30 Years of Innovation: Industry Collaboration Made Multi Jet Fusion a Reality
When Multi Jet Fusion first came on the scene a few years ago in 2016, it made a big splash. The 3D printing world was excited to become acquainted with the much-anticipated technology, also called MJF for short. Soon, many realized the potential for their prototypes and end-use parts thanks to its higher surface quality, consistent build time regardless of the number of parts, and the ability to print exceptionally thin walls.
As i.materialise’s parent company, Materialise, celebrated its 30 th anniversary on June 28 th of this year, we are reflecting back on the meaningful innovations along the way that have made the company what it is today. This is the first blog in our series, which will look at a different technology every month for the rest of this year. Stay tuned to our blog to discover the rest of the series!
Innovation is in our DNA
“It has been in Materialise DNA over the past 30 years to continue to innovate, including being on the lookout for the newest technologies and materials,” according to Giovanni Vleminckx, Research Engineer. “MJF is a great example of this. To me, this is the core of what innovation is all about: developing, testing, and collaborating with others in the industry on technology to push 3D printing to the next level.”
Research Engineer Giovanni Vleminckx began testing Multi Jet Fusion in 2016 due to a strategic partnership with HP.
MJF came to Materialise in 2016 when HP was closer to debuting their first printer. The partnership started with Materialise developing build processor software for the machines to establish a seamless connection from computer to printer. The result was a simplified workflow for the user, as well as the possibility of creating build jobs, all in a single software package.
To make the build processor as fine-tuned to the machine as possible and uncover the potential benefits the technology could have for our manufacturing customers, Giovanni along with his team started exploring the possibilities and testing the MJF printers themselves. The partnership extended to also provide feedback to HP on the hardware so the machine could be fine-tuned before launching. This also allowed Materialise to be one of the first to offer the technology and fully adopt it into the biggest factory for 3D printing in Europe.
From there, the partnership between Materialise and HP became even closer when in 2019 Materialise joined HP’s newly launched Digital Manufacturing Network. 3D printing suppliers in this network must pass specific production process criteria to give customers reassurance that their MJF parts are of the highest standard.
An innovative approach to powder-based 3D printing
“Those first few times working with MJF were very exciting. I could immediately see how to bring out the strengths of this technology. What makes MJF so special is that the build is always finished in a certain amount of...
