Long-format 3D printer and printing method

Abstract

A long-format 3D printer and a printing method. The long-format 3D printer comprises: a printing chamber (1); a powder bed (2), in the direction of length of a printing cavity (11), the powder bed (2) being divided into a first printing zone (21) and a second printing zone (22) connected to each other; a partition mechanism (3), the partition mechanism (3) comprising a partition main plate (32), a scraper clearance space (53) being provided between the partition main plate (32) and the powder bed (2); a wind field circulation system (4), the wind field circulation system (4) comprising an air intake cover assembly (41), an air output cover assembly (42), an air intake double-valve mechanism (43) and an air output double-valve mechanism (44); and a powder spreading device (5), the powder spreading device (5) comprising a scraper assembly (51), which is movably arranged in the printing chamber (1) and can pass through the scraper clearance space (53), and a scraper driving mechanism (52) for driving the scraper assembly (51) to perform a powder spreading action on the powder bed (2).

Description

Long-width 3D printer and printing method

[0001] The present application claims priority to the Chinese patent application No. 202410452062.X filed on April 16, 2024 with the Chinese 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 (3D) printing, for example to a long-width 3D printer and printing method. BACKGROUND

[0003] Selective Laser Melting (SLM) technology is an important branch of metal 3D printing technology. When the laser melts the target powder, sparks will be generated, and the sparks inevitably bring splashes and smoke dust. This smoke dust and splash fall on the printing surface, which will affect the laser sintering effect and make the performance parameters of the printed part not up to standard. Therefore, a wind field system is often equipped in the 3D printing equipment to provide stable protective airflow. The protective airflow sweeps over the printing surface to take away the smoke dust and splashes.

[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. As a result, the smoke dust and splash particles generated by printing will fall on the printing width, reducing the performance of the printed part. SUMMARY

[0005] The present application provides a long-width 3D printer and printing method, which can effectively avoid the generation of turbulence in the first printing space and the second printing space, and further avoid the smoke dust and splash particles generated by printing from falling on the printing width, thereby improving the product quality of the printed part and being applicable to a printed part with a relatively long length.

[0006] The present application provides a long-width 3D printer, comprising:

[0007] a printing cabin, the printing cabin having a printing cavity with an opening facing downward;

[0008] a powder bed, the powder bed being arranged at the opening of the printing cavity in a liftable manner, the powder bed being divided into a first printing area and a second printing area which are connected to each other along the length direction of the printing cavity;

[0009] a cabin dividing mechanism, the cabin dividing mechanism comprising a cabin dividing main plate, there being a scraper avoiding space between the cabin dividing main plate and the powder bed, the cabin dividing main plate being arranged at the middle of the printing cavity along the length direction of the printing cavity to divide the printing cavity into a first printing space and a second printing space, the first printing space and the first printing area corresponding to each other in up-down direction, and the second printing space and the second printing area corresponding to each other in up-down direction;

[0010] The wind field circulation system comprises an air inlet cover assembly, an air outlet cover assembly, an air inlet double valve mechanism and an air outlet double valve mechanism. The air inlet cover assembly is arranged on one side of the printing cabin along the width direction of the printing cabin, and the air outlet cover assembly is arranged on the other side of the printing cabin along the width direction of the printing cabin. The air inlet double valve mechanism comprises a first air inlet shutter and a second air inlet shutter arranged side by side. The first air inlet shutter is arranged in the air inlet of the first printing space in a liftable manner, and the second air inlet shutter is arranged in the air inlet of the second printing space in a liftable manner. The air outlet double valve mechanism comprises a first air outlet shutter and a second air outlet shutter arranged side by side. The first air outlet shutter is arranged in the air outlet of the first printing space in a liftable manner, and the second air outlet shutter is arranged in the air outlet of the second printing space in a liftable manner.

[0011] The powder spreading device comprises a scraper assembly movably arranged in the printing cabin and capable of passing through the scraper avoiding space, and a scraper driving mechanism for driving the scraper assembly to perform a powder spreading action on the powder bed.

