Fig. 1: Working principle of thin-film DLP.
From: Thin-film DLP 3D printing of multi-material parts with closed-cell internal voids
a Thin-film DLP 3D printing schematic. b The resin thin film is created by a fixed film applicator spreading a resin bead as the circular build platform rotates. c After a layer is printed, residual resin (or solvent) is wiped away from the part and build platform by silicone wipers. d Comparison between DLP 3D printing methods and radar chart comparing representative photopolymerization strategies, including conventional vat-based, tape-cast, droplet-based, and the proposed thin-film DLP process. e Enclosed cavity print results: on the left, hollow prints using traditional vats versus the thin-film method are compared. While traditional printing results in entrapped resin and considerable extra weight, the thin-film method produces hollow parts with negligible amounts of entrapped resin. On the right is a cube with mm-scale closed internal cavities arranged in an face-centered cubic crystal structure.
