Ink direct-writing 3D printer

Abstract

The utility model discloses an ink direct writing 3D printer which comprises a printing platform, a three-axis cantilever, an ink supply structure and a printing structure. The three-axis cantilever is arranged on the printing platform; the ink supply structure comprises a squeezing and pushing assembly and a material storage cylinder, the squeezing and pushing assembly and the material storage cylinder are both connected with the movable end of the three-axis cantilever, a discharging port is formed in the material storage cylinder, and the squeezing and pushing assembly is used for squeezing and pushing materials in the material storage cylinder to be discharged from the discharging port; the printing structure comprises a curing light source and a nozzle, the nozzle is arranged on the discharging port of the storage cylinder, and the curing light source is in a conical hopper shape and arranged on the nozzle in a sleeving mode. According to the utility model, the conical-hopper-shaped curing light source is sleeved on the nozzle, the light source is directly irradiated to the bottom end of the nozzle, and light curing is carried out without blocking, so that the problem that the curing light source is easily blocked by the moving nozzle is avoided, the printed ink is rapidly cured, the flowing diffusivity of the ink is reduced, and the printing precision is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of LTCC substrate processing, in particular to an ink direct writing 3D printer. Background Art

[0002] With the rapid development of modern technology and technology, the demand for LTCC ceramic substrates in the electronic packaging and semiconductor industries has increased significantly. The processing of LTCC ceramic substrates requires laser drilling on the surface of the ceramic substrate, and then the required circuit pattern is produced by precision conductor paste printing and other processes, and multiple passive components (such as low-capacitance capacitors, resistors, filters, impedance converters, couplers, etc.) are buried in the multi-layer ceramic substrate, and then stacked together. The internal and external electrodes can be made of silver, copper, gold and other metals, sintered at 900°C, to form a high-density circuit that does not interfere with each other in three-dimensional space.

[0003] High-viscosity liquid or solid-liquid mixed slurry (conductive slurry) is stored in a barrel as ink raw material and connected to a nozzle. The nozzle is mounted on a three-axis CNC platform that can complete three-dimensional movement under computer control. Mechanical pressure or pneumatic pressure is used to push the ink material out of the nozzle to continuously extrude and preform on the substrate. For example, Chinese patent 202010424765.3 discloses a method for direct-writing three-dimensional printing of ink based on near-infrared photopolymerization. The direct-writing nozzle moves or remains stationary in three-dimensional space, and the ink is squeezed out of the direct-writing nozzle, irradiated with near-infrared light, and solidified to complete the three-dimensional object molding.

[0004] For the above-mentioned prior art, the accuracy of ink direct writing 3D printing is related to the curing speed. The curing light source is usually set on one side of the printing nozzle and irradiated onto the printing path to cure the ink. However, the curing light source set on one side is easily blocked by the moving nozzle, resulting in delayed curing and ink flow diffusion, affecting the printing accuracy. Utility Model Content

[0005] The purpose of the utility model is to overcome the above technical deficiencies and propose an ink direct writing 3D printer to solve the technical problem in the prior art that the curing light source set on one side is easily blocked by the moving nozzle, resulting in delayed curing, ink flow diffusion, and affecting the printing accuracy.

[0006] In order to achieve the above technical purpose, the utility model adopts the following technical solutions:

[0007] The utility model provides an ink direct writing 3D printer, comprising:

[0008] Printing platform;

[0009] A three-axis cantilever, which is arranged on the printing platform;

[0010] An ink supply structure, comprising a squeezing and pushing assembly and a storage cylinder, wherein both the squeezing and pushing assembly and the storage cylinder are connected to the movable end of the three-axis cantilever, the storage cylinder is provided with a discharge port, and the squeezing and pushing assembly is used to squeeze and push the material in the storage cylinder to be discharged from the discharge port; and

[0011] The printing structure comprises a curing light source and a nozzle, wherein the nozzle is arranged on the discharge port of the material storage cylinder, and the curing light source is in a cone shape and is sleeved on the nozzle for irradiating the light source directly to the bottom end of the nozzle.

[0012] In some embodiments, the curing light source includes a conical bucket and light source lamp beads, and a plurality of the light source lamp beads are arranged on the inner wall of the conical bucket in a circumferential distribution, and the light source lamp beads face the bottom end of the nozzle.

[0013] In some embodiments, the curing light source also includes an outward expansion edge, which is arranged on the bottom periphery of the conical bucket and is in the shape of an annular plate. Several light source lamp beads are also arranged at the bottom of the outward expansion edge for vertical downward irradiation for secondary curing.

[0014] In some embodiments, a box structure is further included, wherein the box structure includes a box body and a box cover, wherein the box body is disposed at the periphery of the printing platform, and the box cover is detachably disposed on the box body.

