Three-dimentional modeling device

Abstract

To provide a three-dimensional modeling device that reduces cutting work required to remove support material and improves work efficiency in modeling products having recesses.SOLUTION: A three-dimensional printer device 20 provides a product 30 with a recess 50 opening downwards in part of the underside of the product. If the dimension of the recess 50 is equal to or smaller than a predetermined width dimension La, a support material 40b is not modeled in the recess 50, but a recess lid member 40d that covers the opening of the recess 50 is formed as part of a lid member 40c, and a support material 40e is formed on the underside of the recess lid member 40d.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a three-dimensional modeling device that improves the removability of support material in a 3D printer used to manufacture three-dimensional shapes using powder or fluid. [Background technology]

[0002] 3D printers are well known for layering resin and metal materials to create three-dimensional product components (hereafter referred to as products). 3D printers create cross-sectional slice data from three-dimensional CAD data, and layer each layer in a pattern according to the cross-sectional slice data to create a product. This makes them suitable for handling complex shapes such as mesh and hollow structures.

[0003] When using a 3D printer to create a product having a space (hereinafter referred to as a recess) where part of the bottom surface of the product opens downward, support material is also placed in the recess in order to support the overhang (the part that protrudes into the space) that covers the recess during creation, and cutting is performed to remove the support material after the product is created.

[0004] Incidentally, when arranging the support material within the recess (its shape and position), various conditions must be taken into consideration when forming the recess, such as its size and shape, and restrictions on additional processing. In the three-dimensional modeling support device of Patent Document 1, a diagram showing the position where the support material should be placed is displayed on a display. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2017-210650 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, the cutting process for removing the support material from within the recesses must be performed individually by inserting a cutting tool into each of the formed recesses, posing a problem in terms of work efficiency.

[0007] The present invention has been made against the background described above, and its object is to provide a three-dimensional modeling device that reduces the cutting process for removing support material and improves work efficiency in modeling the product having the recess. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The gist of the present invention is (a) a three-dimensional printing device that uses a 3D printer to form a three-dimensional product on a lid member that is supported by a supporting material and functions as a processing allowance, (b) a recess that opens downward is provided on a portion of the underside of the product, and if the recess is equal to or smaller than a predetermined width dimension, the support material is not formed within the recess, but a recess cover member that covers the opening of the recess is formed as part of the lid member, and the support material is formed on the underside of the recess cover member. Effect of the Invention

[0009] In such a three-dimensional modeling device, in the recess where a part of the bottom surface of the product opens downward, if the recess is equal to or less than the predetermined width dimension, the support material is not formed in the recess, the recess cover member that closes the entrance of the recess is formed, and the support material is formed on the bottom surface of the recess cover member. In other words, in modeling with the 3D printer, if the recess is equal to or less than the predetermined width dimension, the support material is not formed in the recess, so cutting processing in which a cutting tool is inserted into the recess and the support material is individually removed from inside the recess is not required, and additional processing can be performed only by plane processing, improving work efficiency. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a three-dimensional modeling apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2]FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating the modeling procedure of a 3D printer device. [Diagram 3] 1A to 1C are cross-sectional views illustrating a conventional method for forming a product having a recess. [Figure 4] 1A to 1C are cross-sectional views illustrating a method for forming a product having a recess according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that in the following embodiments, the drawings are appropriately simplified or modified for the purpose of explanation, and the dimensional ratios, shapes, angles, etc. of each part are not necessarily drawn accurately. EXAMPLES

[0012] 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a three-dimensional modeling apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The three-dimensional modeling apparatus 10 includes a 3D printer device 20, an electronic control device 80, and an input / output device 90. Each device may be configured as a separate housing, or a plurality of devices or the entire device may be configured as an integrated housing.

[0013] The 3D printer device 20 forms the product 30 by stacking modeling materials (for example, metal powder, etc.) based on cross-sectional slice data MDs (described later) transmitted from the electronic control device 80.

