CN116214924A

CN116214924A - Three-dimensional printer and working method thereof

Info

Publication number: CN116214924A
Application number: CN202310407072.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 苏健强; 何永刚
Original assignee: Zhuhai Tianwei Additives Co ltd
Current assignee: Zhuhai Tianwei Additives Co ltd
Priority date: 2023-04-14
Filing date: 2023-04-14
Publication date: 2023-06-06

Abstract

The invention provides a three-dimensional printer and a working method thereof, wherein the three-dimensional printer comprises a frame; an objective table on the frame; the first printing nozzle is arranged above the objective table; the second printing spray head is arranged below the objective table; the first driving mechanism can drive the first printing nozzle to move relative to the objective table; the second driving mechanism can drive the second printing nozzle to move relative to the objective table; the supporting mechanism comprises a first driving unit and a clamping unit, wherein the first driving unit can drive the clamping unit to move relative to the objective table and can drive the clamping unit to switch between a clamping state and a loosening state; and the control system is electrically connected with the first printing nozzle, the second printing nozzle, the first driving mechanism, the second driving mechanism and the supporting mechanism respectively. The invention also provides a working method of the three-dimensional printer, and the three-dimensional printer reduces the slicing difficulty of the product data model while considering the printing speed.

Description

Three-dimensional printer and working method thereof

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of three-dimensional printing, in particular to a three-dimensional printer and a working method of the three-dimensional printer.

Background

The three-dimensional printing technology is to control the travelling path of the printing spray head and/or the objective table through the control system of the three-dimensional printer, so that printing consumables sprayed by the printing spray head are piled on the objective table to form a three-dimensional printing product with a set shape. Compared with the traditional manufacturing technology, the three-dimensional printing technology has the advantages that machining equipment (such as a lathe, a milling machine, a machining center and the like), a die, a tool clamp and the like are not needed to be used for molding the product, and the product can be directly molded according to the graphic data, so that the development period of the product can be shortened, and the production cost is greatly reduced.

The existing FDM (fused deposition modeling) three-dimensional printer basically adopts a three-axis control system, namely, a printing spray head is controlled to move in the X-axis and Y-axis directions, and a stage is controlled to move in the Z-axis direction; because the printing speed of single printing nozzle is slower, consequently, in order to adapt to the quick production requirement of printing, the FDM three-dimensional printer of two printing nozzle is released on the market now, this FDM three-dimensional printer of two printing nozzle still adopts the printing nozzle to remove in X axis and Y axis direction, the moving system of objective table in Z axis direction removal, and the two printing nozzle of this FDM three-dimensional printer all sets up in the top of objective table, the two printing nozzle can synchronous or asynchronous motion.

However, when the dual printing heads are in synchronous motion, since there is a separation distance between the dual printing heads, only one of the dual printing heads is actually operated when the size of the printed product is smaller than the separation distance, resulting in a forced drop of the printing speed; when the double printing spray heads do asynchronous movement, the problem that only one printing spray head works can also occur, and in the movement process of the two printing spray heads, the two printing spray heads are required to be controlled to avoid each other in real time, so that a control system for controlling the movement of the printing spray heads can become complex, the research and development and manufacturing difficulty of the FDM three-dimensional printer is also increased, and the production cost of the FDM three-dimensional printer is further increased. Furthermore, when the FDM three-dimensional printer is used for printing products, the most effective placement angle of plane placement printing is considered in the slicing process of the product data model, meanwhile, the influence of the motion printing of the printing spray head on the strength and quality of the products is considered, and the slicing difficulty of the products is increased.

Disclosure of Invention

In order to solve the problems, the main purpose of the invention is to provide a three-dimensional printer which can reduce the slicing difficulty of a product data model while considering the printing speed, solve the problem that printing nozzles need to avoid each other in real time in the printing process, and have a larger printable size range.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a working method of the three-dimensional printer.

In order to achieve the main purpose of the invention, the invention provides a three-dimensional printer, which comprises a frame and an objective table, wherein the objective table is arranged on the frame, the three-dimensional printer further comprises a first printing spray head, a second printing spray head, a first driving mechanism, a second driving mechanism, a supporting mechanism and a control system, the first printing spray head is arranged above the objective table, the second printing spray head is arranged below the objective table, the first driving mechanism is arranged on the frame, the first driving mechanism can drive the first printing spray head to move relative to the objective table, the second driving mechanism is arranged on the frame, the second driving mechanism can drive the second printing spray head to move relative to the objective table, the supporting mechanism comprises a clamping unit and a first driving unit, the first driving unit is arranged on the frame, the first driving unit can drive the clamping unit to move relative to the objective table, the first driving unit can also drive the clamping unit to switch states between clamping states and loosening states, and the control system is respectively electrically connected with the first printing spray head, the second printing spray head, the first driving mechanism, the second driving mechanism and the supporting mechanism.

From the above, through the layout design of the first printing nozzle and the second printing nozzle, the three-dimensional printer reduces the slicing difficulty of the product data model while considering the printing speed, simultaneously solves the problem that the printing nozzles of the existing double-printing nozzle three-dimensional printer need to avoid each other in real time in the printing process, and greatly reduces the programming difficulty of a control system; furthermore, the above design also enables a three-dimensional printer with a larger printable size range.

In a preferred embodiment, the ejection pressure of the second printing head is greater than the ejection pressure of the first printing head.

