A common reference material changing system for high-precision multi-material printing

Abstract

This invention relates to the field of photopolymerization printing, and more specifically to a common reference material changing system for high-precision multi-material printing. The system includes a mounting frame, on which an X-axis displacement platform is fixedly connected. An installation platform is mounted on the X-axis displacement platform, which drives the installation platform to move along the X-axis. The installation platform includes a cleaning and drying module and multiple material pool modules, each containing a flexible release printing film. The mounting frame also includes a printing substrate motion module for printing, an optical module for exposure projection printing, and a common reference support module for providing high-precision support and positioning for the flexible release printing films in the multiple material pool modules. This system ensures that multi-material surface projection photopolymerization printing possesses both precise multi-material distribution customization capabilities and high-precision shape and size forming capabilities.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of photopolymer printing, and more specifically to a common reference material changing system for high-precision multi-material printing. Background Technology

[0002] Projection photopolymerization printing has the advantages of high precision and high forming efficiency, and is currently widely used in many fields such as aerospace, electronics, and medical. As its application fields gradually expand and technology advances, the demand for multi-material integrated printing is also gradually increasing, mainly reflected in the precise distribution and customization of multiple materials and the high-precision forming of shapes and dimensions.

[0003] Currently, there are two main methods for achieving multi-material printing using surface projection photopolymerization: single-pool cleaning and material replacement, and multi-pool switching cleaning. The single-pool cleaning and material replacement method suffers from significant material loss due to frequent material switching when dealing with high-precision, low-layer-thickness molding requirements involving multiple materials distributed within a single layer. Furthermore, the difficulty in removing cleaning residues within a single pool leads to severe material boundary contamination in the molded part. Therefore, this method is insufficient to meet the demands for precise multi-material distribution customization and high-precision shape and size molding.

[0004] Multi-pool switching cleaning method has the advantages of zoned cleaning, drying, and feeding. It can effectively remove residual materials during the switching process and can effectively achieve precise distribution and customization of multiple materials. However, this method has extremely high requirements for the position of the forming surface at the bottom of each pool. Conventional large-stroke multi-pool motion switching cannot guarantee the high-precision forming surface requirements, and is prone to defects such as material mis-layer forming and reduced curing accuracy. Therefore, ensuring that the forming surface position accuracy is at the submicron level after large-stroke multi-pool material changing is a necessary capability of multi-material surface projection light curing printing material changing system. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to provide a common reference material changing system for high-precision multi-material printing, which can ensure that multi-material surface projection photopolymerization printing has the ability to accurately distribute and customize multiple materials while also having the ability to form shapes and dimensions with high precision.

[0006] The objective of this invention is achieved through the following technical solution:

[0007] A common reference material changing system for high-precision multi-material printing includes a mounting frame, an X-axis displacement platform fixedly connected to the mounting frame, an installation platform mounted on the X-axis displacement platform, the X-axis displacement platform being able to drive the installation platform to move along the X-axis direction, a cleaning and drying module and multiple material pool modules mounted on the installation platform, each material pool module including a material pool base, a material pool cavity fixedly connected to the material pool base, a flexible release printing film disposed between the material pool cavity and the material pool base, a ball joint fixedly connected to the mounting platform for supporting a leveling mounting plate, a leveling copper head screw threadedly connected to the leveling mounting plate, a tension spring fixedly connected between the leveling mounting plate and the mounting platform, and the material pool base fixedly connected to the leveling mounting plate.

[0008] A cavity is fixedly connected to the side of the material tank cavity, a float is installed inside the cavity, and a distance sensor is fixedly connected to the cavity. The distance sensor monitors the rise and fall of the float and controls the liquid level in the material tank cavity.

[0009] The material pool cavity is provided with a negative pressure suction and material removal port on its side, and two gas-liquid interfaces II are provided on the material pool cavity. The two gas-liquid interfaces II are respectively connected to the negative pressure suction and material removal port and the material pool cavity.

[0010] The cleaning and drying module includes a mounting base, which is fixedly connected to the mounting platform. A cleaning material tank is fixedly connected to the mounting base, and a gas-liquid hose for communicating with the cleaning material tank is provided on the cleaning material tank.

[0011] A drying module is provided on the side of the mounting base, and a gas-liquid interface I for connecting to the drying module is provided on the side of the mounting base.

[0012] An array of ultrasonic strain gauges is provided at the bottom of the cleaning tank;

[0013] The mounting frame is provided with a common reference support module for supporting the flexible release printing film in multiple flexible release material pool modules, and the mounting frame is provided with a printing substrate motion module for printing.

[0014] The printing substrate motion module includes a mounting base I, a Z1-axis displacement platform fixedly connected to the mounting base I, a cantilever mounting frame fixedly connected to the moving end of the Z1-axis displacement platform, a substrate mounting block connected to the cantilever mounting frame by leveling screws, a leveling rubber pad block provided between the substrate mounting block and the cantilever mounting frame, and a shaped substrate connected to the substrate mounting block by hand-tightening bolts.

