Three-dimensional modeling device

Abstract

To solve the problem that a configuration for compressing a discharged molding material may become complicated, when manufacturing three-dimensional molding objects by discharging the molding material.SOLUTION: A three-dimensional molding apparatus 100 includes: a plasticizing section 30 that plasticizes at least a part of a material MR to generate a molding material MM; a nozzle 61 that discharges the molding material MM toward an uppermost layer MLa; a moving mechanism 400 that changes a relative position of the nozzle 61 and the molding material MM toward the uppermost layer MLa; a control section 500 that controls the moving mechanism 400 so that the molding material MM is discharged from the nozzle 61 toward the uppermost layer MLa; and a compression section 150 that has a contact surface 155 having a shape surrounding the nozzle 61 and can compress the molding material MM by contact of the contact surface 155 with the molding material MM discharged on the uppermost layer MLa.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a three-dimensional modeling apparatus. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a three-dimensional modeling apparatus including a pressure source configured to apply pressure to a layer after application of a thermoplastic material in order to densify the material, remove gaps or bubbles, and / or enhance adhesion between the layers. The pressure source is also disclosed to be, for example, a compressed gas. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Special Publication No. 2017-523063 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the three-dimensional modeling apparatus described in Patent Document 1, the pressure source is connected to the head via a support arm, and when the direction of movement of the nozzle along the layer is changed, the attitude of the pressure source needs to be changed and the position where pressure is applied to the subsequent layer needs to be moved relative to the nozzle, which may require complex control of the pressure source. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The three-dimensional modeling device is a three-dimensional modeling device that forms a three-dimensional object by ejecting a modeling material toward a receiving surface on a table and stacking layers in a stacking direction, and is equipped with a plasticization unit that plasticizes at least a portion of the material to generate the modeling material, a nozzle having a nozzle tip surface where a nozzle hole opens and ejecting the modeling material from the nozzle hole toward the receiving surface, a movement mechanism that changes the relative position between the nozzle and the receiving surface, a control unit that controls the movement mechanism so that the modeling material is ejected from the nozzle toward the receiving surface, and a compression unit that has a contact surface having a shape that surrounds the nozzle when viewed from the stacking direction and is capable of compressing the modeling material by contacting the contact surface with the modeling material ejected to the receiving surface. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0006] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of a three-dimensional printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 2] FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing the configuration of a groove forming surface side of a flat screw. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a top view showing the configuration of the side of the barrel facing the screw. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a heating section and a compression section. [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the operation of a heating section and a compression section. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing the configuration of a heating section and a compression section. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing how a modeling material is ejected from a nozzle to form a three-dimensional object. [Figure 8] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing how the compression unit compresses the discharged modeling material. [Figure 9] 13 is a schematic diagram showing the compression section separated from the ejected modeling material. FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing how the compression unit repeatedly compresses the modeling material. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing a state where the ejection of the modeling material has been completed. [Figure 12]FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing how a cutting unit cuts a three-dimensional object. [Figure 13] 13A and 13B are schematic diagrams illustrating how a modeling material is discharged from a nozzle to form a three-dimensional object in another embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0007] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on an embodiment. In each drawing, the same members are given the same reference numerals, and duplicated explanations will be omitted.

[0008] In addition, in each figure, X, Y, and Z represent three spatial axes that are mutually orthogonal. In this specification, the directions along these axes are the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, and the Z-axis direction. When specifying the direction, the positive direction is "+" and the negative direction is "-", and the direction notation is both positive and negative, with the direction indicated by the arrow in each figure being the + direction and the opposite direction to the arrow being the - direction. The X and Y directions are directions along the horizontal direction, and the Z direction indicates the vertical direction. The +Z direction indicates the vertical downward direction, and the -Z direction indicates the vertical upward direction. Furthermore, the three spatial axes of X, Y, and Z that are not limited to the positive and negative directions will be described as the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis.

[0009] 1. Embodiment 1 1, in this embodiment, the three-dimensional modeling apparatus 100 includes a modeling unit 200, a table 300, a moving mechanism 400, a cutting unit 600, and a control unit 500. Under the control of the control unit 500, the three-dimensional modeling apparatus 100 drives either the modeling unit 200 or the moving mechanism 400 to change the relative position between the discharging unit 60 and the table 300, while discharging a modeling material MM (described later) from a discharging unit 60 provided in the modeling unit 200 toward the table 300, thereby forming a three-dimensional object having a desired shape on a modeling surface 311 of the table 300. The modeling surface 311 is an example of a receiving surface onto which the modeling material MM is discharged from the nozzle 61.

[0010] Furthermore, the 3D printing apparatus 100 cuts the 3D object by driving and controlling the cutting unit 600 under the control of the control unit 500, as necessary, during or after the formation of the 3D object. The detailed configuration of the modeling unit 200 will be described later.

[0011] The movement mechanism 400 changes the relative position between the discharge unit 60 and the printing surface 311. For example, the movement mechanism 400 changes the relative position between the discharge unit 60 and the printing surface 311 by moving the table 300 relative to the printing unit 200. Note that the change in the relative position of the discharge unit 60 with respect to the printing surface 311 is sometimes referred to as the movement of the discharge unit 60. Also, the relative movement speed of the discharge unit 60 with respect to the printing surface 311 is sometimes referred to as the movement speed of the discharge unit 60. In this embodiment, for example, moving the table 300 in the +X direction can be rephrased as moving the discharge unit 60 in the -X direction.

[0012] The moving mechanism 400 may be configured as a three-axis positioner that moves the table 300 in three axial directions, namely, the X, Y, and Z directions, by the driving forces of three motors. Each motor is driven under the control of the control unit 500. Note that the moving mechanism 400 may be configured to change the relative position between the discharge unit 60 and the modeling surface 311 by moving the modeling unit 200, instead of the table 300. The moving mechanism 400 of this embodiment is configured to change the relative position between the discharge unit 60 and the modeling surface 311 by moving both the table 300 and the modeling unit 200.

[0013] The cutting unit 600 cuts a three-dimensional object formed from the modeling material MM discharged toward the modeling surface 311. The cutting unit 600 is also capable of cutting the modeling material MM discharged onto the modeling surface 311. The cutting unit 600 includes a holding arm 602 that holds a cutting tool 603, and a cutting drive unit 601. The holding arm 602 holds the cutting tool 603 so that it can move in three axial directions, the X, Y, and Z directions. The cutting drive unit 601 drives the holding arm 602 to move and the cutting tool 603 to cut. The cutting unit 600 cuts the three-dimensional object into a desired shape by the cutting drive unit 601 being controlled by the control unit 500.

[0014] The control unit 500 is configured by a computer including one or more processors, a storage device, and an input / output unit that inputs and outputs signals from and to the outside. In this embodiment, the control unit 500 controls the operations of the modeling unit 200 and the moving mechanism 400 by the processor executing programs and instructions loaded onto the storage device, thereby executing a modeling process for modeling a three-dimensional object. The operations include changing the three-dimensional relative positions of the modeling unit 200 and the table 300. Note that the control unit 500 may be configured by a combination of multiple circuits instead of a computer.

[0015] The modeling unit 200 includes a material supply section 20 which is a supply source of material MR, a plasticization section 30 which plasticizes at least a portion of the material MR supplied from the material supply section 20 to convert it into modeling material MM, a discharge section 60 having a nozzle 61 which discharges the modeling material MM supplied from the plasticization section 30, a discharge amount adjustment mechanism 70 which adjusts the flow rate of the modeling material MM discharged from the nozzle 61, a suction section 80, a heating section 120, and a compression section 150.

