3D printing support and 3D printing method

Abstract

This invention provides a 3D printed support and a 3D printing method. The 3D printed support includes a support body, which is set as the main body of model material; and an upper support skin layer, printed on the top surface of the support body, wherein the upper support skin layer is set as an auxiliary material skin layer. The infill rate of the support body is much smaller than that of the upper support skin layer, and the height of the support body is much larger than that of the upper support skin layer. This invention uses model material to print a support body with a low infill rate, and uses auxiliary material to print a high infill rate upper support skin layer on the top surface of the support body. This allows the corresponding 3D printed support to be used at high chamber temperatures, while also possessing good structural stability and easy peeling after printing, and significantly improving the quality of the supported surface of the model, thereby ensuring the model yield.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of 3D printing technology, and more particularly to a 3D printing support and a 3D printing method. Background Technology

[0002] In recent years, with the continuous progress of materials science and computer science, 3D printing technology has also made great strides. As a rapid prototyping technology, it is widely used in various fields of production due to its short production cycle, low manufacturing cost, and high material utilization rate.

[0003] As is well known, because 3D printing uses a bottom-up printing sequence, when printing models with suspended structures, printing supports need to be added to the suspended parts of the model. The suspended structure is printed on the printing supports, and after printing, the printing supports are peeled off from the model. Currently, to ensure the peelability of the printing supports, most printing supports in related technologies consist of a relatively sparse and fragile bottom support, a relatively dense and strong middle support, and a relatively sparse and fragile top support, arranged sequentially from bottom to top. Furthermore, to shorten the printing time of the printing supports, the printing height of the bottom support is often set to be greater than the height of the middle and top supports.

[0004] However, the above-mentioned printing support structure has poor stability because the bottom support has a large height dimension, low infill density, and is relatively fragile. This makes the connection between the bottom support and the printing platform prone to detachment or collapse. Furthermore, the sparse top support reduces the quality of the supported surface of the model, resulting in a low model yield. There are areas for improvement. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to provide a 3D printing support and a 3D printing method, which can improve the quality of the supported surface of the model while having good structural stability and easy peeling after printing, thereby improving the model yield.

[0006] The technical solution provided by this invention is as follows:

[0007] This invention provides a 3D printing support, comprising:

[0008] The supporting structure is set as the main body of the model material;

[0009] An upper supporting skin layer is printed on the top surface of the supporting body, and the upper supporting skin layer is set as an auxiliary material skin layer;

[0010] The fill rate of the support body is much smaller than that of the upper support skin layer, and the height of the support body is much larger than that of the upper support skin layer.

[0011] The 3D printing support provided by this invention uses model material to print the support body and auxiliary material to print the upper support skin layer. The support body with a low infill rate and the upper support skin layer with a high infill rate are printed sequentially from bottom to top to form the 3D printed support. The infill rate of the support body is set to be much smaller than that of the upper support skin layer. On the one hand, since the adhesion between dissimilar materials is generally weaker than that between similar materials, and gaps are generally not required between the 3D printed support and the model, selecting an auxiliary material with moderate adhesion to the model material to print the upper support skin layer facilitates the complete peeling of the 3D printed support from the model after printing. This effectively ensures the ease of peeling after printing, significantly improves the quality of the supported surface of the model, and reduces the probability of damage to the supported surface. Simultaneously, the upper support skin layer is set with a high infill rate, much greater than that of the support body, allowing the upper support skin layer to fully contact the support body and the supported surface of the model, effectively improving the smoothness of the supported surface and ensuring the printing quality of the supported surface. It also helps to improve the connection strength between the upper support skin layer and the support body, thereby improving the overall structural strength of the 3D printed support. In addition, the height of the main support body is much larger than the height of the upper support skin layer. Due to the low infill rate of the main support body, the printing time of the 3D printed support is effectively shortened.

[0012] Furthermore, due to the high thermal softening point of the model material, using the model material to print the support body as the main part of this 3D printed support makes the support body less prone to thermal bending during the printing process. This effectively reduces the degree of thermal bending of the 3D printed support in the Z direction, ensuring its overall structural strength and improving its support stability for the model. In addition, this design also allows the 3D printed support to be used at high chamber temperatures, effectively expanding the applicability of this 3D printed support printing solution and enhancing its practicality.

