Long-breadth three-dimensional printer and printing method

By employing a compartmentalized mechanism and a dual-airflow circulation system in a long-format 3D printer, the problem of turbulence caused by airflow diffusion is solved, ensuring high-quality printing and making it suitable for long-length prints.

WO2025218056A1PCT designated stage Publication Date: 2025-10-23SHANGHAI HANBANG UNITED 3D TECH CO LTD
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Patent Information

Application Number
PCT/CN2024/110076
Authority / Receiving Office
WO · WO
Patent Type
Applications
Current Assignee / Owner
Priority Date
2024-04-16
Filing Date
2024-08-06
Publication Date
2025-10-23

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

During long-format 3D printing, airflow diffusion causes turbulence, resulting in smoke and splash particles falling onto the printing surface and reducing the quality of the printed parts.

Method used

The printing chamber is divided into independent first and second printing spaces by a compartmentalized mechanism, and a dual-air source circulation system provides protective airflow to each space. Combined with a liftable baffle design, turbulence is avoided, ensuring that each printing area prints under a stable airflow.

Benefits of technology

It effectively prevents smoke and flying particles from falling on the printing surface, and improves the product quality of long-format 3D printed parts.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

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Abstract

A long-breadth three-dimensional printer. The long-breadth three-dimensional printer comprises: a printing chamber (1); a powder bed (2), wherein the powder bed (2) is partitioned in the length direction of a printing cavity (11) into a first printing area (21), a middle printing area (23), and a second printing area (22) which are sequentially connected to one another; a chamber partitioning mechanism (3), wherein the chamber partitioning mechanism (3) comprises a first blocking plate (31) and a second blocking plate (32), both of which can be raised and lowered; a double-air source circulating system (4), wherein the double-air source circulating system (4) comprises an air inlet cover assembly (41), an air outlet cover assembly (42), and two fresh air regulation and control pipes (43); a powder spreading device (5), wherein the powder spreading device (5) comprises a scraper assembly (51) and a scraper driving mechanism (52); and a laser emitting system (6), wherein a first laser emitter (61) is configured to emit a laser beam toward the first printing area (21), and a second laser emitter (62) is configured to emit a laser beam toward the middle printing area (23) or the second printing area (22). The three-dimensional printer can prevent the generation of turbulence within a printing surface, preventing smoke, dust and splash particles generated by printing from falling onto the printing surface, improving the quality of printed pieces, and the three-dimensional printer is suitable for long printed pieces. The present invention further relates to a printing method using the long-breadth three-dimensional printer.
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Description

Long-width three-dimensional printer and printing method

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application No. 202410452064.9 filed on April 16, 2024 with the China Patent Office, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present application relates to the technical field of three-dimensional printing, for example, to a long-width three-dimensional printer and printing method. BACKGROUND

[0003] Selective laser melting (SLM) is an important branch of metal three-dimensional (3D) printing technology. When the laser melts the target powder, sparks will be generated, which inevitably brings smoke and splashing particles. Such smoke and splashing particles falling on the printing surface will affect the laser sintering effect, making the performance parameters of the printed part not up to standard. Therefore, a wind field system is often equipped in the three-dimensional printing equipment to provide stable protective airflow. The protective airflow sweeps over the printing surface to take away the smoke and splashing particles.

[0004] For a printed part with a relatively long length, since the printing width is relatively long, the airflow spreads in all directions after coming out of the air duct, and there is turbulence on the printing width, so that the smoke and splashing particles generated by printing will fall on the printing width, reducing the quality of the printed part.

[0005] SUMMARY

[0006] The present application provides a long-width three-dimensional printer and printing method, which can effectively avoid turbulence on the printing width, and further avoid the smoke and splashing particles generated by printing from falling on the printing width, thereby improving the product quality of the printed part, and can be applied to a printed part with a relatively long length.

[0007] The present application provides a long-width three-dimensional printer, comprising:

[0008] A printing cabin, the printing cabin has a printing cavity with an opening facing downward;

[0009] A powder bed, the powder bed is arranged at the opening of the printing cavity in a liftable manner, and the powder bed is divided into a first printing area, an intermediate printing area and a second printing area in sequence along the length direction of the printing cavity;

[0010] The compartmentalization mechanism is arranged in the printing cabin and is located at the middle of the printing cavity along the length direction of the printing cavity to separate the printing cavity into the first printing space and the second printing space; the compartmentalization mechanism comprises a first baffle and a second baffle which are both liftable, the projection of the first baffle on the powder bed is located at the edge of the first printing area, and the projection of the second baffle on the powder bed is located on the middle printing area;

