CN113492528B

CN113492528B - Device for 3D printing and control method thereof

Info

Publication number: CN113492528B
Application number: CN202010264834.9A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 黄卫东
Original assignee: Suzhou Meimeng Machinery Co ltd
Current assignee: Suzhou Meimeng Machinery Co ltd
Priority date: 2020-04-03
Filing date: 2020-04-03
Publication date: 2023-09-15
Anticipated expiration: 2040-04-03
Also published as: CN113492528A

Abstract

An apparatus for 3D printing and a control method thereof are provided. The apparatus includes: the shell is provided with a plurality of openings extending along the axial direction of the cylindrical cavity, and the widths of the different openings are different; the rotating shaft is provided with a shielding part arranged at the shaft end of the rotating shaft, the shielding part is positioned in the cylindrical inner cavity so as to shield the area in the opening, which is not shielded by the shielding part, forms a discharge hole, the rotating shaft can rotate around the axis of the cylindrical inner cavity so as to continuously change the area of the shielding part, which shields the opening, and thus the length of the discharge hole is continuously changed, and the shell can move relative to the rotating shaft so that different openings in the openings are shielded by the shielding part to form the discharge hole; the feed inlet is communicated with a material conveying channel which is formed by the outer end surface of the shielding part and the inner surface of the shell. Design the discharge gate for the continuous adjustable discharge gate of length, and the width of discharge gate is changeable, can make the efficiency of 3D printing and compromise of precision become possible.

Description

Device for 3D printing and control method thereof

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of 3D printing, and more particularly, to an apparatus for 3D printing and a control method thereof.

Background

Fused deposition modeling (fused deposition modeling, FDM) technology is a common 3D printing technology. FDM techniques typically require heating the material to a molten state (or semi-fluid state) and extruding the material in the molten state from a discharge port (or extrusion port) of a 3D printhead, where the material is deposited layer by layer on a printing platform to form a 3D article.

The discharge port of a conventional 3D printhead is typically a nozzle having a fixed shape. When the printing precision requirement of the object is high, a nozzle with a smaller caliber is usually selected, the extrusion amount of the material in unit time of the nozzle of the type is small, and the printing efficiency is low; when the printing efficiency of the object is high, a nozzle with a large caliber is usually selected, the shape of the object printed by the nozzle of the type is rough, and the printing precision is low. It follows that conventional 3D printheads do not compromise efficiency and accuracy.

The 3D printing technology is mainly oriented to industrial production in the future, and the efficiency and the precision are equally important for industrial products.

Disclosure of Invention

The present application provides an apparatus for 3D printing and a control method thereof, which make it possible to consider both efficiency and accuracy of 3D printing.

In a first aspect, there is provided an apparatus for 3D printing, comprising: the shell, the internal surface of said shell forms the cylindrical cavity, there are multiple openings that extend along the axial of the said cylindrical cavity on the said shell, the width of different openings in the said multiple openings is different; the rotating shaft is provided with a shielding part arranged at the shaft end of the rotating shaft, the shielding part is positioned in the cylindrical inner cavity so as to shield the area in the opening, the area, which is not shielded by the shielding part, in the opening forms a discharge hole, the rotating shaft can rotate around the axis of the cylindrical inner cavity so as to continuously change the area, which is shielded by the shielding part, of the opening, and thus the length of the discharge hole is continuously changed, and the shell can move relative to the rotating shaft so that different openings in the openings are shielded by the shielding part to form the discharge hole; and the feed inlet is communicated with a material conveying channel formed by the outer end surface of the shielding part and the inner surface of the shell.

In a second aspect, there is provided a control method of an apparatus for 3D printing, the apparatus for 3D printing including: the shell, the internal surface of said shell forms the cylindrical cavity, there are multiple openings that extend along the axial of the said cylindrical cavity on the said shell, the width of different openings in the said multiple openings is different; the rotating shaft is provided with a shielding part arranged at the shaft end of the rotating shaft, the shielding part is positioned in the cylindrical inner cavity so as to shield the area in the opening, which is not shielded by the shielding part, forms a discharge hole, the rotating shaft can rotate around the axis of the cylindrical inner cavity, and the shell can move relative to the rotating shaft; the feeding port is communicated with a material conveying channel which is formed by the outer end surface of the shielding part and the inner surface of the shell; the control method comprises the following steps: controlling the shell to move relative to the rotating shaft so that different openings in the plurality of openings are shielded by the shielding part to form the discharge hole; the rotating shaft is controlled to rotate around the axis of the cylindrical inner cavity so as to continuously change the area of the shielding part for shielding the opening, thereby continuously changing the length of the discharge hole.

In a third aspect, there is provided a computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions for executing the control method according to the second aspect.

In a fourth aspect, there is provided a computer program product comprising instructions for performing the control method according to the second aspect.

The discharge port is designed to be a discharge port with the length continuously adjustable, and the width of the discharge port is switchable, so that the efficiency and the precision of 3D printing are considered, and the discharge port is more suitable for 3D printing.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic general structure of a conventional 3D printing apparatus.

Fig. 2 is a schematic structural view of a conventional 3D printhead.

Fig. 3a is an exemplary diagram of a print area of a layer to be printed.

Fig. 3b is an exemplary diagram of the arrangement of passes.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of an apparatus for 3D printing provided in one embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 5 is a schematic view of the internal structure of the apparatus shown in fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is an exemplary diagram of a printing process of the apparatus shown in fig. 4.

Fig. 7 is a schematic plan view of the printing process shown in fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a graph showing a comparison of printing effects of a printing method and a conventional printing method according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 9 is an example diagram of a pass switching manner in a conventional 3D printing process.

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of an apparatus for 3D printing according to another embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 11 is a perspective view of an apparatus for 3D printing according to still another embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 12 is a structural view of a housing in the apparatus shown in fig. 11.

Fig. 13 is a perspective view of an apparatus for 3D printing according to still another embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 14 is a perspective view of an apparatus for 3D printing according to still another embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 15 is a structural view of a housing in the apparatus shown in fig. 14.

Fig. 16 is a perspective view of an apparatus for 3D printing according to still another embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 17 is a perspective view of an apparatus for 3D printing according to still another embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 18 and 19 are structural diagrams of a housing in the apparatus shown in fig. 17.

Fig. 20 is a perspective view of an apparatus for 3D printing according to still another embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 21 is a side view of an open channel in an apparatus for 3D printing provided in accordance with yet another embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 22 is a structural view of a housing in the apparatus shown in fig. 23.

Fig. 23 is a perspective view of an apparatus for 3D printing according to still another embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 24 is a bottom view of the apparatus shown in fig. 5.

Fig. 25 is a side view of an apparatus for 3D printing provided in another embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 26 is a bottom view of the apparatus shown in fig. 25.

Fig. 27 is a block diagram of a swivel provided in one embodiment of the application.

Fig. 28 is a structural view of a swivel provided in another embodiment of the application.

Fig. 29 is a block diagram of an apparatus for 3D printing according to still another embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 30 is a block diagram of an apparatus for 3D printing according to still another embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 31 is an exemplary view of a feeding device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 32 is a schematic flowchart of a control method of an apparatus for 3D printing provided by an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

For ease of understanding, a simple description of a conventional 3D printing apparatus will be given.

As shown in fig. 1, the conventional 3D printing apparatus 1 generally includes a feeding device 11, a 3D printhead 12, a printing platform 13, and a control device 14 (the above structural division is only an example, and in fact, other structural division may be adopted, such as the control device and/or the feeding device 11 may be part of the 3D printhead 12).

The feeding device 11 may be connected to a wire tray 15. In the actual printing process, the feeding device 11 can take the thread-like material from the thread disc 15 and convey the thread-like material to the 3D printing head 12. Materials used in 3D printing processes are typically thermoplastic materials such as high molecular weight polymers, low melting point metals, and other materials that can be formulated into flowable pastes (e.g., paste-like ceramics, high melting point metal powder mixtures, cements, etc.).

As shown in fig. 2, the 3D printhead 12 generally includes a feed channel 121, a discharge port 122, and a temperature control device 123. The temperature control device 123 is generally disposed outside the material conveying channel 121, and is used for heating the material conveyed to the material conveying channel 121 by the material conveying device 11 to a molten state. The temperature control device 123 may be, for example, a heating device. The discharge opening 122 may extrude the material in a molten state onto the printing table 13, and thus the discharge opening 122 may also be referred to as an extrusion opening.

The control device 14 may be used to control the 3D printhead 12 to print the article layer by layer. During printing of each layer, the 3D printhead 12 may be controlled to print the entire printing area of the layer to be printed (i.e., the entire area surrounded by the cross-sectional profile of the layer to be printed) according to a preset printing path.

The general process of conventional 3D printing is roughly as follows:

prior to printing the item, a 3D model of the item may be built using modeling software. The modeling software may be, for example, computer aided design (computer aided design, CAD) software. And then, carrying out layering processing on the created 3D model, and dividing the 3D model into a plurality of layers to be printed to obtain layering data of each layer to be printed. By layering the 3D model, it is equivalent to breaking up the printing process of the 3D object into a number of 2D printing processes, the printing process of each layer to be printed being similar to the planar 2D printing process. After obtaining the layering data of each layer to be printed, the control device 14 can control the 3D printing head 12 to move along a certain printing path according to the layering data of each layer to be printed, and in the moving process, extrude the material in a molten state onto the printing platform 13 through the discharge hole 122, so as to print or fill the printing area of each layer to be printed. And when all the layers to be printed of the article are printed, solidifying the materials layer by layer to form the 3D article.

In order to facilitate understanding, a printing process of a certain layer to be printed by the conventional 3D printing apparatus will be described in detail with reference to fig. 3a and 3 b.

Referring to fig. 3a and 3b, the printing area of the layer to be printed is area 31, and the cross-sectional profile of area 31 is cross-sectional profile 32.

To print the region 31 completely, the region 31 is generally divided into multiple passes (pass) closely arranged based on the cross-sectional profile 32, as shown in FIG. 3b, pass A ₁ Pass A ₂₅ 。

During printing, the control device 14 controls the z-coordinate of the 3D printing head 12 to be unchanged, and controls the 3D printing head 12 to print all the passes completely according to a certain sequence, such as printing pass A sequentially according to a parallel reciprocating straight line path ₁ -A ₂₅ 。

In pass A ₁ For example, the control device 14 may move the 3D print head 12 to a position above the position point p1 shown in fig. 3a, and then control the 3D print head 12 to move from a position above the position point p1 to a position above the position point p2, and extrude the melted material to pass a through the discharge port 122 during the movement ₁ To pass A ₁ The printing is performed in a similar manner to other passes, and the description thereof is omitted here. After all the passes are printed, the printing process of the layer to be printed is finished, and the 3D printing head 12 or the working platform 13 can be controlled to move along the z-axis direction to prepare for printing the next layer.

The discharge port 122 of the 3D printhead 12 is typically designed as a fixed-shape nozzle, with common nozzle shapes including round holes, square holes, or slightly modified constant diameter shaped holes. The aperture of the nozzle is usually about 1mm, and the aperture is usually 0.4mm. When the printing precision requirement of the object is high, a nozzle with a smaller caliber is usually selected, the extrusion amount of the material in unit time of the nozzle of the type is small, and the printing efficiency is low; when the printing efficiency of the object is high, a nozzle with a large caliber is usually selected, the shape of the object printed by the nozzle of the type is rough, and the printing precision is low. It follows that the efficiency and accuracy of 3D printing cannot be compromised by conventional 3D printheads. The process of forming this design of the discharge port of the 3D printhead is analyzed as follows.

