JP2019142241A - Device for heating resin material and method for heating the resin material - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a device for heating a resin material and a method for heating the resin material, that can smoothly pass a long solid resin material and can substantially uniformly heat the entire resin material.SOLUTION: A device 10 for heating a long solid resin material comprises a passing pipe line 40 and hot air supply means 42. The passage pipe line 40 has an inner diameter larger than a diameter of a resin material and passes the resin material in a state of being separated from an inner wall surface. The hot air supply means 42 supplies hot air to the inside of the passage pipe line 40.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a resin material heating apparatus and a resin material heating method for heating a long solid resin material.

  As a three-dimensional printing method that can obtain a three-dimensional shaped object with a simple structure at low cost, plasticized (melted) resin filaments are laminated to a desired shape and solidified while maintaining the shape. A so-called hot melt lamination method is known. A three-dimensional printing apparatus according to this method, for example, as shown in Patent Document 1, heats a long solid filament that is continuously supplied to a plasticized state, and then discharges it to a layered portion such as a stage. Resin material plasticizing means is provided.

  Specifically, this resin material plasticizing means has a liquefying tube made of a heat conductive material such as metal and a heater for heating the liquefied tube. When a liquefied tube is heated by a heater and a long solid filament is continuously supplied to the liquefied tube from one end thereof, the filament moves toward the other end of the liquefied tube while exchanging heat with the liquefied tube. Move. Thereby, the plasticized filament is discharged to the layered portion via the other end side of the liquefying tube.

Special table 2011-511719 gazette

  By the way, in the above three-dimensional printing apparatus, in order to improve the plasticizing efficiency of the solid filament, for example, it is conceivable to preheat the filament before being supplied to the resin material plasticizing means. In this case, a resin material heating device that heats while passing a long solid resin material (filament) that is being conveyed may be provided upstream of the resin material plasticizing means.

  As such a resin material heating device, when the configuration in which the filament passes through the inside of the liquefied tube heated by the heater as in the above resin material plasticizing means, the peripheral surface of the filament is melted and liquefied. There is concern that the smooth conveyance of the filament is hindered by adhering to the inner wall surface of the tube.

  In order to avoid this, for example, an infrared heater may be used in place of the heater and the liquefying tube, and the filament may be heated by passing through the infrared radiation range of the infrared heater. However, in this case, since the temperature rise characteristic varies depending on the relative position between the infrared heater and the filament, there is a concern that it is difficult to obtain a filament whose temperature is uniformly raised.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem, and is a resin material heating apparatus capable of heating the entire resin material substantially uniformly while smoothly passing a long solid resin material. And it aims at providing the resin material heating method.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a resin material heating apparatus for heating a long solid resin material, wherein the inner diameter is larger than the diameter of the resin material, and the resin material is separated from an inner wall surface. And a hot air supply means for supplying hot air to the inside of the passage pipe.

  In the resin material heating apparatus according to the present invention, the resin material is heated by hot air supplied to the inside of the passage pipe without being brought into contact with the inner wall surface of the passage pipe. Accordingly, even if the resin material is heated while passing through the passage pipe, the resin material can be smoothly conveyed without adhering to the inner wall surface of the passage pipe. In addition, since the entire peripheral surface of the resin material is exposed to hot air inside the passage pipe, for example, unlike the case where the resin material is heated by an infrared heater, the temperature of the entire resin material is increased substantially uniformly. Can do.

  As described above, according to this resin material heating apparatus, the entire resin material can be heated substantially uniformly while passing a long solid resin material smoothly.

  In the above-described resin material heating apparatus, the resin material heating device further includes a seal member that keeps the inside of the passage conduit airtight, and the hot air supply means discharges the hot air from one end side of the passage conduit to which the hot air is supplied. A circulation pipe that circulates the hot air, and a heating source that heats the hot air inside the circulation pipe, and the passage pipe that passes the hot air heated by the heating source. And a blower that blows the hot air discharged from the other end side of the passage pipe toward the heating source.

  In this way, hot air is efficiently heated by circulating hot air through a circulation pipe provided with a heating source, so that it can be easily maintained at a temperature suitable for heating the resin material. Can do. Moreover, the heating efficiency of a resin material can be improved by utilizing this hot air.

  In the above resin material heating device, the passage pipe is supplied with the resin material from the other end side from which the hot air is discharged, and discharges the resin material from one end side to which the hot air is supplied. As described above, the hot air is heated by the heat source in the circulation pipe, and then supplied to the passage pipe from one end side, and after exchanging heat with the resin material, is discharged from the other end side of the passage pipe. . For this reason, the temperature of the hot air at one end of the passage pipe tends to be higher than the temperature of the hot air at the other end of the passage pipe. In this way, by discharging the resin material from one end side of the passage pipe to which high-temperature hot air is supplied, it is possible to supply the resin material to the subsequent stage of the resin material heating device while being heated effectively. Become.

