CN213291365U

CN213291365U - Storage device, container and 3D printing apparatus of 3D printing material

Info

Publication number: CN213291365U
Application number: CN202021346261.6U
Authority: CN
Inventors: 于清晓; 马劲松; 林锦睿; 赖永辉
Original assignee: Shanghai Union Technology Corp
Current assignee: Shanghai Union Technology Corp
Priority date: 2020-07-09
Filing date: 2020-07-09
Publication date: 2021-05-28
Anticipated expiration: 2030-07-09

Abstract

The application discloses storage device, container and 3D printing apparatus of 3D printing material, including mixing arrangement and at least two storage chamber, wherein, at least two storage chamber all have the first export that is used for inputing or exporting the fluid material, are used for storing at least two kinds of fluid materials that are used for photocuring 3D printing respectively; the mixing device comprises a mixing chamber and a mixing mechanism arranged in the mixing chamber and used for uniformly mixing the at least two fluid materials, wherein the mixing chamber is provided with a second outlet and a second inlet which is respectively communicated with the at least two first outlets. The storage device of 3D printing material of this application can be used for storing different fluid materials at the storage stage to in the use stage with each fluid material according to required proportion misce bene and output, replaced artifical mixing operation, and can just carry out the misce bene of fluid material when needing to use the material, avoided the fluid material to mix the material performance reduction that leads to in the use time overlength.

Description

Storage device, container and 3D printing apparatus of 3D printing material

Technical Field

The application relates to the technical field of 3D printing, and particularly relates to a storage device, a container and a 3D printing device for 3D printing materials.

Background

At present, when more than two mixed printing materials are needed in the 3D printing process, a certain amount of materials are added into a resin tank according to a certain ratio and stirred and mixed usually by a manual configuration method. The traditional mode has the problems of low efficiency, low proportioning precision and the like.

Although in some embodiments it is possible to replace the manual work by mixing the various materials directly when producing the printed material, since the printed material is not used immediately after production, but there is a storage time during which various irreversible reactions may occur to affect the use of the printed material based on the characteristics of some printed materials. Therefore, how to automatically adjust the material ratio without affecting the material performance is a technical problem to be solved by those skilled in the art.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the above-mentioned shortcomings of the related art, the present application is directed to provide a method for overcoming the problems of inefficient dispensing of printing materials and poor dispensing effect in the related art.

To achieve the above and other related objects, a first aspect of the present disclosure provides a storage device for 3D printed materials, the storage device comprising: at least two storage chambers to store at least two fluid materials for photo-curing 3D printing, respectively, each of the at least two storage chambers having a first outlet to input or output the fluid materials; the mixing device comprises a mixing chamber and a mixing mechanism arranged in the mixing chamber and used for uniformly mixing the at least two fluid materials, the mixing chamber is provided with a second outlet and second inlets respectively communicated with the at least two first outlets, and the second outlets are used for enabling the mixed fluid materials to be output from the mixing chamber.

A second aspect of the present disclosure provides a container for a 3D printing device, comprising: a storage of 3D printed material as described in any of the first aspects of the present disclosure; and the resin tank is communicated with the mixing device of the storage device or is arranged corresponding to the second outlet position of the mixing device and is used for containing the mixed fluid material.

A third aspect of the present disclosure provides a 3D printing apparatus including: a storage of 3D printed material as described in any of the first aspects of the present disclosure; a resin tank, communicated with the mixing device, for containing the at least two fluid materials after mixing; an energy radiation device arranged above the resin tank and configured to radiate energy to a printing reference surface in the resin tank through a control program when receiving a printing instruction; the component platform is positioned in the resin groove in the printing process and used for attaching the solidified layer obtained after energy radiation so as to form a three-dimensional object through accumulation of the solidified layer; the Z-axis driving mechanism is connected with the component platform and used for adjusting the position of the component platform in the Z-axis direction; and the control device is electrically connected with the energy radiation device and the Z-axis driving mechanism and is used for controlling the energy radiation device and the Z-axis driving mechanism based on each slice data in the three-dimensional model so as to attach and stack the pattern curing layer on the component platform to obtain a corresponding three-dimensional object.

A fourth aspect of the present disclosure provides a mixing device of 3D printed materials, including: a mixing chamber comprising a second inlet to input at least two fluid materials for photocuring 3D printing and a second outlet to output mixed fluid materials from the mixing chamber; a mixing mechanism disposed within the mixing chamber for uniformly mixing the at least two fluid materials. The feeding device is used for respectively conveying the at least two fluid materials to the mixing chamber and/or outputting the fluid materials mixed in the mixing chamber.

A fifth aspect of the present disclosure provides a 3D printing apparatus, including: a mixing device of 3D printed material as in any one of the fourth aspects of the present disclosure; a resin tank, communicated with the mixing device, for containing the at least two fluid materials after mixing; an energy radiation device arranged above the resin tank and configured to radiate energy to a printing reference surface in the resin tank through a control program when receiving a printing instruction; the component platform is positioned in the resin groove in the printing process and used for attaching the solidified layer obtained after energy radiation so as to form a three-dimensional object through accumulation of the solidified layer; the Z-axis driving mechanism is connected with the component platform and used for adjusting the position of the component platform in the Z-axis direction; and the control device is electrically connected with the energy radiation device and the Z-axis driving mechanism and is used for controlling the energy radiation device and the Z-axis driving mechanism based on each slice data in the three-dimensional model so as to attach and stack the pattern curing layer on the component platform to obtain a corresponding three-dimensional object.

To sum up, storage device in this application can be used for storing different fluid materials at the storage stage to in the use stage with each fluid material according to required proportion misce bene and output for using, replaced artificial mixing operation, convenient to use, production efficiency is high, and can just carry out the mixture of fluid material when needs use the material, avoided the fluid material to mix the material performance reduction that the time overlength in the use leads to.

Other aspects and advantages of the present application will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description. Only exemplary embodiments of the present application have been shown and described in the following detailed description. As those skilled in the art will recognize, the disclosure of the present application enables those skilled in the art to make changes to the specific embodiments disclosed without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as it is directed to the present application. Accordingly, the descriptions in the drawings and the specification of the present application are illustrative only and not limiting.

Drawings

The specific features of the invention to which this application relates are set forth in the appended claims. The features and advantages of the invention to which this application relates will be better understood by reference to the exemplary embodiments described in detail below and the accompanying drawings. The brief description of the drawings is as follows:

fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a memory device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2a is a schematic structural diagram of a mixing element in one embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 2b shows a schematic structural view of a mixing element according to another embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 3 is a schematic structural view of another embodiment of the mixing mechanism of the present application.

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an operation of the memory device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a container for a 3D printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 6 is a schematic structural view of an arrangement position of a resin tank in the present application in an embodiment.

Fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a 3D printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a mixing device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of an application of the mixing device in the present application in an embodiment.

Fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a 3D printing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The following description of the embodiments of the present application is provided for illustrative purposes, and other advantages and capabilities of the present application will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the present disclosure.

In the following description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that describe several embodiments of the application. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that changes in the module or unit composition, electrical, and operation may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. The following detailed description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of embodiments of the present application is defined only by the claims of the issued patent. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the application.

Although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, information, or parameters in some instances, these elements or parameters should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element or parameter from another element or parameter. For example, the first outlet may be referred to as the second outlet, and similarly, the second outlet may be referred to as the first outlet, without departing from the scope of the various described embodiments. The first outlet and the second outlet are both describing one outlet, but they are not the same outlet unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Depending on context, for example, the word "if" as used herein may be interpreted as "at … …" or "at … …".

Also, as used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "comprises," "comprising," "includes" and/or "including," when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, steps, operations, elements, components, items, species, and/or groups, but do not preclude the presence, or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, components, species, and/or groups thereof. The terms "or" and/or "as used herein are to be construed as inclusive or meaning any one or any combination. Thus, "A, B or C" or "A, B and/or C" means "any of the following: a; b; c; a and B; a and C; b and C; A. b and C ". An exception to this definition will occur only when a combination of elements, functions, steps or operations are inherently mutually exclusive in some way.

As described in the background art, with the development of 3D printing technology, the requirements for printing materials are more and more diversified. For example, in some cases, more than two materials need to be mixed as printing materials, and the current manual proportioning mode has low operation efficiency and difficult proportion control.

Although in some embodiments it is possible to replace manual mixing by mixing two or more materials directly when producing the printed material, the printed material is not used immediately after production, but rather there is a storage time during which, based on the properties of some printed materials, various irreversible reactions can occur that affect the use of the printed material, reduce the print quality of the printed object or even render the printed material unusable.

In view of this, the embodiment of the first aspect of the present application provides a storage device for 3D printing materials, so as to solve the proportioning problem of the printing materials, enable the printing materials to be mixed before use, and have high proportioning precision and automation degree.

