3D Systems A new 3D-printer and material combination aimed at jewellery has been introduced.
The MJP 300W 3D printer and VisiJet Wax Jewel Ruby material are the latest additions to the additive manufacturing (AM) pioneer’s jewellery manufacturing line-up, and are said to allow users to ‘achieve new designs with greater design freedom and improved surface finish.’
3D Systems claims that the MJP300W is the most flexible and advanced wax 3D printer it has ever produced. It is also being introduced with two new print modes: QHD and UHD. QHD mode is said to enable more than 50% improved resolution in all axes (i.e., 2,000 dpi in X, 1,800 dpi in Y, 2,900 dpi in Z) and 9.5 µm layer thickness compared to the previous generation wax 3D printer, meaning better surface finish and less post-processing. This makes it possible to print more complex designs where polishing is not practical or possible. UHD mode, on its ProJet MJP2500W+, offers a print speed 2x faster than XHD. This results in increased productivity and reduced labour costs for finishing and polishing. 3D Systems states that four different print modes (QHD UHD XHD ZHD) provide greater flexibility when planning builds for day or night shifts.
VisiJet Wax Jewel Ruby, on the material side, is a hard, temperature-stable wax. It provides a combination of good material properties with good dimensional stabilization in high-temperature environment. It is therefore possible to preserve the details of even the most complex jewellery designs, and reduce the risk of distortion or breakage, during the molding process. This new material has a higher thermal stability than the VisiJet Wax Jewel Red, which was introduced recently. It allows pre-setting to speed up production.
Marty Johnson, vice president, product & technical fellow, 3D Systems, commented: “With the introduction of the MJP 300W and our new VisiJet Wax Jewel Ruby material, we are providing producers of wax jewellery casting patterns with enhanced capabilities to improve productivity and processes that ensure reliability. 3D Systems’ full system integration of the materials, printer, print process, and software which is strengthened by our application expertise and global customer success team is enabling our jewellery manufacturing customers to achieve new levels of innovation, quality, and reliability. The latest additions to our end-to-end solutions for jewellery manufacturing reinforce our commitment to addressing our customers’ needs to gain unprecedented levels of agility with ease of use that ensures high-quality results at any scale.”
A company spokesperson said that an industrial stack lamp, which could be mounted on the printer’s surface or another nearby surface for better visibility, has been added to make it easier to monitor progress. 3D Systems claims that improvements in reliability through hardware and print head modifications will improve uptime, and reduce the cost of ownership by decreasing the frequency of replacement.
Shashidhar Kumar at Shree Rapid Technologies, a 3D Systems partner which had early access to the machine and material said: “Our experience has shown that is it very easy to handle, and delivers patterns with improved strength and flexibility, enabling us to provide higher quality, durable patterns to our customers. Additionally, the material is best suited for pre-setting stones, which is helping our customers improve efficiencies when creating pieces with intricate details.”
Both the MJP300W and VisiJet Wax Jewel Ruby will be available by November 2023.
Earlier this year, 3D Systems expanded its jewellery offering with the launch of the ProJet MJP 2500W Plus wax system, and later through the introduction of Figure 4 JCAST-GRN 20 resin for its Figure 4 stereolithography platform. Last month, the company announced plans to bring production of its metal and polymer AM systems in-house which is said to be enabling more streamlined production and a reduction in lead times.