JP2023062429A - Manufacturing method, manufacturing support method and system - Google Patents

Abstract

To contribute to a realization of material recycling by making it possible to produce materials for additive manufacturing of stable quality using waste materials.SOLUTION: A first physical property value, which is a physical property value of a first material that is a waste material or a material manufactured from a waste material, is obtained, and based on the first physical property value, a first manufacturing parameter for use in manufacturing an additive manufacturing material from the first material is produced. The additive manufacturing material is manufactured from the first material based on the first manufacturing parameter.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to a manufacturing method, manufacturing support method and system.

Patent Literature 1 discloses a technique related to reuse of recycled powder discharged from a 3D printer. Specifically, in Patent Document 1, "the amount of fresh powder in the primary source of new powder local to the 3D printer, the amount of recycled powder in the primary source of recycled powder local to the 3D printer Amount of recycled powder, amount of virgin powder in a secondary source of virgin powder remote to the 3D printer, and amount of recycled powder in a secondary source of virgin powder remote to the 3D printer. a storage for storing information about powder resources; and a processor, which directs the use of new and recycled powders and the generation of recycled powders by the 3D printer based on the set of print jobs. predict and, based on powder predictions and stored information about powder resources, new powder resources among primary and secondary sources of new powder and/or recycled powder; and a computing system that manages recycled powder resources."

Patent No. 6808754

In promoting the circular economy, material recycling, which manufactures materials from waste materials, is an important part of the 4Rs (Reuse, Reduce, Repair, and Remanufacture). is a concept.

On the other hand, the technique disclosed in Patent Literature 1 merely reuses residual powder of materials normally used in 3D printers that perform additive manufacturing. In other words, the technology disclosed in the document does not take into account the use of waste materials containing various components as materials for 3D printers and the use of additive manufacturing for additive manufacturing. Therefore, with the technique of the document, it is difficult to perform additive manufacturing using waste materials for additive manufacturing, and it is difficult to contribute to reuse in material recycling.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to contribute to the realization of material recycling by making it possible to manufacture additive manufacturing materials of stable quality using waste materials.

The present application includes a plurality of means for solving at least part of the above problems, and examples thereof are as follows. A manufacturing method according to an aspect of the present invention that solves the above problems acquires a first physical property value that is a physical property value of a first material that is a waste material or a material manufactured from a waste material, based on the physical property value of the first material to generate a first manufacturing parameter used when manufacturing the material for additive manufacturing from the first material, based on the first manufacturing parameter, the additive from the first material Manufacture materials for manufacturing.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it can contribute to realization of material recycling by making it possible to manufacture the additive manufacturing material of stable quality using a waste material.

1 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of an ecosystem related to a circular economy; FIG. It is a figure showing an example of a schematic structure of a system. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of manufacturing support processing (generation of manufacturing parameters for AM material); FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of manufacturing support processing (creation of manufacturing parameters for additive manufacturing using AM materials);

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

<Organizations that make up the ecosystem>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of an ecosystem related to the circular economy. As illustrated, the ecosystem includes waste material providers, recyclers, manufacturers of materials for additive manufacturing (AM) (hereinafter sometimes referred to as materials for AM), and materials for AM. This system that supports product manufacturing by an additional manufacturing device (hereinafter sometimes referred to as an AM device or 3D printer) and an additional manufacturing device user (hereinafter sometimes referred to as an AM device user) are included. .

A waste material provider is an organization (for example, a concept including corporations such as companies, associations and organizations, and individuals) that collects waste materials containing various components and provides (transports) them to recyclers. It should be noted that the sources of waste materials are, for example, automobiles and home electric appliances, and the waste materials contain materials with various components.

The recycler pulverizes the waste materials received from the waste material provider, sorts them based on predetermined collection conditions (e.g., types of components of the waste materials), or collects recycled materials (e.g., material pellets, etc.) from the waste materials. It is an organization that produces In addition, the recycler provides the system with waste materials (hereinafter, including recycled materials such as material pellets). Note that the recycler may entrust the crushing, collection, and sorting of waste materials to other organizations.

This system includes a first manufacturing parameter (hereinafter sometimes referred to as a manufacturing recipe of the AM material) for appropriately manufacturing the AM material used in the AM apparatus, and the AM apparatus using the AM material. A system for generating second manufacturing parameters (hereinafter sometimes referred to as AM apparatus setting information) for properly manufacturing a product.

Note that this system measures the physical property values of the waste material and uses the measurement results to generate the first manufacturing parameters. The system also uses the first manufacturing parameter to measure physical property values of the AM material manufactured from the waste material, and uses the measurement results to generate the second manufacturing parameter.