[0015] In some embodiments, a gas circulation structure is also included, which includes an air inlet pipe, an exhaust pipe, a pump body and a filter box. The upper and lower parts of the inner wall of the box body are respectively provided with air inlet holes and exhaust holes. The air inlet pipe and the exhaust pipe are respectively connected to the air inlet holes and the exhaust holes, and the other ends of the air inlet pipe and the exhaust pipe are connected to the filter box. The pump body is arranged on the filter box.

[0016] In some embodiments, an activated carbon filter element is disposed inside the filter box.

[0017] In some embodiments, there are multiple material storage cylinders, and the squeezing and pushing components correspond to the material storage cylinders one by one. A connecting pipe is provided between the discharge ports of the multiple material storage cylinders, and a main pipe is provided on the connecting pipe. The main pipe is connected to the nozzle, and an electromagnetic valve is provided on the discharge port of the material storage cylinder.

[0018] In some embodiments, the pushing assembly includes a linear drive and a pushing block, the pushing block is slidably connected to the inner side of the storage cylinder, and the movable end of the linear drive is connected to the pushing block to drive the pushing block to slide in the storage cylinder.

[0019] In some embodiments, a curing heat source is disposed in the box.

[0020] In some embodiments, the curing heat source is an infrared electronic heating element.

[0021] Compared with the prior art, the ink direct writing 3D printer provided by the utility model has a cone-shaped curing light source sleeve mounted on the nozzle, and the light source is directly irradiated to the bottom end of the nozzle, so that light curing is performed without obstruction, thus avoiding the problem that the curing light source is easily blocked by the moving nozzle, and the printed ink is quickly cured, the flow diffusion rate of the ink is reduced, and the printing accuracy is improved. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] Figure 1 It is a three-dimensional structural diagram of an ink direct writing 3D printer provided by an embodiment of the utility model;

[0023] Figure 2 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the ink direct writing 3D printer provided by the embodiment of the utility model from another perspective;

[0024] Figure 3 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the ink direct writing 3D printer provided by the embodiment of the utility model without the box structure;

[0025] Figure 4 yes Figure 3 A partial enlarged view of part A. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the utility model more clear, the utility model is further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described here are only used to explain the utility model and are not used to limit the utility model.

[0027] In order to solve the technical problem that a curing light source arranged on one side is easily blocked by a moving nozzle, resulting in delayed curing, ink flow diffusion, and affecting printing accuracy, the utility model provides an ink direct writing 3D printer that can achieve unobstructed printing and curing and efficient curing.

[0028] It should be noted that the ink direct writing 3D printer described in the present invention is used for but not limited to ink direct writing 3D printing, etc. For the convenience of explanation, in the present invention, only the ink direct writing 3D printer applied to ink direct writing 3D printing is used as an example for explanation, and the principle of applying the ink direct writing 3D printer to other types of equipment is essentially the same as the principle applied to ink direct writing 3D printing, which will not be repeated here.

[0029] See also Figure 1-Figure 4, wherein the ink direct writing 3D printer comprises a printing platform 1, a three-axis cantilever 2, an ink supply structure 3 and a printing structure 4. The three-axis cantilever 2 is arranged on the printing platform 1, and is used to drive the ink supply structure 3 and the printing structure 4 to move in the XYZ three-axis space. The ink supply structure 3 comprises a pushing component 31 and a storage cylinder 32, and the pushing component 31 and the storage cylinder 32 are both connected to the movable end of the three-axis cantilever 2. The storage cylinder 32 is provided with a discharge port, and the pushing component 31 is used to push the material in the storage cylinder 32 to be discharged from the discharge port. The storage cylinder 32 is filled with a conductive slurry, that is, an ink raw material, which is uniformly extruded from the discharge port under the pushing of the pushing component 31. The printing structure 4 includes a curing light source 41 and a nozzle 42. The nozzle 42 is arranged on the discharge port of the material storage cylinder 32. The curing light source 41 is in a cone shape and is mounted on the nozzle 42 to directly irradiate the light source to the bottom end of the nozzle 42. The curing light source 41 is distributed circumferentially around the nozzle 42 and is tilted toward the bottom end of the nozzle 42 to irradiate the printing area at the bottom without obstruction to achieve a curing effect. The curing light source 41 is mounted on the nozzle 42 and can move with the movement of the nozzle 42, always maintaining the light source irradiation toward the bottom of the nozzle 42 without being blocked by the movement of the nozzle 42.

[0030] In this embodiment, the three-axis cantilever 2 can adopt a high-precision three-axis linear module slide, which is a mature existing equipment and will not be described in detail here.