From the above, since the second printing nozzle is located below the objective table and needs to spray the printing consumable on the objective table, the printing consumable sprayed by the second printing nozzle can be reliably adhered to the objective table or a part of the product printed by the first printing nozzle through the setting of the spraying pressure of the second printing nozzle.

In another preferred embodiment, the curing speed of the printing consumable ejected by the second printing head is greater than the curing speed of the printing consumable ejected by the first printing head.

From the above, because the printing consumables that the second printing shower nozzle was spouted receives gravity influence, and does not receive holding power, consequently through promoting the solidification speed of the printing consumables that the second printing shower nozzle was spouted, can make the second printing consumables better, more stably solidify, prevent that the printing consumables that the second printing shower nozzle was spouted from appearing dripping, the phenomenon that drops.

The three-dimensional printer further comprises a cooling and solidifying mechanism, wherein the cooling and solidifying mechanism is electrically connected with the control system, the cooling and solidifying mechanism is arranged at the second printing nozzle, and the second driving mechanism can drive the cooling and solidifying mechanism to synchronously move with the second printing nozzle; and/or the printing consumables for the second print head comprise a curing accelerator.

From the above, the solidification of the printing consumable ejected by the second printing nozzle can be accelerated, namely, the cooling solidification mechanism can be used for carrying out physical cooling, so that the solidification of the printing consumable is accelerated; and the printing consumable material in a molten state can be cooled and solidified rapidly by the additive in the printing consumable material.

In another preferred embodiment, the second driving mechanism may further drive the second printing nozzle to rotate relative to the clamping unit.

From the above, the design enables the second printing head to have a larger, more flexible printing space.

In another preferred embodiment, the clamping unit comprises two clamping jaws, and the first driving unit can drive the two clamping jaws to move towards or away from each other.

From the above, the first driving unit can drive the two clamping jaws to move oppositely so that the clamping unit is in a clamping state, and further, part of printed products are clamped, and meanwhile, the first driving unit can also drive the two clamping jaws to move oppositely so that the clamping unit is in a loosening state, and further, the clamping of the printed products is relieved.

In another preferred embodiment, the stage has a working position and a release position, when the stage is in the working position, the projection of the first printing nozzle and the projection of the second printing nozzle are both located on the stage in the Z-axis direction of the three-dimensional printer, and when the stage is in the release position, the projection of the first printing nozzle and the projection of the second printing nozzle are both located outside the stage in the Z-axis direction; the three-dimensional printer further comprises a third driving mechanism, the third driving mechanism is electrically connected with the control system, the third driving mechanism is installed on the frame, and the third driving mechanism can drive the objective table to move between the working position and the release position.

From the above, when the objective table can not become a part of the printed product, the third driving mechanism can control the objective table to separate from the printed part of the product, so that the second driving mechanism can drive the second printing nozzle to spray the printing consumable to the lower part of the printed part of the product, thereby matching with the first printing nozzle to finish the printing of the product to be formed, and accelerating the printing speed of the product.

Further, the object stage is in a flake shape and is made of PLA material or ABS material; and/or the bearing surface of the object stage is coated with a release coating.

From the above, the objective table is set to be in a sheet shape, and the objective table is made of PLA material or ABS material and other materials which can form a part of the product to be molded, so that the objective table can form a part of the product, and further the objective table can not be moved in the printing process, and the objective table group is prevented from obstructing the printing operation of the second printing nozzle; the easy-release coating is coated on the object stage, so that when the object stage is moved in the printing process, the object stage can be better separated from the printed part of the product, and damage to the part of the product is prevented.

In a further mode, when the objective table is in a flake shape, a through hole is formed in the objective table, and the through hole penetrates through the objective table along the thickness direction of the objective table; the aperture of the through-hole is between 0.28 and 1.2 times the diameter of the extruded printing consumable.

From the above, the design makes the printing consumables ejected by the first printing nozzle and the printing consumables ejected by the second printing nozzle better blend through the through holes, so that the bonding strength between the two printing consumables is greatly improved.

In order to achieve another object of the present invention, the present invention provides a working method of a three-dimensional printer, where the three-dimensional printer is the three-dimensional printer, and the working method includes: after the first driving mechanism drives the first printing nozzle to move to a first preset position, the first printing nozzle starts to spray the first printing consumable material to the objective table, when the height of a first part of product printed by the first printing nozzle reaches the first preset height, the first driving unit drives the clamping unit to clamp the first part of product, the objective table is moved to enable the objective table to be positioned outside the printing areas of the first printing nozzle and the second printing nozzle and separate the first part of product from the objective table, the second driving mechanism drives the second printing nozzle to move to a second preset position, the second printing nozzle starts to spray the second printing consumable material to the first part of product, the first printing nozzle continues to spray the first printing consumable material to the first part of product until the required printing of the first product is completed, and when the printing of the first product is completed, the first driving mechanism drives the first printing nozzle to reset, the second driving unit drives the clamping unit to release the clamping of the first product; or when the objective table is in a flake shape, the first driving mechanism drives the first printing spray head to move to a third preset position, the first printing spray head starts to spray third printing consumable materials to the objective table, the second driving mechanism drives the second printing spray head to move to a fourth preset position, the second printing spray head starts to spray fourth printing consumable materials to the objective table until printing of a required second product is completed, and when printing of the second product is completed, the first driving mechanism drives the first printing spray head to reset, and the second driving mechanism drives the second printing spray head to reset.