AM equipment is equipment capable of additive manufacturing. The AM apparatus performs additive manufacturing of products by, for example, SLS (Selective Laser Sintering) using AM materials manufactured from waste materials by the present system. In the following description, description will be given assuming this powder sintering additive manufacturing.

Products manufactured by a 3D printer (AM device) can be applied to, for example, automobiles, railroads, construction equipment, medical equipment, and home appliances.

In addition, in this ecosystem, as shown in the figure, AM materials whose physical properties have changed (deteriorated) due to preheating during additive manufacturing by AM equipment are also recycled and reused. Specifically, the used AM material used in the AM apparatus is again measured for its physical property values by this system, and is reproduced as an AM material using the first manufacturing parameters based on these physical property values. , again used in the AM system.

<Relationship between lots>
In this embodiment, terms such as a waste material lot (a lot of waste materials), a manufacturing lot of AM materials, and a shipping lot of AM materials are used. Its meaning is that of a general lot, but just to make sure, it is as follows.
*Waste material lot: A management unit for waste materials sent from recyclers (including recycled materials such as material pellets, as described above). If the recycler manages lots for each shipping unit of the waste material, it may be matched with the relevant lot.
*Manufacturing lot of AM materials: A management unit for AM materials manufactured using one or more waste material lots. If the AM material has the same manufacturing lot ID, it means that it was manufactured using the same manufacturing process and manufacturing parameters.
* AM material shipment lot: A transport unit (eg, AM material put in a transport container) that ships AM material to an external user (eg, AM equipment user).
In addition, when it is clear from the context, the manufacturing lot of the AM material may be omitted and called the manufacturing lot.

<Reasons why it is difficult to manufacture AM materials from waste materials>
Waste materials (for example, products pulverized into powder) are mixed with materials having various physical properties. Therefore, in addition to the collection conditions (for example, how to sort according to the product type before becoming a waste material), the physical properties of the waste material also depend on the number of years of use and the environment in which the product was used before becoming a waste material. Change. Therefore, the physical properties of the waste material are not uniform (they do not fall within a predetermined error range) for each lot (unit for managing the waste material), and usually differ from one another. In addition, the product that is the source of the waste material may be mixed with additives (for example, fillers, crystallization accelerators, etc., which will be described later) during the manufacturing process (for example, injection molding).

Therefore, compared with virgin materials, which have uniform and stable physical properties, waste materials have large differences in physical property values between waste material lots. Therefore, there is a large difference in physical property values between manufacturing lots of AM materials manufactured from waste materials (in other words, target physical property values (more precisely, target physical property values It can be said that it is difficult to match the physical property values of the production lot to the range of ). As a result, when AM materials manufactured from waste materials are used in additive manufacturing for manufacturing products of complicated shapes, it is difficult to maintain the shape of the products, such as warping.

In addition, for example, waste materials that have a history of being produced by molding using a mold (e.g., extrusion molding, blow molding, injection molding) contain a crystallization accelerator to improve the molding speed, and are usually The crystallization rate may be faster than the material used for SLS. Therefore, if a waste material with such a history is used as a material for SLS, crystallization during additive manufacturing will progress too much, warping will occur due to shrinkage, and shape errors will occur, making it difficult to stabilize the quality of the product. was difficult.

The system according to the present embodiment focuses on the characteristics of such waste material, and according to the physical property value of the waste material, the first manufacturing parameter for generating the AM material that can be appropriately used in the AM apparatus (Manufacturing recipe of AM material) is generated. In addition, the present system generates second manufacturing parameters (AM apparatus setting information) for properly handling AM materials manufactured from waste materials in the AM apparatus based on the first manufacturing parameters.

According to such a system, at least one of the following effects can be obtained.
(Effect 1: AM material manufacturer's point of view) AM materials of stable quality can be manufactured.
(Effect 2: AM Device User's Viewpoint) While satisfying procurement regulations that include the content ratio of recycled materials as a requirement, the AM device can continuously manufacture products with stable quality.
(Effect 3: Social Viewpoint) Continuous manufacturing of products by AM device users can increase the amount of recycled waste materials. In addition, for example, by manufacturing with an AM apparatus capable of manufacturing products with complicated shapes, it is possible to give added value to the product in terms of design. As a result, users of recycled-based products (products manufactured using waste materials or recycled materials) can be attached to the products, and the period until the products become waste materials can be lengthened.

