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The Polyjet process, which is still little known, could make the production of blow molds and silicone molds significantly easier
When we think of 3D printing and 3D printing technologies, we usually think of such widespread 3D printing processes as stereolithography, selective laser sintering or FDM printing. In the eyes of the general public, the Polyjet process has not stood a chance against these “top dogs” among 3D printing technologies. This rapid prototyping technology, which was launched on the market in 1998, definitely has the potential to ensure decisive increases in productivity in some areas of production.
Polyjet process on the rise thanks to new areas of application
Specifically, the innovation based on the Polyjet process, which was presented to the public in 2014, is about a way of simplifying the production of blow mold prototypes for the so-called blow molding process (which is used to produce hollow objects such as plastic bottles or similar containers) in such a way that that the quality of the blow mold can be improved much more quickly and cheaply than is possible with traditional methods.
At the same time, the Polyjet process is to be used to produce silicone molds for the Silicone molding (also known as “Room Temperature Vulcanization (RTV) Molding-”) can be significantly simplified. With silicone molding, liquid silicone is poured over a positive of the desired 3D model. After it has hardened, the silicone is opened (not destroyed!) and the template can be removed. The resulting negative mold of the object can now be filled with plastic and used several times to copy the 3D object. This is where the Polyjet process comes into play, as an innovative and efficient way of producing the initial template required for this.
Layer construction by UV light
In the Polyjet process, a liquid, light-sensitive photopolymer (ie usually a resin) is applied in layers to the printing platform with the help of a print head and immediately hardened by a light source integrated in the print head. The Polyjet process is therefore (similar to FDM printing, for example) one of the layer construction processes. In addition, particularly fine layers are possible with the Polyjet process.
3D Activation prints your 3D models using the Polyjet process and 8 other 3D printing processes, where you can choose from over 50 materials. Simply visit our website or contact our customer service.
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