[0011] The double-wind-source circulation system comprises an air inlet cover assembly, an air outlet cover assembly and two fresh air control pipelines, the air inlet cover assembly is arranged at one side of the printing cabin along the width direction of the printing cabin, and the air outlet cover assembly is arranged at the other side of the printing cabin along the width direction of the printing cabin; each fresh air control pipeline is connected to the air inlet cover assembly and the air outlet cover assembly respectively, one of the fresh air control pipelines is arranged to provide a protective gas flow to the first printing space, and the other fresh air control pipeline is arranged to provide a protective gas flow to the second printing space;

[0012] The powder laying device comprises a scraper assembly movably arranged in the printing cabin and a scraper driving mechanism for driving the scraper assembly to perform a powder laying action on the powder bed;

[0013] The laser emission system comprises a first laser emitter and a second laser emitter both arranged on the top of the printing cabin, the first laser emitter is arranged to emit a laser beam to the first printing area, and the second laser emitter is arranged to emit a laser beam to the middle printing area or the second printing area;

[0014] When the powder is laid, the compartmentalization mechanism is switched to a baffle alignment avoiding state, and the first baffle and the second baffle are both located at the highest limit position;

[0015] When printing, the compartmentalization mechanism is switched to a baffle misalignment separating state, one of the first baffle and the second baffle is located at the lowest limit position and the other is located at the highest limit position, and when the first baffle or the second baffle is at the lowest limit position, there is a preset interval between the bottom edge of the first baffle or the second baffle and the printing reference surface corresponding to the powder bed.

[0016] In some embodiments, the compartmentalization mechanism further comprises a mounting seat arranged on the top of the printing cabin, a compartmentalization main plate is arranged on the mounting seat, a first lifting driving mechanism and a second lifting driving mechanism are arranged on the compartmentalization main plate, the first lifting driving mechanism is drivingly connected to the first baffle, and the second lifting driving mechanism is drivingly connected to the second baffle; the first baffle and the second baffle are respectively located on opposite sides of the compartmentalization main plate.

[0017] In some embodiments, the first baffle and the second baffle both have a rectangular shovel structure, the bottom of the rectangular shovel structure is in an open state, and the side of the rectangular shovel structure close to the compartmentalization main plate is also in an open state.

[0018] In some embodiments, the air inlet cover assembly comprises a first air inlet part and a second air inlet part arranged side by side along the length direction of the printing cabin, the air outlet cover assembly comprises a first air outlet part and a second air outlet part arranged side by side along the length direction of the printing cabin, the first air inlet part, the first printing space, the first air outlet part and one of the fresh air regulation pipelines together form a first loop, and the second air inlet part, the second printing space, the second air outlet part and the other of the fresh air regulation pipelines together form a second loop.

[0019] In some embodiments, the air inlet cover assembly comprises an air inlet outer cover and an air inlet inner cover which are sleeved with each other, the air inlet outer cover is communicated with the fresh air regulation pipeline, and the air inlet inner cover comprises an inner cover main body arranged in the printing cabin and a honeycomb-shaped flow regulation plate arranged in the inner cover main body.

[0020] In some embodiments, the air outlet cover assembly comprises an air outlet outer cover and an air outlet inner cover which are sleeved with each other, the air outlet outer cover is communicated with the fresh air regulation pipeline, and the air outlet inner cover is arranged in the printing cabin.

[0021] In some embodiments, the first laser emitter comprises a first laser module and a first protective mirror assembly which are vertically aligned, and the second laser emitter comprises a second laser module and a second protective mirror assembly which are vertically aligned.

[0022] In some embodiments, the scraper driving mechanism comprises two linear driving modules which are symmetrically arranged on opposite sides of the printing cabin along the width direction of the printing cabin, and the two linear driving modules are correspondingly connected to the two ends of the scraper assembly.

[0023] In some embodiments, the fresh air regulation pipeline comprises an airflow pipeline, and the airflow pipeline is provided with an air source assembly, an air inlet speed regulating valve, an air inlet speed measuring instrument and an air outlet speed measuring instrument.

[0024] In some embodiments, the preset interval is 1-5 cm.

[0025] In some embodiments, the first baffle and the second baffle are seamless when the compartment dividing mechanism is switched to the baffle misaligned separation state.

[0026] Embodiments of the present application also provide a printing method, which adopts the long-width three-dimensional printer, and comprises the following steps:

[0027] The double air source circulation system is started to form a protective gas environment in the first printing space and the second printing space, respectively;

[0028] The first baffle is driven to move upward to the highest limit position, and the second baffle is driven to move upward to the highest limit position, so as to avoid the powder spreading action of the scraper assembly;

[0029] The scraper assembly draws two layers of printing powder from a powder supply device.

