A new dimension
It was back in 1450 when Johannes Gutenburg revealed an automated
development to the Chinese technology of printing and in doing so
produced the world’s first printing press. It could be said he lit the
fuse on a number of processes that have come under the umbrella term
‘printing’.
The word ‘print’ comes from the Latin ‘premere’ which means ‘to
press’. From the early wood block printing of the Tang dynasty, for many
years printing was primarily the process of pressing an impression onto
a substrate.
The word ‘print’ comes from the Latin ‘premere’ which means ‘to
press’. From the early wood block printing of the Tang dynasty, for many
years printing was primarily the process of pressing an impression onto
a substrate”
Throughout this intervening time, there was never an idea that the
output of any printing devices would be anything but two dimensional. In
fact, a number of the printing processes rely on the inks being
absorbed into the substrate and we pride ourselves on the fact the
printed materials are ‘flat’.
Realistically, this had not changed even into the mid-eighties when
solid ink printing was invented resulting in entry- level colour
printers for home computers becoming available to all.
However, in recent times things have changed and the term
‘printing’ has literally taken on a new dimension – a third dimension.
3D printing is now a mainstream technology and is breaking through into
media markets.
To the traditionalist, seeing 3D objects as the outcome of the printing
process is not really printing, but regardless of the purist view, the
world has adopted a name for this technology which is not going to be
shaken off.
New technologies can be a little like the Emperor’s new clothes
when it comes to understanding what sits behind it and how it works, so
maybe I am going to be stating what is taken as common knowledge, but
for clarity here is some background behind 3D printing.
3D printing is one of a number of new technologies which is covered
by the umbrella term: Additive Manufacture (AM). The premise of AM is a
polar difference from typical manufacturing processes where you remove
materials to produce the desired component. With AM you actually add
material (hence the process title) and as such you have no waste.
Layering material on material
There are a number of AM processes which use different techniques
and materials and it is important to know the limitations of each.
Selective Laser Sintering, Direct Metal Laser Sintering and Selective
Laser Melting are all types of AM that are typically used for metals and
components that need to be durable and are subject to loading. But if
you want a cheaper and quicker outcome of an AM process, then 3D
Printing is the process needed.
This works in one or two different variations of process, but all
are very similar and can be used to produce a full size or scaled
reproduction of an object. The process most used for plastic components
is one of the seven processes of AM called Material Jetting.
With Material Jetting, you use one of three techniques to drop or
jet material onto a modelling tray and then cure it with either UV or
heat depending on the material you are using to produce your component.
Typically, with Material Jetting, as each of the layers of material are
deposited and cured, the modelling tray drops incrementally and as it
does so, the component is literally developed layer by layer until it is
complete.
With regard to traditional printing, you could think of it as
printing one layer of ink on top of each other, and as a stack of paper
in the delivery of a printing press, with all those dots placed on top
of each other, you have a finished product.
So, if you consider the Material Jetting process (UV cured coloured
droplets) there is one name that leaps at you – Mimaki. It would be no
surprise that the company has brought to market the 3DUJ-2207 3D
printer, which can produce some of the most detailed and colourful
components or models you could think of.
When you think of the core technologies Mimaki has on its inkjet
presses, all this can be applied to produce a world-beating 3D printer.
Market leading technology
The 3DUJ-2207 model comes equipped with Mimaki’s Waveform Control
Technology (WCT). With this system the print heads are able to round
nearly perfect circles of ink (or modelling material) droplets rather
than the deformed circles that can form once the ink is deployed. The
benefit is to allow the 3DUJ-2207 to produce high quality almost perfect
sized dots and layer them on top of each other.
Some of the inks used for 3D printing can suffer from separation
which tends to end up deposited in various parts of the machine,
normally in the inkjet heads which then affects quality and production.
The 3DUJ-2207 overcomes this issue with the use of Mimaki
Circulation Technology (MCT). MCT agitates the inks by recirculating
them through a device prior to passing them onto the print head. In
doing this, the materials that may be inclined to drop out of the
carrier medium, stay in place as required.
Finally, there is a Nozzle Check Unit (NCU) which checks and cleans
each nozzle automatically and ensures the cleaning process has been
successful. This allows Mimaki to keep production stable as it builds up
the model layer after layer.
In this process, Mimaki can easily deploy the UV drying technology
it has developed over the years on each layer setting the material ready
for the next. This process is not overly different in principle as with
a 2D printer.
What is quite outstanding with the 3DUJ-2207 is the depth and
variation of colour available. Mimaki claims users can reproduce over 10
million shades of colour with the printer, the widest gamut on the
market, supporting ICC profiles found on many of its 2D printers.
According to Mimaki, over 10 million shades of colour can be produced with its 3D printers
The colour reproduction is cited by Mimaki as ‘photo-realistic’ and
you can easily see this demonstrated through the standard CMYK process
set along with white and clear inks. The other benefit of the use of
clear material is that the outcome of the component is varying levels of
translucency. Print your model, then back light it and it comes to life
with outstanding colour detail.
The other major benefit of clear inks and the combination of 3D
printed materials is that you can encapsulate the solid detail with
clear material so that the detail within the model can be seen when it
is complete.
Each layer is only 28µm (0.028mm) thick when the press is in
standard mode, which means it is not only colour which is a highlight
for this printer, the 3DUJ-2207 can produce components or models with
very fine detail.
Each layer is only 28µm (0.028mm) thick when the
3DUJ-2207 is in standard mode meaning models with very fine detail can
be produced
In line with this, Mimaki has recently launched a new, pure clear
material for 3D printing, with the aim to support customers in a range
of industries.
The material has been designed for the company’s 3DUJ-553 flagship
full-colour 3D printer and is available in a 4.8L ink bottle size. A new
addition to the pre-existing MH-100CL product (which is compatible with
the 3DUJ-2207 model), the MH-110PCL offers increased transparency.
Clear and translucent colour models can be useful in industries
such as medical education as they can be used to visualise internal
organ structures as models. Colour variations allow for medical
conditions to be more accurately depicted.
One example of this was when doctors and researchers from the
University of Florence used the 3DUJ-553 to produce 3D anatomical models
back in 2021. The project was a collaboration between the university
and Bompan, Mimaki’s exclusive Italian importer.
Paintings and photographs have traditionally been used to
demonstrate the colours and details of parts of the human body, but 3D
printing allows for more accurate and lifelike representations. Dr.
Giacomo Gelati was part of the project and developed a patented
algorithm for producing a realistic representation of the internal
structures of the body.
One this had been produced, the team used the Mimaki 3D printer to
produce a 3D-printed heart. Using colour profiles and the UV LED curing
method mentioned in this article, the machine enabled the researchers to
achieve a high level of colour quality.
3D printing is now a mature and embedded production process used
for medical models, architectural models, rapid product prototyping and
manufacturing, art and jewellery and even interior decorations. Mimaki
can provide a printer that has all the attributes of being able to
produce the colour and detail needed, all for a price tag well within
the reach of any printer.
Brian Sims Principal Consultant, Metis Print Consultancy, www.metis-uk.eu
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