Case Study: Milwaukee School of Engineering achieves injection‑mold quality, durable low‑volume production of molecular model kits with Carbon's CLIP

Manufacturing the molecule Carbon enables production for 3D Molecular Designs

Milwaukee School of Engineering’s Rapid Prototyping Center (MSOE’s RPC) needed a way to produce complex ball‑and‑stem snap‑fit components for 3D Molecular Designs’ classroom molecular kits that would withstand repeated student use. SLS nylon prototypes failed on surface finish and fatigue, while injection‑molding tooling costs made low‑volume production uneconomical, so MSOE turned to Carbon’s CLIP technology and RPU material for a solution.

Using Carbon’s CLIP (printed on the M1), MSOE produced parts with injection‑mold quality surface finish and durable snap performance, achieving tight tolerances and a zero percent scrap rate over a 500‑part run. To date 3D Molecular Designs has printed 50 kits (~1,000 parts) and plans to scale to thousands, showing Carbon enabled faster, more cost‑effective low‑volume production and made commercializing educational tools viable for small businesses.

Milwaukee School of Engineering

Vince Anewenter

Director of Rapid Prototyping Consortium