Three-dimensional printing method, storage unit, computing device and three-dimensional printing system

Abstract

The invention discloses a three-dimensional printing method, a memory, a computing device and a three-dimensional printing system.The three-dimensional printing method comprises the steps that in the slicing stage, sub-sintering areas corresponding to all three-dimensional printed pieces in sintering areas of all layers are calibrated; in the forming stage, after printing of at least part of the three-dimensional printing pieces which are not formed completely is cancelled, the sub-sintering areas corresponding to the three-dimensional printing pieces which are cancelled in printing are removed in the subsequent layers; and the highest sintering layer with the sintering area is determined again, finally, all the three-dimensional printing pieces with printing not cancelled are formed, and printing materials are laid on the highest sintering layer according to the set number of heat preservation layers. The memory, the computing device and the three-dimensional printing system provide a material basis for realizing the method. By the adoption of the technical scheme, printing of a part of three-dimensional printed pieces can be omitted in the printing process. Printing materials can be saved, and the situation that the cooling speed is too low due to too thick heat preservation layers is avoided.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of three-dimensional printing, and in particular to a three-dimensional printing method, a storage unit, a computing device and a three-dimensional printing system. Background Art

[0002] In the prior art, the 3D printing method for forming a 3D printed part by selectively sintering the printing material layer by layer includes a packing stage, a slicing stage and a molding stage. The packing stage is used to determine the posture and position of each 3D printed part to be printed in the printing cavity. In the packing stage, a set interval needs to be left between each 3D printed part, and a heat-insulating distance is formed between all 3D printed parts and the side wall of the printing cavity. The slicing stage is used to layer each 3D printed part after the packing stage is completed to form a sintering area for each layer. In the molding stage, the printing material is first laid at the bottom of the printing cavity according to the set number of insulation layers, and then selective sintering is performed layer by layer according to the sintering area of ​​each layer, and finally the printing material is laid on the highest sintering layer according to the set number of insulation layers. The set number of insulation layers is mainly used to form the insulation distance. The insulation distance is the distance between each surface of the 3D printed intermediate formed by each 3D printed part and the printing material wrapped outside the 3D printed part after the 3D printing is completed and the closest 3D printed part. It is mainly used to prevent each 3D printed part from being deformed or broken due to too fast cooling during the cooling stage of the 3D printed intermediate.

[0003] The above-mentioned 3D printing method in the prior art has the defect that it is difficult to cancel the printing of part of the 3D printed part during the molding process. Summary of the invention

[0004] The purpose of the present application is to overcome the above-mentioned defects or problems existing in the background technology and to provide a three-dimensional printing method, which can cancel the printing of part of the three-dimensional printed part during the molding process.

[0005] In order to achieve the above purpose, the following technical solutions are adopted:

[0006] The first technical solution relates to a three-dimensional printing method, which selectively sinters the printing material layer by layer to form a three-dimensional printed part, wherein, in a slicing stage, the sub-sintering areas corresponding to each three-dimensional printed part in the sintering area of ​​each layer are calibrated; in a forming stage, after at least part of the three-dimensional printed parts that have not been formed are cancelled, the following steps are performed: Step 1: removing the sub-sintering areas corresponding to the three-dimensional printed parts whose printing is cancelled in the subsequent layers; Step 2: re-determining the highest sintering layer where the sintering area exists; Step 3: forming each three-dimensional printed part that has not been cancelled, and laying the printing material on the highest sintering layer according to the set number of insulation layers.

[0007] The second technical solution is based on the first technical solution, wherein in step 2, firstly, all the three-dimensional printed parts that have not started to be formed are rearranged, and the three-dimensional printed parts that have started to be formed but not completed should be avoided during the rearrangement; then, the subsequent layers are re-sliced, and the sub-sintering areas corresponding to each three-dimensional printed part in the sintering area of ​​each subsequent layer are calibrated, and the highest sintering layer with a sintering area is re-determined.

[0008] The third technical solution is based on the second technical solution, wherein in step 2, the rearrangement of the packages is automatically performed according to the optimization goal of the shortest distance between the highest sintered layer and the layer where the molding is restarted.

