User manual

Z406 System User Manual Z Corporation
www.zcorp-users.com
9
1.1.2 HOW IT WORKS
The Z406 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 0.003” – 0.009” (0.0762 - 0.2286 mm) thick.
The Z406 3D Printer then prints these cross-sections one after another from the bottom of part to the
top.
Inside the Z406 3D 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 is the roller
(drawn as a circle) and the print assembly (drawn as a square.) On the Z406 3D 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 zp series powder in the same
thickness as the cross section to be printed. The Z406 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 Z406 3D
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