Multi-mode three-dimensional printer head and cooperative printing method using the head
The multimode 3D printer head addresses the inefficiency of frequent adjustments in existing 3D printers by enabling automatic switching between extrusion and droplet ejection printing, improving printing efficiency and quality.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- JP2024184435
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2023-10-20
- Filing Date
- 2024-10-18
- Publication Date
- 2025-05-02
- Estimated Expiration
- 2044-10-18
AI Technical Summary
Existing 3D printers require frequent adjustments of the 3D printer head to accommodate different materials, leading to reduced printing efficiency due to the need for multiple printer heads and nozzles.
A multimode 3D printer head that can automatically switch between extrusion and droplet ejection printing methods, adjust its height, and control the amount of droplets added, using a combination of a heating mechanism, feed mechanism, and ejection aid member.
The multimode 3D printer head significantly improves printing efficiency by allowing seamless switching between printing methods without the need for frequent adjustments, ensuring consistent and high-quality prints.
Smart Images

Figure 2025071071000001_ABST
Abstract
Description
[Technical field]
[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority to a Chinese application with application number 2023113632761, filed on October 20, 2023, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
[0002] The present specification relates to the technical field of 3D printing devices, and in particular to a multi-mode 3D printer head and a collaborative printing method using the same. [Background technology]
[0003] 3D printing, a type of rapid prototyping technology, is the construction of an object by printing layer by layer, based on a digital model file, using joinable profile materials such as powdered metal or plastic.
[0004] Due to the different properties of profile materials, existing 3D printers are mainly divided into extrusion molding or droplet ejection to meet the needs of profile materials with different ejection methods, as a result, 3D printers need to install multiple corresponding 3D printer heads to print composite materials, and different printing nozzles need to be replaced when running a printing program, which requires frequent adjustment of the position of the 3D printer head to ensure that the corresponding material can be used, which has a great impact on printing efficiency.
[0005] Therefore, it is desirable to provide a multi-mode 3D printer head and a collaborative printing method using the same that can automatically change the printing method, adjust the height of the printer head, and improve printing efficiency. Summary of the Invention
[0006] One or more embodiments of the present specification provide a multi-mode 3D printer head, the head including a head body, an extrusion hole is provided in the head body, a feeding mechanism is provided above the extrusion hole, and a heating mechanism is provided below the extrusion hole, the head body is provided with a plurality of droplet ejection holes along a circumferential direction of a central axis of the extrusion hole, lower ends of the plurality of droplet ejection holes are provided at an incline with respect to one end of the extrusion hole, the lower ends of the plurality of droplet ejection holes are flush with a lower end of the extrusion hole, the plurality of droplet ejection holes are provided symmetrically with respect to the extrusion hole, a straight line on which the central axes of the plurality of droplet ejection holes are located has an intersection, and the intersection is located directly below the extrusion hole, the head body is provided with a plurality of droplet addition holes and an auxiliary side a nozzle hole is further provided, an inner diameter of the droplet addition hole is larger than an inner diameter of the droplet injection hole, one end remote from the plurality of droplet injection holes communicates with a droplet addition tube, the auxiliary side hole is provided perpendicular to the droplet addition hole, an auxiliary injection member is detachably connected, the auxiliary injection member includes a sleeve fixed to the auxiliary side hole, a moving block is provided within the sleeve, an outer surface of the moving block is in close contact with an inner wall of the sleeve in the circumferential direction, one end close to the auxiliary side hole truncates the droplet addition hole, an auxiliary ejection hole is further provided in the moving block, two openings of the auxiliary ejection hole are respectively provided toward the plurality of droplet injection holes and away from the auxiliary side hole, an air pipe is connected to one end of the sleeve remote from the auxiliary side hole, and an induction coil is provided.
[0007] One or more embodiments herein provide a collaborative printing method for a multi-mode 3D printer head, the method using the multi-mode 3D printer head described in the above embodiments, the method including the steps of: obtaining a three-dimensional model and profile materials to be printed via a printing platform; slicing the three-dimensional model via a processor and obtaining slices of the three-dimensional model to be printed; determining a print program segment for droplet ejection and a print program segment for extrusion based on a number of the profile materials and a size of the three-dimensional model via the processor and sending to a controller; sequentially executing the print program segment for droplet ejection and the print program segment for extrusion via the controller and setting a compensation program between the print program segment for droplet ejection and the print program segment for extrusion; and completing a printing job. [Brief description of the drawings]
[0008] The present specification will be further illustrated by exemplary embodiments, which are not limiting and which will be described in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals refer to like structures, and in which: [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram showing a cross section of a partial structure in a droplet addition state according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Diagram 2] 1 is a schematic structural diagram showing a cross section of a partial structure in a droplet ejecting state according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Diagram 3] 1 is a schematic structural diagram showing a cross section of a head body according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] 1 is a schematic structural diagram showing a cross section of a jetting assist member in a droplet-added state according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; [Diagram 5] 1 is a schematic structural diagram showing a cross section of an ejection assist member in a droplet ejection state according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; [Figure 6]1 is a schematic top view of a head body according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; [Figure 7] 1 is a schematic bottom structural diagram of a head body according to some embodiments of the present specification. [Figure 8] 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a head body according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram showing an entire printer head according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 10A] 1 is a schematic structural diagram of an adhesive recovery member according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; [Figure 10B] 1 is a schematic diagram of a rotating adhesive recovery member according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; [Figure 11] 1 is an exemplary flowchart of a multi-mode 3D printer head cooperative printing method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 12] FIG. 2 is a model schematic structural diagram of a fusion degree model according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0009] In order to more clearly describe the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present specification, the following briefly describes the accompanying drawings that need to be used in the description of the embodiments, which do not represent all embodiments.
[0010] It should be noted that the terms "system," "apparatus," "unit," and / or "module" used herein are used to distinguish between different components, devices, parts, portions, or assemblies at different levels, and may be replaced with other terms if other words can achieve the same purpose.
[0011] Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, terms such as "a," "one," "a kind," and / or "the" do not specifically refer to the singular but may also include the plural. In general, terms such as "comprising" and "including" only imply the inclusion of explicitly identified steps and elements and do not constitute an exclusive list and the method or apparatus may include other steps or elements.
[0012] In the examples herein, when describing operations performed through steps, unless otherwise specified, the order of the steps may be interchanged, steps may be omitted, or other steps may be included in the course of operations.
[0013] The multi-mode 3D printer head and the collaborative printing method using the same provided by the embodiments of this specification are different from the existing structure, and can complete the printing of composite materials with only one 3D printer head, and can switch between extrusion molding and droplet jet printing methods according to the actual profile. The difference of the above printing method is that the 3D printer head only needs to be adjusted to the corresponding preset height, and when using the above structure, the magnetic force of the induction coil or the air pressure of the air tube can be adjusted as needed, which can realize the control of the amount of droplet addition and greatly improve the printing efficiency.
[0014] Fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram showing the entire printer head according to some embodiments of the present specification. Fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram showing a cross section of a head body according to some embodiments of the present specification. Fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram showing a head body according to some embodiments of the present specification.
[0015] As shown in Figures 3, 8 and 9, a multi-mode 3D printer head (hereinafter referred to as printer head) includes a head body 1, in which an extrusion hole 11 is provided, and the extrusion hole 11 is provided at the center position of the head body 1. When a profile 8 is added to the extrusion hole 11, the printer head heats and melts the profile 8, and discharges it from the lower end opening of the extrusion hole 11, and cools the melted profile 8 through a preset cooling structure (not shown), completing the molding of the melted profile 8 and realizing extrusion molding printing. Here, the extrusion hole 11 is vertical.
