Calibration method for 3D printer and 3D printer

Abstract

A calibration method for a 3D printer and a 3D printer. The calibration method comprises: causing a second fluid extrusion head to contact a position sensor assembly along a first direction; recording a first coordinate of the extruder; causing the second fluid extrusion head to contact the position sensor assembly along a second direction; recording a second coordinate of the extruder; causing a first fluid extrusion head to contact the position sensor assembly along the first direction; recording a third coordinate of the extruder; causing the first fluid extrusion head to contact the position sensor assembly along the second direction; recording a fourth coordinate of the extruder; and determining a relative position of the first fluid extrusion head relative to the second fluid extrusion head based on the first coordinate, the second coordinate, the third coordinate, and the fourth coordinate.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of 3D printing technology, and in particular to a calibration method for a 3D printer, a 3D printer, a computer readable storage medium and a computer program product. BACKGROUND

[0002] A 3D printer, also known as a three-dimensional printer or a stereolithography printer, is a rapid prototyping device that is usually used to print materials by digital technology. A 3D printer is often used to manufacture models or parts in the fields of mold manufacturing and industrial design. In recent years, 3D printing technology has a high application prospect in the fields of jewelry, footwear, industrial design, architecture, engineering and construction (AEC), automobiles, aerospace, dental and medical industries, education, geographic information systems, civil engineering, guns and other fields.

[0003] In the existing 3D printing technology, when printing a to-be-printed object including a suspended part, an additional support part needs to be printed first, and then the 3D object is printed on the support part. Finally, after the to-be-printed object is formed, the additional support part is removed from the printed object. A mainstream method for facilitating the removal of the support part from the printed object is to additionally apply ink facilitating the separation from the printed object on the support part after the printing of the support part is completed. This requires two extrusion heads for outputting printing materials and ink, respectively, to be arranged on the 3D printer.

[0004] The methods described in this section can not necessarily be the methods that have been previously conceived or adopted. Unless otherwise indicated, nothing in this section should be assumed to be prior art merely because of its inclusion in this section. Similarly, issues mentioned in this section should not be assumed to have been admitted to be prior art in any jurisdiction unless otherwise indicated. SUMMARY

[0005] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method for calibrating a 3D printer is provided. The 3D printer includes an extruder, a first fluid extrusion head disposed on the extruder, a second fluid extrusion head disposed on the extruder, and a position sensor assembly disposed on a preset plane defined by a first direction and a second direction intersecting each other. The method includes moving the extruder along the first direction to cause the second fluid extrusion head to contact the position sensor assembly along the first direction to trigger the position sensor assembly, recording a position of the extruder in the first direction as a first coordinate in response to receiving a trigger signal from the position sensor assembly indicating that the position sensor assembly is triggered, moving the extruder along the second direction to cause the second fluid extrusion head to contact the position sensor assembly along the second direction to trigger the position sensor assembly, recording a position of the extruder in the second direction as a second coordinate in response to receiving the trigger signal from the position sensor assembly indicating that the position sensor assembly is triggered, moving the extruder along the first direction to cause the first fluid extrusion head to contact the position sensor assembly along the first direction to trigger the position sensor assembly, recording a position of the extruder in the first direction as a third coordinate in response to receiving the trigger signal from the position sensor assembly indicating that the position sensor assembly is triggered, moving the extruder along the second direction to cause the first fluid extrusion head to contact the position sensor assembly along the second direction to trigger the position sensor assembly, recording a position of the extruder in the second direction as a fourth coordinate in response to receiving the trigger signal from the position sensor assembly indicating that the position sensor assembly is triggered, and determining a relative position of the first fluid extrusion head with respect to the second fluid extrusion head based on the first coordinate, the second coordinate, the third coordinate, and the fourth coordinate.

[0006] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method for 3D printing is also provided, including performing the above-mentioned method for calibrating a 3D printer, and correcting a movement trajectory of the extruder based on the relative position of the first fluid extrusion head with respect to the second fluid extrusion head when applying a first fluid to a printed object that has been printed by the second fluid extrusion head using the first fluid extrusion head.

[0007] According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure, a 3D printer is also provided, including an extruder, a first fluid extrusion head disposed on the extruder and configured to output a first fluid, a second fluid extrusion head disposed on the extruder and configured to output a second fluid, a position sensor assembly disposed on a preset plane defined by a first direction and a second direction intersecting each other, and a processor configured to implement the above-mentioned method when executing instructions.

[0008] According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure, there is also provided a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program, wherein the computer program, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the above method.

[0009] According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure, there is also provided a computer program product comprising a computer program, wherein the computer program, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the above method. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0010] In the drawings, like reference numerals refer to same or similar components throughout the several views. These drawings are not necessarily to scale. It should be understood that these drawings are merely schematic representations, which are intended for description only and are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the present application.

[0011] Figure 1 A structural schematic diagram of a 3D printer according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0012] Figure 2 A partial structural schematic diagram of an extruder portion of a 3D printer according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0013] Figure 3 A structural schematic diagram of a position sensor assembly of a 3D printer according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0014] Figure 4 A flowchart of a calibration method for a 3D printer according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0015] Figure 5 A flowchart of a method of acquiring a first coordinate in the calibration method of Figure 4 is shown;

[0016] Figure 6 A flowchart of a method of acquiring a second coordinate in the calibration method of Figure 4 is shown;

[0017] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of first to fourth preset position selection according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0018] Figure 8 A flowchart of a 3D printing method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] In the following, only certain exemplary embodiments are simply described. As those skilled in the art will recognize, the described embodiments can be modified in various different ways without departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the drawings and descriptions are to be regarded as illustrative in nature rather than restrictive.