Therefore, the working method can reduce the slicing difficulty of the product data model while considering the printing speed, solves the problem that the printing nozzles of the existing double-printing-nozzle three-dimensional printer need to avoid each other in real time in the printing process, greatly reduces the programming difficulty of a control system, and enables the three-dimensional printer to have a larger printable size range.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural view of a first embodiment of the three-dimensional printer of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram of a first omitted part of the components of the first embodiment of the three-dimensional printer of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a block diagram of a first embodiment of the three-dimensional printer of the present invention after omitting part of the components.

Fig. 4 is a block diagram of a third omitted part of the components of the first embodiment of the three-dimensional printer of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a schematic structural view of a second embodiment of the three-dimensional printer of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a block diagram of a three-dimensional printer according to a second embodiment of the present invention, with parts of the components omitted.

The invention is further described below with reference to the drawings and examples.

Detailed Description

First embodiment of three-dimensional Printer

Referring to fig. 1, the three-dimensional printer includes a frame, a stage 2, a first printing head 31, a second printing head 32, a first driving mechanism 4, a second driving mechanism 5, a supporting mechanism 6, and a control system. The control system is electrically connected with the first printing nozzle 31, the second printing nozzle 32, the first driving mechanism 4, the second driving mechanism 5 and the supporting mechanism 6 respectively, so that the control system can regulate and control the first printing nozzle 31, the second printing nozzle 32, the first driving mechanism 4, the second driving mechanism 5 and the supporting mechanism 6 to mutually cooperate so as to finish printing of three-dimensional printing products.

The stage 2 is mounted on a frame, wherein a carrying surface of the stage 2 is coated with a release coating 22, and the release coating 22 is all coatings in the prior art, so the release coating 22 is not described in detail herein, and the release coating 22 has the advantages of being easy to adhere to a three-dimensional printing product at a high temperature and to detach from the three-dimensional printing product at a low temperature, so that the three-dimensional printing product formed on the stage 2 is easy to be removed from the stage 2 and is not damaged. Of course, the easy-release coating 22 may be an easy-release coating as disclosed in the patent of the invention (issued to publication No. CN 109468156B), or may be another coating having the same function.

In the present embodiment, the stage 2 has a working position and a release position, and when the stage 2 is in the working position, the projection of the first printing head 31 and the projection of the second printing head 32 are both located on the stage 2 in the Z-axis direction of the three-dimensional printer; when the stage 2 is in the release position, in the Z-axis direction, the projection of the first printing head 31 and the projection of the second printing head 32 are both located outside the stage 2. When the objective table 2 cannot be a part of a three-dimensional printing product, after the first driving mechanism 4 drives the first printing nozzle 31 to print a part of the product with a certain height (the height is preferably 3 mm to 6 mm) on the objective table 2, the part of the product can be clamped by the supporting mechanism 6 and the objective table 2 is withdrawn from the working position, so that the second driving mechanism 5 can drive the second printing nozzle 32 to spray printing supplies to the lower part of the printed part of the product, thereby completing the printing of the product to be molded in cooperation with the first printing nozzle 31 and accelerating the printing speed of the product.

With reference to fig. 2, the three-dimensional printer preferably further includes a third driving mechanism 7, the third driving mechanism 7 is electrically connected with the control system, the third driving mechanism 7 is mounted on the frame, and the third driving mechanism 7 is used for driving the stage 2 to perform position switching between the working position and the release position, so as to realize automatic control on the position of the stage 2. The frame is preferably provided with a first rotating shaft 111, a second rotating shaft 112 and a first guide rail unit 113, wherein the first rotating shaft 111 and the second rotating shaft 112 are rotatably installed on the frame around their own rotation axes, the first rotating shaft 111 and the second rotating shaft 112 extend along the X-axis direction, and the first rotating shaft 111 and the second rotating shaft 112 are distributed along the Y-axis direction.

The first rail unit 113 preferably includes two first rails extending in the Y-axis direction and distributed in the X-axis direction. The stage 2 is provided with a third slider unit 21 at a lower portion thereof, and the third slider unit 21 preferably includes two second sliders, which are in one-to-one correspondence with the two first guide rails, and are slidably mounted on the corresponding one of the first guide rails.

The third drive mechanism 7 preferably includes a belt transmission unit 72 and an eighth drive unit 71, the number of the belt transmission units 72 preferably being two, one belt transmission unit 72 being provided at one first guide rail. One belt pulley of the belt transmission unit 72 is fixedly mounted on the first rotating shaft 111, the other belt pulley of the belt transmission unit 72 is mounted on the second rotating shaft 112, the transmission belt of the belt transmission unit 72 is sleeved on the two belt pulleys of the belt transmission unit 72, and the transmission belt of the belt transmission unit 72 is fixedly connected with a corresponding third sliding block. The eighth driving unit 71 includes a seventh motor 711 and a seventh belt transmission module 712, and the seventh motor 711 is mounted on the frame. One pulley of the seventh belt driving module 712 is fixedly installed on the first rotating shaft 111 or the second rotating shaft 112, the other pulley of the seventh belt driving module 712 is fixedly installed on the driving shaft of the seventh motor 711, and the driving belt of the seventh belt driving module 712 is sleeved on the two pulleys of the seventh belt driving module 712 such that the eighth driving unit 71 can drive the stage 2 to move between the operating position and the release position in the Y-axis direction through the belt driving unit 72.

