page_title: Multi-material 3D printing
section_title: Material Jetting
hierarchical_section_title: Multi-material 3D printing / Multi-material 3D printing Technologies / Material Jetting
caption_attribution_description: English: Material Jetted Model of a Human Skull
context_page_description: Multi-material 3D printing is the additive manufacturing procedure of using multiple materials at the same time to fabricate an object. Similar to single material additive manufacturing it can be realised through methods such as FFF, SLA and Inkjet 3D printing. By expanding the design space to different materials, it establishes the possibilities of creating 3D printed objects of different color or with different material properties like elasticity or solubility. The first multi-material 3D printer Fab@Home became publicly available in 2006. The concept was quickly adopted by the industry followed by many consumer ready multi-material 3D printers.
context_section_description: The process of material jetting, often also called Inkjet 3D printing, is similar to the 2D Inkjet printing procedure. The print head consists of multiple small nozzles which jet droplets of photopolymers on demand. Each nozzle can extrude a different material, which allows for the creation of multi-material parts. The droplets of material are then immediately cured using a UV light source mounted to the print head. In contrast to the FFF printing process, a layer is not formed by moving the print head along a pre-calculated path, but by scanning the layer line by line. The Statasys J750, for example, allows for full colour prints. The materials supported by the material jetting printing process are similar to the ones of the SLA process and hence share similar properties. Additionally there have been advances in the field of material jetting metals by suspending nano metal particles in a fluid. After the removal of the support material the printed object has to be sintered to create a final metal part.
caption: Material Jetted Model of a Human Head
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