resin printer lcd screen manufacturer

Far more than just a device able to make calls, send emails, play music, take pictures, and share those pictures on social media, cell phones are capable of amazing feats when paired with 3D printing. They can be turned into microscopes and other medical devices, and even be used to power a 3D printer. But another trend that’s picking up steam is using your smartphone as an actual 3D printer.

Back in 2015, researchers from MIT were working to develop new algorithms that could harness polarized light from smartphones for 3D printing. That very same year, we first heard about the OLO (now called the ONO), the world’s first smartphone 3D printer. 2015 was clearly an important time for this type of work, as a professor of mechanical engineering at Taiwan Tech also created a smartphone-based 3D printer that year. In just about all of these cases, light emanating from the phone’s screen was used to cure resin, rather than using UV lights.

“Instead of using a laser or a projector to cure the polymer, we use unmodified LCD screens and our specially formulated Daylight polymer,” the company’s website reads. “All other 3D printers that polymerise resin use a combination of both daylight and UV light at considerably higher intensities. We have been able to make this work by developing the world’s most sensitive daylight resins. Utilising mass produced screens designed for use in mobiles, handheld devices enable us to use the highest resolution screens, offering phenomenal value for money, which we can then pass on to our customers. The opportunities are limitless; higher and higher resolution screens becoming available in all formats from mobiles to large format televisions provide the lowest cost imaging systems ever imagined. We call this Daylight Polymer Printing.”

While 3D printing is used for both small-scale and large-scale manufacturing across many industries, Photocentric, which holds patents in visible light curing technologies, believes that the technology still costs too much to be adopted on a wide scale. That’s why the company is focused on using the LCD screens we interact with every day on our TVs, smartphones, laptops, and tablets to transform 3D printing and make it less expensive.

To 3D print an object with resin-based 3D printers, the material is typically cured and hardened with a laser, or a digital light projector. But Photocentric is using LCD screen illumination to lower the cost of 3D printing, so that the technology can be used in more applications.

Now, Photocentric is totally focused on powering 3D printing using the illumination from LCD screens, mostly from the visible part of the spectrum, which is required when it comes to visual display screens. This could be the future of industrial 3D printing someday.

“Today it seems obvious that the highest resolution, largest format and lowest cost digital light source available is the visual display screen we all use in our pockets or on our walls,” said Paul Holt, the Founder of Photocentric. “But it can only work in 3D printing because our photopolymers can harden in light within the visible spectrum.

“We are now doing research into all formats of 3D printers with LCD screens from the nano – using tiny screens from near-eye virtual reality headsets – through to mobiles, tablets, right up to the largest TV screens. In fact, we just won a grant to manufacture what will be the largest 3D printer in the world, based on a 98-inch HDTV screen. Our goal is to change world manufacturing, not just 3D printing, by making 3D printing low cost, large scale and functional.”

In terms of making the technology more affordable, there are millions of LED screens manufactured by the electronics industry. It seems like nearly every quarter, cell phone, tablet, and TV screens change in size and affordability. If this industry takes its cue from Photocentric and focuses its R&D efforts on using these screens for 3D printing, the technology will inevitably become less expensive.

However, don’t expect to use your cell phone’s LCD screen to make large 3D printed objects. Regardless of how ingenious the idea is, the light output will likely be pretty low, and not enough to fabricate big parts. But it could be helpful when 3D printing lots of smaller objects.

“This time we are using light and a binder to fix the shape of a metal rich formulation using light from LCD screens,” Holt explained. “The object will then be slowly heated to remove the binder and sinter (fuse together) the metal. This technology can then be applied to all small-volume manufacturing of metal parts.”

Photocentric, a Peterborough-based 3D printer and materials manufacturer, has introduced the largest LCD 3D printer. The Liquid Crystal (LC) Maximus is designed to be used for mass production and large-scale prototyping.

Sally Tipping, Sales Director at Photocentric said, “LCD screen-based 3D printers have been the fastest growing area in 3D resin printing; this machine cements our position as the leading innovator in this exciting sector.”

Photocentric’s technology is referred to as Daylight Polymer Printing (DPP). DPP uses a low energy light source to polymerize liquid resins, in contrast to a high-intensity UV laser or a light projector used in SLA/DLP methods.

The light source in SLA/DLP is purpose-built, whereas Photocentric’s 3D printers use mass-produced LCD screens from mobiles, tablets, and large screen televisions. For this reason, LCD 3D printers tend to be cheaper than SLA/DLP printers but offer the same print quality.

As the DPP uses LCD screens to harden the resin, the chemistry of the liquid material needs to be different from the one used in UV printing. Photocentric manufactures and sells specific daylight resins which harden with exposure to LCD screen light.

Photocentric printers offer high quality and affordable alternative to SLA/DLP 3D printers. This year, the company’s Liquid Crystal Precision was also shortlisted for the 3D Printing Industry Award in the category of

The latest 3D printer from Photocentric, the LC Maximus, uses a 4K 40” LCD screen to cure each individual layer at an interval of 15 seconds with XY resolution of 230 microns.

The massive 700 x 893 x 510mm build size of the printer makes it ideal for mass producing parts, such as dental models and manufacturing large-scale prototypes. To demonstrate these capabilities, Photocentric is currently running a Facebook campaign.

