Pneumatic lifting mechanism for printing platform of photocuring printer

Abstract

The invention relates to a pneumatic type lifting mechanism for a printing platform of a photocuring printer, in particular to a pneumatic type printing platform lifting mechanism with a replaceable trough for a photocuring 3D printer, which comprises a trough device, an air cylinder device and a liquid level sensing device, according to the trough device, the printing material in the trough is isolated from the telescopic rod through the foldable telescopic pipe, the effect that the printing material is not polluted is achieved, and the trough adopts a replaceable device to achieve the effect of printing multi-scale products. The air cylinder device is connected with a photocuring printer control system and controls movement of an air cylinder telescopic rod. The liquid level sensing device is used for measuring the liquid level of the printing material in the material containing barrel and feeding back the liquid level to the printer in time. Precise lifting of the printing platform can be achieved, the resolution ratio of photocuring printing is improved, a trough of a multi-scale printing scheme is provided, materials are saved, and economical efficiency is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a pneumatic lifting mechanism, and particularly to a pneumatic printing platform lifting mechanism for a replaceable material tank of a stereolithography 3D printer. Background Art

[0002] The SLA stereolithography 3D printing technology is based on the principle of photopolymerization of liquid photosensitive resin. Based on the CAD model of the part to be fabricated, the model is discretized into layer data by a slicing software and input into the stereolithography 3D printer. The surface of the liquid photosensitive resin is irradiated by an ultraviolet laser beam (355nm) with a controlled motion trajectory, causing it to undergo photopolymerization crosslinking from point to line and from line to surface. After completing the drawing operation of one layer, the forming platform moves vertically by the height of one layer and then cures another layer. This process is repeated layer by layer to form a three-dimensional entity.

[0003] In a forming platform sinking type stereolithography printer, the lifting of the forming platform is driven by the lifting of guide rods. The guide rods come into contact with the printing material, resulting in a large amount of waste of the printing material. At the same time, the immersion of the guide rods in the material tank causes pollution and deterioration of the material tank. Therefore, it is necessary to change the supply mode of the printing material in the material tank and establish a more economical material tank structure. To achieve precise lifting of the printing platform, improve the resolution of stereolithography printing, provide a material tank with a multi-scale printing solution, save materials, and improve economy. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of the defects of the material tank system of the sinking type stereolithography 3D printer, the present invention proposes a pneumatic printing platform lifting mechanism for a sinking type stereolithography printer with a fixed and replaceable material tank, which is used to solve the problems of serious waste and deterioration of the printing material in stereolithography printing.

[0005] To achieve the above object, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions:

[0006] A pneumatic lifting mechanism for the printing platform of a stereolithography printer, comprising a support plate, and the support plate is a double-layer support structure; a cylinder device is provided on the lower layer of the support plate, and a material tank device and a liquid level sensing device are provided on the upper layer of the support plate;

[0007] A cylinder mounting plate is installed on the lower layer of the support plate, and a cylinder is fixed on the cylinder mounting plate; the cylinder is fixed on the support plate through the mounting plate, and the support plate is installed on the mechanism main body;

[0008] The material tank device includes a printing platform, a foldable telescopic tube, a storage bucket, a material loading bucket, and a cylinder telescopic rod; the storage bucket is installed on the upper layer of the support plate, and the storage bucket includes a printing platform, a material loading bucket, and a foldable telescopic tube; the material loading bucket is installed inside the storage bucket, the printing platform is connected to the material loading bucket through the foldable telescopic tube, and the cylinder telescopic rod passes through the storage bucket, the material loading bucket, and the foldable telescopic tube and is connected to the printing platform;

[0009] The liquid level sensing device includes an ultrasonic liquid level sensor and an ultrasonic liquid level sensor mounting seat; the ultrasonic liquid level sensor is installed on the inner wall of the storage bucket, and the liquid level sensor emits ultrasonic waves into the material loading bucket to sense the change of the liquid level in the material tank, and the data of the liquid level sensor is transmitted to the control system to form a closed loop. When the liquid level of the material tank does not meet the printing requirement, the cylinder telescopic rod lowers a corresponding distance to meet the printing layer thickness requirement.

[0010] Further, the storage bucket is installed on the upper layer of the support plate, directly above the cylinder, and is used to install the ultrasonic liquid level sensor and the material loading bucket; the material loading bucket is used to load printing materials. A material loading bucket positioning groove is provided at the outer bottom of the material loading bucket, which cooperates with the convex structure of the storage bucket to fix the material loading bucket. At the same time, an inner convex of the material loading barrel is provided at the inner bottom of the material loading bucket for connecting with the foldable telescopic tube; both ends of the foldable telescopic tube are respectively connected to the printing platform and the material loading bucket. The foldable telescopic tube enables the cylinder telescopic rod to be connected to the printing platform without contacting the printing material; the cylinder telescopic rod passes through the storage bucket, the material loading bucket, and the foldable telescopic tube and is connected to the printing platform. The reciprocating motion of the cylinder telescopic rod drives the printing platform to move up and down in the material loading bucket.

