3D printer manufacturer EnvisionTEC has just announced it will be releasing two major upgrades to its 3D-Bioplotter system at the European Society for Biomaterials (ESB) Annual Conference in Dresden, Germany.
The first advancement is related to the 3D-Bioplotter’s photo-curing head, which now allows up to five wavelengths or combinations of wavelengths in a single print. According to EnvisionTEC, even though the wavelength of 365 mm is the most commonly used and required by photoinitiators in academic and industrial settings, it has shown to have a negative impact on cell survivability for bioprinting. The new photo-curing head, however, allows for the use of photoinitiators that react to the visible light range, which does not harm cells.
Research groups or companies that are already using the company’s 3D-Bioplotter technology can choose to upgrade their existing systems with the new photo-curing head.
The second upgrade is a new ink jet head which is designed to dispense low viscosity hydrogels as coatings while 3D printing parts or for hybrid scaffold fabrication. The built-in micro-dispensing valve can reportedly be programmed (via software) to dispense individual, unconnected dots of material or to connect them, resulting in lines of hydrogel.
The new ink jet head can also produce fast dot printing projects, to fill pores in hybrid scaffolds and to dispense coatings onto simultaneously 3D printed scaffolds.
EnvisionTEC will be showcasing both the new photo-curing Head and ink jet head in Dresden this week at its booth. The company also highlighted that it recently celebrated the publication of the 333rd scientific paper focused on its 3D-Bioplotter system.
