Feed control method, electronic device, and medium

Abstract

The application relates to the field of 3D printing technology and discloses a feeding control method, device, system, equipment and medium, wherein the method comprises the following steps: acquiring a first volume of first remaining printing materials in a supply container; acquiring a second volume of second remaining printing materials in a holding container; determining a third volume of printing materials required for printing a to-be-printed model corresponding to the to-be-printed model, and determining a fourth volume of redundant printing materials; if the sum of the first volume and the second volume is greater than the sum of the third volume and the fourth volume, printing the to-be-printed model, and adding printing materials from the supply container to the holding container according to a preset feeding rule. Through the technical scheme, the timeliness of printing materials is effectively guaranteed, the reliability and safety of feeding are improved, and the success rate of model printing is improved.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This application relates to the field of 3D printing technology, and in particular to a feeding control method, electronic device and medium. [Background Technology]

[0002] Photopolymerization is one of the earliest and most mature 3D printing technologies. Its basic principle is to use material accumulation to form a three-dimensional target part, dividing it into several planar layers. A light beam of a specific wavelength scans liquid photosensitive resin, causing the scanned portions of each layer to solidify, while the un-illuminated areas remain liquid. Ultimately, these layers accumulate to form the desired target part. Due to the high printing precision of photopolymerization 3D printing equipment, reaching the micron level, its development momentum is strong.

[0003] Currently, photopolymer 3D printing equipment requires a large amount of resin during the model printing process, while the resin cartridge capacity of 3D printers is generally small. This results in the resin in the cartridge being used up before the printing of the model is completed. If resin is not added in time, the model printing will fail. In existing technology, the remaining resin in the cartridge is usually monitored manually, and the cartridge is manually removed and resin is added when the resin is low. However, this method has poor reliability and safety, and the model printing failure rate is also relatively high. [Summary of the Invention]

[0004] This application provides a feeding control method, apparatus, system, equipment, and medium, aiming to solve the technical problems in related technologies, such as untimely feeding of 3D printing equipment leading to printing failure and the need for manual monitoring.

[0005] In a first aspect, embodiments of this application provide a feeding control method applied to a 3D printing device, the method comprising:

[0006] Obtain the first volume of the first remaining printing material in the supply container;

[0007] Obtain the second volume of the second remaining printing material in the container;

[0008] Determine the third volume of printing material required to print the model to be printed, and determine the fourth volume of redundant printing material;

[0009] If the sum of the first volume and the second volume is greater than the sum of the third volume and the fourth volume, then the model to be printed is printed, and printing material is added from the supply container to the holding container according to the preset feeding rules.

[0010] Secondly, embodiments of this application provide a feeding control device, including:

[0011] The first acquisition module is used to acquire the first volume of the first remaining printing material in the supply container;

[0012] The second acquisition module is used to acquire the second volume of the second remaining printing material in the container;

[0013] The calculation module determines the third volume of printing material required to print the model to be printed, and determines the fourth volume of redundant printing material.

[0014] The processing module is configured to print the model to be printed if the sum of the first volume and the second volume is greater than the sum of the third volume and the fourth volume, and to add printing material from the supply container to the holding container according to a preset feeding rule.

[0015] Thirdly, a feeding control system is provided for use in a 3D printing equipment, the system comprising:

[0016] Supply containers and holding containers are used to hold printing materials for 3D printing equipment;

[0017] A first detection device is used to detect the weight of the first remaining printing material in the supply container;

[0018] The second detection device is used to detect the liquid level of the second remaining printing material in the container.

[0019] A feed control device for performing the feed control method as described in any one of the embodiments of the first aspect.

[0020] Fourthly, an electronic device is provided, including a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the processor executes the computer program to implement the steps of the above-described feeding control method.

[0021] Fifthly, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which stores a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the above-described feeding control method.