[0014] The input / output device 90 is composed of devices such as a display, keyboard, mouse, etc. that operate the 3D modeling device 10, and devices such as file input / output devices and network devices that perform data input / output between the 3D modeling device 10 and the outside world.

[0015] The electronic control device 80 performs overall control of the 3D modeling apparatus 10. The electronic control device 80 includes a so-called microcomputer, and the CPU performs signal processing according to a stored program to perform various controls of the 3D modeling apparatus 10. The electronic control device 80 includes a data generation unit 82 and a modeling control unit 84.

[0016] The data generation unit 82 generates three-dimensional manufacturing data MD (hereinafter, referred to as "modeling data") for modeling the product 30 by the 3D printer device 20, based on the three-dimensional CAD data of the product 30.

[0017] The modeling data MD is generated by combining modeling data of the parts of the product 30 itself and modeling data of additional members 40 that are additionally required for modeling the product in the 3D printer device 20. The additional members 40 are, for example, support materials or machining allowances for the product, and are suitably provided by the data generating unit 82 based on design or manufacturing requirements.

[0018] The printing control unit 84 transmits cross-sectional slice data MDs for each layer from the printing data MD generated by the data generating unit 82 to the 3D printer 20. The 3D printer 20 functions as a three-dimensional printing device, and performs stacking for each layer in a plurality of patterns according to the plurality of cross-sectional slice data MDs, and forms a product 30 with a multi-layer structure by repeating stacking for all cross sections from the printing start surface of the printing data MD.

[0019] Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining a conventional procedure for modeling by stacking in a 3D printer device 20. The stacking is performed vertically from bottom to top, and Fig. 2 shows this as a cross-sectional view seen from the side.

[0020] First, in (a) of FIG. 2, the layering of the modeling start surface (first layer) is performed. The 3D printer 20 applies the powder 24 (white circle) of the first layer to the lift table 22. The powder 24 is a modeling material, for example, metal powder. In accordance with the pattern of the cross-sectional slice data MDs of the first layer transmitted from the modeling control unit 84, the 3D printer 20 irradiates the powder 24 of the part to be modeled with laser light 26 operated in a predetermined pattern from a laser light irradiation device (not shown), for example. By irradiating the laser light 26, the powder 24 is locally melted and bonded, and a modeling member 28 (black circle) is formed.

[0021] Next, in (b) of FIG. 2, the 3D printer device 20 lowers the lift table 22, applies the second layer of powder 24, and irradiates the laser light 26 according to the pattern of the cross-sectional slice data MDs of the second layer, thereby forming the second layer of modeling member 28. If the first and second layer of modeling portions are adjacent to each other, the adjacent portions are also fused and bonded to each other by irradiation with the laser light 26. By repeating this operation, a modeled object as shown in (c) of FIG. 2 is formed. In (c) of FIG. 2, the modeling member 28 (black circle) is the portion to be formed as the modeled object, and the powder 24 (white circle) is the portion that remains as powder. The remaining powder 24 is removed by air blowing or the like after modeling.

[0022] In addition, while FIG. 2 shows the powder 24 and the shaping member 28 in a schematic manner, the actual powder 24 is prepared to have a size, shape, grain size, and the like suitable for shaping a product.

[0023] Hereinafter, the molding structure to which the present invention is applied will be explained by comparing FIG. 3, which illustrates a molding method when the present invention is not applied, with FIG. 4, which specifically illustrates a molding method to which the present invention is applied.

[0024] 3 is a cross-sectional view from the side of the molded shape (corresponding to the mold data MD) of a portion of the product 30 having a recess 50, with the vertical direction being the up-down direction of the page. The product 30 is, for example, a valve body molded from a metal material as a hydraulic control circuit component of a vehicle. The product 30 has a recess 50 that opens downward in part of the bottom surface of the product 30 as a path for a fluid such as oil. The molded product is molded by stacking from the bottom end upward in the page direction of FIG. 3 using a 3D printer device 20.

