lcd panel printing manufacturer

We have thousands of standard products that are in stock and available from our Seattle, WA and Hong Kong warehouses to support fast product development and preproduction without MOQ. The stock covers TN, STN LCD display panels, COB, COG character LCD display, graphic LCD display, PMOLED, AMOLED display, TFT display, IPS display, high brightness and transflective, blanview sunlight readable display, super high contrast ratio display, lightning fast response displays, efficient low power consumption display, extreme temperature range display, HMI display, HDMI display, Raspberry Pi Display, Arduino display, embedded display, capacitive touch screen, LED backlight etc.  Customers can easily purchase samples directly from our website to avoid time delays with setting up accounts and credit terms and shipping within 24 hours.

Many of our customers require customized OEM display solutions.  With over two decades of experience, we apply our understanding of available display solutions to meet our customer’s requirements and assist from project concept to mass production. Using your ideas and requirements as a foundation, we work side by side with you to develop ideas/concepts into drawings, build prototypes and to final production seamlessly. In order to meet the fast changing world, we can provide the fastest turnaround in the industry, it takes only 3-4 weeks to produce LCD panels samples and 4-6 weeks for LCD display module, TFT LCD, IPS LCD display, and touch screen samples. The production time is only 4-5 weeks for LCD panels and 5-8 weeks for LCD display module, TFT LCD, IPS LCD display, and touch screen.

Custom manufacturer of precision sheet metal products including card enclosures and cages, front panels and accessories as well as VME card racks. Custom electronic, electric, aluminum and computer enclosures available. Capabilities include value added electro-mechanical component assembly, design and engineering, plastic injection molding and prototyping. Services include machining, ultrasonic welding, hardware insertion, EMI/RFI shielding, hot stamping, chemical finishing and plating, anodizing, silk screening, CNC piercing and shearing and spot and heliarc welding. Markets served include telecommunications, networking, industrial controls and computer manufacturing ISO 9002 registered.

Lean manufacturing capable custom manufacturer & distributor of precision parts, components & products. Products include advertising specialties, albums, awards & recognitions, frames, fixtures, boxes, gaskets, plates, bar & restaurant supplies, badges, balls, bar code labels, name plates, barometers, brass goods, bronze goods, books, beds, liners, patterns, carvings, cases, certificates, chalkboards, coasters, consoles, control panel overlays, copper parts, cork products, crafts, desk accessories, displays, tags, decals and more. Capabilities include product design & development, laser cutting, CNC routing, CNC engraving, photo-chemical etching, art designing, bending, forming, woodworking, sand etching, dye sublimation, CMYK process, screen printing, fulfillment services, selective plating, powder coating & Kanban inventory. Markets served include aerospace, architectural, automotive, military & bio-tech. JIT delivery available.

Flat-panel displays are thin panels of glass or plastic used for electronically displaying text, images, or video. Liquid crystal displays (LCD), OLED (organic light emitting diode) and microLED displays are not quite the same; since LCD uses a liquid crystal that reacts to an electric current blocking light or allowing it to pass through the panel, whereas OLED/microLED displays consist of electroluminescent organic/inorganic materials that generate light when a current is passed through the material. LCD, OLED and microLED displays are driven using LTPS, IGZO, LTPO, and A-Si TFT transistor technologies as their backplane using ITO to supply current to the transistors and in turn to the liquid crystal or electroluminescent material. Segment and passive OLED and LCD displays do not use a backplane but use indium tin oxide (ITO), a transparent conductive material, to pass current to the electroluminescent material or liquid crystal. In LCDs, there is an even layer of liquid crystal throughout the panel whereas an OLED display has the electroluminescent material only where it is meant to light up. OLEDs, LCDs and microLEDs can be made flexible and transparent, but LCDs require a backlight because they cannot emit light on their own like OLEDs and microLEDs.

