Carbon Digital Light Synthesis™ (DLS™) 3D Printing Service
High-Performing Prototypes and Serialized Production Parts
Production-Grade Parts Without Tooling
Carbon uses digital light projection printing technology that uses custom programmable liquid resins to print parts with end-product level durability and surface quality. This technology has high printing precision and can reproduce the details of complex structures. Carbon’s customized liquid resin enables completely new product design and mass custom production that was not possible before. In short, the Carbon printing platform breaks the design and production constraints by matching digital light projection technology with custom resins, enabling a variety of innovative applications.
DLS™ Materials
| Material Name | Description | Shore Hardness | Elongation at Break (%) | Impact Strength (J/m) | Data Sheets |
| RPU 70 | Rigid polyurethane | 80D | 100% | 22 J/m | RPU 70 Data Sheet |
| UMA 90 | Urethane methacrylate | 86D | 17% | 33 J/m | UMA 90 Data Sheet |
| EPX 82 | Impact-resistant epoxy | 89D | 5.9% | 44 J/m | EPX 82 Data Sheet |
| CE 221 | High temp cyanate ester (HDT 230C) | 92D | 3.5% | 15 J/m | CE 221 Data Sheet |
| FPU 50 | Flexible polyurethane | 71D | 280% | 40 J/m | FPU 50 Data Sheet |
| EPU 40 | Elastomeric polyurethane | 68A | 310% | N/A | EPU 40 Data Sheet |
| SIL 30 | Elastomeric silicone-urethane | 35A | 330% | N/A | SIL 30 Data Sheet |
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Available Finishes for Carbon DLS™ Parts
Parts built with Carbon DLS technology will typically have a matte to semi-gloss surface finish depending on feature direction. Extended protrusions will show vertical lines in the part that are parallel to the direction of growth. Supports are removed and mitigated as required.
UMA 90 materials come in different colors available for custom mixing. Although the standard is black or white, other solid colors can be available for part productions.
Don’t see the finish you need? Submit an RFQ and we’ll look into a finishing process for you.
Applications for Carbon DLS™ Technology
Carbon DLS technology can quickly print robust, flexible, and colorful prototypes for design validation. Its material density is high, and the functional parts used by the end can be printed directly. At the same time, the technology realizes direct digital manufacturing, and small and medium-sized parts can be mass-produced without molds. In short,Carbon DLS technology can be used for rapid prototyping, direct manufacturing of end-use parts, and digital mass production.
Benefits of Carbon DLS™ 3D Printed Parts
The key benefits of Carbon DLS 3D printing are summarized below:
- Print directly on thermosetting resins such as polyurethane, epoxy resin and elastomer.
- Unmatched lattice structures and organic shapes can be printed.
- Can mass produce small parts, and the price is competitive, can replace injection molding
Carbon DLS™ General Tolerances
| Description | Tolerance Notes |
|---|---|
| General Tolerances | +/- 0.005” for the first inch is typical, plus +/- 0.002” for every inch thereafter. |
| Build Size | The typical build area is 7.4” x 4.6” x 12.8”. Parts with dimensions exceeding 4” x 4” x 6” will require manual review. |
| Ideal Part Size | Part's below 2" x 1" x 3" or smaller tend to have the best production economy of scale. |
| Minimum Wall Thickness | 0.030" or larger is suggested for any walls, text, or lattice features. |
| DLP Pixel Resolution | Approx. 0.005" square |
The tolerance of Carbon digital light synthesis 3D printing is affected by factors such as stress and support strategies during the printing process, and the tolerance can be optimized by manual quotation review after printing the prototype, but the tolerance approval needs to be based on the specific situation of each case. Unless otherwise specified, the tolerance of the print refers to the state in which it has not been post-processed. Specific tolerance data can be found in FINDTOP’s manufacturing standards. In short,Carbon digital photosynthetic printing can optimize and control tolerances, but the printing process factors, case characteristics, and post-processing need to be considered to determine the final tolerance.
Overview: What is Carbon DLS™ Technology?
Carbon’s digital light synthesis technology uses digital light projection, oxygen-permeable optics and programmable liquid resins to print parts with end-product grade durability and surface finish. Materials are mostly polyurethane or epoxy resin, excellent mechanical properties, can replace the traditional casting or injection molding manufacturing. In summary, digital light synthesis technology enables advanced material customization and digital production, enabling a variety of innovative applications.
What Differentiates Carbon
The biggest difference between Carbon DLS printing technology and processes such as SLA and PolyJet is that the resin it uses has a secondary thermal curing step that activates dormant components in the material, making the final printed part much stronger than materials that rely on UV curing alone. In addition,DLS is a continuous printing process, without stopping the process of curing layer by layer, so that the printed parts are isotropic, and there will be no problems like FDM printing along the Z axis.