  In the above resin material heating device, the passage pipes are composed of a plurality of pipes, and are connected to one end side of each of the plurality of passage pipe lines, and merging pipe lines are connected to the other end sides. Further, the circulation pipe circulates the hot air through each of the plurality of passage pipes via the distribution pipe and the merging pipe, and the resin material is provided in the plurality of merging pipes. Are respectively supplied to the plurality of passage pipes via the resin material supply ports, and discharged from the other ends of the plurality of passage pipes via the plurality of resin material outlets provided in the distribution pipes. The seal member is provided at each of the resin material supply port and the resin material discharge port.

  In this case, since a plurality of resin materials can be heated and discharged at a time, the resin materials can be heated more efficiently.

  The present invention is also a resin material heating method for heating a long solid resin material, the hot air supplying step of supplying hot air to a passage pipe having an inner diameter larger than the diameter of the resin material, and the passage A heating step of causing the resin material to pass through the passage conduit and heat exchange between the hot air and the resin material in a state where the inner wall surface of the pipeline and the resin material are separated from each other. And

  According to the resin material heating method of the present invention, the entire resin material can be exposed to hot air inside the passage pipe without contacting the resin wall with the inner wall surface of the passage pipe through which the resin material passes. it can. Accordingly, the entire resin material can be heated substantially uniformly without hindering the conveyance of the long solid resin material.

  In the resin material heating method, in the hot air supply step, the hot air is supplied from one end side of the passage pipe and the hot air discharged from the other end side of the passage pipe is heated to pass the passage. Supply again to one end of the line. In this case, since the hot air can be heated while circulating through the passage pipe, the hot air can be easily maintained at a temperature suitable for heating the resin material, and thus the heating efficiency of the resin material can be improved. it can.

  In the above-described resin material heating method, in the heating step, the resin material is supplied from the other end side of the passage pipe that discharges the hot air, and the resin is supplied from one end side of the passage pipe that is supplied with the hot air. Drain the material. Since hot air supplied to one end of the passage pipe is hotter than hot air discharged from the other end of the passage, the resin material is discharged from one end of the passage. Thus, it is possible to obtain an effectively heated resin material.

  According to the present invention, the resin material is heated by the hot air supplied to the inside of the passage pipe without contacting the inner wall surface of the passage pipe. Thereby, even if the resin material is heated while passing through the passage pipe, it is possible to avoid the resin material from adhering to the inner wall surface of the passage pipe. Further, since the entire peripheral surface of the resin material is exposed to the hot air inside the passage pipe, the temperature of the resin material can be raised substantially evenly. That is, the entire resin material can be heated substantially uniformly without hindering the conveyance of the long solid resin material.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a main part of a three-dimensional printing apparatus including a resin material heating device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the resin material heating device of FIG. FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a nozzle of the three-dimensional printing apparatus of FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram symbol of a robot constituting the moving means of the three-dimensional printing apparatus. 5A to 5C are explanatory views for explaining a process of laminating and integrating the filaments discharged from the nozzle of FIG.

  Preferred embodiments of the resin material heating apparatus and the resin material heating method according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  The resin material heating device according to the present invention heats a long solid resin material, and the supply destination and application of the resin material heated by the resin material heating device are not particularly limited.

  In the present embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 1, a case where the resin material heating device 10 constitutes a three-dimensional printing device 12 will be described as an example. The three-dimensional printing apparatus 12 laminates the filament 14 on the stage 16 to produce a three-dimensional model (not shown).

  The filament 14 is made of, for example, a thermoplastic resin such as acrylonitrile, butadiene, styrene (ABS), or polylactic acid (PLA). As shown in FIGS. 5A to 5C, a core material 18 (18 a, 18 b) and the core are formed. It consists of the covering material 20 (20a, 20b) adhering to the outer peripheral surface of the material 18. The core member 18 and the covering member 20 may be made of different types of resins or may be made of the same type of resin.

  In addition to the resin material heating device 10, the three-dimensional printing device 12 includes a resin material supply unit 22, a core material conveying means 24, a covering material conveying means 26, a covering material plasticizing means 27, a nozzle 28, and a movement Means 30 (see FIG. 4) are mainly provided.

  The resin material supply unit 22 includes one core material reel 32 wound with a long solid core material 18 and three coating materials wound with a long solid coating material 20, respectively. A reel 34 and a holding member 36 that rotatably holds the core material reel 32 and the coating material reel 34 are provided. The number of the coating material reels 34 is not particularly limited, and can be appropriately set according to the amount of the coating material 20 necessary for forming the filament 14. In the present embodiment, the core material 18 and the coating material 20 wound around the core material reel 32 and the coating material reel 34 have the same diameter, but are not particularly limited thereto. .