[0020] In practice, the ink extrusion head is usually consumable, meaning that it needs to be frequently replaced, so the ink extrusion head is generally arranged on the 3D printer in a detachable manner. The inventors find that this brings the following problem: there may be an error in the installation position each time the ink extrusion head is installed, resulting in a difference between the actual installation position of the ink extrusion head and its design value, thereby causing the ink extrusion head to be unable to apply ink at the correct target position during printing, so that the subsequent separation effect is poor.

[0021] In view of this, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a 3D printer and a calibration method for a 3D printer, which can alleviate, mitigate or even eliminate the above-mentioned problems.

[0022] The 3D printer according to the embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figures 1 to 3 The 3D printer according to the embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figure 1 A structural schematic diagram of a 3D printer 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown, Figure 2 A partial structural schematic diagram of an extruder 140 part of the 3D printer 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown, Figure 3 A structural schematic diagram of a position sensor assembly 130 of the 3D printer 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0023] As shown in Figure 1 The 3D printer 100 includes a print platform 133 (not shown in the figure), an extruder 140, a position sensor assembly 130, a controller 150, and a power supply 160. Figure 1The 3D printer 100 includes an extruder 140, a first fluid extrusion head 110, a second fluid extrusion head 120, a position sensor assembly 130, a first guide rod 170, a second guide rod 180, a drive mechanism, and a processor 190. The drive mechanism drives the extruder 140. In this embodiment, the drive mechanism includes a first motor 150 and a second motor 160. A printing platform 133 is disposed at the bottom of the 3D printer 100 and is used to support the object to be printed. Its upper surface is a printing plane. The space above the printing platform 133 is a printing space for printing the object to be printed. The extruder 140 can move within the printing space to control the corresponding extrusion head to apply fluid for printing toward the printing plane. The first guide rod 170 and the second guide rod 180 are two intersecting guide rods. The first guide rod 170 extends along a first direction, and the second guide rod 180 extends along a second direction. The extruder 140 is disposed on these two guide rods and can move bidirectionally on the first guide rod 170 and the second guide rod 180, respectively. The printing plane can be parallel to both the first guide rod 170 and the second guide rod 180, meaning the printing plane can be defined by intersecting first and second directions. A first motor 150, for example, is mounted on the first guide rod 170 and connected to the extruder 140, driving the extruder 140 to reciprocate in the first direction where the first guide rod 170 is located. A second motor 160, for example, is mounted on the second guide rod 180 and connected to the extruder 140, driving the extruder 140 to reciprocate in the second direction where the second guide rod 180 is located. In this embodiment, the first and second directions can be perpendicular to each other. For ease of description, the first direction is defined as the negative direction of the X direction, and the second direction as the negative direction of the Y direction. The extruder 140 can be driven by the first motor 150 and the second motor 160 to move in the XY plane of the printing space. The processor 190 can be electrically connected to the first motor 150 and the second motor 160 respectively, and calculate the position of the extruder 140 in the XY plane of the printing space at a certain moment based on the specific movement process of the extruder 140.

[0024] like Figure 2 As shown, both the first fluid extrusion head 110 and the second fluid extrusion head 120 are mounted on the extruder 140. The first fluid extrusion head 110 is generally a consumable and needs frequent replacement; therefore, it is detachably mounted on the extruder 140 for easy replacement. Figure 2As shown, the first fluid extrusion head 110 is arranged downward (towards the printing platform 133) for applying the first fluid to the object to be printed. Exemplarily, the first fluid extrusion head 110 can be arranged on the extruder 140 by means of a clamping. The second fluid extrusion head 120 is a non-consumable and is fixedly arranged on the extruder 140 and is also arranged downward (towards the printing platform 133) for applying the second fluid to the object to be printed. There is a certain interval between the first fluid extrusion head 110 and the second fluid extrusion head 120 to prevent mutual interference between the two extrusion heads.

[0025] The first fluid and the second fluid described above can be different fluids used for 3D printing. In the present embodiment, the first fluid can be a release material and the second fluid can be a printing material. The printing material is a build material that forms the object to be printed (or target object). The release material can be applied between two parts formed by the printing material to facilitate separation of the two parts. Examples of the printing material include, but are not limited to, liquid photosensitive resin, powder material nylon, etc. The release material can be, for example, ink.

[0026] Although in the present embodiment the first fluid is a release material and the second fluid is a printing material, it can be understood that in other embodiments of the present application, the first fluid can be a printing material and the second fluid can be a release material, or the first fluid and the second fluid can be printing materials of different materials. In addition, in the present embodiment, the first fluid extrusion head 110 is detachably arranged on the extruder and the second fluid extrusion head 120 is fixedly arranged on the extruder, but it can also be understood that in other embodiments of the present application, the second fluid extrusion head 120 is detachably arranged on the extruder and the first fluid extrusion head 110 is fixedly arranged on the extruder, or both fluid extrusion heads are arranged on the extruder in a fixed / detachable manner. In summary, the implementation of the present application is not limited by the material types of the first fluid, the second fluid, and the mounting manners of the first fluid extrusion head 110 and the second fluid extrusion head 120.

