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The fundamental limitations of RP are resolution, accuracy, speed and materials. For most RP technologies, these requirements have been mutually exclusive. For example, high resolution systems have been very slow or have had very limited material selection. However, a new system from Objet Geometries Ltd. (Israel) shows how it may be possible to solve some of these problems simultaneously.
 
The Eden330TM represents the second generation of the company’s PolyJetTM technology. The unit uses a wide-area inkjet method to deposit photopolymers a layer at a time. Each layer is cured by a wide-area light source immediately after it’s deposited. A second jetted photopolymer is also deposited and used as a removable support material. What’s new about the Eden330TM is that the layer thickness is just 16 microns (0.0006 inches), and it combines that resolution with a Z-axis build rate of 20 mm per hour (0.8 inches per hour). Other inkjet technologies such as those from Solidscape and Sanders Prototypes have resolutions in the same range, but can’t build at any thing near that rate; wide-area inkjets from 3D Systems, don’t have that resolution. The fine resolution means that nearly all stairstepping is eliminated and that required hand finishing is minimal. As with the company's previous offerings, resolution in the X-Y plane remains 300 X 600 dpi. The unit also sports a large build volume of 340 x 330 x 200 mm (13.5 x 13 x 8 inches).Since the Objet system uses photopolymers, there’s a long-term prospect that materials can be developed or adapted to a wide range of applications. Far more work is going on to develop photopolymers than for any other class of RP materials. At present however, the selection is limited to the company’s FullCureTM resins which are said to produce flexible, snap-fit-capable parts that can be drilled, machined, sanded and otherwise finished.
 
Right: single head replacement facillitated using just two screws.
Objet has also made it possible for an operator to replace a jetting head if it fails and thereby avoid a field service call. Eight heads are used which can be individually replaced. Objet QuadraTempoTM machines can be field-retrofitted with this new technology at a cost of US$18,000. The Eden330TM itself sells for US$89,000 and is said to be appropriate for an office environment.
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