Hybrid PhotoSynthesis (HPS)

Hybrid PhotoSynthesis (HPS) technology is a potentially transformative hybrid light engine solution for Photopolymer Additive Manufacturing. Laser and DLP are two of the traditional light engines used to cure photopolymers for 3D printing, but each comes with tradeoffs. Lasers offer high accuracy, surface quality and scalability but lack print speed. DLP offers a high print speed but lacks the same accuracy. For the first time, HPS offers the combined advantages of the two light engines, DLP and Laser. HPS brings together the energy from the two light sources and creates a harmonized light engine that unifies every value, including wavelength, power, curing time, and simultaneous operation. The result is that HPS eliminates the tradeoffs between DLP and SLA and offers the combined advantages of DLP and SLA.

These advantages include extremely high surface quality, accuracy, print speed, fine resolution and a scalable print area without loss of resolution or speed. “In our HPS technology, the DLP and Laser operate simultaneously, at the same wavelength, and deliver the same energy density. The result is that the standard DLP and/or Laser printing materials can be used in HPS without the need to develop new materials exclusively for this technology. In short, HPS offers Injection Molding quality using AM. ” The company reports that RadLaunch may best help with technology information and networking–as HPS technology evolves, it is intended to extend applications into areas outside Additive Manufacturing.

Special Emerging Market Award

With offices in Cairo, Egypt, Mogassam 3D is developing an ‘all-in-one’ 3D printing platform which integrates the print, wash, and cure steps into a single automated workstation for dental offices. Through the use of automatic processing and assistive AI design elements, Mogassam 3D has made 3D printing accessible to a larger audience of dental offices with limited DFAM (design for additive manufacturing) know how. Furthermore, by automating the process, Mogassam’s hardware is able to help minimize user error and has enabled private dental offices to achieve higher rates of success and better financial returns. Their initial target markets have been chair-side printing in North Africa and the Middle East, where they have already seen great success. In the coming years, they are looking to expand their technology into the United States.

Special University Award

Prof. Vijay Mannari, Director of the Coating Research Institute (CRI) of Eastern Michigan University has established a rigorous research program with a substantial focus on developing sustainable polymeric materials and processes for advanced coatings. The CRI is dedicated to providing solutions to some of the tough problems facing the coatings industry.

In recent years the CRI has focused on the development of environmentally sustainable polymeric materials and processes for UV-cure coatings. Dr. Mannari’s research group has developed sustainable bio-renewable derived UV oligomers, water-based UV-curable polyurethane dispersions with high bio-renewable contents, and dual-cure systems using click chemistry, to name a few. His recent work on UV-initiated Organic-Inorganic Hybrid (OIH) coatings and thin films by sol-gel mechanism have been awarded a U.S. patent 11,414,524. Building on this invention, the Mannari research group is now developing prototype coating systems for exploring applications in automotive, aerospace, additive manufacturing (AM), and in the battery space. UV-curing technology offers immense opportunities for reducing the carbon footprint of many industrial coating operations. “Guided by the principles of green chemistry and engineering, our research group is combining strengths of bio-renewable materials, efficient crosslinking chemistries, and novel processing techniques for developing a platform for sustainable materials that will advance UV-cure technology and enhance the sustainability of industrial products,” says Prof. Mannari.

A construction technology company based in Oakland, California, Mighty Buildings is innovating the construction industry by creating beautiful, affordable and sustainable homes using 3D printing, advanced materials and robotics automation. Co-founders Alexey Dubov, Sam Ruben, Slava Solonitsyn and Dmitry Starodubtsev aim to unlock productivity in construction by combining 3D printing and prefab, making construction more sustainable, efficient and affordable.

The company’s large-scale 3D printers use a proprietary thermoset composite material that the co-founders invented, Light Stone Material (LSM), that can be 3D printed and that hardens almost immediately thanks to a UV-curing process, while also maintaining cohesion between layers to create a monolithic structure. LSM is four times lighter than concrete, has a high thermal resistance and is watertight, sturdy and fire resistant. This 3D printing technology allows Mighty Buildings to produce modular houses and building components much faster than traditional construction.

Mighty Buildings has a near-zero waste production process, preventing 1,100 – 2,000 kg of CO2 emission per 3D printed home. Committed to achieving Net-Zero by 2028, the company is 22 years ahead of the construction industry. Certified under California’s Factory Built Housing program to build units using 3D printing, the company is the first company to achieve certification under the UL 3401 standard for evaluating building structures and assemblies. Mighty Buildings is backed by notable international and Silicon Valley tech investors, including Khosla Ventures, Zeno Ventures and Y Combinator.

Tethon 3D

Tethon 3D, Omaha, Nebraska, manufactures universal UV photocurable ceramic resins that are used in numerous SLA, DLP and other vat polymerization 3D printers, and has an R&D facility that formulates custom additive manufacturing UV curable materials. Executive chairperson Karen Linder, Trent Allen, CEO and Gregory Pugh, CTO, lead the company to produce high quality ceramic materials for diverse industrial, consumer and design industries.

