3D printing equipment

Abstract

The invention provides 3D printing equipment which comprises a feeding device comprising n + 1 pipelines. The n + 1 pipelines are used for feeding a substrate material and n doping materials respectively, and n is a positive integer; the feeding device is used for controlling the feeding speed of the substrate material and the n doping materials; the micro-fluidic chip comprises (n + 1) inlet conduits which are respectively communicated with the (n + 1) pipelines, an intersection port of the (n + 1) inlet conduits and an outlet conduit; the intersection opening is used for forming a multiphase material; the printing spray head comprises a spray head extrusion device connected with the outlet guide pipe; the nozzle extrusion device is used for extruding a multi-phase material; printing parameters of the printing nozzle are adjustable; and the curing device is used for curing the multiphase material to form a three-dimensional structure. The microfluidic technology and the 3D printing technology are combined, the technical problem that in the prior art, an extremely complex printing process is needed for printing a multiphase composite material is at least partially solved, and integrated forming of the multiphase composite material can be achieved.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application. The application number of the parent application is: 201810313453.8, the application date is: April 9, 2018, and the name of the invention is: 3D printing method and 3D printing device. Technical Field

[0002] The present disclosure relates to a 3D printing device. Background Art

[0003] In recent years, 3D printing technology has begun to be used in the fields of automobiles, construction, medicine, biology, etc. However, due to reasons such as printing methods and materials, 3D printing technology has not been widely used in national production and life.

[0004] In the prior art, it is difficult to achieve 3D printing of multi-component and multi-material materials, especially composite materials containing doped phases. In the prior art, multiple printing nozzles are usually used to print different materials respectively, and the different materials are assembled to obtain a multi-material structure, thereby forming a complete 3D printed structure. Therefore, it is difficult to achieve integrated molding of 3D printed structures of multi-phase and multi-component composite materials in the prior art. Summary of the invention

[0005] The present disclosure provides a 3D printing device, comprising: a feeding device, comprising n+1 pipelines; the n+1 pipelines are used to feed a base material and n doping materials respectively, n is a positive integer; the feeding device is used to control the feeding speed of the base material and the n doping materials; a microfluidic chip, comprising n+1 inlet ducts respectively connected to the n+1 pipelines, a junction of the n+1 inlet ducts and an outlet duct; the junction is used to form a multi-phase material; a printing nozzle, comprising a nozzle extrusion device connected to the outlet duct; the nozzle extrusion device is used to extrude the multi-phase material; the printing parameters of the printing nozzle are adjustable, wherein the printing parameters include nozzle movement speed, printing line width, and printing layer thickness; a curing device, used to cure the multi-phase material to form a three-dimensional structure; the curing device includes a base for carrying the extruded multi-phase material, and the temperature of the base is adjustable.

[0006] Optionally, the base material is a light-curing printing glue, and the n doping materials include a red glycerin-water mixture and a blue glycerin-water mixture.

[0007] Optionally, the feeding device is also used to: control the light-curing printing glue to enter the corresponding pipeline at a first speed; and control the red glycerin-water mixture and the blue glycerin-water mixture to enter the corresponding pipeline at speeds changing according to a predetermined rule; wherein the predetermined rule includes: the red glycerin-water mixture enters the corresponding pipeline at a second speed, the initial speed of the blue glycerin-water mixture is 0, the red glycerin-water mixture and the blue glycerin-water mixture are changed every 3 minutes, the red glycerin-water mixture decreases by 0.2 μL / min each time, and the blue glycerin-water mixture increases by 0.2 μL / min each time.

[0008] Optionally, among the n+1 inlet conduits, each of the n inlet conduits conducting the n doping materials is perpendicular to the inlet conduit conducting the base material.

[0009] Optionally, the curing device comprises an ultraviolet lamp, and the ultraviolet lamp is installed at one end of the curing device close to the nozzle extrusion device.

[0010] Optionally, the 3D printing device further includes: a three-dimensional motion control system for controlling the motion direction of the base and the motion direction of the printing nozzle.

[0011] Optionally, the 3D printing device also includes: a printer control system, which is used to identify and read in the parsed 3D modeling data, control the movement speed and direction of the three-dimensional motion control system according to the 3D modeling data, and control the material supply amount of the feeding device.

[0012] Optionally, the feeding device also includes a third pipeline in addition to the n+1 pipelines, and the printing nozzle includes a first nozzle and a second nozzle, wherein: the outlet conduit of the microfluidic chip is connected to the first nozzle, and the multi-phase material is printed to the base by the first nozzle; the third pipeline is connected to the second nozzle, and the material in the third pipeline is printed out by the second nozzle; the first nozzle and the second nozzle alternately extrude the printing material.

