A 3D printer for invisible orthodontic appliances

Abstract

The present invention relates to the field of additive manufacturing, and specifically to a 3D printer for invisible orthodontic appliances, comprising a printer body; an electromagnetic plate, disposed at the bottom of a connector, comprising an electromagnetic substrate and a protective sleeve covering the electromagnetic substrate; an electromagnetic film, magnetically adsorbed to the bottom of the electromagnetic plate, with a release coating disposed at the bottom of the electromagnetic film; and a discharge mechanism, disposed on a printing frame and used to clamp both sides of the electromagnetic film. The discharge mechanism can drive the electromagnetic film downward and draw it toward the center from both sides, thereby causing the electromagnetic film to bend after being separated from the electromagnetic plate. In the present invention, printed braces can be quickly and automatically removed without the need for manual removal, making it easy to use and without causing damage to the braces or the lifting platform.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of additive manufacturing, and in particular to a 3D printer for invisible orthodontic appliances. Background Art

[0002] Invisible orthodontic appliances, commonly known as braces, are a modern method of tooth correction that uses a series of transparent, removable braces to adjust the position of teeth, achieving the purpose of straightening teeth and improving the bite. Traditionally, invisible orthodontic appliances are produced primarily by using a light-curing 3D printer to create tooth models (dental molds), which are then manufactured through compression molding. This results in a long production cycle. With the advancement of technology, new materials have been developed that can be used to directly print transparent braces using light-curing, such as MT-10 (a biocompatible material) developed by Suzhou Boli New Materials Technology Co., Ltd.

[0003] A Chinese patent with announcement number CN219467039U discloses a corrosion-resistant printing material trough assembly for a 3D printer, including a printing material trough body and a locking bolt. Bosses are provided on both sides of the printing material trough body, and vertical through-holes for inserting the locking bolts are provided on the bosses. The 3D printer includes a mounting platform, which is provided with screw holes corresponding to the locking bolts. The printing material trough body is detachably connected to the mounting platform via the locking bolts. The upper portion of the locking bolt is a nut portion, which is exposed outside the boss. The cross-sectional size of the nut portion is larger than the cross-sectional size of the boss. The nut portion covers the upper portion of the boss, and the outer layer of the nut portion is provided with an anti-corrosion layer.

[0004] However, the above-mentioned disclosed solutions have the following shortcomings: after curing, the printed part will stick to the bottom of the printing platform and need to be manually removed. Usually, a spatula is used to scrape the printed part off the platform, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive, and may cause damage to the printing platform and the printed part. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of the present invention is to propose a 3D printer for invisible orthodontic appliances to address the problem in the background technology that printed parts need to be manually removed, which may damage the printing platform and printed parts.

[0006] The technical solution of the present invention is as follows: A 3D printer for invisible orthodontic appliances includes a printer body, the printer body includes a base and a shell arranged on the base, a printing material slot is provided on the base, a curing light source, a heat dissipation mechanism and a control system are provided in the base, a support frame is provided on the base, a printing frame is slidably provided on the support frame in a vertical direction, a lifting mechanism is provided on the base to drive the printing frame to move, and a connecting piece is provided on the printing frame; and further includes:

[0007] The electromagnetic plate is arranged at the bottom of the connector, and includes an electromagnet substrate and a protective cover covering the electromagnet substrate;

[0008] The electromagnetic film is magnetically adsorbed on the bottom of the electromagnetic plate, and a release coating is provided on the bottom of the electromagnetic film;

[0009] And a unloading mechanism is arranged on the printing frame and is used to clamp both sides of the electromagnetic film. The unloading mechanism can drive the electromagnetic film to descend and drive the electromagnetic film to retract from both sides to the middle, so that the electromagnetic film bends after it is separated from the electromagnetic plate.

[0010] Preferably, the electromagnetic film comprises a base layer, a magnetic layer and a protective layer from top to bottom, and the release coating is arranged at the bottom of the protective layer.

[0011] Preferably, the unloading mechanism includes a fixed frame arranged on the printing frame, a lifting plate arranged on the printing frame for sliding along the vertical direction, a spring a arranged between the top of the lifting plate and the fixed frame, an inclined plate rotatably arranged at the bottom of the lifting plate, a vertical plate arranged at the bottom of the inclined plate, and a clamping member arranged at the bottom of the vertical plate for clamping the side of the electromagnetic film; an adjusting component is provided on the lifting plate to drive the inclined plate to rotate inward and drive the lifting plate to descend.

