But behind the facade of what we call in a simplistic way "technological progress" there are the stories of women and men who with extraordinary tenacity have spent years of their lives to realize their laboratory, then took root in the market, becoming part of the wealth of knowledge of human knowledge.
This is certainly the case of Nicoletta Casanova, by her very definition "always curious and looking for novelty". She is a civil engineer graduated from the Polytechnic of Zurich, with a vocation for the study of the applications of materials, she immediately found herself dealing in a pioneering way of optical fiber monitoring techniques, founding her first startup in 1996 . Within a few years, she had a brilliant career with an international development, until in 2013 she took the opportunity to start a new business, a company with 3D printing technology that uses light as a powerful source. of ink.
«The laser beam - explains Nicoletta Casanova - focused inside the glass, locally modifies the refractive index and density of the material. Depending on the exposure parameters, waveguides can be formed to make complex integrated optical components or three-dimensional structures with additional chemical etching. All these features are possible with high complexity, precision and aspect ratio. FEMTOprint is therefore a 3D micro-fabrication platform able to structure the material using arbitrary models to produce demanding and monolithic three-dimensional shapes with very high precision in glass or other transparent materials ».
The advantages deriving from the adoption of this technology are soon said: the platform allows the creation of a wide variety of 3D devices in many fields of application such as optics and photonics, micro and opto mechanics, micro and opto fluidics, micro-molding , electronics and high-density 5D memory. In fact, glass has innumerable properties that make it an appropriate choice for 3D micro-devices, including optical transparency, high flexural strength, mechanical and thermal stability, low permeability, biocompatibility and corrosion resistance. These properties, combined with the free-form possibilities, provide a unique performance advantage to customers, who are active in cutting-edge industries with a wide range of applications. Furthermore, this 3D printing process represents a unique game changer in major industries across multiple sectors, providing a complete process solution, from rapid prototyping to industrial volume manufacturing.
To obtain the exclusive rights for Ticino of this innovative 3D printing process developed by a European consortium of companies, Nicoletta Casanova's entrepreneurial path intersects with the Agire Foundation, which offers her a guarantee and initial financing to support the business plan presented by the new start-up. In the following months she quickly strengthened her roots in the area and obtained a long series of awards and recognitions: already in 2013 she won the Best Project Finalist Award at the EuroNanoForum in Dublin and the following year the Innovation Award Laser Technology. Then, repeatedly reported or winner of prizes in Switzerland, Germany, France, the United States and, again, she wins the Exhibitors' Grand Prix twice at the EPHJ event - in 2015 and 2019 - and this year she gets the SPIE 3D Printing, Fabrication, and Manufacturing Award.
Over time, FEMTOprint has increasingly focused on the development and mass production of components, in particular for the watchmaking, medical and life sciences, electronics and sensors sectors. Its growth, not least from the point of view of employment, and the success on the market testify to the opportunities that the Canton, also following the approval of the Innovation Law, offers start-ups and more generally companies that have chosen to focus their resources on new technologies, research, internationalization. A network of dynamic realities that Nicoletta Casanova helps to grow, and above all to know and enhance, through participation, with roles of responsibility, in public and private bodies and institutions, telling of an ecosystem made up of numerous areas of excellence, not always adequately recognized outside the Ticino borders.