[0016] In some embodiments, the feeding mechanism includes a connecting frame detachably connected to the head body, the connecting frame having opposing drive and driven wheels for transporting the profile above the extrusion hole, the spacing of the driven wheels relative to the drive wheels being adjustable based on the diameter of the profile.
[0017] In some embodiments, as shown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 9, the head body 1 is designed as follows, and a feeding mechanism 7 is provided above the extrusion hole 11, and the feeding mechanism 7 includes a connection frame 71 detachably connected to the head body 1. Here, the head body 1 can be connected to the connection frame 71 in various ways. Exemplarily, as a connection method, an external thread is provided at the top end of the head body 1, and an internal thread is provided on the connection frame 71, and the fixing is achieved by cooperation of the internal thread and the external thread.
[0018] As shown in Figures 3 and 9, the connecting frame 71 is provided with a driving wheel 72 and a driven wheel 73 facing each other for conveying the profile 8 above the extrusion hole 11. The distance between the driving wheel 72 and the driven wheel 73 is adjusted according to the diameter of the profile 8. For example, the larger the diameter of the profile, the larger the distance between the driving wheel and the driven wheel for clamping the profile.
[0019] The driven wheel 73 can clamp the profile 8 and convey the profile 8 downwards, and the material can be discharged by continuously adding the profile 8 to the extrusion hole 11. Here, the profile 8 can be of vertical shape.
[0020] In some embodiments herein, a drive wheel and a driven wheel are provided and the spacing of the driven wheel relative to the drive wheel can be adjusted to allow for more convenient transport of the profile while at the same time clamping the profile to prevent it from slipping.
[0021] In some embodiments, the head body has an annular groove on a side thereof away from the feeding mechanism, the annular groove being located between the extrusion holes and the droplet ejection holes, and a heating mechanism is provided.
[0022] In some embodiments, as shown in Figures 3 and 9, an annular groove 15 is provided on the side of the head body 1 away from the feeding mechanism 7, the annular groove 15 is located between the extrusion holes 11 and the droplet ejection holes 13, and a heating mechanism is provided in the annular groove 15. In some embodiments, the heating mechanism includes a heating wire, which is provided in an annular shape and embedded in the annular groove 15. At the same time, the annular groove 15 is provided at a position such that the heating mechanism can heat the droplets in the droplet ejection holes 13 at the same time.
[0023] In some embodiments herein, a heating mechanism may be provided in an annular groove between the extrusion hole and the droplet ejection hole to keep the profile warm or heat the droplets.
[0024] Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram showing a cross section of a partial structure in a droplet addition state according to some embodiments of the present specification. Fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram showing a cross section of a partial structure in a droplet ejection state according to some embodiments of the present specification. Fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram seen from above of a head main body according to some embodiments of the present specification. Fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram seen from below of a head main body according to some embodiments of the present specification.
[0025] In some embodiments, in order to realize droplet jet printing using the same printer head, as shown in Figures 1, 2, 6 and 7, the head body 1 is provided with a plurality of droplet jet holes 13 along the circumferential direction of the central axis of the extrusion hole 11. The lower ends of the droplet jet holes 13 are provided at an incline with respect to one end of the extrusion hole 11. By providing them at an incline, the droplets in the droplet jet holes 13 can be jetted downward from the extrusion hole 11. Here, the lower ends of the plurality of droplet jet holes 13 are flush with the lower end of the extrusion hole 11, so that it is possible to prevent the head body from colliding with intermediate products in the printing process during the process of movement.
[0026] In some embodiments, the droplet ejection holes 13 need to eject droplets through the airflow, and in order to avoid the droplets being ejected at positions other than the preset positions, the number of droplet ejection holes 13 is set to an even number and is arranged symmetrically with respect to the extrusion holes 11. Through the interaction of the airflow, the droplets can be ejected accurately at the preset positions through the droplet ejection holes 13 to complete the printing process. Here, the preset positions refer to the positions at which the droplets need to be ejected, which are set in the printing program segments. For the description of the printing program segments, please refer to the related description below.
[0027] In some embodiments, in order to accurately position the preset position, the straight line on which the central axes of the plurality of droplet ejection holes 13 are located has an intersection point, and the intersection point is located directly below the extrusion hole 11 and on the straight line on which the central axes of the extrusion hole 11 are located. Therefore, the ejection positions of the plurality of droplet ejection holes 13 and the extrusion positions of the extrusion holes 11 differ only in the vertical direction, and do not differ in the horizontal and vertical directions, so that only the height of the head body 1 needs to be adjusted when using the printer head.
[0028] When switching the print program segment for extrusion molding to the print program segment for droplet ejection via the controller, it is necessary to raise the height of the head body 1, and the height to be raised is the distance between the lower end opening of the extrusion hole 11 and the above-mentioned intersection. When switching the print program segment for droplet ejection to the print program segment for extrusion molding via the controller, it is necessary to lower the height of the head body 1, and the height to be lowered is the same as the above-mentioned lifting height.
[0029] The droplet injection hole 13 alone cannot complete the droplet injection, so the printer head is further provided with a droplet injection structure and an air injection mechanism. In some embodiments, the droplet injection structure includes a droplet injection hole and an auxiliary side hole. The air injection mechanism includes an injection auxiliary member.
[0030] In some embodiments, the head body 1 is further provided with a plurality of droplet addition holes 12 and auxiliary side holes 14 communicating with the droplet ejection holes 13. Here, the inner diameter of the droplet addition holes 12 is larger than the inner diameter of the droplet ejection holes 13, thereby enabling normal addition of droplets.
[0031] In some embodiments, in order to realize droplet addition, one end of the droplet addition hole 12 remote from the droplet injection hole 13 communicates with the droplet addition tube 6. In order to realize quantitative droplet addition, a droplet addition seat 5 is further provided between the droplet addition tube 6 and the droplet addition hole 12. Here, a liquid supply mechanism is provided in a part of the droplet addition tube 6 in order to supply droplets required for printing.
[0032] In some embodiments, the auxiliary side holes 14 are arranged perpendicular to the droplet addition holes 12 and are detachably connected to the jet assistant member 2, and are similarly perpendicular to the droplet addition holes 12 after the jet assistant member 2 is connected.
[0033] 4 is a schematic structural diagram showing a cross section of the jetting assisting member in a droplet adding state according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 5 is a schematic structural diagram showing a cross section of the jetting assisting member in a droplet jetting state according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0034] 4 and 5, in some embodiments, the jet assistant member 2 includes a sleeve 21 fixed to the assistant side hole 14. The sleeve 21 has a cylindrical structure, and a movable block 23 is provided inside the sleeve 21.
[0035] The moving block 23 is used to cut off the above-mentioned droplet adding hole 12 by moving. In order to avoid the droplets leaking through the gap, the outer surface of the moving block 23 is in close contact with the inner wall of the sleeve 21 in the circumferential direction to achieve a mutual sealed connection, and no droplets or gas leaks.
[0036] In some embodiments, in order to realize the driving and ejection of droplets in the droplet ejection hole 13, an auxiliary ejection hole 24 is further provided in the moving block 23, and two openings of the auxiliary ejection hole 24 are respectively provided toward the droplet ejection hole 13 and away from the auxiliary side hole 14, so that the airflow can pass through between the two openings.
[0037] In some embodiments, the jet assistant member 2 includes a cylindrical sleeve 21 having a rectangular hole along its length, the width of the rectangular hole being equal to the diameter of the droplet addition hole 12. The moving block 23 is movable within the rectangular hole.
[0038] In some embodiments, the moving block 23 includes a rectangular segment and a semicircular segment, the rectangular segment is in close contact with the rectangular hole in the circumferential direction, the diameter of the semicircular segment is the same as the width of the rectangular hole, and the semicircular segment can be inserted into the droplet addition hole 12 from the side to cut off the droplet addition hole 12. Here, the rectangular segment design prevents the moving block 23 from rotating during the movement process, allows the outlet of the auxiliary nozzle 24 to be vertical, and provides air power to the droplet injection hole 13 to eject droplets. The semicircular segment design cuts off the droplet addition hole 12 to avoid droplet reflux.