[0012] 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 second printing area.

[0013] When the scraper assembly is stopped between the compartment main plate and the powder bed, the scraper assembly and the compartment main plate jointly form a compartment assembly structure.

[0014] In one or more embodiments, the compartment mechanism further comprises a mounting seat arranged on the top of the printing cabin, and the mounting seat is provided with the compartment main plate.

[0015] In one or more embodiments, the air inlet double valve mechanism further comprises two first lifting driving mechanisms arranged in the printing cabin. One of the first lifting driving mechanisms is drivingly connected to the first air inlet shutter, and the other first lifting driving mechanism is drivingly connected to the second air inlet shutter.

[0016] In one or more embodiments, the air outlet double valve mechanism further comprises two second lifting driving mechanisms arranged in the printing cabin. One of the second lifting driving mechanisms is drivingly connected to the first air outlet shutter, and the other second lifting driving mechanism is drivingly connected to the second air outlet shutter.

[0017] In one or more 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 of the wind field circulation system, 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 on the inner cover main body.

[0018] In one or more 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 regulating pipeline of the air field circulation system, and the air outlet inner cover is arranged in the printing cabin.

[0019] In one or more embodiments, the inner cavity of the air inlet cover assembly is divided into two air inlet cavities by an air inlet partition plate, one of the air inlet cavities is communicated with the first printing space, and the other air inlet cavity is communicated with the second printing space; and the inner cavity of the air outlet cover assembly is divided into two air outlet cavities by an air outlet partition plate, one of the air outlet cavities is communicated with the first printing space, and the other air outlet cavity is communicated with the second printing space.

[0020] In one or more 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.

[0021] In one or more embodiments, the linear driving module comprises a linear guide rail extending along the length direction of the printing cavity, a driving member slidingly arranged on the linear guide rail, a screw threadedly matched with the driving member, and a scraper driving motor drivingly connected to the end of the screw, and the driving member is connected to the scraper assembly.

[0022] The application also provides a printing method applied to the long-width 3D printer, which comprises the following steps:

[0023] controlling the first air inlet shutter to be opened and the second air inlet shutter to be closed, the first air outlet shutter to be opened and the second air outlet shutter to be closed, and forming a protective gas environment in the first printing space;

[0024] controlling the scraper assembly to draw two layers of printing powder from a powder supply device;

[0025] driving the scraper assembly to perform a powder spreading action in the direction from the first printing area to the second printing area, and stopping right below the cabin main plate to uniformly spread a part of one of the two layers of printing powder on the first printing area, at this time, the scraper assembly and the cabin main plate jointly form a cabin assembly structure;

[0026] controlling the first laser emitter to emit light to perform a printing work on the first printing area;

[0027] continuing to drive the scraper assembly to perform a powder spreading action in the direction from the first printing area to the second printing area, to uniformly spread the remaining part of one of the two layers of printing powder on the second printing area;

[0028] controlling the first air inlet shutter to be closed and the second air inlet shutter to be opened, the first air outlet shutter to be closed and the second air outlet shutter to be opened, and forming a protective gas environment in the second printing space.

[0029] controlling the second laser emitter to emit light to perform printing work on the second printing area;

[0030] controlling the powder bed to descend by one layer thickness, and driving the scraper assembly to perform powder spreading action in the direction from the second printing area to the first printing area, and stopping right below the compartment main plate to spread the partial amount of the other one of the two layer printing powder amounts evenly on the second printing area, at this time, the scraper assembly and the compartment main plate jointly form a compartment assembly structure;

[0031] controlling the second laser emitter to emit light again to perform printing work on the second printing area;

[0032] continuing to drive the scraper assembly to perform powder spreading action in the direction from the second printing area to the first printing area to spread the remaining amount of the other one of the two layer printing powder amounts evenly on the first printing area;

[0033] controlling the first air inlet shutter to open and the second air inlet shutter to close, the first air outlet shutter to open and the second air outlet shutter to close, to form a protective gas environment in the first printing space;

[0034] controlling the first laser emitter to emit light again to perform printing work on the first printing area. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0035] Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of the main structure of the long-width 3D printer.

