Contrary to rumors you may have heard, Supernova is alive and well.
The Texas-based company developed a unique 3D printing process called VLM, standing for Viscous Lithography Manufacturing. It’s an unusual resin process that is able to handle resin significantly thicker than those typically used in resin 3D printers.
This capability allows VLM equipment to print resins with additional additives for new functional capabilities, such as increased strength. That opens the door to a huge range of previously non-printable materials and subsequent applications. There is no other 3D printing process that can achieve this ability.
The company is headquartered in Austin, Texas, where they should be immune to the frequent rounds of tariffs imposed on non-US manufacturers. They have been targeting manufacturing industries as their market, which should be able to produce production parts with VLM.
This all sounds quite promising, and the company continues to seek investment for growth.
So what’s all the fuss about? Why would there be rumors? It’s very likely due to the fate of BCN3D.
BCN3D is a Spanish company that began producing FFF equipment over a decade ago. They grew over time, and in 2023 developed the VLM process. It was so promising that they decided to spin it out as a separate company, Supernova.
However, earlier this year it was announced that BCN3D had declared bankruptcy. This was a surprise to some in the 3D print industry, as the company had been one of the longest surviving operations. Later, news indicated there might be a buyer for their technology, but we haven’t heard anything more about that. It seems that the news is dire for BCN3D.
As Supernova was born from within BCN3D, many assume there is a strong relationship between the two. Aside from personnel, the companies are in fact quite separate. The BCN3D situation does not apply to Supernova.
Supernova Chief Business Officer Marta Mico wrote to us:
”I want to clarify that Supernova and BCN3D are two completely independent companies without any legal ties, as was stated in our joint press release. Since Supernova spun out in January of last year, the journey has been intense, with both exciting milestones and tough challenges. That’s the nature of building a startup. Even in the complex period that our industry is facing, we’re managingto move forward with our technology; indeed, we plan to announce major updates in our materials portfolio, which of course we’ll be sharing with you too. The situation is extremely far from reaching an end for us if that’s the rumor.”
While many companies in the 3D print space are encountering challenges in these changing times, many are finding ways to continue and even grow.
One of them could be Supernova.
Via Supernova