In an exemplary embodiment, please refer to fig. 1, which is a schematic structural diagram of a memory device according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown, the storage device includes: a mixing device 12, and at least two storage chambers 11.

The storage chambers 11 are used for storing fluid materials for photocuring 3D printing, and each fluid material is stored in one storage chamber, so as to ensure that the fluid materials are not mixed before use, and therefore, the number of the storage chambers 11 is configured to be at least two, namely: when the fluid materials for 3D printing are 2, two storage chambers are configured; when 3 fluid materials for 3D printing are available, three storage chambers are configured; when the fluid materials for 3D printing are 4, four storage chambers … … are configured, and so on. The photocured 3D printed fluid materials include, but are not limited to: a photocurable resin liquid, or a resin liquid doped with a mixed material such as ceramic powder or a color additive.

The mixing device comprises a mixing chamber and a mixing mechanism arranged in the mixing chamber, the mixing chamber is used for communicating at least two storage chambers so as to provide a mixing space for each fluid material, and the mixing mechanism can uniformly mix each fluid material in the mixing chamber.

To enable fluid material to flow within the storage chambers and the mixing device, each storage chamber has a respective first outlet, and the mixing device has a second outlet and a respective second inlet communicating with the respective first outlet. The first outlet may be used to allow fluid material to flow into the mixing chamber through the second inlet during use of the fluid material and may also be used to input external fluid material into the storage chamber during storage. The fluid material mixed in the mixing chamber may be output through a second outlet, e.g. to a resin tank of a 3D printing apparatus, etc.

In this embodiment, each fluid material is stored in a different storage chamber 11, and when it is desired to mix the fluid materials for use, each fluid material flows out through the first outlet of the storage chamber 11 in which it is located, and flows into the mixing chamber through the second inlet of the mixing device, and after each fluid material in the mixing chamber is mixed by the mixing mechanism, the mixed fluid material flows out through the second outlet.

In an embodiment, the first outlet may also be used only for outputting the fluid material into the mixing chamber during the use phase of the fluid material. To this end, the at least two storage chambers each also have a first inlet for the input of fluid material, which may be arranged, for example, at the top of the respective storage chamber and provided with an end cap which prevents leakage of fluid material. In this embodiment, the fluid materials are delivered into the storage chamber through the first inlet and different fluid materials are located in different storage chambers, thereby avoiding pre-mixing while storing the fluid materials. In use, the fluid materials are fed to the second inlet of the mixing device through the first outlets, mixed by the mixing mechanism in the mixing chamber, and then discharged from the second outlet.

In one exemplary embodiment, the mixing mechanism includes: a motor, a mixing element, and a drive shaft. The output shaft of the motor is connected with the near end of the transmission shaft, and the far end of the transmission shaft is connected with the mixing element. In the working state, the motor provides driving force to the mixing element through the transmission shaft, so that the mixing element uniformly mixes at least two fluid materials in the mixing chamber under the rotation motion.

Please refer to fig. 2a, which is a schematic structural diagram of a hybrid device according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown, a mixing element 122 is provided in the mixing chamber 121, the mixing element 122 may be configured as at least one blade element, the shape of the blade element may be rectangular, blade-shaped, etc., and the fixed end of each blade element is connected to the drive shaft and the free end of each blade element is used to act on the respective fluid materials to uniformly mix them. The fluid materials flow into the mixing chamber 121 through the second inlet 123, the vane members are rotated by the motor to uniformly mix the fluid materials, and the mixed fluid materials flow out through the second outlet 124.

Wherein the blade element can be replaced by other structures, for example as shown in fig. 2b, which shows a schematic structure of the mixing element in another embodiment of the present application. In fig. 2b, the mixing element 122 is a spiral structure, the inner side of the spiral structure is connected along the transmission shaft, and the outer side of the spiral structure can act on each fluid material under the driving of the motor to uniformly mix the fluid materials. The fluid materials flow into the mixing chamber 121 through the second inlet 123, the helical structure is rotated by the motor to uniformly mix the fluid materials, and the mixed fluid materials flow out through the second outlet 124.

It should be noted that the structure of the mixing element in the present embodiment is only an example, and in practical applications, the mixing element may be replaced by other structures according to practical requirements.

In another exemplary embodiment, please refer to fig. 3, which is a schematic structural diagram of a mixing mechanism of the present application in another embodiment. As shown in the figure, the mixing mechanism may also be a static structure, i.e. the fluid material may be uniformly mixed without being driven by a driving mechanism such as a motor. For example, the mixing element 122 may be a plurality of baffles disposed in the mixing chamber 121 as shown in fig. 3, and a passage structure leading from the second inlet 123 to the second outlet 124 is formed by the plurality of baffles, and the fluid materials entering from the second inlet 123 are merged with each other by the collision force of the baffles in the passage structure.

It will be appreciated that in some embodiments, due to the structural design of the storage device, the two component fluid materials are separately placed in two separate storage chambers, and that in the absence of external pressurization, the fluid material in the storage chambers will not flow out of the storage chambers when subjected to external atmospheric pressure.

In an exemplary embodiment, to facilitate the flow of the fluid material, the storage device of the present application may further include a feeding device.

In one embodiment, the feeding device comprises a pressurization mechanism for pressurizing the storage chamber and/or the mixing chamber, thereby forcing the fluid material in the storage chamber into the mixing chamber or forcing the fluid material in the mixing chamber out.

Here, the pressurizing mechanism may be a plurality of push rods provided corresponding to the respective storage chambers, a distal end of each push rod being located in the storage chamber, and a proximal end of each push rod being used to connect the force applying device or to receive the pressure applied by a human. When the proximal end of each pushrod is forced, the distal end of each pushrod extends into the storage chamber and the resulting pressure forces the fluid material in the storage chamber out through the first outlet and into the mixing chamber through the second inlet.

Wherein the pushrod may be provided independently of the storage chamber, i.e. in communication with the storage chamber only when pressurisation is required, e.g. by sealing the first inlet through the end cap in a non-pressurised state, removing the end cap and inserting the pushrod in a pressurised state; the push rod may also be part of the storage chamber, i.e. the distal end of the push rod is always located within the storage chamber and is only separated from the storage chamber if it is necessary to add fluid material to the storage chamber, or to clean the storage chamber, etc.

Alternatively, the pressurizing mechanism may be an intake pump having an outlet port communicating with the storage chambers, for example, the outlet port may communicate with the first inlets of the storage chambers. In the operating state of the air intake pump, air pressure is output into each storage chamber, and fluid material in the storage chambers is forced to flow out through the first outlet and into the mixing chamber through the second inlet.

In one embodiment, the feeder device is configured to deliver the fluid material in the storage chamber to the mixing chamber. Here, each storage chamber is correspondingly provided with a feeding device. The feeding device comprises a first conduit and a first delivery pump. The first conduits communicate the first outlets of the storage chambers with the second inlets of the mixing chambers, and the fluid material in each storage chamber enters the first conduits through the respective first outlets and the mixing chambers through the second inlets under the action of the first delivery pump.

In another embodiment, the feeding device may be further configured to output the mixed fluid material from the mixing chamber. In this embodiment, the feeding device includes a second conduit and a second delivery pump, a proximal end of the second conduit communicates with the second outlet of the mixing chamber, and a distal end of the second conduit communicates with a place where introduction of the fluid material is required, such as a resin tank of a 3D printing apparatus. After the fluid material in the mixing chamber has been mixed, it can be discharged from the mixing chamber via the second conduit and under the action of the second delivery pump.

In a further embodiment, the feed device can be used both for feeding the fluid material in the storage chamber to the mixing chamber and for discharging the mixed fluid material in the mixing chamber. To this end, the feeding device comprises at the same time a first conduit, a first delivery pump, a second conduit and a second delivery pump. The first conduits communicate the first outlets of the storage chambers with the second inlets of the mixing chambers, and the fluid material in each storage chamber enters the first conduits through the respective first outlets and the mixing chambers through the second inlets under the action of the first delivery pump. The proximal end of the second conduit communicates with the second outlet of the mixing chamber, and the distal end of the second conduit communicates with a place where introduction of the fluid material is required, such as a resin tank of a 3D printing apparatus. The fluid materials entering the mixing chamber, after being mixed, may be output from the mixing chamber via a second conduit and by a second delivery pump.

Wherein, the first delivery pump and the second delivery pump include, but are not limited to, a diaphragm pump and the like.

In an exemplary embodiment, in order to detect the flow rate of the fluid material discharged from the storage chamber so as to control the mixture ratio of the respective fluid materials, a detection device for detecting the flow rate of the fluid material discharged from the storage chamber is further provided in the first conduit or the storage chamber. For example, the first conduit may have a flow meter disposed thereon, which may indicate the flow rate of fluid passing through the first conduit to facilitate the dispensing of the fluid material in the respective storage chambers in a desired proportion. Alternatively, a level sensor may be disposed within the storage chamber to determine the amount of fluid material flowing from within the storage chamber from data provided by the level sensor.