[0027] The position sensor assembly 130 can be disposed on a preset plane (e.g., the printing plane of the printing platform 133). It can be fixedly disposed on the preset plane or detachably disposed on the preset plane. In this embodiment, the position sensor assembly 130 is detachably disposed on the printing platform 133. When calibrating the 3D printer, the position sensor assembly 130 can be installed on the printing platform 133. During actual 3D printing, the position sensor assembly 130 can be removed from the printing platform 133 to prevent it from affecting the printing operation. The aforementioned position sensor assembly 130 may include a first position sensor 131 disposed in a first direction (i.e., the X direction) and a second sensor disposed in a second direction (i.e., the Y direction). A position sensor is a sensor that can sense the position of the measured object and convert it into a usable output signal. Specifically, as... Figure 3 As shown, the first position sensor 131 and the second position sensor 132 can be disposed on the upper surface of the printing platform 133 to form a position sensor assembly (for the sake of simplifying the figures, Figure 3 (Only a portion of the printing platform 133 is shown), with two sensors positioned perpendicular to each other. To prevent interference between the two position sensors, they can be spaced apart in the X and Y directions, respectively. In some examples, the first position sensor 131 and the second position sensor 132 can be microswitches. The microswitch representing the first position sensor 131 is positioned towards the X direction, and when a measured object touches and triggers the microswitch, it can generate a trigger signal to sense the position information of the measured object in the X direction. The microswitch representing the second position sensor 132 is positioned towards the Y direction, and when a measured object touches and triggers the microswitch, it can generate a trigger signal to sense the position information of the measured object in the Y direction.

[0028] The processor 190 is configured to implement operations including causing the extruder 140 to move along the first direction to bring the second fluid extrusion head 120 to contact the position sensor assembly 130 along the first direction to trigger the position sensor assembly 130, recording a position of the extruder 140 along the first direction as a first coordinate in response to receiving a trigger signal from the position sensor assembly 130 indicating that the position sensor assembly 130 is triggered, causing the extruder 140 to move along the second direction to bring the second fluid extrusion head 120 to contact the position sensor assembly 130 along the second direction to trigger the position sensor assembly 130, recording a position of the extruder 140 along the second direction as a second coordinate in response to receiving a trigger signal from the position sensor assembly 130 indicating that the position sensor assembly 130 is triggered, causing the extruder 140 to move along the first direction to bring the first fluid extrusion head 110 to contact the position sensor assembly 130 along the first direction to trigger the position sensor assembly 130, recording a position of the extruder 140 along the first direction as a third coordinate in response to receiving a trigger signal from the position sensor assembly 130 indicating that the position sensor assembly 130 is triggered, causing the extruder 140 to move along the second direction to bring the first fluid extrusion head 110 to contact the position sensor assembly 130 along the second direction to trigger the position sensor assembly 130, recording a position of the extruder 140 along the second direction as a fourth coordinate in response to receiving a trigger signal from the position sensor assembly 130 indicating that the position sensor assembly 130 is triggered, and determining a relative position of the first fluid extrusion head 110 relative to the second fluid extrusion head 120 according to the first coordinate, the second coordinate, the third coordinate, and the fourth coordinate.

[0029] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a calibration method for a 3D printer 100 is also provided. The calibration method will be described in detail below with reference to Figures 4 to 7 The calibration method will be described in detail below with reference to

[0030] Figure 4 A flow chart of a calibration method 400 for a 3D printer 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. The 3D printer 100 includes an extruder 140, a first fluid extrusion head 110 disposed on the extruder 140, a second fluid extrusion head 120 disposed on the extruder 140, and a position sensor assembly 130 disposed on a preset plane, the preset plane being defined by a first direction and a second direction intersecting each other. As shown, the method 400 includes: Figure 4

[0031] Step 401, causing the extruder 140 to move along the first direction to bring the second fluid extrusion head 120 to contact the position sensor assembly 130 along the first direction to trigger the position sensor assembly 130; ​

[0032] Step 402, in response to receiving the trigger signal from the position sensor assembly 130 indicating that the position sensor assembly 130 is triggered, recording the position of the extruder 140 in the first direction as a first coordinate;

[0033] Step 403, moving the extruder 140 along the second direction to drive the second fluid extrusion head 120 to contact the position sensor assembly 130 along the second direction, thereby triggering the position sensor assembly 130;

[0034] Step 404, in response to receiving the trigger signal from the position sensor assembly 130 indicating that the position sensor assembly 130 is triggered, recording the position of the extruder 140 in the second direction as a second coordinate;

[0035] Step 405, moving the extruder 140 along the first direction to drive the first fluid extrusion head 110 to contact the position sensor assembly 130 along the first direction, thereby triggering the position sensor assembly 130;

[0036] Step 406, in response to receiving the trigger signal from the position sensor assembly 130 indicating that the position sensor assembly 130 is triggered, recording the position of the extruder 140 in the first direction as a third coordinate;

[0037] Step 407, moving the extruder 140 along the second direction to drive the first fluid extrusion head 110 to contact the position sensor assembly 130 along the second direction, thereby triggering the position sensor assembly 130;

[0038] Step 408, in response to receiving the trigger signal from the position sensor assembly 130 indicating that the position sensor assembly 130 is triggered, recording the position of the extruder 140 in the second direction as a fourth coordinate; and

[0039] Step 409, determining the relative position of the first fluid extrusion head 110 relative to the second fluid extrusion head 120 according to the first coordinate, the second coordinate, the third coordinate and the fourth coordinate.

[0040] The calibration method of the present embodiment uses the position sensor assembly 130 to obtain the relative position relationship between the two different extrusion heads, so that in the subsequent 3D printing process, the first fluid can be accurately applied to the target position on the 3D object to be printed.

