Multi Jet Fusion is a 3d printing
process, so it's layer by layer and it's
using nylon powder as its base. It's
very similar to selective laser
sintering with a major difference in
that, instead of using a laser it's using
ink agents to promote the sintering and
so, it's got a carriage that passes back
and forth over the entire part bed and
it's got a bunch of ink heads on it and
it's dispersing both a fusing agent,
which promotes energy absorption and the
sintering of the part as well as what
they call detailing agents at the
bounding edge. That really helps
create a nice fine surface area which
gives you better overall part quality at
much faster build speeds. It's got a lot
of key benefits, so first and foremost,
it's building with nylon powders and so
these are real engineering-grade
materials that we're using and. compared
to SLS as a technology. you get smoother
surface finish. you can achieve a little
bit finer feature resolution. you get
more consistent mechanical properties in
both the X Y and the Z direction. and you
know it's building and faster overall
build speeds and so it's a more
economical process as a whole.
As a nylon-based technology we
anticipate customers to use it very
similar to SLS today. It's going to shine
in applications that require either a
little bit more strength or a little bit
higher temperature resistance. Often we
see those in engine-type components like
housings bellows or baffles or in
manufacturing like in jigs and fixtures.