[0016] The material supply section 20 contains the material MR (not shown) in a pellet or powder state. In this embodiment, for example, a thermoplastic resin formed into pellets is used as the material MR. The material supply section 20 in this embodiment is configured by a hopper. A connection path 22 that connects the material supply section 20 and the plasticizing section 30 is provided below the material supply section 20. The material supply section 20 supplies the material MR to the plasticizing section 30 via the connection path 22. Details of the material MR will be described later.

[0017] The plasticizing unit 30 has a screw case 31, a drive motor 32, a flat screw 40, and a barrel 50. The flat screw 40 is an example of a screw. The plasticizing unit 30 plasticizes the solid-state material MR supplied from the material supply unit 20 to generate a paste-like modeling material MM (not shown) that exhibits fluidity, and supplies the modeling material MM toward the discharge unit 60. The modeling material MM is also sometimes called a molten material.

[0018] In this embodiment, "plasticization" means that the material MR having thermoplasticity is melted by applying heat. Also, "melting" means not only that the material MR having thermoplasticity is heated to a temperature equal to or higher than the melting point and becomes liquid, but also that the material MR having thermoplasticity is heated to a temperature equal to or higher than the glass transition point and softens, thereby exhibiting fluidity.

[0019] The screw case 31 is a housing for accommodating the flat screw 40. A barrel 50 is fixed to the lower surface of the screw case 31, and the flat screw 40 is accommodated in a space surrounded by the screw case 31 and the barrel 50. A drive motor 32 is fixed to the upper surface of the screw case 31. A rotating shaft of the drive motor 32 is connected to the upper surface 41 side of the flat screw 40. The drive motor 32 is driven under the control of a control unit 500.

[0020] The flat screw 40 has a generally cylindrical shape with a height in the direction along the central axis RX smaller than its diameter. The flat screw 40 is disposed in the screw case 31 so that the central axis RX is parallel to the Z-axis. The flat screw 40 rotates about the central axis RX within the screw case 31 by the torque generated by the drive motor 32. The flat screw 40 has a groove forming surface 42 on which a groove portion 45 is formed on the opposite side to the top surface 41 in the direction along the central axis RX.

[0021] As shown in Fig. 2, a central portion 47 of the groove forming surface 42 of the flat screw 40 is configured as a recess to which one end of the groove portion 45 is connected. In Fig. 2, the position of the central axis RX of the flat screw 40 is indicated by a dashed line. The central portion 47 faces the communication hole 56 of the barrel 50 shown in Fig. 1. The central portion 47 intersects with the central axis RX.

[0022] The grooves 45 of the flat screw 40 form what is called a scroll groove. The grooves 45 extend in an arc-like spiral shape from a central portion 47 toward the outer periphery of the flat screw 40. The grooves 45 may be configured to extend in a spiral shape. The groove forming surface 42 is provided with protruding ribs 46 that form side walls of the grooves 45 and extend along each of the grooves 45.

[0023] The groove portion 45 continues to a material inlet 44 formed on a side surface 43 of the flat screw 40. This material inlet 44 is a portion that receives the material MR supplied via the connection path 22 of the material supply unit 20.

[0024] 2 shows an example of a flat screw 40 having three grooves 45 and three ridges 46. The number of grooves 45 and ridges 46 provided on the flat screw 40 is not limited to three. The flat screw 40 may be provided with only one groove 45, or may be provided with two or more grooves 45. Furthermore, any number of ridges 46 may be provided in accordance with the number of grooves 45.

[0025] 2 shows an example of a flat screw 40 in which the material introduction ports 44 are formed in three places. The number of material introduction ports 44 provided in the flat screw 40 is not limited to three. The flat screw 40 may have the material introduction port 44 provided in only one place, or may have the material introduction port 44 provided in two or more places.

[0026] The barrel 50 is disposed below the flat screw 40. The barrel 50 has a screw facing surface 52 facing the groove forming surface 42 of the flat screw 40. The barrel 50 has a communication hole 56 communicating with the discharge section 60 on the central axis RX of the flat screw 40. The barrel 50 has a plasticizing section heater 58 built in at a position facing the groove section 45 of the flat screw 40. The temperature of the plasticizing section heater 58 is controlled by the control section 500.

[0027] 3, a plurality of guide grooves 54 are formed around the communicating hole 56 in the screw-facing surface 52. One end of each guide groove 54 is connected to the communicating hole 56, and each guide groove 54 extends in a spiral shape from the communicating hole 56 toward the outer periphery of the screw-facing surface 52. Each guide groove 54 has the function of guiding the modeling material MM to the communicating hole 56.

[0028] As described above, in the three-dimensional modeling apparatus 100, the plasticizing unit 30 plasticizes the solid-state material MR supplied to the groove portion 45 of the rotating flat screw 40 to generate modeling material MM, which is then supplied to the discharge portion 60. The amount of modeling material MM supplied to the discharge portion 60 per unit time can be changed by adjusting the number of rotations per unit time of the flat screw 40. For example, increasing the number of rotations per unit time of the flat screw 40 increases the amount of modeling material MM supplied to the discharge portion 60 per unit time.

[0029] The discharge unit 60 is fixed to the lower surface of the barrel 50. The discharge unit 60 has a supply passage 62 and a nozzle 61. The supply passage 62 connects between the plasticizing unit 30 and the nozzle 61, and supplies the modeling material MM from the plasticizing unit 30 to the nozzle 61.

[0030] The supply flow path 62 has a first supply port 65, a cross hole 66, and a second supply port 67. The first supply port 65 and the second supply port 67 extend in the Z-axis direction. The cross hole 66 extends in the Y-axis direction intersecting the first supply port 65 and the second supply port 67. The upper end of the first supply port 65 is connected to the communication hole 56 of the barrel 50, and the lower end of the first supply port 65 is connected to the cross hole 66. The upper end of the second supply port 67 is connected to the cross hole 66, and the lower end of the second supply port 67 is connected to the nozzle 61. The cross hole 66 houses a discharge amount adjustment mechanism 70, which will be described later. The modeling material MM supplied from the communication hole 56 of the barrel 50 to the first supply port 65 flows in this order through the cross hole 66, the second supply port 67, and the nozzle 61.

[0031] The nozzle 61 is provided with a nozzle flow path 68 and a nozzle hole 69. The nozzle flow path 68 is a flow path provided in the nozzle 61. The nozzle flow path 68 is connected to a second supply port 67. The nozzle hole 69 is a portion with a reduced flow path cross section provided at the end of the nozzle flow path 68 on the side communicating with the atmosphere. The modeling material MM supplied from the second supply port 67 to the nozzle flow path 68 is discharged from the nozzle hole 69. As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 6, the nozzle hole 69 opens at a nozzle tip surface 69S of the nozzle 61. In this embodiment, the opening shape of the nozzle hole 69 is circular. Note that the opening shape of the nozzle hole 69 is not limited to a circle, and may be, for example, a rectangle or a polygon other than a rectangle.

[0032] The discharge amount adjustment mechanism 70 is provided in the supply flow path 62 and adjusts the amount of the modeling material MM discharged from the nozzle 61. The amount of the modeling material MM discharged from the nozzle 61 per unit time is sometimes called the discharge amount. In this embodiment, the discharge amount adjustment mechanism 70 is configured by a butterfly valve. The discharge amount adjustment mechanism 70 includes a drive shaft 71, which is an axial member, and a plate-shaped valve body 72 that rotates with the rotation of the drive shaft 71. The drive shaft 71 is inserted into the cross hole 66 so that the direction along the central axis of the drive shaft 71 and the flow direction of the modeling material MM in the supply flow path 62 intersect.