[0039] In some embodiments, the auxiliary orifices communicate with the droplet ejection orifices when the moving block truncates the droplet addition orifices.
[0040] In some embodiments, as shown in Figures 2 and 9, the auxiliary orifice 24 can communicate with the droplet injection hole 13 when the moving block 23 cuts off the droplet injection hole 12, in order to realize air ejection driving of the droplets in the droplet injection hole 12. One end of the auxiliary orifice 24 communicates with the air pipe 4. When the air pipe 4 is pressurized, the air flow can be ejected from another opening of the auxiliary orifice 24.
[0041] In some embodiments, an air pipe 4 is connected to one end of the sleeve 21 remote from the auxiliary side hole 14, and an air supply mechanism for providing injection power is connected to one end of the air pipe 4 remote from the sleeve 21. Here, the air supply mechanism includes an air compressor or the like.
[0042] When the printer head is used, the airflow of the air compressor can enter the sleeve 21, and when the opening of the auxiliary side hole 14 toward the droplet injection hole 13 is blocked by the sleeve 21, the airflow can push the moving block 23 to move. The moving block 23 abuts against the inner wall of the droplet injection hole 12 by moving, cutting off the droplet injection hole 12. At the same time, the opening of the auxiliary side hole 14 at a position away from the auxiliary side hole 14 can communicate with the droplet injection hole 13, and the airflow enters from the sleeve 21 and then exits from the opening of the auxiliary side hole 14 at a position away from the auxiliary side hole 14 to realize air jetting. During the air jetting process, the airflow can carry out the droplets and realize droplet jetting printing.
[0043] In some embodiments herein, the auxiliary orifices communicate with the droplet ejection orifices when the moving block truncates the droplet addition orifices, which can conveniently realize air-ejection driving of the droplets.
[0044] In some embodiments, the induction coil is configured to attract the moving block after being energized, and the moving block after being attracted moves away from the droplet addition hole.
[0045] In some embodiments, an induction coil 22 is provided at one end of the sleeve 21 away from the droplet addition hole 12 to realize droplet addition during the subsequent printing process. The induction coil 22 is configured to attract the moving block 23 after being energized, so that the moving block 23 after being attracted can move away from the droplet addition hole 12, and further, droplets can flow from the droplet addition hole 12 into the droplet ejection hole 13. By alternately performing the process of moving the moving block by airflow pressure and the process of attracting the moving block after energizing the induction coil, periodic droplet ejection printing can be realized.
[0046] Since the moving block 23 needs to be attracted by the induction coil 22, the moving block 23 is necessarily made of a magnetic material, and the other structures in the injection auxiliary member 2, such as the sleeve 21, are all made of non-magnetic materials.
[0047] In some embodiments, a power supply is connected to the induction coil 22. The power supply is configured to provide power to the induction coil.
[0048] In some embodiments of the present specification, an induction coil is provided to adsorb the moving block, and after adsorption, the moving block moves away from the droplet addition hole, thereby enabling the moving block to move quickly while at the same time ensuring that the same amount of time is taken for each movement of the moving block, thereby further improving printing accuracy.
[0049] In some embodiments, the inner diameter of the auxiliary orifices 24 is larger than the inner diameter of the droplet ejection orifices 13 .
[0050] The opening close to the droplet ejection hole 13 may be of any possible shape, for example the opening is a flared opening 25. Also for example the opening is a circular opening.
[0051] In some embodiments herein, the inner diameter of the auxiliary nozzle is larger than the inner diameter of the droplet ejection hole, thereby enabling the ejection air pressure to be increased, and the opening close to the droplet ejection hole is a flared opening, thereby enabling the phenomenon of droplet reflux during droplet ejection to be avoided, and also enabling the phenomenon of droplets being ejected into a corner and not being ejected normally from the droplet ejection hole to be avoided.
[0052] The connecting segment of the droplet addition hole 12 and the droplet ejection hole 13 may have any possible shape, for example the connecting segment is a cone-shaped segment, or for example the connecting segment is a cylindrical section.
[0053] The droplets enter the droplet ejection hole 13 together with the airflow and can then be ejected.
[0054] In some embodiments, when processing the head body 1, the upper half of the droplet addition hole 12 is processed with a circular drill, and the droplet injection hole 13 is processed with a circular drill with a smaller diameter, with the two holes not communicating with each other, and the lower half of the processed droplet addition hole 12 is connected to the droplet injection hole 13 with a conical drill.
[0055] In some embodiments herein, the connecting segment between the droplet addition hole and the droplet ejection hole is a cone-shaped segment, which can achieve droplet collection and droplet accumulation prevention.
[0056] In some embodiments, the diameter of the droplet addition holes 12 is larger than the diameter of the droplet ejection holes 13 to avoid the droplets entering the sleeve 21 of the ejection assistant member 2 .
[0057] One end of the droplet addition hole 12 remote from the droplet injection hole 13 is inclined with respect to the extrusion hole 11, and the inclination angle may include various angle ranges. For example, the inclination angle may be 0° to 45°. Also, for example, the inclination angle may be 10° to 35°. Furthermore, for example, the inclination angle may be 20° to 25°.
[0058] In some embodiments herein, one end of the droplet addition hole away from the droplet ejection hole is inclined relative to the extrusion hole, so that the droplets can enter the droplet ejection hole 13 accurately after being added to the droplet addition hole 12.
[0059] 10A and 10B are schematic structural diagrams of an adhesive recovery member according to some embodiments of the present disclosure when the adhesive recovery member rotates according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;
[0060] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 10A, the head body further includes an adhesive recovery member 1010.
[0061] The adhesive recovery member is configured to remove the extrusion adhesive remaining below the extrusion holes. In some embodiments, the adhesive recovery member is provided below the head body. The extrusion adhesive refers to an adhesive for extrusion printing.
[0062] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 10A, the adhesive recovery member includes a scraping sheet 1011 and an adhesive recovery box (not shown).
[0063] The scraping sheet is configured to scrape off the extrusion adhesive remaining below the extrusion holes. In some embodiments, the scraping sheet scrapes off the extrusion adhesive remaining below the extrusion holes by rotating. As shown in FIG. 10A, grooves 1012 are provided on the scraping sheet.
[0064] The grooves 1012 are used to avoid dripping of adhesive, and it should be noted that the adhesive on the scraping sheet may accumulate in the grooves to avoid dripping directly from the scraping sheet.
[0065] The adhesive recovery box is configured to temporarily store the adhesive on the scraping sheet. In some embodiments, the adhesive recovery box is disposed in the rotation path of the scraping sheet and parallel to the scraping sheet. A cleaning brush is disposed in the storage box. For example, a cleaning brush or a powered cleaning brush may be disposed.
[0066] An opening that matches the size of the scraping sheet is provided in the adhesive recovery box, and when the scraping sheet enters the opening of the storage box by rotation, a cleaning brush in the storage box comes into contact with the scraping sheet, and the extrusion-molded adhesive on the scraping sheet is cleaned into the adhesive recovery box.
[0067] In some embodiments, the adhesive recovery box is provided with a gravity sensor, where the gravity sensor is configured to detect an amount of residual adhesive in the adhesive recovery box, where the amount of residual adhesive refers to a volume of extruded adhesive temporarily present in the adhesive recovery box.
[0068] In some embodiments, the gravity sensor is communicatively connected to the processor. Each time the scraping sheet rotates once, the gravity sensor detects the amount of adhesive remaining in the adhesive recovery box once and sends the amount of adhesive remaining to the processor. For further description of the processor obtaining the amount of adhesive remaining, see step 1140 and its related description.