Liquid-crystal display (or LCD) is a thin, flat panel used for electronically displaying information such as text, images, and moving pictures. They are usually made of glass but they can also be made out of plastic. Some manufacturers make transparent LCD panels and special sequential color segment LCDs that have higher than usual refresh rates and an RGB backlight. The backlight is synchronized with the display so that the colors will show up as needed. The list of LCD manufacturers:

Organic light emitting diode (or OLED displays) is a thin, flat panel made of glass or plastic used for electronically displaying information such as text, images, and moving pictures. OLED panels can also take the shape of a light panel, where red, green and blue light emitting materials are stacked to create a white light panel. OLED displays can also be made transparent and/or flexible and these transparent panels are available on the market and are widely used in smartphones with under-display optical fingerprint sensors. LCD and OLED displays are available in different shapes, the most prominent of which is a circular display, which is used in smartwatches. The list of OLED display manufacturers:

MicroLED displays is an emerging flat-panel display technology consisting of arrays of microscopic LEDs forming the individual pixel elements. Like OLED, microLED offers infinite contrast ratio, but unlike OLED, microLED is immune to screen burn-in, and consumes less power while having higher light output, as it uses LEDs instead of organic electroluminescent materials, The list of MicroLED display manufacturers:

LCDs are made in a glass substrate. For OLED, the substrate can also be plastic. The size of the substrates are specified in generations, with each generation using a larger substrate. For example, a 4th generation substrate is larger in size than a 3rd generation substrate. A larger substrate allows for more panels to be cut from a single substrate, or for larger panels to be made, akin to increasing wafer sizes in the semiconductor industry.

"Samsung Display has halted local Gen-8 LCD lines: sources". THE ELEC, Korea Electronics Industry Media. August 16, 2019. Archived from the original on April 3, 2020. Retrieved December 18, 2019.

"TCL to Build World"s Largest Gen 11 LCD Panel Factory". www.businesswire.com. May 19, 2016. Archived from the original on April 2, 2018. Retrieved April 1, 2018.

"Panel Manufacturers Start to Operate Their New 8th Generation LCD Lines". 대한민국 IT포털의 중심! 이티뉴스. June 19, 2017. Archived from the original on June 30, 2019. Retrieved June 30, 2019.

"TCL"s Panel Manufacturer CSOT Commences Production of High Generation Panel Modules". www.businesswire.com. June 14, 2018. Archived from the original on June 30, 2019. Retrieved June 30, 2019.

"Samsung Display Considering Halting Some LCD Production Lines". 비즈니스코리아 - BusinessKorea. August 16, 2019. Archived from the original on April 5, 2020. Retrieved December 19, 2019.

Herald, The Korea (July 6, 2016). "Samsung Display accelerates transition from LCD to OLED". www.koreaherald.com. Archived from the original on April 1, 2018. Retrieved April 1, 2018.

"China"s BOE to have world"s largest TFT-LCD+AMOLED capacity in 2019". ihsmarkit.com. 2017-03-22. Archived from the original on 2019-08-16. Retrieved 2019-08-17.

In addition to custom LCD displays, we provide custom PCB assemblies and turnkey solutions for products that feature a Displaytech LCD. As a display manufacturer, our engineering and production staff are experienced in handling the design and manufacturing of printed circuit board assemblies for front panels, rack mount equipment, handheld devices and many other products.

Printed panels are best described as graphics installed in point-of-purchase displays. A panel isanumbrella term, meaning multiple types ofsignage at the POP (Point of Purchase)point can be referred to as printed panels. A more descriptive term for these printed panels is often described by where they may exist on the display fixture which includes the following:

POP displays with printedpanels tend to be ordered as sets destined to decorate a multi-sided display and placed at a retailer. Overall, printed panels create signage that stands out in the consumer’s vision, attracting attention, increasing sales, while providing useful product information. Printed panel signage is customized for the display fixtures and is usually an indoor application.  Printed panel display sets are always ordered together to ensure color consistency and simultaneous product delivery.

Printed panel display sets are commonly found attached to shelving or walls. They can even function as independent graphic advertisements in the right setting as a simple background with the product in front.

Common high-quality construction materials include Polystyrene (HIPS), cardstock, foam board, expanded PVC (such as Komatex and Sintra), corrugated plastic (Coroplast), acrylic, and rigid PVC. Printed panel materials should be robust and designed to resist wear and abuse inside the retail stores. Depending on the volume and the design, printed panels can be digitally printed or screen printed.

When choosing a partner to create high-quality printed panel displays, trust NGS Printing. We have been a preferred print supplier in the POP display industry for over 60 years. Our dedicated staff has the expertise and hardware to reliably meet and exceed client expectations.Our equipmentallows us to print on any substrate surface using screen or digital presses before we router or die-cut the graphics into shape.

