Electrochemical deposition 3D printing method and device

Abstract

The invention relates to an electrochemical deposition 3D printing method and device.The method comprises the steps that a model to be printed is sliced, and model slices are obtained; according to the model slicing, a coating containing an insulation area and a deposition area is formed on the printing plane through photocuring, and the deposition area is communicated with the printing plane; immersing the printing plane into an electrolytic tank; depositing metal elements in the deposition area; the following steps are repeated until printing is completed: according to the model slice, a layer of coating comprising an insulation area and a deposition area is formed on the previously prepared coating through photocuring, and the deposition area comprises an area communicated with the deposition area of the previously prepared coating; the printing plane is immersed in an electrolytic tank, so that the coating on the printing plane is attached to the bottom surface of the electrolytic tank; and depositing a metal element in the deposition area. According to the method, all slice areas are prepared in sequence through photocuring and electrochemical deposition, and the problems that traditional electrochemical 3D printing is low in speed, high in cost and complexity, large in precision control difficulty and the like are solved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to an electrochemical deposition 3D printing method and equipment, belonging to the technical field of 3D printing. Background Art

[0002] 3D printing technology, also known as additive manufacturing, is a manufacturing process that builds three-dimensional objects by adding materials layer by layer based on digital model data. This technology has been widely used in multiple industries, from rapid prototyping to direct manufacturing of final products, including but not limited to aerospace, automotive, medical, education, art and design.

[0003] 3D printing of metal materials has extremely high application value. Although there are many methods to achieve 3D printing of metal materials, there are generally problems such as high energy consumption, high cost, and low precision.

[0004] Electrochemical deposition is a process in which metal ions are reduced to metals through electrochemical reactions and deposited on the surface of electrodes. Compared with other manufacturing technologies, electrochemical deposition technology has the advantage of precisely controlling the composition and structure of materials, and can achieve precise manufacturing of complex metal and alloy structures. Combining electrochemical deposition technology with 3D printing technology has formed electrochemical 3D printing technology. This technology achieves layer-by-layer deposition of metals or alloys by precisely controlling parameters such as the electrode's energized trajectory and current, thereby constructing complex three-dimensional structures.

[0005] The invention patent application with application number CN109097797A discloses a metal additive manufacturing device and method based on laser local electroplating. This method places a cathode substrate in an electrolytic cell and irradiates the cathode substrate from the bottom of the electrolytic cell with a laser. The irradiated position has a severe electroplating effect due to the local temperature increase, and metal atoms in the electrolyte are precipitated, ultimately allowing the metal to be deposited in the laser operation path.

[0006] This method selectively guides the deposition point by point and line by line on a single-layer deposition format to eventually complete the deposition of a single layer. The printing speed is relatively slow, and it takes a long time to manufacture large parts, which is not suitable for large-scale production. At the same time, this method requires the laser spot to be irradiated on the cathode substrate, and cannot print parts with large thickness or complex structure. Finally, this method requires a complex motion system to adjust the spot path. The accuracy of the system determines the accuracy of the printed parts, which places too high requirements on the accuracy of the equipment and increases costs. Summary of the invention

[0007] In order to overcome the above problems, the present disclosure provides an electrochemical deposition 3D printing method and device.

[0008] First aspect

[0009] An electrochemical deposition 3D printing method comprises the following steps:

[0010] Slice the model to be printed to obtain model slices;

[0011] According to the model slices, a coating layer including an insulating area and a deposition area is formed on a printing plane by photocuring, wherein the deposition area is connected to the printing plane;

[0012] Cleaning excess photocurable material from the printing plane and the coating surface;

[0013] Immersing the printed plane with the coating facing downward into an electrolytic cell so that the coating on the printed plane is in contact with the bottom surface of the electrolytic cell, wherein the electrolytic cell is filled with an electrolyte containing metal elements;

[0014] The printing plane is connected to the cathode of the power supply, the electrolyte is connected to the anode of the power supply, and the metal element is deposited in the deposition area;

[0015] Cleaning excess electrolyte from the printing plane and the coating surface;

[0016] Repeat the following steps until printing is complete:

[0017] According to the model slices, a coating layer including an insulating region and a deposition region is formed on the previously prepared coating layer by photocuring, wherein the deposition region includes a region connected to the deposition region of the previously prepared coating layer;

[0018] Cleaning excess photocurable material from the printing plane and the coating surface;

[0019] Immersing the printed plane with the coating facing downward into an electrolytic cell so that the coating on the printed plane is in contact with the bottom surface of the electrolytic cell, wherein the electrolytic cell is filled with an electrolyte containing metal elements;

[0020] The printing plane is connected to the cathode of the power supply, the electrolyte is connected to the anode of the power supply, and the metal element is deposited in the deposition area;

[0021] Clean the excess electrolyte on the printing plane and the coating surface.