  The core material 18 and the covering material 20 drawn from the core material reel 32 and the covering material reel 34 are conveyed by a core material conveying means 24 and a covering material conveying means 26 as described later.

  As will be described later, the resin material heating apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment passes the core material 18 and the covering material 20 (hereinafter collectively referred to as a resin material) conveyed as described above. Then, the coating material plasticizing means 27 heats the coating material 20 to a temperature lower than the plasticizing temperature. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the resin material heating device 10 includes a plurality of passage pipes 40, hot air supply means 42, distribution pipes 44, merge pipes 46, and seal members. 48a and 48b. The passage conduit 40 is made of a tube having an inner diameter larger than the diameter of the resin material, and allows the resin material to pass in a state of being separated from the inner wall surface of the passage conduit 40. The number of passage pipes 40 can be set as appropriate according to the number of resin materials to be supplied. In the present embodiment, the passage pipe line 40 is composed of a total of four passages through which one core member 18 and three covering members 20 pass.

  One end side of each of the passage pipes 40 communicates with the distribution pipe line 44, and the other end side communicates with the merging pipe line 46. As shown in FIG. 1, the passage pipe 40 is curved in a substantially arc shape between the distribution pipe 44 side and the merging pipe line 46 side, and the core material reel 32 and the covering material reel 34 are inside the arc. It is preferable to be disposed. In this case, without increasing the size of the three-dimensional printing apparatus 12, the passage conduit 40 can be made long enough to heat the resin material at a desired temperature inside the passage conduit 40. .

  The hot air supply means 42 includes a circulation pipe 50, a heating source 52, and a blower 54. The circulation pipe 50 connects the distribution pipe 44 and the merging pipe 46 so as to circulate hot air in each of the passage pipes 40. The heating source 52 heats hot air inside the circulation pipe line 50. The blower 54 blows hot air heated by the heating source 52 toward the distribution pipe 44 and blows hot air discharged from the passage pipe 40 to the merging pipe 46 toward the heating source 52.

  The distribution pipe 44 is interposed between the circulation pipe 50 and one end side of the four passage pipes 40. The hot air sent to the distribution pipe 44 through the circulation pipe 50 is supplied to each of the passage pipes 40 while being distributed in the distribution pipe 44. In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, four resin material discharge ports 56 are formed in the distribution pipe 44 at portions that respectively face the openings on one end side of the four passage pipes 40. The resin material that has passed through the passage pipe 40 is discharged from the resin material heating device 10 through these resin material discharge ports 56.

  The merge pipe 46 is interposed between the other end side of the passage pipe 40 and the circulation pipe 50. The hot air discharged from each of the plurality of passage pipes 40 merges inside the merge pipe 46 and is sent to the circulation pipe 50. In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, four resin material supply ports 58 are formed in the joining conduit 46 at portions facing the openings on the other end side of the four passage conduits 40. A resin material is supplied from the resin material supply unit 22 to the passage conduit 40 through these resin material supply ports 58.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the seal members 48 a and 48 b are provided in the resin material discharge port 56 and the resin material supply port 58, respectively. As a result, the resin pipe is supplied from the resin material supply port 58 to the passage pipe 40 while maintaining the airtightness inside the merging pipe line 46, the passage pipe line 40, the distribution pipe line 44, and the circulation pipe line 50 communicating with each other. It becomes possible to supply the material and to discharge the resin material from the resin material discharge port 56.

  In the resin material heating device 10 configured as described above, the hot air is circulated between the circulation pipe 50 and the passage pipe 40 while the hot air is heated by the heating source 52 and maintained at a predetermined temperature. it can. The predetermined temperature of the hot air is a temperature not higher than the glass transition point of the resin material. In the present embodiment, the temperature is lower than the temperature at which the coating material 20 is heated and plasticized by the coating material plasticizing means 27. This is the temperature at which the resin material can be heated.

  That is, in the resin material heating device 10, the hot air moves from one end side to the other end side in the passage conduit 40, and the resin material moves from the other end side to the one end side in the passage conduit 40. Move. As a result, the resin material heat-exchanged with the hot air is heated to a temperature lower than the temperature at which the coating material 20 is heated and plasticized by the coating material plasticizing means 27 and discharged from the resin material heating device 10.

  The core material conveying means 24 is, for example, a set of drives disposed between the resin material discharge port 56 for discharging the core material 18 of the resin material heating device 10 and the nozzle 28 and in the vicinity of the nozzle 28. It has a roller 60 and a motor (not shown) that rotates the driving roller 60. The core 18 is supplied to the nozzle 28 through the resin material heating device 10 by rotating the drive roller 60 with the core 18 sandwiched between the pair of drive rollers 60. The material 18 can be conveyed. Further, the driving roller 60 can rotate forward and backward, and the core material 18 can be switched between a direction of moving toward the nozzle 28 and a direction of moving backward according to the rotating direction.

