CN114311671A

CN114311671A - Photocuring printer

Info

Publication number: CN114311671A
Application number: CN202210065929.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 邢永锋; 罗铭; 曾伟斌; 万欣
Original assignee: Guangzhou Heygears IMC Inc
Current assignee: Guangzhou Heygears IMC Inc
Priority date: 2022-01-20
Filing date: 2022-01-20
Publication date: 2022-04-12

Abstract

The invention discloses a photocuring printer, and relates to the field of printers. The user takes out or packs into the shaping subassembly through the window, compare in dismantling completely or turning over the shell, print the interior outer gas exchange of storehouse less, after packing into or taking out the shaping subassembly, the window is in time closed, can effectively avoid printing the storehouse and communicate with the external environment for a long time to reach the effect that the printer is dustproof, accuse temperature, accuse humidity, light-resistant, with guarantee better that the environment that is fit for printing in the printing storehouse is difficult to be destroyed, promote the printing quality.

Description

Photocuring printer

Technical Field

The invention relates to the field of printers, in particular to a photocuring printer.

Background

The existing photocuring 3D printer comprises a forming platform, a material tray and a light source, wherein the light source projects light to the material tray with a light-transmitting bottom, so that a photocuring material between the forming platform and the bottom of the material tray is subjected to polymerization reaction to obtain a cured sheet, the cured sheet is bonded on the forming platform, the forming platform is far away from the bottom of the material tray, the light source is enabled to project the light source to the bottom of the material tray discontinuously or uninterruptedly, the layers are cured, and the stacked cured sheets are finally formed into a three-dimensional solid printing part. The printing material has certain requirements for the printing environment, such as the need to avoid illumination by non-working light sources in some cases, or the need for proper temperature and humidity. And current printer leads to the leakproofness of printer not good because the structure sets up reasonable inadequately, prints storehouse and external environment long-time intercommunication, especially when the user takes or installs charging tray or forming platform, and this will influence the printing quality.

Disclosure of Invention

The object of the present invention consists in providing a photocuring printer which has a better seal.

Embodiments of the invention may be implemented as follows:

the present invention provides a photo-curing printer, comprising:

a housing;

a molding assembly disposed within the housing;

wherein, be provided with at least one window that is used for taking out or putting into the shaping subassembly on the shell, be provided with the closing door on the shell, the closing door can self-closing window.

In this application embodiment, but through making the closing door self-closing window for the inside and outside both sides of shell can be kept apart automatically, avoid outside gas or impurity to get into to destroy the printing environment in the shell.

In an alternative embodiment, an elastic piece is arranged between the closing door and the shell, and the elastic piece always applies force to the closing door so that the closing door has a movement tendency of closing the window;

or the closing door has elasticity, can deform under the action of external force to open the window, and can restore to the closing window after the action of the external force is removed.

In the embodiment, whether the elastic piece is used or the closing door is made to have elasticity, the closing door can be closed to the window by using the elastic restoring force, and the automatic closing of the window can be realized effectively and at low cost.

In an alternative embodiment, the photocuring printer comprises a driving mechanism and a first detection mechanism, wherein the driving mechanism is in transmission connection with the closing door, the first detection mechanism is used for detecting whether the molding assembly is put in or taken out, and the driving mechanism is used for driving the closing door to close the window under the condition that the molding assembly is put in or taken out. In this embodiment, the driving mechanism and the first detecting mechanism cooperate to recognize the insertion or extraction of the molding assembly and to control the closing of the door. The driving mechanism and the first detection mechanism can effectively realize automatic closing of the window.

In an alternative embodiment, the drive mechanism is also used to drive the closing door to open the window when the opening condition is met. In this embodiment, can realize the automation of closing the door through actuating mechanism and open, improve the degree of automation of whole operation of loading, unloading, improve the operating efficiency.

In an optional embodiment, the photo-curing printer further comprises a second detection mechanism, the second detection mechanism is configured to detect whether the molding assembly is approaching the closing door, and the open condition includes the second detection mechanism detecting that the molding assembly is approaching the closing door. In this embodiment, through setting up the second detection mechanism, cooperate actuating mechanism, can make actuating mechanism drive closing door automatic opening when second detection mechanism detects that the shaping subassembly is close the closing door.

In an optional embodiment, the photo-curing printer further includes a second detection mechanism, the second detection mechanism includes a reader, the molding assembly is provided with an identifier, and the start condition includes that the second detection mechanism identifies the identifier on the molding assembly as an effective identifier. The opening condition is set to include that the identification on the forming assembly is identified as the effective identification, so that the window is only limited for the forming assembly to pass through, and the window cannot be opened due to the triggering of other external things when the door is closed.

In an optional embodiment, the forming assembly comprises a forming platform and a material tray, wherein the forming platform is integrally connected with the material tray, or the forming platform and the material tray are in a split structure. The forming platform and the material tray are separated from each other, and the forming platform and the material tray can move relatively when being printed. Before printing begins, the forming platform and the material tray can be integrally connected and are conveyed into the shell from the window together, and the forming platform and the material tray are forcibly separated when waiting to be printed.

In an alternative embodiment, the photo-curing printer further comprises an environment adjusting device, wherein the environment adjusting device comprises an air pressure adjusting mechanism, and the air pressure adjusting mechanism is used for enabling the air pressure in the shell to be higher than the air pressure outside the shell. In this embodiment, the use of the air pressure adjusting mechanism enables the interior of the housing to maintain positive pressure, and prevents dust entrained by external air from entering the housing to affect the printing environment.

