JP2016144868A - Heating device, material discharge device and molding device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a heating tool for three-dimensional molding, capable of sufficiently heating to high temperature while suppressing deterioration of a biodegradable resin.SOLUTION: The heating device for three-dimensional molding comprises: a holding tool 22 for holding a discharge tool which stores therein a molding material and discharges the material from a nozzle; and a heating tool 226 for heating the discharge tool held by the holding tool 22, with heat gradient in which temperature becomes higher as going to the nozzle.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to a heating device, a material discharge device, and a modeling device.

  As a technique for regenerating an organ or tissue having a complicated structure, an organ / tissue shaping technique using a layered shaping method has attracted attention. Such organ / tissue shaping technology is one of the most promising potential technologies for regenerative medicine. As one of known organ / tissue shaping techniques, for example, an inkjet printing technique represented by Patent Document 1 can be cited.

  However, when the ink jet printing technique is applied to the organ / tissue shaping technique, it is necessary to use a low-viscosity gel. For this reason, it has been difficult to form a high aspect ratio structure or to form a porous structure that promotes transport of nutrients and oxygen. Furthermore, there has been the problem that toxic solvents can be used for the treatment of this material.

  Patent Document 2 has been found as means for solving the above problems. By this invention of the integrated organ / tissue modeling method, a method of forming a high-strength three-dimensional structure in which viable cell groups having various roles are accurately arranged has been established.

  Any appropriate biodegradable resin or bioinert material can be applied as a structural material that serves as a skeleton for supporting a high-strength three-dimensional structure, but it is completely replaced as an organ or tissue after transplantation. In view of necessity, it is more preferable to apply a biodegradable resin that can be decomposed in vivo. Furthermore, it is more preferable to form the film by using a hot melt lamination method (Fused Deposition Modeling, hereinafter referred to as “FDM method”) that does not use a solvent that may cause toxicity. Patent Document 3 is one of known techniques corresponding to the above.

  Examples of biodegradable resins that can be applied to the above-described hot melt lamination method include PLLA, PCL, PGA, and the like. In order to enable melt discharge of these resins, at least from about 100 ° C. to about 300 ° C. It is necessary to apply a heating device capable of controlling the heating. However, research by Non-Patent Document 1 reveals that when heating is continued, the molecular structure of the biodegradable resin is decomposed and destroyed and gradually deteriorates. Although Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-228561 deals with PLGA, it has been clarified that similar problems may occur with other biodegradable resins.

US Pat. No. 7,051,654 US Application Publication No. 2012/0089238 Japanese Patent No. 4641047

Shim et al. Journal of Biomaterials Science 21 (2010) 1069-1080

  An object of the present invention is to sufficiently heat to a high temperature while suppressing deterioration of a biodegradable resin.

  The heating device of the present invention includes a material for modeling, a holder for discharging the material from the nozzle at a plurality of locations at different distances from the nozzle, and a discharge held by the holder. A state in which the heater is heated, and the retainer is supported at a plurality of locations at different distances from the nozzle via a heat insulating material, and a cavity layer is formed around the discharge device between the plurality of locations. Thus, it is characterized in that a high heat shielding capability can be obtained by including a casing that covers the outside of the hollow layer.

  In addition, the heating device of the present invention has a material for modeling built therein, a holder that holds a discharger that discharges the material from the nozzle, and a discharger that is held in the holder as the temperature increases toward the nozzle. And a heater for generating and heating a thermal gradient.

  According to such a heating device, the temperature of the material can be increased immediately before discharge from the nozzle because of heating by a thermal gradient, and heating can be suppressed for a material that is far from the nozzle and takes time to discharge. . Thereby, even if the modeling material is a biodegradable resin, it can be heated to a sufficiently high temperature while suppressing deterioration due to heating.

  In the heating apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable that the heater includes a plurality of heating elements having different distances from the nozzle, and the heating element closer to the nozzle is heated at a higher temperature.

  According to such a heating device, each of the plurality of heating elements can be individually controlled to freely form a temperature gradient.

  Alternatively, in the heating device of the present invention, it is also preferable that the heater includes an internal heating element that is inserted into the discharger and locally heats the material before discharge. A temperature gradient is efficiently formed by local heating by the internal heating element.

  Alternatively, in the heating device of the present invention, the holder holds the discharger with a heat conductor that conducts heat faster toward the nozzle, and the heater passes through the heat conductor. It is also preferable that the thermal gradient is created by heating the discharger. A thermal gradient is naturally formed by the difference in heat conduction by the heat conductor.

  The heating device of the present invention further includes a casing that covers the outside of the hollow layer in a state where the hollow layer is formed around the discharger and supports the retainer via a heat insulating material. Is preferred.

