A high-precision adjusting platform and a spliced light source for a face exposure 3D printer

Abstract

The application relates to a high-precision adjusting platform and a spliced light source for a 3D printer of area exposure, and the high-precision adjusting platform comprises a displacement platform plate; an XYZ displacement platform arranged on the upper surface of the displacement platform plate and used for arranging a light machine; a support platform plate used for being connected with an external rack, and the length, width and height of the support platform plate are used as reference axes; and a rotating adjusting assembly connected with the support platform plate and the displacement platform plate and used for rotating the displacement platform plate around the X-axis, the Y-axis and the Z-axis of the axis system where the support platform plate is located. The application has the advantages that the light machine can be conveniently adjusted to move linearly along the X-axis, the Y-axis and the Z-axis, and the high-precision splicing effect of the spliced light source can be conveniently achieved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of large-format surface exposure additive manufacturing equipment, and in particular to a high-precision adjustment platform and a splicing light source for surface exposure 3D printers. Background Technology

[0002] Additive manufacturing equipment is also known as 3D printer, so surface exposure additive manufacturing equipment is called surface exposure 3D printer. Surface exposure 3D printing completes the curing of one layer of a solid part by generating a contour mask of the layer and exposing it once, so it can significantly improve the forming efficiency. The large-format projection is achieved by splicing light sources.

[0003] In related technologies, the splicing light source includes an optical engine, a reflecting prism, and an adjustment platform. The optical engine emits rectangular light rays, which are horizontally positioned and reflect the light rays horizontally. A reflecting prism works in conjunction with an optical engine, and the light rays emitted by the optical engine are projected upwards after passing through the reflecting prism. The upward-projected light rays combine with other light rays to form a rectangular but larger projection light source. An adjustment platform is connected to an optical engine and is a six-degree-of-freedom motion platform. The six-degree-of-freedom motion platform uses a cylinder or hydraulic cylinder as a power source to adjust the attitude of the optical engine, thereby realizing the splicing of small-format projections into large-format projections.

[0004] Regarding the aforementioned technologies, there is a drawback: during the splicing process of the splicing light source, the linear movement adjustment of XYZ is relatively frequent, while the rotational adjustment of XYZ is relatively infrequent. However, the adjustment of the XYZ linear movement of the six-degree-of-freedom motion platform, powered by a cylinder or hydraulic cylinder, is quite complex, which easily leads to the defect that the splicing light source cannot achieve high-precision splicing. Summary of the Invention

[0005] To facilitate the adjustment of the XYZ linear movement of the optical engine and to achieve high-precision splicing of the splicing light source, this application provides a high-precision adjustment platform and a splicing light source for a surface exposure 3D printer.

[0006] Firstly, this application provides a high-precision adjustment platform, which adopts the following technical solution: A high-precision adjustment platform, comprising: Displacement platform plate; The XYZ displacement platform is set on the upper surface of the displacement platform plate and is used for setting the optical machine. A support platform plate is used to connect to an external frame, and the length, width and height of the support platform plate serve as a reference axis system. A rotation adjustment assembly is connected to the support platform plate and the displacement platform plate, and is used to rotate the displacement platform plate about the X-axis, Y-axis and Z-axis respectively with respect to the axis system of the support platform plate.

[0007] By adopting the above technical solution, compared with the structure of the adjustment platform being a six-degree-of-freedom motion platform with cylinders or oil cylinders as the power source, this design can directly adjust the XYZ linear movement of the optical engine through the XYZ displacement platform. In this process, the rotary adjustment component can be inactive, so the displacement platform plate will not rotate around one of the X, Y, or Z axes. Therefore, it is convenient to adjust the XYZ linear movement of the optical engine, and thus it is also convenient to achieve high-precision splicing of splicing light sources.

[0008] Preferably, the XYZ displacement platform is an XYZ axis manual displacement stage.

[0009] By adopting the above technical solution, compared with the XYZ displacement platform which relies on electric cylinders and other drive sources to achieve movement, this design method makes the structure of the XYZ displacement platform simpler, so different adjustment platforms are less likely to interfere with each other in space.