In an alternative embodiment, the environmental conditioning unit further comprises at least one of a temperature control element, a humidity control element. By controlling environmental factors such as temperature and humidity, a reasonable printing environment can be maintained, and a better printing effect is ensured.

In an alternative embodiment, the forming assembly includes a forming platform for carrying the printed product and a tray for containing the printed material.

In an optional embodiment, the forming platform is a disposable piece, and after printing is completed, consumables can be directly made, so that the post-processing flow of the forming platform is reduced, and the production cost is reduced.

In an alternative embodiment, the tray includes a tray body having a receiving groove for receiving the printing material and a sealing member for sealing an opening of the receiving groove; the photocuring printer further comprises an unsealing mechanism for opening the seal. In the embodiment, the tray is sealed by the sealing element before printing, so that the inner printing material can be prevented from being polluted; after printing begins, the printer can open the sealing member through the unsealing mechanism, and then the printing material in the tray is available for use.

In an alternative embodiment, the tray includes a tray body and a cover body movably disposed on the tray body, the tray body has a receiving groove for receiving the printing material, and the cover body can open an opening of the receiving groove by moving relative to the tray body. In this embodiment, the charging tray seals the opening of storage tank through setting up the lid, can avoid printing material to pollute, is favorable to printing material's save.

In an alternative embodiment, the photocuring printer further comprises a feeding device, wherein the feeding device comprises a storage container and a conveying mechanism, the storage container is used for storing the printing material, and the conveying mechanism is used for conveying the printing material into the tray. In this embodiment, the printing material is stored in the storage container in advance, and is transported to the tray during printing, so that on one hand, the printing material can be prevented from being polluted due to long storage in the tray, and on the other hand, the automatic adding of the printing material in the tray can be realized.

In an alternative embodiment, the tray comprises a tray body having a receptacle for receiving printing material; the feeding device is arranged on the outer side of the tray body, the photocuring printer is internally provided with a triggering component which can be matched with the feeding device, and after the tray is placed in the photocuring printer, the triggering component can be matched with the feeding device so that the feeding device can convey printing materials into the accommodating groove of the tray body. Through the trigger component, the automatic trigger feeding device can automatically trigger the feeding device to convey the printing material to the tray after the tray is loaded to the preset position. The automatic printing device has the advantages that the printing materials are automatically added, automatic printing is realized, and the printing operation efficiency is improved.

In an optional embodiment, a tray mounting platform for bearing a tray is arranged in the shell, an inner cavity of the shell is divided into a printing bin and an electrical bin by the tray mounting platform, the forming assembly is arranged in the printing bin, and the photocuring printer further comprises a light source arranged in the electrical bin;

the charging tray mounting platform is provided with an optical channel, light of the light source can shine to the electrical bin through the optical channel, and the bottom of the charging tray is light-transmitting, so that the light of the light source can shine to printing materials in the charging tray when the bottom of the charging tray covers the optical channel.

In an optional embodiment, a shielding mechanism is arranged on the tray mounting platform and used for shielding the light channel when the tray does not cover the light channel. In this embodiment, through setting up the mechanism that shelters from, when the charging tray was put into or was taken out, the charging tray did not cover under the condition of light passageway, sheltered from the mechanism and can sheltered from the light passageway and avoid the light irradiation in the electric storehouse to print the storehouse to avoid the light source to shine the printing material in the charging tray and make the printing material reaction go bad or be destroyed.

In an alternative embodiment, the shielding mechanism comprises a fixed end fixedly connected with the tray mounting platform, a movable end capable of moving between a shielding position and an opening position, and a telescopic shielding piece connected between the fixed end and the movable end, wherein the shielding piece is unfolded and used for shielding the light channel when the movable end moves to the shielding position. The shielding piece is arranged to be expandable, and the shielding piece is expanded through the movement of the movable end so as to shield the light channel, so that the shielding piece is an effective mode for shielding the light channel.

In an alternative embodiment, the shutter has elasticity or the shutter mechanism comprises an elastic member, the shutter is compressed when the tray moves to cover the light passage, and the tray abuts against the movable end to make the movable end in the open position; when the tray is taken out, the movable end moves to a shielding position under the action of the restoring force of the shielding piece or the elastic piece. Through setting up the elastic component for the charging tray takes out back shielding piece and can expand automatically, thereby in time shelters from the light passageway, avoids the printing material of light source irradiation in the charging tray to make the printing material reaction go bad or be destroyed.

In an alternative embodiment, at least one of the movable end or the tray is provided with an adsorption piece, when the tray moves to cover the optical channel, the shielding piece is compressed, and the tray abuts against the movable end so that the movable end is in an open position; when the charging tray is taken out, the movable end is brought to a shielding position by the charging tray under the adsorption action of the adsorption piece. In this embodiment, the movable end of the shielding member is brought to the shielding position by the tray in the process of moving out the tray, and the optical channel can be shielded in time. When the movable end reaches the shielding position and the shielding piece is unfolded to the limit, the adsorption piece is forcibly separated from the adsorption object, so that the material tray can be taken out.

In an alternative embodiment, a gas circulation device is provided on the housing for displacing gas within the print chamber. Through setting up gas circulation device, can realize quick taking a breath, the inside waste gas in storehouse is printed in the discharge.

In an optional embodiment, the photocuring printer further comprises a lifting mechanism, and the lifting mechanism is in transmission connection with the forming platform to drive the forming platform to be close to or far away from the material tray.

In another aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a photo-curing printer, including:

a housing;

a molding assembly disposed within the housing;

wherein, be provided with at least one window that is used for taking out or putting into the shaping subassembly on the shell, the shaping subassembly is after installing in the shell, and the window can be plugged by the shaping subassembly.