[0011] It should be noted that the device disclosed in the present invention is installed on a stereolithography 3D printer. The cylinder device is controlled by the control system of the 3D printer to move the cylinder telescopic rod. The top of the cylinder telescopic rod is connected to the printing platform to realize the up and down movement of the printing platform. The light machine of the stereolithography 3D printer projects the sliced pattern of the model onto the printing material, so that the material is deposited and formed on the printing platform. After one layer of printing is completed, the printing platform is controlled by the cylinder to move down a layer thickness distance and then perform the next cycle.

[0012] Further, the liquid level sensor is preferably an ultrasonic sensor. Since the printing layer thickness of the stereolithography printer is relatively thin and the viscosity of the stereolithography material is relatively high, the contact type liquid level sensor has a low monitoring accuracy for the liquid level. Therefore, a non-contact ultrasonic sensor is selected to monitor the change of the liquid level in the material tank. The ultrasonic liquid level sensor has high resolution and is not affected by color and surface characteristics, which can improve the resolution of stereolithography printing and the accuracy of the printing system.

[0013] In addition, a lifting mechanism driven by a pneumatic device is a common mechanical structure, and the control of the movement stroke is achieved through the control system of the pneumatic device. The present invention designs a pneumatic lifting mechanism for the printing platform of a stereolithography printer. The whole device is installed in a stereolithography 3D printer. Both ends of the foldable telescopic tube of the device are respectively connected to the printing platform and the material tank. The cylinder telescopic rod is wrapped in the foldable telescopic tube, and the top end is connected to the printing platform. The foldable telescopic tube separates the cylinder telescopic rod from the printing material, and the cylinder telescopic rod can freely move up and down without contaminating the material in the material tank and the telescopic rod.

[0014] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following excellent effects:

[0015] 1) According to needs, the material tank can be replaced to achieve the printing of multi-scale printed parts.

[0016] 2) The design of the foldable telescopic tube effectively avoids the pollution of the material tank. At the same time, the cylinder telescopic rod can move up and down freely, and the printing platform can be lifted smoothly. The layer height of the printed part can be adjusted by the lifting mechanism to adapt to various printing occasions, and various precision requirements can be achieved. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the drawings required in the description of the embodiments or the prior art. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only the embodiments of the present invention. For those of ordinary skill in the art, without creative efforts, other drawings can also be obtained according to the provided drawings.

[0018] Figure 1 It is an isometric view of the pneumatic lifting mechanism of the printing platform of the stereolithography printer described in the present invention.

[0019] Figure 2 It is a cross-sectional view of the pneumatic lifting mechanism of the printing platform of the stereolithography printer described in the present invention.

[0020] In the figure:

[0021] 1 - ultrasonic liquid level sensor; 2 - printing platform; 3 - foldable telescopic tube; 4 - material placing bucket; 5 - storage bucket; 6 - upper layer of support plate; 7 - support plate; 8 - ultrasonic liquid level sensor mounting seat; 9 - cylinder telescopic rod; 10 - cylinder; 11 - cylinder mounting plate; 12 - positioning groove for material placing bucket; 13 - protrusion inside the material placing bucket. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0022] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0023] The term "embodiment" used herein, any embodiment described as "exemplary" does not have to be construed as superior to or better than other embodiments. For the performance index tests in the embodiments of this application, unless otherwise specified, the conventional test methods in the art are adopted. It should be understood that the terms described in this application are only used to describe specific embodiments and are not used to limit the content disclosed in this application.

[0024] Unless otherwise specified, the technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meanings as those commonly understood by those of ordinary skill in the technical field to which this application belongs; the test methods and technical means not specifically noted in this application are all the experimental methods and technical means commonly adopted by those of ordinary skill in the art.

[0025] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the orientation or positional relationships indicated by the terms "in", "on", "under", "rise", "fall", "vertical", "surface", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", etc. are based on the orientation or positional relationships shown in the drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and thus cannot be construed as a limitation of the present invention.

[0026] It should be understood that the terms such as "having", "including", and "comprising" used herein do not exclude the existence or addition of one or more other elements or their combinations.

[0027] It should be noted that in the description of the present invention, the orientation or positional relationships indicated by the terms are based on the orientation or positional relationships shown in the drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and thus cannot be construed as a limitation of the present invention.

[0028] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that unless otherwise clearly specified and defined, terms such as "installation", "provided with", "sheathed / connected", "connection", etc. should be understood in a broad sense. For example, "connection" can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection, it can be a mechanical connection, an electrical connection, a direct connection, or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, and it can be the communication inside two components. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific situations.

[0029] Figure 1 - Figure 2 A pneumatic lifting mechanism for the printing platform of a light-curing printer is shown, which includes a support plate 7 for supporting the entire mechanism; the support plate 7 is a double-layer support structure, and mounting holes are provided at the top of the support plate 7. The design of the mounting holes enables the lifting mechanism to be installed in any printer as a lifting mechanism.