  A pipe 62 made of a heat insulating material is provided between the resin material heating device 10 and the core material conveying means 24. The core material 18 discharged from the resin material heating device 10 passes through the inside of the pipe 62 insulated from the outside, and is conveyed to the nozzle 28 while maintaining the temperature.

  The covering material conveying means 26 is, for example, between the resin material discharge port 56 for discharging the covering material 20 of the resin material heating device 10 and the covering material plasticizing means 27 and in the vicinity of the covering material plasticizing means 27. It has a set of drive rollers 64 disposed and a motor (not shown) for rotating the drive rollers 64. The coating material conveying means 26 is provided in a number (three in this embodiment) corresponding to the number of the coating materials 20 supplied to the resin material heating device 10, and the coating material 20 passes through the resin material heating device 10. Each of the covering materials 20 is conveyed so as to be supplied to the material plasticizing means 27. These drive rollers 64 can be rotated forward and backward in the same manner as the drive roller 60, and the direction in which the covering material 20 advances toward the covering material plasticizing means 27 and the direction in which the covering material 20 moves backward according to the rotation direction. It can be switched between and transported.

  Between the resin material heating device 10 and the coating material conveying means 26, similarly to the above-described piping 62, a piping 66 formed of a heat insulating material depends on the number of coating materials 20 supplied to the resin material heating device 10. Are provided (three in this embodiment). The covering material 20 discharged from the resin material heating apparatus 10 passes through the inside of the pipe 66 insulated from the outside, and is conveyed to the covering material plasticizing means 27 while maintaining the temperature.

  The coating material plasticizing means 27 includes a heater that heats the coating material 20 to plasticize it, and as described above, the three coating materials 20 heated by the resin material heating device 10 are converted into liquid resins, and the coating material The material plasticizing means 27 and the nozzle 28 are discharged to a communication pipe 68 that communicates. At this time, the covering material plasticizing means 27 is supplied with the covering material 20 preheated by the resin material heating device 10 provided in the preceding stage as described above. For this reason, heat can be quickly transmitted to the inside of the covering material 20 without increasing the size of the covering material plasticizing means 27 and the plasticizing efficiency of the covering material 20 can be improved. In other words, the size of the covering material plasticizing means 27 can be reduced.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the nozzle 28 discharges the filament 14 toward the stage 16. Specifically, the nozzle 28 includes a core material discharge unit 80 that discharges the core material 18 heated by the resin material heating device 10, and a coating material discharge unit that discharges the coating material 20 plasticized by the coating material plasticizing means 27. 82.

  The core material discharge unit 80 includes a main body tube 84 and a heat retaining tube 86. The main body tube 84 has a large-diameter portion 88 provided on the base end side (arrow X direction side in FIG. 3) to which the core member 18 is supplied, and the distal end side (arrow Y direction side in FIG. 3) that discharges the core member 18. And a small-diameter portion 90 having a smaller diameter than the large-diameter portion 88. The distal end side of the large diameter portion 88 is tapered toward the small diameter portion 90 in a tapered shape. Further, a step is formed between the distal end portion of the large diameter portion 88 and the proximal end portion of the small diameter portion 90 based on the difference in diameter.

  The heat insulating tube 86 is formed of a heat insulating material, and has an inner diameter that is substantially equal to the inner diameter of the small diameter portion 90 of the main body tube 84 and an outer diameter that is smaller than the inner diameter of the large diameter portion 88. The heat retaining tube 86 is disposed inside the large diameter portion 88 so that the end surface on the distal end side contacts the step surface formed between the large diameter portion 88 and the small diameter portion 90 as described above. The

  A heat shield 92 is provided between the main body tube 84 and the heat insulation tube 86. The heat shield portion 92 includes a space 94 formed between the large diameter portion 88 and the heat insulating tube 86, a heat insulating material 96 provided in the space 94, and the like, and shields the inside and the outside of the core material discharge portion 80. To do. The heat shield 92 may further include a refrigerant distribution mechanism (not shown) that can distribute a refrigerant such as air into the space 94, for example. In this case, the inside and the outside of the core material discharge part 80 can be further well shielded.

  The covering material discharge part 82 includes a storage pipe part 98, a lid part 100 that closes the opening on the proximal end side of the storage pipe part 98, and a tapered part 102 provided on the distal end side of the storage pipe part 98.

