CN111331837A

CN111331837A - Moisture-curing silica gel 3D printer and printing method thereof

Info

Publication number: CN111331837A
Application number: CN202010198301.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 田晓青; 李雅玲; 刘亮杰; 马丁逸飞; 韩江; 夏链
Original assignee: Hefei University of Technology
Current assignee: Hefei University of Technology
Priority date: 2020-03-19
Filing date: 2020-03-19
Publication date: 2020-06-26

Abstract

The invention discloses a moisture-curing silica gel 3D printer and a printing method thereof. The printer includes a housing, a three-dimensional positioning system, an extrusion device, a detection system, a conditioning system, and a control system. The three-dimensional positioning system is arranged in the housing and comprises a first moving assembly, a second moving assembly and a third moving assembly. The extrusion device is moved in three dimensions in the housing by a three-dimensional positioning system and is used to extrude the printing material to be solidified to produce a three-dimensional printed product. The detection system is used for detecting real-time humidity and real-time temperature in the housing, and the adjustment system is used for increasing the humidity in the housing and adjusting the temperature in the housing. The control system firstly obtains a printing path and a printing speed, then determines the extrusion flow of the extrusion device, then establishes a basic mathematical model and determines speed curve parameters, and finally drives the extrusion device to extrude a printing material. The invention can accelerate printing, improve the printing efficiency of the printer, reduce the curing time and improve the qualification rate of printed products.

Description

Moisture-curing silica gel 3D printer and printing method thereof

Technical Field

The invention relates to a 3D printer in the technical field of printers, in particular to a moisture-curing silica gel 3D printer and a printing method of the printer.

Background

A three-dimensional printer, also called a 3D printer, is a process device for rapid forming, and adopts a layer-by-layer stacking mode to produce a three-dimensional model in a layering mode. The operation process of the 3D printer is similar to that of a traditional printer, except that the traditional printer prints ink on paper to form a two-dimensional plane drawing, and the three-dimensional printer realizes layer-by-layer stacking and overlapping of liquid photosensitive resin materials, molten plastic wires, gypsum powder and other materials in a binder spraying or extruding mode to form a three-dimensional entity.

At present, the 3D printing technology in China is in a development stage, the materials used at present mainly comprise titanium alloy, ceramics, engineering plastics, photosensitive resin and the like, and the application fields mainly comprise military industry, medical treatment and education industry. 3D printing of flexible materials is a development direction of 3D printing, and the current development is still in a starting stage. However, the current 3D printer rarely uses silica gel for printing, which results in fewer 3D printed products made of silica gel, and the current 3D printer has the problems of low printing speed, low finished product yield and long curing time when using silica gel for printing.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention provides a moisture-curing silica gel 3D printer and a printing method thereof, and aims to solve the technical problems of low printing speed and long curing time of the existing 3D printer when silica gel is used for printing.

The invention is realized by adopting the following technical scheme: a moisture-curing silicone 3D printer, comprising:

a housing;

a three-dimensional positioning system disposed in the housing;

an extrusion device that is moved in three dimensions in the housing by the three-dimensional positioning system and is used to extrude printing material to be solidified to produce at least one three-dimensional printed product;

wherein the printing material is a moisture-curable material; the three-dimensional positioning system comprises a first moving assembly, a second moving assembly and a third moving assembly; the first moving assembly comprises a first motor, at least one first guide rail, a first linear slide rail, a first transmission device and a first mounting part; the linear sliding rail I is parallel to the guide rail and is positioned on two opposite sides in the outer cover; the first motor drives the first mounting part to move along the track direction of the first linear sliding rail through the first transmission device; the second moving assembly comprises a second motor, a second guide rail, a second transmission device and a second mounting component; the second guide rail is perpendicular to the first guide rail and is fixed on the first mounting part; the second motor drives the second mounting component to move along the second guide rail through the second transmission device; the moving assembly III comprises a motor III, a guide rail III, a transmission device III and a mounting component III; the guide rail III is perpendicular to a plane formed by the guide rail II and the guide rail I and is fixed on the mounting part III; the motor third drives the mounting component third to move along the track direction of the guide rail third through the transmission device third; the extrusion device is fixed on the mounting component III;

the 3D printer further comprises:

a detection system comprising a humidity detection device and a temperature detection device; the humidity detection device is used for detecting real-time humidity in the housing, and the temperature detection device is used for detecting real-time temperature in the housing;

a conditioning system comprising a humidifier and a temperature conditioning device; the humidifier is used for increasing the humidity in the housing, and the temperature regulation is used for regulating the temperature in the housing; and

the control system is used for acquiring a printing path and a printing speed according to printing parameters of the three-dimensional printing product, determining extrusion flow of the extrusion device according to a printing path change rule, establishing a basic mathematical model by adopting a preset logarithmic function in the extrusion flow increasing process, determining a speed curve parameter, driving the first motor, the second motor and the third motor to rotate according to the speed curve parameter, and driving the extrusion device to extrude the printing material; the control system is also used for inquiring a humidity threshold value and a temperature threshold value range required by moisture curing in a preset moisture curing parameter table according to the type of the printing material, judging whether the real-time humidity is greater than the humidity threshold value or not and simultaneously judging whether the real-time temperature is within the temperature threshold value range or not; when the real-time humidity is lower than the humidity threshold value, the control system drives the humidifier to increase the humidity; when the real-time temperature is lower than the lower limit value of the temperature threshold range, the control system drives the temperature adjusting device to increase the temperature; and when the real-time temperature is higher than the upper limit value of the temperature threshold range, the control system drives the temperature adjusting device to reduce the temperature.