[0015] The common reference support module includes a mounting base II, on which a Z2-axis displacement platform is fixedly connected. A cavity connecting frame is fixedly connected to the moving end of the Z2-axis displacement platform, and a high-transmittance support plate is fixedly connected to the cavity connecting frame.

[0016] The mounting frame is equipped with an optical module for photopolymerization printing.

[0017] The beneficial effects of this invention are as follows:

[0018] By setting up multiple material pool modules, each containing different photocurable printing materials, surface projection photocuring is performed at the same spatial position in different material pool modules. Multi-material three-dimensional entities are constructed by stacking layers one by one. The forming in different material pool modules is achieved by coaxially cutting the material pool modules, and the forming at the same spatial position is achieved by supporting the flexible release printing film with a common reference support module to achieve the same forming surface position. This achieves large-format, high-precision, and repeatable positioning of multiple material pools, avoiding the reduction in projection accuracy caused by differences in the forming surface position of each material pool, as well as forming defects such as multi-material misalignment, uneven thickness, and poor interlayer bonding. Attached Figure Description

[0019] The present invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific implementation methods.

[0020] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the common reference material changing system for high-precision multi-material printing of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 2 This is a front view structural schematic diagram of the common reference material changing system for high-precision multi-material printing of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the X-axis displacement platform and mounting platform structure of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the cleaning and drying module and the material tank module of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the material tank module structure of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the front view structure of the material tank module of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 7 This is a bottom view structural diagram of the material tank module of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the cleaning and drying module structure of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of the printing substrate motion module structure of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of the common reference support module structure of the present invention.

[0030] In the picture:

[0031] Mounting frame 10;

[0032] X-axis displacement platform 20;

[0033] Installation platform 30;

[0034] Cleaning and drying module 40; mounting base 41; cleaning tank 42; drying module 43; gas-liquid interface I 44; ultrasonic strain gauge array 45; gas-liquid hose 46;

[0035] Material tank module 50; Material tank base 51; Material tank cavity 52; Flexible release printing film 53; Cavity 54; Float 55; Distance sensor 56; Gas-liquid interface II 57; Negative pressure suction and material removal port 58; Ball joint 59; Tension spring 510; Leveling copper head screw 511; Leveling mounting plate 512;

[0036] Printing base motion module 60; mounting base I 61; Z1 axis displacement platform 62; cantilever mounting bracket 63; leveling rubber pad 64; base mounting block 65; forming base 66; leveling screw 67; hand-tightening bolt 68;

[0037] Common reference support module 70; mounting base II 71; Z2 axis displacement platform 72; cavity connecting frame 73; high light transmittance support plate 74;

[0038] Optical module 80. Detailed Implementation

[0039] The present invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0040] like Figures 1 to 10 As shown, in order to achieve the technical effect of "ensuring that multi-material surface projection photopolymerization printing has the ability to accurately distribute and customize multiple materials while also having the ability to form shapes and dimensions with high precision", the structure and function of the common reference material changing system for high-precision multi-material printing will be explained in detail below.

[0041] A common reference material changing system for high-precision multi-material printing includes a mounting frame 10, an X-axis displacement platform 20 fixedly connected to the mounting frame 10, a mounting platform 30 disposed on the X-axis displacement platform 20, the X-axis displacement platform 20 being able to drive the mounting platform 30 to move along the X-axis direction, a cleaning and drying module 40 and multiple material pool modules 50 disposed on the mounting platform 30, each material pool module 50 including a material pool base 51, a material pool cavity 52 fixedly connected to the material pool base 51, a flexible release printing film 53 disposed between the material pool cavity 52 and the material pool base 51, a ball joint 59 fixedly connected to the mounting platform 30 for supporting a leveling mounting plate 512, a leveling copper head screw 511 threadedly connected to the leveling mounting plate 512, a tension spring 510 fixedly connected between the leveling mounting plate 512 and the mounting platform 30, and the material pool base 51 fixedly connected to the leveling mounting plate 512.

[0042] The X-axis displacement platform 20 drives the mounting platform 30 to move laterally, thereby driving a cleaning and drying module 40 and multiple material pool modules 50 to move, thereby adjusting the lateral position of the cleaning and drying module 40 and multiple material pool modules 50. The leveling copper head screw 511 is rotated so that the lower end of the leveling copper head screw 511 can press against the mounting platform 30, thereby adjusting the tilt of the leveling mounting plate 512 so that the flexible release printing film 53 of multiple material pool modules 50 is coarsely parallel to the high light transmittance support plate 74.

