Carbon3D Will Have You Saying “I’ll Be Back” for More Innovation

What do the Terminator 2 and 3D printing have in common? The answer is Carbon3D, as pictured above from Wired.com! Keep reading to learn more!

Carbon3D is a new 3D-printing technique that utilizes Continuous Liquid Interface Productions (CLIP) technology. This technology creates 3D items by an approach that was inspired by the shapeshifting T-1000 robot in the Terminator 2, where solid objects were pulled from a shapeless pool of goo.

Though this method is extremely cool and unusual, that’s not the only reason it has grabbed our attention.

So, let’s take a look at what makes Carbon3D so interesting!

First of all, Carbon3D’s 3D-printing technique works 25-100 times faster than your typical 3D printer.

The creations that result from CLIP technology originate from a pool of goo that’s technically speaking, UV-sensitive resin.

The liquid resin reservoir is manipulated by both oxygen and light. To this point, CLIP uses an ultraviolet projector (light) beneath a resin tray, in order to project an image of how each layer should form.

The light then shines through an oxygen-permeable window onto the resin solution, which in turn, hardens the solution. It’s interesting to point out that the areas of resin that are exposed to oxygen actually don’t harden, while those shapes that are cut off, actually form the 3D-printed shape.

At the latest TED Conference in Vancouver, the CEO and co-founder of Carbon3D, Dr. Joseph DeSimone, demonstrated the 3D-printer onstage and produced a geometric ball shape in less than seven minutes. This feat would take a run-of-the-mill 3D printer up to 10 hours to complete.

The Carbon3D is small in size, which in turn means that it can create only small objects. This means that objects no larger than one foot tall and up to four inches wide can be produced from the Terminator 2-like ooze.

As of right now, Carbon3D’s CLIP process is designed for commercial printers and there’s no mention of whether this technology will be available to consumers anytime soon.

So for now, check out this quick video to see the innovative Carbon3D’s style of 3D-printing in action!