果冻传媒

After four years of successful innovation on next-generation additive manufacturing equipment for 3D printing, AMSYSTEMS Center is entering a new phase. Having begun life as an initiative of 果冻传媒 High Tech Systems Center and TNO, the four market segments 鈥� Industrial Additive Manufacturing, Structural Electronics, Food and Pharma 鈥� have gone through interesting technological developments. As a result of these developments and in view of the future focus and market opportunities these segments are being split across three ventures. 果冻传媒 Professor and member of the Digital Food Processing Intitiave (DFPI) Patrick Anderson and AMSYSTEMS B.V. co-founder Roeland Brugman outline the focus of these new developments.

Two sides of research

A core goal of AMSYSTEMS Center was to bridge the gap between fundamental and applied research 鈥� areas represented, to a degree, by Patrick and Roeland respectively. 鈥淏asically, I鈥檓 a mechanical engineer, so I鈥檓 motivated by technology,鈥� begins Roeland. 鈥淢y personal drive is to bring smart ideas to commercial application. In 2000, I joined TNO, where I turned research group into an commercial supplier of industrial technologies (SME CelSian Glass & Solar B.V.) in 2012. While looking for a new challenge in 2018, I was hired by TNO to do business development for AMSYSTEMS Center.鈥�

鈥淚鈥檓 really on the fundamental side of things,鈥� says Patrick, who serves as both a professor in the structure and rheology of complex fluids and the chair of the Polymer Technology group at 果冻传媒. 鈥淲e want to link the microstructure and rheology of materials to their structural properties. At first, AMSYSTEMS Center was strongly connected to HTSC and to developing new equipment and devices. But you need to look at which materials you will use in these devices and take their behaviors into account. A high-volume polymer like a polyethylene is completely different to a material with very specific properties.鈥�
 

A LIVING PRODUCT

As early as 2018, this need to create a greater link between materials and equipment led to the first step in AMSYSTEMS Center鈥檚 evolution: the creation of the  by TNO, 果冻传媒 HTSC and Wageningen University & Research. With a focus on propositions like Sustainable Food Solutions and Food Experience, this will now take over and accelerate AMSYSTEMS Center鈥檚 Food and Pharma work.

鈥淥ne of the roles I had in the AMSYSTEMS Center steering committee was a linking pin between the hardcore material research and HTSC developments,鈥� explains Patrick. 鈥淚鈥檓 proud that we鈥檝e been able to develop equipment that allows plug-and-play processing for better insights into this relationship, and we鈥檝e made a number of big steps for the next generation of printers. The DFPI gives us the momentum to take this further.鈥�
 

The search for new battlefields

In outlining what each partner contributes, he returns to the complexity of the materials 鈥� in this case, breakfast, lunch or dinner. 鈥淏iological materials show a large variability in composition and physical properties. If you process milk during the day, you鈥檒l see different behavior than at night. How can we develop equipment that takes this into account? The DFPI is much broader than HTSC and involves all kinds of expertise at 果冻传媒. We also have Wageningen, which has a lot of experience with food science and biological materials. Then there鈥檚 TNO, which connects this to society and industry. This is an important combination of knowledge on food, nutrition and high-tech systems.鈥�

One such example is the concept of a 3D printer that creates personalized nutrition bars using health data from sensors. It seems like science fiction, but Patrick expects this to one day be available at the average gym. 鈥淲e currently have medicines that are not optimized for the elderly versus e.g. young children,鈥� adds Roeland. 鈥淐ommon sense says that personalization should be preferred, but there鈥檚 a risk to your development if you don鈥檛 address people, products and production processes. At AMSYSTEMS B.V., we therefore want to quickly integrate equipment builders, offering industrial end-users a full proposition that includes a working machine. Whenever existing commercial entities cannot provide solutions, we step in.鈥�
 

Similar name, updated focus

Having successfully developed solutions to speed up the 3D printing process, the goal for Industrial Additive Manufacturing is now a shift from prototyping to mass customization through the new technology developer and supplier start-up AMSYSTEMS B.V. 

Whereas current machines generally run slow product-building processes, productivity could be increased by accelerating individual process steps like selective polymerization and individual layer deposition. Such disruptive inventions have been patented by TNO over the last 15 years, but the low Technological Readiness Levels prevented them from reaching the market. The activities of AMSYSTEMS B.V. are thus twofold, as Roeland explains.

鈥淥n one hand, we do contract development for OEMs and industrial users to generate AM solutions including new 3D printing processes and dedicated production equipment. . On the other hand, we position ourselves as the supplier of next-generation additive manufacturing technologies by industrializing TNO鈥檚 IP and patents via sellable products. People look to the Brainport region when they need a consortium for development, proof-of-concepts and processing all the way up to the integration and supply of one-off machines or series. We provide that.鈥�

The importance of the academic world is not forgotten. 鈥淲e have a high number of PhDs and whenever we receive an inquiry for which we have a connection to the university, it鈥檚 very easy to incorporate them,鈥� Roeland continues. 鈥淭his also helps people at the university to avoid working too long on things that will never reach the market. At every step, we want to have a mechanism that checks whether we should go further. I hear from Patrick all kinds of new ideas, infrastructure and testing facilities. We can hook these up to industry via PhDs or projects, which is the best way to speed up the required innovation.鈥�
 

1 + 1 = 3

Last but not least, AMSYSTEMS Center鈥檚 Structural Electronics has found a new home in Holst Centre, a TNO entity with a prominent position in 2D and 2.5D printed electronics. Roeland: 鈥淭he flywheel of innovation needs to have fingers in every TRL level, and Structural Electronics is still at the lower end. It鈥檚 not surprising: industrial additive manufacturing is a rather 鈥榶oung鈥� market, so the global market is driven by technological innovations.

When it comes to raising these TRL levels, Patrick is keen to point out the role of students. 鈥淥ne of the nice things about master鈥檚 students is that they have limited knowledge but are generally very enthusiastic and creative 鈥� especially when they see a need in society. In the field of polymers and plastics, for example, people are very worried about waste. If you task students with something like creating a material that dissolves in nature without side-effects, they鈥檙e very keen to get their hands dirty. Sometimes, they surprise you with a solution.鈥�

鈥淲e have the luxury of giving them the opportunity to innovate,鈥� agrees Roeland. 鈥淚n Brabant, our performance in the world of high-tech equipment plays a role as well. I had my first additive manufacturing exhibition last year in Germany. The hall was full of the biggest industrial printers that were commercially available. We had a very small printer on a desktop, but I was surprised that everybody was watching our set-up. It had many high-tech features which are already common for Brainport engineers but which are high-level for general OEMs. In that sense, you could say we鈥檙e spoilt in this region. Through cooperation, we can make one and one equal three.鈥�

For more information about DFPI, please contact Patrick Anderson.

For more information about AMSYSTEMS BV, please contact Roeland Brugman.