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Photopolymers
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3D-PRINTING
TYPES
Objet PolyJet system
INKJET
MATERIALS
Objet's PolyJet system also uses photopolymerization, but uses inkjet materials to build up the layers. This system doesn't rely on a bath of liquid; instead, it keeps the materials in separate cartridges within the printer during operation (and can even mix materials as it sprays them), hardening the applied spray with ultraviolet light after each pass.
The PolyJet's capability to mix materials also allows for different functionalities within the same printed material. This means that complex objects, such as a prosthetic arm or foot - a flexible joint sandwiched between hard-plastic components - can be printed in a single process.
Besides Stereolithography (SLA) and Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) mentioned at the beginning of 3D Printing Types section, there are other photopolymers techniques like DLP: Direct Light Processing. DLP light projection of an entire layer at the same time across the bottom of the build volume, curing each layer as the object is raised out of the polymer liquid from atop a full-screen light source.
High-resolution variations of stereolithography use lasers focused so tightly that individual elements of the final object are microscopic. Such multiphoton lithographic designs have created entire buildings so small that they could be lost entirely in a single drop of water.
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