[0013] Optionally, the base material is a light-curing printing glue, and the doping material is air; the feeding device is also used to: control the light-curing printing glue to enter the corresponding pipeline at a first speed; control the air to enter the corresponding pipeline at a predetermined air pressure.

[0014] Optionally, the base material is a light-curing printing glue, and the doping material is a uniformly mixed polydimethylsiloxane with a volume ratio of 10:1; the feeding device is also used to: control the light-curing printing glue to enter the corresponding pipeline at a first speed; control the polydimethylsiloxane to enter the corresponding pipeline at a second speed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure and its advantages, reference will now be made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0016] Figure 1 A flow chart of a 3D printing method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is schematically shown;

[0017] Figure 2 The schematic diagram of the structure of the flow convergence type microfluidic chip according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0018] Figure 3 The schematic diagram of the structure of the T-shaped microfluidic chip according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0019] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the structure of a T-shaped microfluidic chip according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0020] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a 3D printing device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is schematically shown;

[0021] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of a 3D printing device according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is schematically shown;

[0022] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of a 3D printing device according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is schematically shown;

[0023] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of a 3D printing device according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is schematically shown;

[0024] Fig. 9 A schematic diagram of a 3D printing device according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is schematically shown;

[0025] Fig.10 A schematic diagram schematically shows a 3D printing device according to another embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0026] Fig.11 The 3D printing process diagram of the embodiment of the present disclosure is schematically shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, it should be understood that these descriptions are exemplary only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. In the following detailed description, for ease of explanation, many specific details are set forth to provide a comprehensive understanding of the embodiments of the present disclosure. However, it is apparent that one or more embodiments may also be implemented without these specific details. In addition, in the following description, descriptions of known structures and technologies are omitted to avoid unnecessary confusion of the concepts of the present disclosure.

[0028] The terms used herein are only for describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. The terms "comprise", "include", etc. used herein indicate the existence of the features, steps, operations and / or components, but do not exclude the existence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations or components.

[0029] All terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the meanings commonly understood by those skilled in the art unless otherwise defined. It should be noted that the terms used herein should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the context of this specification and should not be interpreted in an idealized or overly rigid manner.

[0030] In the case of using expressions such as "at least one of A, B, and C, etc.", it should generally be interpreted in accordance with the meaning of the expression generally understood by those skilled in the art (for example, "a system having at least one of A, B, and C" should include but not be limited to a system having A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B, A and C, B and C, and / or a system having A, B, C, etc.). In the case of using expressions such as "at least one of A, B, or C, etc.", it should generally be interpreted in accordance with the meaning of the expression generally understood by those skilled in the art (for example, "a system having at least one of A, B, or C" should include but not be limited to a system having A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B, A and C, B and C, and / or a system having A, B, C, etc.). Those skilled in the art should also understand that any transitional conjunctions and / or phrases that substantially represent two or more optional items, whether in the specification, claims, or drawings, should be understood to give the possibility of including one of these items, either of these items, or both of these items. For example, the phrase "A or B" should be understood to include the possibilities of "A" or "B", or "A and B".

[0031] Some flow charts are shown in the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that some blocks or combinations thereof in the flow charts may be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer or other programmable data processing device, so that these instructions, when executed by the processor, may create a device for implementing the functions / operations described in these block diagrams and / or flow charts.

[0032] Therefore, the technology of the present disclosure can be implemented in the form of hardware and / or software (including firmware, microcode, etc.). In addition, the technology of the present disclosure can take the form of a computer program product on a computer-readable medium storing instructions, which can be used by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system.

[0033] The embodiment of the present disclosure provides a 3D printing method, including controlling a base material and at least one doping material to enter a microfluidic chip from different pipelines, wherein, in the microfluidic chip, the base material and the doping material are mixed at an intersection to form a multiphase material, and the multiphase material is printed, and the multiphase material is cured to form a three-dimensional structure. The method combines microfluidic technology with 3D printing technology, at least partially solves the technical problem that printing multiphase composite materials in the prior art requires an extremely complex printing process, and can achieve one-piece molding of multiphase composite materials.

[0034] Figure 1 The flowchart of the 3D printing method according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is schematically shown.

[0035] like Figure 1 As shown, the method includes operations S110 to S130.

[0036] In operation S110, a base material and at least one doping material are controlled to enter the microfluidic chip from different pipelines, respectively, wherein in the microfluidic chip, the base material and the doping material are mixed at an intersection to form a multi-phase material.

[0037] In operation S120, the multi-phase material is printed.

[0038] In operation S130, the multi-phase material is solidified to form a three-dimensional structure.

