DragonFly 2020 Circuit Board 3D Printer Makes a Buzz at SOLIDWORKS World 2016

We’ve been keeping a close eye on Israeli company Nano Dimension for well over a year, since they first announced that they were developing the first-ever professional desktop printer for printed circuit boards (PCB). The eagerly anticipated DragonFly 2020 was officially unveiled in November at Printed Electronics USA 2015, and now Nano Dimension is introducing the printer to a wider audience at SOLIDWORKS World 2016, running from January 31 to February 3 in Dallas, Texas.

Software manufacturer Dassault Systèmes, the company behind the popular SOLIDWORKS CAD and CAE software, has a hand in so many industries that a trade show entirely dedicated to them and their partners can easily take up three days and draw over 5,000 attendees. SOLIDWORKS was an integral part of the design of the DragonFly 2020; Nano Dimension utilized the company’s PDM Professional and Composer software to render the printer’s design from early in its development.

“In addition to helping with the design, SOLIDWORKS enabled the simulation and verification of our 3D models for the DragonFly 2020 3D Printer, which was critical in helping us achieve accurate component dimensions, select the best materials for the system, and define its performance,” said Simon Fried, Chief Business Officer and Co-founder of Nano Dimension.

Nano Dimension will be demonstrating the printer at the conference; it will be the first time that most people in the industry will be able to get a good look at it. It’s not expected to be commercially available until the end of 2016, although the concurrently developed conductive nano inks known as AgCite are available now.

“Nano Dimension and its DragonFly 2020 3D Printer were not only designed using SOLIDWORKS, but will be compatible with upcoming PCB 3D design technology from SOLIDWORKS, seen on stage today at SOLIDWORKS World 2016,” said Kishore Boyalakuntla, Senior Director, SOLIDWORKS Portfolio Management, Dassault Systèmes. “I’m always excited when we complete the ecosystem, so to speak: an innovative new product designed in SOLIDWORKS, which will then 3D print innovative new products using innovative new 3D design technology from SOLIDWORKS.”

Also being demonstrated at SOLIDWORKS World 2016 are Ultimaker’s newest printers, the Ultimaker 2+ and Ultimaker 2 Extended+, first introduced last month at CES 2016. Attendees this week will be able to see how SOLIDWORKS software works with the printers to “expand the limits of 3D printing,” according to Ultimaker. 3D Systems will also be in attendance as a platinum sponsor, demonstrating several of their products and hosting a breakout session entitled “Designing Additive Manufacturing for Production,” led by Chris McBain, Product Marketing Manager, Software.

The 3D printing industry has a pretty solid representation at SOLIDWORKS World 2016, with additional demos coming from Mcor, MarkForged and others. SOLIDWORKS has been a popular software program for 3D designers, and recently Dassault Systèmes announced that they would be updating the software to make it more 3D printer-friendly. Discuss your thoughts on this event in the Dragonfly 3D Printer at SOLIDWORKS 2016 forum over at 3DPB.com