[0022] Furthermore, a coating layer including an insulating area and a deposition area is formed on the printing plane by photocuring, specifically:

[0023] Immerse the printing plane in a photocuring pool with the coating to be prepared facing downward, control the gap between the printing plane and the inner bottom surface of the photocuring pool to be the thickness of the layer to be printed, the photocuring pool is provided with a liquid material that is cured by light, and the bottom of the photocuring pool is light-transmissive;

[0024] According to the model slices, curing the insulating area of ​​the to-be-printed layer from below the photocuring pool to obtain a coating including an insulating area and a deposition area;

[0025] A coating layer including an insulating region and a deposition region is formed on the previously prepared coating layer by photocuring, specifically:

[0026] Immerse the printing plane in a light-curing pool with the coating facing downward, control the gap between the bottom surface of the coating and the inner bottom surface of the light-curing pool to be the thickness of the layer to be printed, and place a liquid material that is cured by light in the light-curing pool;

[0027] According to the model slices, the insulating region of the layer to be printed is cured by photocuring to obtain a coating including an insulating region and a deposition region.

[0028] Furthermore, it also includes a printing platform, which includes the printing plane; the printing platform is insulated so that the outer surface of the printing platform is immersed in the electrolyte and is insulated except for the printing plane.

[0029] Furthermore, the printing model is obtained by reverse modeling, and the reverse modeling is specifically:

[0030] A rectangular parallelepiped modeling space is provided, wherein the modeling space can completely cover the object to be printed, and the shape and size of the horizontal cross section of the modeling space are the same as those of the printing plane;

[0031] Modeling in the modeling space to form a model area and a non-model area, wherein the non-model area is the same as the object to be printed, and the model area is the area of ​​the modeling space excluding the non-model area;

[0032] According to the model slicing, when a coating layer including an insulating area and a deposition area is formed on a printing plane by photocuring, the edge of the model slice coincides with the edge of the printing plane, the model area is photocured into an insulating area, and the non-model area becomes a deposition area.

[0033] Furthermore, the reverse modeling also includes:

[0034] A columnar conductive area is provided in the model area, one end of the conductive area is connected to the non-model area, and the other end thereof passes through the top surface of the printed model;

[0035] According to the model slicing, when a coating layer including an insulating area and a deposition area is formed on a printing plane by photocuring, the columnar conductive area becomes the deposition area.

[0036] Second aspect

[0037] An electrochemical deposition 3D printing method comprises the following steps:

[0038] S1, slicing the model to be printed to obtain model slices;

[0039] S2, immersing the printing plane with the coating to be prepared facing downward into a photocuring pool, controlling the gap between the printing plane and the inner bottom surface of the photocuring pool to be the thickness of the layer to be printed, and the photocuring pool is provided with a liquid material that is cured by light;

[0040] S3, curing the insulating area of ​​the layer to be printed from below the photocuring pool according to the model slices to obtain a coating including an insulating area and a deposition area, wherein the deposition area is connected to the printing plane;

[0041] S4, raising the printing plane to a height A, wherein the height A is equal to the thickness of the layer to be printed, and after the raising, the bottommost coating is still immersed in the liquid material;

[0042] S5, curing the insulating area of ​​the layer to be printed from below the photocuring pool according to the model slices to obtain a coating comprising an insulating area and a deposition area, wherein the deposition area comprises an area connected to the deposition area of ​​the previously prepared coating;

[0043] S6, repeat steps S4 to S5 until all model slices are printed;

[0044] S7, cleaning the excess photocurable material on the printing plane and the coating surface;

[0045] S8, immersing the printed plane with the coating facing downward into an electrolytic cell, so that the bottom of the coating on the printed plane is in contact with the bottom of the electrolytic cell, wherein the electrolytic cell is filled with an electrolyte containing metal elements;

[0046] S9, the printing plane is connected to the cathode of the power supply, the electrolyte is connected to the anode of the power supply, and the metal element is deposited in the deposition area.

[0047] Further, step S7 is specifically as follows:

[0048] Immersing the printing plane into the electrolytic cell with the coating facing upward, so that the electrolyte in the electrolytic cell flows into and fills the deposition area;

[0049] The printing plane is turned over so that the printing plane is in contact with the bottom surface of the electrolytic cell with the coating facing downward, and during the turning process, the deposition area is always filled with electrolyte.