[0041] In step 401, the processor 190 sends a control command to the drive mechanism, causing the drive mechanism to drive the extruder 140 to move along the first direction, and causing the second fluid extrusion head 120 on the extruder 140 to gradually approach and eventually contact the position sensor assembly 130. In specific operation, the second motor 160 in the drive mechanism can stop working, and the first motor 150 in the drive mechanism drives the extruder 140 to move along the X direction. In this embodiment, as... Figure 1 As shown, the extruder 140 can be driven to move at a constant speed in the negative X direction, and its speed is less than a first preset speed to prevent excessive collision force between the second fluid extrusion head 120 and the position sensor assembly 130. The aforementioned first preset speed can be set, for example, according to the size of the printing platform 133. When the second fluid extrusion head 120 contacts and triggers the position sensor assembly 130, the position sensor assembly 130 generates a trigger signal (e.g., an electrical signal).

[0042] In step 402, the processor 190 receives the aforementioned trigger signal and acquires the position of the extruder 140 in the X direction when the second fluid extrusion head 120 contacts and triggers the position sensor assembly 130. In this embodiment, the processor 190 may include a position calculation unit, which can calculate the real-time position of the extruder 140 based on the drive commands received by the drive mechanism. For example, the drive commands may include data such as drive speed and drive time, and the position calculation unit can obtain the position after movement based on these data and the position of the extruder 140 before movement. When the processor 190 receives the aforementioned trigger signal, it can use the position calculation unit to acquire the current position of the extruder 140 in the X direction as the first coordinate.

[0043] In step 403, the processor 190 sends a control command to the drive mechanism, causing the drive mechanism to drive the extruder 140 to move along the second direction, and causing the second fluid extrusion head 120 on the extruder 140 to gradually approach and eventually contact the position sensor assembly 130. Specifically, contrary to step 401, the first motor 150 in the drive mechanism can stop working, and the second motor 160 in the drive mechanism drives the extruder 140 to move along the Y direction. In this embodiment, the extruder 140 can move at a constant speed along the Y direction, and its speed can be less than a first preset speed. When the second fluid extrusion head 120 contacts and triggers the position sensor assembly 130, the position sensor assembly 130 generates a trigger signal (e.g., an electrical signal).

[0044] In step 404, the processor 190 receives the trigger signal described above and acquires the position of the extruder 140 in the Y direction at the time when the second fluid extrusion head 120 contacts and triggers the position sensor assembly 130. Specifically, at the time when the processor 190 receives the trigger signal described above, the position of the extruder 140 in the Y direction at the current time can be acquired by the position calculation unit as the second coordinate.

[0045] It should be noted that the steps 401-402 and the steps 403-404 described above can be exchanged in sequence, i.e., the steps 403 and 404 (positioning of the extruder 140 in the Y direction) can be performed first, and then the steps 401 and 402 (positioning of the extruder 140 in the X direction) can be performed. The implementation of the present embodiment is not affected by the above execution sequence.

[0046] The steps 405-406 and the steps 401-402 have substantially the same operation process, except that in step 405, the control instruction causes the first fluid extrusion head 110 (rather than the second fluid extrusion head 120) on the extruder 140 to gradually approach and eventually contact the position sensor assembly 130. Accordingly, in step 406, the position of the extruder 140 in the X direction at the time when the first fluid extrusion head 110 (rather than the second fluid extrusion head 120) contacts and triggers the position sensor assembly 130 is recorded as the third coordinate.

[0047] The steps 407-408 and the steps 403-404 have substantially the same operation process, except that in step 407, the control instruction causes the first fluid extrusion head 110 (rather than the second fluid extrusion head 120) on the extruder 140 to gradually approach and eventually contact the position sensor assembly 130. Accordingly, in step 408, the position of the extruder 140 in the Y direction at the time when the first fluid extrusion head 110 (rather than the second fluid extrusion head 120) contacts and triggers the position sensor assembly 130 is recorded as the fourth coordinate.

[0048] It should be noted that the steps 405-406 and the steps 407-408 described above can also be exchanged in sequence, i.e., the steps 407 and 408 (positioning of the extruder 140 in the Y direction) can be performed first, and then the steps 405 and 406 (positioning of the extruder 140 in the X direction) can be performed. The implementation of the present embodiment is not affected by the above execution sequence.

[0049] In addition, steps 401-404 and steps 405-408 can also be exchanged in sequence as a whole, that is, steps 405-408 can be executed first (to determine the position of the extruder 140 when the first fluid extrusion head 110 contacts the position sensor assembly 130), and then steps 401-404 are executed (to determine the position of the extruder 140 when the second fluid extrusion head 120 contacts the position sensor assembly 130). The implementation of the present embodiment is not affected by the above execution order.

[0050] In step 409, the coordinate difference ΔX between the first fluid extrusion head 110 and the second fluid extrusion head 120 in the X direction can be obtained according to the first coordinate and the third coordinate, and the coordinate difference ΔY between the first fluid extrusion head 110 and the second fluid extrusion head 120 in the Y direction can be obtained according to the second coordinate and the fourth coordinate. Specifically, in the case where the outer diameters of the first fluid extrusion head 110 and the second fluid extrusion head 120 are the same, the third coordinate can be directly subtracted from the first coordinate to obtain the coordinate ΔX of the first fluid extrusion head 110 relative to the second fluid extrusion head 120 in the X direction, and the fourth coordinate can be directly subtracted from the second coordinate to obtain the coordinate ΔY of the first fluid extrusion head 110 relative to the second fluid extrusion head 120 in the Y direction. If the outer diameters of the first fluid extrusion head 110 and the second fluid extrusion head 120 are different, the difference in the outer diameters of the two extrusion heads also needs to be considered when calculating the coordinates of the first fluid extrusion head 110 relative to the second fluid extrusion head 120 in the X direction and in the Y direction.

