A reloading method for a 3D printer and a related device

Abstract

The application provides a material replacement processing method of a 3D printer and a related device, the 3D printer comprising at least two nozzles, each of the at least two nozzles having at least one corresponding material tank, the material replacement processing method comprising: obtaining material parameters of materials used by each slice layer in a plurality of slice layers included in a multi-color model to be printed; the material parameters comprising N material colors, N being a positive integer; grouping M materials according to the number of nozzles included in the 3D printer and the material parameters to obtain a target material combination corresponding to each nozzle; M being the number of color types of the materials used in the plurality of slice layers, and each material in the target material combination being used to be placed in a material tank corresponding to the nozzle corresponding to the combination. By implementing the application, the number of material replacements of the nozzle when printing the multi-color model subsequently is optimized based on reasonable placement of the materials in the material tanks.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of 3D printing, and in particular to a material handling method for a 3D printer and related equipment. Background Technology

[0002] 3D printers involve changing filaments during multi-color model printing. Each filament change consumes filament and time to flush the printer's nozzle, ensuring that the printed colors are not affected by the previous colors. In other words, the more filament changes are needed, the more material is consumed and the longer the printing time. Therefore, reducing the number of filament changes required for multi-color model printing is a problem that needs to be studied. Summary of the Invention

[0003] This application provides a material changing method and related equipment for a 3D printer. By placing the material reasonably in the material trough, the number of material changes during the printing of multi-color models can be reduced.

[0004] In a first aspect, this application provides a material changing method for a 3D printer, the 3D printer comprising at least two nozzles, each of the at least two nozzles having at least one corresponding material hopper, the material changing method comprising:

[0005] Obtain the material parameters of the materials used in each slice layer of the multi-color model to be printed; the material parameters include N material colors, where N is a positive integer;

[0006] Based on the number of nozzles included in the 3D printer and the material parameters, M types of materials are grouped to obtain a target material combination corresponding to each nozzle; M is the number of color types of materials used in the multiple slice layers, and each material in the target material combination is placed in the material trough corresponding to the nozzle of the combination.

[0007] In this application, materials of all colors used in multiple slicing layers are grouped according to the number of nozzles included in the 3D printer and the material color of the materials used in each slicing layer, thereby obtaining a target material combination corresponding to each nozzle. Users can place the materials in the target material combination into the material trough of the corresponding nozzle, or the 3D printer can place the materials in the target material combination into the material trough of the corresponding nozzle. By reasonably placing the various materials used in the multi-color model in the material trough, in scenarios where the 3D printer has at least two nozzles, the number of material changes during the printing of multi-color models can be reduced.

[0008] In conjunction with the first aspect, in a first possible implementation, each material in the target material combination is a material used in the plurality of slice layers.

[0009] In this application, each material in the target material combination can be placed in the material trough of the nozzle corresponding to the combination. Each material in the target material combination can be a material used in multiple slice layers. That is, it is possible to place the materials used in multiple slice layers in the material trough of the corresponding nozzle, so as to realize the reasonable placement of multiple materials used in the multi-color model in the material trough.

[0010] In a second possible implementation, in conjunction with the first aspect or the first possible implementation of the first aspect, the step of grouping the M types of materials according to the number of nozzles included in the 3D printer and the material parameters to obtain a target material combination corresponding to each nozzle includes:

[0011] Based on the number of nozzles included in the 3D printer, the material parameters, and the correspondence between each nozzle and the material trough, the M types of materials are grouped to obtain the target material combination corresponding to each nozzle.

[0012] In a third possible implementation, in conjunction with the first aspect or the first possible implementation of the first aspect, the step of grouping the M types of materials according to the number of nozzles included in the 3D printer and the material parameters to obtain a target material combination corresponding to each nozzle includes:

[0013] Based on the number of nozzles included in the 3D printer, the material parameters, and the number of material troughs corresponding to each nozzle, the M types of materials are grouped to obtain the target material combination corresponding to each nozzle.

[0014] In this application, when grouping materials of various colors used in multiple slice layers, it can be mainly expressed as grouping by the number of nozzles, the color of the materials used in each slice layer in multiple slice layers, and the correspondence between each nozzle and the material trough. Alternatively, it can be expressed as grouping by the number of nozzles, the color of the materials used in each slice layer in multiple slice layers, and the number of material troughs corresponding to each nozzle, so as to obtain a target material combination for indicating the proper placement of materials.

[0015] In a fourth possible implementation, in combination with the first aspect or any of the above possible implementations of the first aspect, the number of material troughs is greater than the number of nozzles.

[0016] In this application, unlike the one-to-one correspondence between the number of material troughs and the number of nozzles, the material replacement method provided in this application can be applied to scenarios where the number of material troughs is greater than the number of nozzles.

[0017] In a fifth possible implementation, in conjunction with the first aspect or any of the above possible implementations of the first aspect, the number of color types of materials used in the plurality of slice layers is greater than the number of nozzles, and the number of color types is less than or equal to the number of material troughs.

[0018] In a sixth possible implementation, combining the first aspect or any of the possible implementations described above, the material replacement method further includes:

[0019] This displays the target material combination corresponding to each nozzle.