[0050] The electrochemical deposition 3D printing method according to claim 7, characterized in that the printing model includes a model area, a non-model area and a columnar conductive area, the model area corresponds to the insulating area of ​​the coating, and the non-model area and the conductive area correspond to the deposition area of ​​the coating;

[0051] One end of the conductive area is connected to the non-model area, and the other end thereof passes through the top surface of the printed model;

[0052] The diameter of the conductive area is greater than 1 mm.

[0053] The third aspect

[0054] An electrochemical deposition 3D printing device, comprising a photocuring module, a photocuring tank, an electrochemical module, a cleaning module, a motion module and a printing platform;

[0055] The photocuring pool is filled with a material that is cured by light, and the bottom of the photocuring pool is light-transmissive;

[0056] The light curing module is arranged below the light curing pool, and the light curing module can perform light curing on the bottom of the printing platform immersed in the light curing pool from below according to the model slices and form a coating containing a specific pattern;

[0057] The electrochemical module comprises a power supply cathode, a power supply anode and an electrolytic cell, wherein the electrolytic cell is filled with an electrolyte containing a metal element, and the electrolyte is connected to the power supply anode;

[0058] The cleaning module can clean the printing platform and coating that have been photocured by the photocuring module;

[0059] The cleaning module can clean the printing platform and coating electrochemically deposited by the electrochemical module;

[0060] The motion module includes an X-axis motion module for controlling horizontal motion and a Z-axis motion module for controlling longitudinal motion, and the motion module can control the printing platform to be immersed in the photocuring pool or the electrolytic pool;

[0061] The bottom of the printing platform is a printing plane, the surface of the printing platform is insulated except for the printing surface, and the printing plane is conductive;

[0062] The printing plane is connected to the cathode of the power supply.

[0063] Further, the cleaning module includes a photocurable material cleaning tank, a wiping roller and an electrolyte cleaning tank;

[0064] The photocuring pool, the photocuring material cleaning pool, the wiping roller, the electrolyte cleaning pool and the electrolytic pool are arranged in sequence along the movement direction of the X-axis motion module;

[0065] The motion module can control the printing platform to immerse into the photocurable material cleaning tank or the electrolyte cleaning tank;

[0066] The axial direction of the wiping roller is perpendicular to the movement direction of the X-axis motion module, and the motion module can control the printing platform and the coating below the printing platform to contact with the wiping roller.

[0067] The present disclosure has the following beneficial effects:

[0068] This electrochemical 3D printing method uses reverse slicing and superimposed photocuring to quickly cover the non-metallic deposition area of ​​each layer, on this basis, the metal deposition shape interface of each layer is formed, and the substrate can be quickly deposited by electrochemical forming method after entering the electrolyte. Through reciprocating motion and forming between the photocuring pool and the electrochemical pool, the problems of slow speed, high cost and complexity, and difficulty in precise control in traditional electrochemical 3D printing are solved.

[0069] At the same time, this method has low production costs and no requirements on the form of raw materials, which solves the problems of traditional 3D metal printing raw materials being difficult to prepare, high powder costs, and high operating risks. Moreover, this technology can directly generate solid metal atoms during the printing process and can be directly used without any post-processing, thus ensuring the high quality and purity of the material. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0070] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the structure of the electrochemical deposition 3D printing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0071] Figure 2 The following is an operation flow of an embodiment of the present invention.

[0072] The reference numerals in the figure are as follows:

[0073] 1. Photocuring module; 2. Electrochemical module; 3. Cleaning module; 4. Motion module; 5. Frame; 6. Printing platform. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0074] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosure clearer, the technical solution of the embodiments of the present disclosure will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings of the embodiments of the present disclosure. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present disclosure, not all of the embodiments. Based on the described embodiments of the present disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

[0075] Unless otherwise defined, the technical terms or scientific terms used in the present disclosure should be understood by people with ordinary skills in the field to which the present disclosure belongs. The "first", "second" and similar words used in the present disclosure do not indicate any order, quantity or importance, but are only used to distinguish different components. "Include" or "comprise" and similar words mean that the elements or objects appearing before the word cover the elements or objects listed after the word and their equivalents, without excluding other elements or objects. "Connect" or "connected" and similar words are not limited to physical or mechanical connections, but can include electrical connections, whether direct or indirect. "Up", "down", "left", "right" and the like are only used to indicate relative positional relationships. When the absolute position of the described object changes, the relative positional relationship may also change accordingly.

[0076] Existing electrochemical deposition 3D printing uses a nozzle or laser to guide metal ions to deposit on a substrate or a previous layer of deposits. Both methods guide metal ions to deposit at one point, and then change the position of the nozzle or laser to deposit metal ions line by line to complete a layer of deposition. Then repeat this step to print the object layer by layer. This method has problems such as low printing efficiency and is not suitable for mass production of parts.

