Purpose

The purpose of this study was to prepare water-based binders, which aimed to avoid printhead blockage and to improve dimensional accuracy of inkjet 3D printing (3DP) technology, and a feasible algorithm of full-color printing was realized.

Design/methodology/approach

A self-developed color 3D printer was made by using a piezoelectric printhead of Epson Dx-5. Several water-based binders and corresponding gypsum composite powders were prepared, and the optimum binder-powder assembly was then determined through elementary adhesive testing and roller paving testing. Full-color printing was implemented based on halftoning algorithms that used different threshold matrices for different ink channels, and the performances of various algorithms were evaluated in terms of both subjective and objective indices.

Findings

The optimum binder-powder assembly can solve the jamming problem of printhead and realize agreeable dimensional accuracy with the relative error less than 2.5% owing to the satisfying boundary diffusion control ability. And the determined halftone algorithm was verified to be agreeable for 3D color printing.

Originality/value

The prepared approach of water-based binders and gypsum composite powders can be applied to similar 3DP systems even if different materials are introduced. And the used halftone algorithms provide feasible guidelines to the implementation of 3D full-color printing.

中文翻译：

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自行开发的3D打印机的水性粘合剂制备和全色打印实现

目的

这项研究的目的是制备水性粘合剂，目的是避免打印头阻塞并提高喷墨3D打印（3DP）技术的尺寸精度，并实现了可行的全色打印算法。

设计/方法/方法

使用Epson Dx-5的压电打印头制作了自行开发的彩色3D打印机。制备了几种水基粘合剂和相应的石膏复合粉，然后通过基本的粘合剂测试和辊涂测试确定了最佳的粘合剂-粉末组合。全色打印是基于半色调算法实现的，该算法对不同的墨水通道使用不同的阈值矩阵，并根据主观和客观指标评估了各种算法的性能。

发现

由于令人满意的边界扩散控制能力，最佳的粘合剂-粉末组件可以解决打印头的堵塞问题并实现令人满意的尺寸精度，相对误差小于2.5％。并确定了确定的半色调算法可用于3D彩色打印。

创意/价值

即使引入了不同的材料，所制备的水基粘合剂和石膏复合粉末的方法也可以应用于类似的3DP系统。并且所使用的半色调算法为3D全色打印的实施提供了可行的指南。