Ultra-high-resolution 3D printing for micro-scale parts—fast.

Micro 3D printing unlocks a new era of innovation for fiber optics, enabling micron-level accuracy, complex geometries, and faster development cycles.

Boston Micro Fabrication (BMF) enables engineers to prototype and produce parts with unmatched accuracy, supporting complex geometries, tight tolerances, and high-performance materials—without tooling delays.

SOLUTIONS DESIGNED FOR OPTICAL PERFORMANCE

✅ Micron-Accurate Fiber Alignment Structures: Produce ferrules, fiber array holders, and custom connectors with micron-level tolerances — ensuring maximum signal integrity.

✅ Complex Micro-Optical Components: Manufacture precision mounts and integrated photonic packaging that streamline assembly and boost optical efficiency.

✅ Freedom to Innovate: Create designs impossible to machine, from intricate fluidic channels to embedded optical elements, all without compromising on alignment or performance.

Fiber Optic Guides: Precision Routing, Reimagined

Fiber optic guides route and protect fiber bundles while holding each strand in exact position — and they’re a perfect example of where micro 3D printing outperforms traditional manufacturing methods.

True 3D internal geometries. Drilling, milling, and molding are largely confined to features that run in a single plane or a single draw direction. Micro 3D printing isn’t. Guides can be designed with internal channels that change direction mid-part — routing fibers around corners or through multiple planes — something conventional methods simply can’t produce in one piece.

Tight tolerances and small features, without the tooling penalty. Fiber optics demand tolerances that make traditional manufacturing expensive fast — either through costly precision machining or hard tooling that only pays off at high volumes. Micro 3D printing removes that penalty. Custom, individual designs are produced at low cost per part even at low quantities, making it a natural fit for high-mix, low-volume production and for R&D teams who need to test and iterate on a design before locking it in for larger production runs.

Variable pitch, driven by design instead of process limits. Conventional methods typically constrain channel spacing to what the manufacturing process allows — a drilled hole, for instance, is limited to a fixed size and pitch across the part. With micro 3D printing, pitch can vary within a single guide, so fiber spacing is determined by what the application needs, not by what the manufacturing method can produce.

Fiber Optic Applications

• Optical Connector Ferrules and Housings
  • Precision alignment structures for fiber arrays
  • Custom connector geometries for specialized applications
  • Reduced assembly complexity through integrated designs
• Fiber Optic Guides
  • Internal, multi-directional channel routing not achievable with drilling or molding
  • Custom, variable pitch spacing tailored to the application, not the process
  • Cost-effective for custom, low-volume, and R&D fiber routing designs
• Photonic Packaging
  • Creation of precise optical pathways and alignment structures
  • Custom chip-to-fiber coupling components
  • Integration of optical and mechanical features in single components
• Micro-Optical Benches
  • Complex multi-element optical positioning systems
  • Custom test fixtures for optical alignment
  • Rapid prototyping of specialized optical mounting solutions