Design World – August 2019

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Additive Technology

With pressure to get to market quickly, product designers and development teams must make fast and

accurate decisions during the early stages of design and testing. Rapid prototyping is a key component for

design verification, and 3D printing offers the fastest method for prototyping. While the 3D printing industry

offers several fast technologies, PolyJet technology is one of the more impactful, popular methods for

prototyping.

PolyJet 3D printing’s

Matt Stenoien • Product Manager • Stratasys Direct Manufacturing

46 August 2019 http://www.makepartsfast.com DESIGN WORLD

By using PolyJet features like full color, graphic textures and multiple

materials, designers, engineers and product development teams can

create prototypes that accurately simulate end-product look and feel.

The PolyJet process begins with your design in

the form of 3D CAD data. The system’s printhead

both jets and cures photopolymer material nearly

simultaneously, cross-section by cross-section, with

ultraviolet (UV) light. The machine adds support

structures using specially formulated material to

support free-floating features. After each cross-

section, the build platform lowers, and the process

repeats until the full part is formed. With the 3D

printer’s ability to produce parts rapidly and in

precise detail, PolyJet is an excellent technology for

quick delivery of accurate and cosmetic prototypes

and concept models. The technology produces parts

with fine layers as thin as 27 microns (0.00106 in.),

intricate details, and in full color.

Below is a breakdown of PolyJet as a solution rapid

prototyping, and how it can benefit designers and

engineers during product development.

Speed

3D printing has historically been used as a rapid

prototyping method because of the simplicity of the

process -- a 3D design is uploaded into a computer

and the printer uses that data to build the design layer

by layer. The design is in an engineer’s hands usually

that same day. This contrasts sharply with the long-

lead times and set up costs associated with other

prototyping methods such as molding and machining

operations.

Build speed is largely determined by part size and

resolution. Even so, PolyJet continues to be one of the

benefits for prototyping

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