A ceramic printer capable of temperature-controlled printing

Abstract

The application discloses a kind of temperature-controllable printing ceramic printer, including base, laser generator and doctor blade, base is provided with sequentially arranged feed cylinder, forming cylinder and overflow cylinder, the bottom of forming cylinder is provided with forming platform, forming movement module can drive forming platform to lift, the bottom of feed cylinder is provided with feed platform, and feed movement module can drive feed platform to lift;Laser generator is connected with laser galvanometer, and laser galvanometer is located above forming cylinder;Doctor blade is used to scrape the material on the surface of feed cylinder to forming cylinder;First heating module for heating feed cylinder is arranged on the side wall of feed cylinder, semiconductor refrigeration heating module is fixed on the bottom surface of forming platform, and quick heating module for heating the side wall of forming cylinder and quick refrigeration constant temperature module for cooling the side wall of forming cylinder are arranged on the side wall of forming cylinder.The application improves the quality and material utilization of ceramic 3D printing manufacturing.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of 3D printing technology, and in particular to a ceramic printer capable of temperature-controlled printing. Background Technology

[0002] Existing printers can only perform conventional printing, primarily printing slip-like ceramic materials with good flowability, and typically only achieving photopolymerization printing on photosensitive materials. Therefore, current 3D printing of ceramics in the industry requires the creation of supports, with these supports having certain contact points and surfaces with the part. After printing, the supports need to be removed, requiring significant manpower and resources. Removing these contact points and surfaces makes the part surface rougher, significantly reducing dimensional and surface accuracy. Part damage is also common during support removal, leading to substantial manufacturing defects and failing to meet the demands of industrial manufacturing. Furthermore, the support removal process is cumbersome and difficult, significantly reducing production capacity per unit time, requiring substantial labor for post-processing, and the cured support material cannot be recycled, consuming a large amount of material as support bodies, resulting in material waste. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The purpose of this invention is to provide a ceramic printer capable of temperature-controlled printing, so as to solve the problems existing in the prior art and improve the quality and material utilization of ceramic 3D printing manufacturing.

[0004] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides the following solution:

[0005] This invention provides a temperature-controlled ceramic printer, comprising a base, a laser generator, and a scraper. The base has a feeding cylinder, a forming cylinder, and an overflow cylinder arranged sequentially. A forming platform is located at the bottom of the forming cylinder, and a forming motion module can drive the forming platform to move up and down. A feeding platform is located at the bottom of the feeding cylinder, and a feeding motion module can drive the feeding platform to move up and down. The laser generator is connected to a laser galvanometer, which is located above the forming cylinder. The scraper is used to scrape material from the surface of the feeding cylinder towards the forming cylinder. A first heating module for heating the feeding cylinder is located on the side wall of the feeding cylinder. A semiconductor cooling heating module is fixed on the bottom surface of the forming platform. A rapid heating module for heating the side wall of the forming cylinder and a rapid cooling constant temperature module for cooling the side wall of the forming cylinder are located on the side wall of the forming cylinder.

[0006] Preferably, a first sealing ring is provided between the feeding platform and the inner wall of the feeding cylinder, and a second sealing ring is provided between the forming platform and the inner wall of the forming cylinder.

[0007] Preferably, the top surface of the molding platform is provided with an easy-to-remove magnetic adhesive molding plate.

[0008] Preferably, the scraper is provided with a second heating module for heating the scraper.

[0009] Preferably, the first heating module, the rapid heating module, the second heating module, the semiconductor cooling heating module, the laser galvanometer, the material feeding motion module, and the molding motion module are each electrically connected to a computer.

[0010] Preferably, the first heating module, the rapid heating module, and the second heating module are all resistance heating elements.