3D printing technology is a more advanced manufacturing technology developed on the basis of 2D printing technology. Before 3D printing, a layering process is generally required to be performed on a 3D model of an article to be printed, and after layering process, the printing process of the 3D article is decomposed into a plurality of 2D printing processes, that is, each layering printing process can be regarded as a plane printing process. Accordingly, the conventional 3D printing apparatus has taken over many design concepts of the 2D printing apparatus. Most obviously, the discharge port of the 2D printing head is generally designed by adopting a nozzle with a fixed shape, and the discharge port of the 3D printing head takes over the design mode of the discharge port of the 2D printing head, so that the discharge port is also designed into the nozzle with the fixed shape. As described above, this nozzle design results in a failure of the 3D printhead to compromise efficiency and accuracy, which is a key obstacle impeding the development of 3D printing technology.

Therefore, there is a need to get rid of the design concept of 2D printing devices and provide a device more suitable for 3D printing.

The apparatus for 3D printing provided by the embodiment of the present application is described in detail below. It should be noted that, the apparatus for 3D printing may refer to a 3D print head, or may refer to a whole 3D printer or a 3D printing system.

As shown in fig. 4, the apparatus 4 for 3D printing provided by an embodiment of the present application may include a housing 41 and a rotation shaft 42.

The inner surface of the housing 41 defines a cylindrical interior 45 (or cylindrical interior). The housing 41 is provided with a plurality of openings 46 extending in the axial direction of the cylindrical cavity 45. By way of example and not limitation, in fig. 4, 2 openings 46 are shown: openings 46 (1) and 46 (2).

The opening 46 may be a slit having a large aspect ratio. For example, the width of the opening 46 may take any value from 0.01mm to 5 mm.

At least some of the plurality of openings 46 have different widths. For example, the width of different ones 46 of the plurality of openings 46 may be different. For another example, a portion of the plurality of openings 46 may have different widths, and another portion of the plurality of openings 46 may have the same width. As an example, in fig. 4, the width of the opening 46 (1) is smaller than the width of the opening 46 (2). Opening 46 (1) may form a smaller width discharge port and opening 46 (2) may form a larger width discharge port. The manner in which the discharge port is formed will be described below and will not be described in detail.

The length of each opening 46 in the plurality of openings 46 may be the same, or different, or not exactly the same.

In fig. 4, the openings 46 (1) and 46 (2) may be seamlessly connected, in which case the openings 46 (1) and 46 (2) may be collectively referred to as a variable-gauge slit opening.

It should be noted that fig. 4 is only an example and not a limitation. For simplicity of drawing, 2 openings 46 (1) and 46 (2)) are schematically depicted in the drawings herein, but the application is not limited thereto. For example, a greater number of openings 46 (e.g., openings 46 (1), 46 (2), …, 46 (n)) may be provided on the housing 41. As an example, 2, 3, 4 or 6 openings 46 may be provided in the housing 41. Various numbers of openings 46 may be designed according to actual needs (e.g., an odd number of openings 46 may be designed, or an even number of openings 46 may be designed).

There are a variety of ways in which the plurality of openings 46 may be positioned on the housing 41. As shown in fig. 4, 10, 14, 15 or 16, the plurality of openings 46 may be disposed on the housing 41 in such a manner that the plurality of openings 46 are arranged on the housing 41 in the axial direction of the cylindrical cavity 45. As further shown in fig. 11, 12 or 19, the plurality of openings 46 may be disposed in the housing 41 in such a manner that the plurality of openings 46 are arranged in the circumferential direction of the cylindrical cavity 45 in the housing 41. For another example, the plurality of openings 46 may be disposed at positions on the housing 41 such that the plurality of openings 46 are disposed on the housing 41 including being disposed along a circumferential direction of the cylindrical inner chamber 45 and being disposed along an axial direction of the cylindrical inner chamber 45 (not shown).

In some embodiments, the housing 41 may be a unitary housing, i.e., an integrally formed housing, as shown in fig. 4, 10, 11, 12, or 13.

In other embodiments, the housing 41 may be a split housing, i.e., the outer wall of the housing 41 may comprise separable portions, or the outer wall of the housing 41 may be spliced from separable portions.

As shown in fig. 14, 15, 17, 18, or 19, the outer wall of the housing 41 may include a first portion 411 and a second portion 412 that are separable. The first portion 411 and the second portion 412 have complementary structures.

In some embodiments, the outer wall of the housing 41 may also be formed from a combination of three or more separable portions. For example, the outer wall of the housing 41 includes separable first, second, third and fourth portions, edges of which are spliced to one another to form the outer wall of the housing 41.

The swivel 42 is rotatable about the axis of the cylindrical bore 45. As shown in fig. 5, the rotation shaft 42 has a shielding portion 47 provided at an axial end thereof, the shielding portion 47 is located in the cylindrical inner cavity 45 to shield an area in the opening 46, an area in the opening 46 which is not shielded by the shielding portion 47 forms a discharge port 48, and the rotation shaft 42 is rotatable about an axis of the cylindrical inner cavity 45 to continuously change the area of the shielding portion 47 which shields the opening 46, thereby continuously changing the length of the discharge port 48. The manner in which the shielding portion 47 on the rotary shaft 42 and the opening 46 on the housing 41 form the discharge port 48 will be described in detail with reference to specific embodiments, and will not be described in detail herein.

The housing 41 is movable relative to the rotation shaft 42 such that different openings 46 of the plurality of openings 46 provided in the housing 41 are blocked by the blocking portion 47 to form the discharge port 48.

Alternatively, the housing 41 may be moved relative to the rotation shaft 42 such that a different opening 46 of the plurality of openings 46 provided in the housing 41 is moved to a position of the discharge port 48, and is shielded by the shielding portion 47 to form the discharge port 48.

Alternatively, the housing 41 may be movable relative to the swivel 42 such that different ones 46 of the plurality of openings 46 provided in the housing 41 are in communication with the discharge port 48 (i.e., switching between the different openings 46 is effected).

Movement of the housing 41 relative to the spindle 42 causes one opening 46 of the plurality of openings 46 provided in the housing 41 to move to a discharge port 48 position while the remaining openings 46 are moved to a non-discharge port position. That is, the movement of the housing 41 relative to the spindle 42 is such that only one opening 46 is at the location of the discharge opening 48 at the same time.

The opening moves to the position of the discharge port, indicating that the opening is in communication with the discharge port. The opening moves to a position other than the discharge port, indicating that the opening is not in communication with the discharge port.

The opening 46 shown in fig. 5, 6, 7, 25, 26 and 29 is one of the plurality of openings 46 provided in the housing 41, which is moved to the position of the discharge port 48.

For simplicity of drawing, only one opening 46, which is moved to the position of the discharge port 48, of the plurality of openings 46 provided in the housing 41 is schematically shown in fig. 5, 6, 7, 25, 26, and 29.

In practice, an opening 46 that needs to be opened can be moved to the location of the discharge opening. For example, the opening 46 to be opened may be an opening whose opening width satisfies the printing accuracy requirement of the 3D object.

Printing of 3D objects has different printing accuracy requirements. According to the printing precision requirement of the 3D object, the device 4 provided by the application can enable one opening 46 meeting the printing precision requirement among the plurality of openings 46 arranged on the shell 41 to move to the position of the discharge hole 48 through the movement of the shell 41 relative to the rotating shaft 42 so as to be blocked by the blocking part 47 to form the discharge hole 48.

As an example, it is assumed that, according to the print accuracy requirement, it is necessary to open the opening 46 having the width W1, and the housing 41 is moved relative to the rotation shaft 42, so that the opening 46 having the width W1 provided on the housing 41 is moved to the position of the discharge port 48, and is shielded by the shielding portion 47 to form the discharge port 48 (denoted as the discharge port 48 (1)).

As another example, it is assumed that, according to the print accuracy requirement, it is necessary to open the opening 46 having the width W2, and the housing 41 is moved relative to the rotation shaft 42, so that the opening 46 having the width W2 provided on the housing 41 is moved to the position of the discharge port 48, and is shielded by the shielding portion 47 to form the discharge port 48 (denoted as the discharge port 48 (2)). The width of the discharge hole 48 (2) is different from the width of the discharge hole 48 (1), namely, the discharge hole 48 (2) and the discharge hole 48 (1) can meet different 3D printing precision.

In practice, the openings 46 of different widths may be switched according to the printing accuracy requirement.

The housing 41 is movable relative to the swivel 42. For example, the housing 41 may translate axially along the cylindrical interior 45 relative to the swivel 42; as another example, the housing 41 may be rotatable about the axis of the cylindrical cavity 45 relative to the swivel 42; as another example, the housing 41 may be either translatable relative to the swivel 42 in the axial direction of the cylindrical cavity 45 or rotatable relative to the swivel 42 about the axis of the cylindrical cavity 45.

Specifically, the manner in which the housing 41 moves relative to the rotation shaft 42 may be determined based on the manner in which the plurality of openings 46 are positioned on the housing 41.

For example, with respect to the arrangement of the plurality of openings 46 as shown in fig. 4, 10, 14, 15 or 16, that is, the plurality of openings 46 are arranged along the axial direction of the cylindrical inner chamber 45, the housing 41 may translate along the axial direction of the cylindrical inner chamber 45 so that the opening 46 to be opened among the plurality of openings 46 is moved to the position of the discharge port 48, and is blocked by the blocking portion 47 to form the discharge port 48.

For another example, regarding the arrangement of the plurality of openings 46 as shown in fig. 11, 12 or 19, that is, the plurality of openings 46 are arranged along the circumferential direction of the cylindrical inner chamber 45, the housing 41 may be rotated about the axis of the cylindrical inner chamber 45 so that the opening 46 to be opened among the plurality of openings 46 is moved to the position of the discharge port 48, and is shielded by the shielding portion 47 to form the discharge port 48.

By way of example, assuming the location of the outlet 48 is designated as the front face of the spindle 42, rotation of the housing 41 about the axis of the cylindrical cavity 45 may cause the opening 46 to be opened to the front face of the spindle 42 while the remaining openings 46 are moved to the side or back face of the spindle 42.

For another example, if the plurality of openings 46 are positioned in such a manner that the plurality of openings 46 are arranged on the housing 41 including being arranged in a circumferential direction of the cylindrical inner chamber 45 and being arranged in an axial direction of the cylindrical inner chamber 45, the housing 41 may be rotated about an axis of the cylindrical inner chamber 45 or may be translated in the axial direction of the cylindrical inner chamber 45 so that the opening 46 to be opened among the plurality of openings 46 is moved to a position of the discharge port 48 so as to be blocked by the blocking portion 47 to form the discharge port 48.

The manner in which the discharge port 48 is formed will be described below.

The swivel 42 is rotatable about the axis of the cylindrical bore 45. The rotation shaft 42 may adopt a double rotation shaft scheme as shown in fig. 5 or 24, and one rotation shaft is disposed at each end of the opening 46 (as shown in 421 and 422 of fig. 5 or 24). Alternatively, the rotation shaft 42 may be a single rotation shaft as shown in fig. 25 or 26, and the rotation shaft may be provided only at one end of the opening 46.