[0036] Fig. 2 shows a top view of the main structure of the long-width 3D printer.

[0037] Fig. 3 shows a sectional view along the line A—A in Fig. 2.

[0038] Fig. 4 shows an internal structure view of the main structure of the long-width 3D printer.

[0039] Fig. 5 shows a front view of the compartment mechanism, the scraper assembly and the powder bed.

[0040] Fig. 6 shows a perspective view of the linear drive module.

[0041] Fig. 7 shows a sectional view of the linear drive module.

[0042] Fig. 8 shows a perspective view of the air inlet cover assembly.

[0043] Fig. 9 shows a perspective view of the air outlet cover assembly.

[0044] Element No. Explanation: printing cabin 1, printing chamber 11, first printing space 111, second printing space 112, powder bed 2, first printing area 21, second printing area 22, cabin separation mechanism 3, mounting seat 31, cabin separation main body plate 32, air field circulation system 4, air inlet cover assembly 41, air inlet partition plate 411, air inlet chamber 412, air inlet outer air cover 413, air inlet inner air cover 414, inner air cover main body 414a, honeycomb-shaped rectifier plate 414b, air outlet cover assembly 42, air outlet partition plate 421, air outlet chamber 422, air outlet outer air cover 423, air outlet inner air cover 424, air inlet double valve mechanism 43, first air inlet shutter 431, second air inlet shutter 432, first lifting drive mechanism 433, air outlet double valve mechanism 44, first air outlet shutter 441, second air outlet shutter 442, second lifting drive mechanism 443, fresh air regulation pipeline 45, powder spreading device 5, scraper assembly 51, scraper drive mechanism 52, linear drive module 521, linear guide rail 521a, driving member 521b, screw rod 521c, scraper drive motor 521d, scraper avoiding space 53, laser emission system, 6, first laser emitter 61, first laser module 611, first protective mirror assembly 612, second laser emitter 62, second laser module 621, second protective mirror assembly 622. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0045] The implementation of the present application is illustrated by specific examples below, and other advantages and effects of the present application can be easily understood by those skilled in the art from the content disclosed in the specification.

[0046] The structures, proportions, sizes, etc. shown in the drawings attached to the specification are only used to cooperate with the content disclosed in the specification for those skilled in the art to understand and read, and are not used to define the limiting conditions of the implementation of 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 effects and purposes that can be achieved by the present application, should still fall within the scope of the technical content disclosed by the present application. At the same time, the terms such as "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "middle", and "one" used in the specification are only for the convenience of clear understanding of the description, and are not used to limit the scope of the implementation of the present application. The change or adjustment of the relative relationship, without substantially changing the technical content, is also considered as the scope of the implementation of the present application.

[0047] In FIG. 1, the curved arrow represents the direction of the air flow; 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.

[0048] As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, the present application provides a long-width 3D printer, which comprises:

[0049] The printing cabin 1 has a printing cavity 11 with an opening downward;

[0050] The powder bed 2 is arranged at the opening of the printing cavity 11 in a lifting manner, and is divided into a first printing area 21 and a second printing area 22 along the length direction of the printing cavity 11;

[0051] The cabin dividing mechanism 3 includes a cabin dividing main plate 32, and a scraper avoiding space 53 is formed between the cabin dividing main plate 32 and the powder bed 2. The cabin dividing main plate 32 is arranged 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 first printing space 111 corresponds to the first printing area 21 in the up-down direction, and the second printing space 112 corresponds to the second printing area 22 in the up-down direction;

