Image Source: 3d natives
Microlight 3D is a manufacturer of ultra high resolution 3D printers for industrial and scientific applications. Using micro fabrication 3D printing technology they created a 2-millimeter high champagne pyramid, consisting of 35 micro glasses. The French company has a great experience in micro printing, it has designed the smallest pyramid of champagne in the world. Philippe Paliard, co-founder of Microlight3D explains ” Since each flute is 0.4 millimeters high and contains 1 nanoliter of real Champion Ouy champagne, a normal bottle of champagne could fill 750 million of these flutes.”
The term micro fabrication indicates creation of miniature parts, at the micrometer scale or even below, at the nanometer scale. Microlight3D created 3D print miniatures from the Star Wars Universe (0.01mm long) which was attracted by many people last year. The designs are created using the µFAB-3D machine using technology called Multi Photon Lithography (MPL) known as two-photon polymerization (2PP). This is defined as the process of creating small features in a photosensitive material, without the use of complex optical systems.
A millimetre-sized design: The flutes are based on Ormogreen, a polymer filled with nano particles which offers mechanical and thermal properties far superior to those of normal polymers. Mr. Paliard explains ” It is material developed by Microlight3D. The polymer consists of silica particles which has the properties similar to those of glass in terms of rigidity, transparency etc. So this is the best material to make the champagne flutes!” But while Microlight3D did not need any outside help to design the flutes, the company did use a third party to fill the champagne glasses. “The very precise deposit of champagne in the flutes is the result of a collaboration between Microlight3D and Pierre-Luc Piveteau, a researcher at the Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne.”
Microlight3D is showcasing its technology and the latest advances in micro printing in a fun and accessible way. “It is also a way to present a new functionality that will appear on our machines and that allows us to make high structures. He adds “It can seem ridiculous but before today our systems could not make structures more than one millimeter high”. Before concluding “A new development will make it possible to make objects up to 10mm high. We will announce this new development in the next few weeks.” This is just the beginning it seems!
