Carbon Unveils New Flame-Retardant Resin as Part of Its Idea-to-Production Platform

REDWOOD CITY, CA, February 16, 2022 — Carbon, a leading 3D printing technology company, announced today that it is further expanding the capabilities of its idea-to-production platform by introducing the all-new EPX 86FR, a flame retardant photopolymer resin that uses Carbon’s patented dual-cure process. This follows the recent announcement of the M3 Series printers and the general availability of the Carbon Design Engine™ as the company further enhances its idea-to-production platform.

EPX 86FR is a photopolymer resin that offers an unmatched combination of flame retardance, functional toughness, high strength, and long-term stability. It can help reduce development time and tooling costs for end-use parts, functional prototypes, and tools that require flame-retardant and self-extinguishing features, such as housings, brackets, and connectors in the automotive and industrial sectors.

“We’re thrilled to bring this new material to market, broadening the already impressive materials offerings we have for our clients,” said Jason Rolland, Senior Vice President of Materials at Carbon. “EPX 86FR was created for critical industries and markets that require a V-0 flame rating, high performance mechanical properties, and smooth surface quality in a reliable, consistent, and high throughput printing platform.”

Astoria Pacific, a company that manufactures automated analysis solutions for laboratories, utilizes EPX 86FR to develop heat bath housings for highly regulated electronics devices, among other applications. “We encountered significant supply chain delays in sourcing PVC and sheet metal,” said Whitney Menzel, Senior Engineer at Astoria Pacific. “We turned to Carbon’s platform and extensive material lineup, including EPX 86FR, to mitigate these challenges. Not only did we experience a much shorter production time frame using the flame-retardant resin–from 18 weeks through traditional methods to 2 weeks utilizing Carbon’s platform–but we also saw significant cost savings, enhanced surface finishes, reduced weight, and both thermal and mechanical advantages.”

Key features and applications of EPX 86FR include:

• Works well to create end use parts, functional prototypes, and manufacturing tools for consumer, automotive, and industrial applications that require UL 94 V-0 or FAR 25.853(a) ratings with flame-retardant and self-extinguishing features.
• Similar properties, including functional toughness and temperature stability, to Carbon’s high-strength epoxy-based engineering material, EPX 82, with better accuracy from reduced warpage and higher green strength.
• Like other resins in Carbon’s unique dual-cure resin portfolio, EPX 86FR produces functional and end-use parts with exceptional surface quality, accuracy, and repeatability.
• Target applications of EPX 86FR include: electronics device battery housings, fans, circuit board covers, automotive battery cases, brackets, covers, fasteners, cable clips, and connectors.

EPX 86FR is available to ship in North America, Europe, and the UK starting today and is compatible with Carbon M1, M2, M3, M3 Max, and L1 printers. For more information and technical data, go to www.carbon3d.com/materials/epx-86fr.