A New Direction in 3D Printing

PolyJet Matrix™ Technology works by jetting two distinct model materials. The technology can work with any mix of rigid and flexible materials. As an example, two rigid materials, two flexible materials or any combination with transparent material would, in turn, either create a mixed part or Digital Materials™. For the benefit of the customer it can also use two cartridges of the same material.

PolyJet Matrix technology enables printing parts and assemblies made of multiple model materials—all in a single build. Each material is funneled to a dedicated liquids system connected to the PolyJet Matrix printing block, which contains eight printing heads. Every head includes 96 50-micron diameter nozzles. Each material has two designated printing heads that are controlled to a perfect synchronization. The technology controls every nozzle in every print head independently, enabling preset combinations of model materials to be jetted from designated nozzles according to location and model type. The ability to manage the jetting matrix in high precision provides full control of the structure of the material and, hence, of its mechanical properties. This enables the user to choose and fabricate the most suitable materials that most closely emulate the target design. The created composites are Digital Materials, which are composed of repeated microscopic building blocks that determine the material’s mechanical properties (see Figure 1).

Digital Materials innovation is composite materials that are fabricated on the fly by the PolyJet Matrix technology process. Based on this method, a wide variety of Digital Materials can be created, each differing in tensile strength, elongation to break, HDT and/or even in Shore A flexibility. In addition, the combination of black and white rigid materials generates new materials with a wide range of grayscales.

In Summary, by printing with Digital Materials, the Connex500™ 3-D Printer allows you to print parts with specific Shore A values to match the values of the intended production materials. This capability opens up new opportunities, bringing you much closer to realizing the final product at an early stage, including feasibility testing and overmolding process simulation. Models produced on the Connex500 (see Figure 2) have smooth and durable surfaces with exceptionally fine details and an outstanding surface finish. The high quality output and unique multi-material printing capabilities of the Connex500 enable you to closely emulate the look, feel and function of a wide variety of end products.