[0031] In one embodiment, see Figure 4 The curing light source 41 includes a conical bucket body 411 and light source lamp beads 412. A plurality of the light source lamp beads 412 are arranged on the inner wall of the conical bucket body 411 in a circular distribution, and the light source lamp beads 412 face the bottom end of the nozzle 42. The conical bucket body 411 serves as a mounting seat for the light source lamp beads 412, and the inclination angle of the light source lamp beads 412 is positioned so that the light source lamp beads 412 installed on its inner wall can face the bottom end of the nozzle 42.

[0032] In this embodiment, the conical bucket body 411 is coaxially sleeved on the outer side of the nozzle 42, and the nozzle 42 and the discharge port of the storage cylinder 32 are detachably connected.

[0033] In one embodiment, see Figure 4In order to enhance the curing effect after the primary curing, the curing light source 41 also includes an outward expansion edge 413, which is arranged at the outer periphery of the bottom of the conical bucket 411 and is in the shape of an annular plate. A plurality of light source lamp beads 412 are also arranged at the bottom of the outward expansion edge 413 for vertically irradiating downward for secondary curing. During the printing movement, the light source lamp beads 412 on the conical bucket 411 are first irradiated to form light curing, and then in the subsequent movement, they are irradiated by the light source lamp beads 412 on the outward expansion edge 413 to form secondary light curing.

[0034] In this embodiment, the ink raw material squeezed out of the nozzle 42 is printed on the corresponding ceramic substrate, and is first efficiently photocured by the light source lamp beads 412 on the conical bucket 411 when being squeezed out. During the movement of the printing path, it is irradiated by the light source lamp beads 412 on the outer expansion edge 413 for secondary photocuring reinforcement, thereby forming a more stable curing effect.

[0035] In one embodiment, see Figure 1 and Figure 2 In order to prevent the odor generated during the curing process from escaping, it also includes a box structure 5, the box structure 51 includes a box 51 and a box cover 52, the box 51 is arranged on the periphery of the printing platform 1 to surround the printing platform 1, and the top and the front of the box 51 are open, the box cover 52 is detachably arranged on the box 51, closes the open space of the box 51, and forms a closed space to prevent the internal gas from overflowing.

[0036] Furthermore, in order to eliminate the generated odor and prevent it from escaping when the box cover 52 is opened, a gas circulation structure 6 is also included, which includes an air intake pipe 61, an exhaust pipe 62, a pump body 63 and a filter box 64. The upper and lower parts of the inner wall of the box body 51 are respectively provided with an air intake hole 501 and an exhaust hole 502, the air intake pipe 61 and the exhaust pipe 62 are respectively connected to the air intake hole 501 and the exhaust hole 502, and the other ends of the air intake pipe 61 and the exhaust pipe 62 are connected to the filter box 64, the gas in the box body 51 is discharged from the exhaust hole 502, enters the filter box 64 through the exhaust pipe 62 for filtration, and then flows back to the box body 51 from the air intake hole 501 through the air intake pipe 61, forming an internal circulation gas filtration, the pump body 63 is arranged on the filter box 64, the pump body 63 sucks the gas, and causes the internal gas to flow through the filter box 64 to form an internal circulation.

[0037] The filter box 64 is provided with an activated carbon filter element therein.

[0038] In one embodiment, see Figure 3 and Figure 4In order to switch or mix and extrude the conductor slurries of various components, the number of the storage cylinders 32 is multiple, and three are used in this embodiment. The extrusion and pushing components 31 correspond to the storage cylinders 32 one by one. A connecting pipe 301 is arranged between the discharge ports of the multiple storage cylinders 32. The connecting pipe 301 is provided with a main pipe 302. The connecting pipe 301 is connected with the main pipe 302. The main pipe 302 is connected to the nozzle 42. An electromagnetic valve is arranged on the discharge port of the storage cylinder 32. When one electromagnetic valve is opened, one storage cylinder 32 is turned on to extrude one conductor slurry. When multiple electromagnetic valves are opened, multiple conductor slurries are mixed and extruded. Adjustment is made according to actual needs.

[0039] Furthermore, the squeezing and pushing assembly 31 includes a linear driving member 311 and a squeezing and pushing block 312. The squeezing and pushing block 312 is slidably connected to the inner side of the storage cylinder 32. The movable end of the linear driving member 311 is connected to the squeezing and pushing block 312 for driving the squeezing and pushing block 312 to slide in the storage cylinder 32. The squeezing and pushing block 312 slides in the storage cylinder 32 to extrude the conductive slurry stored therein.

[0040] It can be understood that the material storage cylinder 32 is also provided with a feed port, and a switch is provided corresponding to the feed port. When the material storage cylinder 32 is full of raw materials, the feed port can be closed.

[0041] The linear drive element 311 may be a lead screw guide pair driven by a stepping motor, which is a mature existing structure and will not be described in detail here.

