Carbon, a leader in 3D printing technology, has officially announced the launch of its FP3D, which happens to be a groundbreaking flexible, removable partial denture (FRPD) resin.

According to certain reports, the stated resin delivers at dental industry’s disposal a proven dual-cure chemistry so to generate significant advancements in the performance and reliability of dental appliances.

To understand the significance of such a development, we must take into account how traditional single-cure resins have historically lacked the ability to handle those demanding dental applications. This is because they haven’t had the necessary durability, retention, and lifetime of the device required for a flexible partial application.

In response, Carbon’s FP3D leverages the company’s proprietary dual-cure chemistry, a technology which has driven innovation across multiple industries in the context of advancing durability, flexibility, and strength. Not just that, it is also designed to achieve properties similar to some traditionally produced, polymer-based flexible partial denture materials.

More on the given technology would reveal how it integrates secondary heat-activated chemistry within the resin. This secondary reaction allows for the material to build strength and resilience in a bake step without sacrificing viscosity and accuracy in the printing step.

Such proprietary chemistry, on its part, can deliver robust engineering-grade parts through isotropic mechanical responses with high durability.

Talk about some of the possible use cases FP3D can enjoy moving forward, they begin from the space of sports equipment. We get to say so because Carbon has developed, in partnership with Riddell, the first-ever 3D-printed football helmet liner which features a lattice structure for enhanced protection and comfort.

The next use case in line here is sprung by the footwear industry, where collaborations with several leading athletic brands have led to the production of high-performance midsoles that let you enjoy improved energy return and durability.

Another beneficiary of Carbon’s latest brainchild would be the cycling sector. You see, the company has already manufactured customized bike saddles, in collaboration with top cycling companies, to utilize dual-cure technology and provide unprecedented comfort, as well as performance.

Carbon also took this opportunity to expand its Automatic Operation Suite, which focuses on enhancing dental lab efficiency. As a part of that, the company is set to launch several new tools which are going to be aligned with its overarching goal of efficiency.

These tools, at launch, include automatic print preparation software. The stated no-code, user-friendly software makes it possible for users to automate critical steps in the printing process, right from nesting to queuing, reducing manual intervention, and enhancing operational efficiency.

Not just that, this particular innovation also treads up a long distance to help labs across the board scale their production with consistency and ease.

Beyond that, we have the company’s now expanded AO polishing cassette. Understood to be compatible with the M3 and M3 Max printers, the new AO Polishing Cassette arrives on the scene bearing an ability to use advanced light-scattering technology and polish parts directly during printing. Such a setup, like you can guess, delivers smoother and clearer parts right off the printer, thus cutting down on manual labor and preserving intricate design details.

In case that wasn’t enough, then we ought to mention how the technology has also been validated for leading materials, such as Dentsply’s Lucitone Digital Print™ and Desktop Health’s Flexcera Base™.