New 3D Printing Method Dramatically Speeds Up Production

 3D Printing  

A new 3D printing technology looks like something straight out of science fiction. Using "continuous liquid interface production," or CLIP, objects emerge out of a liquid bath at speeds much faster than other 3D printing methods.

J

oseph DeSimone and the other University of North Carolina scientists have developed a new 3D printing technology called "continuous liquid interface production," or CLIP. The process in action actually looks like something out of science fiction, as objects emerge out of a liquid suspension. The team have also founded a new company called Carbon3D to sell the printer. The printer was unveiled at the TED 2015 conference.

The technology is also outlined in a new paper published in the journal Science.

Unlike conventional 3D printing, which prints in layers, the Carbon3D printer continuously forms objects. This means the typical striations, or layers in the finished product are greatly reduced. Also,the process works much faster than conventional 3D printing, taking minutes instead of hours.

How it works

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In the CLIP printer, a platform draws the object continuously out of a bath of liquid resin.

The resin solidifies when ultraviolet light hits it (a process called photopolymerization). To create the desired item, a projector underneath the resin pool shoots UV light, in the form of a series of cross-sectional images of the object. Light is used as the blade the printer uses to sculpt its products.

Meanwhile, oxygen prevents this reaction from occurring — so to stop the object from simply hardening and sticking to the floor of the pool, there's a layer of dissolved oxygen there, creating an ultra-thin "dead zone" at the very bottom.

The technology may actually make it possible to use 3D printing for final production as opposed to other manufacturing methods, extending custom and personalized production of mass consumer products. As the Carbon3D website exclaims, "CLIP allows businesses to produce commercial quality parts at game-changing speeds, creating a clear path to 3D manufacturing."

The CLIP method is much faster because it works continuously, instead of in layers, eliminating this step. As a result, it works in minutes rather than hours — 25 to 100 times faster, its creators say, than conventional 3D printing.

“Current 3D printing technology has failed to deliver on its promise to revolutionize manufacturing,” said DeSimone. “Our CLIP technology offers the game-changing speed, consistent mechanical properties and choice of materials required for complex commercial quality parts.”

Below is a head-to-head comparison of producing a 51mm diameter complex object like the one on the left. It can’t be fabricated by traditional manufacturing techniques.

"When we met Joe and saw what his team had invented, it was immediately clear to us that 3D printing would never be the same."

The lack of layers also makes the products of this new method stronger. That's because they're solid objects, rather than layers of material stacked together.

Since its inception, Carbon3D has partnered with Sequoia Capital to lead the company’s Series A round of financing in 2013 along with Northgate Partners, Piedmont Capital Partners and Wakefield Group. Silver Lake led the Series B round of financing in 2014 with Northgate Capital and Sequoia Capital, for a total raise of $40 million to date.

“If 3D printing hopes to break out of the prototyping niche it has been trapped in for decades, we need to find a disruptive technology that attacks the problem from a fresh perspective and addresses 3D printing’s fundamental weaknesses,” said Jim Goetz, Carbon3D board member and Sequoia partner. “When we met Joe and saw what his team had invented, it was immediately clear to us that 3D printing would never be the same.”




SOURCE  Vox, Carbon3D

By 33rd Square

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