BMW invests in 3D printing company, aims to use new materials

It seems like BMW’s repeated claims that it will be using new materials in its manufacturing process weren’t just for show. The Bavarian brand recently announced an investment into a 3D printing company that uses new-age materials for the process. Rapid Liquid Print claims to be able to use industry-standard materials, such as soft rubber, silicone and foams, to produce soft, flexible products without retooling or post-processing, via 3D printing, thanks to gel-printing technology.

MIT has granted RLP an exclusive license to use technologies created in the Self-Assembly Lab at MIT. The researchers have established a new printing method in which a liquid item is “printed” in 3D within a gel suspension. After printing, the object cures and is ready to use with minimal post-processing. In a couple of minutes, RLP creates large-scale items out of high-grade materials including rubber, foams, and plastics.

Traditional 3D printing is constrained by slow speeds, small build volumes, and poor material quality, making it unreliable as a manufacturing technique. RLP revolutionizes the way large-scale, elastomeric, airtight, and high-quality goods are created in minutes. “RLP’s breakthrough technology is disrupting the 3D-printing space by enabling the rapid printing of elastomeric structures of any size and complexity,” said Marcus Behrendt, partner and CEO at BMW i Ventures.

Schendy Kernizan, RLP’s Founder and CEO, previously co-directed and led researchers and students at MIT’s Self-Assembly Lab to deliver projects for companies such as Google, BMW, and Steelcase. Bjrn Sparrman, RLP’s Co-Founder and CTO, also handled the technical operations at the MIT Self-Assembly Lab and has led the charge for the development of RLP’s 3D printing technology since its beginnings. Skylar Tibbits and Jared Laucks, both Directors at MIT’s Self-Assembly Lab, are additional co-founders. The company aims to use the new funds to develop their 3D-printing solutions to expand within existing customers and into new customers with additional applications and materials.