[0010] Preferably, the rotation adjustment assembly: The rotary connector is constructed as a universal link. At least three rotary connectors are provided. The multiple rotary connectors are divided into one vertical shaft connector and multiple horizontal shaft connectors. One section of the vertical shaft connector is rotatably connected to the support platform plate in a manner that rotates about the Z-axis. One section of the horizontal shaft connector is movably disposed on the support platform plate for sliding about the rotation axis of the vertical shaft connector. The adjustable column has one end connected to the end of the rotating connector away from the support platform plate, and the other end connected to the displacement platform plate, for changing the distance between the displacement platform plate and the support platform plate.

[0011] By adopting the above technical solution, when the displacement platform plate is to rotate around the vertical axis (Z-axis), it is only necessary to slide multiple horizontal axis connectors around the vertical axis connectors while allowing the vertical axis connectors to rotate. When the displacement platform plate is to rotate around the horizontal axis (X-axis or Y-axis), the lengths of multiple adjustable columns between the displacement platform plate and the rotating connector can be changed to make the distance between the displacement platform plate and the support platform plate different at different positions. In addition, with the universal joint structure of the rotating connector, the purpose of rotating the displacement platform plate around the horizontal axis can be achieved.

[0012] Preferably, the end of the adjusting column away from the rotating connector is threadedly connected to the displacement platform plate, and the horizontal axis connector and a section of the supporting platform plate also rotate around the Z-axis.

[0013] By adopting the above technical solution, compared with the method of changing the distance between the displacement platform plate and the support platform plate by changing the length of the adjusting column, this design method allows the rotating connector to stop rotating after the displacement platform plate is adjusted to the correct position. At this time, the distance between the displacement platform plate and the support platform plate can be maintained by the threaded connection between the adjusting column and the displacement platform plate, without the need for external locking elements, thus further simplifying the structural complexity of the adjustment platform.

[0014] Preferably, the rotating connector is a block made of elastic material and is fixedly connected to the adjusting column; the support platform plate has a sliding fit hole at the horizontal axis connector, and the sliding fit hole extends in an arc shape; the support platform plate has a Z-turn fit hole at the vertical axis connector; locking bolts are provided at both the sliding fit hole and the Z-turn fit hole, the shank of the locking bolt is threaded to the rotating connector, and the head of the locking bolt abuts against the lower surface of the support platform plate to limit the rotation and sliding of the rotating connector relative to the support platform plate.

[0015] By adopting the above technical solution, compared with the universal joint coupling structure of the rotary connector, this design can, on the one hand, directly use the deformation of the rotary connector to balance the rotation of the displacement platform plate around the X-axis or Y-axis, thus simplifying the structure for rotating the displacement platform plate around the X-axis or Y-axis. On the other hand, after the displacement platform plate is adjusted to the correct position, the locking bolts can be tightened. The frictional force generated by the rotary connector's compressive deformation and its frictional force with the supporting platform plate, as well as the frictional force between the locking bolt head and the supporting platform plate, can better limit the rotation and sliding of the rotary connector relative to the supporting platform plate, thereby improving the ability to maintain the stability of the optical mechanism's attitude.

[0016] Preferably, a locking nut is threaded onto the end of the adjusting column away from the rotating connector. The locking nut abuts against the lower surface of the displacement platform plate to limit the relative rotation between the adjusting column and the displacement platform plate.

[0017] By adopting the above technical solution, after the locking bolt abuts against the support platform plate, the rotating connector is made of an elastic material and can still be compressed, causing the adjusting column to rotate. Therefore, the locking nut can further restrict the relative rotation between the adjusting column and the displacement platform plate, thereby improving the attitude maintenance capability of the adjustment platform.

[0018] Preferably, the adjusting column is threadedly connected to the rotating connector, and a mounting nut is threadedly fitted onto one end of the adjusting column near the rotating connector. The mounting nut abuts against the rotating connector to limit the relative rotation between the rotating connector and the adjusting column.

[0019] By adopting the above technical solution, the adjusting column will not come off when the rotating connector rotates. Therefore, the rotating connector and the adjusting column are fixedly fixed through a detachable structure, thereby improving the ease of use of the adjustment platform while maintaining the ease of assembly.