<<Details of this system that supports product manufacturing by AM equipment using AM materials and AM materials>>
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the schematic configuration of this system. As illustrated, this system has a physical property adjusting device 10 , a physical property measuring device 20 and a processor system 100 .

The physical property measuring device 20 is a device that measures a first physical property value of a waste material and a second physical property value of an AM material manufactured from the waste material. Specifically, the physical property measuring device 20 measures the crystallization speed of the waste material, the solidification shrinkage amount, and the like as the first physical property values. Note that the physical property measuring device 20 may be an assembly of one or more devices.

More specifically, the physical property measuring device 20 is, for example, a DSC (Differential Scanning Calorimetry) device. The physical property measuring device 20 performs isothermal DSC to measure changes in the amount of heat as the crystallization of the waste material kept at a constant temperature progresses, and obtains the measurement result indicating the crystallization speed of the waste as a physical property value.

Also, the physical property measuring device 20 is, for example, a PVT (Pressure Volume Temperature) measuring device. Specifically, the physical property measuring device 20 performs PVT measurement, changes the volume of the waste material while changing the temperature and pressure, and measures the volume change before and after solidification, thereby indicating the solidification shrinkage amount of the waste. Acquire the measurement result as a physical property value.

Note that the first physical property value may be, for example, a value indicating the powder particle size or density (weight) of the waste material.

In addition, the physical property measuring device 20 measures the second physical property value, which is the physical property value of the AM material manufactured from the waste material, by the same method as the first physical property value, and measures the crystallization speed and the second physical property value of the AM material. Acquire the amount of solidification shrinkage, etc.

The physical property measuring device 20 measures the first physical property value for each lot of waste material. Also, the physical property measuring device 20 measures the second physical property value for each production lot of the AM material. The measurement of the second physical property value may be performed for each shipping lot, which is the shipping unit of AM materials, or for each lot of waste materials.

The physical property adjusting apparatus 10 is an apparatus for manufacturing AM materials. Specifically, the physical property adjusting device 10 uses the first manufacturing parameters generated by the processor system 100 to manufacture the AM material from the waste material. Therefore, the physical property adjusting apparatus 10 can also be said to be a manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing AM materials. As will be described later, the first manufacturing parameter is added to the waste material so that the AM material manufactured using the waste material falls within a range of predetermined physical property values that can be appropriately used in the AM apparatus. is a value indicating the amount of added crystallization retardant or filler used. Also, the first manufacturing parameter may include a set of additional amounts of both the crystallization retardant and the filler. The crystallization retardant is an additive having a property of retarding the crystallization speed.

Examples of the AM material manufactured by the physical property adjusting apparatus 10 using the first manufacturing parameter include PBT (Polybutyleneterephthalate), PA (Polyamide), PP (Polypropylene), PET (Polyethyleneterephthalate), and PPS (Polyphenylenesulfide). ), materials containing powdered resin, and the like.

<Details of Processor System 100>
The processor system 100 reads various programs stored in the memory resource 40 by the processor 30 to generate the first manufacturing parameter and the second manufacturing parameter, the physical property measuring device 20, the physical property adjusting device 10 and the AM device. It is a system that performs information communication (transmission and reception of information) and various other processes.

The processor system 100 is, for example, a computer such as a personal computer, a tablet terminal (computer), a smart phone, a server computer, a blade server, or a cloud server, and is a system including at least one or more of these computers. That is, the processor system 100 also includes a cloud system including, for example, a cloud server and a display tablet terminal or smart phone.

Specifically, the processor system 100 has a processor 30, a memory resource 40, an NI (Network Interface Device) 50, and a UI (User Interface Device) 60, as shown in FIG.

The processor 30 is an arithmetic device that reads various programs stored in the memory resource 40 and executes processing corresponding to each program. The processor 30 is exemplified by a microprocessor, a CPU (Central Processing UNIT), a GPU (Graphics Processing UNIT), an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or other arithmetic semiconductor devices.

The memory resource 40 is a storage device that stores various information. The memory resource 40 is a non-volatile or volatile storage medium such as RAM (Random Access Memory) or ROM (Read Only Memory). Note that the memory resource 40 may be, for example, a rewritable storage medium such as a flash memory, a hard disk, or an SSD (Solid State Drive), a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory, a memory card, or a hard disk.

The NI 50 is a communication device that performs information communication with an external device. The NI 50 is connected to an external device (in this embodiment, the physical property measuring device 20, the physical property adjusting device 10, the AM device, etc.) so as to be able to communicate with each other via a predetermined communication network such as the Internet or a LAN (Local Area Network). ing. It should be noted that information communication between the processor system 100 and each device is performed via the NI 50 unless otherwise specified below.