[0030] driving the scraper assembly to perform the powder spreading action in a direction from the first printing area to the second printing area to spread one of the two layers of printing powder evenly on the powder bed, while the other of the two layers of printing powder remains;

[0031] driving the second baffle to move downward to the lowest limit position to divide the printing cavity into the first printing space and the second printing space;

[0032] the first laser emitter emits light to perform printing work on the first printing area, and the second laser emitter emits light to perform printing work on the second printing area;

[0033] driving the second baffle to move upward to the highest limit position, and driving the first baffle to move downward to the lowest limit position to re-divide the printing cavity into the first printing space and the second printing space, and the second laser emitter emits light to perform printing work on the intermediate printing area;

[0034] driving the first baffle to move upward to the highest limit position to avoid the powder spreading action of the scraper assembly;

[0035] the powder bed is lowered by one layer thickness, and the scraper assembly is driven to perform the powder spreading action in a direction from the second printing area to the first printing area to spread the other of the two layers of printing powder evenly on the powder bed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0036] Fig. 1 shows a structural schematic diagram of a long-breadth three-dimensional printer of the present application;

[0037] Fig. 2 shows a use state diagram of the long-breadth three-dimensional printer of the present application;

[0038] Fig. 3 shows a perspective view of a main structure of the long-breadth three-dimensional printer;

[0039] Fig. 4 shows a transverse sectional view of the main structure of the long-breadth three-dimensional printer;

[0040] Fig. 5 shows a longitudinal sectional view of the main structure of the long-breadth three-dimensional printer;

[0041] Fig. 6 shows an internal structure diagram of the main structure of the long-breadth three-dimensional printer;

[0042] Fig. 7 shows a top view of a compartmenting mechanism and a powder bed;

[0043] Fig. 8 shows a sectional view along line A—A in Fig. 7;

[0044] Fig. 9 shows a baffle misalignment separation state diagram of the compartmenting mechanism;

[0045] Fig. 10 shows another misaligned partitioning mechanism;

[0046] Fig. 11 shows a perspective view of the first baffle plate;

[0047] Fig. 12 shows a perspective view of the air inlet cover assembly;

[0048] Fig. 13 shows a perspective view of the air outlet cover assembly.

[0049] Element number explanation:

[0050] 1, printing cabin; 11, printing chamber; 111, first printing space; 112, second printing space; 2, powder bed; 21, first printing area; 22, second printing area; 23, middle printing area; 3, partitioning mechanism; 31, first baffle plate; 32, second baffle plate; 33, mounting seat; 34, partitioning main plate; 35, first lifting driving mechanism; 36, second lifting driving mechanism; 4, double air source circulation system; 41, air inlet cover assembly; 411, first air inlet part; 412, second air inlet part; 413, air inlet outer cover; 414, air inlet inner cover; 414a, inner cover main body; 414b, honeycomb-shaped rectifier plate; 42, air outlet cover assembly; 421, first air outlet part; 422, second air outlet part; 423, air outlet outer cover; 424, air outlet inner cover; 43, fresh air control pipeline; 431, air flow pipeline; 432, air source assembly; 433, air inlet speed regulating valve; 434, air inlet speed measuring instrument; 435, air outlet speed measuring instrument; 5, powder spreading device; 51, scraper assembly; 52, scraper driving mechanism; 521, linear driving module; 6, laser emitting system; 61, first laser emitter; 611, first laser module; 612, first protection mirror assembly; 62, second laser emitter; 621, second laser module; 622, second protection mirror assembly. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0051] The following specific examples illustrate the embodiments of the present application, and those skilled in the art can understand other advantages and effects of the present application from the contents disclosed in the specification.

[0052] It is to be understood that the structures, proportions, sizes, etc. shown in the drawings attached to the present specification are only used to cooperate with the content disclosed in the present specification, to be understood and read by those skilled in the art, and are not used to limit the defined conditions that can be implemented by the present application, so they do not have technical significance. Any modification of the structure, change of the proportional relationship or adjustment of the size, without affecting the effect and purpose that can be achieved by the present application, should still fall within the scope of the technical content disclosed by the present application.

[0053] In FIG. 2, the straight arrow represents the direction of the air flow; in FIG. 3, the X direction represents the length direction of the printing cabin 1, the Y direction represents the width direction of the printing cabin 1, and the Z direction represents the height direction of the printing cabin 1.

