3D printing cream customization processing equipment and processing method thereof

Abstract

The present application relates to a kind of 3D printing cream customization processing equipment and its processing method, belong to cream customization processing technical field, including preprocessing unit, core control unit, dual-mode 3D printer, environment control cabin, machine vision module, laser three-dimensional scanner, the preprocessing unit includes electronic balance, homogenizer, rheometer.In the present application, independent temperature control system can effectively avoid material cross-contamination with double printing head, adopt full closed loop environment control cabin, nitrogen injection inhibits cream oxidation, nitrogen injection inhibits cream oxidation, through material rheological control, double-head collaborative printing, intelligent closed-loop correction trinity architecture systemically solve food 3D printing rheological control, structure limitation, the problem of production inefficiency, applicable to the industrialization high-precision mass production of complex cream customized parts.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of customized cream processing technology, and in particular to a 3D printed customized cream processing equipment and its processing method. Background Technology

[0002] Customized 3D printing of cream refers to the process of using food-grade 3D printing technology, using edible cream (or similar paste-like ingredients) as the "printing material," and precisely and automatically stacking and depositing layers according to a digital design model to ultimately create highly customized, complex, and delicate food decorations or structures.

[0003] 3D printing of customized butter is mainly used in high-end cake customization, personalized dessert making, special event themes and marketing. It has a high degree of personalization and design freedom, and can realize complex and intricate structures that cannot be achieved by hand. It has strong production consistency, can be mass-produced, improves the production efficiency of specific complex decorations, attracts attention, and enhances the added value and technological feel of products. In order to solve the problems of low efficiency, poor consistency and difficulty in realizing complex three-dimensional structures in traditional butter decoration, which relies on manual piping, and the problems of collapse, flow interruption or delamination failure caused by the rheological sensitivity of butter to temperature / shear force in existing traditional food 3D printers, a 3D printing butter customized processing equipment and processing method are proposed. It can control the state of butter in real time, has high structural accuracy and supports the 3D printing of complex customized models, and solves the printing failure problem caused by the instability of material rheology in existing technologies. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This invention provides a 3D printing cream customization processing equipment and processing method, which solves the problems of low efficiency, poor consistency and difficulty in achieving complex three-dimensional structures in traditional cream decoration that relies on manual piping. It also solves the problem that existing traditional food 3D printers mostly use general extrusion mechanisms, but cream is sensitive to temperature / shear force due to its rheological properties, and is prone to collapse, flow interruption or delamination failure during printing.

[0005] The solution of the present invention to solve the above technical problems is as follows: a 3D printing cream customization processing equipment, including a pre-processing unit, a core control unit, a dual-mode 3D printer, an environmental control chamber, a machine vision module, and a laser 3D scanner;

[0006] The processing method includes the following steps:

[0007] S1, Butter pretreatment: Mix butter with edible thickener at 0.1-0.5 wt%, and homogenize until the thixotropic index is >1.2;

[0008] S2, digital model adaptive processing, the core control unit identifies the cantilever angle of the model, if it is >45°, it sets up an automatically generated tree-like support structure and dynamically adjusts the layer thickness according to the curvature of the surface;

[0009] S3, a multimodal dynamic printing control system, features a dual-mode 3D printer in an environmental control cabin. First, it performs the base printing stage, using a screw extrusion mode with a pressure maintained at 50-100N and a barrel temperature of 5℃. Then, it proceeds to the fine structure printing stage, switching the print head to piezoelectric jet mode with a pulse frequency of 1-5kHz and a temperature drop to 3℃. Real-time correction is performed during both base and fine structure printing. A machine vision module monitors the printing path and support structure. If the vision system detects a layer offset >0.3mm, it triggers path replanning.

[0010] S4. Post-processing and quality verification: After printing, the environmental control chamber is kept at a low temperature for 3 minutes to stabilize the structure. The error is verified by full-size laser 3D scanner.

[0011] Based on the above technical solution, the present invention can be further improved as follows.

