a material system and method for bonding refractory powders in a three dimensional printer . a first particulate component including a refractory material is mixed with a first reactive component to form a particulate mixture . a flat layer of the particulate mixture is dispensed onto a build surface . a liquid binder , which may include a furan monomer and a surfactant , is dispensed by an ink - jet printhead onto the particulate mixture . the particulate mixture may contain a furan - soluble polymer that imposes a capillary attraction for the liquid binder , keeping it situated in the immediate vicinity of where the binder is dispensed . additionally it provides a sufficient catalytic power to co - polymerize with the furan monomer and form a solid structure . this enables a 3d printer to build strong , accurate parts with high packing density , and to reuse the feed material many times in the printer .