Dr. Joseph DeSimone of Carbon
An exclusive Tech Tribune Q&A with Dr. Joseph DeSimone, the co-founder and executive chairman of Carbon, which was honored in our:
Tell us the origin story of Carbon – what problem were you trying to solve and why?
Carbon’s other founders and I had been interested in 3D printing for a long time. The field had so much potential, but its progress was slow. Although 3D printing technologies originated in the 1980s, they were used primarily for prototyping and had not meaningfully moved into real manufacturing. Believing there was significant unfulfilled potential, we were interested in the underlying reasons for the field’s slow progress and brought our perspectives together, as chemists and physicists, to invent a new technology. We aimed to overcome three fundamental drawbacks of other polymer 3D printing technologies that we believed were holding the field back: slowness, limited materials, and inadequate mechanical properties of parts as a function of layering approaches. Our solution was a comprehensive approach involving advances in hardware, software, and material science. With the idea that a final layerless part could emerge rapidly from a pool of liquid resin, we drew inspiration from the T-1000 character in Terminator 2, who forms from a puddle. We now use light as our “chisel” to essentially do this with our technology called Carbon Digital Light Synthesis™. Ultraviolet light cures a layerless part continuously as the part “grows” rapidly from a pool of liquid resin. After demonstrating our initial concepts, we launched our company to refine and scale the technology.
What was the biggest hurdle you encountered in your journey?
In a lot of ways, the biggest challenge has been helping potential Carbon customers envision a world in which 3D printing is not just a prototyping tool. With the slow progress of the field over the course of decades, I think a lot of designers, product teams, and companies got fatigued anticipating major progress but not seeing it. There was a lot of hype for a long time. Now we really can manufacture parts that perform like injection molded parts at relevant scales for true production, and do so digitally. Among other advantages, Carbon’s digital manufacturing approach enables incredibly rapid design iterations and immediate production of final parts and products. But it is still challenging to overcome preconceived notions.
Once it comes into focus though that 3D printing is now a real manufacturing technology, one can start to think about a broader digital transformation in manufacturing and how powerful that is. Big picture, new doors are opened for complex designs, faster product introductions, local-for-local production, scaling production of personalized products (e.g. perfectly fitting prosthetics), and better dynamism and adaptability in supply chains. The COVID-19 pandemic has provided perhaps the clearest example of the economic and societal challenges when supply chains are disrupted on a grand scale. Digital manufacturing can help sidestep such challenges and enable greater adaptability in times of disruption.
What does the future hold for Carbon?
We are continuing to expand internationally, and we are excited about paths forward in healthcare and the life sciences in addition to building on established partnerships in other areas, including footwear and dental. We are also always thinking about ways we can have a positive impact on the world, and sustainability is a major focus for us. Toward the end of 2019, Carbon released a new rigid polyurethane material, RPU 130, that is more sustainable and better performing than other additive manufacturing materials out there. This will continue to be a focus for us into the future – finding better ways to make our materials and our processes more sustainable from an environmental perspective.
What’s your best advice for aspiring entrepreneurs?
“Diversity is a fundamental tenet of innovation” is a mantra that has helped guide my career as well as our success thus far at Carbon. I frequently emphasize that we learn the most from those we have the least in common with. This is crucial to keep in mind when building a new team, technology, or company. I cannot emphasize enough how important this perspective has proven to be in the context of entrepreneurial efforts I’ve been involved with in my career.