While many 3D printing applications require going big, some industries need to go much, much smaller. Since its founding in 2016, Boston Micro Fabrication (BMF) has been making it possible for companies to manufacture high-precision microscale parts with its Projection Micro-Stereolithography (PμSL) technology.
The company was founded by Nick Fang, MIT professor, and Xiaoning He, entrepreneur. As they were developing their PμSL approach—which, according to BMF, uses light, customizable optics, a high-quality movement platform and controlled processing technology—its future CEO, John Kawola, was building on nearly 20 years in the industry and serving as Ultimaker’s North America President.
“I was looking to get back into something that’s earlier stage,” Kawola said. “BMF is early stage from a commercial point of view, but we’ve done a lot of the heavy lifting on the technical side. We have a lot of advanced technology from the optics to the mechanical engineering to the materials and software.”
The growing need for miniaturized parts for applications, such as electronics, medical devices, microfluidics and biotech, made 3D printing seem like a natural solution. The time and costs associated with the traditional manufacturing, prototyping and design of these parts was high. While it may have been a perfect fit, 3D printing came with many challenges.
“Until now, this coveted combination of quality, strength and resolution has been missing from industrial production, particularly for use cases that require high precision and micron level resolution,” John Kawola said. “With the microArch S240, users can finally make end-use micro parts at speeds that are required for production, with resolution, accuracy and precision that is true to CAD. Smaller parts no longer need to mean bigger headaches or bigger price tags for manufacturers and engineers.”
In February 2020, BMF announced a rebranding and relaunched its nanoArch printers as microArch 3D. The company’s PµSL technology uses UV micro-scaled UV flashes to rapidly photopolymerize a layer of liquid polymer to create microstructures around 100 times smaller than a human hair. In October 2020, BMF introduced the microArch S240, which the company deemed a microprecision 3D printer for short-run industrial production.
The S240 has a large build volume, 100 x 100 x 75 mm / 750 cm3, making it ideal for industrial demands. It also prints nearly 10 times faster than other models and features an advanced spreading mechanism that makes it possible to print larger parts or many small parts with a 10 µm resolution and +/- 25 µm tolerance of its other printers. The S240 can be used with industrial-grade composite polymers and ceramic while still producing microscale parts with viscosities of up to 20,000Cp.
BMF has no plans to slow down its efforts to move 3D printing toward a smaller scale. In February, it announced a collaboration with chemical specialist BASF to create a new material, BMF RG. The material is designed for use on the microArch S240 and is a derivative of BASF’s photopolymer resin line, which is known for its strength and durability. The company has been working with Materialise, a global 3D printing solutions leader, to allow BMF to offer a customized setup and data preparation turnkey solution, Magic Print.
“We are thrilled to partner with Materialise to deliver a first-class importing, fixing and editing tool for 3D files to our customers,” Kawola said. “Magics Print for BMF will arm our customers with a smooth workflow to easily interface between 3D file generation and the microArch line of micro-precision 3D printers. Magics Print for BMF aligns with our goal to deliver the highest quality products to our customers.”
Interested in other ways 3D printing is evolving? Check out Xolography—The Latest Innovation in 3D Printing and 3D Printing with Paper—Reducing Waste One Model at a Time.