Faster 3D printing with the CLIP process

The Carbon 3D-CLIP process impresses above all with its speed

The abbreviation CLIP stands for Continuous liquid interface production and describes a process that works 25 to 100 times faster than conventional 3D printing processes. CLIP was developed by the Californian startup Carbon 3D (founded in 2013), which presented its 3D printers working on this basis, the Carbon 3D M1 and the Carbon 3D M2, to the public for the first time in March 2015 at the TED2015 in Vancouver.

In addition to its incredible speed, the CLIP process, which we would like to explain to you in more detail at this point, also offers the option of printing objects without visible layers.

CLIP technology in detail

CLIP works in a similar way to stereolithography, only much faster, as described above. Specifically, the photopolymerization of a liquid resin by tuning of UV light (curing) and oxygen (prevents curing) controlled. The required resin is on the printer platform and is melted and hardened from below by a projector using UV light. A window below this platform releases oxygen to prevent premature hardening of the resin.

The bottom of the resin tank used consists of a light and air-permeable material (similar to that of contact lenses), which means that in the bottom layer there is a so-called “dead zone” can be generated by means of oxygen, which enables the further construction of the object, which is now continuously being pulled up out of the pool. So the dead zone describes the place where a thin layer of uncured resin is built up between the window and the object, allowing the 3D model to grow faster than in other additive processes without stopping in between.

Carbon 3D CLIP printers

The Carbon 3D M1 has a build volume of 141mm x 79mm x 326mm, while the M2 is 189mm x 118mm x 326mm. (Pictures: Carbon 3D)

At 3D Activation, we always strive to make the latest 3D printing technologies accessible to you. In addition to the actual 3D printing, this also includes our 3D printing training courses. Find out more on our website or read our blog.

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