Shaping device

Abstract

To mold a wire with a structure within an appropriate range even if a molding base of the wire including a surface of a substrate layer is distorted in a longitudinal direction and rotational direction when molding the wire along the substrate layer.SOLUTION: A camera 30 is installed to take an image of a molding state, and an optical axis L (see FIG. 1) of the camera 30 is parallel to a winding direction of a wire 20, and is located in a gap between a wire 20 (n-1) molded one round before the wire 20 and a wire (n) molded this time to move in synchronization with a movement of a nozzle 22. Thereby, the wire can be molded with a structure within an appropriate range without being affected by a distortion of a substrate 28.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a molding apparatus that molds a hardenable wire while maintaining a predetermined gap between the wire and a substrate while moving the wire in the direction of the substrate's rotation axis. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent document 1 describes a winding device for winding wire in a multi-layered, aligned manner around a bobbin, with the aim of obtaining a wire winding device that easily and reliably prevents gaps between wires and wire climbing, and describes the device having a traverser that determines the winding position of the wire on the bobbin, a guide that guides the wire to the winding position, a camera that captures images of the winding state of the wire on the bobbin, and a control unit that performs calculations to control the moving speed of the traverser based on the winding state and controls the moving speed of the traverser based on the results of the calculations.

[0003] Also, for reference, Patent Document 2 describes an automated process control of an additive manufacturing device that minimizes the number of tools an operator must use to control the additive manufacturing device, in which at least one camera is provided to view the manufacturing volume of the device to generate network-accessible images of the object, and a computer stops the manufacturing process when the object is defective based on the image of the object. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-151900 [Patent Document 2] JP 2019-10890 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] When a wire made of a fluid material that dries and solidifies is extruded from a nozzle onto a rotating, long, cylindrical substrate layer, and the wire is three-dimensionally formed into a spiral along the substrate layer, if there is distortion in the substrate layer in the longitudinal direction or the rotation direction, the wire will peel off or excessive extrusion will occur, making it impossible to laminate the desired structure. It is also difficult to control the dimensions (gaps) when winding in an orderly fashion.

[0006] In Patent Document 1, when the wire is wound in an aligned oblique direction, it is difficult to determine the winding state by image processing when capturing images using a camera that is installed directly opposite the bobbin and does not move integrally with the traverser.

[0007] In Patent Document 2, the camera line of sight and the direction of the gap do not match, so gap information cannot be obtained, or the difference in pixel information between the gap background and the wire is unclear, so the gap amount cannot be obtained by image processing or the accuracy is low.

[0008] The object of the present invention is to obtain a molding device that can mold a wire rod in a structure within an appropriate range even if the molding base of the wire rod, including the surface of the substrate layer, is distorted in the longitudinal direction and rotational direction when molding the wire rod along a substrate layer. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The molding apparatus of the present invention is a molding apparatus that molds a hardenable wire material onto at least the surface of the substrate while maintaining a predetermined gap by moving a nozzle positioned opposite the substrate, which is rotated along a rotation axis, in the direction of the rotation axis of the substrate, and includes an imaging unit that images the area within the gap during molding, an acquisition unit that acquires the amount of distortion of the substrate and the amount of wire material on the surface of the substrate based on image information captured by the imaging unit, a judgment unit that judges whether the molded shape of the wire material is appropriate based on the amount of distortion and the amount of wire material acquired by the acquisition unit, and a control unit that controls the unit amount of wire material discharged from the nozzle based on the judgment result of the judgment unit.

[0010] According to the present invention, the imaging unit captures an image of the inside of the gap region during modeling.

[0011] The acquisition unit acquires the amount of distortion of the substrate and the amount of wire on the surface of the substrate based on the image information captured by the imaging unit.

[0012] The determining unit determines whether the shaped shape of the wire is appropriate.

[0013] The control unit controls the unit discharge amount of the wire from the nozzle based on the determination result of the determination unit.

[0014] This means that when shaping the wire along the substrate layer, even if the shaping base of the wire, including the surface of the substrate layer, is distorted in the longitudinal direction and rotational direction, the wire can be shaped with a structure within an appropriate range.

