It is a printer that is able to build the entire
volume of an object at the same time
whereas other 3D printers usually
build the object layer by layer.
This technology is extremely fast. It can
print objects in a few tens of seconds
whereas other technologies could take hours.
We can also process more delicate structures,
such as organic shapes like vasculatures,
and we can also process softer materials
such as hydrogels.
It has a very high resolution because
the process is light based,
and for biologists, we have the added advantage
that we can print inside sealed, sterile
containers which prevents contamination.
We know the object we want to build, and
to generate it, we illuminate
a liquid photosensitive resin from multiple angles,
and after a while, the accumulation of light dose
will result in the local solidification
of the resin, which creates the object.
Another aspect of this technology that
we invented here is the speed of the process.
The speed is so fast it takes seconds to make
either soft or hard objects
that we can think of taking this printer and
make it closer to the end-user.
So, imagine for example at the dentist office,
the dentist is scanning the teeth of the
patient in 3D,
and then masks aligners could be done within minutes
at the at the patients desk.