[0012] Preferably, the adjustment component includes a state adjustment rod that is vertical and passes through the lifting plate, and an adjustment frame arranged on the top of the state adjustment rod; a guide groove is arranged on the inclined plate, and a strip groove with a circular cross-section with a notch is arranged on the guide groove. A sphere is arranged at the bottom of the state adjustment rod, and the sphere is inserted into the strip groove on the guide groove. A spring b is sleeved on the state adjustment rod, and the two ends of the spring b are respectively connected to the adjustment frame and the lifting plate; baffles are arranged on the inner walls of the left and right sides of the outer shell, and the baffles are located directly above the adjustment frame.

[0013] Preferably, it also includes a material receiving mechanism, which is used to receive the braces that fall below the electromagnetic film after it separates from the electromagnetic plate.

[0014] Preferably, the material receiving mechanism includes a motor arranged on the inner wall of the shell, a rotating shaft connected to the motor output shaft, and a material receiving box arranged at the bottom of the rotating shaft; when unloading, the motor drives the material receiving box to rotate to a set angle, and then the material receiving box deflects forward and reverse multiple times.

[0015] Preferably, a worm is coaxially arranged on the rotating shaft, a bearing seat is arranged on the inner wall of the shell, the vertical rod passes through the bearing seat and is rotatably connected to the bearing seat, the bottom of the vertical rod extends into the printing material groove, multiple scrapers are arranged on the peripheral wall of the vertical rod, and a worm wheel cooperating with the worm is arranged on the top of the vertical rod.

[0016] Preferably, during the printing process, each time the printing frame moves upward a printing distance, the motor drives the rotating shaft to rotate forward and reverse, causing the vertical rod to rotate forward and reverse.

[0017] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial technical effects:

[0018] 1. After printing a layer, the print frame rises a set distance, and then the motor rotates forward and reverse times. The scraper rotates forward and reverse to increase the flow of printing material in the printing material slot, ensuring that the printing material can smoothly fill the printing gap;

[0019] 2. After the print frame rises, under the action of the baffle, the inclined plate drives the vertical plate to rotate inward, and the electromagnetic film separates from the electromagnetic plate, and the electromagnetic film bends. At this time, some braces have fallen off to the receiving box. The motor rotates forward and reverse, and the receiving box is turned upside down within an angle range, pushing the electromagnetic film up and down, intensifying the bending degree, so that the remaining braces all fall into the receiving box, completing automatic and rapid unloading. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] Figure 1 and Figure 2 Each of them is a three-dimensional diagram of an embodiment of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the structure inside the shell;

[0022] Figure 4 for Figure 3 Schematic diagram of part of the structure;

[0023] Figure 5 It is a structural diagram of the unloading mechanism.

[0024] Figure markings: 1. Housing; 2. Base; 3. Printing material slot; 4. Support frame; 5. Lifting mechanism; 6. Printing frame; 7. Connecting part; 8. Electromagnetic plate; 9. Electromagnetic film; 10. Release coating; 11. Fixed frame; 12. Lifting plate; 13. Spring a; 14. Fixed plate; 15. Guide rod; 16. Inclined plate; 17. Vertical plate; 18. Clamping part; 19. Status adjustment rod; 20. Guide groove; 21. Adjustment frame; 22. Spring b; 23. Baffle; 24. Motor protective cover; 25. Rotating shaft; 26. Material receiving box; 27. Worm; 28. Bearing seat; 29. Vertical rod; 30. Scraper. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] Example 1, as Figure 1-Figure 5As shown, the present invention proposes a 3D printer for invisible orthodontic appliances, including a printer body, which includes a base 2 and a shell 1 arranged on the base 2, a printing material slot 3 is provided on the base 2, a curing light source, a heat dissipation mechanism and a control system are provided in the base 2, a support frame 4 is provided on the base 2, a printing frame 6 is slidably provided on the support frame 4 in a vertical direction, a lifting mechanism 5 is provided on the base 2 for driving the printing frame 6 to move, and a connecting member 7 is provided on the printing frame 6. In an optional embodiment, the lifting mechanism 5 includes a motor and a screw, the motor is located in the base 2, the screw is vertically arranged and the top is rotatably connected to the top of the support frame 4, the printing frame 6 is provided with a threaded hole that cooperates with the screw, and the connecting member 7 and the printing frame 6 are connected by bolts to facilitate the disassembly and assembly of the connecting member 7; and further includes:

[0026] The electromagnetic plate 8 is arranged at the bottom of the connecting member 7, and the electromagnetic plate 8 includes an electromagnet substrate and a protective cover covering the electromagnet substrate;

[0027] The electromagnetic film 9 is magnetically adsorbed on the bottom of the electromagnetic plate 8. A release coating 10 is provided on the bottom of the electromagnetic film 9. The control system is connected to the electromagnetic plate 8. When the electromagnetic plate 8 is powered on, the electromagnetic film 9 is adsorbed. When the electromagnetic plate 8 is powered off, the magnetic connection with the electromagnetic film 9 is disconnected. The electromagnetic film 9 can be bent after being separated from the electromagnetic plate 8.