[0051] Figure 5 A method 500 for obtaining the first coordinate in the calibration method of the position sensor assembly 130 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is shown in the flowchart. In the present embodiment, the position sensor assembly 130 includes a first position sensor 131 in the X direction and a second position sensor 132 in the Y direction. As shown in FIG. 5, the method includes the following steps. Figure 4 Figure 5

[0052] Step 501, moving the extruder 140 to a first preset position at which the movement trajectory of the second fluid extrusion head 120 in the first direction to the first position sensor 131 is not blocked by the first fluid extrusion head 110;

[0053] Step 502, adjusting the position of the extruder 140 in the second direction so that the second fluid extrusion head 120 is aligned with the first position sensor 131 in the second direction;

[0054] Step 503, moving the extruder 140 in the first direction towards the first position sensor 131 so that the second fluid extrusion head 120 contacts and triggers the first position sensor 131;

[0055] ​​Step 504: In response to receiving a trigger signal from the first position sensor 131 indicating that the first position sensor 131 has been triggered, the position of the extruder 140 in the first direction is recorded as the first coordinate.

[0056] In step 501, before driving the extruder 140 to move along the first direction, the extruder 140 is first moved to a preset initial position, namely the first preset position. During the subsequent driving of the extruder 140 to move along the first direction, the first preset position can ensure that the first fluid extrusion head 110 does not contact the first position sensor 131 or ensure that the second fluid extrusion head 120 contacts the first position sensor 131 before the first fluid extrusion head 110. Figure 7 A schematic diagram 700 shows the selection of a first to a fourth preset position according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. In this embodiment, as... Figure 7 As shown, the coordinate difference between the first fluid extrusion head 110 and the second fluid extrusion head 120 is small in the Y direction and large in the X direction. In other words, the two extrusion heads are largely overlapped in the Y direction, but there is a certain gap in the X direction. Therefore, when the extruder 140 drives the second fluid extrusion head 120 / first fluid extrusion head 110 to move along the first direction (the negative direction of the X direction) to contact the first position sensor 131, there is a possibility of interference between the two fluid extrusion heads. For example, in the implementation Figure 4 In step 401 of the method, if selected Figure 7 If position C is taken as the first preset position, then the first fluid extrusion head 110 will contact the first position sensor 131 before the second fluid extrusion head 120, thereby interfering with the contact of the second fluid extrusion head 120. Therefore, in this case, it is possible to select... Figure 6 Position A is designated as the first preset position, at which the position sensor assembly 130 is located between the first fluid extrusion head 110 and the second fluid extrusion head 120. Subsequently, the extruder 140 can be driven to move along the negative X-axis, allowing the second fluid extrusion head 120 to contact the first position sensor 131 without obstruction.

[0057] In step 502, after the extruder 140 reaches the first preset position, it is first moved along the Y direction to align the second fluid extrusion head 120 with the first position sensor 131, which will subsequently need to make contact. This alignment process can be performed automatically by the 3D printer. For example, the 3D printer can obtain the pre-calibrated coordinates of the first position sensor 131 on the Y axis, and then adjust the position of the extruder 140 on the Y axis so that the coordinates of the second fluid extrusion head 120 in the Y direction are the same as the coordinates of the first position sensor 131 on the Y axis. In other embodiments of this disclosure, alignment can also be performed manually.

[0058] Since the second fluid extrusion head 120 and the first position sensor 131 have been aligned in step 502, the second fluid extrusion head 120 can accurately contact and trigger the first position sensor 131 in step 503.

[0059] Figure 6 A flow chart of a method 600 of acquiring a second coordinate in a calibration method of a position sensor assembly according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 4 The position sensor assembly includes a first position sensor 131 in the X direction and a second position sensor 132 in the Y direction. As shown in Figure 6 The method includes:

[0060] Step 601, moving the extruder 140 to a second preset position at which a movement trajectory of the second fluid extrusion head 120 along the second direction to the second position sensor 132 is not blocked by the first fluid extrusion head 110;

[0061] Step 602, adjusting the position of the extruder 140 in the first direction so that the second fluid extrusion head 120 is aligned with the second position sensor 132 in the first direction;

[0062] Step 603, moving the extruder 140 along the second direction towards the second position sensor 132 so that the second fluid extrusion head 120 contacts and triggers the second position sensor 132;

[0063] Step 604, in response to receiving a trigger signal from the second position sensor 132 indicating that the second position sensor 132 is triggered, recording the position of the extruder 140 in the second direction as a second coordinate.

[0064] In step 601, before driving the extruder 140 to move along the second direction, the extruder 140 is first moved to a preset initial position, i.e. the second preset position. The second preset position can ensure that the first fluid extrusion head 110 does not contact the second position sensor 132 or ensure that the second fluid extrusion head 120 contacts the second position sensor 132 before the first fluid extrusion head 110 during subsequent driving of the extruder 140 to move along the second direction. In the present embodiment, as shown in Figure 7 The coordinate difference of the first fluid extrusion head 110 and the second fluid extrusion head 120 in the X direction is large, and the coordinate difference in the Y direction is small. When driving the extruder 140 to move the second fluid extrusion head 120 along the Y direction to contact the second position sensor 132, the Figure 7The second preset position can be selected as position B in the figure, at which only the second fluid extrusion head 120 faces the second position sensor 132. Subsequently, the extruder 140 can be driven to move along the negative direction of the Y axis, and the second fluid extrusion head 120 can contact the second position sensor 132 without any obstacles.