According to the invention, the extrusion device moves in a two-dimensional space through the first moving component and the second moving component of the three-dimensional positioning system, and further, the three-dimensional movement is realized through the third moving component, so that the extrusion device can move in a three-dimensional space in the housing, and 3D printing can be carried out. The control system of the invention firstly obtains the printing path and speed according to the printing parameters, then determines the extrusion flow, then models and determines the speed curve parameters, finally controls each motor according to the parameters to realize the accurate printing of the 3D printer, simultaneously compares the detection information of the detection system with the humidity threshold value and the temperature range required by the printing material, and adjusts the humidity and the temperature through the adjustment system to ensure that the printer always keeps higher humidity and proper temperature in the printing process, thus the printing material can be quickly molded into a three-dimensional printing product, on one hand, the printing can be accelerated, the curing time of the moisture curing material can be reduced, on the other hand, the qualification rate of the finished product can be ensured due to the fast molding, and the technical problems of slow printing speed and long curing time of the existing 3D printer when using silica gel for printing can be solved, the technical effects of high printing speed, short curing time and high qualification rate of finished products are achieved.

As a further improvement of the above scheme, the extrusion device comprises a container, a screw pump and an extrusion head which are all fixed on the mounting part III; a container for containing the printing material; the input end of the screw pump is communicated with the outlet end of the container and is used for conveying the printing material to the extrusion head in a pressurized mode; the extrusion head is used for ejecting the pressurized printing material, so that the printing material is driven by the three-dimensional positioning system to form the three-dimensional printing product.

Further, the screw pump comprises a hollow body, a rotor part, a stator part, a transmission part, a sealing part, a bearing part, a motor part, a suction cavity structure, an extrusion cavity structure, two couplings and an intermediate rod; the suction cavity structure is positioned on one side of the hollow body, is communicated with the container and can convey the printing material in the container into the hollow body; the motor component is arranged on one end of the hollow body; the bearing part is arranged in the hollow body and sleeved on the output shaft of the motor part; a sealing member located in the hollow body and separating an interior of the hollow body from the bearing member; one end of one of the couplings is connected with an output shaft of the motor part, and the other end of the one of the couplings is connected with one end of the middle rod; the other end of the middle rod is connected with one end of another coupler, and the other end of the another coupler is connected with the rotor part shaft; the stator component is positioned in the hollow body and provides a specific cavity; the rotor component is arranged in the rotor component and can extrude the printing material into a cavity of the extrusion cavity structure by changing the volume of the cavity; the extrusion head is communicated with the cavity of the extrusion cavity structure and extrudes the printing material.

As a further improvement of the above solution, the first moving assembly further comprises a supporting assembly; the support assembly comprises a first support column and a second support column, the first transmission device comprises a first lead screw nut pair, and the first installation part comprises a first guide rail slide block and a first slide rail slide block; two ends of the first linear sliding rail are respectively fixed on the top ends of the two second supporting columns; the first slide rail slide block is arranged on the first linear slide rail and can slide on the first linear slide rail; two ends of the first guide rail are respectively fixed on the top ends of the first two support columns; the first guide rail slide block is arranged on the first guide rail and can slide on the first guide rail; the first motor drives the first guide rail slide block to move along the track direction of the first guide rail through the first lead screw nut pair;

the second transmission device comprises a second lead screw nut pair, and the second mounting component comprises a second guide rail sliding block and a first connecting plate; the second motor drives the second guide rail sliding block to move along the second guide rail in the track direction through the second lead screw nut pair; two ends of the guide rail II are respectively fixed on the guide rail sliding block I and the slide rail sliding block I, and the connecting plate I is fixed on the guide rail sliding block II;

the transmission device III comprises a screw nut pair III, and the mounting component III comprises a guide rail slide block III and a connecting plate II; the third motor drives the third guide rail slide block to move along the track direction of the third guide rail through the third lead screw nut pair; and the second connecting plate is fixed on the third guide rail slide block, and the extruding device is fixed on the second connecting plate.

Furthermore, the three-dimensional positioning system also comprises a limiting assembly; the limiting assembly comprises a limiting switch I, a limiting baffle I, a limiting switch II, a limiting baffle II, a limiting switch III and a limiting baffle III; the first limit switch is installed on the outer side of the end part of the first guide rail, and when the first guide rail sliding block slides to the end part of the first guide rail, the first limit baffle piece on the first guide rail sliding block is triggered to stop moving; the second limit switch is installed on the outer side of the end part of the second guide rail, and when the second guide rail sliding block slides to the end part of the second guide rail, the second limit blocking piece located on the second guide rail sliding block is triggered to stop moving the second guide rail sliding block; and the third limit switch is arranged on the outer side of the end part of the third guide rail and triggers the third limit catch positioned on the third guide rail slide block when the third guide rail slide block slides to the end part of the third guide rail, so that the third guide rail slide block stops moving.