Referring to fig. 3, the first printing head 31 is disposed above the stage 2, the first driving mechanism 4 is mounted on the frame, and the first driving mechanism 4 is used for driving the first printing head 31 to move relative to the stage 2. The second rail unit 114 is disposed on the rack, and the second rail unit 114 preferably includes two second rails, where the two second rails are distributed along the X-axis direction and the second rails extend along the Z-axis direction.

The first driving mechanism 4 includes a first frame 41, a second driving unit 42, a third driving unit 43, and a fourth driving unit 44. The first frame 41 is provided with a third rotation shaft 411, a fourth rotation shaft 412, a first slider unit 413, and a third rail unit 414. The third rotating shaft 411 and the fourth rotating shaft 412 extend along the X-axis direction, and the third rotating shaft 411 and the fourth rotating shaft 412 are distributed along the Y-axis direction, and the third rotating shaft 411 and the fourth rotating shaft 412 are rotatably mounted on the first frame 41 around their own rotation axes, respectively. The first slider unit 413 preferably includes two first sliders, which correspond to the two second rails one by one, and one first slider is slidably mounted on the corresponding one second rail. The third rail unit 414 preferably includes two third rails that are distributed along the X-axis direction and extend along the Y-axis direction.

The second driving unit 42 includes a first motor 421 and a first screw 422, the first motor 421 is mounted on the frame, and a driving shaft of the first motor 421 is connected to the first screw 422. The first lead screw 422 extends in the Z-axis direction, and the first lead screw 422 is screw-coupled with the first frame 41 such that the first motor 421 can drive the first frame 41 to move in the Z-axis direction through the first lead screw 422.

The third driving unit 43 includes a first belt driving module 431, a first sled 432, a second motor 433 and a second belt driving module 434. The number of the first belt driving modules 431 is preferably two, one group of the first belt driving modules 431 is arranged at a third guide rail, one belt wheel of the first belt driving modules 431 is fixedly arranged on the third rotating shaft 411, the other belt wheel of the first belt driving modules 431 is fixedly arranged on the fourth rotating shaft 412, and the driving belt of the first belt driving modules 431 is sleeved on two belt wheels of the first belt driving modules 431. The number of the first pulleys 432 is two, the two first pulleys 432 are in one-to-one correspondence with the two third guide rails, one first pulley 432 is slidably mounted on the corresponding one third guide rail, and the first pulleys 432 are fixedly connected with the driving belts of the corresponding group of first belt driving modules 431. The second motor 433 is mounted on the first frame 41, one pulley of the second belt driving module 434 is fixedly mounted on the third rotating shaft 411 or the fourth rotating shaft 412, the other pulley of the second belt driving module 434 is fixedly mounted on the driving shaft of the second motor 433, and the driving belt of the second belt driving module 434 is sleeved on the two pulleys of the second belt driving module 434, so that the second motor 433 can drive the first pulley 432 to move in the Y-axis direction through the first belt driving module 431 and the second belt driving module 434. In addition, a first rail module 435 is disposed between the two first carriages 432.

The fourth driving unit 44 includes a third belt driving module 441, a third motor 442, and a second sled 443. The two first pulleys 432 are respectively provided with a belt wheel of a third belt transmission module 441, and the transmission belts of the third belt transmission module 441 are sleeved on the two belt wheels of the third belt transmission module 441. The third motor 442 is mounted on a first pulley 432, and a driving shaft of the third motor 442 is fixedly connected with a pulley on the first pulley 432 to drive the third belt driving module 441 to drive. The second carriage 443 is slidably mounted on the first guide rail module 435, and the second carriage 443 is fixedly connected to the belt of the third belt driving module 441, such that the third motor 442 can drive the second carriage 443 to move in the X-axis direction through the third belt driving module 441, the first printing head 31 is mounted on the second carriage 443, and the nozzle of the first printing head 31 is disposed toward the stage 2.

Referring to fig. 4, the second printing head 32 is disposed below the stage 2, the second driving mechanism 5 is mounted on the frame, and the second driving mechanism 5 is used to drive the second printing head 32 to move relative to the stage 2. The fourth rail unit 115 is disposed on the frame, and the fourth rail unit 115 preferably includes two fourth rails, where the two fourth rails are distributed along the X-axis direction and the two fourth rails extend along the Z-axis direction.

The second driving mechanism 5 includes a second frame 51, a fifth driving unit 52, a sixth driving unit 53, and a seventh driving unit 54. The second frame 51 is provided with a fifth rotation shaft 511, a sixth rotation shaft 512, a second slider unit 513, and a fifth rail unit 514. The fifth rotating shaft 511 and the sixth rotating shaft 512 each extend along the X-axis direction, and the fifth rotating shaft 511 and the sixth rotating shaft 512 are distributed along the Y-axis direction, and the fifth rotating shaft 511 and the sixth rotating shaft 512 are rotatably mounted on the second frame 51 about their own rotation axes, respectively. The second slider unit 513 preferably includes two second sliders, which are in one-to-one correspondence with the two fourth guide rails, and one second slider is slidably mounted on the corresponding one fourth guide rail. The fifth rail unit 514 preferably includes two fifth rails that are distributed along the X-axis direction and extend along the Y-axis direction.

The fifth driving unit 52 includes a fourth motor 521 and a second screw 522, the fourth motor 521 being mounted on the frame, a driving shaft of the fourth motor 521 being connected to the second screw 522. The fourth screw extends in the Z-axis direction, and is screw-coupled with the second frame 51 such that the fourth motor 521 can drive the second frame 51 to move in the Z-axis direction through the second screw 522.

