Centrifugal single-material photocuring 3D printing method and apparatus

Abstract

Disclosed in the present invention are a centrifugal single-material photocuring 3D printing method and apparatus. The apparatus comprises a printer body, a rotary electric motor, a cleaning tank, and a post-curing heat treatment tank, wherein the rotary electric motor is fixedly connected to a printing platform of the printer body, and is configured to drive the printing platform to rotate; a resin tank of the printer body is detachably arranged below the printing platform; the cleaning tank can be configured to be arranged at a station for the resin tank, such that after the rotary electric motor drives the printing platform to rotate to complete a centrifugal operation and the resin tank is removed, the cleaning tank can be placed at the station, and the printing apparatus thus performs a cleaning operation in which the cleaning tank is stationary and the printing platform and a printing member rotate in a cleaning solution; and the post-curing heat treatment tank can be configured to be arranged at the station, such that after the cleaning operation is completed and the cleaning tank is removed, the post-curing heat treatment tank can be placed at the station, and the printing apparatus thus performs a post-curing heat treatment in which the post-curing heat treatment tank is stationary and the printing platform and the printing member rotate in the post-curing heat treatment tank.

Description

Centrifugal single-material light-curing 3D printing method and equipment TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of light-curing 3D printing, in particular to a centrifugal single-material light-curing 3D printing method and equipment. BACKGROUND

[0002] The process of light-curing 3D printing includes printing, cleaning of the printed part, and post-curing heating post-processing of the printed part, wherein after the first step of printing is completed, the surface of the printed part will have many resins remaining, so the second step of cleaning the surface of the printed part is needed; after cleaning is completed, the third step of post-curing heating post-processing of the printed part is performed to improve the strength of the printed part. Therefore, the light-curing 3D printing process is usually very complicated, not only a printer is needed, but also an organic solvent cleaning machine and a post-curing heating machine are needed, a total of three devices are needed to complete the entire printing process. This not only leads to complicated operation of the entire printing process, but also leads to a large number of devices of the entire printing system and high cost. SUMMARY

[0003] To this end, the present application proposes an improved centrifugal single-material light-curing 3D printing equipment, which can complete the complete printing process of printing, centrifugation, cleaning and post-curing heating on only one device of the printer, solving the problems of complicated operation process, multiple devices and high cost existing in the existing light-curing 3D printing.

[0004] To solve the above problems, one aspect of the present application proposes the following technical scheme:

[0005] A centrifugal single-material light-curing 3D printing equipment, comprising a printer body, a rotating motor, a cleaning tank and a post-curing heat treatment tank; the rotating motor is fixedly connected with a printing platform of the printer body and is used for driving the printing platform to rotate; a resin tank of the printer body is detachably arranged below the printing platform; the cleaning tank is arranged to be capable of being arranged at a working position of the resin tank, so that after the rotating motor drives the printing platform to rotate to complete centrifugation and remove the resin tank, the cleaning tank can be arranged at the working position, so that the printing equipment performs a cleaning operation of cleaning tank being stationary and the printing platform and the printed part rotating in the cleaning liquid; the post-curing heat treatment tank is arranged to be capable of being arranged at the working position, so that after the cleaning operation is completed and the cleaning tank is removed, the post-curing heat treatment tank can be arranged at the working position, so that the printing equipment performs post-curing heat treatment of post-curing heat treatment tank being stationary and the printing platform and the printed part rotating in the post-curing heat treatment tank.

[0006] Further, the resin tank comprises a bottom tank and a baffle, the bottom tank is detachably fixed on a table below the printing platform and is used for containing printing resin and collecting residual resin during centrifugation; the baffle is used for being connected to the bottom tank during centrifugation to increase the side wall of the bottom tank.

[0007] Further, the baffle is a frame baffle consistent with the profile of the bottom groove, and the frame baffle is arranged to be nested in the inner side of the bottom groove.

[0008] Further, the baffle is a frame baffle consistent with the profile of the bottom groove, and the frame baffle is arranged to be nested in the inner side of the bottom groove.

[0009] Further, the rotary motor is located above the printing platform, and the rotary motor drives the printing platform to rotate at a first rotating speed, a second rotating speed and a third rotating speed respectively during the centrifugal operation, the cleaning operation and the post-curing heat treatment.

