. These two
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