[0077] The first aspect of the present invention proposes an electrochemical deposition 3D printing method to solve this problem.

[0078] First aspect

[0079] refer to Figure 2 , an electrochemical deposition 3D printing method, comprising the following steps:

[0080] Slice the model to be printed to obtain model slices;

[0081] According to the model slices, a coating layer including an insulating area and a deposition area is formed on a printing plane by photocuring, wherein the deposition area is connected to the printing plane;

[0082] Cleaning excess photocurable material from the printing plane and the coating surface;

[0083] Immersing the printed plane with the coating facing downward into an electrolytic cell so that the coating on the printed plane is in contact with the bottom surface of the electrolytic cell, wherein the electrolytic cell is filled with an electrolyte containing metal elements;

[0084] The printing plane is connected to the cathode of the power supply, the electrolyte is connected to the anode of the power supply, and the metal element is deposited in the deposition area;

[0085] Cleaning excess electrolyte from the printing plane and the coating surface;

[0086] Repeat the following steps until printing is complete:

[0087] According to the model slices, a coating layer including an insulating region and a deposition region is formed on the previously prepared coating layer by photocuring, wherein the deposition region includes a region connected to the deposition region of the previously prepared coating layer;

[0088] Cleaning excess photocurable material from the printing plane and the coating surface;

[0089] Immersing the printed plane with the coating facing downward into an electrolytic cell so that the coating on the printed plane is in contact with the bottom surface of the electrolytic cell, wherein the electrolytic cell is filled with an electrolyte containing metal elements;

[0090] The printing plane is connected to the cathode of the power supply, the electrolyte is connected to the anode of the power supply, and the metal element is deposited in the deposition area;

[0091] Clean the excess electrolyte on the printing plane and the coating surface.

[0092] During electrochemical deposition, the electrolyte needs to be connected to the anode of the power supply, the deposition area is connected to the cathode of the power supply, and the electrolyte needs to be in contact with the deposition area. Therefore, the deposition area of ​​the first layer on the printing plane needs to be connected to the printing plane, and the printing plane is connected to the cathode of the power supply. The deposition area of ​​the subsequent layer needs to include an area connected to the deposition area of ​​the previously prepared coating, and is indirectly electrically connected to the printing plane, so that the deposition of the metal element can be achieved.

[0093] When electrochemical deposition is performed, the coating formed by photocuring serves as the framework for electrochemical deposition. The coating is attached to the bottom of the electrolytic cell with the coating facing downward. After power is turned on, the metal elements will only be deposited in the deposition area. Compared with the deposition on the printed substrate in the prior art, this method deposits one layer at a time, and does not need to control the thickness of the deposition as in the prior art. When attached, the thickness of the deposition area is the thickness of the layer to be prepared. It also avoids the problem of controlling physical parameters such as deposition time and temperature in the prior art. This method only needs to control the deposition time, but the control accuracy of the deposition time is much lower than that of the prior art.

[0094] The usual printing method is to expose and cure the area from above to form a preset pattern. This method requires controlling the thickness of the photocurable material above the plane. At the same time, during electrochemical deposition in the aforementioned method, the coating needs to be immersed in the electrolytic cell facing downward. If the coating is prepared with the printing plane facing upward, the printing plane needs to be rotated, which increases the cost of printing.

[0095] In one embodiment of the present invention, a coating layer including an insulating area and a deposition area is formed on a printing plane by photocuring, specifically:

[0096] Immerse the printing plane in a photocuring pool with the coating to be prepared facing downward, control the gap between the printing plane and the inner bottom surface of the photocuring pool to be the thickness of the layer to be printed, the photocuring pool is provided with a liquid material that is cured by light, and the bottom of the photocuring pool is light-transmissive;

[0097] According to the model slices, curing the insulating area of ​​the to-be-printed layer from below the photocuring pool to obtain a coating including an insulating area and a deposition area;

[0098] A coating layer including an insulating region and a deposition region is formed on the previously prepared coating layer by photocuring, specifically:

[0099] Immerse the printing plane in a light-curing pool with the coating facing downward, control the gap between the bottom surface of the coating and the inner bottom surface of the light-curing pool to be the thickness of the layer to be printed, and place a liquid material that is cured by light in the light-curing pool;

[0100] According to the model slices, the insulating region of the layer to be printed is cured by photocuring to obtain a coating including an insulating region and a deposition region.

[0101] It is only necessary to control the gap between the printing plane or the bottom surface of the coating and the inner bottom of the photocuring pool, that is, the thickness of the layer to be printed. Since the height of the inner bottom of the photocuring pool is known, the height of the printing plane is easy to control, and the height of the bottom surface of the coating can be calculated by the number of layers that have been printed, the thickness of each layer, and the height of the printing plane, the coating thickness is easier to control than in the prior art.

