Additive manufacturing system sold to IIT

The IIT staff is comprised of ~1,700 people from over 60 countries, working together to conduct cutting-edge research in multi-disciplinary areas such as robotics, nanobiotechnology, industry, computational science and medicine. The research at the IIT Centre for Biomolecular Nanotechnologies in Lecce is focused on the development of micro and nanotechnologies for the human body and for the environment, by studying and exploiting nanomaterials and biomaterials and their interactions on a nanoscale.

“The addition of the DragonFly Pro to our facility will be a game-changer for our researchers and developers, who are creating a new development platform that provides rapid device and microsystem prototyping, making it possible to produce and embed our MEMS technology and wearable electronics into customised multilayer PCBs,” said Massimo De Vittorio, Senior Researcher and Centre Coordinator of the Centre for Biomolecular Nanotechnologies of IIT.

The purchase was facilitated by Cadlog, Nano Dimension’s value-added reseller in Italy.

“We have seen an increase in interest for Nano Dimension’s DragonFly in Italy and are excited to see the Instituto Italiano di Technologia lead this revolution,” said Filippo d’Agata, managing director at Cadlog. “Additive manufacturing of electronics is efficient, and we expect it to make a significant impact in forming the cornerstone of industry 4.0.” 

“We are excited about this sale, which is reflecting a top European research institutions’ need for cutting edge technology for developing top electronic applications,” said Amit Dror, CEO of Nano Dimension. “Italy is among the leading European countries in the adoption of industry 4.0 technologies, making factory automation more flexible, reducing waste and driving innovation of new smart and connected products.

“With the DragonFly system, the Istituto Italiano di Technologia will be able to concentrate on creating a new development ecosystem that provides more agile workflows, making it possible to rapidly develop complex multilayer PCBs for new electronics products with unique architects, geometries and capabilities.” 

The multi-material DragonFly Pro precision additive manufacturing system allows electronics designers and electrical engineers to 3D print conductive metal and dielectric polymer simultaneously, for in-house prototyping and small batch production.

This capability significantly shortens electronics developers’ project turnaround times as PCB prototypes and other functional circuitry can be created through additive manufacturing in a matter of hours instead of weeks. This allows the user to experience unparallelled rapid prototyping agility to achieve greater value by leveraging more efficient workflows and adopting new design opportunities within shorter development cycles.

With the need for electronics, automotive, defence, consumer, and medical device manufacturers to provide a wide range of electronic components, the ability to prototype 3D printed circuit boards in just hours onsite enables rapid innovation and time-savings, regardless of a circuit’s complexity. Nano Dimension’s DragonFly Pro system provides possibilities for creating the densely packed electronic prototypes required for smart design iteration such as sensors, antennas, molded interconnect devices and customised smart parts forming the foundation for the electronics of tomorrow.