APD technology
APD is a hybrid 3D printing process. Functional inks jetted onto each extruded layer change the part exactly where they land.
The technology stack
Rizium thermoplastic composites as the base polymer, and functional inks for color, marking, release, bonding and surface.
A voxel-based slicer decides, layer by layer, where the polymer goes and which ink lands on which cell.
A hybrid head: thermoplastic extrusion plus a piezo printhead fed from separate ink reservoirs, registered to each other.
Demonstrated today
CMYK inks are placed voxel by voxel, so color follows the design: product colors, gradients, labels, or analysis results such as a stress map. Color can sit on the surface or inside the part, as in the wear-indicator part below.
Color shows simulated stress from the design analysis.
Text, part numbers, instructions and QR codes are embedded a few voxels below the surface during the build. A thin skin of UV-absorbing polymer protects them from wear and fading.
Release ink is jetted where supports meet the part. Supports are printed in the same material as the part and separate cleanly, including under curved surfaces.
How same-material supports workInk jetted at each layer interface improves bonding between extruded layers, which is usually the weak direction of an extruded part.
Ink applied at the outer edge of each layer reduces the stair-step texture that layered printing leaves on curved and sloped surfaces.
This production fixture combines an embedded orange wear-indicator layer 0.8 mm below its contact faces with an embedded part number and wear-limit note, in one print with no assembly.
Release, in detail
Extrusion printing usually leaves two choices for supports. Breakaway supports in the part's own material are printed with a gap, so the underside droops and needs finishing where they broke off. Soluble supports need a second material, a second nozzle and a dissolving step. APD prints supports in the same polymer, directly against the part, and jets release ink at the interface so the two do not fuse.
Supports are printed from the same filament as the part. No second support material, no second nozzle, no dissolving bath.
Supports sit directly against the part with no air gap, so curved undersides and overhangs are fully supported while they print.
Supports come off by hand along the ink line. In deep or enclosed areas, simple tools may help.
Watch supports come off a part in about six seconds Video from the RIZE archive, on YouTube.
Open for development
These applications use the same process and are open for joint development with partners.
Intellectual property
All four are assigned to Palitra LLC and claim a 2010 priority date.
| Patent | Title | Granted | Key subject | Relates to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US 9,227,366 | Process for fabrication of three-dimensional objects | 2016 | Alternating extruded polymer layers with printed ink layers, including a plasticizing ink selected by solubility parameter. | Strength (layer bonding) and surface |
| US 10,265,910 | Process and apparatus for fabrication of three-dimensional objects | 2019 | The alternating build with heat or energy treatment of the ink or polymer layer. | Process control for all inks |
| US 10,357,918 | Process and apparatus for fabrication of three dimensional objects | 2019 | System claims: ink embedded between extruded layers, with an energy treatment variant. | Embedded color, marking and release |
| US 11,148,354 | Process and apparatus for fabrication of three dimensional objects | 2021 | A printed target pattern read by an optical sensor to align the extruder with the ink head. | Registration between extrusion and jetting |
Roadmap
APD is a jetting step added to a layer-by-layer process, not a single printer. That is what makes it licensable across processes.
The five demonstrated capabilities on extruded Rizium composites.
PEEK, Ultem and PPSF, with release ink for clean supports and embedded marking for traceability in medical and aerospace parts.
In high-speed sintering and selective laser sintering, the jetting step adapts to powder layers. Here APD becomes Augmented Material Deposition (AMD), for polymers, metals and ceramics.
The voxel-based slicing approach is designed to move to new processes with minor changes.
Questions
APD is a hybrid 3D printing process. An extruder deposits each layer of a thermoplastic part, and a piezo printhead jets functional inks onto that layer before the next one is added. The inks change the properties of the part where they land.
Multi-material extrusion switches between filaments. APD keeps one base polymer and changes its properties locally with jetted inks, at the resolution of the printhead, inside the same layer.
Five capabilities are demonstrated: full color, marking embedded below the surface, release ink for supports in the same material, ink that improves bonding between layers, and surface modification.
Supports are printed from the same polymer as the part, directly against it, and release ink is jetted wherever a support layer meets the part. The ink keeps the two from fusing, so the supports come off by hand along the ink line. Deep or enclosed areas may need simple tools. No second support material or dissolving step is needed.
Conductive traces and antennas, dielectric layers, surface chemistry, joining dissimilar polymers, tuned stiffness, and placement of biological or pharmaceutical agents are open for development with partners.
Yes. Palitra licenses the APD process, patents and know-how for defined fields of use, usually after a feasibility study and joint development with the licensee.
No. APD is a jetting step added to a layer-by-layer process. The roadmap extends it to high-performance polymers and to powder bed processes, where it becomes Augmented Material Deposition (AMD).
Start with a feasibility study: we print your application with APD and test it against your requirements.
Discuss licensing