[0013] In some embodiments, an upper support contact layer is also included, which is printed between the support body and the upper support skin layer;

[0014] The fill rate of the support body is much smaller than that of the upper support contact surface layer, and the height of the support body is much larger than that of the upper support contact surface layer.

[0015] The upper support contact surface layer is a model material surface layer.

[0016] The 3D printed support provided by this invention uses model material to print an upper support contact layer. The upper support contact layer with a high infill rate connects the support body and the upper support skin layer. Because the upper support contact layer has a high infill rate and is printed from the same material as the support body, the connection strength between the two is high. Although both the upper support contact layer and the upper support skin layer are high infill rate structures and are printed from different materials, they have sufficient contact and high bonding strength, thereby effectively ensuring a stable connection between the support body and the upper support skin layer, and further improving the structural stability of the 3D printed support.

[0017] In some embodiments, a lower supporting skin layer is also included, which is printed on the bottom surface of the supporting body;

[0018] The fill rate of the support body is much smaller than that of the lower support skin layer, and the height of the support body is much larger than that of the lower support skin layer.

[0019] The lower supporting skin layer is an auxiliary material skin layer.

[0020] The 3D printed support provided by this invention, in practical applications, when printed on a model surface, has a lower support skin layer with a high infill rate printed from auxiliary material. This helps ensure the smoothness of the model surface, improving surface quality and yield. Furthermore, because the lower support skin layer and the model are printed from different materials, it facilitates easy peeling of the 3D printed support from the model surface, further ensuring surface quality. Simultaneously, the high infill rate of the lower support skin layer also helps improve the stability of the 3D printed support on the model surface or printing platform.

[0021] In some embodiments, a lower support contact layer and a lower support skin layer are also included, wherein the lower support contact layer is printed on the bottom surface of the support body and the lower support skin layer is printed on the bottom surface of the lower support contact layer;

[0022] The lower support contact surface layer is a model material surface layer, and the lower support skin layer is an auxiliary material skin layer;

[0023] The fill rate of the support body is much smaller than that of the lower support contact layer and the lower support skin layer, and the height of the support body is much larger than that of the lower support contact layer and the lower support skin layer.

[0024] The 3D printed support provided by this invention uses model material to print the support body and the lower support contact layer. Since they are printed from the same material, the two are firmly bonded. When the lower support skin layer, printed using auxiliary material, is printed on the bottom surface of the lower support contact layer, the lower support contact layer and the lower support skin layer have a high printing fill rate, and the two are in full contact, which helps to ensure the bonding strength between the lower support skin layer and the support body and steadily improves the overall integrity of the 3D printed support.

[0025] In some embodiments, the fill ratio of the upper support contact layer and the lower support contact layer is the same as the fill ratio of the upper support skin layer and the lower support skin layer.

[0026] The 3D printed support provided by this invention has the same fill rate for the upper support contact layer and the upper support skin layer, and the same fill rate for the lower support contact layer and the lower support skin layer. This helps to ensure sufficient adhesion between the upper support contact layer and the upper support skin layer, and between the lower support contact layer and the lower support skin layer, thereby improving the structural strength of the 3D printed support and ensuring its functionality.

[0027] In some embodiments, the fill rate of the support body is 15%-25%;

[0028] The filling rate of the upper supporting skin layer, the lower supporting skin layer, the upper supporting contact surface layer, and the lower supporting contact surface layer is all 100%.

[0029] In some embodiments, the support body is configured as a Zigzag-type support body.

[0030] The 3D printing support provided by this invention features an upper and lower support contact surface layer with the same infill rate as the upper and lower support skin layers, both being 100% filled. This effectively ensures sufficient adhesion between the layers of the 3D printing support and guarantees the overall stability of the 3D printing support. Simultaneously, the support body with the largest height dimension has an infill rate of 15%-25% and features a Zigzag-shaped wiring pattern. On one hand, the low-density wiring effectively shortens the printing time of the 3D printing support; on the other hand, the Zigzag wiring pattern facilitates the complete removal of the 3D printing support, thereby reducing the risk of damage to the model during removal and effectively ensuring the yield of the corresponding model.

