Multi-material continuous fiber 3D printing high-precision forming equipment and method

Abstract

The present invention provides multi-material continuous fiber 3D printing high-precision forming equipment, which consists of a device frame, a moving mechanism, a printing mechanism, a lifting control mechanism, an auxiliary heating and smooth forming mechanism, and an electric heating system. The device classifies the model according to the required performance of the part based on the printed three-dimensional model, and adaptively slices the slices according to the curvature of the classified model, and divides the slices into A, B... slice sets, and transmits them to respective printing systems. The printing system corresponding to each slice prints layer by layer according to the slice information, and heats the ball to continuously smooth the surface while printing the layer. After the single-layer printing is completed, the ball is processed to keep the ball in a smooth state. The device and method can realize highly integrated multifunctional components, provide design freedom, simplify the manufacturing process, reduce costs, optimize the use of materials, enhance the performance and lightweight of parts, and promote the development of composite material 3D printing towards multi-material.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the field of composite material forming, relates to the field of multi-material printing, and in particular to multi-material continuous fiber 3D printing high-precision forming equipment and methods. Background Art

[0002] Composite printing technology is an emerging manufacturing technique that combines additive manufacturing with composite material fabrication. It aims to leverage the flexibility of additive manufacturing and the exceptional performance of composite materials to overcome the limitations of traditional manufacturing processes. This technology, through a layer-by-layer approach, efficiently produces complex, lightweight, high-performance components for applications in aerospace, automotive, and medical devices. Its significance lies in significantly reducing material waste and production costs while enabling functionally integrated design, meeting the growing demand for personalized, customized, and high-performance products. This opens up new directions and opportunities for modern manufacturing.

[0003] The development of multi-material composite materials is aimed at fully integrating the characteristics of different materials to meet complex working conditions and multi-functional requirements. The development of 3D printing of multiple composite materials is of great significance because it not only promotes the innovation of manufacturing technology, but also expands the application boundaries of materials science. By manufacturing multiple composite materials through 3D printing technology, it is possible to integrate multiple properties in a single manufacturing process, such as high strength, lightweight, high temperature resistance, conductivity, etc., thereby meeting complex environments and multi-functional requirements. In addition, 3D printing of multiple composite materials can break through the limitations of traditional processing technology, realize complex structures, functional gradients and personalized designs, significantly improve manufacturing efficiency and reduce material waste. The development of this technology has a profound impact on innovation in fields such as aerospace, medical devices, and the automotive industry. It will help promote the application of high-performance materials in high-end manufacturing and meet the diverse industrial needs of the future.

[0004] The limitations of the development of multi-material composites are mainly reflected in aspects such as material interface bonding performance, process complexity, and cost control. Differences in physical and chemical properties between different materials may lead to poor interface bonding, which in turn affects the overall performance; multi-material design and manufacturing involve complex process flows and precision control, and have high requirements for equipment and technology; at the same time, most composite materials are printed layer by layer using a single-caliber extrusion method, which has slow printing speeds and low efficiency; in addition, the development and application of multiple materials may lead to increased costs and difficulties in recycling. However, the necessity of multi-material development is also very prominent. By integrating the advantages of multiple materials, better comprehensive performance can be achieved, such as lightweight, high strength, corrosion resistance, electrical and thermal conductivity, etc., providing solutions to meet complex environmental conditions and multi-functional needs. This development is of great significance to promoting high-end manufacturing and expanding the application fields of composite materials. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In order to achieve high-performance forming of multi-material composite materials, the present invention provides multi-material continuous fiber 3D printing high-precision forming equipment to enhance the performance and lightweight of parts and components, and promote the development of composite material 3D printing towards multi-material.

[0006] Multi-material continuous fiber 3D printing high-precision forming equipment, the equipment consists of a device frame, a moving mechanism, a printing mechanism, a lifting control mechanism, an auxiliary heating smooth forming mechanism and an electric heating system. The device frame provides support for the overall printing, and the moving mechanism provides planar movement for the printing mechanism. It consists of module one and module two. Module one is fixed on the device frame, and module two is fixed on module one; the printing mechanism realizes printing and forming according to the slicing information, and consists of a feeding roller, a fixing coil, a control box, three nozzles, three print heads, and a fixed bracket. The feeding roller stores different composite material threads, the fixing coil is fixedly installed on the device frame, the control box controls the overall movement, the fixed bracket is installed on module two, and the three print heads are fixed to the bracket Fixed, three nozzles are installed on the print head; the lifting control mechanism provides lifting and rotation for the printing platform, which is composed of a screw module, a fixed table, a rotating disk, a rotating bracket, a support plate, a small motor, a guide column and a stepper motor. The stepper motor and the fixed table are fixed on the device frame, and the guide column passes through the support plate and is fixed by the upper and lower fixed tables. The screw module passes through the support plate and is connected to the stepper motor, the rotating bracket is fixed on the support plate, and the small motor is connected to the rotating disk; the auxiliary heating smooth forming mechanism provides surface smoothing for the printed part, which is composed of a robotic arm, heating balls and a cleaning table. The heating balls are installed on the robotic arm, and the cleaning table is fixedly installed on the device frame; the electric heating system is an electric fan, which mainly controls the temperature of the printing area.

