An external 3D printing cooler

Abstract

This invention discloses an external 3D printing cooler. The cooler includes: a cooler body disposed on the 3D printing head; a cavity within the cooler body, with multiple fins arranged parallel to each other along a first direction at the center of the cavity; a first fin among the multiple fins, the side of which abuts against a cooling device; a first radiator disposed on the top of the multiple fins, supplying air vertically along the first direction; and an air outlet disposed on the bottom of the cavity, discharging air vertically along the first direction. This invention allows for setting appropriate solidification temperatures and times for different materials based on their characteristics. By controlling the cooling device and water cooling device, the cooling temperature can be adjusted in real time according to the model conditions, ensuring rapid solidification of the printed material, preventing material collapse due to insufficient solidification, facilitating subsequent material stacking, and promoting the integrity of the 3D printed object.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of 3D printing cooling technology, and more particularly to an external 3D printing cooler. Background Technology

[0002] 3D printing technology emerged in the 1980s and is currently experiencing rapid growth. 3D printing utilizes various bondable materials to construct objects layer by layer. Its customizability has led to its widespread application in various industries, including industrial design, aerospace, and healthcare. Current 3D printing equipment often requires heating the material to increase its fluidity during printing, but the printed material needs to be cooled rapidly to solidify. If the lower layers of material do not solidify in time, it can cause the upper layers to fail to stack and collapse. Summary of the Invention

[0003] In view of this, the purpose of this invention is to propose an external 3D printing cooler and its control method, which can set the corresponding solidification temperature and time according to the different characteristics of different materials. By controlling the cooling device and the water cooling device, the cooling temperature can be adjusted in real time according to the model situation to ensure that the printed material solidifies quickly, avoid material collapse caused by insufficient solidification, facilitate the subsequent stacking of materials, and promote the integrity of the 3D printed object.

[0004] According to one aspect of the present invention, an external 3D printing cooler is provided, comprising: a cooler body disposed on a 3D printing head;

[0005] The refrigerator body has a cavity with multiple fins arranged parallel to each other along a first direction at its center. The multiple fins include a first fin, the side of which abuts against a refrigeration device. A first radiator is provided on the top of the multiple fins, which supplies air in a direction perpendicular to the first direction. An air outlet is provided at the bottom of the cavity, which discharges air in a direction perpendicular to the first direction. The air outlet is connected to an air outlet duct, and a water-cooling device is provided on the outside of the air outlet duct. The refrigeration device and the water-cooling device are respectively electrically connected to a controller.

[0006] In the above technical solution, users can set corresponding solidification temperatures and times for different materials based on their characteristics. By controlling the output power of the cooling and water-cooling devices, the cooling temperature can be adjusted in real time according to the model conditions to ensure rapid solidification of the printed material, preventing material collapse due to insufficient solidification, facilitating subsequent material stacking, and promoting the integrity of the 3D printed object. The cooling system consists of an air-cooling device and a water-cooling device. Currently, few studies combine these two for focused cooling of 3D printed materials. When rapid solidification of the printed material is required, both the air-cooling and water-cooling devices can be operated simultaneously to accelerate cooling to a lower temperature. When the solidification requirement of the printed material is not high, the water-cooling device can be shut down, relying solely on the air-cooling device to save energy and improve cooling efficiency.

[0007] In some embodiments, the cooling device includes: a thermoelectric cooler, a heat-conducting plate, and a second heat sink; the cooling end of the thermoelectric cooler is attached to one side of the heat-conducting plate; the other side of the heat-conducting plate is attached to the side of the first fin; the second heat sink is used to remove the heat generated by the heat-generating end of the thermoelectric cooler.

[0008] In the above technical solution, the cooling air is transferred to the fins by the cooperation of the semiconductor cooling chip and the cooling plate, and the cooling air is further blown to the air outlet duct by the first heat sink, which can greatly improve the cooling efficiency.