[0015] In the present invention, the imaging unit is attached so as to follow the movement of the nozzle, and is capable of capturing images with its optical axis always maintained parallel to the winding direction of the wire and within the gap area, and the acquisition unit acquires the distortion of the substrate and the state of the amount of wire on the surface of the substrate under the same conditions regardless of the movement of the nozzle.

[0016] In the present invention, by forming a wire rod in a layer above the wire rod formed on the surface of the substrate, a mesh-like wire rod forming portion in which a group of interconnected air layers is formed is formed on the surface of the substrate. [Effects of the Invention]

[0017] According to the present invention, when a wire is shaped along a substrate layer, even if the shaping base of the wire, including the surface of the substrate layer, is distorted in the longitudinal direction and rotational direction, the wire can be shaped with a structure within an appropriate range. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1] 2A and 2B are schematic diagrams showing main parts of a three-dimensional modeling apparatus according to the present embodiment, in which (A) is a top view and (B) is a cross-sectional view taken along line IB-IB in FIG. 1; [Figure 2] 3 is a control block diagram of a molding control device according to the present embodiment. [Figure 3] 1 is a functional block diagram of a forming state determination unit according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 4] 10 is a flowchart showing a main routine of object-forming control according to the present embodiment. [Figure 5] 10 is a flowchart showing a molding shape determination process control routine according to the present embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a front view of an image captured and binarized in the present embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating transitions between wire rods, showing the results of measurement by the shaping state determination unit according to the present embodiment. [Figure 8] 10 is a diagram showing the appropriate and inappropriate relationship between the gap between the wires and the height of the substrate surface layer. FIG. [Figure 9] 1A and 1B are top views showing the positional relationship between the camera and the nozzle, where (A) is a configuration in which the camera and the nozzle move synchronously according to the present embodiment, and (B) is a configuration in which the camera and the nozzle move asynchronously according to the comparative example. [Figure 10] 1A and 1B are side views showing the positional relationship between the camera and the nozzle, where (A) is a configuration in which the camera and the nozzle move synchronously according to the present embodiment, and (B) is a configuration in which the camera and the nozzle move asynchronously according to the comparative example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0019] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the main parts of a three-dimensional modeling apparatus 10 according to this embodiment.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 1A, the three-dimensional modeling apparatus 10 includes a modeling control device 12, which controls a nozzle moving mechanism 14, a discharge rate adjusting mechanism 16, and a substrate rotating mechanism 18.

[0021] The nozzle movement mechanism 14 is composed of a drive system (for example, a rack and pinion mechanism) that moves an arm 24 attached to a nozzle 22 that discharges the hardenable wire 20 in a gel state. The nozzle movement mechanism 14 moves the arm 24 at a constant speed in the x direction in FIG. 1.

[0022] The discharge rate adjustment mechanism 16 is composed of a drive system (such as a motor-driven on-off valve) that adjusts the opening of the pipe 26 that supplies the wire rod 20 to the nozzle 22. The discharge rate adjustment mechanism 16 adjusts the unit discharge rate of the wire rod 20 discharged from the nozzle 22. The discharge rate of the wire rod 20 discharged from the nozzle 22 can be adjusted by changing the rotation speed of a motor-driven screw (not shown) that feeds the wire rod 20, or by changing the pressure (air pressure) applied to the pipe 26, or the like.

[0023] The substrate rotation mechanism 18 is composed of a drive system (e.g., a motor) that rotates a cylindrical substrate 28, which is a base material for forming the wire 20. The substrate rotation mechanism 18 rotates the substrate 28 about its axis in the θ direction in FIG. 1 at a constant speed.

[0024] 1 by the nozzle movement mechanism 14 and the rotation in the θ direction in FIG. 1 by the substrate rotation mechanism 18, the nozzle 22 moves in a spiral shape on the substrate 28. Note that in this embodiment, the shape does not have to be a geometric spiral (it does not have to be wound at equal intervals like a screw), but it may be a so-called "spiral shape" formed by movement along the rotation axis while rotating.