The sixth driving unit 53 includes a fourth belt module 531, a third pulley 532, a fifth motor 533, and a fifth belt module 534. The number of the fourth belt driving modules 531 is preferably two, one set of the fourth belt driving modules 531 is arranged at one fifth guide rail, one belt pulley of the fourth belt driving module 531 is fixedly arranged on the fifth rotating shaft 511, the other belt pulley of the fourth belt driving module 531 is fixedly arranged on the sixth rotating shaft 512, and the driving belt of the fourth belt driving module 531 is sleeved on two belt pulleys of the fourth belt driving module 531. The number of the third pulleys 532 is two, the two third pulleys 532 are in one-to-one correspondence with the two fifth guide rails, one third pulley 532 is slidably mounted on the corresponding one fifth guide rail, and the third pulleys 532 are fixedly connected with the driving belts of the corresponding group of fourth belt driving modules 531. The fifth motor 533 is mounted on the second frame 51, one pulley of the fifth belt driving module 534 is fixedly mounted on the fifth rotating shaft 511 or the sixth rotating shaft 512, the other pulley of the fifth belt driving module 534 is fixedly mounted on a driving shaft of the fifth motor 533, and a driving belt of the fifth belt driving module 534 is sleeved on two pulleys of the fifth belt driving module 534, so that the fifth motor 533 can drive the third pulley 532 to move in the Y-axis direction through the fourth belt driving module 531 and the fifth belt driving module 534. In addition, a second rail module 535 is disposed between the two third pulleys 532.

The seventh driving unit 54 includes a sixth belt transmission module 541, a sixth motor 542, and a fourth pulley 543. The two fourth pulleys 543 are respectively provided with a belt wheel of a sixth belt transmission module 541, and the transmission belts of the sixth belt transmission module 541 are sleeved on the two belt wheels of the sixth belt transmission module 541. The sixth motor 542 is mounted on a third pulley 532, and a driving shaft of the sixth motor 542 is fixedly connected to a pulley on the third pulley 532 to drive the sixth belt transmission module 541 for transmission. The fourth carriage 543 is slidably mounted on the second guide rail module 535, and the fourth carriage 543 is fixedly connected to the belt of the sixth belt transmission module 541, so that the sixth motor 542 can drive the fourth carriage 543 to move in the X-axis direction through the sixth belt transmission module 541, the second printing head 32 is mounted on the fourth carriage 543, and the nozzles of the second printing head 32 are disposed toward the stage 2.

Preferably, a rotation driving unit is further disposed on the fourth carriage 543, and the second printing nozzle 32 is mounted on a driving end of the rotation driving unit, so that the rotation driving unit can drive the second printing nozzle 32 to rotate relative to the stage 2. The provision of the rotary drive unit enables the second printing head 32 to have a larger, more flexible printing space.

The support mechanism 6 includes a holding unit 61 and a first driving unit 62, the holding unit 61 is located above the stage 2, the first driving unit 62 is mounted on the frame, and the first driving unit 62 is used for driving the holding unit 61 to move relative to the stage 2, and in addition, the first driving unit 62 is also used for driving the holding unit 61 to perform state switching between a holding state and a releasing state, so as to hold and release a part of the printed product from the first printing head 31. Wherein the clamping unit 61 comprises two clamping jaws 611, the clamping jaws 611 being slidably connected to the frame in the X-axis direction, such that the two clamping jaws 611 are movable towards or away from each other in the X-axis direction. The first driving unit 62 preferably includes an eighth motor 621 and a third screw 622, the number of the eighth motors 621 being two, and both the eighth motors 621 being mounted on the frame. The number of the third lead screws 622 is two, the two third lead screws 622 are in one-to-one correspondence with the two eighth motors 621, the two third lead screws 622 are in one-to-one correspondence with the two clamping jaws 611, and the driving shafts of the eighth motors 621 are connected with the corresponding one third lead screw 622 so as to drive the third lead screws 622 to rotate. The third screw rod extends along the X-axis direction, and the third screw rod 622 is in threaded connection with a corresponding clamping jaw 611, so that the eighth motor 621 can drive the clamping jaw 611 to move along the X-axis direction through the third screw rod 622, and further the two clamping jaws 611 move in opposite directions, so as to clamp part of a product printed on the object stage 2; or the two jaws 611 are moved back to release the grip on the finished printed product.

Preferably, the ejection pressure of the second printing head 32 is greater than that of the first printing head 31, and since the second printing head 32 is located below the stage 2 and needs to eject the printing consumable onto the part of the product printed by the first printing head 31, the printing consumable ejected by the second printing head 32 can be reliably adhered onto the part of the product printed by the first printing head 31 by setting the ejection pressure of the second printing head 32.

In addition, the solidification speed of the printing consumables sprayed by the second printing nozzle 32 is preferably greater than that of the printing consumables sprayed by the first printing nozzle 31, and the printing consumables sprayed by the second printing nozzle 32 are affected by gravity and are not supported by supporting force, so that the second printing consumables can be solidified better and more stably by improving the solidification speed of the printing consumables sprayed by the second printing nozzle 32, and the printing consumables sprayed by the second printing nozzle 32 are prevented from dripping and falling.

