Every licensee uses an inkjet print head, be it either drop on demand, which dispenses discrete amounts of binder, or continuous, which dispenses an uninterrupted binder stream. According to Sachs, the binder is deposited onto a layer of powder. The powder, whether ceramic, metal, or polymer, then fuses into a thin section of the desired shape. Unbound powder remains around the fused stratum. With one layer down, another powder layer is dispensed over it.
More binder is applied.
In this fashion, an object emerges, layer by layer. An ultimate goal of 3-D printing, Sachs said, is direct manufacturing. Mass. A critical element to the commercial acceptance of this form of 3-D printing is the need to make high production rates. Gaylo said the Theriform process does well in this regard when compared with the conventional manufacturing of multilayered tablets on triple compression presses. Where the Theriform process has no match is in its power to create solid state drug delivery forms with various release profiles, Gaylo said.