[0102] In the prior art, the thickness of the coating to be prepared is affected by various factors such as material type and temperature. However, this method does not need to consider these factors when preparing the coating, and the gap between the printing plane or the bottom surface of the coating and the inner bottom of the photocuring pool can be adjusted at will, and only the power and time of the photocuring need to be adjusted.

[0103] In one embodiment of the present invention, a printing platform 6 is further included, and the printing platform 6 includes the printing plane. The printing platform 6 is insulated so that the outer surface of the printing platform 6 is immersed in the electrolyte and is insulated except for the printing plane.

[0104] In order to prevent metal elements from being deposited at other locations of the printing platform 6 , other locations of the printing platform 6 need to be insulated.

[0105] In one embodiment of the present invention, the printing model is obtained by reverse modeling, and the reverse modeling is specifically:

[0106] A rectangular parallelepiped modeling space is provided, wherein the modeling space can completely cover the object to be printed, and the shape and size of the horizontal cross section of the modeling space are the same as those of the printing plane;

[0107] Modeling in the modeling space to form a model area and a non-model area, wherein the non-model area is the same as the object to be printed, and the model area is the area of ​​the modeling space excluding the non-model area;

[0108] According to the model slicing, when a coating layer including an insulating area and a deposition area is formed on a printing plane by photocuring, the edge of the model slice coincides with the edge of the printing plane, the model area is photocured into an insulating area, and the non-model area becomes a deposition area.

[0109] The model area of ​​conventional modeling is the object to be printed, while the deposition area of ​​the present invention is the object to be printed, so it is necessary to prepare the insulating area through reverse modeling. At the same time, the insulating area needs to fill the printing plane to avoid metal elements from being deposited in unnecessary areas.

[0110] In order to save light-curing materials, reduce light-curing energy consumption, and speed up curing, only the first N layers of model slices completely cover the printing plane. N can be set to 1 to 100 layers.

[0111] Subsequent layers only need to satisfy the requirement that the insulating region wraps the deposition region.

[0112] In one embodiment of the present invention, the reverse modeling further includes:

[0113] A columnar conductive area is provided in the model area, one end of the conductive area is connected to the non-model area, and the other end thereof passes through the top surface of the printed model;

[0114] According to the model slicing, when a coating layer including an insulating area and a deposition area is formed on a printing plane by photocuring, the columnar conductive area becomes the deposition area.

[0115] The top surface of the printing model is the surface connected to the printing plane during printing.

[0116] The problem of model slicing without distinguishing objects is that part of the deposition area of ​​a certain layer of slices is not connected to the deposition area of ​​the previously prepared layer, resulting in the inability to deposit metal elements in this deposition area during electrochemical deposition. Therefore, a conductive area is set so that all deposition areas can be directly or indirectly connected to the printing plane.

[0117] In order to increase the printing speed and eliminate the step of alternating between photocuring and electrochemical deposition, a second aspect provides an electrochemical deposition 3D printing method.

[0118] Second aspect

[0119] An electrochemical deposition 3D printing method comprises the following steps:

[0120] S1, slicing the model to be printed to obtain model slices;

[0121] S2, immersing the printing plane into a photocuring pool with the coating to be prepared facing downward, controlling the gap between the printing plane and the inner bottom surface of the photocuring pool to be the thickness of the layer to be printed, and the photocuring pool is provided with a liquid material that is cured by light;

[0122] S3, curing the insulating area of ​​the layer to be printed from below the photocuring pool according to the model slices to obtain a coating including an insulating area and a deposition area, wherein the deposition area is connected to the printing plane;

[0123] S4, raising the printing plane to a height A, wherein the height A is equal to the thickness of the layer to be printed, and after the raising, the bottommost coating is still immersed in the liquid material;

[0124] S5. According to the model slices, curing the insulating area of ​​the to-be-printed layer from below the photocuring pool to obtain a coating comprising an insulating area and a deposition area, wherein the deposition area comprises an area connected to the deposition area of ​​the previously prepared coating;

[0125] S6, repeat steps S4 to S5 until all model slices are printed;

[0126] S7, cleaning the excess photocurable material on the printing plane and the coating surface;

[0127] S8, immersing the printed plane with the coating facing downward into an electrolytic cell, so that the bottom of the coating on the printed plane is in contact with the bottom of the electrolytic cell, wherein the electrolytic cell is filled with an electrolyte containing metal elements;

[0128] S9, the printing plane is connected to the cathode of the power supply, the electrolyte is connected to the anode of the power supply, and the metal element is deposited in the deposition area.