[0039] The method adopts microfluidic technology in 3D printing to achieve one-piece molding of multi-phase composite materials, which at least partially solves the technical problem of difficulty in achieving one-piece molding of 3D printed structures of multi-phase and multi-component composite materials.

[0040] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, in operation S110, the structure of the microfluidic chip may be a T-shaped structure, a flow converging structure, or the like.

[0041] Figure 2 The structural diagram of a flow convergence type microfluidic chip 200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is schematically shown.

[0042] like Figure 2 As shown, the flow converging microfluidic chip 200 includes a doping material inlet conduit 211 , a base material inlet conduit 212 , a multiphase material outlet conduit 213 and a junction 214 .

[0043] The doping material and the base material enter the pipeline of the microfluidic chip 200 from the doping material inlet conduit 211 and the base material inlet conduit 212 respectively, and meet at the intersection 214 . The multiphase material formed at the intersection 214 flows out from the multiphase material outlet conduit 213 .

[0044] Figure 3 The structural diagram of a T-shaped microfluidic chip 300 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is schematically shown.

[0045] like Figure 3 As shown, the T-shaped microfluidic chip 300 includes doping material inlet conduits 311 and 312 , a substrate material inlet conduit 313 , a multiphase material outlet conduit 314 , and a junction 315 .

[0046] The doping material inlet conduits 311 and 312 are opposite to each other and perpendicular to the base material inlet conduit 313. Different doping materials can be introduced into the doping material inlet conduits 311 and 312 respectively. The different doping materials meet with the base material introduced from the base material inlet conduit 313 at the intersection 315 to form a multiphase material. For example, a red glycerol-water mixture enters the microfluidic chip 300 from the doping material inlet conduit 311, and a blue glycerol-water mixture enters the microfluidic chip 300 from the doping material inlet conduit 312. The two different doping materials can be alternately generated by controlling the flow rates of the two different doping materials respectively, so as to form a multiphase material with alternating droplet phases.

[0047] Figure 4 The schematic diagram of the structure of a T-shaped microfluidic chip 400 according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0048] like Figure 4 As shown, the T-shaped microfluidic chip 400 includes doping material inlet conduits 411 and 412 , a base material inlet conduit 413 , a multiphase material outlet conduit 414 , and a junction 415 .

[0049] The doping material inlet conduits 411 and 412 can respectively introduce different doping materials, which merge at the narrow opening of the intersection 415 and intersect with the base material entering from the base material inlet conduit 413 at the intersection 415 to form a multi-phase material.

[0050] It is important to understand that Figure 2~Figure 4 The microfluidic chip is only schematically shown. In practical applications, microfluidic chips with different structures can be designed as needed. The present disclosure does not limit the structure of the microfluidic chip.

[0051] Return to reference Figure 1 According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, in operation S110, controlling the base material and at least one doping material to enter the microfluidic chip from different pipelines respectively includes at least one of the following: controlling the base material and / or at least one doping material to enter the corresponding pipeline at a constant speed, or controlling the base material and / or the at least one doping material to enter the corresponding pipeline at a speed that changes according to a predetermined rule.

[0052] The method can generate different 3D printed structures according to needs, such as symmetrical structures, asymmetrical structures, etc., to meet the needs of different application scenarios. For example, the base material is controlled to enter the corresponding pipeline at a constant speed, and the doping material enters the corresponding pipeline at a predetermined value at a certain time interval.

[0053] For example, the substrate material is controlled to enter the microfluidic chip from one pipeline at a constant speed, and at least one doping material is controlled to enter the microfluidic chip from different pipelines at another constant speed. It is understandable that the constant speed at which the substrate material enters the microfluidic chip and the other constant speed at which the at least one doping material enters the microfluidic chip can be the same constant speed or different constant speeds.

[0054] For another example, the base material is controlled to enter the microfluidic chip from a pipeline at a constant speed, and at least one doping material is controlled to enter the microfluidic chip at a speed that changes according to a predetermined rule.

[0055] For another example, the base material is controlled to enter the microfluidic chip at a speed that changes according to a predetermined rule, and at least one doping material is controlled to enter the microfluidic chip from different pipelines at a constant speed.

[0056] For another example, the base material is controlled to enter the microfluidic chip at a speed varying according to a predetermined rule, and the doping material is controlled to enter the microfluidic chip at a speed varying according to another predetermined rule. It is understandable that the one predetermined rule and the another predetermined rule can be the same predetermined rule or different predetermined rules.

[0057] It can be understood that in the above embodiments, when multiple doping materials are included, a portion of the doping materials can be controlled to enter the microfluidic chip at a constant speed, and another portion of the doping materials can enter the microfluidic chip at a speed that varies according to a predetermined rule.