[0054] As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, the present application provides a long-breadth three-dimensional (3D) printer, for example, a long-breadth 3D printer with a double air source air field structure, comprising:

[0055] The printing cabin 1 has a printing cavity 11 with an opening facing downward;

[0056] The powder bed 2 is arranged at the opening of the printing cavity 11 in a lifting manner, and the powder bed 2 is divided into a first printing area 21, an intermediate printing area 23 and a second printing area 22 in sequence along the length direction of the printing cavity 11;

[0057] The cabin dividing mechanism 3 is arranged in the printing cabin 1 and located at the middle of the printing cavity 11 along the length direction of the printing cavity 11, so as to divide the printing cavity 11 into a first printing space 111 and a second printing space 112; the cabin dividing mechanism 3 comprises a first baffle 31 and a second baffle 32, both of which are liftable, the projection of the first baffle 31 on the powder bed 2 is located at the edge of the first printing area 21, and the projection of the second baffle 32 on the powder bed 2 is located on the intermediate printing area 23;

[0058] The double air source circulation system 4 comprises an air inlet cover assembly 41, an air outlet cover assembly 42 and two fresh air control pipelines 43, the air inlet cover assembly 41 is arranged at one side of the printing cabin 1 along the width direction of the printing cabin 1, and the air outlet cover assembly 42 is arranged at the other side of the printing cabin 1 along the width direction of the printing cabin 1; each fresh air control pipeline 43 is communicated with the air inlet cover assembly 41 and the air outlet cover assembly 42 respectively, one of the fresh air control pipelines 43 is arranged to provide a protective air flow to the first printing space 111, and the other fresh air control pipeline 43 is arranged to provide a protective air flow to the second printing space 112;

[0059] A powder spreading device 5, which comprises a doctor blade assembly 51 movably arranged in the printing cabin 1 and a doctor blade driving mechanism 52 for driving the doctor blade assembly 51 to perform a powder spreading action on the powder bed 2;

[0060] A laser emitting system 6, which comprises a first laser emitter 61 and a second laser emitter 62 both arranged on the top of the printing cabin 1, the first laser emitter 61 is arranged to emit a laser beam to the first printing zone 21, and the second laser emitter 62 is arranged to emit a laser beam to the middle printing zone 23 or the second printing zone 22;

[0061] When spreading powder, the cabin dividing mechanism 3 is switched to a baffle alignment avoiding state to avoid the doctor blade assembly 51, at this time, the first baffle 31 and the second baffle 32 are both located at the highest limit position;

[0062] When printing, the cabin dividing mechanism 3 is switched to a baffle misalignment separating state to avoid forming turbulence on the powder bed 2, at this time, one of the first baffle 31 and the second baffle 32 is located at the lowest limit position and the other is located at the highest limit position, when the first baffle 31 or the second baffle 32 is at the lowest limit position, there is a preset interval between the bottom edge of the baffle and the printing reference surface of the powder bed 2, the preset interval is not greater than 5 centimeters. Wherein, the printing reference surface is a horizontal plane and is fixed relative to the printing cabin 1, the printing reference surface is the focal plane of the laser beam, and the printing reference surface is also the trajectory plane of the blade of the doctor blade assembly 51 in contact with the powder when performing the powder spreading action.