[0020] In this application, after obtaining the target material combination corresponding to each printhead, the aforementioned target material combination can be displayed to inform the user of the material placement combination that can reduce the number of material changes during the printing of multi-color models, so that the user can place the material in the combination into the material trough of the corresponding printhead according to the target material combination.

[0021] In a seventh possible implementation, combining the first aspect or any of the possible implementations described above, the material replacement method further includes:

[0022] The interface for sending prints also displays the target material combination corresponding to each printhead.

[0023] In this application, the target material combination corresponding to each printhead can be displayed on the printing interface to inform the user of the material placement combination that can reduce the number of material changes during the printing of multicolor models before printing begins.

[0024] In the eighth possible implementation, in combination with the first aspect or any of the above possible implementations of the first aspect, the plurality of slice layers include a multi-color slice layer;

[0025] The grouping of the M types of materials includes:

[0026] The materials of at least two colors used in the multi-color slicing layer are distributed in target material combinations corresponding to different nozzles. For example, if the amount of material used in a multi-color slicing layer is less than or equal to the number of nozzles, then all materials used in the multi-color slicing layer are respectively placed in target material combinations corresponding to different nozzles. If the number of color types of materials used in a slicing layer is greater than the number of nozzles, then at least two materials used in the slicing layer are respectively placed in target material combinations corresponding to different nozzles.

[0027] In this application, a multi-color slice layer can be a slice layer using at least two colors of material. When grouping the materials used in multiple slice layers of a multi-color model to be printed, the at least two colors of material used in the multi-color slice layer can be placed in the target material combinations corresponding to different nozzles. This allows at least two materials used in a slice layer of a multi-color model to be placed in the material slots corresponding to different nozzles. In contrast, placing the two colors of material used in the same multi-color slice layer simultaneously in the two material slots corresponding to one nozzle requires material changing to complete the printing of that slice layer. This application, by placing the two colors of material used in the same multi-color slice layer in the material slots corresponding to different nozzles, eliminates the need for material changing; only switching different nozzles is required for printing. Based on the aforementioned grouping strategy, it ensures that different colors of material in the same multi-color slice layer can be placed in the target material combinations corresponding to different nozzles, reducing the number of material changes required by the 3D printer during the printing of multi-color models.

[0028] In a ninth possible implementation, combining the first aspect or any of the possible implementations described above, the material replacement method further includes:

[0029] Monitor the actual material placed in each trough corresponding to each nozzle;

[0030] If the material actually placed in each material trough corresponding to each nozzle does not belong to the material in the target material combination corresponding to each nozzle, a warning message will be displayed.

[0031] In this application, after obtaining the target material combination corresponding to each nozzle, the target material combination is mainly used to indicate the relationship between the material and each nozzle. When the material actually placed in each material tank corresponding to each nozzle does not belong to the material in the target material combination corresponding to each nozzle, a warning message can be displayed to remind the user that the material placement in the current material tank does not conform to the material combination with fewer or even fewer material replacements.

[0032] In a tenth possible implementation, combining the first aspect or any of the possible implementations described above, the step of grouping the M materials to obtain a target material combination corresponding to each nozzle includes:

[0033] Based on multiple preset initial material combinations, all materials used simultaneously in the same slice layer and located in the same initial material combination are marked;

[0034] The number of times the materials used in each slice layer are marked is counted, and the target material combination corresponding to each nozzle is obtained from the preset multiple first initial material combinations.

[0035] In conjunction with the tenth possible implementation of the first aspect, in the eleventh possible implementation, the target material combination is the material combination among the preset plurality of first initial material combinations in which the material used in the plurality of slice layers is marked the fewest times.

[0036] In this application, the number of markings represents the number of material changes. Based on the number of markings of the materials used in all slice layers of the multicolor model to be printed, the material combination with the fewest markings among a plurality of preset first initial material combinations is taken as the target material combination, which is the material combination with the fewest material changes.

[0037] In a twelfth possible implementation, combining the first aspect or any of the first to ninth possible implementations of the first aspect, the grouping of the M materials to obtain the target material combination corresponding to each nozzle includes:

[0038] Based on multiple preset second initial material combinations, the number of material replacements for each slice layer is calculated;

[0039] Based on the number of material changes for each slice layer, a target material combination corresponding to each nozzle is obtained from the preset multiple second initial material combinations.

[0040] In conjunction with the twelfth possible implementation of the first aspect, in the thirteenth possible implementation, the target material combination is the material combination with the fewest material replacements for each slice layer among the preset multiple second initial material combinations.

[0041] In this application, all materials used in the multicolor model are pre-grouped to obtain multiple second initial material combinations. One of the second initial material combinations is selected, and all slice layers in the multicolor model to be printed are traversed to obtain the number of material changes required to print all slice layers in the multicolor model under the second initial material combination. The material combination with the fewest material changes among the multiple preset second initial material combinations is taken as the target material combination, thereby realizing the determination of the target material combination.

[0042] In a fourteenth possible implementation, combining the first aspect or any of the first to ninth possible implementations of the first aspect, the grouping of the M materials to obtain the target material combination corresponding to each nozzle includes:

[0043] Based on multiple preset third initial material combinations, all materials used simultaneously in the same slice layer in the multicolor model to be printed, and materials located in the same initial material combination, are marked.

[0044] The number of times the materials used in each slice layer of the multicolor model to be printed are counted, and the materials corresponding to the number of times the marking is counted are set in the target material combination corresponding to different printheads in order of the number of times the marking is counted.

