Triditive, Foxconn Developing Binder Jetting Technology

Triditive, a Spanish company, is partnering with Foxconn, a Taiwanese electronics company, to create a 3D printer using binder jetting technology. The companies are currently developing the first prototype and materials for subsequent commercialization.

Binder jetting technology, also known as binder injection, belongs to the group of powder bed or sinter-based additive manufacturing (AM) technologies. The process consists of placing layers of metal powder, where the particles are joined through the selective deposition of binder through a printhead. The process is repeated layer by layer, for subsequent sintering process in the furnace where the binder is burned, resulting in metal parts with highly complex geometries. 

The companies say the key advantage of this technology being developed is its scalability of production and cost reduction in the manufacture of complex metal parts for end-use applications. For the development of the binders, Triditive collaborated with Tecnalia, the research and technological development center of the Basque Country (País Vasco). For the selection of metallic powders, it collaborated with the German Technology Center Fraunhofer.

According to the companies, binder jetting technology introduces a newer, faster way to create metal parts in an additive process compared to existing technologies. To do this, the inkjet printheads offer a high level of precision, enabling the smallest details to be reproduced.

It is said Foxconn is one of the largest companies in the technology sector, producing devices for Apple, Sony, Intel and others. Within its lines of business is 3D printing, a market in which it has been developing for years and which is now continuing, together with Triditive, with the design of new AM equipment.

The project includes Triditive’s AMCELL hardware, which is designed to automate the 3D printing process from start to finish. It connects through EVAM software to provide remote machine connectivity, full tracking and traceability of manufactured parts, as well as factory production planning and quality control.