[0009] The fourth technical scheme relates to a three-dimensional printing method, which includes: obtaining at least two geometric model data, wherein the geometric model data are related to the three-dimensional printed part to be formed; calibrating the position and posture of each geometric model data; slicing and layering the geometric model data with calibrated position and posture layer by layer to form sintering data of each layer, and calibrating the geometric model data of its source in the sintering data of each layer to form sub-sintering area data; forming powder laying data according to a determined number of layers after the highest layer with sintering data; generating sintering instructions according to the sintering data of each layer layer by layer after receiving a printing instruction, and generating powder laying instructions according to the powder laying data; obtaining the canceled geometric model data after receiving a cancel printing instruction; deleting the sub-sintering data related to the canceled geometric model data in the subsequent layers; forming powder laying data again according to a determined number of layers after the highest layer with remaining sintering data; generating sintering instructions again according to the sintering data of each layer layer by layer, and generating powder laying instructions according to the powder laying data.

[0010] The fifth technical solution relates to a storage unit storing a computer program, wherein the computer program is used to implement the three-dimensional printing method as described in the fourth technical solution.

[0011] The sixth technical solution relates to computing equipment, which includes an input unit, an output unit, a computing unit and a storage unit as described in the fifth technical solution, the input unit is used to obtain geometric model data, canceled geometric model data, printing instructions and cancel printing instructions, the output unit is used to output sintering instructions and powder laying instructions, and the computing unit calls and executes the computer program.

[0012] The seventh technical solution relates to a three-dimensional printing system, which includes a three-dimensional printer, a printing unit and a computing device as described in the sixth technical solution, wherein the three-dimensional printer is used to execute the sintering instructions output by the computing device to spread powder on the printing unit and sinter, and the three-dimensional printer is also used to execute the powder spreading instructions output by the computing device to spread powder on the printing unit.

[0013] Compared with the prior art, the above solution has the following beneficial effects:

[0014] In the first technical solution, by calibrating the sub-sintering areas corresponding to each 3D printed part in the sintering area of ​​each layer in the slicing stage, it is convenient to remove the sub-sintering areas corresponding to the 3D printed parts that have been canceled after at least part of the 3D printed parts that have not been completed are canceled, so as to cancel the printing of the canceled 3D printed parts.

[0015] In the first technical solution, by redetermining the highest sintering layer where the sintering area exists and laying the printing material on the highest sintering layer according to the set number of insulation layers, it is beneficial to reduce the overall height of the 3D printed intermediate when the part of the 3D printed part that is canceled from printing is located at a higher position, save printing materials, and avoid the insulation layer being too thick and causing the cooling speed to be too slow.

[0016] In the second technical solution, rearranging the packages can further reduce the overall height of the 3D printed intermediate by changing the position and / or posture of the 3D printed parts that have not yet begun to take shape, which is more conducive to saving printing materials and avoiding too slow cooling speed due to too thick insulation layer.

[0017] In the third technical solution, the rearrangement of the packages is automatically performed according to the optimization goal of the highest sintering layer being the lowest, which is not only conducive to reducing the overall height of the 3D printed intermediate, but also can automatically avoid the situation where the pause time after the cancellation of some 3D printed parts is too long, resulting in the need to keep the laid printing materials warm for a long time.

[0018] The fourth technical solution is a specific method in which a computing unit in a computing device of a three-dimensional printing system implements the three-dimensional printing method described in the first technical solution. The sintering data in the fourth technical solution corresponds to the sintering area in the first technical solution, and the sub-sintering data in the fourth technical solution corresponds to the sub-sintering area in the first technical solution.

[0019] The fifth, sixth and seventh technical solutions provide a material basis for realizing the above method. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solution of the embodiment, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use:

[0021] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the position and state of each three-dimensional printed part relative to the printing cavity after the packaging stage in the first embodiment is completed;

[0022] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of calibrating the sub-sintering area during the slicing stage in Example 1;

[0023] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the state of the printed part when part of the three-dimensional printed part is cancelled in the first embodiment;

[0024] Figure 4A schematic diagram of the internal structure of the three-dimensional printing intermediate after some three-dimensional printed parts are cancelled in Example 1;

[0025] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the 3D printing intermediate after some 3D printed parts in Example 2 are cancelled.