In this embodiment, utilize forming component self shutoff window, can be isolated with the printing environment in the shell with external environment effectively, avoid printing environment and external environment to carry out gas exchange and be polluted, guaranteed printing quality.

In an alternative embodiment, the forming assembly comprises a forming platform and a tray, wherein the forming platform is used for bearing a printing product, and the tray is used for containing a printing material; the charging tray can block the window after being installed in the shell.

The beneficial effects of the embodiment of the invention include, for example:

the housing of the photocuring printer provided by the embodiment of the application is provided with at least one window used for taking out or putting in the molding assembly, and the housing is provided with a closing door which can automatically close the window. The user removes or inserts the molding assembly through the window, with less gas exchange between the interior and exterior of the print cartridge than if the housing were completely removed or flipped open. After the molding assembly is loaded into or taken out, the window is closed in time, the printing bin can be prevented from being communicated with the external environment for a long time, and the situation that the closing door is forgotten to be closed is avoided. Or the forming assembly can seal the window after being installed in the shell, so that the sealing performance of the printer in the using process can be ensured. Consequently, the photocuring printer that this application embodiment provided has better closure, can guarantee better that the foreign matter is difficult for getting into the print cartridge, and the environment that is fit for printing in the print cartridge is difficult by destruction, so can ensure better printing quality.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings needed to be used in the embodiments will be briefly described below, it should be understood that the following drawings only illustrate some embodiments of the present invention and therefore should not be considered as limiting the scope, and for those skilled in the art, other related drawings can be obtained according to the drawings without inventive efforts.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a stereolithography printer according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, shown without a molding assembly;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a stereolithography printer in one embodiment of the present application after installation of a molding assembly;

FIGS. 3 a-3 c illustrate three types of closure doors according to embodiments of the present application;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the seal arrangement according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a tray provided with a charging device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 and 7 are schematic views of the tray and the shutter in two different states according to another embodiment of the present application.

Icon: 010-photo-curing printers; 100-a housing; 110-a tray mounting platform; 111-optical channel; 112-a first light transmissive member; 113-a shield; 1131 — sliding plate; 114-a fixed end; 115-a movable end; 120-printing bin; 121-window; 122-closing the door; 123-environmental conditioning means; 130-an electrical bin; 131-a vent; 200-a forming platform; 210-a lifting mechanism; 300-material disc; 310-a tray body; 311-a receiving groove; 312-a second light transmissive member; 313-side plate; 320-a cover body; 330-a seal; 340-a feeding device; 341-a storage container; 342-a transport mechanism; 400-a light source; 410-light source cover.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are some, but not all, embodiments of the present invention. The components of embodiments of the present invention generally described and illustrated in the figures herein may be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations.

Thus, the following detailed description of the embodiments of the present invention, presented in the figures, is not intended to limit the scope of the invention, as claimed, but is merely representative of selected embodiments of the invention. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

It should be noted that: like reference numbers and letters refer to like items in the following figures, and thus, once an item is defined in one figure, it need not be further defined and explained in subsequent figures.

In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that if the terms "upper", "lower", "inside", "outside", etc. indicate an orientation or a positional relationship based on that shown in the drawings or that the product of the present invention is used as it is, this is only for convenience of description and simplification of the description, and it does not indicate or imply that the device or the element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed in a specific orientation, and be operated, and thus should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

Furthermore, the appearances of the terms "first," "second," and the like, if any, are used solely to distinguish one from another and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

It should be noted that the features of the embodiments of the present invention may be combined with each other without conflict.

In the field of photocuring printers, the printed material has certain requirements on the printing environment, such as the need to avoid illumination by non-working light sources in some cases, or the need for suitable temperature and humidity. Moreover, the printing chamber of the printer should avoid the entering of foreign matters (such as dust) as much as possible, which affects the printing quality. In addition, in printing, it is required that the light source is not irradiated to the user and that the light source is subjected to works such as dust-proof and water-proof, and therefore, it is necessary to improve the sealing property of the printer. And current printer leads to the leakproofness of printer not good because the structure sets up reasonable inadequately. For example, in a related art photo-curing printer, when a tray or a forming platform is loaded or unloaded, the housing needs to be removed or opened, so that the printing chamber has excessive air flow with the external environment. This results in that the environment that is fit for the deposit of printing material or is fit for the print job in the print cartridge is damaged easily, and foreign matter such as dust also gets into in the print cartridge easily. Therefore, the existing photo-curing printer has poor sealing performance, which will definitely affect the printing quality.

In order to improve the not good problem of photocuring printer closure in the correlation technique, this application embodiment provides a photocuring printer, through set up the opening on the shell, the door is closed or the shaping subassembly itself comes the shutoff window to the light that utilizes can self-closing, can reduce the interior outer gas exchange of printing storehouse effectively like this, improves the closure of printer to guarantee printing quality.

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of a photo-curing printer 010 without a molding member according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of the photo-curing printer 010 after the molding assembly is installed according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to fig. 1 and 2, the embodiment provides a photo-curing printer 010, which includes a housing 100 and a molding assembly disposed in the housing 100. In this embodiment, the forming assembly includes a forming platform 200 and a tray 300, the forming platform 200 is used for carrying the printed product, and the tray 300 is used for accommodating the printed material. The photo-curing printer 010 further includes a lifting mechanism 210, a light source 400 and a tray mounting platform 110, the lifting mechanism 210 is in transmission connection with the forming platform 200 to drive the forming platform 200 to be close to or far away from the tray 300, and the tray 300 is carried by the tray mounting platform 110 in the printing process. In this embodiment, the forming table 200 is above the tray 300. The light source 400 is used for irradiating the printing material, so that the printing material between the forming platform 200 and the tray 300 is solidified, and finally a product adhered to the forming platform 200 can be formed, in the printing process, as the forming platform 200 is gradually far away from the tray 300, the printing material is solidified layer by layer, and the stacked solidified sheets finally form a solid printing piece (i.e. a product). In the present embodiment, the printing material may be a resin that can be polymerized into cured layers under irradiation of the light source 400, and the multiple cured layers form the final printed product.

