Control device, printing device, and method for controlling a printing device
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Patents
- Current Assignee / Owner
- FUJI CORP
- Filing Date
- 2022-05-20
- Publication Date
- 2026-08-03
Smart Images
Figure 0007898933000001 
Figure 0007898933000002 
Figure 0007898933000003
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This specification discloses a control device, a printing device, and a method for controlling a printing device.
Background Art
[0002] Conventionally, in a printing device that discharges a liquid material, when comparing the results of a plurality of nozzle checks performed after a cleaning process and continuously determining that the same nozzle is a defective nozzle, it is determined as a head failure error, and if there is no such nozzle, it is determined as a cleaning error (for example, see Patent Document 1). In this printing device, it is stated that it is possible to simply and quickly determine whether the cause of the ink discharge failure is nozzle clogging or a printer failure. Further, as a printing device, there has been proposed one that acquires the position information of a defective discharge nozzle and determines whether the discharge failure is caused by bubbles or by dust adhesion according to the position information, and selects an ink circulation mode or a wiping mode (for example, see Patent Document 2). In this printing device, it is stated that it is possible to efficiently recover the discharge failure while reducing the amount of waste ink. Further, as a printing device, there has been proposed one that corrects a threshold value used for determining a second detection signal obtained by driving a driving element corresponding to one inspection target nozzle based on a first detection signal obtained by driving a plurality of driving elements corresponding to a plurality of inspection target nozzles (for example, see Patent Document 3). In this printing device, it is stated that the accuracy of the head inspection can be improved.
Prior Art Documents
Patent Documents
[0003]
Patent Document 1
Patent Document 2
Patent Document 3
Summary of the Invention
[0004] However, while the aforementioned printing equipment is said to be able to improve the accuracy of print head inspection, it is still not sufficient, and there is a need to further improve measures against defective nozzles and obtain more reliable printing results.
[0005] This disclosure has been made in view of these challenges, and its main purpose is to provide a printing apparatus and a control method for the printing apparatus that can obtain more reliable printing results. [Means for solving the problem]
[0006] The printing apparatus and control method for the printing apparatus disclosed herein employ the following means to achieve the above-mentioned main objective.
[0007] In other words, the control device of this disclosure is A control device used in a printing apparatus equipped with a discharge head having multiple nozzles connected to a flow path for liquid material and for discharging liquid material, The control unit performs discharge maintenance, including purging, and discharge tests by discharging liquid from the nozzle multiple times, and determines that nozzles other than those that continuously have discharge problems and nozzles that recover from discharge problems and continue to discharge normally are discharge problems caused by air bubbles. It is something that is provided.
[0008] This control device can identify nozzles that consistently exhibit ejection failures or those that have recovered from ejection failures after multiple ejection maintenance and inspections as nozzles with ejection failures caused by air bubbles. Furthermore, by taking countermeasures against these defective nozzles, more reliable printing results can be obtained. [Brief explanation of the drawing]
[0009] [Figure 1] A schematic diagram illustrating an example of a production system 10 and a 3D printer 11. [Figure 2] An explanatory diagram showing a schematic example of the configuration of the first discharge head 32 and the first supply unit 61. [Figure 3] A flowchart showing an example of a discharge inspection processing routine. [Figure 4] An explanatory diagram of an example of the discharge maintenance process. [Figure 5] An explanatory diagram showing an example of bubble removal. [Figure 6] An explanatory diagram showing an example of the discharge inspection processing results, judgment results, and design results. [Figure 7] A flowchart illustrating an example of a printing process routine. [Modes for carrying out the invention]
[0010] This embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a production system 10 including a 3D printer 11, which is an example of this disclosure. Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of the first ejection head 32 and the first supply unit 61. In this embodiment, the left-right direction (X-axis), front-back direction (Y-axis), and up-down direction (Z-axis) are as shown in Figures 1 and 2.
[0011] The production system 10 is configured as a production line in which a 3D printer 11 creates a three-dimensional object as a first process, forms predetermined components on the object as a second process, and then a mounting device 15 mounts the components. The 3D printer 11 may also form a circuit pattern as a second process, and the mounting device 15 may perform the process of mounting components to predetermined positions on the circuit pattern. The production system 10 may consist only of the 3D printer 11 without the mounting device 15, or it may include one or more mounting-related devices in addition to the mounting device 15, such as a printing device for printing solder as a viscous fluid, a printing inspection device for inspecting the printing results, a mounting inspection device for inspecting the mounting results, a transport device for transporting the created three-dimensional object, and a reflow device for performing reflow processing. Furthermore, although the production system 10 shown in Figure 1 is equipped with two mounting devices 15, it may be equipped with three or more mounting devices 15, or with just one mounting device 15. The mounting device 15 is a device for mounting components onto a three-dimensional object created by the 3D printer 11.
[0012] The 3D printer 11 is a device for creating three-dimensional objects. The material used for creation is not particularly limited and can include resins and ceramics. The 3D printer 11 comprises a control device 20, a storage unit 23, a transport processing unit 26, an operation panel 27, a communication unit 28, a first processing unit 30, and a second processing unit 40. Here, the 3D printer 11 will be mainly described in which the first processing unit 30 creates a substrate as the base material for the three-dimensional object, and the second processing unit 40 performs a process to form a circuit pattern on the created substrate.
[0013] The control device 20 is configured as a microprocessor centered on the CPU 21 and controls the entire 3D printer 11. The control device 20 exchanges information with the storage unit 23, the transport processing unit 26, the operation panel 27, the communication unit 28, the first processing unit 30, and the second processing unit 40. The storage unit 23 is a large-capacity storage medium, such as an HDD or flash memory. The storage unit 23 stores molding information 24 and circuit information 25. The molding information 24 includes information such as the shape and size of the three-dimensional object to be manufactured. The circuit information 25 includes information such as the circuit pattern formed in the three-dimensional object. The 3D printer 11 performs operations based on the information stored in the storage unit 23.