[0009] In some embodiments, the water-cooling device includes: a spiral heat exchanger and a coolant circulation system connected to the heat exchanger pipe; the spiral heat exchanger is wrapped around the outer wall of the air outlet duct.

[0010] In the above technical solution, the heat exchanger of the water-cooled device is installed in the air outlet duct, which can solve the problem of insufficient cooling at the far air outlet when using traditional cold air cooling.

[0011] In some embodiments, the cooler body is further provided with a control box, which is used to install a controller and a control panel;

[0012] An infrared thermal imaging camera is installed at the bottom of the control box in a direction perpendicular to the first direction.

[0013] In the above technical solution, thermal imaging and image recognition technology can be used to understand the solidification state of the item at the end of printing, so as to determine whether specific areas need to be cooled. When the printed item is completely solidified, the printing is completed, avoiding secondary damage caused by incomplete solidification.

[0014] According to another aspect of the present invention, a control method for an external 3D printing cooler is provided. Based on the above-described control method for an external 3D printing cooler, the method includes the following steps:

[0015] Before starting printing, set the temperature required for the material to cool and solidify and the threshold for the solidification time of the material at that temperature.

[0016] After printing begins, the cooling unit starts working and uses an infrared thermal imaging camera to monitor the cooling temperature of the air outlet duct in real time. It also determines whether the current cooling temperature is lower than the temperature required for the material to cool and solidify. If so, the cooling parameters are maintained; otherwise, the airflow rate is increased.

[0017] Before printing each layer of the item to be printed, it is determined whether the time required to complete the printing of the current layer is less than the material solidification time threshold. If so, the water cooling device is activated until the printing of the current layer is completed.

[0018] Otherwise, analyze the printing density and size of the current layer of the item to be printed, and determine whether the printing density or size of the current layer of the item to be printed is less than the printing density or size of the next layer of the item to be printed. If so, turn on the water cooling device until the current layer is finished printing; otherwise, do not turn on the water cooling device until the current layer is finished printing.

[0019] In the above technical solution, users can set corresponding solidification temperatures and times for different materials based on their characteristics. By controlling the output power of the cooling and water-cooling devices, the cooling temperature can be adjusted in real time according to the model conditions to ensure rapid solidification of the printed material, preventing material collapse due to insufficient solidification, facilitating subsequent material stacking, and promoting the integrity of the 3D printed object. The cooling system consists of an air-cooling device and a water-cooling device. Currently, few studies combine these two for focused cooling of 3D printed materials. When rapid solidification of the printed material is required, both the air-cooling and water-cooling devices can be operated simultaneously to accelerate cooling to a lower temperature. When the solidification requirement of the printed material is not high, the water-cooling device can be shut down, relying solely on the air-cooling device to save energy and improve cooling efficiency.

[0020] In some embodiments, the process continues until the current layer finishes printing, and then includes:

[0021] A three-dimensional coordinate system for the object to be printed is established with the center point of the object to be printed as the origin, the horizontal direction of the processing plane as the x-axis, the vertical direction of the processing plane as the y-axis, and the material stacking direction as the z-axis, and a thickness threshold is set.

[0022] The thermal imaging image of the current layer plane is captured using an infrared thermal imaging camera, and then mapped between the three-dimensional coordinate system of the object to be printed and the coordinate system of the thermal imaging image.

[0023] The temperature field of the current layer is measured by thermal imaging to obtain the region coordinates of the unsolidified area of ​​the current layer, and the region coordinates of the three-dimensional coordinate system of the object to be printed are obtained by mapping.

[0024] Move the 3D printer nozzle to the corresponding position according to the area coordinates in the three-dimensional coordinate system of the object to be printed, turn on the cooling device, and turn on the water cooling device when the thickness of the current layer is greater than the thickness threshold.

