Dolomite, a UK-based company designing and manufacturing innovative microfluidic products, has recently previewed its Fluidic Factory at the MicroTAS 2015 in Korea.
October 28, 2015: The Fluidic Factory is the first commercially available 3D printer for fluidically-sealed devices, capable of creating low-cost chips starting as low as $ 1.
Microfluidic chips are a set of connected micro-channels to achieve certain functions such as mixing, pumping, sorting or controlling a bio-chemical environment. Applications are mainly found in the biomedical field or cell biology.
Dolomite uses FDA-approved robust cyclic olefin copolymer (COC) for their desktop 3D printer in order to create three-diamensional mixers and non-rectangular chips with bespoke channel geometries and other features not possible using common methods such as etching, moulding or machining techniques.
“The print head, print bed and software are designed to be upgradeable, ensuring future functionality for printing different polymers, ultra-high definition printing, micro-milling, fluid dispensing or bioprinting,” states Dolomite.
Additionally, the Fluidics Factory’s Drawings Library allows the user to choose from a wide selection of designs. Alternatively they can create and print their own custom devices from CAD software files.
March 15, 2016: Update – Dolomite Launches 3D Fluidics Printer
Dolomite has just launched their Fluidic Factory 3D Printer at the the Lab-on-a-Chip & Microfluidics 2016 event in Madrid.
The Fluidic Factory is designed for ultimate ease of use, enabling rapid prototyping of fluidically-sealed devices such as chips, sensor cartridges, fluid manifolds, valves, connectors and medical devices. Its intelligent software and innovative hardware ensure reliable sealing of fluidic paths, allowing the creation of precise channel geometries and various features not possible using etching, embossing, moulding or machining techniques. Users can choose a design from the Fluidic Factory’s Design Library, or create and print their own unique devices using virtually any CAD software. With this complete design flexibility, the Fluidic Factory is ideal for a wide range of applications, including organ-on-a-chip, point-of-care diagnostics, drug development, education, chemical synthesis, and analytical and biomedical assays.
The Fluidic Factory is available for order through Dolomite’s website.
Subscribe to our Newsletter
3DPResso is a weekly newsletter that links to the most exciting global stories from the 3D printing and additive manufacturing industry.