In the embodiment of the present application, the inner cavity of the casing 100 is divided into the printing chamber 120 and the electrical chamber 130 by the tray mounting platform 110, the molding assembly is disposed in the printing chamber 120, and the light source 400 is disposed in the electrical chamber 130. The tray mounting platform 110 is provided with the optical channel 111, the light of the light source 400 can irradiate to the electrical bin 130 through the optical channel 111, and the bottom of the tray 300 is light-transmitting, so that the light of the light source 400 can irradiate to the printing material in the tray 300 when the bottom of the tray 300 covers the optical channel 111.

In the embodiment of the present application, the housing 100 is provided with at least one window 121 for taking out or putting in the molding assembly, and the housing 100 is provided with a closing door 122, and the closing door 122 can automatically close the window 121. The window 121 communicates the inside and the outside of the printing chamber 120, and the window 121 may be used for the feeding tray 300 to be placed in or taken out, or used for the forming platform 200 to be placed in or taken out, or even used for the feeding tray 300 and the forming platform 200 to be placed in or taken out through one window 121. In the present embodiment, two windows 121 are disposed on the housing 100, and the two windows 121 are spaced apart in the vertical direction and are used for the insertion and the extraction of the feeding tray 300 and the forming platform 200, respectively. In alternative embodiments, the tray 300 and the forming platform 200 may be integrally connected, for example, the forming platform 200 encloses the tray 300, so that the printing material is stored in a closed environment and protected, and the tray 300 and the forming platform 200 are separated by a mechanism (such as an unsealing mechanism) inside the housing when printing is performed.

In the present embodiment, closing the door 122 achieves opening or closing the window 121 by electric driving. Specifically, the curing printer includes a driving mechanism (not shown in the figure) and a first detecting mechanism (not shown in the figure), the driving mechanism is in transmission connection with the closing door 122, the first detecting mechanism is used for detecting whether the molding assembly is put in or taken out, and the driving mechanism is used for driving the closing door 122 to close the window 121 under the condition that the molding assembly is put in or taken out. In this embodiment, after the driving mechanism completes the placing or taking out of the molding assembly, the driving closing door 122 closes the window 121, so as to block the gas communication between the inside and the outside of the printing chamber 120 in time, prevent the outside dust from entering the printing chamber 120, and simultaneously keep the environmental parameters such as the temperature and the humidity inside the printing chamber 120 at a better level. Preferably, the closing door 122 can automatically close the window 121 after the tray 300 or the forming platform 200 leaves the interior of the casing 100, and the closing door 122 can also automatically close after the tray 300 or the forming platform 200 enters the interior of the casing 100. In this way, the tray 300 or the forming platform 200 can ensure the relative tightness of the printer during the operation of entering and exiting the casing 100.

Specifically, the first detection mechanism may be a photoelectric sensor, and determines whether the molding assembly has been put in or taken out by detecting whether an object blocks the light path at the window 121. For example, in the process of loading or unloading the molding assembly, the first detection mechanism detects that the optical path of the molding assembly is blocked, so that it can be determined that the molding assembly is not completely loaded or unloaded; when the light path of the first detection mechanism is blocked and changed into non-blocked, and after the preset time, the molding assembly can be judged to be installed or taken out. The drive mechanism may be a stepper motor.

In an alternative embodiment, the driving mechanism may also be arranged to drive the closing door 122 to open the window 121 when the opening condition is met. For example, the closing door 122 is automatically opened when the molding assembly is to be loaded into the print cartridge 120. In a specific embodiment, the photo-curing printer 010 may further include a second detection mechanism, the second detection mechanism is configured to detect whether the molding member approaches the closing door 122, and the opening condition is that the second detection mechanism detects that the molding member approaches the closing door 122. In other words, when the second detection mechanism detects that the molding member approaches the closing door 122, meaning that the molding member needs to pass through the window 121, it is determined that the opening condition is satisfied, the drive mechanism drives the closing door 122 to open the window 121 so that the molding member passes through. In this embodiment, the molding member approaching the closing door 122 may mean that the distance between the molding member and the closing door 122 in the orientation of the window 121 is less than a preset distance. In this case, the second detection mechanism may include a photoelectric sensor, an ultrasonic distance measurement sensor, or the like capable of detecting whether an object is approaching, and these sensors are capable of emitting corresponding electric signals when the distance between the molding assembly and the closing door 122 is less than a preset distance.

In other alternative embodiments, the open condition may be that the second detection mechanism identifies the molding assembly as a valid molding assembly. For example, the second detection mechanism includes a reader, the molding assembly is provided with a mark, and the opening condition is that the second detection mechanism identifies the mark on the molding assembly as an effective mark. Identification includes, but is not limited to, matrix codes (two-dimensional codes), bar codes, characters, chips, NFC, RFID tags, and the like. In this way, the window 121 is limited to the passage of the molding assembly, and the closing of the door 122 will not trigger the opening of the window 121 by other external objects. In the present embodiment, a second detection mechanism may be provided adjacent the window 121 on the outside of the housing 100, such that the closing door 122 can be automatically opened when a user attempts to load the molding assembly from the window 121; a second detection mechanism may also be provided in the vicinity of the window 121 on the inside of the casing 100, so that the closing door 122 can be automatically opened when the molding assembly is fed out; alternatively, the second detection mechanism is provided inside and outside the housing 100. In an alternative embodiment, the open condition may also include both the molding assembly approaching the closure door 122 and the second sensing mechanism recognizing the indicia on the molding assembly as a valid indicia.

