US PATENT 9,321,215
3D printing using spiral buildup
The founding patent for rotational spiral SLA
- Priority
- 12 Mar 2013
- Issued
- 26 Apr 2016
- Inventor
- Kurt Dudley
- Assignee
- Orange Maker
Today: six granted US patents and counting. View the patent ↗
Orange Maker · since 2013
3D printing is the physical side of AI.
We invented rotational resin 3D printing. Now we license it: the patented process, the schematics and more than ten years of R&D, for the companies and people who will build what comes next.
Partner with OMWhat we believe
For decades the great leaps happened in software. The next ones happen in things you can hold.
Ideas want to be real
A design that stays on a screen is a promise. A part in your hand is proof.
Making is the hard part
Anyone can now create a model in minutes. Turning it into something that holds up is a question of light, material and motion.
Freedom to create
If it can be imagined, it should be possible to make it, anywhere in the world, by many hands.
The original
We invented rotational resin 3D printing.
Orange Maker was founded in 2011 by Kurt Dudley and Doug Farber. Two years later we filed for heliolithography: stereolithography that combines UV light and rotation to build a part as one continuous spiral. We kept refining it while the technologies around it matured. That moment has arrived, and now we’re licensing it to builders.
The patent family
Six granted US patents and counting.
2016US 9,321,215The founding patent: spiral buildup with light and rotationView patent ↗2018US 9,937,665Spiral buildup on a rotating, rising build platformView patent ↗2018US 10,150,247Spiral buildup with high-viscosity build materialsView patent ↗2021US 11,141,908Rotational components and improved light sourcesView patent ↗2024US 11,958,235Compact rotational printing with laser-diode curingView patent ↗2024US 12,083,744Encoding printed parts for traceabilityView patent ↗
A highly configurable, IP-protected process
The part never stops moving.
Heliolithography is a rotational spiral buildup method. The build plate rotates and rises at the same time, so the part grows continuously along one helical path, with no layer-by-layer stop and start. High-power UV cures radial lines, pie slices or the whole build area, configured for each build. The method is protected by Orange Maker’s patent family.
- 1Light engineHigh-power UV, projected from below.
- 2Cure zoneRadial lines, a pie slice or the whole build area.
- 3Rotating build plateTurns the part through the light without stopping.
- 4Z riseIt climbs steadily, one spiral pitch per turn.
- 5Resin flowEvery turn sweeps fresh resin into the zone.
Illustrative animation, not to scale.
Radials, slices or the full area
High-power UV cures radial lines, a pie slice or the whole build area while the part keeps turning.
Use the full build area, and scale.
Motion never stops
No expose, peel, lift and recoat cycle.
The light is always working.
Rotation moves the resin
Fresh material keeps arriving behind the strip.
Thick, filled and composite resins become printable.
Why now
Now it’s ready to scale.
This is how technology moves: a breakthrough waits for the fields around it. Rotational printing needed advances in photonics, materials, scanning, data and AI to arrive together. They have, and the platform is ready to scale.
- PhotonicsHigh-power UV light engines became affordable.
- MaterialsPhotopolymers reached engineering grade.
- Scanning3D capture moved onto everyday devices.
- Data and computeLarge models move and process in the cloud.
- AIText and images become 3D models in minutes.
Our mission
We built the blueprint. You build what’s next.
OM doesn’t sell printers, and the process isn’t open source. We license it, and hand licensed partners everything behind it: schematics, firmware, software, suppliers and every lesson from more than ten years of R&D. One company can only make so much. Many builders, starting where we left off, can change how things are made.
What partners receive
Everything we learned, in your hands.
A license is a head start. It comes with the full engineering package behind the process, and the team that built it working alongside you.
01
Reference schematics
Mechanical and electrical
02
Bill of materials
With qualified suppliers
03
Firmware
Rotary, Z and cure control
04
Toolpath software
Spiral slicing and part encoding
05
Process parameters
Tuned per material
06
Material profiles
From our resin partners
07
Test protocols
For qualification
08
Engineering support
Plus technician certification
Where it goes
One process, many hands.
You build it, under license. We’ve done the heavy lifting: components, manufacturers and supply partners are already mapped, so you can go straight to building for your field.
01
Printer makers and print farms
Build your own rotational systems from our schematics, then scale them into automated print farms wherever production is needed.
02
Dental and medical
Personal devices, made close to the patient.
03
Defense and sustainment
Spare parts made when and where they are needed.
04
Materials science
Formulations designed for a process that welcomes thick resins.
05
Repair and reuse
Keeping products in use instead of in landfill.
06
Skilled trades
Careers for leading-edge engineers and technicians around the world, running and qualifying the platform.
How licensing works
We license the platform. You own what you build on it.
We work with you to match our technology to your industry. The engineering, suppliers and process are already worked out, so we’ve lowered the barrier to adopting new manufacturing tech.
Who licenses OM
- Printer makersBuild rotational resin systems on the patented core and reference design.
- Application companiesDental, medical and defense teams making their own parts in-house.
- Print farms and manufacturersProduction capacity, close to where parts are needed.
- Materials partnersThick, filled and composite resins developed for the process.
How a license is structured
Upfront license
The core process, reference design and full engineering kit.
Royalty
Per unit shipped or per part printed, set by field of use.
Field-of-use exclusivity
An application, industry or region that is yours alone.
Patented and licensed, not open source. Every license is shaped around your industry.
Build with us
What will you build?
Bring the application. We’ll bring everything we’ve learned. Inquire about partnerships and licensing.
Evaluate
A technical review of the platform against your application and roadmap.
Pilot
Your engineers build from the reference design, with ours alongside.
License and scale
Production under license in your field, with certified technicians.
hello@orangemaker.com