Revolutionizing Additive Manufacturing: Quantica’s NovoJet and the Future of Multi-Material 3D Printing

Quantica, an innovative 3D printing startup, is on a mission to fundamentally reimagine material jetting technology. Their core focus lies in the development and application of high-performance and incredibly versatile materials, pushing the boundaries of what’s achievable in additive manufacturing. The company recently garnered significant attention within the 3D printing industry following a highly successful Series-A funding round earlier this year. This substantial investment has provided the impetus for several key advancements, including the much-anticipated launch of the NovoJet C-7 open system and a significant expansion of their dedicated team. Among the notable new additions is Sebastian Fritz, a well-known and respected figure in the industry, who now assumes the vital role of Head of Sales Channels and Customer Operations. In this exclusive interview, we have the distinct privilege of engaging with Sebastian, as he generously shares his profound insights into Quantica’s promising future, their groundbreaking technology, and the exciting projects that lie ahead.

3DN: Could you introduce yourself and elaborate on your connection to 3D printing?

My name is Sebastian Fritz, and I officially joined the Quantica team in April 2023. Currently, my primary focus is on establishing and scaling the Customer Operations department, ensuring our customers receive unparalleled support and service. My journey into the world of manufacturing and innovation began in the early 2010s, during my time as a management consultant. This role took me across the United States, where I had the unique opportunity to visit countless factories and diverse manufacturing plants. It was during this period that I gained invaluable first-hand experience, observing and understanding the intricate processes involved in product creation from the ground up.

Then, in 2014, a pivotal moment occurred when I first encountered Formlabs. At that point, Formlabs was still a relatively small, dynamic hardware startup nestled in Somerville, Massachusetts, having just unveiled their groundbreaking Form 1, the inaugural generation of their SLA 3D printer. I immediately recognized the immense potential and transformative power of 3D printing. I understood that this technology was poised to fundamentally alter the paradigms of product design and manufacturing, offering unprecedented flexibility and innovation. Convinced of its future, I seized the opportunity to join the company, where I played an integral role in building and scaling various departments, most notably the service division. That experience was truly extraordinary; witnessing Formlabs grow from a lean team of 40 employees to a global force of 700, and generating revenues exceeding $200 million, was an incredible journey. After an enriching seven-year tenure at Formlabs, and a brief exploration into the consumer electronics sector, I am incredibly pleased and excited to have returned to the cutting-edge world of additive manufacturing, bringing my expertise and passion to Quantica.

3DN: How did Quantica come about and how did you join the company?

My connection with Quantica actually predates my official joining by quite some time. The initial discussions and exploratory talks took place as far back as 2019, at a time when Quantica was still in its nascent stages, comprising a compact team of just nine dedicated employees. While the timing wasn’t quite right for me to join back then, we maintained a valuable connection, staying in touch and observing each other’s progress. Fast forward to today, and the stars finally aligned. The timing for my integration into Quantica now felt perfect, coinciding with an exciting period of rapid growth and expansion for the company. We have now grown to a vibrant team of over 50 professionals, with our headquarters strategically located in the dynamic city of Berlin, complemented by additional offices in Barcelona and Cambridge, UK, enabling a truly international footprint.

Regarding Quantica itself, the company’s genesis revolves around a revolutionary new jetting technology we’ve developed, aptly named NovoJet. This proprietary innovation represents a significant leap forward in additive manufacturing, as it uniquely enables us to precisely print ultra-high viscosity materials – substances that were previously considered impossible to jet with existing technologies. This breakthrough capability opens up an entirely new realm of possibilities for 3D printing, moving us beyond conventional limitations to achieve true multi-functional, multi-material 3D printing. With our advanced technology, the vision of printing fully-functional products composed of diverse materials is no longer a futuristic concept but a tangible reality. Imagine objects with integrated electronic circuits, flexible and rigid components combined, or custom textures and properties tailored to specific needs, all within a single print. What’s even more compelling is the versatility of our printheads: they are not limited to 3D printing applications but can also be seamlessly integrated into traditional 2D printers, unlocking unprecedented levels of production efficiency and innovation across various industries. For instance, it’s now entirely conceivable to directly print intricate conductive tracks within the door panels of automobiles, streamlining manufacturing processes and enhancing vehicle functionality. Similarly, the printing and glazing of ceramic tiles could be consolidated into a single, highly efficient production step, reducing complexity and increasing output. This adaptability across both 2D and 3D printing platforms underscores the profound disruptive potential of Quantica’s NovoJet technology.

3DN: Which technologies and materials are particularly relevant to your goals?

A diverse array of cutting-edge technologies and advanced materials are intrinsically relevant to the ambitious goals we’ve set for Quantica. Our strategic focus is acutely centered on leveraging the unparalleled capabilities of our NovoJet printhead to process and print materials that are simply unprintable with any other existing additive manufacturing technology. To summarize its extraordinary versatility, if a material can be effectively printed using established methods like SLA (Stereolithography) or DLP (Digital Light Processing), our NovoJet printhead can certainly jet it – and, critically, it can jet a far broader spectrum of materials beyond those conventional limitations. This expansive material compatibility is what truly sets us apart.

