Why choose Digital Light Processing (DLP)?

One of the biggest strengths of Digital Light Processing (DLP), which is one of the newer 3D Printing processes, is the material chemistries of its resins that resemble production grade materials. The DLP material range addresses a wide variety of applications needs, for functional prototyping, direct production of end-use parts and molding and casting. Available materials cover a wide range of critical properties and include rubber-like, castable, heat resistant, and rigid and durable with thermoplastic-like behaviours materials.

The DLP process is particularly suited to parts with complex structures with small cross sectional areas that require good surface finish and high strength properties.

Models produced using digital light processing are manufactured with ultra fast print speeds and parts can be turned around rapidly. This makes it a very suitable process for projects which require efficient design iteration.

DLP is ideal for low volume production as production-grade parts can be manufactured without tooling at competitive prices.

Unsure if digital light processing is the right technology for your project?

View our process comparison table

Technical specifications

Standard lead time:3- 5 days. If your project is urgent, please let a member of sales team know so that we can investigate if anything can be done to improve the lead time
Minimum feature size:0.05mm
Layer thickness:0.01-0.05mm
Tolerances:Expected tolerances are geometry and material-dependent, ranging from +/-0.10 to 0.50 per 100mm.
Max part size:124 x 70.2 x 196mm
Machines:Multiple Figure 4 stand alone printers

Please note figures provided above are expected tolerances, we cannot guarantee part tolerance.

Materials

TOUGH-BLK 20
TOUGH-BLK 20
  • Black ABS like parts
  • Production grade long-term indoor and outdoor environmental stability
  • Durable and strong
  • Excellent humidity/moisture resistance
  • High precision and smooth surface finish with exceptional sidewall quality

MED-AMB 10
MED-AMB 10
  • Amber ABS like parts
  • Thermal resistance over 100 °C
  • Rigid and translucent
  • Excellent visualization for parts requiring evaluation of internal features and their performance

MED-WHT 10
MED-WHT 10
  • White ABS like parts
  • Rigid material
  • Thermal resistance over 100 °C
  • Excellent humidity/moisture resistance

RUBBER-65A BLK
RUBBER-65A BLK
  • Black elastomer parts
  • High elongation at break
  • Shore-A of 65 (medium hard rubber)
  • Mid-tear strength, compression set, Bayshore rebound resilience

HI TEMP 300-AMB
HI TEMP 300-AMB
  • Production grade amber parts
  • Ultra-high temperature plastic for use in applications requiring high heat resistance
  • Heat deflection temperature of over 300 °C at both low and high stress
  • Translucent material so excellent visualization for parts requiring evaluation of internal features and fluid flow performance

RIGID GREY
RIGID GREY
  • Production-grade grey parts
  • Long-term environmental stability
  • High contrast grey colour good for detail visualization for textures and lettering
  • Tensile testing shows thermoplastic behaviour with necking at break
  • Features 72˚C heat deflection temperature and 30% elongation at break.

Finishing Options

LPE has a team of experienced in-house traditional model makers and a full spray-painting booth allowing us to offer our customers a range of finishing and painting options.

  • Natural

    Supported surfaces are sanded to remove support structures. Other surfaces are not sanded.

  • Standard

    Components produced using digital light processing are sanded to remove support structures and build lines and then bead blasted for an overall smooth finish.

  • Metal Plating

    It is possible to metal coat DLP components parts in a range of different metals including chrome and nickel.

  • Other paint finishes

    It is possible to give DLP parts a range of paint finishes including cosmetic (Pantone/RAL colour matching), matt, satin, spark or gloss.

Finish Options Image

Applications

Digital light processing is suitable for low volume production and one- off prototypes.

Application Rapid functional prototype parts and fast concept models

Application Investment casting patterns for jewellery

Application End use durable plastic parts

Application Short run production of plastic articles

Application Medical applications requiring biocompatibility and/or thermal resistance

Application Jigs and fixtures

Application Rapid tooling – moulds and master patterns

Application Elastomeric parts – prototypes of grommets, seals, hoses, weather-stripping, tubes, gaskets, spacers and other vibration dampening components

Why LPE?

Our in-house additive manufacturing facilities consist of multiple Figure 4 machines and a wide range of production grade materials.

As the first service bureau in the UK offering parts using a Figure Four machine, our experience using this technology is unrivalled.

LPE are an ISO 9001 & 13485 approved supplier, with over 30 years of industry experience. If requested we can provide first article inspection reports, certificates of compliance and will work with you to ensure any quality requirements in relation to your production requirements are met.  We are a supplier of 3D printed components to both large and small organisations across the UK & Ireland. LPE has the capabilities to meet all your requirements for both prototyping and low volume production.

Customer service lies at the heart of everything we do at LPE, from tailored quotes to a personalised service. If you feel you could benefit from chatting directly to an expert about your project, contact us now.

Learn more about why you should choose LPE as your preferred DLP 3D Printing partner

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How does DLP work?

DLP or Digital Light Processing refers to a method of printing that makes use of a projector as a light source to vat polymerise (cure or solidify) photosensitive polymers (photopolymers).

Each layer of the desired structure is projected into a vat of liquid resin from below. When one layer is solidified the build platform moves up by one layer in height and the process is repeated until the part is complete. The advantage of this method over traditional SLA is that the entire layer is cured in one go, whereas with SLA a laser beam has to draw the 2D image with a small beam which can take much longer.

As the part is drawn upside down through a clear window at the bottom of a tank there is no need for a re-coater in the DLP process. Removing the need for a recoating mechanism allows for smaller build layers and faster processing.

Contact us now for a fast, competitive quotation on your latest project.