[0045] In this application, the number of markings represents the number of material changes. This application employs a maximum-value removal method, where the K materials with the largest marking values ​​are placed in different target material combinations corresponding to different nozzles, where K represents the number of nozzles. After these K materials are placed in different nozzles, the remaining materials with large marking values ​​are placed in different target material combinations corresponding to different nozzles, until all materials are placed in different target material combinations corresponding to different nozzles. At this point, all materials placed in the same nozzle constitute all elements of a target material combination.

[0046] Secondly, this application discloses a terminal device, which includes a processor and a memory. The memory is used to store instructions, and the processor is used to call the instructions in the memory to cause the terminal device to execute the material changing process method described in the first aspect or in combination with any of the possible implementations of the first aspect.

[0047] Thirdly, this application discloses a computer-readable storage medium storing computer instructions, including instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the material changing process method described in the first aspect or in combination with any of the possible implementations of the first aspect.

[0048] Fourthly, this application discloses a computer program product, including program code, which, when the computer runs the program code, is used to execute the material replacement processing method described in the first aspect or in combination with any of the possible implementations of the first aspect.

[0049] It should be understood that the implementations and beneficial effects of the above-mentioned aspects of this application can be referenced from each other. Attached Figure Description

[0050] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a 3D printer provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0051] Figure 2 A flowchart of one step of the material changing process for a 3D printer provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0052] Figure 3a This is a schematic diagram showing the correspondence between the nozzle and the material trough provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0053] Figure 3b This is a schematic diagram illustrating another correspondence between the nozzle and the material trough provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0054] Figure 3c This is another schematic diagram showing the correspondence between the nozzle and the material trough provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0055] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a multicolor model provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0056] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of all the layers of the multicolor model provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0057] Figure 6 A graphical user interface for printing requests provided in embodiments of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0058] The technical solutions in the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0059] To facilitate understanding of this application, the technical features that may be involved in the technical solutions provided in this application will be described first.

[0060] The 3D printing process typically includes: 1) obtaining a 3D model; 2) slicing the 3D model using slicing software; and 3) the 3D printer printing the 3D model based on the slicing results.

[0061] The slicing software typically runs on a terminal that communicates with the printer. This terminal can be a desktop computer, laptop, tablet, smart screen, or mobile phone. The slicing software can also run on a 3D printer with a controllable screen, and the terminal can also include a 3D printer with a controllable screen running the slicing software. Specifically, it can include a 3D printer with a controllable screen running the slicing software. In other words, the terminal devices involved in this application can include desktop computers, laptops, tablets, smart screens, mobile phones, or 3D printers, etc. Each terminal device can have a processor and memory, with the processor used to call instructions from the memory.

[0062] For example, the process of slicing a 3D model using slicing software includes the following steps:

[0063] Step 1: Model Loading. The slicing software reads the model data from an external source and converts the 3D model into a combination of triangles represented by the data structure within the slicing software.

[0064] Step Two: Plating. In slicing software, plating refers to placing the 3D model in a specified position on the virtual printing platform with a defined orientation. Therefore, the orientation and placement position of the 3D model need to be determined during plating. Plating can be done on a single 3D model or multiple 3D models. Each 3D model can include multiple parts or sub-models from a single 3D model. The 3D printer then prints the 3D model according to the layout established during plating. The multi-color model in this application can include a 3D model with multiple colors; or, a multi-color model can also include multiple monochrome sub-models arranged on a plate, wherein at least two sub-models have different colors; or, a multi-color model can also include multiple sub-models of different colors arranged on a plate; or, a multi-color model can also include multiple monochrome parts arranged on a plate, wherein at least two monochrome parts have different colors; or, a multi-color model can also include multiple parts of different colors arranged on a plate.

[0065] Step 3: Layering. Layering involves intersecting the 3D model with an XY plane at regular intervals, creating multiple stacked slices. The distance between two adjacent slices is called the layer height. Essentially, layering is a process of converting a 3D model into a series of 2D planes.

[0066] Step 4: Path Generation. In this step, the movement path of the nozzle is planned.

[0067] Step 5: GCode Generation. After generating the movement path, the nozzle's movement path needs to be translated into GCode that can be executed by the 3D printer's processor. For this purpose, the 3D printer may also include at least one memory for storing instructions and / or data, which the processor can call upon.

[0068] In some feasible implementations, see Figure 1 , Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a 3D printer provided in an embodiment of this application. Figure 1 As shown, the 3D printer 102 includes at least two nozzles, such as nozzle 1021 and nozzle 1022. Each nozzle has at least one corresponding feed trough 103.

[0069] For example, a feeding device may include at least one trough for holding material, which in this application refers to printing material for a 3D printer, also known as consumables. The feeding device can supply the material placed in the trough to the 3D printer. Figure 1 The feeding device shown includes four troughs 103, which is merely an example and should not be construed as a limitation. That is, the embodiments of this application do not limit the number of troughs included in the feeding device.

[0070] In some feasible implementations, the nozzle can be understood as the print head in a 3D printer, i.e. Figure 1 As shown, printhead 1021 may include a hot end, which includes a heating element and nozzle a, and the two are connected to each other; similarly, printhead 1022 may include a hot end, which includes a heating element and nozzle b. The heating element heats the printing material to a molten state, and the nozzle extrudes the molten printing material from its outlet onto the printing platform.