Printed panels are also known as:Front panels, back panels, rear panels, side panels, topper panels, insert panels, bottom panels, headers, wing panels, blade panels, or main panels.

Clear, professional displays impact company success beyond retail spaces. In manufacturing and production environments, displays communicate essential information between departments, encourage compliance with safety standards and increase productivity. UniversalPromo offers creative, customizable design, engineering and printing services to Display Manufacturers for a variety of temporary and permanent displays, including:Exterior and interior signage

UniversalPromo brings over 40 years of experience to every project. For display manufacturing projects we offer two printing methods: hot stamping and pad printing. Pad printing involves a printing process that transfers two-dimensional graphics onto three dimensional surfaces using silicone pads. This method is best suited for displays with contours or irregular shapes. Hot stamping is a printing method that impresses foil or pre-dried ink onto a two-dimensional surface. The result is a fast-moving process for printing on flat surfaces with few or no errors. Both printing processes offer highly detailed results in a wide spectrum of color, opacity and finishes to match design specifications. Our team will work with you to determine which printing process will achieve the best results for your project.

For both pad printing and hot stamping processes, we complete printing services on a variety of substrates, including but not limited to the following:Polyurethane

Along with the consistency and care that factors into a great-looking end product, UniversalPromo documents all printing processes to ensure compliance and project repeatability. We complete printing projects for medical and non-medical purposes in the same facility in Maple Grove, Minnesota. In addition to documentation of the printing process, we can provide customers with material safety data sheets and certificates of compliance upon request.

LCD vs DLP technology: What are the differences between these resin 3D printing technologies? The liquid resin is contained within a vat, or tank, cured against a build platform, which slowly rises out of the tank as the part is formed, layer by layer. These two 3D printing technologies are quite similar, but here is the main difference: the light source.

LCD printing: A UV light coming from an array of LEDs shining through an LCD flashes complete layers at the resin tank. A screen is used to mask the entire image, only revealing the current layer for curing. LCD 3D printing is a cost-effective resin manufacturing technique to get big and detailed functional parts. This 3D printing technology focuses on mass manufacture and large component 3D printing for resin materials thanks to 3D printers with larger build tray developed by Photocentric for example.

DLP printing: The digital light projector is the light source of DLP 3D printers. The DMD (Digital Micromirror Device) is a component made of thousands of micromirrors that are contained within a semiconductor chip matrix. These micromirrors are used for navigating the light beam projected by the digital light projector.

In both LCD and OLED displays, producing these cells – which are highly complex – is by far the most difficult element of the production process. Indeed, the complexity of these cells, combined with the levels of investment needed to achieve expertise in their production, explains why there are less than 30 companies in the whole world that can produce them. China, for instance, has invested more than 300 billion yuan (approximately $45 billion USD) in just one of these companies – BOE – over the past 14 years.

Panox Display has been involved in the display industry for many years and has built strong and long-term partner relationships with many of the biggest OLED and LCD panel manufacturers. As a result, we are able to offer our clients guaranteed access to display products from the biggest manufacturers.

LG Display was, until 2021, the No. 1 display panel manufacturer in the world. Owned by LG Group and headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, it has R&D, production, and trade institutions in China, Japan, South Korea, the United States, and Europe.

Founded in 2001, AUO – or AU Optronics – is the world’s leading TFT-LCD panel manufacturer (with a 16% market share) that designs, develops, and manufactures the world’s top three liquid crystal displays. With panels ranging from as small as 1.5 inches to 46 inches, it boasts one of the world"s few large-, medium -and small-sized product lines.

AUO offers advanced display integration solutions with innovative technologies, including 4K2K ultra-high resolution, 3D, ultra-thin, narrow bezel, transparent display, LTPS, OLED, and touch solutions. AOU has the most complete generation production line, ranging from 3.5G to 8.5G, offering panel products for a variety of LCD applications in a range of sizes, from as small as 1.2 inches to 71 inches.

Now Sharp is still top 10 TV brands all over the world. Just like BOE, Sharp produce LCDs in all kinds of size. Including small LCD (3.5 inch~9.1 inch), medium LCD (10.1 ~27 inch), large LCD (31.5~110 inch). Sharp LCD has been used on Iphone series for a long time.