As a further improvement of the above scheme, the 3D printer further includes:

a base fixed in the housing;

a printing platform mounted on the base and configured to support the three-dimensional printed product.

As a further improvement of the above aspect, the humidity detection means includes a temperature sensor, and the temperature detection means includes a temperature sensor; the temperature sensor is arranged in the outer cover and is used for detecting the real-time humidity; the temperature sensor is mounted in the housing and is configured to detect the real-time temperature.

As a further improvement of the above scheme, the outer cover is made of an organic glass plate, and the temperature adjusting device comprises a heating net and a cold water pipe; the heating net is arranged in the outer cover, and the control system drives the heating net to heat so as to increase the temperature; the curved portion of the cold water pipe is located in the housing and the control system delivers condensate to the cold water pipe via at least one water pump to reduce the temperature.

As a further improvement of the above scheme, the moisture-curable material is silicone rubber, and the printing time of the 3D printer is not more than 14 min.

The invention also provides a printing method, which is applied to any one of the moisture-curing silica gel 3D printers, and comprises the following steps:

firstly, acquiring a printing path and a printing speed according to printing parameters of the three-dimensional printing product, then determining the extrusion flow of the extrusion device according to the change rule of the printing path, then establishing a basic mathematical model by adopting a preset logarithmic function in the increase process of the extrusion flow and determining speed curve parameters, finally driving a motor I, a motor II and a motor III to rotate according to the speed curve parameters, and simultaneously driving the extrusion device to extrude the printing material;

detecting a real-time humidity and a real-time temperature in the enclosure;

according to the type of the printing material, inquiring a humidity threshold value and a temperature threshold value range required by moisture curing in a preset moisture curing parameter table, judging whether the real-time humidity is greater than the humidity threshold value, and simultaneously judging whether the real-time temperature is within the temperature threshold value range;

when the real-time humidity is lower than the humidity threshold value, driving the humidifier to increase the humidity;

when the real-time temperature is lower than the lower limit value of the temperature threshold range, driving the temperature adjusting device to increase the temperature;

and when the real-time temperature is higher than the upper limit value of the temperature threshold range, the control system drives the temperature adjusting device to reduce the temperature.

Compared with the existing 3D printer, the moisture-curing silica gel 3D printer and the printing method thereof have the following beneficial effects:

1. this moisture cure silica gel 3D printer, the removal of X axle direction can be realized to its three-dimensional positioning system's removal subassembly one, and the removal of Y axle direction can be realized to removal subassembly two, and removal subassembly three can be the removal of realizing the Z axle direction to make the printing material that extrusion device extruded can be located the optional position in the dustcoat, and this material is the moisture cure material, can be rapid shaping in the dustcoat, and then realize flexible material's 3D and print the function. Moreover, the control system of the 3D printer firstly obtains the printing path and speed according to the printing parameters, then determines the extrusion flow, then models and determines the speed curve parameters, and finally controls each motor according to the parameters to realize the accurate printing of the 3D printer, meanwhile, the humidity threshold value and the temperature range required by the printing material are compared according to the detection information of the detection system, the printer is always kept at high humidity and proper temperature in the printing process by adjusting the humidity and the temperature through the adjusting system, therefore, the printing material can be quickly formed into a three-dimensional printing product, on one hand, the printing can be accelerated, the printing efficiency of the printer is improved, and simultaneously, the curing time of the moisture curing material is reduced, and on the other hand, the time for the printed product to deform is shortened due to the fast forming, so that the qualification rate of the printed product is improved.

2. This moisture cure silica gel 3D printer, its extrusion device can set up the screw pump, and the motor part of screw pump can drive shaft coupling and intermediate lever when rotating to further drive the rotor part and rotate, make the rotor part change the die cavity volume in stator part, make the printing material who gets into from inhaling the cavity structure extruded the cavity structure, and further reach and extrude the head and extrude. The screw pump adopts an internal meshing type closed structure, can ensure that the flow is relatively stable, and has stronger self-suction capacity and volumetric efficiency, thereby improving the printing stability and qualification rate of the printer and ensuring that the printing is continuously carried out.

3. This moisture cure silica gel 3D printer, the printing material of its adoption is the moisture cure material, and its dustcoat can be made by the organic glass board to adopt humidity control's mode to carry out the regulation and control to the humidity in the dustcoat, can keep printing the moist of environment, prevent to print the deformation of in-process part.

4. According to the moisture-curing silica gel 3D printer, the control system of the print method is based on the speed planning of the logarithmic function, so that the instantaneous delay phenomenon of starting and stopping of an extrusion head caused by the asynchronous extrusion of viscous liquid and the movement of a mechanical platform in the 3D printing process can be prevented, the printing path is more uniform, and the printing quality is improved.

The beneficial effect of the printing method is the same as that of the moisture-curing silica gel 3D printer, and is not repeated herein.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of the overall structure of a moisture-curable silicone 3D printer according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a housing of the moisture-curable silicone 3D printer in fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a first moving component of a three-dimensional positioning system of the moisture-curable silicone gel 3D printer in fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a second moving component of the three-dimensional positioning system of the moisture-curable silicone rubber 3D printer in fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a third moving component of the three-dimensional positioning system of the moisture-curable silicone gel 3D printer in fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a screw pump of an extrusion device of the moisture-curable silicone 3D printer of fig. 1.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more apparent, the present invention is described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the invention and are not intended to limit the invention.

