3D printing equipment

Abstract

The 3D printing equipment comprises a shell, a hot bed and a sensor set, a working cavity is formed in the shell, the hot bed is arranged in the shell, the hot bed is provided with a working area used for bearing a printing model, the sensor set comprises a plurality of sensors arranged at intervals, and the view field of each sensor covers at least part of the working area. The field of view of the sensor group covers the working area. The sensors are arranged around the hot bed working area, the view field of each sensor at least covers part of the working area, and the view field of the whole sensor group covers the whole working area, so that the detection dead angle of the sensor group is reduced, the damage of a single sensor or the shielding of the detection view field is reduced, and the detection efficiency is improved. Therefore, the timeliness and the reliability of the fire detection of the hot bed working area by the sensor group are improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of 3D printing technology, and more specifically to a 3D printing device. Background Technology

[0002] With the rapid development of 3D printing technology, 3D printing equipment is increasingly widely used in industrial manufacturing, prototyping, and other fields. As one of the core components of 3D printing equipment, the heated bed's main function is to uniformly heat the printing platform, thereby reducing warping deformation of the printing material caused by cooling shrinkage and improving the printing quality.

[0003] However, heated beds also pose certain safety hazards during use. For example, prolonged high-temperature operation may lead to localized overheating of the heated bed, or thermal runaway due to issues such as residual printing material or aging of thermal elements, potentially even causing fires or smoke. Especially in enclosed 3D printing equipment, if the risk of a heated bed fire is not identified and addressed in a timely manner, the fire may quickly spread inside the equipment, causing damage to the printed model, equipment malfunction, and in severe cases, potentially leading to a fire accident.

[0004] Therefore, how to identify the risk of fire in heated beds in a timely manner has become an urgent problem to be solved in the industry. Utility Model Content

[0005] The purpose of this application is to provide a 3D printing device that aims to solve the problem in the related art that a fire in a 3D printing device cannot be detected in a timely manner.

[0006] To achieve the objectives of this application, in a first aspect, this application provides a 3D printing apparatus, the 3D printing apparatus comprising:

[0007] A housing having a working cavity;

[0008] A heated bed, disposed within the housing, having a working area for supporting the printed model;

[0009] A sensor group comprising a plurality of spaced sensors, each sensor having a field of view covering at least a portion of the working area, and the field of view of the sensor group covering the working area.

[0010] In one possible implementation, the maximum field of view (FOV) of each sensor is ≤25°.

[0011] In one possible implementation, the optical axis angle between adjacent sensors is α1, where 30°≤α1≤70°.

[0012] In one possible implementation, the shape centers of each sensor are located on the same plane, and the angle between the plane and the working area is α2, 38°≤α2≤60°.

[0013] In one possible implementation, the projected overlap area between each of the sensors and the heated bed is zero along the height direction of the working cavity.

[0014] In one possible implementation, the sensor includes:

[0015] A mounting base is connected to the housing; the mounting base includes a mounting cavity and a light-transmitting hole communicating with the mounting cavity;

[0016] A detection probe is disposed inside the mounting cavity and is used to receive light transmitted into the mounting cavity through the light-transmitting hole.

[0017] A light-transmitting sheet is disposed on the fixing base and covers the light-transmitting hole.

[0018] In one possible implementation, the transmittance of the light-transmitting sheet is A, where 30% ≤ A ≤ 40%.

[0019] In one possible implementation, the mounting base is made of an elastic material; the detection probe is interference-fitted into the mounting cavity, or the mounting base is interference-fitted into the working cavity.

[0020] In one possible implementation, the mounting base includes at least two mounting cavities, each mounting cavity having a different angle between its axis and the working area;

[0021] The detection probe is installed in any of the mounting cavities.

[0022] In one possible implementation, the mounting cavity includes a first cavity segment and a second cavity segment that are connected to each other, the diameter of the first cavity segment is larger than the diameter of the second cavity segment, and a stepped surface is formed between the first cavity segment and the second cavity segment;

[0023] The detection probe passes through the first cavity segment and the second cavity segment, and the detection probe has a mounting surface that contacts the stepped surface.