[0033] The discharge amount adjustment mechanism 70 functions as a flow rate adjustment mechanism that adjusts the flow rate of the modeling material MM flowing through the supply flow path 62. Specifically, the discharge amount adjustment mechanism 70 adjusts the flow rate of the modeling material MM flowing through the supply flow path 62 by changing the rotation angle of the valve body 72 to adjust the ease of flow of the modeling material MM through the supply flow path 62. The discharge amount is adjusted by adjusting the flow rate of the modeling material MM flowing through the supply flow path 62. The valve body 72 is an example of an adjustment valve.

[0034] Controlling the discharge amount adjustment mechanism 70 to increase the discharge amount is sometimes referred to as opening the discharge amount adjustment mechanism 70. Controlling the discharge amount adjustment mechanism 70 to decrease the discharge amount is sometimes referred to as closing the discharge amount adjustment mechanism 70. The degree of rotation of the valve body 72 is sometimes referred to as the opening degree. When the plate-shaped surface of the valve body 72 becomes perpendicular to the flow direction of the modeling material MM in the supply flow path 62 due to the rotation of the drive shaft 71, the opening degree becomes 0, the plasticizing unit 30 and the nozzle 61 do not communicate with each other, and the discharge of the modeling material MM from the nozzle 61 is stopped. When the plate-shaped surface of the valve body 72 becomes parallel to the flow direction of the modeling material MM in the supply flow path 62, the opening degree becomes 100, the plasticizing unit 30 and the nozzle 61 communicate with each other, and the modeling material MM is discharged. In this way, the discharge amount adjustment mechanism 70 also controls the start and stop of the discharge of the modeling material MM from the nozzle 61.

[0035] The suction unit 80 is configured to be able to suck the modeling material MM in the supply flow passage 62. By sucking the modeling material MM in the supply flow passage 62, the suction unit 80 reduces the residual pressure in the supply flow passage 62 after the valve body 72 of the discharge amount adjustment mechanism 70 is closed, and suppresses leakage of the modeling material MM from the nozzle 61 that has stopped discharging the modeling material MM. The suction unit 80 has a cylindrical cylinder 81, a plunger 82 housed in the cylinder 81, and a plunger drive unit 83 that drives the plunger 82. The cylinder 81 is connected to a position in the supply flow passage 62 between the valve body 72 and the nozzle hole 69.

[0036] In this embodiment, the plunger driving unit 83 is configured by a motor that is driven under the control of the control unit 500, and a rack and pinion that converts the rotation of the motor into translational movement along the X-axis that is the axial direction of the cylinder 81. The plunger driving unit 83 may be configured by a motor that is driven under the control of the control unit 500, and a ball screw that converts the rotation of the motor into translational movement along the axial direction of the cylinder 81, or may be configured by an actuator such as a solenoid mechanism or a piezoelectric element.

[0037] When the plunger 82 moves in the -X direction away from the supply flow passage 62, negative pressure is created inside the cylinder 81, so that the modeling material MM in the region between the valve body 72 and the nozzle hole 69 in the supply flow passage 62 is sucked into the cylinder 81. On the other hand, when the plunger 82 moves in the +X direction approaching the supply flow passage 62, the modeling material MM in the cylinder 81 is pushed out into the supply flow passage 62 by the plunger 82.

[0038] As shown in Fig. 7, the heating unit 120 heats the topmost layer MLa on the printing surface 311. The topmost layer MLa will be described later. The topmost layer MLa is the layer ML located furthest on the -Z direction side among the layers ML formed by the printing material MM discharged from the nozzle 61. As shown in Fig. 1, the heating unit 120 is provided at a position on the +Z direction side of the discharge amount adjustment mechanism 70 in the discharge unit 60. As shown in Figs. 1, 4, and 5, the heating unit 120 includes an introduction flow path 121, a hot air generation unit 122, a hot air supply flow path 124, an annular flow path 125, and an outlet 126.

[0039] The introduction flow path 121 is a cylindrical tube. An introduction opening is provided at one end of the introduction flow path 121 for introducing gas into the introduction flow path 121. The end of the introduction flow path 121 opposite to the introduction opening is connected to the hot air generator 122. Although not shown, in this embodiment, air with a regulated flow rate is introduced into the introduction flow path 121 as shown by the dashed line in FIG. 5. For example, an air pump can be used to introduce air into the introduction flow path 121. Also, the gas introduced into the introduction flow path 121 may not be air, but may be another inert gas. For example, it may be nitrogen.

[0040] The hot air generating unit 122 heats the gas introduced from the introduction flow path 121. The hot air generating unit 122 is provided with a heat generating unit 123. The heat generating unit 123 is, for example, a coil-shaped heating wire. The air introduced into the hot air generating unit 122 is heated by the heat generating unit 123 and flows into the annular flow path 125 via the hot air supply flow path 124, as shown by the dashed line in FIG. 5.

[0041] The annular flow path 125 is an annular flow path formed around the nozzle hole 69 of the nozzle 61 and along the outer circumferential portion 128 shown in Fig. 4 and Fig. 6. The annular flow path 125 is connected to the hot air supply flow path 124 at an upper portion of the flow path located on the -Z direction side. The annular flow path 125 supplies the hot air supplied from the hot air supply flow path 124 to the air outlet 126 communicating with the annular flow path 125, as shown by the dashed line in Fig. 5.

[0042] A gap is provided between the nozzle 61 and an inner periphery 127 of the annular flow path 125. The inner periphery 127 isolates the nozzle 61 from the annular flow path 125, and also insulates the nozzle 61 from the annular flow path 125 by air present in the gap between the nozzle 61 and the inner periphery 127. Note that glass wool or the like may be fixed in the gap between the nozzle 61 and the inner periphery 127 as a heat insulating material.

[0043] The heating surface 126S on which the air outlets 126 are open has a shape surrounding the nozzle 61 when viewed from the direction along the Z axis. The air outlets 126 are arranged around the nozzle 61. As shown in FIG. 6, in this embodiment, eight air outlets 126 are arranged at regular intervals on a circumference centered on the nozzle 61. In FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the air outlet 126 located on the +X direction side of the nozzle 61 is the air outlet 126 located furthest on the +X direction side among the eight air outlets 126, and the air outlet 126 located on the -X direction side of the nozzle 61 is the air outlet 126 located furthest on the -X direction side among the eight air outlets 126. As shown by the dashed line in FIG. 5, the air outlet 126 blows the hot air supplied from the annular flow path 125 toward the +Z direction side of the heating surface 126S, and as shown in FIG. 7, blows the air toward the top layer MLa on the printing surface 311.

[0044] As shown in Fig. 4 and Fig. 5, each of the air outlets 126 is provided with an adjustment valve 129. The adjustment valve 129 is a butterfly valve having a disk-shaped valve portion and a rotating shaft. The air outlets 126 are opened and closed by rotation of the adjustment valve 129, and the amount of hot air blown from the air outlets 126 is adjusted. The adjustment valves 129 are each controlled separately by the control unit 500. That is, the adjustment valves 129 function as an air volume adjustment mechanism capable of adjusting the air volume for each of the air outlets 126.

[0045] The airflow rate is minimum, 0, when the adjustment valve 129 of the air outlet 126 located on the -X side of the nozzle 61 shown in Fig. 5 is in a horizontal position parallel to the X axis. The airflow rate is maximum when the adjustment valve 129 of the air outlet 126 located on the +X side of the nozzle 61 shown in Fig. 5 is in a vertical position parallel to the Z axis. In other embodiments, the airflow rate adjustment mechanism may be, for example, a shutter that opens and closes the air outlet 126 using one or more plate-shaped members.