[0020] Preferably, the plurality of the rotating connectors are arranged in a polygonal pattern.

[0021] By adopting the above technical solution, compared with the linear distribution method, this design method can better support the displacement platform, thereby improving the load-bearing capacity of the adjustment platform.

[0022] Preferably, three rotating connectors are provided, and the three rotating connectors are distributed in an isosceles triangle with the vertical axis connector as the vertex.

[0023] By adopting the above technical solution, while maintaining load-bearing stability, the rotation of the displacement platform plate around the X-axis, Y-axis and Z-axis can be made more convenient.

[0024] Secondly, this application provides a splicing light source for a surface exposure 3D printer, employing the following technical solution: A splicing light source for a surface exposure 3D printer includes a high-precision adjustment platform, an optical engine, and a reflective prism. The optical engine is horizontally positioned, with one optical engine mounted on one of the high-precision adjustment platforms. One reflective prism works in conjunction with one optical engine to convert horizontal light rays into vertically upward light rays. Multiple optical engines are located in different directions within the rectangular area occupied by multiple reflective prisms. Light rays emitted by two, three, or four optical engines are combined into a larger-format light source after passing through the reflective prisms.

[0025] By adopting the above technical solution, due to the setting of the high-precision adjustment platform, the small-area projections generated by different optical engines can be spliced ​​into a large-area projection in a more precise way, which helps to improve the overall performance of the surface exposure 3D printer. In addition, multiple optical engines are distributed in a windmill shape, so the problem of splicing large-volume optical engines can be solved.

[0026] In summary, this application includes at least one of the following beneficial technical effects: 1. Compared to the six-degree-of-freedom motion platform structure that uses cylinders or hydraulic cylinders as power sources, this design allows for direct XYZ linear movement adjustment of the optical engine via the XYZ displacement platform. During this process, the rotary adjustment components do not need to operate, so the displacement platform plate will not rotate around any of the X, Y, or Z axes. This facilitates XYZ linear movement adjustment of the optical engine and also makes it easier to achieve high-precision splicing of splicing light sources. 2. To rotate the displacement platform plate around the vertical axis (Z-axis), simply slide multiple horizontal axis connectors around the vertical axis connectors while simultaneously rotating the vertical axis connectors. To rotate the displacement platform plate around the horizontal axis (X-axis or Y-axis), the lengths of multiple adjustable columns between the displacement platform plate and the rotating connectors can be changed to create different distances between the displacement platform plate and the support platform plate at different locations. Combined with the universal joint structure of the rotating connectors, this allows the displacement platform plate to rotate around the horizontal axis. Attached Figure Description

[0027] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the high-precision adjustment platform in the embodiments of this application.

[0028] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram illustrating how the rotation adjustment component and the support platform plate are connected in the embodiments of this application.

[0029] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the spliced ​​light source in the embodiment of this application.

[0030] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram in the embodiments of this application to illustrate how a small-format projection can be transformed into a large-format projection.

[0031] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached drawings: 1. Displacement platform plate; 2. XYZ displacement platform; 3. Support platform plate; 31. Sliding fit hole; 32. Z-rotation fit hole; 4. Rotation adjustment assembly; 41. Rotation connector; 411. Vertical axis connector; 412. Horizontal axis connector; 42. Adjustment column; 5. Locking bolt; 6. Locking nut; 7. Mounting nut; 8. High-precision adjustment platform; 9. Optical mechanism; 10. Reflecting prism. Detailed Implementation

[0032] The following is in conjunction with the appendix Figure 1-4 This application will be described in further detail.

[0033] This application discloses a high-precision adjustment platform. (Refer to...) Figure 1The high-precision adjustment platform 8 includes a displacement platform plate 1, an XYZ displacement platform 2, a support platform plate 3, and a rotation adjustment component 4. The displacement platform plate 1 is a thin cuboid and is horizontally positioned. The XYZ displacement platform 2 is fixedly mounted on the upper surface of the displacement platform plate 1, and the XYZ displacement platform 2 is used for mounting the optical engine 9. The XYZ displacement platform 2 can be a manual XYZ axis displacement stage or a three-axis displacement stage with a drive source such as a cylinder or hydraulic cylinder. The support platform plate 3 is a thin cuboid and is located below the displacement platform plate 1. The length, width, and height of the support platform plate 3 serve as the reference XYZ three-axis system. The rotation adjustment component 4 is connected to the support platform plate 3 and the displacement platform plate 1 respectively. The rotation adjustment component 4 is used to rotate the displacement platform plate 1 around the X-axis, Y-axis, or Z-axis, thereby adjusting the platform to perform six degrees of freedom adjustment on the optical engine 9.