[0069] In some embodiments, the adhesive collection member rotates relative to the head body and moves away from the head body, as shown in FIG. 10B.
[0070] In some embodiments of the present specification, an adhesive recovery member is provided to allow the extrusion molding adhesive remaining below the extrusion hole to be removed in a timely manner, and at the same time, the adhesive recovery member rotates away from the head body so that the residual adhesive collected by the adhesive recovery member can be easily cleaned.
[0071] In some embodiments, the head body further includes a cooling member, the cooling member including a gas cooler or the like.
[0072] The cooling member is configured to cool the gas entering the air tube. In some embodiments, the cooling member is disposed around the air tube. For example, the cooling member is disposed around the air tube.
[0073] In some embodiments of the present specification, a cooling member is provided to cool the gas flowing in from the air tube, so that the cooled gas can be used to cool the printing area during extrusion printing to facilitate the formation of the printed product.
[0074] In some embodiments, the multi-mode 3D printer head further comprises a processor and a controller.
[0075] The processor is used to process data from at least one component of the multi-mode 3D printer head or an external data source. In some embodiments, the processor includes a printing platform. The printing platform refers to a virtual platform that assists in printing. The printing platform is configured to acquire a three-dimensional model and a profile material to be printed.
[0076] In some embodiments, the processor includes a central processing unit (CPU), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a physics processing unit (PPU), a microprocessor, etc., or any combination thereof. The processor is configured to slice the three-dimensional model to obtain slices of the model to be printed. The processor is further configured to determine print program segments for droplet ejection and print program segments for extrusion based on the number of profile materials and the size of the three-dimensional model.
[0077] In some embodiments, a memory unit is provided within the processor and configured to store data related to historical printing tasks performed by the print head, such as material characteristics of historical print slices.
[0078] In some embodiments, a fusion degree model is provided within the processor, for a description of the fusion degree model see FIG.
[0079] In some embodiments, the multi-mode 3D printer head further comprises a plurality of temperature sensors configured to collect temperature information including an ambient temperature of the printer head and a temperature of the extrusion holes.
[0080] In some embodiments, the temperature sensor is located around the extrusion holes or on the head body of the printer head. The temperature sensor may be located in any possible location on the printer head and is not specifically limited herein.
[0081] The controller is used to execute the print program segments sent by the processor. In some embodiments, the controller is configured to execute the print program segments for droplet ejection and the print program segments for extrusion. The controller includes a program counter, an instruction register, an instruction decoder, a timing generator, and the like, or any combination thereof.
[0082] In some embodiments of the present specification, a feeding mechanism that cooperates with the extrusion holes allows for extrusion printing of some materials, and an ejection assisting member that cooperates with the droplet ejection holes allows for droplet ejection printing of other materials, and the adjustment process can be achieved simply by moving the height of the head body, resulting in higher printing efficiency than existing structures.
[0083] 11 is an exemplary flowchart of a multi-mode 3D printer head cooperative printing method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the flow 1100 is performed by a multi-mode 3D printer head (hereinafter, abbreviated as a printer head). As shown in FIG. 11, the flow 1100 includes the following steps:
[0084] In some embodiments, the printer head obtains a three-dimensional model and a profile material to be printed through a printing platform, slices the three-dimensional model through a processor, obtains slices of the three-dimensional model to be printed, and determines a print program segment for droplet ejection and a print program segment for extrusion based on the number of profile materials and the size of the three-dimensional model through the processor, and sends them to the controller. The controller sequentially executes the print program segment for droplet ejection and the print program segment for extrusion to complete the printing job. Here, a compensation program is placed between the print program segment for droplet ejection and the print program segment for extrusion.
[0085] In step 1110, a three-dimensional model and a profile material to be printed via a printing platform are obtained.
[0086] For the description of the printing platform, please refer to the related description of Figure 9. The printing platform is also called a software virtual printing platform.
[0087] The 3D model to be printed refers to the three-dimensional model that needs to be printed by the printer head.
[0088] Profile material refers to information related to the profile material used in the printed three-dimensional model. In some embodiments, profile material includes the type and number of profile materials, etc. Profile material types include polyethylene, polyurethane, etc.
[0089] In some embodiments, the printer head obtains the three-dimensional model and profile material to be printed through various methods via the printing platform. For example, the printer head obtains the three-dimensional model and profile material to be printed from a third party software (e.g., modeling software, etc.) via the printing platform. For example, a user can directly send the three-dimensional model and profile material to be printed to the printing platform via a terminal device. Here, the terminal device includes a smartphone, a tablet computer, etc.
[0090] In step 1120, the three-dimensional model is sliced via a processor to obtain slices of the three-dimensional model to be printed.
[0091] The processor may also slice the three-dimensional model using software in the processor to obtain slices of the three-dimensional model to be printed.
[0092] 3D model slicing is the process of dividing the 3D model to be printed into multiple thin layers, which also includes calculating the route that each thin layer will follow for printing. A slice to be printed is a model thin layer obtained by 3D model slicing.
[0093] In some embodiments, the processor slices the three-dimensional model to the three-dimensional model to be printed by various methods to obtain slices to be printed. For example, the processor may slice the three-dimensional model using third-party software (e.g., 3D slicing software, etc.) to obtain slices to be printed. For example, the processor may slice the three-dimensional model using slicing parameters pre-set by a user to obtain slices to be printed. The slicing parameters are parameters related to the slicing operation, such as print quality, print speed, layer height, etc.
[0094] For further description of the processor, please refer to the related description of FIG.
[0095] In step 1130, print program segments for droplet ejection and print program segments for extrusion are determined based on the number of profile materials and the size of the three-dimensional model via the processor and sent to the controller.
[0096] A print program segment for droplet ejection is a print program segment capable of realizing droplet ejection. A print program segment for extrusion is a print program segment capable of realizing droplet ejection. A print program segment is a program that a printer head executes when performing a printing operation.
[0097] In some embodiments, the print program segment for droplet ejection is used to control an air supply mechanism at the end of air tube 4 remote from connecting member 3, a liquid supply mechanism at the end of droplet addition tube 6 remote from droplet addition seat 5, and a power supply mechanism for induction coil 22.
[0098] The printing program segment for droplet jetting includes controlling the liquid supply mechanism to supply droplets through the droplet injection tube 6, and opening the air supply mechanism to supply air flow after the droplets enter the lower end of the droplet injection hole 12. Under the action of the air flow, the moving block 23 moves until it abuts against the inner wall of the droplet injection hole 12, cutting off the droplets, and at the same time, the air flow continues to be jetted from the opening of the auxiliary jet 24 close to the droplet injection hole 13, carrying the droplets out and jetting them out of the droplet injection hole 13.
[0099] The printing program segment for droplet ejection includes closing the air supply mechanism, opening the power supply mechanism to supply power to the induction coil 22, the induction coil 22 after energization attracts the moving block 23, and the moving block 23 moves away from the droplet adding hole 12. The printing program segment for droplet ejection further includes alternately opening and closing the power supply mechanism and the air supply mechanism to complete droplet ejection printing.
[0100] The print program segment for droplet ejection further includes an ejection period, which is a period during which the droplet ejection holes periodically eject droplets for printing. In some embodiments, the ejection period includes a time during which the droplet ejection holes periodically eject droplets for printing, a time during which the airflow must press the moving block to move, and a time during which the induction coil attracts the moving block after energization.
[0101] The ejection period may be determined by user input, etc. For a description of periodic droplet ejection, see FIG.
[0102] In some embodiments, the printing program segment for extrusion is used to control the feeding mechanism 7 and the heating mechanism in the annular groove 15. The printing program segment for extrusion includes controlling the heating mechanism to continuously heat the profile material based on the printing temperature, controlling the feeding mechanism 7 to continuously add the profile material, and completing the extrusion printing. Here, the printing temperature is the temperature of the extrusion hole during the extrusion printing. The printing temperature can be determined by user input, etc.
