3D sandstone printing

Shapeways: Sandstone

Binder Jetting

Upload a model

Loading contents...

Show menu

Binder Jetting

Upload a model

Material info

About Sandstone

Full Color Sandstone offers multi-color printing, making it the best material for figurines, architecture, medical models and other applications that require many colors. Although it’s a great material for decorative models, it is not well suited for handling due to its low strength and brittle nature.

Color & Finishes

Plain

Full Color

Technology

Binder Jetting

Description

Material Highlights

multi-color, great value, great for architecture models

Design Guidelines

Bounding Box

Bounding Box Max
250 × 380 × 200 mm

Bounding Box Min
X + Y + Z > 10 mm

The bounding box is a 3D imaginary outline of a box that encloses the smallest area occupied by your model. Your model must be within the minimum and maximum bounding box sizes. If the size of the model is close to the maximum bounding box, then the printing orientation will be restricted.

Supported Wall Thickness Min

2.0 mm

Unsupported Wall Thickness Min

3.0 mm

A supported wall is connected at least on two sides of the wall, while an unsupported wall is connected only on one side of the wall. Walls that do not meet the minimum requirements may not survive printing and cleaning processes. Additionally, models may still be rejected based on the wall geometry of the model. Please consider the size of your model and reinforce the walls or add support structures as needed as minimum guidelines will not always be adequate for large models.

Supported Wires Min

2.0 mm

Unsupported Wires Min

3. 0 mm

A wire is a circular, rectangular or even triangular feature that is thinner in its unconnected directions than its length. A supported wire is connected at least on two sides of the model, while an unsupported wire is connected on one side of the model. Wires that do not meet the minimum requirements may not survive printing and cleaning processes. Additionally, models may still be rejected based on the wire geometry of the model. Please consider the size of your model and reinforce the wires or add support structures as needed as minimum guidelines will not always be adequate for large models.

Details

Details Min Embossed

0.4 mm high & wide

Details Min Engraved

0.4 mm high & wide

For text, the ratio between width and depth, should be 1:1 and sans-serif fonts are preferred for line weight consistency.

Escape Holes

Single Escape Hole Diameter (Min)

25 mm

Multiple Escape Hole Diameter (Min)

15 mm or 10 mm when there are four or more escape holes

Escape holes are necessary to empty the support material of a hollow model. Two escape holes at the opposite ends of the model is optimal for the support removal process. Please consider the size of your model and make the escape holes bigger or add more escape holes as needed as minimum guidelines will not always be adequate for large models.

A single escape hole at the end of a cavity will not allow material in the corners near the escape hole to fully escape. So we recommend multiple escape holes at both ends of the cavity.

Clearance

Min

0.9 mm

Clearance is the space between two individual parts in a model. If the space among the individual parts do not meet the minimum clearance, then parts can fuse together or can be difficult to clean. This is important for movable pieces like hinges, gears, etc.

Interlocking & Enclosed Parts

Interlocking
Yes

Enclosed
Yes

Accuracy

Accuracy ±0.5 mm

Stay up to date on promotions, case studies, and more.

Newsletter Sign up

Stay up to date on promotions, case studies, and more.

Email Address

Sandstone 3D Printing - Simply Explained

Table of Contents

Experts are consistently making progress in the field of additive manufacturing. From desktop printers to full-color printing, we have come a long way. You heard it right. Colorful models are possible to print. And, Sandstone 3D printing offers users the opportunity to create parts that are presentable with visibly pleasing aesthetics.

Sandstone is a material that is popularly known for its contribution to the construction sector. Commonly used as an additive with grindstones and other construction mixtures, the material possesses an imperative role within the sector. And, the material can be 3D printed. In addition, the models made using Sandstone 3D Printing can have multiple colors.

Using full-color sandstone printing, users can certainly add more depth to their art. Hence, without much further ado, let us just jump to the details.

What is Sandstone 3D Printing?

There are two 3D Printing technologies that can help print with Sandstone: ColorJet and binder jetting 3D printing. During the printing process, the grains fuse together with the help of a binding agent. The printed parts are brittle and require further processing.

Talking about its composition, the material is mostly a combination of quartz mixed with tiny grains. Popularly known for its unique hardness along with its chemical stability, Sandstone exhibits great mechanical properties.

Moreover, it can go through a variety of recycling processes, ensuring different results to the users. Hence, users can print Sandstone models with varying texture, color, hardness, and porosity.

Sandstone printing does have a few limitations too. For instance, printed parts using this material are usually brittle. Hence, you cannot use these 3D models for mechanical applications or, for creating models that must go through stress and high pressure.

In short, the 3D Printed parts are mostly for show. Either you are creating a figurine, a decorative item, or a prototype for testing the design appearance, you can definitely use Sandstone. Otherwise, it is best to find other alternatives which happen to be the right fit for your needs.

How to Print with Sandstone?

Creating 3D models using sandstone is gaining huge popularity. However, it is not possible to create Sandstone parts with just any 3D Printer. On the contrary, there are two best-suited 3D printing processes that help print with this material.

Sandstone 3D Printing Using Binder Jetting

The process starts with spreading sandstone over the print bed. To fuse the particles together, the machine involves the inkjet nozzles, looking similar to the ones used with 2D printers.

The nozzle passes around the bed surface and keeps depositing droplets of binding agent selectively. This agent fuses the powder particles.

If you wish to work with a full-color Binder Jetting, along with the binder agent, the nozzle also sprays the colored ink. Usually, the drops are approximately 80 μm in diameter. Therefore, users can achieve commendable resolution using this technology.

After each layer completes, the build platform moves one layer downwards. This is when the recoating blade again comes into action recoating the surface with the next layer of powdered material. This entire process keeps repeating unless the complete part is ready.

Later, the printed part is left encapsulated inside the left powder. This helps in offering some extra strength to the part. Hence, the process is called curing. After a sufficient waiting period, the part is removed and the excess material is removed using pressurized air.

The parts created using binder jetting are in a “green” state initially, right after they leave the 3D printer. The green state is because these parts do not have a huge strength to withstand pressure. And, carry relatively poor mechanical properties. Resulting in very brittle as well as highly porous parts.

Hence, these parts must go through post-processing treatments such as sintering, infiltration, etc, for gaining strength.

What’s interesting is that the process does not require any support structure. With excess powder supporting the 3D model, it is easy to get through with difficult designs as well. The powder itself acts as a supporting structure for all the models printed using this technique.

Just remember, you cannot create sandstone parts for “closed” prints. Not only will the resultant part be too expensive but it will trap the excess material inside of it.

Sandstone – Colours and Textures

The material comes in different textures and color options. Either you can choose for a plain design with no added color. Or, you can also go for full-color printing. Depending on your part requirements, you can choose the most suited printing option.

When it comes to texture, you can attain two different results with Sandstone 3D Printing. The first one is the natural texture. This would provide your part a slightly rough finish with matte colorings.

On the other hand, the glossy texture would be smoother to touch and will allow users to enhance their part’s color. These parts are comparatively more resistant to moisture.

Sandstone 3D Printing – Design Guidelines

There is no doubt that Sandstone 3D Printing is a very delightful experience. Apart from letting users create impressive and colorful 3D designs, the process is easy to accomplish as well.

However, you will need a few tips to master the complete process. So, here are some guidelines you must follow when working with Sandstone.