[0022] In the above-described feeding control method, device, equipment, and medium, the first volume of the first remaining printing material in the supply container is obtained; the second volume of the second remaining printing material in the holding container is obtained; the third volume of printing material required for printing the model to be printed is determined, and the fourth volume corresponding to the redundant printing material is determined; if the sum of the first and second volumes is greater than the sum of the third and fourth volumes, the model to be printed is printed, and printing material is added from the supply container to the holding container according to a preset feeding rule. In this invention, the volume of the remaining printing material in the supply container and the holding container is used to determine whether the model to be printed can be printed normally. Furthermore, when the supply container has sufficient material but the holding container has insufficient material, the flow of printing material from the supply container into the holding container can be controlled in a timely manner, thereby achieving automatic feeding. This effectively ensures the timeliness of printing material supply, improves the reliability and safety of feeding, and increases the success rate of model printing. [Attached Image Description]

[0023] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, the drawings used in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0024] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a feeding control method according to an embodiment of this application is shown.

[0025] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a feeding control method according to another embodiment of this application is shown.

[0026] Figure 3 A schematic flowchart of a feeding control method according to an embodiment of this application is shown.

[0027] Figure 4 A schematic flowchart of step S304 in a feed control method according to an embodiment of this application is shown.

[0028] Figure 5 A block diagram of a feed control device according to an embodiment of this application is shown.

[0029] in, Figure 1 and Figure 2 The labels are as follows: 110-supply container, 111-air inlet of supply container, 112-outlet of supply container, 113-aluminum tube, 114-first detection device, 120-container, 121-second detection device.

Detailed Implementation Methods

[0030] To better understand the technical solution of this application, the embodiments of this application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0031] It should be understood that the described embodiments are merely some, not all, of the embodiments in this application. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments in this application without inventive effort are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0032] The terminology used in the embodiments of this application is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of this application. The singular forms “a,” “the,” and “the” used in the embodiments of this application and the appended claims are also intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0033] To address the technical problems in related technologies, such as insufficient versatility of system functional modules, limited export data formats, and inadequate support for exporting large file data, this application proposes a feeding control method, apparatus, equipment, and medium.

[0034] The following detailed description of some embodiments of this application is provided in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Unless otherwise specified, the following embodiments and features can be combined with each other.

[0035] Before describing the various embodiments of the present invention in detail, the application scenarios of the present invention will be briefly introduced first.

[0036] like Figure 1 and Figure 2 The diagram illustrates a scenario of a feeding control method. In this scenario, the feeding control method can be applied to the feeding control system of a 3D printing device. This feeding control system may include a supply container 110, a holding container 120, a first detection device 114, a second detection device 121, and a feeding control device 130. The feeding control device 130 and the supply container 110 may be disposed on one side of the holding container 120. The first detection device 114 may be disposed inside the supply container 110 and used to detect the liquid level of the printing material within the supply container 110. The second detection device 121 may be disposed on the outer edge of the holding container 120 and used to detect the liquid level of the printing material within the holding container 120. Furthermore, the first detection device 114 and the second detection device 121 may be electrically connected to the feeding control device 130 and may continuously send weight detection and subsequent liquid level detection signals to the feeding control device 130. The feeding control device 130 may be a control device of the 3D printing device or a control device independent of the 3D printing device's control system. The second detection device 121 may not be located in the position shown in the figure, or it may be other types of sensors.

[0037] It is understood that the above application scenarios are merely examples and are not intended to limit the various embodiments.

[0038] Figure 3 A schematic flowchart of a feeding control method according to an embodiment of this application is shown. This feeding control method is used to solve the technical problems in related technologies, such as untimely feeding of 3D printing equipment easily leading to printing failure, and the need for manual monitoring.

[0039] like Figure 3 As shown, a feeding control method according to an embodiment of this application is applied to a 3D printing device, and the method includes:

[0040] Step S301: Obtain the first volume of the first remaining printing material in the supply container;

[0041] The method for obtaining the first volume of the first remaining printing material is not limited. For example, the printing material in the supply container or therein can be weighed, or the printing material in the supply container can be weighed by detecting it, or the supply container itself has the function of measuring volume, and direct communication with the supply container can be maintained to obtain the first volume.