[0010] Further, the post-curing heat treatment tank is provided with a curing lamp and an electric heating element, the curing lamp is symmetrically arranged on the inner side wall of the post-curing heat treatment tank, and the electric heating element is a resistance wire arranged on the tank bottom of the post-curing heat treatment tank.

[0011] Further, the rotary motor is located above the printing platform and is connected and fixed with the printing platform through a threaded connection.

[0012] Further, the printing device further comprises an openable and closable shell cover connected to the printer body, and the printing platform, the rotary motor, the resin tank and the work station are all enclosed in the closed shell cover.

[0013] The application further provides a centrifugal single-material light-curing 3D printing method, which is realized by using the printing device, and the printing method comprises the following steps: rotating the printing platform and the printing part thereon by the rotary motor to centrifuge, so that the surface residual resin is thrown to the resin tank for collection; after the centrifugation is completed, the resin tank is removed, the cleaning tank containing cleaning liquid is arranged at the work station of the resin tank, the printing platform and the printing part thereon are rotated in the cleaning liquid by the rotary motor for cleaning; after the cleaning is completed, the cleaning tank is removed, the post-curing heat treatment tank is arranged at the work station of the resin tank, the printing platform and the printing part thereon are rotated in the post-curing heat treatment tank by the rotary motor for post-curing and heat treatment.

[0014] Further, after centrifugation is completed, the rotating motor, the printing platform and the printed part are lifted by the lifting motor of the printer body, then the resin tank is removed, the cleaning tank is placed in the working position, the rotating motor, the printing platform and the printed part are lowered by the lifting motor, so that the printing platform and the printed part are immersed in the cleaning liquid; after cleaning is completed, the rotating motor, the printing platform and the printed part are lifted by the lifting motor, then the cleaning tank is removed, and the post-curing heat treatment tank is placed in the working position, the rotating motor, the printing platform and the printed part are lowered by the lifting motor, so that the printed part is in the post-curing heat treatment tank.

[0015] The beneficial effects of the technical scheme of the present application are as follows: in the existing single-material light-curing 3D printing, after the printed part is formed, the printed part with residual resin and the printing platform need to be placed in a cleaning machine (a second machine, in which the solvent rotates uniformly to generate small eddies to fully contact the printed part and the printing platform) for cleaning, and then the printed part is placed in a post-curing-drying machine (a third machine, in which the printed part rotates to be uniformly irradiated and dried) to complete the entire printing process. In the present application, a rotating motor is additionally installed above the printing platform, which can drive the printing platform and the printed part to rotate and centrifuge to collect most of the residual resin before cleaning, thereby avoiding waste. On the basis of the rotating motor driving the printing platform to rotate synchronously, the printing platform and the printed part can be rotated in the cleaning liquid by removing the resin tank and replacing it with a cleaning tank, without driving the cleaning liquid to rotate to generate eddies, and without the need for additional special cleaning equipment. Similarly, the printing platform and the printed part can be rotated in the post-curing heat treatment tank by removing the cleaning tank and replacing it with a post-curing heat treatment tank, to perform post-curing and heating post-processing, without the need for additional special post-processing equipment. Thus, the residual resin is collected in an environmentally friendly manner, and more importantly, the equipment of the single-material light-curing 3D printing washing system is greatly reduced and simplified, and the printing cost is greatly reduced. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0016] Fig. 1 is a structural schematic diagram of a centrifugal single-material light-curing 3D printing device according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0017] Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a resin tank of a centrifugal single-material light-curing 3D printing device according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0018] Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a cleaning tank of a centrifugal single-material light-curing 3D printing device according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0019] Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a post-curing heat treatment tank of a centrifugal single-material light-curing 3D printing device according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0020] Figure 5 is a flowchart of the 3D printing process of the centrifugal single material light-cured 3D printing device according to the embodiment of the present application.

[0021] Reference signs: 1-printer body; 2-housing cover; 3-printing platform; 4-resin tank; 41-bottom tank; 42-baffle; 5-lifting motor; 6-light machine; 7-rotary motor; 8-cleaning tank; 9-post-curing heat treatment tank; 91-curing lamp; 92-electric heating element. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] The present application will be further described below in conjunction with the drawings and specific embodiments. It should be understood that the purpose of providing the embodiments is merely illustrative, not limiting in any way.

