SoT Laboratories and Process Capabilities

Engineering Technology

ET Applications Engineer Monty Graham is shown preparing the Z™ 400 located in the Rapid Prototyping and Metrology Center of the CAT Building. The Z400 system part printing process allows part construction without support structure and is capable of constructing parts with complex geometry.

Z™ 400
Parts fabricated by the Z™ 400 are initially created in CAD software and saved in STL format. System software converts the three dimensional drawings into thousands of cross sections between 0.003 and 0.009 inches thick. The Z400 system printer performs the printing process by spreading layers of ZP powder the same thickness as the cross-sectional layers to be printed. A binder solution is added causing the powder particles to bind. The layers are then deposited one at a time until the part printing process is complete. After printing, the part is removed from the powder bed, depowdered, and dried. The Z400 system part printing process allows part construction without support structure and is capable of printing parts with complex geometry.