The UI 60 is an input device for outputting user (operator) instructions to the processor system 100 and an output device for outputting information generated by the processor system 100 . Input devices include, for example, keyboards, touch panels, pointing devices such as mice, and voice input devices such as microphones.

Output devices include, for example, displays, printers, and speech synthesizers. It should be noted that user operations on the processor system 100 (for example, information input, output, processing execution instructions, etc.) are performed via the UI 60 unless otherwise specified below.

Also, each configuration, function, processing means, etc. of this system may be realized by hardware, for example, by designing a part or all of them using an integrated circuit. In addition, part or all of each function of this system can be implemented by software, or by cooperation between software and hardware. Also, the present system may use hardware having a fixed circuit, or may use hardware in which at least a part of the circuit is changeable.

In addition, the present system can also be realized by a user (operator) performing part or all of the functions and processes realized by each program.

It should be noted that each DB (database) in the memory resource 40 described below may have a data structure other than a file or database as long as it is an area capable of storing data.

<<configuration information DB 110>>
The configuration information DB 110 is a database that stores information regarding the configuration of the AM device. The configuration of the AM device includes, for example, information on the type of AM device and various mechanisms (for example, the position and maximum output value of the laser for heating the AM material, the size and position of the supply mechanism for the AM material, and the powdered AM material). size, position and driving direction of rollers for leveling materials, settable temperatures of preheating heaters for AM materials, etc.).

<<correspondence record DB 120>>
Correspondence relationship record DB 120 includes correspondence relationships among waste material lots, first physical property values, manufacturing lots of AM materials, first manufacturing parameters, second physical property values, second manufacturing parameters, and shipment lots of AM materials. is a database that stores information indicating

Specifically, the correspondence record DB 120 stores information indicating the following correspondence.
(A) A list of pairs of identification information (sometimes referred to as ID) of the waste material lot and identification information of the first physical property value (may be plural).
(B) Identification information of the manufacturing lot of the AM material manufactured using the waste material indicated by (A).
(C) Identification information of the first manufacturing parameter for manufacturing the manufacturing lot of the AM material indicated by (B).
(D) Identification information of the second physical property value (may be plural) of the production lot of the AM material indicated by (B).
(E) List of identification information of shipping lots corresponding to production lots of AM materials indicated by (B).
The above is a specific example of information assuming a multi-to-one-to-many relationship between a waste material lot, a manufacturing lot of AM materials, and a shipping lot of AM materials. This is because if a plurality of waste material lots are collectively manufactured to produce AM materials, the amount of one production lot becomes too large as a shipping unit, so it is assumed that the materials will be divided into a plurality of shipping lots and shipped.

Note that the relationship between the waste material lot, the manufacturing lot of the AM material, and the shipping lot of the AM material assumed by the correspondence relationship record DB 120 is not limited to the above, and is 1:1:1 (or more) or more:1. :1 or 1:many:many. The 1:1:1 (or multi) relationship generates the first manufacturing parameters considering the characteristics of each waste material, and by using the parameters, it can be expected that the characteristics of the AM material manufactured will be uniform.

<<Product Shape Information DB 130>>
It is a database that stores information indicating the shape of products manufactured by AM equipment using materials for AM.

<<Physical Property Information DB 140>>
The physical property value information DB 140 stores first physical property values of the waste material measured by the physical property measuring device 20, and second physical property values of the AM material manufactured using the waste material. is a database that stores .

Specifically, the physical property value information DB 140 includes, as the first physical property value, at least one of the crystallization speed of the waste material, the solidification shrinkage amount, the powder particle size, and the density (weight), or At least one or more sets containing two or more of them are stored. However, the first physical property value is not limited to these. For example, the correlation between the physical property value of the waste material and the amount of warp may be used as the first physical property value. The correlation between the physical property values of the waste material and the amount of warp can be obtained by, for example, using the physical property values of the waste material measured in advance and the AM material produced from the waste material, and the AM equipment using the material for powder. It may be calculated based on the amount of warpage of a sample product obtained by trying sintering additive manufacturing.

In addition, the physical property value information DB 140 stores, as a second physical property value, at least one of, for example, the crystallization rate, the amount of solidification shrinkage, and the density (weight) of the AM material, or two of them. At least one or more sets containing the above are stored. Note that the second physical property value is not limited to these.

Note that the first physical property value and the second physical property value are stored in the physical property value information DB 140 in association with the identification information of the first physical property value and the identification information of the second physical property value, respectively. .

