MIT Develops Inkjet-Style 3D Printer That Uses 10 Different Materials At Once

Lucas123 writes: Researchers at MIT have been able to build a printer with uses 10 different photosensitive polymers to create a myriad of objects, and they were able to build it using off-the-shelf commodity parts for around $7,000. The MultiFab 3D printer works by mixing together microscopic droplets of photopolymers that are then extruded through inkjet printheads similar to those in office printers. A UV light then hardens the polymers layer by layer. Perhaps even more remarkable than the list of materials it can use is the MultiFab 3D printer's ability to self-calibrate and self-correct during a print job (PDF). The printer has an integrated machine vision system that automatically readjusts the printer head if errors occur, rectifying the build before a problem ruins the object; that means print jobs that run into errors don't need to be cancelled and materials wasted. The researchers said they can foresee an array of applications for the MultiFab 3D in consumer electronics, microsensing, medical imaging and telecommunications, among other things.

Comments

The Inkjet printhead...

[gigne]

The Inkjet printhead is one of the more interesting parts of this machine. Digging through the layers of websites and papers reveals the printhead is an Epson Workforce 30.
The bulk of that work was done by Joyce Kwan, Paper here: Design of Electronics for a High-resolution, Multi- Material, and Modular 3D Printer
This is a great paper and amazing work on hacking up an Epson printhead and I hope they progress this further