[0103] The print program segment for extrusion further includes controlling a cooling structure to cool the profile material after melting and accelerate the forming of the profile material.
[0104] In some embodiments, the processor determines the print program segment for droplet ejection and the print program segment for extrusion, and the execution order of the two print program segments based on the number of profile materials and the size of the three-dimensional model, where the execution order includes the order of the two print program segments and the number of times the two print program segments are alternately executed. For a description of the number of profile materials, see step 1110 and its related description.
[0105] Exemplarily, the processor uses print program segments for extrusion at locations where the amount of profile material used is greater and the size of the three-dimensional model is greater, and uses print program segments for droplet ejection at locations where the amount of profile material used is less and the size of the three-dimensional model is smaller, based on the number of profile materials and the size of the three-dimensional model, where the size of the three-dimensional model may be calculated by the processor based on the three-dimensional model or obtained by third party software.
[0106] In addition, in locations where the amount of profile material used is large and the size of the three-dimensional model is large, the requirement for fineness tends to be low, and a print program segment for extrusion molding with a high printing speed can be used. In locations where the amount of profile material used is small and the size of the three-dimensional model is small, the requirement for fineness tends to be high, and a print program segment for droplet ejection with high printing fineness can be used.
[0107] In some embodiments, the processor transmits to the controller a print program segment for droplet ejection and a print program segment for extrusion, and an execution order for the two print program segments.
[0108] In step 1140, the controller sequentially executes a print program segment for droplet ejection and a print program segment for extrusion.
[0109] For further explanation of the controller, please refer to the related description above.
[0110] In some embodiments, the controller sequentially executes the print program segment for droplet ejection and the print program segment for extrusion to print the three-dimensional model, where sequential execution refers to execution according to an execution order of the two print program segments determined by the processor.
[0111] In some embodiments, in response to the controller switching from the print program segment for droplet ejection to the print program segment for extrusion, the processor updates the ejection period in the print program segment for droplet ejection based on the material characteristics of the slice to be printed and the printing temperature in the print program segment for extrusion. The processor determines an energization frequency of the induction coil based on the updated ejection period and transmits the energization frequency to the controller. The controller controls the energization of the induction coil based on the energization frequency. For a description of the printing temperature and the ejection period, please refer to step 1130 and related descriptions.
[0112] In addition, after the printing program segment for extrusion molding is executed, the temperature of the intermediate product in the printing process is the same as or similar to the printing temperature during the printing program segment for extrusion molding. In this case, if the initially set printing program segment for droplet ejection is executed, the printing accuracy of the intermediate product may be affected. Therefore, the ejection period during the printing program segment for droplet ejection is updated based on the material characteristics of the slice to be printed and the printing temperature during the printing program segment for extrusion molding, thereby reducing the effect of the temperature of the intermediate product on the subsequent droplet ejection printing.
[0113] The material characteristics are material characteristics of the actual profile corresponding to the slice to be printed. In some embodiments, the material characteristics include at least one of a solidification rate, a density, and a viscosity of the actual profile corresponding to the slice to be printed.
[0114] In some embodiments, the material characteristics may be obtained, such as by user input.
[0115] In some embodiments, the processor updates the ejection period in various ways based on the material characteristics and the printing temperature. For example, the processor queries a reference ejection period corresponding to the material characteristics and the printing temperature in a first preset table based on the material characteristics and the printing temperature, determines the reference ejection period as an updated ejection period, and overwrites the ejection period in the printing program segment for ejecting droplets with the updated ejection period. Here, the first preset table is preset by an engineer based on historical experience and includes multiple sets of material characteristics and printing temperatures and reference ejection periods corresponding to each set of material characteristics and printing temperatures.
[0116] In some embodiments, the printer head updates the firing period in the print program segment for droplet ejection via a merging degree model in the processor. For an explanation of the content of this portion, see FIG. 12 and its associated discussion.
[0117] In some embodiments, the processor determines the energizing frequency of the induction coil based on the updated injection period. For example, the processor calculates the time points at which the induction coil needs to be energized to attract the moving block during the updated injection period, determines the time interval between the two times as the energizing frequency, and energizes the induction coil every time interval.
[0118] In some embodiments, the processor transmits the energization frequency to a controller and controls energization of the induction coil based on the energization frequency when executing a printing program segment for droplet ejection via the controller.
[0119] In some embodiments of the present specification, since the printing temperature during a printing program segment for extrusion molding may affect subsequent droplet ejection printing, the ejection period is updated based on the material characteristics and the printing temperature, and the current frequency is determined based on the updated ejection period, thereby reducing the effect of the preceding printing program segment on the subsequent droplet ejection printing.
[0120] In some embodiments, in response to the controller switching from a print program segment for droplet ejection to a print program segment for extrusion, the processor determines a droplet volume for the ejection cycle based on a thickness of the slice to be printed, a material characteristic, and a printing temperature. The processor determines induction coil current data based on the droplet volume and sends the current data to the controller. The controller controls energization of the induction coil based on the current data.
[0121] The thickness of the slice to be printed refers to the layer height of the slice to be printed. In some embodiments, the processor uses a size calculation tool to calculate the size of the slice to be printed and obtain the thickness of the slice to be printed. The size calculation tool may include a size calculation tool provided with the processor or a size calculation tool of a third-party software, etc.
[0122] The droplet volume in an ejection cycle refers to the volume of droplets that flow into the droplet ejection hole within the ejection cycle.
[0123] In some embodiments, the processor determines the droplet volume of the ejection cycle based on the thickness, material characteristics, and printing temperature of the slice to be printed. For example, the processor constructs a target feature vector based on the thickness, material characteristics, and printing temperature of the slice to be printed, clusters the target feature vector and a plurality of clustering feature vectors, obtains a target clustering cluster, calculates an average value of droplet volumes corresponding to all clustering feature vectors in the target clustering cluster, and determines the obtained average value as the droplet volume of the ejection cycle. Here, the target clustering cluster refers to a clustering cluster including the target feature vector. There are various types of cluster algorithms, for example, the cluster algorithm is K-Means cluster.
[0124] The clustering feature vector refers to a feature vector used for clustering. In some embodiments, the processor constructs multiple clustering feature vectors based on multiple historical printing processes in the history data. For example, the processor screens the print program segment with the best print quality droplet formation from one historical printing process, selects the thickness of the slice to be printed, the historical material characteristics, the historical printing temperature before executing the print program segment, and the historical droplet volume in the print program segment, and constructs one clustering feature vector.
[0125] The print quality may be evaluated and determined by an engineer based on historical experience. For example, after executing the print program segment of droplet formation, the engineer evaluates the print accuracy and the number of internal holes of the intermediate product, determines the intermediate product with the highest print accuracy and the lowest number of internal holes as the intermediate product with the highest print quality, and determines the print program segment corresponding to the intermediate product as the print program segment with the highest print quality.
[0126] Current data refers to data related to the current in the induction coil. In some examples, the current data may include the magnitude of the current and the duration of the current.
[0127] In some embodiments, the processor determines current data of the induction coil based on the droplet volume. Exemplarily, the processor calculates a ratio between the droplet volume and a unit droplet flow rate to obtain the moving distance of the moving block, and determines the current data based on the corresponding relationship between the moving distance and the current data. Here, the unit droplet flow rate refers to the volume of droplets that flow into the droplet ejection hole within a unit moving distance of the moving block. In some embodiments, the unit droplet flow rate may be determined by an engineer through statistical analysis of multiple practices.
[0128] The correspondence between the travel distance and the current data may be preset based on historical experience. For example, the longer the travel distance, the greater the magnitude of the current and the longer the current flow time.