[0042] In one embodiment, see Figure 1 Since part of the conductive paste contains a thermosetting monomer, a curing heat source 503 is provided in the box 51 in order to enhance the thermosetting effect.

[0043] Specifically, the curing heat source 503 is an infrared electronic heating element, which is arranged on the inner wall of the box 51, and the heating temperature range is 25-100°C. The infrared electronic heating element can be an infrared heating tube or other equipment with infrared heating function.

[0044] In order to better understand the present invention, the following Figures 1 to 4The technical solution of the utility model is described in detail: a ceramic substrate is placed on the printing platform 1, and the three-axis cantilever 2 drives the ink supply structure 3 and the printing structure 4 to perform displacement in the XYZ three-axis space, and printing is performed along the set printing path. During printing, the squeezing and pushing component 31 squeezes the ink raw material in the storage cylinder 32 to the nozzle 42, and is evenly extruded from the nozzle 42 to perform printing. At the first time of extrusion to printing, the light source lamp beads 412 on the conical bucket body 411 form a primary light curing, and under the printing movement of the path, the light source lamp beads 412 on the outward expansion edge 413 form a secondary light curing. During light curing, the box body 51 and the box cover 52 seal the printing area, and start the pump body 63 to guide the internal gas to flow in an internal circulation, and the activated carbon filter element in the filter box 64 filters the odor.

[0045] The specific implementation methods of the utility model described above do not constitute a limitation on the protection scope of the utility model. Any other corresponding changes and modifications made according to the technical concept of the utility model should be included in the protection scope of the claims of the utility model.

Claims

1. An ink direct writing 3D printer, characterized in that: include: Printing platform; A three-axis cantilever, which is arranged on the printing platform; The ink supply structure includes a squeezing and pushing component and a storage cylinder, wherein the squeezing and pushing component and the storage cylinder are both connected to the movable end of the three-axis cantilever, and the storage cylinder is provided with a discharge port, and the squeezing and pushing component is used to squeeze and push the material in the storage cylinder to be discharged from the discharge port; as well as The printing structure comprises a curing light source and a nozzle, wherein the nozzle is arranged on the discharge port of the material storage cylinder, and the curing light source is in a cone shape and is sleeved on the nozzle for irradiating the light source directly to the bottom end of the nozzle.

2. The ink direct writing 3D printer according to claim 1, characterized in that: The curing light source comprises a conical bucket body and light source lamp beads. A plurality of the light source lamp beads are arranged on the inner wall of the conical bucket body in a circumferential distribution, and the light source lamp beads face the bottom end of the nozzle.

3. The ink direct writing 3D printer according to claim 2, characterized in that: The curing light source also includes an outward expansion edge, which is arranged at the outer periphery of the bottom of the conical bucket and is in the shape of an annular plate. Several light source lamp beads are also arranged at the bottom of the outward expansion edge for vertically irradiating downward for secondary curing.

4. The ink direct writing 3D printer according to claim 3, characterized in that: It also includes a box structure, which includes a box body and a box cover. The box body is arranged on the periphery of the printing platform, and the box cover is detachably arranged on the box body.

5. The ink direct writing 3D printer according to claim 4, characterized in that: It also includes a gas circulation structure, which includes an air intake pipe, an exhaust pipe, a pump body and a filter box. The upper and lower parts of the inner wall of the box body are respectively provided with air intake holes and exhaust holes. The air intake pipe and the exhaust pipe are respectively connected to the air intake holes and the exhaust holes, and the other ends of the air intake pipe and the exhaust pipe are connected to the filter box. The pump body is arranged on the filter box.

6. The ink direct writing 3D printer according to claim 5, characterized in that: An activated carbon filter element is arranged inside the filter box.

7. The ink direct writing 3D printer according to claim 6, characterized in that: There are multiple material storage cylinders, and the pushing components correspond to the material storage cylinders one by one. A connecting pipe is provided between the discharge ports of the multiple material storage cylinders, and a main pipe is provided on the connecting pipe. The main pipe is connected to the nozzle, and a solenoid valve is provided on the discharge port of the material storage cylinder.

8. The ink direct writing 3D printer according to claim 7, characterized in that: The squeezing and pushing assembly includes a linear driving member and a squeezing and pushing block. The squeezing and pushing block is slidably connected to the inner side of the material storage cylinder. The movable end of the linear driving member is connected to the squeezing and pushing block to drive the squeezing and pushing block to slide in the material storage cylinder.

9. The ink direct writing 3D printer according to claim 8, characterized in that: A curing heat source is arranged in the box.

10. The ink direct writing 3D printer according to claim 9, characterized in that: The curing heat source is an infrared electronic heating element.

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