[0025] In the above technical solution, thermal imaging and image recognition technology can be used to understand the solidification state of the item at the end of printing, so as to determine whether specific areas need to be cooled. When the printed item is completely solidified, the printing is completed, avoiding secondary damage caused by incomplete solidification.

[0026] In some embodiments, the 3D printer nozzle is moved to the corresponding position according to the area coordinates in the three-dimensional coordinate system of the object to be printed, and the cooling device is turned on. Specifically:

[0027] Select the area with the highest temperature in the current layer as the cooling zone;

[0028] If the peak temperature of the area with the highest temperature in the current layer is more than 1.5 times the temperature required for the material to cool and solidify, then the refrigeration device and the water cooling device will be turned on simultaneously to cool the cooling area.

[0029] Conversely, turn on the refrigeration unit to cool the cooling area.

[0030] In the above technical solution, to avoid the shrinkage phenomenon caused by excessively low temperatures, a threshold is set to prevent the problem of excessively low temperatures. The so-called shrinkage phenomenon means that the overall temperature of the freshly printed model is relatively high. If the temperature is too low, the model will expand and contract due to thermal cooling, resulting in a decrease in the molding accuracy of the model.

[0031] In some embodiments, the cooling device is turned on to cool the cooling zone, specifically:

[0032] The formula for calculating the cooling rate of a material is as follows:

[0033]

[0034] In the formula, This represents the peak temperature of the region with the highest temperature in the current layer. The glass temperature of the material. This is the cooldown time, which is a manually set cooldown time, typically 1-2 seconds.

[0035] like If the temperature is greater than 50℃ / s, adjust the output power of the refrigeration device to the maximum; otherwise, adjust the output power of the refrigeration device to half.

[0036] In the above technical solution, on the one hand, it is necessary to avoid the shrinkage of the model due to excessively low temperatures, and on the other hand, it is necessary to ensure that the lower layer material can solidify in time. Therefore, it is necessary to balance the output power of the cooling gas during the cooling process. The above method is used to control this, which can both prevent shrinkage and ensure timely solidification.

[0037] According to another aspect of the present invention, a control device for an external 3D printing cooler is provided, comprising:

[0038] At least one processor; and,

[0039] A memory communicatively connected to the at least one processor; wherein,

[0040] The memory stores instructions that can be executed by the at least one processor, which enables the at least one processor to perform the control method for an external 3D printing cooler described above.

[0041] In the above technical solution, to better operate and process the method, the method is stored in memory, and the processor executes the stored method. It should be noted that the principle and effect of each step have been described above and will not be elaborated upon here.

[0042] According to another aspect of the present invention, a computer-readable storage medium is provided storing a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the above-described control method for an external 3D printing cooler.

[0043] In the above technical solution, to better operate and use the method, the method is stored in a computer-readable storage medium and implemented using a processor. It should be noted that the principle and effect of each step have been described above and will not be elaborated upon here. Attached Figure Description

[0044] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0045] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an embodiment of the external 3D printing cooler and its control method of the present invention. Figure 1 ;

[0046] Figure 2 This is an exploded view of an embodiment of the external 3D printing cooler and its control method of the present invention. Figure 1 ;

[0047] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an embodiment of the external 3D printing cooler and its control method of the present invention. Figure 2 ;

[0048] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram showing the connection between the first fin, the cooling plate, and the cooling plate in an embodiment of the external 3D printing cooler and its control method of the present invention.

[0049] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the mounting ear of an embodiment of the external 3D printing cooler and its control method of the present invention;

[0050] Figure 6 This is a schematic flowchart of another embodiment of the external 3D printing cooler and its control method of the present invention;

[0051] Figure 7 This is a coordinate system schematic diagram of another embodiment of the external 3D printing cooler and its control method of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0052] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be particularly noted that the following embodiments are for illustrative purposes only and do not limit the scope of the invention. Similarly, the following embodiments are only some, not all, embodiments of the present invention, and all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0053] This invention provides an external 3D printing cooler and its control method, which can set corresponding solidification temperature and time for different materials with different characteristics. By controlling the cooling device and water cooling device, the cooling temperature can be adjusted in real time according to the model to ensure that the printed material solidifies quickly, avoid material collapse due to insufficient solidification, facilitate the stacking of subsequent materials, and promote the integrity of the 3D printed object.