[0042] In one embodiment, optionally, step S301 includes:

[0043] Weigh the first remaining printing material in the supply container to obtain the weight of the first remaining printing material;

[0044] Obtain the density information of the first remaining printing material;

[0045] Based on the weight and density information of the first remaining printing material, calculate the first volume corresponding to the first remaining printing material.

[0046] When weighing the first remaining printing material, the 3D printing equipment may include a weighing sensor.

[0047] Read the initial value of the load cell; determine whether the initial value of the load cell was read successfully; when the initial value of the load cell was read successfully, the corresponding weight is obtained, and automatic feeding can continue.

[0048] When the initial value reading of the load cell fails, the number of times the load cell is read can be counted; it can be determined whether the number of times the load cell is read has reached the preset number. If the preset number has not been reached, the initial value of the load cell can be read repeatedly; the steps to determine whether the initial value reading of the load cell is successful are as follows.

[0049] When the weighing sensor reaches a preset number of reads, a first abnormality warning message is output. Specifically, a sensor malfunction warning message can be output to determine whether the user chooses to re-detect. If the user chooses to re-detect, the sensor's initial value is re-read. If the user does not choose to re-detect, the automatic feeding process will not continue.

[0050] When obtaining the weight of the first remaining printing material, since the obtained weight includes the weight of the supply container, the weight of the supply container must be subtracted to obtain the weight of the first remaining printing material. The weight of the supply container itself is known; therefore, by subtracting the weight of the supply container from the weighing value, the weight of the first remaining printing material can be obtained.

[0051] The density information can be input by the user, pre-stored in a storage device for retrieval, or it can be information set on the surface of the supply container, such as a QR code or RFID tag. This information is then read by the printing device to obtain the material density. It can also be understood that density information can be obtained from other information associated with it. For example, if the printing material is resin, the density information of the first remaining printing material can be determined based on the type of resin. Based on the weight and density information of the first remaining printing material, the first volume corresponding to the first remaining printing material can be calculated.

[0052] It can be understood that after obtaining the first volume, the process may also include the following steps: determining whether the first volume of the remaining printing material in the supply container is greater than the maximum volume of the supply container or less than the minimum volume of the supply container; if the first volume is less than the maximum volume of the supply container or less than the minimum volume of the supply container, it is determined that the automatic feeding step can proceed normally; if the first volume is greater than the maximum volume of the supply container or less than the minimum volume of the supply container, an alarm message indicating a supply container malfunction is output, thereby determining whether the user chooses to re-detect. If the user chooses to re-detect, the initial value of the sensor is reread. If the user does not choose to re-detect, the automatic feeding step will not continue.

[0053] If the first volume is greater than the maximum volume of the supply container or less than the minimum volume of the supply container, it indicates that the weighing sensor is malfunctioning, or that there is too much or too little printing material in the supply container, making it unsuitable for subsequent work.

[0054] Step S302: Obtain the second volume of the second remaining printing material in the container;

[0055] To obtain the second volume, you can weigh it or obtain the liquid level of the printing material in the container to get the volume.

[0056] In one embodiment, step S302 may optionally include:

[0057] Control the movement of the printing platform and detect the force acting on the printing platform; if the force acting on the printing platform is greater than or equal to a set value, determine that the printing platform has touched the liquid surface of the second remaining printing material in the container; obtain the height of the liquid surface of the second remaining printing material in the container where the printing platform touches; obtain the cross-sectional area of ​​the container; calculate the second volume of the second remaining printing material based on the cross-sectional area and the liquid surface height.

[0058] In this embodiment, the force acting on the printing platform can be detected by a second detection device to obtain the second volume of the second remaining printing material. Specifically, the second detection device can be a cantilever force sensor that can detect the force acting on the printing platform.

