Our series profiling the most innovative 3D printing companies continues with Axtra3D. Ahead of the 2024 3D Printing Industry Awards, we caught up with Rajeev Kulkarni, Chief Strategy Officer.
Axtra3D is driving 3D printing technology forward with its innovative Lumia X1 system, which leverages Hybrid Photosynthesis (HPS) and TruLayer technologies to deliver next-gen AM performance. The Lumia X1 integrates the speed and efficiency of DLP with the precision of SLA, enabling simultaneous imaging of internal and external structures for high throughput and exceptional detail. TruLayer technology ensures consistent layer curing and eliminates peeling effects, significantly enhancing print accuracy. With a wide material compatibility, including silicone and biocompatible photopolymers, Axtra3D’s solution supports diverse applications across industries such as healthcare, automotive, and consumer electronics.
Axtra3D is also shortlisted for the Enterprise 3D Printer of the Year (Polymers) award.
3DPI: Can you describe your 3D printing innovation and how it differs from existing technologies in the market?
Rajeev Kulkarni: At the core of the Lumia X1 from Axtra3D is a breakthrough approach that eliminates the traditional trade-offs between accuracy, print speed, surface finish, and feature resolution typically encountered in conventional SLA or DLP processes. HPS combines DLP and laser imaging to simultaneously image both internal and external structures. The DLP handles large areas for high throughput, while the laser focuses on intricate details and external walls, ensuring high resolution.
TruLayer technology precisely controls the layer height—whether 25 microns, 50 microns, or more—before curing, eliminating the need for overcuring and preventing any risk of delamination. By using the exact amount of energy required to cure each layer, TruLayer minimizes light bleeding from side walls, enhancing print accuracy. Additionally, the horizontal separation between the film and glass virtually eliminates peeling effects, ensuring zero hydrostatic forces during separation and promoting optimal print quality.
3DPI: What specific problem does your innovation solve, and what makes it a groundbreaking solution in the 3D printing space?
Rajeev Kulkarni: HPS provides SLA-quality parts at DLP/LCD speed. It combines the best aspects of throughput, accuracy, feature resolution, and surface finish from each technology into one system.
The dual imaging approach allows the printer to produce exceptionally detailed parts at up to 20 times the throughput of conventional SLA.
These combined innovations enable the same system to print everything from micro stents to large 19” molds at speeds up to 20 times faster than conventional SLA. Additionally, the Lumia X1 supports a wide range of materials, including low- to high-viscosity photopolymers and specialized materials like silicone and bio compatibles, making it ideal for industrial and medical applications.
3DPI: Which industries or sectors do you see your technology bringing the most benefits?
Rajeev Kulkarni: LumiaX1 technology has targeted and successfully executed multiple applications and solutions within the industrial and healthcare sectors.
For example, concept injection molding with ceramic mold inserts. Axtra3D’s Lumia X1 HPS 3D printer, paired with Ultracur3D® RG 3280, offers a faster, cost-effective alternative by enabling high-quality mold insert production in a single day. This process can deliver a finished part within an 8-hour workday, with production costs under $100 per set, making it ideal for rapid prototyping and low-volume production of PP, PE, TPE, TPU and ABS. The high-stiffness, temperature-resistant material supports hundreds to thousands of injection cycles, allowing for quick, affordable iterations and the production of complex designs.
Another application is direct true silicone 3D printing. True silicone’s unique rheological properties create challenges in achieving the ideal viscosity and flow for accurate 3D printing, leading to potential defects like poor layer adhesion or incomplete curing. TrueSil-X50, a 100% pure, biocompatible silicone material optimized for Lumia X1’s Hybrid Photosynthesis™ (HPS) technology, allowing high-precision and high-resolution parts suitable for industrial and healthcare applications. The combination achieves resolutions previously difficult in photopolymerization, which allow for reliable, isotropic end-use parts. This has enabled robust applications across industries, including industrial components like sealants, connectors, and grippers, and healthcare products such as anatomical models, wearable devices, implants, and cosmetic applicators.