Further, the three-dimensional printer further includes a cooling and solidifying mechanism, where the cooling and solidifying mechanism is electrically connected to the control system, and the cooling and solidifying mechanism is disposed at the second printing nozzle 32, for example, the cooling and solidifying mechanism is disposed on the fourth carriage 543, so that the second driving mechanism 5 can drive the cooling and solidifying mechanism to move synchronously with the second printing nozzle 32. The cooling and curing mechanism may preferably employ a fan, and the cooling and curing mechanism may be capable of physically cooling the printing consumable ejected from the second printing head 32 to accelerate curing of the printing consumable. Further, a curing accelerator (e.g., phenols) may be incorporated into the printing consumable used by the second print head 32 to accelerate curing of the printing consumable. The two technical schemes of setting the cooling and solidifying mechanism and blending the solidifying accelerator into the printing consumable used by the second printing nozzle 32 can be used alternatively or simultaneously.

In summary, through the layout design of the first printing nozzle and the second printing nozzle, the three-dimensional printer reduces the slicing difficulty of the product data model while considering the printing speed, solves the problem that the printing nozzles of the existing double-printing nozzle three-dimensional printer need to avoid each other in real time in the printing process, and greatly reduces the programming difficulty of a control system; furthermore, the above design also enables a three-dimensional printer with a larger printable size range.

Second embodiment of three-dimensional Printer

Referring to fig. 5 and 6, the present embodiment is different from the first embodiment of the three-dimensional printer in the application of the stage, specifically, in the present embodiment:

a fifth carriage 81 is slidably disposed on the first guide rail of the frame, a placement position is formed between the two carriages 81 for accommodating the stage 83 and limiting the stage 83, and the fifth carriage 81 is fixedly connected with the driving belt 8211 of the corresponding one of the belt driving units 821, so that the eighth driving unit 822 can drive the fifth carriage 81 to move in the Y-axis direction through the belt driving unit 821.

The stage 83 in the first embodiment of the three-dimensional printer is provided in a sheet shape, wherein the sheet-shaped stage 83 has a certain rigidity and is capable of not being elastically deformed while supporting a part of the weight of a product to be printed. Preferably, the sheet-like stage 83 may have an easily releasable coating provided on its carrying surface.

Third embodiment of three-dimensional Printer

The present embodiment is different from the second embodiment of the three-dimensional printer in the application of the stage, specifically, in the present embodiment:

the setting of the third driving mechanism can be ensured, the setting of the third driving mechanism can be canceled, and if the setting of the third driving mechanism is canceled, the sheet-shaped object stage is directly fixed on the frame. In this embodiment, the sheet-like stage participates in the formation of the printed product, i.e., a part of the sheet-like stage constitutes a part of the printed product. Wherein the sheet-like stage can be stably combined with a printing consumable material used for a printed product, and the sheet-like stage can be manufactured by three-dimensional printing, for example, the sheet-like stage is preferably manufactured by PLA (polylactic acid) material or ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) material.

Preferably, since the intervention of the sheet-like stage causes the adhesive strength of the printed product at the position where the stage is located to be abbreviated as compared with other parts, it is preferable that the sheet-like stage is provided with through holes, the number of which can be set according to the size of the printed product, the through holes penetrating the stage in the thickness direction of the stage. The diameter of the through hole is smaller than or close to the diameter of the printing consumable extruded by the first printing nozzle and/or the second printing nozzle, so that the melted printing consumable extruded by the first printing nozzle and the second printing nozzle can be directly contacted through the through hole, and the bonding strength is greatly improved. Preferably, the aperture of the through-hole is between 0.28 and 1.2 times the diameter of the extruded printing consumable, for example, when the diameter of the extruded printing consumable is 1.75 mm, the aperture of the through-hole may be set between 0.5 and 2 mm.

In addition, when carrying out initial printing to the product, the first printing shower nozzle of preferred control and second print the shower nozzle and begin to print simultaneously, and for letting the bonding effect between the two-layer printing layer better, first printing shower nozzle and second print the shower nozzle and preferably keep the coaxial line to remove and print, the printing consumables of the printing layer of objective table is the simultaneous blowout promptly for the printing consumables of the printing layer in both sides realizes better bonding through-hole or extrusion. When printing to a certain layer thickness, the first printing nozzle and the second printing nozzle can not keep coaxial line moving printing; preferably, when the printing layer thickness is more than one layer, the first printing head and the second printing head may not maintain coaxial line moving printing. When the printing of the product is completed, the product is removed and the extra sheet-like object stage (not part constituting the product) on the product is removed.

First embodiment of a method of operating a three-dimensional Printer

The working method of the present embodiment may be applied to the three-dimensional printer described in the first embodiment or the second embodiment, and the working method includes:

firstly slicing a product to be printed through slicing software, and controlling a three-dimensional printer to execute printing operation through the slicing software after slicing is completed; or copying or transmitting the file generated after slicing to a three-dimensional printer, and then executing printing operation through an operation interface of the three-dimensional printer.

When the three-dimensional printer starts printing, the third driving mechanism drives the objective table to move to an initial printing position (namely a working position) so that initial printing points are positioned on the objective table; at this time, the two clamping jaws of the clamping unit of the supporting mechanism are respectively positioned at two sides of the initial printing point. If the three-dimensional printer is not provided with the third driving mechanism, the object stage can be manually placed on the initial printing position by a worker.