[0014] The transport processing unit 26 performs the process of moving and fixing the pallet 12 on which the manufactured product is placed. As shown in Figure 1, the transport processing unit 26 grips the pallet 12 and moves it in the X-axis direction, as well as move it in the Y-axis direction along the guide. The transport processing unit 26 also scans the pallet 12 in the Y-axis direction when the first processing unit 30 and the second processing unit 40 are forming the components.
[0015] The control panel 27 is a unit that receives input from the worker W and presents information to the worker W. This control panel 27 is located on the front of the printing device 11 and includes a display unit, which is a display, and an operation unit with a touch panel and buttons. The communication unit 28 is an interface used when communicating with external devices such as the mounting device 15 and a management device (not shown). Each device in the production system 10 exchanges information via the communication unit 28.
[0016] The first processing unit 30 is a shaping unit that discharges a liquid material to be solidified and then solidifies it to shape a three-dimensional object. This first processing unit 30 includes a first head moving unit 31, a first discharge head 32, a first head maintenance unit 34, a solidification processing unit 35, a flattening unit 36, a cap unit 37, and a first supply unit 61. The first head moving unit 31 includes a slider that is guided by a guide rail and moves along the X-axis direction, and a motor that drives the slider. The first discharge head 32 is mounted on the slider, and the first discharge head 32 moves along the X-axis direction as the slider moves. The first discharge head 32 is a shaping head that discharges a liquid material to form a three-dimensional object. On the lower surface of the first discharge head 32, a first nozzle 33 for discharging a liquid material is formed. Examples of the liquid material discharged by the first nozzle 33 include liquid curable resins (e.g., ultraviolet curable resins, thermosetting resins, two-component mixed curable resins, etc.), thermoplastic resins, and slurries in which solids such as inorganic substances are mixed in a solvent.
[0017] As shown in FIG. 2, the first discharge head 32 is connected to the supply unit 60, receives the supply of the liquid material from the supply unit 60, and feeds the liquid material to the supply unit 60. The first discharge head 32 includes a first discharge unit 51 and a second discharge unit 52. The first discharge unit 51 is a unit in which the first nozzles 33 are formed in a row at a predetermined interval. The second discharge unit 52 has the same configuration as the first discharge unit 51 and is fixed with a half-pitch shift in the X-axis direction with respect to the first discharge unit 51 for improving the resolution (see FIG. 5 described later). The first discharge unit 51 has a flow path 53, a discharge driving unit 54, and the first nozzles 33. The flow path 53 is a tubular part through which the liquid material flows, and each first nozzle 33 is connected to the flow path 53. The discharge driving unit 54 discharges the liquid material toward the pallet 12 side, and examples thereof include piezoelectric elements. The discharge driving unit 54 is disposed in each first nozzle 33 and is driven based on a signal from the control device 20. The first nozzle 33 is an opening formed in the housing of the first discharge unit 51. The second discharge unit 52 has a flow path 55, a discharge driving unit 56, and the first nozzles 33 that are the same as those of the first discharge unit 51.
[0018] The supply unit 60 includes a first supply unit 61 that supplies a liquid material to the first discharge unit 51 and a second supply unit 62 that supplies a liquid material to the second discharge unit 52. The first supply unit 61 includes a first tank 63, a second tank 64, a supply pipe 65, a supply valve 66, a discharge pipe 67, a discharge valve 68, and a supply driving unit 69. The first tank 63 is a sealed container on the supply side that stores the liquid material to be supplied to the first discharge unit 51. The second tank 64 is a sealed container on the discharge side that stores the surplus liquid material from the first discharge unit 51. Note that the first tank 63 can also change the flow direction and store the surplus liquid material from the first discharge unit 51, and the second tank 64 is configured to be able to store the liquid material to be supplied to the first discharge unit 51. The supply pipe 65 is a tube that connects the first tank 63 and the first discharge unit 51. The supply valve 66 is an electromagnetic valve that allows or blocks the flow of the liquid material in the supply pipe 65. The supply valve 66 is opened and closed by a control signal from the control device 20. The discharge pipe 67 is a tube that connects the first discharge unit 51 and the second tank 64. The discharge valve 68 is an electromagnetic valve that allows or blocks the flow of the liquid material in the discharge pipe 67. The supply valve 66 is opened and closed by a control signal from the control device 20. The supply driving unit 69 is for sending the liquid material from the supply unit 60 to the first discharge unit 51, and for example, it may be a pressurizing unit that pressurizes the tank to send the liquid, or it may be a liquid delivery pump. The second supply unit 62 includes a supply pipe 75, a supply valve 76, a discharge pipe 77, and a discharge valve 78. The supply unit 60 has a configuration in which the first tank 63, the second tank 64, and the supply driving unit 69 are shared by the first supply unit 61 and the second supply unit 62. Also, the supply pipe 75, the supply valve 76, the discharge pipe 77, and the discharge valve 78 have the same configurations as the supply pipe 65, the supply valve 66, the discharge pipe 67, and the discharge valve 68 respectively, and their detailed descriptions are omitted. Note that in the supply unit 60, the names "supply" and "discharge" are for convenience and can be used with the flow direction changed.
[0019] The first head maintenance unit 34 is a unit that performs discharge maintenance on the first discharge head 32. Discharge maintenance includes, for example, maintaining the discharge state of the liquid from the first nozzle 33 and cleaning the first nozzle 33. The first head maintenance unit 34 comprises a discharge plate 81, a discharge inspection unit 82, and a wiping unit 83. The discharge plate 81 is a member that receives the liquid discharged from the first discharge head 32 and holds the impact position and shape of the liquid. The discharge inspection unit 82 takes an image of the liquid discharged onto the discharge plate 81. The control device 20 determines a discharge defect of the first nozzle 33 based on this image. The wiping unit 83 may, for example, be equipped with a cleaning material such as a wiping paper and wipe and clean the vicinity of the first nozzle 33. The control device 20 uses the first head maintenance unit 34 to perform inspection and cleaning processes periodically or as appropriate depending on the degree of contamination of the first discharge head 32.