[0043] A cavity 54 is fixedly connected to the side of the material pool cavity 52. ​​A float 55 is installed inside the cavity 54. A distance sensor 56 is fixedly connected to the cavity 54. The distance sensor 56 monitors the rise and fall of the float 55 and controls the liquid level in the material pool cavity 52.

[0044] A negative pressure suction and material removal port 58 is provided on the side of the material pool cavity 52. ​​Two gas-liquid interfaces II 57 are provided on the material pool cavity 52. ​​The two gas-liquid interfaces II 57 are respectively connected to the negative pressure suction and material removal port 58 and the material pool cavity 52. ​​The negative pressure suction and material removal port 58 can generate negative pressure. After printing, the printed material can be moved to the upper side of the negative pressure suction and material removal port 58, and the residual liquid on the printed material can be recovered through the negative pressure suction and material removal port 58.

[0045] The cleaning and drying module 40 includes a mounting base 41, which is fixedly connected to the mounting platform 30. A cleaning material tank 42 is fixedly connected to the mounting base 41, and a gas-liquid hose 46 for communicating with the cleaning material tank 42 is provided on the cleaning material tank 42.

[0046] A drying module 43 is provided on the side of the mounting base 41, and a gas-liquid interface I 44 for connecting to the drying module 43 is provided on the side of the mounting base 41.

[0047] An ultrasonic strain gauge array 45 is provided at the bottom of the cleaning tank 42;

[0048] The cleaning tank 42 can perform high-precision, non-destructive cleaning of the printed material using high-frequency ultrasound, and the drying module 43 can blow out drying air to dry the cleaned printed material.

[0049] The mounting frame 10 is provided with a common reference support module 70 for supporting the flexible release printing film 53 in the multiple flexible release material pool modules 50, and the mounting frame 10 is provided with a printing substrate motion module 60 for printing.

[0050] The printing substrate motion module 60 includes a mounting base I 61, on which a Z1-axis displacement platform 62 is fixedly connected. A cantilever mounting bracket 63 is fixedly connected to the moving end of the Z1-axis displacement platform 62. A substrate mounting block 65 is connected to the cantilever mounting bracket 63 via leveling screws 67. A leveling rubber pad 64 is provided between the substrate mounting block 65 and the cantilever mounting bracket 63. The substrate mounting block 65 is connected to the forming substrate 66 via hand-tightening bolts 68. When the Z1-axis displacement platform 62 is activated, it can drive... The cantilever mounting bracket 63 moves, thereby adjusting its height. The cantilever mounting bracket 63 can drive the forming substrate 66 to move, thereby adjusting its height so that the forming substrate 66 enters the cleaning and drying module 40 and the material tank module 50. The forming substrate 66 enters the material tank module 50 for printing, and enters the cleaning and drying module 40 for cleaning the printed material. The leveling screw 67 can adjust the tilt of the base mounting block 65, thus leveling the base mounting block 65.

[0051] The common reference support module 70 includes a mounting base II 71, a Z2 axis displacement platform 72 fixedly connected to the mounting base II 71, a cavity connecting frame 73 fixedly connected to the moving end of the Z2 axis displacement platform 72, and a high light transmittance support plate 74 fixedly connected to the cavity connecting frame 73.

[0052] The Z2 axis displacement platform 72 is started, which drives the cavity connecting frame 73 to move. The cavity connecting frame 73 drives the high light transmittance support plate 74 to move, thereby adjusting the height of the high light transmittance support plate 74 so that the high light transmittance support plate 74 can support the bottom of the flexible release printing film 53.

[0053] The mounting frame 10 is provided with an optical module 80 for performing photopolymerization printing. The optical module 80 can be an optical instrument commonly used in the prior art for photopolymerization printing.

[0054] In use, by activating the Z1 axis displacement platform 62, the Z1 axis displacement platform 62 drives the forming base 66 to move upward. The forming base 66 drives the printed part to move upward away from the material pool cavity 52 to a height slightly higher than the negative pressure suction and material removal port 58 on the material pool module 50. At the same time, the Z2 axis displacement platform 72 drives the high light transmittance support plate 74 to move downward to the non-interference standby position. Then, the X axis displacement platform 20 drives the printed part to move to the cleaning and drying module 40. During the process, when passing the negative pressure suction and material removal port 58, the liquid material coated on the printed part is sucked up and recycled.

[0055] At the cleaning station corresponding to the cleaning and drying module 40, the printed part moves down into the cleaning tank 42, and then ethanol, acetone and other cleaning agents are injected into the tank to the set amount. Timed ultrasonic cleaning of the formed part structure of the printed part is started. Both macro and micro structures in the tank can be cleaned. High-frequency cleaning achieves the purpose of non-destructive cleaning of micro structures. After ultrasonic cleaning, the cleaning agent is discharged. The above process of injecting cleaning agent-ultrasonic cleaning-discharging cleaning agent can be programmed to cycle the cleaning times to reduce the mixing of multiple materials.

