Continuous liquid interface production technology (or CLIP) is a new 3D printing technique is up to fifty times faster than standard 3D printing techniques. Watch the video below, which is speeded up to show how it works.
(Continuous liquid interface production technology video)
As you can see, the 3D printed object appears to rise out of the pool of resin. The creators of the technique were inspired by the scene in Terminator 2, in which the T-1000 robot rises from a pool of liquid metal.
CLIP places a pool of resin over a digital light projection system. A special window between the resin and light allows both light and oxygen to travel through (much like a contact lens, DeSimone explained).
To create an object, CLIP projects specific bursts of light and oxygen. Light hardens the resin, and oxygen keeps it from hardening. By controlling light and oxygen exposure in tandem, intricate shapes and latices can be made in one piece instead of the many layers of material that usually make up a 3-D printed object.
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