[0063] In the present application, the remaining structure of the long-format 3D printer except the two new air regulation pipelines 43 is the main structure of the long-format 3D printer. The opening of the printing cavity 11 of the printing cabin 1 faces downward, and the powder bed 2 is arranged at the opening of the printing cavity 11. In this way, the powder bed 2 is driven by the external lifting driving mechanism to make lifting movement at the bottom of the printing cabin 1. The cabin separation mechanism 3 is located at the middle of the printing cavity 11 along the length direction of the printing cavity 11, so as to separate the printing cavity 11 into the first printing space 111 and the second printing space 112, avoid the mutual influence between the air flow in the first printing space 111 and the air flow in the second printing space 112, and thus avoid the generation of turbulence in the first printing space 111 and the second printing space 112, so as to make the first printing area 21, the middle printing area 23 and the second printing area 22 all be distributed under the stable wind field; the cabin separation mechanism 3 includes the first baffle 31 and the second baffle 32 which are both liftable. For example, the first baffle 31 and the second baffle 32 can be vertically dislocated or horizontally aligned. Therefore, the cabin separation mechanism 3 is switched between the baffle alignment avoiding state and the baffle dislocation separation state. When the cabin separation mechanism 3 is switched to the baffle alignment avoiding state, the first baffle 31 and the second baffle 32 are both lifted to the highest limit position. At this time, the cabin separation mechanism 3 and the powder bed 2 avoid each other to form the maximum spacing that allows the scraper assembly 51 to pass. It should be noted that there is also a minimum spacing between the cabin separation mechanism 3 and the powder bed 2. For example, when the cabin separation mechanism 3 is switched to the baffle dislocation separation state, the first baffle 31 or the second baffle 32 is located at the lowest limit position. There is a preset spacing H (see FIG. 8) between the bottom edge of the first baffle 31 or the second baffle 32 and the printing reference surface corresponding to the powder bed 2. The preset spacing H is not greater than 5 cm and can be 1-5 cm. The value of the preset spacing H can not only avoid the first baffle 31 or the second baffle 32 damaging the flatness of the already laid powder layer, but also still realize the cabin separation function. That is, the first printing space 111 and the second printing space 112 are not completely separated. Although the lowest part of the first printing space 111 and the lowest part of the second printing space 112 are connected, the cabin separation mechanism 3 can still avoid the generation of turbulence in the first printing space 111 and the second printing space 112, thereby avoiding the smoke and flying particles generated by printing from falling on the printing surface, and thus improving the product quality of the printed part. In order to avoid the smoke and flying particles generated by printing from falling on the printing surface of the powder bed 2, the long-format 3D printer adopts a double air source circulation system 4, that is, the two new air regulation pipelines 43 are independent of each other, and the two ends of each new air regulation pipeline 43 are respectively connected to the air inlet cover assembly 41 and the air outlet cover assembly 42. One of the new air regulation pipelines 43 is arranged to provide protective air flow to the first printing space 111, and the other new air regulation pipeline 43 is arranged to provide protective air flow to the second printing space 112, thereby improving the product quality of the printed part.Finally, as shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, the position of the projection of the bottom edge of the first baffle 31 on the powder bed 2 along the negative direction of the Z axis (i.e. vertically downward) is recorded as point a, and the position of the projection of the bottom edge of the second baffle 32 on the powder bed 2 along the negative direction of the Z axis (i.e. vertically downward) is recorded as point b. The projection a of the bottom edge of the first baffle 31 on the powder bed 2 is located at the edge of the first printing area 21, and the projection b of the bottom edge of the second baffle 32 on the powder bed 2 is located on the intermediate printing area 23. In this way, it can be ensured that the powder on all printing areas (including the intermediate printing area 23 or the area near the intermediate printing area 23) can be irradiated by the laser beam. For example, the first laser emitter 61 can obliquely emit a laser beam to the first printing area 21, and the second laser emitter 62 can obliquely emit a laser beam to the intermediate printing area 23 or the second printing area 22, so as to ensure that the powder on all printing areas can be sintered by the laser beam.

[0064] Therefore, the present application can effectively avoid the generation of turbulence in the first printing space 111 and the second printing space 112, thereby avoiding the smoke and flying particles generated by printing from falling on the printing surface, thereby improving the product quality of the printed part, and being applicable to a printed part with a relatively long length.

[0065] As an embodiment of the powder bed 2, the connection between the intermediate printing area 23 and the first printing area 21 is recorded as point e, and the connection between the intermediate printing area 23 and the second printing area 22 is recorded as point f. The distance between the projection a and the point e is 25-35 mm, for example, 30 mm; and the distance between the projection b and the point f is 25-35 mm, for example, 30 mm. In this way, the product quality of a printed part with a relatively long length can be improved.

[0066] In some embodiments, the first baffle 31 and the second baffle 32 are seamless between each other when the partitioning mechanism 3 is switched to the baffle misalignment partitioning state. In this way, when printing, there is no gas flow between the first baffle 31 and the second baffle 32, so as to avoid the generation of turbulence.

[0067] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 8, FIG. 9, and FIG. 10, in order to improve the structural compactness of the compartmenting mechanism 3, the compartmenting mechanism 3 further comprises a mounting seat 33 arranged on the top of the printing cabin 1, and a compartmenting main plate 34 is arranged on the mounting seat 33. The compartmenting main plate 34 can be a glass plate. A first lifting driving mechanism 35 and a second lifting driving mechanism 36 are arranged on the compartmenting main plate 34. The first lifting driving mechanism 35 is drivingly connected to the first baffle 31, and the second lifting driving mechanism 36 is drivingly connected to the second baffle 32. The first baffle 31 and the second baffle 32 are respectively arranged on opposite sides of the compartmenting main plate 34. In some examples, the first lifting driving mechanism 35 comprises two first electric cylinders, and the second lifting driving mechanism 36 also comprises two second electric cylinders. The first electric cylinder or the second electric cylinder is a modular product integrating a servo motor and a lead screw, which converts the rotary motion of the servo motor into linear motion. In addition, there is no gap between the top edge of the first baffle 31 and the compartmenting main plate 34, and there is also no gap between the top edge of the second baffle 32 and the compartmenting main plate 34.

