A multi-material 3D printer and printing method based on photolithography principle
By designing a multi-material 3D printer based on photolithography principles and utilizing precise control of the material tray and forming platform, the automation of multi-material 3D printing was achieved, solving the problem of single-material printing in existing technologies and realizing efficient printing of multi-material parts.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Patents(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- SHANDONG JIANZHU UNIV
- Filing Date
- 2023-07-26
- Publication Date
- 2026-07-31
AI Technical Summary
Most existing stereolithography desktop 3D printers are single-material printers and cannot achieve multi-material 3D printing. Furthermore, changing the printing material in the material tank requires manual operation and cannot be automated.
Design a multi-material 3D printer based on photolithography principle, including a material tray, a material tray drive mechanism, a lifting platform, a scraper, and a forming platform drive mechanism. Through precise control of material tray rotation and forming platform, automated printing of multiple materials can be achieved.
It has achieved automation of multi-material 3D printing, avoiding the mixing of different materials and meeting the printing needs of parts composed of multiple materials.
Smart Images
Figure CN116872325B_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This invention relates to the field of 3D printing technology, specifically to a multi-material 3D printer and printing method based on photolithography principles. Background Technology
[0002] Ceramic 3D printing technology has broad application prospects in industry, medicine, aerospace and other fields, showing a good development trend. Currently, most domestic and international ceramic 3D printing equipment is industrial-grade, with prices often reaching millions of yuan, making it unaffordable for most research institutions. Therefore, desktop ceramic 3D printing equipment has broad development prospects. In ceramic 3D printing technology, stereolithography (SLA), selective laser sintering (SLS), and fused deposition modeling (FDM) have all been widely used. However, existing stereolithography desktop 3D printers are mostly single-material printers; to perform multi-material printing, the printing material in the feed tank needs to be changed, making multi-material 3D printing impossible. Summary of the Invention
[0003] The purpose of this invention is to provide a multi-material 3D printer and printing method based on photolithography principles, for realizing 3D printing of multi-material products.
[0004] The technical solution adopted by this invention to solve its technical problem is: a multi-material 3D printer based on photolithography principle, including a frame, a material tray, a material tray drive mechanism, a scraper, a lifting platform, a lifting platform drive mechanism, a forming platform, and a forming platform drive mechanism. The material tray has multiple material slots arranged circumferentially and a cleaning slot. The material slots contain raw materials for 3D printing. The material tray is rotatably mounted on the top of the frame. The material tray drive mechanism is mounted on the frame and drives the material tray to rotate in a horizontal plane. The lifting platform is located above the material tray. The lifting platform drive mechanism is mounted on the frame to drive the lifting platform to move up and down. The scraper is rotatably mounted on the lifting platform. The lifting platform has a scraper drive mechanism that drives the scraper to swing in a horizontal plane. The forming platform drive mechanism is located between the forming platform and the frame and drives the forming platform to move up and down. The scraper has a laser rangefinder sensor for detecting the distance between the scraper and the forming platform.
[0005] Furthermore, the frame includes a support plate and a base plate arranged vertically, and the support plate and the base plate are fixedly connected together by columns.
[0006] Furthermore, the bottom of the tray has an annular tray slider, and the top of the support plate has a base with a groove that slides in connection with the tray slider.
[0007] Furthermore, the material tray drive mechanism includes a material tray motor and a main shaft. The material tray motor is fixed on the base plate, the main shaft is rotatably connected to the support plate, the lower end of the main shaft is fixedly connected to the output end of the material tray motor, and the upper end of the main shaft is fixedly connected to the center of the bottom of the material tray.
[0008] Furthermore, the lifting platform drive mechanism includes a lifting platform drive motor and a first lead screw. There are two lifting platform drive motors, which are fixed on the support plate. The lower end of the first lead screw is fixedly connected to the output end of the corresponding lifting platform drive motor, and the upper middle end of the first lead screw is threadedly connected to the lifting platform.
[0009] Furthermore, the top of the support plate also has a vertically arranged guide rod, and the lifting platform has a guide block. The upper middle part of the guide rod passes through the guide block and is slidably connected to the guide block.
[0010] Furthermore, the scraper drive mechanism includes a scraper drive motor, pulleys, and a belt. The scraper drive motor is fixed to the bottom of the lifting platform. There are two pulleys, one of which is fixed to the output end of the scraper drive motor, and the other pulley is rotatably connected to the lifting platform through a rotating shaft. The two pulleys are connected by the belt, and the scraper is fixed to the lower end of the rotating shaft.
