Arkema, Carbon Deepen Materials Partnership
The France-based specialty materials company and the 3D printing firm will continue co-developing consumer-grade elastomers.
Updated on Nov. 5, 2026 in Materials Science
Arkema and Carbon have deepened their materials partnership, which has run for over 13 years around Carbon's Digital Light Synthesis technology. The two companies plan to keep developing consumer-grade elastomers.
Why it matters
Specialty materials co-developed with equipment makers can determine which consumer applications additive manufacturing is able to reach. The collaboration is positioned to unlock further consumer uses for elastomeric resins.
The partnership has lasted more than 13 years, a figure reported directly by the companies. The source does not quantify the expected scale of future elastomer development or its timeline.
The players
Arkema
Arkema is a France-based specialty materials company that supplies high-performance thermoplastic pellets, powders, and UV-curable liquid resins for 3D printing.
Carbon
Carbon is a 3D printing company whose Digital Light Synthesis technology relies on a portfolio of mostly proprietary materials.
The details
Arkema often works closely with 3D printing OEMs to co-develop and qualify specialty materials based on its chemistries, and many of Carbon's elastomeric resins were co-developed with Arkema. Carbon's rigid dual-cure, dental, and elastomeric resins have taken off in the consumer sector, and Arkema supplies thermoplastic pellets, powders, and UV-curable resins for 3D printing.
Timeline
For over 13 years: Arkema and Carbon have collaborated on Digital Light Synthesis materials.
The Big Picture
The collaboration is anchored in Carbon's Digital Light Synthesis platform, with Arkema co-developing many of its elastomeric resins. The new focus on consumer-grade elastomers extends that program into applications beyond industrial prototyping.
Consumer-grade elastomers developed through this partnership could eventually appear in everyday products such as footwear midsoles and bike saddles. The extraction does not give a date for when such products will reach the market.
The takeaway
Specialty materials partnerships between chemical suppliers and 3D printing platforms can determine which consumer products become practical. Readers following additive manufacturing should watch whether co-developed elastomers move from development into commercial footwear and sporting goods.
Further reading
Explore more Materials Science coverage for context on how specialty polymers are developed for 3D printing.