[0012] Furthermore, the pretreatment unit includes an electronic balance, a homogenizer, and a rheometer. The electronic balance weighs the cream matrix and edible thickener. The homogenizer symmetrically weighs the cream matrix and edible thickener for homogenization. The rheometer verifies the thixotropic index of the homogenized product, eliminating manual proportioning errors and improving the material qualification rate. The homogenizer can achieve uniform mixing of cream and thickener at low temperature and high speed, avoiding excessive foaming of cream. The rheometer quantitatively verifies the thixotropic index to ensure that the printing rheological properties meet the standards.

[0013] Furthermore, the core control unit includes an industrial computer that sets up a cream rheological property database, modeling software, and a path planning module. The path planning module generates adaptive layer thickness and support structure, and dynamically adjusts the layer thickness according to the surface curvature. The cream rheological property database stores a viscosity-temperature-shear rate mapping table and dynamically matches printing parameters. The path planning module can dynamically adjust the layer thickness based on the surface curvature to reduce the step effect in high curvature areas and reduce surface roughness. The cream rheological property database is composed of parameters such as viscosity, yield stress, and storage modulus (G') of commonly used cream measured at different temperatures and shear rates using a rotational rheometer and a capillary rheometer, which can be statistically analyzed according to specific needs.

[0014] Furthermore, the dual-mode 3D printer is equipped with two sets of print heads and a driving robotic arm. The first print head is used for printing cream, and the second print head is used for printing support structures. The robotic arm is independently controlled to avoid temperature crosstalk, and the two heads work in parallel to improve the overall printing efficiency.

[0015] Furthermore, both sets of printheads include a double helical barrel, a screw extrusion mechanism, and a piezoelectric ceramic microdroplet nozzle. The double helical barrel of the first printhead has a built-in semiconductor temperature control mechanism for placing cream, while the double helical barrel of the second printhead has a built-in ceramic heating rod to maintain a temperature of 45-60°C for placing maltose-based materials.

[0016] Furthermore, the screw extrusion mechanism has an adjustable shear rate and is equipped with a pressure sensor to provide real-time feedback on the extrusion force, and the piezoelectric ceramic microdroplet nozzle is used for high-precision contour printing.

[0017] Furthermore, the environmental control chamber includes a temperature and humidity sensor, a refrigeration module, and an inert gas injection system to maintain the temperature inside the chamber at 4-8°C and the humidity at ≤30%. The inert gas injection system injects nitrogen to prevent the cream from oxidizing and to extend the shelf life of the cream.

[0018] Furthermore, the machine vision module includes a high-speed camera and a correction analysis unit. The high-speed camera captures the morphology of the printed layers, and the correction analysis unit compares the data with the design model to correct the path in real time and correct interlayer misalignment in real time, thereby reducing the scrap rate.

[0019] Furthermore, in step S2, the supporting structure is a maltose-based material with a melting point of 50-60℃. The maltose-based material is stirred and dissolved in a 60℃ water bath, and after vacuum degassing, it is filled into a special material cylinder, which can effectively improve the compressive strength of the supporting structure.

[0020] The beneficial effects of this invention are as follows: This invention provides a 3D printing cream customization processing equipment and processing method, which has the following advantages:

[0021] 1. It solves the problem of cream interruption, collapse, and separation caused by temperature fluctuations and shear force changes in traditional equipment. By dynamically adjusting the viscosity through a cream rheology database and closed-loop temperature control, the stability of the printing process is improved.

[0022] 2. It solves the problem that traditional manual piping and general 3D printers only support ≤45° overhang angles and have a high collapse rate for delicate structures such as petals and hollows. It can be applied to customized cream processing scenarios with complex overhang structures. Through maltose-based soluble support and tree-like adaptive algorithm, it can achieve stable molding of 60° overhang structures.

[0023] 3. The dual-mode synergy of screw extrusion and piezoelectric micro-spraying effectively improves processing efficiency while maintaining processing accuracy, and machine vision and real-time path replanning effectively suppress interlayer shift.

[0024] 4. The dual-printhead independent temperature control system effectively avoids cross-contamination of materials. The fully closed-loop environmental control chamber and nitrogen injection inhibit cream oxidation. Through a three-in-one architecture of material rheology control, dual-head collaborative printing, and intelligent closed-loop correction, the system systematically solves the problems of uncontrolled rheology, structural limitations, and low production efficiency in food 3D printing. It is suitable for the industrial high-precision mass production of complex customized cream parts.