The rotation shaft 42 has a shielding portion 47 provided at an axial end of the rotation shaft 42. As shown in fig. 5 or 25, the shielding portion 47 is located in the cylindrical inner cavity 45 and is located substantially above the opening 46. Rotation of the swivel 42 may change the area of the shielding portion 47 that shields the opening 46. As shown in fig. 5, 6, or 7, the region of the opening 46 that is not blocked by the blocking portion 47 may form the discharge port 48. Thus, rotation of the spindle 42 may continuously vary the length of the discharge port 48.

The swivel axis of the shielding portion 47 may change the shielding relationship between the opening 46 and the shielding portion 47. There are a number of specific ways of changing this occlusion relationship.

As an example, the shielding portion 47 may be provided in clearance fit with the cylindrical inner cavity 45, and the outer end surface of the shielding portion 47 may be provided as a slope, and the shielding relationship between the shielding portion 47 and the opening 46 may be changed by the continuously changing characteristic of the slope.

As another example, the shielding portion 47 may be screwed with the cylindrical inner chamber 45, and the shielding relationship between the shielding portion 47 and the opening 46 may be changed by screwing. The manner of changing the shielding relationship between the shielding portion 47 and the opening 46 will be described in detail below in connection with specific embodiments, and will not be described in detail here.

The tap 48 has a first end and a second end defining a length thereof. When the swivel 42 employs a dual swivel arrangement as shown in fig. 5 and 24, the first swivel 421 may be used to adjust the position of the first end in the opening 46 and the second swivel 422 may be used to adjust the position of the second end in the opening 46. When the swivel 42 employs a single swivel arrangement as shown in fig. 25 and 26, the single swivel 42 can be used to adjust the position of the first end in the opening 46 and the second end overlapping one end of the opening 46 (i.e., the second end of the spout 48 is the same end as one end of the opening 46).

The width of the discharge port 48 may affect the width of the molten material extruded from the discharge port 48, thereby affecting the accuracy of 3D printing.

The width of the tap 48 may be the same as the width of the opening 46 that is moved to the tap position, i.e. the width of the tap 48 depends on the width of the opening 46. The housing 41 is provided with a plurality of openings 46 of different widths, and the housing 41 is movable relative to the rotation shaft 42 so that the openings 46 of different widths are moved to the discharge port positions, and are shielded by the shielding portions 47 to form the discharge port 48. Because the opening 46 to the spout is switchable, the width of the spout 48 is made switchable. For example, the width of the plurality of openings 46 may be in the range of 0.01-5mm, and the width of the outlet 48 may be switched in the range of 0.01-5 mm.

In the device 4 for 3D printing provided by the present application, the casing 41 is provided with the plurality of openings 46 with different widths, and the casing 41 can move relative to the rotation shaft 42 so that the openings 46 with different widths are blocked by the blocking portion 47 to form the discharge port 48, so that the width of the discharge port 48 can be switched, the printing precision can be adjusted in real time and rapidly according to the 3D printing precision requirement, and the flexibility of 3D printing is improved.

Alternatively, the outlet 48 may be provided as an adjustable width outlet. For example, a shielding plate (not shown) may also be provided at the opening 46. The shutter is slidable in the width direction of the opening 46 to block the opening 46 in the width direction to change the width of the discharge port 48. The shield may be located on the side wall of the opening 46 or may be located at the outer end of the opening 46, as embodiments of the application are not limited in this respect. The discharge hole 48 is arranged to be a discharge hole with adjustable width, so that the printing precision can be better adjusted according to actual needs.

Optionally, in some embodiments, the apparatus 4 may further comprise a feed inlet 43, as shown in fig. 5, 6, 24, 25, 26 or 29. The feed port 43 may communicate with a feed passage 49 (the feed passage 49 is shown in fig. 5 or 25) defined by an outer end surface of the shielding portion 47 and an inner surface of the housing 41. During actual printing, materials can enter the material conveying channel from the material inlet and are extruded through the material outlet with the length continuously adjustable. The location and arrangement of the feed inlet 43 may be varied. For example, the feed port 43 may be provided on the housing 41 as shown in fig. 5, 6, 24, 25, or 26; the feed port 43 may also be provided on the swivel 42 as shown in fig. 29, and will be described in detail later in connection with a specific embodiment, which will not be described in detail here.

Optionally, in some embodiments, as shown in fig. 4 and 25, the apparatus 4 may further comprise a driving device 44.

The driving device 44 is used for driving the housing 41 to move relative to the rotation shaft 42.

For example, a drive device 41 may be coupled to the housing 41 for driving the housing 41 in movement relative to the swivel 42. With the plurality of openings 46 aligned along the axis of the cylindrical bore 45, the drive means 44 is adapted to drive the translation of the housing 41 along the axis of the cylindrical bore 45 relative to the rotation shaft 42. In the case where the plurality of openings 46 are arranged in the circumferential direction of the cylindrical cavity 45, the driving means 44 is for driving the housing 41 to rotate about the axis of the cylindrical cavity 45 with respect to the rotation shaft 42.

Alternatively, the driving device 44 may be connected to the rotation shaft 42, and the movement of the driving housing 41 relative to the rotation shaft 42 may be equivalently realized by driving the rotation shaft 42 to move.

The driving means 44 is also adapted to drive the rotation of the spindle 42 about the axis of the cylindrical cavity 45 to continuously vary the area of the opening 46 covered by the covering 47 and thus the length of the outlet 48.

For example, a drive device 44 may be coupled to the rotation shaft 42 for driving rotation of the rotation shaft 42 about the axis of the cylindrical lumen 45.

The driving device 44 may be implemented in various manners, and the embodiment of the present application is not limited thereto, for example, the driving device 44 may include a servo motor, and for example, the driving device 44 may be a rack-and-pinion mechanism or a crank slider mechanism.

As an example, in the driving device 44, the means for driving the movement of the housing 41 with respect to the rotation shaft 42 may be referred to as a first driving unit, and the means for driving the rotation shaft 42 to rotate about the axis of the cylindrical inner cavity 45 may be referred to as a second driving unit. The first drive unit and the second drive unit may be drive components of the drive device 44 that are enabled upon receipt of two different control instructions. For example, when the driving device 44 receives the first control instruction, the first driving unit is enabled to drive the housing 41 to move relative to the rotation shaft 42, so that the opening 46 to be opened among the plurality of openings 46 is blocked by the blocking portion 47 to form the discharge hole 48; the driving device 44 enables the second driving unit to drive the rotation shaft 42 to rotate around the axis of the cylindrical cavity 45 under the second control command, so as to continuously change the area of the shielding part 47 shielding the opening 46, thereby continuously changing the length of the discharging hole 48.

It is noted above that the discharge port 48 provided by embodiments of the present application may be a continuously adjustable length discharge port. Compared with the design mode of the discharge port of the traditional 3D printing head, the discharge port 48 is designed into the discharge port with the length continuously adjustable, the constraint of the traditional discharge port design concept is overcome, and the novel discharge port has obvious advantages and wide application prospect. This is analyzed as follows.

The discharge port of the traditional 3D printing equipment takes over the design concept of the discharge port of the 2D printing equipment, and the discharge port is designed into a nozzle with a fixed shape. The embodiment of the application designs the discharge port 48 as a continuously adjustable discharge port having a length within a certain range. The device provided by the embodiment of the application enables the efficiency and the precision of 3D printing to be considered and is more suitable for 3D printing compared with the traditional 3D printing device. The specific discussion follows.

The size of the 2D print object is generally small, and the print object is mainly text or image. The characters or images can be freely distributed on the two-dimensional plane, and no rule can be circulated. Therefore, the design of the fixed-shape nozzle for the discharge port of the 2D printing device has certain universality, and the design is reasonable in the 2D printing field. Unlike a 2D print object, a 3D print object is generally a 3D article that needs to be actually used. The 3D object has a certain physical contour, and thus the section line of the 3D object along a certain cross section is typically one or more closed and continuously varying curves. The embodiment of the application fully utilizes the characteristic of a 3D printing object, an opening 46 is arranged on the shell 41, and the opening 46 is shielded by a shielding part 47 of the rotating shaft 42, so that the length of the material outlet 48 is continuously adjustable. The continuous adjustable length of the discharge port 48 is consistent with the characteristic that the cross-section contour line of the 3D printing object is closed and continuously changed, and the discharge port 48 is more suitable for 3D printing, so that the printing efficiency is greatly improved.

For example, by adopting the discharge port provided by the embodiment of the application, continuous printing can be performed along the section contour line, and the discharge port 48 is controlled to change along with the change of the section contour line in the printing process, and it is understood that printing along the section contour line has ultrahigh printing efficiency compared with the traditional way of printing by pass.

Further, by moving the housing 41 relative to the rotation shaft 42, one opening with a smaller width of the plurality of openings 46 can be used as an opening for shielding by the shielding portion 47, so that the printing precision of the 3D object is kept unchanged and at a higher precision, and the printing precision is kept unchanged in the process of continuously changing the length of the discharge hole 48, which is difficult to achieve by the conventional 3D printhead. Therefore, the continuously adjustable length discharge port provided by the embodiment of the application makes it possible to consider the efficiency and the precision of 3D printing, and is more suitable for 3D printing.

Still further, in the apparatus 4 provided in the embodiment of the present application, a plurality of openings 46 with different widths are provided on the housing 41, and the housing 41 is movable relative to the rotation shaft 42, so that the openings 46 with different widths in the plurality of openings 41 are blocked by the blocking portion 47 to form the discharge port 48 (or so that the different openings 46 are moved to the position of the discharge port 48 or so that the different openings with different widths are communicated with the discharge port)). The width of the opening 46 affects the width of the discharge opening 48, and the width of the discharge opening 48 affects the width of the extruded material, thereby affecting the 3D printing accuracy. The plurality of openings 46 with different widths are designed so that the device 4 can select openings with different precision (corresponding to the discharge ports with different selection precision) for printing according to actual needs. Therefore, the opening for forming the discharge hole can be switched in real time and rapidly according to the printing precision requirement of the 3D object, so that the real-time and rapid switching of the printing precision can be realized.

For example, assuming that the layer to be printed includes a first printing region in which the cross-sectional profile line varies drastically in the vertical direction and a second printing region in which the cross-sectional profile line varies gently in the vertical direction, when the first printing region is printed using the apparatus 4, it is possible to switch to an opening having a smaller width to improve the printing accuracy; when the apparatus 4 is used to print the second printing area, it is possible to switch to an opening having a larger width, thereby improving the printing efficiency while ensuring the printing accuracy.

Further, the rotation shaft 42 and the housing 41 are tightly sleeved together by adopting a rotation shaft type structure, so the rotation shaft type device provided by the embodiment of the application has the advantage of compact structure. When the length of the discharge port 48 is desired to be adjusted to a specific value in actual operation, the rotation angle of the rotation shaft 42 may be adjusted to a rotation angle corresponding to the specific value. Therefore, the rotary shaft type device provided by the embodiment of the application has the advantage of simple control.

As can be seen from the above description, the length of the outlet 48 can be continuously adjusted by rotation of the spindle 42, and several possible adjustment manners for the length of the outlet 48 are given below.

Alternatively, rotation of the spindle 42 may cause the length of the outlet 48 to vary as the shape of the target print zone varies. The target printing area may be a partial printing area of the layer to be printed, or may be all printing areas of the layer to be printed.