[0031] On the other hand, the present invention also provides a 3D printing method, which further includes a support printing step before the suspended part of the printed model, wherein the support is any of the 3D printing supports described above.

[0032] In some embodiments, the printing step of the 3D printing method includes:

[0033] Obtain the modeling file of the model to be printed, and import the modeling file into the slicing software to automatically generate slices;

[0034] Adjust process parameters, select model materials and auxiliary materials in the slicing software, and generate print files;

[0035] Import the print file into the printing device;

[0036] Start the printing equipment and use different nozzles to print on different materials alternately.

[0037] In some implementations, the steps of adjusting process parameters, selecting model materials and auxiliary materials, and generating print files in the slicing software specifically include:

[0038] Set the printing temperature of the supporting skin layer and / or the supported surface of the model to be higher than the printing temperature of the main body of the model, and turn off the fan.

[0039] The 3D printing support provided by this invention allows for the appropriate increase of the printing temperature of the upper support skin layer and / or the supported surface of the model during actual printing, while the fan is turned off. By heating and slowly cooling, the bonding strength between the support body and the upper support skin layer, and between the upper support skin layer and the supported surface of the model, is strengthened, which helps to improve the overall integrity of the corresponding 3D printing support and thus effectively ensures its stable support for the suspended part of the printed model.

[0040] In some implementations, the steps of adjusting process parameters, selecting model materials and auxiliary materials, and generating print files in the slicing software specifically include:

[0041] Select PLA as the model material and PVA as the auxiliary material;

[0042] In the “Support” printing process parameter list, set the model material printing temperature to 200℃, set the auxiliary material printing temperature to 220℃ or 240℃, and turn off the fan when printing auxiliary materials.

[0043] In the "Model" printing process parameter list, set the printing temperature of the bottom layer of the model to 210℃, and set the fan to be turned off when printing the bottom layer of the model.

[0044] In some implementations, the steps of adjusting process parameters, selecting model materials and auxiliary materials, and generating print files in the slicing software specifically include:

[0045] Select PC as the model material and HIPS as the auxiliary material;

[0046] In the "Support" printing process parameter list, set the model material printing temperature to 260℃, set the auxiliary material printing temperature to 250℃ or 270℃, and turn off the fan when printing auxiliary materials.

[0047] In the "Model" printing process parameter list, set the printing temperature of the bottom layer of the model to 270℃, and set the fan to be turned off when printing the bottom layer of the model.

[0048] In some implementations, the steps of adjusting process parameters, selecting model materials and auxiliary materials, and generating print files in the slicing software specifically include:

[0049] Select PEEK as the model material and SP5000 as the auxiliary material;

[0050] In the “Support” printing process parameter list, set the model material printing temperature to 420℃, set the auxiliary material printing temperature to 300℃ or 320℃, and turn off the fan when printing auxiliary materials.

[0051] In the "Model" printing process parameter list, set the printing temperature of the bottom layer of the model to 430℃, and set the fan to be turned off when printing the bottom layer of the model.

[0052] Compared with the prior art, the 3D printing support and 3D printing method provided by the present invention have at least one of the following beneficial effects:

[0053] 1. In this invention, a support body is printed using model material, and a support skin layer is printed on the top surface of the support body using auxiliary material. The infill rate of the support body is set to be much lower than that of the upper support skin layer, and the height of the support body is set to be much greater than that of the upper support skin layer. On one hand, the support body, which constitutes the main part of the support, is printed using model material. Due to the high thermal softening point of the model material, the support body is not easily bent by heat during the printing process, resulting in high structural stability of the 3D printed support and enabling its use at high chamber temperatures, effectively improving the applicability of the 3D printed support solution. On the other hand, based on the principle that the adhesion between dissimilar materials is generally lower than that between similar materials, an auxiliary material with moderate adhesion to the model material is selected to print the upper support skin layer on the supported surface of the contact model, and a high printing infill rate is set. This allows the 3D printed support to be easily peeled off the model after printing, ensuring easy peeling of the 3D printed support after printing, while also significantly improving the quality of the supported surface of the model and increasing the model yield. In addition, the connection between the upper support skin layer with a high printing infill rate and the support body effectively improves the bonding strength between the two, thereby ensuring the structural stability of the 3D printed support.

