Programmable photopolymer additive manufacturing apparatus and method based on blade-induced orientation

Abstract

This invention belongs to the field of photopolymer additive manufacturing technology, and discloses a programmable photopolymer additive manufacturing apparatus and method based on induced orientation by scraping. The apparatus includes a motion platform, a material tank, a printing platform, and a rotating platform; a scraper, disposed on the rotating platform, is used to scrape the printing material; and a curing component is used to cure the printing material. The method includes the following steps: laying a layer of printing material to be cured on the printing platform; scraping the printing material according to a preset direction using the scraper, and the applied shear force induces an orientation structure within the printing material; curing the printing material with the orientation structure; and laying the printing material layer by layer and repeating the scraping and curing steps to form a printed part. This invention achieves in-situ, programmable control of the microscopic orientation of the material during the printing process, improves the freedom of structural design, and provides a manufacturing method with high process integration and flexibility for preparing three-dimensional components.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of photocurable additive manufacturing technology, and particularly relates to a programmable photocurable additive manufacturing apparatus and method based on blade-induced orientation. Background Technology

[0002] Current photopolymer 3D printing methods primarily focus on the geometric accuracy of the printed parts, while having limited ability to control the internal microstructure of the materials. For photopolymer materials containing liquid crystal molecules, fibrous fillers, tubular fillers, or sheet fillers, their internal orientation state has a significant impact on the mechanical, electrical, or optical properties of the parts.

[0003] In existing technologies, material orientation usually relies on mold flow, external electric or magnetic fields, or secondary processing after printing, which makes it difficult to highly integrate with the photopolymerization 3D printing process, resulting in limited control precision and flexibility.

[0004] Therefore, there is an urgent need for programmable photopolymer additive manufacturing apparatus and methods based on blade-coated orientation to solve the above problems. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to provide a programmable photocurable additive manufacturing apparatus and method based on blade-coated orientation to solve the problems existing in the prior art.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides the following solution: The present invention provides a programmable photopolymer additive manufacturing apparatus based on blade-coated orientation-induced process, comprising: A motion platform with a material trough fixedly connected to its top, and a printing platform is installed inside the material trough; A rotating platform is rotatably connected to the top of the motion platform via a hollow turntable, the hollow turntable being coaxially arranged with the material trough; A scraper is provided on the rotating platform, and the scraping end of the scraper extends into the material trough for scraping and coating printing material; The curing component, located above the printing platform, is used to cure the printing material.

[0007] According to the programmable photocurable additive manufacturing apparatus based on coating-induced orientation provided by the present invention, the scraper includes two linear guide rails fixedly connected to both sides of the top of the rotating platform, a slider is slidably connected to the top of the linear guide rails, an adjustment mechanism is fixedly connected to the top of the slider, and a scraper is fixedly connected between the two adjustment mechanisms.

[0008] According to the programmable photocurable additive manufacturing apparatus based on coating-induced orientation provided by the present invention, the cured part includes an ultraviolet DLP projector located above the printing platform.

[0009] According to the programmable photopolymer additive manufacturing apparatus based on coating-induced orientation provided by the present invention, the ultraviolet wavelength of the ultraviolet DLP projector is 385nm or 405nm.

[0010] A programmable photopolymer additive manufacturing method based on blade-coated orientation includes the following steps: Lay a layer of printing material to be cured on the printing platform; The preset direction is set by rotating the platform, and the printing material is scraped and coated by the scraper according to the preset direction, thereby inducing an orientation structure inside the printing material. Curing of oriented printing materials is achieved through a curing process; The printing material is laid layer by layer on top of the cured printing material, and the scraping and curing steps are repeated to form a printed part with a three-dimensional orientation distribution structure.

[0011] According to the programmable photocurable additive manufacturing method based on induced orientation provided by the present invention, the squeegeeing and curing operations are performed at least twice within the same printed layer.

[0012] According to the programmable photopolymer additive manufacturing method based on blade-coated orientation provided by the present invention, the thickness of each printed layer is 25μm-200μm.

[0013] According to the programmable photocurable additive manufacturing method based on blade-coating induced orientation provided by the present invention, the printing material is one or more of liquid crystal polymer, fiber-reinforced composite material, carbon nanotube composite material or sheet-like filler composite material.

[0014] According to the programmable photocurable additive manufacturing method based on induced orientation provided by the present invention, the angle of the squeegee direction is 0-360°.