[0020] The solidification processing unit 35 is a unit that performs a predetermined process on the liquid material discharged onto the pallet 12 to solidify it. When the first discharge head 32 discharges liquid ultraviolet-curable resin, the solidification processing unit 35 is a unit that irradiates with ultraviolet light. Alternatively, when the first discharge head 32 discharges liquid material that solidifies by drying and firing, the solidification processing unit 35 may be a unit that performs drying and firing. The solidification processing unit 35 receives the pallet 12 each time a layer of three-dimensional material is formed on the pallet 12 by the first discharge head 32, and solidifies it. The flattening unit 36 is a unit that flattens the liquid material discharged onto the pallet 12. This flattening unit 36 may, for example, use a flattening blade that scans in the Y-axis direction to flatten the outer shape of the discharged material. The cap unit 37 is a unit that seals the first nozzle 33 when it is not used for a long period of time or when there is a predetermined gap in time during molding. The cap portion 37 may be a wet cap mechanism in which the sealing space is in a moist state, or a dry cap mechanism in which the sealing space is not in a moist state. For example, when the first discharge head 32 discharges an ultraviolet-curing resin, this resin does not solidify in air and remains liquid, so a dry cap is sufficient when sealing the first nozzle 33. On the other hand, if the liquid is a slurry in which a solid is mixed with a solvent, the first nozzle 33 may solidify due to drying, so it is preferable that the cap portion 37 be configured to include a wet cap.
[0021] The second processing unit 40 is an extrusion unit that forms a predetermined material on the surface of a three-dimensional object solidified in the first processing unit 30. This second processing unit 40 includes a second head moving unit 41, a second discharge head 42, a second head maintenance unit 44, a heating unit 45, and a cap unit 47. The second head moving unit 41 is assumed to have a mechanism similar to the slider and motor of the first head moving unit 31, and therefore a detailed explanation of it is omitted. The second discharge head 42 is a forming head that discharges liquid material to form circuit patterns and the like. A second nozzle 43 for discharging liquid material is formed on the lower surface of the second discharge head 42. Examples of liquid material discharged by the second nozzle 43 include a mixed solution of a solvent and a solid, or a solution of a solvent in which a resin is dissolved. Examples of liquid material for forming circuit patterns include a mixed solution of an organic solvent in which metal powder as a conductive material is dispersed. The second discharge head 42 has a discharge unit and supply unit with the same configuration as the first discharge unit 51, second discharge unit 52, and supply unit 60 of the first discharge head 32, so a detailed explanation of it is omitted. Also, the discharge unit of the second discharge head 42 has the same configuration as the flow path 53 and discharge drive unit 54, so a detailed explanation of it is omitted.
[0022] The second head maintenance unit 44 has the same mechanism as the discharge plate 81, discharge inspection unit 82, and wiping unit 83 of the first head maintenance unit 34, so a detailed description of it is omitted. The heating unit 45 is a unit that dries the solvent contained in the liquid formed on the surface of the three-dimensional object. The heating unit 45 may house and dry the pallet 12 after all the circuit patterns have been formed by the second discharge head 42, or it may house and dry the pallet 12 each time a part of the circuit pattern is formed by the second discharge head 42. The cap unit 47 has the same configuration as the cap unit 37 of the first unit 30, so a detailed description of it is omitted.
[0023] The configurations of the first discharge head 32 and the second discharge head 42 are not limited to those described above and may be modified as appropriate depending on the application and desired specifications. The first discharge head 32 is shown to have two nozzle rows, a first discharge unit 51 and a second discharge unit 52, but is not limited to this and may have three or more nozzle rows, such as a third discharge unit and a fourth discharge unit, or it may have only one nozzle row. The first discharge unit 51 is shown to have one flow path 53 to which the first nozzle 33 is connected, but it may have two or more flow paths. Furthermore, the supply unit 60 is shown to have a first supply unit 61 and a second supply unit 62, but may have three or more supply units, such as a third supply unit and a fourth supply unit, depending on the discharge unit, or may have only one supply unit by omitting the second supply unit 62. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the supply unit 60 is configured such that the first supply unit 61 and the second supply unit 62 share the first tank 63, the second tank 64, and the supply drive unit 69, but each supply unit may have separate tanks and supply drive units. Also, although the first discharge head 32 and the second discharge head 42 are configured to have similar structures, the embodiment is not limited to this and may have different structures. In addition, a third discharge head and a fourth discharge head may be provided. For the sake of explanation in this embodiment, the first discharge head 32 and the second discharge head 42 are simply referred to as discharge heads, the first nozzle 33 and the second nozzle 43 are simply referred to as nozzles, and the flow path 53 and the flow path 55 are simply referred to as flow paths.
[0024] First, the ejection maintenance process of the 3D printer 11 configured in this way will be explained. Figure 3 is a flowchart of an example of an ejection inspection processing routine executed by the CPU 21 of the control device 20. This routine is stored in the memory unit 23 and is executed periodically after the 3D printer 11 is started up. For the sake of explanation, the ejection inspection processing of the first processing unit 30 will be mainly explained here, and the ejection inspection processing of the second processing unit 40 will be omitted, but the second processing unit 40 can be performed in the same manner as described below. When this routine is executed, the CPU 21 first determines whether or not it is inspection timing (S100). The inspection timing may be, for example, the start of a new production, when a predetermined number (for example, 5 or 10) of 3D objects have been produced, or when a predetermined time (for example, 4 hours or 8 hours) has elapsed. Here, as an example, it will be assumed that the start of a new production is set as the inspection timing. If it is not inspection timing, the CPU 21 terminates this routine. On the other hand, when it is inspection time, the CPU 21 performs discharge maintenance on the first discharge head 32 (S110).
