Changing the Rules of the 3D Printing Game

The fact that 3D printing is the future is pretty much old news. Not only is it the next big thing, it’s also the current big thing, already taking place in the here and now. The companies currently operating in this field are capable of printing singular products over very large periods of time. This is true, whether the product is an electronic chip, crowns for teeth, or implants – production is singular. PV Nano Cell is changing the 3D printing market by using technology that is suitable for mass production. The company developed a special ink that enables various elements to be printed in large quantities, thus enabling the use digital printing technology and all of its advantages, for various mass production markets.

The company was founded in 2009 by Dr. Fernando de la Vega, who currently serves as its Chief Technology Officer. With over 25 years of industrial and entrepreneurial experience and a specialization in nanotechnology to his name, de la Vega arrived at a juncture in which his vision for development various types of ink for industrial settings requiring mass production of electronics, conductors, and passive components around the clock, came together. The company positioned itself to tackle this task and has gained prominence in its market, after opting to start out by entering two fields: automotive and solar panels.

“We believe that, to succeed in business, one must first focus on one or two areas, until a high level of sales is achieved. Only then, can one scale,” says Ron Eisenberg, PV Nano Cell’s CEO. “That’s why we chose to initially focus on two markets that were in need of solutions like the ones we produce. Many people don’t know just how integrated electronics are into cars; front and back windshields today. There are tons of electronics installed there, with an emphasis on antennas and sensors; not just the defoggers most people know. The autonomous vehicle will only increase the need for windshield electronics to be printed.

With respect to solar panels, our unique technology provides advantages that others simply do not possess, such as the ability to print conductor strings that are 30, 40, or 50 microns wide. It is known that improving the energy conversion efficiency of solar panels by 0.5% to 1% is a huge achievement. Out ink and 3D printing capabilities enable a 40% energy conversion efficiency improvement. Panel industry professionals can’t believe that it’s true!”

Ink with a prolonged shelf life and improved electronic properties

The concept of Printed Electronics has existed for many years, but has remained on a research and prototyping level, until now. Dr. de la Vega explains, “The reason for this is that, to implement digital printing technologies within industrial, mass production environments, there is a need, not only for equipment, but also for ink that meets and is adapted to these environments’ requirements.

I learned about the importance of this ink from many of my friends who took part in the development of Israel’s digital printing industry in functional, graphic, and 3D fields. They focused on the printers, eventually stumbling upon issues related to the ink’s limitations. Digital printing requires ink that is low in viscosity and has small particles.

The only way to create ink that has a high concentration of metal is by using nano-particles of metal; particles that are smaller than 150 nanometers. The challenge in developing such an ink, one that is also suitable for mass production, is great. To date, many have failed to achieve this goal. Using clean technology to create nano-particles of metal that are stable, suitable for fast printing, affordable to produce, and have a long shelf life… now that’s a challenge no one before us has been able to resolve. There are quite a few types metal nano-particle-based inks intended for singular product printing on the market. At PV, we’ve succeeded in developing a stable ink with an over 50% metal concentration that is suitable for quick, continuous printing in industrial environments. Our ink has a long shelf life and enhanced electrical properties.”

How did you achieve this goal?

Dr. de la Vega: “In ink that is based on our metal nano-particles, every particle is a single crystal, similar to a diamond, which enables the enhanced properties that are so critical to mass production. It has a high concentration of metal and is extremely stable. Its production process enables scaling up, and no dangerous substances are produced at any time. The result: the ability to print conductors and passive components for electronics, such as resistors, capacitors, and coils with different ink variations, using metal, silver, gold, and copper.”

According to Eisenberg, “Thanks to the unique patent that Fernando and the company’s team developed, we have been able to take 3D printing and ink technology one step forward. In this way, we are able to operate in an area (we believe) very few, if any, are active today – the field of mass production. We are focused on the heart of the industry,

and are equipped with the capabilities to replace existing digital printing production technologies. From the printing of passive components on electronic chips, through materials to be implanted within the human body to a replacement for silk printing technologies used to produce solar panels and the printing of electronic components for windshields. All that while maintaining high levels of durability in harsh environmental conditions and under the most stringent regulatory requirements. Our technology is opening the doors to new worlds for manufacturers everywhere.”

Producing electronic insoles for the medical market

PV Nano Cell is leading this revolution with ten employees who work at the company’s Migdal HaEmek offices. The process of developing the basic nano-particle technology took about two years, but even after the company resolved the ink challenge, another challenge stood in their way. While working with clients, they grew to understand that it isn’t enough to market ink; the entire product production solution must be marketed.

This includes the printer, the ink, and the printing programs. As such, in 2017, the company acquired DigiFlex, a 3D printer company that developed a precise printer capable of printing up to 10 types of ink, thereby enabling PV to offer their clients the ability to write printing applications for their products as well. “While the printing program on a regular printer is relatively simple because of its two-dimensional nature, when it comes to 3D printers, it’s an entirely different ballgame, because you have to create conductors with their own height and width,” Dr. de la Vega clarifies. “As such, the actual printing requires far more knowledge: what comes first, what comes last, when to print upwards, and when to print outwards. The client usually struggles to plan all of this on their own, so we write the program for them, based on our own knowledge. Often, this professional program is what turns a failure into a success.”