[0015] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages and technical effects: The present invention provides a programmable photopolymer additive manufacturing apparatus and method based on induced orientation by scraping. The method involves laying printing material through a material tank and a printing platform, adjusting the scraping direction through a rotating platform, adjusting the height of the scraper through an adjustment mechanism, scraping the printing material through the scraper, and then curing the printing material through a curing unit to obtain the printed part. This invention introduces a controllable directional scraping step into the printing process and combines it with multiple selective exposures to achieve orientation programming of the printed structure within the same layer and between different layers. This invention enables in-situ control of material orientation during photopolymer printing, supports orientation programming within the same layer and between different layers, significantly improves the freedom of structural design, eliminates the need for additional external fields or complex post-processing, and has high process integration, providing a new manufacturing method for preparing anisotropic functional structures. Attached Figure Description

[0016] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0017] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the rotating platform structure of the present invention; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the rotating platform of the present invention in rotation state; Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram showing the state of the printing material during the scraping process of this invention; Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the coating process of the present invention; Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of each printed layer of the printed part of the present invention; The components include: 1. Motion platform; 2. Material trough; 3. Printing platform; 4. Rotary platform; 5. Hollow turntable; 6. Linear guide rail; 7. Slider; 8. Adjustment mechanism; 9. Scraper; 10. Ultraviolet DLP projector. Detailed Implementation

[0018] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0019] To make the above-mentioned objects, features and advantages of the present invention more apparent and understandable, the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0020] Reference Figures 1-6 This invention provides a programmable photopolymer additive manufacturing apparatus based on blade-coated orientation, comprising: The motion platform 1 has a material trough 2 fixedly connected to its top, and a printing platform 3 is set inside the material trough 2; The rotating platform 4 is rotatably connected to the top of the motion platform 1 via the hollow turntable 5, and the hollow turntable 5 is coaxially arranged with the material trough 2; A scraper is mounted on the rotating platform 4, and the scraper end of the scraper extends into the material trough 2 for scraping and coating printing material. The curing component, located above printing platform 3, is used to cure the printing material.

[0021] As an optional implementation, the scraper includes two linear guide rails 6 fixedly connected to both sides of the top of the rotating platform 4, a slider 7 slidably connected to the top of the linear guide rails 6, an adjustment mechanism 8 fixedly connected to the top of the slider 7, and a scraper 9 fixedly connected between the two adjustment mechanisms 8.

[0022] In one embodiment of the present invention, printing material is laid through a material trough 2 and a printing platform 3, the scraping direction is adjusted by a rotating platform 4, the height of the scraper is adjusted by an adjusting mechanism 8, the printing material is scraped by the scraper, and after scraping, the printing material is cured by a curing component to obtain a printed part.

[0023] As an alternative implementation, the curing element includes an ultraviolet DLP projector 10, located above the printing platform 3.

[0024] In one embodiment of the present invention, the curing component is an ultraviolet DLP projector 10, which is used to emit ultraviolet light to irradiate the printing material for curing.

[0025] As an optional implementation, the ultraviolet wavelength of the ultraviolet DLP projector 10 is 385nm or 405nm.

[0026] In one embodiment of the present invention, the wavelength of the ultraviolet light source is 385nm or 405nm, and the illumination time is 4-20 seconds per layer.

[0027] A programmable photopolymer additive manufacturing method based on blade-coated orientation includes the following steps: A layer of printing material to be cured is laid on printing platform 3; The preset direction is set by rotating platform 4, and the printing material is scraped by scraper according to the preset direction, inducing an orientation structure inside the printing material; Curing of oriented printing materials is achieved through a curing process; The printing material is laid layer by layer on top of the cured printing material, and the scraping and curing steps are repeated to form a printed part with a three-dimensional orientation distribution structure.

[0028] In one embodiment of the present invention, during use, a photosensitive resin slurry containing anisotropic functional fillers is spread on a printing platform 3. The rotating platform 4 is adjusted to a preset direction, and the printing material is coated by controlling the movement of the squeegee 9. By adjusting the height and coating speed of the squeegee 9, a material layer of predetermined thickness is formed. By changing the coating angle of the squeegee 9 relative to the printing platform 3, liquid crystal molecules or fillers are induced to align along the coating direction under the action of a shear flow field. Subsequently, ultraviolet light is used to selectively expose and cure predetermined areas in the material layer to fix the orientation structure in the corresponding areas. Areas that are not exposed and cured remain in a flowable state. The same layer of material can be coated and oriented again by rotating the squeegee 9 to different angles, and combined with selective ultraviolet exposure of the same area, multi-orientation programmed curing of different areas within the same forming layer can be achieved. By repeating the above-mentioned layup, coating orientation, and area exposure curing steps, multi-layer stacking is achieved, thereby obtaining a three-dimensional component with different orientation structures and anisotropic property distributions within and between single layers.

