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CapabilitiesCustom Online 3D Printing ServiceCarbon Digital Light Synthesis™ (DLS™) 3D Printing Service

Carbon Digital Light Synthesis™ (DLS™) 3D Printing Service

High-Performing Prototypes and Serialized Production Parts
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Materials
Applications and Benefits
Sizes and Tolerances
About Carbon Digital Light Synthesis™
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Production-Grade Parts Without Tooling

Carbon® uses digital light projection, oxygen-permeable optics, and programmable liquid resins to produce products with end-use durability, resolution, and surface finish. This technology, along with Carbon’s custom liquid resins, unlocks new business opportunities and product designs previously impossible, including mass customization and on-demand inventory. The Carbon platform enables companies to bring products to market that were never thought possible.

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DLS™ Materials

DLS™ Materials Available at Xometry:
Material NameDescriptionShore HardnessElongation at Break (%)Impact Strength (J/m)Data Sheets
Material Name

RPU 70

Description

Rigid polyurethane

Shore Hardness

80D

Elongation at Break (%)

100%

Impact Strength (J/m)

22 J/m

Data Sheets

RPU 70 Data Sheet

Material Name

UMA 90

Description

Urethane methacrylate

Shore Hardness

86D

Elongation at Break (%)

17%

Impact Strength (J/m)

33 J/m

Data Sheets
Material Name

EPX 82

Description

Impact-resistant epoxy

Shore Hardness

89D

Elongation at Break (%)

5.9%

Impact Strength (J/m)

44 J/m

Data Sheets
Material Name

FPU 50

Description

Flexible polyurethane

Shore Hardness

71D

Elongation at Break (%)

280%

Impact Strength (J/m)

40 J/m

Data Sheets
Material Name

EPU 40

Description

Elastomeric polyurethane

Shore Hardness

68A

Elongation at Break (%)

310%

Impact Strength (J/m)

N/A

Data Sheets
Material Name

SIL 30

Description

Elastomeric silicone-urethane

Shore Hardness

35A

Elongation at Break (%)

330%

Impact Strength (J/m)

N/A

Data Sheets

More carbon 3D materials are available upon request by selecting Material: Other and writing in the specific resin on your online quote.

Available Finishes for Carbon DLS™ Parts
Standard

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.

Custom Color (UMA 90)

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.

Custom

Don’t see the finish you need? Submit an RFQ and we’ll look into a finishing process for you.

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Applications for Carbon DLS™ Technology

Fast parts and fast shipping

Rapid Prototyping

Carbon DLS™ technology can be used to create strong, flexible, and colorful prototypes

Xometry Illustration

End-Use Functional Parts

Carbon DLS™ materials are fully dense and engineered for end-use

Digital manufacturing

Direct Digital Manufacturing

Carbon DLS™ printing is ideal for serialize production of small to medium-sized parts

Benefits of Carbon DLS™ 3D Printed Parts

Carbon DLS RPU 70 rigid polyurethane
Engineered Materials
Carbon DLS RPU 70 rigid polyurethane

3D print directly in urethanes, epoxies, elastomers, and other specialty thermosets.

Complex Shapes and Lattices
Carbon DLS CE with complex lattice features

Best-in-class at 3D printing of lattice structures and organic shapes.

Scalability
Carbon Digital Light Synthesis (DLS) makes production parts without tooling

Produce small parts in serialized production at pricing competitive with injection molding.


Carbon DLS™ General Tolerances

DescriptionTolerance Notes
Description

General Tolerances

Tolerance Notes

+/- 0.003” for the first inch is typical, plus +/- 0.010” for every inch thereafter**.
**See Our Manufacturing Standards for more detailed DLS tolerances.

Description

Build Size

Tolerance Notes

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.

Description

Ideal Part Size

Tolerance Notes

Part's below 2" x 1" x 3" or smaller tend to have the best production economy of scale.

Description

Minimum Wall Thickness

Tolerance Notes

0.030" or larger is suggested for any walls, text, or lattice features.

Description

DLP Pixel Resolution

Tolerance Notes

Approx. 0.005" square

This table depicts the general tolerances for Digital Light Synthesis™. Stresses during the build, support strategy, and other geometry considerations may cause deviation in tolerances and flatness. Improved tolerances may be possible with a manual quote review, after successful completion of a prototype build, and must be approved on a case-by-case basis. General tolerances apply before secondary finishing or post-processing unless otherwise specified. Please check out Xometry's Manufacturing Standards for more information on tolerances per process.

Overview: What is Carbon DLS™ Technology?

Carbon DLS™ Technology Basics

Carbon uses digital light projection, oxygen-permeable optics, and programmable liquid resins to produce products with end-use durability, resolution, and surface finish. This 3D printing technology is called Digital Light Synthesis™, or DLS for short. Another legacy term for the process is Continuous Liquid Interface Production (CLIP). Along with Carbon’s custom liquid resins, DLS unlocks new business opportunities and product designs previously impossible, including mass customization and on-demand inventory of end-use products.


Carbon bridges, and sometimes substitutes, for processes like Urethane Casting and Injection Molding service production, because the materials are urethane-based or epoxy-based, giving excellent mechanical properties. There are even elastomer and silicone resins that outperform most additive manufactured rubber-like materials.

    Isometric illustration of the carbon DLS printing process.

    What Differentiates Carbon

    What differentiates Xometry's Carbon DLS 3D printing service from similar processes like Stereolithography (SLA) or PolyJet 3D prints is that the resin has a secondary thermal step which activates dormant epoxies or urethanes, making parts much stronger than UV-curing alone. Additionally, the digital light synthesis process is continuous, without stopping layer-by-layer as with most additive manufacturing. This gives the parts isotropic properties, meaning that strength is even regardless of orientation. This is a significant advantage over processes like Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), where Z-direction features can be much weaker than similar features built in the XY-direction.

      Carbon DLS UMA

      Why Choose Xometry for 3D Printing?

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      Endless Options

      Choose from millions of possible combinations of materials, finishes, tolerances, markings, and certifications for your order.

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      Easy to Use

      Get your parts delivered right to your door without the hassle of sourcing, project management, logistics, or shipping.

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      Vetted Network

      We are ISO 9001:2015, ISO 13485, and AS9100D certified. Only the top shops that apply to become Suppliers make it through our qualification process.

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      Download the Carbon DLS™ design guide