[0046] The compression unit 150 compresses the modeling material MM discharged from the nozzle 61 toward the uppermost layer MLa, which will be described later. This reduces voids in the modeling material MM discharged onto the uppermost layer MLa, gaps occurring between the modeling material MM discharged onto the uppermost layer MLa and the uppermost layer MLa, and gaps occurring between the modeling materials MM discharged onto the uppermost layer MLa. As shown in FIG. 1, the compression unit 150 is fixed to a position on the +Z direction side of the discharge amount adjustment mechanism 70 in the discharge unit 60. As shown in FIGS. 1, 4, and 5, the compression unit 150 includes a compression member 151 and a compression unit movement mechanism 152.

[0047] As shown in FIG. 8, the compression unit 150 applies pressure to the linear object LP located between the uppermost layer MLa and the contact surface 155 by contacting the contact surface 155 with the linear object LP on the uppermost layer MLa, thereby compressing the linear object LP. The linear object LP is an example of the modeling material MM discharged from the nozzle 61 to the discharged surface. As shown in FIG. 6, the contact surface 155, which is the surface on the +Z direction side of the compression member 151, has a shape that surrounds the heating surface 126S of the heating unit 120. Therefore, when viewed from the direction along the Z axis, the contact surface 155 has a shape that surrounds the nozzle 61 and the heating surface 126S. According to this, when discharging the modeling material MM onto the uppermost layer MLa while moving the nozzle 61, even if the moving direction of the nozzle 61 along the uppermost layer MLa is changed, it is not necessary to move the compression member 151 according to the moving direction, so that the modeling material MM can be easily compressed.

[0048] 4 and 5, the compression member 151 is provided with a heater 154 capable of adjusting the temperature of the contact surface 155. The heater 154 of this embodiment is provided inside the compression member 151. Any heater can be used as the heater 154 as long as it can adjust the temperature of the contact surface 155, and a ceramic heater, a sheathed heater, a carbon heater, or the like can be used. In addition, the heater 154 may be provided on the surface of the compression member 151 on the -Z direction side as long as it can adjust the temperature of the contact surface 155.

[0049] For example, the heater 154 is controlled by the control unit 500 to increase the temperature of the contact surface 155, thereby suppressing a decrease in temperature, particularly a rapid decrease in temperature, of the modeling material MM caused by the contact surface 155 coming into contact with the modeling material MM discharged onto the discharged surface. If the contact surface 155 comes into contact with the modeling material MM when the temperature of the contact surface 155 is higher than the temperature of the modeling material MM discharged onto the uppermost layer MLa, there is a risk that the modeling material MM will adhere to the contact surface 155 and become stringy. For this reason, when the contact surface 155 comes into contact with the modeling material MM discharged onto the uppermost layer MLa, the temperature of the contact surface 155 is set to be lower than the temperature of the modeling material MM discharged onto the uppermost layer MLa.

[0050] The compression section movement mechanism 152 holds the compression member 151 so as to be movable in the Z-axis direction. The compression section movement mechanism 152 includes a compression section motor 153. The compression section movement mechanism 152 is configured with an eccentric cam mechanism that converts the rotation of the compression section motor 153, which is driven under the control of the control unit 500, into translational movement along the Z-axis direction. Note that the compression section movement mechanism 152 may be configured with a ball screw or link mechanism that converts the rotation of the compression section motor 153 into translational movement along the Z-axis direction, or may be configured with an actuator such as a solenoid mechanism or a piezoelectric element.

[0051] The compression-unit movement mechanism 152 moves the compression member 151 in the Z-axis direction to the contact position shown in Fig. 5 and the separated position shown in Fig. 4. In Fig. 5, the compression member 151 in the separated position is indicated by a two-dot chain line. The contact position is a position where the contact surface 155 of the compression member 151 contacts the linear object LP on the uppermost layer MLa, as shown in Figs. 8 and 10. The separated position is a position where the contact surface 155 of the compression member 151 is separated from the linear object LP on the uppermost layer MLa, as shown in Figs. 7, 9, and 11.

[0052] The distance in the Z-axis direction between the contact surface 155 and the uppermost layer MLa at the contact position can be changed. This allows the degree of compression of the modeling material MM to be changed depending on, for example, the type of modeling material MM. In this case, for example, when the modeling material MM is ABS resin, the degree of compression of the modeling material MM may be higher than when the modeling material MM is PPS resin. Also, for example, when the modeling material MM is ABS resin with glass fiber added, the degree of compression of the modeling material MM may be lower than when the modeling material MM is ABS resin. As shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 10, when the contact surface 155 compresses the modeling material MM at the contact position, it is located on the uppermost layer MLa side, which is on the +Z direction side of the nozzle 61.

[0053] As shown in FIG. 7, the control unit 500 of the three-dimensional printing apparatus 100 discharges the modeling material MM from the nozzle 61 of the discharge unit 60 toward the top layer MLa while moving the discharge unit 60. Specifically, the control unit 500 discharges the modeling material MM from the nozzle 61 while moving the nozzle 61 along the top layer MLa in the +X direction while maintaining the distance between the top layer MLa and the nozzle 61. The direction along the top layer MLa is the direction along the printing surface 311. The modeling material MM discharged from the nozzle 61 is continuously deposited in the moving direction of the nozzle 61. As a result, a linear modeling object LP that extends linearly along the moving path of the nozzle 61 is formed. As described above, the linear modeling object LP is an example of the modeling material MM discharged onto the top layer MLa. The movement of the nozzle 61 while discharging the modeling material MM may be referred to as scanning. The scanning direction of the nozzle 61 may be referred to as the scanning direction. The direction along the uppermost layer MLa is the direction along the discharged surface, which can also be rephrased as the direction along the printing surface 311.

[0054] The control unit 500 repeats the above-mentioned scanning by the nozzle 61 to form the layer ML. For example, the control unit 500 forms the topmost layer MLa located on the -Z direction side among the stacked layers ML, and then moves the modeling unit 200 including the nozzle 61 in the -Z direction. After that, the control unit 500 models a linear object LP on the topmost layer MLa, thereby stacking the layers ML to form a three-dimensional object. In other words, the three-dimensional modeling device 100 discharges the modeling material MM toward the discharged surface and stacks the layers ML in the stacking direction to form a three-dimensional object. In this case, the topmost layer MLa is the layer ML onto which the modeling material MM for forming the linear object LP is discharged. The topmost layer MLa is formed by the modeling material MM discharged from the nozzle 61 before the modeling material MM for forming the linear object LP. The topmost layer MLa is an example of a discharged surface onto which the modeling material MM is discharged from the nozzle 61.

[0055] When a three-dimensional object is formed by discharging the modeling material MM from the nozzle 61 toward the uppermost layer MLa, there is a risk of voids occurring within the modeling material MM discharged onto the uppermost layer MLa, between the modeling material MM discharged onto the uppermost layer MLa and the uppermost layer MLa, between the modeling materials MM discharged onto the uppermost layer MLa, etc. If voids occur, not only will the strength and elastic modulus of the formed three-dimensional object decrease, but anisotropy will occur in the mechanical properties, and there is a risk that the formed three-dimensional object will not exhibit the desired function as a structural member.

[0056] The three-dimensional printing apparatus 100 of this embodiment has a contact surface 155 having a shape surrounding the nozzle 61, and includes a compression unit 150 that applies pressure to the printing material MM located between the topmost layer MLa and the contact surface 155 by contacting the contact surface 155 with the printing material MM discharged onto the topmost layer MLa, thereby compressing the printing material MM. This can reduce voids in the printing material MM discharged onto the topmost layer MLa, gaps that occur between the printing material MM discharged onto the topmost layer MLa and the topmost layer MLa, and gaps that occur between the printing material MM discharged onto the topmost layer MLa. Therefore, the three-dimensional printing apparatus 100 of this embodiment can provide a three-dimensional object that has a desired function as a structural member.

