Team Wendy is using its Carbon 3-D printer to make high-quality samples of advanced helmet liners – among other things – at speeds never seen before in the industry. It’s conceivable that the very production parts on your helmet could soon come from a printer like this.
As we speak, we’re making engineered compressible structures – or lattice-like structures – as an alternative to the traditional polyurethane foams used in helmet impact and comfort liners.
The science behind it is remarkable.
Our brand-new Carbon M2 printer made it to the Team Wendy lab at the end of 2019. Over the next few months, we familiarized ourselves with this powerful new technology so we can harness the potential to make exceptionally sturdy parts that hold up to the rigors of field testing.
Compressible structures like this were previously only possible through injection molding or vacuum forming, with expensive CNC machined tooling. The difference between a Carbon 3-D printer and a typical one is its use of UV light.
The most common 3-D printers have traditionally worked by melting filament and using a printhead to build up a project layer by layer. Our Carbon printer projects a UV image into a bath of liquid resin, which hardens the resin in the shape of the image. A tray comes out of the bath and the image itself results in a continual part. It shows no trace of layered filament prone to flaking and breaking.
It all comes down to Digital Light Synthesis™. Simply put, this technology uses a mix of digital light projection, oxygen permeable optics and programmable liquid resins to produce parts that have exceptional mechanical properties, resolution and surface finish.
A project that once required multiple days can now be done overnight. Carbon has cited the process as 25-100 times faster than a traditional 3-D printer. It’s moving traditional manufacturing into the digital space, with duel resin systems powered by cloud-based technology.
While we work to perfect new ways to produce flexible components, such as military helmet liners and Team Wendy helmet pads, we’re keeping one eye on the future. Imagine hardened molded products like rail sets coming from a 3-D printer. It’s not science fiction. The potential is there.
You’re better served when we’re able to meet demand quicker. That’s why we’re excited.