[0034] Reference Figure 1 In summary, compared to the six-degree-of-freedom motion platform structure that uses cylinders or hydraulic cylinders as power sources, this design allows the rotation adjustment component 4 to remain inactive and unaffected when the XYZ displacement platform 2 is used to adjust the XYZ linear movement of the optical engine 9. In other words, the XYZ linear movement and XYZ rotation are independent of each other, which facilitates the adjustment of the XYZ linear movement of the optical engine 9 and also makes it easier to achieve high-precision splicing of the splicing light source.

[0035] Reference Figure 1 and Figure 2 To enable the displacement platform plate 1 to rotate around the X, Y, and Z axes, the rotation adjustment assembly 4 includes a rotation connector 41 and an adjustment column 42. The rotation connector 41 is a cylindrical block made of elastic material. Multiple rotation connectors 41 are divided into one vertical axis connector 411 and multiple horizontal axis connectors 412, depending on their connection structure with the support platform plate 3. The support platform plate 3 has a Z-rotation fitting hole 32 in the shape of a circular hole at the vertical axis connector 411 and a sliding fitting hole 31 at the horizontal axis connector 412. The sliding fitting hole 31 extends in an arc shape, and the center of the circumference of the arc extension is aligned with the Z-axis. The center of the rotating fitting hole 32 is coaxially arranged, and locking bolts 5 are provided at the sliding fitting hole 31 and the Z-rotating fitting hole 32. The shank of the locking bolt 5 is threadedly connected to the rotating connector 41, and the head of the locking bolt 5 abuts against the lower surface of the support platform plate 3 to restrict the rotation of the vertical axis connector 411 around the Z-axis, the rotation of the horizontal axis connector 412 around the Z-axis, and the sliding in the horizontal direction. In addition, the friction generated by the deformation of the rotating connector 41 and the support platform plate 3 can be used to further improve the stability of the rotating connector 41 when it is locked, thereby improving the ability to maintain the stability of the optical engine 9.

[0036] Reference Figure 1 and Figure 2 The adjusting column 42 is cylindrical in shape. One adjusting column 42 is connected to a rotating connector 41. One end of the adjusting column 42 is coaxially threaded to the rotating connector 41, and the other end is threaded to the displacement platform plate 1. Rotating the rotating connector 41 changes the length of the adjusting column 42 between the displacement platform plate 1 and the support platform plate 3, thus changing the distance between them. In summary, firstly, when it is necessary to rotate the displacement platform plate 1 around the vertical axis (Z-axis), multiple horizontal axes can be connected... The device 412 can slide around the vertical axis using the connector 411, and the vertical axis connector 411 can rotate. Secondly, when it is necessary to rotate the displacement platform plate 1 around the horizontal axis (X-axis or Y-axis), multiple rotating connectors 41 can be rotated to change the length of multiple adjusting columns 42 between the displacement platform plate 1 and the rotating connector, so that the distance between the displacement platform plate 1 and the support platform plate 3 is different at different positions. At the same time, with the help of the elastic deformation of the rotating connector 41, the purpose of rotating the displacement platform plate 1 around the horizontal axis can be achieved.

[0037] In other embodiments, if the simplicity of the structure is not considered, the following structural forms may also be adopted: First, the end of the adjusting column 42 connected to the displacement platform plate 1 can be a multi-section telescopic structure, so the distance between the displacement platform plate 1 and the support platform plate 3 can be changed without rotating the adjusting column 42. At the same time, the rotating connector 41 does not need to rotate around the Z-axis. However, in this case, other structures need to be added to limit the length change of the adjusting column 42.