[0025] Here, when the wire rod 20, the discharge rate of which has been adjusted by the discharge rate adjustment mechanism 16, is discharged from the nozzle 22 while the nozzle 22 is moving, the wire rod 20 is formed into a spiral shape with a predetermined interval, as shown in Fig. 1. Hereinafter, the direction in which this spiral shape is formed is referred to as the winding direction of the wire rod 20.

[0026] For reference, the object produced in this embodiment is applied to an air conditioner that utilizes the waste heat from an adsorption refrigerator. The substrate 28 is a pipe through which a refrigerant passes, and the material of the wires 20 contains silica gel, which absorbs water. By stacking the wires 20 in a spiral shape, a network of interconnected spaces is formed, allowing heat exchange to occur.

[0027] The three-dimensional modeling apparatus 10 of this embodiment includes a camera 30 as an imaging unit for monitoring the state of modeling of the wire 20.

[0028] The camera 30 is attached so as to move in synchronization with the nozzle 22. That is, taking the arm 24 shown in Fig. 1 as an example, the nozzle 22 is attached to one end of the L-shaped arm 24, and the camera 30 is attached to the other end.

[0029] Here, when the nozzle movement mechanism 14 drives the arm 24 to move in the x direction in FIG. 1, the camera 30 moves in synchronization with the movement of the nozzle 22 in the x direction in FIG. 1 while maintaining the relative positional relationship.

[0030] As shown in Figure 1(A), the optical axis L of the camera 30 is parallel to the winding direction of the wire 20 and is positioned in the gap between the wire 20(n-1) formed one turn before the wire 20 and the wire (n) formed this time.

[0031] 1(B), the optical axis L of the camera 30 is positioned midway between the discharge outlet of the nozzle 22 and the discharge base of the wire 20. The discharge base is the surface of the substrate 28 in the first layer, and is the top surface of the spiral wire 20 previously formed in the second and subsequent layers.

[0032] The image captured by the camera 30 is converted into a binary image (the target image is black and the background is white) as shown in Figure 6, and the appropriateness of the gaps between the wires 20 is determined (details will be described later).

[0033] 2 is a control block diagram of the object-forming control device 12 according to the present embodiment. Note that the control blocks for each control object shown in FIG. 2 do not limit the hardware configuration, and some or all of the controls may be operated as a software program.

[0034] 2, the manufacturing control device 12 includes a manufacturing instruction unit 32. The manufacturing instruction unit 32 stores initial information such as the diameter and length of the substrate 28, and the physical properties and viscosity of the wire 20, and instructs the nozzle movement control unit 34 and the substrate rotation control unit 36 ​​to set initial positions according to the manufacturing instructions.

[0035] In addition, when it is time to start manufacturing, the manufacturing instruction unit 32 starts synchronously driving the nozzle mounting base 38 and the substrate mounting base 40 to the nozzle movement mechanism unit 14 and the substrate rotation mechanism unit 18 via the nozzle movement control unit 34 and the substrate rotation control unit 36.

[0036] Furthermore, the modeling instruction unit 32 controls the discharge amount adjustment mechanism unit 16 via the discharge amount control unit 42 to discharge the wire 20 from the nozzle 22 at a predetermined discharge amount (a fixed unit discharge amount).

[0037] Here, the modeling instruction unit 32 instructs the camera 30 to capture an image at the start of modeling.

[0038] In response to an instruction from the modeling instruction unit 32, the camera 30 starts capturing images and sends the captured images to the modeling state determination unit 44.

[0039] The forming state determination unit 44 determines whether the forming state is appropriate. Specifically, it determines whether the state of the gap between the wire rod 20(n-1) formed one turn before the wire rod 20 and the wire rod (n) formed this time is appropriate. The details of the forming state determination unit 44 will be described with reference to FIG. 3.

[0040] The forming state determination unit 44 is connected to the discharge amount control unit 42, and sends the determination result to the discharge amount control unit 42. In this embodiment, if the determination result is inappropriate, information about the determination result (error information, etc.) is sent to the discharge amount control unit 42.