[0071] Optionally, nozzles 1021 and 1022 can correspond to different material troughs in a feeding device, or nozzles 1021 and 1022 can correspond to material troughs in different feeding devices.

[0072] Optionally, in some feasible implementations, a nozzle can be understood as a nozzle in a print head. Optionally, a 3D printer may include a print head, which may include at least two nozzles. These at least two nozzles may have different feed channels. For example, a print head may include two nozzles, where the two nozzles in the same print head correspond to different feed troughs in a feeding device. Alternatively, a 3D printer may also include two or more print heads, each print head may include one or more nozzles, wherein the nozzles in each print head may have the same or different feed channels. That is, the embodiments of this application do not limit the number of print heads in a 3D printer, nor do they limit the number of nozzles included in the print head.

[0073] Optionally, in some feasible implementations, the 3D printer also includes a display screen that can display the 3D printer's graphical user interface or pop-ups. For example, the display screen can show a print sending interface, which can display print sending controls and the target material combination corresponding to each nozzle.

[0074] In this embodiment, the materials using M color types in the multiple slice layers of the multi-color model to be printed are grouped according to the number of nozzles in the 3D printer and the N material colors used in each slice layer. This yields the target material combination corresponding to each nozzle in the 3D printer. Specifically, this can be obtained by the slicing software of the terminal device based on the material parameters of the materials used in each slice layer of the multi-color model to be printed and the number of nozzles. After obtaining the target material combination, a corresponding print file can be generated, and the target material combination corresponding to each nozzle can be displayed on the 3D printer or the slicing software of the terminal device. Specifically, the target material combination corresponding to each nozzle can be displayed on the print sending interface. Then, based on the touch command of the print sending control, a print request is generated, requesting the 3D printer to perform subsequent printing according to the target material combination displayed on the print sending interface. Each material in the target material combination can be placed in the material trough corresponding to the nozzle of that combination.

[0075] See Figure 2 , Figure 2 This is a flowchart illustrating one step of a material changing process for a 3D printer provided in an embodiment of this application. The material changing process can be executed by a terminal device, such as... Figure 2 As shown, the specific steps may include the following:

[0076] Step 201: Obtain the material parameters of the materials used in each slice layer of the multi-color model to be printed.

[0077] For example, before performing step 201, the multi-color model to be printed is sliced. During the slicing process of the multi-color model to be printed, the material parameters of the materials used in each slice layer of the multi-color model to be printed are obtained. For example, the material parameters of the materials used in each slice layer can be obtained during the slicing and layering stage.

[0078] The material parameters include N material colors, where N is a positive integer. Optionally, the material parameters may also include, but are not limited to, color, gloss, material type, etc., and the embodiments of this application do not impose any limitations on this.

[0079] In the process of printing multicolor models, if the following methods are adopted... Figure 3aThe diagram shows a correspondence where one nozzle connects to multiple feed troughs, and different materials are printed by a single nozzle. While this reduces the cost of the 3D printer by requiring only one extruder per nozzle, it necessitates multiple feed changes during multi-color model printing. Each feed change consumes consumables and time to flush the nozzle, ensuring that the printed color remains unaffected by the previous material color after the change. This is time-consuming and wasteful of materials. Another example is the use of... Figure 3b The correspondence shown is that one nozzle corresponds to one material trough. Different materials are printed by different nozzles. In the process of printing multi-color models, since multiple nozzles are involved, each nozzle corresponds to a single material trough. That is, each nozzle can be used to hold one type of material. Material changes can be achieved by changing the nozzle, which can save the time of rinsing the nozzles. However, the amount of material is strictly limited by the number of nozzles, and each nozzle is usually located on an independent tool head, which will increase the cost of the 3D printer.

[0080] To avoid the printing material quantity being limited by the number of printheads, embodiments of this application can employ a method that allows material replacement by changing printheads. This can be achieved through methods such as... Figure 3c The correspondence shown indicates that the 3D printer includes at least two nozzles, each of which corresponds to at least one material trough. Optionally, in some feasible embodiments, the material troughs can be different troughs in the same feeding device or different troughs in different feeding devices; this application embodiment does not limit this.

[0081] The above Figures 3a to 3c Taking a printhead as an example, this example uses a nozzle from a 3D printer. In some other feasible implementations, the printhead can be a nozzle, and a printhead can include multiple nozzles. The embodiments of this application are applicable to scenarios where the number of feed troughs is greater than the number of printheads.

[0082] Optionally, the 3D printer can print multi-color models. The process of printing multi-color models requires the use of multiple colors of materials. For example, multiple slice layers may use M kinds of materials, where M is greater than 1; and each slice layer may use N kinds of materials, where N is a positive integer. Placing various materials arbitrarily in the feed slots of any printhead does not guarantee a minimum number of material changes during the printing process, thus failing to reduce printing costs. For example, suppose there is a 100-layer multicolor model to be printed, where layers 1-50 use materials No. 3 and No. 4, and layers 51-100 use materials No. 1 and No. 2. If materials No. 1 and No. 2 are placed in different feed slots of the same printhead, and materials No. 3 and No. 4 are placed in feed slots of different printheads, the entire printing process requires 101 material changes. However, if materials No. 1 and No. 3 are placed in different feed slots of the same printhead, and materials No. 2 and No. 4 are placed in feed slots of different printheads, the entire printing process requires only 2 material changes. This significantly reduces the number of material changes compared to the previous method. Therefore, the material placement method greatly affects the number of material changes required for printing multicolor models, thus impacting printing costs and printing time.