<<manufacturing parameter information DB 150>>
The manufacturing parameter information DB 150 contains first manufacturing parameters corresponding to manufacturing recipes used for manufacturing AM materials, and second manufacturing parameters corresponding to AM apparatus setting information for using AM materials in AM apparatuses. is a database that stores . Note that the first manufacturing parameter and the second manufacturing parameter are generated by the processor 30 reading the later-described manufacturing support program 160 using the first physical property value and the second physical property value, respectively. The generated first manufacturing parameter and second manufacturing parameter are stored in the manufacturing parameter information DB 150 in association with the identification information of the first manufacturing parameter and the identification information of the second manufacturing parameter, respectively. shall be

<<<first manufacturing parameter>>> Specifically, the manufacturing parameter information DB 150 includes, as the first manufacturing parameter, at least Either one or these are stored as one set. It should be noted that these additional amounts may be absolute values or percentages relative to the amount of waste material.

<<<Second manufacturing parameter (item that can be set to AM device)>>>
The manufacturing parameter information DB 150 also stores, as second manufacturing parameters, items that can be set in the controller of the AM apparatus, such as laser power and preheating temperature of the AM apparatus. In the 3D printer (AM apparatus of the present application) that performs powder sintering additive manufacturing using AM materials, the laser power is determined by the laser mechanism (laser light source that emits a laser for heating AM materials). It is the output intensity of the laser beam irradiated to the floor (hereinafter sometimes referred to as modeling floor) on which the material is thinly spread. Such a 3D printer selectively melts and solidifies the AM material by irradiating the AM material on the modeling floor with a laser beam, thereby realizing free modeling. In addition, the preheating temperature is a device ( heater) temperature. More preferably, the preheating temperature is the temperature of the area (room) AM02 including the central ring of the AM apparatus in FIG. This room contains the object being built along with the AM material that was not laser melted. If the heater can control the temperature of the object being shaped, the heater may directly heat the object being shaped, or may heat the product being shaped via the AM material in the room. Also, when the term "object" is used in this specification, this term refers to the entity manufactured by the AM equipment, and refers to the product or parts that make up the product. The preheating temperature and laser power are set for the controller AM01 of the AM apparatus, and the set controller AM01 controls the laser light source and heater of the AM apparatus.

By the above-described control, it is possible to control the crystallization rate (more specifically, the amount of shrinkage due to crystallization) during molding, and as a result, it is possible to reduce the occurrence of warpage.

<<<Second manufacturing parameters (items that can be set in the slicer software)>>>
If the AM device user uses slicer software (or a processor system running the slicer software), which is not shown in FIG. 1, the slicer software settings may be stored as the second manufacturing parameter. good. Note that slicer software is software that generates slice information (for example, G code) for a 3D printer based on 3D shape data of an object. A controller AM01 of the AM apparatus receives the generated slice information through communication or user's operation, and controls the operations of the laser light source, rollers, and modeling bed of the AM apparatus based on the information.

The slicer software holds the following as setting values for generating slice information. However, you don't have to keep everything.
* Slice interval (thickness of object slice). It should be noted that typically, the object is cut parallel to the modeling bed to become a slice.
* The modeling angle of the object (more precisely, the angle between one of the XYZ axes assumed by the 3D shape data of the object and the modeling floor (that is, the plane of the slice)).
*The modeling position (arrangement) of the object on the modeling floor.
*Maximum length of objects that can be molded.

Note that the setting values of these slicer software may be stored in the manufacturing parameter information DB 150 as second manufacturing parameters. Shrinkage due to crystallization becomes more pronounced at the longest part of each slice when the object is decomposed into slices. Change can be mitigated.

<<Manufacturing Support Program 160>>
The manufacturing support program 160 is a program for supporting product manufacturing by an AM device using waste materials. Specifically, manufacturing support program 160 generates a first manufacturing parameter and a second manufacturing parameter. Note that the manufacturing support program 160 may be a set of a program for generating the first manufacturing parameter and a program for manufacturing the second manufacturing parameter. The manufacturing support program 160 may be only one of the programs. The manufacturing support program 160 stores the first manufacturing parameter, the second manufacturing parameter, and their identification information in the manufacturing parameter information DB 150 . The manufacturing support program 160 also stores the identification information of the first manufacturing parameter and the second manufacturing parameter in the correspondence record DB 120 .

