The ExOne Company, a global provider binder jetting 3D printers, materials and services, made announcement of a collaboration with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) which is the largest U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) open science laboratory. The collaboration will work towards making further advancements in the binder jetting 3D printing technology.
Binder Jetting 3D Printing Technology
Above: Inkjet print heads dispensing binding agent/Image Credit: ExOne
Binder jetting uses two materials (powdered material and a liquid binding agent) instead of only one in material jetting process. Binder jetting has a bed filled with powdered material. A liquid binding agent is then selectively dropped from a printhead onto the powdered material so that the adjacent particles form a bond. This process is repeated until all the layers of the print are completed.
Binder jetting maintains higher productivity and lower operating costs than other additive manufacturing technologies. ExOne has been the industry leader in non-polymer 3D printing using binder jetting technology. ExOne’s binder jetting development focus includes best-in-class collaborations with various industries, universities, and labs.
ExOne & ORNL Collaboration on Binder Jetting 3D Printing Technology
Above: Main campus of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)/Image Credit: ORNL
ExOne and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have developed a mutually beneficial relationship over the last four year. Both have benefitted a lot from knowledge sharing and a close collaboration based on the progress of ExOne’s binder jetting technology and the expertise and resources at ORNL.
Extending this collaboration, both the parties will aim towards developing of cutting-edge technology for new binder systems. It will also focus on optimizing chemistry and process parameters for ExOne’s sand and metal systems.
ORNL will leverage its expert instrumentation and advanced data analysis methodologies. Secondarily, it will also use DOE’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility (MDF) at ORNL and its unique efficiencies in instrumentation capabilities to its advantage.
Additionally, the effort will optimize binder development for H13 Tool Steel. ORNL’s initiative targeting the production of 500 tools and dies by 2022 for the moulding, stamping and forging industries, is expected to establish binder jetting as the leading low-cost method for the fabrication of advanced tooling.
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Excited about the collaboration, ORNL lead researcher Amy Elliott said, “We look forward to continuing binder jetting research with ExOne. Over the past several years, we’ve worked with ExOne on four binder jetting systems and we’ve made exceptional progress in enhancing this additive manufacturing technique. Industry collaborations such as this help the U.S. remain competitive in manufacturing.”
Speaking about the collaboration, ExOne CTO, Rick Lucas said, “By collaborating with a world-class lab like Oak Ridge National Laboratory, we accelerate ExOne’s binder jetting technology capabilities. We believe these collaborative efforts will effectively and efficiently result in the establishment of new materials, binders and process developments, retaining our significant edge over competitors and other technologies in the industrial manufacturing space.”
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