User manual

Spectrum Z510 User Manual

www.zcorp-users.com

1.2 How It Works

The Spectrum System is based on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s patented 3DP™

(3D Printing) technology.

The software first converts a three-dimensional design built using 3D CAD into cross-sections

or slices that can be between 0.0035” – 0.004” (0.0875 - 0.1 mm) thick.

The printer then prints these cross-sections one after another from the bottom of part to the top.

Inside the printer there are two pistons (see Figure 1.) The feed piston is represented in the

diagrams below on the left and is shown in the ‘down’ position filled with powder. The build

piston is the piston on the right, shown below in the ‘up’ position. Also represented in the

diagrams are the roller (drawn as a circle) and the print assembly (drawn as a square.) On the

printer, the roller and the print assembly are mounted together on the gantry which moves

horizontally across the build area.

To begin the 3D printing process, the printer first spreads a layer of powder in the same

thickness as the cross section to be printed. The print heads then apply a binder solution to the

powder causing the powder particles to bind to one another and to the printed cross-section one

level below. The feed piston comes up one layer and the build piston drops one layer. The

printer then spreads a new layer of powder and repeats the process, and in a short time the

entire part is printed.

Step 1: As the gantry traverses

left to right, the roller collects

powder.

Step 2: The roller spreads a thin

layer of powder over the build

piston.

Step 3: The roller discharges

excess powder down the

powder overflow chute.

Step 4: As the gantry traverses

right to left, the print head

prints the part cross-section.

Step 5: The feed piston moves

up one layer, the build piston

moves down one layer, and the

process is repeated.

Figure 1: The Printing Process