[0025] The above description is merely an overview of the technical solution of the present invention. In order to better understand the technical means of the present invention and to implement it according to the contents of the specification, the preferred embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Specific embodiments of the present invention are given in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Attached Figure Description

[0026] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and form part of this application, illustrate exemplary embodiments of the invention and, together with their description, serve to explain the invention and do not constitute an undue limitation thereof. In the drawings:

[0027] Figure 1 This is a flowchart illustrating a 3D printing cream customization processing equipment and processing method provided in an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0028] The following is in conjunction with the appendix Figure 1 The principles and features of the present invention are described below. The examples given are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. The invention is described more specifically in the following paragraphs by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings. The advantages and features of the invention will become clearer from the following description. It should be noted that the drawings are in a very simplified form and use non-precise proportions, and are only used to facilitate and clarify the illustration of the embodiments of the invention.

[0029] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains. The terminology used herein in the description of the invention is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. The term "and / or" as used herein includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0030] like Figure 1 As shown, the present invention provides a 3D printing cream customization processing equipment and processing method, including a pre-processing unit, a core control unit, a dual-mode 3D printer, an environmental control chamber, a machine vision module, and a laser 3D scanner.

[0031] Preferably, the pretreatment unit includes an electronic balance, a homogenizer, and a rheometer. The electronic balance weighs the cream matrix and edible thickener. The homogenizer symmetrically weighs the cream matrix and edible thickener for homogenization. The rheometer verifies the thixotropic index of the homogenized product, eliminating manual proportioning errors and improving the material qualification rate. The homogenizer can achieve uniform mixing of cream and thickener at low temperature and high speed, avoiding excessive foaming of cream. The rheometer quantitatively verifies the thixotropic index to ensure that the printing rheological properties meet the standards.

[0032] Preferably, the core control unit includes an industrial computer that sets up a cream rheological property database, modeling software, and a path planning module. The path planning module generates adaptive layer thickness and support structure, and dynamically adjusts the layer thickness according to the surface curvature. The cream rheological property database stores a viscosity-temperature-shear rate mapping table and dynamically matches printing parameters. The path planning module can dynamically adjust the layer thickness based on the surface curvature to reduce the step effect in high curvature areas and reduce surface roughness. The cream rheological property database is composed of parameters such as viscosity, yield stress, and storage modulus (G') of commonly used cream measured by a rotational rheometer and a capillary rheometer at different temperatures and shear rates, which can be statistically analyzed according to specific needs.

[0033] Preferably, the dual-mode 3D printer is equipped with two sets of print heads and driven robotic arms. The first print head is used for printing cream, and the second print head is used for printing support structures. The robotic arms are independently controlled to avoid temperature crosstalk, and the two heads work in parallel to improve the overall printing efficiency.

[0034] Preferably, both printheads include a double helical barrel, a screw extrusion mechanism, and a piezoelectric ceramic microdroplet nozzle. The double helical barrel of the first printhead has a built-in semiconductor temperature control mechanism for placing cream, while the double helical barrel of the second printhead has a built-in ceramic heating rod to maintain a temperature of 45-60°C for placing maltose-based materials.

[0035] Preferably, the screw extrusion mechanism has an adjustable shear rate and is equipped with a pressure sensor to provide real-time feedback on the extrusion force, and a piezoelectric ceramic microdroplet nozzle is used for high-precision contour printing.

[0036] Preferably, the environmental control chamber includes a temperature and humidity sensor, a refrigeration module, and an inert gas injection system to maintain the temperature inside the chamber at 4-8°C and the humidity at ≤30%. The inert gas injection system injects nitrogen to prevent the cream from oxidizing and to extend the shelf life of the cream.

[0037] Preferably, the machine vision module includes a high-speed camera and a correction analysis unit. The high-speed camera captures the morphology of the printed layers, and the correction analysis unit compares the data with the design model to correct the path in real time and correct interlayer misalignment in real time, thereby reducing the scrap rate.

[0038] The specific working principle and usage method of this invention are as follows:

[0039] S1, Cream material pretreatment: Weigh 1000g of cream base with a fat content ≥30% and edible thickener (0.3wt% xanthan gum or 0.5wt% carrageenan) using an electronic balance.