In addition, a detection device for detecting the flow rate of the fluid material output from the mixing chamber can be arranged in the second conduit or the mixing chamber, so that the flow rate of the mixed fluid material can be provided as required, and the waste of the fluid material is avoided.

In another exemplary embodiment, the volume of each storage chamber may also be related to the proportioning of the fluid materials to be stored in the storage chamber, i.e., the proportioning of each fluid material is controlled by the volume size of each storage chamber.

Taking two storage chambers as an example, and continuing to refer to fig. 1, the storage chambers include a first storage chamber 11a for storing a first fluid material and a second storage chamber 11b for storing a second fluid material. Assuming that the ratio (volume ratio) of the first fluid material to the second fluid material is 2:1, the volume sizes of the first storage chamber 11a and the second storage chamber 11b may be configured to be 2:1, so that after all the fluid materials in the first storage chamber 11a and the second storage chamber 11b are mixed, the fluid materials mixed according to the required ratio can be obtained.

It should be noted that, although two storage chambers are taken as an example in the present embodiment, in practical applications, the number of the storage chambers is not limited to this, and the storage chambers may be configured to be 3, 4, 5 … … according to the requirement, and configured to have different volumes according to the proportion of the fluid material.

In an exemplary embodiment, please refer to fig. 4, which is a schematic diagram illustrating an operation of a memory device according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown, in the present embodiment, the storage device has two storage chambers, namely a first storage chamber 11a and a second storage chamber 11b, a first fluid material being stored in the first storage chamber 11a, and a second fluid material being stored in the second storage chamber 11 b. And the volume ratio of the two storage chambers corresponds to the volume ratio between the first fluid material and the second fluid material. Here, since the desired volume ratio occupied by the first fluid material in the post-mixing fluid materials is larger than that of the second fluid material, the volume of the first storage chamber 11a is larger than that of the second storage chamber 11 b. Each storage chamber is correspondingly provided with a push rod, the far end of each push rod is positioned in the corresponding storage chamber, and the near end of each push rod is used for connecting a force application device or bearing artificially applied pressure. When the proximal end of each pusher rod is subjected to a force in the direction of the arrow, the distal end of each pusher rod is displaced in the direction of the arrow in the corresponding storage chamber, and the resulting pressure forces the fluid material in the storage chamber out through the first outlet and into the mixing chamber 12 through the second inlet. The two fluid materials entering the mixing chamber are uniformly mixed by the mixing mechanism and exit the mixing chamber through the second outlet 124.

To sum up, the storage device of 3D printing material of this application can be used for storing different fluid materials at the storage stage to in the use stage with each fluid material according to required proportion misce bene and output for using, replaced artificial mixing operation, convenient to use, production efficiency is high, and can just carry out the mixture of fluid material when needs use the material, avoided the fluid material to mix the material performance degradation that the time overlength in the use leads to.

The embodiment of the second aspect of the application also provides a container for the 3D printing device.

In an exemplary embodiment, please refer to fig. 5, which is a schematic structural diagram of a container for a 3D printing apparatus in an embodiment of the present application. As shown, the container includes: storage device and resin tank 14'. Wherein the storage device comprises a mixing device 12 'and at least two storage chambers 11'.

The storage chambers 11 'are used for storing fluid materials for photo-curing 3D printing, and one storage chamber is corresponding to each fluid material, so as to ensure that the fluid materials are not mixed before use, therefore, the number of the storage chambers 11' is configured to be at least two, namely: when the fluid materials for 3D printing are 2, two storage chambers are configured; when 3 fluid materials for 3D printing are available, three storage chambers are configured; when the fluid materials for 3D printing are 4, four storage chambers … … are configured, and so on. The photocured 3D printed fluid materials include, but are not limited to: a photocurable resin liquid, or a resin liquid doped with a mixed material such as ceramic powder or a color additive.

To enable fluid material to flow within the storage chambers and the mixing device, each storage chamber has a respective first outlet, and the mixing device has a second outlet and a respective second inlet communicating with the respective first outlet. The first outlet may be used to allow fluid material to flow into the mixing chamber through the second inlet during use of the fluid material and may also be used to input external fluid material into the storage chamber during storage. The fluid material mixed in the mixing chamber may be output through the second outlet to a resin tank 14 ', the resin tank 14' being for containing the mixed fluid material.

The resin tank 14' may be in communication with the mixing device of the vessel or may be positioned in correspondence with a second outlet location of the mixing device. Please refer to fig. 6, which is a schematic structural diagram illustrating an arrangement position of a resin tank according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown, the resin tank 14 ' is connected to the second outlet of the mixing chamber by a second conduit 125 ' to deliver the mixed fluid material in the mixing chamber to the resin tank 14 '. Please refer to fig. 5, which is a schematic structural diagram illustrating a position of a resin tank according to another embodiment of the present application. As shown, the storage device is arranged on a support 15 'and the resin tank 14' is arranged corresponding to the position of the second outlet of the mixing device, i.e. the resin tank 14 'is located below the position of the second outlet of the mixing device, so that the fluid material delivered from the second outlet flows into the resin tank 14' by gravity.

The capacity of the resin tank 14' may depend on the type of the 3D printing apparatus, among other things. For example, the capacity of the resin bath in the 3D printing apparatus based on the top surface exposure is larger than the capacity of the resin bath in the 3D printing apparatus based on the bottom surface exposure. In some embodiments, the material of the resin groove may be transparent or non-transparent, and a light absorbing paper, such as a black film or a black paper, may be attached to the inner wall of the resin groove to reduce interference of curing of the light curing material due to light scattering during projection.

In this embodiment, each fluid material is stored in a different storage chamber 11 ', and when it is desired to mix the fluid materials for use, each fluid material flows out through the first outlet of the storage chamber 11' in which it is located, and flows into the mixing chamber through the second inlet of the mixing device, and after each fluid material in the mixing chamber is mixed by the mixing mechanism, the mixed fluid material flows out through the second outlet into the resin tank.

Wherein the storage device 31 may be not in communication with the resin tank or installed at a position corresponding to the resin tank during a non-printing job, and may be maintained in communication with the resin tank until printing is required or installed at a position corresponding to the resin tank to inject the mixed fluid material into the resin tank. And, in order to guarantee the fluid material after mixing is ready to use promptly, can pour into the right amount of fluid material into resin tank each time in order to prevent the fluid material from contacting the time of the air too long and influencing the printing performance, for this reason, the fluid material in the storage device can keep the relation of communicating with resin tank or install in the position corresponding to resin tank all the time under the state that is not used up, in order to pour into the resin tank the fluid material after mixing when needing to print the material.

In an embodiment, the first outlet may also be used only for outputting the fluid material into the mixing chamber during the use phase of the fluid material. To this end, the at least two storage chambers each also have a first inlet for the input of fluid material, which may be arranged, for example, at the top of the respective storage chamber and provided with an end cap which prevents leakage of fluid material. In this embodiment, the fluid materials are delivered into the storage chamber through the first inlet and different fluid materials are located in different storage chambers, thereby avoiding pre-mixing while storing the fluid materials. In use, the fluid materials are fed to the second inlet of the mixing device through the first outlets, the fluid materials in the mixing chamber are mixed by the mixing mechanism, and the mixed fluid materials flow out of the second outlet into the resin tank.

In a possible embodiment, inside the mixing chamber there is a mixing element, which may be structured as at least one blade element, which may be rectangular, blade-shaped or the like, with a fixed end of each blade element being connected to the drive shaft and a free end of each blade element being intended to act on the respective fluid material to mix it homogeneously. The fluid materials flow into the mixing chamber from the second inlet, the blade elements are driven by the motor to rotate so as to uniformly mix the fluid materials, and the mixed fluid materials flow out of the second outlet into the resin tank.

The blade elements can be replaced by other structures, for example, the mixing element can also be a spiral structure, the inner side of the spiral structure is connected along the transmission shaft, and the outer side of the spiral structure can act on each fluid material under the driving of the motor so as to uniformly mix the fluid materials. The fluid materials flow into the mixing chamber from the second inlet, the spiral structure is driven by the motor to rotate so as to uniformly mix the fluid materials, and the mixed fluid materials flow out from the second outlet.

In another exemplary embodiment, the mixing mechanism may also be a static structure, i.e., the fluid materials may be uniformly mixed without being driven by a driving mechanism such as a motor. For example, the mixing element may be a plurality of baffles arranged in the mixing chamber and forming a passage structure leading from the second inlet to the second outlet by the plurality of baffles, the fluid materials entering from the second inlet being subjected to the collision forces of the baffles in the passage structure to merge with each other.

In an exemplary embodiment, to facilitate the flow of the fluid material, the container of the present application may further include a feed device.