  The storage tube portion 98 is formed of a heat insulating material, and its inner diameter is larger than the outer diameter of the large diameter portion 88 of the main body tube 84 so as to cover the outer peripheral surface excluding a part of the proximal end side of the large diameter portion 88. It is arranged. In other words, the storage portion 104 capable of storing the plasticized coating material 20 is formed between the inner peripheral surface of the storage pipe portion 98 and the outer peripheral surface of the large diameter portion 88.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a disk member 106 may be disposed in the storage unit 104. The disk member 106 is formed with an insertion hole 107 through which the main body tube 84 is inserted at substantially the center in the radial direction, and a plurality of through holes 108 penetrating the outer peripheral side of the insertion hole 107 along the thickness direction. Is formed. The plasticized coating material 20 flows from the proximal end side to the distal end side of the storage portion 104 through the through hole 108, so that the pressure and temperature of the coating material 20 can be equalized.

  The lid portion 100 is formed with an insertion hole 110 through which the proximal end side of the main body tube 84 is inserted at substantially the center in the radial direction. Is formed. The plasticized coating material 20 is supplied to the storage unit 104 via the supply port 112.

  The tapered portion 102 extends from the storage tube portion 98 so as to decrease in diameter toward the distal end side, and a discharge port 114 capable of discharging the coating material 20 in the storage portion 104 is provided at the distal end. It is done. The inner diameter of the discharge port 114 is larger than the outer diameter of the distal end side of the small diameter portion 90, and the distal end side of the small diameter portion 90 is disposed inside the discharge port 114.

  That is, the nozzle 28 configured as described above discharges the core material 18 having a lower temperature than the plasticized coating material 20 from the distal end side of the small diameter portion 90 and plasticizes from the discharge port 114 of the tapered portion 102. The covering material 20 is discharged. As a result, the filament 14 having the covering material 20 attached to the outer peripheral surface of the core material 18 can be formed and discharged.

  Moreover, in this nozzle 28, since the core material discharge part 80 is arrange | positioned inside the coating material discharge part 82 as above-mentioned, the core material discharge part 80 and the coating material discharge part 82 are arranged in parallel, for example. The nozzle 28 can be downsized as compared with the case. As a result, the entire three-dimensional printing apparatus 12 can be reduced in size.

  When the filament 14 is continuously discharged from the nozzle 28, the driving rollers 60 and 64 of the core material transport unit 24 and the coating material transport unit 26 may be continuously rotated in one direction. On the other hand, when the discharge of the filament 14 from the nozzle 28 is stopped, the rotation of the drive rollers 60 and 64 may be stopped. In this case, the driving roller 64 of the covering material conveying means 26 may be temporarily rotated in the other direction and then stopped, so that the plasticized covering material 20 is discharged from the covering material discharge portion 82 excessively. Can be wiped off. In addition, the nozzle 28 may be provided with a lid (not shown) that closes both the distal end side of the small diameter portion 90 and the discharge port 114 or only the discharge port 114 so as to be openable and closable.

  As schematically shown in FIG. 4 using a symbol, the moving unit 30 includes a robot 120 and a control unit (not shown). The robot 120 includes a main body 122 that operates based on a three-dimensional orthogonal coordinate system, and an articulated arm 124 attached to the main body 122. The arm 124 has a first joint 128 and a second joint 130 in order from the proximal end toward the wrist 126 at the distal end. The wrist 126 includes, for example, a core material conveying means 24, a covering material conveying means 26, a covering material plasticizing means 27, and a nozzle 28 (constituent elements surrounded by a two-dot chain line in FIG. The nozzle 28 is also fixed.

  The moving unit 30 can move the nozzle 28 and the like three-dimensionally with respect to the stage 16 by driving the robot 120 under the control of the control unit. At this time, since the nozzle 28 and the coating material plasticizing means 27 are downsized as described above, the movement of the nozzle 28 and the like by the moving means 30 can be easily and highly accurate.

  The three-dimensional printing apparatus 12 including the resin material heating apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment is basically configured as described above. That is, the resin material heating apparatus 10 applied to the three-dimensional printing apparatus 12 supplies the resin material heated to the above temperature to the coating material plasticizing means 27 and the nozzle 28 in order to form the filament 14.

  Hereinafter, the resin material heating method according to the present embodiment will be described in relation to the operation of the three-dimensional printing apparatus 12 including the operation of the resin material heating apparatus 10.

  In the three-dimensional printing apparatus 12, by driving the core material conveying means 24 and the covering material conveying means 26, the long solid core material 18 and the covering material drawn from the core material reel 32 and the covering material reel 34, respectively. 20 is continuously supplied to the resin material heating apparatus 10.

  At this time, in the resin material heating device 10, hot air is circulated between the circulation pipe 50 and the passage pipe 40 by driving the heating source 52 and the blower 54. Specifically, by supplying hot hot air immediately after being heated by the heating source 52 to the distribution pipe 44 through the circulation pipe 50, each of the four passage pipes 40 is connected from one end side thereof. The hot hot air is supplied.