With over 1,000 customers in 40 countries, Tethon 3D serves clients in aerospace, electronics, defense, energy, biomedical and other industries that desire the physical properties of ceramics and the complex geometries made possible by 3F printing.

The company also sells a desktop DLP 3D printer optimized for highly viscous and/or opaque photopolymer composites, including ceramics and metals, and Tethon 3D offers proprietary resins for this printer. Tethon 3D accepts contracted service R&D projects to develop a variety of custom UV curable materials.

Prof. Zachariah Page et al, University of Texas at Austin

A limitation to using high-energy UV/violet light in additive manufacturing is that degradation and attenuation narrow the scope of materials which can be used. While tapping visible light can open the door to more materials – including biological compounds, nanocomposites and materials with multiple structures – the photochemistry required for visible light has had unacceptably slow reaction times.

The research team led by Zachariah A. Page, Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at The University of Texas at Austin, is developing high resolution stereolithographic 3D printing using different colors of low energy visible light to rapidly solidify resins. Key to the research is the team’s formulation of panchromatic photopolymer resins.

It has been shown that X-rays generated by high powered electron beam accelerators (already used for decontamination of mail for the US Postal Service since 2002 and for medical device sterilization) can efficiently convert (meth)acrylate formulations commonly used in radiation curable coatings into functional cured matrices for carbon fiber composites, notably as used in automotive components.

Utilizing visible light will enable “spectral control” – the ability to dictate the chemical reaction that occurs by the color of incident light used. This color-specificity provides the foundation for multicolor additive manufacturing (McAM) that will facilitate the fabrication of multi-material objects with unprecedented precision and functionality.

Dan Montoney, Rapid Cure Technologies, and Anthony Berejka, Ionicorp+

The RadLaunch Unique New Technology Award will be presented to Dan Montoney, Rapid Cure Technologies, East Syracuse, New York, and Anthony Berejka, Ionicorp+, Huntington, New York, for their work developing and testing X-ray cured carbon fiber composites. Their work was supported by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

It has been shown that X-rays generated by high powered electron beam accelerators (already used for decontamination of mail for the US Postal Service since 2002 and for medical device sterilization) can efficiently convert (meth)acrylate formulations commonly used in radiation curable coatings into functional cured matrices for carbon fiber composites, notably as used in automotive components.

UVisor is the world’s first filterless full face protection against COVID-19 and future biological threats, built as a fully-integrated, compact, battery operated and lightweight positive-air-pressure visor powered by a UV sterilization chamber. A technology demonstrator of the UVisor UV Chamber achieved >99.7% efficacy in testing by Sandia National Laboratories against MS2 surrogate virus. The UVisor has several design advantages over conventional masks including better protection, full face visibility, better comfort, and 100% reusability. Being filter-less also gives the UVisor several design advantages over currently available powered respirators – lighter, quieter, cheaper, and no bio-disposal or waste concerns, and by using UV for sterilization no consumable parts. The UVisor technology is also envisioned to be used for many other purposes including exhaled air purification, vent exhaust purification and other sterilization.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought attention to what many in the UVGI community already know: UV-C is highly effective in inactivating dangerous pathogens. As the market expands and the UV-C source technology advances (safer, higher fluence rate, faster kill), so does the demand on UV-C sensing technology.

L&M designs and manufactures stand-alone and networked (IoT) sensors and solutions that enable customers to manage business critical outcomes through the knowledge gained from precision, always-on sensors, analytics, and alerting. L&M sells products and licenses technology.
The novel UV-C sensor technology combines ultra-low power compute, precision light sensing, and flexible interfacing, resulting in a range of applicability for disinfection system providers and end-users alike.

The hydroxyl radical scavenging capacity of a water to be treated influences the effectiveness of advanced oxidation processes. Conventional methods for its measurement are time-consuming and need sophisticated instrumentation and expertise to carry them out. Chengjin Wang at the University of Toronto collaborated with Erik Rosenfeldt at Hazen and Sawyer to create a novel “external calibration” method to conduct fast and robust measurements of this parameter. The method is now being developed into a simple portable monitoring device that will empower the treatment plant to understand the variation of the scavenging capacity of water on a regular basis so that they can adopt corresponding measures to adjust and optimize their operation.

A proprietary design offers unparalleled capabilities in the surface decontamination space. Dimer patents enable the ability to adjust the angle and position of a “UVC wing” to quickly deliver strong germicidal dosage to any high touch surface. This functionality allows the optimization angle of incidence and minimizes distance between the UV source and target surface, delivering consistent exposure across any surface–and fast. Additionally, integrated safety features make it the only operator-driven unit on the market, eliminating workflow inefficiencies.