[0024] In one possible implementation, the mounting base further includes a focusing cavity, which is disposed between the light-transmitting hole and the second cavity segment;

[0025] The diameter of the focusing cavity is larger than the diameter of the second cavity segment.

[0026] This application distributes multiple sensors around the heated bed working area, ensuring that the field of view of each sensor covers at least part of the working area, and the field of view of the entire sensor group covers the entire working area. This reduces the detection blind spots of the sensor group, lowers the risk of detection blind spots caused by damage to a single sensor or obstruction of the detection field of view, and improves the timeliness and reliability of the sensor group in detecting fires in the heated bed working area. Attached Figure Description

[0027] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained from these drawings without creative effort.

[0028] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the sensor array provided in this application for detecting the working area of ​​a heated bed;

[0029] Figure 2 for Figure 1 A three-dimensional structural diagram of the central sensor array;

[0030] Figure 3 for Figure 1 A structural diagram from another perspective;

[0031] Figure 4 for Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the sensor;

[0032] Figure 5 for Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the structure of the fixed base.

[0033] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures:

[0034] 100-Sensor Group;

[0035] 1-Sensor, 11-Fixed base, 111-Mounting cavity, 1111-First cavity segment, 1112-Second cavity segment, 1113-Step surface, 112-Light transmission hole, 113-Concentrating cavity, 12-Detection probe, 13-Light transmission sheet;

[0036] 200 - Work area, a - Plane. Detailed Implementation

[0037] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of this application without inventive effort are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0038] It should be noted that when a component is said to be "fixed" to another component, it can be directly on the other component or it can be in a middle component. When a component is said to be "connected" to another component, it can be directly connected to the other component or it may be in a middle component.

[0039] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used in this application have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this application pertains. The terminology used in the specification of this application is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the application. The term "and / or" as used in this application includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0040] The following detailed description of some embodiments of this application is provided in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Unless otherwise specified, the following embodiments and features can be combined with each other.

[0041] This application proposes a 3D printing device. In some embodiments, the 3D printing device includes a housing, a tool head, and a heated bed. The housing serves as a support component of the 3D printing device, used to support and connect the various parts assemblies of the 3D printing device. The housing forms a working cavity for 3D printing, and the heated bed and tool head are disposed within the working cavity.

[0042] The tool head is used to heat, extrude, and accurately deposit printing material onto a heated bed to build a three-dimensional model. In one embodiment of this application, the tool head may include a nozzle and a heating element, the heating element being used to heat the printing material to a molten state, thereby ensuring that the printing material can be smoothly extruded and uniformly deposited on the heated bed. The extruder is used to precisely extrude the molten printing material through the nozzle and deposit it layer by layer onto the heated bed along a predetermined path to form a three-dimensional model.

[0043] A heated bed is used to support and heat the material model extruded by the tool head, thereby enhancing the adhesion of the first layer of material and providing a stable foundation for subsequent printing. Simultaneously, the heated bed can slow down the cooling rate of the printed model, reducing stress caused by temperature gradients within the model and minimizing the risk of deformation. The heated bed has a working area facing the tool head, where the tool head extrudes and deposits printing material to form the 3D printed model.

[0044] Heated beds also pose certain safety hazards during use. For example, prolonged high-temperature operation can lead to localized overheating of the heated bed, or thermal runaway due to residual printing material, aging of thermal elements, or even fire or smoke. Especially in enclosed 3D printing equipment, if the risk of a heated bed fire is not identified and addressed promptly, the fire can quickly spread inside the equipment, causing damage to the printed model, equipment malfunction, and in severe cases, a fire accident. Alternatively, fires can occur during the operation of the 3D printing equipment itself. Optionally, 3D printing equipment can mount a laser head on the tool head; the risk of fire is particularly high during laser processing.

[0045] Please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 To address the aforementioned issues, in this application, the 3D printing equipment further includes a sensor group 100, which is positioned opposite to the working area 200 of the heated bed to detect the fire situation in the working area 200 of the heated bed.