[0011] Preferably, the printing is performed using a temperature-sensitive ceramic material, which is composed of micron-sized ceramic powder and a mixed material. The mass ratio of the ceramic powder to the mixed material is 260-550:100. The mixed material is made by adding photosensitive resin, photoinitiator, cryogenic aid, dispersant, and temperature-sensitive material to deionized water as a base solvent. The mass ratios of the photosensitive resin, photoinitiator, cryogenic aid, dispersant, and temperature-sensitive material to the deionized water are 1.5%–3.5%, 0.2%–1.0%, 0.6%–2.0%, 0.5%–2.0%, and 0.2%–1.5%, respectively. The ceramic powder is added to the mixed material in batches and ground uniformly for 12-24 hours to obtain the photocurable temperature-sensitive ceramic material.

[0012] The present invention achieves the following technical effects compared to the prior art:

[0013] This invention, a temperature-controlled ceramic printer, improves the quality and material utilization of ceramic 3D printing. Utilizing a specially formulated temperature-sensitive ceramic material, it solves the industry problem of difficult removal of solid contact supports in ceramic 3D printing, which can easily deform and damage ceramic parts during removal. The temperature-controlled ceramic printer produces ceramic parts with higher surface precision and eliminates the complex and difficult post-processing steps of support removal, significantly saving post-processing time and labor costs, and improving the production efficiency of ceramic additive manufacturing. For the low solid content in the 3D printing ceramic industry, where increasing the solid content to over 50% by volume can lead to reduced material fluidity and printing difficulties, this invention's temperature-controlled ceramic printer, with its molding principle, sinking sealed molding cylinder mechanism, and high-precision paste-like material scraper, perfectly solves the problem of poor slurry fluidity and printing difficulties. Most importantly, the supports during printing are a physical change in the material; without support, material loss occurs during molding, and the temperature-sensitive ceramic material can be completely recycled and reused, greatly improving material utilization and making ceramic additive manufacturing technology easier to promote and apply. Attached Figure Description

[0014] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the embodiments 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.

[0015] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the temperature-controlled ceramic printer of the present invention;

[0016] The components include: 100. A ceramic printer capable of temperature-controlled printing; 1. Base; 2. Overflow cylinder; 3. Second sealing ring; 4. Forming platform; 5. Semiconductor cooling and heating module; 6. Reversible solid-state temperature-sensitive ceramic material; 7. Easily detachable magnetic adhesive forming plate; 8. Laser galvanometer; 9. Laser generator; 10. Printed product; 11. Squeegee; 12. Second heating module; 13. First heating module; 14. Liquid temperature-sensitive ceramic material; 15. Feeding cylinder platform; 16. First sealing ring; 17. Feeding motion module; 18. Forming motion module; 19. Rapid heating module; 20. Rapid cooling and constant temperature module. Detailed Implementation

[0017] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0018] The purpose of this invention is to provide a ceramic printer capable of temperature-controlled printing, so as to solve the problems existing in the prior art and improve the quality and material utilization of ceramic 3D printing manufacturing.

[0019] To make the above-mentioned objects, features and advantages of the present invention more apparent and understandable, the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0020] like Figure 1 As shown: This embodiment provides a ceramic printer 100 capable of temperature-controlled printing, including a base 1, a laser generator 9, and a scraper 11.

[0021] The base 1, made of natural marble, serves as the support for all components of the printer and is the core of the equipment's high stability and accuracy under varying temperature conditions. Natural marble possesses a dense structure and high compressive strength; the rock undergoes long-term natural aging, resulting in a uniform structure, extremely low coefficient of linear expansion, complete elimination of internal stress, and no deformation; it has good rigidity, high hardness, strong wear resistance, and minimal temperature deformation; it is not prone to dust accumulation, making maintenance and upkeep convenient and simple, with a long service life exceeding 100 years; it also has advantages such as non-magnetic properties, smooth movement during measurement without any sticking, unaffected by moisture, and good planar stability.