[0065] In step 602, after the extruder 140 is driven to reach the second preset position, the extruder 140 is first driven to move along the X direction so as to align the second fluid extrusion head 120 with the second position sensor 132 which needs to be contacted subsequently. The alignment process can be automatically performed by the 3D printer. For example, the 3D printer can obtain the coordinates of the second position sensor 132 on the X axis which are calibrated in advance, and then adjust the position of the extruder 140 on the X axis so that the coordinates of the second fluid extrusion head 120 in the X direction are the same as the coordinates of the second position sensor 132 on the X axis. In some other embodiments of the present disclosure, the alignment can also be performed manually.

[0066] Since the second fluid extrusion head 120 and the second position sensor 132 have been aligned in step 602, in step 603, the second fluid extrusion head 120 can accurately contact and trigger the second position sensor 132.

[0067] The selection of the initial position of the movement process of the first fluid extrusion head 110 contacting the position sensor assembly 130 (i.e., the third preset position and the fourth preset position) and the selection of the first preset position and the second preset position are similar, that is, the third preset position and the fourth preset position need to ensure that the movement trajectory of the first fluid extrusion head 110 to the first position sensor 131 / second position sensor 132 along the first direction / second direction is not blocked by the second fluid extrusion head 120. In addition, before driving the extruder 140 to drive the first fluid extrusion head 110 to contact the first position sensor 131 / second position sensor 132, the positions of the first fluid extrusion head 110 and the first position sensor 131 / second position sensor 132 also need to be aligned. As shown in FIG. 6B, in the present embodiment, the third preset position can be selected as position C in the figure, and the fourth preset position can be selected as position D in the figure. Figure 7

[0068] In summary, the method of obtaining the third coordinates and the fourth coordinates is basically the same as the method of obtaining the first coordinates and the second coordinates, which will not be described in detail here. However, it should be noted that the selection of the first preset position to the fourth preset position depends on the placement position of the first position sensor 131 / second position sensor 132 and the relative position relationship between the first fluid extrusion head 110 and the second fluid extrusion head 120. For example, in some other embodiments of the present disclosure, the first fluid extrusion head 110 and the second fluid extrusion head 120 are arranged at positions opposite to each other on the X axis, and the first position sensor 131 / second position sensor 132 is arranged at a position between the first fluid extrusion head 110 and the second fluid extrusion head 120 on the X axis. Figure 7 ​For example, in some embodiments of the present disclosure, the first fluid extrusion head 110 and the second fluid extrusion head 120 are arranged in a manner that the first fluid extrusion head 110 is located on the left side of the second fluid extrusion head 120. In this case, the first preset position is set such that the position sensor assembly 130 is located between the two fluid extrusion heads, while the second preset position is set such that the position sensor assembly 130 is not located between the two fluid extrusion heads. For another example, in some embodiments of the present disclosure, the first fluid extrusion head 110 and the second fluid extrusion head 120 are arranged in a manner that the coordinate difference between the two fluid extrusion heads in the X direction is small, while the coordinate difference between the two fluid extrusion heads in the Y direction is large. In other words, the two fluid extrusion heads are substantially coincident in the X direction, and there is a certain interval between the two fluid extrusion heads in the Y direction. Therefore, when the extruder 140 drives the second fluid extrusion head 120 / the first fluid extrusion head 110 to move along the second direction (the negative direction of the Y direction) to contact the second position sensor 132, there is a possibility that the two fluid extrusion heads interfere with each other. In this case, the second preset position (or the fourth preset position) is set such that the position sensor assembly is located between the two fluid extrusion heads, so as to prevent the first fluid extrusion head 110 from interfering with the second fluid extrusion head 120 (or prevent the second fluid extrusion head 120 from interfering with the first fluid extrusion head 110). In summary, the first preset position to the fourth preset position need to be set according to the actual situation to avoid interference between the two fluid extrusion heads, and here all possible cases are not listed one by one.

[0069] In some embodiments, the first position sensor 131 and the second position sensor 132 are further arranged such that, when either of the first fluid extrusion head 110 and the second fluid extrusion head 120 contacts and triggers the first position sensor 131 along the first direction, the second position sensor 132 is not triggered by the first fluid extrusion head 110 and the second fluid extrusion head 120; and when either of the first fluid extrusion head 110 and the second fluid extrusion head 120 contacts and triggers the second position sensor 132 along the second direction, the first position sensor 131 is not triggered by the first fluid extrusion head 110 and the second fluid extrusion head 120. In this embodiment, the first position sensor 131 and the second position sensor 132 can be arranged to be spaced apart by a preset distance in both the X direction and the Y direction, so as to prevent mutual interference between the two position sensors. For example, the preset distance can be set to be greater than the outer diameter of the first fluid extrusion head 110 and the second fluid extrusion head 120. In this way, during the process that, for example, the first fluid extrusion head 110 contacts the first position sensor 131, the second fluid extrusion head 120 can hardly contact the second position sensor 132.

[0070] The following will further combine Figure 8 The following will further combine Figure 8A flowchart of a 3D printing method 800 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. The method 800 includes:

[0071] Step 801: Perform the calibration method described above for the 3D printer 100.

[0072] Step 802: Printing is performed using the second fluid extrusion head 120.

[0073] Step 803: When applying the first fluid to the printed object that has been printed by the second fluid extrusion head 120 using the first fluid extrusion head 110, the movement trajectory of the extruder 140 is corrected according to the relative position of the first fluid extrusion head 110 relative to the second fluid extrusion head 120.