[0057] Furthermore, since the contact surface 155 has a shape that surrounds the nozzle 61, when the nozzle 61 is moved in a direction along the top layer MLa while ejecting the modeling material MM onto the top layer MLa, it is not necessary to move the compression section 150 in a direction along the top layer MLa in accordance with the movement direction of the nozzle 61, and therefore the modeling material MM can be easily compressed.

[0058] Next, a flow of operations performed by the control unit 500 in this embodiment when executing a printing process for a three-dimensional object will be described. Here, with reference to Figs. 7 to 12, an operation for printing a linear object LP on the top layer MLa will be described as an example. The printing process for a three-dimensional object is executed by the control unit 500 when a predetermined start operation is performed by the user on an operation panel provided on the three-dimensional printing device 100 or an external computer connected to the three-dimensional printing device 100. By executing the printing process, the production of a three-dimensional object by the three-dimensional printing device 100 is started.

[0059] As shown in Fig. 7, the control unit 500 controls the movement mechanism 400 to change the relative position between the nozzle 61 and the topmost layer MLa so that the modeling material MM is discharged from the nozzle 61 toward the topmost layer MLa. Then, as indicated by the outlined arrow in Fig. 7, the control unit 500 discharges the modeling material MM from the nozzle 61 to the -Z direction side of the topmost layer MLa while moving the nozzle 61. Specifically, the control unit 500 discharges the modeling material MM from the nozzle 61 while moving the nozzle 61 by relatively moving the modeling unit 200 in the +X direction along the topmost layer MLa while maintaining the distance between the topmost layer MLa and the nozzle 61.

[0060] The modeling material MM discharged from the nozzle 61 is continuously deposited on the uppermost layer MLa in the movement direction of the nozzle 61. In this way, a linear object LP extending linearly along the movement path of the nozzle 61 is formed. As shown in Fig. 7, the dimension he in the Z-axis direction of the modeling material MM discharged from the nozzle 61, i.e., the linear object LP, is larger than the dimension hc in the Z-axis direction of the uppermost layer MLa that was previously formed and compressed by the compression unit 150.

[0061] The control unit 500 causes the heating unit 120 to heat the top layer MLa while discharging the modeling material MM from the nozzle 61 while moving the modeling unit 200 relatively in the +X direction. Specifically, the control unit 500 controls the heating unit 120 to blow hot air supplied from the annular flow path 125 from the blowing port 126 toward the top layer MLa located on the +X direction side of the nozzle 61, as shown by the dashed arrow in Fig. 7. At this time, in this embodiment, the adjustment valve 129 of the blowing port 126 located on the +X direction side of the nozzle 61 is in an open state, and the adjustment valves 129 of the other blowing ports 126 are in a closed state. As a result, the modeling material MM is discharged from the nozzle 61 toward the heated top layer MLa.

[0062] 8, the control unit 500 causes the compression unit 150 to compress the linear object LP while discharging the modeling material MM from the nozzle 61 while moving the modeling unit 200 relatively in the +X direction. Specifically, the control unit 500 controls the compression unit 150 to move the compression member 151 from the separated position to the contact position as indicated by the black arrow in FIG. 8, thereby bringing the contact surface 155 into contact with the linear object LP located on the +Z direction side of the compression member 151, thereby compressing the linear object LP. The temperature of the contact surface 155 is set to be lower than the temperature of the linear object LP at least when the contact surface 155 comes into contact with the linear object LP. In addition, while the compression unit 150 is compressing the linear object LP, the control unit 500 controls the heating unit 120 so that the temperature of at least the region of the uppermost layer MLa where the linear object LP is modeled is lower than the temperature of the linear object LP.

[0063] The control unit 500 compresses the linear object LP to be formed on the top layer MLa by repeatedly moving the compression member 151 back and forth between the separated position and the contact position as indicated by the black arrows in Fig. 8 to Fig. 11 while discharging the modeling material MM from the nozzle 61 while moving the modeling unit 200 relatively in the +X direction. When the amount of the modeling material MM discharged from the nozzle 61 per unit time is defined as the discharge amount, and the movement speed at which the nozzle 61 moves along the top layer MLa while discharging the modeling material MM toward the top layer MLa is defined as the scanning speed, the control unit 500 adjusts the movement speed of the contact surface 155 in the reciprocating movement based on at least one of the discharge amount, the scanning speed, and the type of modeling material MM.

[0064] The dimension h in the Z-axis direction of the linear object LP compressed by the compression unit 150 becomes the dimension hc, which is the same as the dimension in the Z-axis direction of the uppermost layer MLa. The dimension hc is determined by the dimension he in the Z-axis direction of the linear object LP before being compressed by the compression unit 150 and the degree of compression of the modeling material MM, which is set corresponding to the type of modeling material MM.

[0065] When the modeling process of the three-dimensional object is interrupted midway or when the modeling process of the three-dimensional object is terminated, the control unit 500 moves the modeling unit 200 to a position away from the layer ML in the +X direction, as shown in Fig. 11. When the nozzle 61 moves to the +X direction side of the uppermost layer MLa, the control unit 500 closes the valve body 72 of the discharge amount adjustment mechanism 70, and further moves the plunger 82 of the suction unit 80 in the -X direction away from the supply flow path 62.

[0066] Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 12, the control unit 500, as necessary, drives and controls the cutting unit 600 during or after the creation of the three-dimensional object, to cut the layer ML and finish the three-dimensional object as desired.

[0067] As described above, according to the three-dimensional printing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

[0068] The three-dimensional printing apparatus 100 is a three-dimensional printing apparatus that forms a three-dimensional object by ejecting a modeling material MM toward a top layer MLa on a table 300 and stacking the layers ML in a stacking direction, and is equipped with a plasticization unit 30 that plasticizes at least a portion of the material MR to generate the modeling material MM, a nozzle 61 having a nozzle tip surface 69S where a nozzle hole 69 opens and ejecting the modeling material MM from the nozzle hole 69 toward the top layer MLa, a movement mechanism 400 that changes the relative position between the nozzle 61 and the top layer MLa, a control unit 500 that controls the movement mechanism 400 so that the modeling material MM is ejected from the nozzle 61 toward the top layer MLa, and a compression unit 150 that has a contact surface 155 having a shape that surrounds the nozzle 61 when viewed from the stacking direction and is capable of compressing the modeling material MM by bringing the contact surface 155 into contact with the modeling material MM ejected onto the top layer MLa. According to this, when the molding material MM is discharged onto the uppermost layer MLa while the nozzle 61 is moving, it is not necessary to move the compression section 150 in accordance with the moving direction of the nozzle 61, so that the molding material MM can be easily compressed.

[0069] At least when the modeling material MM is compressed, the contact surface 155 is located on the uppermost layer MLa side of the nozzle hole 69. This makes it possible to easily compress the modeling material MM.

[0070] The compression unit 150 includes a compression unit movement mechanism 152 that can move the contact surface 155 between a contact position where the contact surface 155 comes into contact with the modeling material MM discharged onto the uppermost layer MLa and a remote position away from the modeling material MM. This allows the contact surface 155 to be easily moved to the remote position away from the modeling material MM.

[0071] The compression-unit moving mechanism 152 can change the distance between the contact surface 155 at the contact position and the uppermost layer MLa. This makes it possible to change the degree to which the modeling material MM is compressed depending on the type of the modeling material MM, for example.