End-use electronic connectors are a further application. The printer’s advanced technology is redefining the manufacturing process for these critical components, addressing industry challenges and setting new standards of fast throughput (60 connectors in under 3 hours), high accuracy, repeatability, and fire-retardant properties. The crisp edges and consistent hole diameters make it ideal for precise electronic components. The result is connectors with crisp edges and highly accurate hole diameters, often down to 300 microns.
For functional prototypes and low volume production, the combination of throughput, surface finish, accuracy, and resolution ensures that parts produced by the Lumia X1 are comparable to injection-molded parts. Its ability to handle large parts (up to 499mm) with fine features and smooth surfaces is invaluable for prototyping and low-volume manufacturing. From engine parts and interior elements in automotive to lightweight, high-strength aerospace parts, thin-walled components for durable goods, and precise casings and connectors for consumer electronics, our customers have applied it across a myriad of applications.
Axtra3D also has applications for dental solutions. The dental industry demands precision, biocompatibility, and rapid turnaround. The dental labs benefit significantly from the advanced capabilities of the Lumia X1 to create models, aligner molds, splints, surgical guides, and dentures. HPS technology boosts productivity delivering 40% more throughput than other market solutions.
3DPI: What milestones have you achieved, and what are your next major goals?
Rajeev Kulkarni: Since the product was launched 18 months ago and the completion of the beta program, the company has sold over 30 printers. Revenue has consistently doubled each year from 2022 to 2024. It has been adopted by industry leaders, including Protolabs, Toyota Motors USA AM, Estee Lauder, Becton Dickinson, Molex, and 10+ service bureaus worldwide.
The company has expanded globally with operations in the US and EU, and sales across North America, the EU, and Japan.
Strategic partnerships have been developed with top photopolymer material companies like AM Forward, NextDent, 3D Systems, Henkel Loctite, Pro3Dure, and Keystone, resulting in the launch of over 20 materials.
The company’s patent portfolio continues to grow, with 15 patents currently granted.
Secured $9.75M in Series A funding at times when the AM industry has been struggling.
Axtra3D’s immediate goals are to scale the customer support organization for deeper partnerships with customers, scale outside US, EU and Japan and broaden our product offering.
3DPI: Is your 3D printing solution scalable for mass production, and if so, what steps have you taken to ensure scalability without compromising quality?
Rajeev Kulkarni: Quality of product and design is critical and at the heart of our solutions. The Axtra3D printer features a modular architecture that enables easy scalability, allowing it to handle increased production volumes while maintaining consistency. With compatibility across a wide range of high-quality materials and strategic partnerships, the printer is adaptable to industries like automotive, healthcare, and consumer goods. Coupled with optimized software, real-time quality control, and predictive maintenance, this system ensures high performance, minimal downtime, and consistent output at scale.
3DPI: Can you say something about the development process behind your innovation, including key challenges and how they were overcome?
Rajeev Kulkarni: The HPS and TruLayer innovations were developed specifically to overcome the challenges of traditional SLA and DLP and by merging their strengths. After two years of intensive R&D, these technologies were successfully integrated.
HPS addressed the challenge of print throughput and precision. This was particularly complex, as both light sources had to image coaxially and in perfect sync with identical frequency. Through systematic experimentation and innovation, this was achieved, enabling enhanced print speed and precision.
Our TruLayer innovation goes beyond high resolution, it was crucial to produce large, flat surfaces with 20-micron flatness. TruLayer technology overcame this by eliminating hydrostatic forces and peel-off constraints between cured layers, allowing precise production of expansive flat geometries.
Additionally, the company pioneered a unique slicing engine and software that simultaneously generates raster scan data and image data, utilizing both datasets concurrently to cure each layer. This dual-data approach enhances precision and control, contributing to superior print quality and consistency.
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