Then, the first driving mechanism drives the first printing nozzle to move to a first preset position towards the objective table, so that the nozzle of the first printing nozzle is aligned to an initial printing point; then, the first printing spray head sprays the first printing consumable on the object stage, and the first driving mechanism controls the first printing spray head to move according to the outline of the product to be printed.

When the first printing nozzle prints out a part of the product on the object stage, the driving unit of the supporting mechanism drives the two clamping jaws of the clamping unit to move oppositely so as to clamp the printed part of the product when the height of the printed part of the product reaches a preset height (the height is preferably 3-6 mm). Wherein, considering that the side surface of the product is an irregular surface, in order to enable the clamping unit to reliably clamp and fix the printed partial product, an auxiliary structure can be arranged on the side surface of the product according to the side surface outline of the product, and the auxiliary structure can be arranged when the product is subjected to slicing treatment and simultaneously participates in the slicing treatment of the product; in addition, the auxiliary structure is formed by printing by the first printing nozzle, printing is completed before the printed part of products reach the preset height, the size of the auxiliary structure is provided with two setting modes of default setting and user self-defined setting, the default setting is the recommendation of slicing software according to the weight of the products and/or according to the contact size setting of the products and the clamping unit, and the user self-defined setting is the size value self-set by the user according to the requirements.

After the driving unit drives the clamping unit to clamp and fix the printed partial products, the third driving mechanism drives the objective table to move along the Y-axis direction so as to move the objective table to the release position, so that the objective table is positioned outside the printing areas of the first printing nozzle and the second printing nozzle; during the stage movement, the printed part of the product is detached from the stage. If the three-dimensional printer is not provided with the third driving mechanism, a worker can manually withdraw the object stage from the working position.

Then, the second driving mechanism drives the second printing nozzle to move to a second preset position, so that the second printing nozzle is positioned below the printed partial product; then, the second printing spray head sprays second printing consumable materials to the bottom of the printed partial product, and the second driving mechanism controls the second printing spray head to move according to the outline of the product to be printed. In the printing process, the first printing nozzle and the second printing nozzle move oppositely in the Z-axis direction to perform lamination printing until the printing of the product is completed; after printing is finished, the first driving mechanism drives the first printing nozzle to move to an initial position, and the second driving mechanism drives the second printing nozzle to move to the initial position, so that three-dimensional printing of the product is finished; then, the driving unit of the supporting mechanism is controlled to drive the clamping unit to loosen the clamping of the product so as to remove the product from the supporting mechanism. When the product is taken down from the supporting mechanism, if the auxiliary structure is arranged on the product, the auxiliary structure is removed from the product.

Second embodiment of the working method of three-dimensional Printer

The working method of the present embodiment is applicable to the three-dimensional printer according to the third embodiment, and includes:

Then, the first driving mechanism drives the first printing nozzle to move to a third preset position, so that the nozzles of the first printing nozzle are opposite to the initial printing points, and the second driving mechanism drives the second printing nozzle to move to a fourth preset position, preferably, when the second printing nozzle is located at the fourth preset position, the nozzles of the second printing nozzle are aligned to the initial printing points.

Then, the first printing spray head sprays first printing consumable materials on the objective table, and the first driving mechanism controls the first printing spray head to move according to the outline of the product to be printed; and the second printing spray head sprays the second printing consumable on the objective table, and meanwhile, the second driving mechanism controls the second printing spray head to move according to the outline of the product to be printed. In order to enable the two printing layers to be better bonded together during initial printing, the first printing nozzle and the second printing nozzle preferably perform coaxial line moving printing at the initial printing stage, namely, the initial printing layer sprayed by the first printing nozzle and the initial printing layer sprayed by the second printing nozzle at two sides of the objective table are simultaneously sprayed and formed, when the first printing nozzle and the second printing nozzle print a certain layer thickness, the first printing nozzle and the second printing nozzle do not perform coaxial line moving printing, preferably, after the first printing nozzle completes printing of the first printing layer of the first printing nozzle and the second printing nozzle can complete printing of the first printing layer of the second printing nozzle, the first printing nozzle and the second printing nozzle can perform non-coaxial line moving printing.

When the first printing nozzle prints out a part of the product on the object stage, the height of the part of the product reaches a preset height (the height is preferably 3-6 mm), and the driving unit of the supporting mechanism drives the two clamping jaws of the clamping unit to move in opposite directions so as to clamp the printed part of the product. Wherein, considering that the side surface of the product is an irregular surface, in order to enable the clamping unit to reliably clamp and fix the printed partial product, an auxiliary structure can be arranged on the side surface of the product according to the side surface outline of the product, and the auxiliary structure can be arranged when the product is subjected to slicing treatment and simultaneously participates in the slicing treatment of the product; in addition, the auxiliary structure is formed by printing by the first printing nozzle, printing is completed before the printed part of products reach the preset height, the size of the auxiliary structure is provided with two setting modes of default setting and user self-defined setting, the default setting is the recommendation of slicing software according to the weight of the products and/or according to the contact size setting of the products and the clamping unit, and the user self-defined setting is the size value self-set by the user according to the requirements. Of course, in the present embodiment, if the stage is sufficient to carry the entire weight of the entire product, the supporting mechanism also controls the clamping unit to clamp and fix the printed part of the product.

After the first printing spray head and the second printing spray head are matched to finish printing and forming of the product, the first driving mechanism drives the first printing spray head to move to the initial position, the second driving mechanism drives the second printing spray head to move to the dehumidification position, and if the clamping unit of the supporting mechanism clamps the product, the driving unit of the supporting mechanism drives the clamping unit to loosen clamping of the product.