[0054] 2. In this invention, a support body with a low infill rate and an upper and lower support contact surface with a high infill rate are printed using model material. An auxiliary material is used to print an upper support skin layer and a lower support skin layer with a high infill rate on the outer layers of the upper and lower support contact surfaces that are opposite to each other. This makes the adjacent layers of the 3D printed support firmly bonded together, thereby significantly improving the overall integrity of the 3D printed support and effectively ensuring its stable support for the suspended part of the model.

[0055] 3. In this invention, the lower support contact layer, the support body, and the upper support contact layer are printed using model material as the main components of the 3D printed support. This makes the 3D printed support less prone to thermal bending during the printing process, effectively reducing its thermal bending degree in the Z direction, ensuring its overall structural strength, and thus ensuring its support stability for the model. Furthermore, although the support body is printed using a low infill rate and a zigzag pattern, the use of model material for printing allows for both easy disassembly and high printing efficiency, while also maintaining high structural stability, effectively ensuring the comprehensive performance of the 3D printed support. Attached Figure Description

[0056] The preferred embodiments will now be described in a clear and easy-to-understand manner, with reference to the accompanying drawings, to further explain the above-mentioned characteristics, technical features, advantages, and implementation methods of this solution.

[0057] Figures 1 to 3 These are plan views illustrating the overall structure of the 3D printed support, representing different embodiments of the present invention.

[0058] Figure 4 This is a flowchart illustrating the main process steps of the 3D printing method in this embodiment of the invention.

[0059] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures:

[0060] 1. Supporting body; 2. Upper supporting skin layer; 3. Upper supporting contact surface layer; 4. Lower supporting contact surface layer; 5. Lower supporting skin layer. Detailed Implementation

[0061] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the specific implementation methods of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the drawings described below are merely some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings and other implementation methods can be obtained based on these drawings without any creative effort.

[0062] To keep the drawings concise, only the parts relevant to the invention are shown schematically in each figure, and they do not represent the actual structure of the product. Furthermore, for ease of understanding, in some figures, only one of components with the same structure or function is shown schematically, or only one is labeled. In this document, "one" can mean not only "only one" but also "more than one".

[0063] 3D printing, a type of rapid prototyping technology, forms products by layering materials from the bottom up. In recent years, due to its short production cycle, low manufacturing cost, and high material utilization, it has been widely applied in various aspects of production and daily life. In related technologies, when 3D printing models with suspended structures, printing supports need to be added to the suspended parts of the model. The suspended parts of the model are printed onto the printing supports. After printing, the printing supports are peeled off from the model to obtain the corresponding model. Currently, most printing supports in the industry consist of a dense and sturdy intermediate support, with relatively sparse and fragile top and bottom supports at the top and bottom of the intermediate support, respectively. These top and bottom supports increase the peelability of the printing supports relative to the model or the printing platform. Simultaneously, to shorten the printing time of the printing supports, the printing height of the sparse and fragile bottom support is usually greater than the height of the intermediate and top supports.

[0064] However, the aforementioned printing supports are often prone to detachment or collapse from the bottom support or the connection between the bottom support and the printing platform due to the high printing height and low infill density of the bottom support. This results in poor structural stability. Furthermore, the sparse top support often causes many molding defects on the supported surface of the model, leading to a low model yield.

[0065] For this, please refer to the accompanying drawings in the instruction manual. Figure 1 In one embodiment, a 3D printed support is provided, comprising a support body 1 and an upper support skin layer 2 arranged sequentially from bottom to top; wherein, the support body 1 is printed using model material, that is, the support body 1 is the model material body; the upper support skin layer 2 is printed using auxiliary material, that is, the upper support skin layer 2 is an auxiliary material skin layer, and is printed on the top surface of the support body 1; in the embodiment of the present invention, the fill rate of the support body 1 is set to be much smaller than the fill rate of the upper support skin layer 2, and the height dimension of the support body 1 is set to be much larger than the height of the upper support skin layer 2.