[0056] After cleaning, the printed part moves up away from the cleaning material tank 42 to a height slightly higher than the exhaust hole of the drying module 43. Then, the X-axis displacement platform 20 moves to the position of the material pool module 50 corresponding to the required printing material. When passing through the drying module 43, it moves at low speed and the air pump is turned on to blow and dry the surface of the printed part, so as to achieve the purpose of drying the printed surface.

[0057] After moving to the material pool module 50 corresponding to the required printing material, the reference support module 70 moves upward to make the bottom forming surface of the material pool reach a high-precision predetermined position. Then the printed part moves downward into the material pool module 50 and enters the pre-printing state.

[0058] Material is pumped in through the gas-liquid interface II57 of the material tank module 50 to replenish the material in the material tank to reach the predetermined liquid level. The process of light projection curing, material replacement, cleaning, drying and other processes is controlled in a cycle, and the height of the forming substrate 66 is raised layer by layer to achieve high-precision multi-material printing.

[0059] This document 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 common reference material changing system for high-precision multi-material printing, comprising a mounting frame (10), characterized in that: An X-axis displacement platform (20) is fixedly connected to the mounting frame (10). An installation platform (30) is provided on the X-axis displacement platform (20). The X-axis displacement platform (20) can drive the installation platform (30) to move along the X-axis direction. A cleaning and drying module (40) and multiple material tank modules (50) are provided on the installation platform (30). The material tank module (50) includes a material tank base (51). A material tank cavity (52) is fixedly connected to the material tank base (51). A flexible release printing film (53) is provided between the cavity (52) and the material pool base (51). A ball joint (59) for supporting the leveling mounting plate (512) is fixedly connected to the mounting platform (30). A leveling copper head screw (511) is threadedly connected to the leveling mounting plate (512). A tension spring (510) is fixedly connected between the leveling mounting plate (512) and the mounting platform (30). The material pool base (51) is fixedly connected to the leveling mounting plate (512). The mounting frame (10) is provided with a common reference support module (70) for supporting the flexible release printing film (53) in multiple flexible release material pool modules (50), and the mounting frame (10) is provided with a printing substrate motion module (60) for printing. The common reference support module (70) includes a mounting base II (71), a Z2 axis displacement platform (72) is fixedly connected to the mounting base II (71), a cavity connecting frame (73) is fixedly connected to the moving end of the Z2 axis displacement platform (72), and a high light transmittance support plate (74) is fixedly connected to the cavity connecting frame (73).

2. The common reference material changing system for high-precision multi-material printing according to claim 1, characterized in that: A cavity (54) is fixedly connected to the side of the material pool cavity (52). A float (55) is installed inside the cavity (54). A distance sensor (56) is fixedly connected to the cavity (54). The distance sensor (56) monitors the buoyancy of the float (55) to control the liquid level in the material pool cavity (52).

3. The common reference material changing system for high-precision multi-material printing according to claim 1, characterized in that: The material pool cavity (52) is provided with a negative pressure suction and material removal port (58) on its side. The material pool cavity (52) is provided with two gas-liquid interfaces II (57), which are connected to the negative pressure suction and material removal port (58) and the material pool cavity (52) respectively.

4. The common reference material changing system for high-precision multi-material printing according to claim 1, characterized in that: The cleaning and drying module (40) includes a mounting base (41), which is fixedly connected to the mounting platform (30). A cleaning material tank (42) is fixedly connected to the mounting base (41), and a gas-liquid hose (46) for communicating with the cleaning material tank (42) is provided on the cleaning material tank (42).

5. A common reference material changing system for high-precision multi-material printing according to claim 4, characterized in that: A drying module (43) is provided on the side of the mounting base (41), and a gas-liquid interface I (44) for connecting with the drying module (43) is provided on the side of the mounting base (41).

6. A common reference material changing system for high-precision multi-material printing according to claim 5, characterized in that: An ultrasonic strain gauge array (45) is provided at the bottom of the cleaning tank (42).

7. A common reference material changing system for high-precision multi-material printing according to claim 1, characterized in that: The printing substrate motion module (60) includes a mounting base I (61), a Z1-axis displacement platform (62) is fixedly connected to the mounting base I (61), a cantilever mounting bracket (63) is fixedly connected to the moving end of the Z1-axis displacement platform (62), a substrate mounting block (65) is connected to the cantilever mounting bracket (63) by a leveling screw (67), a leveling rubber pad (64) is provided between the substrate mounting block (65) and the cantilever mounting bracket (63), and a forming substrate (66) is connected to the substrate mounting block (65) by a hand-tightening bolt (68).

8. A common reference material changing system for high-precision multi-material printing according to claim 1, characterized in that: An optical module (80) for performing photopolymerization printing is provided on the mounting frame (10).

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