Feb 23, 2016 | By Benedict

Nano Dimension Technologies today announced a collaborative agreement with RAMOT at Tel Aviv University. The agreement will see the two parties develop a 3D printing technique for a nanoparticle nickel material.

Prof. Gil Markovich

In what could prove a significant development in the global production of printed circuit boards (PCBs), Israeli 3D printing specialist Nano Dimension has announced its partnership with the university-owned private company RAMOT just one day after it was approved to trade on the NASDAQ Capital Market. Nano Dimension, founded in 2012, specializes in the production of 3D inkjet, 3D software, and nanomaterials. The company is perhaps best known for developing the first 3D printer to produce multi-layer PCBs, and will now focus its attention on nanoparticle nickel printing.

The collaborative research will take place at the University Labs under the guidance of Professor Gil Markovich, head of the department of Chemistry at Tel Aviv University. The Markovich Research group, consisting of nine postgraduate students and Markovich himself, is currently conducting research into metal nanowire films, nano-chirallity, and magneto-transport in magnetic nanoparticle films, amongst other topics. Its work with Nano Dimension will focus exclusively on the 3D printing of nanoparticle nickel material.

Researchers at Professor Markovich’s labs have already developed a unique method for producing a stable suspension of nickel nanoparticles that do not cluster. Nickel has excellent mechanical properties and is highly resistant to corrosion, making it suitable for 3D printing. However, inkjet printing with nickel nanoparticles can cause particle clusters which can clog the nozzle of the print head.

Nano Dimension's Dragonfly 3D printer

The non-clustering 3D printing process developed by Markovich’s team used a wet chemical synthesis process based on the reduction reaction of nickel compounds and the presence of a capping agent. Despite the advanced progress of this research, the recently announced collaboration will give the scientists access to Nano Dimension’s intellectual property and business acumen, and could boost the chances of developing new ink formulations for 3D printing applications.

3D printing with nickel nanoparticles could be used to produce sensors with high spatial resolution. The process would require advanced print heads and a precision micrometer scale and, when implemented with Nano Dimension’s existing 3D printing technology, could be used to embed these sensors within the layers of a PCB, a process that could not be achieved with non-additive manufacturing techniques.

The sensors which Nano Dimension and RAMOT are seeking to produce could be used to monitor energies and their derivatives, such as capacitance, magnetism, temperature, and radiation. Furthermore, the 3D printed components would be highly resistant to corrosion, since nickel functions as an effective barrier against oxidation. Stay tuned for further developments.

 

 

Posted in 3D Printer Company

 

 

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