[0028] And a unloading mechanism is arranged on the printing frame 6, which is used to clamp the two sides of the electromagnetic film 9. The unloading mechanism can drive the electromagnetic film 9 to descend and drive the electromagnetic film 9 to retract to the middle from both sides, so that the electromagnetic film 9 bends after being separated from the electromagnetic plate 8, and the adhesion of the braces is reduced through the release coating 10, and the braces are quickly fallen off in combination with the bending of the electromagnetic film 9.

[0029] Example 2, as Figure 5 As shown, the present invention proposes a 3D printer for invisible orthodontic appliances. Compared with the first embodiment, this embodiment introduces the structure of the electromagnetic film 9 and the release coating 10 in detail.

[0030] The electromagnetic film 9 is composed of a base layer, a magnetic layer and a protective layer from top to bottom, and a release coating 10 is arranged at the bottom of the protective layer; in this embodiment, the base layer is a PET film with a thickness of 0.1 mm, which is used to support the structure and ensure dimensional stability; the magnetic layer is a mixture of NdFeB powder and flexible epoxy resin with a thickness of 0.3 mm, which provides a magnetic attraction greater than 0.5 T and can be bent and deformed; the protective layer is a polyurethane transparent film with a thickness of 50 μm, which prevents oxidation of the magnetic layer and provides wear resistance; the release coating 10 is a fluorosilicone resin with a thickness of 5-10 μm, which reduces the adhesion of the braces and the peeling force is less than 10N. The specific processing method of the electromagnetic film 9 and the release coating 10 is: NdFeB powder with a particle size of 5 μm and a magnetic energy product of 45 MGOe is mixed with flexible epoxy resin in a mass ratio of 7:3, and vacuum stirred for removal. The mixed slurry was then evenly coated onto a PET substrate using a slot coater, with a thickness controlled at ±5μm, and cured at 80°C for 2 hours. A polyurethane prepolymer was dissolved in DMAC solvent to a 30% solids content, with 0.1% UV absorber added. The PU solution was then spin-coated onto the magnetic layer at 2000 rpm for 30 seconds and dried at 60°C to form a 50μm protective layer. Fluorosilicone resin and hydrophobic nano-SiO2 (20nm particle size, 5% composition) were ultrasonically dispersed at 40kHz for 30 minutes. The mixture was then sprayed onto the protective layer using a supersonic sprayer at 0.3MPa pressure and cured at 80°C for 1 hour, forming a 5-10μm release coating. The wide film was then cut into custom sizes and magnetized. A 3T pulsed magnetic field lasting 10ms was applied to align the NdFeB particles, with the magnetization direction perpendicular to the film surface.

[0031] Example 3, as Figure 4 and Figure 5 As shown, the present invention proposes a 3D printer for invisible orthodontic appliances. Compared with the second embodiment, this embodiment introduces the structure of the unloading mechanism in detail.

[0032] The unloading mechanism includes a fixed frame 11 arranged on the printing frame 6, a lifting plate 12 slidingly arranged on the printing frame 6 in the vertical direction, a spring a13 arranged between the top of the lifting plate 12 and the fixed frame 11, a slant plate 16 rotatably arranged at the bottom of the lifting plate 12, a vertical plate 17 arranged at the bottom of the slant plate 16, and a clamping member 18 arranged at the bottom of the vertical plate 17 to clamp the side of the electromagnetic film 9; the lifting plate 12 is provided with an adjustment component that drives the slant plate 16 to rotate inward and drives the lifting plate 12 to descend; in an optional embodiment, a plurality of guide rods 15 are provided on the lifting plate 12, a plurality of fixed plates 14 are provided on the printing frame 6, and the fixed plate 14 is provided with a guide hole for the guide rod 15 to pass through.