[0029] As an alternative implementation, the coating and curing operations are performed at least twice within the same printed layer.

[0030] In one embodiment of the present invention, within the same printing layer, the printing area can be divided into multiple sub-regions, and the scraping and exposure steps are performed separately for different sub-regions to form a cured structure with different orientations within the same layer.

[0031] As an optional implementation, the thickness of each printed layer is 25μm-200μm.

[0032] In one embodiment of the present invention, the thickness of the printed layer is 25μm-200μm, depending on the characteristics of the printing material.

[0033] In one embodiment of the present invention, different scraping directions are used between adjacent printing layers to achieve a layer orientation differentiation design. Different scraping directions, scraping sequences or scraping times are used in different printing layers to construct a three-dimensional orientation distribution structure between layers.

[0034] As an optional implementation, the printing material is one or more of liquid crystal polymers, fiber-reinforced composites, carbon nanotube composites, or sheet-like filler composites.

[0035] In one embodiment of the present invention, the printing material is a material with orientation-responsive properties, specifically one or more of liquid crystal polymers, fiber-reinforced composite materials, carbon nanotube composite materials, or sheet-like filler composite materials.

[0036] As an optional implementation, the angle of the scraping direction is 0-360°.

[0037] In one embodiment of the present invention, the angle of the scraping direction is a preset angle and can vary within the range of 0–360°.

[0038] In the description of this invention, it should be understood that the terms "longitudinal", "lateral", "up", "down", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing this invention, and are not intended to indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation of this invention.

[0039] The embodiments described above are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Various modifications and improvements made by those skilled in the art to the technical solutions of the present invention without departing from the spirit of the present invention should fall within the protection scope defined by the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A programmable photopolymer additive manufacturing apparatus based on blade-coated orientation-induced process, characterized in that, include: The motion platform (1) has a material trough (2) fixedly connected to its top, and a printing platform (3) is provided inside the material trough (2). A rotating platform (4) is rotatably connected to the top of the motion platform (1) via a hollow turntable (5), and the hollow turntable (5) is coaxially arranged with the trough (2); A scraper is provided on the rotating platform (4), and the scraper end of the scraper extends into the material trough (2) for scraping and coating printing material; The curing component is located above the printing platform (3) and is used to cure the printing material.

2. The programmable photopolymer additive manufacturing apparatus based on blade-coated orientation as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The scraper includes two linear guide rails (6) fixedly connected to the top sides of the rotating platform (4), a slider (7) slidably connected to the top of the linear guide rails (6), an adjustment mechanism (8) fixedly connected to the top of the slider (7), and a scraper (9) fixedly connected between the two adjustment mechanisms (8).

3. The programmable photopolymer additive manufacturing apparatus based on blade-coated orientation as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The curing component includes an ultraviolet DLP projector (10) located above the printing platform (3).

4. The programmable photopolymer additive manufacturing apparatus based on blade-coated orientation as described in claim 3, characterized in that: The ultraviolet wavelength of the ultraviolet DLP projector (10) is 385nm or 405nm.

5. A programmable photopolymer additive manufacturing method based on blade-coated orientation, applicable to the programmable photopolymer additive manufacturing apparatus based on blade-coated orientation as described in claim 1, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: A layer of printing material to be cured is laid on the printing platform (3); The preset direction is set by rotating platform (4), and the printing material is scraped by scraper according to the preset direction, so as to induce the formation of orientation structure inside the printing material; Curing of oriented printing materials is achieved through a curing process; The printing material is laid layer by layer on top of the cured printing material, and the scraping and curing steps are repeated to form a printed part with a three-dimensional orientation distribution structure.

6. The programmable photopolymer additive manufacturing method based on blade-coated induced orientation according to claim 5, characterized in that: Within the same printed layer, the coating and curing operations must be performed at least twice.

7. The programmable photopolymer additive manufacturing method based on blade-coated induced orientation according to claim 5, characterized in that: The thickness of each printed layer is 25μm-200μm.

8. The programmable photopolymer additive manufacturing method based on blade-coated induced orientation according to claim 5, characterized in that: The printing material is one or more of liquid crystal polymer, fiber-reinforced composite material, carbon nanotube composite material, or sheet-like filler composite material.

9. The programmable photopolymer additive manufacturing method based on blade-coated induced orientation according to claim 5, characterized in that: The angle of the scraping direction is 0-360°.

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