Beside those current LCDs, the industrial LCD of Sharp is also excellent and widely used in public facilities, factories, and vehicles. The Sharp industrial LCD, just means solid, high brightness, super long working time, highest stability.

Since its establishment, Truly Semiconductors has focused on researching, developing, and manufacturing liquid crystal flat panel displays. Now, after twenty years of development, it is the biggest small- and medium-sized flat panel display manufacturer in China.

Truly’s factory in Shanwei City is enormous, covering an area of 1 million square meters, with a net housing area of more than 100,000 square meters. It includes five LCD production lines, one OLED production line, three touch screen production lines, and several COG, LCM, MDS, CCM, TAB, and SMT production lines.

Its world-class production lines produce LCD displays, liquid crystal display modules (LCMs), OLED displays, resistive and capacitive touch screens (touch panels), micro camera modules (CCMs), and GPS receiving modules, with such products widely used in the smartphone, automobile, and medical industries. The LCD products it offers include TFT, TN, Color TN with Black Mark (TN type LCD display for onboard machines), STN, FSTN, 65K color, and 262K color or above CSTN, COG, COF, and TAB modules.

In its early days, Innolux attached great importance to researching and developing new products. Mobile phones, portable and mounted DVD players, digital cameras, games consoles, PDA LCDs, and other star products were put into mass production and quickly captured the market, winning the company considerable market share.

Looking forward to the future, the group of photoelectric will continue to deep LCD display field, is committed to the development of plane display core technology, make good use of global operations mechanism and depth of division of labor, promise customers high-quality products and services, become the world"s top display system suppliers, in 2006 in the global mobile phone color display market leader, become "Foxconn technology" future sustained rapid growth of the engine.

Founded in June 1998, Hannstar specializes in producing thin-film transistor liquid crystal display panels, mainly for use in monitors, notebook displays and televisions. It was the first company in Taiwan to adopt the world’s top ultra-wide perspective technology (AS-IPS).

The company has three LCD factories and one LCM factory. It has acquired state-of-the-art TFT-LCD manufacturing technology, which enables it to achieve the highest efficiency in the mass production of thin-film transistor liquid crystal display production technology. Its customers include many of the biggest and most well-known electronics companies and computer manufacturers in Taiwan and overseas.

TCL CSOT – short for TCL China Star Optoelectronics Technology (TCL CSOT) – was founded in 2009 and is an innovative technology enterprise that focuses on the production of semiconductor displays. As one of the global leaders in semiconductor display market, it has bases in Shenzhen, Wuhan, Huizhou, Suzhou, Guangzhou, and India, with nine panel production lines and five large modules bases.

TCL CSOT actively produces Mini LED, Micro LED, flexible OLED, printing OLED, and other new display technologies. Its product range is vast – including large, medium, and small panels and touch modules, electronic whiteboards, splicing walls, automotive displays, gaming monitors, and other high-end display application fields – which has enabled it to become a leading player in the global panel industry.

In the first quarter of 2022, TCL CSOT’s TV panels ranked second in the market, 55 inches, 65 " and 75 inches second, 8K, 120Hz first, the first, interactive whiteboard and digital sign plate; LTPS flat panel, the second, LTPS and flexible OLED fourth.

EDO (also known as EverDisplay Optonics) was founded in October 2012 and focuses on the production of small- and medium-sized high-resolution AMOLED semiconductor display panels.

Tianma Microelectronics was founded in 1983 and listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 1995. It is a high-tech enterprise specializing in the production of liquid crystal displays (LCD) and liquid crystal display modules (LCM).

After more than 30 years of development, it has grown into a large publicly listed company integrating LCD research and development, design, production, sales, and servicing. Over the years, it has expanded by investing in the construction of STN-LCD, CSTN-LCD, TFT-LCD and CF production lines and module factories across China (with locations in Shenzhen, Shanghai, Chengdu, Wuhan and Xiamen), as well R&D centers and offices in Europe, Japan, South Korea and the United States.