[0054] Example 1

[0055] Please see Figures 1 to 5 The refrigerator body has a cavity 1, and multiple fins 2 are arranged parallel to each other along a first direction A at the center of the cavity. Among the multiple fins 2, there is a first fin 21, and the side of the first fin 21 abuts against a refrigeration device 3. A first radiator 4 is provided on the top of the multiple fins to deliver air in a direction perpendicular to the first direction A. An air outlet 5 is provided at the bottom of the cavity 1 to discharge air in a direction perpendicular to the first direction. The air outlet is connected to an air outlet duct 6, and a water cooling device 7 is provided on the outside of the air outlet duct 6. The refrigeration device 3 and the water cooling device 7 are respectively electrically connected to a controller.

[0056] In this embodiment, the user can set corresponding solidification temperatures and times for different materials based on their characteristics. By controlling the output power of the cooling and water-cooling devices, the cooling temperature can be adjusted in real time according to the model conditions to ensure rapid solidification of the printed material, avoiding material collapse due to insufficient solidification, facilitating subsequent material stacking, and promoting the integrity of the 3D printed object. The cooling device consists of an air-cooling device and a water-cooling device. Currently, few works combine the two for focused cooling of 3D printed materials. When the printed material requires rapid solidification, both the air-cooling and water-cooling devices can be used simultaneously to accelerate cooling to a lower temperature. When the solidification requirement of the printed material is not high, the water-cooling device can be stopped, relying solely on the air-cooling device to save energy and improve cooling efficiency. Specifically, during use, the cooler is installed on the 3D printing head using the mounting ears 8 on the back and nylon or stainless steel buckles. During printing, the cooling device generates cold air, which is blown to the exhaust duct 6 through the first radiator 4, while the fins serve to quickly conduct cold air. By controlling the output power of the refrigeration and water cooling devices, the refrigeration temperature is adjusted in real time according to the model conditions to ensure that the printed materials solidify quickly and avoid material collapse due to insufficient solidification.

[0057] In this embodiment, the cooling device 3 includes a thermoelectric cooler 31, a cooling plate 32, and a second heat sink 33. The cooling end of the thermoelectric cooler 31 is attached to one side of the cooling plate 32; the other side of the cooling plate 32 is attached to the side of the first fin 21; the second heat sink 33 is used to remove the heat generated by the heat-generating end of the thermoelectric cooler 31. By using the thermoelectric cooler and the cooling plate together to transfer cold air to the fins, and further using the first heat sink to blow the cold air to the air outlet duct, the cooling efficiency can be greatly improved.

[0058] In this embodiment, the water-cooling device 7 includes a spiral heat exchanger 71 and a coolant circulation system (not shown in the figure) connected to the heat exchanger pipe; the spiral heat exchanger 7 is wrapped around the outer wall of the air outlet duct 6. The heat exchanger 7 of the water-cooling device is located in the air outlet duct 6, which can solve the problem of insufficient cooling at the far-end air outlet in traditional cold air cooling. It should be noted that the specific arrangement of the coolant circulation system is not specific to existing technologies; please refer to existing technologies. Here, this embodiment aims to highlight the connection method of the heat exchanger to the air outlet duct 6, therefore, additional details are not further elaborated, as long as the water-cooling circulation requirements are met.