[0038] Secondly, the rotating connector 41 has a universal joint structure. One section of the rotating connector 41 is connected to the adjusting column 42. The connection structure of the other section is different for the vertical shaft connector 411 and the horizontal shaft connector 412. The other section of the vertical shaft connector 411 is also rotatably connected to the support platform plate 3. This rotatable structure needs to rotate around the Z-axis. Therefore, it is only necessary to add other structures to restrict the vertical shaft connector 411 from rotating around the Z-axis. The other section of the horizontal shaft connector 412 needs to be connected to a slide. The horizontal shaft connector 412 needs to rotate around the Z-axis relative to the slide. At the same time, this slide needs to be horizontally slidably installed on the support platform plate 3. Therefore, it is necessary to restrict the relative rotation between the horizontal shaft connector 412 and the slide, as well as restrict the sliding of the slide.

[0039] Reference Figure 1 and Figure 2Since the rotating connector 41 is made of an elastic material and is block-shaped, it can still be compressed to make the adjusting column 42 rotate. In order to improve the attitude maintenance capability of the adjusting platform, a locking nut 6 is coaxially threaded on the end of the adjusting column 42 away from the rotating connector 41. The locking nut 6 abuts against the lower surface of the displacement platform plate 1 to restrict the relative rotation between the adjusting column 42 and the displacement platform plate 1.

[0040] Reference Figure 1 Since the adjusting column 42 is threadedly connected to the rotating coupling, in order to allow the adjusting column 42 to disengage when the rotating coupling 41 rotates, a mounting nut 7 is threadedly fitted on one end of the adjusting column 42 near the rotating coupling 41. The mounting nut 7 abuts against the rotating coupling 41 to limit the relative rotation between the rotating coupling 41 and the adjusting column 42.

[0041] Reference Figure 1 and Figure 2 In this embodiment, the distribution of multiple rotating connectors 41 determines the load-bearing capacity of the adjustment platform. Therefore, the load-bearing capacity of the adjustment platform can be maintained, and the ease of use of the adjustment platform can be improved. So, a total of three rotating connectors 41 are provided, and the three rotating connectors 41 are distributed in an isosceles triangle with the vertical axis connector 411 as the vertex.

[0042] In other embodiments, if the area of ​​the displacement platform plate 1 is small, or if the load-bearing capacity is not considered, the multiple rotating connectors 41 can also be arranged in a straight line.

[0043] The implementation principle of a high-precision adjustment platform in this application embodiment is as follows: when the XYZ displacement platform 2 is used to adjust the XYZ linear movement of the optical engine 9, the rotation adjustment component 4 can be left unused and will not be disturbed. That is, the XYZ linear movement and the XYZ rotation are independent of each other, so it is convenient to adjust the XYZ linear movement of the optical engine 9, thereby facilitating the high-precision splicing of the splicing light source.

[0044] This application also discloses a splicing light source for a surface exposure 3D printer. (Refer to...) Figure 3 and Figure 4 The splicing light source includes the high-precision adjustment platform 8, the optical engine 9, and the reflective prism 10 described in the previous embodiment. The high-precision adjustment platform 8 is mounted on the external frame in a horizontal manner with the support platform plate 3. One optical engine 9 is mounted on one high-precision adjustment platform 8. One reflective prism 10 works in conjunction with one optical engine 9 to convert the light emitted horizontally by the optical engine 9 into light that is vertically upward. Therefore, the light passing through multiple optical engines 9 can be combined to realize the transformation from small-format projection to large-format projection.

[0045] Reference Figure 3 and Figure 4 Because the projection area is rectangular, the number of optical engines 9 can only be two, three, or four. Only in these three cases can the following conditions be met: First, the small rectangular projection needs to be spliced ​​together to form a large rectangular projection. Second, the multiple optical engines 9 are located in different positions on the rectangular area occupied by the multiple reflecting prisms 10. Therefore, from the top view, the multiple optical engines 9 will be distributed in a windmill shape, thus solving the problem of splicing large-volume optical engines 9.

[0046] The above are all preferred embodiments of this application, and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, all equivalent changes made in accordance with the structure, shape and principle of this application should be covered within the scope of protection of this application.