JDI (Japan Display Inc.) was established on November 15, 2011, as a joint venture between the Industrial Innovation Corporation, Sony, Hitachi, and Toshiba. It is dedicated to the production and development of small-sized displays. It mainly produces small- and medium-sized LCD display panels for use in the automotive, medical, and industrial fields, as well as personal devices including smartphones, tablets, and wearables.

Although Sony’s TVs use display panels from TCL CSOT (VA panel), Samsung. Sony still produces the world’s best micro-OLED display panels. Sony has many micro OLED model such as 0.23 inch, 0.39 inch, 0.5 inch, 0.64 inch, 0.68 inch, 0.71 inch. Panox Display used to test and sell many of them, compare to other micro OLED manufacuturers, Sony`s micro OLEDs are with the best image quality and highest brightness (3000 nits max).

Poster Display Company is an award-winning, large format, screen and digital printing company which has specialized for decades in banners, posters and other point of purchase advertising materials for multi-unit retail customers. Our high impact graphics for interior and exterior promotional signage are utilized by America"s most recognized retail brands.

LCD driven 3D printers have been the most significant invention in Additive Manufacturing in the last 7 years and have become the go to choice for high resolution, low price printing.

To appreciate the benefits of our patented LCD print technology we have summarised the differences between it and other stereolithographic (SLA) or vat polymerisation 3D printing methods

DLP projectors became a widely used alternative to lasers being able to cure a much larger area the size of a mobile phone screen at 2k and 4K resolutions. The bulb and Digital Mirror Device need replacing and calibrating. Even though it can cure an area larger than a laser beam, it cant match an LCD for resolution, reliability or cost.

The concept we invented. Using an LCD screen as a light source, an entire layer is encoded simultaneously, rather than small area by area. LCD printing benefits from one of the greatest technological advances of the last 50 years the use of visual display screens. It can produce much larger volumes than alternative methods, creating new products at rates previously unimaginable. The simplicity of the process is its strength, if using daylight as opposed to UV, the exposure is even and the machine stable for many years of use.

LCD driven 3D printers have been the most significant invention in Additive Manufacturing in the last 7 years and have become the go to choice for high resolution, low price printing.

To appreciate the benefits of our patented LCD print technology we have summarised the differences between it and other stereolithographic (SLA) or vat polymerisation 3D printing methods

DLP projectors became a widely used alternative to lasers being able to cure a much larger area the size of a mobile phone screen at 2k and 4K resolutions. The bulb and Digital Mirror Device need replacing and calibrating. Even though it can cure an area larger than a laser beam, it cant match an LCD for resolution, reliability or cost.

The concept we invented. Using an LCD screen as a light source, an entire layer is encoded simultaneously, rather than small area by area. LCD printing benefits from one of the greatest technological advances of the last 50 years the use of visual display screens. It can produce much larger volumes than alternative methods, creating new products at rates previously unimaginable. The simplicity of the process is its strength, if using daylight as opposed to UV, the exposure is even and the machine stable for many years of use.

With our earliest granted visible light patent using LCD screens stretching back to Jan 2005 and 22 granted patents and a further 20 pending all concerned in innovations in 3D printing using LCD screens, we are the undisputed innovators in both LCD 3D printing and visible light polymerisation.

We use both daylight and UV in our LCD screen printers, but we prefer using visible light as the rate of cure through depth is more even and the screen suffers no light degradation, so in practice the printer can last a lifetime.

With our earliest granted visible light patent using LCD screens stretching back to Jan 2005 and 22 granted patents and a further 20 pending all concerned in innovations in 3D printing using LCD screens, we are the undisputed innovators in both LCD 3D printing and visible light polymerisation.

We use both daylight and UV in our LCD screen printers, but we prefer using visible light as the rate of cure through depth is more even and the screen suffers no light degradation, so in practice the printer can last a lifetime.

Our printers use an array of LEDs as a light source, shining near parallel highly collimated light through the LCD panel and onto the resin layer. As an entire layer is exposed simultaneously it is highly efficient.

Our printers use an array of LEDs as a light source, shining near parallel highly collimated light through the LCD panel and onto the resin layer. As an entire layer is exposed simultaneously it is highly efficient.

LCD screens are the most cost effective and reliable visual display device on the planet which is constantly improving in resolution and lowering in price.