[0066] This method, due to the high thermal softening point of the model material and its significantly larger height than the upper support skin layer 2 (which constitutes the main part of the 3D printed support), makes it less prone to bending due to heat during printing. This results in high overall structural stability of the 3D printed support and allows it to be used in high-cavity environments, broadening its applicability. Furthermore, since the adhesion between dissimilar materials is generally weaker than that between similar materials, and there is typically no gap between the printed support and the model in dissimilar material printing, selecting an auxiliary material with moderate adhesion to the model material to print the upper support skin layer 2 allows the printed support to be completely peeled off the model after printing. This effectively ensures easy peeling of the printed support, reduces the probability of printed support fragments adhering to the model surface, effectively reduces surface defects, and ensures a smooth surface finish. Moreover, the high infill rate of the upper support skin layer 2 significantly improves the bonding strength between the support body 1 and the model, enhancing the overall integrity of the 3D printed support. In summary, the 3D printing support of this embodiment of the present invention significantly improves the quality of the supported surface of the model and enhances its ease of peeling off from the model. Simultaneously, its overall structure is stable and reliable, effectively ensuring the yield rate of the printed model; and it is suitable for high chamber temperature environments. That is, this embodiment of the present invention provides a support structure printing solution that can be used at high chamber temperatures, while possessing good structural stability, ease of peeling after printing, and ensuring the quality of the supported surface of the model.

[0067] In one embodiment, specifically based on the above embodiments. (Refer to...) Figure 2 In this embodiment of the present invention, the 3D printed support also includes an upper support contact layer 3, which is printed on the top surface of the support body 1, specifically located between the support body 1 and the upper support skin layer 2. During actual printing, the upper support contact layer 3 is printed using model material, and the fill rate of the support body 1 is set to be much smaller than that of the upper support contact layer 3, and the height dimension of the support body 1 is much larger than that of the upper support contact layer 3. In this way, the upper support contact layer 3 with a high fill rate transitions between the support body 1 and the upper support skin layer 2. First, the fill rate of the top surface of the support body 1 is increased by printing with the same material, and then the high fill rate is used to offset the easy peeling between dissimilar materials as much as possible, effectively improving the connection strength between the 3D printed support layers and improving the overall stability of the 3D printed support.

[0068] Of course, to ensure that the 3D printed support is stably supported on the printing platform, in this embodiment of the present invention, a lower support contact layer 4 can also be printed on the bottom surface of the support body 1. Specifically, the fill rate of the support body 1 is set to be much smaller than that of the lower support contact layer 4, and the height of the support body 1 is set to be much larger than that of the lower support contact layer 4. For example, the lower support contact layer 4 is only 5 layers high. At the same time, the lower support contact layer 4 is printed using model material to ensure its bonding strength with the support body 1 and improve the overall integrity of the 3D printed support.

[0069] Of course, in this embodiment of the present invention, the lower support contact layer 4 may not be printed. That is, the support body 1 may be printed directly on the model surface below the printing platform or the suspended structure of the model. At the same time, when the 3D printed support is printed on the model surface, in order to avoid the situation where the bonding between the same material is too strong and damages the model surface, an appropriate gap can be added between the model surface and the support body 1. For example, the gap can be set to 1-2 layers high.

[0070] Furthermore, taking advantage of the generally easy peeling properties between dissimilar materials, the lower support skin layer 5 can be directly printed on the bottom surface of the support body 1 to improve the ease of peeling the 3D printed support from the model surface. Specifically, the lower support skin layer 5 is printed from auxiliary material; that is, the lower support skin layer 5 is set as an auxiliary material skin layer. Moreover, to ensure the deformation resistance of the 3D printed support, the lower support skin layer 5 does not need to be too thick; the height of the support body 1 can be set much larger than that of the lower support skin layer 5. Simultaneously, to ensure the forming quality of the model surface, the infill rate of the lower support skin layer 5 can be set much larger than that of the support body 1.

[0071] Of course, the lower support skin layer 5 can also be printed on the bottom surface of the lower support contact layer 4. Although the support body 1 and the lower support skin layer 5 are printed with different materials, the lower support contact layer 4 with a high fill rate and the lower support skin layer 5 with a high fill rate are in full contact and the connection is stable. This can also stably ensure the integrity of the 3D printed support and ensure its stable support for the corresponding model's suspended structure.

