Advanced Fabrication

Our state-of-the-art 3D printing systems cover a wide range of materials and technologies. Ranging from metals (SLM) and ceramics (LCM), to polymers (PµSL, SLA, FDM/FFF, Polyjet) and biomaterials (Bioprinting). With alternative fabrication methods available, including melt-spinning with twin extruders and electro-spinning.

Formlabs Form 2 & 4B, Boston Microfabrication microArch® S240

Next-generation biocompatible resin 3D printers optimised for medical and dental applications, featuring rapid LFD (Low Force Display) and Projection Micro-Stereolithography (PµSL) printing.

Materials: Soft silicone-like + tough biocompatible resins

Speed & resolution: 0.028 mm/s & 10-50 micron

Applications: Implants, prosthetics, biomedical, dental, aerospace, mechanical - Biocompatible resin support with Class I FDA registration (US) and medical-grade workflows

Markforged M2 & X7, Apium M220,
Stratasys F370, Lynxter S300X

Markforged are continuous fiber composite 3D printer capable of producing strong, functional parts with industrial-grade accuracy. Apium M220 is a PEEK-focused FFF printer designed for medical applications including implant-grade production. F370 is a professional FDM printer built for prototyping and end-use parts.

Matierals: Nylon, CF, Silicone, PEEK, ABS, ASA, PLA

Speed & resolution: 150 mm/s & 50 micron

Applications: Biomedical, modeling, high-strength engineering, cleanroom-compatible and ISO 10993-compliant

GE Concept Laser Mlab 200R & Trumpf TruPrint 1000

Compact metal 3D printer using Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) for high-precision components, ideal for defence, medical, dental, defence and R&D applications.

Microfluidics; organic electronics; biomaterials; and novel semiconductor materials; characterising the bio-nano interface.

Materials: Titanium, CoCr, stainless steels, precious metals

Resolution & Speed: 10-20 micron & 5 mm/s

Applications: Dental prosthetics, medical implants, micro-mechanical parts, defence,

Artec Leo 3D Scanner & Bruker 1272 MicroCT

Artec Leo is a professional-grade, wireless handheld 3D scanner. Bruker SkyScan 1272 is a high-resolution desktop micro-CT scanner capable of achieving submicron pixel sizes for non-destructive 3D imaging.

Highly accurate 0.1mm colour 3D scanning (Artec)

rue 3D resolution down to 0.35 µm voxel size (1272)

Advanced reconstruction software for accurate 3D visualization, quantification, and morphometric analysis.

Metal Printing

Metal 3D printing encompasses various technologies like Selective Laser Melting (SLM) aka Laser Metal Fusion (LMF), Binder Jetting, Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLM/DMLS), all of which build objects layer by layer. ANFF primarily uses SLM, which employs high-powered lasers to fully melt metal powders, achieving up to 99.9% density and enabling the creation of custom metallic composites. Common materials include biocompatible Titanium (Ti64) and Stainless Steel (316L), which are ideal for high-resolution applications such as electrodes and bioprinting.

optimized_for_web_jpeg-formlabs_biomed_elastic_50a_resin_001.jpg__1354x0_q85_subsampling-2

Our polymer printing includes biocompatible silicone-like materials on FormLabs systems (2 + 4B), strong carbon-fibre and kevlar reinfoced nylon on Markforged Systems (M2 + X7), full colour inkjet printers from Stratasys (J35 + J826), and several FDM printers.

Polymer Printing

Biofabrication

The ANFF Materials Node's bioprinting capabilities include the Regemat3D BAB400 and GeSiM BioScaffolder, enabling precise, multi-material printing of bioinks, hydrogels, and cell-laden constructs. These systems support the creation of complex, high-resolution scaffolds for tissue engineering and biomedical research.

3D-Printing-Generics.pdj.03.08.18.059_fo

Fibre Spinning, Knitting and Braiding

The materials node provides full capabilities for fibre spinning and the fabrication of fibrous structures across different scales, supported by a range of instruments including a wet-spinning machine, twin-screw extruder for melt-spinning, electrospinning machine, knitting machine, and braiding machine.