[0068] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 11, in order to simplify the structure of the first baffle 31, the first baffle 31 is in the form of a rectangular shovel structure. The bottom of the rectangular shovel structure is in an open state, and one side of the rectangular shovel structure close to the compartmenting main plate 34 is also in an open state. In some examples, the first baffle 31 and the second baffle 32 are both in the form of a flat rectangular shovel structure. The structure of the first baffle 31 is the same as the structure of the second baffle 32.

[0069] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 3, and FIG. 6, in order to improve the sweeping efficiency of splashing particles and dust, the air inlet cover assembly 41 comprises a first air inlet part 411 and a second air inlet part 412 arranged side by side along the length direction of the printing cabin 1. The air outlet cover assembly 42 comprises a first air outlet part 421 and a second air outlet part 422 arranged side by side along the length direction of the printing cabin 1. The first air inlet part 411, the first printing space 111, the first air outlet part 421, and one of the fresh air control pipelines 43 together constitute a first loop. The second air inlet part 412, the second printing space 112, the second air outlet part 422, and the other fresh air control pipeline 43 together constitute a second loop. In some examples, in order to reduce the manufacturing cost, the air inlet cover assembly 41 or the air outlet cover assembly 42 can be divided into two parts by a welded partition plate.

[0070] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 12, in order to make the air flow blow into the printing cavity 11 uniformly and facilitate the quick assembly of the air inlet cover assembly 41, the air inlet cover assembly 41 comprises an air inlet outer cover 413 and an air inlet inner cover 414 which are sleeved with each other, the air inlet outer cover 413 is communicated with the fresh air control pipeline 43, and the air inlet inner cover 414 comprises an inner cover body 414a arranged in the printing cabin 1 and a honeycomb-shaped flow regulation plate 414b arranged in the inner cover body 414a. The air inlet outer cover 413 and the air inlet inner cover 414 have mounting flanges.

[0071] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 13, in order to facilitate the quick assembly of the air outlet cover assembly 42, the air outlet cover assembly 42 comprises an air outlet outer cover 423 and an air outlet inner cover 424 which are sleeved with each other, the air outlet outer cover 423 is communicated with the fresh air control pipeline 43, and the air outlet inner cover 424 is arranged in the printing cabin 1. The air outlet outer cover 423 and the air outlet inner cover 424 also have mounting flanges.

[0072] In some embodiments, in order to enable the first printing area 21, the intermediate printing area 23 and the second printing area 22 to be irradiated by the laser beams, the first laser emitter 61 comprises a first laser module 611 and a first protective mirror assembly 612 which are aligned vertically, and the second laser emitter 62 comprises a second laser module 621 and a second protective mirror assembly 622 which are aligned vertically. In some examples, the first laser module 611 and the second laser module 621 are mounted on the outer side wall of the top plate of the printing cabin 1.

[0073] In some embodiments, in order to enable the doctor blade assembly 51 to perform the powder scraping action, the doctor blade driving mechanism 52 comprises two linear driving modules 521 which are symmetrically arranged on opposite sides of the printing cabin 1 along the width direction of the printing cabin 1 and correspondingly connected to the two ends of the doctor blade assembly 51. In some examples, in order to protect the linear driving modules 521, the linear driving modules 521 can be mounted in small separated spaces on opposite sides of the printing cabin 1. The linear driving modules 521 can be electrically controlled.

[0074] In some embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in order to more accurately control the air flow of the printing cavity 11, the fresh air control pipeline 43 comprises an air flow pipeline 431, and the air flow pipeline 431 is provided with an air source assembly 432, an air inlet speed regulating valve 433, an air inlet speed measuring instrument 434 and an air outlet speed measuring instrument 435.

[0075] The application also provides a printing method using the long-width 3D printer, which comprises the following steps:

[0076] S1, the double-air-source circulation system 4 is started to form a protective gas environment in the first printing space 111 and the second printing space 112, respectively.

[0077] S2, driving the first baffle 31 to move upward to the highest limit position, and driving the second baffle 32 to move upward to the highest limit position to avoid the powder laying action of the scraper assembly 51;

[0078] S3, the scraper assembly 51 draws two layers of printing powder from a powder supply device;

[0079] S4, driving the scraper assembly 51 to perform the powder laying action in the direction from the first printing area 21 to the second printing area 22, so as to uniformly lay one layer of the two layers of printing powder on the powder bed 2, and the other layer of the two layers of printing powder remains;

[0080] S5, driving the second baffle 32 to move downward to the lowest limit position to divide the printing cavity 11 into the first printing space 111 and the second printing space 112;