[0058] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, in operation S110, in the microfluidic chip, the base material and at least one doping material are mixed at the intersection of the microfluidic chip to form a multiphase material, including when the at least one doping material is in a liquid phase, the at least one doping material forms droplets at the intersection of the microfluidic chip and mixes with the base material to form droplet-doped phase material.

[0059] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, in operation S110, in the microfluidic chip, the base material and at least one doping material are mixed at the intersection of the microfluidic chip to form a multiphase material, including when the at least one doping material is in a gas phase, the at least one doping material forms bubbles at the intersection of the microfluidic chip and mixes with the base material to form a bubble-doped phase material.

[0060] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, in operation S120, the multiphase material is printed. The multiphase material, for example, is a droplet doping material formed by a solid phase material as a base material and a liquid phase material as a doping material. Printing the multiphase material may be extruding the multiphase material by at least one print head.

[0061] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, in operation S130, the multi-phase material is cured to form a three-dimensional structure, for example, the multi-phase material is cured by light curing or heat curing to form a three-dimensional structure.

[0062] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, curing the multiphase material to form a three-dimensional structure includes at least one of the following: curing the multiphase material by ultraviolet light emitted by an ultraviolet lamp installed on the print head to form a three-dimensional structure; or controlling the temperature of a base for carrying the extruded multiphase material to cure the multiphase material to form a three-dimensional structure. In the case where the base material is a photocurable material, such as a photocurable printing glue, ultraviolet light can be used to cure the multiphase material to form a three-dimensional structure. The use of ultraviolet light curing molding has the advantages of fast effect, less heat damage, and no pollution.

[0063] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, controlling the temperature of a base for carrying an extruded multiphase material, solidifying the multiphase material, and forming a three-dimensional structure includes: controlling the temperature of a base for carrying an extruded multiphase material, solidifying the base material and the doping material, and forming a three-dimensional structure composed of a multiphase material doped with particles. For example, in operation S120, the printed multiphase material is a droplet-doped phase material, wherein the droplet-doped phase can be solidified at a certain temperature, and the droplet-doped phase material is carried by a base, and by controlling the temperature of the base, the droplets in the droplet-doped phase material can be solidified into particles, thereby forming a multiphase material of a particle-doped phase.

[0064] Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a 3D printing device for implementing the above method. Figure 5 The 3D printing device of the present disclosure is schematically illustrated. Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a 3D printing device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is schematically shown.

[0065] like Figure 5 As shown, the 3D printing device 500 includes a feeding device 510 , a microfluidic chip 520 , a printing nozzle 530 and a curing device 540 , wherein the feeding device 510 includes a pipeline 511 and a pipeline 512 .

[0066] The pipeline 512 and the pipeline 511 are used to feed the base material and at least one doping material respectively. The microfluidic chip 520 includes at least two inlet conduits 521 and 522 respectively connected to the at least two pipelines 511 and 512, a junction 523 of the at least two inlet conduits and an outlet conduit 524, wherein the junction 523 is used to form a multi-phase material.

[0067] The print head 530 includes a head extrusion device 531 connected to the outlet conduit 524, wherein the head extrusion device 531 is used to extrude the multi-phase material. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the head extrusion device 531 includes at least one of a dispensing needle or a dispensing gun head.

[0068] The curing device 540 is used to cure the multi-phase material extruded by the nozzle extrusion device 531 to form a three-dimensional structure.

[0069] It should be understood that the number of pipelines included in the feeding device 510 can be designed as needed, and the present disclosure does not limit the number of pipelines.

[0070] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the feeding device 510 may be used to control the feeding speed of the material in the at least two pipelines 511 and 512. The feeding device 510 may include, for example, a threaded injection pump, a pressure pump controlled by an electric proportional valve, and the like.

[0071] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the feeding device 510 further includes a printing material storage device 513 for storing the base material and at least one of the doping materials.

[0072] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the printing material storage device 513 includes at least one of a syringe or a dispensing tube.

[0073] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the print head 530 further includes a fixing device 532 for fixing the microfluidic chip 520 to the print head 530 .

[0074] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the curing device 540 includes an ultraviolet lamp.

[0075] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the UV lamp is installed at one end of the curing device 540 close to the nozzle extrusion device 531. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the UV lamp can be placed in other positions, for example, in a closed printing device, the UV lamp can be set on the inner side wall of the outer cover of the printing device.

[0076] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the curing device 540 includes a base 550 for supporting the extruded multi-phase material, and curing the multi-phase material to form a three-dimensional structure includes controlling the temperature of the base 550 to cure the multi-phase material to form a three-dimensional structure.

[0077] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the structure of the microfluidic chip 520 includes at least one of a T-shaped structure, a flow converging structure, or a coaxial focusing structure.