[0072] In this embodiment of the present invention, the filling rate of the upper support contact layer 3 can be set to be the same as the filling rate of the upper support skin layer 2, and the filling rate of the lower support contact layer 4 can be set to be the same as the filling rate of the lower support skin layer 5, so as to ensure sufficient adhesion between the two and improve the structural stability of the 3D printed support.

[0073] In this embodiment of the invention, preferably, the fill rate of the upper support skin layer 2, the lower support skin layer 5, the upper support contact surface layer 3, and the lower support contact surface layer 4 is all 100%, so that the layers of the 3D printed support are firmly bonded together, ensuring the overall integrity of its structure. Meanwhile, to shorten the printing time while ensuring the strength of the 3D printed support structure, the fill rate of the support body 1 is set to 15%-25%. Furthermore, to facilitate the removal of the 3D printed support, in this embodiment of the invention, preferably, the support body 1 is configured with a Zigzag-shaped routing.

[0074] In addition, in embodiments of the present invention, conventional printing materials can be used to print the above-mentioned 3D printing support; for example, combinations of materials such as PETG / HIPS, PC / HIPS, PLA / PVA, and PEEK / SP5000 can be used for alternating printing.

[0075] Of course, the printing solution of the present invention can further enhance the adhesion between the layers of the 3D printed support by adjusting the printing parameters.

[0076] For example, in one embodiment, a 3D printing method is provided, which includes a support printing step for printing a support before the suspended portion of the printed model, wherein the support is a 3D printing support as described in any of the above embodiments. The printing steps of this 3D printing method specifically include:

[0077] S1. Obtain the modeling file of the model to be printed, and import the modeling file into the slicing software to automatically generate slices;

[0078] S2. Adjust the process parameters, select the model material and auxiliary materials in the slicing software, and generate the printing file;

[0079] S3. Import the print file into the printing device;

[0080] S4. Start the printing equipment and use different nozzles to print on different materials alternately.

[0081] Of course, conventional printing equipment, printing parameters, and printing materials can be used to print the aforementioned 3D printed support. In this embodiment of the present invention, in order to improve the support stability of the corresponding 3D printed support on the model, in the steps of adjusting process parameters, selecting model materials and auxiliary materials in the slicing software, and generating printing files, the printing temperature of the upper support skin layer 2 and / or the supported surface of the model is set to be higher than the printing temperature of the support body 1, and the fan is turned off, so as to strengthen the bonding strength between the support body 1 and the upper support skin layer 2, and between the upper support skin layer 2 and the supported surface of the model through appropriate heating and slow cooling.

[0082] Below are some parameter settings for alternating printing of different combinations of model materials and auxiliary materials.

[0083] For example, in one specific embodiment, PLA / PVA combination is used for alternating printing, that is, PLA is selected as the model material and PVA is selected as the auxiliary material. When printing any model with a suspended structure, the specific operation steps are usually as follows:

[0084] S1. Place the model to be printed in the slicing software, adjust the printing position, and select to use nozzle 1 (PLA) for printing;

[0085] S2. Adjust process parameters, select model materials and auxiliary materials in the slicing software, and generate the print file; specifically:

[0086] S2.1 In the "Support" option of the printing process parameter list, select "Support Fill Extruder" as "Extruder 1 (PLA)"; select "Support Contact Extruder" as "Extruder 1 (PLA)"; select "Support skin Extruder" as "Extruder 2 (PVA)";

[0087] S2.2 Adjust other process parameters: Set the printing temperature of the model material (PLA) to 200℃; set the printing temperature of the lower support skin layer 5 (PVA) to 220℃; set the printing temperature of the upper support skin layer 2 (PVA) to 240℃; set the fan "OFF" when printing the upper support skin layer 2 (PVA); set the printing temperature of the bottom layer of the model (PLA) to 210℃; set the fan "OFF" when printing the bottom layer of the model; set the printing speed to 60mm / s; layer height to 0.2mm; line width to 0.4mm; platform temperature to 55℃; chamber temperature to 45℃.

[0088] S3. Import the print file into the printing device;

[0089] S4. Start printing.

