MODULE 4
PRINCIPLE, PROCESS PARAMETERS,
ADVANTAGES AND APPLICATIONS OF
JETTING
• Jetting is a type of additive manufacturing process that involves the
deposition of material in a precise and controlled manner using an
inkjet print head.
Principle:
• Jetting involves the use of an inkjet print head to deposit material
layer-by-layer onto a build platform.
• The print head contains a nozzle that dispenses droplets of material
onto the build platform.
• The material is typically in liquid or semi-solid form, and is cured or
solidified after deposition.
PRINCIPLE, PROCESS PARAMETERS,
ADVANTAGES AND APPLICATIONS OF
JETTING
Process parameters:
• The main process parameters in jetting include material viscosity, droplet size, and droplet velocity.
• The print head is controlled by a computer system that uses CAD data to determine the deposition pattern and
layer thickness.
• Jetting can be used with a wide range of materials, including polymers, metals, ceramics, and composites.
Advantages:
• Jetting allows for precise control over material deposition, which can result in high accuracy and resolution.
• Jetting is a relatively fast process compared to other types of additive manufacturing, as it does not require
heating or cooling cycles.
• Jetting can be used with a wide range of materials, making it a versatile option for additive manufacturing.
Applications:
• Jetting is commonly used for producing prototypes, as it allows for quick and easy iteration and design changes.
• Jetting can also be used for producing small-scale production runs of parts with complex geometries or high
detail.
• Jetting is used in a variety of industries, including aerospace, automotive, medical, and consumer goods.
STL FILE
STL FILE FORMAT
• STL (STereoLithography) format is a commonly used file format in 3D
printing.
• It represents the geometry of a 3D object as a collection of triangular
surfaces, where each triangle is defined by three points and a facet
normal vector in 3D space
STL FILE PROBLEMS
• Geometrical Error : STL defines models based on triangles. This will introduce
geometrical error no matter how small the triangles are. And to obtain a better
resolution of the model, a larger number of triangles would be added to the
STL model.
• Non-manifold geometry: It refers to a situation where a surface has self-
intersections, holes, or other topological problems. This can happen when the
points that define the surface do not meet the requirements for a proper
manifold geometry. Non-manifold geometry can cause issues when 3D printing,
as it can lead to holes in the printed object or cause the printer to fail
altogether.
• It can occur due to Disconnected vertices and edges, Internal faces, Areas
with no thickness, Holes etc.
• Duplicate points: i.e When two or more points in the file have the same
coordinates. This can cause issues during the slicing process, where the
slicing software may not recognize the duplicate points, leading to
unexpected errors in the printed object.
• Inverted normals: Normals are vectors that define the orientation of a
surface. Inverted normals occur when the direction of the normal vector is
pointing in the wrong direction. This can cause issues during the printing
process, as the printer may not recognize the orientation of the surface
correctly, leading to unexpected results.
• Floating points: Floating points refer to points in the file that have very
small values, which can cause rounding errors during the printing process.
These rounding errors can lead to inaccuracies in the printed object.
• Unit Uncertainty :The STL format doesn’t explicitly define the unit
of the model, and it has no mechanism for representing the scale.
Therefore, confusion may be caused by using different
measurements in different steps of an AM procedure.
• Lack of Information : STL file can not contain information such as
color, materials, and texture. For those applications which require
information other than geometry, STL may not be capable of
delivering all the information needed.
Non-manifold geometry: AN EDGE SHARED BY MORE THAN TWO FACES
Inverted normals
CONSEQUENCE OF BUILDING VALID
TESSELLATED MODELS
Consequences of building valid tessellated models:
• Accurate printing: A valid STL file ensures that the 3D object is
accurately represented in the file, and the printer can accurately
reproduce the object. This leads to a more accurate and high-quality
printed object.
• Ease of printing: Valid STL files are easier to print, as they do not have
any errors or issues that could cause problems during the printing
process. This reduces the likelihood of printing failures and errors.
• Time and cost savings: Valid STL files can save time and money, as they
can be printed quickly and accurately without the need for additional
testing or troubleshooting.
INVALID TESSELLATED MODELS WILL CAUSE
• Printing failures: Invalid STL files can cause printing failures, leading to
wasted time, materials, and money. This can occur due to issues like non-
manifold geometry, duplicate points, inverted normals, or other issues.
• Poor quality prints: Invalid STL files can result in poor quality prints, where
the printed object may not accurately represent the original design due to
errors or inaccuracies in the file.
• Time-consuming troubleshooting: Fixing invalid STL files can be a time-
consuming process that requires expertise and specialized software tools.
This can increase the time and cost of the printing process, leading to
delays and additional expenses.