With continued reference to fig. 5, in the container shown in fig. 5, a mounting seat 151 ' for a storage device is provided on the support 15 ', the storage device thereby being detachably secured to the support 15 '. Meanwhile, a push rod 13 'is also provided on the bracket 15'. The number of push rods 13' corresponds to the number of storage chambers 11. The distal end of each push rod 13 'can be placed into the corresponding storage chamber, and the proximal end of each push rod 13' can move up and down under the driving of the motor, so that the push rods 13 'are driven to move up and down in the storage chamber, and when the push rods 13' move down in the storage chamber, the fluid material in the storage chamber is pressed to be extruded.

In a possible embodiment, as shown in fig. 5, the output end of the motor is connected to an adapter 153' through a connecting rod 152', and the adapter 153' is simultaneously connected to the proximal end of the push rod 13', so that the motor drives the connecting rod 152' to link the adapter 153' and simultaneously drives the push rod 13' to move synchronously.

In another embodiment, the feeding device may be further configured to output the mixed fluid material from the mixing chamber. Referring to fig. 6, in the present embodiment, the feeding device includes a second conduit 125 'and a second delivery pump, a proximal end of the second conduit 125' is communicated with the second outlet of the mixing chamber 121 ', and a distal end of the second conduit is communicated with the resin tank 14'. After the at least two fluid materials in the mixing chamber have been mixed, they can be transferred from the mixing chamber into said resin tank 14' via a second conduit and by means of a second transfer pump.

In a further embodiment, the feed device can be used both for feeding the fluid material in the storage chamber to the mixing chamber and for discharging the mixed fluid material in the mixing chamber. To this end, the feeding device comprises at the same time a first conduit, a first delivery pump, a second conduit and a second delivery pump. The first conduits communicate the first outlets of the storage chambers with the second inlets of the mixing chambers, and the fluid material in each storage chamber enters the first conduits through the respective first outlets and the mixing chambers through the second inlets under the action of the first delivery pump. The proximal end of the second conduit communicates with the second outlet of the mixing chamber and the distal end of the second conduit communicates with the resin reservoir 14'. The fluid materials entering the mixing chamber, after being mixed, may be output from the mixing chamber via a second conduit and by a second delivery pump.

Taking two storage chambers as an example, and continuing to refer to fig. 5, the storage chambers include a first storage chamber 11 'a for storing a first fluid material and a second storage chamber 11' b for storing a second fluid material. Assuming that the ratio (volume ratio) of the first fluid material to the second fluid material is 2:1, the volume sizes of the first storage chamber 11 'a and the second storage chamber 11' b can be configured to be 2:1, so that after all the fluid materials in the first storage chamber 11 'a and the second storage chamber 11' b are mixed, the fluid materials mixed according to the required ratio can be obtained.

In an exemplary embodiment, referring to fig. 5, the container for the 3D printing apparatus includes a storage device mounted on a mounting seat 151 ' of a frame 15 ' and a resin tank 14 '. The storage device comprises two storage chambers, a first storage chamber 11 ' a in which a first fluid material is stored and a second storage chamber 11 ' b in which a second fluid material is stored, 11 ' a. And the volume ratio of the two storage chambers corresponds to the volume ratio between the first fluid material and the second fluid material. Here, since the desired volume ratio occupied by the first fluid material in the post-mixing fluid materials is larger than that of the second fluid material, the volume of the first storage chamber 11 'a is larger than that of the second storage chamber 11' b. When the proximal end of each push rod is driven by the motor in the direction of the arrow, the distal end of each push rod in the corresponding storage chamber is also displaced in the direction of the arrow, and the resulting pressure forces the fluid material in the storage chamber to flow out through the first outlet and into the mixing chamber 12' through the second inlet. The two fluid materials entering the mixing chamber are uniformly mixed by the mixing mechanism and flow from the mixing chamber into the resin tank 14 'through the second outlet 124'.

To sum up, the container of 3D printing material of this application can pass through storage device at the storage stage and store different fluid materials to in the use stage with each fluid material according to required proportion misce bene and export to the resin tank for use, replaced artificial mixing operation, convenient to use, production efficiency is high, and can just carry out the mixture of fluid material when needs use the material, avoided the material performance reduction that the fluid material mixes the time overlength that leads to in the use.

The third aspect of the present application provides a 3D printing apparatus in an embodiment.

Please refer to fig. 7, which is a schematic structural diagram of a 3D printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown, the 3D printing apparatus includes: a storage device 31 for 3D printing material, a resin tank 32, an energy radiation device 33, a member table 34, a Z-axis drive mechanism 35, and a control device (not shown).

It should be noted that the structure and principle of the storage device 31 are substantially the same as those of the storage device for 3D printing material provided in the foregoing embodiment of the first aspect (i.e., the embodiment corresponding to fig. 1 to 4), and therefore, technical features in the foregoing embodiment can be applied to this embodiment, and detailed descriptions of the technical details that have been described are not repeated.

The resin tank 32 has a transparent bottom for containing the at least two fluid materials after mixing. The resin groove 32 may be entirely transparent or only the bottom of the resin groove may be transparent, for example, the resin groove 32 may be a glass resin groove, and the wall of the resin groove 32 may be attached with a light-absorbing paper (such as a black film, or a black paper) so as to reduce the curing interference of the light-curing material due to light scattering during the projection. The bottom surface of the resin tank can be paved with a transparent flexible film which is a release film and is convenient to separate.

The resin tank may be in communication with the mixing device 312 or may be positioned in correspondence with a second outlet location of the mixing device. For example, the resin tank may communicate with the second outlet of the mixing chamber via a second conduit, thereby delivering the fluid material mixed in the mixing chamber to the resin tank. As another example, as shown in fig. 7, the storage device is disposed on a support, and the resin tank is disposed corresponding to the second outlet of the mixing device, i.e., the resin tank is located below the second outlet of the mixing device, so that the fluid material output from the second outlet flows into the resin tank by gravity.

When the push rods move downwards, the far ends of the push rods penetrate into the storage chamber, and the brought pressure forces the fluid material in the storage chamber to flow out through the first outlet and enter the mixing chamber through the second inlet; when the push rod moves upward, the force applied to the storage chamber is removed. In a possible embodiment, as shown in fig. 7, the output end of the motor is connected to an adapter through a connecting rod, and the adapter is simultaneously connected to the proximal end of the push rod, so that the push rod is simultaneously driven to move synchronously while the motor drives the connecting rod to enable the adapter to be linked.

The energy radiation device 33 is located below the resin tank 32 and irradiates light energy to the bottom surface, and is used for irradiating the received layered image to the printing reference surface of the resin tank 32 through a control program when receiving a printing instruction so as to cure the light-curing material on the printing reference surface, and obtain a corresponding pattern curing layer. Of course, in some embodiments, the energy radiation device may be located above the resin tank and radiate light energy to the printing reference surface.

The structure of the energy radiation device 33 is determined according to the type of the 3D printing apparatus.

In an embodiment, the 3D printing device may be a bottom projection or bottom exposure 3D printing device, for example, a DLP (Digital Light processing) device that performs surface exposure by a bottom projection optical machine, or an SLA (Stereo Light curing) device that performs laser spot scanning by a bottom laser. And the energy radiation device of the 3D printing equipment irradiates layered images in the 3D component model to a printing reference surface formed by the gap between the component platform and the bottom of the resin tank so as to solidify the light-cured material into a corresponding pattern solidified layer.

When the 3D printing device is used for printing an object, the energy radiation device irradiates the light-cured material at the bottom of the resin tank to form a first cured layer, the first cured layer is attached to the component platform, the component platform is driven by the Z-axis driving mechanism to move upwards so that the cured layer is separated from the bottom of the resin tank, then the component platform is descended so that the light-cured material to be cured is filled between the bottom of the resin tank and the first cured layer, the light-cured material is irradiated again to obtain a second cured layer attached to the first cured layer, and the like, and the cured layers are accumulated on the component platform through multiple filling, irradiating and separating operations to obtain the 3D object. For 3D printing equipment for manufacturing a 3D object by using a light-cured material in a bottom surface exposure mode, in the printing process, a mode of printing layer by layer is adopted, and each printing layer is peeled from the bottom of a resin tank after being cured. When a solidified layer is formed, the upper surface and the lower surface of the solidified layer are respectively attached to the component platform and the bottom of the resin tank, generally, the adhesive force between the 3D object and the bottom of the resin tank is strong, and a large pulling force needs to be overcome in the process that the solidified layer is driven by the component platform to rise so as to realize stripping, and the risk that the solidified layer is damaged is also accompanied. Therefore, it is common to reduce the adhesive force to be overcome by coating a release film on the bottom of the resin tank. Meanwhile, in order to ensure that the light-cured material in the resin tank has good fluidity in the printing process so as to ensure the printing quality, in some embodiments, a plurality of through holes which are beneficial to the circulation of the light-cured material are further formed in the component platform.

