Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Resin pricing news
    • Videos
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • K Show
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • Processor of the Year
    • Best Places to Work
    • Women Breaking the Mold
    • Rising Stars
    • Diversity
    • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • Pellets and Politics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • K Show Livestream
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics News Caps & Closures
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Plastics in Automotive
    • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Resin Prices
    • Commodity TPs
    • High Temp TPs
    • ETPs
    • Thermosets
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
    • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
    • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Historic Thermosets
    • Historic Recycled Plastics
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
March 02, 2022 08:45 AM

Startup Hummingbird Nano moves to full production in new facility

Sarah Kominek
Sarah Kominek
Staff Reporter
Plastics News Staff
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    uprocess set up_i.jpg
    Hummingbird Nano Inc.
    Hummingbird Nano Inc.'s liquid molding process is used to produce “micro” mixing chip for “cellular-sized” liquids used in drug discovery, diagnostics, therapeutics and precision instrumentation.

    Liquid molding startup Hummingbird Nano Inc. just moved into its new 10,000-square-foot facility in Nicholasville, just outside of Lexington, Ky., as it moves from startup to full-scale production.

    The company is "trying to go across what they call the 'Valley of Death,' to net [research and development] and turn it into an actual business," Scott Stephens, professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Kentucky and CEO of Hummingbird, told Plastics News in an interview.

    Through federal and state grants, including from the Kentucky Cabinet of Economic Development, Hummingbird has received $2.3 million, and two rounds of pre-feed and seed funding totaling $2.7 million.

    The startup, which specializes in configurable liquid molding, currently has eight regular employees and seven contractors, Stephens said. The contractors will likely be added as full-time employees in the near future, he said.

    "We're always revising this plan, but we're looking at possibly doubling our workforce through 2022 into first quarter 2023," he said. "As we increase revenues, I would imagine we'll be able to triple the work force the year after that."

    Hummingbird previously occupied about 1,200 square feet in "what used to be a house," Stephens said, so the team is "very excited" for the new location.

    The investments and grants will also go toward infrastructure to convert its prototype manufacturing process into commercial machines that complete various stages of the liquid molding process, he said.

    Hummingbird built out its new facility with a low-level, temperature-controlled clean room.

    It's making mostly acrylic components with its "smart liquid that can respond to input signals to change its shape," Stephens said.

    "We're molding a liquid against a liquid … to focus on creating really small channels," he said, for items like its first-released product, a "micro" mixing chip for "cellular-sized" liquids used in drug discovery, diagnostics, therapeutics and precision instrumentation. The product is distributed by Livermore, Calif.-based LabSmith Inc., Stephens added.

    "A lot of what [Hummingbird's customers] deal with in biotech are liquids they want to mix and process," Stephens said. "Those liquids are very expensive. … One customer has proprietary liquids that cost $350,000 a liter."

    While most fluid-mixing chips are two components glued together, with square or rectangular channels, Hummingbird's are one piece and feature circular channels for the liquids to run through, he said.

    "The advantage of that is the … flow profiles for laminar flow through circular channels is a very smooth, parabolic profile that's very predictable so you can really engineer how the molecules and cells they're trying to work with can go through the channels," Stephens added.

    "Typically when you mold against a surface, whatever the surface roughness is on the mold is what ends up on your part," he said. "[When] molding a liquid against another liquids … we're molding against something as smooth as a soap bubble."

    Hummingbird recently worked on a prototype project with a "very large pharmaceutical company" for a module for one of the company's precision drug discovery instruments, Stephens said.

    The company had tried to develop the instrument with 3D printing, precision pulling and plastic injection molding.

    "You name it, they tried it," he said. Hummingbird was able to meet the product's need with its configurable liquid molding technology, he said.

    Hummingbird hopes to expand into areas outside of life sciences and biotech in the future, Stephens added.

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    TI Fluid Systems building Michigan innovation center for e-mobility
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    Redline buys Georgia-based Quality Holdings
    2
    Mattress maker Purple continues fight against takeover
    3
    Ineos workers in Ohio on strike
    4
    Redline's ‘outrageous cultural behaviors' retain top employees
    5
    Material Insights: Polypropylene production — both virgin and recycled — in the spotlight
    SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Tire Business
    • Urethanes Technology
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • K Show
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • Processor of the Year
        • Best Places to Work
        • Women Breaking the Mold
        • Rising Stars
        • Diversity
        • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
      • Newsletters
      • Resin pricing news
      • Videos
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • Pellets and Politics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • K Show Livestream
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics News Caps & Closures
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
        • Plastics in Automotive
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
        • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
      • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Resin Prices
      • Commodity TPs
        • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temp TPs
        • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
      • ETPs
        • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Thermosets
        • Historic Thermosets
      • Recycled Plastics
        • Historic Recycled Plastics
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified