Carbon3D Inc. has developed a new 3D printing technology that uses light and oxygen to print objects at speeds 25 to 100 times faster than current technology. The technique was inspired by the film Terminator 2, in which the T-1000 robot rises from a pool of metallic liquid.
Continuous Liquid Interface Production (CLIP) enables objects to rise from a liquid media continuously, rather than using the layer-by-layer method that has defined the technology for decades. Beams of light are projected through an oxygen-permeable window into a liquid resin. Light and oxygen control the solidification of the resin, creating objects that can have sizes below 20 microns.
CLIP enables a very wide range of materials to be used to make 3D parts with novel properties, including elastomers, silicones, nylon-like materials, ceramics and biodegradable materials. Since it is facilitates 3D objects fabrication in minutes instead of hours or days, it would not be impossible within coming years to enable personalized coronary stents, dental implants or prosthetics to be printed on-demand in a medical setting.
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