Voltera Launches World’s First Printer for Soft, Stretchable Electronics

Voltera recently announced the launch of NOVA, its groundbreaking platform for printing flexible hybrid electronics. NOVA uses direct-write, extrusion technology to print on soft, stretchable, and conformable surfaces.

“This first-of-its-kind benchtop machine unlocks rapid flexible electronics prototyping and the ability to experiment with custom inks and substrates,” said Alroy Almeida, CEO and co-founder of Voltera. “NOVA is already being used to innovate how humankind explores deep space, prototype clothing that measures your heart rate yet can go through the gentle cycle in your washing machine, and much more.”

NOVA’s extrusion technology makes it easier to conduct research by enabling rapid benchtop iteration, leading to more reliable results, faster development times, and lower costs.

"With NOVA, we can make devices and align them to sub 10-micron precision,” said Alex Kashkin, Graduate Researcher, Velasquez Group at MIT, who is using NOVA to develop printed electron sources for neutralising ionic thruster plumes in low-earth orbit. “If we have a 20-micron deviation, our devices explode. We need a lot of precision, we need to have tuned materials, and NOVA enables both."

Technological advancement involves pushing the boundaries of what is known. NOVA bridges the gap between what researchers can do and what they wish they could do.

“I think where this sort of technology will shine is in applications that were not possible before. You shouldn't fight or try to compete with silicon chips or PCBs. You should try to make something that's impossible with those technologies,” said Gerd Grau, Director of the Electronics Additive Manufacturing Lab at York University, who is using NOVA to develop on-skin biomedical tattoo electrodes.

While subtractive methodologies are great for traditional electronics, the future of electronics is flexible - meaning the future of electronics is additive. NOVA enables innovation without the tooling and high costs associated with screen printing, and offers higher performance than other prototyping options like inkjet. It is also better for the environment, with significantly less waste and material contamination. NOVA also prints on eco-friendly, biodegradable materials and substrates.

Features:
 

• Materials freedom: Fill NOVA’s Smart Dispenser with your desired material and use its semi-automated calibration procedure to start printing in minutes.
• Quick-swap work areas: Mount flexible substrates using the Vacuum Table, or mount rigid substrates using custom fixturing.
• Precision dispensing: Print high-resolution features with realtime, closed-loop pressure feedback - no tooling or screens required.
• Integrated vision system: Align, print, and inspect quickly using an intelligent camera-based alignment and AR print overlay features.
• Modular platform: Two quick-swap module ports, drop-in fixturing, and optional ethernet/USB/WiFi connectivity.

More information online

About Voltera

Voltera is a rapidly scaling and profitable Canadian tech company that is driving substantial change in the additive electronics industry. Its inaugural product, the V-One PCB printer, modernised circuit board prototyping by increasing the pace of innovation and decreasing long lead times caused by supply chain disruptions.

With the addition of NOVA into Voltera’s product line, innovation is no longer limited by materials, or the technology required to print with them.