[0052] The air field circulation system 4 includes an air inlet cover assembly 41, an air outlet cover assembly 42, an air inlet double valve mechanism 43, and an air outlet double valve mechanism 44. 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. 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. The air inlet double valve mechanism 43 includes a first air inlet shutter 431 and a second air inlet shutter 432 arranged side by side. The first air inlet shutter 431 is arranged at the air inlet of the first printing space 111 in a lifting manner. The second air inlet shutter 432 is arranged at the air inlet of the second printing area 22 in a lifting manner. The air outlet double valve mechanism 44 includes a first air outlet shutter 441 and a second air outlet shutter 442 arranged side by side. The first air outlet shutter 441 is arranged at the air outlet of the first printing space 111 in a lifting manner. The second air outlet shutter 442 is arranged at the air outlet of the second printing area 22 in a lifting manner;

[0053] The powder spreading device 5 includes a scraper assembly 51 movably arranged in the printing cabin 1 and capable of passing through the scraper avoiding space 53, and a scraper driving mechanism 52 for driving the scraper assembly 51 to perform a powder spreading action on the powder bed 2;

[0054] The laser emission system 6 includes a first laser emitter 61 and a second laser emitter 62, both arranged at 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. The second laser emitter 62 is arranged to emit a laser beam to the second printing area 22;

[0055] When the scraper assembly 51 is stopped between the cabin dividing main plate 32 and the powder bed 2, the scraper assembly 51 and the cabin dividing main plate 32 jointly constitute a cabin dividing assembly structure.

[0056] In the present application, the remaining structure of the long-format 3D printer except the fresh air regulation pipeline 45 of the wind field circulation system 4 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 to move up and down at the bottom of the printing cabin 1 under the driving of the external lifting driving mechanism. The main innovation of the present application is that the cabin separation main plate 32 of the cabin separation mechanism 3 is located at the middle of the printing cavity 11 along the length direction of the printing cavity 11. At this time, the first printing space 111 and the second printing space 112 are not completely separated, that is, the bottom region of the first printing space 111 and the bottom region of the second printing space 112 are communicated. In this way, the printing cavity 11 can also be separated into the first printing space 111 and the second printing space 112, so as to avoid the mutual influence between the air flow of the first printing space 111 and the air flow of the second printing space 112, thereby avoiding the generation of turbulent flow in the first printing space 111 and the second printing space 112, so as to make the first printing area 21 and the second printing area 22 be distributed under the stable wind field. More importantly, since there is a scraper avoiding space 53 between the cabin separation main plate 32 and the powder bed 2, when the scraper assembly 51 is stopped between the cabin separation main plate 32 and the powder bed 2, the scraper assembly 51 and the cabin separation main plate 32 jointly constitute a cabin separation assembly structure. In this way, the printing cavity 11 can be separated into the first printing space 111 and the second printing space 112 in a nearly completely separated state, which more effectively avoids the mutual influence between the air flow of the first printing space 111 and the air flow of the second printing space 112, thereby more effectively avoiding the generation of turbulent flow in the first printing space 111 and the second printing space 112, so as to more make the first printing area 21 and the second printing area 22 be distributed under the stable wind field, avoid the smoke and flying particles generated by printing from falling on the printing surface, and thereby improve the product quality of the printed part. When the scraper assembly 51 is located directly below the cabin separation main plate 32, there is a small gap, for example, 1 to 5 mm, between the scraper assembly 51 and the cabin separation main plate 32. The smaller the gap is, the better. As long as the scraper assembly 51 can smoothly pass through the scraper avoiding space 53.

