汽车制造商宝马strategic investment arm宝马我冒险为弹性体3D打印初创公司提供了种子资金快速液体印刷（RLP）。
专门从麻省理工学院的自组装实验室, the firm’s gel-dispensing technology is said to enable the production of soft, pliable products using industry-standard materials like foams, rubbers and silicones. Also backed byMassMutual通过其MM Catalyst基金（MMCF），RLP的资金回合现在预计将允许其产品组合的扩展和更广泛的营销。
BMW I Ventures首席执行官Marcus Behrendt表示：“ RLP的突破性技术正在通过实现任何规模和复杂性的弹性结构的快速打印来破坏3D打印空间。”“借助宝马I Ventures的支持，RLP团队可以继续展示其致力于创建高质量，低成本弹性体产品的承诺。”
什么是快速液体打印？
在迈阿密设计上首次亮相as long ago as 2017, RLP is essentially a printing process in which a liquid object can be ‘drawn’ within a gel suspension. Given that such prints are cured during production, they don’t require the use of supports and need minimal post-processing before use, while the technology’s scalability is said to allow for the creation of large-format parts at extremely high throughputs.
According to the RLP, its approach is superior to conventional elastomeric 3D printing technologies, as it’s not restricted by the speed, build volume or material deficiencies that make them “unreliable as mainstream manufacturing processes,” thus the firm sees it as a “game-changer” when it comes to rapidly printing “airtight, high-quality products.”
最初开发后，该技术是专门用于室内设计应用程序，但RLP现在表示已开始与“世界各地的行业领先公司”合作，以确定新的机会。为此，该公司的目标是通过其独特的流程进入医疗，鞋类，航空和汽车行业，其新资金可以帮助您实现这些计划。
RLP首席执行官Schendy Kernizan说：“我们已经花了多年的时间来完善我们的技术，并建立了解决3D印刷行业所面临的痛苦点的产品。”“通过宝马I Ventures和MM Catalyst基金的这一资金，我们将加速我们为更广阔市场提供各种解决方案的能力。”
“RLP removes limits on design, can print large-scale and multiple objects at once, and is faster than any other solution currently on the market.”
RLP：现在准备成功吗？
尽管尚未公开投资快速液体印刷的资金数量，但Mass Mutual表示，其5000万美元的CCMF基金将用于使投资2.5万美元至200万美元，因此其贡献不太可能超过此价值。
同样，宝马I Ventures也没有透露其投资的价值，但是该公司确实宣布了今年早些时候创建了一个新的3亿美元锅，并且在支持3D Printing的创新者方面拥有悠久的历史。例如，早在2017年，风险资本家就为桌面金属，此后一直从事的业务进行25亿美元的合并and购买最大的竞争对手Exone。
当涉及到RLP的支持时，宝马I Ventures表示，凝胶分解技术的潜力印象深刻，以取代“大量生产相同零件”中的注射成型。实际上，使用快速的液体打印，该公司预计可以将复杂模具的交货时间从8周减少到几分钟，同时提升模具的“设计限制”。
宝马我冒险also believes that RLP’s technology enables the production of parts that currently need to be built from interlocking pieces in a single run, dramatically reducing the costs of setting up a mold. As a result, the firm sees its investment as a way of “disrupting elastomeric 3D printing” and “breaking the limits of innovation” within the industry.
“MMCF快速吸引液体打印独特的侦探hnology, highly adaptable production process and impressive leadership team,” said Liz Roberts, Head of Impact Investing at MassMutual. “We’re excited to support RLP alongside BMW i Ventures as RLP revolutionizes the 3D printing process and continues to grow and bring its innovative capabilities to new customers.”
鼓励弹性体创新
由于他们独特的力量婚姻和休息时的高伸长率，弹性体继续代表了3D印刷稳健饱满的零件的有前途的途径。就在上个月，材料开发人员色3D材料raised more than $5 milliontowards the development of a novel industrial-grade elastomer-based manufacturing technology.
在后处理方面，增材制造技术（AMT）也收到了英国创新授予今年早些时候开发新的用于治疗弹性体的有机溶剂。当时，该公司致力于利用这笔资金来快速进行下一代化学的研发，从而改善了3D打印后处理的可持续性。
Elsewhere, in more experimental research, a team at the加利福尼亚大学圣塔芭芭拉已经形成了人类组织状3D printable ‘bottlebrush’ elastomer。Having created a super-soft material with shape-holding properties for another project, the researchers found that they could 3D print it into inks, before returning the elastomer to its solid form via the application of UV light.
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特色图片显示，在快速液体打印过程中，将材料分配到凝胶浴中。通过宝马I冒险的图像。
