Voxeljat, a german leading provider of high-speed, large-format 3D printers and on-demand parts services to industrial and commercial customers, has announced the release of a new plastic 3D printing process for its VX200 system.

The technology, named PolyPor C2 (PPC²), is an improvement on the company’s existing PolyPor B (PPB) process, primarily used to make investment castings for metal components. The main benefits of the new system are an increased lifetime of parts and a high and consistent printing quality level.
By using voxeljet binder jetting technology (an additive manufacturing process in which a liquid binding agent is selectively deposited to join powder particles. Layers of material are then bonded to form an object), parts 3D printed using PPC² require no additional support structure and can be efficiently packed in manifold within the build chamber.
PPC² uses Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) material which is economically better than polycarbonate (PC) in terms of tensile and flexural strength, transparency, polishability, and UV tolerance.

Dr. Ingo Ederer, Chief Executive Officer of voxeljet, explains “Our new PPC² process will be initially offered on our VX200 system. It is an affordable entry into 3D printing for investment casting foundries with an efficient part production for commercial castings such as turbine impellers and turbine blades.”
Tobias Gruen (Product Manager, voxeljet) adds: “By using our new and improved binder, we expect our industrial print heads to have an increased lifetime at a high and consistent printing quality level. Moreover, the unbound PMMA powder can be reused and recycled for forthcoming printing jobs, which ensures efficient material usage.”

PPC² will be officially presented at the 64th Technical Conference and Equipment Expo, taking place in Covington, KY, USA from October 15th to 18th, 2017.