[0007] Furthermore, the print head diameter of print head one and print head two is 0.4 mm, and the print head diameter of print head three is 0.8 mm;

[0008] Furthermore, the radius of the ball is 2mm, and the material is ceramic or metal. It has built-in electric heating, and the heating temperature is between 190℃-350℃. The appropriate temperature is selected according to the type of material used. The surface of the printed part is smoothed by rolling, and the temperature of the printing area is controlled at around 280°.

[0009] Furthermore, the surface of the cleaning table is covered with fine sandpaper or other items with grinding balls, which need to be replaced after each printing.

[0010] Multi-material continuous fiber 3D printing high-precision forming method, the technology consists of the following steps:

[0011] 1. Based on the printed 3D model, the model is classified according to the required performance of the part, and adaptive slicing is performed based on the curvature of the classified model. The slices are divided into A, B... slice sets and transmitted to their respective printing systems;

[0012] 2. The printing system corresponding to each slice prints layer by layer according to the slice information, and while printing the layer, the heating ball is used to continuously smooth the surface;

[0013] 3. After the single layer printing is completed, the ball is processed to keep it in a smooth state;

[0014] Furthermore, the required performance of the parts needs to be determined based on the actual use requirements of the parts in the actual environment. It can also be determined based on the performance of the parts in a simulated environment. The main performance includes force, damage, weight, strength, surface properties and toughness;

[0015] Furthermore, the model is mainly divided into different areas according to the required performance and materials are used, and different caliber print heads are used according to the curvature of the divided model;

[0016] Furthermore, the ball is made of ceramic material, the heating temperature is the highest temperature of the print head, and the rolling speed of the ball on the surface of the printed part is between 5 and 10 mm / s;

[0017] Furthermore, the printing layer thickness needs to be automatically adjusted according to the print head. The layer thickness of the large-diameter print head is 0.3mm, and the layer thickness of the small-diameter print head is 0.15mm. The layer thickness is a multiple relationship. During the printing process, the printing process starts from the small layer thickness printing area to the large layer thickness printing area, and the printing is carried out from the inside to the outside.

[0018] Furthermore, during the adaptive slicing process, the curvature meets the following requirements:

[0019]

[0020] Where, T is the general layer thickness (base layer thickness), its range is, A n is the outer area of ​​the current slice, A n+1 is the outer area of ​​the next slice, t is the critical value of the area change rate, T max is the maximum print thickness allowed, T min It is the minimum print thickness supported by a small-diameter print head.

[0021] After adopting the above technical solution, the beneficial effects of the present invention are:

[0022] 1. The device can realize the composite material forming of various materials and speed up the printing speed. At the same time, the adoption of the ball cleaning design improves the accuracy of the printing surface.

[0023] 2. The device can integrate high-strength materials and materials with good electrical and thermal conductivity to optimize overall performance, reducing the subsequent assembly, welding and bonding processes, thereby reducing production costs and manufacturing time, and can manufacture more complex components to meet the requirements of use in complex and harsh environments;

[0024] 3. This device and method can realize highly integrated multifunctional components, provide design freedom, simplify the manufacturing process, reduce costs, optimize the use of materials, enhance the performance and lightweight of parts, and promote the development of composite material 3D printing towards multi-material. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] Figure 1 An overall view of the multi-material continuous fiber 3D printing high-precision forming equipment;

[0026] Figure 2 A top view of the multi-material continuous fiber 3D printing high-precision forming equipment;

[0027] Figure 3 for Figure 1 Cross-sectional view at AA in the middle;

[0028] Figure 4 This is a diagram of the mechanical wall ball smoothing mechanism in the multi-material continuous fiber 3D printing high-precision forming equipment;

[0029] Figure 5 for Figure 1 Cross-sectional view at the middle BB;

[0030] Figure 6 Schematic diagram of the printing layer thickness of different materials in the multi-material continuous fiber 3D printing high-precision forming method;

[0031] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the effect of smooth printing in the multi-material continuous fiber 3D printing high-precision forming method;