Example 1

Referring to fig. 1, the embodiment provides a moisture-curable silicone 3D printer, which is used for printing a printing material into a three-dimensional product in a three-dimensional space. In this embodiment, the printing material is flexible material, specifically adopts the silica gel material to utilize the mode of moisture cure to finalize the design, the product can be shaped rapidly, realizes the 3D printing of silica gel product. The 3D printer comprises a housing 1, a three-dimensional positioning system, an extrusion device, a detection system, an adjusting system and a control system, and further comprises a base 3 and a printing platform 11.

In the present embodiment, the housing 1 is a housing made of a plexiglas plate. The shape of the housing 1 can be selected according to actual needs, and can be in the shape of a square box, a cylinder and the like. In other embodiments, the material of the housing 1 may also be other organic materials, and the specific material type thereof needs to be determined according to the printing requirement, for example, the housing 1 made of plastic is portable and portable, and the printer can be secured by being made of stainless steel. The outer cover 1 can be provided with a cover door, so that printed products can be taken out conveniently. Of course, in some embodiments, the enclosure 1 may also be integrally formed with the housing of other devices to facilitate the manufacture of larger printing devices.

A three-dimensional positioning system is arranged in the housing 1, which is mainly used for moving the extrusion apparatus in the housing 1. The three-dimensional positioning system comprises a first moving assembly 5, a second moving assembly 8, a third moving assembly 6 and a limiting assembly. The function of the moving assembly one 5 is mainly to move the extrusion device in one direction in the housing 1, which can be regarded as the function of moving the extrusion device in the X-axis direction. The purpose of the second moving assembly 8 is to move the extrusion device in another direction, which can be regarded as a Y-axis direction perpendicular to the X-axis. The function of the third moving assembly 6 is to move the extrusion device in a vertical direction with respect to the plane formed by the X-axis and the Y-axis, i.e. in the Z-axis direction. Therefore, when the extruding device extrudes the printing material, the printing material can be extruded at any position in the three-dimensional space, and the 3D printing function is realized.

The moving assembly one 5 comprises a motor one 53, at least one guide rail one 54, a linear slide rail one 52, a transmission device one and a mounting part one. The first linear slide rail 52 is arranged in parallel with the first guide rail 54 and is positioned at two opposite sides of the inner part of the outer cover 1. The first motor 53 drives the first mounting component to move along the track direction of the first linear slide rail 52 through the first transmission device. In this embodiment, the first moving assembly 5 further includes a supporting assembly 4. The supporting assembly 4 comprises two supporting columns I41 and two supporting columns II 42, the transmission device I comprises a screw nut pair I55, and the mounting component I comprises a guide rail sliding block I56 and a sliding rail sliding block I51. Two ends of the first linear sliding rail 52 are respectively fixed on the top ends of the two supporting columns 42. The first slide rail slide block 51 is installed on the first linear slide rail 52 and can slide on the first linear slide rail 52. Two ends of the first guide rail 54 are respectively fixed on the top ends of the two first support columns 41. The first rail slider 56 is mounted on the first rail 54 and is capable of sliding on the first rail 54. The first motor 53 drives the first guide rail sliding block 56 to move along the track direction of the first guide rail 54 through the first lead screw nut pair 55.

The second moving assembly 8 comprises a second motor 84, a second guide rail 86, a second transmission device and a second mounting component. The second rail 86 is perpendicular to the first rail 54 and is fixed to the first mounting member. The second motor 84 drives the second mounting component to move along the track direction of the second guide rail 86 through the second transmission device. In this embodiment, the second transmission device includes a second screw nut pair 85, and the second mounting component includes a second guide rail slider 82 and a first connecting plate 83. The second motor 84 drives the second guide rail slide block 82 to move along the second guide rail 86 in the track direction through the second lead screw nut pair 85. Two ends of the second guide rail 86 are respectively fixed on the first guide rail sliding block 56 and the first slide rail sliding block 51, and the first connecting plate 83 is fixed on the second guide rail sliding block 82.

The moving assembly III 6 comprises a motor III 65, a guide rail III 64, a transmission device III and a mounting component III. The third guide rail 64 is perpendicular to the plane formed by the second guide rail 86 and the first guide rail 54 and is fixed on the third mounting component. The third motor 65 drives the third mounting component to move along the track direction of the third guide rail 64 through the third transmission device. The extrusion device is fixed on the mounting component III. In the embodiment, the third transmission device comprises a third lead screw nut pair 63, and the third mounting component comprises a third guide rail slide block 62 and a second connecting plate 61. The motor III 65 drives the guide rail slide block III 62 to move along the track direction of the guide rail III 64 through the lead screw nut pair III 63. The second connecting plate 61 is fixed on the third guide rail slide block 62, and the extruding device is fixed on the second connecting plate 61.