The invention is an improved rapid prototyping and manufacturing system having a radiant energy source mounted for directing radiant energy toward an elevator platform descendible in a vat of photopolymer liquid under computer control for curing a layer of the photopolymer upon which the radiant energy is incident. The improvement is at least two liquid crystal display panels interposed between the radiant energy source and the platform to form a variably programmable photomask. A computer is connected to each display panel for controlling the display panel cells. The computer has stored, sliced data sets representing parallel, cross-sectional patterns of an object at spaced increments.

The invention is practiced by lowering the platform at a controlled velocity algorithm as done in the prior art, preferably in stepwise increments. Selected patterns are sequentially displayed on each LCD panel as bitmaps generated from the sliced data sets to provide a series of photomasks, each photomask representing a parallel cross-section of the object at spaced increments. Preferably, an entirely opaque display pattern is displayed on the each panel during the time intervals of platform motion and one of the display panels is switched from an entirely opaque display pattern to a pattern representing a parallel, cross-section at least one liquid crystal phase cycle before the other panel is switched. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

Mounted above the platform 16 and arranged in generally vertical alignment are a UV light source 20 below which is mounted a primary liquid crystal display (LCD) panel 22 and a secondary LCD panel 24. An LCD panel is a two-dimensional grid array of contiguous liquid crystal pixels that is controlled by an electronic, digital data processing device and in the preferred embodiment of the invention by a computer 26. Ordinarily each pixel is independently addressable by an attached computer so it can be independently controlled. The pixel patterns or image can be varied electronically and dynamically by the computer during practice of the invention. The type of LCD panels used with the invention are, for example, polymer suspended liquid crystal devices and have pixels that can be alternatively switched by a control current to a transparent phase state and to an opaque phase state. This type of LCD panel has been commonly used for back lit computer displays and computer display projectors.

Although the basic unit of the LCD panel is the pixel, a block of multiple pixels can form a cell and be controlled as a unit. Preferably, however, for maximum resolution, each cell is a single pixel that is independently controlled. Additionally, LCD panels are not perfect and therefore some light transmission will occur in the opaque state and some light absorption and reflection will occur in the transparent state. Consequently, the terms opaque state and transparent state are used to mean the relatively more opaque state and the relatively more transparent state.

A lens 28 may optionally be used to focus the light transmitted through the transparent pixels of the LCD panels 22 and 24 onto the thin layer 30 of liquid photocurable liquid polymer lying on top of the platform 16 or on top of the previously cured polymer layer of the object being fabricated to form an image of the transparent pattern displayed on each LCD panel. A lens can enhance resolution and can be used to resize an image pattern.

The computer 26 is connected to the elevator prime mover 18 to control the motion and vertical position of the elevator platform 16, and is also connected to control the UV light source 20 and the LCD display panels 22 and 24. The connection to the elevator can include a position sensing signal to provide feedback for control of the elevator platform depth. The computer can be a special purpose computer or controller or preferably a general purpose computer. It should also be apparent to those skilled in the art that the computer control and data processing functions used in practicing the invention, including CAD operations to be described, can be distributed among multiple computers or consolidated in a single computer. The computer has the storage, input and output devices known to those skilled in the art.

After the vat 10 is filled with a UV curable polymer, the apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1 is initialized, as illustrated in FIG. 2, by turning on the UV light source 20, lowering the top surface of the platform 16 to a depth below the top surface of the photocurable polymer 12 to provide a liquid depth equal to the desired layer thickness and, for example, setting a counter for counting slices or layers to 0, all of which may be done as conventionally practiced in prior art techniques. For the invention, initialization also includes displaying a fully opaque pattern on the LCD panels 22 and 24; that is all pixels are switched to an opaque or black state.

Generally, a series of selected cross-sectional patterns are then sequentially displayed on the LCD panels to provide an electronically generated photomask and the elevator platform is sequentially lowered is stepwise increments. Of course, it is common for some of the cross-sectional patterns to be repetitions of previous patterns, especially when adjacent cross-sectional slices of the object are identically configured, oriented and positioned. Preferably, an entirely opaque pattern is displayed on the LCD panels between each of the time intervals when cross-sectional patterns are displayed, which is ordinarily whenever the elevator is being moved. Preferably, after the elevator has become stationary and the LCD panels are switched from entirely opaque state to the next cross-sectional pattern, the next cross-sectional pattern is displayed on one LCD panel before being displayed on the other panel rather than simply switching the displayed patterns simultaneously.