• ULTIMATELY COST INCREASES
STL file Repairs: Generic Solution, other
Translators
• Generic STL file repair software: There are many software tools
available that can repair common errors in STL files, such as non-
manifold geometry, duplicate points, and inverted normals. These
tools analyze the file and automatically correct any errors, making
the file ready for 3D printing.
• Other file translators: In addition to STL, there are other file formats
that can be used for 3D printing, such as OBJ, 3MF, and AMF. If an STL
file has errors that cannot be easily fixed, it may be possible to
convert the file to a different format using a file translator. This can
help to preserve the original design while avoiding printing issues.
Newly Proposed Formats
• There are also new file formats being developed which aim to address some
of the limitations of the STL format, such as the inability to represent color
or texture information.
• They also provide additional features, such as support for multiple
materials and better support for non-manifold geometry.
• Some alternatives are OBJ File, Additive Manufacturing File Format (AMF)
and the 3D Manufacturing Format (3MF).
OBJ File :
• The OBJ format was developed by Wavefront Technologies.
• Similar to STL ASCII format, the OBJ format represents polygonal data in
ASCII form containing vertex (v), normal vector (vn), faces (f) and texture
coordinates (vp).
• A material library (MTL) file, which references the colors and materials,
may be recalled in the OBJ file.
• Compared to the STL format, the OBJ format can not only encode color,
texture and material information into the file, but can also handle non-
triangular faces (i.e. polygons)
• AMF File :
• An AMF file can represent one object containing a set of non-overlapping
volumes.
• Like STL, each volume is represented by a set of triangular facets. AMF
uses XML to encode the object information with five top level elements
listed below:
– object, specifying volumes of material with a material ID.
– material, specifying materials corresponding to a material ID.
– texture, specifying textures with a texture ID.
– constellation, specifying relative pattern of objects.
– metadata, describing any additional information of the objects.
• AMF format also supports curved triangle patches, which
can remarkably reduce the number of faces required to
describe the surface.
• SLC File :
• The SLC (StereoLithography Contour) file format is developed at 3D
Systems.
• SLC takes two-dimensional slices directly from a CAD model instead of
using an intermediate tessellated STL model.
• These slices eliminate the facets associated with STL files because they
approximate the contours of the actual geometry.
• But problems in SLC includes that it need not be always more accurate,
involves more complicated calculations etc.
• CLI File :
• The CLI (Common Layer Interface) format is developed in a Brite Euram
project with the support of major European car manufacturers.
• Here the geometry part of the file is organized in layers in the ascending
order.
• The CLI file can be in binary or ASCII format.
• The CLI format has two kinds of entities - Polyline and Hatching.
• Polyline – Since polylines are closed, it gives a unique sense
• Hatching - To distinguish between the inside and outside of the part.
Advantages
(1) It only supports polyline entities. Since polylines are closed, which means
that they have a unique sense, either clockwise or anticlockwise.
(2) The slicing step can be avoided in some applications.
(3) The error in the layer information is much easier to correct than that in
the 3D information.
(4) Automated recovery procedures can be used, editing is easy.
Disadvantages
(1) It has the capability of producing only polylines of the outline of the
slice.
(2) Although the real outline of the part is obtained, by reducing the curve
to Segments of straight lines, the advantage over the STL format is lost.
• RPI File :
• The RPI (Rapid Prototyping Interface) format is designed by the Rensselaer
Design Research Center.
• It includes additional information about the facet topology.
• Instead of explicitly specifying the vertex coordinates for each facet, a facet
can be referred by index numbers. Hence it helps in overall redundant
information reduction.
Advantages
(1) Topological information is added to the RPI format. As the result,
flexibility is achieved. It allows users to balance storage and processing
costs.
(2) Redundancy in the STL is removed and the size of file is compacted.
(3) Representation of CSG primitives is provided, as capabilities to represent
multiple instances of both facet and CSG solids.
Disadvantages
(1) An interpreter which processes a format as flexible and extensible as the
RPI format, is more complex than that for the STL format.
(2) Surface patches suitable for solid approximation cannot be identified in
the RPI format.
• LEAF File :
• The LEAF or Layer Exchange ASCII Format, is generated by Helsinki University
of Technology.
• At the top level, there is an object called LMT-file (Layer Manufacture
Technology file) that can contain parts which in turn are composed of other
parts or by layers. Ultimately, layers are composed of 2D primitives and
currently the only ones which are planned for implementation are polylines.
• Advantages
(1) It is easy to implement and use.
(2) It is not ambiguous.
(3) It allows for data compression and for a human-readable
representation.
(4) It is machine independent and LMT process independent.
(5) Slices of CSG models can be represented almost directly in LEAF.
(6) The part representing the support structures can be easily separated
from the original part.
Disdvantages
1. The new interpreter is needed for connecting the rapid prototyping
systems.
2. The structure of the format is more complicated than that of the STL
format.
3. The STL format cannot be changed into this format