[0129] This method first prepares all the coatings layer by layer in a photocuring tank, and then puts the coatings into an electrolytic tank to deposit all the deposition areas at once. This eliminates the process of reciprocating photocuring coating and electrochemical deposition, and is more efficient.

[0130] During coating, the method only needs to raise the height of the printing plane to control the thickness of the layer to be printed, thereby eliminating the step of height calculation.

[0131] In one embodiment of the present invention, step S7 is specifically:

[0132] Immersing the printing plane into the electrolytic cell with the coating facing upward, so that the electrolyte in the electrolytic cell flows into and fills the deposition area;

[0133] The printing plane is turned over so that the printing plane is in contact with the bottom surface of the electrolytic cell with the coating facing downward, and during the turning process, the deposition area is always filled with electrolyte.

[0134] Compared with the electrochemical deposition 3D printing method of the first aspect, this method prepares all coatings at one time, so the deposition area is deep, and the printing plane is immersed in the electrolytic cell facing downward, which easily retains gas in the upper part of the deposition area, resulting in incomplete deposition.

[0135] This method can ensure that there is no air in the deposition area, thus solving the problem of incomplete deposition.

[0136] In one embodiment of the present invention, the printing model includes a model area, a non-model area and a columnar conductive area, the model area corresponds to the insulating area of ​​the coating, and the non-model area and the conductive area correspond to the deposition area of ​​the coating;

[0137] One end of the conductive area is connected to the non-model area, and the other end thereof passes through the top surface of the printed model;

[0138] The diameter of the conductive area is greater than 1 mm.

[0139] Compared with the electrochemical deposition 3D printing method of the first aspect, this method prepares all the coatings at one time, so the length of the conductive area is large. If the conductive area is too thin, the electrolyte may not be able to enter the conductive area. Therefore, the diameter of the conductive area needs to be greater than a certain value. The inventors found that when the photocurable material is a photosensitive resin, when the diameter of the conductive area is greater than 1 mm, the electrolyte can smoothly enter the conductive area. However, if the diameter of the conductive area is too large, there will be problems such as wasting electrolyte and the conductive column formed is not easy to remove. Therefore, the diameter of the conductive area is preferably 1 mm to 3 mm, such as 1 mm, 1.5 mm, 2 mm, 2.5 mm, and 3 mm.

[0140] The third aspect

[0141] refer to Figure 1 , an electrochemical deposition 3D printing device, comprising a photocuring module 1, a photocuring tank, an electrochemical module 2, a cleaning module 3, a motion module 4 and a printing platform 6;

[0142] The photocuring pool is filled with a material that is cured by light, and the bottom of the photocuring pool is light-transmissive;

[0143] The light curing module 1 is arranged below the light curing pool, and the light curing module 1 can perform light curing on the bottom of the printing platform 6 immersed in the light curing pool from below according to the model slices and form a coating containing a specific pattern;

[0144] The electrochemical module 2 comprises a power supply cathode, a power supply anode and an electrolytic cell, wherein the electrolytic cell is filled with an electrolyte containing metal elements, and the electrolyte is connected to the power supply anode;

[0145] The cleaning module 3 can clean the printing platform 6 and the coating that have been photocured by the photocuring module 1;

[0146] The cleaning module 3 can clean the printing platform 6 and the coating electrochemically deposited by the electrochemical module 2;

[0147] The motion module 4 includes an X-axis motion module for controlling horizontal motion and a Z-axis motion module for controlling longitudinal motion. The motion module 4 can control the printing platform 6 to be immersed in the photocuring pool or the electrolytic pool.

[0148] The bottom of the printing platform 6 is a printing plane, the surface of the printing platform 6 is insulated except for the printing surface, and the printing plane is conductive;

[0149] The printing plane is connected to the cathode of the power supply.

[0150] The device can implement the electrochemical deposition 3D printing method described in the first and second aspects. At the same time, compared with the 3D printing device in the prior art which requires a three-axis motion module (horizontally perpendicular X-axis and Y-axis, and a longitudinal Z-axis), the device only requires a horizontal X-axis and a longitudinal Z-axis.

[0151] In one embodiment of the present invention, the cleaning module 3 includes a photocurable material cleaning tank, a wiping roller, and an electrolyte cleaning tank;

[0152] The photocuring pool, the photocuring material cleaning pool, the wiping roller, the electrolyte cleaning pool and the electrolytic pool are arranged in sequence along the movement direction of the X-axis motion module;

[0153] The motion module 4 can control the printing platform 6 to immerse into the photocurable material cleaning tank or the electrolyte cleaning tank;

[0154] The axial direction of the wiping roller is perpendicular to the movement direction of the X-axis motion module, and the motion module 4 can control the printing platform 6 and the coating below the printing platform 6 to contact with the wiping roller.