[0074] In this embodiment, the first fluid can be a release material, and the second fluid can be a printing material. The printing material is the building material that ultimately forms the object to be printed (or the target object). The release material can be applied between the two parts formed by the printing material to facilitate separation between them. For example, when printing a suspended portion in a 3D object, the processor 190 first controls the extruder 140 to print a support portion using the second fluid extrusion head 120, and then controls the extruder 140 to apply release material to the upper surface of the support portion using the first fluid extrusion head 110. Next, the 3D object itself is printed. After forming, the support portion is removed from the entire printed object to obtain the object to be printed.

[0075] In step 801, the following can be utilized: Figure 4 The calibration method shown yields the relative position (ΔX, ΔY) of the first fluid extrusion head 110 relative to the second fluid extrusion head 120.

[0076] In step 802, the support portion is printed using the second fluid extrusion head 120 according to the actual shape of the object to be printed.

[0077] The first fluid is applied on the print object formed in step 802 by the first fluid extrusion head 110. It can be understood that due to the position difference between the first fluid extrusion head 110 and the second fluid extrusion head 120, the movement trajectory of the first fluid extrusion head 110 needs to be corrected to ensure that the first fluid is accurately applied on the print support part. In step 803, the movement trajectory of the first fluid extrusion head 110 can be corrected according to the relative position (ΔX, ΔY) obtained in step 801. Specifically, the movement trajectory of the extruder 140 when the second fluid extrusion head 120 prints the support part can be obtained first, and the movement trajectory is translated by the absolute value of the relative position in the opposite direction of the relative position (ΔX, ΔY) to obtain the movement trajectory of the first fluid extrusion head 110. The extruder 140 is controlled to drive the first fluid extrusion head 110 to print using the corrected movement trajectory, which can ensure that the first fluid is accurately applied on the support part.

[0078] The above-described printing method 800 is described for the first fluid being a release material. However, it can be understood that in some other embodiments of the present application, the first fluid and the second fluid can be printing materials of different materials, for example, printing materials of different colors. The first fluid and the second fluid can form two parts of different colors of the final printed object, respectively. In the printing method of this embodiment, the first part formed by the second fluid can be printed first, and then the first fluid is applied on the first part to form the second part. When the first fluid is applied, the movement trajectory of the extruder 140 is corrected using the relative position (ΔX, ΔY).

[0079] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a non-transitory computer readable storage medium is also provided, which stores a computer program, wherein the computer program is executed by the processor 190 to implement the steps of the method in any embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0080] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a computer program product is also provided, wherein the computer program is executed by the processor 190 to implement the steps of the method in any embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0081] It should be understood that the steps can be reordered, added or deleted using the various forms of flowcharts shown above. For example, the steps described in the present disclosure can be executed in parallel, or in sequence or in different order, as long as the desired results of the technical solutions disclosed in the present disclosure can be achieved, which is not limited herein.

[0082] It should be understood that, in the present specification, the terms "center", "longitudinal", "transverse", "length", "width", "thickness", "upper", "lower", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", "axial", "radial", "circumferential", and the like indicate the orientation or positional relationship or dimensions based on the orientation or positional relationship or dimensions shown in the drawings, and the use of these terms is only for the convenience of description, and does not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

[0083] In addition, the terms "first", "second", "third", and the like are only used for description purposes and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Therefore, the features defined as "first", "second", "third" can explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of the present disclosure, the meaning of "a plurality of" is two or more, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited.

[0084] In the present disclosure, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "mounting", "connection", "connection", "fixing" and the like should be understood broadly, for example, it can be fixedly connected, or it can be detachably connected, or it can be integrated; it can be mechanically connected, or it can be electrically connected, or it can be communicated; it can be directly connected, or it can be indirectly connected through an intermediate medium; it can be the communication or interaction relationship between two elements. For those skilled in the art, the specific meaning of the above terms in the present disclosure can be understood according to the specific circumstances.

[0085] In the present disclosure, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the first feature "on" or "under" the second feature can include that the first and second features are in direct contact, or that the first and second features are not in direct contact but are in contact through another feature between them. Moreover, the first feature "on", "above" and "on" the second feature includes that the first feature is directly above and obliquely above the second feature, or only indicates that the horizontal height of the first feature is higher than that of the second feature. The first feature "under", "below" and "under" the second feature includes that the first feature is directly below and obliquely below the second feature, or only indicates that the horizontal height of the first feature is less than that of the second feature.

