Page 73 - Forbes India (December 2015)

manufacturers, Stratasys and 3D pulls the object out of the pool, and systems engineer at Legacy Effects.
Systems, are 80 percent off their highs. more resin flows under to be heated. “The throughput is absolutely
Carbon3D is reinjecting excitement Carbon3D says it can produce amazing.” Ford liked it so much that
into the field. Its CEO and cofounder, objects of higher resolutions at speeds its former CEO Alan Mulally joined
Joseph DeSimone, a 51-year-old 25 to 100 times faster than traditional Carbon3D’s board. Ellen Lee, Ford’s
entrepreneur and former chemistry stereolithographic printers and team leader of additive manufacturing
professor from the University of several other techniques. Because the research in Dearborn, Michigan,
North Carolina at Chapel Hill, came action of the machine is so smooth, is now assessing the idea of using
up with a new way to print objects it allows manufacturers access to a Carbon3D machine in its rapid-
in 3D so quickly and precisely that a wider variety of performance prototyping unit. While Ford is still
Sequoia Capital partner Jim Goetz materials such as stretchy elastomers clearly years away from printing
(the sole backer of WhatsApp) led a and high-temperature-resistant resin. critical car parts, Lee has joked about
$11-million Series A round and lured Carbon3D aims to develop its own printing gear shifters to fit the owner’s
him to Redwood City, California from resins for making objects ready for hand. “A lot more potential remains
his tenured chair in Chapel Hill. The commercial sale. “We’re focussed on untapped in 3D printing,” Lee says.
company has since raised more than applications where the 3D-printed “It’s really going to change the way
$140 million, including a $100-million part is the functional part, where we manufacture in America. We want
round in August led by Google it could go into a car. Existing 3D to understand how to best use it.”
Ventures. Its valuation is already Industry expert Terry Wohlers
estimated to be above $1 billion of Wohlers Associates says that
without releasing anything more while Carbon3D’s speed is a
than a product for early customer CARBON3D SAYS big deal for manufacturing, he’s
trials. “The industry is dominated by IT CAN PRODUCE uncertain of the quality of the
mechanical engineers who print two- end product. Over time, light can
dimensional objects up layer by layer,” 3D OBJECTS 25 degrade the photopolymers used in
DeSimone says. “Let’s not do this layer TO 100 TIMES stereolithography, making them less
by layer—let’s grow these parts.” FASTER THAN reliable than the thermoplastics used
Most 3D printers use a technique by more common fused deposition-
known as fused deposition modelling, TRADITIONAL modelling printers. Carbon3D says
which is basically a hot-glue gun PRINTERS that its polymers use UV-blockers and
controlled by a robot arm that zig- pigments to protect them from light.
zags back and forth depositing layers Carbon3D machines are priced
of plastic to make a solid object. A well above the mass market,
Carbon3D machine pulls a solid printers don’t do that,” says Phelps. but that shouldn’t be an issue
object from a small tub of liquid “And if it works as a final part would, for large businesses if it works
plastic—akin to the way the killer why not just ship the 3D-printed as advertised. “Ford spends
robot in Terminator 2 lifted itself out part? If it’s just as good, why worry hundreds of thousands of dollars on
of liquid-metal puddles. It’s a variation about injection moulding?” individual pieces of manufacturing
of a decades-old technique called A dozen companies, including Ford equipment,” says Wohlers.
stereolithography, or the use of light Motor and Hollywood special effects Carbon3D’s talk about disrupting
to solidify liquid plastic. DeSimone’s studio Legacy Effects, are testing injection moulding (a widely used
contribution as a chemist was to Carbon3D machines, each of which manufacturing process) is a bit far-
replace the bottom of the tub with will cost north of $10,000. Legacy, fetched, but its machines are bringing
a pane of glass that, like a contact which worked on the Iron Man and excitement back to 3D printing.
lens, is porous to air. The air creates Avengers movies, uses it to print “Ten years ago, a lot of firms started
a cushion under the resin that is prosthetics and props. The studio cut building 3D printing manufacturing
one-thousandth of an inch thick, so the time it took to print one crucial plans,” DeSimone says, “and it was
the liquid never sticks to the glass. job from 16 hours to two hours. really exciting. Then they shelved
A laser firing from beneath the glass “If I have speed, detail and plans, because the technology
solidifies the bottom layer of plastic material choice, that are high- didn’t have enough horsepower
in a precise pattern dictated by the grade engineering materials, that’s to take them there. Now they’re
object’s 3D file. A robotic arm slowly a winner,” says Jason Lopes, a lead starting to dust off those plans.”

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