In this embodiment, the limiting assembly includes a first limiting switch, a first limiting blocking piece, a second limiting switch, a second limiting blocking piece, a third limiting switch, and a third limiting blocking piece. The first limit switch is installed on the outer side of the end part of the first guide rail 54, and triggers the first limit baffle positioned on the first guide rail 56 when the first guide rail slider 56 slides to the end part of the first guide rail 54, so that the first guide rail slider 56 stops moving. The second limit switch is installed on the outer side of the end part of the second guide rail 86, and triggers the second limit catch positioned on the second guide rail 82 when the second guide rail slider 82 slides to the end part of the second guide rail 86, so that the second guide rail slider 82 stops moving. The third limit switch is installed on the outer side of the end part of the third guide rail 64, and triggers the third limit baffle positioned on the third guide rail 62 when the third guide rail sliding block 62 slides to the end part of the third guide rail 64, so that the third guide rail sliding block 62 stops moving. The limiting assembly can guarantee that the three moving assemblies cannot move too much, so that printing safety and printing stability are guaranteed, especially, when errors occur in printing, the printing completion product cannot be damaged, damage to each moving assembly can be avoided, and the service life of the equipment is prolonged.

The extrusion device is moved in three dimensions in the housing 1 by means of said three-dimensional positioning system and is used to extrude the printing material to be solidified to produce at least one three-dimensional printed product. The extrusion device comprises a container 7, a screw pump 9 and an extrusion head 10 which are all fixed on the third mounting part. The container 7 is for containing printing material. The input of the screw pump 9 communicates with the outlet of the container 7 and is used to deliver the printing material under pressure to the extrusion head 10. The extrusion head 10 is used for ejecting the pressurized printing material, so that the printing material is driven by the three-dimensional positioning system to form a three-dimensional printing product.

In the present embodiment, the screw pump 9 includes a hollow body 90, a rotor part 91, a stator part 92, a transmission part 93, a sealing part 94, a bearing part 95, a motor part 96, a suction chamber structure 97, an extrusion chamber structure 98, two couplings 99, and an intermediate rod 100. The suction chamber structure 97 is located at one side of the hollow body 90 and communicates with the container 7 and is able to convey the printing material in the container 7 into the hollow body 90. A motor member 96 is mounted on one end of the hollow body 90. A bearing member 95 is mounted in the hollow body 90 and fits over the output shaft of the motor member 96. A sealing member 94 is located in the hollow body 90 and serves to separate the interior of the hollow body 90 from the bearing member 95. One of the couplings 99 has one end connected to the output shaft of the motor part 96 and the other end connected to one end of the intermediate lever 100. The other end of the intermediate rod 100 is connected to one end of another of the couplings 99, wherein the other end of the other coupling 99 is connected to the rotor member 91. The stator component 92 is located in the hollow body 90 and provides a specific cavity. The rotor member 91 is installed in the rotor member 91 and is capable of pressing the printing material into the cavity of the extrusion cavity structure 98 by changing the cavity volume. The extrusion head 10 communicates with the cavity of the extrusion chamber structure 98 and extrudes the printing material. The screw pump 9 adopts an internal meshing type closed structure, so that the flow is stable, and the self-sucking pump also has strong self-sucking capacity and volumetric efficiency, thereby improving the printing stability and qualification rate of the printer and ensuring that the printing is continuously carried out.

The base 3 is fixed in the housing 1, and mainly aims to stably mount the above components in the housing 1, so that the printing process is more stable. The printing platform 11 is mounted on the base 3 and is used to support a three-dimensional printed product. The printing platform 11 may in some embodiments rotate a platform with a rotation function, which may allow for automatic rotation of the printed product and may also facilitate printing of multiple products on the platform. In other embodiments, the printing platform 11 may further be provided with a discharging plate with a discharging function, and the discharging plate may discharge the printed three-dimensional printed product to the outside of the housing 1, so as to realize the automatic printing and discharging function, thereby providing an automation function for large-scale printing of the product.

The detection system comprises a humidity detection device and a temperature detection device. The humidity detection device is used for detecting real-time humidity in the housing 1, and the temperature detection device is used for detecting real-time temperature in the housing 1. In this embodiment, the detection system may further include other detection means, for example, a distance detection means capable of detecting the distance between the three-dimensional printed product and each inner wall surface of the housing 1, so as to prevent the three-dimensional printed product from being excessively large and adhering to the inner wall of the housing 1. Humidity detection device can adopt current humidity detection equipment, and the precision of humidity detection will be guaranteed during its detection because 3D prints printing process humidity and can directly influence the printing quality and the shaping time of product. The temperature detection device can also select the existing temperature detection equipment, such as a temperature probe, and a plurality of temperature probes or humidity probes can be arranged in a plurality of areas, so that the accuracy of humidity and temperature detection is ensured.

The conditioning system comprises a humidifier 2 and a temperature conditioning device. The humidifier 2 is used to increase the humidity in the housing 1, and the temperature regulation is used to regulate the temperature in the housing 1. The humidifier 2 may be an existing humidifier or may be another device having a humidifying function, and the humidifying function structure is transplanted to the cover 1 for use. The thermostat can be selected by placing the housing 1 in a thermostat for use when the internal space of the housing 1 is small, and by selecting an air conditioning system when the housing 1 is large.