[0057] The second main innovation of the present application is that the wind field circulation system 4 comprises an air inlet cover assembly 41, an air outlet cover assembly 42, an air inlet double valve mechanism 43, and an air outlet double valve mechanism 44. The air inlet cover assembly 41 is arranged 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 arranged on the other side of the printing cabin 1 along the width direction of the printing cabin 1. The air inlet double valve mechanism 43 comprises a first air inlet shutter 431 and a second air inlet shutter 432 arranged side by side. The first air inlet shutter 431 is arranged in the air inlet of the first printing space 111 in a liftable manner, and the second air inlet shutter 432 is arranged in the air inlet of the second printing space 22 in a liftable manner. The air outlet double valve mechanism 44 comprises a first air outlet shutter 441 and a second air outlet shutter 442 arranged side by side. The first air outlet shutter 441 is arranged in the air outlet of the first printing space 111 in a liftable manner, and the second air outlet shutter 442 is arranged in the air outlet of the second printing space 22 in a liftable manner.

[0058] When only the first laser emitter 61 emits a laser beam to the first printing area 21, the first air inlet shutter 431 is lifted to open the air inlet of the first printing space 111, and the first air outlet shutter 441 is also lifted to open the air outlet of the first printing space 111. At the same time, the second air inlet shutter 432 is lowered to close the air inlet of the second printing space 22, and the second air outlet shutter 442 is lowered to close the air outlet of the second printing space 22.

[0059] When only the second laser emitter 62 is arranged to emit a laser beam to the second printing area 22, the first air inlet shutter 431 is lowered to close the air inlet of the first printing space 111, and the first air outlet shutter 441 is also lowered to close the air outlet of the first printing space 111. At the same time, the second air inlet shutter 432 is lifted to open the air inlet of the second printing space 22, and the second air outlet shutter 442 is lifted to open the air outlet of the second printing space 22.

[0060] The first printing area 21 and the second printing area 22 are not printed synchronously, but are printed in zones in sequence, which can more effectively enable the first printing area 21 and the second printing area 22 to be distributed in respective stable wind fields, thereby avoiding that the smoke and flying particles generated by printing fall on the printing surface, and thus improving the product quality of the printed part.

[0061] Therefore, the present application can effectively avoid the generation of turbulence in the first printing space and the second printing space, thereby avoiding that the smoke and flying particles generated by printing fall on the printing surface, and thus improving the product quality of the printed part, and being suitable for a printed part with a relatively long length.

[0062] As shown in FIG. 5, in order to simplify the structure of the cabin dividing mechanism 3 and in order to suspend the cabin dividing main body plate 32, the cabin dividing mechanism 3 further comprises a mounting seat 31 arranged on the top of the printing cabin 1, and the cabin dividing main body plate 32 is arranged on the mounting seat 31.

[0063] As shown in Fig. 4, in order to make the first air inlet shutter 431 and the second air inlet shutter 432 move up and down respectively, the air inlet double valve mechanism 43 further comprises two first lifting driving mechanisms 433 arranged in the printing cabin 1, one of which is drivingly connected to the first air inlet shutter 431, and the other of which is drivingly connected to the second air inlet shutter 432.

[0064] In order to make the first air outlet shutter 441 and the second air outlet shutter 442 move up and down respectively, the air outlet double valve mechanism 44 further comprises two second lifting driving mechanisms 443 arranged in the printing cabin 1, one of which is drivingly connected to the first air outlet shutter 441, and the other of which is drivingly connected to the second air outlet shutter 442.

[0065] Exemplarily, the first lifting driving mechanism 433 or the second lifting driving mechanism 443 can be an electric cylinder or a pneumatic cylinder, wherein the electric cylinder is a modular product integrating a servo motor and a lead screw, and converts the rotary motion of the servo motor into linear motion.

[0066] As shown in Fig. 8, in order to make the air flow uniformly blow into the printing cavity 11 and facilitate 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 regulation pipeline 45 of the air field circulation system 4, 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. Exemplarily, the air inlet outer cover 413 and the air inlet inner cover 414 have mounting flanges.

[0067] As shown in Fig. 9, in order to facilitate 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 regulation pipeline 45 of the air field circulation system 4, and the air outlet inner cover 424 is arranged in the printing cabin 1. Exemplarily, the air outlet outer cover 423 and the air outlet inner cover 424 also have mounting flanges.