[0078] Combine the following Figure 5~Figure 10 The embodiments of the 3D printing device and the 3D printing method disclosed in the present invention are described.

[0079] like Figure 5 The 3D printing device shown in FIG. 5 , the microfluidic chip 520 may be as follows Figure 2 The flow convergence type microfluidic chip shown includes a doping material inlet conduit 521 , a base material inlet conduit 522 , and a multi-phase material outlet conduit 524 . The multi-phase material outlet conduit 524 is connected to a printing nozzle 530 .

[0080] The doping material enters the doping material inlet conduit 521 of the microfluidic chip 520 from the pipeline 511 , and the base material enters the base material inlet conduit 522 of the microfluidic chip 520 from the pipeline 512 .

[0081] For example, the base material is a solid phase material, a light-curing printing glue is selected, and the doping material is a 50% volume fraction glycerol-water mixture. The feeding device 510 controls the light-curing printing glue to enter the base material inlet conduit 522 of the microfluidic chip 520 through the pipeline 512 at a speed V1, and the 50% volume fraction glycerol-water mixture enters the doping material inlet conduit 521 of the microfluidic chip 520 through the pipeline 511 at a speed V2. The light-curing printing glue and the 50% volume fraction glycerol-water mixture meet at the intersection 523 of the microfluidic chip 520, and the light-curing printing glue shears and squeezes the 50% volume fraction glycerol-water mixture of the liquid phase at the intersection 523, changing the liquid phase material into droplets, and the generated droplets are mixed with the light-curing printing glue to form droplet doping phase materials, and the droplet doping phase materials enter the print nozzle 530, and the print nozzle 530 extrude the droplet doping phase materials to the base 550. The print head 540 may be a 27G dispensing needle, and the printing parameters of the print head 530 may be set, for example, the print head moving speed may be set to V3, the line width may be set to 0.8 mm, and the layer thickness may be set to 0.15 mm. A curing device 540 may be installed on the print head 530, and the curing device 540 may be an ultraviolet lamp for curing and molding multi-phase materials. This embodiment may obtain a three-dimensional structure containing a regular droplet doping arrangement.

[0082] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of a 3D printing device according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is schematically shown.

[0083] like Figure 6As shown, the 3D printing device 600 includes a feeding device 610 , a microfluidic chip 620 , a printing nozzle 630 and a curing device 640 , wherein the feeding device 610 includes a pipeline 611 , a pipeline 612 and a pipeline 613 .

[0084] The microfluidic chip 620 may be Figure 4 The T-shaped microfluidic chip shown includes a base material inlet conduit 621 , doping material inlet conduits 622 and 623 , a junction 624 , and a multiphase material outlet conduit 625 .

[0085] The base material enters the base material inlet conduit 621 of the microfluidic chip 620 from the pipeline 611, and the doping material enters the doping material inlet conduits 622 and 623 of the microfluidic chip 620 from the pipeline 612 and the pipeline 613 respectively.

[0086] For example, the base material is a solid phase, and a light-curing printing glue is selected, and the doping materials are a glycerol water red mixed liquid and a blue mixed liquid with a volume fraction of 50%. The feeding device 610 controls the light-curing printing glue to enter the base material inlet conduit 621 of the microfluidic chip 620 through the pipeline 611 at a speed V1, and the red mixed liquid and the blue mixed liquid enter the doping material inlet conduits 622 and 623 of the microfluidic chip 620 through the pipeline 612 and the pipeline 613 at a speed changing according to a predetermined rule. Among them, the predetermined rule is, for example, that the red mixed liquid initially enters the microfluidic chip 620 from the pipeline 612 at a speed of V2, and the blue mixed liquid enters the microfluidic chip 620 from the pipeline 613 at a speed of 0μL / min, and the flow rate of the red and blue mixed liquids is changed every 3 minutes, and the doping phase of the red mixed liquid is decreased by 0.2μL / min each time, and the doping phase of the blue mixed liquid is increased by 0.2μL / min each time. The red mixed liquid and the blue mixed liquid merge at the narrow mouth of the intersection 624, intersect with the light-curing printing glue, and become a mixed droplet doped phase material under the shear extrusion of the light-curing printing glue. The mixed droplet doped phase material enters the printing nozzle 630. The printing nozzle 630 uses a 27G dispensing needle, for example. The printing parameters of the printing nozzle 630 can be set, for example, the moving speed is set to V3, the line width is set to 0.8mm, and the layer thickness is set to 0.15mm. During the printing process, the ultraviolet lamp installed at the upper end of the nozzle is turned on for curing and molding, and a three-dimensional structure with regular droplet doping but color changes can be obtained.