[0026] Description of main reference numerals:

[0027] 1. Printing cavity; 2. Printing material; 3. 3D printing intermediate; A. First 3D printed part; B. Second 3D printed part; C. Third 3D printed part; D. Fourth 3D printed part. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] In the claims and the description, unless otherwise defined, the terms "first", "second" or "third", etc. are intended to distinguish different objects rather than to describe a specific order.

[0029] In the claims and the specification, unless otherwise defined, terms such as "center", "lateral", "longitudinal", "horizontal", "vertical", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "clockwise", "counterclockwise" and the like indicating directions or positional relationships are based on the directions and positional relationships shown in the drawings and are only for the convenience of simplifying the description and do not imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific direction or be constructed and operated in a specific direction.

[0030] In the claims and the specification, unless otherwise defined, the term "fixed connection" or "fixed connection" should be understood in a broad sense, that is, any connection method in which there is no displacement relationship and relative rotation relationship between the two parties, that is to say, including non-detachable fixed connection, detachable fixed connection, integral connection and fixed connection through other devices or elements.

[0031] In the claims and the description, unless otherwise defined, the terms "includes", "has" and their variations mean "including but not limited to".

[0032] In the claims and the specification, unless otherwise defined, the term "provided with" means that the technical feature located thereafter is a part of the technical feature located therefor.

[0033] In the claims and the specification, unless otherwise defined, the term "unfinished three-dimensional printed part" includes a three-dimensional printed part that has not started to be formed and a three-dimensional printed part that has started to be formed but has not been completed.

[0034] In the claims and the specification, unless otherwise defined, the term "highest sintered layer" refers to a layer having a sintered region which is farthest in height from the first layer laid at the beginning of printing.

[0035] In the claims and the specification, unless otherwise defined, the term "lowest" means the closest to the first layer laid when starting printing in the height direction.

[0036] The technical solutions in the embodiments will be described clearly and completely below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0037] Embodiment 1

[0038] See also Figure 1 , Figure 1 The position and state of each three-dimensional printed part relative to the printing chamber 1 after the packaging stage in the first embodiment is completed are shown. Figure 1 As shown, in this embodiment, the number of three-dimensional printed parts is four, namely, the first three-dimensional printed part A, the second three-dimensional printed part B, the third three-dimensional printed part C and the fourth three-dimensional printed part D. Since the packing process is a prior art, it will not be described in detail. The packing process can be done manually or automatically. After the packing is completed, each three-dimensional printed part has a heat preservation distance from the bottom wall of the printing cavity 1 and the opening of the printing cavity 1 in the height direction. Each three-dimensional printed part also has a heat preservation distance from the side wall of the printing cavity 1.

[0039] See also Figure 2 , Figure 2 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of one layer in the slicing stage in the first embodiment. In the present embodiment, in the slicing stage, it is necessary to calibrate the sub-sintering areas corresponding to each three-dimensional printed part in the sintering area of ​​each layer. Figure 2 The sintered region in the layer shown includes a sub-sintered region corresponding to the second three-dimensional printed part B, a sub-sintered region corresponding to the third three-dimensional printed part C, and a sub-sintered region corresponding to the fourth three-dimensional printed part D.

[0040] See also Figure 3 , Figure 3 The figure shows the state of the printed part when the 3D printer receives the cancellation of the unfinished 3D print part during the forming stage. Figure 3 As shown, when the instruction to cancel printing of the fourth three-dimensional print part D is received, the first three-dimensional print part A has been completed, the second three-dimensional print part B has started to be formed but has not been completed, and the third three-dimensional print part C has not started to be formed.

[0041] After receiving the instruction to cancel printing of the fourth three-dimensional print D, the three-dimensional printer performs the following steps:

[0042] Step 1: In the subsequent layers, the sub-sintered area corresponding to the fourth three-dimensional printed part D to be cancelled is removed.

[0043] Step 2: Re-determine the highest sintered layer where the sintered area exists. In this embodiment, the highest sintered layer is the layer where the upper surface of the third 3D printed part C is located.

[0044] Step 3: Continue printing to form the second 3D printed part B and the third 3D printed part C that have not been cancelled, and lay the printing material 2 on the highest sintered layer according to the set number of insulation layers.