[0025] Figure 4 is an explanatory diagram of an example of discharge maintenance processing for the first discharge head 32 and the second discharge head 42. Discharge maintenance processing includes, for example, purging (Figure 4A), wiping (Figure 4B), flushing (Figure 4C), and flow processing (Figure 4D). Purge processing is a process in which, for example, with the supply valve 66 open and the discharge valve 68 closed, liquid is forcibly supplied from the first tank 63 by the supply drive unit 69 and discharged from the first nozzle 33. This purging process can be set to multiple levels of processing intensity by, for example, varying the strength of the applied pressure and the length of the processing time. In this 3D printer 11, three levels are set: "Purge" as the standard, "Strong Purge" with stronger applied pressure than the standard, and "Strong Long Purge" with a longer processing time than Strong Purge. Wiping processing is a process in which, for example, the nozzle plate on which the first nozzle 33 is formed is wiped by the wiping unit 83 to remove any attached liquid. The flushing process involves strongly driving the discharge drive unit 54 to forcibly discharge liquid from the first nozzle 33. The flow process involves opening the supply valve 66 and the discharge valve 68, forcibly supplying liquid from the first tank 63 by the supply drive unit 69, and forcibly flowing the liquid from the flow path 53 to the second tank 64. In this flow process, for example, as shown in Figure 4D, if bubbles B are present in the flow path 53, these bubbles B can be moved towards the second tank 64. Among these processes, bubble removal maintenance to restore a faulty discharge nozzle caused by bubbles B in the flow path 53 is set to include, for example, a purging process or a flow process that moves the bubbles B further to the outside. Furthermore, in the 3D printer 11, as shown in Figure 6, discharge maintenance is performed in the order of purging, wiping, and flushing, and then discharge maintenance is performed using either liquid flow processing, strong purging, long strong purging, or an enhanced wiping or flushing process. In S110, CPU21 first performs the purging process.
[0026] Next, the CPU 21 performs a discharge inspection process (S120). The discharge inspection process involves, for example, discharging a liquid from the first discharge head 32 to the discharge plate 81, and detecting the discharge state of the liquid from the first nozzle 33 by image analysis of the image captured by the discharge inspection unit 82. The discharge state includes, for example, no discharge, discharge position misalignment, discharge amount (insufficient droplet diameter), satellite (excessive droplet diameter), and poor droplet (flight) shape. Next, the CPU 21 determines whether the discharge maintenance and discharge inspection have been performed a predetermined number of times (S130). The number of repetitions may be empirically determined to a number that allows for accurate determination of liquid discharge, and is preferably more than one, such as 2 to 5 times. Here, the explanation assumes that the number of repetitions is set to 3, but it is not limited to this as long as it is 2 or more times.
[0027] If the predetermined number of repetitions of discharge maintenance and discharge inspection processes have not been performed in S130, the CPU 21 changes the discharge maintenance to be performed (S140) and executes the processes from S110 onward. In S140, the CPU 21 changes the discharge maintenance to be performed in the order of purging, wiping, and flushing. Note that the processing order and processing type are not particularly limited; the same process may be repeated, the processing order may be changed as appropriate, one or more processes may be omitted, or other processes may be added. On the other hand, if the predetermined number of repetitions of processing have been performed in S130, the CPU 21 determines whether or not there are any defective discharge nozzles (S150). The CPU 21 determines that any discharge state within a predetermined abnormal range is a defective discharge nozzle. This abnormal range can be empirically determined based on the range in which the shape of the manufactured product does not meet the allowable range. In addition, in S150, if even one discharge defect occurs among the predetermined number of repetitions of processing, it is determined to be negative, and only if there are absolutely no discharge abnormalities is it determined to be positive.
[0028] If there is one or more defective nozzles in S150, the CPU 21 determines whether the subsequent discharge maintenance process and discharge inspection process have been executed a predetermined number of times (S160). The number of recovery cycles may be empirically determined to a number that makes it possible to recover from the discharge defect, and it is preferable to have more than one cycle, such as 2 to 5 times. Here, we will explain assuming that the number of recovery cycles is set to 3, but it is not limited to this as long as it is 2 or more. If the predetermined number of recovery cycles of the discharge maintenance process and discharge inspection process have not been executed in S160, the CPU 21 determines whether there are any defective nozzles that are causing bubbles (S170). This determination can, for example, determine that nozzles other than those that are continuously discharging poorly and nozzles that continue to discharge normally after recovering from a discharge defect are defective nozzles that are causing bubbles. Alternatively, the CPU 21 may determine that nozzles other than those that are continuously discharging poorly and nozzles that continue to discharge normally after recovering from a discharge defect are nozzles that have received a determination including both discharge defects and discharge goodness in multiple inspections are causing bubbles.
[0029] Figure 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of bubble removal. As shown in Figure 5, when bubble B is the cause of poor liquid discharge, the movement of bubble B due to discharge maintenance can result in the discharge inspection showing either poor or good discharge. That is, if bubble contamination is the cause of poor discharge, for example, if a discharge inspection is performed and poor discharge is determined, then discharge maintenance such as purging may cause the bubble to move to another nozzle connected by the flow path 53, or a bubble that has temporarily left the vicinity of the nozzle may move back into the nozzle and become the cause of poor discharge. In addition, not limited to discharge maintenance, bubbles B that have temporarily left the vicinity of the nozzle may also become the cause of poor discharge again due to operation during discharge use in production. Here, based on this inspection result, it is possible to determine that the discharge failure is caused by bubbles.
