Microlight3D launches 'new generation' 3D-printer for high-res parts

22 Jan 2019

Altraspin's 3D printing method makes extremely smooth surfaced micro-parts without need for post-processing; cuts time and costs in prototyping.

Altraspin is a compact 3D printer intended for producing highly complex micro-parts.

Manufacturer of 3D microprinting machines for industrial and scientific applications, Microlight3D, based in La Tronche, near Grenoble, France, has launched Altraspin, a compact 3D printer intended for producing highly complex micro-parts with sub-micron resolution.

Altraspin prints micro-parts for applications requiring high precision and a quality surface finish. These include the creation of micro-optics, micro-sensors and printing shapes that fit inside microfluidic devices. It is also suited to metamaterials, cell culture, tissue engineering, microrobotics, micromechanics and surface structuration.

“Microlight3D designed Altraspin to respond to manufacturing demands for more customization and the rapid prototyping of submicron parts that are not constrained by their geometric or organic shape,” commeneted Denis Barbier, company president.

“We have removed another constraint by extending user choice in the materials available for 3D microprinting. Altraspin is compatible with a wide range of polymers and biomaterials. The submicron resolution our technology achieves has been key to our growing success within the scientific community. We anticipate that industrial companies will also benefit from the advantages of our 3D-printer for micro-parts, reducing time-to-market.”

Two-photon polymerization

The sub-micron resolution Altraspin achieves, as low as 0.2µm, is based on a two-photon polymerization direct laser writing method plus its proprietary "continuous print flow" technique, which is not constrained by the conventional additive layer-by-layer approach that limits standard 3D printing resolution to 25µm. Therefore it can print micro-parts so smooth that they do not require post-processing.

Altraspin features a new TPP slicing tool, high-writing resolution and precision, and high-writing speeds, for complex 3D structures. It is compatible with any CAD models and files and its compact design is suited to laminar flow cabinets, clean-room and sterile environments, which prevent contamination of wafers.

Once a user has designed a 3D model using standard CAD tools and chosen an appropriate polymer material, Microlight3D’s algorithms calculate the path that the laser will take to create the object; a laser pulse writes directly inside the liquid-material bath, solidifying the path it takes with the precision of less than 1µm. Once the operation is complete, a solvent washes away the excess monomer, allowing users to immediately handle the object, identical to the initial model.

Microlight3D will exhibit Altraspin at the BIOS expo, San Francisco, booth #8136, between February 2 – 3.

Altraspin 3D-prints parts for applications requiring high precision and a quality surface finish: micro-optics, micro-sensors, metamaterials, cell culture, tissue engineering, microrobotics and micromechanics.