Industrial tools

 

After the foundation in 2014 the goal has been to move beyond the research market and supply tools for mass production. 

Since 2017 VSPARTICLE is offering state of the art R&D tools to top universities, institutes and corporate R&D. In 2023 the most advanced R&D tool (VSP-P1) is commercially introduced. Since the foundation in 2014 the goal has been to move beyond the research market and supply tools for mass production. Our technology can be scaled along 2 axes: 

  • Increasing the output of our Nanoparticle generator. This can be done by both optimizing the spark event and increasing the spark frequency. Since 2020 the Gen2 technology is operational and running at 10.000 Hertz.  
  • The other axes is simply scaling the number of units per tool. This scaling philosophy is very similar to how ink-jet technology is scaled.  

In the overview below you could see how we will move from research to development and production tools by first increasing the output (moving from Gen1 to Gen2) and than numbering up in a second step. In the near future we could move even to Gen3 by increasing the frequency further.  

p1_100_1000

To accelerate material screening the Research Tool (VSP-P1) is designed with flexibility in mind. Flexibility regarding the materials that can be processed and the type of substrates.  

​This new way of additive manufacturing can greatly simplify the production of nanoporous thin films and layers with a high surface-to-volume ratio. The applications of such films are numerous and include for example electrocatalysis, gas sensors as well as the fabrication of batteries and microelectronics. ​

P1_G1__1_
p100_g2__1_

When the desired material is discovered the printing process needs to be optimised for production. This can be done on the Development Tool. As long as the spark event controlled in the same manner results obtained with the Research Tool should be easily translatable to the Development Tool. After the process has been optimized for yield and material performance it’s time to prepare for production.  

VSPARTICLE introduces membranes, production process of CCMs is simplified and catalyst loading is reduced without compromising performance or durability.

Scaling the technology by numbering up introduced flexibility in how the systems can be configured. For next generation sensors the production tool will be optimized for wafer substrates while for the market of catalyst coated membranes flexible polymeric substrates are processed in a roll-to-roll or roll-to-sheet manner.  

p1_100

LEE-BED

While VSPARTICLE is at the beginning of its technological roadmap, the challenge of scaling our technology is already being addressed. 

Since January 2019 VSParticle is participating in the Horizon 2020 project: Innovation test bed for development and production of nanomaterials for lightweight embedded electronics (LEE BED).Within this project we scale up our print technology into a gas phase pilot line. The open access pilot line allows you to bring your application ideas and concepts to a pilot production.

For more information about the project and partners please go to the website.