The control system is used for acquiring a printing path and a printing speed according to printing parameters of a three-dimensional printing product, wherein the printing parameters comprise the diameter d of an extrusion head, the extrusion speed q of silica gel and the moving speed v of a mechanical platform, determining the extrusion flow of the extrusion device according to the change rule of the printing path, establishing a basic mathematical model and determining a speed curve parameter by adopting a preset logarithmic function in the increase process of the extrusion flow, and finally driving the first motor 53, the second motor 84 and the third motor 65 to rotate according to the speed curve parameter and driving the extrusion device to extrude a printing material. The control system plans the printing method based on the speed of the logarithmic function, can prevent the phenomenon of delay of the starting and stopping moments of the extrusion head caused by the asynchronous extrusion of the viscous liquid and the movement of the mechanical platform in the 3D printing process, thereby realizing more uniform printing path and improving the printing quality.

The control system is also used for inquiring a humidity threshold value and a temperature threshold value range required by moisture curing in a preset moisture curing parameter table according to the type of the printing material, judging whether the real-time humidity is greater than the humidity threshold value or not and simultaneously judging whether the real-time temperature is within the temperature threshold value range or not. When the real-time humidity is below the humidity threshold, the control system drives the humidifier 2 to increase the humidity. And when the real-time temperature is lower than the lower limit value of the temperature threshold range, the control system drives the temperature adjusting device to increase the temperature. When the real-time temperature is higher than the upper limit value of the temperature threshold range, the control system drives the temperature adjusting device to reduce the temperature. Like this, the printing material just can be the three-dimensional product of printing by the shaping fast, can accelerate printing on the one hand, improves the printing efficiency of printer to reduce moisture curing material's curing time simultaneously, on the other hand is because the shaping is fast, makes the time that the product takes place to deform of printing shorten, thereby improves the qualification rate of printing the product.

To sum up, compare in current 3D printer, the moisture cure silica gel 3D printer of this embodiment has following advantage:

Example 2

The embodiment provides a moisture-curing silicone 3D printer, which determines a printing material on the basis of the embodiment 1. In this embodiment, the moisture curable material is silicone rubber, and the printing time of the 3D printer is not more than 14 min. The silicone rubber is a rubber-like long linear chain organic silica polymer containing 6000-7000 silica units, contains more or less crosslinked polymers, can keep elasticity within the temperature range of-90-250 ℃, and has good electrical insulation. Silicone rubber has a fast tack-free, silicone rubber is exposed to humid air for 3 to 6 minutes to crust, 10 minutes to tack-free, the sizing process must be completed within 14 minutes, and the silicone rubber is fully cured after 24 hours of exposure to humid air. At room temperature above 30% relative humidity, curing will be accelerated.

Example 3

This embodiment provides a moisture-curing silicone 3D printer that is similar to the printer of embodiment 1, except that the detection system and the adjustment system are different. In this embodiment, the humidity detection means includes a temperature sensor, and the temperature detection means includes a temperature sensor. The temperature sensor is installed in the housing 1 and is used to detect real-time humidity. The temperature sensor is installed in the housing 1 and is used to detect a real-time temperature. In order to facilitate the detection of the humidity and the temperature, the humidity detection device and the temperature detection device can also be directly integrated together, and a temperature and humidity sensor is selected for detecting the temperature and the humidity.

The temperature adjusting device comprises a heating net and a cold water pipe. A heating net is mounted in the housing 1 and the control system heats up by actuating the heating net to increase the temperature. The heating net can adopt the polylith to live with the inner space parcel of dustcoat 1, can be more even when the intensification like this. The curved portion of the cold water pipe is located in the housing 1 and the control system delivers condensate to the cold water pipe by means of at least one water pump to reduce the temperature. The condensate may be selected from cooling water which absorbs heat from the housing 1 when passing through the cold water pipe, thereby reducing the temperature in the housing 1.

Example 4

The embodiment provides a printing method of a moisture-curing silica gel 3D printer, and the printer adopts any one of the 3D printers provided in embodiments 1-3. Wherein the printing method comprises the following steps:

firstly, acquiring a printing path and a printing speed according to printing parameters of a three-dimensional printing product, then determining the extrusion flow of an extrusion device according to the change rule of the printing path, then establishing a basic mathematical model by adopting a preset logarithmic function in the increase process of the extrusion flow and determining speed curve parameters, finally driving a motor I53, a motor II 84 and a motor III 65 to rotate according to the speed curve parameters, and simultaneously driving the extrusion device to extrude a printing material;

detecting real-time humidity and real-time temperature in the housing 1;

when the real-time humidity is lower than the humidity threshold value, driving the humidifier 2 to increase the humidity;

when the real-time temperature is higher than the upper limit value of the temperature threshold range, the control system drives the temperature adjusting device to reduce the temperature.

In addition, when printing the silicone, the printing method may further include the steps of:

A. and reasonably slicing the three-dimensional model of the silica gel product to be printed in slicing software, setting reasonable parameters and obtaining a printing program.

B. To operate the machine, the reservoir 7 is first connected to the suction chamber structure 97 and a sufficient amount of silicone gum is added to the reservoir 7.