More specifically, the manufacturing support program 160 uses the first physical property value acquired from the physical property measuring device 20 to determine whether the AM material (manufacturing lot) manufactured from the waste material lot is appropriately used in the AM device. The additional amount of the crystallization retarder and filler is calculated so that the amount of the crystallization retarder and the filler is within the range of the predetermined physical property values that can be obtained. The additional amount of the crystallization retarder and filler is the first manufacturing parameter, and becomes the manufacturing recipe of the AM material.

In addition, the production support program 160 outputs (transmits) an instruction to produce the AM material using the first production parameters to the physical property adjustment device 10 . Note that output in this specification also refers to other than transmission to another device. For example, the output may be a display computer used by the operator of the physical property adjustment apparatus 10 to display the parameters. Also, another example of output may be to print the parameters on paper for the operator. The output may be any specific means as long as the first manufacturing parameter can be directly or indirectly input to the physical property adjusting device 10 . The output may include the identification information of the waste material lot used for manufacturing and the identification information of the manufacturing lot given to the manufacturing lot of the AM material.

In addition, the manufacturing support program 160 uses the second physical property value acquired from the physical property measurement device 20 to appropriately manufacture a product with an AM device using a manufacturing lot (or a shipping lot) of an AM material. Calculate power and preheat temperature. The laser power and preheating temperature are second manufacturing parameters. Note that the manufacturing support program 160 sets the second manufacturing parameter so that the preheating temperature is between the melting point and the crystallization temperature on the premise that the relationship of melting point (freezing point) > crystallization temperature is established in descending order of temperature. to generate This is because the crystallization temperature is the temperature at which the crystallization speed is the fastest, so crystallization proceeds even if the crystallization temperature is exceeded. However, away from the crystallization temperature, the crystallization rate slows down.

The manufacturing support program 160 also outputs second manufacturing parameters. Any specific means may be used for the output as long as the parameter can be input to the AM device or slicer software owned by the AM device user. An example is shown below.
* (Example of FIG. 1) The processor system 100 receives a request from an AM equipment user, including AM equipment configuration information and manufacturing or shipping lots of AM materials. The processor system 100 then transmits the second manufacturing parameters to the AM equipment user's display computer.
* A shipping lot of AM materials and a medium (for example, paper or non-volatile memory) on which the second manufacturing parameters are output are shipped together.

Note that the unit of generation of the first manufacturing parameter and the second manufacturing parameter by the manufacturing support program 160 is as described for the correspondence record DB 120 .

Further, the manufacturing support program 160 may select a waste material lot to be used in manufacturing a predetermined manufacturing lot of AM material from a plurality of candidate waste material lots based on the first physical property value. When the target range of the second physical property value is changed for each manufacturing lot of the AM material, excessive addition of the additive can be avoided by selecting a more suitable waste material. For example, it is conceivable to change the target second physical property value range based on the configuration information of the AM apparatus owned by the AM apparatus user.

Note that the manufacturing support program 160 calculates the coefficient of the function by performing a physical simulation such as a basic experiment in advance on a function represented by, for example, a predetermined arithmetic expression (for example, a quadratic function), and the calculated coefficient The first manufacturing parameter and the second manufacturing parameter are calculated by inputting the first physical property value and the second physical property value into an arithmetic expression including. Note that the method of calculating the first manufacturing parameter and the second manufacturing parameter is not particularly limited.

In addition, when the manufacturing support program 160 acquires the first physical property value and the second physical property value from the physical property measurement device 20 , it stores them in the physical property value information DB 140 . Moreover, as described above, the manufacturing support program 160 stores the generated first manufacturing parameter and second manufacturing parameter in the manufacturing parameter information DB 150 . Part of the explanation has already been given, but the manufacturing support program 160 may output a manufacturing instruction for the AM material to the physical property adjusting device 10 based on the first manufacturing parameter. Further, the manufacturing support program 160 may use the AM material manufactured by the physical property adjusting apparatus 10 and output to the AM apparatus a product manufacturing instruction based on the second manufacturing parameter. Further, actual manufacturing instructions may be determined by an operator or a program other than the manufacturing support program 160 and issued.

The details of the processor system 100 have been described above.

<Flow of manufacturing support processing>
3 and 4 are flowcharts showing an example of manufacturing support processing. Specifically, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of manufacturing support processing regarding generation of manufacturing parameters for AM materials. Further, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of manufacturing support processing regarding generation of manufacturing parameters for additive manufacturing using AM materials.

<<Generation and Output of First Manufacturing Parameter in FIG. 3>>
The manufacturing support process of FIG. 3 is executed by the processor 30 that has read the manufacturing support program 160 when a process execution instruction is received from the user (operator) of the processor system 100 via the NI 50, for example. Note that the execution instruction from the user may include, for example, information designating the waste material lot used for manufacturing the AM material.