[0059] When detecting the force on the printing platform, the initial value of the cantilever mechanical sensor is read; it is then determined whether the initial value reading of the cantilever mechanical sensor was successful; if the initial value reading of the cantilever mechanical sensor is successful, it is determined that the automatic feeding process can proceed further; if the initial value reading of the cantilever mechanical sensor fails, the number of times the cantilever mechanical sensor is read is counted; it is then determined whether the number of times the cantilever mechanical sensor is read has reached a preset number; if it has not reached the preset number, the initial value of the cantilever mechanical sensor is read again; if the number of times the cantilever mechanical sensor is read reaches the preset number, a second abnormal prompt message is output.

[0060] Specifically, the system can output a warning message indicating a sensor malfunction, thus determining whether the user chooses to re-detect. If the user chooses to re-detect, the sensor's initial value is reread. If the user does not choose to re-detect, the automatic feeding process will not continue.

[0061] The height of the printing platform at the point where it touches the surface of the second remaining printing material in the container is determined. In a 3D printer, the movement of the printing platform is governed by known coordinates. When the force acting on the printing platform is greater than or equal to a set value, it is determined that the printing platform is in contact with the liquid surface in the container. Obtaining the height coordinates of the printing platform at this moment gives the height of the second remaining printing material's liquid surface.

[0062] Cross-sectional area can be pre-stored in a storage device and read directly; it can also be obtained through a network or input by the user. Cross-sectional area is the area of ​​the cross-section inside the container, that is, the area of ​​the bottom of the container tank.

[0063] The product of the cross-sectional area and the liquid level is the second volume.

[0064] Among them, the container refers to the device that directly provides printing materials to the 3D printing equipment. It is usually small in size and is also called a material box; the supply container refers to the device that stores printing materials for the 3D printing equipment. It is usually larger in size and is also called a material bottle.

[0065] In this embodiment, the supply container and the holding container can each be equipped with a detection device, and the arrangement of the two detection devices can be referred to Figure 1 and Figure 2 The method shown indicates that the detection device may include a first detection device and a second detection device. The first detection device may be disposed inside or outside the supply container to detect the volume of printing material inside the supply container. The second detection device may be disposed on the outer edge of the container to detect the volume of printing material in the container.

[0066] Specifically, the first detection device and the second detection device can be electrically connected to the feeding control device respectively, and can send detection signals to the feeding control device in real time. Correspondingly, the feeding control device can also receive the first detection signal sent by the first detection device and the second detection signal sent by the second detection device in real time.

[0067] Step S303: Determine the third volume of printing material required for printing the model to be printed, and determine the fourth volume of redundant printing material.

[0068] The model to be printed is the model that can be printed based on the model file. The model file can be a .gcod file, which contains relevant information about the model to be printed, such as its shape and various printing parameters. Of course, it may also include the volume of the printing material required. The model file to be printed can be a local model file, such as one on a USB flash drive, a model file on a fixed storage device, or a model file obtained through a wireless network, etc.

[0069] In one embodiment, optionally, determining the third volume of printing material required to print the model to be printed includes:

[0070] Read the third volume of printing material required for printing the model from the model file corresponding to the model to be printed; or

[0071] Based on the parameter information in the model file corresponding to the model to be printed, calculate the third volume of printing material required to print the model; or

[0072] Receive the third volume of printing material required for the model to be printed via network.

[0073] In this embodiment, the third volume can be read directly from the model file of the model to be printed, calculated based on the parameters in the model file, or received via a network.

[0074] The fourth volume corresponding to the redundant printing material can be determined in several ways.

[0075] For example, a fourth volume corresponding to redundant printing material can be read from a storage device. Each model file can carry a fourth volume, or it can be stored in the 3D printing device, with multiple different model files corresponding to the same fourth volume.

[0076] For example, the baseline redundancy volume and the baseline printing volume can be obtained; based on the first multiple of the third volume and the baseline printing volume, the fourth volume is determined to be the second multiple of the baseline redundancy volume.