[0046] In some embodiments, the sensor group 100 includes a plurality of spaced-apart sensors 1, each sensor 1 having a field of view (or detection range in some embodiments) covering at least a portion of the working area 200, and the sensor group 100 having a field of view covering the working area 200. This application, by arranging a plurality of sensors 1 around the heated bed working area 200, in some embodiments, ensures that the overlapping area of ​​the projection of each sensor 1 with the heated bed is zero along the height direction of the working cavity. This avoids interference between the sensors 1 and the tool head, increases the tool head's movable space, and improves the printing effect of the 3D printing device. Simultaneously, placing the sensors 1 outside the working area 200 also prevents one sensor 1 from obstructing the field of view of adjacent sensors 1, ensuring the independence of the field of view of each sensor 1.

[0047] This application distributes multiple sensors 1 around the heated bed working area 200, ensuring that the field of view of each sensor 1 covers at least a portion of the working area 200, and the field of view of the entire sensor group 100 covers the entire working area 200. This reduces the detection blind spots of the sensor group 100, lowers the risk of blind spots caused by damage to a single sensor 1 or obstruction of the detection field of view, and improves the timeliness and reliability of the sensor group 100 in detecting fires in the heated bed working area 200.

[0048] It should be noted that the aforementioned sensor 1 can be a smoke sensor, a temperature sensor, or a flame sensor; this application does not impose any limitations on this. When sensor 1 is a smoke sensor, it can identify the fire risk of the heated bed working area 200 by detecting the smoke concentration in the working area 200. When the smoke concentration in the heated bed working area 200 exceeds a safety threshold, sensor 1 can send an alarm signal to the controller of the 3D printing equipment, thereby triggering the subsequent fire response mechanism of the 3D printing equipment.

[0049] When sensor 1 is a temperature sensor, it can identify the fire risk of the heated bed working area 200 by detecting the temperature of the working area 200. When the temperature of the heated bed working area 200 exceeds the safety threshold, sensor 1 can send an alarm signal to the controller of the 3D printing equipment, thereby triggering the subsequent fire response mechanism of the 3D printing equipment.

[0050] When sensor 1 is a flame sensor, sensor 1 can detect the open flame in the working area 200. When the brightness of the open flame in the working area 200 exceeds the safety threshold, sensor 1 can send an alarm signal to the controller of the 3D printing equipment, thereby triggering the subsequent fire response mechanism of the 3D printing equipment.

[0051] For example, in this application, sensor 1 is a flame sensor. Sensor 1 detects the fire situation in the heated bed working area 200 by detecting the light intensity of the heated bed working area 200. Please refer to Figure 2 In some implementations, the maximum field of view (FOV) of each sensor 1 is ≤25°. Under this field of view limitation, the coverage requirement of the heated bed working area 200 by the sensor 1 can be guaranteed, while avoiding the excessive field of view of the sensor 1 receiving light, which would affect the detection accuracy of the sensor 1.

[0052] The number of sensors 1 can be two or three, and this application does not limit this. Exemplarily, in some embodiments, the sensor group 100 includes four sensors 1, and the included angle of the optical axes of each adjacent sensor 1 is α1, 30°≤α1≤70°. Exemplarily, α1 can be 35°, 50°, or 65°. In this way, while ensuring that the entire sensor group 100 can achieve full coverage of the heated bed working area 200, it also avoids the light angle of the sensor 1 being too small, which would cause adjacent sensors 1 to receive too many similar signals and form signal interference.

[0053] Please refer to Figure 3To reduce the coverage blind spots of the sensor group 100, in some embodiments, the shape centers of each sensor 1 are located on the same plane, and the angle between plane a and the working area 200 is α2, 38°≤α2≤60°. For example, α2 can be 40°, 50°, or 55°. Under this angle limitation, it can avoid the sensor 1's field of view being too "level", causing the far-end area (such as the opposite edge of the heated bed) to exceed the effective detection range, and the near-end area to be easily blocked by the printed model due to the small viewing angle. It can also avoid the sensor 1's field of view being too "top-down", which can cover the far end, but the near-end area (below the sensor 1) will have redundant overlap due to the excessive concentration of the field of view, and may also form blind spots due to the shell structure or the occlusion of adjacent sensors 1.