  When a syringe containing a biological component such as a cell is provided close as in Patent Document 2, a small heating device is required. For example, when heated to a high temperature of 300 ° C., it is used for a conventional discharge device. If it is only covered with the heat insulating material, heat may be transmitted to the adjacent syringe, which may cause heat damage to cells and the like. On the other hand, the heating device formed by the casing is excellent in heat blocking capability, and a small heating device can be realized.

  The material discharge device of the present invention includes a material for modeling, and includes a discharge device that discharges the material from a nozzle and a heating device that heats the discharge device, and the heating device holds the discharge device. It is characterized by comprising a cage and a heater that heats the discharge device held by the cage by creating a thermal gradient that increases in temperature toward the nozzle.

  The modeling apparatus of the present invention includes a material for modeling, a material ejector that ejects the material from the nozzle, a cell ejector that incorporates cells and ejects the cells from the nozzle, and the material ejector. And a moving device for moving the position of the material discharger and the cell discharger. The heating device is held by the holder and the holder. The material discharger is provided with a heater that heats the material discharger by creating a thermal gradient that increases in temperature toward the nozzle.

  According to such a material discharging apparatus and modeling apparatus, even if the modeling material is a biodegradable resin, it can be heated to a sufficiently high temperature while suppressing deterioration due to heating because of heating by a thermal gradient.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to heat to a sufficiently high temperature while suppressing deterioration of the biodegradable resin.

It is a schematic structure figure showing an organ modeling system equivalent to one embodiment of a modeling device of the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows the several syringe hold | maintained at the arm. It is a front view of a heater unit. It is a top view of a heater unit. It is sectional drawing which shows the longitudinal cross-section of a heater unit. It is sectional drawing which shows the cross section of a heater unit. It is a graph which shows the example of control of a heater. It is a graph showing the heat insulation capability of a heater unit. It is a figure showing the example of the 2nd heating structure in the heating apparatus of this invention. It is a figure showing the example of the 3rd heating structure in the heating apparatus of this invention.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an organ modeling system corresponding to an embodiment of a modeling apparatus of the present invention.

  An organ modeling system 1 shown in FIG. 1 discharges modeling materials and cells while moving a plurality of syringes 21 and 24 on a three-axis stage and a personal computer 10 that operates as a controller that controls the entire organ modeling system 1. For the discharger 20, the three-axis stage controller 30 that controls the drive of the three-axis stage (X, Y, Z stage) of the discharger 20 according to the instructions of the personal computer 10, and the syringes 21, 24 of the discharger 20 A pressure controller 60 for controlling the gas pressure is provided to perform gas injection and suction. The discharger 20 corresponds to an embodiment of the discharge device of the present invention.

  Of the plurality of syringes 21 and 24, the first syringe 21 contains a structural material, is housed in a heater unit 22 that heats the structural material, and is held by an arm of a three-axis stage. The heater unit 22 is controlled by a heating controller 23. The heater unit 22 corresponds to an embodiment of the heating device of the present invention.

  Among the plurality of syringes 21 and 24, each of the plurality of second syringes 24 contains a solvent containing cells, a culture solution, and the like, and is held by an arm of a triaxial stage.

  The pressure controller 60 includes a pressure increasing unit 61 that increases the pressure of the high-pressure gas supplied from the external pneumatic equipment 50, a suction unit 62 that sucks gas from the syringes 21 and 24, and a plurality of syringes 21 and 24. And a control circuit 63 for controlling the operation of the pressure increasing portion 61, the suction portion 62, and the opening / closing valve group 64.

  The personal computer 10 obtains position information from the three-axis stage controller 30 and obtains operation information of the pressure increasing unit 61 and the suction unit 62 from the control circuit 63 of the pressure controller 60. The personal computer 10 instructs the ejector 20 to move the position via the three-axis stage controller 30 based on the shape of the three-dimensional object (organ or tissue) to be modeled, and starts or stops the discharge to the pressure controller 60. In addition, instructions for selecting the syringes 21 and 24 are also given. Thereby, the position of the syringes 21 and 24 and the discharge of materials and cells from the syringes 21 and 24 cooperate to form a desired three-dimensional shape. In addition, although the personal computer 10 is employ | adopted as an example of the controller of the organ shaping system 1 in this embodiment, you may employ | adopt PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) as a controller.

  The first syringe 21 of the discharger 20 corresponds to an example of a material discharger referred to in the modeling apparatus of the present invention, and the second syringe 24 of the discharger 20 is an example of a cell discharger referred to in the modeling apparatus of the present invention. It corresponds to.

  The plurality of syringes 21 and 24 held by the arm of the discharger 20 are held close to each other.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a plurality of syringes held by an arm.

