Smart Molding International 1-2024

42 smart_molding international 1/2024 additive manufacturing Introducing Supernova: A new company born from the carve-out of BCN3D’s Viscous Lithography Manufacturing (VLM) business unit, set to revolutionize AM in real production applications. J anuary 31, 2024, a leading 3D printing solutions manu- facturer BCN3D, together with the newly formed com- pany Supernova, jointly announced that during Q4 2023, BCN3D executed a carve-out of its Viscous Lithography Manu- facturing (VLM) business unit into Supernova. This new com- pany has been incorporated in the US and will have head- quarters in both Austin (Texas, US) and Barcelona (Spain). Supernova is not a subsidiary of BCN3D; instead, the two entities are completely independent, and since the carve-out, there are no further bonds between the two entities. Supernova’s vision is to elevate products through advanced technologies, based on its breakthrough VLM technology. Supernova unlocks real production applications by providing solutions that combine quality, productivity, and a competitive cost per part. BCN3D’s purpose is to enable innovators to create the future by making industrial additive manufacturing (AM) accessible. The company focuses on enabling engineers to enhance product design through functional prototyping and to improve factory operations with tooling, jigs, and fixtures. To be successful, each of those visions will require a distinct business model, company structure, and, most importantly, a laser-focused team. The technologies, customers, applications, and materials all differ significantly. By carving out its VLM business unit into Supernova, BCN3D ensures that each has its own space to flourish in the long term. Supernova will be led by Roger Antunez as CEO, who previously served as the General Manager of BCN3D since 2019. Joining him as a co-founder is Marta Mico, formerly the VLM Head of Business Development at BCN3D. Additionally, Eric Pallares, the former CTO of BCN3D, will join Supernova as a Distinguished Technologist. Meanwhile, the rest of the team will remain at BCN3D, with Pol Domenech, the Sales Director, stepping up as the new General Manager. Under the leadership of its CEO Xavi M. Faneca, BCN3D will continue to focus on its core business of extrusion-based technologies. The company aims to expand its leadership in the IDEX segment that the company created in 2016, and grow its industrial offering with products like the BCN3D Omega I60, an all-in-one industrial FFF 3D printer built for the factory floor featuring IDEX technology, an actively heated printing chamber, a massive print volume, and an architecture ready for high speed. At the core of Supernova there is Viscous Lithography Manufacturing (VLM), a lithography-based AM process that laminates thin layers of high-viscosity resins onto a transparent transfer film prior to photopolymerize the resin into the 3D printed object. The resins can be up to 100 times more viscous than those used in traditional DLP, SLA, or MSLA processes, unlocking an unparalleled range of properties. These properties are closer to thermoplastics than standard thermosets, achieved in an efficient and scalable manner.