[0011] Furthermore, the molding platform drive mechanism includes a molding platform drive motor and a second lead screw. The molding platform drive motor is fixed on the top of the support plate. The lower end of the second lead screw is fixedly connected to the output end of the molding platform drive motor. The upper middle end of the second lead screw is threadedly connected to the back plate. The back plate is fixedly connected to the molding platform through a connecting rod and is located above the molding platform.
[0012] Furthermore, the top of the support plate has a pair of guide rails arranged on the left and right, and the back plate has a back plate slider that is slidably connected to the guide rails.
[0013] This invention also provides a multi-material 3D printing method based on photolithography, comprising the following steps: (1) Check whether the forming platform is in the horizontal plane. If the platform is not in the horizontal plane, level the entire 3D printer until the platform is in the horizontal plane. If the platform is in the horizontal plane, proceed to step (2). (2) Add the raw materials for 3D printing into the material tank; (3) Drive the material tray to rotate through the material tray drive mechanism until the forming platform is above the material trough where the raw material to be printed is located. Then drive the forming platform to move down through the forming platform drive mechanism until the forming platform is submerged in the corresponding raw material. (4) Drive the lifting platform to move down through the lifting platform drive mechanism. During the downward movement, the distance between the scraper and the forming platform is continuously detected by the laser range sensor until the distance between the scraper and the forming platform is equal to the preset laying thickness d of the raw material (e.g., d=25μm). (5) The scraper is driven by the scraper drive mechanism to swing from one side of the material groove to the other side in the horizontal plane to scrape off the excess raw material above the forming platform. (6) 3D print the raw materials on the molding platform in step (5); (7) Drive the lifting platform to move up by d thickness through the lifting platform drive mechanism, and then execute steps (5)-(7) again. (8) After the raw material in the current material tank required for the part is printed, the forming platform is driven to move up until the forming platform moves out of the current material tank by the forming platform drive mechanism. Then, the material tray is driven to rotate by the material tray drive mechanism, so that the cleaning tank rotates to the bottom of the forming platform. Then, the forming platform is driven to move down by the forming platform drive mechanism until the forming platform extends into the cleaning tank. The forming platform is cleaned in the cleaning tank to remove the current raw material remaining on the forming platform. (9) Execute steps (3)-(9), wherein in step (4), when the lifting platform is driven to move down by the lifting platform drive mechanism, until the distance between the scraper and the forming platform is equal to the sum of the thickness of the printed part and the preset laying thickness d of the raw material; until the entire part is printed.
[0014] The beneficial effects of this invention are: This invention places multiple raw materials in the material tray, and through the setting of the material tray driving mechanism and the molding platform driving mechanism, the molding platform can enter and exit the material slot where the required printing raw material is located, thereby meeting the 3D printing needs of parts composed of multiple materials; after printing one type of raw material, the molding platform is cleaned through the cleaning tank to avoid mixing between different raw materials. Attached Figure Description
[0015] Figure 1 This is one of the three-dimensional images of the 3D printer of the present invention; Figure 2 This is the second three-dimensional diagram of the 3D printer of the present invention; Figure 3 This is a front view of the 3D printer of the present invention; Figure 4 This is a left view of the 3D printer of the present invention; Figure 5 This is a top view of the 3D printer of the present invention; Figure 6 A schematic diagram showing the installation of a guide rod between the lifting platform and the support plate of the present invention; In the diagram: 1. Frame, 11. Base plate, 12. Support plate, 13. Column, 14. Guide rail, 15. Base, 16. Guide rod, 2. Material tray, 21. Main shaft, 22. Material tray motor, 23. Material trough, 24. Cleaning tank, 25. Material tray slider, 26. Handle, 3. Lifting platform drive motor, 31. First lead screw, 4. Lifting platform, 41. Platform lead screw nut, 42. Guide block, 5. Scraper drive motor, 51. Pulley, 52. Belt, 53. Rotary shaft, 54. Scraper, 55. Laser rangefinder sensor, 6. Forming platform drive motor, 61. Second lead screw, 7. Back plate, 71. Back plate lead screw nut, 72. Back plate slider, 73. Mounting plate, 74. Connecting rod, 8. Forming platform. Detailed Implementation
[0016] like Figures 1 to 6 As shown, the 3D printer of the present invention includes a frame 1, a material tray 2, a material tray drive mechanism, a lifting platform 4, a lifting platform drive mechanism, a scraper 54, a forming platform 8, and a forming platform drive mechanism. The 3D printer and printing method of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0017] like Figures 1 to 6 As shown, a multi-material 3D printer based on photolithography includes a frame 1, a material tray 2, a material tray drive mechanism, a scraper 54, a lifting platform 4, a lifting platform drive mechanism, a forming platform 8, and a forming platform drive mechanism. The frame 1 is the basic component of this invention. The frame 1 includes a support plate 12 and a base plate 11 arranged vertically, and the support plate 12 and the base plate 11 are fixedly connected together by four columns 13. The material tray 2 is a cylindrical hollow structure with an open top. The material tray 2 has multiple material slots 23 arranged circumferentially and a cleaning slot 24. Both the material slots 23 and the cleaning slot 24 are fan-shaped structures. In this embodiment of the invention, three material slots 23 are provided. The material slots 23 contain raw materials for 3D printing, and different material slots 23 contain different raw materials. To facilitate the loading and unloading of the material slots 23 and the cleaning slot 24, handles are provided on the top of the material slots 23 and the cleaning slot 24.