  In the example shown in FIG. 2, one first syringe 21 and five second syringes 24 are held on the arm 25 of the discharger 20, and the first syringe 21 is stored in the heater unit 22. ing. In this embodiment, the lateral width of the heater unit 22 is about 50 mm, and the distance to the second syringe 24 closest to the heater unit 22 is about 50 mm. When the set temperature is set to 300 ° C., the temperature in the vicinity of the second syringe 24 becomes close to 100 ° C., so that the cells in the syringe 24 are significantly adversely affected. For this reason, not only the cells stored in the second syringe 24 are protected from heat, but also the possibility that a user's hand contacts the surface of the heater unit 22 when the second syringe 24 is attached or detached is considered. Thus, the heater unit 22 is required to have a high heat insulation capability.

  Hereinafter, the structure of the heater unit 22 will be described in detail. First, the external configuration of the heater unit 22 will be described.

  FIG. 3 is a front view of the heater unit, and FIG. 4 is a top view of the heater unit.

  The heater unit 22 has a housing 221 combined with a SUS plate, and the syringe 21 is inserted from the upper surface so as to be freely inserted and removed. The nozzle 211 of the syringe 21 protrudes from the lower surface of the heater unit 22.

  Heads of four set screws 222 protrude from the front surface of the heater unit 22, and these set screws 222 extend to the back surface of the heater unit 22. It is directly screwed to the arm 25 shown in FIG.

  A heater wire 223 extends from the front surface of the heater unit 22, and a thermocouple wire 224 extends from the side surface of the heater unit 22. These wirings 223 and 224 are connected to the heating controller 23 shown in FIG. 1 to control the heater.

  Next, the internal structure of the heater unit 22 will be described.

  FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a longitudinal section of the heater unit, and FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a transverse section of the heater unit.

  A cylindrical holder 225 that holds a syringe is provided at the center of the heater unit 22. A heater 226 is laid so as to go around the holder 225. In this embodiment, the heater 226 is divided into three stages, and each stage of the heater 226 heats each location at a different distance from the nozzle of the syringe. The holder 225 corresponds to an example of a cage according to the present invention, and the heater 226 corresponds to an example of a heater according to the present invention.

  The holder 225 is supported by the housing 221 at two upper and lower positions via a heat insulating material 227, and the housing 221 is spaced apart from the holder 225 and the heater 226 at locations other than the support location so that the holder 225 and the heater 226 are separated. Covering. As a result, a cavity layer 228 is formed around the holder 225 and the heater 226.

  FIG. 7 is a graph showing an example of heater control.

  The horizontal axis of the graph in FIG. 7 indicates time, and the vertical axis indicates temperature.

  FIG. 7 shows a graph representing the temperature control of each of the three stages of heaters 1 to 3. The heater 3 is the heater closest to the nozzle of the cylinder, and the heater 1 is the heater farthest from the nozzle of the cylinder.

  When heating is started, the heater 3 is first turned on, and the temperature rises linearly to the set temperature T by PID control. When the set temperature T is reached, the heater 3 is controlled so that the temperature T is maintained.

At the location of the heater 2, the temperature rises as the temperature of the heater 3 rises, but the temperature rise is more gradual than at the location of the heater 3. When the heater 3 reaches the set temperature T, the heater 2 is turned on, and the temperature rises linearly to the set temperature T ₂ by PID control. This set temperature T ₂ is lower than the set temperature T in the heater 3. When the set temperature T ₂ is reached, the heater 3 is controlled so that the temperature T ₂ is maintained.

At the location of the heater 1, the temperature rises as the temperature of the heater 3 and the heater 2 rises, but the temperature rise is more gradual than at the location of the heater 3 and the heater 2. When the heater 2 reaches the set temperature T ₂ , the heater 1 is turned on, and the temperature rises linearly to the set temperature T ₁ by PID control. This set temperature T ₁ is lower than the set temperature T ₂ in the heater 2. When the set temperature T ₁ is reached, the heater 1 is controlled so that the temperature T ₁ is maintained.

  By such heater control, a temperature gradient that is higher as it is closer to the nozzle of the cylinder is formed. For this reason, the material immediately before the discharge from the cylinder is sufficiently heated and melted, but the material at the location away from the nozzle is suppressed from heating, and the deterioration is suppressed even when a biodegradable resin is used as a modeling material. Will be.

  Next, the heat insulation capability of the heater unit 22 will be described.

  FIG. 8 is a graph showing the heat insulation capability of the heater unit.