[0090] In one specific embodiment, a PC / HIPS combination is used for alternating printing, that is, PC is selected as the model material and HIPS is selected as the auxiliary material. When printing any model with a suspended structure, the specific operation steps are usually as follows:

[0091] S1. Place the model to be printed in the slicing software, adjust the printing position, and select to print using nozzle 1 (PC);

[0092] S2. Adjust process parameters, select model materials and auxiliary materials in the slicing software, and generate the print file; specifically:

[0093] S2.1 In the "Support" option of the printing process parameter list, select "Support Fill Extruder" as "Extruder 1 (PC)"; select "Support Contact Extruder" as "Extruder 1 (PC)"; select "Support skin Extruder" as "Extruder 2 (HIPS)";

[0094] S2.2 Adjust other process parameters: Set the printing temperature of the model material (PC) to 260℃; set the printing temperature of the lower support skin layer 5 (HIPS) to 250℃; set the printing temperature of the upper support skin layer 2 (HIPS) to 270℃; set the fan "OFF" when printing the upper support skin layer 2 (HIPS); set the printing temperature of the bottom layer of the model (PC) to 270℃; set the fan "OFF" when printing the bottom layer of the model; set the printing speed to 60mm / s; layer height to 0.2mm; line width to 0.4mm; platform temperature to 100℃; chamber temperature to 100℃.

[0095] At the same time, the lower support contact surface layer 4 and the lower support skin layer 5 are not printed;

[0096] Select "Disable Support Bottom"; set the Z-distance between the support bottom and the model surface to 0.2mm;

[0097] S3. Import the print file into the printing device;

[0098] S4. Start printing.

[0099] In one specific embodiment, a PEEK / SP5000 combination is used for alternating printing, that is, PEEK is selected as the model material and SP5000 is selected as the auxiliary material. When printing any model with a suspended structure, the specific operation steps are usually as follows:

[0100] S1. Place the model to be printed in the slicing software, adjust the printing position, and select to print using nozzle 1 (PC);

[0101] S2. Adjust process parameters, select model materials and auxiliary materials in the slicing software, and generate the print file; specifically:

[0102] S2.1 In the "Support" option of the printing process parameter list, select "Support Fill Extruder" as "Extruder 1 (PEEK)"; select "Support Contact Extruder" as "Extruder 1 (PEEK)"; select "Support skin Extruder" as "Extruder 2 (SP5000)";

[0103] S2.2 Adjust other process parameters: Set the printing temperature of the model material (PEEK) to 420℃; set the printing temperature of the lower support skin layer 5 (SP5000) to 300℃; set the printing temperature of the upper support skin layer 2 (SP5000) to 320℃; set the fan of the upper support skin layer 2 (SP5000) to "OFF" during printing; set the printing temperature of the bottom layer of the model (PEEK) to 430℃; set the fan of the bottom layer of the model to "OFF" during printing; set the printing speed to 60mm / s; layer height to 0.2mm; line width to 0.4mm; platform temperature to 130℃; chamber temperature to 130℃.

[0104] S3. Import the print file into the printing device;

[0105] S4. Start printing.

[0106] The implementation principle of this invention is as follows: a support body 1 with a low infill rate is printed using model material, and an upper support skin layer 2 and a lower support skin layer 5 are printed on the top and bottom surfaces of the support body 1 respectively using auxiliary material. At the same time, an upper support contact surface layer 3 and a lower support contact surface layer 4 with a high infill rate are printed using model material to connect the corresponding support body 1 with the upper support skin layer 2 and the support body 1 with the lower support skin layer 5. In this way, the 3D printed support has good structural stability and easy peeling after printing, while the quality of the supported surface of the model is significantly improved, thereby effectively ensuring the yield of the 3D printed model.

[0107] It should be noted that the above embodiments can be freely combined as needed. The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention. It should be pointed out that for those skilled in the art, several improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the principle of the present invention, and these improvements and modifications should also be considered within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A 3D printed support, characterized in that, include: The supporting structure is set as the main material of the model; An upper supporting skin layer is printed on the top surface of the supporting body, and the upper supporting skin layer is set as an auxiliary material skin layer; The fill rate of the support body is much smaller than that of the upper support skin layer, and the height of the support body is much larger than that of the upper support skin layer. It also includes an upper support contact layer, which is printed between the support body and the upper support skin layer; The fill rate of the support body is much smaller than that of the upper support contact surface layer, and the height of the support body is much larger than that of the upper support contact surface layer. The upper support contact surface layer is a model material surface layer.

