C.L.I.

P 3D PRINTING
(Continuous Liquid Interface Production)

SAAD SHAIKH
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Anjuman-I-Islam's Kalsekar Technical Campus
New Panvel ,Navi Mumbai
saadshaikh1999@gmail.com
Receipt No- KL 02

Abstract —Additive manufacturing becoming processing. To construct a model it is consuming

very slow and time taking process for 3D printing,
to form new fabrication model in layer-by-layer
technique. A new CLIP (Continuous liquid
interface production) technology is coming into
the light to fabricate models in a simple manner
with less time consumption. CLIP which stands
for Continuos Liquid Interface Production , is a
photochemical process using both light and
oxygen to build parts. It works by projecting
Ultraviolet images, generated by a digital light
projector, through an oxygen-permeable window
into a reservoir of UV curable resin which creates
a “dead zone” where photopolymerization is
inhibited between the window and the
polymerizing part. The UV images when
projected are solidified as the build platform
rises.
Keywords— 3D printing, Additive manufacturing,
Continuous liquid interface production, oxygen-
permeable, Ultraviolet.
I. INTRODUCTION
Additive manufacturing has become an essential
technology in wide range of which includes
Make-your-designs-by-yourself. Fields such as
spare parts industries, automobile industries,
tissue engineering, materials for energy, and
low-density, high-strength materials. Currently
we have few 3D process for additive
manufacturing which are becoming very slow
for fabrication models such as s fused deposition
modelling, selective laser sintering(SLS), and
stereo lithography, this delay is due to layer-by
several hours for a single fabrication.
If additive manufacturing to be viable, it should
minimize manufacturing hours and increase
mass production. Although oxygen inhibition of
free radical polymerization is a widely
encountered obstacle to photo polymerization
(light-activated resin is a polymer that changes
its properties when exposed to light, often in the
ultraviolet). By using controlled amount of
oxygen inhibition the process can be made
simpler and faster.
II. RELATED RESEARCH WORK
A startup out of Silicon Valley called Carbon3D
set out to once again redefine 3D printing.
Carbon (legally Carbon3D Inc.) is a technology
company and manufacturer founded in
December 2013, by Joseph and Philip
DeSimone, based in Redwood City, California.
The Carbon3D manufactures and develops 3D
printers utilizing the Continuous Liquid Interface
Production (CLIP) process, with their first
commercial product being the Carbon M1
Printer. The company was started on June 11,
2014, by Joseph and Philip DeSimone. In March
2015, Joseph gave a TED talk which showed a
preview of a 3D printer prototype
using Continuous Liquid Interface
Production (CLIP), with a scene in Terminator --
--2: Judgement Day was cited as the inspiration
for the technology. After Autodesk funded $10

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million towards Carbon in June, Ford Motor
Company announced a partnership with the
company, as well as joining Carbon's early
access program for their printers. On January
2016, Johnson & Johnson announced
partnership with Carbon to create custom
surgical devices. Kodak also announced a
partnership with Carbon to produce materials for
its printers.
Fig.1 Source - Google Images
III. WORKING PRINCIPLE
CLIP works on the principle
Photopolymerization processes which makes
use of liquid, radiation curable resins, or
photopolymers as their primary materials. Most
photopolymers react to radiation in the
ultraviolet (UV) range of wavelengths, but
some visible light systems are used as well.
Upon radiation, these materials undergo a
chemical reaction to become solid. This
reaction is called photopolymerization, and is
typically complex, involving many chemical
participants.
A photopolymer is a polymer that changes its
properties when exposed to light, often in
the ultraviolet or visible region
of electromagnetic spectrum. Photopolymers
undergo a process called curing, The result of
photo curing is the formation
a thermoset network of polymers. One of the
advantages of photo-curing is that it can be done
selectively using high energy light sources
IV. KEY COMPONENTS OF CLIP 3D
PRINTER
A. BUID PLATFORM
 It acts as a support for the object being
a printed.It lowers into the resin and slowly
pulls out the finished product
B. PHOTO-POLYMERS (RESIN)
 Programmable liquid resin are photopolymers
that can show variation in their properties
under the influence of UV Light. Depending
upo the type they can depict cariety of
mechanical properties often in
the ultraviolet light.
 MEDICAL POLYURETHANE (MPU)
 ELASTOMERIC POLYURETHANE
 RIGID POLYURETHANE (RPU)
 FLEXIBLE POLYURETHANE (FPU)
C. OXYGEN PERMEABLE WINDOW
 Oxygen passes through the OXYGEN-
PERMEABLE-WINDOW creating a thin
liquid interface of uncured resin between the
of window and printing part known as “DEAD
ZONE”
Fig.2 Source – Google Images
D. DEAD ZONE
 The dead zone is a zone between the window
and the printing part and is one third of a
of human hair thick, however it is areas is
responsible for carbon remarkable high
performance resolution and unique parts.
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E. LIGHT ENGINE
 Light from custom high performance LED
light engine projects the sequence of UV
images, exposing the cross section of the part,
causing the UV resin to solidify in a
controlled way.