The time intervals when the LCD panels are entirely opaque are interposed between the time intervals of cross-section pattern display to accomplish several purposes. This allows more precise control of the exposure time during which the photocurable polymer is cured and solidified and avoids image blurring and partial curing in the blurred areas that can arise from vibration during motion of the elevator. This also prevents any blending or “light bleeding” in transitions from one photomask pattern to another which can result in partially or improperly cured polymer representing photomask areas that have different states in consecutive photomasks.

There are advantages to using two or more tiers or layers of LCD panels aligned along the light path but displaying identical patterns. Multiple LCD panels assist in collimating the light from the light source. The collimation improves the resolution or sharpness of the boundary between the areas that are illuminated and those that are not. If light is reflected from the surface of the polymer upwardly back toward the light source the multiple tier LCD panels limit the reflection of this light back down onto a dark portion of the photocurable polymer. Additionally, light may pass through a nominally opaque area or pixel on an LCD display as a result of a pixel defect or less than 100% opacity. In that event, the second LCD display will block such bleed-through in nominally opaque areas.

Although the two LCD panel photomasks can be switched simultaneously to the next consecutive cross-section pattern, there are advantages to switching one and, after the first is switched, switching the second. In the preferred embodiment, the second LCD panel 24 is switched from its entirely opaque state to display of a cross-section pattern and after one LCD phase change cycle, typically 1/60 second, the first LCD panel 22 is similarly switched. Although this time delay for the phase change of the LCD tiers is only a small fraction of a second, it avoids the leakage of light through areas of the LCD panel during the transitional or partial phase state change. Cure rate timing begins when the first LCD panel 22 has switched phases.

Although some of these problems could be reduced or eliminated by turning off the UV light source at selected times, such as whenever the elevator is moved and when the LCD panels are being switched, this is not preferred because it would introduce additional problems.

The UV light source can be a bulb or florescent type, or a grid array of them. Another desirable source is a grid array of UV radiating light emitting diodes, the latter being mountable closer to the uppermost LCD panel. Known UV sources can be used and should provide light distributed with relatively uniform intensity across the LCD displays.

The LCD panels may be relatively small, on the order of 1.5 to 3 inch rectangles or may be larger, such as 12 inch panels. For 3 inch panels, the panels may, for example, be spaced ¼ inch apart with the UV light source mounted, for example, 1-3 inches above the uppermost LCD panel. Larger panels may have proportionally larger spacings. More than two LCD panels may be used in the manner described above to further improve collimation of the light incident upon the thin layer of photocurable polymer. However, additional panels would add further cost.

From the above it can be seen that the principal advantage of the present invention is that it provides a very low cost alternative to known rapid prototyping and manufacturing systems. This is accomplished by eliminating expensive laser devices and their controls, eliminating the need for physical photomasks and using mature and therefore relatively inexpensive LCD technology to provide an electronically variable photomask. It is expected that equipment embodying the present invention can be profitably sold at a cost comparable to that of a laser printer, on the order of $1000 to $1500, thus enabling small companies and hobbyists to fabricate objects much like desktop publishing has allowed the low cost manufacture of relatively sophisticated publications at low cost.

The fact that the photomasks are stored as data in the present invention allows rapid, programmatic modification or editing of them via the computer for correcting errors and making modifications to the fabricated object. Also, this allows photomasks to be reused by displaying them on the LCD displays multiple time thereby eliminating the need for generating multiple, identical physical photomasks for non-consecutive display. Vertical resolution along the Z-axis is limited only by the resolution of the elevator and resolution in the X-axis and Y-axis are limited only by the resolution of the LCD panels. After a CAD/CAM system has generated the slice data, a relatively rough, low resolution object can be prototyped using fewer than all slices and instead using every Nth slice and lowering the elevator platform n times its high resolution lowering distance.

One of the things that sets us apart from other touchscreen display manufacturers is the level of customization we offer. Our product portfolio includes a wide range of TFT & Monochrome LCDs, OLED, touch sensor and glass technologies, which we can provide stand-alone or integrated into complete assemblies.