2. The 3D printing support according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes a lower supporting skin layer, printed on the bottom surface of the supporting body; The fill rate of the support body is much smaller than that of the lower support skin layer, and the height of the support body is much larger than that of the lower support skin layer. The lower supporting skin layer is an auxiliary material skin layer.

3. The 3D printing support according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes a lower support contact surface layer and a lower support skin layer, wherein the lower support contact surface layer is printed on the bottom surface of the support body and the lower support skin layer is printed on the bottom surface of the lower support contact surface layer; The lower support contact surface layer is a model material surface layer, and the lower support skin layer is an auxiliary material skin layer; The fill rate of the support body is much smaller than that of the lower support contact layer and the lower support skin layer, and the height of the support body is much larger than that of the lower support contact layer and the lower support skin layer.

4. A 3D printing support according to claim 3, characterized in that, The filling rate of the upper support contact layer and the lower support contact layer is the same as that of the upper support skin layer and the lower support skin layer.

5. A 3D printing support according to claim 4, characterized in that, The fill rate of the supporting body is 15%-25%; The filling rate of the upper supporting skin layer, the lower supporting skin layer, the upper supporting contact surface layer, and the lower supporting contact surface layer is all 100%.

6. A 3D printing support according to claim 1, characterized in that, The supporting body is configured as a Zigzag-type supporting body.

7. A 3D printing method, characterized in that, Before the suspended portion of the printed model, a support component printing step is also included, wherein the support component is any of the 3D printing supports described in claims 1-6 above.

8. A 3D printing method according to claim 7, characterized in that, The printing steps of the 3D printing method include: Obtain the modeling file of the model to be printed, and import the modeling file into the slicing software to automatically generate slices; Adjust process parameters, select model materials and auxiliary materials in the slicing software, and generate print files; Import the print file into the printing device; Start the printing equipment and use different nozzles to print on different materials alternately.

9. A 3D printing method according to claim 8, characterized in that, In the slicing software, the specific steps for adjusting process parameters, selecting model materials and auxiliary materials, and generating print files are as follows: Set the printing temperature of the upper support skin layer and / or the supported surface of the model to be higher than the printing temperature of the support body, and turn off the fan.

10. A 3D printing method according to claim 9, characterized in that, In the slicing software, the specific steps for adjusting process parameters, selecting model materials and auxiliary materials, and generating print files are as follows: Select PLA as the model material and PVA as the auxiliary material; In the "Support" printing process parameter list, set the model material printing temperature to 200℃, set the auxiliary material printing temperature to 220℃ or 240℃, and turn off the fan when printing auxiliary materials. In the "Model" printing process parameter list, set the printing temperature of the bottom layer of the model to 210℃, and set the fan to be turned off when printing the bottom layer of the model.

11. A 3D printing method according to claim 9, characterized in that, In the slicing software, the specific steps for adjusting process parameters, selecting model materials and auxiliary materials, and generating print files are as follows: Select PC as the model material and HIPS as the auxiliary material; In the "Support" printing process parameter list, set the model material printing temperature to 260℃, set the auxiliary material printing temperature to either 250℃ or 270℃, and set the fan to be turned off when printing auxiliary materials. In the "Model" printing process parameter list, set the printing temperature of the bottom layer of the model to 270℃, and set the fan to be turned off when printing the bottom layer of the model; At the same time, the lower support contact surface layer and the lower support skin layer are set not to be printed; Select "Disable Support Bottom"; set the Z-distance between the support bottom and the model surface to 0.2mm.

12. A 3D printing method according to claim 9, characterized in that, In the slicing software, the specific steps for adjusting process parameters, selecting model materials and auxiliary materials, and generating print files are as follows: Select PEEK as the model material and SP5000 as the auxiliary material; In the "Support" printing process parameter list, set the model material printing temperature to 420℃, set the auxiliary material printing temperature to 300℃ or 320℃, and turn off the fan when printing auxiliary materials. In the "Model" printing process parameter list, set the printing temperature of the bottom layer of the model to 430℃, and set the fan to be turned off when printing the bottom layer of the model.

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