UpNano releases new software upgrade for NanoOne platform
The tailored software reduces stitching, saves time, and increases efficiency
UpNano has released the latest software upgrade for its NanoOne platform of high-resolution 3D printers – pushing the limits of one of the fastest 2PP 3D printers on the market even further. Now, smart stitching can improve the quality of the final product and the already high printing speed can be increased even more. Also, using the same objective and material, several completely different print jobs can be combined into one – saving costs and further time. All this is greatly simplified by an intuitive user interface that is an integral part of all software developed by UpNano. The upgrade is compatible with all NanoOne printers.
The 2-photon polymerization-based (2PP) 3D printers by UpNano GmbH are some of the fastest high-resolution 3D printers on the market. Used in industry and academia alike, they have already set new standards in electronics as well as in micro-optics and for biocompatible applications in cell and medical research. The compact desktop print system offers high-resolution 3D printing across twelve orders of magnitude. The latest software upgrade adds significant functionality.
Seamless progress
At the basis of the upgrade is the ability to define several printing parameters individually and set complex changes to those parameters during the printing process in advance. The potential this offers for the quality of the print product and the speed and efficiency of the printing process can be dramatic.
“Now, products with exactly defined seams can be printed”, said Denise Hirner, COO and co-founder of UpNano. Seams are a significant quality issue for 3D printed products. They are the result of the necessity to move the field of view during printing and to join (“stitch”) the printed elements of each subsequent field of view together. “The unique features of our latest upgrade help to reduce this. By addressing more parameters individually and dynamically, it is now possible to define the exact positions of stitching lines. Depending on the final structure, this allows for a smart integration of the seams into the design.”
Results and resolution
Furthermore, the resolution of the printing process can be altered as it runs. Parts that require less resolution can be printed at the lowest necessary one, together in the same printing run with elements that require much higher resolution. “One can print less defined parts quickly and step-by-step increase the resolution of the process as one comes to the finer defined structural elements”, said Denise Hirner. “In this way very neat printing of complex structures with different requirements for resolution becomes possible and this can save up to 50% time.”
The software therefore greatly enlarges the versatility of the NanoOne printer range that already benefits from the patented adaptive resolution technology allowing for the widening of the laser beam by a factor of 10x for any given objective.
By using the upgrade one can speed up the printing of parts with different resolution requirements, as well as combine the production of different parts in one print job. The only prerequisite is that the material and the chosen objective remain the same.