Then, the staff can directly take down the objective table and the product on the objective table from the third driving mechanism, and of course, if the three-dimensional printer is provided with the third driving mechanism, the objective table can be driven by the third driving mechanism to move out of the working position, and then the objective table and the product on the objective table are taken down from the third driving mechanism, so that the objective table and the product on the objective table are more convenient to take out. If the three-dimensional printer is not provided with the third driving mechanism, the worker can directly take down the object stage and the product on the object stage from the rack. When the object stage and the product on the object stage are taken down, the object stage and the auxiliary structure on the object stage are removed.

Finally, it should be emphasized that the foregoing description is merely illustrative of the preferred embodiments of the invention, and that various changes and modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and principles of the invention, and any such modifications, equivalents, improvements, etc. are intended to be included within the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. Three-dimensional printer comprising

A frame;

the objective table is arranged on the rack;

the three-dimensional printer is characterized by further comprising:

the first printing spray head is arranged above the objective table;

the second printing spray head is arranged below the objective table;

the first driving mechanism is arranged on the rack and can drive the first printing nozzle to move relative to the objective table;

the second driving mechanism is arranged on the rack and can drive the second printing spray head to move relative to the objective table;

the support mechanism comprises a clamping unit and a first driving unit, the first driving unit is arranged on the rack and can drive the clamping unit to move relative to the objective table, and the first driving unit can also drive the clamping unit to switch between a clamping state and a loosening state;

and the control system is respectively and electrically connected with the first printing nozzle, the second printing nozzle, the first driving mechanism, the second driving mechanism and the supporting mechanism.

2. The three-dimensional printer according to claim 1, wherein:

the second printing nozzle has a jet pressure greater than the jet pressure of the first printing nozzle.

3. The three-dimensional printer according to claim 1, wherein:

the curing speed of the printing consumable ejected by the second printing nozzle is greater than that of the printing consumable ejected by the first printing nozzle.

4. A three-dimensional printer according to claim 3, wherein:

the three-dimensional printer further comprises a cooling and solidifying mechanism, the cooling and solidifying mechanism is electrically connected with the control system, the cooling and solidifying mechanism is arranged at the second printing nozzle, and the second driving mechanism can drive the cooling and solidifying mechanism to synchronously move with the second printing nozzle; and/or

The printing consumable used by the second printing nozzle comprises a curing accelerator.

5. The three-dimensional printer according to claim 1, wherein:

the second driving mechanism can also drive the second printing nozzle to rotate relative to the clamping unit.

6. The three-dimensional printer according to claim 1, wherein:

the clamping unit comprises two clamping jaws, and the first driving unit can drive the two clamping jaws to move towards or away from each other.

7. The three-dimensional printer according to claim 1, wherein:

the object stage is provided with a working position and a release position, when the object stage is positioned at the working position, the projection of the first printing spray head and the projection of the second printing spray head are positioned on the object stage in the Z-axis direction of the three-dimensional printer, and when the object stage is positioned at the release position, the projection of the first printing spray head and the projection of the second printing spray head are positioned outside the object stage in the Z-axis direction;

the three-dimensional printer further comprises a third driving mechanism, the third driving mechanism is electrically connected with the control system, the third driving mechanism is installed on the frame, and the third driving mechanism can drive the objective table to move between the working position and the release position.

8. The three-dimensional printer according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein:

the object stage is in a flake shape and is made of PLA material or ABS material; and/or

The bearing surface of the objective table is coated with an easy-to-release coating.

9. The three-dimensional printer according to claim 8, wherein:

When the objective table is in a flake shape, a through hole is formed in the objective table, and the through hole penetrates through the objective table along the thickness direction of the objective table;

the aperture of the through hole is between 0.28 times and 1.2 times the diameter of the extruded printing consumable.

10. A method of operating a three-dimensional printer according to any one of claims 1 to 9, the method comprising:

after the first driving mechanism drives the first printing nozzle to move to a first preset position, the first printing nozzle starts to spray first printing consumable materials to the objective table, when the height of a first part of products printed by the first printing nozzle reaches the preset height, the first driving unit drives the clamping unit to clamp the first part of products, the objective table is moved to enable the objective table to be positioned outside the printing areas of the first printing nozzle and the second printing nozzle, the first part of products are separated from the objective table, the second driving mechanism drives the second printing nozzle to move to a second preset position, the second printing nozzle starts to spray second printing consumable materials to the first part of products, and the first printing nozzle continues to spray the first printing consumable materials to the first part of products until the required printing of the first products is completed, and when the printing of the first products is completed, the first driving mechanism drives the first printing nozzle to reset, the second driving unit drives the first printing nozzle to reset, and the first driving unit to reset the first printing nozzle to clamp the first printing nozzle to release the required printing consumable materials; or (b)

When the objective table is in a flake shape, the first driving mechanism drives the first printing spray head to move to a third preset position, the first printing spray head starts to spray third printing consumable materials to the objective table, the second driving mechanism drives the second printing spray head to move to a fourth preset position, and the second printing spray head starts to spray fourth printing consumable materials to the objective table until printing of a required second product is completed, and when printing of the second product is completed, the first driving mechanism drives the first printing spray head to reset, and the second driving mechanism drives the second printing spray head to reset.