[0032] Figure 8 Schematic diagram of layer thickness adaptive setting in multi-material continuous fiber 3D printing high-precision forming method;

[0033] Description of the drawings: 1. Device frame; 201. Module 1; 202. Module 2; 301. Discharge roller; 302. Fixed coil; 303. Control box; 304. Nozzle; 305. Print head (1, 2, 3); 306. Fixed bracket; 401. Screw module; 402. Fixed table; 403. Rotating disk; 404. Rotating bracket; 405. Support plate; 406. Small motor; 407. Guide column; 408. Stepper motor; 501. Robotic arm; 502. Cleaning table; 503. Heating ball; 6. Electric heating system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. It should be understood that the following specific embodiments are intended only to illustrate the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. It should be noted that the terms "front," "rear," "left," "right," "up," and "down" used in the following description refer to directions in the accompanying drawings, and the terms "inward" and "outward" refer to directions toward or away from the geometric center of a particular component, respectively.

[0035] like Figure 1-5 As shown, the multi-material continuous fiber 3D printing high-precision forming equipment of this embodiment is composed of a device frame 1, a moving mechanism, a printing mechanism, a lifting control mechanism, an auxiliary heating smooth forming mechanism and an electric heating system 6. The device frame provides support for the overall printing, and the moving mechanism provides planar movement for the printing mechanism. It is composed of module one 201 and module two 202. Module one 201 is fixed on the device frame 1, and module two 202 is fixed on module one 201; the printing mechanism realizes printing and forming according to the slicing information, and is composed of a feeding roller 301, a fixing coil 302, a control box 303, three nozzles 304, three print heads 305, and a fixed support 306. The feeding roller 301 stores different composite material threads, the fixing coil 302 is fixedly installed on the device frame 1, the control box controls the overall movement, the fixed support 306 is installed on the module two 202, the three print heads 305 are fixed by the fixed support 306, and the three nozzles 304 is installed on the print head; the lifting control mechanism provides lifting and rotation for the printing platform, and is composed of a screw module 401, a fixed platform 402, a rotating disk 403, a rotating bracket 404, a support plate 405, a small motor 406, a guide column 407 and a stepper motor 408. The stepper motor 408 and the fixed platform 402 are fixed on the device frame, and the guide column 407 passes through the support plate and is fixed by the upper and lower fixed platforms. The screw module 401 passes through the support plate 405 and is connected to the stepper motor 408. The rotating bracket 404 is fixed on the support plate 405, and the small motor 406 is connected to the rotating disk 403; the auxiliary heating and smooth forming mechanism provides surface smoothing for the printed part, and is composed of a mechanical arm 501, a heating ball 503 and a cleaning table 502. The heating ball 503 is installed on the mechanical arm 501, and the cleaning table 502 is fixedly installed on the device frame 1; the electric heating system 6 is an electric fan, which mainly controls the temperature of the printing area.

[0036] Among them, the print head diameter of print head 1 and print head 2 is 0.4mm, and the print head diameter of print head 3 is 0.8mm;

[0037] The ball has a radius of 2mm and is made of ceramic or metal. It has an internal electric heater and the heating temperature is between 300°C. The appropriate temperature is selected according to the type of material used. The surface of the printed part is smoothed by rolling, and the temperature of the printing area is controlled at around 280°C.

[0038] The cleaning table is covered with fine sandpaper or other items with grinding balls, which need to be replaced after each printing.

[0039] Multi-material continuous fiber 3D printing high-precision forming technology, which consists of the following steps:

[0040] 1. According to the attached Figure 6-8 As shown, the required performance of the part can be determined based on the actual use requirements and the performance of the part in a simulated environment. Key performance factors include stress, damage, weight, strength, surface properties, and toughness, which determine the part's division into three parts: outer, middle, and inner. The outer and inner regions require higher precision, while the middle region only requires filling. Therefore, the outer region is made of carbon fiber to improve surface strength, and the middle region is made of nylon to increase cost-effectiveness. Basalt fiber-reinforced PETG is used for the inner region due to its corrosive environment. Adaptive slicing is performed based on the curvature of the classification model, and the slices are divided into A, B, and C slice sets, which are then transferred to their respective printing systems. The nozzle temperature for region A is 290°C, for region B is 260°C, and for region C is 255°C. The print layer thickness is automatically adjusted based on the print head: the layer thickness for the large-diameter print head is 0.3mm, and for the small-diameter print head is 0.15mm, with the layer thicknesses being multiples. During the printing process, the printing process progresses from the thinner layer thickness to the thicker layer thickness.