[0087] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of a 3D printing device according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is schematically shown.

[0088] like Figure 7As shown, the 3D printing device 700 includes a feeding device 710, a microfluidic chip 720, printing nozzles 730 and 760, and a curing device 740, wherein the feeding device 710 includes a pipeline 711, a pipeline 712, and a pipeline 713.

[0089] The microfluidic chip 720 may be Figure 2 The flow convergence type microfluidic chip shown includes a doping material inlet conduit 721, a base material inlet conduit 722, and a multiphase material outlet conduit 724. The multiphase material outlet conduit 724 is connected to the print head 730. The print head 760 is directly connected to the pipeline 711.

[0090] The doping material enters the doping material inlet conduit 721 of the microfluidic chip 720 from the pipeline 712, and the base material enters the base material inlet conduit 722 of the microfluidic chip 720 from the pipeline 713. The multiphase material outlet conduit 724 is connected to the print nozzle 730, and the multiphase material is printed to the base by the print nozzle 730. The pipeline 711 is directly connected to the print nozzle 760, and the material in the pipeline 711 is directly printed by the print nozzle 760. For example, the print nozzles 730 and 760 are controlled to extrude the printing material alternately, and an asymmetric three-dimensional structure can be obtained. In the case of a light-curing printing glue in the pipeline 713, the ultraviolet lamp is turned on during the printing process to cure and shape the multiphase material, and a three-dimensional structure that partially contains droplet doping and partially does not contain droplet doping is obtained. During the printing process, for example, when the nozzle 730 is controlled to print, the base material, for example, has a solidification phase velocity of V1 and a droplet doping phase velocity of V2. When the nozzle 760 is printed, the solidification phase velocity is V4, and there is no droplet doping phase. Similarly, the printing parameters of the print head can be set, for example, the print head moving speed is V3, the line width is set to 0.8 mm, and the layer thickness is set to 0.15 mm. The print heads 730 and 760 are, for example, 27G dispensing needles.

[0091] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of a 3D printing device according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is schematically shown.

[0092] like Figure 8 As shown, the 3D printing device 800 includes a feeding device 810, microfluidic chips 820 and 830, printing nozzles 840 and 850, and a curing device 860, wherein the feeding device 810 includes a pipeline 811, a pipeline 812, a pipeline 813, and a pipeline 814.

[0093] Microfluidic chips 820 and 830 may be as follows Figure 2The flow convergence type microfluidic chip shown includes a doping material inlet conduit, a base material inlet conduit, a junction, and a multiphase material outlet conduit. The print nozzle 840 is connected to the multiphase material outlet conduit of the microfluidic chip 820, and the print nozzle 850 is connected to the multiphase material outlet conduit of the microfluidic chip 830. There may be a certain distance between the print nozzle 840 and the print nozzle 850, for example, a distance of 10 mm.

[0094] The doping material enters the doping material inlet conduit of the microfluidic chip 820 from the pipeline 812, and the base material enters the base material inlet conduit of the microfluidic chip 820 from the pipeline 811. Similarly, another doping material enters the doping material inlet conduit of the microfluidic chip 830 from the pipeline 813, and another base material enters the base material inlet conduit of the microfluidic chip 830 from the pipeline 814. It should be understood that the base material and the other base material can be the same material or different materials, for example, the base material and the other base material are both solid phase materials, light-curing printing glue. The doping material and the other doping material can be the same material or different materials, for example, the doping material is a 50% volume fraction of glycerol-water red mixture, and the other doping material is a 50% volume fraction of glycerol-water blue mixture.

[0095] For example, the curing phase material uses a light-curing printing glue to enter the base material inlet conduit of the microfluidic chip 820 through the pipeline 811 at a speed of V1, and a 50% volume fraction of a glycerol-water red mixed liquid enters the doping material inlet conduit of the microfluidic chip 820 through the pipeline 812 at a speed of V2. A similar light-curing printing glue enters the base material inlet conduit of the microfluidic chip 830 through the pipeline 814 at a speed of V1, and a 50% volume fraction of a glycerol-water blue mixed liquid enters the doping material inlet conduit of the microfluidic chip 830 through the pipeline 813 at a speed of V2. The printing nozzles 840 and 850 both use 27G dispensing needles, the nozzle speed is V3, the line width is set to 0.8mm, and the layer thickness is set to 0.15mm. The ultraviolet lamp is turned on during the printing process for curing and molding, thereby obtaining a three-dimensional structure containing droplets of different colors.

[0096] Fig. 9 A schematic diagram of a 3D printing device according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is schematically shown.

[0097] like Fig. 9 As shown, the 3D printing device 900 includes a feeding device 910 , a microfluidic chip 920 , a printing nozzle 930 and a curing device 940 , wherein the feeding device 910 includes a pipeline 911 and a pipeline 912 .