[0040] The homogenate was homogenized at 8000 rpm for 5 minutes at 4°C in a homogenizer to form a homogeneous colloid.

[0041] The thixotropic index was verified to be greater than 1.2 using a rheometer, which meets the printing requirements.

[0042] The algorithm for optimizing the amount of thickener added is as follows:

[0043] def thickener_optimization(base_viscosity, target_thixotropy):

[0044] # Input: Base viscosity (base_viscosity), Target thixotropy (target_thixotropy)

[0045] thickener_ratio = 0.001 # Initial thickener ratio

[0046] while measured_thixotropy < target_thixotropy:

[0047] mixture = homogenize(cream, thickener_ratio)

[0048] measured_thixotropy = rheometer_test(mixture)

[0049] thickener_ratio += 0.001 # Step increment

[0050] if thickener_ratio > 0.005: # Safety threshold

[0051] Raise an exception ("Unable to achieve target thixotropy")

[0052] return thickener_ratio;

[0053] S2, digital model adaptive processing: the industrial computer imports the 3D model (STL format) into the path planning module through modeling software and detects the maximum overhang angle θ;

[0054] Taking a 15cm high rose bouquet as an example, the maximum overhang angle is 60°;

[0055] If the path planning module detects that θ > 45°, it automatically generates a tree-like support structure (the density of support points is positively correlated with θ).

[0056] The supporting structure is made of maltose-based material with a melting point of 50-60℃. The maltose-based material is stirred and dissolved in a 60℃ water bath, and after vacuum degassing, it is filled into a special material cylinder, which can effectively improve the compressive strength of the supporting structure.

[0057] The layer thickness is dynamically adjusted according to the curvature of the surface: 1.5 mm for flat areas and 0.3 mm for high curvature areas;

[0058] # Adaptive support generation algorithm:

[0059] def generate_support(model):

[0060] For each face in model.faces:

[0061] θ = calculate_overhang_angle(face) # Calculate the overhang angle

[0062] if θ > 45°:

[0063] support_points = grid_sampling(face, density=min(1.0, (θ-45) / 20)) #Density increases with θ

[0064] create_maltose_support(support_points) # Maltose support;

[0065] # Dynamic layer thickness adjustment algorithm

[0066] layer_thickness = base_thickness * (1 - 0.7 * curvature_factor) #curvature_factor∈[0,1];

[0067] S3, multimodal dynamic printing control, uses a dual-mode 3D printer to dynamically print cream within an environmental control cabin;

[0068] During the substrate printing stage, the screw extrusion speed of the screw extrusion mechanism in the twin-helix barrel is 8-12 mm / s, the layer thickness is 1.0-1.5 mm, the barrel temperature is 5℃, and the extrusion pressure is controlled in a closed loop (target value 80 N).

[0069] During the fine structure printing stage, the piezoelectric pulse frequency of the piezoelectric ceramic microdroplet ejector is 1-5kHz, and the microdroplet diameter is 0.2-0.5mm. The process involves switching to a piezoelectric micro-nozzle and cooling the barrel to 3℃.

[0070] Real-time correction is performed during substrate printing and fine structure printing. The machine vision module performs visual sampling intervals, corrects the deviation of the point cloud of the design model compared by the analysis unit, and triggers path replanning.

[0071] Core control algorithm:

[0072]

[0073] Feedback control of cream rheological properties (PID + feedforward compensation);

[0074] Where e(t) = set extrusion force, measured value of pressure sensor;

[0075] F ff= Feedforward compensation term (based on temperature T and shear rate γ using a rheological database);

[0076] Visual correction algorithm;

[0077] # Real-time deviation correction based on point cloud registration

[0078] def point_cloud_registration(current_scan, reference_model):

[0079] # Current layer point cloud current_scan vs design model reference_model

[0080] icp = ICP_algorithm(current_scan, reference_model) # Iterative nearest-point matching

[0081] If icp.mean_error > 0.3mm:

[0082] new_path=path_planner.replan(reference_model,offset=icp.error_vector)

[0083] printer.execute(new_path) # Dynamically update

[0084] S4. Post-processing and quality verification: After printing, the environmental control chamber is kept at a low temperature for 3 minutes to stabilize the structure. The error is verified by full-size laser 3D scanner.