For example, in some embodiments, rotation of the spindle 42 may cause the length of the outlet 48 to match the cross-sectional length of the cross-sectional profile of the target print zone of the layer to be printed. Since the length of the discharge opening 48 matches the length of the cross-sectional profile line, a basis can be provided for completing printing of the target print area at one time.

Further, in certain embodiments, the ends of the outfeed port 48 (which refer to the ends defining the length of the outfeed port 48) may also be aligned in a vertical direction with the cross-sectional profile of the target print zone in some manner. The two ends of the discharge port 48 are aligned with the cross-sectional contour of the target printing area in the vertical direction, and then the projections of the two ends of the discharge port 48 in the vertical direction fall on the cross-sectional contour of the target printing area. For convenience of description, this printing mode will be hereinafter referred to as follow-up printing of the cross-sectional profile line of the target printing area.

The following describes the trace printing in more detail using the double rotation scheme as an example with reference to fig. 6 and 7.

Referring to fig. 6 and 7, reference numeral 50 denotes a deposited portion of an article to be printed, reference numeral 52 denotes a target printing area of a layer to be printed, and a length direction of the discharge port 48 extends in the x direction.

During printing of the target print zone 52, the housing 41 may be controlled to move generally in the y-direction. During the movement of the housing 41, the length and/or position of the discharge port 48 is changed in real time by the rotation shaft 42, so that the two ends of the discharge port 48 are always aligned with the cross-sectional contour line of the target printing area 52 in the vertical direction z, i.e. the projections of the two ends of the discharge port 48 in the vertical direction z always fall on the cross-sectional contour line of the target printing area 52.

For example, assuming that the y coordinate of the current position of the discharge port 48 is y1, and that y1 cuts the cross-sectional contour line of the target printing area 52 along the x direction to obtain two points (x 1, y 1) and (x 2, y 1), the positions of the two ends of the discharge port 48 may be changed in a certain manner so that the first end is located directly above (x 1, y 1) and the second end is located directly above (x 2, y 1), so that the cross-sectional contour line of the target printing area 52 may be accurately tracked and printed.

Fig. 7 shows a schematic view of the printing process shown in fig. 6 in the x-y plane. As can be seen more clearly in fig. 7, the length of the discharge port 48 and its position in the x-direction can be varied in accordance with the variation in the shape of the cross-sectional profile of the target print zone 52, and maintain accurate follow-up printing of the cross-sectional profile of the target print zone 52.

There are a variety of implementations of trace printing of the cross-sectional profile of the target print zone.

Alternatively, as a first implementation, rotation of the screw shaft 42 may be utilized to align both ends of the outlet 48 in the vertical direction with the cross-sectional profile of the target print zone.

Alternatively, as a second implementation, the rotation shaft 42 may be driven to rotate by the driving device 44, so that the length of the outlet 48 matches the length of the cross-section line of the cross-section contour line of the target printing area of the layer to be printed; and the relative movement between the housing 41 and the printing table (not shown) is driven by another driving means (not shown) so that both ends of the outlet 48 are aligned with the cross-sectional profile of the target printing area in the vertical direction.

In the process of printing the target printing area, the device 4 can adopt one of the two implementation modes to realize tracking printing according to actual needs; alternatively, different trace printing modes may be employed when printing different portions of the target print zone.

For example, the target print area may include a portion with a shorter stub length and a portion with a longer stub length. When printing a portion with a shorter stub length, the first implementation may be used for trace printing; when printing portions with longer stub lengths, the second implementation may be used for trace printing.

Compared with the traditional articles printed by the discharge hole, the method has the advantages that the cross-section contour line of the target printing area is subjected to tracking printing, the mechanical property and the shape uniformity of the printed articles are obviously improved, and the following is a detailed discussion with reference to fig. 8 and 9.

Traditional 3D printing generally performs lane-by-lane printing according to a certain pass sequence. Because the size of the discharge port of the conventional 3D printing apparatus is small (caliber is typically in the order of millimeters), it takes a long time to print each pass. When the current pass is ready to be printed, the material on the previous pass adjacent to the current pass may already be in or near a solidified state while the material on the current pass is still in a molten state. The material in the molten state on the current pass needs to be fused with the material already in or near the solidification state on the previous pass to form a whole, and the process of fusing the materials between adjacent passes is called as pass lap joint.

In the process of overlapping the passes, if the previous pass of the current pass is already solidified or nearly solidified and the current pass is still in a molten state, poor fusion can occur in the process of fusing materials between adjacent passes, so that the mechanical properties of the printed article are poor. In addition, because the material states are not synchronous, the shape of the object obtained after the materials on adjacent passes are mutually fused can be rough. Taking a printing cylinder as an example, as shown in fig. 8, the cylinder 61 is a cylinder printed by a pass lap method using a conventional 3D printing technology. The cylinder 61 has a rough overall shape profile and also has a plurality of notches 63 due to poor fusion of the material during the lap joint.

The device 4 provided by the embodiment of the application enables the device to track and print the cross-section contour line of the target printing area by adjusting the length and the position of the discharge hole 48. Therefore, in the process of printing the target printing area, the device 4 does not need to print by pass according to the passes, and the pass overlapping is not needed, so that the problem of poor fusion can not occur. Therefore, the articles printed by the device 4 have higher mechanical properties. As shown in fig. 8, the cylinder 62 is a cylinder printed by the apparatus 4, and the fusion condition of the filling material of the cylinder 62 is good compared with that of the cylinder 61, and the problem of poor fusion caused by lap joint of passes does not exist.

Still taking the printing cylinder as an example, referring to fig. 9, in the conventional 3D printing process, the switching between passes uses broken lines 72 instead of the true contour curve, i.e. the broken lines are used to approximate the true contour curve, resulting in a rough contour of the printed cylinder 62. The device 4 provided by the embodiment of the application does not need to print according to the pass, but tracks and prints the cross-section contour line of the target printing area by adjusting the length and the position of the discharge hole 48, so that the contour line of the cylinder 62 printed by the device 4 is smoother and more real.

There are various ways of determining the target print area. For example, whether to use all the printing areas of the layer to be printed as target printing areas or to divide the printing areas of the layer to be printed into a plurality of target printing areas for printing respectively may be determined according to one or more of the shape of the cross-sectional profile line of the layer to be printed, the length of the longest cross-sectional line, and the size of the discharge port.

For example, when the length of the longest section line of the cross-sectional profile line of the layer to be printed is less than or equal to the maximum length of the discharge port 48 (the maximum length of the discharge port 48 may be less than or equal to the length of the opening 46), the entire print area of the layer to be printed may be determined as the target print area; when the length of the longest cross-sectional line of the cross-sectional profile line of the layer to be printed is greater than the maximum length of the discharge port 48, the entire printing area of the layer to be printed may be divided into a plurality of target printing areas.

For another example, when the cross-sectional profile of the layer to be printed includes a plurality of closed areas that are not in communication, each of the closed areas may be printed as one or more target print areas.

As another example, in some embodiments, it is also possible to directly use all the printing areas of the layer to be printed as the target printing areas without dividing all the printing areas of the layer to be printed. For example, the apparatus 4 may be designed as a dedicated apparatus for printing a specific article, and the length of the discharge port of the apparatus 4 may be designed to be capable of printing all of the printing area of each printed layer of the article at once. In this way, in practice, the device 4 can print each layer of the article in a fixed manner, without the need to divide the printing area online.

As shown in fig. 4 or 25, the driving means 44 may operate under the control of the control means 40. The control device 40 may be a dedicated numerical control device or a general purpose processor. The control device 40 may be a distributed control device or a centralized control device.

The control device 40 may control the length and/or position of the discharge opening 48 by the drive device 44 according to the shape of the cross-sectional profile of the target print zone (which may be part or all of the print zone of the layer to be printed).

The control device 40 can also control the movement of the housing 41 relative to the rotation shaft 42 by the driving device 44 according to the printing precision requirement, so that the opening 46 (i.e. the opening 46 to be opened) meeting the printing precision requirement among the plurality of openings 46 arranged on the housing 41 moves to the position of the discharge port, so that the discharge port 48 with continuously variable length is formed by being blocked by the blocking portion 47.

Based on the description, the continuously adjustable length discharge port provided by the embodiment of the application makes it possible to consider the efficiency and the precision of 3D printing, and is more suitable for 3D printing.

In addition, the plurality of openings with different widths provided by the embodiment of the application can switch the printing precision in real time and rapidly according to the printing precision requirement, and can better consider the efficiency and the precision of 3D printing.

Optionally, as shown in fig. 10, in an embodiment in which the plurality of openings 46 are arranged along the axial direction of the cylindrical inner cavity, the apparatus 4 may further comprise a closure 413 for axially securing the rotation shaft 42. The axial fixation of the rotation shaft 42 means that the relative displacement between the rotation shaft 42 and the housing 41 in the axial direction is blocked.

For example, in the embodiment shown in fig. 4, 10, 14, 15 or 16, after the casing 41 is translated along the axial direction of the cylindrical cavity 45, the opening 46 to be opened among the plurality of openings 46 is moved to the position of the discharge port 48, and then the rotary shaft 42 is axially fixed by the seal head 413. In this way, in the process of continuously changing the length of the discharge port 48 through the rotation of the rotation shaft 42, the relative axial movement of the housing 41 and the rotation shaft 42 can be avoided, so that the printing precision can be effectively ensured to be kept unchanged in the process of continuously changing the length of the discharge port 48.

As an example, the closure 413 may be mounted to axially fix the rotation shaft 42 after the opening 46 to be opened among the plurality of openings 46 is moved to the position of the discharge port 48 by the axial translation of the housing 41 along the cylindrical inner cavity 45.

As another example, the seal head 413 may be mounted on the apparatus 4 at all times, and when axial fixation of the rotation shaft 42 is required, a connection assembly (e.g., a nut-bolt assembly) for fastening the seal head 413 with the housing 41 is tightened to axially fix the rotation shaft 42.

Optionally, as shown in fig. 13 or 20, in an embodiment in which the plurality of openings 46 are arranged along the circumferential direction of the cylindrical inner cavity 45, the apparatus 4 may further include a sealing case 414 for sealing off the opening 46 that does not need to be opened out of the plurality of openings 46 provided on the housing 41.

For example, in the embodiment shown in fig. 11, 12 or 19, after the opening 46 to be opened among the plurality of openings 46 is moved to the position of the discharge port 48 by the rotation of the housing 41 along the axis of the cylindrical cavity 45, the capsule 414 is installed to block the opening 46 not to be opened among the plurality of openings 46 provided on the housing 41, and a schematic view after installing the capsule 414 is shown in fig. 13.

By way of example, assuming the location of the discharge port 48 is designated as the front face of the spindle 42, the housing 41 is rotated about the axis of the cylindrical cavity 45 such that the opening 46 that is desired to be opened is moved to the front face of the spindle 42, while at the same time, the opening 46 that is not desired to be opened is moved to the side or back face of the spindle 42. In this example, a capsule 414 is mounted on the outside of the housing 41 so as to cover the openings 46 that are moved to the side or back of the swivel 42, thereby closing these openings 46.

The enclosure 414 may be an enclosure for the device 4. For example, enclosure 414 is the housing of the printhead.

