3D printing · process family

Binder jetting

Binder jetting · BJ · BJT

Glue powder together with jetted binder, then sinter

A print head jets a liquid binder onto a powder bed, gluing the grains of one layer together — no heat during printing. Spread powder, print binder, repeat. The 'green' part is fragile and is then processed: sand moulds are used as-is, full-colour models are infiltrated, and metal or ceramic parts are de-bound and sintered to full density. Because nothing melts during the build, it is fast, needs no supports, and scales to large beds and mass production.

glue · spread · repeat
Binder jetting — glue powder together with jetted binder, then sinter.
0.05–0.2 mm layers
Resolution
Fast (no melting)
Speed
$$$
Cost
Good (post-sinter)
Isotropy

How it works

  1. 1
    A recoater spreads a thin layer of powder (sand, metal, ceramic or gypsum).
  2. 2
    A print head jets binder (and colour ink) onto the layer's cross-section.
  3. 3
    The platform drops one layer and fresh powder is spread on top.
  4. 4
    Repeat to build a fragile 'green' part held in the powder bed.
  5. 5
    Post-process: cure, de-powder, then infiltrate or sinter to final density.

The machines

The variants of this family, from the hobby basics to the industrial state of the art.

Sand binder jetting

Industrial

Binds foundry sand into moulds and cores directly from CAD — huge in metal casting.

Metal binder jetting

Industrial (metal)

Prints a green metal part that is then de-bound and sintered (like MIM). The leading route to high-volume metal AM (Desktop Metal, ExOne, HP Metal Jet).

Full-colour (gypsum)

Prosumer / pro

Binds a gypsum/plaster powder with coloured binder for CMYK models; infiltrated for strength.

Strengths & limits

Strengths
  • Fast and scalable — no melting, large beds, mass production
  • No supports; nests parts densely
  • Full colour (gypsum) and direct sand moulds
  • Cheapest route to high-volume metal parts
Limits
  • Green parts are fragile before sintering
  • Sintering shrinks the part 15–20% — must be predicted
  • Porosity and lower properties than fully-melted metal
  • Multi-step workflow (print → cure → sinter/infiltrate)

Typical parts & materials

Feedstock: Sand, metal, ceramic or gypsum powder + liquid binder · Sand, metals, ceramics (and full-colour gypsum).

Typical parts: Sand casting moulds and cores, high-volume small metal parts, full-colour figurines and architectural models

Commonly run in — open one for its cited properties:

Foundry sandStainless / tool steelGypsum (full colour)

What's new

Metal binder jetting is the process the industry is betting on for mass-production metal AM — sinter-based, tooling-free, and cost-competitive with casting at volume. Sand binder jetting has already reshaped the foundry.

Part of the 3D printing guide. Compare the other process families, see the design rules, or browse the cited materials database.