[0155] When printing is performed using the electrochemical deposition 3D printing method of the first aspect, the printing platform (6) needs to move back and forth between the photocuring pool and the electrolytic pool, and the photocuring pool, the photocuring material cleaning pool, the wiping roller, the electrolyte cleaning pool and the electrolytic pool are arranged in sequence along the movement direction of the X-axis motion module to maximize the printing speed.

[0156] When the printing platform 6 and the coating below the printing platform 6 move horizontally and contact the wiping roller, the wiping roller can be driven to rotate to wipe the printing platform 6 and the coating below the printing platform 6.

[0157] In one embodiment of the present invention, the photocuring module 1 , the photocuring pool, the electrochemical module 2 , the cleaning module 3 , the motion module 4 and the printing platform 6 are arranged on a frame 5 .

[0158] The above descriptions are merely embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the patent scope of the present invention. Any equivalent structure made using the contents of the present invention's specification and drawings, or directly or indirectly applied in other related technical fields, are also included in the patent protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An electrochemical deposition 3D printing method, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: Slice the model to be printed to obtain model slices; According to the model slices, a coating layer including an insulating area and a deposition area is formed on a printing plane by photocuring, wherein the deposition area is connected to the printing plane; Cleaning excess photocurable material from the printing plane and the coating surface; Immersing the printed plane with the coating facing downward into an electrolytic cell so that the coating on the printed plane is in contact with the bottom surface of the electrolytic cell, wherein the electrolytic cell is filled with an electrolyte containing metal elements; The printing plane is connected to the cathode of the power supply, the electrolyte is connected to the anode of the power supply, and the metal element is deposited in the deposition area; Cleaning excess electrolyte from the printing plane and the coating surface; Repeat the following steps until printing is complete: According to the model slices, a coating layer including an insulating region and a deposition region is formed on the previously prepared coating layer by photocuring, wherein the deposition region includes a region connected to the deposition region of the previously prepared coating layer; Cleaning excess photocurable material from the printing plane and the coating surface; Immersing the printed plane with the coating facing downward into an electrolytic cell so that the coating on the printed plane is in contact with the bottom surface of the electrolytic cell, wherein the electrolytic cell is filled with an electrolyte containing metal elements; The printing plane is connected to the cathode of the power supply, the electrolyte is connected to the anode of the power supply, and the metal element is deposited in the deposition area; Clean the excess electrolyte on the printing plane and the coating surface.

2. The electrochemical deposition 3D printing method according to claim 1, characterized in that: A coating layer including an insulating area and a deposition area is formed on the printing plane by photocuring, specifically: Immerse the printing plane in a photocuring pool with the coating to be prepared facing downward, control the gap between the printing plane and the inner bottom surface of the photocuring pool to be the thickness of the layer to be printed, the photocuring pool is provided with a liquid material that is cured by light, and the bottom of the photocuring pool is light-transmissive; According to the model slices, curing the insulating area of ​​the to-be-printed layer from below the photocuring pool to obtain a coating including an insulating area and a deposition area; A coating layer including an insulating region and a deposition region is formed on the previously prepared coating layer by photocuring, specifically: Immerse the printing plane in a light-curing pool with the coating facing downward, control the gap between the bottom surface of the coating and the inner bottom surface of the light-curing pool to be the thickness of the layer to be printed, and place a liquid material that is cured by light in the light-curing pool; According to the model slices, the insulating region of the layer to be printed is cured by photocuring to obtain a coating including an insulating region and a deposition region.

3. The electrochemical deposition 3D printing method according to claim 2, characterized in that: It also includes a printing platform (6), wherein the printing platform (6) includes the printing plane; the printing platform (6) is subjected to insulation treatment so that the outer surface of the printing platform (6) is immersed in the electrolyte and is insulated except for the printing plane.

4. The electrochemical deposition 3D printing method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The printing model is obtained by reverse modeling, and the reverse modeling is specifically: A rectangular parallelepiped modeling space is provided, wherein the modeling space can completely cover the object to be printed, and the shape and size of the horizontal cross section of the modeling space are the same as those of the printing plane; Modeling in the modeling space to form a model area and a non-model area, wherein the non-model area is the same as the object to be printed, and the model area is the area of ​​the modeling space excluding the non-model area; According to the model slicing, when a coating layer including an insulating area and a deposition area is formed on a printing plane by photocuring, the edge of the model slice coincides with the edge of the printing plane, the model area is photocured into an insulating area, and the non-model area becomes a deposition area.