In the DLP device, the energy radiation device includes a DMD chip, a controller, and a memory module, for example. Wherein the storage module stores therein a layered image layering the 3D component model. And the DMD chip irradiates the light source of each pixel on the corresponding layered image to the top surface of the resin tank after receiving the control signal of the controller. In fact, the mirror is composed of hundreds of thousands or even millions of micromirrors, each micromirror represents a pixel, and the projected image is composed of these pixels. The DMD chip may be simply described as a semiconductor photo switch and a micromirror plate corresponding to the pixel points, and the controller allows/prohibits each of the micromirrors from reflecting light by controlling each of the photo switches in the DMD chip, thereby irradiating the corresponding layered image onto the photo-curable material through the transparent top of the resin bath, so that the photo-curable material corresponding to the shape of the image is cured to obtain a patterned cured layer.

For the SLA device for top surface exposure, the energy radiation device includes a laser emitter, a lens group located on an outgoing light path of the laser emitter, and a vibration lens group located on an outgoing light side of the lens group, where the laser emitter is controlled to adjust energy of an output laser beam, for example, the laser emitter is controlled to emit a laser beam with a preset power and stop emitting the laser beam, and further, the laser emitter is controlled to increase power of the laser beam and decrease power of the laser beam. The lens group is used for adjusting the focusing position of the laser beam, the galvanometer group is used for controllably scanning the laser beam in a two-dimensional space on the top surface of the resin groove, and the light-cured material scanned by the light beam is cured into a corresponding pattern cured layer.

The component platform is located in the resin tank 32 in a printing state, and is driven by the Z-axis driving mechanism 35 to perform lifting movement, during which the cured layer is separated from the bottom surface of the resin tank 32, and the space between the cured layer and the bottom surface of the resin tank 32 is filled with the light curing material, so that the cured layer obtained after energy radiation is attached under the cooperation of the energy radiation device, so as to form a printing component through accumulation of the cured layer.

The Z-axis driving mechanism 35 is connected to the component platform 34, and is used for controlling the component platform 34 to move up and down, so that the space between the component platform 34 and the resin tank 32 is filled with the light-curing material.

Here, the Z-axis drive mechanism 35 includes a drive unit and a connection unit. The driving unit is exemplified by a driving motor, wherein the driving motor is exemplified by a servo motor, the servo motor selects forward rotation or reverse rotation to control lifting based on the received control instruction, and drives the connecting unit to move up and down according to the rotating speed/rotating acceleration/torsion and the like indicated by the control instruction. Wherein the control instruction comprises a lifting direction and specific operation parameters. The operating parameters are, for example, parameters such as rotation speed, rotational acceleration or torque.

The connection unit includes a fixed rod with one end fixed on the component platform 34, and an engagement moving assembly fixed with the other end of the fixed rod, wherein the engagement moving assembly is driven by the driving unit to drive the fixed rod to move vertically, and the engagement moving assembly is, for example, a limit moving assembly engaged by a tooth-shaped structure, such as a rack. As another example, the connection unit includes: a screw and a positioning and moving structure screwed on the screw, wherein both ends of the screw are screwed on the driving unit, the outer end of the positioning and moving structure is fixedly connected to the component platform 34, and the positioning and moving structure can comprise a nut-shaped structure of a ball and a clamping piece.

The control device is electrically connected with the Z-axis driving mechanism 35 and the energy radiation device 33 respectively, and is used for controlling the Z-axis driving mechanism 35 and the energy radiation device 33 to print a 3D component.

In one embodiment, the control device is further electrically connected to a first delivery pump of the feeding device, and each fluid material in the storage chamber can be delivered to the mixing chamber under the control of the control device as a result of the first conduit of the feeding device communicating the mixing chamber and the storage chamber.

In another embodiment, the control device is further electrically connected to a second delivery pump of the feeding device, and the second conduit of the feeding device is communicated with the mixing chamber and the resin tank, so that the at least two fluid materials mixed in the mixing chamber can be delivered to the resin tank under the control of the control device.

Of course, the control device may also be electrically connected to the first delivery pump and the second delivery pump at the same time, so as to deliver the fluid materials in the storage chambers to the mixing chamber and deliver at least two fluid materials mixed in the mixing chamber to the resin tank under the control of the control device.

In yet another embodiment, the control device is further communicatively connected to a detection device disposed within the first conduit or storage chamber, the detection device being configured to detect a flow rate of the fluid material output from the storage chamber and send detection data to the control device, such that the control device controls an operating state of the first delivery pump based on the detection data. Since the first conduit communicates the storage chamber and the mixing chamber, the fluid material in each storage chamber can be delivered to the mixing chamber under the control of the control device, and the control device can control the flow rate of each fluid material according to the proportioning requirement of each fluid material according to the detection data provided by the detection device.

In yet another embodiment, the control device is further connected to a pressurization mechanism of the storage device, such that the pressurization mechanism is controlled to pressurize the storage chamber and/or the mixing chamber to force the fluid material in the storage chamber into the mixing chamber or to force the fluid material in the mixing chamber out.

In a further embodiment, the control device may be further connected to a mixing mechanism for controlling the mixing mechanism to homogeneously mix the at least two 3D printed materials in the mixing chamber. For example, in an embodiment where the mixing mechanism comprises a motor, a mixing element and a drive shaft, the control device may be electrically connected to the motor in the mixing mechanism, thereby controlling the operating state of the motor to homogeneously mix the at least two 3D printed materials in the mixing chamber.

Here, the control device is exemplified by a computer device, an industrial personal computer including a CPU or an MCU, or an electronic device based on an embedded operating system.

In a possible embodiment, the device comprises a storage unit, a processing unit, and an interface unit.

Wherein, the memory unit comprises nonvolatile memory, volatile memory and the like. The nonvolatile memory is, for example, a solid state disk or a usb disk. The storage unit is connected with the processing unit through a system bus. The processing unit comprises at least one of a CPU or a chip integrated with the CPU, a programmable logic device (FPGA) and a multi-core processor.

The interface unit comprises a plurality of driving reserved interfaces, and each driving reserved interface is electrically connected with a device which is independently packaged in the 3D printing equipment such as the energy radiation device 33 and the Z-axis driving mechanism 35 and transmits data or drives to work through the interface, so that the devices which are independently packaged in the 3D printing equipment such as the energy radiation device 33 and the Z-axis driving mechanism 35 and transmit data or drive to work through the interface are controlled. The control device further comprises at least one of the following: a prompting device, a human-computer interaction unit and the like. The interface unit determines its interface type according to the connected device, which includes but is not limited to: universal serial interface, video interface, industrial control interface, etc. For example, the drive reservation interface includes: the energy radiation device comprises a USB interface, a HDMI interface and RS232 interfaces, wherein the USB interface and the RS232 interfaces are multiple, the USB interface can be connected with a human-computer interaction unit and the like, and the RS232 interfaces are connected with the energy radiation device 33, the Z-axis driving mechanism 35 and the like so as to control the energy radiation device 33, the Z-axis driving mechanism 35 and the like.

In an exemplary embodiment, with continued reference to fig. 7, the storage device 31 has two storage chambers 311, namely a first storage chamber 311a and a second storage chamber 311b, with a first fluid material stored in the first storage chamber 311a and a second fluid material stored in the second storage chamber 311 b. And the volume ratio of the two storage chambers corresponds to the volume ratio between the first fluid material and the second fluid material. Each storage chamber is correspondingly provided with a push rod, and the far end of each push rod is positioned in the corresponding storage chamber.

When printing is required, when the proximal end of each plunger is subjected to a force in the direction of the arrow, the distal end of each plunger is displaced in the direction of the arrow in the corresponding storage chamber, and the resulting pressure forces the fluid material in the storage chamber out through the first outlet and into the mixing chamber of the mixing device 312 through the second inlet. The two fluid materials entering the mixing chamber are uniformly mixed under the action of the mixing mechanism and flow out of the mixing chamber through the second outlet to the resin tank 32.

In the printing operation, the energy radiation device 33 radiates energy to the fluid material in the resin bath to mold the fluid material on the member table 34, and after printing a cured layer, controls the Z-axis drive mechanism 35 to move upward by one thickness to continue forming the next cured layer in the gap between the printed cured layer and the member table, thereby repeatedly forming the printed member.

Although the embodiment is described by taking a bottom-surface exposure molding 3D printing apparatus as an example, the invention is not limited to this, and the 3D printing apparatus may be a top-surface exposure molding 3D printing apparatus, for example.

To sum up, the 3D printing apparatus of this application can pass through different fluid materials of storage device storage in the storage stage to in the use stage with each fluid material according to required proportion misce bene and export to the resin tank and use in order to print, replaced artificial mixing operation, convenient to use, production efficiency is high, and can just carry out the mixture of fluid material when needs use the material, avoided the material performance degradation that fluid material mixes the time overlength that leads to in the use.