[0041] The discharge amount control unit 42 calculates a correction value based on the error information and instructs the discharge amount adjustment mechanism unit 16 to make the correction (adjust the discharge amount).

[0042] (Detailed Configuration of the Forming State Determination Unit 44)

[0043] Fig. 3 is a functional block diagram of the forming state determination unit 44. Note that the control blocks shown in Fig. 3 are classified by function and do not limit the hardware configuration.

[0044] Image information captured by the camera 30 is acquired by an image acquisition unit 46 and sent to a binarization processing unit 48 .

[0045] The binarization processing unit 48 performs binarization processing to make the photographed object black and the background white.

[0046] An example of an image after binarization processing by the binarization processing unit 48 is shown in FIG.

[0047] The binarized image is classified into a black image 50 in which the substrate layer image, the wire image, and the nozzle image are integrated, and a white image 52 which is the background.

[0048] As long as the subject and the background can be clearly distinguished, the image may be inverted in color, or may be a color image or an outline image.

[0049] The binarization processing unit 48 is connected to a substrate layer strain measurement area extraction unit 54 and a wire amount measurement area extraction unit 56 .

[0050] The substrate layer distortion measurement region extraction unit 54 measures the amount of distortion for region A1 in Figure 6. The distortion is the height of the modeling base (the surface of the substrate 28 during modeling of the first layer) when imaged by the camera 30, and is called distortion because the height changes over time due to the rotation of the substrate and the movement of the nozzle. Specifically, the white ratio W1 relative to the total area of ​​region A1 in Figure 6 is extracted.

[0051] The substrate layer distortion measurement region extraction unit 54 is connected to the substrate layer distortion measurement processing unit 58 and sends the extracted white ratio W1 to the substrate layer distortion measurement processing unit 58.

[0052] The substrate layer distortion measurement processing unit 58 recognizes the position of the substrate 28 (height position of the surface layer of the substrate 28) as a reference by setting the whiteness ratio W1 as the reference whiteness ratio W0.

[0053] The substrate layer distortion measurement processing unit 58 is connected to the appropriateness determining unit 60 and sends the reference white ratio to the appropriateness determining unit 60 .

[0054] On the other hand, the wire quantity measurement area extraction unit 56 measures the wire quantity for the areas A2, A3, and A4 in Fig. 6. Specifically, it extracts whiteness rates W2, W3, and W4 relative to the total area of ​​each of the areas A2, A3, and A4 in Fig. 6.

[0055] The wire amount measurement region extraction unit 56 is connected to the appropriateness determination unit 60, and sends the extracted whiteness rates W2, W3, and W4 to the appropriateness determination unit 60.

[0056] The suitability determination unit 60 determines whether the gaps between the wires 20 are suitable based on the whiteness rates W1, W2, W3, and W4, and sends the determination result (error information) to the wire unit discharge amount calculation unit 62 of the discharge amount control unit .

[0057] The wire unit discharge amount calculation unit 62 calculates the wire unit discharge amount based on instructions from the modeling instruction unit 32, and sends the potential unit discharge amount adjusted (corrected) based on the judgment result (error information) obtained during modeling to the discharge amount adjustment mechanism unit 16 via the discharge amount calculation value output unit 64.

[0058] The operation of this embodiment will be described below with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

[0059] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a main routine for object-forming control according to this embodiment.

[0060] In step 100, it is determined whether or not a modeling command has been issued, and if the determination is negative, this routine ends. If the determination is positive in step 100, the routine proceeds to step 102, where the substrate 28 is positioned, then to step 104, where the discharge amount of the wire 20 is adjusted, and then to step 106.

[0061] In step 106, rotation of the substrate 28 begins (θ direction), then the process moves to step 108, where movement of the nozzle 22 begins (x direction), and then the process moves to step 110.

[0062] In step 110, the discharge of the wire 20 begins. As a result, the wire 20 is formed in a spiral shape on the surface layer of the substrate 28 (first case).

[0063] In the next step 112, a formation state determination process is executed. The formation state determination process will be described later.

