OWL Nano 3D Printer - Resolution of 100 nanometers

Just saw a PR about this today. It's a new 3D Printer that is said to have 100X's better resolution then current consumer level 3D Printers.

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"The OWL Nano offers the accuracy and reliability of significantly more expensive, larger machines," said Nicholas Liverman, partner, Old World Laboratories. "It's the ideal tool for anyone looking to create high-value, low-volume products or molds. If you can dream it, the OWL Nano can build it with incredible precision."

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The OWL Nano's laser also maintains a perfect perpendicular position below the object it is forming, which creates a more balanced 3D print.

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Here are some stats:

Printing technology:	Stereolithography (SLA)
Layer Resolution:	100 nanometers
Build Volume:	288 in3 (6L x 6W x 8H in)
	4,500,000 mm3 (150L x 150W x 200H mm)
Weight:	45 lbs
Power:	1.4 A, 120 V
Build Temperature:	72 – 77 F
Build Materials:	Acrylate, Photopolymer Resin
Software:	Netfabb, Marlin Filmare (included)
O.S. Compatibility:	Mac, Windows, Linux
Travel Case:	Pelican (included)

I don't see a price anywhere, but this printer seems awesome!

More details can be found supposedly at http://www.oldworldlabs.com/ , although I didn't see any.

What exactly does this mean. 100 nonometers? Exactly how small is that? I would think that this means that it would be impossible to see any lines or evidence of 3D printing, and the details would be extraordinary. I'd like to know what the price of this machine is. Anyone know?

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Originally Posted by AbracadabraMan

What exactly does this mean. 100 nanometers? Exactly how small is that? I would think that this means that it would be impossible to see any lines or evidence of 3D printing, and the details would be extraordinary.

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1. Real damn tiny. Much smaller than human hair.

2. Pretty much. See this bit. This is a lots-of-layers print from the Peachy. Layer height is about 4000 nanometers and it looks like glass.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/ksr/assets/...68fb_large.png

Wow, that is really incredible. So basically this printer can make "perfect" prints. At least to the human eye. I too would love to see the price on this printer.

Print quality has a lot to do with X/Y accuracy, perhaps more than z-height (layer thickness). X/Y accuracy and a temperature controlled build chamber are why output from a Stratasys Mojo looks better than from a standard FDM/FFF personal printer, even though a Mojo lays down thicker layers than a lot of personal printers. An SLA printer like this one still lives by the same rules. Layer thickness doesn't matter if each layer is not laid down perfectly on top of the previous layer -- x/y variation is a quality killer.

In a nutshell, I'm saying you can't judge quality based on stats alone -- particularly z-resolution stats. Your eyes don't lie. You need to see prints.

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Originally Posted by Mike

Print quality has a lot to do with X/Y accuracy, perhaps more than z-height (layer thickness). X/Y accuracy and a temperature controlled build chamber are why output from a Stratasys Mojo looks better than from a standard FDM/FFF personal printer, even though a Mojo lays down thicker layers than a lot of personal printers. An SLA printer like this one still lives by the same rules. Layer thickness doesn't matter if each layer is not laid down perfectly on top of the previous layer -- x/y variation is a quality killer.

In a nutshell, I'm saying you can't judge quality based on stats alone -- particularly z-resolution stats. Your eyes don't lie. You need to see prints.

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That's an excellent point! Something I haven't even though about before your post. Is there a certain spec that tells of the X/Y accuracy? Funny thing is I don't think I've ever seen it listed on 3D Printers spec sheets. If this is so important, it should be something all 3D Printers including this OWL Nano should let us know about.

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Originally Posted by Hall_of_Famer

That's an excellent point! Something I haven't even though about before your post. Is there a certain spec that tells of the X/Y accuracy? Funny thing is I don't think I've ever seen it listed on 3D Printers spec sheets. If this is so important, it should be something all 3D Printers including this OWL Nano should let us know about.

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You see the stat on most pro machines and occasionally a personal class machine. It's typically listed in +/- microns as a variance or resolution. There may be several reasons it doesn't get listed. Sometimes, the numbers aren't worth bragging about. Other times, a machine maker might not know how to measure it. Z-resolution is software adjustable, while X/Y typically isn't.

I don't want to make it sound like machines that don't list it are bad, because I've seen great prints from machines that don't list it.

100nm x 10,000 layers = 1mm. Not a very practical print resolution at all. Not sure what the print would look like but it's pretty easy to claim this number based on software and hardware capabilities. Even if this printer is 10x faster than normal plastic extrusion printers it would take a looooooong time to do this. Even at 100x faster you are talking 100 equivalent layer times to print 1mm. That's 2,540 layer times to print an inch. The implication, of course, is that this means it will have amazing prints. This isn't necessarily true but it does capture our attention quite well!

On another note, with all the stereolithography printers coming out, what is the cost of printing with them? I assume the cost of the resin will come down but it seems pretty pricey now. Anybody have any experience with this type of printer and how much of the liquid polymer it uses?

Price is now indicated in their website. For $4,900 you might get the dream machine. The pelican case is a nice touch, but I don't know how useful past initial delivery ?

If anyone already received one, I'd be really interested to get a feedback on :
- their software.
- a picture of successful prints.
- did you ask for a 220V alim ?

