Voltera launches 'world's first printer' for soft, stretchable electronics - TCT Magazine

Voltera, a leader in printed electronics technology, announced in October the launch of NOVA, a new platform for printing flexible hybrid electronics.

NOVA uses direct write technology to print circuits on soft, stretchable and conformable surfaces.

“This first-of-its-kind benchtop machine unlocks rapid flexible hybrid electronics prototyping and the ability to experiment with custom inks and a wide variety of substrates,” said Alroy Almeida, CEO and co-founder of Voltera. “NOVA is already being used to innovate how humankind explores deep space, to develop printed, on-skin sensors for medical imaging, and to prototype clothing that can measure your heart rate yet can go through the gentle cycle in your washing machine.”

NOVA’s precision extrusion technology can help conduct research and develop “products of the future”, by enabling rapid benchtop iteration according to Voltera, leading to more reliable results, faster development times, and lower costs.

“With NOVA, we can make devices and align them to sub 10-micron precision, which is essential to everything that we do,” said Alex Kashkin, Graduate Researcher, Velasquez Group at MIT. “If we have a 20-micron deviation, our devices explode. We need a lot of precision, we need to have tuned materials, and NOVA enables both.

Kashkin is using NOVA to develop printed electron sources for neutralising ionic thruster plumes in low-earth orbit. Voltera says that NOVA crosses the bridge between ;what researchers can do and what they wish they could do.'

“I think where this sort of technology, NOVA, will shine is in applications that were not possible before. You shouldn’t fight or try to compete with silicon chips or PCBs. You should try to make something that’s impossible with those technologies,” said Gerd Grau, Director of the Electronics Additive Manufacturing lab at York University, who is using NOVA in the development of on-skin biomedical tattoo electrodes.

Voltera says that while subtractive methodologies are great for traditional electronics, the future of electronics is flexible, which means the future of electronics is additive. According to the company, as a direct-write, digital printer, NOVA enables innovation without requiring the tooling and high costs associated with screen printing.

Without using screen printing, NOVA allows for rapid design iteration while offering higher performance than other additive prototyping options such as inkjet, says Voltera. It is also better for the environment because there is less waste and material contamination, alongside the ability to print circuits on eco-friendly materials, such as biodegradable substrates, according to Voltera.

The NOVA includes a Smart Dispenser cartridge which can be filled with a desired material, then calibrated with the semi-automated calibration procedure to begin printing in minutes according to the company. The vision system features a camera-based alignment and AR print overlay features. The system also is built to include two quick-swap module ports, drop-in fixturing, and optional ethernet, USB and WiFi connectivity.

Voltera launched its first printer, the V-One, in 2015, after a successful Kickstarter campaign.

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