[0129] In some embodiments, the processor sends the current data to the controller and controls energization of the induction coil based on the current data when the controller executes a printing program segment for droplet ejection.
[0130] In some embodiments herein, the ejection period can be updated while simultaneously updating the droplet volume of the ejection period and determining current data to further reduce the effect of the preceding print program segment on subsequent droplet ejection printing.
[0131] In some embodiments, in response to the controller switching the printing program segment, the processor determines a heating power for a heating mechanism in the annular groove based on the amount of adhesive remaining in the adhesive recovery member and the material characteristics of the historical print slice, and transmits the heating power to the controller, which controls heating of the heating mechanism based on the heating power.
[0132] Furthermore, when actually executing a printing program segment, the printing temperature may be high, causing the extrusion speed of the extrusion hole to be too fast, resulting in a large amount of adhesive remaining in the adhesive recovery member, and therefore making it necessary to adjust the heating power of the heating mechanism.
[0133] For an explanation regarding the amount of residual adhesive, please refer to FIG. 9 and the related explanation.
[0134] A historical print slice refers to a slice to be printed that corresponds to a print program segment executed by the controller before the controller switches print program segments.
[0135] In some embodiments, the processor determines the discharge speed in the extrusion hole based on the adhesive residual amount, and queries the reference heating power corresponding to the discharge speed and the material characteristic in the second preset table based on the discharge flow rate and the material characteristic of the historical printed slice, and determines the reference heating power as the heating power of the heating mechanism. Here, the discharge speed refers to the flow rate of the extrusion molding adhesive discharged from the extrusion hole. The material characteristic of the historical printed slice may be obtained from a memory unit. For an explanation of the memory unit, please refer to FIG. 9 and its related explanations.
[0136] The second table is preset based on the historical data and includes a plurality of sets of discharge speeds and material characteristics and a reference heating power corresponding to each set of discharge flow speeds and material characteristics. The processor collects statistics of the adhesive remaining amount after the controller switches the print program segment in the historical data, and determines the heating power corresponding to the print program segment with the smallest adhesive remaining amount as the reference heating power.
[0137] In some embodiments, the processor determines the discharge rate as a ratio of the increased amount of adhesive remaining after one revolution of the scraping sheet to a unit time, where the unit time refers to the time it takes for the scraping sheet to make one revolution, and the unit time is determined based on the operating parameters of the scraping sheet.
[0138] In addition, since the rotation speed of the scraping sheet is high and there is little contact with the extrusion holes, the discharge speed can be expressed as the ratio of the amount of adhesive remaining in the adhesive recovery box to unit time.
[0139] In some embodiments, the processor transmits the heating power to a controller and controls heating of the heating mechanism based on the heating power via the controller.
[0140] In some embodiments of the present specification, based on the amount of adhesive remaining and the material characteristics of the historical print slice, it is possible to determine whether the heating temperature of the preceding print program segment is appropriate, and adjust the heating power of the heating mechanism in a timely manner to further improve print quality.
[0141] In some embodiments, in response to switching the print program segment via the controller, the processor determines a heating time of the heating mechanism based on the heating power, the material characteristic, the temperature information, and the droplet volume amount, and transmits the heating time to the controller. The controller controls the heating of the heating mechanism based on the heating time and the switching time. The material characteristic here is the material characteristic of the slice to be currently printed. For a description of the temperature information, see FIG. 9 and its related description.
[0142] Heat time is the length of time that the heating mechanism performs a heating operation.
[0143] In some embodiments, the processor determines the heating time by various methods based on the heating power, material characteristics, temperature information, and droplet volume. For example, the processor constructs a vector to be matched based on the heating power, material characteristics, temperature information, and droplet volume, matches a plurality of reference vectors that meet a preset matching condition through a vector database, calculates an average value of the labels of the plurality of reference vectors, and sets the obtained average value as the heating time. Here, the label of the reference vector is the reference heating time. The preset matching condition includes that the similarity of the vectors is greater than a similarity threshold. The similarity threshold is preset based on historical experience. The similarity of the vectors is negatively correlated with the vector distance. The vector distance includes Euclidean distance, etc.
[0144] The vector to be matched refers to a feature vector constructed based on the heating power, material characteristics, temperature information, and droplet volume, and the reference vector refers to a feature vector constructed based on the historical heating power, material characteristics, temperature information, and droplet volume.
[0145] In some embodiments, during the historical printing process, before starting a printing program segment, the processor calculates a difference between the actual temperature of the extrusion hole and the printing temperature during the printing program segment, selects a printing program segment corresponding to the printing temperature with the smallest difference, constructs a reference vector based on the historical heating power, historical material characteristics, historical temperature information and historical droplet volume corresponding to the printing program segment, and labels the actual heating time of the printing program segment as the reference vector.
[0146] In some embodiments, in response to the controller switching print program segments, the processor determines the heating time based on the heating power, the material characteristics, the temperature information, the droplet volume, and the cooling power of the cooling member.
[0147] In some embodiments, the processor must determine the heating time in response to each time the controller switches between print program segments.
[0148] In some embodiments, the vector to be matched constructed by the processor includes cooling power, and the reference vector in the vector database includes historical cooling power, and the processor matches a plurality of reference vectors that meet a preset matching condition through the vector database, calculates an average value of the labels of the plurality of reference vectors, and takes the obtained average value as the heating time. Here, the cooling power refers to the working power of the cooling member. The historical cooling power is obtained from the storage unit. For the description of the cooling member, please refer to FIG. 9 and its related description.
[0149] In some embodiments of the present specification, the cooled gas flows periodically through the droplet ejection holes, which affects the heating efficiency of the heating mechanism to some extent. Therefore, by taking into account the cooling power of the cooling member when determining the heating time, a more appropriate heating time can be determined and printing quality can be ensured.
[0150] In some embodiments, the processor transmits the heating time to a controller, which controls heating of the heating mechanism based on the heating time.
[0151] In some embodiments herein, by timely adjusting the heating time of the heating mechanism, the actual temperature of the extrusion hole can be ensured to match the printing temperature, thereby improving the printing quality.
[0152] In some embodiments, due to height differences in the print positions of droplet-jetting printing and extrusion printing, a compensation program is provided between the print program segments for droplet-jetting and extrusion.
[0153] The compensation program is configured to adjust the height of the head body.
[0154] In some embodiments, the compensation program includes a height adjustment program that is used to adjust the height of the head body and includes a height that needs to be adjusted.
[0155] In some embodiments, the compensation program further includes an associated program, such as a height check program, which is used to check whether the head body height has been adjusted to match the target adjustment height.
[0156] The adjustment height refers to the height that the print head needs to raise or lower when alternately executing two print program segments. In some embodiments, the adjustment height is the same as the distance between the bottom of the extrusion hole 11 and the intersection of the plurality of droplet ejection holes 13.
[0157] In some embodiments of the present specification, a compensation program is set up to adjust the height of the printer head according to the height difference of the specific printing position, thereby avoiding the printing position misalignment of the printing program segment for droplet ejection and the printing program segment for extrusion molding, ensuring the synchronization of the printing positions, and eliminating the need to calculate the adjustment width, which greatly improves printing efficiency.
[0158] In step 1150, the printing job is completed.
[0159] In some embodiments of the present specification, a multi-mode 3D printer head and a collaborative printing method using the same can realize automatic conversion of print modes, adaptively adjust the height of the printer head, and greatly improve printing efficiency.
[0160] FIG. 12 is a model schematic diagram of a fusion degree model according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0161] In some embodiments, a fusion degree model 1240 in the processor determines a fusion degree 1250 for each candidate firing period of the plurality of candidate firing periods 1230 based on the plurality of candidate firing periods 1230, the material characteristic 1210, and the printing temperature 1220. The processor updates the firing period in the print program segment for droplet ejection based on the fusion degree 1250. For a description of the material characteristic, printing temperature, and firing period, see FIG. 11 and its associated discussion.