[0030] If there is a nozzle with a discharge defect due to a bubble cause in S170, the CPU 21 performs bubble removal maintenance (S180) and performs a discharge inspection process in the same manner as in S120 (S200). Examples of bubble removal maintenance include flow treatment, strong purging treatment, and long strong purging treatment. The CPU 21 may also perform more enhanced bubble removal maintenance in accordance with the number of processing cycles. On the other hand, if there is a nozzle with a discharge defect in S170, but there is no nozzle with a discharge defect due to a bubble cause, the CPU 21 performs more enhanced discharge maintenance (S190) and performs a discharge inspection process in S200. Examples of more enhanced discharge maintenance include strong purging treatment and long strong purging treatment, as well as flushing treatment with increased drive pressure and number of drives, and wiping treatment with increased number of wipes. By performing more enhanced discharge maintenance, the CPU 21 can more reliably recover from discharge defects in the first nozzle 33.
[0031] On the other hand, in S160, when a predetermined number of discharge maintenance and discharge inspection processes have been performed, the CPU 21 determines whether or not there are any defective discharge nozzles, similar to S150 (S210). If there are defective discharge nozzles, the CPU 21 determines whether or not there are any discharge defective nozzles that cause bubbles, similar to S170 (S220). If there are discharge defective nozzles and no discharge defective nozzles that cause bubbles, the CPU 21 sets the corresponding nozzles as non-dischargeable nozzles (S230). Here, non-dischargeable nozzles are basically nozzles that are not used, as they may be caused by initial defects such as a shape defect or improper placement of the first nozzle 33. On the other hand, in S220, if there are discharge defective nozzles that cause bubbles, the CPU 21 sets a group of nozzles that share a common flow path 53 with the discharge defective nozzle determined to cause bubbles as prohibited nozzles (S240). The CPU 21 may also set a group of nozzles that include both adjacent nozzles to the discharge defective nozzle along the direction of flow path 53 formation as prohibited nozzles. The nozzle group may include multiple first nozzles 33, but for example, the nozzle in question and the three first nozzles 33 adjacent to it may be set as nozzles to be disabled. As shown in Figure 5, if a nozzle with a discharge failure is caused by bubbles, bubbles B may move, potentially causing discharge failures in neighboring nozzles as well. When the CPU 21 detects a nozzle with a discharge failure caused by bubbles, it disables the use of neighboring nozzles as well, thereby further suppressing the production of discharge failures and defective products. In addition, if, in S240, there are discharge failure nozzles that are not caused by bubbles in addition to the nozzle with a discharge failure caused by bubbles, the CPU 21 also executes the process of setting nozzles that cannot be discharged in S230.
[0032] Figure 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the discharge inspection processing results, judgment results, and design results. In Figure 6, the inspection results, judgment results, and setting results are shown in a table format in vertical columns for each nozzle number. In Figure 6, the 1st to 3rd times represent a predetermined number of repetitions, the 4th to 6th times represent a predetermined number of recovery times, "G" represents good discharge, and "NG" represents poor discharge. As shown for nozzle number #2 in Figure 6, nozzles that have good discharge over a predetermined number of repetitions are judged as normal and are set to discharge-permitted for use. Also, as with nozzle number #n, if discharge maintenance is performed and the discharge failure is recovered, and good discharge continues for a predetermined number of times (e.g., 3 times), it is judged as normal and is set to discharge-permitted for use. On the other hand, as with nozzle number #n-1, if the discharge failure is not recovered even after performing discharge maintenance, the nozzle is set to not discharge. Furthermore, as with nozzle numbers #3 and #8, if both good and poor discharge are detected, it is determined to be due to air bubbles, and air bubble removal maintenance is performed. If the dispensing problem persists and does not resolve after this maintenance, the nozzles on either side of it (#1, #5 and #4, #10) will also be set as unusable nozzles. Here, nozzles that have dispensed properly for three consecutive times are considered normal, but this number of consecutive times is not particularly limited and may be one or more times, or two or more times. Furthermore, for nozzles that have been determined to be normal, the dispensing inspection process may or may not be omitted.
[0033] After setting a non-dischargeable nozzle in S230, or after setting a prohibited nozzle in S240, the CPU 21 sets alternative nozzles corresponding to the prohibited nozzles and / or non-dischargeable nozzles (S250). The CPU 21 may, for example, set a group of nozzles near the prohibited nozzles as alternative nozzles. When selecting alternative nozzles, it is preferable to prioritize minimizing the number of print scans required to correct the image that is originally to be printed, by selecting a nozzle close to the defective nozzle and shortening the scan distance for lateral movement (X-axis movement). In Figure 6, for the prohibited nozzles with nozzle numbers #1, #3, and #5, the first nozzles 33 with nozzle numbers #2, #4, and #6 are given priority, followed by the first nozzles 33 with nozzle numbers #7, #9, and #11, and the alternative nozzles are selected based on this priority order. Furthermore, for nozzles that are not permitted to be used (nozzles #6, #8, and #10), the first nozzle 33 with nozzle numbers #5, #7, and #9 or #7, #9, and #11 is given priority, followed by the first nozzle 33 with nozzle numbers #12, #14, and #16, and the nozzle is selected based on this priority. Similarly, for nozzle number #n-1 that cannot be dispensed, the first nozzle 33 with nozzle number #n-2 or #n is given priority, followed by the first nozzle 33 with nozzle number #n-3, and the nozzle is selected based on this priority.