[0072] When the amount of the modeling material MM discharged from the nozzle 61 per unit time is defined as the discharge amount, and the moving speed when the nozzle 61 moves along the uppermost layer MLa while discharging the modeling material MM toward the uppermost layer MLa is defined as the scanning speed, the control unit 500 controls the compression unit moving mechanism 152 to move the contact surface 155 back and forth between the contact position and the separated position, and adjusts the moving speed of the contact surface 155 in the back and forth movement based on at least one of the discharge amount, the scanning speed, and the type of modeling material MM. In this way, by adjusting the moving speed when the contact surface 155 repeatedly comes into contact with the modeling material MM, it is possible to reduce voids in the modeling material MM discharged onto the uppermost layer MLa, gaps that occur between the modeling material MM discharged onto the uppermost layer MLa and the uppermost layer MLa, and gaps that occur between the modeling materials MM discharged onto the uppermost layer MLa.

[0073] While the molding material MM is being compressed by the compression unit 150, the temperature of the contact surface 155 is lower than the temperature of the molding material MM. This makes it possible to prevent the molding material MM from adhering to the contact surface 155 and becoming stringy after the contact surface 155 comes into contact with the molding material MM.

[0074] The compression unit 150 has a heater 154. With this, for example, by increasing the temperature of the contact surface 155 by the heater 154, it is possible to suppress a decrease in temperature of the modeling material MM caused by the contact surface 155 coming into contact with the modeling material MM discharged onto the uppermost layer MLa.

[0075] The three-dimensional printing apparatus 100 includes a heating unit 120 capable of heating the uppermost layer MLa. By heating the uppermost layer MLa, the adhesive strength between the modeling material MM discharged onto the uppermost layer MLa and the uppermost layer MLa can be improved.

[0076] When viewed from the stacking direction, the heating unit 120 has a heating surface 126S having a shape surrounding the nozzle 61, and the contact surface 155 has a shape surrounding the nozzle 61 and the heating surface 126S. With this, when the modeling material MM is discharged onto the uppermost layer MLa while the nozzle 61 is moved, the uppermost layer MLa can be easily heated regardless of the moving direction of the nozzle 61. In addition, the modeling material MM discharged onto the heated uppermost layer MLa can be easily compressed regardless of the moving direction of the nozzle 61.

[0077] The control unit 500 controls the heating unit 120 so that when the modeling material MM is discharged from the nozzle 61 toward the uppermost layer MLa serving as the discharged surface, the temperature of the uppermost layer MLa is lower than the temperature of the modeling material MM that comes into contact with the contact surface 155. This makes it possible to suppress deformation of the uppermost layer MLa serving as the discharged surface by compressing the modeling material MM. In this case, the modeling surface 311 is not included as the discharged surface.

[0078] The three-dimensional modeling apparatus 100 includes a cutting unit 600 capable of cutting a three-dimensional object. This makes it possible to easily cut a three-dimensional object during or after its creation.

[0079] Here, the material MR of the three-dimensional object used in the above-mentioned three-dimensional printing apparatus 100 will be described. In the three-dimensional printing apparatus 100, a three-dimensional object can be printed using various materials as main materials, such as thermoplastic materials, metal materials, ceramic materials, etc. Here, the "main material" refers to the material MR that is the core of the shape of the three-dimensional object, and refers to a material that occupies 50% by weight or more in the three-dimensional object. The above-mentioned printing material MM includes those main materials melted alone, and those in which some components contained together with the main material are melted and turned into a paste.

[0080] When a thermoplastic material is used as the main material, the material is plasticized in the plasticizing unit 30 to generate the modeling material MM.

[0081] As the material having thermoplasticity, for example, the following thermoplastic resin materials can be used. <Examples of thermoplastic resin materials> General-purpose engineering plastics such as polypropylene resin (PP), polyethylene resin (PE), polyacetal resin (POM), polyvinyl chloride resin (PVC), polyamide resin (PA), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene resin (ABS), polylactic acid resin (PLA), polyphenylene sulfide resin (PPS), polyether ether ketone (PEEK), polycarbonate (PC), modified polyphenylene ether, polybutylene terephthalate, and polyethylene terephthalate, as well as engineering plastics such as polysulfone, polyethersulfone, polyphenylene sulfide, polyarylate, polyimide, polyamideimide, polyetherimide, and polyether ether ketone.

[0082] The thermoplastic material may contain additives such as pigments, metals, ceramics, glass fibers, and wax, flame retardants, antioxidants, and heat stabilizers. The thermoplastic material is plasticized in the plasticizing section 30 by the rotation of the flat screw 40 and the heating of the plasticizing section heater 58, and is converted into a molten state. The modeling material MM generated by melting the thermoplastic material is discharged from the nozzle 61, and then hardens due to a decrease in temperature.

[0083] It is desirable that the thermoplastic material be heated to or above its glass transition point and in a completely molten state before being injected from the nozzle 61. For example, when ABS resin is used, it is desirable that the temperature of the resin is about 200° C. when it is discharged from the nozzle 61.

[0084] In the three-dimensional modeling apparatus 100, for example, the following metal materials may be used as the main material instead of the above-mentioned thermoplastic materials. In this case, it is preferable that a component that melts when generating the modeling material MM is mixed with a powder material made by powdering the following metal materials, and the powder material is fed into the plasticizing unit 30 as the material MR. <Examples of metal materials> A single metal, or an alloy containing one or more of the following metals: magnesium (Mg), iron (Fe), cobalt (Co), chromium (Cr), aluminum (Al), titanium (Ti), copper (Cu), or nickel (Ni). <Alloy examples> Maraging steel, stainless steel, cobalt chrome molybdenum, titanium alloy, nickel alloy, aluminum alloy, cobalt alloy, cobalt chrome alloy.

[0085] In the three-dimensional printing apparatus 100, a ceramic material can be used as the main material instead of the above-mentioned metal materials. As the ceramic material, for example, oxide ceramics such as silicon dioxide, titanium dioxide, aluminum oxide, zirconium oxide, etc., and non-oxide ceramics such as aluminum nitride, etc. can be used. When the above-mentioned metal materials or ceramic materials are used as the main material, the printing material MM discharged toward the printing surface 311 may be hardened by sintering.

[0086] The powder material of the metallic material or the ceramic material fed into the material supply unit 20 as the material MR may be a mixed material in which a single metal powder, an alloy powder, or a ceramic material powder is mixed with a plurality of types of powder. The powder material of the metallic material or the ceramic material may be coated with, for example, the thermoplastic resin exemplified above or a thermoplastic resin other than the above. In this case, the thermoplastic resin may be melted in the plasticizing unit 30 to exhibit fluidity.

[0087] For example, the following solvents can be added to the powder material of the metal material or ceramic material fed as the material MR to the material supply unit 20. The solvent can be one or a combination of two or more selected from the following. <Examples of solvents> water; (poly)alkylene glycol monoalkyl ethers such as ethylene glycol monomethyl ether, ethylene glycol monoethyl ether, propylene glycol monomethyl ether, and propylene glycol monoethyl ether; acetate esters such as ethyl acetate, n-propyl acetate, isopropyl acetate, n-butyl acetate, and iso-butyl acetate; aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzene, toluene, and xylene; ketones such as methyl ethyl ketone, acetone, methyl isobutyl ketone, ethyl-n-butyl ketone, diisopropyl ketone, and acetylacetone; alcohols such as ethanol, propanol, and butanol; tetraalkylammonium acetates; sulfoxide-based solvents such as dimethyl sulfoxide and diethyl sulfoxide; pyridine-based solvents such as pyridine, γ-picoline, and 2,6-lutidine; tetraalkylammonium acetates (for example, tetrabutylammonium acetate, etc.); and ionic liquids such as butyl carbitol acetate.