[0054] Please refer to Figure 4 and Figure 5 To enable detection of the heated bed working area 200, in some embodiments, the sensor 1 includes a mounting base 11, a detection probe 12, and a light-transmitting plate 13. The mounting base 11 serves as the main structural component of the sensor 1, supporting and connecting other parts of the sensor 1. The mounting base 11 can be made of plastic, metal, or composite materials such as ceramics; this application does not impose any limitations on this.

[0055] In some embodiments, the mounting base 11 is made of elastic materials such as silicone or polyurethane, and is interference-fitted into the working cavity. This eliminates the need for thickness allowances in other connection structures. For example, in a threaded connection, if the mounting base 11 and the housing are threaded, sufficient thickness must be reserved on the mounting base 11 or housing to drill the threaded hole to ensure sufficient thread depth within the mounting base 11 or housing, which would undoubtedly increase the thickness of the mounting base 11 or housing. This embodiment, by making the mounting base 11 an elastic material and providing mounting holes at corresponding positions on the housing, and then interlocking the mounting base 11 into the mounting holes, eliminates the need for drilling threaded holes. This allows for a thinner mounting base 11 and housing, contributing to the portability of the 3D printing equipment.

[0056] The mounting base 11 includes a mounting cavity 111 and a light-transmitting hole 112 communicating with the mounting cavity 111. A detection probe 12 is disposed within the mounting cavity 111. The detection probe 12 receives light transmitted through the light-transmitting hole 112 into the mounting cavity 111 and uses this light to determine the fire situation in the heated bed working area 200. Similar to the mounting base, in some embodiments, the detection probe 12 can also be installed within the mounting cavity 111 of the mounting base 11 by an interference fit, thereby reducing the installation difficulty of the detection probe 12 within the mounting cavity 111 and improving the installation efficiency of the detection probe 12.

[0057] To improve the stability of the detection probe 12 within the mounting cavity 111, in some embodiments, the mounting cavity 111 includes a first cavity segment 1111 and a second cavity segment 1112 that are connected. The diameter of the first cavity segment 1111 is larger than the diameter of the second cavity segment 1112, and a stepped surface 1113 is formed between the first cavity segment 1111 and the second cavity segment 1112. The detection probe 12 passes through the first cavity segment 1111 and the second cavity segment 1112, and the detection probe 12 has a mounting surface that contacts the stepped surface 1113. Thus, through the mechanical engagement between the stepped surface 1113 and the mounting surface of the detection probe 12, axial confinement and circumferential degree-of-freedom constraint of the detection probe 12 within the mounting cavity 111 are achieved. This maintains the optical axis pointing stability of the detection probe 12 under equipment vibration or temperature deformation conditions, reducing the possibility of monitoring signal drift or false triggering caused by the displacement of the detection probe 12.

[0058] To reduce the detection blind zone of the detection probe 12, in some embodiments, the mounting base further includes a focusing cavity 113, which is located between the light-transmitting hole 112 and the second cavity segment 1112; the diameter of the focusing cavity 113 is larger than the diameter of the second cavity segment 1112. By providing a focusing cavity 113 with a diameter larger than that of the detection probe 12 in the intermediate region between the light-transmitting hole 112 and the mounting cavity 111, the focusing cavity 113 can converge the light, reduce the blind zone of the probe for light collection, and improve the light collection effect of the detection probe 12.

[0059] Understandably, due to the different arrangement angles of sensor 1 within the working cavity, the angle between the mounting cavity 111 of different sensors 1 and the working area 200 will inevitably be different. This means that assembly personnel need to prepare at least two different specifications of mounting base 11 to install the detection probe 12, thereby ensuring that the detection probe 12 can ultimately be positioned facing the working area 200. This will undoubtedly increase the number of molds required for the mounting base 11 and increase the manufacturing cost of the mounting base 11.

[0060] To address the aforementioned issues, in some embodiments, the mounting base 11 includes at least two mounting cavities 111, each with a different angle between its axis and the working area 200; the detection probe 12 is installed within any of these mounting cavities 111. When assembling the sensor 1, the assembler can select different mounting cavities 111 for installation based on the sensor 1's position and angle within the working cavity. This eliminates the need to prepare mounting bases 11 of different specifications for the sensor 1, reducing the number of molds required for manufacturing the mounting base 11 and lowering its manufacturing cost.