[0023] Please refer to Figures 1 to 4, the embodiment of the present application provides a centrifugal single material light-cured 3D printing device, which comprises a printer body 1, a housing cover 2, a printing platform 3, a resin tank 4, a lifting motor 5, a light machine 6, a rotary motor 7, a cleaning tank 8 and a post-curing heat treatment tank 9. The housing cover 2 is hingedly connected to the printer body 1, which mainly functions to enclose the printing platform 3, the rotary motor 7 and the area where the resin tank is located. The rotary motor 7 is fixedly connected to the printing platform 3, which is used to drive the printing platform 3 to rotate. In this way, the printing platform and the printed part thereon can be driven to rotate at high speed for centrifugal operation after the printed part is formed, so as to throw out most of the residual resin and collect it. The resin tank 4 is detachably arranged on a table below the printing platform 3, and the light machine 6 is located below the table and can emit ultraviolet light beams upward to irradiate the resin in the resin tank 4. The printing platform 3 and the rotary motor 7 are fixedly arranged on the lifting shaft of the lifting motor 5 to realize vertical lifting. The cleaning tank 8 is used to hold cleaning liquid, which can clean the uncured resin remaining on the printing platform and the printed part. The cleaning tank 8 is arranged to be configured at the working position of the resin tank 4. In this way, after the rotary motor 7 drives the printing platform 3 to rotate to complete the centrifugal operation and removes the resin tank 4, the cleaning tank 8 can be placed at the working position of the resin tank, and the printing platform 3 and the printed part are driven by the rotary motor 7 to rotate at low speed in the cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank for cleaning operation, without the need to drive the cleaning tank and the cleaning liquid to rotate. The post-curing heat treatment tank 9 is provided with a curing lamp and an electric heating element inside, which are used for post-curing and heating treatment of the printed part. The post-curing heat treatment tank 9 is arranged to be configured at the working position of the resin tank 4. In this way, after the rotary motor 7 drives the printing platform 3 to rotate to complete the cleaning operation and removes the cleaning tank 8, the post-curing heat treatment tank 9 can be placed at the working position of the resin tank, and the printing platform 3 and the printed part are again driven by the rotary motor 7 to rotate at low speed, and are uniformly heated and post-cured in the post-curing heat treatment tank 9, so as to finally obtain a printed part with high strength. After completion, the post-curing heat treatment tank 9 is removed, the resin tank is again arranged, and the next round of printing is waited.

[0024] The rotary motor of the embodiment of the present application is located above the printing platform and is connected and fixed with the printing platform by means of, for example, screw connection, so that when the rotary motor rotates, the printing platform and the printed part formed on the printing platform also rotate synchronously, and the rotary motor can control the rotation and rotation angle of the printing platform. During the centrifugal operation, the cleaning operation and the post-curing heat treatment, the rotary motor can rotate at different speeds, for example, the first speed during the centrifugal operation, the second speed during the cleaning operation and the third speed during the post-curing heat treatment, wherein the first speed is greater than the second speed and the third speed, and further, the second speed is greater than the third speed.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 2, in some preferred embodiments, the resin tank comprises a bottom tank 41 and a baffle 42, and the bottom tank 41 is detachably fixed on the table top below the printing platform 3. In this preferred embodiment, the bottom tank 41 contains liquid resin, and during the photocuring 3D printing, the baffle 42 can not be used. After the photocuring 3D printing forms the printed part, the baffle 42 is installed on the bottom tank 41 before centrifugation to avoid the splashing of the resin thrown out by centrifugation to outside the resin tank. In this way, the resin collected during centrifugation is reflowed to the resin tank, which is environmentally friendly and saves resources. In some exemplary embodiments, the baffle 42 is, for example, a frame type baffle, which has the same profile as the bottom tank 41, the height of which is greater than the depth of the bottom tank 41, and is arranged to be able to be nested inside the bottom tank 41 or to be detachably fixed to the top edge of the bottom tank 41 to increase the height of the side wall of the bottom tank 41.