[0083] This application embodiment can acquire the material parameters of various materials used in the multi-color model to be printed, so as to determine the placement method of the various materials to be used in the material trough corresponding to the printhead. The materials used in each of the acquired multiple slice layers can be a portion of the materials used in some slice layers of the multi-color model to be printed, or all slice layers of the multi-color model to be printed; this application embodiment does not impose any limitations on this.

[0084] For example, suppose the multicolor model to be printed is as follows: Figure 4 As shown, the model obtained after slicing can be as follows: Figure 5 As shown, at this point, the material parameters of the materials used in multiple slice layers can be obtained, such as materials 1-5.

[0085] Step 202: Based on the number of nozzles and material parameters included in the 3D printer, group the M types of materials to obtain the target material combination corresponding to each nozzle.

[0086] In some feasible implementations, a print file is generated based on the target material combination corresponding to each nozzle. This print file instructs the 3D printer to perform material changing and printing by placing each material in the feed trough corresponding to the nozzle of the given combination. For example, this print file may be a gcode file.

[0087] The placement of materials is influenced by the number of nozzles in the 3D printer and the color variations (N) of the materials used in each of the multiple slice layers. For example, with two nozzles and three slice layers, the first slice layer uses black, red, and white materials; the second slice layer uses yellow and red materials; and the third slice layer uses blue and green materials. When grouping these six materials across multiple slice layers, to minimize the number of material changes required during multi-color model printing, and to print only by switching different nozzles whenever possible, black, red, white, and yellow are placed in the feed chute corresponding to the first nozzle, and blue and green are placed in the feed chute corresponding to the second nozzle. This would require two material changes when printing the first slice layer, one when printing the second slice layer, and one when printing the third slice layer, for a total of four material changes. In this embodiment, the multiple slicing layers include multi-color slicing layers. By separating at least two colors of material used in the multi-color slicing layers into target material combinations corresponding to different printheads, the number of material changes can be reduced. For example, black, red, and blue can be used as one target material combination and placed in the material slot corresponding to the first printhead; white, yellow, and green can be used as another target material combination and placed in the material slot corresponding to the second printhead. In this way, material changes are required once when printing the first slicing layer, but not when printing the second slicing layer or the third slicing layer. Only one material change is required in total, greatly reducing the number of material changes.

[0088] Optionally, when grouping the M types of materials used in multiple slice layers of a multi-color printing model, the specific grouping will also be influenced by the correspondence between each printhead and the feed trough. For example, this can be represented by grouping the M types of materials according to the number of printheads, material parameters, and the correspondence between each printhead and the feed trough. The correspondence between printheads and feed troughs can be a default setting, for example, one printhead corresponds to feed troughs A, B, C, and D by default, and the printhead and each feed trough are physically connected, for example, through a feed tube. In this case, the correspondence between printheads and feed troughs is fixed and configured. Then, based on the number of printheads, material parameters, and the correspondence between each printhead and the feed trough, the M types of materials can be grouped according to the number of printheads. The type of material in each group is determined by the correspondence between that printhead and the feed trough, and which material is placed in which feed trough corresponding to which printhead is determined by the material parameters of the material used in the slice layer where that material is located.

[0089] As another example, the M materials can be grouped according to the number of nozzles, material parameters, and the number of troughs corresponding to each nozzle. In this embodiment, the correspondence between nozzles and troughs can be a default setting. This embodiment does not require knowing the correspondence between nozzles and troughs. The M materials can be grouped even if the number of troughs corresponding to each nozzle is known. For example, each nozzle corresponds to four troughs by default. In this case, the M materials can be grouped according to the number of nozzles. The number of material types in each group is less than the number of troughs corresponding to that nozzle. The specific material placed in the trough corresponding to which nozzle is determined by the material parameters of the material used in the slice layer where that material is located.

[0090] Alternatively, in some feasible implementations, the correspondence between the nozzles and the material troughs is not fixed. In this case, based on the number of nozzles and material parameters, the M types of materials are grouped to obtain a target material combination corresponding to each nozzle. Then, based on the quantity of materials in the target material combination, a physical connection can be established between the corresponding number of material troughs and the corresponding nozzles. For example, while displaying the target material combination corresponding to each nozzle, the physical connection relationship between the material trough and the nozzle can be indicated.

[0091] Optionally, the number of material colors used in multiple slice layers is greater than the number of nozzles, and the number of color colors is less than or equal to the number of troughs.

[0092] The multiple slice layers may include multi-color slice layers, which can be slice layers with at least two colors. That is, a slice layer in the multi-color model to be printed can use at least two colors of material. In this case, the at least two colors of material used in a slice layer in the multi-color model to be printed can be divided into target material combinations corresponding to different printheads. Each material in the target material combination can be placed in the material trough corresponding to the printhead of the combination. That is, the target material combination obtained by dividing the target material combination corresponding to each printhead is a material placement combination that can optimize the number of printhead material changes during subsequent printing of multi-color models.

