Axtra3D debuts Hybrid Photosynthesis (HPS) technology
Axtra3D is making its debut at Formnext this week with the unveiling of its Hybrid Photosynthesis (HPS) process and Lumia 3D printer.
Headquartered in the U.S. with R&D facilities in Italy, and founded by a duo of additive manufacturing (AM) innovators (The company's CEO Gianni Zitelli was one of the co-founders of Nexa3D, while COO Praveen Tummala has a background in materials at 3D Systems and served as Director of Technology at XponentialWorks), the start-up believes it is bringing a “revolutionary technology” to the market thanks to a unique combination of SLA, DLP and LCD qualities that “eliminates the need for trade-offs” between processes.
Zitelli commented: "Our patented Hybrid PhotoSynthesis technology is not an evolution. It is a breakthrough that I truly believe will replace all of the current photopolymer 3D printing light engines.”
Bringing together the benefits of each of those resin-based 3D printing techniques, the Lumia promises a large build area, continuous printing, high-resolution, speed and surface quality, and isotropic part performance. This marriage of processes means part layers are cured via a projector while at the same time, the part edges are cured with a laser.
Speaking to TCT at Formnext, Zitelli said the company is "introducing a completely new technology that's able to combine the benefits of DLP with the benefits of laser," and credited Axtra3D's "amazing team" for developing a "unique" technology that's "fast like DLP" but "accurate like a laser."
The company says the machine will have universal appeal in industries such as consumer goods, automotive, aerospace, and functional prototyping. On the show floor, the start-up was exhibiting a number of industrial parts with injection mould-like quality, demonstrating its low cost per part and fast print speeds. For example, a singular mould tool (shown below) takes just 24 minutes to print and featured an incredibly smooth surface quality.
Mould tools 3D printed with Astra3D's HPS process
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