Spanish 3D printer producer BCN3D has introduced the launch of Supernova, a carve out of its Viscous Lithography Manufacturing (VLM) enterprise unit.
Headquartered between Austin and Barcelona, Supernova seeks to unlock new end-use, high-volume purposes. The corporate hopes to realize this by combining high-performance supplies, a scalable manufacturing platform, and aggressive value per half primarily based on VLM expertise and high-viscosity supplies.
Over 500 firms have already registered to the VLM Know-how Adoption Program. Supernova may also inherit present VLM prospects, together with Puma, Saint-Gobain, Orbea, Hutchinson, and Prodrive.
Notably, Supernova shouldn’t be a subsidiary of BCN3D. As an alternative, the 2 firms are utterly impartial of one another following the carve out, which was accomplished in This autumn 2023.
Supernova can be led by Roger Antunez as CEO, who beforehand served as Normal Supervisor of BCN3D since 2019. Marta Mico, previously the VLM Head of Enterprise Growth at BCN, joins as Co-Founder. The brand new firm has additionally introduced that it’ll increase its R&D groups in each its materials and merchandise segments, in addition to in its enterprise departments.
Seeking to the long run, Supernova will give attention to materials developments focusing on high-volume end-use purposes, in addition to the industrialization of its product ecosystem. The corporate’s first beta VLM techniques are set to be put in by the top of the yr.
VLM high-viscosity 3D printing
Launched by BCN3D again in March 2022, VLM expertise marked the corporate’s debut into the resin 3D printing market. The lithography primarily based course of laminates layers of resin onto a clear switch movie, earlier than the resin is photopolymerized into the 3D printed object .
One of many most important promoting factors of this expertise is its potential to 3D print high-viscosity resins, as much as 100 occasions extra viscous than these utilized in typical DLP, SLA, or MSLA processes.
This reportedly permits for the manufacturing of high-strength elements, possessing as much as triple the impression resistance and double the tear power. What’s extra, with elevated security restrictions towards typical epoxy resins doubtlessly on the horizon, extra producers might look in direction of the viscous resins processed by VLM.
VLM expertise additionally permits dual-material 3D printing, permitting customers to mix two totally different resins right into a single construct.
Supernova to industrialize VLM product ecosystem
To assist its long-term materials technique, Supernova has shaped relationships with main additive manufacturing chemical firms. This features a Joint Growth Settlement (JDA) with Arkema, and different partnerships with Altana, Elkem, Henkel, and Rahn.
In accordance with Supernova, the distinctive properties provided by VLM enable the expertise to 3D print elements nearer to these of injection-molded plastics than 3D printing resins. As such, the corporate claims to unlock “actual manufacturing purposes,” providing a expertise that mixes high quality, productiveness, and a aggressive value per half.
Since its launch, over 500 firms have signed as much as BCN3D’s VLM Know-how Adoption Program. These firms span quite a few industries, together with automotive, aerospace, manufacturing, shopper items, footwear, audiology, healthcare, and protection.
Certainly, motorsport agency Prodrive was one of many first firms to leverage VLM, utilizing the expertise to 3D print end-use elements built-in straight into its cross nation vehicles. The fabric’s sturdiness was stated to be a key driver of its success at Prodrive.
“VLM permits us to proceed to make use of the engineering supplies that we all know and love, however as an alternative in considerably finer decision in all three instructions, and the fabric is way more homogeneous, making the completed elements behave way more like a conventional injection molded half,” acknowledged Callum Harper, Design Engineer at Prodrive.
Elsewhere, automotive glass producer Saint-Gobain has used VLM to 3D print 7000 positioning fixtures at €0.79 per half in simply seven days.
Over the following yr, Supernova plans to leverage the Know-how Adoption Program to develop new purposes in key vertical markets. By means of this initiative, the corporate hopes to affect each supplies improvement and the industrialization of {hardware} techniques to kind what it’s calling a “manufacturing prepared ecosystem.”
Developments in industrial-scale resin 3D printing
Supernova is the newest firm to advertise its resin 3D printing expertise in direction of industrial-scale purposes.
At Formnext 2023, 3D printer producer Raise3D launched its DF2 answer. This marks the most recent addition to its industrial 3D printing portfolio, and the corporate’s first resin-based system. The resing 3D printing answer consists of the DF2 3D printer, DF Wash for automated cleansing, DF Treatment for superior curing, specialised resins, and ideaMaker slicing software program.
This new providing boasts fast 3D printing speeds, refined surfaces, and excessive precision. The combination of streamlined resin administration options, corresponding to Auto Resin Refill and Resin Materials Auto recognition, enhances DF2 Options’ operational effectivity, boosting productiveness.
Elsewhere, 20 Liquid Crystal Magna LCD 3D printers from Photocentric had been leveraged final yr to satisfy the ‘the biggest ever 3D printed elements order.’ Delivered by Utah-based 3D printed elements producer Merit3D, this order noticed Florida-based adhesives producer Adhesive Know-how Company request over 1 million end-use 3D printed elements in Could 2023.
The elements in query had been hangers for epoxy merchandise, used to connect the blending nozzle to the epoxy tube. These elements had been delivered at a fee of 40,000 3D printed items per week. In a single batch, 400 elements had been efficiently 3D printed in a single 3D print run of 225 minutes on every Photocentric system.
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Featured picture exhibits the Supernova emblem and launch banner. Picture through Supernova.