Claims

1. A high-precision adjustment platform, characterized in that: include: Displacement platform plate (1); The XYZ displacement platform (2) is set on the upper surface of the displacement platform plate (1) for the optical machine (9) to be set. A support platform plate (3) is used to connect with an external frame, and the length, width and height of the support platform plate (3) serve as a reference axis. The rotation adjustment component (4) is connected to the support platform plate (3) and the displacement platform plate (1) to make the displacement platform plate (1) rotate about the X-axis, Y-axis and Z-axis respectively with respect to the axis system where the support platform plate (3) is located. The rotation adjustment component (4): The rotating connector (41) is constructed as a universal link. At least three rotating connectors (41) are provided. The multiple rotating connectors (41) are divided into a vertical shaft connector (411) and multiple horizontal shaft connectors (412). One section of the vertical shaft connector (411) is rotatably connected to the support platform plate (3) in a manner that rotates around the Z-axis. One section of the horizontal shaft connector (412) is movably disposed on the support platform plate (3) for sliding the horizontal shaft connector (412) around the rotation axis of the vertical shaft connector (411). The adjustable column (42) is connected at one end to the end of the rotating connector (41) away from the support platform plate (3) and at the other end to the displacement platform plate (1), and is used to change the distance between the displacement platform plate (1) and the support platform plate (3); The rotating connector (41) is a block made of elastic material and is fixedly connected to the adjusting column (42). The support platform plate (3) has a sliding fit hole (31) at the horizontal shaft connector (412) and the sliding fit hole (31) extends in an arc shape. The support platform plate (3) has a Z-turn fit hole (32) at the vertical shaft connector (411). Locking bolts (5) are provided at both the sliding fit hole (31) and the Z-turn fit hole (32). The shank of the locking bolt (5) is threaded to the rotating connector (41), and the head of the locking bolt (5) abuts against the lower surface of the support platform plate (3) to limit the rotation and sliding of the rotating connector (41) relative to the support platform plate (3). The center of the arc-shaped extension of the sliding fit hole (31) is coaxial with the center of the Z-rotation fit hole (32).

2. The high-precision adjustment platform according to claim 1, characterized in that: The XYZ displacement platform (2) is a manual displacement table for the XYZ axes.

3. The high-precision adjustment platform according to claim 1, characterized in that: The end of the adjusting column (42) away from the rotating connector (41) is threadedly connected to the displacement platform plate (1), and the horizontal axis connector (412) and a section of the support platform plate (3) also rotate around the Z-axis.

4. The high-precision adjustment platform according to claim 1, characterized in that: The end of the adjusting column (42) away from the rotating connector (41) is threaded with a locking nut (6), which abuts against the lower surface of the displacement platform plate (1) to limit the relative rotation between the adjusting column (42) and the displacement platform plate (1).

5. The high-precision adjustment platform according to claim 1, characterized in that: The adjusting column (42) is threadedly connected to the rotating connector (41). The adjusting column (42) near the rotating connector (41) is threaded with a mounting nut (7). The mounting nut (7) abuts against the rotating connector (41) to limit the relative rotation between the rotating connector (41) and the adjusting column (42).

6. The high-precision adjustment platform according to claim 1, characterized in that: The multiple rotating connectors (41) are arranged in a polygonal pattern.

7. The high-precision adjustment platform according to claim 6, characterized in that: The rotating connector (41) is provided in three parts, and the three rotating connectors (41) are distributed in an isosceles triangle with the vertical axis connector (411) as the vertex.

8. A splicing light source for a surface exposure 3D printer, characterized in that: The system includes a high-precision adjustment platform (8), an optical engine (9), and a reflective prism (10) as described in any one of claims 1-7. The optical engine (9) is horizontally positioned, and one optical engine (9) is positioned on one of the high-precision adjustment platforms. One reflective prism (10) cooperates with one optical engine (9) to convert horizontal light into vertically upward light. Multiple optical engines (9) are located in different directions in the rectangular area occupied by multiple reflective prisms (10). The light emitted by two, three, or four optical engines (9) is combined into a larger-format light source after passing through the reflective prism (10).

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