Young designer builds innovative 3D printer for printed electronics

This included Solidworks design software, simulation, composer and PDM Professional. 

Nano Dimension’s ‘Lamborghini-like’ 3D printer offers electronics professionals the ability to rapidly produce functional multilayer PCB prototypes in-house. Using a combination of Solidworks 3D design software, Nano Dimension was able to visualise the DragonFly 2020 3D printer and its components with accurate 3D illustrations of the design and renditions of the product, before actual production. 

Lena Kotlar, the R&D Mechanical Manager at Nano Dimension and designer of the DragonFly 2020 3D printer, credits the Solidworks solutions for allowing her team to design the complex and novel printer so rapidly. 

“Every bit of the unit -- mechanical parts, the housing, wires and cables -- was designed with Solidworks,” Ms. Kotlar said. “We used the software’s simulation capabilities to ensure the parts would work correctly together and the unit would function properly while building 3D printed circuit boards.”

The Solidworks ecosystem enabled the creation of the DragonFly 2020 3D printer with efficiency thanks to the tightly integrated innovation capabilities of the Solidworks ecosystem, including simulation, mechanical design, visualisation, and data management.

The DragonFly 2020 3D printer features a novel, non-bulky, streamlined design, based on inspiration from nature, the automotive industry, and Nano Dimension’s dragonfly logo, Kotlar said. While most 3D printer companies outsource their designs, Nano Dimension’s in-house design process using Solidworks ensured the system would remain innovative and uninfluenced by designs for more generic 3D printers. 

The DragonFly 2020 3D Printer is targeted for commercial availability later this year.