[0086] The present specification provides many different embodiments or examples of how the present disclosure can be implemented. It should be understood that these different embodiments or examples are presented merely to provide the full scope of the present disclosure and are not intended to limit the scope of protection in any way. Various changes or modifications can be made to the disclosure by one skilled in the art based on the disclosure provided herein, and these changes or modifications should be encompassed within the scope of protection of the present disclosure. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present disclosure should be limited by the scope of protection defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A calibration method for a 3D printer, wherein, The 3D printer includes: an extruder, a first fluid extrusion head disposed on the extruder, a second fluid extrusion head disposed on the extruder, and a position sensor assembly disposed on a preset plane, the preset plane being defined by a first direction and a second direction intersecting each other. The position sensor assembly includes: a first position sensor disposed in the first direction to sense the position of the extruder in the first direction when contacted and triggered by the first fluid extrusion head or the second fluid extrusion head along the first direction; and a second position sensor disposed in the second direction to sense the position of the extruder in the second direction when contacted and triggered by the first fluid extrusion head or the second fluid extrusion head along the second direction. The first position sensor and the second position sensor are arranged to be spaced apart by a preset distance in both the first direction and the second direction. The method includes: The extruder is moved to a first preset position, at which the movement trajectory of the second fluid extrusion head along the first direction to the first position sensor is not blocked by the first fluid extrusion head; The extruder is moved along the first direction to drive the second fluid extrusion head to contact the position sensor assembly along the first direction, thereby triggering the position sensor assembly; In response to receiving a trigger signal from the position sensor assembly indicating that the position sensor assembly has been triggered, the position of the extruder in the first direction is recorded as a first coordinate; The extruder is moved along the second direction to drive the second fluid extrusion head to contact the position sensor assembly along the second direction, thereby triggering the position sensor assembly; In response to receiving a trigger signal from the position sensor assembly indicating that the position sensor assembly has been triggered, the position of the extruder in the second direction is recorded as a second coordinate; The extruder is moved along the first direction to drive the first fluid extrusion head to contact the position sensor assembly along the first direction, thereby triggering the position sensor assembly; In response to receiving a trigger signal from the position sensor assembly indicating that the position sensor assembly has been triggered, the position of the extruder in the first direction is recorded as a third coordinate; The extruder is moved along the second direction to drive the first fluid extrusion head to contact the position sensor assembly along the second direction, thereby triggering the position sensor assembly; In response to receiving a trigger signal from the position sensor assembly indicating that the position sensor assembly has been triggered, the position of the extruder in the second direction is recorded as a fourth coordinate; and The relative position of the first fluid extrusion head with respect to the second fluid extrusion head is determined based on the first coordinate, the second coordinate, the third coordinate, and the fourth coordinate.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, Moving the extruder along the first direction to drive the second fluid extrusion head to contact the position sensor assembly along the first direction includes: Adjust the position of the extruder in the second direction so that the second fluid extrusion head is aligned with the first position sensor in the first direction; and The extruder is moved toward the first position sensor along the first direction so that the second fluid extrusion head contacts and triggers the first position sensor.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein, Moving the extruder along the second direction to drive the second fluid extrusion head to contact the position sensor assembly along the second direction includes: Adjust the position of the extruder in the first direction so that the second fluid extrusion head is aligned with the second position sensor in the second direction; and The extruder is moved toward the second position sensor along the second direction so that the second fluid extrusion head contacts and triggers the second position sensor.

4. The method according to claim 3, further comprising: Before adjusting the position of the extruder in the first direction so that the second fluid extrusion head is aligned with the second position sensor in the second direction: The extruder is moved to a second preset position, at which the movement trajectory of the second fluid extrusion head along the second direction to the second position sensor is not blocked by the first fluid extrusion head.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein, Moving the extruder along the first direction to drive the first fluid extrusion head to contact the position sensor assembly along the first direction includes: Adjust the position of the extruder in the second direction so that the first fluid extrusion head is aligned with the first position sensor in the first direction; and The extruder is moved toward the first position sensor along the first direction so that the first fluid extrusion head contacts and triggers the first position sensor.

6. The method according to claim 5, further comprising: Before adjusting the position of the extruder in the second direction so that the first fluid extrusion head is aligned with the first position sensor in the first direction: The extruder is moved to a third preset position, at which the movement trajectory of the first fluid extrusion head along the first direction to the first position sensor is not blocked by the second fluid extrusion head.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein, Moving the extruder along the second direction to drive the first fluid extrusion head to contact the position sensor assembly along the second direction includes: Adjust the position of the extruder in the first direction so that the first fluid extrusion head is aligned with the second position sensor in the second direction; and The extruder is moved toward the second position sensor along the second direction so that the first fluid extrusion head contacts and triggers the second position sensor.

8. The method according to claim 7, further comprising: Before adjusting the position of the extruder in the first direction so that the first fluid extrusion head is aligned with the second position sensor in the second direction: The extruder is moved to a fourth preset position, at which the movement trajectory of the first fluid extrusion head along the second direction to the second position sensor is not blocked by the second fluid extrusion head.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1-8, wherein, The first position sensor and the second position sensor are arranged such that: When either the first fluid extrusion head or the second fluid extrusion head contacts and triggers the first position sensor along the first direction, the second position sensor is not triggered by either the first or second fluid extrusion head; and When either the first fluid extrusion head or the second fluid extrusion head contacts and triggers the second position sensor along the second direction, the first position sensor is not triggered by the first fluid extrusion head or the second fluid extrusion head.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1-8, wherein, Both the first position sensor and the second position sensor are microswitches.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1-8, wherein, The first fluid is a release material, and the second fluid is a printing material.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1-8, in, The 3D printer also includes a printing platform disposed below the extruder and configured to support the object to be printed. The preset plane is the upper surface of the printing platform.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1-8, wherein the first direction and the second direction are perpendicular to each other.

14. A method for 3D printing, comprising: Perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13; as well as When the first fluid is applied to a printed object that has already been printed using the second fluid extrusion head using the first fluid extrusion head, the movement trajectory of the extruder is corrected according to the relative position of the first fluid extrusion head with respect to the second fluid extrusion head.

15. A 3D printer, comprising: Extruder; A first fluid extrusion head is disposed on the extruder and configured to output a first fluid; A second fluid extrusion head is disposed on the extruder and configured to output a second fluid; A position sensor assembly is disposed on a preset plane, the preset plane being defined by a first direction and a second direction that intersect each other; and The processor is configured to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 14 when executing instructions.

16. The 3D printer of claim 15, further comprising: A first motor is configured to drive the extruder to move along the first direction; as well as A second motor is configured to drive the extruder to move in the second direction.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, wherein, When the computer program is executed by a processor, it implements the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 14.

18. A computer program product comprising a computer program, wherein, When the computer program is executed by a processor, it implements the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 14.

Images