Continuous Liquid Interface Production

Continuous Liquid Interface Production (CLIP; originally Continuous Liquid Interphase Printing) is a proprietary method of 3D printing that uses photo polymerization to create smooth-sided solid objects of a wide variety of shapes using resins. It was invented by Joseph DeSimone, Alexander and Nikita Ermoshkin and Edward T. Samulski and was originally owned by EiPi Systems, but is now being developed by Carbon.

Process
The Continuous Liquid Interface Production method uses ultraviolet light to harden a photosensitive resin while the fabricated object is drawn up out of the resin bath.

The continuous process begins with a pool of liquid photopolymer resin. Part of the pool bottom is transparent to ultraviolet light (the "window"). An ultraviolet light beam shines through the window, illuminating the precise cross-section of the object. The light causes the resin to solidify. The object rises slowly enough to allow the resin to flow under and maintain contact with the bottom of the object.[1] An oxygen-permeable membrane lies below the resin, which creates a “dead zone” (persistent liquid interface) preventing the resin from attaching to the window (photopolymerization is inhibited between the window and the polymerizer).[2]

Unlike stereolithography, the printing process is continuous. The inventors claim that it can create objects up to 100 times faster than commercial three dimensional (3D) printing methods.[1][2][3]

Applications

CLIP objects have smooth sides, unlike 2015 commercial 3D printers, whose sides are typically rough to the touch. Some resins produce objects that are rubbery and flexible, that could not be produced with earlier methods.[2]

History

Patents and trademarks

CLIP was, at the time the original patent was filed, an acronym for Continuous Liquid Interphase Printing, described in two patents, titled 'Continuous liquid interphase printing' and 'Method and apparatus for three-dimensional fabrication with feed through carrier'. Both patents were filed February 10, 2014, by EiPi Systems, Inc as Applicant with the following individuals titled as 'inventors': Joseph DeSimone, Alexander Ermoshkin, Nikita Ermoshkin, and Edward T. Samulski.[4][5]

According to data in the California Secretary of State's office database, Carbon is listed as of September 6, 2014.[6] A trademark was filed on September 10, for the 'CARBON3D' trademark.[7]

Public release

A journal article was published in Science detailing the groups' findings.[8] At a TED talk in March 2015, DeSimone demonstrated a 3D-printer prototype using CLIP technology and produced a relatively complex object in less than 10 minutes, 100 times faster than other 3D printing techniques.[9] DeSimone cited a scene in the 1992 film Terminator 2: Judgement Day, where the T-1000 machine reforms itself from a metallic pool, as an inspiration for the technology's development.[10][11]

See also

References
  1. St. Fleur, Nicholas (17 March 2015). "3-D Printing Just Got 100 Times Faster". The Atlantic. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  2. Dendukuri, D. (2006). "Continuous-flow lithography for high-throughput microparticle synthesis". Nature Materials 5, 365 - 369 (2006). Retrieved 2016. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  3. Saxena, Shalini (19 March 2015). "New nonstop 3D printing process takes only minutes instead of hours". Ars Technica. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  4. "Continuous liquid interphase printing". Retrieved March 20, 2015.
  5. "Method and apparatus for three-dimensional fabrication with feed through carrier". Retrieved March 20, 2015.
  6. "Business Search - Results". California Secretary of State. Archived from the original on March 15, 2015. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
  7. "CARBON3D". United States Patent and Trademark Office. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
  8. Tumbleston, J. R.; Shirvanyants, D.; Ermoshkin, N.; Janusziewicz, R.; Johnson, A. R.; Kelly, D.; Chen, K.; Pinschmidt, R.; Rolland, J. P.; Ermoshkin, A.; Samulski, E. T.; DeSimone, J. M. (16 March 2015). "Continuous liquid interface production of 3D objects". Science. 347 (6228): 1349–1352. doi:10.1126/science.aaa2397. PMID 25780246.
  9. "Joseph DeSimone: What if 3D printing was 100x faster?". TED. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  10. Wakefield, Jane (17 March 2015). "TED 2015: Terminator-inspired 3D printer 'grows' objects". BBC News. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  11. Feltman, Rachel (16 March 2015). "This mind-blowing new 3-D printing technique is inspired by 'Terminator 2'". The Washington Post. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
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