BCN3D
Multi-material part printed with VLM.
BCN3D has announced it intends to deliver 20 of its Viscous Lithography Manufacturing (VLM) 3D printing systems select users during the spring of 2023.
After launching its patented VLM technology in March, BCN3D says it had more than 500 companies registering to become early adopters of the technology.
BCN3D has set up its Technology Adoption Program, of which the 20 initial recipients of VLM are all enlisted, to ‘orientate the go-to-market through gathering market information across a wide scope of vertical markets.’ This way, the company believes, it will be able to pay better attention to the needs of its customers, particularly those in automotive, engineering, dental, prosthetics & orthotics, jewellery, footwear and product design.
VLM is the result of three years’ work of R&D and promises superb part performance and high production capacity. It laminates thin layers of high viscosity resins onto a transparent transfer film to produce high-performance parts. The technology is able to process resins that obtain 3x the amount of impact resistance for rigid materials, boast a 200% increment in tear strength and 50x more viscous than the industry standard, per BCN3D. VLM can also enable multi-material parts. Arkema and Henkel have been named as materials partners to support the development of materials for VLM.
“The overwhelming initial reception for our most recent innovation has surpassed our expectations and set the tone for the onset of the distribution of our first VLM commercial systems,” commented BCN3D CEO Xavier M. Faneca. “We’ve been able to hone in on what really matters to each individual company by gathering real, tangible information from experienced engineers. We’re aware of special interest regarding multi-material, and thus multi-property and water-soluble applications. Of course, functional materials also hold huge potential.”
In March, BCN3D revealed it has partnered with motorsport firm Prodrive to put VLM to the test, and will now deploy the technology at 20 ‘elite’ companies in the first batch of shipments next year. The company has also hinted at a ‘powerful’ go-to-market strategy and is putting a ‘strong focus on granting extended access to the dedicated VLM Printing Center,’ with more updates anticipated in line with Formnext. The VLM Technology Adoption Program is still open for new applications, as well as the opportunity to be one of the companies to apply for the VLM units during Spring 2023.
BCN3D