[0093] Optionally, when grouping the M types of materials used in the multiple slice layers of the multicolor model to be printed, a grouping recommendation algorithm can be used to determine the target material combination.

[0094] Optionally, in some feasible implementations, based on a plurality of preset first initial material combinations, all materials used simultaneously in the same slicing layer and located in the same initial material combination can be marked. Then, the number of times the materials used in each slicing layer are marked can be counted to obtain the target material combination corresponding to each nozzle from the plurality of preset first initial material combinations. Specifically, the target material combination can be the material combination with the fewest marking times among the plurality of preset first initial material combinations for each slicing layer.

[0095] For example, in some feasible implementations, the preset multiple first initial material combinations can refer to all grouping situations obtained by calculating the number of combinations. This is manifested as dividing all materials according to the number of printheads as the number of combinations in a single division, with each combination containing at least one material. For example, assuming there are M types of printing materials, if the number of printheads is 2, then the number of combinations in a single division is 2. When dividing the M types of printing materials into 2 combinations in a single division, each combination can contain at least one printing material, thus obtaining multiple combinations obtained in a single division. The marking can be manifested as marking the repetition of different materials used in the same slice layer, for example, marking with a repetition degree of 0 or 1.

[0096] For example, you can first iterate through the materials used in each slice layer of the multicolor model to be printed after slicing. At this time, you can accumulate the repetition between all pairs of materials. This repetition can be used to indicate whether there are materials used at the same time in the same slice layer. If multiple materials are used in the same slice layer, the repetition between these materials can be marked as 1; if only one material is used in the same slice layer, the repetition between all materials in that layer can be marked as 0. For example, if materials A and B are used in the same slice layer, the overlap between materials A and B can be marked as 1. If materials A, B, and C are used in the same slice layer, the overlap between materials A and B can be marked as 1, the overlap between B and C can be marked as 1, and the overlap between A and C can be marked as 1. If only material A is used in the same slice layer, not only can the overlap between material A and other materials be marked as 0, but the overlap between other materials, such as material B and material C, can also be marked as 0. The overlaps marked above can be recorded in an initial overlap table. For example, assuming there are M types of materials, an M×M table can be used to record the overlap between every two materials in the M types of materials, so that the overlap between every two materials in each slice layer can be summed to obtain the total overlap between the two materials, which is used for grouping material combinations. It should be noted that different slice layers need to be traversed, and the overlap between two materials in different slice layers can be superimposed.

[0097] In this example, the preset multiple initial material combinations can refer to all grouping scenarios where the listed M materials are divided into two groups. One group can be selected, and based on the modification strategy of setting the repetition rate of the two materials in different groups to 0, the initial repetition rate table obtained above is modified to obtain a new repetition rate table, and the new total repetition rate is calculated. It should be noted that all grouping scenarios can be iterated and extracted, and the repetition rate in the initial repetition rate table can be modified according to the aforementioned modification strategy, resulting in multiple new repetition rate tables and corresponding multiple new total repetition rates. Then, the new total repetition rates calculated for all grouping scenarios can be compared, and the group with the smallest total repetition rate can be selected as the optimal group.

[0098] Taking a 3D printer with two nozzles, one corresponding to two feed hoppers and the other to three feed hoppers, as an example, assuming this 3D printer... Figure 4 The multi-color model shown is printed using various materials, including materials 1-5, i.e., M=5. The multi-color model is then sliced. For each slice layer, the materials used can be iterated to obtain the repetition degree between every two materials, and recorded in a 5×5 repetition degree table, as shown in Table 1 below:

[0099]

[0100]

[0101] For all possible groupings of the above 5 materials into two groups, we can list them by brute force enumeration: (1,2)(3,4,5), (1,3)(2,4,5), (1,4)(2,3,5), (1,5)(2,3,4), (2,3)(1,4,5), (2,4)(1,3,5), (2,5)(1,3,4), (3,4)(1,2,5), (3,5)(1,2,4), (4,5)(1,2,3), (1)(2,3,4,5), (2)(1,3,4,5), (3)(1,2,4,5), (4)(1,2,3,5), (5)(1,2,3,4), etc. For each group, we can extract and then modify the values ​​in Table 1 above. The repeatability is calculated to obtain a new repeatability table and then calculate the new total repeatability. After calculating the total repeatability for all groupings, the group with the smallest total repeatability can be selected as the optimal solution. For example, in the results obtained after calculation based on the above groupings and Table 1, there are group 1: (1,2)(3,4,5) and group 2: (2,3)(1,4,5) with a total repeatability of 107. The aforementioned group 1 and group 2 are the combinations with the smallest total repeatability. At this time, either group can be selected as the optimal group for recommendation. That is, the determined target material combination can be (1,2)(3,4,5) or (2,3)(1,4,5). Placing materials according to the aforementioned target material combination can optimize the number of nozzle material changes during subsequent printing of multi-color models as much as possible.

[0102] Optionally, in some feasible implementations, a brute-force method can be used to determine the target material combination when grouping the M types of materials used in the multiple slice layers included in the multicolor model to be printed.

