Q&A. Water-Removable 3D Inkjet Printing

German company Keyence won the i-NOVO Tech Award 2016 at Hannover Messe for its Agilista-3000 Series high-resolution, 3D inkjet technology printer.

Sven Friedrich, Senior Area Sales Manager 3D-Printer, talked to Directindustry e-magazine about its ease of use and unique features.

DirectIndustry e-magazine: What are the key features of the Agilista 3D Printer?

Sven Friedrich: The Agilista achieves high-resolution printing through inkjet technology. This means it is not just limited to design checks but can also support a wide range of applications, such as assembly capability and functionality checks. It can be installed without any need for construction.

agilista-3100_ws_sr53385_ov_img02The water-soluble support material is easy to remove simply by soaking models in water. Furthermore, the printing material is temperature resistant up to 100 deg C.

DirectIndustry e-magazine: How does it work?

Sven Friedrich: Four printing heads with small nozzles apply drops of a liquid resin layer by layer on to a printing plate. The printing head moves in the x- and y- direction while the printing plate moves the z-direction. The printing unit is equipped with a UV lamp that directly cures the single layers.

Both materials (model and support material) are applied at the same time, the software automatically calculates the necessary support structures. After the printing process has finished the model does not need any post treatment and the support material can be removed simply by putting the model into water.