[0034] After S250, the CPU 21 sets the remaining nozzles to eject-enabled nozzles (S260) and terminates this routine. Also, if there are no defective nozzles in S210 and S150, the CPU 21 sets all nozzles to ejectable nozzles (S260) and terminates this routine. In this way, the 3D printer 11 can obtain nozzle settings, including ejectable and non-ejectable nozzles, through the processing in S230 to S260. Furthermore, the 3D printer 11 can perform ejection maintenance and ejection inspection multiple times to recover defective nozzles caused by air bubbles, and if recovery is not possible, it can further suppress the production of defective products by prohibiting the use of the nozzle group including neighboring nozzles. In addition, the CPU 21 sets defective nozzles caused by air bubbles that do not recover even after performing air bubble removal maintenance and ejection inspection one or more times, especially multiple times, as prohibited nozzles.
[0035] Next, the production process, including the molding process and circuit pattern formation method of the 3D printer 11, will be described. Figure 7 is a flowchart of an example of a printing process routine executed by the CPU 21 of the control device 20. This routine is stored in the memory unit 23 and executed by the control device 20 after the operator W inputs a production process execution command. When the printing process routine is started, the CPU 21 of the control device 20 first reads and obtains the nozzle settings of the first processing unit 30 and the second processing unit 40 from the memory unit 23 (S300). Next, the CPU 21 performs a process to transport and fix the pallet 12 to the work position of the first processing unit 30 using the transport processing unit 26 (S310). Next, the CPU 21 controls the first ejection head 32 and the transport processing unit 26 to eject the resin as a liquid onto the pallet 12 based on the molding information 24 and nozzle settings, so that it takes on a predetermined shape included in the molding information 24 (S320). At this time, the CPU 21 discharges liquid material from the discharge-permitted nozzles among the first nozzles 33 of the first processing unit 30, and does not discharge liquid material from the discharge-non-permitted nozzles or nozzles that are prohibited from use. After discharging liquid material from the discharge-permitted nozzles, the CPU 21 moves the pallet 12 as needed and discharges liquid material from the alternative nozzles corresponding to the discharge-non-permitted nozzles or nozzles that are prohibited from use. Next, the CPU 21 moves the pallet 12 to the solidification processing unit 35 and solidifies the resin (S330). Next, the CPU 21 determines whether the printing process in the first processing unit 30 is finished or not (S340), and if the printing process is not finished, it executes the processes from S310 onwards. In this way, the CPU 21 repeats the discharge process and the solidification process to create a three-dimensional object on the pallet 12.
[0036] Meanwhile, when the printing process of the first processing unit 30 is completed in S340, the CPU 21 transports and fixes the pallet 12 on which the molded object is placed to the second processing unit 40 (S350). Next, the CPU 21 controls the second discharge head 42 and the transport processing unit 26 to discharge the liquid circuit material onto the molded object based on the circuit pattern and nozzle settings of the circuit information 25 (S360). At this time, the CPU 21 discharges the liquid from the discharge-permitted nozzles among the second nozzles 43 of the second processing unit 40, and does not discharge the liquid from the discharge-non-permitted nozzles or nozzles that are prohibited from use. After the liquid is discharged from the discharge-permitted nozzles, the CPU 21 moves the pallet 12 as needed and discharges the liquid from alternative nozzles corresponding to the discharge-non-permitted nozzles or nozzles that are prohibited from use. Subsequently, the CPU 21 moves the pallet 12 to the heating processing unit 45 to solidify the liquid (S370). The CPU 21 then determines whether the printing process in the second processing unit 40 has finished (S380), and if the printing process has not finished, it executes the processes from S350 onwards. In this way, the CPU 21 repeats the ejection process and the heating process as needed to form a circuit pattern on the three-dimensional object. On the other hand, when the printing process in the second processing unit 40 is finished in S380, the CPU 21 determines whether the production process of the object to be manufactured has finished (S390), and if the production process has not finished, it executes the processes from S310 onwards. On the other hand, when the production process is finished in S390, the CPU 21 terminates this routine. In this way, the 3D printer 11 manufactures three-dimensional objects with circuit patterns formed on them while suppressing the occurrence of defective products by not using defective nozzles.
[0037] Here, the correspondence between the components of this embodiment and the components of the present disclosure will be clarified. The first discharge head 32 and the second discharge head 42 of this embodiment are examples of discharge heads, the first nozzle 33 and the second nozzle 43 are examples of nozzles, the flow path 53 and the flow path 55 are examples of flow paths, the control device 20 is an example of a control device, and the CPU 21 is an example of a control unit. In addition, in this embodiment, by explaining the operation of the 3D printer 11, an example of a printing apparatus and a control method for a printing apparatus of the present disclosure will also be clarified.
[0038] The control device 20 of this embodiment, as described above, is used in a 3D printer 11 equipped with a first discharge head 32 and a second discharge head 42, each having a plurality of first nozzles 33 and second nozzles 43 connected to flowing channels 53 and 55 for discharging liquid. This control device 20 includes a CPU 21 (control unit) that performs discharge maintenance, including purging, and discharge inspections to discharge liquid from the nozzles multiple times, and determines that nozzles other than those that continuously have discharge problems and nozzles that recover from discharge problems and continue to discharge normally are discharge-failure nozzles caused by bubbles. This control device 20 can identify nozzles other than those that continuously have discharge problems or have recovered from discharge problems as discharge-failure nozzles caused by bubbles through multiple discharge maintenance and discharge inspections, and furthermore, by taking countermeasures against these discharge-failure nozzles, more reliable printing results can be obtained. In addition, the control device 20 sets multiple nozzle groups that share a common flow path with the discharge-failure nozzle determined to be the cause of bubbles as prohibited nozzles. This control device 20 prevents ejection failures that may occur due to bubble movement by also prohibiting the use of nozzles near the nozzle causing the bubble-related ejection failure, thereby achieving more reliable printing results.
