Industrial 3D Inkjet Printing/Additive Manufacturing

Industrial 3D printing/additive manufacturing (AM) technology is growing fast and expanding beyond its original use for prototyping to be the technology of choice to deliver end-use products for a vast range of applications from aerospace to health care. Inkjet technology and 3D printing/AM complement each other via a number of common traits in terms of their histories, development, critical business drivers, and future opportunities. AMs key strengths (agility, in-process visualization, novel business models, reduced upfront fixed costs and risk, potential for decentralized production, and reduced transportation) align with those of inkjet. As AM technology has emerged as a viable solution for the manufacture of an increasing range of end-use products, it is clear that laser sintering of polymers has been the dominant AM process of choice. Inkjet has emerged as a solution to address the scalability issues associated with polymer laser sintering. The high-speed sintering (HSS) process works in a way similar to laser sintering.