The BuildUp | Getting (Re)Acquainted with Binder Jetting

Binder jetting — the 3D printing method that builds part geometries by precisely dropping a binding agent onto powdered material — seems to be on the rise. If I think back over the last year or so in terms of site visits I’ve made to additive manufacturing suppliers and users, I can quickly come up with about half a dozen that involved binder jet 3D printing in some way, shape or form. That’s anecdotal, of course, and binder jetting is still a small part of the overall 3D printing market at least in terms of system shipments. VIEW THIS EMAIL IN BROWSER   The BuildUp How additive manufacturing is transforming production Getting (Re)Acquainted with Binder Jetting By Stephanie Hendrixson, Executive Editor   Binder jetting — the 3D printing method that builds part geometries by precisely dropping a binding agent onto powdered material — seems to be on the rise. If I think back over the last year or so in terms of site visits I’ve made to additive manufacturing suppliers and users, I can quickly come up with about half a dozen that involved binder jet 3D printing in some way, shape or form. That’s anecdotal, of course, and binder jetting is still a small part of the overall 3D printing market at least in terms of system shipments. But, I do think we’ll see many more applications for binder jetting in the future thanks to the benefits it offers, including a room-temperature printing process, lack of thermal stresses, material variety and the ability to batch lots of parts at once. At any rate, it’s a good time to get to know or reacquaint yourself with this 3D printing method — which you can do on our binder jetting 101 page, now including a new video with plenty of process footage and examples. Below: 5 Reasons to Use Binder Jetting   3D Printing Most Common Questions Sponsored Content Whether you’re looking to develop a comprehensive strategy or just want to experiment with metal 3D printing, you need to start with the basics. LEARN MORE   A Smart Idea: Self-Supervised Deep Learning for Additive Manufacturing   Machine learning. Artificial intelligence. Digital twin. These are some of the buzzwords floating through manufacturing, but they have practical implications, too. In the case of this "deep digital twin" devised through optical tomography imaging, those implications are: Predicting build abnormalities. Simulating results. Facilitating real-time process control. WEBINAR Design Masterclass: Get Started Designing Low-Volume 3D-Printed Injection Molds On-Demand Webinar VIEW NOW   WEBINAR Why Transfer of Resin Matters in Additive Manufacturing November 02, 2:00 PM REGISTER HERE   5 Reasons to Use Binder Jetting   By Stephanie Hendrixson, Executive Editor   1. For scale production of metal and ceramic parts. Binder jetted parts are supported by the unbound powder in the build volume, making it possible to stack many parts into one build like impellers, cutting tools, golf club heads and more.   2. To make porous metal parts (on purpose). Binder jetting seems to lend itself to the creation of metal filters with intentional, controlled porosity. Applications for such filters include air quality and circuit breaker protection.   3. For processing difficult materials. Laser powder bed fusion has since caught up, but for a time binder jetting was the way to 3D print in copper. It is still often a preferred way to print in this metal as well as certain challenging materials including carbide and precious metals.   4. As a quicker route to prototype castings. This system from Foundry Lab helps companies get to a cast metal part faster by using binder jetting of ceramic to form the tooling. The microwave unit is used both to sinter the tool and to heat it to the point that metal feedstock melts and essentially self-pours into the mold.   5. To create sand tooling for foundries. For larger parts and ongoing production, binder jetting machines or printheads on robot arms can provide sand cores and molds that can be used in casting just like conventional tools, but with the added benefits of speed and complexity.   Bonus: There are some processes out there that resemble binder jetting in terms of how parts are built and/or sintered, but that may or may not be classified as such. They include: extruding and machining metal paste, jetting binder across an entire layer at once before machining it, spreading paste material into layer-high 3D printed molds, and even depositing metal or ceramic powder into sand molds with no binder whatsoever.   LATEST | MAGAZINE | AM RADIO | THE COOL PARTS SHOW | NEW TO AM? 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