[0088] In addition, for example, the following binders can be added to the powder material of the metal material or ceramic material fed into the material supply unit 20 as the material MR. <Example of binder> Acrylic resin, epoxy resin, silicone resin, cellulose-based resin or other synthetic resin, or PLA (polylactic acid), PA (polyamide), PPS (polyphenylene sulfide), PEEK (polyether ether ketone) or other thermoplastic resin.

[0089] 2. Embodiment 2 Next, in the second embodiment as an embodiment of the present disclosure, an operation performed by the control unit 500 when executing a printing process for a three-dimensional object will be described. Here, an operation for printing a linear object LP on the top layer MLa will be described as an example with reference to Fig. 13. Note that parts common to the 3D printing apparatus 100 of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0090] The three-dimensional printing apparatus 100 of this embodiment is the same as the three-dimensional printing apparatus 100 of embodiment 1. In this embodiment, the operation when the control unit 500 executes the printing process of a three-dimensional object is the same except that the distance in the Z-axis direction between the nozzle tip surface 69S and the uppermost layer MLa when the printing material MM is discharged from the nozzle 61 toward the uppermost layer MLa is different.

[0091] In the first embodiment, when the control unit 500 discharges the modeling material MM from the nozzle 61 toward the -Z direction side of the topmost layer MLa while moving the nozzle 61 by relatively moving the modeling unit 200 in the +X direction, the distance in the Z axis direction between the nozzle tip surface 69S and the topmost layer MLa is greater than the dimension he of the linear object LP in the Z axis direction, as shown in Fig. 7. That is, in the first embodiment, the distance in the Z axis direction between the nozzle tip surface 69S and the topmost layer MLa when the modeling material MM is discharged from the nozzle 61 toward the topmost layer MLa is set so that the nozzle tip surface 69S does not come into contact with the modeling material MM discharged onto the topmost layer MLa.

[0092] In contrast, in this embodiment, when the control unit 500 discharges the modeling material MM from the nozzle 61 toward the -Z direction side of the topmost layer MLa while moving the nozzle 61 by relatively moving the modeling unit 200 in the +X direction, as shown in Fig. 13, the nozzle tip surface 69S comes into contact with the modeling material MM discharged from the nozzle 61 toward the topmost layer MLa. In other words, when the modeling material MM is discharged from the nozzle 61 toward the topmost layer MLa, the distance between the nozzle tip surface 69S and the topmost layer MLa is set so that the nozzle tip surface 69S comes into contact with the modeling material MM discharged onto the topmost layer MLa. As a result, the dimension hf in the Z-axis direction of the modeling material MM that is discharged from the nozzle 61 and that is subjected to pressure by contacting the nozzle tip surface 69S, i.e., the dimension he in the Z-axis direction of the linear modeled object LP, is smaller than the dimension he in the Z-axis direction of the linear modeled object LP shown in Fig. 7.

[0093] That is, in this embodiment, when the contact surface 155 of the compression member 151 in the compression unit 150 is defined as a first contact surface, the nozzle tip surface 69S of the nozzle 61 functions as a second contact surface capable of compressing the modeling material MM by coming into contact with the modeling material MM discharged onto the uppermost layer MLa. In this embodiment, the dimension hf in the Z-axis direction of the compressed linear object LP by the contact of the nozzle tip surface 69S is larger than the dimension hc in the Z-axis direction of the uppermost layer MLa that was previously formed and compressed by the compression unit 150. In this embodiment, thereafter, the control unit 500 executes the modeling process of the three-dimensional object shown in Figs. 8 to 12 in the same manner as in the first embodiment.

[0094] As described above, according to the three-dimensional printing apparatus 100 according to the second embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

[0095] In the three-dimensional modeling apparatus 100, the nozzle 61 is set such that, when the modeling material MM is discharged from the nozzle 61 toward the top layer MLa, the distance between the nozzle tip surface 69S and the top layer MLa is such that the nozzle tip surface 69S comes into contact with the modeling material MM discharged onto the top layer MLa. In this way, while the modeling material MM is being discharged from the nozzle 61, the discharged modeling material MM can be compressed between the nozzle tip surface 69S and the top layer MLa.

[0096] The three-dimensional printing apparatus 100 according to the above embodiment of the present invention is basically configured as described above, but it is of course possible to modify or omit some of the configuration without departing from the gist of the present invention. Furthermore, the above embodiment and other embodiments described below can be combined with each other as long as they are not technically inconsistent. The other embodiments will be described below.

[0097] In the above embodiment, the control unit 500 may change the degree to which the molding material MM ejected from the nozzle 61 onto the top layer MLa is compressed by the compression unit 150 based on, in addition to the type of molding material MM, any of the above-mentioned ejection amount, scanning speed, temperature of the ejected molding material MM, temperature of the top layer MLa, and ambient temperature.

[0098] In the above embodiment, when the control unit 500 moves the modeling unit 200 along the topmost layer MLa, ejects the modeling material MM from the nozzle 61, and repeats the reciprocating movement of the compression member 151 between the separated position and the contact position to compress the linear object LP to be modeled on the topmost layer MLa, the control unit 500 may adjust the moving speed of the reciprocating movement of the contact surface 155 based on at least any one of the above-mentioned ejection amount, scanning speed, type of modeling material MM, temperature of the ejected modeling material MM, temperature of the topmost layer MLa, and ambient temperature.

[0099] In the above embodiment, the control unit 500 may move the modeling unit 200 along the topmost layer MLa, eject the modeling material MM from the nozzle 61, compress the linear object LP to be modeled on the topmost layer MLa, and then compress the linear object LP modeled on the topmost layer MLa again while moving the modeling unit 200 along the topmost layer MLa.

[0100] In the above embodiment, the control unit 500 may not compress the linear object LP formed on the uppermost layer MLa while discharging the modeling material MM from the nozzle 61 while moving the modeling unit 200 along the uppermost layer MLa. In this case, for example, the control unit 500 may discharge the modeling material MM from the nozzle 61 while moving the modeling unit 200 along the uppermost layer MLa, and then compress the linear object LP formed on the uppermost layer MLa before the modeling material MM hardens while moving the modeling unit 200 along the uppermost layer MLa. In addition, for example, the control unit 500 may discharge the modeling material MM from the nozzle 61 while moving the modeling unit 200 along the uppermost layer MLa to form the latest layer MLb on the uppermost layer MLa, and then compress the latest layer MLb formed on the uppermost layer MLa while moving the modeling unit 200 along the latest layer MLb before the latest layer MLb hardens.

[0101] In the above embodiment, the compression unit moving mechanism 152 may not include the compression unit motor 153. In this case, a fixing member capable of fixing the position of the contact surface 155 of the compression member 151 in the Z-axis direction at least at the contact position may be provided, and an operator may operate the fixing member to fix the contact surface 155 at a desired position.

[0102] In the above embodiment, the compression section 150 does not need to include the compression section moving mechanism 152. In this case, the contact surface 155 of the compression member 151 is fixed at the contact position.

[0103] In the above embodiment, the compression section 150 does not necessarily need to include the heater 154 .

[0104] In the above embodiment, when the control unit 500 causes the heating unit 120 to heat the uppermost layer MLa while discharging the modeling material MM from the nozzle 61 while moving the modeling unit 200 in the +X direction, the control unit 500 may not blow hot air toward the uppermost layer MLa by opening the adjustment valve 129 of the air outlet 126 located on the +X direction side of the nozzle 61 in the heating unit 120 and closing the adjustment valves 129 of the other air outlets 126. In this case, for example, the control unit 500 may open the adjustment valve 129 of the air outlet 126 located on the furthest side in the +X direction in the heating unit 120 and close the adjustment valves 129 of the other air outlets 126 to blow hot air toward the uppermost layer MLa located on the +X direction side of the nozzle 61.