[0039] Alternatively, the control device 20 includes a CPU 21 that, after performing multiple ejection maintenance including purging and ejection tests to eject liquid material from the nozzles, sets a group of nozzles that share a common flow path with the nozzles that are not continuously ejecting poorly, including nozzles that continue to eject normally after recovering from ejection problems, as prohibited nozzles. With this control device 20, if an ejection problem persists even after performing bubble removal maintenance and ejection tests once or more times, the control device 20 can prevent ejection problems by also prohibiting the use of nozzles near the defective nozzle, thereby obtaining more reliable printing results.
[0040] Furthermore, since the CPU 21 sets the nozzle group including the nozzles adjacent to the defective nozzle as prohibited nozzles, the control device 20 can prevent ejection defects while further suppressing the increase in prohibited nozzles by prohibiting the use of the nozzles adjacent to the defective nozzle. In addition, since the CPU 21 sets the nozzle group adjacent to the prohibited nozzle as alternative nozzles, it can obtain more reliable printing results while further suppressing the increase in printing time by using alternative nozzles closer to the defective nozzle. Moreover, since the CPU 21 maintains the prohibited nozzle setting until the inspection timing is at the start of a new production and until the ejection of liquid material to the target object is completed, i.e., until the manufacturing of the product is completed, it can obtain more reliable printing results while further suppressing the increase in printing time by not performing ejection inspections excessively. Finally, since the CPU 21 sets the defective nozzle that does not recover ejection even after performing bubble removal maintenance and ejection inspection one or more times as a prohibited nozzle, it can set the defective nozzle with bubble-causing factors that do not recover ejection as a prohibited nozzle, and obtain more reliable printing results.
[0041] Furthermore, the 3D printer 11 includes a first discharge head 32 and a second discharge head 42, each having multiple first nozzles 33 and second nozzles 43 connected to flowing channels 53 and 55 for discharging liquid, and the control device 20 described above. Because this 3D printer 11 is equipped with the control device 20 described above, even if there are defective nozzles, more reliable printing results can be obtained. The first discharge head 32 discharges liquid to form a three-dimensional object, and the printing device is a 3D printer. With this printing device, even if there are defective nozzles, a three-dimensional object can be obtained as a more reliable printing result.
[0042] It goes without saying that the capping device and dispensing device of this disclosure are not limited in any way to the embodiments described above, and can be implemented in various forms as long as they fall within the technical scope of this disclosure.
[0043] For example, in the embodiment described above, the setting of the nozzles to be unusable is kept in place until the discharge of the liquid substance to the object being manufactured is complete, thereby further suppressing the prolongation of processing time. However, the embodiment is not limited to this, and a discharge inspection may be performed before the completion of manufacturing of the product, and the setting of the nozzles to be unusable may be updated. In the case of a nozzle with a discharge defect that causes bubbles, the bubbles B may be removed over time, so it may be possible to switch to an authorized nozzle and further suppress discharge processing by the alternative nozzle, thereby shortening the processing time.
[0044] In the embodiments described above, the first discharge unit 51 and the second discharge unit 52 were described as having one connected flow path 53, 55, but the invention is not limited to this, and may have multiple flow paths and nozzles communicating with those flow paths. In this case, the nozzle groups of nozzles to be prohibited from use may be set for each flow path.
[0045] In the embodiments described above, the 3D printer 11 was described as having a control unit 20, but it is not limited to this, and may consist only of the control unit 20. Also, although the control device 20 described above is used in a 3D printer 11 that manufactures three-dimensional objects, it is not limited to this, and may be used in printing devices other than 3D printers, such as inkjet printers that print images, as long as they manufacture products by ejecting liquid material. Furthermore, in the embodiments described above, the control device 20 and the 3D printer 11 were described, but it may also be a control method for a printing device or a program therefor.
[0046] This disclosure may be structured as follows: For example, the control method of this disclosure is A control method for a printing apparatus equipped with a discharge head having multiple nozzles connected to a flow path for liquid material and for discharging liquid material, The process involves performing discharge maintenance, including purging, and discharge testing by discharging liquid from the nozzle multiple times, and determining that nozzles other than those that continuously exhibit discharge failure and those that recover from discharge failure and continue to discharge normally are discharge failure nozzles caused by air bubbles. It includes.
[0047] In this control method for the printing apparatus, similar to the control device described above, nozzles that consistently exhibit ejection failures or those that have recovered from ejection failures can be identified as nozzles with ejection failures due to air bubbles through multiple ejection maintenance and ejection inspections. Furthermore, by taking countermeasures against these defective nozzles, more reliable printing results can be obtained. In this control method for the printing apparatus, various embodiments of the printing apparatus described above may be adopted, and steps to realize each of the functions of the printing apparatus described above may be added.
[0048] Alternatively, the control method of the printing apparatus of this disclosure is: A control method for a printing apparatus equipped with a discharge head having multiple nozzles connected to a flow path for liquid material and for discharging liquid material, The steps include: performing discharge maintenance including purging and discharge testing by discharging liquid from the nozzle multiple times, and then setting a group of nozzles that share the same flow path, including nozzles that continue to have discharge problems and nozzles that recover from discharge problems and continue to discharge normally, as prohibited nozzles; It may also include
[0049] In this control method for the printing apparatus, similar to the control device described above, if a nozzle fails to discharge properly even after performing bubble removal maintenance and discharge testing once or more times, the nozzles near the faulty nozzle are also disabled, thereby preventing discharge failures and obtaining more reliable printing results. In addition, various embodiments of the printing apparatus described above may be adopted in this control method for the printing apparatus, and steps to realize each of the functions of the printing apparatus described above may be added.