[0081] S6, the first laser emitter 61 emits light to perform printing work on the first printing area 21, and the second laser emitter 62 emits light to perform printing work on the second printing area 22;

[0082] S7, driving the second baffle 32 to move upward to the highest limit position, and driving the first baffle 31 to move downward to the lowest limit position to re-divide the printing cavity 11 into the first printing space 111 and the second printing space 112, and the second laser emitter 62 emits light to perform printing work on the intermediate printing area 23;

[0083] S9, driving the first baffle 31 to move upward to the highest limit position to avoid the powder laying action of the scraper assembly 51;

[0084] S10, the powder bed 2 is lowered by one layer thickness, and the scraper assembly 51 is driven to perform the powder laying action in the direction from the second printing area 22 to the first printing area 21, so as to uniformly lay the other layer of the two layers of printing powder on the powder bed 2.

[0085] In some embodiments, S5-S9 are repeated in S10, and the printing work on the first printing area 21, the second printing area 22 and the intermediate printing area 23 can be realized, so as to complete the two layers of powder printing work drawn in S3.

[0086] In some embodiments, S3-S10 are repeated, and other slice layers of the printing piece can be printed.

[0087] The printing method of the present application can improve the product quality of the printing piece, and can be applied to a printing piece with a relatively long length.

[0088] In summary, the application can effectively avoid the generation of turbulence in the first printing space 111 and the second printing space 112, thereby avoiding the smoke and flying particles generated by printing from falling on the printing surface, thereby improving the product quality of the printed part, and can be applied to a printed part with a relatively long length. Therefore, the application effectively overcomes various shortcomings in the related art and has a high industrial utilization value.

Claims

1. A long-breadth three-dimensional printer, comprising: a printing cabin (1) having a printing cavity (11) with an opening downward; a powder bed (2) provided liftable at the opening of the printing cavity (11), the powder bed (2) being divided into a first printing area (21), an intermediate printing area (23) and a second printing area (22) in sequence along the length direction of the printing cavity (11); a cabin dividing mechanism (3) provided in the printing cabin (1) and located at the middle of the printing cavity (11) along the length direction of the printing cavity (11) to divide the printing cavity (11) into a first printing space (111) and a second printing space (112); the cabin dividing mechanism (3) comprises a first baffle (31) and a second baffle (32) both liftable, the projection of the first baffle (31) on the powder bed (2) is located at the edge of the first printing area (21), and the projection of the second baffle (32) on the powder bed (2) is located on the intermediate printing area (23); a double air source circulation system (4) comprising an air inlet cover assembly (41), an air outlet cover assembly (42) and two fresh air control pipelines (43), the air inlet cover assembly (41) is provided on one side of the printing cabin (1) along the width direction of the printing cabin (1), and the air outlet cover assembly (42) is provided on the other side of the printing cabin (1) along the width direction of the printing cabin (1); each of the fresh air control pipelines (43) is respectively communicated with the air inlet cover assembly (41) and the air outlet cover assembly (42), one of the fresh air control pipelines (43) is arranged to provide a protective gas flow to the first printing space (111), and the other of the fresh air control pipelines (43) is arranged to provide a protective gas flow to the second printing space (112); a powder spreading device (5) comprising a scraper assembly (51) movably provided in the printing cabin (1) and a scraper driving mechanism (52) for driving the scraper assembly (51) to perform a powder spreading action on the powder bed (2); a laser emission system (6) comprising a first laser emitter (61) and a second laser emitter (62) both provided on the top of the printing cabin (1), the first laser emitter (61) is arranged to emit a laser beam to the first printing area (21), and the second laser emitter (62) is arranged to emit a laser beam to the intermediate printing area (23) or the second printing area (22); when spreading powder, the cabin dividing mechanism (3) is switched to a baffle alignment avoiding state, and the first baffle (31) and the second baffle (32) are both located at the highest limit position. When printing, the compartment mechanism (3) switches to the baffle misalignment compartment state, one of the first baffle (31) and the second baffle (32) is located at the lowest limit position and the other is located at the highest limit position, and there is a preset interval between the bottom edge of the first baffle (31) or the second baffle (32) at the lowest limit position and the printing reference surface corresponding to the powder bed (2).

2. The long web three-dimensional printer of claim 1, wherein, The compartment mechanism (3) further comprises a mounting seat (33) provided at the top of the printing cabin (1), and a compartment main plate (34) is arranged on the mounting seat (33), and a first lifting driving mechanism (35) and a second lifting driving mechanism (36) are arranged on the compartment main plate (34), the first lifting driving mechanism (35) is drivingly connected to the first baffle (31), and the second lifting driving mechanism (36) is drivingly connected to the second baffle (32); the first baffle (31) and the second baffle (32) are located on opposite sides of the compartment main plate (34) respectively.