The use of the enclosure 414 to close the opening 46 that does not need to be opened prevents material from escaping from the opening 46 that does not need to be opened.

In some embodiments, the size of the opening 46 may be fixed. For example, the size of each opening 46 provided in the housing 41 is fixed. The dimensions of the opening 46 include length and width.

In other embodiments, the size of the opening 46 is adjustable, i.e., the opening 46 is an adjustable size opening.

For example, the opening 46 is a continuously adjustable length opening.

Optionally, the size of the opening 46 is adjusted such that the length of the opening 46 is the same as the length of the area of the opening 46 that is not shielded by the shielding portion 47.

The housing 41 has a thickness, i.e. a distance from the inner surface of the housing 41 to the outer wall, i.e. the material passes through a section of the extrusion channel in the opening 46 before exiting the outlet 48. If the length of the opening 46 is greater than the length of the area of the opening 46 not covered by the cover 47, it may result in material spreading within the extrusion channel of the opening 46 before exiting the outlet 48. Ideally, the length of the discharge opening 48 should be consistent with the length of the area of the opening 46 that is not covered by the cover 47, but if material spreads within the extrusion channel of the opening 46 before exiting the discharge opening 48, this can result in the length of the discharge opening 48 not being consistent with the length of the area of the opening 46 that is not covered by the cover 47, which can affect the accuracy of controlling the length of the discharge opening 48.

In the embodiment, the opening 46 is an opening with an adjustable size, and the adjustment of the size of the opening 46 can enable the length of the opening 46 to be the same as the length of the area, which is not shielded by the shielding portion 47, in the opening 46, so that the material can be prevented from extending in the extrusion channel of the opening 46 before being separated from the discharge port 48, the accuracy of controlling the length of the discharge port 48 can be improved, and the printing efficiency and the printing accuracy can be better achieved.

There are a number of ways to achieve the opening 46 as an adjustable length opening.

For example, the housing 41 may include separable portions. The abutment surfaces of the plurality of portions may define a plurality of openings 46 and the plurality of portions may be movable relative to one another (e.g., axially along the cylindrical bore 45) to adjust the size of the plurality of openings 46.

For example, the plurality of portions may be relatively slidable along the axial direction of the cylindrical lumen 45 to adjust the length of the plurality of openings 46.

As shown in fig. 14, 15, 17, 18 or 19, the housing 41 includes a first portion 411 and a second portion 412. The first portion 411 and the second portion 412 are relatively slidable along the axial direction of the cylindrical lumen 45 so that a plurality of openings 46 of adjustable length (or continuously adjustable) may be formed.

The shape of the first portion 411 and the second portion 412 and the manner in which they form the plurality of openings 46 may vary.

As an example, as shown in fig. 14 and 15, the first portion 411 and the second portion 412 have a first abutting surface and a second abutting surface therebetween. The first butt joint surface is a step-shaped butt joint surface, and the second butt joint surface is a plane butt joint surface.

The first abutment surface on the first section 411 includes a first upper step surface 4111, a first lower step surface 4112, a second upper step surface 4113, a first connection surface 4114 connecting the first upper step surface 4111 and the first lower step surface 4112, and a second connection surface 4115 connecting the first lower step surface 4112 and the second upper step surface 4113, a difference in height between the first upper step surface 4111 and the first lower step surface 4112 being different from a difference in height between the first lower step surface 4112 and the second upper step surface 4113. The first abutment surface on the second portion 412 includes a second lower step surface 4121, a third upper step surface 4122, a third lower step surface 4123, a third connection surface 4124 connecting the second lower step surface 4121 and the third upper step surface 4122, and a fourth connection surface 4125 connecting the third upper step surface 4122 and the third lower step surface 4123. The first upper step surface 4111, the first lower step surface 4112, and the second upper step surface 4113 are in contact with the second lower step surface 4121, the third upper step surface 4122, and the third lower step surface 4123, respectively, and are relatively slidable in the axial direction. The hollow area formed by the first upper step surface 4111, the first connecting surface 4114, the third upper step surface 4122, and the third connecting surface 4124 is one opening (denoted as opening 46 (1)), and the hollow area formed by the second upper step surface 4113, the fourth connecting surface 4125, the third upper step surface 4122, and the second connecting surface 4115 is the other opening (denoted as opening 46 (2)). Because the difference in height between the first upper step surface 4111 and the first lower step surface 4112 is different from the difference in height between the first lower step surface 4112 and the second upper step surface 4113, the opening 46 (1) is different from the opening 46 (2) in width.

The first portion 411 and the second portion 412 are relatively slidable along the axial direction of the cylindrical lumen 45 to adjust the length of the opening 46 (1) and the opening 46 (2).

For example, in the example of fig. 14 or 15, the relative sliding of the first portion 411 and the second portion 412 in the axial direction of the cylindrical lumen 45 in a tendency to gradually move away from each other may increase the length of the opening 46 (1) while at the same time decreasing the length of the opening 46 (2); the relative sliding of the first portion 411 and the second portion 412 in the axial direction of the cylindrical cavity 45, in such a manner that they gradually approach each other, can increase the length of the opening 46 (2) while at the same time decreasing the length of the opening 46 (1).

In the example of fig. 14 or fig. 15, the opening 46 (1) and the opening 46 (2) formed by splicing the first portion 411 and the second portion 412 are arranged along the axial direction of the cylindrical inner cavity 45, and then the housing 41 (i.e., the whole of the first portion 411 and the second portion 412) may translate along the axial direction of the cylindrical inner cavity 45, so that different openings 46 in the plurality of openings 46 are blocked by the blocking portions 47 to form a discharge port.

As an example, in the case of the opening 46 (1) as an opening to be opened in the example of fig. 14 or 15, after the opening 46 (1) is moved to the discharge port position by the axial translation of the housing 41 along the cylindrical inner chamber 45, the first portion 411 and the second portion 412 are relatively slid in the axial direction of the cylindrical inner chamber 45, and the length of the opening 46 (1) is adjusted so that the length of the opening 46 (1) is the same as the length of the region of the opening 46 (1) which is not shielded by the shielding portion 47.

Referring to fig. 10, in the embodiment shown in fig. 14 or 15, the device 4 may also include a closure 413 (not shown in fig. 14 or 15) for axially securing the swivel 42. The axial fixation of the rotation shaft 42 means that the relative displacement between the rotation shaft 42 and the housing 41 in the axial direction is blocked.

After the casing 41 translates along the axial direction of the cylindrical cavity 45 so that the opening 46 to be opened among the plurality of openings 46 moves to the position of the discharge port 48, the rotary shaft 42 is axially fixed by the seal head 413. In this way, in the process of continuously changing the length of the discharge port 48 through the rotation of the rotation shaft 42, the relative axial movement of the housing 41 and the rotation shaft 42 can be avoided, so that the printing precision can be effectively ensured to be kept unchanged in the process of continuously changing the length of the discharge port 48.

It should be noted that fig. 14 and fig. 15 are only examples and are not limiting. For example, the first abutting surface between the first portion 411 and the second portion 412 may be provided with more stepped surfaces, so that various numbers of openings 46 may be designed according to actual needs (e.g., an odd number of openings 46 may be designed, or an even number of openings 46 may be designed).

As another example, as shown in fig. 17, 18 and 19, the first portion 411 and the second portion 412 have a first abutting surface and a second abutting surface therebetween. The first butt joint surface and the second butt joint surface both comprise step surfaces.

The first mating surface on the first portion 411 includes a first upper step surface 4111a, a first lower step surface 4112a, and a first connecting surface 4113a connecting the first upper step surface 4111a and the first lower step surface 4112 a. The first abutment surface on the second portion 412 includes a second upper step surface 4121a, a second lower step surface 4122a, and a second connection surface 4123a connecting the second upper step surface 4121a and the second lower step surface 4122 a. The second mating surface on the first portion 411 includes a third upper step surface 4111b, a third lower step surface 4112b, and a third connecting surface 4113b connecting the third upper step surface 4111b and the third lower step surface 4112 b. The second abutment surface on the second portion 412 includes a fourth upper step surface 4121b, a fourth lower step surface 4122b, and a fourth connection surface 4123b connecting the fourth upper step surface 4121b and the fourth lower step surface 4122 b. The first upper step surface 4111a and the first lower step surface 4112a are in contact with the second lower step surface 4122a and the second upper step surface 4121a, respectively, and are relatively slidable in the axial direction, and a hollow area formed by the first lower step surface 4112a, the first connecting surface 4113a, the second lower step surface 4122a, and the second connecting surface 4123a is one opening (denoted as an opening 46 (1)) (the opening 46 (1) is shown in fig. 17 and 19). The third upper step surface 4111b and the third lower step surface 4112b are in contact with the fourth lower step surface 4122b and the fourth upper step surface 4121b, respectively, and are relatively slidable in the axial direction, and a hollow area formed by the third lower step surface 4112b, the third connecting surface 4113b, the fourth lower step surface 4122b, and the fourth connecting surface 4123b is another opening (denoted as an opening 46 (2)) shown in fig. 19 (an opening 46 (2)).

The difference in height between the first upper step surface 4111a and the first lower step surface 4112a is different from the difference in height between the third upper step surface 4111b and the third lower step surface 4112b (corresponding to the difference in height between the second upper step surface 4121a and the second lower step surface 4122a being different from the difference in height between the fourth upper step surface 4121b and the fourth lower step surface 4122 b). Accordingly, the width of the opening 46 (1) is different from the width of the opening 46 (2).

In this example, the first portion 411 and the second portion 412 are butted together in a staggered complementary stepped configuration, and the relative sliding movement of the two along the axial direction of the cylindrical cavity 45 can form a plurality of openings 46 with continuously adjustable lengths: openings 46 (1) and 46 (2).

For example, in the present example, the relative sliding of the first portion 411 and the second portion 412 along the axial direction of the cylindrical lumen 45 in a tendency to gradually move away from each other may increase the length of the opening 46 (1) and the opening 46 (2); the relative sliding of the first portion 411 and the second portion 412 in the axial direction of the cylindrical cavity 45 in a direction such that they gradually approach each other can reduce the length of the opening 46 (1) and the opening 46 (2).

In this example, the openings 46 (1) and the openings 46 (2) formed by splicing the first portion 411 and the second portion 412 are arranged along the circumferential direction of the cylindrical inner cavity 45, and then the housing 41 (i.e. the whole of the first portion 411 and the second portion 412) can rotate along the axis of the cylindrical inner cavity 45, so that different openings 46 in the plurality of openings 46 are blocked by the blocking portion 47 to form a discharge hole.

In the present example, in the case where the opening 46 (1) is the opening to be opened, after the opening 46 (1) is moved to the discharge port position by the rotation of the housing 41 along the axis of the cylindrical inner chamber 45, the first portion 411 and the second portion 412 relatively slide in the axial direction of the cylindrical inner chamber 45, and the length of the opening 46 (1) is adjusted so that the length of the opening 46 (1) is the same as the length of the region of the opening 46 (1) which is not shielded by the shielding portion 47.

Referring to fig. 13, in the embodiment shown in fig. 17, 18 or 19, the apparatus 4 may also include an enclosure 414 for blocking an opening 46 that does not need to be opened out of the plurality of openings 46 provided in the housing 41.

As an example, as shown in fig. 20, taking the opening 46 (1) as an opening to be opened as an example, the enclosure 414 is used to block the remaining openings 46 except the opening 46 (1) among the plurality of openings 46 provided on the housing 41.