[0050] This specification also discloses technical concepts in which, in the original claim 5, "the control device described in claim 2 or 3" was changed to "the control device described in any one of claims 2 to 4", in the original claim 6, "the control device described in claim 2 or 3" was changed to "the control device described in any one of claims 2 to 5", in the original claim 7, "the control device described in claim 2 or 3" was changed to "the control device described in any one of claims 2 to 6", and in the original claim 8, "the device described in claim 1 or 3" was changed to "the printing device described in any one of claims 1, 3 to 7". [Industrial applicability]
[0051] This disclosure is applicable to the technical field of apparatus for dispensing liquids and manufacturing products. [Explanation of symbols]
[0052] 10 Production system, 11 3D printer, 12 Pallet, 15 Mounting device, 20 Control device, 21 CPU, 23 Memory unit, 24 Molding information, 25 Circuit information, 26 Transport processing unit, 27 Operation panel, 28 Communication unit, 30 First processing unit, 31 First head movement unit, 32 First discharge head, 33 First nozzle, 34 First head maintenance unit, 35 Solidification processing unit, 36 Flattening unit, 37 Cap unit, 40 Second processing unit, 41 Second head movement unit, 42 Second discharge head, 43 Second nozzle, 44 Second head maintenance unit, 45 Heating processing unit, 47 Cap unit, 51 First discharge unit, 52 Second discharge unit, 53 Flow path, 54 Discharge drive unit, 55 Flow path, 56 Discharge drive unit, 60 Supply unit, 61 First supply unit, 62 Second supply unit, 63 First tank, 64 Second tank, 65 Supply pipe, 66 Supply valve, 67 Discharge pipe, 68 Discharge valve, 69 Supply drive unit, 75 Supply pipe, 76 Supply valve, 77 Discharge pipe, 78 Discharge valve, 81 Discharge plate, 82 Discharge inspection unit, 83 Wiping unit, B Air bubbles, W Operator.
Claims
1. A control device used in a printing apparatus equipped with a discharge head having multiple nozzles connected to a flow path for liquid material and for discharging liquid material, The control unit performs discharge maintenance, including purging, and discharge tests by discharging liquid from the nozzle multiple times, determines that nozzles whose discharge state falls within a predetermined abnormal range are defective discharge nozzles, and determines that nozzles other than those that have been determined to have only poor discharge and no good discharge in the multiple tests, and that continue to have poor discharge, and nozzles that recover from poor discharge and continue to discharge normally, are defective discharge nozzles due to air bubbles. A control device equipped with the following features.
2. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the discharge head comprises a first discharge unit having a first flow path as the flow path and a plurality of first nozzles connected to the first flow path, and a second discharge unit having a second flow path different from the first flow path as the flow path and a plurality of second nozzles connected to the second flow path, and the control unit sets a plurality of nozzle groups that share a common flow path with the nozzles in the vicinity of the discharge defective nozzle determined to be the cause of bubbles as nozzles to be prohibited from use.
3. A control device used in a printing apparatus equipped with a discharge head having multiple nozzles connected to a flow path for liquid material and for discharging liquid material, The discharge head comprises a first discharge unit having a first flow path as the flow path and a plurality of first nozzles connected to the first flow path, and a second discharge unit having a second flow path different from the first flow path as the flow path and a plurality of second nozzles connected to the second flow path. After performing discharge maintenance including purging and discharge testing by discharging liquid from the nozzle multiple times, the control unit determines that nozzles whose discharge state falls within a predetermined abnormal range are defective discharge nozzles, and sets a group of nozzles in the vicinity of the defective discharge nozzles, which share the same flow path, as prohibited nozzles, including nozzles that have been determined to have only defective discharge and not good discharge in the multiple tests and continue to have defective discharge, and nozzles that continue to discharge normally after recovering from defective discharge, A control device equipped with the following features.
4. The control device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the control unit sets the nozzle group, including the nozzles adjacent to the defective nozzle, as the nozzles to be prohibited from use.
5. The control device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the control unit sets a group of nozzles adjacent to the nozzle that is prohibited from use as alternative nozzles.
6. The control device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the control unit continues to set the nozzle to be disabled until the discharge of the liquid onto the target object is completed.
7. The control device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the control unit sets the nozzles to be prohibited from use for nozzles that do not recover discharge even after performing bubble removal maintenance and the discharge inspection once or more times.
8. A discharge head having multiple nozzles connected to a flow path through which a liquid flows and for discharging the liquid, A control device according to claim 1 or 3, A printing device equipped with a printer.
9. The discharge head discharges the liquid substance used to form a three-dimensional object. The printing apparatus according to claim 8, which is a three-dimensional printer.
10. A control method for a printing apparatus equipped with a discharge head having multiple nozzles connected to a flow path for liquid material and for discharging liquid material, The process involves performing discharge maintenance, including purging, and discharge testing by discharging liquid from the nozzle multiple times, determining that nozzles whose discharge state falls within a predetermined abnormal range are defective discharge nozzles, and determining that nozzles other than those that have been determined to have only poor discharge and no good discharge in the multiple tests, and that continue to have poor discharge, and nozzles that recover from poor discharge and continue to discharge normally, are defective discharge nozzles due to air bubbles. A method for controlling a printing device, including the device itself.
11. A control method for a printing apparatus equipped with a discharge head having multiple nozzles connected to a flow path for liquid material and for discharging liquid material, The discharge head comprises a first discharge unit having a first flow path as the flow path and a plurality of first nozzles connected to the first flow path, and a second discharge unit having a second flow path different from the first flow path as the flow path and a plurality of second nozzles connected to the second flow path. After performing discharge maintenance including purging and discharge testing by discharging liquid from the nozzle multiple times, nozzles whose discharge state falls within a predetermined abnormal range are determined to be defective discharge nozzles, and among the defective discharge nozzles, nozzles that have been determined to have only defective discharge and no good discharge in the multiple tests and continue to have defective discharge, and nozzles that continue to discharge normally after recovering from defective discharge, as well as a group of nozzles in the vicinity of the defective nozzles that share the same flow path, are set as prohibited nozzles. A method for controlling a printing device, including the device itself.