A paramount advantage inherent in our NovoJet technology is its exceptional ability to precisely handle highly viscous materials. This distinct characteristic provides Quantica with an unprecedented level of flexibility in numerous aspects: it empowers the production of truly functional components with complex integrated properties, facilitates the manufacturing of parts endowed with superior mechanical, electrical, or thermal characteristics, and leads to a significantly higher efficiency throughout the entire manufacturing process. To put this into perspective, conventional printheads typically struggle with fluids exceeding a fluidity of approximately 20 mPas (millipascal-seconds). In stark contrast, our revolutionary NovoJet printhead is engineered to effectively manage materials with viscosities reaching an astonishing 380 mPas. This substantial increase in printable viscosity, by nearly a factor of twenty, dramatically broadens the accessible range of functional materials. This capability allows us to work with robust polymers, advanced ceramics, conductive inks, and even specialized bio-inks, opening doors to applications previously deemed impossible. The ability to jet these highly viscous materials means we can integrate stronger, more durable, and more functional substances directly into 3D printed objects, leading to breakthroughs in areas such as advanced electronics, intricate medical devices, and high-performance industrial components. This expanded material palette is not just about quantity, but about unlocking entirely new functionalities and material combinations.

3DN: What projects and plans can we expect from Quantica in the future?

Currently, our paramount focus at Quantica is dedicated to the meticulous completion of the development phase for the first generation of our groundbreaking NovoJet printhead and, concurrently, our flagship NovoJet C-7 printer. This innovative printer is meticulously engineered to accommodate seven distinct print heads, enabling an unparalleled degree of material complexity and functional integration. A key strategic decision we have made is to release the NovoJet C-7 as an unequivocally open system. This means our valued customers will possess complete autonomy and freedom in their material selection, empowering them to extensively experiment with and push the boundaries of true multi-material 3D printing applications. This open approach fosters innovation directly within our user base, allowing them to tailor solutions to highly specific and diverse needs.

We have ambitious plans to commence shipping the first units of the NovoJet C-7 by the end of this year, and we are already actively accepting pre-orders from eager customers and partners looking to harness this transformative technology. Furthermore, looking ahead, we are scheduled to launch another advanced system towards the end of 2024. This forthcoming system will feature a curated selection of materials that have been rigorously developed, extensively tested, and fully validated by our in-house experts at Quantica. With this offering, our objective is to unequivocally guarantee optimal print quality and an exceptionally seamless user experience, particularly for those seeking reliable, high-performance solutions right out of the box. Beyond these product launches, we are deeply engaged in an exciting and ongoing cooperation with a leading global player in the highly demanding dental industry. Through this strategic partnership, we are actively collaborating on the dedicated development of a specialized dental printer, poised to revolutionize the production of custom dental prosthetics, aligners, and other essential dental components. This collaboration underscores our commitment to addressing specific industry needs with tailored, high-precision additive manufacturing solutions, demonstrating the broad applicability and transformative potential of NovoJet technology across various vertical markets.

3DN: What excites you most about your professional projects?

As I’ve often stated, my profound excitement stems from the genuine conviction that Quantica is poised to deliver precisely what the market has been anticipating and demanding from 3D printing for a considerable period: true multi-material printing, extending far beyond the superficial capability of merely printing in different colors. This is about enabling comprehensive functionality within a single printed object, integrating diverse material properties to create genuinely revolutionary products. Of course, witnessing the initial reaction when people hold a complex, multi-material print in their hands for the very first time is an incredibly rewarding and almost indescribable experience. At Quantica, we are not just refining existing processes; we are actively opening an entirely new door for manufacturing, ushering in an era of unprecedented design freedom and functional integration.

Furthermore, our dedicated chemistry department is an absolute powerhouse of innovation, relentlessly testing and developing novel materials. Just recently, my brilliant colleagues achieved a significant breakthrough: they successfully managed to print with a liquid alloy that is inherently conductive. This development holds immense potential for transformative applications in fields such as soft robotics, where flexible conductive pathways are crucial, or in stretchable electronics, enabling devices that can bend, fold, and even stretch without losing functionality. This groundbreaking material could fundamentally replace traditional cables and rigid electrodes, leading to lighter, more integrated, and more adaptable electronic systems. Imagine the profound implications: instead of manually routing and connecting wires, conductive traces could be seamlessly printed directly into the very structure of an object during its manufacturing process. This would eliminate assembly steps, reduce material waste, and open up entirely new paradigms for product design and functionality. This capability, in my humble opinion, truly represents a real game-changer for countless industries, from consumer electronics to advanced medical devices and beyond, illustrating the profound impact Quantica’s technology is set to make.

3DN: Do you have any last words for our readers?

We at Quantica firmly believe that we have only just begun to scratch the surface of the vast and exciting possibilities enabled by our groundbreaking NovoJet technology. The potential for innovation and transformation across industries is immense and largely untapped. We warmly invite anyone who is interested in delving deeper into Quantica’s vision, our innovative technology, or the incredible applications it unlocks, to reach out and contact me directly. As I previously mentioned, we are currently accepting pre-orders for our NovoJet C-7 system, a testament to the strong market interest and demand we are experiencing. Beyond sales, we are also continuously and actively seeking new strategic partners – be they material developers, industrial integrators, or innovative application specialists – with whom we can collaborate to further push the boundaries of what is technologically possible in additive manufacturing. We are eager to explore synergies and co-create the future of multi-material 3D printing. You can find out more comprehensive information about Quantica and our revolutionary work HERE.

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*All Photo Credits: Quantica