Fig. 3a to 3c show three types of closing doors 122 according to the embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 3a, the closing door 122 is electrically driven. In other alternative embodiments of the present application, the closing door 122 may not be electrically driven, but may be capable of spontaneously moving from a position of opening the window 121 to a position of closing the window 121 under the force of gravity or elastic restoring force. For example, an elastic member is disposed between the closing door 122 and the casing 100, the elastic member always applies a force to the closing door 122 to make the closing door 122 have a movement tendency of closing the window 121, the elastic member may be a spring or a torsion spring, the opening window 121 needs to be opened, the closing door 122 is pushed open by an external force (as shown in fig. 3b, the tray 300 pushes the closing door 122 mounted with the torsion spring open), and when the closing door 122 loses the support of the external force, the position of closing the window 121 is spontaneously recovered. Alternatively, the closing door 122 itself has elasticity, and the closing door 122 can be deformed by an external force to open the window 121 (as shown in fig. 3 c), and can be restored to close the window 121 after the external force is removed. Further alternatively, the closing door 122 may slide up and down with respect to the window 121, may slide up to open the window 121, and may slide down to a position where the window 121 is closed by gravity. With the structure, the driving mechanism is not used for driving the closing door 122, so that the closing door 122 can spontaneously close the window 121, and the sealing performance of the printing chamber 120 is ensured.

In an alternative embodiment of the present application, the window 121 can be closed off by the molding member after the molding member is installed in the housing 100. For example, as shown in fig. 3b and 3c, after the tray 300 is loaded into the casing 100, the window 121 is closed by the tray 300 itself. The tray 300 is provided with a side plate 313 corresponding to the window 121, and the size of the side plate 313 is set to be matched with that of the window 121, so that the side plate 313 can just block the window 121 after the tray 300 is installed in place. In an alternative embodiment, the window 121 may be larger in size than the mold assembly being handled, and thus, closing the window 121 with the mold assembly also allows a portion of the gap to remain. The forming assembly is used for sealing the window 121, so that the effect of sealing the printing bin 120 can be achieved, and the closing door 122 does not need to be opened when the forming assembly is taken out; even in some embodiments, the closing door 122 may be omitted, resulting in cost savings and at least assurance of a seal during printing.

In the embodiment of the present application, the photo-curing printer 010 further includes an environment adjusting device 123, and the environment adjusting device 123 is used for adjusting the environment of the print chamber 120, so that the printing process can be performed in a good environment.

In the present embodiment, the environment adjusting means 123 includes an air pressure adjusting mechanism for making the air pressure inside the casing 100 higher than the air pressure outside the casing 100. Since the air pressure in the housing 100 is high, when the window 121 is opened, foreign matters (such as dust) in the outside air cannot enter the printing chamber 120 through the window 121, thereby ensuring neatness in the printer. Alternatively, the air pressure in the housing 100 may be increased by feeding air into the housing 100, so that the air comes from the outside of the housing 100, the housing 100 may be provided with an air inlet, and the air pressure adjusting mechanism may include a fan for supplying air into the air inlet. In addition, optionally, air intake department can set up filter element, comes the filtration to enter into the impurity in the gas of printing storehouse 120, can avoid the impurity influence printing effect of external entering like this, and filter element can be filter screen, filter core etc..

In some embodiments, the environmental parameters such as temperature, humidity, etc. can also be adjusted by the environmental adjusting device 123. Such as the environmental conditioning unit 123, further includes a temperature control unit and/or a humidity control unit. In an alternative embodiment, the temperature control element may be a heating blower and the humidity control element may be a humidifier. It is emphasized that, in order to implement the control of at least one environmental parameter, it is not necessary to provide a corresponding control element according to each environmental parameter; in other words, a plurality of environmental parameters can also be controlled by one control element, for example, adjusted based on wind speed, heating temperature, wind direction, etc., and the heating fan can affect a plurality of parameters in temperature, humidity, and air pressure in the printing chamber 120.

In order to precisely control the environmental parameters, the photo-curing printer 010 may further include an environment detection device for detecting the environmental parameters, for example, the detection device may include a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, an air pressure sensor, and the like. By detecting these parameters and presenting them to the user, the user is better able to keep track of the real-time status of the environment within the print cartridge 120.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, in the present embodiment, the tray 300 includes a tray body 310 and a cover body 320 movably disposed on the tray body 310, and the cover body 320 can open the opening of the accommodating groove 311 by moving relative to the tray body 310. In this embodiment, the tray mounting platform 110 is provided with an optical channel 111, light from the light source 400 can be irradiated to the electrical bin 130 through the optical channel 111, and the bottom of the tray 300 is transparent, so that when the bottom of the tray 300 covers the optical channel 111, the light from the light source 400 can be irradiated to the printing material in the tray 300. Specifically, the tray mounting platform 110 is a plate body provided with a through hole, and the through hole is internally provided with a first light-transmitting member 112 to separate the electrical bin 130 from the print bin 120, so as to prevent dust, printing materials and other harmful substances which may damage the light source 400 from approaching the light source 400; the through hole and the first light-transmitting member 112 constitute a light passage 111. The bottom of the tray body 310 includes a second light-transmitting member 312, so that when the tray 300 covers the light channel 111, the light of the light source 400 can pass through the first light-transmitting member 112, the through hole and the second light-transmitting member 312 to irradiate the printing material in the tray body 310, and the printing material is cured. In the present embodiment, the first light-transmitting member 112 may be made of glass, acrylic, or the like; the second light-transmitting member 312 may be a release film easily peelable from the cured resin, and the release film may be made of PTFE, FEP, PDMS, PFPE, PE, PFA, PP, PMP, ETFE, UHMWP, and is preferably in a tensioned state.