C. The software control system drives the first motor 53, the second motor 84 and the third motor 65 to drive the moving shafts to return to the initial positions; and then coordinating the first motor 53, the second motor 84, the third motor 65 and the motor part 96 to enable the extrusion cavity structure 98 to perform additive manufacturing on the silica gel product according to a program track. The driving motor drives the moving assembly to move means that the rotating motion of the rotating motor is transmitted to the screw-nut pair to rotate the screw, and the rotation of the screw drives the nut to move in the axial direction of the screw; the motors of all the shafts are rotary servo motors or rotary stepping motors, and the positive rotation and the negative rotation of the motors can be controlled by a numerical control processing program. In the manufacturing process of the silica gel product, the humidifier 2 can be opened simultaneously due to the moisture curing characteristic of the silica gel, so that the curing of the printed part can be accelerated, and the deformation of the silica gel product which is printed in the printing process can be effectively prevented.

The above description is only for the purpose of illustrating the preferred embodiments of the present invention and is not to be construed as limiting the invention, and any modifications, equivalents and improvements made within the spirit and principle of the present invention are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A moisture-curing silicone 3D printer, comprising:

a housing (1);

a three-dimensional positioning system arranged in the housing (1);

an extrusion device which is moved in three dimensions in the housing (1) by the three-dimensional positioning system and is used for extruding the printing material to be solidified to produce at least one three-dimensional printed product;

the printing material is a moisture-curing material; the three-dimensional positioning system comprises a first moving assembly (5), a second moving assembly (8) and a third moving assembly (6); the first moving assembly (5) comprises a first motor (53), at least one first guide rail (54), a first linear slide rail (52), a first transmission device and a first mounting component; the linear sliding rails I (52) are arranged in parallel with the guide rails I (54) and are positioned on two opposite sides in the outer cover (1); a first motor (53) drives the first mounting component to move along the track direction of the first linear sliding rail (52) through the first transmission device; the second moving assembly (8) comprises a second motor (84), a second guide rail (86), a second transmission device and a second mounting component; the second guide rail (86) is perpendicular to the first guide rail (54) and is fixed on the first mounting component; a second motor (84) drives the second mounting component to move along the track direction of a second guide rail (86) through the second transmission device; the moving assembly III (6) comprises a motor III (65), a guide rail III (64), a transmission device III and a mounting component III; the third guide rail (64) is vertical to a plane formed by the second guide rail (86) and the first guide rail (54) and is fixed on the third mounting component; a third motor (65) drives the third mounting component to move along the track direction of the third guide rail (64) through the third transmission device; the extrusion device is fixed on the mounting component III;

the 3D printer further comprises:

a detection system comprising a humidity detection device and a temperature detection device; the humidity detection device is used for detecting real-time humidity in the housing (1), and the temperature detection device is used for detecting real-time temperature in the housing (1);

a conditioning system comprising a humidifier (2) and a temperature conditioning device; the humidifier (2) is used for increasing the humidity in the housing (1), and the temperature regulation is used for regulating the temperature in the housing (1); and

the control system is used for acquiring a printing path and a printing speed according to printing parameters of the three-dimensional printing product, determining extrusion flow of the extrusion device according to a printing path change rule, establishing a basic mathematical model by adopting a preset logarithmic function in an extrusion flow increasing process, determining a speed curve parameter, driving a motor I (53), a motor II (84) and a motor III (65) to rotate according to the speed curve parameter, and driving the extrusion device to extrude the printing material; the control system is also used for inquiring a humidity threshold value and a temperature threshold value range required by moisture curing in a preset moisture curing parameter table according to the type of the printing material, judging whether the real-time humidity is greater than the humidity threshold value or not and simultaneously judging whether the real-time temperature is within the temperature threshold value range or not; when the real-time humidity is lower than the humidity threshold value, the control system drives the humidifier (2) to increase the humidity; when the real-time temperature is lower than the lower limit value of the temperature threshold range, the control system drives the temperature adjusting device to increase the temperature; and when the real-time temperature is higher than the upper limit value of the temperature threshold range, the control system drives the temperature adjusting device to reduce the temperature.

2. The moisture curable silicone 3D printer of claim 1, wherein the extrusion device comprises a container (7), a screw pump (9), and an extrusion head (10) all fixed to the third mounting part; a container (7) for containing the printing material; the input end of the screw pump (9) is communicated with the outlet end of the container (7) and is used for conveying the printing material to the extrusion head (10) in a pressurized manner; the extrusion head (10) is used for ejecting the pressurized printing material, so that the printing material is driven by the three-dimensional positioning system to form the three-dimensional printing product.

3. The moisture curing silicone 3D printer of claim 2, wherein the screw pump (9) comprises a hollow body (90), a rotor component (91), a stator component (92), a transmission component (93), a sealing component (94), a bearing component (95), a motor component (96), a suction chamber structure (97), an extrusion chamber structure (98), two couplings (99), and an intermediate rod (100); the suction cavity structure (97) is positioned at one side of the hollow body (90), is communicated with the container (7) and can convey the printing material in the container (7) into the hollow body (90); a motor part (96) is mounted on one end of the hollow body (90); the bearing part (95) is arranged in the hollow body (90) and sleeved on the output shaft of the motor part (96); a sealing member (94) located in the hollow body (90) and for separating the interior of the hollow body (90) from the bearing member (95); one end of one of the shaft couplings (99) is connected with an output shaft of the motor component (96), and the other end is connected with one end of the middle rod (100); the other end of the middle rod (100) is connected with one end of another coupler (99), and the other end of the another coupler (99) is connected with the rotor component (91) through a shaft; the stator part (92) is located in the hollow body (90) and provides a specific cavity; the rotor component (91) is installed in the rotor component (91) and can extrude the printing material into a cavity of an extrusion cavity structure (98) by changing the volume of the cavity; the extrusion head (10) is communicated with the cavity of the extrusion cavity structure (98) and extrudes the printing material.