[0022] A feeding cylinder, a forming cylinder, and an overflow cylinder 2 are arranged sequentially on the base 1. A forming platform 4 is provided at the bottom of the forming cylinder. The forming motion module 18 can drive the forming platform 4 to move up and down. A feeding platform is provided at the bottom of the feeding cylinder. The feeding motion module 17 can drive the feeding platform to move up and down. A first sealing ring 16 is provided between the feeding platform and the inner wall of the feeding cylinder, and a second sealing ring 3 is provided between the forming platform 4 and the inner wall of the forming cylinder.

[0023] The overflow cylinder 2 is made of 316L stainless steel and is located on the left side of the printer's coordinate axis. It serves as a container for recycling excess printing material after the scraper 11 has finished scraping. The overflow cylinder 2 can prevent unnecessary material waste during the printing process and plays a role in material recycling.

[0024] The forming platform 4, made of forged iron, is located inside the forming cylinder as the bottom functional component and is crucial for printing parts. It is also situated below the easily detachable magnetic adhesive forming plate 7, supporting it and indirectly affecting the printed product. The parallelism, flatness, and stability of the forming platform 4 are directly related to the formed product. The forming platform 4 is located above the semiconductor heating and cooling module, closely attached to its surface, and serves to conduct heat. The forming platform 4 is connected to the forming motion module 18 and is located above it. A second sealing ring 3 is installed between the side and the forming cylinder wall. The second sealing ring 3, made of silicone resistant to rapid heating and cooling, is located between the forming cylinder wall and the forming platform 4. It is crucial for preventing material leakage and printing failure when printing paste-like or slurry-like temperature-sensitive ceramic materials under rapid heating and cooling conditions. Since the forming cylinder will enter a relatively cold state during printing, when the forming platform 4 needs to descend after one layer of printing is completed, the forming cylinder wall needs to be suddenly heated to raise the temperature of the material close to the cylinder wall and transform it into a ceramic material with better fluidity so that the forming platform 4 can descend normally. Therefore, the second sealing ring 3 needs to be a silicone sealing ring that is resistant to sudden cooling and heating and has good sealing performance.

[0025] The easily detachable magnetic molding plate 7 is made of a soft steel magnetic plate and is located above the molding platform 4, closely attached to the molding platform 4, serving as the contact surface for molding ceramic products. The main functional characteristics of the easily detachable magnetic molding plate 7 are its magnetic properties, allowing it to adhere to the molding platform 4 without being scraped off during printing. Furthermore, it is easy to remove after printing for disassembling the ceramic product, preventing damage to the precision of the molding platform 4 and the fragile ceramic blank during removal.

[0026] The feeding platform, made of 316L stainless steel, is located inside the feeding cylinder and serves as the bottom functional component of the cylinder. It connects to the cylinder's motion module and is positioned above it. A first sealing ring 16 is installed between the side of the feeding platform and the cylinder wall. Its main function is to ensure the delivery of temperature-sensitive ceramic material within the cylinder under sealed conditions. The first sealing ring 16, made of sealing silicone, is located between the cylinder wall and the feeding platform 15. It is crucial for preventing material leakage and printing failures when feeding paste-like or cream-like temperature-sensitive ceramic materials into the temperature-controlled printer.

[0027] The feeding motion module 17 includes a high-precision servo motor and a high-precision motion module, achieving a movement accuracy of ±0.001mm. The feeding motion module 17 is located below and connected to the feeding cylinder platform 15. Its main function is to precisely control the up-and-down movement of the feeding platform for accurate feeding. The forming motion module 18 includes a high-precision servo motor and a high-precision motion module, achieving a movement accuracy of ±0.001mm. The forming motion module 18 is located below and connected to the forming platform 4. Its main function is to precisely control the up-and-down movement of the forming platform 4 for accurate and stable printing layer thickness control.

[0028] A first heating module 13 for heating the feeding cylinder is installed on the side wall of the feeding cylinder. A semiconductor cooling heating module 5 is fixed on the bottom surface of the forming platform 4. A rapid heating module 19 for heating the side wall of the forming cylinder and a rapid cooling constant temperature module 20 for cooling the side wall of the forming cylinder are installed on the side wall of the forming cylinder. The first heating module 13, the rapid heating module 19, the second heating module 12, the semiconductor cooling heating module 5, the laser galvanometer 8, the feeding motion module 17, and the forming motion module 18 are all electrically connected to a computer.

