Welcome to printer software v1.44. This release includes the following improvements to your print process:

Changes in how we print:

Print preparation improvements:

Printer ecosystem improvements:

Additional improvements:

M3 printers that are scheduled to receive an AO Backpack in September or October 2024 will not receive v1.44, and will instead receive a special software update upon Backpack delivery and installation. Contact [email protected] if you have subscribed to an AO Backpack for the M3 printer and would like to discuss your specific software update plans.

Additionally, certain printers are not eligible to receive this software version until they receive a no-cost hardware upgrade from Carbon’s Service and Support team. Current exclusions are as follows:

Carbon has contacted or will contact affected customers directly, but please reach out to [email protected] with any questions about the hardware configurations for your fleet of printers.

Carbon requires that customers update software regularly. With the exception of specified Version Lockable older version(s), Carbon does not support non-current software versions. If you require support but are running an unsupported software version, the first troubleshooting step is to move to a supported software version.

The following are supported printer software versions as of the publication of these release notes (August 2024):

Any feature marked as “BETA” in the user interface and/or release notes is considered by Carbon to be an Early-Access Technology. Early-Access Technologies may not be at the level of performance typical of a final product or feature offering, and such features may be altered or withdrawn by Carbon at any time and without warning.

Carbon has observed that projects featuring wide, flat surfaces in the XY plane can sometimes display print defects that present as horizontal stripes or striations on a surface that should be flat and smooth. Such defects stem from certain mesh triangulation patterns containing long triangle edges, which are sometimes negatively impacted by Carbon’s optical corrections. The defect can be most visible on the L1 and M3 Max printers, which feature a wide printing area.

To prevent further occurrence of this type of print defect, Carbon has improved our method of handling such geometries.

This change impacts projects prepared on printer software v1.44 or later, in all resins and on all printer types, and with either slicer (Default or Legacy). While all part geometries are subject to the change, parts with small features or curved surfaces (including lattices and dental applications) are unlikely to display printing differences due to a lack of long-sided triangles in the representative mesh.

Projects prepared on v1.43 or earlier are not impacted; if you have a project created on a prior software version that suffers from this print defect, consider re-creating the project on v1.44 to take advantage of this printing improvement. Note that the project must be fully re-created to access the change; duplicating a project will retain prior settings and behavior.

Preserve original model positions upon upload When a new project is created, you can now opt to preserve the original model positions (XYZ coordinates). This may be useful if you have set relative positions of parts in design software and wish to retain those positions on the print platform.

To enable this function, check “Preserve original model positions” in the project creation dialog. Leaving this box unchecked will place part(s) near the center of the platform.

Additional notes and considerations:

Move parts in Z A new option in the Layout tab allows users to set the location of parts in the Z dimension (eg, to place them at a certain height above the platform). Find this tool at the bottom of the Layout panel.

Important notes for using this functionality:

Gen2 Aligner Model Production Solution (L1) L1 printers using the Gen2 Aligner Model Production Solution (hollow models with UMA20 resin, using an appropriate Print Profile per Carbon’s instruction) will now abort a print and alert the user if solid debris is detected in the resin at the start of the print.

Any debris in the resin pool poses a hazard to printing by (a) damaging cassettes (a descending print platform can push debris into or through the cassette window) and/or (b) causing print failures or defects (when a floating piece of debris disrupts a print). Even very small fragments of cured resin or external debris (less than 1mm) can be problematic. Detection of such fragments is intended to help improve print outcomes and reduce the overall cost of operation of Carbon printers by protecting the health and longevity of cassettes.

When debris is detected, filter or replace resin before continuing. (Remember that most debris will be too small to easily spot visually in the resin.) Select “Debris Removed” to resume printing; the project that was previously disrupted will still be at the top of the print queue. An override option is available in the unlikely event that no debris can be located/removed and the print continues to abort. Be aware that using this option risks cassette damage.

Note that not all sizes and shapes of debris can be detected. Care should always be taken to keep debris out of the cassette/resin and off of the print platform.

Debris Detection is not available for other resins/workflows on the L1 printer at this time.

Pac-Dent® Rodin™ Sculpture Resin (M3 and M3 Max) When Debris Detection was introduced for M3 and M3 Max printers in printer software v1.42, Pac-Dent® Rodin™ Sculpture resin was excluded due to its thick, pudding-like consistency and non-Newtonian behavior. Carbon has now enabled Debris Detection for this resin (M3 and M3 Max printers only).

While the features described above are the most noticeable and impactful changes in this software release, there are some additional minor changes you might want to be aware of.

The above improvements build on the support editability improvements offered via v1.43; review v1.43 release notes for more information.

The following issues have been resolved with this release.

Carbon previously offered a “Reprint” functionality that printed a project again using a stored print plan and slices. Reprint was deprecated for all printers as of v1.43 (M3/Max in v1.42), and replaced with a “Print Again” functionality that supports the same workflow but with newly calculated slices and print plan.

While no new Reprints (using stored print plans and slices) could be queued/requested as of v1.43, Carbon has observed that some printers with long queues had Reprints that were enqueued using a prior software version, but printed after the installation of v1.43. On v1.43, those Reprints could still print successfully.

On v1.44, however, any previously-queued Reprints (queued using v1.42 or earlier) will not print. If you experience a print error that presents as “Internal Server Error” for a previously queued Reprint request, return to the original project and press Print Again.

Update for v1.44.0-1714.28

Resolves a bug in which printers did not display the “Preparing” screen during print preparation/processing after a user pressed “Start Print” at the printer for a project that was queued remotely (“project queued remotely” could apply to a print queued to any printer via the API, including automatically prepared prints, and/or a print prepared on Printer 1 and then queued to and started at Printer 2). While the print would eventually start despite the lack of the “Preparing” screen, the lack of the “Preparing” indication led some users to press “Start Print” multiple times, which resulted in a “Project busy” error.

Update for v1.44.0-1714.29

Introduces a new print template to reduce flashing for EPX 150 parts with fine slicing. Available for select customers based on demonstrated need.

Update for v1.44.0-1714.30

This limited-release update, provided to select early-access printers only, enables the use of the M3 and M3 Max AO Polishing Cassette with certain compatible resins. Carbon expects that the M3/Max AO Polishing Cassette will be available to all customers in 2025.

While Carbon encourages customers to stay current with software updates to access the latest features and printing improvements, we recognize that some production applications have stringent validation rules and may be better served by a stable software version. For this reason, Carbon offers a Version Lock program that allows customers to stay on a single, specified version of software for up to three years, with full support.

v1.39 is available for Version Lock, with full support through April 2026. Carbon expects to designate a new Version Lock offering in 2025 (with long-term support offered until 2028). If you are interested in placing your printer(s) on Version Lock, contact [email protected].

We love hearing from you about your workflow, your parts, and how we can improve. Reach out to the Carbon Support Team at [email protected] to share feedback.

Interested in receiving early access to new features and functionality? Contact [email protected] to be added to our Early Access user group.