CLIP 3D Printing 25-100X Faster Than Layer By Layer

It’s called Continuous Liquid Interface Production (CLIP), and it could revolutionize 3D printing. Carbon3D, a privately-held Redwood City, California based company has created a process which can print three-dimensional objects as one piece instead of the layer by layer approach used now. Carbon3D uses photosensitive monomers which will polymerize when exposed to UV light, and oxygen to inhibit polymerization in specified areas. This is accomplished with a special transparent and permeable window that allows both light and oxygen to pass through. The machine controls the amount of oxygen, and when that oxygen is allowed into the resin pool, it creates a ‘dead zone’ as small as tens of microns thick. Then a series of cross sectional images using UV light is produced to polymerize the uninhibited resin. This new process can be 25-100 times faster than conventional 3D printing. Carbon3D has partnered with a couple of the leading capital venture firms and looks poised to continue to develop this technology.