[0041] 2. The printing system corresponding to each slice prints layer by layer according to the slice information. At the same time, the heated ball is used to continuously smooth the surface while printing the layer. The temperature of the ball is 280° and the rolling speed is 6mm / s.

[0042] 3. After a single layer of printing is completed, process the ball bearings. Repeat the above steps until the entire printing is completed.

[0043] The above-mentioned device and method are used to print multi-material parts as needed, thereby increasing the strength of the part surface, saving the production cost of the part and making it more suitable for use in harsh environments.

Claims

1. Multi-material continuous fiber 3D printing high-precision forming equipment, characterized by: The equipment consists of a device frame, a moving mechanism, a printing mechanism, a lifting control mechanism, an auxiliary heating and smooth forming mechanism and an electric heating system. The device frame provides support for the overall printing, and the moving mechanism provides planar movement for the printing mechanism. It consists of module one and module two. Module one is fixed on the device frame, and module two is fixed on module one. The printing mechanism realizes printing and forming according to the slicing information, and consists of a feeding roller, a fixing coil, a control box, three nozzles, three print heads, and a fixed bracket. The feeding roller stores different composite material threads, the fixing coil is fixedly installed on the device frame, the control box controls the overall movement, the fixed bracket is installed on module two, the three print heads are fixed by the fixed bracket, and the three nozzles are installed on the fixed bracket. Installed on the print head; the lifting control mechanism provides lifting and rotation for the printing platform, and is composed of a screw module, a fixed platform, a rotating disk, a rotating bracket, a support plate, a small motor, a guide column and a stepper motor. The stepper motor and the fixed platform are fixed to the device frame, and the guide column passes through the support plate and is fixed to the upper and lower fixed platforms. The screw module passes through the support plate and is connected to the stepper motor. The rotating bracket is fixed to the support plate, and the small motor is connected to the rotating disk; the auxiliary heating and smoothing forming mechanism provides surface smoothing for the printed part, and is composed of a robotic arm, a heating ball and a cleaning table. The heating ball is installed on the robotic arm, and the cleaning table is fixed to the device frame; the electric heating system is an electric fan that controls the temperature of the printing area; The surface of the cleaning table is covered with fine sandpaper or other items with grinding balls, which need to be replaced after each printing.

2. The multi-material continuous fiber 3D printing high-precision forming equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The three print heads include print head 1, print head 2, and print head 3. The print head diameters of print head 1 and print head 2 are 0.4 mm, and the print diameter of the print head is 0.8 mm.

3. The multi-material continuous fiber 3D printing high-precision forming equipment according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The radius of the heating ball is 2mm, the material is ceramic or metal, and it has built-in electric heating, and the heating temperature is between 190°C - 350°C.

4. A multi-material continuous fiber 3D printing high-precision forming method, characterized in that: The forming is performed using the multi-material continuous fiber 3D printing high-precision forming equipment according to any one of claims 1 to 3, and the specific steps are as follows: 1) Based on the printed 3D model, the model is classified according to the required performance of the part, and adaptive slicing is performed based on the curvature of the classified model. The slices are divided into A, B... slice sets and transmitted to their respective printing systems; 2) The printing system corresponding to each slice prints layer by layer according to the slice information, and while printing the layer, the heating ball is used to continuously smooth the surface; 3) After a single layer of printing is completed, the ball is processed to keep it smooth.

5. The multi-material continuous fiber 3D printing high-precision forming method according to claim 4, characterized in that: The model is divided into different areas according to the required performance and materials are used. Print heads of different calibers are used according to the curvature of the divided model.

6. The multi-material continuous fiber 3D printing high-precision forming method according to claim 4, characterized in that: The ball is made of ceramic material, the heating temperature is the highest temperature of the print head, and the rolling speed of the ball on the print surface is between 5~10mm / s.

7. The multi-material continuous fiber 3D printing high-precision forming method according to claim 4, characterized in that: The printing layer thickness needs to be automatically adjusted according to the print head. The layer thickness of the large-diameter print head is 0.3mm, and the layer thickness of the small-diameter print head is 0.15mm. The layer thicknesses are in a multiple relationship. During the printing process, the printing is carried out from the small layer thickness printing area to the large layer thickness printing area, from the inside to the outside.

8. The multi-material continuous fiber 3D printing high-precision forming method according to claim 4, characterized in that: During adaptive slicing, the curvature must meet the following requirements: Where, T is the general layer thickness, the base layer thickness, its range is, A n is the outer area of ​​the current slice, A n+1 is the outer area of ​​the next slice, t is the critical value of the area change rate, T max is the maximum print thickness allowed, T min It is the minimum print thickness supported by a small-diameter print head.

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