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Manufacturing

Additive manufacturing

Material Jetting

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Material jetting forms solid structures from liquid material. Similar to traditional inkjet printing, material jetting builds objects by depositing droplets onto a surface via back and forth, horizontal motion. Material is deposited either via continuous or drop-on-demand (DOD) deposition. The material is then cured with ultraviolet light to form a solid structure. The technique has applications from industrial parts to pharmaceuticals. 

Learn more about our material jetting efforts below. If you would like guidance on additive manufacturing (AM) efforts or a chance to use our resources, explore our various research opportunities and/or contact us.

a drop-on-demand dispenser fed by a reservoir of standard solution
A drop-on-demand (DOD) dispenser generates droplets from a standard solution, which can be built up layer-by-layer.
Credit: NIST

 Projects

Learn about our AM material jetting projects by clicking the plus icon (+) below.

3D Printing Metrology

For stereolithography additive manufacturing methods, successful printing of 3D objects requires some predetermined knowledge of the photocuring properties of the starting material (viscosity, critical energy for polymerization, photon penetration depth) and processing capabilities of the printer (photon wavelength, power density). We developed a methodology that allows for a systematic approach to obtaining two such critical parameters, Dp and Ec, from working curves based on accurate measurement of Cd for UV-cured resins. Learn more.

3D Printing Metrology
3D Printing Metrology
(Top) Confocal laser scanning 3D image of structures made from a UV cured resin is used to determine curing parameters. (Bottom) Optical microscopy of extrusion-based 3D printed structures is used to study accuracy and precision of the printing process. Credit: NIST

Inkjet Printing of Medicines

Drop-on-Demand (DOD) inkjet printing allows precise deposition of picoliter (pL)-sized droplets of solutions containing inorganic and organic materials to support a variety of critical programs at NIST. In one of the programs, we are currently exploring the possibility of using the inkjet printer as a modality to prepare personalized medicines with the emphasis on preparing the “right drug at the right dose at the right time” based on the patient’s needs combined with the convenience of real time preparation. Learn more.


Inkjet Printing and Precision Deposition

The ability to deposit small amounts of material in a highly controllable and precise fashion helps create test materials for trace detection methods for a variety of chemical compounds and aids instrument development. Material microdeposition can enable delivery of chemical compounds for health care purposes, e.g., vaccines, small molecules, and drugs. Learn more.

Inkjet droplet on hydrophobic surface
Inkjet droplet on hydrophobic surface. Credit: NIST

Publications

Click the plus icon (+) below to explore our AM material jetting publications. 

Sub-picoliter Traceability of Microdroplet Gravimetry and Microscopy (2021)
Read more.

Considerations for Quantification of Gold Nanoparticles using Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry on a Biologically Relevant Matrix (2020)
Read more.

ToF-SIMS Depth Profiling of Oral Drug Delivery Films for 3D Visualization and Potential Quantification of Active Pharmaceutical Particles (2019)
Read more.

Materials Testing Standards for Additive Manufacturing of Polymer Materials: State of the Art and Standards Applicability (2015)
Read more.

Manufacturing, Additive manufacturing, Materials, Metrology and Standards

Contacts

MML Additive Manufacturing Program Coordinator

Created November 20, 2024