[0029] The semiconductor cooling and heating module 5 is located below and in close contact with the molding platform 4, and includes a cooling semiconductor and a heating semiconductor. The main function of the semiconductor cooling and heating module 5 is to cool and heat the molding platform 4. Working in conjunction with the rapid cooling and temperature control module 20 and the rapid heating module 19, it controls the temperature of the molding cylinder through a temperature control program and a main control program. During printing, the semiconductor cooling and heating module 5 enters cooling mode, working with the rapid cooling and temperature control module 20 to transform the special temperature-sensitive ceramic material from a low-temperature physical state to a semi-solid state with lower fluidity. After printing is complete, it enters heating mode, working with the rapid heating module 19 to transform the special temperature-sensitive ceramic material that has not been photocured by the laser into a paste state with better fluidity, allowing the self-supporting material to melt and be removed as the printed ceramic blank.

[0030] The first heating module 13 consists of a resistance heating element, located outside the feeding cylinder wall and in close contact with it. The main function of the first heating module 13 is to heat the temperature-sensitive ceramic material inside the feeding cylinder, maintaining a constant temperature so that the material remains in a liquid state with good flowability, ready for printing. Resistance heating refers to the rapid heating of the material using the heat generated by the Joule effect of a large current flowing through a conductor.

[0031] The rapid heating module 19, composed of a resistance heating element, is located outside the molding cylinder wall, close to it, and connected to the rapid cooling and temperature control module 20, situated between the module and the cylinder wall. The main function of the rapid heating module 19 is to quickly heat the ceramic material near the molding cylinder wall after printing one layer of temperature-sensitive ceramic material, transforming the material close to the cylinder wall into a more fluid liquid, allowing the molding platform 4 to descend normally.

[0032] The rapid cooling and constant temperature module 20, composed of a cooling system, is located on the outermost layer of the forming cylinder, closely attached to the cylinder wall, and is connected to the rapid heating module. Temperature is conducted into the forming cylinder. The main function of the rapid cooling and constant temperature module 20 is to achieve rapid cooling and maintain a constant low temperature in the forming cylinder. At the start of printing, it rapidly cools the temperature-sensitive ceramic material in the forming cylinder and maintains a constant low temperature. After printing one layer of temperature-sensitive ceramic material, the rapid heating module 19 heats the ceramic material near the forming cylinder wall, transforming the material close to the cylinder wall into a more fluid liquid material, allowing the forming platform 4 to descend normally. After the forming platform 4 completes its descent, heating stops, and the rapid cooling and constant temperature module 20 starts, continuing to rapidly cool the forming cylinder and maintain a constant low temperature. After all layers have been printed, the rapid cooling and temperature control module 20 shuts off cooling, and the rapid heating module 19 of the forming cylinder wall activates heating mode, raising the temperature inside the forming cylinder. This causes the temperature-sensitive ceramic material that has not been laser-cured to undergo a reversible physical change, transforming it into a scrapable and recyclable liquid state. The temperature-sensitive ceramic material that has not undergone irreversible chemical transformation is recovered, and the forming platform 4 and the ceramic print blank formed on the forming platform 4 are then removed, thus achieving the printing and manufacturing of supportless ceramic materials. The physical state transformation from support material to printing material realizes supportless ceramic additive manufacturing with self-supporting materials.

[0033] The rapid cooling and constant temperature module 20 includes, but is not limited to, semiconductor rapid cooling, and also includes external copper pipe cooling with compression. Similar to the cooling copper pipe circulating refrigerant in the freezer compartment of a refrigerator for heat exchange, it exchanges heat energy with the external compressor host.