In some cases, 3D printing devices require a larger format to print some bulky products, and for such 3D printing devices, the resin tank capacity is larger. To this end, in an embodiment of the fourth aspect of the present application, a mixing device is provided for use in a large-format printing apparatus, such as an SLA printing apparatus, for facilitating the supply of more fluid material.

In an exemplary embodiment, please refer to fig. 8, which is a schematic structural diagram of a mixing device according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown, the mixing device includes: a mixing chamber 121, a mixing mechanism (not shown), and a feeding device (not shown).

The mixing chamber may communicate with at least two storage chambers for storing different fluid materials, thereby receiving at least two fluid materials supplied from each storage chamber to provide a mixing space for each fluid material and uniformly mixing them by a mixing mechanism. Wherein the fluid material is a photo-cured 3D printed fluid material. The photocured 3D printed fluid materials include, but are not limited to: a photocurable resin liquid, or a resin liquid doped with a mixed material such as ceramic powder or a color additive. The storage chamber may be a container to store fluid material, such as a resin bucket or the like.

To enable fluid material to flow within the storage chambers and the mixing device, each storage chamber has a respective first outlet, and the mixing device has a second outlet 124 and a respective second inlet 123 communicating with the respective first outlet. The fluid material mixed in the mixing chamber may be output through the second outlet 124, for example, to a resin tank of the 3D printing apparatus, and so on. The number of the second inlets is configured to correspond to the kind of fluid material to be dispensed, so that the fluid materials are not mixed before use, and are introduced into the mixing chamber for mixing only when required, i.e.: when the fluid materials for 3D printing are 2, two second inlets are configured; when 3 fluid materials for 3D printing are available, three second inlets are configured; when the fluid material for 3D printing is 4, four second inlets … … are provided and so on, each second inlet communicating with a respective storage chamber.

Alternatively, the second inlet may be configured as one, and communicate with a multi-channel tube, the plurality of channels of which may communicate with each storage chamber. Each storage chamber stores a different fluid material, and each fluid material flows through the manifold and into the mixing device through the second inlet.

The feeding device is used for respectively conveying the at least two fluid materials from the storage chamber to the mixing chamber; or the feeding device is used for outputting the fluid materials mixed in the mixing chamber; or the feeding device can be used for respectively conveying the at least two fluid materials from the storage chamber to the mixing chamber and outputting the fluid materials mixed in the mixing chamber.

In this embodiment, each fluid material is stored in a different storage chamber, and when it is required to mix the fluid materials for use, each fluid material flows out through the first outlet of the storage chamber in which it is located, and flows into the mixing chamber through the second inlet 123 of the mixing device, and after each fluid material in the mixing chamber is mixed by the mixing mechanism, the mixed fluid material flows out through the second outlet 124.

In another embodiment, the feeding device may be further configured to output the mixed fluid material from the mixing chamber. In this embodiment, with continuing reference to fig. 8, the feeding device includes a second conduit 125 and a second delivery pump, a proximal end of the second conduit 125 communicates with the second outlet 124 of the mixing chamber 121, and a distal end of the second conduit 125 communicates with a place where the fluid material needs to be introduced, such as a resin tank of a 3D printing apparatus. After the fluid materials in the mixing chamber are mixed, they can be output from the mixing chamber through the second conduit 125 and by the second delivery pump.

In an exemplary embodiment, in order to detect the flow rate of the fluid material in the first conduit so as to control the proportioning of the respective fluid materials, a detection device is further provided in the first conduit to detect the flow rate of the fluid material discharged from the storage chamber. For example, the first conduit may have a flow meter disposed thereon, which may indicate the flow rate of fluid passing through the first conduit to facilitate the dispensing of the fluid material in the respective storage chambers in a desired proportion.

In addition, a detection device for detecting the flow rate of the fluid material output from the mixing chamber can be arranged in the second conduit or the mixing chamber, so that the flow rate of the mixed fluid material can be provided as required, and the waste of the fluid material is avoided. For example, the second conduit may have a flow meter disposed thereon, which may indicate the flow rate of fluid passing through the second conduit; alternatively, a level sensor may be disposed within the mixing chamber to determine the amount of fluid material flowing from within the mixing chamber from data provided by the level sensor.

In one exemplary embodiment, the mixing mechanism includes: a motor, a mixing element, and a drive shaft. The output shaft of the motor is connected with the near end of the transmission shaft, and the far end of the transmission shaft is connected with the mixing element. Under the working state, the motor provides driving force to the mixing element through the transmission shaft, so that the mixing element uniformly stirs and mixes at least two fluid materials in the mixing chamber under the rotation motion.

Within the mixing chamber 121 there is a mixing element, which may be configured as at least one blade element, which may be rectangular, blade-shaped, etc., with a fixed end of each blade element connected to the drive shaft and a free end of each blade element for acting on the respective fluid materials to mix them homogeneously. The fluid materials flow into the mixing chamber 121 through the second inlet 123, the vane members are rotated by the motor to uniformly mix the fluid materials, and the mixed fluid materials flow out through the second outlet 124.

The blade elements can be replaced by other structures, for example, the mixing element can also be a spiral structure, the inner side of the spiral structure is connected along a transmission shaft, and the outer side of the spiral structure can act on each fluid material under the driving of a motor so as to uniformly mix the fluid materials. The fluid materials flow into the mixing chamber 121 through the second inlet 123, the helical structure is rotated by the motor to uniformly mix the fluid materials, and the mixed fluid materials flow out through the second outlet 124.

In an exemplary embodiment, with continued reference to fig. 8, the mixing device further includes a control device 126.

The control device may be electrically connected to the first delivery pump of the feeding device, and each fluid material in the storage chamber may be delivered to the mixing chamber under the control of the control device, since the first conduit of the feeding device communicates the mixing chamber and the storage chamber.

Or, the control device may be electrically connected to a second delivery pump of the feeding device, and since the second conduit of the feeding device communicates the mixing chamber and the resin tank of the 3D printing apparatus, the at least two fluid materials mixed in the mixing chamber may be delivered to the resin tank under the control of the control device.

In one embodiment, the control device may be further communicatively connected to a detection device disposed within the first conduit or storage chamber, the detection device being configured to detect a flow rate of the fluid material output from the storage chamber and send detection data to the control device, such that the control device controls an operating state of the first delivery pump based on the detection data. Since the first conduit communicates the storage chamber and the mixing chamber, the fluid material in each storage chamber can be delivered to the mixing chamber under the control of the control device, and the control device can control the flow rate of each fluid material according to the proportioning requirement of each fluid material according to the detection data provided by the detection device.

In another embodiment, the control device may be further electrically connected to a motor in the mixing mechanism, so as to control the operating state of the mixing mechanism, so as to uniformly stir and mix the at least two fluid materials in the mixing chamber.

The interface unit comprises a plurality of driving reserved interfaces, and each driving reserved interface is electrically connected with a device which is independently packaged and transmits data or drives to work through an interface, such as a first conveying pump, a second conveying pump, a mixing mechanism and the like, so that the device which is independently packaged and transmits data or drives to work through the interface, such as the first conveying pump, the second conveying pump, the mixing mechanism and the like, is controlled. The control device further comprises at least one of the following: a prompting device, a human-computer interaction unit and the like. The interface unit determines its interface type according to the connected device, which includes but is not limited to: universal serial interface, video interface, industrial control interface, etc. For example, the drive reservation interface includes: USB interface, HDMI interface and RS232 interface, wherein, USB interface and RS232 interface all have a plurality ofly.

In an exemplary embodiment, please refer to fig. 9, which is a schematic structural diagram of an application of the mixing device in the present application in an embodiment. As shown, in the present embodiment, the mixing device is used to mix two fluid materials for 3D printing, the two fluid materials are respectively stored in storage chambers outside the mixing device, and the fluid materials in the storage chambers are respectively entered into the mixing chamber 121 through two

second inlets

123a, 123b of the mixing device via a first conduit by the first delivery pump. The two fluid materials entering the mixing chamber are uniformly mixed by the mixing mechanism, and flow to the second conduit 125 through the second outlet 124 by the second delivery pump, and enter the resin tank 14 of the 3D printing apparatus through the second conduit.

In the present embodiment, the mixing device has 2 second outlets as an example, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and in practical applications, the second outlets may be configured to be 3, 4, 5 … …, etc. and connected to different storage cavities to obtain various fluid materials according to specific requirements.

To sum up, the mixing arrangement of 3D printing material of this application can be with each fluid material according to required proportion misce bene and output for using, has replaced artificial mixed operation, convenient to use, and production efficiency is high to can just carry out the mixture of fluid material when needs use material, avoid the fluid material to mix the material performance reduction that the time overlength in the use leads to.

The embodiment of the fifth aspect of the application also provides a 3D printing device.