5. The electrochemical deposition 3D printing method according to claim 4, characterized in that: The reverse modeling also includes: A columnar conductive area is provided in the model area, one end of the conductive area is connected to the non-model area, and the other end thereof passes through the top surface of the printed model; According to the model slicing, when a coating layer including an insulating area and a deposition area is formed on a printing plane by photocuring, the columnar conductive area becomes the deposition area.

6. An electrochemical deposition 3D printing method, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: S1, slicing the model to be printed to obtain model slices; S2, immersing the printing plane with the coating to be prepared facing downward into a photocuring pool, controlling the gap between the printing plane and the inner bottom surface of the photocuring pool to be the thickness of the layer to be printed, and the photocuring pool is provided with a liquid material that is cured by light; S3, curing the insulating area of ​​the layer to be printed from below the photocuring pool according to the model slices to obtain a coating including an insulating area and a deposition area, wherein the deposition area is connected to the printing plane; S4, raising the printing plane to a height A, wherein the height A is equal to the thickness of the layer to be printed, and after the raising, the bottommost coating is still immersed in the liquid material; S5, curing the insulating area of ​​the layer to be printed from below the photocuring pool according to the model slices to obtain a coating comprising an insulating area and a deposition area, wherein the deposition area comprises an area connected to the deposition area of ​​the previously prepared coating; S6, repeat steps S4 to S5 until all model slices are printed; S7, cleaning the excess photocurable material on the printing plane and the coating surface; S8, immersing the printed plane with the coating facing downward into an electrolytic cell, so that the bottom of the coating on the printed plane is in contact with the bottom of the electrolytic cell, wherein the electrolytic cell is filled with an electrolyte containing metal elements; S9, the printing plane is connected to the cathode of the power supply, the electrolyte is connected to the anode of the power supply, and the metal element is deposited in the deposition area.

7. The electrochemical deposition 3D printing method according to claim 6, characterized in that: Step S7 is specifically as follows: Immersing the printing plane into the electrolytic cell with the coating facing upward, so that the electrolyte in the electrolytic cell flows into and fills the deposition area; The printing plane is turned over so that the printing plane is in contact with the bottom surface of the electrolytic cell with the coating facing downward, and during the turning process, the deposition area is always filled with electrolyte.

8. The electrochemical deposition 3D printing method according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that: The printing model comprises a model area, a non-model area and a columnar conductive area, the model area corresponds to the insulating area of ​​the coating, and the non-model area and the conductive area correspond to the deposition area of ​​the coating; One end of the conductive area is connected to the non-model area, and the other end thereof passes through the top surface of the printed model; The diameter of the conductive area is greater than 1 mm.

9. An electrochemical deposition 3D printing device, characterized in that: It comprises a photocuring module (1), a photocuring pool, an electrochemical module (2), a cleaning module (3), a motion module (4) and a printing platform (6); The photocuring pool is filled with a material that is cured by light, and the bottom of the photocuring pool is light-transmissive; The light curing module (1) is arranged below the light curing pool, and the light curing module (1) can perform light curing on the bottom of a printing platform (6) immersed in the light curing pool from below according to the model slices, and form a coating containing a specific pattern; The electrochemical module (2) comprises a power supply cathode, a power supply anode and an electrolytic cell, wherein the electrolytic cell is filled with an electrolyte containing a metal element, and the electrolyte is connected to the power supply anode; The cleaning module (3) is capable of cleaning the printing platform (6) and the coating that have been photocured by the photocuring module (1); The cleaning module (3) is capable of cleaning the printing platform (6) and the coating that have been electrochemically deposited by the electrochemical module (2); The motion module (4) comprises an X-axis motion module for controlling horizontal motion and a Z-axis motion module for controlling longitudinal motion, and the motion module (4) is capable of controlling the printing platform (6) to be immersed in the photocuring pool or the electrolytic pool; The bottom of the printing platform (6) is a printing plane, the surface of the printing platform (6) is insulated except for the printing surface, and the printing plane is conductive; The printing plane is connected to the cathode of the power supply.

10. The electrochemical deposition 3D printing device according to claim 9, characterized in that: The cleaning module (3) comprises a photocurable material cleaning tank, a wiping roller and an electrolyte cleaning tank; The photocuring pool, the photocuring material cleaning pool, the wiping roller, the electrolyte cleaning pool and the electrolytic pool are arranged in sequence along the movement direction of the X-axis motion module; The motion module (4) is capable of controlling the printing platform (6) to be immersed in the photocurable material cleaning tank or the electrolyte cleaning tank; The axial direction of the wiping roller is perpendicular to the movement direction of the X-axis motion module, and the motion module (4) is capable of controlling the printing platform (6) and the coating below the printing platform (6) to contact the wiping roller.

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