Carbon Platform Improvements: September 2024

Carbon, the idea-to-production platform, is helping you at every stage of digital product development and manufacturing. We are excited to share new innovations now available to you.

Expanded Range of Functional Materials

Extended shelf life for EPX 86FR when refrigerated

Carbon is pleased to announce that the minimum useful life (shelf life for customers) of EPX 86FR has now been extended to six months when stored in a refrigerator at 4°C, compared to the previous three-month useful life. This update provides more storage flexibility and helps ensure the product remains effective over a longer period. Please continue to follow the recommended storage conditions on Carbon Academy.

Improved Efficiency

Enhanced control over part locations in the build space

Preserve original model positions upon upload

When a new project is created, you can now opt to preserve the original model positions (XYZ coordinates). This can be useful if you have set relative positions of parts in design software and wish to retain those positions on the print platform.

Move parts in Z

A new option in the Layout tab allows users to set the location of parts in the Z dimension (for example, to place them at a certain height above the platform). Find this tool at the bottom of the Layout panel.

Example: “Set Z Location” is available in the Layout panel

Debris Detection is available for Pac-Dent Rodin Sculpture resin (M3 and M3 Max)

When Debris Detection was introduced for M3 and M3 Max printers in March/April 2024, Pac-Dent® Rodin® Sculpture resin was excluded due to its thick, pudding-like consistency and non-Newtonian behavior. Carbon has now enabled Debris Detection for this resin (M3 and M3 Max printers only).

Improved UI performance in Carbon Design Engine

Application performance is improved for large models and complex projects, enabling Carbon Design Engine software to feel more responsive.

Better Part Quality

Improvements to avoid “striping” print defects on large, flat surfaces

Carbon has observed that projects featuring wide, flat surfaces in the XY plane can sometimes display print defects that present as horizontal stripes or striations on a surface that should be flat and smooth. Such defects stem from certain mesh triangulation patterns containing long triangle edges, which are sometimes negatively impacted by Carbon’s optical corrections. The defect can be most visible on the L1 and M3 Max printers, which feature a wide printing area.

Striping example
Example: Unintended horizontal striping on wide, flat surfaces

To prevent further occurrence of this type of print defect, Carbon has improved our method of handling such geometries.

Refer to the full printer software v1.44 Release Notes for additional notes and considerations about key software functions described here.

See July 2024 platform improvements here.