Cytosurge FluidFM Technology Can Now 3D Print Pure Metal Structures with Pinpoint Accuracy

Formnext

Share this Article

Nanotechnology startup Cytosurge, an ETH Zurich spin-off company, was founded nine years ago, and develops, manufactures, and distributes innovative, high-precision nanotechnology metal 3D printers based on its patented FluidFM technology, which stands for fluidic force microscopy and has many applications in life sciences and biophysics. Its award-winning microscale metal 3D printing system, the FluidFM µ3Dprinter, has been around for a couple of years now, and was further developed into a more consumer-friendly process last summer. The standalone system is able to 3D print pure metal objects, and has just received a pretty major design upgrade.

The FluidFM µ3Dprinter can already print metal structures ranging from 1 μm3 to 1,000,000 µm3, which is unheard of for other technologies. An electrochemical process, which works at room temperature, 3D prints a pure, high-quality metal, and can also fabricate overhanging structures with 90° angles without the use of support structures or post-processing.

But now, it features a new function that’s pretty unique – it can 3D print, with pinpoint (micrometer) accuracy, onto existing structures.

FluidFM technology combines force microscopy and microfluidics features by adding microscopic channels into force sensitive probes, or print tips. This results in the company’s FluidFM iontip, which makes the whole micro 3D printing process possible.

A very small volume of ion-containing liquid can be pumped through the iontip’s interior microscopic channel, then dispensed through a sub-micrometer aperture at the tip. The apertures, which can be as tiny as 300 nanometers, make it possible to achieve flow rates as small as a few femtoliters per second, which is a million times smaller than even the very best flow sensors can pick up on. In addition, the FluidFM iontips use their force-sensing capability to offer real-time process control during the print process. This makes it possible to 3D print complex, pure metal objects at the micrometer scale.

Cytosurge’s new pinpoint metal 3D printing is possible due to two state-of-the-art, high-resolution cameras that have been integrated directly into the FluidFM µ3Dprinter. These cameras make visualization of the finished structures possible, and also ensure automated loading of the FluidFM iontips, printer setup, calibration, and the computer-assisted alignment that makes it possible to print on pre-existing structures.

The top view camera images the surface or object about to be printed on, while the bottom view one mostly views internal system processes, such as controlling the FluidFM iontip’s automated gripping motions. Using the FluidFM µ3Dprinter’s live, high-resolution video, it’s possible to manually select the exact position of the surface or object that will be printed on, and then set it as the 3D printing process starting point. This allows the user to 3D print metallic objects on contact pads which are already pre-defined on the surface of micro-electromechanical-systems (MEMS) or an integrated circuit, like a microchip.

Printing on microchips is one of many applications made possible by the FluidFM µ3Dprinter.

The FluidFM μ3Dprinter’s unique new function of 3D printing structures, with exacting, pinpoint accuracy, directly onto surfaces and objects could potentially revolutionize micromanufacturing by combining traditional microfabrication techniques with 3D printing to create complex metal objects.

Discuss metal 3D printing and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts in the Facebook comments below.

[Images: Cytosurge]

 



Share this Article


Recent News

Carlsmed to Go Public in $101 Million Bid to Scale 3D Printed Spine Implants

Polymaker Continues Expansion into Professional Filaments with Release of Fiberon PA612-ESD



Categories

3D Design

3D Printed Art

3D Printed Food

3D Printed Guns


You May Also Like

Featured

Josh Makeshift and the New Gold Standard 3D Printing Content Creation

In the beginning, 2007 or so, 3D printing videos were almost wholly absent from the web. Then, here and there, makers started to upload pictures of their rickety RepRaps and...

Teen Developed Desktop 3D Printing Extruder

Inexpensive desktop 3D printing extrusion has always been an impactful potential ally to 3D Printing users. Filabot and 3Devo have been trying to make this a reality for years, with...

Polymaker Unveils HT-PLA & HT-PLA-GF Line of 3D Printing Filaments

Today, Polymaker has launched a new line of HT-PLA & HT-PLA-GF filaments. These enhanced PLA versions increase the glass transition temperature of PLA from a normal 60°C to above 130°C....

3D Printing News Briefs, May 17, 2025: Color-Changing Materials, Humanoid Robot, & More

We’re covering research innovations in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs! First, Penn Engineering developed 3D printed materials that change color under stress, and UC Berkeley researchers created an open source,...