  At this time, the temperature of the hot air is not higher than the glass transition point of the resin material, and is lower than the temperature at which the resin material is plasticized by heat exchange with the hot air and the coating material 20 is heated by the coating material plasticizing means 27. It is a temperature that can be set to a temperature. Then, the low-temperature hot air that has passed through the passage pipe 40 and is discharged from the other end side to the merging pipe line 46 is supplied again to the heating source 52 via the circulation pipe line 50. That is, the hot air supply process in the resin material heating method according to the present embodiment can be performed.

  As described above, the resin material is supplied to the inside of the passage conduit 40 from the other end side of the passage conduit 40 through which the hot air is discharged through the resin material supply port 58 of the merging conduit 46. Accordingly, the resin material is passed through the passage conduit 40 in a state where the inner wall surface of the passage conduit 40 and the resin member are separated from each other, and heat exchange between the hot air and the resin member is performed. That is, the heating process in the resin material heating method according to the present embodiment is performed. Then, the resin material whose temperature has been raised as described above is discharged from the resin material heating device 10 through the resin material discharge port 56 of the distribution pipe 44. Of these resin materials, the core material 18 is supplied to the pipe 62, and the covering material 20 is supplied to the pipe 66.

  From the above, in the resin material heating device 10 and the resin material heating method according to the present embodiment, even if the resin material is heated while passing through the passage conduit 40, the resin material adheres to the inner wall surface of the passage conduit 40. The resin material can be smoothly conveyed without any trouble. Further, since the entire peripheral surface of the resin material is exposed to hot air inside the passage pipe 40, the temperature of the entire resin material is raised substantially evenly, unlike the case where the resin material is heated by an infrared heater, for example. be able to. Accordingly, the entire resin material can be heated substantially uniformly while smoothly passing the long solid resin material being conveyed.

  Further, by circulating hot air to the passage pipe 40 through the circulation pipe 50 provided with the heating source 52, the hot air can be efficiently heated and easily heated to a temperature suitable for heating the resin material. Can be maintained. By using this hot air, the heating efficiency of the resin material can be improved.

  Furthermore, as described above, the hot air is heated by the heating source 52 in the circulation pipe 50 and then supplied to the passage pipe 40 from one end side, and after exchanging heat with the resin material, It is discharged from the end side. For this reason, the temperature of the hot air at one end of the passage conduit 40 tends to be higher than the temperature of the hot air at the other end of the passage conduit 40. In this way, by discharging the resin material from one end side of the passage conduit 40 to which high-temperature hot air is supplied, the resin material can be supplied to the subsequent stage of the resin material heating device 10 in a state where the resin material is effectively heated. It becomes possible.

  The covering material 20 supplied from the resin material heating device 10 to the pipe 66 is supplied to the covering material plasticizing means 27. Then, the coating material 20 plasticized by the coating material plasticizing means 27 and turned into a liquid resin is supplied to the coating material discharge portion 82 of the nozzle 28 via the communication pipe 68 and stored in the storage portion 104.

  On the other hand, the core 18 supplied from the resin material heating device 10 to the pipe 62 is supplied to the core discharge unit 80 of the nozzle 28. In the core material discharge unit 80, the core material 18 passes through the inside of the heat insulating tube 86 of the core material discharge unit 80 that is thermally shielded from the outside by the heat shield unit 92 or the like. For this reason, as described above, it melted in the storage portion 104 formed between the outer peripheral surface of the main body tube 84 of the core material discharge portion 80 and the inner peripheral surface of the storage tube portion 98 of the covering material discharge portion 82. Even if the high-temperature coating material 20 is stored, the heat of the coating material 20 can be prevented from being transmitted to the core material 18.

  For this reason, the core material discharge unit 80 discharges the core material 18 having a temperature lower than that of the plasticized coating material 20 from the small diameter portion 90. On the other hand, in the covering material discharge portion 82, the plasticized covering material 20 is discharged from the discharge port 114 of the tapered portion 102 and is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the core material 18 discharged from the small diameter portion 90. As a result, the nozzle 28 discharges while forming the filament 14 composed of the plasticized covering material 20 and the core material 18 that is plastically deformable but lower in temperature than the plasticized covering material 20.

  Note that the core material 18 having a temperature lower than that of the plasticized coating material 20 is a stage before the coating material 20 is attached, in other words, even when the plastic material heating device 10 reaches a temperature at which plastic deformation can be achieved by heating in the resin material heating device 10. Alternatively, the temperature may be plastically deformed by attaching the plasticized covering material 20 and conducting the heat. That is, the temperature of the core material 18 may or may not reach the temperature at which plastic deformation is possible before and after the covering material 20 is adhered to the core material 18. When the filament 14 is laminated on the laminated portion, the core material 18 constituting the filament 14 may be at a temperature at which plastic deformation is possible while being at a lower temperature than the plasticized coating material 20.

  While discharging the filament 14 from the nozzle 28 as described above and moving the nozzle 28 and the like three-dimensionally by the moving means 30, the filament 14 is stacked while being pressed against the stacked portion on the stage 16. be able to.