[0034] The scraper 11 is used to scrape the material on the surface of the feeding cylinder towards the forming cylinder; a second heating module 12 is provided on the scraper 11 for heating the scraper 11. The second heating module 12 is a key component for ensuring that the temperature-sensitive ceramic material is laid on the forming platen with a uniform thickness. The scraper 11 is located above the printer base 1 and can be adjusted by the adjustment mechanism on the scraper 11 to easily adjust different layer thicknesses (distance from the forming platen). During the printing process, after the forming platform 4 descends to a certain layer thickness, the feeding platform rises to a certain height to deliver the temperature-sensitive ceramic material. The scraper 11 moves from right to left, evenly scraping the material delivered from the feeding cylinder into the forming cylinder. Excess material will fall into the overflow cylinder 2 when it enters the overflow cylinder 2, and after reaching the leftmost end, it moves back to the right side of the feeding cylinder to await the next layer. The second heating module 12 is composed of a resistance heating element and is located on the right side of the scraper 11, close to the scraper 11. The main function of the second heating module 12 is to heat up the scraper 11 so that the material is kept at a constant temperature when the scraper 11 is scraping the temperature-sensitive ceramic material.

[0035] A laser generator 9 is connected to a laser galvanometer 8, which is located above the forming cylinder. The laser generator 9 consists of a device that emits laser light, primarily producing 355nm wavelength ultraviolet light to achieve photocuring of the temperature-sensitive ceramic material. By using the laser galvanometer 8 to shift the light refraction, selective photocuring of a specific area can be achieved. The laser galvanometer 8 consists of an XY optical scanning head, an electronic drive amplifier, and optical reflecting mirrors. Signals from the computer controller drive the optical scanning head through a drive amplifier circuit, thereby controlling the deflection of the laser beam in the XY plane. The main function of the laser galvanometer 8 is to enable the laser to rapidly move and scan the forming area on the forming material, allowing the temperature-sensitive ceramic material to achieve photocuring of a specified area in a slice.

[0036] This embodiment of the temperature-controlled ceramic printer 100 utilizes a temperature-sensitive ceramic material for printing. The temperature-sensitive ceramic material is composed of micron-sized ceramic powder and a mixed material, with a mass ratio of ceramic powder to mixed material of 260-550:100. The mixed material is made by adding photosensitive resin, photoinitiator, freezing agent, dispersant, and temperature-sensitive material to deionized water as a base solvent. The mass ratios of photosensitive resin, photoinitiator, freezing agent, dispersant, and temperature-sensitive material to deionized water are 1.5%–3.5%, 0.2%–1.0%, 0.6%–2.0%, 0.5%–2.0%, and 0.2%–1.5%, respectively. The ceramic powder is added to the mixed material in batches and ground uniformly for 12-24 hours to obtain a photocurable temperature-sensitive ceramic material. Its main functional characteristics include photocuring under laser irradiation, causing the material to undergo a chemical change from liquid to solid. It also exhibits reversible physical state changes with temperature; at relatively high temperatures, it is a flowable liquid, while at relatively low temperatures, it is a nearly non-flowable solid with very low fluidity. After high-temperature debinding and sintering, high-density and high-precision ceramic products can be obtained. It is solid at low temperatures and liquid at high temperatures within the molding chamber, and liquid in the feeding cylinder.

[0037] The reversible solid-state temperature-sensitive ceramic material 6 is formed when the temperature-sensitive ceramic material changes to a solid state with very low fluidity, almost non-flowing, at a relatively low temperature. The liquid temperature-sensitive ceramic material 14 is formed when the temperature-sensitive ceramic material becomes a flowable liquid state at a relatively high temperature.

[0038] The printed product 10 is composed of temperature-sensitive ceramic material that has been cured by laser. It is a solid material that has been converted into a chemically irreversible substance by laser. It is also the ceramic blank in the additive manufacturing of ceramic products. After high-temperature degreasing and sintering, it will become a ceramic product.

