Boston’s Additive Edge: BMF’s Precision on a Microscopic Scale

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In the quest for ever-smaller and more precise technologies, Boston Micro Fabrication (BMF) seeks to pioneer the next wave of micro-precision in 3D printing, an area critical to fields ranging from medical devices to advanced electronics and optics. In 2017, BMF was born out of a challenge: how to produce the small and complex components that traditional methods couldn’t handle. By honing in on microfabrication, BMF created technology that delivers the precision these industries need, enabling the production of microscopic parts—down to just a few microns in size.

The brand’s top-down Digital Light Processing (DLP), or Projection Micro Stereolithography (PµSL), technology uses high-precision optics to achieve crisp and accurate details beyond what most other microfabrication techniques can deliver.

Built on precision

During my visit to BMF’s Boston headquarters, I sat down with CEO John Kawola to discuss the company’s origins, its technological innovations, and the market opportunities it’s pursuing.

“The founders recognized that as products got smaller, manufacturing became harder. They envisioned a machine capable of tackling this challenge,” says Kawola.

But what makes BMF’s story unique is its global approach and unconventional path to success. BMF’s roots are not in the United States but in Shenzhen, China, where the company first took off. Despite being a relatively young company, BMF has a workforce of over 200 people across major markets, including the U.S., Europe, Japan, and China. Kawola, who joined BMF in 2019, played a significant role in this global expansion.

According to Kawola, BMF’s global footprint has been a strength and a challenge: “Our origins in Shenzhen have given us a strong foothold in China, but being a global company also presents complications—cultural, distance, language-wise.”

Despite these challenges, BMF’s ability to operate across multiple markets has proven to be an advantage, particularly in working with customers who need support in China. Kawola says they often get requests from customers in Europe or the U.S. asking for help in China, and they can provide that. However, the company remains mindful of geopolitical risks and the complexities of maintaining a global operation.

BMF headquarters in Boston.

Strategic Pivot

In 2022, BMF made a strategic decision: it wouldn’t just sell machines—it would take control of production in certain high-value markets. This shift allowed the company to demonstrate the power of its technology directly.

“We felt we had to take a more active role in driving end-part production applications, so we decided to raise money and take on projects ourselves,” Kawola explained. One of those projects is BMF’s foray into the dental market, particularly in producing cosmetic veneers. “We identified cosmetic veneers as a prime market. Traditional veneers are thick, requiring dentists to grind down patients’ teeth, so many avoid the procedure. But BMF’s microfabrication technology allows them to create ultra-thin veneers, just 100 microns thick, making the process less invasive. We think this could be a relatively large business,” Kawola said, explaining how the company’s innovation taps into a $4.3 billion global market.

BMF’s dental veneers.

Beyond dental, BMF is exploring another niche, high-value markets where its technology offers a clear advantage. For example, in San Diego, BMF has a dedicated team working on lab-on-a-chip devices, which are crucial for advancements in biotechnology and research. Additionally, BMF is developing 3D-printed glaucoma stents designed to be inserted into a patient’s eye to treat glaucoma. According to Kawola, BMF is always searching for areas where its microfabrication capabilities are uniquely suited to create breakthroughs that traditional manufacturing cannot.

Scaling Precision

As BMF grows, scaling its production capabilities is one of its key challenges. Moving from prototyping to production is hard, noted the executive, acknowledging a challenge faced by the entire 3D printing industry. Consistently producing high volumes of precise parts requires overcoming hurdles like automation, maintaining quality at scale, and ensuring compliance with industry standards.

The company is tackling these issues head-on, investing in automation and refining its workflows to handle the complexity of different parts and precision requirements. “Automation is tough, especially when you’re dealing with a variety of part-specific tasks,” Kawola noted, but BMF remains focused on overcoming these challenges.

One of the biggest hurdles for 3D printing companies, including BMF, is mastering production at scale. According to Kawola, the industry as a whole has struggled to move from prototyping to full-scale production.

“The magic of 3D printing for the past 25 years has been the ability to get something quickly—prototypes have been the core. But when you move into production, consistency, compliance, and automation become critical, and that’s the next challenge for the entire industry.”

As the market grows, BMF also positions itself to lead in production. Kawola believes that as machines, materials, and processes improve, industries like aerospace and electronics will benefit from more affordable, precise, and scalable 3D printing solutions.

BMF headquarters in Boston.

Industry Impact

The company’s collaboration with material vendors like Henkel and BASF has been key in expanding its capabilities, particularly in producing components requiring specialized materials like flame retardant, biocompatible, ceramic resins, or dental zirconia. However, due to the small size of the parts BMF produces, material usage is relatively low, which poses unique challenges in terms of profitability. Unlike companies producing large industrial components, BMF’s micro-scale parts require only tiny amounts of material, which makes selling materials less profitable.

“Manufacturers don’t use so much material,” added the CEO. “This highlights the paradox of microfabrication: the demand for high-precision materials is critical, but the small scale of the parts limits material consumption, making it a difficult space for large material profits.”

Despite this, BMF’s open platform, allowing the use of third-party materials, ensures flexibility and adaptability to industry needs.

Pushing Boundaries with Precision

Ultimately, BMF’s focus on innovation, its ability to operate globally, and its strategic pivot toward high-value markets position it as a leader in the future of microfabrication. Kawola remains optimistic about the company’s trajectory, noting that the key to BMF’s future success lies in its ability to deliver high-precision parts at scale—an area where its deep expertise gives it a distinct advantage.

“At the end of the day, for production, it’s always come down to making the part good enough, keeping costs competitive, and overcoming the status quo,” Kawola summarized.

BMF’s 2µm feature plates.

In his view, these three factors—quality, economics, and the inertia of traditional manufacturing methods—ultimately determine whether a technology like BMF’s can truly disrupt an industry.

Kawola noted how advances in 3D printing over the last few years have improved material strength and functionality: “For many applications, we’re finally over the hump in terms of making parts that are strong enough and functional enough,” he said. “But even when the technical requirements are met, the challenge of making 3D printing cost-effective remains. It has to be cheaper or at least competitive with traditional methods.”

This economic hurdle is one reason BMF focuses on niche, high-value markets where the uniqueness of the technology offers a clear advantage.

The third challenge, however, is often the hardest to overcome: the resistance to change. “Even when the technology checks the boxes for quality and cost-effectiveness, there’s still a lot of hesitation,” Kawola explained. “Companies may see the benefits of microfabrication, but convincing them to move away from their established processes and invest in something new can be slow.”

For BMF, the future success of 3D printing, particularly microfabrication, will depend on addressing these three pillars. As more companies realize the potential of micro-scale production, and as costs continue to drop due to advances in automation and material science, the barriers to adoption may slowly fade away. Kawola points out that BMF isn’t just waiting for this shift—they’re actively pushing for it.

Images courtesy of 3DPrint.com

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