[0103] Optionally, in some feasible implementations, the number of material replacements for each slice layer can be calculated based on a preset plurality of second initial material combinations, and a target material combination corresponding to each nozzle can be obtained from the preset plurality of second initial material combinations based on the number of material replacements for each slice layer. Specifically, the target material combination can be the material combination with the fewest material replacements for all slice layers among the preset plurality of second initial material combinations.

[0104] For example, in some feasible implementations, the preset multiple second initial material combinations can refer to obtaining all grouping situations by calculating the number of combinations. This is manifested as dividing all materials according to the number of nozzles as the number of combinations in a single division, with each combination containing at least one material. At this time, one group can be selected, each slice layer can be traversed, and the number of material replacements for each slice layer under that group can be directly calculated. Then, the total number of material replacements can be accumulated. After traversing and extracting all grouping situations and calculating the total number of material replacements under the corresponding grouping situations, the group with the fewest total number of material replacements can be selected as the optimal group.

[0105] Optionally, when grouping the M types of materials used in the multiple slice layers of the multicolor model to be printed, the maximum value removal method can be used to determine the target material combination.

[0106] Optionally, in some feasible implementations, based on multiple preset third initial material combinations, all materials used simultaneously in the same slice layer and located in the same initial material combination can be marked, the number of times the materials used in each slice layer are marked can be counted, and the materials corresponding to the number of markings can be set in the target material combination corresponding to different nozzles in order of the number of markings.

[0107] For example, in some feasible implementations, the preset multiple third initial material combinations can also refer to obtaining all grouping situations by calculating the number of combinations. This means dividing all materials according to the number of nozzles as the number of combinations in a single division, and each combination contains at least one material. In this case, the grouping recommendation algorithm described above can be used to traverse all slice layers to obtain the repetition between each pair of materials and to establish an initial repetition table. Then, the row number and column number (the arrangement number excluding the material number) corresponding to the maximum repetition can be obtained according to the repetition table. For example, in Table 1, the maximum repetition value is located in row 2 and column 4. At this time, the materials corresponding to the row number and column number, i.e., No. 2 and No. 4, can be divided into material troughs corresponding to different nozzles. After grouping, the corresponding maximum repetition can be set to 0 in Table 1 to obtain a new repetition table. Then, the new repetition table can be used to continue the steps of obtaining the row number and column number corresponding to the maximum repetition, grouping the materials corresponding to the row number and column number corresponding to the maximum repetition, and setting the maximum repetition in the repetition table after grouping, until all materials have been grouped. At this time, the grouping results can be output. The grouping step is an iterative step. For example, when grouping, there might be a situation where neither material is grouped. In this case, we can combine all grouping possibilities and choose the group with the lowest total repetition calculated when grouping materials 2 and 4. Another example is that one material might be grouped while the other is not. In this case, the ungrouped materials can be assigned according to the grouping that minimizes the total repetition. Yet another example is that both materials might be grouped. In this case, we can directly execute the next step of setting the maximum repetition to 0 and the next round of grouping loops until all materials are grouped.

[0108] Optionally, in some feasible implementations, color separation can also be performed in the 3D region to roughly estimate the distribution of material in the trough corresponding to each nozzle. This application embodiment will not elaborate on this.

[0109] Optionally, in some feasible implementations, after obtaining the target material combination corresponding to each printhead, the aforementioned target material combination can be displayed, that is, the target material combination corresponding to each printhead can be displayed to inform the user of the target material combination that can optimize the number of printhead material changes when printing multi-color models. The target material combination can indicate that the material is placed in the material trough corresponding to the corresponding printhead.

[0110] For example, it can be as follows Figure 6As shown, the interface for sending print simultaneously displays the target material combination corresponding to each printhead. For example, printhead 1 corresponds to materials 1, 3, 5, 7, and 8, and printhead 2 corresponds to materials 2, 4, and 6. This informs the user of the target material combination that optimizes the number of printhead material changes during multi-color model printing. Alternatively, it can further confirm whether the user agrees to the aforementioned material placement to confirm whether the material placement is in accordance with the aforementioned target material combination. Furthermore, the target material combination for each printhead is displayed on the print sending interface. In this application, the target material combination for each printhead can be displayed on the print sending interface to inform the user of the material placement combination that reduces the number of material changes during multi-color model printing before printing begins. It also provides the user with the ability to adjust the material combination for each printhead if they disagree with the aforementioned material placement combination, thereby adjusting the placement of the printing material in the material slot corresponding to each printhead.

[0111] Optionally, in some feasible implementations, the target material combination is mainly used to indicate the placement of materials in the corresponding troughs of each nozzle. In this case, the actual materials placed in each trough corresponding to each nozzle can be monitored. If the materials actually placed in each trough corresponding to each nozzle do not belong to the materials in the target material combination corresponding to each nozzle, a warning message can be displayed to inform the user that the placement of materials in the current trough does not conform to the optimal material combination.

[0112] This application also provides a terminal device, the terminal device including a processor and a memory, the memory for storing instructions, and the processor for calling instructions from the memory, causing the terminal device to perform the aforementioned combined... Figures 1 to 6 The described embodiments.

[0113] This application also provides a computer program product comprising a computer program that, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to perform the actions described above. Figures 1 to 6 The described embodiments.

[0114] This application also provides a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing computer instructions, wherein the computer program instructions are stored thereon, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the processor performs the actions described above. Figures 1 to 6 The described embodiments. It should be noted that the computer program used for execution can be implemented on software, on a storage medium, or on a printer; the embodiments of this application do not limit this.

