Nanovoxel: Taking Tiny 3D Printing to the Next Level

NanoVoxel was born in May 2022 with a clear vision: to improve people's lives by breaking down innovation barriers in industrial miniaturization. They are the first all-in-one service provider for industrially manufactured micro parts using micro 3d printing technology, and they describe themselves as the “sharpest micro-manufacturing company on the market”. NanoVoxel is able to produce plastic parts and components with resolutions in the micro, and even nanometer range from prototypes to series production. “…this is what's very exciting here is that we are doing stuff that no one else worldwide is able to do.”

Nanovoxel use a mixture of 3D Printing, micro injection molding and cavity manufacturing to produce parts with microscopic precision. Domenico showed our producer Aaron one of the machines they use to achieve such minute detail. “This is the two-photon polymerization machine. This machine is from the company up nano, which is in the same building as us. (They are) our partner company. We do microfluidics, micro needles, micro nozzles. We create micro parts for mechanicals like micro gears, or for example, there is a strong interest from a different customer in terms of endoscopes because they're getting smaller and smaller to be less invasive inside the body. You can see it's the slide is opening and now what we have to do is load a substrate, it's put on the top and it's emerged then in a photopolymer…when light is hitting it, it's polymerizing and hardens.”

Domenico talked about the broader implications of Nanovoxel's innovations, particularly in medical technology. “One of the most exciting things that we are doing at Nanovoxel is impacting the future life of the people. We are working on microneedles; we are working on new endoscopes which can do analysis of veins because they are so small that they can fit inside. They can go up to brains or inside the heart. I have a clear view of the impact that we are having in this world. Of course, we're not that credible yet because it's a tiny startup. We have to demonstrate people, we are expanding, scaling up. We are in the middle of the “go to market” process. And we have the luck that we're a special startup because we do not need five years or 10 years to go to the market like a lot of medical devices company do.

Onshape is the first and only cloud-native product development platform that delivers professional-grade CAD capabilities with next-generation product data management (PDM), powering agile design processes at lower costs. Jon Hirschtick from PTC explains how Onshape's cloud-native CAD platform supports Nanovoxel's design and manufacturing processes: “Nanovoxel, they needed a cloud native flexible solution that would both minimize their IT investment costs and facilitate remote collaboration. Onshape was chosen for its cloud native features. We enable simultaneous editing, real time feedback, efficient collaboration and reduced design time were essential for maintaining productivity and meeting a whole bunch of diverse needs.”

Thanks to Jon for giving us an insight into Onshape and our guest Domenico for showing us firsthand how NanoVoxel's cutting-edge 3D printing technology is transforming industries and our producer for Aaron for taking us on the tour with him.

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This is an 18Sixty production for PTC. Executive producer is Jacqui Cook. Sound design and editing by Rema Mukena. Location recording by Aaron Olsacher. And music by Rowan Bishop.