[0018] like Figure 1 , Figure 2 As shown, the material tray 2 is rotatably mounted on the top of the frame 1, and the material tray drive mechanism is set on the frame 1 to drive the material tray 2 to rotate in the horizontal plane. Specifically: Figure 4 As shown, the bottom of the tray 2 has a circular tray slider 25, and the top of the support plate 12 has a base 15. The base 15 has a groove that slides and connects with the tray slider 25. Thus, the tray 2 achieves a sliding connection with the base 15 through the tray slider 25, and the sliding trajectory is circular. Figure 3As shown, the material tray drive mechanism includes a material tray motor 22 and a main shaft 21. The material tray motor 22 is fixed on the base plate 11, and the main shaft 21 is rotatably connected to the support plate 12. The lower end of the main shaft 21 is fixedly connected to the output end of the material tray motor 22, and the upper end of the main shaft 21 is fixedly connected to the bottom center of the material tray 2. After the material tray motor 22 is started, the main shaft 21 drives the material tray 2 to rotate in the horizontal plane.
[0019] like Figures 1 to 4 As shown, the lifting platform 4 is positioned above the material tray 2, and the lifting platform drive mechanism is mounted on the frame 1 to drive the lifting platform 4 to move up and down. Specifically, the lifting platform 4 has a "]" shaped structure and is placed horizontally. The lifting platform drive mechanism includes a lifting platform drive motor 3 and a first lead screw 31. There are two lifting platform drive motors 3, which are fixed on the support plate 12. The lower end of the first lead screw 31 is fixedly connected to the output end of the corresponding lifting platform drive motor 3, and the upper middle end of the first lead screw 31 is threadedly connected to the platform nut 41 at the corresponding end of the lifting platform 4. After the lifting platform drive motor 3 is started, it drives the first lead screw 31 to rotate, which in turn drives the platform nut 41 to move up and down, thereby driving the lifting platform 4 to move up and down in the vertical direction.
[0020] To ensure the accuracy of the vertical movement of the lifting platform 4, such as Figure 6 As shown, the top of the support plate 12 also has a vertically arranged guide rod 16, and the lifting platform 4 has a guide block 42. The upper middle part of the guide rod 16 passes through the guide block 42 and is slidably connected to the guide block 42. In this way, the two first lead screws 31 and the two guide rods 16 are located at the four vertices of the rectangle, and the arrangement of the guide rods 16 ensures the accuracy of the vertical movement of the lifting platform 4.
[0021] like Figures 1 to 3 As shown, the scraper 54 is rotatably mounted on the lifting platform 4, and the lifting platform 4 has a scraper drive mechanism that drives the scraper 54 to swing in the horizontal plane. Figures 2 to 4 As shown, the scraper drive mechanism includes a scraper drive motor 5, pulleys 51, and a belt 52. The scraper drive motor 5 is fixed to the bottom of the lifting platform 4. There are two pulleys 51, one of which (i.e., the driving pulley) is fixed to the output end of the scraper drive motor 5, and the other pulley 51 (i.e., the driven pulley) is rotatably connected to the lifting platform 4 via a rotating shaft 53. The two pulleys 51 are connected by a belt 52. The scraper 54 is fixed to the lower end of the rotating shaft 53. After the scraper drive motor 5 is started, the driving pulley rotates, which drives the driven pulley to rotate via the belt 52, thereby driving the rotating shaft 53 to rotate, and thus driving the scraper 54 to swing in the horizontal plane. The rotating shaft 53 is located near the center of the material trough 23, and the scraper 54 swings from one side of the material trough 23 to the other side when it rotates.