[0064] In the next step 114, it is determined whether or not the formation of the wire rod 20 has been completed. If the determination is negative, the process returns to step 102, and the formation status determination process is executed. If the determination is affirmative in step 114, the process proceeds to step 116, where all operations are stopped, and the process proceeds to step 118.

[0065] In step 118, it is determined that there is a next layer to be modeled, and if the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 102 and the above steps are repeated. If the determination is negative in step 116, this routine ends.

[0066] (Building status determination process)

[0067] FIG. 5 is a control flowchart showing details of the formation state determination process executed in step 112 of FIG.

[0068] In step 150, it is determined whether it is time to make a determination, and if the determination is negative, the process returns (returns to step 114 in FIG. 4).

[0069] Also, if the result of step 150 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 152, where an image captured by camera 30 is acquired, and then the process proceeds to step 154, where binarization processing of the acquired image is performed, and the process proceeds to step 156.

[0070] In step 156, an image of the area A1 in FIG. 6 is extracted, and then the process proceeds to step 158, where the white ratio W1 of the extracted area A1 is measured.

[0071] In the next step 160, the measured W1 is set as the reference white ratio W0 (the surface of the substrate (in the case of the first layer) is located at a position corresponding to this white ratio W0).

[0072] In the next step 162, images of the areas A2, A3, and A4 in FIG. 6 are extracted, and then the process proceeds to step 164, where the white ratios W2, W3, and W4 of the extracted areas A2, A3, and A4 are measured.

[0073] In the next step 166, it is determined whether or not the judgment formula (1) is established. In formula (1), whether adjacent wires 28 exist (whether each of the regions A2 and A3 is filled with black) is determined using a threshold value (0.9 in this case). The lower limit of the threshold value is the whiteness rate = 0.

[0074] 0≦(W2+W3) / 2<0.9 (1)

[0075] If the determination in step 166 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 168, where it is determined that the value is outside the appropriate range and error information is sent.

[0076] In the next step 170, a correction value for the wire 20 discharge rate is calculated based on the error information, and then the process proceeds to step 172 where a correction instruction is output to the wire discharge rate control unit 42, and the process returns to step 150.

[0077] On the other hand, if the determination in step 166 is negative, the process proceeds to step 174 to determine whether or not the determination formula (2) is satisfied. In formula (2), after it is confirmed that the wire 28 is present in formula (1), the extent of the gap is determined taking distortion into consideration.

[0078] (0.95×W0 <W4<1.05×W0···(2)

[0079] If the determination in step 174 is negative, the process proceeds to step 168. If the determination in step 174 is positive, the process proceeds to step 176, where it is determined to be within the appropriate range, and the process returns to step 150.

[0080] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the transition between wire rods, showing the results of measurement by the shaping state determination unit 44.

[0081] At the measurement time a, the measurement result (gap amount) is within the appropriate range, so that correction of the discharge amount of the wire 20 is not particularly required, and the determination of the modeling state continues.

[0082] Next, at measurement time b, the measurement result (gap amount) exceeds the upper limit of the appropriate range, and if this state continues for a certain period, an adjustment instruction to reduce the discharge amount of the wire 20 is executed at adjustment time c.

[0083] Measurement time c is the result of adjustment made at adjustment time c, and it can be seen that the measurement result (gap amount) is within the appropriate range. However, this type of judgment cannot be made accurately if there is distortion or the like in the substrate 28.

[0084] Therefore, in this embodiment, a camera 30 is installed to capture images of the forming state, and the optical axis L (see Figure 1) of the camera 30 is parallel to the winding direction of the wire 20, and is positioned in the gap between the wire 20(n-1) formed one turn before the wire 20 and the wire (n) formed this time, and moves in synchronization with the movement of the nozzle 22.

[0085] This allows the wire to be shaped in a structure that falls within an appropriate range without being affected by distortion of the substrate 28.

[0086] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the appropriate and inappropriate relationship between the gap between the wires 20 and the height of the substrate 28. In FIG.

[0087] Even if the substrate 28 is distorted and the surface of the substrate 28 becomes higher, the higher position is set as the reference position (whiteness ratio W0), so the gap can be adjusted appropriately by adjusting the discharge amount of the wire 20 to be appropriate for the reference position (see the upper part of Figure 8).

