Developed by MIT in 1995, binder jetting has been on a long path to commercial maturity. In recent years, new market entries are proving the technology’s adaptability to industrial applications. According to Knowledge Sourcing Intelligence, the binder jetting market is projected to grow from US$300 million in 2018 to US$1.3 billion in 2024.
Dyndrite, providers of the core accelerated computation engine used to create next generation digital manufacturing hardware and software, recently announced partnerships with Xaar and Meteor Inkjet. The three companies are working to deliver a new evolution in industrial inkjet capability for innovative binderjet additive manufacturing applications.
Xaar is partnering with Dyndrite and Meteor to accelerate raster 3D printing product development. Xaar’s unrivalled TF Technology and Ultra High Viscosity technology, incorporated into Xaar’s printheads, provide unique advantages to the process of binder jetting with inkjet.
‘Xaar’s TF Technology alongside our Ultra High Viscosity technology broadens the range of fluids with functional properties that can be binder jetted extremely reliably. This also includes high viscosity fluids, which Xaar printheads are designed to handle with ease,’ said Graham Tweedale, General Manager of Xaar’s Printhead business unit, ‘Raster inkjet 3D printing is one of the most innovative forms of additive technology today. This partnership with Meteor and Dyndrite helps accelerate the pace of that innovation by OEMs and enable their customers to qualify more materials and more parts, significantly faster.’
Meteor helps customers harness the power of inkjet for binder jetting applications by providing scalable printhead drive electronics, the world’s fastest Raster Image Processor (RIP) and a flexible software Digital Front End (DFE) tailored to the specific requirements of additive manufacturing. With electronics designed to take advantage of all that Xaar printheads have to offer and software carefully integrated with the Dyndrite accelerated computation engine, Meteor is playing a fundamental role in the push to democratize inkjet technology for the industry.
‘Developing and implementing an industrial inkjet system can be tricky,’ said Clive Ayling, Meteor’s managing director. ‘Rather than being distracted by the intricacies of inkjet technology, print system builders can quickly leverage the integration work done by Meteor, Xaar and Dyndrite to radically simplify the path from development through to production, significantly reducing time-to-market and risk.’
Dyndrite delivers an Accelerated Computation Engine (ACE) which provides GPU-powered 3D CAD-to-Print software for generating toolpaths and rasterising 3D data for additive manufacturing processes. Additionally, through an integrated Python API, Dyndrite brings full automation of data workflows at a speed that fulfills even the most challenging production workflows or data requirements.
The new toolpathing APIs from Dyndrite also enable advanced parameter control at the voxel level using greyscale and RGB colour-based metadata, anisotropic compensation routines, image manipulation and the streamlined handling of large images as slices. Dyndrite is focused on enabling better repeatability, greater accuracy, faster material qualification and machine calibration.
‘Building on the advantages of leading printheads and DFEs from Xaar and Meteor, Dyndrite and its partners are set to advance binder jetting in digital manufacturing to new levels of speed, accuracy, reliability and repeatability,’ said Harshil Goel, CEO, Dyndrite. ‘With Dyndrite, 3D printing can occur at the resolution of the machine, at scale, with automated workflows – creating opportunities for true advancement and innovation in additive (manufacturing).’