When the manufacturing support process is started, the processor 30 acquires the first physical property value corresponding to the designated waste material lot from the physical property value information DB 140 while referring to the correspondence record DB 120 (step S10). Processor 30 also uses the obtained first physical property values to generate first manufacturing parameters for a predetermined manufacturing lot of the AM material (step S20). Specifically, the processor 30 controls the amount of crystallization retarders and fillers so that the AM material manufactured from the designated waste material falls within the range of predetermined physical property values that can be appropriately used in the AM apparatus. The additional amount is calculated as a first manufacturing parameter.

Processor 30 then outputs the generated first manufacturing parameter (step S30). In addition, in this step, an instruction to manufacture AM material from a designated lot of waste material may be output. Further, the processor 30 ends the processing of this flow after performing the processing of these steps.

It should be noted that the processing performed in each step may be performed as described before this flow chart. The same applies to the execution start timing and designation information of this process.

<<Second manufacturing parameter generation and output in FIG. 4>>
The manufacturing support process of FIG. 4 is executed by the processor 30 that reads the manufacturing support program 160 when a request is received from the AM system user (or the AM system user's display computer) via the NI 50, as described above.

The processor 30 acquires from the physical property value information DB 140 the second physical property value related to the production lot (shipment lot) of the AM material produced by the physical property adjustment device 10 while referring to the correspondence record DB 120 (step S40). ). Processor 30 also generates second manufacturing parameters using the obtained second physical property values (step S50). Specifically, the processor 30 calculates the laser power and the preheating temperature for properly manufacturing the product with the AM equipment using the AM material as the second manufacturing parameters. Note that the processor 30 may generate the setting values of the slicer software used in the AM apparatus as the second manufacturing parameter.

Moreover, next, the processor 30 outputs the second manufacturing parameter (step S60), and ends the processing of this flow.

The above is the processing. It should be noted that the processing performed in each step may be performed as described before this flow chart. The same applies to the execution start timing and designation information of this process.

According to such a system according to the present embodiment, it is possible to contribute to the realization of material recycling by making it possible to manufacture additive manufacturing materials of stable quality using waste materials. In particular, according to the present system, an additional amount of crystallization rate retardant or filler is added in a suitable amount to reduce (suppress) warping according to the crystallization rate and the amount of solidification shrinkage that vary (different) from waste lot to waste material lot. can be obtained, and an AM material of stable quality can be produced. In addition, according to this system, since it is possible to obtain manufacturing parameters (second manufacturing parameters) in the AM apparatus that are suitable for individual differences for each manufacturing lot that cannot be absorbed by adjustment due to manufacturing of AM materials, the parameters It is also possible to reduce the number of prototypes for adjustment. One of the reasons for the inability to fully absorb is the presence of environmental regulations, the upper limit of the amount of additive to be added from the viewpoint of cost, or the presence of errors in the manufacturing process of the AM material.

Moreover, according to this system, it is possible to continuously manufacture products of stable quality by the AM equipment while meeting the procurement regulations including the content ratio of recycled materials as a requirement. In addition, according to this system, the user of the AM apparatus can continuously manufacture products, thereby increasing the amount of recycled waste materials. In addition, according to this system, it is possible to give added value to the product from the design aspect by manufacturing with AM equipment that can manufacture products with complicated shapes, and it is possible to create recycled-based products (manufacturing using waste materials and recycled materials). It is possible to extend the period until the product becomes a waste material by having the user of the product (which has been manufactured) become attached to the product.

In addition, waste materials with a product history manufactured by extrusion molding as described above (materials mainly composed of waste materials of articles molded by extrusion molding, or material pellets manufactured mainly from such waste materials) , the content of crystallization accelerators and fillers is less than in the case of, for example, blow molding or injection molding. This is because extrusion molding enables production even at a slower crystallization rate than blow molding or injection molding. Therefore, by positively using waste materials derived from extrusion molding, it is possible to save additional amounts of crystallization retarders and fillers that are required during the production of AM materials, and as a result, the production cost of AM materials And the manufacturing cost of the product can be reduced.

As an example of a method for determining waste materials derived from extrusion molding, there is a method of determining based on the outer shape of the waste materials, for example. Since extrusion moldings often have a relatively elongated shape, such a discrimination method based on such features is an effective method. As one method of automatic discrimination, for example, analyzing an image of the waste material captured by a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) camera is conceivable.

