Partnership will deliver industry’s first 3D-manufactured protective device solutions designed with unique, complex structures in new elastomers generated from Digital Light Synthesis™

LOS ANGELES & REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — January 8, 2018 — In conjunction with the 2018 International Consumer Electronics Show, Incase, creator of design-driven solutions centered on protection and mobility, and Carbon, a leading digital 3D manufacturing company, today announced a global, multi-year partnership to transform the future of device protection with a revolutionary approach to how mobile protection is designed, engineered, manufactured, and delivered.

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Building on its 20-year brand heritage of delivering advanced device protection, Incase will leverage Carbon’s innovative 3D manufacturing process – a novel approach that combines cloud-connected, data-centric hardware with over-the-air software updates and innovative materials – to fundamentally change the material composition and development of protective solutions for mobile devices. Together, Incase and Carbon will deliver the industry’s first 3D-manufactured protective mobile solutions designed with complex structures in new elastomers at scale.

Key innovative aspects of this partnership include:

• Technology: A breakthrough printing process using both light and oxygen to generate high-quality production parts, Carbon’s robust M2 printer and proprietary Digital Light Synthesis™ (DLS) technology enables the creation of complex latticing structures, newly introduced to the mobile protection space. In contrast to the properties used in traditional injection molding, the intricate lattice structures generated with DLS are engineered to offer unparalleled performance with the generation of lightweight, durable elastomeric materials, which enables Incase to provide stronger elastomer protection solutions to customers.
• Materials: Partnering with Carbon, Incase will utilize the widest range of programmable properties in additive manufacturing to create custom materials built for durability and impact-absorption – materials not found in mobile device protection today. This allows Incase and Carbon design teams to take an entirely different approach to innovating protection by designing unique, complex structures built from the ground-up using UV-curable polyurethane resin. With these materials, elaborate structures can be configured and intentionally engineered to create a semi-rigid structure and material composition to achieve unprecedented impact and drop protection.
• Design: Carbon’s algorithmic design and simulation software inform and drive Incase’s end-to-end design process in delivering greater device protection. Using Carbon’s intelligent software, designers can engineer high-performance lattices in calculated shapes optimized to absorb the maximum amount of impact in the lightest frame achievable. These capabilities also offer the ability to design, test, and adjust structures rapidly – with far more iterations than current development allows – to deliver deliberately protective solutions for devices.

“With Carbon, we’re rewriting the playbook on device protection, marking a new era in the mobility industry, covering every aspect of the business,” said Andy Fathollahi, Chief Executive Officer, Incase. “In addition to redefining device protection from a material level, our partnership with Carbon significantly changes the mobility space operationally, delivering benefits such as faster go-to-market strategies, on-demand supply chain simplification, reduced tooling and prototyping stages and customization opportunities for our customers. Together, we are effectively changing the way mobile device protection will be thought of in the future.”

“We are unlocking a new era in design and manufacturing, enabling designers and engineers to create previously impossible products and open up entirely new business models,” said Phil DeSimone, Vice President of Business Development and Co-founder, Carbon. “We are very excited to partner with Incase, fundamentally changing how device protection is designed, engineered, made, and delivered. The age of digital 3D Manufacturing is here, and we believe this will profoundly disrupt traditional manufacturing methods used to develop device protection today.”

The terms of the multi-year partnership will provide Incase with access to 20 M2 Carbon printers and the exclusive right to co-brand Carbon-printed protective mobile solutions with the Carbon name.

CES registered media can learn more about the partnership at the Incase table during the Pepcom Digital Experience event on January 8 from 7 to 10:30 p.m. at the Mirage hotel. For more information about the Incase and Carbon partnership, please visit Incase.com.

About Incase

Founded in 1997, Incase is a brand driven by design.

We design solutions centered on protection and mobility to meet the evolving demands of today's creatives. Our heritage is deeply rooted in the lifestyles of those who create on the Apple platform, and through this dedication, we are able to focus on our consumers' evolving needs and continually expand our product offering while promoting creativity and the entrepreneurial spirit.