[0077] The baseline redundancy volume and the baseline print volume can be read or obtained via a network. Based on the third volume, the baseline redundancy volume, and the baseline print volume, the fourth volume can be determined.

[0078] If the baseline redundancy volume is v4, and the third volume is v3, and the baseline printing volume is v0, then if v3 is less than 1 times v0, the fourth volume is v4. If v3 is greater than 2 times v0 but less than 3 times v0, the fourth volume is 3 times v4. The second multiple can be the same as or different from the first multiple. For example, the second multiple can be the integer part of the first multiple, or it can be a preset ratio of the first multiple.

[0079] In this embodiment, the fourth volume can be read directly from the storage device, calculated, or received via a network.

[0080] Redundant printing material can be the error printing material used when printing the model to be printed.

[0081] Step S304: If the sum of the first volume and the second volume is greater than the sum of the third volume and the fourth volume, then print the model to be printed, and add printing material from the supply container to the holding container according to the preset feeding rules.

[0082] Specifically, the feeding control device can issue a feeding control command based on preset feeding rules, thereby controlling the flow of printing material from the supply container into the holding container. That is, when the feeding control device detects that there is enough printing material in the supply container but not enough printing material in the holding container, it can control the flow of printing material from the supply container into the holding container by sending a feeding control command.

[0083] For example, refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 One control method is as follows: When the feeding control device 130 determines that the current cleaning meets the preset feeding rules, it issues a feeding control command to turn on the vacuum pump (not shown in the figure). Then, air is forced into the supply container 110 through the vacuum pump and the air inlet 111 of the supply container connected to the vacuum pump. The printing material in the supply container 110 flows into the holding container 120 through the discharge port 112 and the aluminum tube 113 fixed on the feeding control device 130, thereby realizing the automatic feeding function of the 3D printing equipment.

[0084] like Figure 4 As shown, in one embodiment, step S304 may optionally include:

[0085] Step S601: Determine the first total volume corresponding to the total remaining printing material based on the sum of the first volume and the second volume;

[0086] Step S602: Determine the second total volume of printing material required for the model to be printed based on the sum of the third volume and the fourth volume;

[0087] Step S603: Compare the first total volume and the second total volume to obtain a comparison result;

[0088] Step S604: In response to the comparison result that the first total volume is greater than or equal to the second total volume, determine that the total remaining printing material is sufficient to print the model to be printed normally;

[0089] Step S605: In response to the comparison result that the first total volume is less than the second total volume, it is determined that the total remaining printing material is insufficient to print the model to be printed normally. Wherein, when the total remaining printing material is insufficient to print the model to be printed normally, printing of the model to be printed can be stopped, and an alarm can be issued to replace the supply container or add printing material to the supply container, thereby reminding the user to add printing material in a timely manner.

[0090] In this embodiment, the volume of printing material in both the printer's feed trough and the feed bottle is considered, along with the error volume. This allows for a more accurate determination of whether the total remaining printing material is sufficient for normal printing based on the feed trough, the feed bottle, the required volume of printing material for the model to be printed, and the error volume. Real-time monitoring of the remaining material in the supply and holding containers enables automatic feeding, allowing for timely control of the flow of printing material from the supply container into the holding container when the supply container has sufficient material but the holding container has insufficient material. It also provides timely reminders to the user when the printing material in both containers is insufficient, allowing for prompt addition of printing material. This method effectively ensures the timeliness of printing material supply, improves the reliability and safety of feeding, and increases the success rate of model printing.

[0091] In one embodiment, optionally, the preset feeding rule includes:

[0092] During the printing process, count the number of layers printed in this round;

[0093] When the number of printed layers is greater than or equal to the preset number of layers, the supply container adds a preset volume of printing material to the holding container;

[0094] Restart a new round of printing layer count statistics.