[0088] If the substrate 28 is not distorted, the gap can be made appropriate with a predetermined discharge amount (see the middle part of FIG. 8).

[0089] Even if the substrate 28 is distorted and the surface of the substrate 28 becomes lower, the lowered position is set as the reference position (whiteness ratio W0), so the gap can be adjusted by adjusting the discharge amount of the wire 20 to be appropriate for the reference position (see the lower part of Figure 8).

[0090] (Actions and Effects Resulting from Synchronous Movement of Camera 30 and Nozzle 22)

[0091] 9 and 10 show a comparison between the case where the camera and nozzle move synchronously and the case where they move asynchronously.

[0092] Figures 9(B) and 10(B) show a configuration in which the camera and nozzle in the comparative example move asynchronously. When the nozzle 22 moves in the x direction, the optical axis L of the camera 30 always deviates from the gap between the wire 20(n-1) formed one revolution ago and the wire (n) formed this time, so the field of view deviates from the optical axis L, resulting in increased distortion.

[0093] In contrast, Figures 9(A) and 10(A) show a configuration in which the camera and nozzle in this embodiment move in sync. When the nozzle 22 moves in the x direction, the camera 30 is connected to the nozzle 22 via the arm 24. Therefore, the optical axis L is always maintained in the gap between the wire 20(n-1) formed one revolution ago and the wire (n) formed this time. As a result, the field of view is centered on the optical axis L, and no distortion occurs in the captured image.

[0094] As described above, in this embodiment, the camera 30 is physically fixed to the nozzle 22 (via the arm 24) so ​​that the relative position with respect to the nozzle 22 is the same, and the optical axis L of the camera 30 is always maintained in a state parallel to the winding direction of the wire 20 and within the gap area relative to the movement of the nozzle 22. Therefore, the field of view is centered on the optical axis L, and distortion is reduced. [Explanation of symbols]

[0095] 10 Three-dimensional printing equipment (printing equipment) 12-type control device 14 Nozzle moving mechanism 16 Discharge amount adjustment mechanism section 18 Substrate rotation mechanism 20 wire rod 22 nozzles 24 Arm 26 Piping 28 PCB 30 Camera (imaging unit) 32 Printing instruction section 34 Nozzle movement control unit 36 Substrate rotation control unit 38 Nozzle mounting base 40 PCB mounting base 42 Discharge amount control unit (control unit) 44. Forming status judgment section 46 Image acquisition unit 48 Binarization processing unit (acquisition unit) 50 Black Images 52 White Images 54 Substrate layer strain measurement area extraction unit 56 Wire quantity measurement area extraction unit 58 Substrate layer distortion measurement processing section 60 Appropriateness Judgment Section (Judgment Section) 62 Wire rod unit discharge amount calculation section 64 Discharge volume calculation value output section

Claims

1. A molding apparatus that moves a nozzle facing a substrate that rotates along a rotation axis in the direction of the rotation axis of the substrate while discharging a curable filament, thereby molding the filament on at least a surface layer of the substrate while maintaining a predetermined gap, an imaging unit that images an image of an area within the gap during modeling; an acquisition unit that acquires the amount of distortion of the substrate and the amount of wires on the surface of the substrate based on image information captured by the imaging unit; a determination unit that determines whether or not a shaped shape of the wire is appropriate based on the amount of distortion and the amount of wire acquired by the acquisition unit; a control unit that controls a unit discharge amount of the wire from the nozzle based on a determination result of the determination unit; A molding device having the above structure.

2. the imaging unit is attached so as to follow the movement of the nozzle, and can capture images while maintaining an optical axis always parallel to the winding direction of the wire and within the gap; The molding apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the acquisition unit acquires the distortion of the substrate and the state of the amount of wire material on the surface of the substrate under the same conditions regardless of movement of the nozzle.

3. 3. A molding apparatus as described in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein a mesh-like wire molding section having a group of interconnected air layers is formed on the surface of the substrate by molding the wire on an upper layer of the wire molded on the surface of the substrate.

Images