In order to filter the air in the printing chamber 120 and prevent the user from inhaling the odor when opening the printing chamber 120, an air circulation device (not shown) may be further disposed on the housing 100 for replacing the air in the printing chamber 120. For example, the gas circulation device comprises an exhaust fan, a circulation air duct and activated carbon arranged in the air duct. Further, the photo-curing printer 010 may further include a dust removing device (not shown in the drawings), wherein the dust removing device includes an exhaust fan and a filtering member, and the exhaust fan and the filtering member can suck the gas in the print cartridge 120 to filter the gas in the print cartridge 120. In the embodiment of the present application, a ventilation opening 131 is disposed on a side wall of the electrical cabin 130, and can be used for gas communication between the inside and the outside of the electrical cabin 130.

In the embodiment, the housing 100 at the printing chamber 120 is made of a material (e.g., UV-resistant material) capable of filtering the light of the light source 400 or a material that is opaque.

The printing chamber 120 has better sealing performance, and can reduce the influence of external environmental factors such as dust, air moisture, external illumination and the like on the printing process. Meanwhile, in order to ensure the printing effect, the internal devices should also have better capability of resisting the external environment interference. For example, the charging tray 300 is used for containing printing materials, and the bottom of the charging tray should be clean, so that influence of fine particles such as dust on printing quality is avoided, and if the printing materials are placed in the charging tray 300 in advance, influence of environmental factors such as external light, temperature and humidity of a non-printer light source on the properties of the printing materials is avoided. After the tray 300 is used, unused printing materials may be contained in the tray 300 and need to be properly preserved. Therefore, the closure of the tray 300 needs to be ensured.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, in the present embodiment, the cover 320 is rotatably connected to the tray 310, and the opening of the receiving groove 311 can be opened or closed by turning over the cover 320. In other embodiments, the cover 320 may be slidably disposed on the tray 310. The cover 320 may be electrically driven, such as being capable of being opened or closed by a motor.

In other alternative embodiments, the tray 300 includes a tray body 310 having a receiving groove 311 for receiving the printing material, and a sealing member for sealing an opening of the receiving groove 311; the photo-curing printer 010 further includes an unsealing mechanism for opening the seal. The unsealing mechanism may be provided at the forming station 200, and the sealing member may be opened after the forming station 200 approaches the tray 300. Alternatively, the seal may be disposable, such as a breakable plastic film. The printing material is previously stored in the storage groove 311 of the tray 300 at the time of manufacturing the tray 300, and then sealed with a sealing member, and an unsealing mechanism breaks the sealing member or removes the sealing member from the tray body 310 before printing. Alternatively, the sealing member may be a lid movably provided on the tray 310, and the opening of the storage groove 311 may be opened or closed by moving the lid by the unsealing mechanism. Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of the arrangement of the sealing member 330 according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 4, in an alternative embodiment, the sealing member 330 may also be integrated with the forming platform 200, the sealing member 330 closes the opening of the receiving slot 311 before printing starts, and after printing starts, the lifting mechanism 210 unseals the tray 300 in the process of lifting the forming platform 200.

In another alternative embodiment, the forming platform 200 is a plastic part integrally formed, and the plastic part is subjected to surface treatment, so that the surface of the formed forming platform has a micro texture, or the surface roughness of the forming platform 200 can be increased, so that the adhesion between the surface of the forming platform 200 and a three-dimensional object (not shown in the figure) is increased, and the phenomenon of plate falling is avoided.

Optionally, the forming platform 200 is a disposable part, so that after printing is completed and the three-dimensional object is separated from the three-dimensional object, a user can directly discard the forming platform 200 without performing subsequent maintenance, maintenance or cleaning on the forming platform 200.

In another alternative embodiment, the photo-curing printer 010 further includes a feeding device 340, the feeding device 340 includes a storage container 341 and a conveying mechanism 342, the storage container 341 is used for storing the printing material, and the conveying mechanism 342 is used for conveying the printing material into the tray 300. In this case, the printing material is not stored in the tray 300 in advance, the printing material is stored in the storage container 341 for a long time before printing, and when the tray 300 is mounted in place to prepare for printing, the printing material in the storage container 341 is transferred into the tray 300 by the transfer mechanism 342. The delivery mechanism 342 may include tubing, a valve body, a pump, etc.

Fig. 5 is a schematic view of a tray 300 provided with a charging device 340 according to an embodiment of the present application. In an alternative embodiment, as shown in fig. 5, the tray 300 includes a tray body 310 and a feeding device 340, the feeding device 340 is disposed outside the tray body 310, a triggering member capable of cooperating with the feeding device 340 is disposed in the photo-curing printer 010, and after the tray 300 is loaded in the photo-curing printer 010, the triggering member is capable of cooperating with the feeding device 340, so that the feeding device 340 feeds the printing material into the containing groove 311 of the tray body 310. For example, a button is arranged on the conveying mechanism 342 of the feeding device 340, and the conveying mechanism 342 can be triggered to start to operate by pressing the button, so that the printing material in the storage container 341 is conveyed into the accommodating cavity of the tray body 310; and the triggering member may be a stop that abuts the button when the tray 300 is in place to initiate operation of the charging device 340. By the mode, the printing material can be prevented from being exposed for a long time, so that the property of the printing material is influenced, and the printing effect is further influenced.

