Boston Micro Fabrication
BMF's microArch S230 platform.
Boston Micro Fabrication (BMF) has introduced its latest Projection Micro Stereolithography (PµSL) 3D printing system at RAPID + TCT in Chicago.
The next-generation microArch S230 system has been designed to produce ‘ultra-high-resolution’ parts down to 2μm at high accuracies and speeds. It has been unveiled at RAPID + TCT alongside three new materials which open up applications in the medical ad electronic sector.
BMF believes the microArch S230 and its PµSL technology are capable of supporting researchers and manufacturers in printing prototype and production parts with tight tolerances. The microArch S230 does this with the rapid photopolymerisation of layers of liquid polymers with a flash of UV light at micro-scale resolution within its 50 x 50 x 50 mm build volume. Active layer levelling, automated laser calibration and the capacity to handle higher molecular weight materials with viscosities up to 20,000 Cp also contribute to ensure parts printed with the machine are strong and functional.
Those parts can now be produced in BMF’s AL (Alumina) Ceramic, MT (Magnesium Titanate) Ceramic and HT 200 resin. The AL Ceramic is biocompatible and chemical-resistant, and is suitable for applications in the tooling and medical device spaces because of its high temperature, stiffness and strength capabilities. MT Ceramic, meanwhile, boasts a combination of high dielectric constant and low dielectric loss attributes and is therefore suitable for millimetre wave applications like antenna, wave guides and other electronic parts. The HT 200 resin is a durable, high-strength and high-temperature resin able to de deployed for the 3D printing of end-use electrical connectors and components.
Boston Micro Fabrication
Parts printed in BMF's AL Ceramic material.
“The miniaturisation trend continues to dominate nearly every industry, but as parts get smaller, they become harder to design, more expensive to manufacture, and generally more complicated to put into production. Not to mention, technological barriers had previously made additive manufacturing out-of-reach for most use cases requiring small parts,” commented BMF CEO John Kawola. “We changed that notion and brought 3D printing to industries that once deemed it impossible and this new addition to our portfolio – the most advanced of our highest-resolution printers yet – will open even more doors for new applications on the smallest scale.”
BMF launched PµSL technology globally around 18 months ago and has so far installed 125 units of its microArch 3D printing series around the world. Among its user base in the medical device manufacturing, microfluidics, biotech, electronics and research and development spaces, the company says its PµSL technology has been used to produce ‘intricate, exact and replicable’ prototype and production parts. Among those users is HRL Laboratories, a research centre in California that is jointly owned by Boeing and General Motors. Having already successfully deployed the microArch S130 system from BMF, the company has now invested in the microArch S230.
“As a current BMF customer, we’ve been thrilled with the performance of our microArch S130 to support our work in micro-printing ceramics – providing the resolution, accuracy and precision necessary for our parts,” offered Toby Schaedler, Manager, Architected Materials and Structures Department at HRL Laboratories. “As the first customer of the new microArch S230, the next generation 2μm system, we are excited to utilise the enhancements of the platform to increase our part capacity with the larger build volume and speed up our printing times. We are looking forward to continuing to work with the BMF team and their line of micro-precision 3D printers to support our micro part needs.”
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