[0059] In this embodiment, the cooler body is further provided with a control box 9, which is used to install the controller and control panel; an infrared thermal imaging camera 10 is arranged at the bottom of the control box 9 along the vertical direction G of the first direction A. Thermal imaging and image recognition technology can be used to understand the solidification state of the item at the end of printing, to determine whether specific areas need cooling. When the printed item is completely solidified, printing is completed, avoiding secondary damage caused by incomplete solidification. The control panel includes a visual interface 91 and human-computer interaction buttons 92. The purpose of this control box is to integrate the controller and control panel; the specific integration method and setting method can be set by those skilled in the art according to actual needs, and will not be described in detail here.

[0060] In this embodiment, the air outlet duct 6 comprises three sequentially connected parts: a first duct 61, a multi-jointed bamboo-shaped duct 62, and a third duct 63. The purpose of the multi-jointed bamboo-shaped duct 62 is to allow adjustment of the blowing direction as needed. The front end of the third duct 63 can be fitted with air outlets of different shapes (not shown in the figure, but refer to the multi-purpose air outlet of a hair dryer). For example, a flat air outlet can focus the cool air onto the printing material, moving with the printing column for real-time cooling, resulting in higher cooling efficiency compared to ambient cooling or box-type cooling. It should be noted that the air outlet duct 6 is adjusted to face the printing port of the 3D printing head via the multi-jointed bamboo-shaped duct 62, and its height is higher than the printing port of the 3D printing head. It is important to note that the cooling principle of this device is to stop working when the detected temperature reaches a preset temperature, and to continue working otherwise. Theoretically, during the purging process, the exhaust duct 6 should be aligned with and higher than the 3D printing head. However, since the printing size is not fixed, for example, the height of the exhaust duct 6 is difficult to unify when the flat area is 1 square meter and when the flat area is 0.1 square meter. Therefore, this case limits the radiation area and thus the height of the exhaust duct 6 as mentioned above. However, it should be noted that this case is mainly aimed at small 3D printed parts, that is, workpieces with a flat size of 50cm*50cm, which is for the purpose of heat dissipation area. Of course, printed parts exceeding this range can also be used, but the effect will be worse than that within the flat size range.

[0061] In this embodiment, it should be noted that the first heat sink, the second heat sink, and the cooling fins are all existing technologies. The first and second heat sinks can be controlled by a computer host, and using a unified controller such as a microcontroller or PLC to control several devices is also existing technology. This embodiment does not illustrate the specific wiring method, only the structural design. However, those skilled in the art can understand how to install and wire the devices through this embodiment, so it will not be described further. Furthermore, the thermal imaging camera's acquisition technology is also existing technology, and will not be described further in this embodiment. Furthermore, the control box 9 includes a visual interface 91 and human-machine interaction buttons 92. The design of the visual interface and the specific functions of the human-machine interaction buttons 92 can be set according to actual needs, such as power adjustment of the cooling and water-cooling devices, thermal imaging temperature display, etc., and will not be limited in this embodiment. It should be noted that the control box can integrate a communication module as needed for remote control of the cooler.

[0062] Example 2

[0063] Please see Figure 6 and Figure 7 A control method for an external 3D printing cooler, based on the control method for an external 3D printing cooler described in one embodiment, the method comprising the following steps:

[0064] S101. Before starting printing, set the temperature required for the material to cool and solidify of the item to be printed 11 and the material solidification time threshold at that temperature.

[0065] In this embodiment, the temperature required for material cooling and solidification, and the threshold for material solidification time at that temperature, are set according to the material used for printing, and are not limited in this embodiment.

[0066] S102. After printing begins, the cooling device 3 starts working and uses the infrared thermal imaging camera 10 to monitor the cooling temperature of the air outlet duct 6 in real time. It also determines whether the current cooling temperature is lower than the temperature required for the material to cool and solidify. If so, the cooling parameters are maintained; otherwise, the cold air flow rate is increased.

[0067] In this embodiment, the airflow rate can be set according to the rotation speed of the first heat sink 4, or the output power of the semiconductor cooling chip 31 can be adjusted to further reduce the temperature.

