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VLM aims to overcome barriers to 3D printing

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A 3D-printing system designed for the rapid production of high-performance parts at low cost has been developed by Barcelona-based BCN3D.

Three-years in development, Viscous Lithography Manufacturing (VLM) has been designed by BCN3D for manufacturers to overcome barriers to adopting 3D-printing such as accessibility, part performance and productivity.

Eric Pallarés, CTO at BCN3D, said VLM is a resin-based technology that uses UV light and an LCD screen to photopolymerise high viscosity resins in a four-step lamination process. The resins - up to 50 times more viscose than industry standards and three times more impact resistant - are mono-component formulations printed at room temperature.

High viscosity allows for chemical formulations that improve the performance of finished parts (Image: BCN3D)

The resin is first picked up by a roller and laminated to the underside of a transparent film which is then transferred to the printing area. The build plate rises and comes into contact with the laminated resin at the desired layer thickness. UV light cures the resin in a specified area creating the new layer of the object to be printed. The build plate then retreats causing the cured later to peel away from the film while the unused resin is recovered and recirculated in the system’s reservoir.

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