[0026] As shown in FIG. 4, wherein (a) is a schematic view of the post-curing heat treatment tank 9, and (b) is a view showing the inside of the post-curing heat treatment tank 9 with part of the wall cut away. As can be seen, the post-curing heat treatment tank 9 is symmetrically provided with curing lamps 91 on the side wall, and is uniformly provided with electric heating elements 92, such as resistance wires, at the bottom. After the cleaning operation is completed and the cleaning tank is removed, the post-curing heat treatment tank 9 is placed at the resin tank station, and the printing platform and the printed part are rotated by the rotary motor, so that the printed part can rotate at a low speed in the post-curing heat treatment tank 9, and the internal heating resistance wires can control the temperature in the tank to achieve uniform post-curing, heating treatment and improve the mechanical properties of the printed part, so as to finally obtain a printed part with higher strength.

[0027] As shown in FIG. 5, the method flow of the photocuring 3D printing equipment of the embodiment of the present application comprises:

[0028] Step one, prepare the required raw materials, turn on the printing equipment, and prepare the parts (i.e. printed parts) required for printing;

[0029] Step two, the printing platform moves into the resin tank, the light machine starts to project, and the printing object starts to print layer by layer; it should be understood that the light source emitting ultraviolet light is not limited to the projection type digital light processing (DLP) light source of the light machine, but also can use a microstereolithography (SLA) light source, a liquid crystal display (LCD) light source, etc.

[0030] Step three, the printing platform moves up layer by layer to realize layer-by-layer printing of the printing object, and solidification forms the printing object;

[0031] Fourth step, the light curing 3D printing is completed, the printing object leaves the resin liquid, but since the printing object is solidified from the liquid, the surface will be left with a lot of uncured resin, which can be reused;

[0032] Fifth step, a baffle is installed on the bottom tank of the resin tank to form a resin tank with a baffle, at this time the lifting motor lowers the printing platform so that the printing object is located in the space surrounded by the baffle, the rotating motor rotates at high speed, and the resin left on the surface of the printing object is removed by centrifugation. Since the resin tank is installed with a baffle, the resin will not splash outside and will be concentrated back to the resin tank for reuse.

[0033] Sixth step, the lifting motor lifts the printing platform, removes the resin tank, installs the cleaning tank, and then lowers the printing platform. Since centrifugation cannot achieve some high-viscosity and high-surface-adhesion resins, organic solvents such as alcohol are still needed for secondary cleaning and post-processing. At this time, rotating the printing platform can achieve uniform cleaning of the surface of the printing object.

[0034] Seventh step, after cleaning is completed, the printing platform is lifted again, the cleaning tank is removed, the post-curing heat treatment tank is installed, and the printing platform is lowered so that the printing object is in the post-curing heat treatment tank. At this time, the ultraviolet light irradiation on the inner wall of both sides can make the cross-linking network of the printing object more dense, and heating can promote the volatilization of the surface organic solvent and the performance enhancement of the printing object, so that a printing object with higher strength and higher density is finally obtained.

[0035] Eighth step, the printing object is taken off the printing platform, and the entire printing process is completed.

[0036] As can be seen from the above, the centrifugal single-material light-curing 3D printing method and device proposed by the present application aims to solve the complexity of the traditional single-material 3D printing process. Traditional light curing not only requires a printer, but also a cleaning machine and a post-curing machine, which is high in cost and occupies a lot of space. In addition to the printer, the present application only needs simple low-cost accessories such as baffles, cleaning tanks, and post-curing heat treatment tanks to achieve the user's demand for printing high-quality parts. The printing process is clean and tidy, and the cost of the equipment is greatly reduced.

[0037] In addition to the DLP light machine projection shown in the drawings of the present application, the centrifugal single-material light-curing 3D printing method can also be applied to SLA (micro-stereolithography light-curing 3D printing) and LCD (liquid crystal display projection 3D printing), and can be realized by only replacing the light source system.