[0033] Furthermore, the adjustment assembly includes a state adjustment rod 19 that is vertical and extends through the lifting plate 12, and an adjustment frame 21 that is arranged on the top of the state adjustment rod 19; a guide groove 20 is provided on the inclined plate 16, and a strip groove with a circular cross-section with a notch is provided on the guide groove 20. A ball is provided at the bottom of the state adjustment rod 19, and the ball fits into the strip groove on the guide groove 20. A spring b22 is sleeved on the state adjustment rod 19, and the two ends of the spring b22 are respectively connected to the adjustment frame 21 and the lifting plate 12; baffles 23 are provided on the inner walls of the left and right sides of the housing 1, and the baffles 23 are located directly above the adjustment frame 21; After printing is completed, the printing frame 6 drives the electromagnetic plate 8, the electromagnetic film 9 and the braces to rise. After the setting is reached, the electromagnetic plate 8 is powered off, and the baffle 23 first contacts the adjustment frame 21 to prevent it from continuing to rise. After the spring b22 is squeezed to a certain extent, the spring a13 also begins to stretch, and the vertical distance between the entire lifting plate 12 and the printing frame 6 gradually increases. At this time, the electromagnetic film 9 is separated from the contact with the electromagnetic plate 8, and the inclined plate 16 is flipped inward under the descent of the state adjustment rod 19, the distance between the two clamping parts 18 is reduced, the electromagnetic film 9 is bent, and the braces automatically fall off, completing the rapid unloading.

[0034] Example 4, as Figure 2-Figure 3 As shown, the present invention proposes a 3D printer for invisible orthodontic appliances. Compared with the third embodiment, this embodiment further adds a material receiving mechanism.

[0035] The material receiving mechanism is used to catch the braces that fall below the electromagnetic film 9 after it separates from the electromagnetic plate 8. Specifically, the material receiving mechanism includes a motor arranged on the inner wall of the shell 1, a rotating shaft 25 connected to the motor output shaft, and a material receiving box 26 arranged at the bottom of the rotating shaft 25; when unloading, the motor drives the material receiving box 26 to rotate to a set angle, which is 70 degrees in this embodiment, and then the material receiving box 26 deflects forward and reverse multiple times. The material receiving box 26 pushes up the braces, aggravating the bending effect of the electromagnetic film 9 and causing the braces to fall under their own gravity, thereby ensuring that the braces can be smoothly detached from the electromagnetic film 9; a motor protective cover 24 is provided on the inner wall of the shell 1 to protect the motor, and the other end of the rotating shaft 25 is rotatably connected to the inner wall of the shell 1, such as by providing a bearing seat.

[0036] Furthermore, a worm 27 is coaxially disposed on the rotating shaft 25, a bearing seat 28 is disposed on the inner wall of the housing 1, and a vertical rod 29 passes through the bearing seat 28 and is rotatably connected thereto. The bottom of the vertical rod 29 extends into the printing material slot 3, and a plurality of scrapers 30 are disposed on the peripheral wall of the vertical rod 29. A worm gear is disposed on the top of the vertical rod 29 to engage with the worm 27. During the printing process, each time the printing frame 6 moves upward a printing distance, the motor drives the rotating shaft 25 to rotate forward and reverse, causing the vertical rod 29 to rotate forward and reverse, thereby pushing the printing material within the printing material slot 3 via the scrapers 30, so that the printing material can completely fill each printing gap and ensure printing quality. In this embodiment, during printing, the angle of the rotating shaft 25 to rotate forward and reverse is 0-10 degrees. The material receiving box 26 deflects forward for forward rotation and backward for reverse rotation.

[0037] In summary, when the present invention is used, the printing program is first set according to the printing requirements, and then printing is started. The printing frame 6 is lowered to insert the electromagnetic plate 8 and the electromagnetic film 9 into the printing material slot 3. The bottom light source irradiates the printing material to solidify and adhere to the release coating 10. After printing one layer, the printing frame 6 rises a set distance, and then the motor cycle is reversed 5 times. The scraper 30 reverses forward and reversely to intensify the flow of the printing material in the printing material slot 3, ensuring that the printing material can smoothly fill the printing gap. Then printing is started again, and the operation is repeated until the braces printing is completed. The printing frame 6 rises to the maximum height. When it rises to a certain height, the motor drives the rotating shaft 25 The receiving box 26 is rotated to the bottom of the electromagnetic film 9 to prepare for receiving the material. After the printing frame 6 continues to rise, under the action of the baffle 23, the inclined plate 16 drives the vertical plate 17 to rotate inward, and the electromagnetic film 9 is separated from the electromagnetic plate 8, and the electromagnetic film 9 is bent. At this time, some braces have fallen off to the receiving box 26, but some braces may still stick to the release coating 10 due to the insufficient bending amplitude. At this time, the motor will rotate forward and reverse, and turn the receiving box 26 up and down within an angle range, pushing the electromagnetic film 9 up and down, intensifying the bending degree, so that all the remaining braces fall into the receiving box 26, completing automatic and rapid unloading.

