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Photocentric

HardwarePeterborough, United KingdomFounded 2002· One of 1734 Hardware companies tracked by AMPulse

Photocentric manufactures patented LCD-based 3D printers and a wide range of photopolymer resins, enabling affordable, scalable, and high-volume digital manufacturing.

CEO / Founder
Paul Holt
Team Size
51-200
Stage
Active
Total Funding
$5.58M
Latest Round
Grant
Key Investors
Innovate UK, Advanced Propulsion Centre UK, UK Government, UK Space Agency

Technology & Products

Key Products

JENI (autonomous digital mass manufacturing platform, multi-module LCD print + post-process with robotics); LC Titan (largest LCD 3D printer); LC Magna (industrial large-format LCD); photopolymer resins and production-parts service. CosmicMaker in-space printer spun out as CosmicMaker Ltd (Jun 2026).

Technological Advantage

The primary advantage is a dramatic reduction in the cost and complexity of resin 3D printers, enabling the creation of very large format machines for mass production. Vertical integration, with in-house development of both printers and photopolymer resins, allows for highly optimized and customized manufacturing solutions, giving them a significant cost and performance advantage.

Patent position

Photocentric filed 0 patent families in 2022–2024, down from 6 in 2019–2021, falling more sharply than tracked AM filings in the same patent offices, which fell -34%. AMPulse analysis

Filing momentum
0 families filed 2022–2024, 6 in 2019–2021 (-100%); all tracked AM filings in the same offices -34%
Filed in
US 57%EP 38%WO 5%
Named competitors, AM patent families
Nexa3D 90Formlabs 1143D Systems 300

21 AM patent families in total. Recent years are still being published, so read a filing change against the same-office figure.

Differentiation

Value Proposition

To enable custom mass manufacturing by providing a scalable and affordable digital manufacturing solution based on proprietary LCD 3D printing technology and vertically integrated photopolymer resin development.

How They Differentiate

Photocentric differentiates itself by focusing on cost-effective, large-format printers for mass production, whereas competitors often focus on higher-cost, specialized systems. Their invention of the core LCD printing technology and in-house resin manufacturing provide a unique cost structure and ability to tailor solutions directly to industrial-scale applications.

Market & Competition

Target Customers

Manufacturers and businesses in sectors such as industrial components, automotive, dental, and consumer goods seeking to replace traditional manufacturing methods with cost-effective, on-demand 3D printing for mass production.

Industry Verticals

Industrial, Automotive, Medical & Dental, Consumer Goods, Aerospace/Defense, Miniature Figurine Manufacturing

Competitors

Nexa3D; Formlabs; 3D Systems

Growth & Milestones

Growth Metrics

Revenue reached £16.58 million in FY 2021. Official site reports team of 150+ across UK and USA and over £40m in active R&D projects; continued US expansion (multiple JENI installs) and 2026 CosmicMaker spin-out after UKSA/ESA-backed microgravity demos.

Major Milestones

Corrected year to 2025 (see major_milestones full-array diff); Project Nexus announced 18 Mar 2025, listed under 2025 on official About timeline.

Notable Customers

Badgemaster; K Line (via SouSmile); New Era; The 3D Printing Store (3DPS); Games Workshop; Girbau (via Sculpteo)

https://photocentricgroup.com

Recent coverage of Photocentric

Official records

Filings, certifications, and programme counts AMPulse can show for this company.

  • [F] Horizon / CORDIS · 2 AM awardsProject records derived from CORDIS, the European Union research results portal, CC BY 4.0.
  • [F] Gen. 4b Solid State Li-ion battery by additive manufacturing · 2022
  • [F] Proboscidean sensitive soft robot for versatile gripping · 2019

AM patents

AM-relevant patents linked to this company.

Patents
22
Granted
7
Families
21

Leading domains: process (22), equipment (21), material (8)

Filings by year: 2019: 6 · 2018: 8 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 5

  1. METHODS FOR MAKING A METAL, SAND OR CERAMIC OBJECT BY ADDITIVE MANUFACTURE AND FORMULATIONS FOR USE IN SAID METHODS20200079966 · US
  2. METHOD OF MAKING A 3D PRINTED DENTAL ALIGNER OR MOUTHGUARD20200282639 · US
  3. METHODS FOR MAKING A METAL, SAND OR CERAMIC OBJECT BY ADDITIVE MANUFACTURE AND FORMULATIONS FOR USE IN SAID METHODS2018091891 · WO
  4. Method of automating the manufacture of 3D printed objects11097467 · US
  5. Method for Making an Object20180141268 · US

Funding rounds

  • Grant£330K2025-09-30Lead: UK Space Agency
  • Grant£299K2025-09-30Lead: UK Space Agency
  • Grant£1.9M (project; £1.4M IUK stated)2025-03-18Lead: Innovate UK
  • Grant$584.1K2024-03-20
  • Grant$2.8M2022-10-26Lead: Gov.uk

Why this company matters

AMPulse analysis, not a company disclosure

Photocentric occupies a distinctive position in polymer additive manufacturing as the inventor of LCD-based 3D printing. Its Daylight Polymer Printing (DPP) technology uses visible light from standard LCD screens to cure photopolymer resins, a method that is more cost-effective and scalable than traditional UV-based SLA or DLP approaches. This innovation allows the company to target high-volume production applications that have historically been uneconomical for resin 3D printing.

The company's product line includes the LC Titan, described as one of the world's largest LCD 3D printers, the LC Nano, positioned as the fastest LCD printer, and the JENI, an automated modular system. Photocentric develops both the printers and the photopolymer resins in-house, giving it tight control over material-process optimization and a cost structure that competitors like Formlabs, Nexa3D, and 3D Systems typically cannot match with their higher-cost, specialized systems.

Photocentric serves industrial, automotive, medical and dental, consumer goods, aerospace and defense, and miniature figurine manufacturing verticals. Named customers include Badgemaster, Games Workshop, and Girbau (via Sculpteo). The company has also formed key partnerships with BASF, Autodesk, and Sartorius, and has received multiple government grants from Innovate UK and the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK for R&D in sustainable and advanced manufacturing.

A key open question is whether Photocentric can scale its customer base beyond niche mass-production applications and compete effectively against larger, well-funded rivals in the broader photopolymer market. Its revenue reached £16.58 million in FY 2021, and the company has expanded its US headquarters to Avondale, Arizona, but sustained growth will depend on winning repeat orders from tier-1 manufacturers in automotive and medical devices.