[0095] In this embodiment, the feed model layer ratio can be set, and then the preset number of layers can be determined based on the feed model layer ratio and the total number of model layers. For example, if the feed model layer ratio is 20% and the total number of model layers is 100, then the preset number of layers is equal to the product of the feed model layer ratio and the total number of model layers, i.e., the preset number of layers is 20. Thus, automatic feeding occurs every 20 layers, meaning the supply container adds a preset volume of printing material to the holding container. This not only ensures the timeliness of printing material usage but also allows for convenient automatic feeding without requiring excessive feeding timing detection. The preset number of layers can also be a fixed value, such as 50 layers, 100 layers, etc.

[0096] When the number of printed layers is greater than or equal to a preset number of layers, the supply container can add a preset volume of printing material to the holding container according to a preset rule. The volume of printing material to be added to the holding container each time is determined based on the required volume of printing material to be added and the number of times printing material is added. Alternatively, resin can be added to the holding container based on the resin consumption for the preset number of layers.

[0097] To prevent the volume of printing material in the container from exceeding the limit, an additional liquid level sensor can be installed to stop adding resin to the container when the liquid level reaches a set level. The technical solution of this application embodiment can prevent insufficient or excessive volume of printing material.

[0098] In other embodiments, the feed control method further includes:

[0099] Obtain the printing parameters corresponding to the model to be printed, wherein the printing parameters include the printing material type corresponding to the model to be printed;

[0100] Get the type of local printing material;

[0101] If the type of local printing material does not match the type of printing material corresponding to the model to be printed, a message indicating that the printing material type matching failed will be displayed, and / or the printing parameters corresponding to the type of local printing material will be obtained to continue printing;

[0102] If no printing parameters corresponding to the type of local printing material are found, a message indicating a printing material type matching failure will be displayed.

[0103] If a printing material type mismatch is detected and a continue printing instruction is received, the printing parameters corresponding to the model to be printed are used as the printing parameters corresponding to the type of local printing material to continue printing.

[0104] The method of this embodiment can be performed before obtaining the first volume of the first remaining printing material in the supply container.

[0105] The printing parameters corresponding to the model to be printed can be obtained from the model file or via the network, such as from a cloud platform. Printing parameters include printing motion parameters, exposure time, resin density, etc.

[0106] The type of local printing material can be obtained by acquiring information attached to the supply container, such as through QR codes, RFID, or information stored in a storage device. The technical solution of this embodiment enables printing parameters to conform as closely as possible to the characteristics of the printing material, thereby improving print quality and printing speed.

[0107] Figure 5 A block diagram of a feed control device according to an embodiment of this application is shown.

[0108] like Figure 5 As shown, in a second aspect, embodiments of this application provide a feed control device 70, comprising:

[0109] The first acquisition module 71 is used to acquire the first volume of the first remaining printing material in the supply container;

[0110] The second acquisition module 72 is used to acquire the second volume of the second remaining printing material in the container;

[0111] The determining module 73 is used to determine the third volume of printing material required to print the model to be printed, and to determine the fourth volume of redundant printing material.

[0112] The processing module 74 is used to print the model to be printed if the sum of the first volume and the second volume is greater than the sum of the third volume and the fourth volume, and to add printing material from the supply container to the holding container according to a preset feeding rule.

[0113] In one embodiment, optionally, the first acquisition module 71 includes:

[0114] A weighing unit is used to weigh the first remaining printing material in the supply container to obtain the weight of the first remaining printing material.

[0115] The first acquisition unit is used to acquire the density information of the first remaining printing material;

[0116] The first calculation unit is used to calculate the first volume corresponding to the first remaining printing material based on the weight and density information of the first remaining printing material.

[0117] In one embodiment, optionally, the second acquisition module 72 includes:

[0118] The detection unit is used to control the movement of the printing platform and detect the forces acting on the printing platform.

[0119] The determining unit is used to determine that the printing platform has touched the liquid surface of the second remaining printing material in the container if the force on the printing platform is greater than or equal to a set value.

[0120] The second acquisition unit is used to acquire the height of the liquid level of the second remaining printing material in the container when the printing platform touches the liquid level of the second remaining printing material.