[0038] The embodiments of the present invention are described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Various changes can be made within the scope of knowledge possessed by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

Claims

1. A 3D printer for invisible orthodontic appliances, comprising a printer body, the printer body comprising a base (2) and a shell (1) arranged on the base (2), a printing material slot (3) being arranged on the base (2), a curing light source, a heat dissipation mechanism and a control system being arranged in the base (2), a support frame (4) being arranged on the base (2), a printing frame (6) being arranged on the support frame (4) to slide in a vertical direction, a lifting mechanism (5) being arranged on the base (2) to drive the printing frame (6) to move, and a connecting member (7) being arranged on the printing frame (6); characterized in that, Also includes: An electromagnetic plate (8) is arranged at the bottom of the connecting member (7), and the electromagnetic plate (8) includes an electromagnet substrate and a protective cover covering the electromagnet substrate; The electromagnetic film (9) is magnetically adsorbed on the bottom of the electromagnetic plate (8), and a release coating (10) is provided on the bottom of the electromagnetic film (9); and a discharge mechanism, which is arranged on the printing frame (6) and is used to clamp both sides of the electromagnetic film (9). The discharge mechanism can drive the electromagnetic film (9) to descend and drive the electromagnetic film (9) from both sides to retract toward the middle, so that the electromagnetic film (9) is bent after being separated from the electromagnetic plate (8); The unloading mechanism includes a fixed frame (11) arranged on the printing frame (6), a lifting plate (12) arranged on the printing frame (6) for sliding along the vertical direction, a spring a (13) arranged between the top of the lifting plate (12) and the fixed frame (11), an inclined plate (16) arranged at the bottom of the lifting plate (12) for rotating, a vertical plate (17) arranged at the bottom of the inclined plate (16), and a clamping member (18) arranged at the bottom of the vertical plate (17) for clamping the side of the electromagnetic film (9); an adjusting component is arranged on the lifting plate (12) for driving the inclined plate (16) to rotate inward and driving the lifting plate (12) to descend; the adjusting component includes a vertical and penetrating A state adjustment rod (19) is provided on the lifting plate (12), and an adjustment frame (21) is provided on the top of the state adjustment rod (19); a guide groove (20) is provided on the inclined plate (16), and a circular strip groove with a notched cross section is provided on the guide groove (20); a sphere is provided at the bottom of the state adjustment rod (19), and the sphere is inserted into the strip groove on the guide groove (20); a spring b (22) is sleeved on the state adjustment rod (19), and the two ends of the spring b (22) are respectively connected to the adjustment frame (21) and the lifting plate (12); baffles (23) are provided on the inner walls of the left and right sides of the housing (1), and the baffles (23) are located directly above the adjustment frame (21).

2. The invisible orthodontic appliance 3D printer according to claim 1, characterized in that: The electromagnetic film (9) comprises a base layer, a magnetic layer and a protective layer from top to bottom, and a release coating (10) is arranged at the bottom of the protective layer.

3. The invisible orthodontic appliance 3D printer according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a material receiving mechanism, which is used to receive the braces that fall below the electromagnetic film (9) after it separates from the electromagnetic plate (8).

4. The invisible orthodontic appliance 3D printer according to claim 3, characterized in that: The material receiving mechanism comprises a motor arranged on the inner wall of the housing (1), a rotating shaft (25) connected to the output shaft of the motor, and a material receiving box (26) arranged at the bottom of the rotating shaft (25); when unloading, the motor drives the material receiving box (26) to rotate to a set angle, and then the material receiving box (26) deflects forward and reverse multiple times.

5. The invisible orthodontic appliance 3D printer according to claim 4, characterized in that: A worm (27) is coaxially arranged on the rotating shaft (25), a bearing seat (28) is arranged on the inner wall of the housing (1), a vertical rod (29) passes through the bearing seat (28) and is rotatably connected to the bearing seat (28), the bottom of the vertical rod (29) extends into the printing material groove (3), a plurality of scrapers (30) are arranged on the peripheral wall of the vertical rod (29), and a worm wheel is arranged on the top of the vertical rod (29) to cooperate with the worm (27).

6. The invisible orthodontic appliance 3D printer according to claim 5, characterized in that: During the printing process, each time the printing frame (6) moves upward a printing distance, the motor drives the rotating shaft (25) to rotate forward and reverse, causing the vertical rod (29) to rotate forward and reverse.

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