[0061] The light-transmitting sheet 13 is disposed on the fixing base 11 and covers the light-transmitting hole 112. The light-transmitting sheet 13 is used to isolate the internal area of ​​the fixing base 11 from the external environment, thereby reducing the influence of external moisture and impurities on the detection probe 12 in the mounting cavity 111 and extending the service life of the detection probe 12.

[0062] The light-transmitting sheet 13 can be a fully transparent sheet or a semi-transparent sheet; this application does not limit this. In some embodiments, the light transmittance of the light-transmitting sheet 13 is A, where 30% ≤ A ≤ 40%. For example, A can be 31%, 35%, or 39%. With this light transmittance setting, the amount of light entering the sensor 1 can be effectively reduced, avoiding misjudgment of ordinary light by the sensor 1 and improving the accuracy of the sensor 1 in flame recognition.

[0063] It is understood that in other possible embodiments of this application, the light-transmitting sheet may not be provided, and light may be allowed to enter the mounting cavity directly through the light-transmitting hole. This application does not limit this.

[0064] In the description of the embodiments of this application, it should be noted that the orientation or positional relationship of the terms "center", "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "inner", "outer" and other indicators are based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description, 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 application.

[0065] The above-disclosed embodiments are merely preferred embodiments of this application and should not be construed as limiting the scope of this application. Those skilled in the art will understand that all or part of the processes for implementing the above embodiments and equivalent variations made in accordance with the claims of this application are still within the scope of this application.

Claims

1. A 3D printing device, characterized in that, The 3D printing equipment includes a tool head for mounting a laser head; comprising: A housing having a working cavity; A heated bed, disposed within the housing, having a working area for supporting the printed model; A sensor group comprising a plurality of spaced sensors, each sensor having a field of view covering at least a portion of the working area, and the field of view of the sensor group covering the working area.

2. The 3D printing equipment as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The maximum field of view (FOV) of each sensor is ≤25°.

3. The 3D printing equipment as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The included angle between the optical axes of each adjacent sensor is α1, where 30°≤α1≤70°.

4. The 3D printing equipment as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The shape centers of each sensor are located on the same plane, and the angle between the plane and the working area is α2, 38°≤α2≤60°.

5. The 3D printing equipment as described in claim 1, characterized in that, Along the height direction of the working cavity, the projected overlap area between each of the sensors and the heated bed is zero.

6. The 3D printing equipment as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The sensor includes: A mounting base is connected to the housing; the mounting base includes a mounting cavity and a light-transmitting hole communicating with the mounting cavity; A detection probe is disposed inside the mounting cavity and is used to receive light transmitted into the mounting cavity through the light-transmitting hole. A light-transmitting sheet is disposed on the fixing base and covers the light-transmitting hole.

7. The 3D printing equipment as described in claim 6, characterized in that, The transmittance of the light-transmitting sheet is A, where 30% ≤ A ≤ 40%.

8. The 3D printing equipment as described in claim 6, characterized in that, The mounting base is made of an elastic material; the detection probe is interference-fitted into the mounting cavity, or the mounting base is interference-fitted into the working cavity.

9. The 3D printing equipment as described in claim 6, characterized in that, The mounting base includes at least two mounting cavities, and the angle between the axis of each mounting cavity and the working area is set to be different; The detection probe is installed in any of the mounting cavities.

10. The 3D printing equipment as described in claim 6, characterized in that, The mounting cavity includes a first cavity segment and a second cavity segment that are connected to each other. The diameter of the first cavity segment is larger than the diameter of the second cavity segment, and a stepped surface is formed between the first cavity segment and the second cavity segment. The detection probe passes through the first cavity segment and the second cavity segment, and the detection probe has a mounting surface that contacts the stepped surface.

11. The 3D printing equipment as described in claim 10, characterized in that, The mounting base further includes a focusing cavity, which is disposed between the light-transmitting hole and the second cavity segment; The diameter of the focusing cavity is larger than the diameter of the second cavity segment.

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