[0045] See also Figure 4 , Figure 4 The internal structure of the three-dimensional printed intermediate body 3 is shown when the molding stage is completed. Figure 4 As shown, in this embodiment, the 3D printing intermediate body 3 includes all the 3D printing parts that have not been cancelled and the printing material 2 wrapped outside these 3D printing parts. There is a heat preservation distance between the third 3D printing part C and the upper surface of the 3D printing intermediate body 3. Of course, after this 3D printing, the upper surface of the 3D printing intermediate body 3 is lower than the upper surface of the 3D printing intermediate body 3 preset after packaging.

[0046] In this embodiment, the three-dimensional printing system includes a three-dimensional printer, a printing unit and a computing device. The three-dimensional printer is used to execute the sintering instructions output by the computing device to spread powder and sinter in the printing cavity 1 of the printing unit, and the three-dimensional printer is also used to execute the powder spreading instructions output by the computing device to spread powder on the printing unit. The computing device includes an input unit, an output unit, a storage unit and a computing unit. The input unit is used to obtain geometric model data, canceled geometric model data, print orders and cancel printing instructions. The output unit is used to output sintering instructions and powder spreading instructions. The storage unit is used to store computer programs, and the computing unit is used to call and execute computer programs. Among them, the computer program is used to implement the following three-dimensional printing method:

[0047] Acquire at least two geometric model data, wherein the geometric model data are related to the three-dimensional printed part to be formed;

[0048] Calibrate the position and posture of each geometric model data;

[0049] The geometric model data of the calibrated position and posture are sliced ​​and layered layer by layer to form the sintering data of each layer, and the sintering data of each layer is calibrated according to the geometric model data of its source to form sub-sintering data;

[0050] After the highest layer with sintering data, forming powder spreading data according to the determined number of layers;

[0051] After receiving the printing instruction, the sintering instruction is generated layer by layer according to the sintering data of each layer, and the powder laying instruction is generated according to the powder laying data;

[0052] After receiving the cancel printing instruction, the canceled geometric model data is obtained;

[0053] Deleting the sub-sintering data related to the cancelled geometric model data from the subsequent layers;

[0054] After the highest layer with the remaining sintering data, the powder spreading data is formed again according to the determined number of layers;

[0055] Regenerate sintering instructions layer by layer according to the sintering data of each layer, and generate powder laying instructions according to the powder laying data.

[0056] In this embodiment, by calibrating the sub-sintering areas corresponding to each 3D printed part in the sintering area of ​​each layer in the slicing stage, it is convenient to remove the sub-sintering areas corresponding to the 3D printed parts that have been canceled after at least part of the 3D printed parts that have not been completed are canceled, so as to cancel the printing of the canceled 3D printed parts.

[0057] In this embodiment, by redetermining the highest sintering layer where the sintering area exists, and laying the printing material on the highest sintering layer according to the set number of insulation layers, it is beneficial to reduce the overall height of the three-dimensional printed intermediate 3 when the part of the three-dimensional printed part whose printing is cancelled is located at a higher position, save printing materials, and avoid the insulation layer being too thick and causing the cooling speed to be too slow.

[0058] In this embodiment, the computer program is used to implement the above-mentioned three-dimensional printing method, and the memory, the computing device and the three-dimensional printing system provide a material basis for implementing the above-mentioned three-dimensional printing method.

[0059] Embodiment 2

[0060] The only difference between Example 2 and Example 1 is step 2. In step 2 of this embodiment, all three-dimensional printed parts that have not started to form are first rearranged, and the three-dimensional printed parts that have started to form but not completed should be avoided during the rearrangement; specifically, the third three-dimensional printed part C should be rearranged, and the second three-dimensional printed part B that has started to form but not completed should be avoided during the rearrangement. In this embodiment, the rearrangement is automatically performed according to the optimization goal of the lowest highest sintering layer. Rearrangement means redetermining the position and posture of all three-dimensional printed parts that have not started to form in the printing cavity 1. After rearrangement, the subsequent layers are re-sliced, the sub-sintering areas corresponding to each three-dimensional printed part in the sintering area of ​​each subsequent layer are calibrated, and the highest sintering layer with a sintering area is redetermined.