[0121] The third acquisition unit is used to acquire the cross-sectional area of ​​the container.

[0122] The second calculation unit is used to calculate the second volume of the second remaining printing material based on the cross-sectional area and the liquid level.

[0123] In one embodiment, optionally, the determining module 73 is used for:

[0124] Read the third volume of printing material required for printing the model from the model file corresponding to the model to be printed; or

[0125] Based on the parameter information in the model file corresponding to the model to be printed, calculate the third volume of printing material required to print the model; or

[0126] Receive the third volume of printing material required for the model to be printed via network;

[0127] In one embodiment, optionally, the determining module 73 is further configured to:

[0128] Read the fourth volume corresponding to the redundant printing material from the storage device; or

[0129] Obtain the baseline redundancy volume and the baseline print volume;

[0130] Based on the first multiple of the third volume and the reference printed volume, the fourth volume is determined to be the second multiple of the reference redundant volume; or

[0131] The fourth volume corresponding to the redundant printing material is received via the network.

[0132] In one embodiment, optionally, the apparatus further includes:

[0133] An alarm module is used to stop printing the model to be printed and issue an alarm to replace the supply container or add printing material to the supply container if the sum of the first volume and the second volume is less than the sum of the third volume and the fourth volume.

[0134] The prompt module is used to output a first error prompt message in response to the failure of the first volume acquisition;

[0135] In response to the failure to obtain the second volume, a second exception message is output.

[0136] In one embodiment, optionally, the preset feeding rule includes:

[0137] During the printing process, count the number of layers printed in this round;

[0138] When the number of printed layers is greater than or equal to the preset number of layers, the supply container adds a preset volume of printing material to the holding container;

[0139] Restart a new round of printing layer count statistics.

[0140] Specific limitations regarding the feeding control device can be found in the limitations of the feeding control method above, and will not be repeated here. Each module in the aforementioned feeding control device can be implemented entirely or partially through software, hardware, or a combination thereof. These modules can be embedded in the processor of the 3D printing equipment in hardware form or independent of it, or stored in the memory of the 3D printing equipment in software form, so that the processor can call and execute the corresponding operations of each module.

[0141] In one embodiment, an electronic device is provided, including a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the processor executes the computer program to perform the following steps:

[0142] Obtain the first volume of the first remaining printing material in the supply container;

[0143] Obtain the second volume of the second remaining printing material in the container;

[0144] Determine the third volume of printing material required to print the model to be printed, and determine the fourth volume of redundant printing material;

[0145] If the sum of the first volume and the second volume is greater than the sum of the third volume and the fourth volume, then the model to be printed is printed, and printing material is added from the supply container to the holding container according to the preset feeding rules.

[0146] The electronic device of this application can also implement the feeding control method of any of the foregoing embodiments, which will not be described in detail here.

[0147] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing computer-executable instructions for performing the feeding control method of any of the foregoing embodiments.

[0148] It should be noted that the functions or steps that can be achieved by the computer-readable storage medium or 3D printing device described above can be referred to the relevant descriptions in the foregoing method embodiments. To avoid repetition, they will not be described one by one here.

[0149] It should be understood that the term "and / or" used in this article is merely a description of the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A existing alone, A and B existing simultaneously, and B existing alone. Additionally, the character " / " in this article generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects have an "or" relationship.

[0150] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, apparatuses, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interfaces; the indirect coupling or communication connection between apparatuses or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0151] Furthermore, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit. The integrated unit can be implemented in hardware or in a combination of hardware and software functional units.

[0152] Those skilled in the art will understand that all or part of the processes in the methods of the above embodiments can be implemented by a computer program instructing related hardware. The computer program can be stored in a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium, and when executed, it can include the processes of the embodiments of the above methods. Any references to memory, storage, databases, or other media used in the embodiments provided in this application can include non-volatile and / or volatile memory. Non-volatile memory can include read-only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), electrically programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), or flash memory. Volatile memory can include random access memory (RAM) or external cache memory. By way of illustration and not limitation, RAM is available in various forms, such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), dual data rate SDRAM (DDRSDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synchronous link DRAM (SLDRAM), Rambus direct RAM (RDRAM), direct memory bus dynamic RAM (DRDRAM), and memory bus dynamic RAM (RDRAM), etc.

