NewPro3D NP1
The NP1 showcased at RAPID + TCT 2018.
Intelligent Liquid Interface (ILI) was first introduced over two years ago at CES 2016. It supplemented a Digital Light Processing (DLP) process which was being marketed as the fastest 3D printing technology in the world. Understandably, it caught the attention of the rest of the industry. There was an early prototype of a machine printing objects in minutes, when they typically take hours, and members of the team championing it as revolutionary. It could print parts up to 25 feet long; it was better than this company’s process, and that one’s too; a metal process would follow, and that would be the quickest as well.
The NewPro3D team now regrets that period. The company was young, a start-up trying to find its place in a competitive industry, and wasn’t even sure whether it wanted to manufacture machines or license its processes out. As RAPID + TCT 2018 came around, they had finally made up their mind, and recalibrated their focus. The strategy, now, is to let the technology do the talking.
“[There was] a lot of talk of ‘we can print anything we want’, and some mistakes were made in the process,” Gabriel Castanon, COO, NewPro3D told TCT. “We fine-tuned our mission to make something really good, that people can afford, and that has great applications. Let’s stick to this light source that we know works perfectly, let’s stick to this process, and let’s create a beautiful product that works today. There’s a lot of really exciting things we can work on, and some of those are five-year projects, so we’re focusing on what can we do that’s incredible today and that focus is what brought this machine.”
That machine is called the NP1 and, similar to CES 2016, was building parts on its stand to demonstrate the DLP process and the speed at which it can create 3D objects. As is rudimentary with DLP machines, parts are built layer by layer thanks to a light source, liquid resin and a build platform that gradually moves upwards. The difference, here, is ILI. ILI is a transparent wettable membrane found between the light source and the resin, and enables faster movement between cured layers. It’s the piece of technology credited with a midsole, 22cm in length, being printed in 2 hours and 10 minutes, rather than the 15 hours it takes with traditional SLA technologies.
NewPro3D
The above object was printed in 1 hour and 44 minutes live on the show floor, and while that impressed many a visitor and fellow exhibitor, NewPro3D is putting in place a system that will speed up the entire course, from file preparation through to post processing. File preparation is being streamlined thanks to the Materialise Print for DLP software, which supports the NP1 smart software that powers the machine. Users are able to automatically implement intelligent supports to the part design, helping to ensure the precision of the object, and in quick time too. NewPro3D says it has also achieved success fine tuning the supports to really small contact parts as well, thanks to the machines's low pull forces. When the part, no matter the size, has been printed, the user can simply snap the supports off and then knock any remaining material out with tweezers.
NewPro3D relies on materials already available on the market. It lists VeriCast, VeriGuide, VeriModel OS, and VeriTray as suitable dental materials, and S-Pro Grey, F100 and P-121 for other uses. The company is currently collaborating with multiple resin companies to expand the availability of materials for the NP1, and is testing them as they go. So far, the team is enthusiastic about the materials it has assessed on its machine, and is also happy with how far the NP1 platform has come in the last couple of years too.
NewPro 3D
Display of parts manufactured on the NP1.
“One of the resins we’ve tried and are really excited about is this flexible polyurethane, and it’s still in development,” Castanon said. “We’ve been playing with it for a couple of months. We've also printed in these flexible, clear materials that doctors seem to really like and so we’re taking all the right steps towards a silicone-like material, and that’s very exciting for medical applications and wearables, for example, like a wristband or a watch.
“Another major thing is the machine has evolved so much. It’s a much more robust system. We’ve started doing something really different that’s more than just having cross sections and solidifying this cross section. We’re optimising print outs based on each cross-section. That is really important because on an object like this,” Castanon gestures to an object on display, “that can take an hour, that means we can print it in 40 minutes, that’s just been optimised. You look at each cross section and you optimise that time.”
With the NP1’s 192 x 120 x 220 mm build volume and 75 μm resolution in the X and Y axes, NewPro3D is assured that its 3D printing system can be of much use to the dentistry, medical, jewellery and education markets. The company currently has three beta testers in Stanford University; University of Louisville and University of Washington. University of Louisville, per NewPro3D, is harnessing the platform for dental applications, while Stanford is using the machine in its radiology department, ‘trying to go from an MRI to a 3D printed part as fast as possible.’
NewPro 3D
Minutes away from a finished build on the NP1 platform.
While, NewPro3D knows which vertical markets it wants to target, it is tempering expectations on the production front. Currently, the NP1 can produce tough and high-resolution prototypes, demonstrating the design and functionality of designs. As materials develop, users will be able to take mechanical properties into consideration, and begin to test the performance of prototypes.
Utilising the NP1 for the production of end-use parts, however, is the goal. The company’s beta partners over the next few months, before shipping commences in Q4 2018, will help the company put the capabilities of its $90,000 machine to the test to determine what applications can work and what can’t. NewPro3D is also looking into the possibility of printing bigger, but is currently restricted by the power of the light source, strengthening it being an expensive and longwinded process. But the main bottleneck remains the availability of materials.
“We’re working on developing those materials with some partners right now. But the one thing I don’t want to do is to overpromise anything,” Castanon finished. “I want to say strictly facts. At this point we don’t have end-use materials, and of course we’re working on that.
“Three years ago this machine would have been crazy, but people are moving away from just printing figurines or just shapes. They want something functional, they want to manufacture, and we feel that, we know that. All the focus is there.”
The launch of the NP1 was greeted with less attention than the initial introduction of ILI, but perhaps that's a blessing. NewPro3D has packaged up a DLP process with its ILI technology, aligned with partners where necessary, is beginning to take orders, and hasn't made any promises it can't keep. The company has learnt from its mistakes, regained its focus, and is to let the technology speak for the company, and not vice versa.