  Here, when the filament 14 discharged from the nozzle 28 is the first layer to be stacked on the stage 16, the stacked portion is a predetermined position of the stage 16. Further, when the filament 14 discharged from the nozzle 28 is the second and subsequent layers stacked on the previously stacked filament 14, it is a predetermined position of the previously stacked filament 14.

  FIG. 5A to FIG. 5C are explanatory diagrams for explaining a process of laminating and integrating the filaments 14. Specifically, the filament 14 a previously laminated and the filament having the filament 14 a as a layered portion. It is sectional drawing of 14b.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, the filament 14b immediately after being discharged from the nozzle 28 is in a state in which the plasticized coating material 20b is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the core material 18b at a lower temperature than the coating material 20b. As shown in FIG. 5B, when the filament 14b is pressed against the previously laminated filament 14a, the covering material 20b flows so as to fill the space between the filament 14b and the filament 14a. In this state, when the covering material 20b is solidified, the filament 14a and the filament 14b can be integrated via the covering materials 20a and 20b as shown in FIG. 5C.

  5A to 5C, the cores 18a and 18b and the covering materials 20a and 20b are arranged so as to be concentric, in other words, substantially the entire outer peripheral surface of the cores 18a and 18b over the circumferential direction. It shows a state in which the filaments 14a and 14b in a state where the covering materials 20a and 20b are attached so as to have a uniform thickness are stacked and integrated. However, the relative positions of the covering materials 20a and 20b with respect to the core materials 18a and 18b and the shapes of the covering materials 20a and 20b depend on the gravity applied to the filaments 14a and 14b, the viscosity of the plasticized covering materials 20a and 20b, and the like. Of course, it can take various forms. The filament 14a and the filament 14b can be integrated by solidifying the coating material 20b at least in a state where the coating material 20b is interposed between the core material 18a and the core material 18b.

  Thus, a three-dimensional molded item can be obtained by laminating and solidifying all the necessary amounts of filaments 14 including the filaments 14a and 14b so as to have a desired shape.

  From the above, according to this three-dimensional printing apparatus 12, for example, the amount of the core material 18b is lower than that in the case of laminating and solidifying plasticized filaments heated to a uniform temperature as a whole. Since only the coating material 20b is heated to a high temperature, the filament 14b can be quickly solidified. On the other hand, since the covering material 20b can be sufficiently heated and plasticized, it can be well integrated with the adjacent filament 14a. That is, it is possible to reduce the time for the plasticized filament 14b to solidify while avoiding a decrease in the adhesion between the filaments 14a and 14b.

  As a result, the filament 14b including the filaments 14a and 14b can be laminated in a desired shape by making the solidification of the filament 14b easily follow the moving speed of the nozzle 28. Moreover, it is possible to suppress deformation such as deflection and sagging before the laminated filament 14 is solidified. Furthermore, as described above, the amount by which the filament 14 shrinks due to solidification can be reduced by the amount of the plasticized portion that is heated to a high temperature.

  Therefore, the three-dimensional printing apparatus 12 can obtain a three-dimensional structure excellent in both production efficiency and molding accuracy. The resin material heating apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment can be further applied to the three-dimensional printing apparatus 12 to further improve the manufacturing efficiency and molding accuracy of the three-dimensional structure by the three-dimensional printing apparatus 12.

  That is, by applying the resin material heating device 10 to the three-dimensional printing device 12 and smoothly heating the entire core material 18 while passing the core material 18 smoothly, the temperature is lower than that of the plasticized coating material 20. However, the filament 14 having the core material 18 having a temperature capable of plastic deformation can be obtained efficiently. Thus, since the core material 18 is heated, the filament 14 can be laminated while being easily deformed. In addition, even when the filament 14 is deformed, it is possible to avoid the distortion remaining in the filament 14.

  Also, the covering material 20 can be preheated substantially uniformly while passing through the resin material heating device 10 smoothly, so that the covering material plasticizing means 27 efficiently plasticizes the covering material 20. Can be Accordingly, as described above, since the covering material plasticizing means 27 can be downsized, the movement of the nozzle 28 and the like by the moving means 30 can be easily and highly accurately, and the lamination accuracy of the filaments 14 can be improved. it can. By these, the manufacturing efficiency of a three-dimensional molded item, molding precision, and quality can be improved favorably.

  The present invention is not particularly limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

  For example, in the resin material heating apparatus 10 according to the above-described embodiment, the four passage pipes 40 through which the one core member 18 and the three covering members 20 respectively pass are provided. Is not to be done. The resin material heating device 10 may include only one passage pipe 40 or a plurality of passage pipes other than four. Further, when the resin material heating apparatus 10 includes only one passage pipe 40, the resin material heating apparatus 10 does not include the distribution pipe 44 and the merge pipe 46, and circulates hot air directly between the passage pipe 40 and the circulation pipe 50. You may let them. In this case, the sealing members 48a and 48b may be provided, for example, at the openings at both ends of the passage conduit 40 in order to keep the inside of the passage conduit 40 airtight.