[0038] The above is a further detailed description of the present application in combination with specific preferred embodiments, and cannot be regarded as limiting the specific implementation of the present application to these descriptions. For those skilled in the art to which the present application belongs, without departing from the concept of the present application, a number of equivalent substitutions or obvious modifications can be made, and the performance or use is the same, which should be regarded as belonging to the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A centrifugal single-material light-cured 3D printing apparatus, characterized by: The printing device comprises a printer body, a rotary motor, a cleaning tank and a post-curing heat treatment tank; the rotary motor is fixedly connected with a printing platform of the printer body and used to drive the printing platform to rotate; a resin tank of the printer body is detachably arranged below the printing platform; The cleaning tank is arranged to be configured at a working position of the resin tank, so that after the rotary motor drives the printing platform to rotate to complete the centrifugal operation and remove the resin tank, the cleaning tank can be arranged at the working position to enable the printing device to perform a cleaning operation of cleaning tank being stationary, printing platform and printed product rotating in cleaning liquid; The post-curing heat treatment tank is arranged to be configured at the working position, so that after the cleaning operation is completed and the cleaning tank is removed, the post-curing heat treatment tank can be arranged at the working position to enable the printing device to perform a post-curing heat treatment of post-curing heat treatment tank being stationary, printing platform and printed product rotating in the post-curing heat treatment tank.

2. The centrifugal single-material light-cured 3D printing device of claim 1, wherein: The resin tank comprises a bottom tank and a baffle; the bottom tank is detachably fixed on a table below the printing platform and used to contain printing resin and collect residual resin during centrifugation; the baffle is used to be connected to the bottom tank during centrifugation to increase the side wall of the bottom tank.

3. The centrifugal single-material light-cured 3D printing device of claim 2, wherein: The baffle is a frame type baffle consistent with the profile of the bottom tank, and the height of the baffle is greater than the depth of the bottom tank; the frame type baffle is arranged to be nested on the inner side of the bottom tank.

4. The centrifugal single-material light-cured 3D printing device of claim 2, wherein: The baffle is a frame type baffle consistent with the profile of the bottom tank, and the frame type baffle is arranged to be connected to the top edge of the bottom tank.

5. The centrifugal single-material light-cured 3D printing device of claim 1, wherein: The rotary motor is located above the printing platform; during the centrifugal operation, the cleaning operation and the post-curing heat treatment, the rotary motor drives the printing platform to rotate at a first rotating speed, a second rotating speed and a third rotating speed, respectively; The first rotating speed is greater than the second rotating speed and the third rotating speed.

6. The centrifugal single-material light-cured 3D printing device of claim 1, wherein: The post-curing heat treatment tank is provided with a curing lamp and an electric heating element; the curing lamp is symmetrically arranged on the inner side wall of the post-curing heat treatment tank; the electric heating element is a resistance wire arranged on the tank bottom of the post-curing heat treatment tank.

7. The centrifugal single-material light-cured 3D printing device of claim 1, wherein: The rotary motor is located above the printing platform and is fixedly connected with the printing platform by screw connection.

8. The centrifugal single-material light-cured 3D printing device of claim 1, wherein: It also comprises an openable and closable shell cover connected to the printer body; the printing platform, the rotary motor, the resin tank and its working position are all enclosed in the closed shell cover.

9. A centrifugal single-material light-cured 3D printing method, characterized by, The printing method is implemented by using the printing device of any one of claims 1-8, and the printing method comprises: The printing platform and the printed product thereon are driven by the rotary motor to rotate centrifugally to throw the surface residual resin into the resin tank for collection; After the centrifugal operation is completed, the resin tank is removed, the cleaning tank containing cleaning liquid is arranged at the working position of the resin tank, and the printing platform and the printed product thereon are driven by the rotary motor to rotate in the cleaning liquid for cleaning; After the cleaning is completed, the cleaning tank is removed, the post-curing heat treatment tank is arranged at the working position of the resin tank, and the printing platform and the printed product thereon are driven by the rotary motor to rotate in the post-curing heat treatment tank for post-curing and heating treatment.

10. The centrifugal single-material light-cured 3D printing method according to claim 9, characterized in that: After centrifugation is completed, the rotating motor, the printing platform and the printing piece are lifted by the lifting motor of the printer body, then the resin tank is removed, the cleaning tank is placed in the working position, the rotating motor, the printing platform and the printing piece are lowered by the lifting motor, so that the printing platform and the printing piece are immersed in the cleaning liquid; After cleaning is completed, the rotating motor, the printing platform and the printing piece are lifted by the lifting motor, then the cleaning tank is removed, the post-curing heat treatment tank is placed in the working position, the rotating motor, the printing platform and the printing piece are lowered by the lifting motor, so that the printing piece is in the post-curing heat treatment tank.

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