[0068] S103. Before printing each layer of the item to be printed, determine whether the time required to complete the printing of the current layer is less than the material solidification time threshold. If so, turn on the water cooling device 7 until the printing of the current layer is completed.

[0069] Otherwise, analyze the printing density and size of the current layer of the item to be printed, and determine whether the printing density or size of the current layer of the item to be printed is less than the printing density or size of the next layer of the item to be printed. If so, turn on the water cooling device 7 until the current layer is finished printing; otherwise, do not turn on the water cooling device 7 until the current layer is finished printing.

[0070] In this embodiment, the printing density and size of the current layer of the item to be printed can be determined based on the slices created by the model, which will not be elaborated here. The purpose of determining whether the printing density or size of the current layer of the item to be printed is that if the printing density and size are large, rapid cooling is required, thus necessitating the activation of a water-cooling device to further improve cooling efficiency.

[0071] In this embodiment, the user can set corresponding solidification temperatures and times for different materials based on their characteristics. By controlling the output power of the cooling and water-cooling devices, the cooling temperature can be adjusted in real time according to the model conditions to ensure rapid solidification of the printed material, preventing material collapse due to insufficient solidification, facilitating subsequent material stacking, and promoting the integrity of the 3D printed object. The cooling system consists of an air-cooling device and a water-cooling device. Currently, few studies combine these two for focused cooling of 3D printed materials. When the printed material requires rapid solidification, both the air-cooling and water-cooling devices can be used simultaneously to accelerate cooling to a lower temperature. When the solidification requirement is not high, the water-cooling device can be stopped, relying solely on the air-cooling device to save energy and improve cooling efficiency.

[0072] In this embodiment, the process continues until the current layer finishes printing, and then includes:

[0073] A three-dimensional coordinate system for the object to be printed is established with the center point of the object to be printed 11 as the origin, the horizontal direction of the processing plane 12 as the x-axis, the vertical direction of the processing plane 12 as the y-axis, and the material stacking direction as the z-axis, and a thickness threshold is set.

[0074] In this embodiment, the thickness threshold needs to be set according to actual needs, and this embodiment does not limit it.

[0075] The thermal imaging image of the current layer plane is captured using an infrared thermal imaging camera, and then mapped between the three-dimensional coordinate system of the object to be printed and the coordinate system of the thermal imaging image.

[0076] In this embodiment, the purpose of this setting is that the internal coordinate system of the infrared thermal imaging camera is not synchronized with the three-dimensional coordinate system of the printed object, so further mapping is required. It should be noted that the specific mapping method is existing technology and will not be described in detail here.

[0077] The temperature field of the current layer is measured by thermal imaging to obtain the region coordinates of the unsolidified area of ​​the current layer, and the region coordinates of the three-dimensional coordinate system of the object to be printed are obtained by mapping.

[0078] Move the 3D printer nozzle to the corresponding position according to the area coordinates in the three-dimensional coordinate system of the object to be printed, turn on the cooling device, and turn on the water cooling device when the thickness of the current layer is greater than the thickness threshold.

[0079] In this embodiment, once the coordinate system of the three-dimensional coordinate system of the printed object is determined, the position of the 3D printer nozzle can be controlled according to the coordinate system.

[0080] In this embodiment, thermal imaging and image recognition technology can be used to understand the solidification state of the item at the end of printing, so as to determine whether specific areas need to be cooled. When the printed item is completely solidified, the printing is completed, avoiding secondary damage caused by incomplete solidification.

[0081] In this embodiment, the 3D printer nozzle is moved to the corresponding position according to the area coordinates in the three-dimensional coordinate system of the object to be printed, and the cooling device is turned on. Specifically:

[0082] Select the area with the highest temperature in the current layer as the cooling zone;

[0083] If the peak temperature of the area with the highest temperature in the current layer is more than 1.5 times the temperature required for the material to cool and solidify, then the refrigeration device and the water cooling device will be turned on simultaneously to cool the cooling area.