Please refer to fig. 10, which is a schematic structural diagram of a 3D printing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present application. As shown, the 3D printing apparatus includes: a 3D printing material mixing device 31 ', a resin tank 32', an energy radiation device 33 ', a member stage 34', a Z-axis drive mechanism 35 ', and a control device 36'.

It should be noted that the structure and principle of the mixing device 31' are substantially the same as those of the mixing device for 3D printing material provided in the embodiment of the fourth aspect (i.e. the embodiment corresponding to fig. 8 to 9), and therefore, the technical features of the foregoing embodiment can be applied to this embodiment, and the detailed description of the described technical details is not repeated.

The resin tank 32' has a transparent bottom for containing the at least two fluid materials after mixing. The resin groove 32 'may be entirely transparent or only the bottom of the resin groove may be transparent, for example, the resin groove 32' may be a glass resin groove 32 ', and the wall of the resin groove 32' may be adhered with a light-absorbing paper (such as a black film, a black paper, or the like) so as to reduce the interference of light-curing material curing due to light scattering during projection. The bottom surface of the resin tank can be paved with a transparent flexible film which is a release film and is convenient to separate.

The resin tank is in communication with a mixing device 31'. For example, the resin tank may communicate with the second outlet of the mixing chamber via a second conduit, thereby delivering the fluid material mixed in the mixing chamber to the resin tank.

Wherein the mixing device 31' may not be in communication with the resin tank during non-printing operations and remains in communication with the resin tank until printing is required to inject the mixed fluid material into the resin tank. In addition, in order to ensure that the mixed fluid material is ready to be prepared, a proper amount of fluid material can be injected into the resin tank every time to prevent the fluid material from contacting air for too long time to influence the printing performance, so that the fluid material in the mixing device can be always kept in communication with the resin tank in a state that the fluid material is not used up in the printing process, and the mixed fluid material can be injected into the resin tank when the fluid material needs to be printed.

In an exemplary embodiment, since the capacity of the resin bath is increased for a large-format printing apparatus, it is generally necessary to fill a sufficient amount of printing material in the resin bath to ensure molding quality, and due to the characteristics of some printing materials, the printing material is easily changed after contacting air, which affects the use of the printing material. Thus, there is a need to compromise sufficient amounts of printing material to ensure print quality without wasting printing material.

In a possible embodiment, the resin tank is also used to contain a stratified fluid material. The density of the layered fluid material is greater than the density of the at least two mixed fluid materials, and the layered fluid material is immiscible with the at least two mixed fluid materials. Therefore, when the mixed at least two fluid materials and the layered fluid material coexist in the resin tank, the mixed at least two fluid materials float on the surface of the layered fluid material. Therefore, the liquid levels of at least two fluid materials mixed in the resin tank can be ensured to meet the printing condition, and the consumption of the printing materials is controlled within a reasonable range, so that waste is avoided.

Consider the density of commonly used 3D printing fluid materials, as well as the density of the materials after mixing. The layered fluid material may include, but is not limited to, perfluoropolyether oils, saturated sodium chloride solutions, heavy liquids, or the like. The density of the heavy liquid is greater than the density of the at least two fluid materials after mixing, and the specific gravity of the heavy liquid ranges from about 2.5g/cm³～4.5g/cm³. It is to be understood that the specific gravity refers to the relative density (density of the object divided by the density of water) and thus, in general, when the specific gravity of the heavy liquid is greater than that of the at least two fluid materials, the density is also greater than that of the at least two fluid materials. Many solutions and compounds can be used as heavy liquids, including but not limited to: thallium formate-thallium malonate solution (also called Kelly Lily solution), 85% thallium formate solution, tin tetrabromide, diiodomethane, Dulien solution (aqueous solution prepared from mercuric iodide and potassium iodide in a ratio of 1.24: 1), tetrabromoethane, tribromomethane, tribromofluoromethane, 1, 2-tribromoethane, 78% zinc dibromide solution, dibromomethane, 1, 2-dibromo-1, 2-dichloroethane, 1, 2-dibromo-chloroethane, dibromoethane, trichloro-bromomethane, etc.

The energy radiation device 33 ' is located above the resin tank 32 ' and irradiates light energy to the resin tank for irradiating the received layered image to the printing reference surface of the resin tank 32 ' through the control program when receiving a printing instruction, so as to cure the light-curing material on the printing reference surface, and obtain a corresponding pattern cured layer. Of course, in some embodiments, the energy radiation device may be located below the resin tank and irradiate light energy to the bottom surface.

The structure of the energy radiation device 33' is determined according to the type of the 3D printing apparatus.

In an embodiment, the 3D printing device may be a top projection or top exposure 3D printing device, such as a DLP (Digital Light processing) device that performs top exposure by a top projection optical machine, or an SLA (Stereo Light curing) device that performs laser spot scanning by a top laser. The energy radiation device of the 3D printing device irradiates layered images in the 3D component model to a printing reference surface on the component platform so as to solidify the light-cured material (namely, the printing material) into a corresponding pattern cured layer.

When the 3D printing apparatus is used to print an object, taking a top-exposed printing apparatus as an example, the energy radiation device irradiates the light-cured material on the component platform to form a first cured layer, the first cured layer is attached to the component platform, the component platform is driven by the Z-axis driving mechanism to move downward, so that the surface of the first cured layer is filled with the light-cured material, and the first cured layer is irradiated again to obtain a second cured layer attached to the first cured layer, and so on, and after multiple filling and irradiation operations, the cured layers are accumulated on the component platform to obtain a 3D object.

It should be noted that, although DLP and SLA printing apparatuses are taken as examples in the embodiments of the present application, the present application is not limited thereto, and the 3D printing apparatus may also be another apparatus which has a resin tank and is formed by radiation curing of a fluid material, for example, a printing apparatus whose radiation source is an LCD, or the like.

The component platform is located in the resin tank 32 'in a printing state, and is driven by the Z-axis driving mechanism 35' to move up and down, and during the moving up and down, the component platform or the surface of the formed cured layer is filled with the light curing material, namely at least two fluid materials after mixing, so that a new cured layer is obtained after energy radiation is attached under the cooperation of the energy radiation device, and the printing component is formed through accumulation of the cured layer.

Here, the Z-axis drive mechanism 35' includes a drive unit and a connection unit. The driving unit is exemplified by a driving motor, wherein the driving motor is exemplified by a servo motor, the servo motor selects forward rotation or reverse rotation to control lifting based on the received control instruction, and drives the connecting unit to move up and down according to the rotating speed/rotating acceleration/torsion and the like indicated by the control instruction. Wherein the control instruction comprises a lifting direction and specific operation parameters. The operating parameters are, for example, parameters such as rotation speed, rotational acceleration or torque.

The connection unit includes a fixed rod with one end fixed on the component platform 34', and an engagement moving assembly fixed on the other end of the fixed rod, wherein the engagement moving assembly is driven by the driving unit to drive the fixed rod to move vertically, and the engagement moving assembly is, for example, a limit moving assembly engaged by a tooth-shaped structure, such as a rack. As another example, the connection unit includes: a screw rod and a positioning and moving structure screwed with the screw rod, wherein both ends of the screw rod are screwed with the driving unit, the outer end of the positioning and moving structure is fixedly connected with the component platform 34', and the positioning and moving structure can comprise a nut-shaped structure of a ball and a clamping piece.

The control device is electrically connected with the Z-axis driving mechanism 35 'and the energy radiation device 33', and is used for controlling the Z-axis driving mechanism 35 'and the energy radiation device 33' to print the 3D component.

In yet another embodiment, the control device is further connected to a pressurization mechanism of the mixing device, such that the pressurization mechanism is controlled to pressurize the storage chamber and/or the mixing chamber to force the fluid material in the storage chamber into the mixing chamber or to force the fluid material in the mixing chamber out.

In yet another embodiment, the control device may be further connected to a mixing mechanism for controlling the mixing mechanism to homogeneously mix the at least two fluid materials in the mixing chamber. For example, in an embodiment where the mixing mechanism includes a motor, a mixing element, and a drive shaft, the control device may be electrically connected to the motor in the mixing mechanism to control the operating state of the motor to uniformly mix the at least two fluid materials in the mixing chamber.

The interface unit comprises a plurality of driving reserved interfaces, and each driving reserved interface is electrically connected with a device which is independently packaged in the 3D printing equipment such as the energy radiation device 33 'and the Z-axis driving mechanism 35' and transmits data or drives to work through the interface, so that the devices which are independently packaged in the 3D printing equipment such as the energy radiation device 33 'and the Z-axis driving mechanism 35' and transmit data or drive to work through the interface are controlled. The control device further comprises at least one of the following: a prompting device, a human-computer interaction unit and the like. The interface unit determines its interface type according to the connected device, which includes but is not limited to: universal serial interface, video interface, industrial control interface, etc. For example, the drive reservation interface includes: the energy radiation device comprises a USB interface, a HDMI interface and a RS232 interface, wherein the USB interface and the RS232 interface are respectively provided with a plurality of interfaces, the USB interface can be connected with a human-computer interaction unit and the like, and the RS232 interface is connected with the energy radiation device 33 'and the Z-axis driving mechanism 35' and the like so as to control the energy radiation device 33 'and the Z-axis driving mechanism 35'.

