A review on polyjet 3D printing of polymers and multi-material structures

Abstract

This article investigates the state-of-the-art of polyjet 3D printing of polymers and multi-material structures, with an emphasis on its applications in a range of industrial domains, including aerospace, architecture, toy fabrication, and medical field. While significant research and development in the field of additively manufactured (AM) multi-material and reinforced composite structures have been carried out during the previous decade, the need of the hour is to utilize a single manufacturing platform which would not only help to govern the composition, shape, and characteristics of multi-material 3D printed objects at the microscopic level but would also help industries to replace the conventional AM manufacturing methods and optimize their mechanical performance. Significant advancements in polyjet 3D printing of fiber-reinforced and functionally graded structures with numerous modifications in material composition are reviewed, which may revolutionize the industrial sector. Numerous polyjet printing parameters such as accuracy, printing speed, photo-curing effect, build orientation, layer thickness, print angles, and post-processing are comprehensively discussed, and best outputs to optimize the mechanical performance and enhance the accuracy of the polyjet 3D printing products are highlighted. FEA (finite element analysis) models and analytical relations for multi-material 3D printed structures are presented to predict and enhance the overall performance of polyjet fabrication. Along with the benefits of polyjet manufacturing, a few of the limitations and challenges of polyjet AM are addressed which would benefit the reader to conduct further research in this field and enhance fabrication quality significantly. Vivid comparisons with other multi-material AM fabrication techniques such as FDM, SLA, and SLS with their brief discussion, merits, and demerits are done.

3D printed electronics with nanomaterials

“…Ink-jet techniques require very low viscosity inks for efficient printing and the ink has to be precisely formulated to prevent nozzle clogging. 102 Usually there is very limited range of viscosity values that can be used, most often <0.25 Pa s. 170,174,175 Similarly to DIW and further discussed AJP, the deposition of ink without high temperatures allows for the deposition of a wide range of thermally fragile and living biological materials. 130,176 The main advantages of ink-jet based techniques are related to the use of various substrates, limited waste production, easy application of a low-viscosity solution, and most of all high printing resolution, crucial for high-integration devices like transistors.…”

“…At the same time this technique is one of the most widespread applications in printed electronics and is rapidly expanding also in 3D printed electronics applications thanks to its easy adaptation to multimaterial deposition, with the use of multiple print heads. 170,175 3.4 Aerosol jet printing -AJP One of the well-known and fast-growing non-contact techniques in printed electronics and additive manufacturing, complementary to ink-jet, a direct write, is Aerosol Jet Printing (AJP). Compared with ink-jet techniques, AJP is a newly developed technology used for printing on both flat and non-flat substrates.…”

“…Ink-jet techniques require very low viscosity inks for efficient printing and the ink has to be precisely formulated to prevent nozzle clogging. 102 Usually there is very limited range of viscosity values that can be used, most often <0.25 Pa s. 170,174,175 Similarly to DIW and further discussed AJP, the deposition of ink without high temperatures allows for the deposition of a wide range of thermally fragile and living biological materials. 130,176…”

“…At the same time this technique is one of the most widespread applications in printed electronics and is rapidly expanding also in 3D printed electronics applications thanks to its easy adaptation to multimaterial deposition, with the use of multiple print heads. 170,175…”

Additive manufacturing technologies in the oral implant clinic: A review of current applications and progress

“…In addition, due to its high-speed raster construction process, PolyJet can achieve fast printing, and does not require secondary curing. It has been demonstrated that implant guides made using PolyJet are more accurate than those fabricated using SLA technology (Tappa and Jammalamadaka, 2018;Patpatiya et al, 2022).…”