[0061] See also Figure 5 , Figure 5 The internal structure of the three-dimensional printed intermediate body 3 is shown when the molding stage in the second embodiment is completed. Figure 5 As shown, the position and posture of the third 3D printed part C are changed due to being rearranged. While ensuring the spacing with other 3D printed parts that have not been cancelled, the upper surface of the 3D printed intermediate 3 is lower than that of the first embodiment by rearranging the third 3D printed part C.

[0062] Of course, in other embodiments, the rearrangement process may also be completed after operator intervention.

[0063] In this embodiment, the rearrangement of the packages can further reduce the overall height of the 3D printed intermediate by changing the position and / or posture of the 3D printed parts that have not yet begun to take shape, which is more conducive to saving printing materials and avoiding slow cooling due to an excessively thick insulation layer.

[0064] In this embodiment, the rearrangement of the packages is automatically performed according to the optimization goal of the highest sintering layer being the lowest, which is not only beneficial to reducing the overall height of the 3D printed intermediate, but also can automatically avoid the situation where the pause time after canceling the printing of some 3D printed parts is too long, resulting in the need to keep the laid printing materials warm for a long time.

[0065] The above specification and description of the embodiments are used to explain the protection scope of the present application, but do not constitute a limitation on the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A three-dimensional printing method, which selectively sintered the printing material layer by layer to form a three-dimensional printed part, characterized in that In the slicing stage, the sub-sintering areas corresponding to each 3D printed part in the sintering area of ​​each layer are calibrated; In the forming stage, at least part of the unfinished three-dimensional printed part is cancelled and then the following steps are performed: Step 1: removing the sub-sintered area corresponding to the 3D printed part to be cancelled in the subsequent layer; Step 2: Re-determine the highest sintered layer where the sintered area exists; Step 3: Form the three-dimensional printed parts that have not been canceled, and lay the printing material on the highest sintered layer according to the set number of insulation layers.

2. A three-dimensional printing method as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: In step 2, all the 3D printed parts that have not started to form are first rearranged, and the 3D printed parts that have started to form but not completed should be avoided during the rearrangement; then the subsequent layers are re-sliced, and the sub-sintering areas corresponding to each 3D printed part in the sintering area of ​​each subsequent layer are calibrated, and the highest sintering layer with a sintering area is re-determined.

3. A three-dimensional printing method as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that: In step 2, the rearrangement is automatically performed according to the optimization goal of the highest sintering layer being the lowest.

4. A three-dimensional printing method, characterized in that include: Acquire at least two geometric model data, wherein the geometric model data are related to the three-dimensional printed part to be formed; Calibrate the position and posture of each geometric model data; The geometric model data of the calibrated position and posture are sliced ​​and layered layer by layer to form the sintering data of each layer, and the sintering data of each layer is calibrated according to the geometric model data of its source to form sub-sintering data; After the highest layer with sintering data, forming powder spreading data according to the determined number of layers; After receiving the printing instruction, the sintering instruction is generated layer by layer according to the sintering data of each layer, and the powder laying instruction is generated according to the powder laying data; After receiving the cancel printing instruction, the canceled geometric model data is obtained; Deleting the sub-sintering data related to the cancelled geometric model data from the subsequent layers; After the highest layer with the remaining sintering data, the powder spreading data is formed again according to the determined number of layers; Regenerate sintering instructions layer by layer according to the sintering data of each layer, and generate powder laying instructions according to the powder laying data.

5. A storage unit storing a computer program, characterized in that The computer program is used to implement the three-dimensional printing method as claimed in claim 4.

6. A computing device, characterized in that It includes an input unit, an output unit, a computing unit and a storage unit as described in claim 5, wherein the input unit is used to obtain geometric model data, canceled geometric model data, printing instructions and cancel printing instructions, the output unit is used to output sintering instructions and powder spreading instructions, and the computing unit calls and executes the computer program.

7. A three-dimensional printing system, comprising a three-dimensional printer, a printing unit and a computing device as described in claim 6, wherein the three-dimensional printer is used to execute the sintering instructions output by the computing device to spread powder on the printing unit and sinter, and the three-dimensional printer is also used to execute the powder spreading instructions output by the computing device to spread powder on the printing unit.

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