It should be noted that fig. 17, fig. 18, or fig. 19 are only examples and are not limiting. For example, the housing 41 may further include a first portion, a second portion, a third portion, and a fourth portion, wherein two abutting surfaces of any two abutting portions each include a stepped surface, the four portions may form 4 openings 46 arranged in a circumferential direction, and the four portions relatively slide along an axial direction of the cylindrical cavity 45, and a length of the 4 openings 46 may be adjusted. Thus, various numbers of openings 46 may be designed according to actual needs (e.g., an odd number of openings 46 may be designed, or an even number of openings 46 may be designed).

As yet another example, the first portion 411 and the second portion 412 may have a concave-convex complementary structure. The relative sliding of the first portion 411 and the second portion 412 along the axial direction of the cylindrical cavity 45 can change the relative positional relationship between the concave-convex portions, and the hollow area between the concave-convex portions can form a plurality of openings 46 with continuously adjustable length.

As yet another example, the first portion 411 and the second portion 412 have a first abutment surface and a second abutment surface therebetween, wherein the first abutment surface and the second abutment surface each comprise a stepped surface, and the first abutment surface and/or the second abutment surface have a structure similar to the first abutment surface in the embodiment shown in fig. 14, and the first portion 411 and the second portion 412 are relatively slidable in the axial direction of the cylindrical cavity 45 to adjust the length of the opening 46.

In this example, the first portion 411 and the second portion 412 may form a plurality of openings 46 having different widths, and among the plurality of openings 46, some of the openings 46 are arranged in the circumferential direction of the cylindrical inner chamber 45, and some of the openings 46 are arranged in the axial direction of the cylindrical inner chamber 45. In this example, the housing 41 is rotatable about the axis of the cylindrical bore 45 and is also translatable in the axial direction of the cylindrical bore 45 such that different ones of the plurality of openings 46 are blocked by the blocking portion 47 to form the discharge port.

For example, the housing 41 may further include a first portion, a second portion, a third portion, and a fourth portion, where the abutting surfaces of two adjacent portions may be designed to be planar, so that the two adjacent portions do not form openings, and the abutting surfaces of two adjacent portions are designed to be stepped, so that the two adjacent portions may form openings, and thus various numbers of openings (such as an odd number of openings or an even number of openings) may be designed according to actual needs.

It was noted above that the first portion 411 and the second portion 412 slide relative to each other in the axial direction of the cylindrical cavity 45. It should be noted that the first portion 411 and the second portion 412 are not required to be slidable in the embodiment of the present application.

As one implementation, neither the first portion 411 nor the second portion 412 is fixed, and both are slidable relative to the swivel 42 along the axis of the cylindrical lumen 45.

As another implementation, the first portion 411 may slide along the axial direction of the cylindrical cavity 45 relative to the rotation shaft 42, and the second portion 412 may be fixedly connected to the rotation shaft 42 or integrally formed with the rotation shaft 42. This implementation can simplify the control of the device 4.

In some embodiments, the end of the first portion 411 may be designed as a closed circular ring that fits over the swivel 42; and/or the end of the second portion 412 (the end of the first portion 411 and the end of the second portion 412 may define the axial length of the housing 41) may be designed as a closed ring that fits over the swivel 42. This can enhance the overall rigidity and tightness of the housing 42.

In some embodiments, when the first portion 411 is a slider and the second portion 412 is a fastener, both ends of the first portion 411 may be designed as closed circular rings. This can enhance the overall rigidity and sealability of the housing 41.

The above describes an implementation that allows the length of the opening 46 to be continuously adjustable.

For another example, the width of the opening 46 may also be continuously adjustable.

The adjustment of the size of the opening 46 may be achieved by a driving means.

The driving means 44 is also used to adjust the size of the opening 46 such that the length of the opening 46 is the same as the length of the area of the opening 46 that is not shielded by the shielding portion 47.

For example, in the embodiment shown in fig. 14, 15, 17, 18 or 19, the driving device 44 is further configured to drive the first portion 411 and the second portion 412 to be relatively slidable along the axial direction of the cylindrical cavity 45, so as to adjust the length of the opening 46, for example, so that the length of the opening 46 is the same as the length of the region of the opening 46 that is not shielded by the shielding portion 47.

Taking fig. 15 as an example, a bracket 91 for fixing the first portion 411 and a bracket 92 for fixing the second portion 412 may be provided in the case 41, as shown in fig. 16. The drive means 44 may provide power to the brackets 91 and 92 for axial movement along the cylindrical bore 45, thereby driving the first portion 411 axially through the bracket 91 and the second portion 412 axially through the bracket 92.

For example, in the driving device 44, a member for adjusting the length of the opening 46 (e.g., driving the first portion 411 and the second portion 412 to be relatively slidable in the axial direction of the cylindrical inner cavity 45) may be referred to as a third driving unit. For example, in the case that the driving device 44 receives the third control instruction, the third driving unit is enabled to drive the first portion 411 and the second portion 412 to be relatively slidable along the axial direction of the cylindrical inner cavity 45, so that the length of the opening 46 is the same as the length of the area of the opening 46 that is not shielded by the shielding portion 47.

In the apparatus 4 provided in the embodiment of the present application, the opening 46 is an opening with an adjustable size, and the adjustment of the size of the opening 46 may enable the length of the opening 46 to be the same as the length of the area, which is not covered by the covering portion 47, in the opening 46, so that the material is prevented from extending in the extrusion channel of the opening 46 before separating from the discharge port 48, thereby improving the accuracy of controlling the length of the discharge port 48, and further better achieving both printing efficiency and printing accuracy.

In the above embodiments, the apparatus 4 may further include a bracket provided outside the housing 41 to fix the apparatus 4.

For example, in the example of fig. 15, a bracket is designed for each of the first portion 411 and the second portion 412, as shown in fig. 16.

The embodiment of the application also provides equipment for 3D printing, which is provided with a discharge port with adjustable length, and an extrusion channel of the discharge port is of a structure with a variable cross section along the material flow direction.

For example, the extrusion channel of the discharge port is a structure with a cross section gradually shrinking to the required size of the discharge port along the material flow direction. The dimensions of the discharge opening include width and length.

For example, the extrusion channel of the discharge port is a structure with a cross section gradually shrinking to the width required by the discharge port along the material flow direction. In other words, the width of the extrusion channel of the discharge opening in cross section in the material flow direction gradually narrows to the desired width of the discharge opening.

For another example, the extrusion channel of the discharge port is a structure with a cross section gradually shrinking to the length required by the discharge port along the material flow direction.

In order to realize that the extrusion channel of the discharge port is a structure with the cross section gradually shrinking to the required size of the discharge port along the material flowing direction, the discharge port can be provided with various design modes.

As an example, as shown in (b) of fig. 21, the cross section of the extrusion passage of the discharge port in the length direction is a stepped flow passage cross section.

As another example, as shown in (c) of fig. 21, the cross section of the extrusion passage of the discharge port in the length direction is a streamline flow passage cross section.

Alternatively, the cross section of the extrusion channel of the discharge port in the length direction may be designed into other feasible shapes or patterns, so long as the extrusion channel of the discharge port can be made into a structure that the cross section of the extrusion channel of the discharge port gradually contracts to the required size of the discharge port along the material flow direction.

As still another example, the cross section of the extrusion channel of the discharge port in the width direction may also be a stepped flow channel cross section or a streamline flow channel cross section (not shown in the figure).

The 3D printing extrusion material is usually a high viscosity material, the resistance generated by the extrusion material is proportional to the channel length of the discharge port, and when the width of the discharge port is small (when the printing accuracy is high, the width of the discharge port is required to be small), the discharge port corresponds to a slit channel, as shown in (a) of fig. 21, the resistance of the extrusion material is very large, which reduces the printing efficiency. In this case, extruding the material out of the slit passage at a high speed in order to efficiently achieve high-precision 3D printing requires providing a very large extrusion pressure, which requires the material conveying system to provide a very large conveying power, thereby significantly increasing the printing cost and making the printing process uneconomical.

In the device provided by the embodiment of the application, the extrusion channel of the discharge port is of a structure that the section of the extrusion channel gradually contracts to the required size of the discharge port along the material flowing direction, so that the resistance of material extrusion can be effectively reduced, and the efficiency of printing and forming can be improved. In addition, since the resistance of material extrusion can be reduced, the requirement for the conveying power of the material conveying system can be reduced, and thus the printing cost can be reduced.

The application scenario of the present embodiment includes, but is not limited to, the device 4 provided in the above embodiment.

The present embodiment will be hereinafter described as applied to the apparatus 4 provided in the above embodiment.

In the device 4 provided in the above embodiment, the housing 41 may have a certain thickness, and thus the opening 46 also has a certain thickness, or the opening 46 has a section of passage in the material outflow direction.

As described above, the area of the opening 46 that is not covered by the covering forms the discharge opening 48, and the channel of the opening 46 is the extrusion channel of the material. That is, the channel of opening 46 serves as the extrusion channel for discharge port 48. The passage of the opening 46 represents the passage enclosed by the opening 46 through which the material flows.

In some embodiments, the passage of the opening 46 may be of uniform cross-section along the material flow direction, as shown in fig. 21 (a).

In other embodiments, the passage of the opening 46 may be of variable cross-section along the material flow direction.

For example, the passage of the opening 46 is a structure having a cross section gradually shrinking to a desired size of the opening 46 in the material flow direction. The dimensions of the opening 46 include length and width.

For example, the passage of the opening 46 is a structure having a cross section gradually narrowed to a desired width of the opening 46 in the material flow direction. In other words, the width of the channel of the opening 46 in cross section in the material flow direction gradually narrows to the desired width of the opening 46.

For example, the passage of the opening 46 is configured to gradually contract in cross-section in the material flow direction to a desired length of the opening 46.

As one example, the cross section of the passage of the opening 46 in the length direction is a stepped flow passage cross section as shown in (b) in fig. 21.

As another example, the cross section of the passage of the opening 46 in the length direction is a streamline flow passage cross section as shown in (c) of fig. 21.

Alternatively, the cross-section of the passage of the opening 46 in the longitudinal direction may be designed in other possible shapes or patterns, as long as the passage of the opening 46 is configured so that the cross-section gradually decreases to the size required for the opening 46 in the material flow direction.

As still another example, the cross section of the channel of the opening 46 in the width direction is a stepped flow channel cross section or a streamline flow channel cross section (not shown in the figure).

In the case where the housing 41 is integrally formed, for example, in the case shown in fig. 4, 10, 11, 12 or 13, the opening 46 of which the passage is a structure gradually contracted to the size required for the opening 46 in the material flow direction cross section may be formed by a housing mold.

In the case where the housing 41 includes separable portions, for example, in the case shown in fig. 14, 15, 17, 18 or 19, the opening 46 of which the passage is a structure having a cross section gradually narrowed to a desired size of the opening 46 in the material flow direction may be formed by providing a stepped structure on the abutting surface of the adjacent two portions.

For example, in the embodiments shown in fig. 14, 15, 17, 18 or 19 above, the interface between the first portion 411 and the second portion 412 may have a stepped configuration in the material outflow direction so that the passage of the opening 46 is a configuration that gradually narrows in cross section in the material outflow direction to a desired size of the opening 46.

