MICROSCOPIC 3D PRINT OF THE DAVID STATUE OF 0,1 MM HEIGHT

The statue of David by Michelangelo is one of the most famous sculptures in the world, but hardly anyone is aware of its actual dimensions. Standing at the Galleria dell’Academia in Florence in Italy, David measures 517 centimeters and is made entirely of marble. Meanwhile, specialists from Exaddon and scientists from the Swiss ETH Zurich decided to do something completely different and print the statue in a microscopic version using a special proprietary 3D printing technique.

The statue – specifically its two versions: one 1 mm high and the other just 0.1 mm high, were created based on an additive method created by a scientific team led by Professor Tomaso Zambelli from the Laboratory of Biosensors and Bioelectronics at ETH Zurich and optimized by Giorgio Ercolano from Exaddon AG from Glattbrugg in Switzerland. It is an additive microproduction system called CERES, capable of printing complex details from metal alloys at a micrometer scale and a resolution of up to submicrometers.

3D printing in this technology involves electromechanical deposition of molten metals on a conductive substrate. The building material is applied by means of a micropipette coupled with a support, controlling the force of extrusion and the precision of its application. You can build details layer by layer using optical strength measurements. The statues were printed without supports and did not require any additional post-processing after work.


Giorgio Ercolano from Exaddon printed David in two sizes: first 1 mm high, and then ten times smaller. The second statue is the size of the first pedestal. But with such small structures, achieving the required resolution becomes problematic. The 3D printer needed 30 hours to create a larger David, but only 20 minutes for a smaller version. Both were made of copper.


Theoretically, the system can print objects with a maximum height of up to 5 mm, but the container containing the material only has a micro liter of capacity – just enough to print a statue with a height of 1 mm.

3D non-printing metal technology is interesting primarily for companies in the electronics industry. Thanks to this method, manufacturers could connect computer systems or precisely repair microelectronic systems. The process allows 3D printing from platinum, gold, nickel, silver or copper.