In an exemplary embodiment, with continued reference to fig. 10, the mixing device 31 'is configured to mix at least two fluid materials for 3D printing, the at least two fluid materials being respectively stored in storage chambers outside the mixing device, the fluid materials in the storage chambers respectively entering the mixing chamber of the mixing device 31' through the second inlet of the mixing device via the first conduit under the action of the first delivery pump. The two fluid materials entering the mixing chamber are uniformly mixed under the action of the mixing mechanism, flow to the second conduit through the second outlet under the action of the second delivery pump, and enter a resin tank 34' of the 3D printing device through the second conduit.

A stratified fluid material 321 'b is also previously contained in the resin tank 34', the density of the stratified fluid material 321 'b is greater than the density of the mixed at least two fluid materials 321' a, and the stratified fluid material 321 'b is immiscible with the mixed at least two fluid materials 321' a. Therefore, the mixed at least two fluid materials 321 'a float on the surface of the layered fluid material 321' b after being input into the resin tank. The overall level height in the resin tank is the level height of the stratified fluid material plus the level height of the marking material (i.e., the at least two fluid materials after mixing).

In the printing operation, the energy radiation device 33 ' radiates energy to the printing material in the resin bath to mold it on the member platform 34 ', and after printing a cured layer, controls the Z-axis drive mechanism 35 ' to move down by one layer thickness to continue forming the next cured layer on the printed cured layer, thereby repeatedly forming the printing member.

To sum up, the 3D printing apparatus of this application can be through mixing arrangement storage different fluid materials before printing to in the use stage with each fluid material according to required proportion misce bene and export to the resin tank and use in order to print, replaced artificial mixing operation, convenient to use, production efficiency is high, and can just carry out the mixture of fluid material when needs use the material, avoided the material performance degradation that fluid material mixes the time overlength that leads to in the use. In addition, the layered fluid material which is not compatible with the printing material and has the density larger than that of the printing material is contained in the resin tank, so that the printing material can float on the surface of the layered fluid material, and the using amount of the printing material is saved.

The above embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles and utilities of the present application and are not intended to limit the application. Any person skilled in the art can modify or change the above-described embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Accordingly, it is intended that all equivalent modifications or changes which can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and technical concepts disclosed in the present application shall be covered by the claims of the present application.

Claims

1. A storage device for 3D printed material, the storage device comprising:

at least two storage chambers to store at least two fluid materials for photo-curing 3D printing, respectively, each of the at least two storage chambers having a first outlet to input or output the fluid materials;

the mixing device comprises a mixing chamber and a mixing mechanism arranged in the mixing chamber and used for uniformly mixing the at least two fluid materials, the mixing chamber is provided with a second outlet and second inlets respectively communicated with the at least two first outlets, and the second outlets are used for enabling the mixed fluid materials to be output from the mixing chamber.

2. The storage device of 3D printed material according to claim 1, further comprising: a feeding device for delivering the fluid material in the storage chamber to the mixing chamber and/or outputting the mixed fluid material in the mixing chamber.

3. The storage device of 3D printed material according to claim 2, characterized in that the feeding device comprises a first conduit and a first delivery pump, the first conduit communicating with the first outlet of the storage chamber and the second inlet of the mixing chamber.

4. A storage device for 3D printed material according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the feeding device comprises a second conduit and a second delivery pump, the proximal end of the second conduit communicating with the second outlet of the mixing chamber.

5. A storage arrangement for 3D printed material according to claim 3, characterised in that a detection device is arranged in the first conduit or storage chamber for detecting the flow of fluid material out of the storage chamber.

6. The 3D printed material storage device of claim 2, wherein the feeding device comprises a pressurizing mechanism with one end located in the storage chamber for forcing the fluid material out of the storage chamber by the output pressure.

7. The storage device of 3D printed material according to claim 1, characterized in that the mixing mechanism comprises:

the motor is used for providing driving force in a working state;

a mixing element for acting upon at least two fluid materials within the mixing chamber under the drive of the motor to mix them homogeneously;

and the transmission shaft is connected with the motor and the mixing element and is used for transmitting the driving force provided by the motor to the mixing element.

8. The storage device of 3D printed material according to claim 7, characterized in that the mixing element is at least one blade element, the fixed end of which is connected with the drive shaft.

9. The storage device of 3D printed material according to claim 1, characterized in that the at least two storage chambers comprise a first storage chamber and a second storage chamber, the volume of the first storage chamber being larger than the volume of the second storage chamber.

10. The storage device of 3D printed material according to claim 1, characterized in that the at least two storage chambers further each have a first inlet for inputting fluid material.

11. The storage device of 3D printed material as claimed in claim 10, wherein the first inlet is further provided with an end cap to prevent overflow of fluid material.

12. A container for a 3D printing device, comprising:

a storage device for 3D printed material according to any of claims 1 to 11;

and the resin tank is communicated with the mixing device of the storage device or is arranged corresponding to the second outlet position of the mixing device and is used for containing the mixed fluid material.

13. The container for a 3D printing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the second conduit of the storage device communicates with the resin tank and the mixing chamber for conveying the at least two 3D printing materials mixed in the mixing chamber to the resin tank.

14. A3D printing apparatus, comprising:

a storage device for 3D printed material according to any of claims 1 to 11;

a resin tank, communicated with the mixing device, for containing the at least two fluid materials after mixing;

an energy radiation device arranged above the resin tank and configured to radiate energy to a printing reference surface in the resin tank through a control program when receiving a printing instruction;

the component platform is positioned in the resin groove in the printing process and used for attaching the solidified layer obtained after energy radiation so as to form a three-dimensional object through accumulation of the solidified layer;

the Z-axis driving mechanism is connected with the component platform and used for adjusting the position of the component platform in the Z-axis direction;

and the control device is electrically connected with the energy radiation device and the Z-axis driving mechanism and is used for controlling the energy radiation device and the Z-axis driving mechanism based on each slice data in the three-dimensional model so as to attach and stack the pattern curing layer on the component platform to obtain a corresponding three-dimensional object.

15. The 3D printing apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the control device is connected to the first and/or second delivery pump of the storage device.

16. The 3D printing apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the control device is connected to a detection device of the storage device, the detection device being configured to send detection data to the control device, so that the control device controls the operating state of the feeding device in the storage device according to the detection data.

17. A mixing device for 3D printing materials, comprising:

a mixing chamber comprising a second inlet to input at least two fluid materials for photocuring 3D printing and a second outlet to output mixed fluid materials from the mixing chamber;

the mixing mechanism is arranged in the mixing chamber and used for uniformly mixing the at least two fluid materials;

the feeding device is used for respectively conveying the at least two fluid materials to the mixing chamber and/or outputting the fluid materials mixed in the mixing chamber.

18. The mixing device of 3D printed material according to claim 17, wherein the feeding device comprises a first conduit and a first delivery pump, the proximal end of the first conduit communicating with the second inlet of the mixing chamber.

19. The mixing device of 3D printed material according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that the feeding device comprises a second conduit and a second delivery pump, the proximal end of the second conduit communicating with the second outlet of the mixing chamber.

20. The mixing device of 3D printed material according to claim 18, characterized in that a detection device is arranged on the first conduit for detecting the flow of fluid material through the first conduit.

21. The mixing device of 3D printed material according to claim 17, characterized in that the mixing mechanism comprises:

the motor is used for providing driving force in a working state;

22. The mixing device of 3D printed material according to claim 21, wherein the mixing element is at least one blade element, the fixed end of the blade element being connected with the drive shaft.

23. The mixing device of 3D printed material according to claim 21, wherein the number of the second inlets is at least two for inputting at least two fluid materials for photo-curing 3D printing, respectively.

24. A3D printing apparatus, comprising:

a mixing device for 3D printed material according to any of claims 17 to 23;

an energy radiation device arranged above the resin tank and configured to radiate energy to a printing reference surface in the resin tank through a control program when receiving a printing instruction; the component platform is positioned in the resin groove in the printing process and used for attaching the solidified layer obtained after energy radiation so as to form a three-dimensional object through accumulation of the solidified layer;

25. The 3D printing apparatus according to claim 24, wherein the resin tank is further configured to contain a stratified fluid material having a density greater than the at least two fluid materials after mixing and being immiscible with the at least two fluid materials after mixing.

26. The 3D printing device according to claim 24 or 25, wherein the 3D printing device is an SLA printing device.