Carbon (

legally Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

Carbon, Inc.) is a digital manufacturing company founded in 2013 by

Joseph Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

and Philip DeSimone, Alex and Nikita Ermoshkin, Edward Samulski, and Steve Nelson. Carbon is based in

Redwood City, California Redwood City is a city on the San Francisco Peninsula in Northern California's Bay Area, approximately south of San Francisco, and northwest of San Jose. Redwood City's history spans its earliest inhabitation by the Ohlone people to being a ...

. The company manufactures and develops

3D printer 3D printing or additive manufacturing is the construction of a three-dimensional object from a CAD model or a digital 3D model. It can be done in a variety of processes in which material is deposited, joined or solidified under computer co ...

s utilizing the Continuous Liquid Interface Production process, with its first commercial product being the Carbon M1 printer. The company introduced its proprietary CLIP process on the TED stage in 2015. The Carbon Platform combines software, hardware, and molecular science to deliver manufacturing solutions designed to allow customers to build differentiated products that reduce waste and speed time to market. In April 2017, Adidas announced the first 3D printed midsole developed using Carbon technology.

History

The company was founded in 2013 by Dr. Alex Ermoshkin based on ideas he originally developed with his son, Nikita Ermoshkin, to develop their own at-home 3D printer and further refined with input from Dr. Joseph DeSimone. In March 2015, Joseph gave a TED talk that showed a preview of a

prototype using Continuous Liquid Interface Production (CLIP). Carbon engaged in four fundraising ventures between 2014 and 2017 from investors such as Sequoia Capital, Google Venture, GE, Fidelity Management & Research, Adidas, BMW, and Johnson & Johnson. The company won awards from WEF Tech Pioneers,

MIT Technology Review ''MIT Technology Review'' is a bimonthly magazine wholly owned by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and editorially independent of the university. It was founded in 1899 as ''The Technology Review'', and was re-launched without "The" in ...

's 50 Smartest Companies of 2017, and the Fast Company Innovation by Design Award. Carbon has made partnerships with companies including

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

in 2015, Johnson & Johnson in 2016, Adidas in 2017,

Vitamix Vita-Mix Corporation, doing business as Vitamix, is an American privately owned company operated by the Barnard family since 1921. Vitamix manufactures blenders for consumers and for the restaurant and hospitality industry. Vitamix has been base ...

in 2018, Riddell and Lamborghini in 2019. Craig Carlson joined Carbon in 2014 from Tesla to lead the engineering team. In March 2016,

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo Coun ...

-based entrepreneur Josh Green joined as general counsel. In November 2018, Elisa de Martel was named chief financial officer. In December 2018, Dara Treseder joined as the company’s first

chief marketing officer A chief marketing officer (CMO), also called a global marketing officer or marketing director, or chief brand officer, is a corporate executive responsible for managing marketing activities in an organization. Whilst historically these titles may ...

. In November 2019, Ellen Kullman was appointed President and CEO. Kullman served on Carbon's board prior to becoming President and CEO. Carbon’s board of directors includes former

CEO

Alan Mulally Alan Roger Mulally (born August 4, 1945) is an American aerospace engineer and manufacturing executive. He is the former President and Chief Executive Officer of the Ford Motor Company. He retired from Ford Motor Company on July 1, 2014. Ford ...

, and Sequoia Capital partner Jim Goetz.

Products

Carbon is a vertically integrated manufacturer that offers its own software, hardware, and materials products that leverage Digital Light Synthesis™, or DLS™, technology to produce isotropic end-use parts.

Hardware

Carbon hardware uses the same basic principles of DLS™ to produce isotropic parts. All of Carbon’s hardware offerings are available as a subscription that includes service, support, and software upgrades. Different models have different build areas for building either more parts or larger parts. All the devices are connected to the

cloud In meteorology, a cloud is an aerosol consisting of a visible mass of miniature liquid droplets, frozen crystals, or other particles suspended in the atmosphere of a planetary body or similar space. Water or various other chemicals may ...

by default to allow for

predictive maintenance Predictive maintenance techniques are designed to help determine the condition of in-service equipment in order to estimate when maintenance should be performed. This approach promises cost savings over routine or time-based preventive maintena ...

, remote monitoring and control, and over-the-air software updates.

M1 Printer

The Carbon M1 printer was Carbon’s first offering, which has since been replaced by the M2 as Carbon’s general-purpose printing device. It could produce parts sized up to 144 millimeters x 81 millimeters x 330 millimetres, with the light engine display LED using 75μm pixels. The printer supports using a variety of resin materials, including some already in production commercial applications.

M2 Series Printer

The Carbon M2 printer can produce parts larger than the original M1 printer, up to 189mm x 118mm x 326mm, with the same 75μm resolution. The M2d is an entry-level device for dental labs with the same base hardware as the M2 except for a smaller build area for lower throughput. The M2d printer is upgradable to an M2 printer.

M3 Series Printer

The Carbon M3 series printer was introduced in January 2022 as an update to the M2 Series printers. The M3 is available in 2 configurations, M3 and M3 Max. The M3 printers claim to bring a simpler, smarter, faster, and smoother printing experience.

Smart Part Washer

The Smart Part Washer machine washes, serializes, and data-scans parts to automatically record production information.

L1 Printer

The L1 printer offers 10 times the build area of the original M1 printer for high-volume production. It is offered as part of a complete manufacturing solution tailored to the application, such as the Adidas 4D midsoles or the Riddell SpeedFlex Precision Fit Diamond Edition.

Materials

All Carbon materials are sold as a liquid resin. Each material is cured by UV light, which defines the overall geometry, and the engineering-grade resins have a secondary thermal cure, which sets the final material properties. Prototyping and modeling resins undergo only the UV cure.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 3D printer companies Manufacturing companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area Technology companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area Companies based in Redwood City, California American companies established in 2013 Computer companies established in 2013 Manufacturing companies established in 2013 2013 establishments in California Privately held companies based in California