[0162] The fusion degree model refers to a model of the fusion degree for determining the candidate injection periodicity, and in some embodiments, the fusion degree model may be a machine learning model, such as a Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) model, a Neural Networks (NN) model, or other customized model structures, or any combination thereof.
[0163] In some embodiments, inputs for the fusion degree model include the complementary firing period, the material characteristics, and the printing temperature, and outputs include the fusion degree of the candidate firing period.
[0164] The degree of fusion is used to characterize the degree of smoothness of the boundary region between the droplet ejection region and the extrusion region. In some embodiments, the degree of fusion may be expressed, for example, by a numerical value, where a higher numerical value indicates a higher degree of fusion.
[0165] Candidate firing periods 1230 are firing periods to be determined. In some embodiments, the processor randomly generates a number of candidate firing periods based on a preset time range, where the preset time range refers to a range consisting of upper and lower time limits for the candidate firing periods. The preset time may be preset based on historical experience.
[0166] In some embodiments, the processor trains the fusion degree model based on a number of training samples having training labels, such as by gradient descent. The training samples include sample candidate firing periods, sample material characteristics, and sample printing temperatures, and the training labels of the training samples may be actual fusion degrees corresponding to the training samples. In some embodiments, the training samples may be obtained based on historical data.
[0167] In some embodiments, the processor uses the actual fusion degree of the boundary area between the extrusion region and the droplet ejection region during the printing process corresponding to the training sample in the historical data as the training label of the training sample, where the actual fusion degree is detected and obtained by a laser sensor, which may be placed at any possible position on the printer head or may be hand-held and detected by a technician.
[0168] In some embodiments, the fusion degree model can be trained as follows: input a large number of training samples with training labels into an initial fusion degree model, construct a loss function according to the training labels and the prediction results of the initial fusion degree model, update the initial fusion degree model according to the iteration of the loss function, and complete the fusion degree model training when the loss function of the initial fusion degree model satisfies a preset condition, where the preset condition is that the loss function converges, the number of iterations reaches a set value, etc.
[0169] In some embodiments, the printing platform, via the processor, updates the firing period in the print program segment for ejecting droplets based on the degree of merging, e.g., the processor determines the candidate firing period with the highest degree of merging as the new firing period in the print program segment for ejecting droplets.
[0170] In some embodiments of the present specification, by using the self-learning capability of the machine learning model, the correspondence between candidate ejection periods, material characteristics, printing temperatures and fusion degrees can be obtained, a more accurate fusion degree can be determined, a more appropriate ejection period can be determined based on the fusion degree, and the time error of periodic droplet ejection can be reduced.
[0171] An embodiment of the present specification provides a multi-mode 3D printer head, which includes a head body (1), a vertical extrusion hole (11) is provided in the head body (1), a feeding mechanism (7) is provided above the extrusion hole (11), and a heating mechanism is provided below the extrusion hole (11).
[0172] In some embodiments, the head body (1) is provided with a plurality of droplet ejection holes (13) arranged in the circumferential direction of the central axis of the extrusion hole (11).
[0173] In some embodiments, the lower end of the droplet ejection hole (13) is provided at an incline with respect to one end of the extrusion hole (11), and the lower ends of the multiple droplet ejection holes (13) are flush with the lower end of the extrusion hole (11). The droplet ejection holes (13) are set in even number and are provided symmetrically with respect to the extrusion hole (11). Straight lines on which the central axes of the multiple droplet ejection holes (13) are located have an intersection point, and the intersection point is located directly below the extrusion hole (11).
[0174] In some embodiments, the head body (1) is further provided with a plurality of droplet addition holes (12) and auxiliary side holes (14) that communicate with the droplet ejection holes (13). The inner diameter of the droplet addition hole (12) is larger than that of the droplet ejection holes (13), and one end remote from the droplet ejection holes (13) communicates with the droplet addition pipe (6). The auxiliary side hole (14) is provided perpendicular to the droplet addition hole (12), and the ejection auxiliary member (2) is detachably connected thereto.
[0175] In some embodiments, the injection auxiliary member (2) includes a sleeve (21) fixed to the auxiliary side hole (14), and a movable block (23) is provided in the sleeve (21), the outer surface of the movable block (23) is in close contact with the inner wall of the sleeve (21) in the circumferential direction, and the droplet addition hole (12) can be cut off at one end close to the auxiliary side hole (14). The movable block (23) is further provided with an auxiliary jet hole (24), and two openings of the auxiliary jet hole (24) are respectively provided toward the droplet injection hole (13) and away from the auxiliary side hole (14). The air pipe (4) is connected to one end of the sleeve (21) away from the auxiliary side hole (14), and an induction coil (22) is provided.
[0176] The auxiliary orifice (24) can communicate with the droplet injection orifice (13) when the moving block (23) cuts off the droplet addition orifice (12).
[0177] In some embodiments, the inner diameter of the auxiliary orifices (24) is larger than the droplet ejection orifices (13), and the opening proximate to the droplet ejection orifices (13) is a flared orifice (25).
[0178] In some embodiments, the connecting segment between the droplet addition hole (12) and the droplet ejection hole (13) is a cone-shaped segment, the diameter of the droplet addition hole (12) is larger than the diameter of the droplet ejection hole, and the inclination angle of the cone-shaped segment is between 0° and 45°.
[0179] After being energized, the induction coil (22) is capable of adsorbing the moving block (23), and after being adsorbed, the moving block (23) moves away from the droplet addition hole (12).
[0180] In some embodiments, an annular groove (15) is provided on the side of the head body (1) away from the feeding mechanism (7), the annular groove (15) is located between the extrusion hole (11) and the droplet ejection hole (13), and a heating mechanism is provided.
[0181] In some embodiments, the feeding mechanism (7) includes a connection frame (71) detachably connected to the head body (1), and the connection frame (71) is provided with a driving wheel (72) and a driven wheel (73) facing each other above the extrusion hole (11) for transporting the vertical profile (8), and the distance between the driving wheel (72) and the driven wheel (73) is adjustable.
[0182] An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a multi-mode 3D printer head cooperative printing method, including the following steps:
[0183] S1, the software virtual printing platform obtains a three-dimensional model and a profile material to be printed (the software virtual printing platform is also called a printing platform).
[0184] S2, the software slices the 3D model to obtain slices of the model to be printed (the software is also called a processor).
[0185] S3, the software executes an overall plan based on the number of printing profile materials and the size of the three-dimensional model, obtains a droplet ejection printing program segment and an extrusion molding printing program segment, and sends them to the controller.
[0186] S4, the controller sequentially executes the droplet ejection printing program segment and the extrusion printing program segment, and a compensation program is provided between the droplet ejection printing program segment and the extrusion printing program segment.
[0187] S5, complete the printing operation.
[0188] In some embodiments, the compensation program includes a height adjustment program, and the size of the adjustment height of the height adjustment program is equal to the spacing size of the intersection between the lower end of the extrusion hole (11) and the multiple droplet ejection holes (13).
[0189] Furthermore, the particular features, structures or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments described herein.
[0190] In some examples, numbers are used to describe the number of components, attributes, and in some instances, terms such as "about", "approximately", or "nearly" are used to modify the numbers used to describe such examples. Unless otherwise specified, "about", "approximately", or "nearly" indicate that the numerical values are allowed to vary by ±20%. Thus, in some examples, any numerical parameters used in the specification and claims are approximate, and such approximations may vary depending on the desired properties of the particular embodiment. In some examples, the numerical parameters are given a specified number of significant digits and use conventional digit preservation techniques. Although the numerical domains and parameters used to determine the breadth of the ranges in some examples herein are approximate, in specific examples, such numerical values are set as precisely as possible within the limits practicable.