Taking the embodiment shown in fig. 18, 18 or 19 as an example, the abutting surface 4112a of the first portion 411 has a stepped structure along the material outflow direction, and as shown in fig. 22, the abutting surface 4112a includes an upper stepped surface 41121a and a lower stepped surface 41122a; the abutment surface 4122a of the second portion 412 has a stepped configuration in the material outflow direction, and as shown in fig. 22, the abutment surface 4122a includes an upper stepped surface 41221a and a lower stepped surface 41222a. Thus, the passage of the opening 46 (1) formed by the abutting of the first portion 411 and the second portion 412 is a structure in which the cross section gradually narrows to a desired width of the opening 46 in the material flow direction, as shown in fig. 23. In this example, the cross section of the passage of the opening 46 (1) in the longitudinal direction is a polygon as shown in fig. 21 (b).

As described above, 3D printing extrusion materials are typically high viscosity materials, and the length of the extrusion channel of the discharge port 48 can cause significant resistance to material extrusion, which can reduce printing formation efficiency and can increase printing costs, making the printing process uneconomical.

In the apparatus 4, the length of the channel of the opening 46 determines the length of the extrusion channel of the discharge opening 48, and the channel of the opening 46 generally has a certain length. Thus, the length of the channel of the opening 46 may provide a significant resistance to material extrusion, particularly when the width of the opening 46 is small.

In the embodiment, the channel of the opening 46 is a structure that the cross section of the channel is gradually contracted to the width required by the opening 46 along the material flowing direction, so that the channel of the discharge port is a structure that the cross section of the channel is gradually contracted to the width required by the discharge port along the material flowing direction, which can effectively reduce the resistance of material extrusion, thereby being beneficial to improving the efficiency of printing and forming. In addition, since the resistance of material extrusion can be reduced, the requirement for the conveying power of the material conveying system can be reduced, and thus the printing cost can be reduced.

The manner of changing the shielding relationship between the shielding portion 47 and the opening 46 is described in detail below.

As an example, the mating relationship of the shielding portion 47 (or the side wall of the shielding portion 47) and the cylindrical inner cavity 45 may be set to a clearance fit, and the outer end face 471 of the shielding portion 47 may be set to a sloping surface (for implementation of the sloping surface, see fig. 27). Since the outer end face 471 of the shielding part 47 is provided as a slope, the side wall of the shielding part 47 is not equal (or continuously varies) in length along the axial direction of the rotation shaft 42.

The shape and structure of the shielding portion 47 are arranged in such a way that the shielding portion 47 can freely rotate in situ, and the shielding portion 47 can still change the size of the area of the shielding opening 46 during the in-situ rotation. The advantage of this implementation is that the total volume of the feed channel 49 remains unchanged, which is more advantageous for controlling the amount of material extruded from the outlet 48.

The gap between the shield 47 and the cylindrical cavity 45 should be set as small as possible so that the printing material is not or less forced into the gap.

As the swivel 42 rotates, different portions of the shielding portion 47 are above the opening 46. Since the lengths of the different portions of the shielding portion 47 in the axial direction are different, when the different portions of the shielding portion 47 are shielded above the opening 46, the shielded area in the opening 46 also changes, so that the area shielded by the shielding portion 47 in the opening 46 can be changed.

For convenience of description, a portion of the shielding portion 47 that is shortest in the axial direction (e.g., a portion corresponding to a position a in fig. 27) may be referred to as a lowermost shielding portion of the shielding portion 47, and a portion of the shielding portion 47 that is longest in the axial direction (e.g., a portion corresponding to a position b in fig. 27) may be referred to as an uppermost shielding portion of the shielding portion 47. Assuming that the rotation shaft 42 adopts a double rotation shaft scheme as shown in fig. 5, the outer end face 471 of the shielding part 47 may be designed such that the opening 46 is not shielded and is in a completely opened state when the lowest shielding part of the shielding part 47 rotates above the opening 46; when the highest shielding portion of the shielding portion 47 rotates to above the opening 46, half of the opening 46 is shielded. In this way, when the highest shielding portions of the shielding portions 47 of the rotary shafts 421, 422 are rotated above the opening 46, the opening 46 is substantially completely shielded, so that the length of the discharge port 48 can be continuously varied between 0 and the length of the opening 46.

As another example, assuming that the rotation shaft 42 adopts a single rotation shaft scheme as shown in fig. 25, the outer end face 471 of the shielding part 47 may be designed such that the opening 46 is not shielded and is in a completely opened state when the lowest shielding part of the shielding part 47 rotates above the opening 46; when the highest shielding portion of the shielding portion 47 is rotated above the opening 46, the opening 46 is substantially completely shielded, so that the length of the discharge port 48 can be continuously varied between 0 to the length of the opening 46.

The spiral ramp shown in fig. 27 is only one possible implementation of a ramp, and embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto, as the outer end face 471 of the shielding portion 47 may also have other types of ramps, such as a ramp plane or a ramp curve with some curvature.

To ensure that the spout 48 is tightly closed, see fig. 28, a flat surface 472 perpendicular to the axis of the cylindrical cavity 45 may be provided on top of the ramp 471.

When the swivel 42 adopts the double swivel scheme as shown in fig. 5, since the top of the slope 471 of the two swivel 421, 422 has a flat surface 472, the top of the two swivel 421, 422 can be closely attached together to achieve effective closure and reliable sealing of the discharge port 48. When the swivel 42 adopts a single swivel arrangement as shown in fig. 25, the flat 472 at the top of the ramp 471 may be closely fitted with the end of the cylindrical cavity 45 to achieve effective closure and reliable sealing of the spout 48.

Alternatively, as shown in fig. 27, the shielding portion 47 may have a hollow region 474 surrounded by a cylindrical sidewall 473. The design of the shielding part 47 can save materials on one hand, and can reduce disturbance of the outer end surface of the shielding part 47 to the material flowing state as much as possible on the other hand, so that the material extrusion amount of the material outlet 48 is easier to control.

As another example, the shield 47 may be threadably coupled to the cylindrical lumen 45. When the rotation shaft 42 rotates, the shielding part 47 can move along the axial direction of the rotation shaft 42 based on the threads, so that the opening 46 is continuously shielded, and the purpose of continuously adjusting the length of the discharge hole 48 is achieved.

As yet another example, the shield 47 may be clearance fit with the cylindrical lumen 45. The swivel 42 has a threaded connection outside the cylindrical cavity 45 which can be screwed with the transmission, so that the shutter 47 is pushed to move axially for continuous adjustment of the outlet 48.

The position or arrangement of the feed inlet 43 in the embodiment of the present application is not particularly limited as long as it can communicate with the feed passage 49. Several possible arrangements of the feed inlet 43 are given below.

As an example, as shown in fig. 5, 24-26, the feed port 43 may be provided on the housing 41. For example, may be provided on top of the housing 41.

As another example, as shown in fig. 29, the rotation shaft 42 may be provided as a hollow rotation shaft, and a hollow passage of the rotation shaft 42 may be provided as the feed port 43. It should be understood that fig. 29 is an illustration of a double-swivel arrangement, and that a similar design could be used for a single-swivel arrangement, i.e. a single-swivel 42 is provided as a hollow swivel and a hollow channel of the single-swivel 42 is provided as a feed opening 43.

Alternatively, the interior and/or end surfaces of the feed inlet 43 and/or the feed channel 49 may be rounded. In practice, the arc transition may be employed at any bend in the material flow path of the feed inlet 43 and the feed channel 49. So that the material can smoothly flow to the discharge hole 48 as much as possible, the material is prevented from accumulating in the device 4, and the device is convenient to clean. For example, if a hollow channel of a swivel is used as the feed port 43, referring to FIG. 30, a radiused transition may be employed within (e.g., at an internal corner 475) and/or at the end of the hollow channel of the swivel 42.

As shown in fig. 31, the apparatus 4 may further comprise a feeding device 410. The feeding device 410 may be connected to the inlet 43. The drive mechanism 44 may also be used to drive the feed mechanism 410 such that the amount of material exiting the outlet 48 matches the length of the outlet.

The feeding device 410 may be a screw type feeding device as shown in fig. 31 (a), a pneumatic type feeding device as shown in fig. 31 (b), or a piston type feeding device as shown in fig. 31 (c).

In the case that the feeding device 410 is a screw feeding device, the rotation speed of the screw can be adjusted by the driving device 44, so as to control the extrusion amount of the material at the discharge port 48; in the case where the feeding device 410 is a pneumatic feeding device, the amount of material extruded from the discharge port 48 can be controlled by adjusting the pressure acting on the material liquid surface; in the case where the feeding device 410 is a piston type feeding device, the movement speed of the piston in the piston cylinder-shaped inlet port can be adjusted by the driving device 44, so that the material extrusion amount of the outlet port 48 can be controlled.

The matching of the material extrusion amount of the discharge port 48 with the length of the discharge port 48 means that the material extrusion amount of the discharge port 48 varies in proportion to the length of the discharge port 48.

In actual printing, the amount of material to be extruded may be determined based on the length of the discharge port 48. The material feed rate of the material feeding apparatus 410 may then be controlled such that the material feed rate is equal to the material extrusion rate.

Fig. 32 is a schematic flowchart of a control method of an apparatus for 3D printing provided by an embodiment of the present application. The device for 3D printing may be the device 4 mentioned above. The control method may be performed by the control device mentioned above. Thus, parts not described in detail may be referred to above.

Specifically, the apparatus for 3D printing may include: the shell is provided with a plurality of openings extending along the axial direction of the cylindrical cavity, and the widths of different openings in the plurality of openings are different; the rotating shaft is provided with a shielding part arranged at the shaft end of the rotating shaft, the shielding part is positioned in the cylindrical inner cavity so as to shield the area in the opening, the area in the opening which is not shielded by the shielding part forms a discharge hole, the rotating shaft can rotate around the axis of the cylindrical inner cavity, and the shell can move relative to the rotating shaft; the feed inlet is communicated with a material conveying channel which is formed by the outer end surface of the shielding part and the inner surface of the shell.

The control method of fig. 32 may include step S3210 and step S3220.

In step S3210, the housing is controlled to move relative to the rotation shaft, so that different openings of the plurality of openings are blocked by the blocking portion to form a discharge hole.

Step S3220: the control rotation shaft rotates around the axis of the cylindrical inner cavity to continuously change the area of the shielding part for shielding the opening, so that the length of the discharge hole is continuously changed.

Optionally, the opening is an opening with adjustable size; the method further comprises step S3230.

In step S3230, the size of the opening is adjusted so that the length of the opening is the same as the length of the region of the opening that is not shielded by the shielding portion.

Optionally, the housing comprises a first portion and a second portion, the first portion and the second portion being relatively slidable in an axial direction; step S3230 may include: the first part and the second part are controlled to slide relatively along the axial direction so that the length of the opening is the same as the length of the area which is not shielded by the shielding part in the opening.

Optionally, the plurality of openings are arranged along an axial direction of the cylindrical inner cavity; step S3210 may include: the control housing translates axially along the cylindrical lumen.

For example, the arrangement of the plurality of openings is shown in fig. 4, 10, 14, 15 or 16.

Optionally, the plurality of openings are arranged along a circumferential direction of the cylindrical lumen; step S3210 may include: the control housing rotates about the axis of the cylindrical bore.

For example, the arrangement of the plurality of openings is shown in fig. 11, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19 or 20.