[0068] In order to divide the fresh air in the fresh air regulating pipeline 45 into two air flows, the inner cavity of the air inlet cover assembly 41 is divided into two air inlet cavities 412 by an air inlet partition 411, one of the air inlet cavities 412 is communicated with the first printing space 111, and the other air inlet cavity 412 is communicated with the second printing space 112; in order to respectively discharge the air flows with splashes or smoke, the inner cavity of the air outlet cover assembly 41 is divided into two air outlet cavities 422 by an air outlet partition 421, one of the air outlet cavities 422 is communicated with the first printing space 111, and the other air outlet cavity 422 is communicated with the second printing space 112. In summary, the first printing area 21 and the second printing area 22 can be distributed under the respective stable air field.

[0069] As shown in FIGS. 4, 6 and 7, in order to enable the doctor blade assembly 51 to perform the powder scraping action, the doctor blade driving mechanism 52 includes two linear driving modules 521, which are symmetrically arranged on the 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.

[0070] In order to accurately and stably control the movement of the doctor blade assembly 51, the linear driving module 521 includes a linear guide rail 521a extending along the length direction of the printing cavity 11, a driving member 521b slidingly arranged on the linear guide rail 521a, a screw rod 521c threadedly matched with the driving member 521b, and a doctor blade driving motor 521d connected with the end of the screw rod 521c in a transmission manner, and the driving member 521b is connected to the doctor blade assembly 51. For example, in order to protect the linear driving module 521, the linear driving module 521 can be installed in a small separated space on the opposite sides of the printing cabin 1.

[0071] As shown in FIG. 4, in order to enable the first printing area 21 and the second printing area 22 to be irradiated by the laser beams, the first laser emitter 61 includes a first laser module 611 and a first protection mirror assembly 612 arranged in an up-down alignment, and the second laser emitter 62 includes a second laser module 621 and a second protection mirror assembly 622 arranged in an up-down alignment. For example, the first laser module 611 and the second laser module 621 are installed on the outer sidewall of the top plate of the printing cabin 1.

[0072] In order to more accurately control the air flow of the printing cavity 11, the fresh air regulating pipeline 45 includes an air flow pipeline, and the air flow 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.

[0073] The application also provides a printing method, which adopts the long-width 3D printer and includes the following steps.

[0074] S1, the first air inlet shutter 431 is opened and the second air inlet shutter 432 is closed, the first air outlet shutter 441 is opened and the second air outlet shutter 442 is closed, and a protective gas environment is formed in the first printing space 111.

[0075] S2, the scraper assembly 51 draws two layers of printing powder from a powder supply device.

[0076] S3, the scraper assembly 51 is driven to perform a powder spreading action from the first printing area 21 to the second printing area 22, and stops right below the compartment main plate 32 to uniformly spread a partial amount of one of the two layers of printing powder on the first printing area 21, at this time, the scraper assembly 51 and the compartment main plate 32 jointly constitute a compartment assembly structure.

[0077] S4, the first laser emitter 61 emits light to perform printing work on the first printing area 21.

[0078] S5, the scraper assembly 51 is continuously driven to perform a powder spreading action from the first printing area 21 to the second printing area 22 to uniformly spread the remaining amount of one of the two layers of printing powder on the second printing area 22.

[0079] S6, the first air inlet shutter 431 is closed and the second air inlet shutter 432 is opened, the first air outlet shutter 441 is closed and the second air outlet shutter 442 is opened, and a protective gas environment is formed in the second printing space 112.

[0080] S7, the second laser emitter 62 emits light to perform printing work on the second printing area 22.

[0081] S8, the powder bed 2 is lowered by one layer thickness, the scraper assembly 51 is driven to perform a powder spreading action from the second printing area 22 to the first printing area 21, and stops right below the compartment main plate 32 to uniformly spread a partial amount of the other of the two layers of printing powder on the second printing area 22, at this time, the scraper assembly 51 and the compartment main plate 32 jointly constitute a compartment assembly structure.