In the present embodiment, a shielding mechanism for shielding the light passage 111 in a case where the tray 300 does not cover the light passage 111 is provided on the tray mounting platform 110.

In this embodiment, the shielding mechanism includes a fixed end 114 fixedly connected to the tray mounting platform 110, a movable end 115 movable between a shielding position and an open position, and a retractable shielding member 113 disposed between the fixed end 114 and the movable end 115, wherein the shielding member 113 expands and shields the light passage 111 when the movable end 115 moves to the shielding position. The shutter 113 may be a deformable member such as an accordion cover, e.g., a member made of flexible cloth, flexible film, flexible sheet; as shown in fig. 1 and 2, the shield 113 may be a sheet-like structure folded together, such as cloth or paper folded together. When the movable end 115 is located at the closed position, the distance between the movable end 115 and the fixed end 114 is the largest, the shielding member 113 is in the closed state, and the covering area of the shielding member 113 is the largest so as to shield the light source 400 from projecting upward. When the tray 300 is placed on the tray mounting platform 110, the outer wall surface of the tray 300 contacts with the movable end 115, and as the tray 300 moves into the tray mounting platform 110, the movable end 115 moves in the direction close to the fixed end 114, and the coverage area of the shielding member 113 decreases accordingly, when the tray 300 is fixed at a preset position (covering the light channel 111) on the tray mounting platform 110, the tray 300 is located above the light source 400, the distance between the movable end 115 and the fixed end 114 is minimum, and at the closing position, the coverage area of the shielding member 113 is minimum, the shielding member 113 cannot shield the light source 400, and the light source 400 can project light to the bottom of the tray 300.

Fig. 6 and 7 are schematic views of the tray 300 and the shutter 113 in two different states according to another embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 6 and 7, in an alternative embodiment, the shutter 113 comprises a plurality of sliding plates 1131 stacked one on top of the other, with two adjacent sliding plates 1131 in the stacking direction being slidably connected. One of the first sliding plate 1131 and the last sliding plate 1131 is fixedly connected to fixed end 114, and the other of the first sliding plate 1131 and the last sliding plate 1131 is fixedly connected to movable end 115. It can be understood that, in the process of changing the distance between the abutting end and the fixed end 114, the overlapping area between two adjacent sliding plates 1131 changes simultaneously or not, and the covering area of the shielding member 113 changes along with the change of the overlapping area between two adjacent sliding plates 1131 of each group. In fig. 6, the tray 300 abuts against the shielding member 113, so that the shielding member 113 is contracted to avoid the light channel 111; in fig. 7, the tray 300 is taken out of the tray mounting platform 110, and the shutter 113 is unfolded and blocks the light passage 111.

Optionally, in some embodiments, the shutter 113 has elasticity or the shutter mechanism comprises an elastic member, when the tray 300 moves to cover the light channel 111, the shutter 113 is compressed, and the tray 300 abuts the movable end 115 to place the movable end 115 in the open position; when the tray 300 is taken out, the movable end 115 moves to the shielding position by the restoring force of the shielding member 113 or the elastic member.

In other alternative embodiments, at least one of the movable end 115 or the tray 300 is provided with a suction piece, when the tray 300 moves to cover the light channel 111, the blocking piece 113 is compressed, and the tray 300 abuts against the movable end 115 to enable the movable end 115 to be in an open position; when the tray 300 is taken out, the movable end 115 is brought to the shielding position by the tray 300 under the adsorption action of the adsorption member. When the tray 300 is taken out from the printing hopper 120, the suction member is forcibly released from suction. The attraction member may be a magnet or an electromagnet.

In other embodiments, a snap structure may be provided at the movable end 115 and/or the tray 300, so that the tray 300 can pull the shutter 113 to unfold through the snap structure, and the snap structure is forcibly disengaged when the tray 300 is taken out of the print cartridge 120. Of course, the tray 300 and the movable end 115 of the shutter 113 can be connected or disconnected by other electrically controlled mechanisms.

In the above embodiment, the opening of the tray 300 may be associated with the opening of the optical channel 111, that is, the opening of the tray 300 and the opening of the optical channel 111 (which are not blocked by the blocking member 113) may be triggered simultaneously with the placement of the tray 300.

In the embodiment of the present application, the shutter 113 may be disposed not only in the printing chamber 120 but also in the electrical chamber 130; when the movable end 115 of the optical fiber cable is arranged in the electrical bin 130, the movable end can be matched with the tray 300 through other connecting structures so as to open or block the optical channel 111, and the movable end can also be independently controlled by the motor to open or block the optical channel 111.

With continued reference to fig. 1 and fig. 2, in the embodiment of the present application, the photo-curing printer 010 further includes a light source housing 410 disposed in the electrical chamber 130, and the light source 400 is accommodated inside the light source housing 410. In this embodiment, the light source 400 is accommodated in the sealed space defined by the light source housing 410 and the tray mounting platform 110, and the light source 400 is isolated from the harmful substances in the electrical bin 130, so that the light source 400 is further protected.