  Further, the resin material heating device 10 does not include a configuration for circulating hot air between the passage pipe 40 and the circulation pipe 50, and allows the hot air to pass from one end side to the other end side of the passage pipe 40. Good.

  In the resin material heating apparatus 10 according to the above-described embodiment, the resin material is supplied from the other end side of the passage conduit 40 that discharges hot air, but from one end side of the passage conduit 40 to which hot air is supplied. A resin material may be supplied.

  In the resin material heating apparatus 10 according to the above-described embodiment, the resin material heating apparatus 10 is applied to the case where the core material 18 and the covering material 20 are heated in order to form the filament 14, but is not particularly limited thereto. For example, you may apply when preheating the general filament used when modeling a three-dimensional molded item by a three-dimensional printing method. Moreover, the temperature of the resin material heated with the resin material heating apparatus 10 can be suitably set according to the use etc.

  In the above three-dimensional printing apparatus 12, the cylindrical core material 18 and the annular coating material are attached to the entire outer peripheral surface of the core material 18 by attaching the coating material 20 so as to have a substantially uniform thickness in the circumferential direction. The filament 14 arranged so as to be concentric with 20 was formed. However, the filament 14 may be formed by attaching the covering material 20 only to a part of the outer peripheral surface of the core material 18, or arranged so that the cylindrical core material 18 and the annular covering material 20 are eccentric. The formed filament 14 may be formed.

  The moving means 30 includes the robot 120 shown in FIG. 4. However, the moving means 30 is not particularly limited as long as the nozzle 28 and the like can be moved three-dimensionally with respect to the stage 16. However, various configurations can be employed.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Resin material heating apparatus 18 ... Core material 20 ... Cover material 22 ... Resin material supply part 24 ... Core material conveyance means 26 ... Cover material conveyance means 27 ... Cover material plasticizing means 28 ... Nozzle 30 ... Moving means 32 ... Core material Reel 34 ... Coating material reel 36 ... Holding member 40 ... Passing line 42 ... Hot air supply means 44 ... Split pipe 46 Resin material discharge port 58 ... Resin material supply port

Claims (6)

A resin material heating device for heating a long solid resin material,
A plurality of linear or arc-shaped passage pipes having an inner diameter larger than the diameter of the resin material and allowing the resin material to pass in a state separated from the inner wall surface;
A distribution pipe communicating with one end of each of the plurality of passage pipes;
Hot air supply means for supplying hot air into the plurality of passage pipes via the distribution pipes;
In communication with the other end side of each of the plurality of passage pipes, a merging pipe line into which the hot air discharged from the plurality of passage pipes flows,
A resin material heating device comprising: In the resin material heating device according to claim 1,
The hot air supply means includes
A circulation pipe for connecting the distribution pipe and the merging pipe and circulating the hot air;
A heating source for heating the hot air inside the circulation line;
A blower that blows the hot air heated by the heating source toward the distribution pipe and blows the hot air discharged to the merge pipe toward the heating source,
A resin material heating device comprising: In the resin material heating device according to claim 1,
The resin material is supplied to the plurality of passage pipes through a plurality of resin material supply ports provided in the merging pipe line, and via a plurality of resin material discharge ports provided in the distribution pipe path. Are discharged from the other ends of the plurality of passage pipes,
The resin material heating device, wherein the resin material supply port, the resin material discharge port, and the resin material are sealed by a seal member. A resin material heating method for heating a long solid resin material,
A hot air supply step of supplying hot air to a plurality of passage pipes that are linear or arc-shaped with an inner diameter larger than the diameter of the resin material;
In a state where the inner wall surface of the passage pipe and the resin material are separated from each other, a heating step of allowing the resin material to pass through each of the passage pipes and exchanging heat between the hot air and the resin material;
Have
In the hot air supply step, the hot air is supplied to the plurality of passage pipes via distribution pipes communicating with one end sides of the plurality of passage pipes, and the other of the plurality of passage pipes. A method of heating a resin material, characterized in that the hot air that has passed through the plurality of passage pipes is discharged to a merging pipe line that communicates with an end side. In the resin material heating method according to claim 4,
In the hot air supply step, the hot air discharged to the merging pipe is heated and supplied again to the distribution pipe. In the resin material heating method according to claim 4,
In the heating step, the resin material is supplied to each of the plurality of passage pipes via a plurality of resin material supply ports provided in the merge pipe, and a plurality of resin materials provided in the distribution pipe A resin material heating method, wherein the resin material is discharged from each of the plurality of passage pipes via a discharge port.

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