[0084] Conversely, turn on the refrigeration unit to cool the cooling area.

[0085] In this embodiment, to avoid the shrinkage phenomenon caused by excessively low temperatures, a threshold is set to prevent the problem of excessively low temperatures. The so-called shrinkage phenomenon means that the overall temperature of the newly printed model is relatively high. If the temperature is too low, the model will expand and contract due to thermal shock, leading to a decrease in the model's forming accuracy. Furthermore, it should be noted that treating all areas as cooling zones would significantly slow down the cooling effect. To ensure cooling efficiency, this design selects only the area with the highest temperature as the cooling zone, and then utilizes the thermal conduction effect of the material for heat dissipation. It should be noted that to ensure the heat dissipation effect of the entire plane, the radiation area of ​​the exhaust duct is 1 / 2 to 2 / 3 of the printed layer area. This is because if the radiation area is too large, the cooling efficiency will be low; if the radiation area is too small, the overall cooling efficiency will also be low. Therefore, the above setting is made. It should be noted that the principle of the cooler in this design is that it stops working when the detected temperature reaches the preset temperature, and continues working otherwise. Theoretically speaking,

[0086] In this embodiment, the refrigeration device is turned on to cool the cooling zone, specifically:

[0087] The formula for calculating the cooling rate of a material is as follows:

[0088]

[0089] In the formula, This represents the peak temperature of the region with the highest temperature in the current layer. The glass temperature of the material. This is the cooldown time, which is a manually set cooldown time, typically 1-2 seconds.

[0090] like If the temperature is greater than 50℃ / s, adjust the output power of the refrigeration device to the maximum; otherwise, adjust the output power of the refrigeration device to half.

[0091] In this embodiment, on the one hand, it is necessary to avoid the model from shrinking due to excessively low temperatures, and on the other hand, it is necessary to ensure that the lower layer material can solidify in a timely manner. Therefore, it is necessary to balance the output power of the cooling gas during the cooling process. The above-mentioned method is used to control this, which can both prevent shrinkage and ensure timely solidification.

[0092] Example 3

[0093] A control device for an external 3D printing cooler, comprising:

[0094] At least one processor; and,

[0095] A memory communicatively connected to the at least one processor; wherein,

[0096] The memory stores instructions that can be executed by the at least one processor, which enables the at least one processor to perform the control method for an external 3D printing cooler described above.

[0097] In this embodiment, to better run and process the method described in Embodiment 2, the above method is stored in a memory, and the stored method is executed using a processor. It should be noted that the principle and effect of each step have been described above and will not be elaborated upon here.

[0098] Example 4

[0099] A computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the aforementioned control method for an external 3D printing cooler.

[0100] In this embodiment, to better operate and use the method described in Embodiment 2, the above method is stored in a computer-readable storage medium and implemented using a processor. It should be noted that the principle and effect of each step have been described above and will not be elaborated further here.