[0153] The above-described embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, and are not intended to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some of the technical features. Such modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, and should all be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A feeding control method, characterized in that, Applied to 3D printing equipment, the method includes: Obtain the first volume of the first remaining printing material in the supply container; Obtain the second volume of the second remaining printing material in the container; Determine the third volume of printing material required to print the model to be printed, and determine the fourth volume of redundant printing material; If the sum of the first volume and the second volume is greater than the sum of the third volume and the fourth volume, then the model to be printed is printed, and printing material is added from the supply container to the holding container according to the preset feeding rules.

2. The feeding control method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Obtaining the first volume of the first remaining printing material in the supply container includes: Weigh the first remaining printing material in the supply container to obtain the weight of the first remaining printing material; Obtain the density information of the first remaining printing material; Based on the weight and density information of the first remaining printing material, calculate the first volume corresponding to the first remaining printing material.

3. The feeding control method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Obtaining the second volume of the second remaining printing material within the container includes: Control the movement of the printing platform and detect the forces acting on the printing platform; If the force on the printing platform is greater than or equal to the set value, it is determined that the printing platform touches the liquid surface of the second remaining printing material in the container; The height of the second remaining printing material level in the container when the printing platform touches the container is obtained. Obtain the cross-sectional area of ​​the container; The second volume of the second remaining printing material is calculated based on the cross-sectional area and the liquid level.

4. The feeding control method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Determining the third volume of printing material required for printing the model to be printed includes: Read the third volume of printing material required for printing the model from the model file corresponding to the model to be printed; or Based on the parameter information in the model file corresponding to the model to be printed, calculate the third volume of printing material required to print the model; or Receive the third volume of printing material required for the model to be printed via network.

5. The feeding control method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The determination of the fourth volume corresponding to the redundant printing material includes: Read the fourth volume corresponding to the redundant printing material from the storage device; or Obtain the baseline redundancy volume and the baseline print volume; Based on the first multiple of the third volume and the reference printed volume, the fourth volume is determined to be the second multiple of the reference redundant volume; or The fourth volume corresponding to the redundant printing material is received via the network.

6. The feeding control method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The method further includes: If the sum of the first volume and the second volume is less than the sum of the third volume and the fourth volume, stop printing the model to be printed and issue an alarm to replace the supply container or add printing material to the supply container. The method further includes: In response to the failure to acquire the first volume, a first error message is output. In response to the failure to obtain the second volume, a second exception message is output.

7. The feeding control method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The preset feeding rules include: During the printing process, count the number of layers printed in this round; When the number of printed layers is greater than or equal to the preset number of layers, the supply container adds a preset volume of printing material to the holding container; Restart a new round of printing layer count statistics.

8. The feeding control method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The method further includes: Obtain the printing parameters corresponding to the model to be printed, wherein the printing parameters include the printing material type corresponding to the model to be printed; Get the type of local printing material; If the type of local printing material does not match the type of printing material corresponding to the model to be printed, a message indicating that the printing material type matching failed will be displayed, and / or the printing parameters corresponding to the type of local printing material will be obtained to continue printing; If no printing parameters corresponding to the type of local printing material are found, a message indicating a printing material type matching failure will be displayed. If a printing material type mismatch is detected and a continue printing instruction is received, the printing parameters corresponding to the model to be printed are used as the printing parameters corresponding to the type of local printing material to continue printing.

9. An electronic device, characterized in that, include: At least one processor; And, a memory communicatively connected to the at least one processor; The memory stores instructions that can be executed by the at least one processor; The instructions are configured to perform the method described in any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The device stores computer-executable instructions for performing the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 8.

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