[0105] In the above embodiment, the control unit 500 may not cause the heating unit 120 to heat the uppermost layer MLa located on the +X direction side of the nozzle 61 while discharging the modeling material MM from the nozzle 61 while moving the modeling unit 200 in the +X direction. In this case, for example, the control unit 500 may open the adjustment valves 129 of all the air outlets 126 in the heating unit 120 to blow hot air toward the uppermost layer MLa.

[0106] In the above embodiment, when the control unit 500 moves the modeling unit 200 in the +X direction, ejects the modeling material MM from the nozzle 61, and causes the heating unit 120 to heat the top layer MLa, the control unit 500 may open the adjustment valve 129 of the air outlet 126 located closest to the -X direction in the heating unit 120 to blow warm air toward the linear object LP and compress the linear object LP by the wind pressure.

[0107] In the above embodiment, if there is no need to improve the adhesive strength between the discharged modeling material MM and the discharged surface, the control unit 500 does not need to cause the heating unit 120 to heat the discharged surface. For example, if the modeling material MM is discharged onto the modeling surface 311 to form a layer ML, the modeling surface 311 does not need to be heated. Also, for example, if the modeling material MM is discharged onto a support member fixed on the modeling surface 311 to form a layer ML, the support member does not need to be heated.

[0108] In the above embodiment, the heating unit 120 does not necessarily have to include the adjustment valve 129 .

[0109] In the above embodiment, the three-dimensional modeling apparatus 100 does not necessarily have to include the heating unit 120 .

[0110] In the above embodiment, the three-dimensional modeling apparatus 100 does not necessarily have to include the cutting unit 600 . [Explanation of symbols]

[0111] 20...material supply section, 22...connection passage, 30...plasticizing section, 31...screw case, 32...driving motor, 40...flat screw, 41...upper surface, 42...groove forming surface, 43...side surface, 44...material inlet, 45...groove section, 46...ridge section, 47...center section, 50...barrel, 52...screw facing surface, 54...guide groove, 56...communicating hole, 58...plasticizing section heater, 60...discharge section, 61...nozzle, 62...supply flow path, 65...first supply port, 66...cross hole, 67...second supply port, 68...nozzle flow path, 69...nozzle hole, 69S...nozzle tip surface, 70...discharge amount adjustment mechanism, 71...drive shaft, 72...valve body, 80...suction section, 81...cylinder, 8 2...plunger, 83...plunger drive unit, 100...three-dimensional printing device, 120...heating unit, 121...inlet flow path, 122...hot air generating unit, 123...heating unit, 124...hot air supply flow path, 125...annular flow path, 126...outlet, 126S...heating surface, 127...inner circumference, 128...outer circumference, 129...control valve, 150...compression unit, 151...compression member, 152...compression unit movement mechanism, 153...compression unit motor, 154...heater, 155...contact surface, 200...printing unit, 300...table, 311...printing surface, 400...movement mechanism, 500...control unit, 600...cutting unit, 601...cutting drive unit, 602...holding arm, 603...cutting tool.

Claims

1. The modeling material is discharged toward the receiving surface and layers are stacked in the stacking direction to create a three-dimensional model on the table. A three-dimensional printing apparatus for printing an original object, comprising: a plasticizer for plasticizing at least a portion of the material to produce the building material; The nozzle has a nozzle tip surface where a nozzle hole is opened, and the molding material is ejected from the nozzle hole. A nozzle that ejects toward a surface; a moving mechanism that changes a relative position between the nozzle and the table; The moving mechanism is configured to move the modeling material from the nozzle toward the discharged surface. A control unit for controlling the above; a contact surface having a shape surrounding the nozzle when viewed from the stacking direction; The contact surface is brought into contact with the modeling material discharged onto the surface, thereby compressing the modeling material. A compression section; Equipped with The discharged surface is the surface of the table or the topmost layer of the layer stacked on the table. It is a surface, The contact surface has an annular shape when viewed from the stacking direction. Three-dimensional printing equipment.

2. The three-dimensional printing apparatus according to claim 1, The contact surface is configured to be closer to the nozzle tip surface than the target surface when the molding material is compressed. Located on the discharge side, Three-dimensional printing equipment.

3. The three-dimensional modeling apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, The compression portion has a contact position at which the molding material discharged to the discharged surface comes into contact with the molding material, and A compression unit moving mechanism is provided that can move the contact surface to a separate position away from the molding material. Three-dimensional printing equipment.

4. The three-dimensional modeling apparatus according to claim 3, The amount of the modeling material discharged from the nozzle per unit time is called a discharge amount, and the nozzle When the modeling material is discharged toward the discharged surface and the modeling material moves along the discharged surface, When the moving speed is the scanning speed, The control unit controls the compression unit moving mechanism to move the contact surface between the contact position and the separation position. and moving the nozzle back and forth between the nozzle position and the nozzle hole position, and controlling the discharge amount, the scanning speed, and the number of types of the modeling material. adjusting a moving speed of the reciprocating movement of the contact surface based on at least one of the following: Three-dimensional printing equipment.

5. The three-dimensional modeling apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, During compression of the build material by the compression unit, the temperature of the contact surface the temperature of the build material being lower than the temperature of the build material being Three-dimensional printing equipment.

6. The three-dimensional modeling apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, A heating unit capable of heating the ejection surface is provided, When viewed from the stacking direction, The heating unit has a heating surface having a shape surrounding the nozzle, and the contact surface is and having a shape surrounding the heating surface; Three-dimensional printing equipment.

7. The three-dimensional modeling apparatus according to claim 6, When the modeling material is discharged from the nozzle toward the discharged surface, the control unit The temperature of the discharged surface is lower than the temperature of the modeling material that the contact surface comes into contact with. and controlling the heating unit. Three-dimensional printing equipment.

8. The three-dimensional modeling apparatus according to claim 6, The heating unit has a plurality of blowing ports for blowing hot air toward the discharged surface, When viewed from the stacking direction, the contact surface surrounds the nozzle and the plurality of blowing ports. The shape of the The control unit is positioned at least in front of the nozzle in the direction of relative movement with respect to the table. The hot air is blown toward the discharged surface from the air outlet disposed in the nozzle. Three-dimensional printing equipment.

9. The three-dimensional modeling apparatus according to claim 8, A heater that is in communication with the plurality of air outlets and supplies the hot air to the plurality of air outlets. A member having a flow path for supplying the liquid, The member has a shape surrounding the nozzle, A gap is provided between the inner periphery of the member and the nozzle. Three-dimensional printing equipment.

10. The three-dimensional modeling apparatus according to claim 8, A heater that is in communication with the plurality of air outlets and supplies the hot air to the plurality of air outlets. A member having a flow path for supplying the liquid, The member has a shape surrounding the nozzle, A heat insulating member is provided between the inner periphery of the member and the nozzle. Three-dimensional printing equipment.

11. The three-dimensional printing apparatus according to any one of claims 8 to 10, A control valve capable of adjusting the amount of the hot air blown is provided for each of the plurality of air outlets. Three-dimensional printing equipment.

12. A three-dimensional printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 11, The compression section has a heater. Three-dimensional printing equipment.

13. A three-dimensional printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 12, When the modeling material is discharged from the nozzle toward the discharged surface, the nozzle tip The distance between the nozzle surface and the receiving surface is determined by the distance between the nozzle and the receiving surface. The tip faces are set to contact each other. Three-dimensional printing equipment.

Images