RepRapMicron: Open-Source Micron-Scale 3D Printer
Original: RepRapMicron
Why This Matters
Sub-micron desktop fabrication, if replicable at home, could reshape DIY prototyping at scales previously lab-only.
RepRapMicron (μRepRap) is an open-source 3D printer achieving sub-micron positioning accuracy using common materials. Its PIKA V0.02 build prints at 4μm layer height across an 8mm cubic volume, built by Vik Olliver.
RepRapMicron is an open-source project aiming to bring micron-scale fabrication to hobbyists using only accessible, off-the-shelf parts. The core idea: a self-replicating 3D printer (in the RepRap tradition) capable of 1μm or better positioning accuracy.
The current recommended build, PIKA V0.02, achieves approximately 1μm repeatable positioning and better than 10μm accuracy within an ~8mm cubic working volume. It has deposited UV resin droplets as small as 4μm using a fine probe the machine etches itself, and cured 9μm resin lines using a fiber optic probe. A 0.5mm 'Benchy' test model — the hobbyist 3D printing benchmark — has been printed at 4μm layer height.
Early development drew on flexure-stage designs from The OpenFlexure Project, originally built for microscope platforms. The deprecated MAUS version, documented through V0.05, achieved roughly 5μm positioning over a 4mm square area but had nonlinear motion. PIKA supersedes it entirely.
The project's stated initial goal — repeatable positioning under 3μm across a 10mm work area, plus a self-fabricated probe tip — has been met.