LCD vs DLP technology: What are the differences between these resin 3D printing technologies? The 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.
Both of these resin 3D printing processes use a light source to cure the resin.
LCD: 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.
DLP: The digital light projector is the light source of a DLP 3D printer. The DMD (Digital Micromirror Device) is a component made of thousands of micromirrors. These micromirrors are used for navigating the light beam projected by the digital light projector.