The photo-curing printer 010 provided by the above embodiment of the present application has the following advantages:

the photocuring printer 010 of the embodiment of the application, window 121 on its shell 100 supplies the shaping subassembly to pass through, can realize putting into and taking out of shaping subassembly, compare and open shell 100 or pull down shell 100 among the prior art, can reduce the inside and outside gaseous interchange of print cartridge 120, keep being in the environment that is fit for the printing material to place or is fit for printing in the print cartridge 120. The window 121 can be automatically closed by the closing door 122, or the window 121 can be blocked by the forming assembly, so that gas communication between the inside and the outside of the printing bin 120 is reduced, and external dust is prevented from entering the printing bin 120 to influence the printing effect. In addition, the environment adjusting device 123 can adjust the air pressure of the printing chamber 120 to be slightly higher than the external environment air pressure, in which case even if the window 121 is opened, external impurities are not easily poured into the printing chamber 120 to affect the environment of the printing chamber 120. In the embodiment of the present application, the shielding member 113 can shield the light path after the tray 300 is taken away, so as to prevent the user from being damaged by the light of the light source 400. In addition, by arranging the sealing element 330 and the cover body 320 on the tray 300 or arranging the feeding device 340, the printing material can be better stored, so that the printing material used in the printing process is always kept in a better state, and the printing effect is facilitated.

To sum up, be provided with at least one window that is used for taking out or putting into the shaping subassembly on the photocuring printer's that this application embodiment provided shell, be provided with the closing door on the shell, but closing door self-closing window. The user removes or inserts the molding assembly through the window, with less gas exchange between the interior and exterior of the print cartridge than if the housing were completely removed or flipped open. After the molding assembly is loaded into or taken out, the window is closed in time, the printing bin can be prevented from being communicated with the external environment for a long time, and the situation that the closing door is forgotten to be closed is avoided. Or the forming assembly can seal the window after being installed in the shell, so that the sealing performance of the printer in the using process can be ensured. Consequently, the photocuring printer that this application embodiment provided has better closure, can guarantee better that the foreign matter is difficult for getting into the print cartridge, and the environment that is fit for printing in the print cartridge is difficult by destruction, so can ensure better printing quality.

The above description is only for the specific embodiments of the present invention, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the technical scope of the present invention are included in the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A photocuring printer, comprising:

a housing;

a molding assembly disposed within the housing;

the forming assembly comprises a forming assembly and a shell, wherein the shell is provided with at least one window used for taking out or putting in the forming assembly, the shell is provided with a closing door, and the closing door can automatically close the window.

2. The photocuring printer of claim 1, wherein an elastic member is disposed between the closing door and the housing, and the elastic member constantly applies force to the closing door to make the closing door have a movement tendency about closing the window;

or the closing door has elasticity, and the closing door can deform under the action of external force to open the window and can restore to close the window after the action of the external force is removed.

3. The photocuring printer of claim 1, comprising a drive mechanism in driving connection with the closing door and a first detection mechanism for detecting whether the molding assembly has been put in or taken out, the drive mechanism being configured to drive the closing door to close the window if the molding assembly has been put in or taken out.

4. The photocuring printer of claim 3, wherein the drive mechanism is further configured to drive the closure door to open the window when an open condition is satisfied.

5. The photo-curing printer of claim 4, further comprising a second detection mechanism for detecting whether said molding assembly is proximate to said closure door, said open condition including said second detection mechanism detecting said molding assembly being proximate to said closure door.

6. The photo-curing printer of claim 4, further comprising a second detection mechanism, wherein the second detection mechanism comprises a reader, wherein the molding assembly has an identifier disposed thereon, and wherein the activation condition comprises the second detection mechanism recognizing the identifier on the molding assembly as a valid identifier.

7. The photo-curing printer of any one of claims 1-6, wherein the molding assembly includes a molding platform and a tray, the molding platform being integrally connected to the tray or the molding platform being separable from the tray.

8. The photo-curing printer according to claim 7, wherein the tray includes a tray body having a receiving slot for receiving the printing material and a sealing member for sealing an opening of the receiving slot; the photocuring printer further comprises an unsealing mechanism for opening the sealing member.

9. The photo-curing printer according to claim 7, wherein the tray includes a tray body and a cover body movably disposed on the tray body, the tray body has a receiving groove for receiving the printing material, and the cover body is capable of opening or closing an opening of the receiving groove by moving relative to the tray body.

10. The photo-curing printer of claim 7, further comprising a feeding device, the feeding device comprising a storage container for storing a printing material and a conveying mechanism for conveying the printing material into a tray.

11. The photocuring printer of claim 7, wherein a tray mounting platform for carrying a tray is disposed in the housing, the inner cavity of the housing is divided into a printing chamber and an electrical chamber by the tray mounting platform, the molding assembly is disposed in the printing chamber, and the photocuring printer further comprises a light source disposed in the electrical chamber;

the last optical channel that is provided with of charging tray mounting platform, the light of light source can pass through the optical channel shine to the electrical bin, the bottom printing opacity of charging tray, so that the bottom of charging tray covers during the optical channel the light of light source can shine printing material in the charging tray.

12. The photocuring printer of claim 11, wherein a blocking mechanism is disposed on the tray mounting platform and is configured to block the light channel if the tray does not cover the light channel.

13. The photocuring printer of claim 12, wherein a gas circulation device is disposed on the housing for displacing gas within the print cartridge.

14. The photo-curing printer of claim 7, wherein the molding platform is a single-use piece.

15. The photo-curing printer of any one of claims 1-6, further comprising an environmental conditioning device, the environmental conditioning device comprising an air pressure regulating mechanism for providing a higher air pressure within the enclosure than outside the enclosure.

16. The photo-curing printer of claim 15, wherein the environmental conditioning device further comprises at least one of a temperature control element, a humidity control element.

17. A photocuring printer, comprising:

a housing;

a molding assembly disposed within the housing;

the forming component is arranged in the shell, and the window can be plugged by the forming component after the forming component is installed in the shell.

18. The photocuring printer of claim 17, wherein the molding assembly includes a molding platform for carrying a printed product and a tray for containing a printed material; the charging tray can seal the window after being installed in the shell.