  The horizontal axis of the graph in FIG. 8 indicates the center temperature, and the vertical axis indicates the external temperature. A curved line L1 with a white circle drawn in the graph represents a measured value of the surface temperature of the central portion of the heater unit 22, and a curved line L2 with a black circle shows the surface temperature of the lower portion of the heater unit 22. Represents the measured value. A curved line L3 indicated by a fine dotted line represents the relationship between the center temperature and the surface temperature in a mass of heat insulating material having the same outer shape as the heater unit 22, and a curved line L4 indicated by a rough dotted line represents the heater unit 22. Represents the relationship between the center temperature and the surface temperature of an air mass (without convection) having the same outer shape.

  Air is an ideal heat insulating material as long as no influence of convection occurs, but the heat insulating capacity that the heater unit 22 actually has is the heat insulating capacity of the mass of the heat insulating material as indicated by the curves L1 and L2. It is closer to the insulation capacity of the air mass. Such heat insulation capability is obtained by the case 221 of the heater unit 22 covering the holder 225 and the heater 226 so as to form the cavity layer 228.

  Under the conditions of FIG. 8, the heat assumed to be applied to the cells in the syringe 24 is less than 30 ° C. even when the set temperature of the heater unit 22 is 300 ° C., assuming an outside air temperature of about 18 ° C. Further, even if the user touches the surface of the heater unit 22 momentarily, the risk of burns and the like is significantly reduced if it is more than 100 ° C.

  Next, another heating structure that can be used instead of the heating structure using the three-stage heater described above will be described.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a second heating structure in the heating apparatus of the present invention.

  In the heating structure of this embodiment, the holder 225 that holds the syringe 21 has a structure that conducts heat faster toward the tip of the syringe 21. In the example shown here, the thickness of the member forming the holder 225 is reduced as the tip of the syringe 21 is reduced in heat conduction, but the material of the member forming the holder 225 is changed. There may be a structure in which the tip of the syringe 21 is made of a material having higher conductivity. In this way, by heating the syringe 21 with the heater 226 via the holder 225 having different heat conduction speeds depending on the location, a thermal gradient is naturally generated in the syringe 21 even if the heat generated by the heater 226 is uniform. Therefore, control of the heater 226 is easy.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a third heating structure in the heating apparatus of the present invention.

  In the heating structure of this embodiment, in addition to the heater 226 that heats the syringe 21 via the holder 225, a heater 226_2 that is inserted into the syringe 21 and heated from the inside is provided. The heater 226_2 is covered with the heat insulating material 226_1, and is exposed from the heat insulating material 226_1 in the vicinity of the distal end of the syringe 21 to locally heat the vicinity of the distal end of the syringe 21. Since the vicinity of the distal end of the syringe 21 is efficiently heated by such a heater 226_2, heating of the entire syringe 21 can be suppressed, and deterioration of the biodegradable resin contained in the syringe 21 as a modeling material can be prevented. It is suppressed.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Organ shaping system 20 Discharge machine 21,24 Syringe 22 Heater unit 23 Heating controller 30 3-axis stage controller 60 Pressure controller 221 Case 225 Holder 226 Heater 228 Cavity layer

Claims (8)

A holder that contains a material for modeling and holds a discharger that discharges the material from the nozzle;
A heater that heats the discharger held in the holder by creating a thermal gradient that becomes hotter toward the nozzle;
A heating apparatus comprising:   The heating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the heater includes a plurality of heating elements having different distances from the nozzle, and the heating element closer to the nozzle is heated at a higher temperature.   The heating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the heater includes an internal heating element that is inserted into the discharger and locally heats the material before discharge. The holder holds the discharger with a heat conductor that conducts heat faster toward the nozzle,
The heating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the heater creates the thermal gradient by heating the discharger via the thermal conductor.   2. A casing that covers the outside of the cavity layer in a state where a cavity layer is formed around the discharger and supports the retainer via a heat insulating material. The heating device according to any one of 4. A discharger that contains a material for modeling and discharges the material from a nozzle;
A heating device for heating the discharger,
The heating device is
A holder for holding the discharger;
A heater that heats the discharger held in the holder by creating a thermal gradient that becomes hotter toward the nozzle;
A material discharge apparatus comprising: A material discharger that contains a material for modeling and discharges the material from a nozzle;
A cell discharger that contains cells and discharges the cells from a nozzle;
A heating device for heating the material dispenser;
A moving device that moves the position of the material discharger and the cell discharger,
The heating device is
A holder for holding the material discharger;
A heater that heats the material discharger held in the holder by creating a thermal gradient that increases in temperature toward the nozzle;
A modeling apparatus characterized by comprising: A holder that contains a material for modeling and holds a discharger that discharges the material from the nozzle;
A heater for heating the discharger held in the holder;
The retainer is supported at a plurality of locations at different distances from the nozzle via a heat insulating material, and a cavity layer is formed around the discharge device between the plurality of locations. A housing that covers
A heating apparatus comprising:

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