[0030] A cylinder mounting plate 11 and a cylinder 10 are provided on the lower layer of the support plate 7; the cylinder 10 controls the movement of the cylinder telescopic rod 9 through a control system; the cylinder mounting plate 11 is used to fix the cylinder 10, so that the cylinder 10 has a fixed position in the entire printing device.

[0031] The pneumatic lifting mechanism for the printing platform of the light-curing printer further includes a material tank device, and the material tank device includes a printing platform 2, a foldable telescopic tube 3, a storage bucket 5, and a material placement bucket 4; the storage bucket 5 is installed on the upper layer 6 of the support plate, directly above the cylinder 10, and is used to install the ultrasonic liquid level sensor 1 and the material placement bucket 4; the material placement bucket 4 is used to load printing materials, and a material placement bucket positioning groove 12 is provided at the outer bottom of the material placement bucket 4, which cooperates with the convex structure of the storage bucket 5 to fix the material placement bucket 4. At the same time, an inner convex structure 13 of the material placement bucket is also provided at the inner bottom of the storage bucket 5 for connecting with the foldable telescopic tube 3; both ends of the foldable telescopic tube 3 are respectively connected to the printing platform 2 and the material placement bucket 4. The foldable telescopic tube 3 enables the cylinder telescopic rod 9 to be connected to the printing platform 2 without contacting the printing materials; the cylinder telescopic rod 9 passes through the storage bucket 5, the material placement bucket 4 and the foldable telescopic tube 3 and is connected to the printing platform 2. The reciprocating movement of the cylinder telescopic rod 9 drives the printing platform 2 to move up and down in the material placement bucket 4.

[0032] The pneumatic lifting mechanism for the printing platform of the light-curing printer further includes a liquid level sensing device, and the liquid level sensing device includes an ultrasonic liquid level sensor 1 and an ultrasonic liquid level sensor mounting seat 8; the ultrasonic liquid level sensor 1 is used to measure the amount of printing materials in the material placement bucket 4 and feed back to the printer in a timely manner. The ultrasonic sensor mounting seat 8 is provided with mounting holes for installing the ultrasonic liquid level sensor 1.

[0033] An air-powered lifting mechanism for the printing platform of a light-curing printer disclosed by the present invention fixes a support plate 7 on the bracket of the light-curing 3D printer. Above the printing platform is the laser of the light-curing printer. During the printing process, the cylinder telescopic rod 9 drives the printing platform to perform lifting motion in the material tank.

[0034] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed as above, it is not limited to the applications listed in the specification and the embodiments. It can be fully applied to various fields suitable for the present invention. For those familiar with the field, additional modifications can be easily achieved. Therefore, without departing from the general concept defined by the claims and the equivalent scope, the present invention is not limited to the specific details and the illustrated examples here.

[0035] The above description of the disclosed embodiments enables those skilled in the art to implement or use the present invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be obvious to those skilled in the art. The general principles defined herein can be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention will not be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but rather to the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A pneumatic lifting mechanism for a printing platform of a light-curing printer, characterized in that: It comprises a support plate (7), wherein the support plate (7) is a double-layer support structure; the lower layer of the support plate (7) is provided with a cylinder device, and the upper layer of the support plate (7) is provided with a material trough device and a liquid level sensing device; A cylinder mounting plate (11) is installed on the lower layer of the support plate (7), and a cylinder (10) is fixed on the cylinder mounting plate (11); The material trough device comprises a printing platform (2), a foldable telescopic tube (3), a storage bucket (5), a material storage bucket (4), and a cylinder telescopic rod (9); the storage bucket (5) is installed on the upper layer (6) of the support plate, and the storage bucket (5) is provided with a printing platform (2), a material storage bucket (4) and a foldable telescopic tube (3); The liquid level sensing device comprises an ultrasonic liquid level sensor (1) and an ultrasonic liquid level sensor mounting seat (8); the ultrasonic liquid level sensor (1) is mounted on the inner wall of the storage bucket (5).

2. The pneumatic lifting mechanism of the light-curing printing platform according to claim 1, characterized in that: The material storage bucket (4) is installed inside the storage bucket (5), and the printing platform (2) is connected to the material storage bucket (4) via the foldable telescopic tube (3).

3. The pneumatic lifting mechanism of the light-curing printing platform according to claim 2, characterized in that: The outer bottom of the material storage barrel (4) is provided with a material storage barrel positioning groove (12), and the inner bottom is provided with a material storage barrel inner protrusion (13); the material storage barrel positioning groove (12) cooperates with the protrusion structure of the storage barrel (5), and the material storage barrel inner protrusion (13) is connected to the foldable telescopic tube (3).

4. The pneumatic lifting mechanism of the light-curing printing platform according to claim 3, characterized in that: The cylinder telescopic rod (9) passes through the storage bucket (5), the material storage bucket (4) and the foldable telescopic tube (3) and is connected to the printing platform (2).

5. The pneumatic lifting mechanism of the light-curing printing platform according to claim 1, characterized in that: The ultrasonic sensor mounting seat (8) is provided with a mounting hole for mounting the ultrasonic liquid level sensor (1).

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