[0025] 3, the product 30 itself and the additional members 40, which are a support material 40a for the entire product 30, a support material 40b supporting an overhang that covers the recess 50, and a lid member 40c that functions as a machining allowance, are formed as a molded object. The hatched portion 60 is a portion that is not molded (corresponding to the powder 24 filled in white in FIG. 2), and the layered powder 24 is removed by air blowing or the like after molding.

[0026] In the case of the molding method of Fig. 3, the following three additional processing steps are required to transform the molded object into the final form of the product 30. The first is the removal of the support material 40a, which is performed by plane cutting (plane processing) or the like. The second is the removal of the support material 40b within the recess 50, which requires cutting processing to be performed individually for each of the molded support materials 40b. The third is plane cutting (plane processing) of the surface PCL, with the lid member 40c as the machining allowance.

[0027] Fig. 4 is a diagram for explaining a specific example of a modeling method when the present invention is applied. Like Fig. 3, Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view from the side of the modeled shape (corresponding to modeling data MD) of a portion of a product 30 modeled by a 3D printer device 20 where a recess 50 is formed.

[0028] 4, in forming the additional member 40, if the recess 50 is equal to or smaller than a predetermined width dimension La, a support material 40b is not formed within the recess 50, and a recess cover member 40d that closes the entrance of the recess 50 is formed as part of a cover member 40c that functions as a machining allowance for the product 30, and a support material 40e is formed on the underside of the recess cover member 40d. The predetermined width dimension La is a value determined in advance by design or experimentation that allows small allowable product deformation even without the support material 40b.

[0029] In the case of Figure 4, the additional processing steps for forming the final form of the product 30 from the formed object are reduced from three in Figure 3 to the following two. The first is the removal of the support materials (40a and 40e), which is performed by plane cutting (plane processing) or the like. The second is plane cutting (plane processing) of the surface PCL, using the cover member 40c (including the recess cover member 40d formed as part of the cover member 40c) as the processing allowance.

[0030] In other words, in the case of Figure 4, the support material 40b is not formed within the recess 50, and separate cutting processing for removing the support material 40b is not required. Additional processing can be performed by flat surface processing alone, improving work efficiency.

[0031] In this manner, in the three-dimensional modeling apparatus 10 of this embodiment, a recess 50 that opens downward is provided in a portion of the bottom surface of the product 30, and if the recess 50 is equal to or smaller than a predetermined width dimension La, a support material 40b is not formed within the recess 50, a recess cover member 40d that closes the opening of the recess 50 is formed as part of the cover member 40c, and a support material 40e is formed on the bottom surface of the recess cover member 40d. That is, in modeling with the 3D printer apparatus 20, if the recess 50 is equal to or smaller than the predetermined width dimension La, the support material 40b is not formed within the recess 50, making additional processing to remove the support material from the recess 50 unnecessary, and the additional processing can be performed by only plane processing, improving work efficiency.

[0032] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the drawings, these are merely one embodiment, and the present invention can be embodied in various modified and improved forms based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art. [Explanation of symbols]

[0033] 10: three-dimensional modeling device, 20: 3D printer device, 30: product, 40a: supporting material, 40b: supporting material, 40c: lid member, 40d: recessed portion lid member, 40e: supporting material, 50: recess, La: predetermined width dimension

Claims

[Claim 1] A three-dimensional modeling apparatus that uses a three-dimensional printer to model a three-dimensional product on a cover member that is supported by a support material and functions as a machining allowance, When a recess that opens downward is provided in a part of the bottom surface of the product and the recess is equal to or smaller than a predetermined width dimension, the support material is not molded in the recess, and a recess cover member that closes the opening of the recess is molded as a part of the cover member, and the support material is molded on the bottom surface of the recess cover member. A three-dimensional modeling apparatus comprising:

Images