The company collaborates on various projects with the support of the Israel Innovation Authority, the Energy Ministry, and the EU’s Horizon 2020 program. PV is a partner in four European projects.

The common thread between all of these projects from different fields is the goal of reaching serial production rates. “All of these projects focus on 3D electronics printing. We are the only conducting ink supplier for them all,” Eisenberg indicates. “We help the participating companies pave their way towards mass production in fields such as flexible electronics and passive components. We’ve already installed several of our printers in Europe and the US.”

Meaning, you’re already scaling beyond the borders of the automotive and solar panels fields?

Eisenberg adds, “According to the Focusing perspective, our feet are always on the ground, but our heads start looking up towards the clouds. We are focusing on embedded passive components for the printed electronics field. Products such as electronic chips that are in need of a solution like the one we can offer. The passive components that are embedded within them, such as coils, resistors and capacitors, are all currently located outside of the chip, which is problematic for a variety of reasons, such as reliability, space utilization, and cost. 3D printing enables these components to be printed inside of the chip, as one can print very thin layers (just a few microns, instead of 3-4 millimeters). The ability to print on every one of the chip’s layers, thanks to the ink we’ve developed, will revolutionize the electronics world.

“Another example of the many possibilities concealed within the ‘electronics everywhere’ space is a field that we’re currently examining with a strategic partner; insoles that ‘talk,’” Eisenberg adds. “We believe that we can create electronic insoles capable of communicating with the outside world and transmitting critical information, such as areas of the foot suffering from undue pressure. Such a development can, for example, help people with diabetes avoid amputations, by alerting on medical issues in the nick of time. The advantage for end users is clear, and we expect insurance providers to be interested in this development as well, as it can save them lots of money.

“When you look at the entirety of the electronics market, it is clear that there is no end to the developments that can be enhanced by our technology. This is a huge market with the potential for raking in tens, or even hundreds of billions of dollars each year.”

Faster, more reliable production capabilities

But, before approaching the entire electronics market, it’s interesting to learn how PV Nano Cell operates within its two existing verticals: the automotive and solar panels markets. Dr. de la Vega explains that, when it comes to a car’s windshields, they are full of sensors and antennas, which communicate with all of the objects on the road, as well as with satellites. “The approach used today requires a different printer for each material, making for a complex, complicated, lengthy, and inefficient production process.

Our digital technology only needs one printer, the kind that’s capable of containing tens of different materials and printing whatever is needed, at the same time. We install various cassettes, each with its own material, and the printer knows which ink to print when. Some white material here some silver string there, and some black over there. This, of course, changes, according to the task at hand.”

Eisenberg adds, “With respect to solar panels, visiting the production floor of any company producing 1.2 panels a year is enough to understand the scope of the revolution we can help engender. Seeing their entire operation helped us understand that we can use digital printing to transform what they’re doing into a whole new world with faster, more reliable, and greater surface coverage capabilities.”

How do you achieve such lofty surface coverage capabilities?

Dr. de la Vega explains, “The quality of the printed conductors allows us to take maximum advantage of the panel’s surface area. The narrower the conductor is and the better its conductivity properties are, the more surface area we are able to successfully use. We are able to print exceptionally narrow conductors with electronic components that could not be produced using existing analog technologies, thus enabling us to achieve 5-6 times greater efficacy than our competitors. These findings are well documented and supported.

Who are your clients?

Eisenberg says, “When it comes to the automotive market, we have business relationships with four companies that, together, make up 80% of the global consumption of windshield materials. We already sell commercial quantities to two of these companies. To date most windshields are printed using outdated analog technologies.

That said, the advantages of digital printing is clear to all of the industry’s professionals, and the components companies are starting to engage in a deep process to swap their analog technologies for digital ones, using our ink. With the market’s shift towards digital printing – today, this move is a given – our marketing potential will reach new heights. With respect to solar panel field, we are working with a large German client, and are in talks with other manufacturers.”

What’s your perspective on the competition within the market?

Eisenberg concludes that “we have two main sources of competition. The first are companies that manufacture existing analog technologies. It’s up to us to prove that our technology is better than theirs, across the various parameters: reliability, speed, and cost. But, we’re also experiencing exceptionally fierce competition from silk printing technologies, which is in a state of inertia; people are used to doing certain things in certain ways. It works for them and they aren’t interested in any dramatic changes, even if they’re introduced to more advanced alternatives.

It’s psychologically motivated and should not be discounted. We must make it clear to any potential clients that what they are currently doing will soon be obsolete. We must convince them that they need to start from scratch with a new technology; not an easy or trivial decision for them to make. It’s helpful that the market is moving in this direction on its own, and manufacturers are starting to make these requests on their own accord. In the first week of 2022, we already received two new commercial orders from an automotive company, and we hope that this trend will only continue to grow.”

In collaboration with PV Nano Cell