[0191] In the event of any inconsistency or conflict with the contents of this specification, the explanation, definition and / or use of a term in the materials cited herein shall control. [Explanation of symbols]
[0192] 1 Head body 11 Extrusion hole 12 Droplet addition hole 13 Droplet injection hole 14 Auxiliary side hole 15 Annular groove 2. Injection auxiliary parts 21 Sleeve 22 Induction coil 23 Moving Blocks 24 Auxiliary outlet 25 Flare mouth 3 Connecting members 4 Air Pipe 5 Droplet addition seat 6 Droplet addition tube 7 Payroll 71 Connection Frame 72 Drive Wheel 73 Driven Wheel 8 Profiles 1010 Adhesive recovery material 1011 Scraping sheet 1012 Groove
Claims
1. The head body includes an extrusion hole, a feeding mechanism is provided above the extrusion hole, and a heating mechanism is provided below the extrusion hole, The head body is provided with a plurality of droplet ejection holes along a circumferential direction of a central axis of the extrusion hole, the lower ends of the plurality of droplet ejection holes are inclined with respect to one end of the extrusion hole, and the lower ends of the plurality of droplet ejection holes are flush with the lower end of the extrusion hole; The plurality of droplet ejection holes are provided symmetrically with respect to the extrusion hole, A straight line on which the central axes of the plurality of droplet ejection holes are located has an intersection point, and the intersection point is located directly below the extrusion hole, The head body is further provided with a plurality of droplet addition holes and auxiliary side holes which are in communication with the plurality of droplet ejection holes, The inner diameter of the droplet addition hole is larger than the inner diameter of the droplet injection hole, and one end remote from the plurality of droplet injection holes communicates with a droplet addition pipe; The auxiliary side hole is provided perpendicular to the droplet addition hole, and an ejection auxiliary member is detachably connected thereto; The injection auxiliary member includes a sleeve fixed to the auxiliary side hole, a moving block is provided in the sleeve, an outer surface of the moving block is in close contact with an inner wall of the sleeve in a circumferential direction, and one end of the moving block close to the auxiliary side hole cuts off the droplet addition hole, An auxiliary ejection hole is further provided in the moving block, and two openings of the auxiliary ejection hole are provided toward the plurality of droplet ejection holes and away from the auxiliary side hole, A multi-mode 3D printer head, characterized in that an air tube is connected to one end of the sleeve remote from the auxiliary side hole, and an induction coil is provided.
2. The head body includes: The head further includes an adhesive recovery member provided below the head body and including a scraping sheet and an adhesive recovery box; The multi-mode 3D printer head of claim 1 , wherein grooves are provided on the scraping sheet.
3. The head body includes: The multi-mode 3D printer head of claim 1 , further comprising a cooling member disposed around the air pipe and configured to cool the gas flowing in from the air pipe.
4. The multi-mode 3D printer head according to claim 1 , wherein the auxiliary orifice communicates with the droplet ejection orifice when the moving block cuts off the droplet addition orifice.
5. 5. The multi-mode 3D printer head according to claim 4, wherein the inner diameter of the auxiliary nozzle is larger than the inner diameter of the droplet ejection hole, and an opening close to the droplet ejection hole is a flared opening.
6. The multi-mode 3D printer head of claim 5 , wherein the connecting segment between the droplet adding hole and the droplet ejecting hole is a cone-shaped segment.
7. The multi-mode 3D printer head of claim 6, wherein the diameter of the droplet adding hole is larger than the diameter of the droplet ejecting hole, and the inclination angle of the cone-shaped segment is 0° to 45°.
8. The multi-mode 3D printer head according to claim 1 , wherein the induction coil is configured to attract the moving block after being energized, and the moving block after being attracted moves away from the droplet addition hole.
9. The multi-mode 3D printer head of claim 1, characterized in that an annular groove is provided on a side of the head body away from the supply mechanism, the annular groove is located between the extrusion hole and the droplet ejection hole, and the heating mechanism is provided therein.
10. 2. The multi-mode 3D printer head of claim 1, wherein the feeding mechanism includes a connection frame detachably connected to the head body, the connection frame is provided with a driving wheel and a driven wheel facing each other for transporting the profile above the extrusion hole, and the distance between the driving wheel and the driven wheel is adjusted based on the diameter of the profile.
11. A multi-mode 3D printer head cooperative printing method using the multi-mode 3D printer head according to claim 1, acquiring a three-dimensional model and a profile material to be printed via a printing platform; slicing the three-dimensional model via a processor to obtain slices of the three-dimensional model to be printed; determining via a processor a print program segment for droplet ejection and a print program segment for extrusion based on the number of profile materials and the size of the three-dimensional model and sending the determined print program segment to a controller; executing the print program segment for droplet ejection and the print program segment for extrusion sequentially via the controller, and providing a compensation program between the print program segment for droplet ejection and the print program segment for extrusion; and completing the printing job. A collaborative printing method for a multi-mode 3D printer head.
12. updating, in response to switching the print program segment for droplet ejection to the print program segment for extrusion via the controller, an ejection period in the print program segment for droplet ejection based on a material characteristic of the slice to be printed and a printing temperature in the print program segment for extrusion via the processor; determining an energization frequency of the induction coil based on the updated injection period via the processor and transmitting the energization frequency to the controller; and controlling energization of the induction coil based on the energization frequency via the controller. The multi-mode 3D printer head cooperative printing method according to claim 11.
13. determining, via said processor, a drop volume for said firing cycle based on a thickness of said slice to be printed, said material characteristics and said printing temperature; determining current data for the induction coil based on the droplet volume via the processor and transmitting the current data to the controller; and controlling energization of the induction coil based on the current data via the controller. The multi-mode 3D printer head cooperative printing method according to claim 12.
14. updating an ejection period in the print program segment for ejecting droplets based on a material characteristic of the slice to be printed and a printing temperature in the print program segment for extrusion via the processor in response to switching the print program segment for ejecting droplets to the print program segment for extrusion via the controller; determining a degree of fusion of each candidate jetting period of the plurality of candidate jetting periods based on the plurality of candidate jetting periods, the material characteristic, and the printing temperature via a degree of fusion model in a processor, the degree of fusion model being a machine learning model; updating, via a processor, a firing period in a print program segment for the ejection of the droplets based on the degree of merging; The method for multi-mode 3D printer head collaborative printing according to claim 12.
15. determining, in response to switching the print program segment via the controller, a heating power for a heating mechanism in the annular groove based on an amount of adhesive remaining in the adhesive recovery member and a material characteristic of the historical print slice via the processor, and transmitting the heating power to the controller; and controlling heating of the heating mechanism based on the heating power via the controller. The multi-mode 3D printer head cooperative printing method according to claim 11.
16. in response to switching a print program segment via the controller, determining a heating time of the heating mechanism based on the heating power, the material characteristic, temperature information and droplet volume via the processor, and transmitting the heating time to the controller; 16. The method of claim 15, further comprising: controlling heating of the heating mechanism based on the heating time and the switching time via the controller.
17. determining, in response to switching the print program segment via the controller, a heating time of the heating mechanism based on the heating power, the material characteristic, the temperature information, and the droplet volume via the processor, and transmitting the heating time to the controller; determining, in response to switching a print program segment via the controller, the heating time based on the heating power, the material characteristic, the temperature information, the droplet volume, and a cooling power of a cooling member via the processor; The multi-mode 3D printer head cooperative printing method according to claim 16.
18. The multi-mode 3D printer head collaborative printing method according to claim 11, characterized in that the compensation program includes a height adjustment program, and the adjustment height of the height adjustment program is the same as the distance between the lower end of the extrusion hole and the intersection point of a plurality of droplet ejection holes.
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