3. The long web three-dimensional printer of claim 2, wherein, The first baffle (31) and the second baffle (32) are both in the form of a rectangular shovel structure, the bottom of the rectangular shovel structure is in an open state, and the side of the rectangular shovel structure close to the compartment main plate (34) is also in an open state.

4. The long web three-dimensional printer of claim 1, wherein, The air inlet cover assembly (41) comprises a first air inlet portion (411) and a second air inlet portion (412) arranged side by side along the length direction of the printing cabin (1), the air outlet cover assembly (42) comprises a first air outlet portion (421) and a second air outlet portion (422) arranged side by side along the length direction of the printing cabin (1), the first air inlet portion (411), the first printing space (111), the first air outlet portion (421) and one of the fresh air regulation pipelines (43) jointly constitute a first loop, and the second air inlet portion (412), the second printing space (112), the second air outlet portion (422) and the other fresh air regulation pipeline (43) jointly constitute a second loop.

5. The long web three-dimensional printer of claim 1, wherein, The air inlet cover assembly (41) comprises an air inlet outer cover (413) and an air inlet inner cover (414) which are sleeved with each other, the air inlet outer cover (413) is communicated with the fresh air regulation pipeline (43), and the air inlet inner cover (414) comprises an inner cover main body (414a) arranged in the printing cabin (1) and a honeycomb-shaped flow regulation plate (414b) arranged in the inner cover main body (414a).

6. The long web three-dimensional printer of claim 1, wherein, The air outlet cover assembly (42) comprises an air outlet outer cover (423) and an air outlet inner cover (424) which are sleeved with each other, the air outlet outer cover (423) is communicated with the fresh air regulation pipeline (43), and the air outlet inner cover (424) is arranged in the printing cabin (1).

7. The long web three-dimensional printer of claim 1, wherein, The first laser emitter (61) comprises a first laser module (611) and a first protective mirror assembly (612) arranged in alignment, and the second laser emitter (62) comprises a second laser module (621) and a second protective mirror assembly (622) arranged in alignment.

8. The long web three-dimensional printer of claim 1, wherein, The scraper driving mechanism (52) comprises two linear driving modules (521), which are symmetrically arranged on opposite sides of the printing cabin (1) along the width direction of the printing cabin (1) and correspondingly connected to two ends of the scraper assembly (51).

9. The long web three-dimensional printer of claim 1, wherein, The fresh air regulation pipeline (43) comprises an airflow pipeline (431), and the airflow pipeline (431) is provided with a wind source assembly (432), an inlet air speed regulation valve (433), an inlet air speed measuring instrument (434), and an outlet air speed measuring instrument (435).

10. The long web three-dimensional printer of claim 1, wherein, The preset interval is 1-5 cm.

11. The long web three-dimensional printer of claim 1, wherein, The first baffle (31) and the second baffle (32) are seamless when the compartment switching mechanism (3) switches to the baffle misalignment separation state.

12. A printing method, which adopts the long-width three-dimensional printer according to any one of claims 1-11, comprising: The double-wind-source circulation system (4) is started to form a protective gas environment in the first printing space (111) and the second printing space (112) respectively; The first baffle (31) is driven to move upward to the highest limit position, and the second baffle (32) is driven to move upward to the highest limit position to avoid the powder laying action of the scraper assembly (51); The scraper assembly (51) draws two layers of printing powder from a powder supply device; The scraper assembly (51) is driven to perform the powder laying action from the first printing area (21) to the second printing area (22) to uniformly lay one layer of the two layers of printing powder on the powder bed (2), and the other layer of the two layers of printing powder remains; The second baffle (32) is driven to move downward to the lowest limit position to divide the printing cavity (11) into the first printing space (111) and the second printing space (112); The first laser emitter (61) emits light to perform printing work on the first printing area (21), and the second laser emitter (62) emits light to perform printing work on the second printing area (22); The second baffle (32) is driven to move upward to the highest limit position, and the first baffle (31) is driven to move downward to the lowest limit position to redivide the printing cavity (11) into the first printing space (111) and the second printing space (112), and the second laser emitter (62) emits light to perform printing work on the intermediate printing area (23); The first baffle (31) is driven to move upward to the highest limit position to avoid the powder laying action of the scraper assembly (51); The powder bed (2) is lowered by one layer thickness, and the scraper assembly (51) is driven to perform the powder laying action from the second printing area (22) to the first printing area (21) to uniformly lay the other layer of the two layers of printing powder on the powder bed (2).

Citation Information

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