[0085] It should be noted that, in this document, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are used merely to distinguish one entity or operation from another, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Content not described in detail in this specification is prior art known to those skilled in the art.

[0086] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention in any way. Those skilled in the art can readily implement the present invention based on the accompanying drawings and the above description. However, any modifications, alterations, or variations made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention, utilizing the disclosed technical content, are equivalent embodiments of the present invention. Furthermore, any modifications, alterations, or variations made to the above embodiments based on the essential technology of the present invention are still within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A 3D printing equipment for customized cream processing, characterized in that, Includes a preprocessing unit, a core control unit, a dual-mode 3D printer, an environmental control chamber, a machine vision module, and a laser 3D scanner; The core control unit includes a cream rheological properties database, modeling software, and a path planning module set up by an industrial computer. The path planning module generates adaptive layer thickness and support structure, and dynamically adjusts the layer thickness according to the curvature of the surface. The cream rheological properties database stores a viscosity-temperature-shear rate mapping table and dynamically matches printing parameters. The dual-mode 3D printer is equipped with two sets of print heads and a driving robotic arm. The first print head is used for printing cream, and the second print head is used for printing support structures. Both sets of printheads include a double helical barrel, a screw extrusion mechanism, and a piezoelectric ceramic microdroplet nozzle. The double helical barrel of the first printhead has a built-in semiconductor temperature control mechanism for placing cream, and the double helical barrel of the second printhead has a built-in ceramic heating rod to maintain 45-60°C for placing maltose-based materials. The processing method includes the following steps: S1, Butter pretreatment: Mix butter with edible thickener at 0.1-0.5 wt%, and homogenize until the thixotropic index is >1.2; S2, digital model adaptive processing: the core control unit identifies the cantilever angle of the model. If it is greater than 45°, an automatically generated tree-like support structure is set. The support structure is made of maltose-based material with a melting point of 50-60°C. The layer thickness is dynamically adjusted according to the curvature of the surface. The layer thickness is 1.5mm in flat areas and 0.3mm in high curvature areas. S3, a multimodal dynamic printing control system, features a dual-mode 3D printer in an environmental control chamber. First, it performs the base printing stage, using a screw extrusion mode with a pressure maintained at 50-100N. The pressure is controlled in a closed-loop loop to a target value of 80N, and the barrel temperature is 5℃. Then, it performs the fine structure printing stage, switching the print head to piezoelectric jet mode with a pulse frequency of 1-5kHz, a droplet diameter of 0.2-0.5mm, and a temperature drop to 3℃. Real-time correction is performed during both base and fine structure printing. The machine vision module monitors the printing path and support structure. When the vision system detects a layer offset >0.3mm, it triggers path replanning. S4. Post-processing and quality verification: After printing, the environmental control chamber is kept at a low temperature for 3 minutes to stabilize the structure, and the error is verified by full-size scanning with a laser 3D scanner.

2. The 3D printing customized cream processing equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The pretreatment unit includes an electronic balance, a homogenizer, and a rheometer. The electronic balance weighs the cream matrix and the edible thickener. The homogenizer symmetrically weighs the cream matrix and the edible thickener for homogenization. The rheometer verifies the thixotropic index of the homogenized product.

3. The 3D printing cream customization processing equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The screw extrusion mechanism has an adjustable shear rate and is equipped with a pressure sensor to provide real-time feedback on the extrusion force. The piezoelectric ceramic microdroplet nozzle is used for high-precision contour printing.

4. The 3D printing customized cream processing equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The environmental control chamber includes temperature and humidity sensors, a refrigeration module, and an inert gas injection system to maintain the temperature inside the chamber at 4-8℃ and the humidity at ≤30%. The inert gas injection system injects nitrogen to prevent the cream from oxidizing.

5. The 3D printing customized cream processing equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The machine vision module includes a high-speed camera and a correction analysis unit. The high-speed camera captures the morphology of the printed layer, and the correction analysis unit compares it with the design model to correct the path in real time.

6. The 3D printing cream customization processing equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, In step S2, the maltose-based material is stirred and dissolved in a 60°C water bath, and after vacuum degassing, it is filled into a special material cylinder.

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