All You Need to Know About Multi-Material 3D Printing

Multi-material 3D printing is, as the name implies, 3D printing several materials in one continuous printing process. It is not the same as multi-color printing, where one material is printed in several color variations. Although the visual result of multi-material printing can be that it contains several colors, the basic aim of printing with multiple materials is to achieve a combination of their properties. Different materials have different characteristics, for example they could be conductive, hard, soft, transparent, chemically resistant, etc. and are therefore particularly suitable for specific applications. In some cases, however, it is necessary to combine the characteristics of different materials in one object in order to fully exploit its application, hence the existence of solutions for multi-material 3D printing.

Indeed, multi-material 3D printing is particularly useful when you want to combine two complementary material properties in one workpiece so that it is, for example, partially rigid and flexible. Multi-material 3D printing also makes it possible to print support structures in a different material that can be easily removed during post-processing. Examples of this include PVA and HIPS. Furthermore, in terms of post-processing, multi-material 3D printing can greatly reduce this, as end parts made of several materials can be produced in one go, making the assembly of individual, separately printed parts unnecessary (thus saving time).

Efficient multi-material 3D printing depends on the technology and hardware used. Although there is a lot of experimentation and constant progress in the field of multi-material 3D printing, not every process is suitable for printing multiple materials at the same time. Currently, multi-material 3D printing is possible with SLA, for example by using several vats with different materials, but also with material jetting (which by design is particularly suited for printing with multiple materials at once). In the latter, printheads are equipped with several nozzles that jet different materials using inkjet technology.