Optionally, step S3220 may include: the control rotation shaft rotates around the axis of the cylindrical inner cavity, so that the length of the material outlet is matched with the length of a cross section line of a cross section contour line of a target printing area of the layer to be printed, wherein the target printing area is part or all of the printing area of the layer to be printed.

Optionally, step S3220 may include: the control knob is rotated about the axis of the cylindrical bore such that the ends defining the length of the discharge port are vertically aligned with the cross-sectional profile of the target print zone.

Optionally, the method of fig. 32 may further include: the relative movement between the housing and the printing platform is controlled such that the two ends defining the length of the discharge port are vertically aligned with the cross-sectional profile of the target print zone.

Optionally, the method of fig. 32 may further include: when the length of the longest section line of the section contour line of the layer to be printed is smaller than or equal to the maximum length of the discharge port, determining all printing areas of the layer to be printed as target printing areas; when the length of the longest section line of the section contour line of the layer to be printed is larger than the maximum length of the discharge hole, dividing all the printing areas of the layer to be printed into a plurality of target printing areas.

Optionally, the method of fig. 32 may further include: and controlling the material extrusion amount of the discharge port, so that the material extrusion amount of the discharge port is matched with the length of the discharge port.

In the above embodiments, it may be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any other combination. When implemented in software, may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When loaded and executed on a computer, produces a flow or function in accordance with embodiments of the present application, in whole or in part. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable apparatus. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium, for example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center by a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line (digital subscriber line, DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. that contains an integration of one or more available media. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., a digital video disc (digital video disc, DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., a Solid State Disk (SSD)), or the like.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, or combinations of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the solution. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present application.

In the several embodiments provided by the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices, and methods may be implemented in other manners. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative, e.g., the division of the units is merely a logical function division, and there may be additional divisions when actually implemented, e.g., multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be omitted or not performed. Alternatively, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed with each other may be an indirect coupling or communication connection via some interfaces, devices or units, which may be in electrical, mechanical or other form.

The units described as separate units may or may not be physically separate, and units shown as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one place, or may be distributed on a plurality of network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

In addition, each functional unit in the embodiments of the present application may be integrated in one processing unit, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more units may be integrated in one unit.

The foregoing is merely illustrative of the present application, and the present application is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art will readily recognize that variations or substitutions are within the scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. An apparatus for 3D printing, comprising:

the shell, the internal surface of said shell forms the cylindrical cavity, there are multiple openings that extend along the axial of the said cylindrical cavity on the said shell, the width of different openings in the said multiple openings is different;

The rotating shaft is provided with a shielding part arranged at the shaft end of the rotating shaft, the shielding part is positioned in the cylindrical inner cavity so as to shield the area in the opening, the area, which is not shielded by the shielding part, in the opening forms a discharge hole, the rotating shaft can rotate around the axis of the cylindrical inner cavity so as to continuously change the area, which is shielded by the shielding part, of the opening, and thus the length of the discharge hole is continuously changed, and the shell can move relative to the rotating shaft so that different openings in the openings are shielded by the shielding part to form the discharge hole;

and the feed inlet is communicated with a material conveying channel formed by the outer end surface of the shielding part and the inner surface of the shell.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the opening is an adjustable-size opening.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the opening is a continuously length-adjustable opening.

4. A device according to claim 3, wherein the housing comprises a first portion and a second portion, the first portion and the second portion being relatively slidable in the axial direction to adjust the length of the opening.

5. The apparatus of any one of claims 1-4, wherein the plurality of openings are aligned along an axial direction of the cylindrical lumen, the housing being translatable along the axial direction of the cylindrical lumen such that different ones of the plurality of openings are blocked by the blocking portion to form the discharge port.

6. The apparatus of any one of claims 1-4, wherein the plurality of openings are arranged in a circumferential direction of the cylindrical lumen, the housing being rotatable about an axis of the cylindrical lumen such that different ones of the plurality of openings are shielded by the shielding portion to form the discharge port.

7. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the first portion and the second portion have a first interface therebetween and a second interface therebetween,

the first abutment surface on the first portion includes a first upper step surface, a first lower step surface, a second upper step surface, a first connection surface connecting the first upper step surface and the first lower step surface, and a second connection surface connecting the first lower step surface and the second upper step surface, a difference in height between the first upper step surface and the first lower step surface being different from a difference in height between the first lower step surface and the second upper step surface,

The first abutment surface on the second portion includes a second lower step surface, a third upper step surface, a third lower step surface, a third connection surface connecting the second lower step surface and the third upper step surface, and a fourth connection surface connecting the third upper step surface and the third lower step surface,

the first upper step surface, the first lower step surface and the second upper step surface are respectively contacted with the second lower step surface, the third upper step surface and the third lower step surface and can relatively slide along the axial direction,

the hollow area formed by the first upper step surface, the first connecting surface, the third upper step surface and the third connecting surface is one opening, the hollow area formed by the second upper step surface, the fourth connecting surface, the third upper step surface and the second connecting surface is the other opening,

the second abutting surface is a plane surface,

the housing is translatable along an axial direction of the cylindrical interior cavity such that different ones of the plurality of openings are blocked by the blocking portion to form the discharge port.

8. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the first portion and the second portion have a first interface therebetween and a second interface therebetween,

The first abutment surface on the first portion includes a first upper step surface, a first lower step surface, a first connection surface connecting the first upper step surface and the first lower step surface,

the first abutment surface on the second portion includes a second upper step surface, a second lower step surface, and a second connection surface connecting the second upper step surface and the second lower step surface,

the second abutment surface on the first portion includes a third upper step surface, a third lower step surface, and a third connecting surface connecting the third upper step surface and the third lower step surface,

the second abutment surface on the second portion includes a fourth upper step surface, a fourth lower step surface, a fourth connecting surface connecting the fourth upper step surface and the fourth lower step surface,

the first upper step surface and the first lower step surface are respectively contacted with the second lower step surface and the second upper step surface and can relatively slide along the axial direction, a hollow area formed by the first lower step surface, the first connecting surface, the second lower step surface and the second connecting surface is one opening,

the third upper step surface and the third lower step surface are respectively contacted with the fourth lower step surface and the fourth upper step surface and can relatively slide along the axial direction, a hollow area formed by the third lower step surface, the third connecting surface, the fourth lower step surface and the fourth connecting surface is the other opening,

The difference in height between the first upper step surface and the first lower step surface is different from the difference in height between the third upper step surface and the third lower step surface,

the shell can rotate around the axis of the cylindrical inner cavity, so that different openings in the plurality of openings are shielded by the shielding part to form the discharge hole.

9. The apparatus of any one of claims 4, 7 or 8, wherein the first portion is slidable in the axial direction relative to the swivel, and the second portion is fixedly connected to or integrally formed with the swivel.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the first portion includes two ends defining a length of the first portion in the axial direction, one or both of the two ends of the first portion being a closed circular ring that fits over the swivel.

11. The apparatus of any one of claims 4, 7 or 8, wherein the first portion and the second portion are each slidable relative to the swivel.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the first portion includes two ends defining a length of the first portion in the axial direction, one of the two ends of the first portion being a closed circular ring that fits over the swivel; and/or the second portion comprises two ends defining a length of the second portion in the axial direction, one of the two ends of the second portion being a closed circular ring that fits over the swivel.

13. The apparatus of any one of claims 1-4, wherein the housing moves relative to the swivel such that an opening of the plurality of openings that is to be opened is blocked by the blocking portion to form the discharge port.

14. The apparatus as recited in claim 13, further comprising:

the first driving device is used for driving the shell to move relative to the rotating shaft, so that an opening which needs to be opened in the plurality of openings is shielded by the shielding part to form the discharge hole.

15. The apparatus of any one of claims 3, 4, 7 or 8, wherein the size of the opening is adjusted such that the length of the opening is the same as the length of the area of the opening that is not obscured by the obstruction.

16. The apparatus as recited in claim 15, further comprising:

and the second driving device is used for adjusting the size of the opening so that the length of the opening is the same as the length of the area, which is not shielded by the shielding part, in the opening.

17. The apparatus as recited in claim 5, further comprising:

and the third driving device is used for driving the shell to translate along the axial direction of the cylindrical inner cavity, so that an opening which needs to be opened in the openings is shielded by the shielding part to form the discharge hole.

18. The apparatus as recited in claim 6, further comprising:

and the fourth driving device is used for driving the shell to rotate around the axis of the cylindrical inner cavity, so that an opening which needs to be opened in the openings is shielded by the shielding part to form the discharge hole.

19. The apparatus as recited in claim 5, further comprising:

and the seal head is used for axially fixing the rotating shaft.

20. The apparatus as recited in claim 6, further comprising:

and a sealing shell for sealing the opening which does not need to be opened in the plurality of openings.

21. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the housing is an outer shell of the apparatus.

22. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the passage of the opening is configured to gradually shrink in cross section in the material outflow direction to a desired size of the opening.

23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the channel of the opening is configured to gradually contract in cross-section in the material outflow direction to a desired width of the opening.

24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the cross-section of the channel of the opening in the length direction is a stepped flow channel cross-section or a streamlined flow channel cross-section.

25. The apparatus according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the interface between the first portion and the second portion has a stepped configuration in the material outflow direction such that the passage of the opening is a configuration with a cross section gradually shrinking to the size required for the opening in the material outflow direction.

26. The apparatus as recited in claim 14, further comprising:

and the control device is used for controlling the driving device in the equipment.

27. A control method of an apparatus for 3D printing, characterized in that the apparatus for 3D printing comprises:

the rotating shaft is provided with a shielding part arranged at the shaft end of the rotating shaft, the shielding part is positioned in the cylindrical inner cavity so as to shield the area in the opening, which is not shielded by the shielding part, forms a discharge hole, the rotating shaft can rotate around the axis of the cylindrical inner cavity, and the shell can move relative to the rotating shaft;

The feeding port is communicated with a material conveying channel which is formed by the outer end surface of the shielding part and the inner surface of the shell;

the control method comprises the following steps:

controlling the shell to move relative to the rotating shaft so that different openings in the plurality of openings are shielded by the shielding part to form the discharge hole;

the rotating shaft is controlled to rotate around the axis of the cylindrical inner cavity so as to continuously change the area of the shielding part for shielding the opening, thereby continuously changing the length of the discharge hole.

28. The control method of claim 27, wherein the opening is an adjustable-size opening;

the method further comprises the steps of:

the size of the opening is adjusted so that the length of the opening is the same as the length of the area of the opening that is not shielded by the shielding portion.

29. The control method of claim 28 wherein the housing includes a first portion and a second portion, the first portion and the second portion being relatively slidable along the axial direction,

the adjusting the size of the opening includes:

the first portion and the second portion are controlled to slide relatively in the axial direction so that the length of the opening is the same as the length of the region of the opening which is not shielded by the shielding portion.

30. The control method of any one of claims 27-29, wherein the plurality of openings are arranged along an axial direction of the cylindrical lumen;

said controlling said housing to move relative to said swivel comprising:

controlling the axial translation of the housing along the cylindrical lumen.

31. The control method according to any one of claims 27 to 29, wherein the plurality of openings are arranged in a circumferential direction of the cylindrical inner cavity;

said controlling said housing to move relative to said swivel comprising:

the housing is controlled to rotate about the axis of the cylindrical lumen.