Xaar : BASF and XAAR collaborate on industrialization of photopolymer jetting

Categories:Advanced Manufacturing, 3D

14 November 2017

BASF, world-leading chemical company, and Xaar, world leader in industrial inkjet technology, announce a collaboration to improve the Photopolymer Jetting (PPJ) process also known as Material Deposition. Preliminary lab test results arising from this collaboration are shown at Formnext, Germany (14-17 November) on the BASF booth hall 3.1 - F20.

This collaboration will enable manufacturers to produce 3D parts with improved properties and lower costs than currently possible. BASF and Xaar are seeking companies to join the collaboration to understand how these improvements can serve industrial part manufacturing. This applies to companies wishing to make bespoke industrial 3D Printing machinery or standalone 3D printers.

In the Photopolymer Jetting process, photopolymers are deposited by jetting droplets onto a build bed platform which are cured using a UV light source. This process is repeated layer-by-layer, using part and support photopolymers to create the intended 3D object. The collaboration of BASF and Xaar has produced improvements over the existing process. The benefits come from Xaar's industrial inkjet printheads with TF Technology ink recirculation and the newly released High Laydown Technology combined with BASF's newly developed photopolymers. Xaar's High Laydown Technology enables high deposition rates of up to 20 l/hr with addressability of 720 dpi with the Xaar 2001+. Additionally, Xaar's low energy Chevron actuator and TF Technology enables use of high viscosity and high particle-loaded fluids. BASF's new photopolymers have been developed to complement Xaar's printhead specifications in order to deliver high productivity and improved parts properties.

'With the new photopolymers developed by BASF we have proven that significant improvements can be achieved using a combination of technologies from both companies,' comments Doug Edwards, CEO at Xaar. 'While continuing to develop this offering, we are now ready to bring in more partners from a range of industry sectors to implement the solution.'

'The productivity and fluid flexibility we achieved with Xaar printheads and our advanced chemistry address market requirements for productivity and quality which to date have remained unmet', said Volker Hammes, Managing Director BASF 3D Printing Solutions GmbH. 'The solution arising from this collaboration will enable manufacturers to produce significantly better parts, more reliably, at higher production levels and which better meet their cost targets.'

About BASF 3D-Printing Solutions

BASF 3D-Printing Solutions (B3DPS), headquartered in Heidelberg, Germany, is a 100% subsidiary of BASF New Business GmbH. It focusses on establishing and expanding the business with materials, system solutions, components and services in the field of 3D printing. It works in agile, startup-like structures for serving customers in the dynamic 3D-Printing markets. To develop sustainable solutions B3DPS works closely with BASF's global research platforms and application engineers in the divisions. In addition, B3DPS cooperates with research institutes, universities, startups and industrial partners. Further information atwww.basf-new-business.com.

About BASF

At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. The approximately 114,000 employees in the BASF Group work on contributing to the success of our customers in nearly all sectors and almost every country in the world. Our portfolio is organized into five segments: Chemicals, Performance Products, Functional Materials & Solutions, Agricultural Solutions and Oil & Gas. BASF generated sales of about €58 billion in 2016. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (BAS). Further information at:www.basf.com.

About Xaar

Xaar is a world-leader in the development of inkjet technology and manufacture of piezoelectric drop-on-demand industrial printheads. The company also develops and sells ink systems, electronics and fluid optimisation services to accelerate inkjet system development and adoption. Xaar printheads incorporate patented technology which delivers unbeatable performance when decorating, patterning, depositing functional coatings on, or adding structure to, a variety of industrial and consumer products. Today leading manufacturers worldwide, in sectors ranging from ceramics, wide-format graphics and labels to direct-to-shape packaging and decorative laminates, choose Xaar's printheads because they are extremely precise, exceptionally versatile, incredibly reliable, and designed for high-volume production.