In-Vision, an Austrian technology provider for 3D printing systems with US offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has launched a new high-power UV light engine for 3D-printing. HELIOS is the result of two years of research and development work. Christof Hieger, CTO of In-Vision, stated that the HELIOS light engine is a UV light projector for additive manufacturing that was specifically developed to achieve the highest illumination intensity to allow for faster prints and the use of highly reactive photopolymers.
In-Vision’s customers include many of the world’s leading manufacturers of 3D printers. There has always been a high demand for more light intensity among its customers. However, the company could not find an off-the shelf light source that could fulfil this need. In-Vision knew it had a team that was able to come up with a great product, so it started its own development.
HELIOS is based on In-Vision’s new proprietary light source and achieves 60W of illumination intensity, which is twice as much as what most light engines on the market can achieve. This results in more than 12W on the image plane, according to the company. Gerold Aschinger, head of HELIOS development team, noted that all optical elements and their coatings have been optimized to offer the highest uniformity and contrast ratios of any systems the company benchmarked.
In addition to the optical performance, In-Vision wanted to incorporate as many improvements for the customer as possible. It has never been easier to operate and maintain a DLP light engine. The entire projector follows a modular design: it is fully built in sub-assemblies for highest accessibility and the LED module can be easily exchanged by the customer. Furthermore, HELIOS will be available in customized pixel solutions and wavelengths. The current versions cover 385 nm, 406 nm and 460 nm and a resolution of 2K.
With this product, the company wants to contribute to even more cost-effective prints, allow for new materials and qualify additive manufacturing further for serial production applications. The first customers in the US and Asia have completed their qualification tests. The serial production starts in December 2020.
For more information, visit www.in-vision.at.