[0082] S9, the second laser emitter 62 emits light again to perform printing work on the second printing area 22.

[0083] S10, the scraper assembly 51 is continuously driven to perform a powder spreading action from the second printing area 22 to the first printing area 21 to uniformly spread the remaining amount of the other of the two layers of printing powder on the first printing area 21.

[0084] S11, the first air inlet shutter 431 is opened and the second air inlet shutter 432 is closed, the first air outlet shutter 441 is opened and the second air outlet shutter 442 is closed, and a protective gas environment is formed in the first printing space 111.

[0085] S12, the first laser emitter 61 emits light again to perform printing work on the first printing area 21.

[0086] S2-S12 are repeated.

[0087] The printing method of the present application can realize printing in different zones in sequence, further improve the product quality of the printed product, and is suitable for a printed product with a relatively long length.

[0088] In summary, the present application can effectively avoid the generation of turbulence in the first printing space and the second printing space, and further avoid the smoke and flying particles generated by printing from falling on the printing surface, thereby improving the product quality of the printed product, and being suitable for a printed product with a relatively long length.

Claims

1. A long-breadth 3D printer, comprising: a printing cabin (1) having a printing cavity (11) with an opening downward; a powder bed (2) being provided liftable at the opening of the printing cavity (11), and being divided into a first printing area (21) and a second printing area (22) along the length direction of the printing cavity (11); a cabin-dividing mechanism (3) including a cabin-dividing main plate (32) having a scraper-avoiding space (53) with the powder bed (2), and being provided 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 first printing space (111) corresponding to the first printing area (21) upward and downward, and the second printing space (112) corresponding to the second printing area (22) upward and downward; an air field circulation system (4) including an air inlet cover assembly (41), an air outlet cover assembly (42), an air inlet double valve mechanism (43), and an air outlet double valve mechanism (44), the air inlet cover assembly (41) being provided at one side of the printing cabin (1) along the width direction of the printing cabin (1), the air outlet cover assembly (42) being provided at the other side of the printing cabin (1) along the width direction of the printing cabin (1), the air inlet double valve mechanism (43) including a first air inlet shutter (431) and a second air inlet shutter (432) arranged side by side, the first air inlet shutter (431) being provided liftable at the air inlet of the first printing space (111), the second air inlet shutter (432) being provided liftable at the air inlet of the second printing area (22), the air outlet double valve mechanism (44) including a first air outlet shutter (441) and a second air outlet shutter (442) arranged side by side, the first air outlet shutter (441) being provided liftable at the air outlet of the first printing space (111), the second air outlet shutter (442) being provided liftable at the air outlet of the second printing area (22); a powder spreading device (5) including a scraper assembly (51) movably provided in the printing cabin (1) and capable of passing through the scraper-avoiding space (53), 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) including a first laser emitter (61) and a second laser emitter (62) both provided at the top of the printing cabin (1), the first laser emitter (61) being arranged to emit a laser beam to the first printing area (21), and the second laser emitter (62) being arranged to emit a laser beam to the second printing area (22). When the scraper assembly (51) is stopped between the compartment main plate (32) and the powder bed (2), the scraper assembly (51) and the compartment main plate (32) jointly constitute a compartment assembly structure.

2. The long web 3D printer of claim 1, wherein, The compartment mechanism (3) further comprises a mounting seat (31) arranged at the top of the printing cabin (1), and the mounting seat (31) is provided with the compartment main plate (32).

3. The long web 3D printer of claim 1, wherein, The air inlet double-valve mechanism (43) further comprises two first lifting driving mechanisms (433) arranged in the printing cabin (1), one of the first lifting driving mechanisms (433) is drivingly connected to the first air inlet shutter (431), and the other first lifting driving mechanism (433) is drivingly connected to the second air inlet shutter (432).