[0039] In the description of this invention, it should be noted that the terms "center," "top," "bottom," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "inner," and "outer," etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are used only for the convenience of describing the invention and for simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on the invention. Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0040] This specification uses specific examples to illustrate the principles and implementation methods of the present invention. The descriptions of the above embodiments are only for the purpose of helping to understand the method and core ideas of the present invention. Furthermore, those skilled in the art will recognize that, based on the ideas of the present invention, there will be changes in the specific implementation methods and application scope. Therefore, the content of this specification should not be construed as a limitation of the present invention.

Claims

1. A ceramic printer capable of temperature-controlled printing, characterized in that: The device includes a base, a laser generator, and a scraper. The base is equipped with a feeding cylinder, a forming cylinder, and an overflow cylinder arranged in sequence. A forming platform is located at the bottom of the forming cylinder, and a forming motion module can drive the forming platform to move up and down. A feeding platform is located at the bottom of the feeding cylinder, and a feeding motion module can drive the feeding platform to move up and down, controlling the feeding platform's vertical movement to achieve precise feeding. The laser generator is connected to a laser galvanometer, which is located above the forming cylinder. The scraper is used to scrape material from the surface of the feeding cylinder towards the forming cylinder. A first heating module is located on the side wall of the feeding cylinder for heating the cylinder. The heating module is used to maintain the temperature-sensitive ceramic material in the feeding cylinder at a constant liquid temperature for printing. A semiconductor cooling heating module is fixed on the bottom surface of the forming platform. A rapid heating module for heating the side wall of the forming cylinder and a rapid cooling constant temperature module for cooling the side wall of the forming cylinder are provided on the side wall of the forming platform. An easy-to-remove magnetic bonding forming plate is provided on the top surface of the forming platform. The easy-to-remove magnetic bonding forming plate is made of soft steel magnetic plate and is the contact surface for forming ceramic products. A second heating module is provided on the scraper for heating the scraper. The second heating module keeps the material at a constant temperature when the scraper is scraping the temperature-sensitive ceramic material. Printing is performed using a temperature-sensitive ceramic material, which is composed of micron-sized ceramic powder and a mixed material. The mass ratio of the ceramic powder to the mixed material is 260-550:

100. The mixed material is made by adding photosensitive resin, photoinitiator, cryogenic aid, dispersant, and temperature-sensitive material to deionized water as a base solvent. The mass ratios of the photosensitive resin, photoinitiator, cryogenic aid, dispersant, and temperature-sensitive material to the deionized water are 1.5%~3.5%, 0.2%~1.0%, 0.6%~2.0%, 0.5%~2.0%, and 0.2%~1.5%, respectively. The ceramic powder is added to the mixed material in batches and ground evenly for 12-24 hours to obtain the photocurable temperature-sensitive ceramic material. A first sealing ring is provided between the feeding platform and the inner wall of the feeding cylinder, and a second sealing ring is provided between the forming platform and the inner wall of the forming cylinder. The second sealing ring is made of silicone material resistant to sudden temperature changes. The base is made of natural marble. The semiconductor cooling / heating module, the rapid heating module, and the rapid cooling / temperature control module are configured to work in concert to achieve the following temperature control modes during the printing process: During printing, the semiconductor cooling and heating module enters cooling mode, which works in conjunction with the rapid cooling and constant temperature module to keep the temperature-sensitive ceramic material in the forming cylinder at a low temperature. After each layer is printed and before the molding platform descends, the rapid heating module rapidly heats the temperature-sensitive ceramic material near the side wall of the molding cylinder, causing the material in contact with the cylinder wall to liquefy. After all layers are printed, the rapid heating module activates the heating mode to liquefy the uncured thermosensitive ceramic material for recycling.

2. The ceramic printer capable of temperature-controlled printing according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first heating module, the rapid heating module, the second heating module, the semiconductor cooling and heating module, the laser galvanometer, the feeding motion module, and the molding motion module are all electrically connected to a computer.

3. The ceramic printer capable of temperature-controlled printing according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first heating module, the rapid heating module, and the second heating module are all resistance heating elements.

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