MIT spin-off Rapid Liquid Print raises $7M for 3D printing

by | May 7, 2024 | Technology

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MIT spin-off Rapid Liquid Print has raised $7 million in funding for its novel liquid-based 3D printing technology.

Boston-based Rapid Liquid Print was founded as an additive manufacturing startup in 2015 as a spin-off from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Germany’s HZG Group led the investment round, joined by BMW i Ventures and MassMutual through MM Catalyst Fund (MMCF).

Based in Lichtenfels and Coburg, Bavaria, HZG Group is a renowned venture capital investor managing a $64.6 million tech fund with a dedicated focus on 3D printing startups. Rapid Liquid Print has nine people.

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So far, HZG Group has mainly been active in Europe’s DACH region, with Rapid Liquid Print being the second U.S. investment. According to Rapid Liquid Print, the capital will primarily be used to scale production, expand the team of experts behind the technology, and build additional business areas.

The name of the company says it all: Rapid Liquid Print is a new 3D printing process developed at MIT’s Self-Assembly Lab in Boston.

In this innovative process, a liquid object is “drawn” in three dimensions within a gel suspension. A gantry system injects a liquid material mixture into a container filled with a specifically engineered gel, drawing the desired object into three-dimensional space via a nozzle. The gel holds the object in suspension – as if in zero gravity – while the object cures during printing.

The entire printing process takes minutes and requires no additional support structures to be printed. The printed objects can be used immediately without post-processing.

Origins

I print therefore I am.

Bjørn Sparrman and Schendy Kernizan are the founders of Rapid Liquid Print. They told me in an interview they were working in the MIT Self-Assembly Lab on additive manufacturing, using new types of 3D printing machines from companies such as Formlabs. Form Labs uses a resin-based photo-cured process. That is, they took a wet resin and hit it with a laser so that it hardened immediately. Then they did that over and over.

Steelcase approached the researchers to examine the shortcomings of 3D printing for furniture. There were plenty of problems, like the need to print small blocks and then glue pieces together.

They used a technique called embedded printing where you have a substrate, suspend materials in a liquid, and then build out the rest of an object. It worked very well with soft objects being printed. They also worked with BMW on printed objects like silicone rubber for seat cushions. They patented the work for the university and then took out a license as they spun the startup out of MIT.

As the startup, shifted away from the F …

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Are you looking to showcase your brand in front of the gaming industry’s top leaders? Learn more about GamesBeat Summit sponsorship opportunities here. 

MIT spin-off Rapid Liquid Print has raised $7 million in funding for its novel liquid-based 3D printing technology.

Boston-based Rapid Liquid Print was founded as an additive manufacturing startup in 2015 as a spin-off from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Germany’s HZG Group led the investment round, joined by BMW i Ventures and MassMutual through MM Catalyst Fund (MMCF).

Based in Lichtenfels and Coburg, Bavaria, HZG Group is a renowned venture capital investor managing a $64.6 million tech fund with a dedicated focus on 3D printing startups. Rapid Liquid Print has nine people.

GB Event
GamesBeat Summit Call for Speakers
We’re thrilled to open our call for speakers to our flagship event, GamesBeat Summit 2024 hosted in Los Angeles, where we will explore the theme of “Resilience and Adaption”.

Apply to speak here

So far, HZG Group has mainly been active in Europe’s DACH region, with Rapid Liquid Print being the second U.S. investment. According to Rapid Liquid Print, the capital will primarily be used to scale production, expand the team of experts behind the technology, and build additional business areas.

The name of the company says it all: Rapid Liquid Print is a new 3D printing process developed at MIT’s Self-Assembly Lab in Boston.

In this innovative process, a liquid object is “drawn” in three dimensions within a gel suspension. A gantry system injects a liquid material mixture into a container filled with a specifically engineered gel, drawing the desired object into three-dimensional space via a nozzle. The gel holds the object in suspension – as if in zero gravity – while the object cures during printing.

The entire printing process takes minutes and requires no additional support structures to be printed. The printed objects can be used immediately without post-processing.

Origins

I print therefore I am.

Bjørn Sparrman and Schendy Kernizan are the founders of Rapid Liquid Print. They told me in an interview they were working in the MIT Self-Assembly Lab on additive manufacturing, using new types of 3D printing machines from companies such as Formlabs. Form Labs uses a resin-based photo-cured process. That is, they took a wet resin and hit it with a laser so that it hardened immediately. Then they did that over and over.

Steelcase approached the researchers to examine the shortcomings of 3D printing for furniture. There were plenty of problems, like the need to print small blocks and then glue pieces together.

They used a technique called embedded printing where you have a substrate, suspend materials in a liquid, and then build out the rest of an object. It worked very well with soft objects being printed. They also worked with BMW on printed objects like silicone rubber for seat cushions. They patented the work for the university and then took out a license as they spun the startup out of MIT.

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