4. The long web 3D printer of claim 1, wherein, The air outlet double-valve mechanism (44) further comprises two second lifting driving mechanisms (443) arranged in the printing cabin (1), one of the second lifting driving mechanisms (443) is drivingly connected to the first air outlet shutter (441), and the other second lifting driving mechanism (443) is drivingly connected to the second air outlet shutter (442).

5. The long web 3D 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 (45) of the air field circulation system (4), 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 3D 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 (45) of the air field circulation system (4), and the air outlet inner cover (424) is arranged in the printing cabin (1).

7. The long web 3D printer of claim 1, wherein, The inner cavity of the air inlet cover assembly (41) is divided into two air inlet cavities (412) by an air inlet partition plate (411), one of the air inlet cavities (412) is communicated with the first printing space (111), and the other air inlet cavity (412) is communicated with the second printing space (112); the inner cavity of the air outlet cover assembly (41) is divided into two air outlet cavities (422) by an air outlet partition plate (421), one of the air outlet cavities (422) is communicated with the first printing space (111), and the other air outlet cavity (422) is communicated with the second printing space (112).

8. The long web 3D printer of claim 1, wherein, The scraper driving mechanism (52) comprises two linear driving modules (521), the two linear driving modules (521) are symmetrically arranged on opposite sides of the printing cabin (1) along the width direction of the printing cabin (1), and the two linear driving modules (521) are correspondingly connected to two ends of the scraper assembly (51).

9. The long web 3D printer of claim 8, wherein, The linear drive module (521) comprises a linear guide rail (521a) extending along the length direction of the printing cavity (11), a driven member (521b) slidingly arranged on the linear guide rail (521a), a screw rod (521c) threadedly matched with the driven member (521b), and a scraper drive motor (521d) connected with the end of the screw rod (521c) in transmission, and the driven member (521b) is connected to the scraper assembly (51).

10. A printing method applied to the long-width 3D printer according to any one of claims 1 to 9, comprising: controlling the first air inlet shutter (431) to open and the second air inlet shutter (432) to close, the first air outlet shutter (441) to open and the second air outlet shutter (442) to close, so as to form a protective gas environment in the first printing space (111); controlling the scraper assembly (51) to draw two layers of printing powder from a powder supply device; driving the scraper assembly (51) to perform a powder spreading action from the first printing area (21) to the second printing area (22) and stop right below the compartment main plate (32) to uniformly spread a part of one of the two layers of printing powder on the first printing area (21), the scraper assembly (51) and the compartment main plate (32) together forming a compartment assembly structure; controlling the first laser emitter (61) to emit light to perform printing work on the first printing area (21); continuing to drive the scraper assembly (51) to perform a powder spreading action from the first printing area (21) to the second printing area (22) to uniformly spread the remaining part of one of the two layers of printing powder on the second printing area (22); controlling the first air inlet shutter (431) to close and the second air inlet shutter (432) to open, and the first air outlet shutter (441) to close and the second air outlet shutter (442) to open, so as to form a protective gas environment in the second printing space (112); controlling the second laser emitter (62) to emit light to perform printing work on the second printing area (22); controlling the powder bed (2) to lower by one layer thickness, driving the scraper assembly (51) to perform a powder spreading action from the second printing area (22) to the first printing area (21) and stop right below the compartment main plate (32) to uniformly spread a part of the other of the two layers of printing powder on the second printing area (22), the scraper assembly (51) and the compartment main plate (32) together forming a compartment assembly structure; controlling the second laser emitter (62) to emit light again to perform printing work on the second printing area (22); continuing to drive the scraper assembly (51) to perform a powder spreading action from the second printing area (22) to the first printing area (21) to uniformly spread the remaining part of the other of the two layers of printing powder on the first printing area (21); Controlling the first air inlet shutter (431) to open and the second air inlet shutter (432) to close, the first air outlet shutter (441) to open and the second air outlet shutter (442) to close, to form a protective gas environment in the first printing space (111); Controlling the first laser emitter (61) to emit light again to perform printing work on the first printing area (21).

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