[0022] like Figure 5As shown, the molding platform drive mechanism is located between the molding platform 8 and the frame 1, and is used to drive the molding platform 8 to move up and down. Specifically, the molding platform drive mechanism includes a molding platform drive motor 6 and a second lead screw 61. The molding platform drive motor 6 is fixed to the top of the support plate 12. The lower end of the second lead screw 61 is fixedly connected to the output end of the molding platform drive motor 6, and the upper middle end of the second lead screw 61 is threadedly connected to the back plate nut 71 on the back plate 7. The back plate 7 is fixedly connected to the molding platform 8 through a connecting rod 74 and is located above the molding platform 8. The connecting rod 74 is an "L"-shaped rod. The upper end of the connecting rod 74 is fixedly connected to the mounting plate 73 on the back plate 7, and the lower end of the connecting rod 74 is horizontally set and contacts and is fixed to the bottom of the molding platform 8. To ensure the accuracy of the up and down movement of the back plate 7, a pair of left and right guide rails 14 are provided on the top of the support plate 12, and the two ends of the back plate 7 have back plate sliders 72 that are slidably connected to the guide rails 14. After the molding platform drive motor 6 is started, the second lead screw 61 rotates, driving the back plate nut 71 to move, which in turn drives the back plate 7 to move up and down. The scraper 54 is equipped with a laser range sensor 55 for detecting the distance between the scraper 54 and the molding platform 8.
[0023] The following describes a method for using a multi-material 3D printer based on photolithography principles, namely a multi-material 3D printing method based on photolithography principles, including the following steps: (1) Check whether the forming platform is in the horizontal plane. If the platform is not in the horizontal plane, level the entire 3D printer until the platform is in the horizontal plane. If the platform is in the horizontal plane, proceed to step (2). (2) Add the raw materials for 3D printing into the material tank; (3) Drive the material tray to rotate through the material tray drive mechanism until the forming platform is above the material trough where the raw material to be printed is located. Then drive the forming platform to move down through the forming platform drive mechanism until the forming platform is submerged in the corresponding raw material. (4) Drive the lifting platform to move down through the lifting platform drive mechanism. During the downward movement, the distance between the scraper and the forming platform is continuously detected by the laser range sensor until the distance between the scraper and the forming platform is equal to the preset laying thickness d of the raw material (e.g., d=25μm). (5) The scraper is driven by the scraper drive mechanism to swing from one side of the material groove to the other side in the horizontal plane to scrape off the excess raw material above the forming platform. (6) 3D print the raw materials on the molding platform in step (5); (7) Drive the lifting platform to move up by d thickness through the lifting platform drive mechanism, and then execute steps (5)-(7) again. (8) After the raw material in the current material tank required for the part is printed, the forming platform is driven to move up until the forming platform moves out of the current material tank by the forming platform drive mechanism. Then, the material tray is driven to rotate by the material tray drive mechanism, so that the cleaning tank rotates to the bottom of the forming platform. Then, the forming platform is driven to move down by the forming platform drive mechanism until the forming platform extends into the cleaning tank. The forming platform is cleaned in the cleaning tank to remove the current raw material remaining on the forming platform. (9) Execute steps (3)-(9), wherein in step (4), when the lifting platform is driven to move down by the lifting platform drive mechanism, until the distance between the scraper and the forming platform is equal to the sum of the thickness of the printed part and the preset laying thickness d of the raw material; until the entire part is printed.
[0024] This invention places various raw materials in a material tray. Through the setting of the material tray driving mechanism and the molding platform driving mechanism, the molding platform can enter and exit the material slot where the required printing raw materials are located, thereby meeting the 3D printing needs of parts composed of multiple materials. After printing one type of raw material, the molding platform is cleaned through a cleaning tank to avoid mixing between different raw materials.
Claims
1. A multi-material 3D printer based on the principle of photolithography, characterized in that, The system includes a frame, a material tray, a material tray drive mechanism, a scraper, a lifting platform, a lifting platform drive mechanism, a forming platform, and a forming platform drive mechanism. The material tray has multiple circumferentially arranged material troughs and a cleaning trough. Both the material troughs and the cleaning trough are fan-shaped structures. The material troughs contain raw materials for 3D printing. The material tray is rotatably mounted on the top of the frame. The material tray drive mechanism, located on the frame, drives the material tray to rotate horizontally. The lifting platform is positioned above the material tray. The lifting platform drive mechanism, also located on the frame, drives the lifting platform to move vertically. The scraper is rotatably mounted on the lifting platform. The lifting platform has… A scraper drive mechanism drives the scraper to swing in a horizontal plane; the forming platform drive mechanism is located between the forming platform and the frame, and is used to drive the forming platform to move up and down; the scraper has a laser rangefinder sensor for detecting the distance between the scraper and the forming platform; the scraper drive mechanism includes a scraper drive motor, pulleys and a belt; the scraper drive motor is fixed to the bottom of the lifting platform; there are two pulleys, one of which is fixed to the output end of the scraper drive motor, and the other pulley is rotatably connected to the lifting platform through a rotating shaft; the two pulleys are connected by the belt; the scraper is fixed to the lower end of the rotating shaft.
