New Zealand’s Callaghan Innovation today unveiled Laminated Resin Printing (LRP) – a new type of 3D printing technology
that enables rapid prototyping of high-resolution microscale structures. Its MicroMaker3D team is one of ten exhibitors selected for IDTechEx’s Santa Clara Launchpad, an initiative showcasing new disruptive and state-of-the art technologies.
Laminated Resin Printing (LRP) makes it fast, easy and affordable for researchers, developers and manufacturers to create a wide range of printed
structures for applications such as electronics, wearables, sensors, IoT devices and more.
It enables developers to print submillimeter structures with complex geometries of up to 100 per cent density, in
extraordinary low-layer thicknesses and with imaging speeds as quick as one second per layer independent of complexity
or density. Co-inventors Andrea Bubendorfer and Andrew Best developed LRP to address the need to rapidly produce
microscale structures in an efficient, convenient and cost-effective way.
“Microfabrication – the production of very small high-value devices – is an export industry for New Zealand. Until now,
however, making these miniature structures has been slow and expensive,” Andrea says.
“By comparison, 3D printing has transformed how we make things, but it can’t operate on the small scale needed for
microfabrication. We set out to develop ways to make microfabrication more accessible and are proud to have created a
new technology that addresses the significant need for rapid prototyping on the microscale. And by small, we’re talking
5 microns. For context, a human hair is about 100 microns.”
Senior Business Development Manager, Cath Andrews, says the highly functional and versatile nature of the technology
makes it relevant to many high-tech industries, including aerospace and medical.
“This is a game changer where high-resolution, size, weight and durability really matter,” says Cath. “With the global
miniaturisation megatrend underway, there is a rising demand for smaller components and detailing.
“The IDTechEx Launchpad is an ideal forum to talk to developers and innovators with a need for prints with
high-resolution features and to talk with industry players interested in discussing the commercialisation potential of
LRP technology.”
The MicroMaker3D team is delighted to have the support of the IDTechEx Launchpad initiative. The team also acknowledges
support provided by KiwiNet in the form of funding, programmes, and advice; engineering expertise provided by the Mechatronics Engineers at the
Massey University Centre for Additive Manufacturing and the Callaghan Innovation Advanced Engineering team; and advice
and encouragement from Johan Potgieter (Professor of Robotics at Massey University and expert in additive manufacturing)
and Olaf Diegel (Professor of Product Development and world-renowned 3D printing expert).
LRP is a versatile technology for printing:
• Standalone planar structures (shadow masks, optical slits, optical encoders, filters, meshes, etc.)
• Structures on paper, fabric and PCB substrates (wearables, disposable microfluidics, lab-on-a-chip devices)
• Printed electronic masks
• Miniature 3D prints (microcomponentry, MEMS springs)
• Overhang structures in elastic material – ideal for microsensor components
The technology is highly functional:
• Affordable and easy to use
• Fast, with imaging speeds of seconds per layer independent of complexity or density
• No cleanroom is required
• Scalable from prototype to production using the same high-quality material
LRP excels in:
• Rapid prototyping for applications where size and weight matter
• 5-micron voxel printing with high accuracy and complexity
• Printing single layer and multilayer structures
• Producing prints with extreme thermal and chemical resistance
• Printing on a variety of substrates: paper, fabric, silicon wafers, PCBs
The technology is being used to produce a range of structures. Examples include:
• Sharks skin, textured surfaces
• Microwell plates
• Stencils, such as for microwave antenna
• Micro filters
• Microcomponents, such as gears, lever sprints, needle pointers, circlips
• Patterned conductive tracks
• Encapsulated structures.