BCN3D has split off its Viscous Lithography Manufacturing (VLM) business unit into new company Supernova as a separate commercial company based in the USA, with no remaining bonds between the two entities.
With the formulation freedom enabled by high viscosity, Supernova’s materials portfolio benefits from a broader set of available ingredients, allowing parts to achieve superior properties. From a chemical-base standpoint, the process can handle not only acrylates but also silicones, epoxies, or filled materials, among others.
The resins can be up to 100 times more viscous than those used in traditional DLP, SLA, or MSLA processes, unlocking an unparalleled range of properties. These properties are closer to thermoplastics than standard thermosets, achieved in an efficient and scalable manner.
At the core of Supernova VLM is a lithography-based process that laminates thin layers of high-viscosity resins onto a transparent transfer film prior to photopolymerising the resin into the 3D printed object.
To support its long-term materials strategy, Supernova has formed partnerships with major chemical companies Altana, Elkem, Henkel, and Rahn, as well as a Joint Development Agreement (JDA) with Arkema.
Key customer partnerships with prominent industry companies like Puma, Saint Gobain, Orbea, Hutchison, and Prodrive will continue, says Supernova.
Marked out as a technology of high interest by our D3D 30 list soon after its launch, news about the development of BCN3D’s high viscosity 3D printing technology quickly stopped, until the news of the split on 1 February 2024.
Supernova says that its focus in the next year will be on materials development for specific industrial applications, as well as the industrialisation of the product ecosystem, with the first beta systems set to be installed this year.
The new company will be led by CEO Roger Antunez, who previously served as General Manager of BCN3D, from headquarters in both Austin, USA and Barcelona, Spain. Joining him as a co-founder is Marta Micó, formerly the head of the VLM business development.