2. A multi-material 3D printer based on the principle of photolithography according to claim 1, characterized in that, The frame includes a support plate and a base plate arranged on the upper and lower sides, and the support plate and the base plate are fixedly connected together by columns.
3. A multi-material 3D printer based on the principle of photolithography according to claim 2, characterized in that, The bottom of the tray has a circular tray slider, and the top of the support plate has a base with a groove that slides in connection with the tray slider.
4. The multi-material 3D printer based on the principle of photolithography according to claim 2, characterized in that, The material tray drive mechanism includes a material tray motor and a main shaft. The material tray motor is fixed on the base plate, and the main shaft is rotatably connected to the support plate. The lower end of the main shaft is fixedly connected to the output end of the material tray motor, and the upper end of the main shaft is fixedly connected to the center of the bottom of the material tray.
5. The multi-material 3D printer based on the principle of photolithography according to claim 2, characterized in that, The lifting platform drive mechanism includes a lifting platform drive motor and a first lead screw. There are two lifting platform drive motors, which are fixed on the support plate. The lower end of the first lead screw is fixedly connected to the output end of the corresponding lifting platform drive motor, and the upper middle end of the first lead screw is threadedly connected to the lifting platform.
6. A multi-material 3D printer based on the principle of photolithography according to claim 5, characterized in that, The top of the support plate also has a vertically arranged guide rod, and the lifting platform has a guide block. The upper middle part of the guide rod passes through the guide block and is slidably connected to the guide block.
7. The multi-material 3D printer based on the principle of photolithography according to claim 2, characterized in that, The molding platform drive mechanism includes a molding platform drive motor and a second lead screw. The molding platform drive motor is fixed on the top of the support plate. The lower end of the second lead screw is fixedly connected to the output end of the molding platform drive motor. The upper middle end of the second lead screw is threadedly connected to the back plate. The back plate is fixedly connected to the molding platform through a connecting rod and is located above the molding platform.
8. A multi-material 3D printer based on photolithography principle according to claim 7, characterized in that, The support plate has a pair of left and right guide rails on its top, and the back plate has a back plate slider that is slidably connected to the guide rails.
9. A printing method for a multi-material 3D printer based on the principle of photolithography according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: (1) Check whether the forming platform is in the horizontal plane. If the platform is not in the horizontal plane, level the entire 3D printer until the platform is in the horizontal plane. If the platform is in the horizontal plane, proceed to step (2). (2) Add the raw materials for 3D printing into the material tank; (3) Drive the material tray to rotate through the material tray drive mechanism until the forming platform is above the material trough where the raw material to be printed is located. Then drive the forming platform to move down through the forming platform drive mechanism until the forming platform is submerged in the corresponding raw material. (4) Drive the lifting platform to move down through the lifting platform drive mechanism. During the downward movement, the distance between the scraper and the forming platform is continuously detected by the laser range sensor until the distance between the scraper and the forming platform is equal to the preset laying thickness d of the raw material (e.g., d=25μm). (5) The scraper is driven by the scraper drive mechanism to swing from one side of the material groove to the other side in the horizontal plane to scrape off the excess raw material above the forming platform. (6) 3D print the raw materials on the molding platform in step (5); (7) Drive the lifting platform to move up by d thickness through the lifting platform drive mechanism, and then execute steps (5)-(7) again. (8) After the raw material in the current material tank required for the part is printed, the forming platform is driven to move up until the forming platform moves out of the current material tank by the forming platform drive mechanism. Then, the material tray is driven to rotate by the material tray drive mechanism, so that the cleaning tank rotates to the bottom of the forming platform. Then, the forming platform is driven to move down by the forming platform drive mechanism until the forming platform extends into the cleaning tank. The forming platform is cleaned in the cleaning tank to remove the current raw material remaining on the forming platform. (9) Execute steps (3)-(9), wherein in step (4), when the lifting platform is driven to move down by the lifting platform drive mechanism, until the distance between the scraper and the forming platform is equal to the sum of the thickness of the printed part and the preset laying thickness d of the raw material; until the entire part is printed.