Supernova
Supernova has launched its proprietary Viscogels photopolymer materials and its Pulse Production Platform powered by the patented Viscous Lithography Manufacturing (VLM) technology.
It comes less than a year after VLM was spun out of BCN3D, with Supernova set to debut its flagship products at Formnext next week.
Supernova will begin shipping the Viscogels materials and Pulse Production Platform in the autumn of 2025. An early access program will now commence to validate VLM technology prior to next year's commercial launch.
As the company launched Viscogels and the Pulse Production Platform, CEO Roger Antunez commented: “We are on a mission to make impossible plastic moulding runs possible. We are breaking through barriers to enable customers to produce industrial-grade components with advanced properties, while remaining cost-efficient regardless of production volume.”
Matching moulding standards
The Viscogels photopolymer materials are said to achieve properties similar to moulded plastics, such as EPDM or PA6-GF20, and can only be processed using VLM technology.
Supernova’s Viscogels contain a predominant oligomer load ranging from 80-100% – typical 3D printing resins range from 0-20% – imparting key properties to the photopolymerised material. While most 3D printing resin viscosities range from 1,000-10,000 cP, Viscogels often exceed 1 million cP, which Supernova suggests results in superior mechanical properties. Viscogels are also said to be able to incorporate higher additive loads to expand toughness, impact resistance, flame retardancy and electrostatic discharge capabilities without the need to reduce viscosity. Finally, the longer oligomer chains also drastically reduce Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) emissions.
Supernova
Altogether, Supernova says these characteristics will enable the production of applications that were previously out of reach of additive manufacturing technologies. Supernova cites cable grommets, which protect cables from abrasion and environmental wear, and electrical connectors used in the railway industry as two such applications. The former tends to require materials like EPDM and NBR, which offer elongation properties of around 300%, as well as a high tear strength of 35kN/m, while the latter application requires a material with a high tensile modulus of 3500 MPa, UL94 V0 flame retardancy and high impact strengths up to 80 J/m. Supernova says its Viscogels products can meet each of these requirements.
So far, the Viscogels portfolio consists of four material families, each of which have been tailored to meet specific industrial demands.
Its Rigid Composites (RC) 3500 material features a tensile modulus of 3500 MPa and an impact strength of 80 J/, with Supernova also offering flame retardant (FR) and electrostatic discharge (ESD) variants.
The Ductiles (DU) MD1500 material features a tensile modulus of 1500 MPa, a tensile strength of 38 MPa, and impact strength of 200 J/m, performing comparably to moulded ABS and PA11, according to Supernova. It also features an 80% elongation at break and high impact resistance, with an ESD variant and a more ductile option (DU MD750 with a modulus of 750 MPa) also available.
Supernova’s Rubbers (RU) D70 offering, meanwhile, features a compression set of 8% and a tear strength of 44 kN/m, with a Shore 50A (RU D50) and high-rebound (RU H60) variant also available.
Finally, the Silicones (SL) 50 offering has a tear strength of 20 kN/m and an elongation at break of 550%, making it comparable to moulded LSR silicone in terms of flexibility and durability. The operating temperature range of -40°C to 180°C make the SL 50 ideal for high temperature applications, while Supernova is also offering an SL 70 variant, which offers similar mechanical performance at an increased shore hardness of 70A.
Supernova is bringing its Viscogels and Pulse Production Platform offering to market as a closed system, with Antunez explaining it hopes to guarantee quality using this approach in a press conference this week.
He said: “There is a lot of science behind our materials. They work in perfect symbiosis with the VLM process and we want to ensure properties to the customers. The only way to do that is to block the entire system from the materials to the machine to the post-processing, guaranteeing the outcome that the customer is getting. Our process aims to be capable when you define the right recipes, [so] we have a process capability index above 1.0 CPK, which is a pretty high standard.”
Presenting Pulse
To process these Viscogels, Supernova has developed the Pulse Production Platform, which comprises the Pulse One printing system, the Pulse Postprocessing Cell, and the Pulse Control Center.
Pulse One features an XY resolution of 46µm, a build volume of 350 x 200 x 300 mm, and a Z resolution range of 50-200µm. It also boasts dual-material capabilities, enabling the simultaneous processing of two different build materials (2K) or the use of a support material. Supernova says the Pulse One boasts a maximum material throughput of 5kg/hour.
The Pulse Postprocessing Cell, meanwhile, has been designed to fully wash and cure parts as part of a seven-step process whereby parts are also exposed to centrifugation, rinsing and drying. It uses advanced washing techniques to ensure thorough removal of excess material, before controlled thermal and UV curing processes are carried out to achieve optimal mechanical properties. The post-processing system features automated quality control at each stage, with RFID technology deployed to identify and track parts through the entire workflow. Supernova says one Postprocessing Cell can handle up to four Pulse One machines and can achieve a throughput of up to 24 builds per day.
Supernova
Supernova’s Pulse One and Postprocessing Cell are supplemented by the Pulse Control Center, an advanced software platform that allows users to prepare builds, slice 3D printing files, manage production and control quality. It is said to use intelligent algorithms to enhance reliability and detect defects in real-time, with automated corrections maintaining production standards. Every build parameter, material batch and processing step is recorded to ensure traceability.
The company has developed the Pulse Production Platform off the back of a Technology Adoption Program, which saw manufacturers from several industries provide feedback on VLM.
“This whole launch is the consequence of us achieving the results and the goals from the Technology Adoption Program,” Antunez said. “We have worked with many different customers in different vertical markets for different applications. We’ve been very wide from that aspect because we wanted to see where the real opportunities were, where most of the pain for customers was coming from, and where we could give solutions. The conclusion of that is this release. From this sense, we have closed the Technology Adoption Program because we have achieved our goals.”
Supernova will present its flagship products at Formnext from stand C62 and in hall 12.1 between November 19-22.