[0098] The microfluidic chip 920 may be Figure 2The flow convergence type microfluidic chip shown includes a doping material inlet conduit, a base material inlet conduit, a junction, and a multi-phase material outlet conduit, wherein the multi-phase material outlet conduit is connected to the printing nozzle 930 .

[0099] For example, the base material is a photocurable printing glue, and the doping material is air. The feeding device 910 controls the photocurable printing glue to enter the base material inlet conduit of the microfluidic chip 920 through the pipeline 912 at a speed V1, and applies an air pressure of 0.3Mpa to the air, so that the air enters the microfluidic chip from the pipeline 911. The photocurable printing glue and the air meet at the intersection of the microfluidic chip 920, and the photocurable printing glue shears and squeezes the air at the intersection to form bubbles. The generated bubbles and the bubble-doped phase material formed by the photocurable printing glue enter the print nozzle 930, and the bubble-doped phase material is extruded by the print nozzle 930 and cured by the curing device 940. The print nozzle 940 can be a 27G dispensing needle, and the printing parameters of the print nozzle 940 can be set, for example, the nozzle movement speed is set to V3, the line width is set to 0.8mm, and the layer thickness is set to 0.15mm. This embodiment can obtain a three-dimensional structure containing a regular bubble doping arrangement.

[0100] Fig.10 A schematic diagram of a 3D printing device according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is schematically shown.

[0101] like Fig.10 As shown, the 3D printing device 1000 includes a feeding device 1010 , a microfluidic chip 1020 , a printing nozzle 1030 , a curing device 1040 and a base 1050 , wherein the feeding device 1010 includes a pipeline 1011 and a pipeline 1012 .

[0102] The microfluidic chip 1020 may be Figure 2 The flow convergence type microfluidic chip shown includes a doping material inlet conduit, a base material inlet conduit, a junction, and a multi-phase material outlet conduit, wherein the multi-phase material outlet conduit is connected to the print nozzle 1030 .

[0103] The base material enters the base material inlet conduit of the microfluidic chip 1020 from the pipeline 1012 , and the doping material enters the doping material inlet conduit of the microfluidic chip 1020 from the pipeline 1011 .

[0104] For example, the base material is a photocurable printing glue in a solid phase, and the doping material is a well-mixed polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) with a volume ratio of 10:1. The feeding device 1010 controls the photocurable printing glue to enter the base material inlet conduit of the microfluidic chip 1020 through the pipeline 1012 at a speed V1, and the well-mixed PDMS with a volume ratio of 10:1 enters the base material inlet conduit of the microfluidic chip 1020 through the pipeline 1011 at a speed V2. The photocurable printing glue and the PDMS mixed evenly in a volume ratio of 10:1 meet at the intersection of the microfluidic chip 1020, and the photocurable printing glue shears and squeezes the liquid phase PDMS at the intersection to form droplets of the liquid phase PDMS. The droplets generated and the droplet-doped phase material formed by the photocurable printing glue enter the print nozzle 1030, and the droplet-doped phase material is extruded by the print nozzle 1030. During the printing process, the ultraviolet lamp is turned on to solidify the solid phase to form a three-dimensional structure of the droplet-doped phase. The three-dimensional structure of the droplet-doped phase extruded by the print nozzle is carried by the base 1050, and the base temperature is set to 80 degrees Celsius to solidify the PDMS droplets to form PDMS balls, thereby obtaining a three-dimensional structure containing PDMS particles. The print nozzle 1040 can be a 27G dispensing needle, and the printing parameters of the print nozzle 1040 can be set, for example, the nozzle movement speed is set to V3, the line width is set to 0.8mm, and the layer thickness is set to 0.15mm.

[0105] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, Fig.10 As shown, the 3D printing device also includes a three-dimensional motion control system for controlling the 3D printing device, such as the motion direction of the base, the motion direction of the print head, etc. The three-dimensional motion control system includes, for example, an X-axis 1060 driven by a belt, a Y-axis 1070 driven by a belt, and a Z-axis 1080 driven by a threaded screw. It should be understood that the motion of the three-dimensional motion control system along the X, Y, and Z directions can also be achieved by other means.

[0106] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, Fig.10 As shown, the 3D printing device also includes a printer control system 1090, which includes a single-chip microcomputer chip for identifying and reading in the parsed 3D modeling data, controlling the movement speed and direction of the printer's three-dimensional motion mechanism according to the parsed data, and the material supply amount of the coordinated material supply system.

[0107] Fig.11 The 3D printing process diagram of the embodiment of the present disclosure is schematically shown.