V. WORKING PROCESS Fig.4 Source – Google Images

CLIP rapidly transforms 3D models into
physical objects. By carefully balancing the
interaction of UV light, which triggers photo
polymerization, and oxygen, which inhibits the
reaction, CLIP continuously grows objects from
a pool of resin at speeds 25-100 times faster than
traditional 3D printing. At the heart of the CLIP
process is a special window that is transparent to
light and permeable to oxygen, much like a
contact lens. By controlling the oxygen through
the window, CLIP creates a “dead zone” in the
resin pool just tens of microns thick where
photopolymerization cannot occur.
VI. ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES
There are many advantages and disadvantages
which would come with the use of CLIP
technology.
A. ADVANTAGES
1) Faster Build Speeds
2) Quality Surface Finishes
3) Consistent Mechanical Properties
4) High speed printing that functions 25 to 100
times faster than the existing technologies
5) High quality printing as a result of
eliminating the mechanical layer-by-layer
building process
6) Wider choice of materials and colors through
the usage of polymeric materials

B. DISADVANTAGES
1) Expensive than other 3D Printers.
2) Huge products cannot be printed
3) Resins cannot be Reused
4) Only one part can be produced at a time with
controlled amount of resin
Fig.3 Source – Google Images

As a series of cross-sectional images of a 3D

model is played like a movie into the resin pool
from underneath, the physical object emerges
continuously from just above the dead zone. The
resin hardens where the ultraviolet light contacts
it while the platform slowly lifts the growing
object out of the basin. At an astounding rate of
over one meter per hour, CLIP is approximately
100 times faster than traditional 3D printers of
comparable quality. the printed part is washed in
alcohol to remove any liquid resin, then 'baked' Fig.5 Source – Google Images
under UV light for the final cure.
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 CONCLUSION
Continuous Liquid Interface Production has
significant advantages over most current
manufacturing methods. These prints reduce
waste, take less time, and are far cheaper than
anything being used by companies today. This
will lead to more low-priced, high-quality goods,
again reinforcing. CLIP technology has created a
new platform for mass production companies by
using different materials for fabricating the
designs for different usages. There are different
materials for use, to reach common requirement
for designing small products to larger products

REFERENCES
[1] J. DeSimone. “What if 3D printing was 100x
faster?” TED TALK. 03.24.2015. Accessed
10.25.2016.
http://www.ted.com/talks/joe_desimone_wha
t_if_3d_printing_was_25x_faster#t-541461.

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_printing

[3] International Research Journal of

Engineering and Technology (IRJET) ,
Continuous liquid interface production
(CLIP)

[4] Researchers develop revolutionary 3D

printing technology CLIP
https://phys.org/news/2015-03-
revolutionary-3d- technology.html

[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymerization
#Photopolymerization