To gain speed over its competitors, Photocentric has also announced a partnership with Germany’s BASF, the largest chemical producer in the world. The collaboration will see the development of photopolymers and 3D printers for mass production.

We invented LCD screen 3D printing- the technology has enabled the transition from just prototyping to full scale plastic part production. Since our inception we have innovated in a broad range of printing applications to increase reliability, quality while at the same time, reducing cost for the user. Our sole corporate drive combines our innovations to deliver autonomous, digital manufacturing processes for factories of the future.

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.

For example, a 5.5inch 2K Sharp04(LS055R1SX04) screen’s LCD active area is 68.04mm(H)x120.96mm(V), which marks as 120*68 printing size in the printer’s specification.

The resolution is actually the size of pixel，below is the specification of 5.5inch 2K Sharp04(LS055R1SX04) screen, which used on most 5.5inch printers such as ELEGOO Mars; Mars pro and Creality LD-002R; EPAX X1; Wanhao D7 etc. And Sharp03(LS055R1SX03) for photon and photon S, which can work with sharp04 with a 04 to 03 adapter.

Each pixel is usually composed of 3 sub-pixels, a red, a green, and a blue one. This had been one of the few features of LCD performance that remained uniform among different designs.

The LCD itself is only a light valve and does not generate light; the light comes from a backlight that is either fluorescent or a set of LEDs. Brightness is usually stated as the maximum light output of the LCD, which can vary greatly based on the transparency of the LCD and the brightness of the backlight. In general, brighter is better[citation needed], but there is always a trade-off between brightness and power consumption.

The LCD manufacture said that the transmission is around1% for normal RGB LCD under 405nv UV LED light source. The lifespan is also very shorter work with UV light,

To solve this issue, LCD manufacture is trying hard to improve the transmission such as increasing the aperture ratio, also there comes out a monochrome LCD screen that can reach about 6% transmission, With better lifespan and better printing speed.

Like with other resin printing technologies, LCD machines rely on light-activated resins to build 3D objects. They direct the UV light into areas layer by layer to solidify them. The key difference between DUP or LCD-based machines is in the light source they use. As its name states, the main component is an LCD screen, which is used under a resin tank to project patterns onto the material. Using this tool in a 3D printer commonly allows reducing the costs of such a commonly expensive technology as resin curing.

Alternatively, some DUP printers use LEDs as a source of light. They direct it through a screen or a mask, which darkens areas that don’t need to be solidified.

What are things to consider before buying a 3D Printer?With resin printers, one of the things you should be aware of beforehand is the cost of materials. To work properly, a resin tank should be filled with fresh resin, and for machines with bigger build volume, this can be a lot.

Evaluate the time and skill set that can be required for operating a certain machine. Even printers that ship pre-built require maintenance and different levels of involvement in the process.

Select technology for your specific goals. 3D printers can produce a variety of parts and a wide range of materials allows using it for various purposes. However, each 3D printing method has its limits and caters to specific needs in end parts. Thus, analyze your goal for buying a 3D printer and investigate the differences between technologies and materials to find the best one.

Check out what post-processing 3D prints require, especially if you aim for resin parts. Different technologies require more or less work after an object is ready, however, all of them will require some cleaning after the build. Certain methods mean time-consuming post-processing, which influences the level of involvement as well as increases the cost of handwork for commercial printing.

Think through what build volume is going to suit your needs. For some applications, like jewelry or miniatures, a desktop 3D printer is enough. However, for bigger projects, you may require more room in a machine and, thus, more space in a workshop.

Additive Innovation (AI), a company specializing in additive manufacturing, is now distributing the innovative 3D Printer with LCD Screens, printers and materials of the renowned English manufacturer Photocentric in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

The LC Magna 3D printer is the largest SLA printer with LCD screen currently available, according to the manufacturer. The innovative device has a 4K Ultra HD screen with 50 micron accuracy and enables a print speed of 13.3 millimeters (mm) per hour. In addition, to a build volume of 510mm x 280mm x 350mm, the printer offers high printing accuracy, allowing component designs with very fine surface textures such as leather or technical patterns to be printed in high resolution.

Photocentric’s daylight and UV resins enable economical production at material costs starting at around 35 euros per kilo. The material can be used for various applications in prototyping, mechanical engineering or in the dental and automotive industries. The materials are used in LCD, SLA and DLP 3D printers, for example, and are also compatible with 3D printers from other manufacturers such as Asiga, Envisiontec, Flashforge, Formlabs, Peopoly and Sprint Ray, according to Photocentric.

High opacity, no discoloration and perfect quality on LCD 3D-printers: our range of Premium resins will give a premium result on all open source LCD and low power DLP 3D-printers. The Premium resin range includes a tough and flexible resin for functional objects. All our resins do not emit unpleasant odor, so in-office printing will be a piece of cake!

Digital light processing (DLP) and liquid crystal display (LCD) 3D printing have similarities to stereolithography (SLA) 3D printing; each of these technologies uses a light source to cure the resin. A projector is used to cure photopolymer resins in DLP printing and UV LEDs are projected through and LCD screen for LCD 3D printing.

The process of printing using these technologies can be “top-down” or “bottom-up”. In “top-down” printing, the object being printed is lowered into the resin and returns to one layer lower than previous after each layer is cured. In “bottom-up” printing, the object being printed is pulled out of the resin and returns to one layer higher than the previous after each layer is cured. The process is repeated layer by layer until the shape is built.