Ford Motor Company has made several announcements regarding its new technologies during its annual "Further with Ford" event. One important revelation is the company's collaboration with the Carbon3D, a 3D printing firm.
Ford Group Vice President of Global Product Development Raj Nair disclosed some information about their access to Continuous Liquid Interface Production technology. The automaker started using the early version of a CLIP-based device in December 2014.
They made a few demonstrations showing its potential to unlock mechanical properties which cannot be performed by other 3D printing inventions.
Ford makes use of 3D printing technology to create prototypes which will make clear visuals of their new product designs. At present, the company is advancing to create vehicle-ready parts using the aforementioned technology.
With the aid of the CLIP technology developed by Carbon3D, the multinational automaker is able to move faster from ideas to production.
Raj Nair revealed the advantages of the recent collaboration. The whole team is even looking forward for future opportunities the technology can offer.
"Carbon3D's CLIP technology has allowed us to realize our need for high-speed, high-quality printing of actual automotive-grade parts," said Nair. "We are excited to further our relationship and look forward to innovating together to make 3D manufacturing a reality," he added.
The CLIP technology works by making use of a tunable photochemical process as an alternative to the customary mechanical method. This eradicates the limitations of traditional layer-by-layer 3D printing technology therefore rapidly creating 3D models into physical objects.
It cautiously stabilizes the contact of UV light activating photo polymerization and the inhibitor oxygen. As a result, grown objects from a pool of resin is constantly permitted.
Joseph DeSimone, the CEO and Co-founder of Carbon3D expressed his delight for the joint effort with Ford. He stated that the coordination is a great opportunity to demonstrate their technology and show its potentials in the automotive industry especially in 3D printing.