[0108] like Fig.11 As shown, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the 3D printing process includes operations S1110 to S1140.

[0109] In operation S1110 , three-dimensional modeling is performed on the three-dimensional structure to be printed.

[0110] In operation S1120, the three-dimensional modeling data is parsed using computer software to obtain a code that can be recognized by a 3D printer.

[0111] In operation S1130, the printer control system reads the code to accurately control the flow supply of the material supply system and the movement of the three-dimensional motion system, including the control of the feeding amount of the printing material (droplet phase and solid phase), the control of the movement of the printing base and the control of the movement of the nozzle, so that the above three controls work in coordination.

[0112] In operation S1140, the material is solidified and formed to obtain a three-dimensional structure.

[0113] It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the features described in the various embodiments and / or claims of the present disclosure may be combined and / or coupled in a variety of ways, even if such combinations and / or couplings are not explicitly described in the present disclosure. In particular, the features described in the various embodiments and / or claims of the present disclosure may be combined and / or coupled in a variety of ways without departing from the spirit and teachings of the present disclosure. All of these combinations and / or couplings fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0114] Although the present disclosure has been shown and described with reference to specific exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made to the present disclosure without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents. Therefore, the scope of the present disclosure should not be limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, but should be determined not only by the appended claims, but also by the equivalents of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A 3D printing device, characterized in that: include: A feeding device, including n+1 pipelines; The n+1 pipelines are used to feed the base material and n doping materials respectively, where n is a positive integer; The feeding device is used to control the feeding speed of the base material and the n doping materials; A microfluidic chip, comprising n+1 inlet conduits respectively connected to the n+1 pipelines, a junction of the n+1 inlet conduits and an outlet conduit; the junction is used to form a multiphase material; A print nozzle, including a nozzle extrusion device connected to the outlet conduit; The nozzle extrusion device is used to extrude the multi-phase material; the printing parameters of the printing nozzle are adjustable, wherein the printing parameters include nozzle movement speed, printing line width, and printing layer thickness; A curing device is used to cure the multi-phase material to form a three-dimensional structure; the curing device comprises a base for supporting the extruded multi-phase material, and the temperature of the base is adjustable.

2. The 3D printing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The feeding device further includes a third pipeline in addition to the n+1 pipelines, and the printing nozzle includes a first nozzle and a second nozzle, wherein: The outlet conduit of the microfluidic chip is connected to the first nozzle, and the multiphase material is printed onto the base by the first nozzle; The third pipeline is connected to the second nozzle, and the material in the third pipeline is printed out by the second nozzle; The first nozzle and the second nozzle extrude printing materials alternately.

3. The 3D printing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The 3D printing device also includes: A three-dimensional motion control system is used to control the motion direction of the base and the motion direction of the printing nozzle.

4. The 3D printing device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The 3D printing device also includes: The printer control system is used to identify the read-in parsed 3D modeling data, control the movement speed and direction of the three-dimensional motion control system according to the 3D modeling data, and control the material supply amount of the feeding device.

5. The 3D printing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The base material is a light-curing printing glue, and the n doping materials include a red glycerin-water mixture and a blue glycerin-water mixture.

6. The 3D printing device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The feeding device is also used for: Controlling the light-curing printing glue to enter the corresponding pipeline at a first speed; as well as Controlling the red glycerin-water mixture and the blue glycerin-water mixture to enter corresponding pipelines at speeds changing according to a predetermined rule; Among them, the predetermined rules include: the red glycerol water mixture enters the corresponding pipeline at the second speed, the initial speed of the blue glycerol water mixture is 0, the red glycerol water mixture and the blue glycerol water mixture are changed every 3 minutes, the red glycerol water mixture decreases by 0.2 μL / min each time, and the blue glycerol water mixture increases by 0.2 μL / min each time.

7. The 3D printing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: Among the n+1 inlet conduits, each of the n inlet conduits conducting the n doping materials is perpendicular to the inlet conduit conducting the base material.

8. The 3D printing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The curing device comprises an ultraviolet lamp, and the ultraviolet lamp is installed at one end of the curing device close to the nozzle extrusion device.

9. The 3D printing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The base material is a light-curing printing glue, and the doping material is air; the feeding device is also used for: Controlling the light-curing printing glue to enter the corresponding pipeline at a first speed; The air is controlled to enter the corresponding pipeline at a predetermined air pressure.

10. The 3D printing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The base material is a light-curing printing glue, and the doping material is a uniformly mixed polydimethylsiloxane in a volume ratio of 10:1; the feeding device is also used for: Controlling the light-curing printing glue to enter the corresponding pipeline at a first speed; The polydimethylsiloxane is controlled to enter the corresponding pipeline at a second speed.

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