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Originally Posted by KDog

100nm x 10,000 layers = 1mm. Not a very practical print resolution at all. Not sure what the print would look like but it's pretty easy to claim this number based on software and hardware capabilities. Even if this printer is 10x faster than normal plastic extrusion printers it would take a looooooong time to do this. Even at 100x faster you are talking 100 equivalent layer times to print 1mm. That's 2,540 layer times to print an inch. The implication, of course, is that this means it will have amazing prints. This isn't necessarily true but it does capture our attention quite well!

On another note, with all the stereolithography printers coming out, what is the cost of printing with them? I assume the cost of the resin will come down but it seems pretty pricey now. Anybody have any experience with this type of printer and how much of the liquid polymer it uses?

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That's a good point, but I'm worry with fatige of mechanics parts and temperture of system due long time of print. There isn't doubt about print time. Is not a problem to me. I want a smooth surface and detailed object only.

One of the frustrating things with those printers are the small dimensions of the output. Has anyone heard of a Form2 or OWL Micro where we would stay with 20cm max dimensions in SLA ?

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Originally Posted by LambdaFF

One of the frustrating things with those printers are the small dimensions of the output. Has anyone heard of a Form2 or OWL Micro where we would stay with 20cm max dimensions in SLA ?

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The thing to remember with SLA is that there are differences in how it can be done and those differences may alter final output size when playing with resolution settings.

If the curing light is produced by video projection (DLP for example), build size decreases as resolution increases. If the curing light is produced with a laser, there is no build size decrease with a resolution increase. So, a laser SLA machine like the Form 1 does not decrease an object's size just because you max the output resolution settings, but the same is not true for a B9Creator.

A Form 1's max build size is 12.5 x 12.5 x 16.5 cm, no matter the resolution – that's just the build envelope the printer was endowed with when it was designed. The OWL is also a laser machine, but it comes with a slightly bigger envelope at 15 x 15 x 20 cm. The Italian DWS Labs XFAB also uses a laser, but for roughly the same price, has a slightly larger build envelope at 18 x 18 x 18 cm. The upcoming Lightforge SLA machine has a decent envelope at 19 x 12 x 23 cm, but it is DLP and I don't know if that envelope measurement was taken at max resolution. The recent Kickstarter hit, FSL3D's Pegasus Touch, is a great value, being laser and having a build envelope of 18 x 18 x 23 cm.

Mike is right.
Did someone check Xfab or Owl nano in action? Could confirm high resolution print? I can't found any video of them on the net. I want to get a xfab, but need to see in action first. DWS and OldWorld Lab don't show many act video of them.

Excuse my english.

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Originally Posted by Valter

Mike is right.
Did someone check Xfab or Owl nano in action? Could confirm high resolution print? I can't found any video of them on the net. I want to get a xfab, but need to see in action first. DWS and OldWorld Lab don't show many act video of them.

Excuse my english.

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I've seen both. Their output looks like any other SLA machine's I've seen – smooth as silk and very detailed.

I'm dubious about their .1 micron resolution. Seeing as how it's orders of magnitude finer than anything else out there... How? Why haven't we seen it before? etc.

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Originally Posted by eain

I'm dubious about their .1 micron resolution. Seeing as how it's orders of magnitude finer than anything else out there... How? Why haven't we seen it before? etc.

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It's not that others can't make a machine to do it. It's that others are like, "why bother? You'd need a powerful microscope to see the difference."

To be clear, there are bacteria 5 microns long. A tenth of a micron is smaller than the human eye can see, by quite a bit. Certainly, some research labs have experimented with super fine printing, but from a practical standpoint, most people are going to have a hard time appreciating the difference and we aren't talking about bioprinting here.

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Originally Posted by Mike

It's not that others can't make a machine to do it. It's that others are like, "why bother? You'd need a powerful microscope to see the difference."

To be clear, there are bacteria 5 microns long. A tenth of a micron is smaller than the human eye can see, by quite a bit. Certainly, some research labs have experimented with super fine printing, but from a practical standpoint, most people are going to have a hard time appreciating the difference and we aren't talking about bioprinting here.

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Where are these research labs? I'm not saying you're wrong, but I'd like to see what they're up to. :)

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Originally Posted by eain

Where are these research labs? I'm not saying you're wrong, but I'd like to see what they're up to. :)

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http://www.3dprinterworld.com/articl...oscale-objects

http://www.3dprinterworld.com/articl...o-battery-buzz

http://www.3dprinterworld.com/articl...ia-3d-printing

http://www.3dprinterworld.com/articl...ectroformation

Nice! I wonder if any of them are even vaguely close to something like commercial release. I'm figuring not, though...

I have been trying to get the Old world labs crew to send me a test print so i can make a decision as to if its worth buying their machine to print my models. Given that their claims of the .1mu resolution, i was sceptical (as 0.1mu is inside the UV spectrum) but open minded enough to request a test print. After all $5k for a machine that can come close to such a resolution would be an absolute bargain, and given how small the build is, surface finish shouldn’t be an issue either…

So after having tried to get these guys to print a test model for me for the better part of two months, they keep telling me there is a delay and that they will do it 'next.... the last email said give us another 5 weeks... im pretty sure this is either a scam or they have over exaggerated the resolution on this machine to a point where they don’t want people discussing the actual print quality. Im pretty disappointed both with their lack of customer service, honesty and ability to deliver something as simple as a test prints. Their email communication is highly unprofessional and im left feeling that if your considering this one, to wait for an actual ‘test print’ (if they can do one – has anyone seen the machine do an actual print?) before handing over any money.

Hi all
Is there any action video of the OWL or XFAB around??? Something more detailed?? When will be released?