UpNano has successfully achieved high-resolution 3D printing that can be done on centimetre-sized parts using 2PP technology. This has also allowed for the printing of parts with nano and microscale resolution to be printed using 12 orders of magnitude. UPNano GmbH based in Vienna was the company behind this feat.
The company is associated with TU Wien which previously developed the 2PP 3D printing system that is able to print polymeric parts of between 100 to 1012 micrometre using a printer that has a nano and micro-scale resolution. The company was able to reproduce 4 replicas of the Eiffel Tower that ranged from 200 micrometres to 4 centimetres having all the microscopic structure in 30 to 540 minutes. This development shows that 2PP 3D printing is now ripe for utilisation in Research and Development, a feat that previously was deemed impossible.
TU Wien has been at the forefront in demonstrating the abilities of 2PP 3D printing a groundbreaking technology that has only been used in very few applications. The ability to utilise it in the centimeter range had been a time consuming process thus it was not an appealing option when you are looking at large scale printing. However the Austrian based company has proved that it’s possible to print within minutes highly precise parts of various resolutions ranging from centimeter, millimeter to micrometer in size.
Power of Photons
According to Peter Gruber, the head of Technology and Co-founder of UpNano, they have been able to come up with and patent an innovative and adaptive resolution technology for their 3D printing system. Using a highly powerful laser they are able to achieve high speed printing employing adaptive resolution mode. This is important when considering the meso- range according to Bernhard Küenburg, UpNano’s CEO. Another advantage is that this technology allows for fast printing times for large centimeter objects with a micrometer resolution.
This latest development has been well received in various quarters with the medical field employing it in production of microneedles having tight tolerance while having the other features like the cannula, reservoir, and sharp tip. Equally, it can be used in making usable micro-mechanic parts i.e. the 6-millimetre spring that was printed in under 6 minutes. This technology has also been used to produce filters by employing NanoOne technology that brings a new future for the filtering and separation processes.
