Technology

RIPL™

Resin-Infused Powder Lithography. A 5-micron voxel process that builds net-shape stainless parts — with the surface finish and tolerances of machining, and none of its constraints.

5 µm

VOXEL RESOLUTION

±0.0006″

±1.5% TOLERANCE

Ra 32 µin

NATIVE FINISH

How it works

From STEP file to sintered metal

Four steps, one process — the same sequence at 10 parts and at 100,000.

Print

Lithographic printing builds a green part in 5 µm voxels from a blend of resin and metal powder.

Green state

Excess print material is removed. No supports are used in printing; surface finish is consistent, and no defects are introduced by processing after the print.

Sinter

Parts are sintered to 97% relative density (ASTM B311), with dimensional control held to ±0.0006″ or ±1.5%.

Finish & verify

Ra 32 µin native surface. Inspection to your critical tolerances under an ISO 13485 QMS.

What you can design

The envelope, in four numbers.

Everything else — aspect ratios, powder-removal paths, tolerance by feature class — is in the RIPL Design Guide.

Materials and datasheets →

Get the Design Guide →

25 µm features

minimum feature size, as printed

5 µm resolution

voxel and layer thickness

316L · 17-4PH

available now

±0.0006″ tolerances

typical; scales with part size

Same part, both ways

Machined on top. Printed below. Measure them.

The same multi-lumen tip component, made conventionally and made on RIPL — measured side by side. Feature dimensions land within microns of each other, and the measured surface roughness is comparable to machining.

HOVER TO ZOOM

Measured on optical CMM · nominal 0.500 mm bores read 0.498–0.501 mm on both rows · 1 mm scale bar

Against the alternatives

Where each process gives out

	RIPL	CNC micro-machining	MIM	Laser Powder-Bed AM
Tolerance	±0.0006″ typical, verified per part	Tighter on tool-accessible features	Shrink-dependent; corrected in tooling	Coarser; post-machining typical
Micro-features	25 µm features	Tool-radius limited	Tooling limited	~200+ µm practical
Internal geometry	Formed in the print — internal features and undercuts	Line-of-sight only	Mold-release limited	Functionality limited by surface finish
Surface finish	Ra 32 µin native	Ra 16–63 µin	Ra 32–63 µin	Ra 200–400 µin
Tooling	None	Fixtures per part	$50K+ molds, months	None
Burrs / deburring	Burr-free as printed	Deburr every edge	Gate/flash removal	Heavy post-processing
Proto → production	Same process, 1 to 100,000+	Re-fixture, re-program	Retool per revision	Rarely production-rated

Not an attack chart — each process wins its own regime. RIPL's regime: metal parts from 2–5 mm with micro-features, from prototype through production, without tooling.

One process, prototype through production

The prototype process IS the production process.

No tooling to amortize, no requalification cliff between 10 parts and 100,000. Quotes in ~24 hours from a STEP file; delivery in 2–4 weeks.

Materials →

Applications →