[0101] The above description is only a part of the embodiments of the present invention and does not limit the scope of protection of the present invention. Any equivalent device or equivalent process transformation made based on the content of the present invention specification and drawings, or direct or indirect application in other related technical fields, are similarly included within the patent protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An external 3D printing cooler, characterized in that, include: The cooler body is located in the 3D printing head; The cooler body has a cavity, and multiple fins are arranged parallel to each other along a first direction at the center of the cavity; the multiple fins include a first fin, the side of which abuts against a cooling device; a first radiator is provided on the top of the multiple fins to deliver air in a vertical direction along the first direction. The cavity has an air outlet at its bottom, perpendicular to a first direction, connected to an air outlet duct. A water-cooling device is located on the outside of the air outlet duct. The water-cooling device includes a spiral heat exchanger and a coolant circulation system connected to the heat exchanger duct. The spiral heat exchanger is wrapped around the outer wall of the air outlet duct. The cooler body also has a control box containing a controller. An infrared thermal imaging camera is located at the bottom of the control box, perpendicular to the first direction. The cooler control method is as follows: Before printing begins, the required cooling and solidification temperature of the material to be printed and the material solidification time threshold at that temperature are set. After printing begins, the cooler starts working and uses the infrared thermal imaging camera to monitor the cooling temperature of the air outlet duct in real time. It determines whether the current cooling temperature is lower than the required cooling and solidification temperature of the material. If so, the cooling parameters are maintained; otherwise, the cold air flow rate is increased. Before printing each layer of the material to be printed, it determines whether the time required to complete the current layer is less than the material solidification time threshold. If so, the water-cooling device is activated until the current layer is printed. If the current layer of the object to be printed is less than the next layer, the following steps are taken: First, the printing density and size of the current layer are analyzed to determine if they are less than the next layer. If so, the water cooling device is activated until the current layer is finished printing. Otherwise, the water cooling device is not activated until the current layer is finished printing. Next, the process includes: establishing a three-dimensional coordinate system for the object to be printed with the center point of the object as the origin, the horizontal axis of the processing plane as the x-axis, the vertical axis of the processing plane as the y-axis, and the material stacking direction as the z-axis, and setting a thickness threshold; capturing a thermal image of the current layer plane using an infrared thermal imaging camera, and mapping the three-dimensional coordinate system of the object to be printed to the thermal image coordinate system; obtaining the coordinates of the unsolidified area of ​​the current layer by measuring the temperature field of the current layer through the thermal imaging image, and obtaining the area coordinates in the three-dimensional coordinate system of the object to be printed through mapping; moving the 3D printer nozzle to the corresponding position according to the area coordinates in the three-dimensional coordinate system of the object to be printed, activating the cooling device, and activating the water cooling device when the thickness of the current layer is greater than the thickness threshold. The refrigeration unit and the water cooling unit are each electrically connected to a controller.

2. An external 3D printing cooler as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The cooling device includes: a semiconductor cooling chip, a cooling plate, and a second heat sink; the cooling end of the semiconductor cooling chip is attached to one side of the cooling plate; the other side of the cooling plate is attached to the side of the first fin; the second heat sink is used to remove the heat generated by the heat-generating end of the semiconductor cooling chip.

3. An external 3D printing cooler as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The refrigerator body is also provided with a control box, which is used to install the controller and control panel; An infrared thermal imaging camera is installed at the bottom of the control box in a direction perpendicular to the first direction.

4. An external 3D printing cooler as described in claim 1, characterized in that, Move the 3D printer nozzle to the corresponding position according to the area coordinates in the three-dimensional coordinate system of the object to be printed, and turn on the cooling device. Specifically: Select the area with the highest temperature in the current layer as the cooling zone; If the peak temperature of the area with the highest temperature in the current layer is more than 1.5 times the temperature required for the material to cool and solidify, then the refrigeration device and the water cooling device will be turned on simultaneously to cool the cooling area. Conversely, turn on the refrigeration unit to cool the cooling area.

5. An external 3D printing cooler as described in claim 1, characterized in that, Turn on the refrigeration unit to cool the cooling area, specifically: The formula for calculating the cooling rate of a material is as follows: In the formula, This represents the peak temperature of the region with the highest temperature in the current layer. The glass temperature of the material. This is the cooldown time, which is a manually set cooldown time, typically 1-2 seconds. like If the temperature is greater than 50℃ / s, adjust the output power of the refrigeration device to the maximum; otherwise, adjust the output power of the refrigeration device to half.

6. A control device for an external 3D printing cooler, characterized in that, include: At least one processor; as well as, A memory communicatively connected to the at least one processor; wherein, The memory stores instructions that can be executed by the at least one processor to enable the at least one processor to perform the control method as described in claim 1.

7. A computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program, characterized in that, When the computer program is executed by the processor, it implements the control method described in claim 1.

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