4. The moisture-curable silicone 3D printer according to claim 1, wherein the first moving assembly (5) further comprises a support assembly (4); the supporting assembly (4) comprises two supporting columns I (41) and two supporting columns II (42), the transmission device I comprises a screw-nut pair I (55), and the mounting component I comprises a guide rail sliding block I (56) and a sliding rail sliding block I (51); two ends of the linear sliding rail I (52) are respectively fixed on the top ends of the two support columns II (42); the first slide rail slide block (51) is arranged on the first linear slide rail (52) and can slide on the first linear slide rail (52); two ends of the first guide rail (54) are respectively fixed on the top ends of the first support columns (41); the first guide rail sliding block (56) is arranged on the first guide rail (54) and can slide on the first guide rail (54); the first motor (53) drives the first guide rail sliding block (56) to move along the track direction of the first guide rail (54) through the first lead screw nut pair (55);

the second transmission device comprises a second lead screw nut pair (85), and the second mounting component comprises a second guide rail sliding block (82) and a first connecting plate (83); the second motor (84) drives the second guide rail sliding block (82) to move along the track direction of the second guide rail (86) through the second lead screw nut pair (85); two ends of the second guide rail (86) are respectively fixed on the first guide rail sliding block (56) and the first sliding rail sliding block (51), and the first connecting plate (83) is fixed on the second guide rail sliding block (82);

the third transmission device comprises a third lead screw nut pair (63), and the third mounting component comprises a third guide rail sliding block (62) and a second connecting plate (61); the motor III (65) drives the guide rail slide block III (62) to move along the track direction of the guide rail III (64) through the screw-nut pair III (63); and a second connecting plate (61) is fixed on the third guide rail sliding block (62), and the extruding device is fixed on the second connecting plate (61).

5. The moisture-curable silicone 3D printer of claim 4, wherein the three-dimensional positioning system further comprises a spacing assembly; the limiting assembly comprises a limiting switch I, a limiting baffle I, a limiting switch II, a limiting baffle II, a limiting switch III and a limiting baffle III; the first limit switch is installed on the outer side of the end part of the first guide rail (54), and when the first guide rail sliding block (56) slides to the end part of the first guide rail (54), the first limit blocking piece located on the first guide rail sliding block (56) is triggered, so that the first guide rail sliding block (56) stops moving; the second limit switch is installed on the outer side of the end part of the second guide rail (86), and when the second guide rail sliding block (82) slides to the end part of the second guide rail (86), the second limit blocking piece positioned on the second guide rail sliding block (82) is triggered to stop moving the second guide rail sliding block (82); the third limit switch is installed on the outer side of the end part of the third guide rail (64), and when the third guide rail sliding block (62) slides to the end part of the third guide rail (64), the third limit blocking piece located on the third guide rail sliding block (62) is triggered, so that the third guide rail sliding block (62) stops moving.

6. The moisture-curing silicone 3D printer of claim 1, wherein the 3D printer further comprises:

a base (3) fixed in the housing (1);

a printing platform (11) mounted on the base (3) and used to support the three-dimensional printed product.

7. The moisture curable silicone 3D printer of claim 1, wherein the humidity detection device comprises a temperature sensor, the temperature detection device comprises a temperature sensor; the temperature sensor is arranged in the housing (1) and is used for detecting the real-time humidity; the temperature sensor is installed in the housing (1) and is used for detecting the real-time temperature.

8. The moisture-curable silicone 3D printer according to claim 1, wherein the housing (1) is a housing made of plexiglas plate, the temperature adjustment device comprising a heating net and a cold water pipe; the heating net is arranged in the housing (1), and the control system drives the heating net to heat so as to increase the temperature; the bent part of the cold water pipe is positioned in the outer cover (1), and the control system conveys condensate into the cold water pipe through at least one water pump so as to reduce the temperature.

9. The moisture curable silicone 3D printer of claim 1, wherein the moisture curable material is silicone rubber and the 3D printer has a print time of no greater than 14 min.

10. A method of printing by a moisture curable silicone 3D printer as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9, comprising the steps of:

firstly, acquiring a printing path and a printing speed according to printing parameters of the three-dimensional printing product, then determining the extrusion flow of the extrusion device according to the change rule of the printing path, then establishing a basic mathematical model by adopting a preset logarithmic function in the increase process of the extrusion flow and determining a speed curve parameter, finally driving a motor I (53), a motor II (84) and a motor III (65) to rotate according to the speed curve parameter, and simultaneously driving the extrusion device to extrude the printing material;

detecting real-time humidity and real-time temperature in the housing (1);

when the real-time humidity is lower than the humidity threshold value, driving the humidifier (2) to increase the humidity;