[0115] The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing computer instructions includes, for example, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

[0116] It should be noted that the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0117] Those skilled in the art will understand that all or part of the steps of the above method embodiments can be implemented by hardware related to program instructions. The aforementioned program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. When the program is executed, it performs the steps of the above method embodiments. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as mobile storage devices, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0118] Alternatively, if the integrated units described above are implemented as software functional modules and sold or used as independent products, they can also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, or the parts that contribute to the prior art, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the methods described in the various embodiments of this application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as mobile storage devices, ROM, RAM, magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0119] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method of changing a material for a 3D printer, characterized by, The 3D printer comprises at least two nozzles, each of the at least two nozzles has at least one corresponding material tank, and the material replacement processing method comprises the following steps: Obtaining material parameters of materials used in each slice layer of a plurality of slice layers included in a multi-color model to be printed, wherein the material parameters comprise N material colors, and N is a positive integer; Grouping M materials according to the number of nozzles included in the 3D printer and the material parameters to obtain a target material combination corresponding to each nozzle, wherein M is the number of color types of the materials used in the plurality of slice layers, and each material in the target material combination is placed in a material tank corresponding to the nozzle corresponding to the target material combination; The plurality of slice layers comprise multi-color slice layers. The grouping of the M materials comprises the following steps: Grouping at least two colors of materials used in the multi-color slice layers in different target material combinations corresponding to different nozzles.

2. The refueling process of claim 1, wherein Each material in the target material combination is a material used in the plurality of slice layers.

3. The refueling process of claim 1, wherein, The grouping of the M materials according to the number of nozzles included in the 3D printer and the material parameters to obtain a target material combination corresponding to each nozzle comprises the following steps: Grouping the M materials according to the number of nozzles included in the 3D printer, the material parameters, and a corresponding relationship between each nozzle and a material tank to obtain a target material combination corresponding to each nozzle.

4. The refueling process of claim 1, wherein The grouping of the M materials according to the number of nozzles included in the 3D printer and the material parameters to obtain a target material combination corresponding to each nozzle comprises the following steps: Grouping the M materials according to the number of nozzles included in the 3D printer, the material parameters, and the number of material tanks corresponding to each nozzle to obtain a target material combination corresponding to each nozzle.

5. The refueling process of any of claims 1-4, wherein, The number of the material tanks is greater than the number of the nozzles.

6. The refueling process of any of claims 1-4, wherein, The number of color types of the materials used in the plurality of slice layers is greater than the number of the nozzles, and the number of the color types is less than or equal to the number of the material tanks.

7. The refueling process of any of claims 1-4, wherein, The material replacement processing method further comprises the following steps: Displaying the target material combination corresponding to each nozzle.

8. The refueling process of any of claims 1-4, wherein, The material replacement processing method further comprises the following steps: Simultaneously displaying the target material combination corresponding to each nozzle on an interface for sending a print.

9. The refueling process of any of claims 1-4, wherein, The material replacement processing method further comprises the following steps: Monitoring materials actually placed in each material tank corresponding to each nozzle; If the materials actually placed in each material tank corresponding to each nozzle do not belong to the materials in the target material combination corresponding to each nozzle, displaying a warning message.

10. The refueling process of any of claims 1-4, wherein, The grouping of the M materials to obtain a target material combination corresponding to each nozzle comprises the following steps: Based on a plurality of preset first initial material combinations, marking materials used in the same slice layer and located in the same initial material combination; Counting the number of times of marking the materials used in each slice layer to obtain a target material combination corresponding to each nozzle from the plurality of preset first initial material combinations.

11. The refueling process of claim 10, wherein, The target material combination is a material combination in the preset plurality of first initial material combinations, in which the number of labels of the material used by each slice layer is the least.

12. The refueling process of any of claims 1-4, wherein, The grouping of the M materials to obtain the target material combination corresponding to each nozzle comprises: Based on the preset plurality of second initial material combinations, the number of material changes of each slice layer is calculated; And according to the number of material changes of each slice layer, the target material combination corresponding to each nozzle is obtained from the preset plurality of second initial material combinations.

13. The refueling process of claim 12, wherein, The target material combination is a material combination in the preset plurality of second initial material combinations, in which the number of material changes of each slice layer is the least.

14. The refueling process of any of claims 1-4, wherein, The grouping of the M materials to obtain the target material combination corresponding to each nozzle comprises: Based on the preset plurality of third initial material combinations, the materials in the same initial material combination that are simultaneously used in the same slice layer of the to-be-printed multi-color model are labeled; The number of labels of the material used by each slice layer of the to-be-printed multi-color model is counted, and the various materials corresponding to the number of labels are respectively arranged in the target material combination corresponding to different nozzles in the order of the number of labels.

15. A terminal device, comprising: The terminal device comprises a processor and a memory, the memory is used for storing instructions, and the processor is used for calling the instructions in the memory, so that the terminal device executes the material change processing method as claimed in any one of claims 1-14.

16. A computer readable storage medium having stored thereon computer instructions, wherein, The instructions, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to execute the material change processing method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 14.

17. A computer program product, characterised in that, The program code, when executed by the computer, is used to execute the material change processing method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 14.

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