As another method of determination, for example, there is a method of receiving information such as the composition of the waste material and the molding method of the product before becoming the waste material from a waste material providing organization or a recycler. As another discrimination method, for example, it is effective to exclusively manage waste materials from a provider organization or a recycler that mainly provides waste materials derived from extrusion molding.

<Variation>
The present embodiment has been described above. In addition, the following variations are conceivable in this embodiment.
* The main component of AM materials and waste materials may be other than resin. Examples include metals, graph fibers, carbon fibers, ceramics, inorganic materials, and rubber.
* Additive manufacturing modeling methods other than SLS may be adopted. For example, material extrusion deposition, material jetting, binder jetting, stereolithography.
* A material that has been preheated by one or more parts in the AM apparatus and deteriorated may be adjusted in the physical property adjusting apparatus 10 and shipped as a regenerated material for AM to the user of the AM apparatus. In this case, the physical property adjusting device 10 adds an additive that restores thermally deteriorated physical properties.
*The AM materials shipped to AM equipment users are mixed with AM materials derived from waste materials and the above-mentioned recycled AM materials or AM materials derived from virgin material pellets. You can ship it. This is suitable when the AM material derived from the waste material cannot be adjusted to a suitable quality.

Moreover, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and modifications, and includes various modifications within the scope of the same technical idea. For example, the above-described embodiments have been described in detail in order to explain the present invention in an easy-to-understand manner, and are not necessarily limited to those having all the described configurations. In addition, it is possible to replace part of the configuration of one embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment, and it is also possible to add the configuration of another embodiment to the configuration of one embodiment. Moreover, it is possible to add, delete, or replace a part of the configuration of each embodiment with another configuration.

Moreover, in the above description, the control lines and information lines are those considered to be necessary for the description, and not all the control lines and information lines are necessarily shown on the product. In reality, it can be considered that almost all configurations are interconnected.

100... processor system, 30... processor, 40... memory resource, 50... NI (network interface device), 60... UI (user interface device), 110... configuration information DB, 120 Correspondence record DB 130 Product shape information DB 140 Physical property value information DB 150 Manufacturing parameter information DB 160 Manufacturing support program 10 Physical property adjustment Apparatus, 20... Physical property measuring apparatus, N... Network

Claims (12)

Acquiring a first physical property value that is a physical property value of a first material that is a waste material or a material manufactured from a waste material,
generating a first manufacturing parameter for use in manufacturing an additive manufacturing material from the first material based on the first physical property value;
A manufacturing method, wherein the additive manufacturing material is manufactured from the first material based on the first manufacturing parameter. The manufacturing method according to claim 1,
The first manufacturing parameter is generated for each manufacturing lot, which is a manufacturing control unit of the additive manufacturing material,
The manufacturing method, wherein the first physical property value is measured for each waste material lot, which is a management unit of the first material corresponding to the manufacturing lot. The manufacturing method according to claim 1,
The additive manufacturing is powder sintering additive manufacturing,
The additive manufacturing material includes a powdered resin,
The first physical property value includes at least one of the following,
* Crystallization rate * Amount of solidification shrinkage * Amount of warpage of the modeled product when powder sintering additive manufacturing is attempted Production of the additive manufacturing material includes at least one of the following:
*addition of a crystallization retardant having the property of retarding the rate of crystallization *addition of filler said first manufacturing parameter comprises at least one of *a value relating to the amount of said crystallization retardant added *of said filler A manufacturing method characterized by: a value for an additional amount. The manufacturing method according to claim 3,
The first material is
Materials mainly composed of waste materials of articles formed by extrusion, or
A manufacturing method characterized in that material pellets are manufactured mainly from waste materials of articles molded by extrusion molding. The manufacturing method according to claim 1,
Acquiring a second physical property value that is a physical property value of the additive manufacturing material;
A manufacturing method, wherein a second manufacturing parameter used when performing additive manufacturing using the additive manufacturing material is generated based on the second physical property value. The manufacturing method according to claim 5,
The second manufacturing parameter includes at least one of the following:
* The output of a laser for heating the additive manufacturing material provided in the additive manufacturing apparatus for performing the additive manufacturing. * The temperature of the preheating heater for the additive manufacturing material provided in the additive manufacturing apparatus for performing the additive manufacturing. The manufacturing method according to claim 5,
The second manufacturing parameter includes at least one of the following:
Layer thickness of a slice of the object manufactured by the additive manufacturing Molding angle of the object manufactured by the additive manufacturing Maximum length of the object manufactured by the additive manufacturing Molding position of the object on the modeling floor Method. Acquiring a second physical property value that is a physical property value of the additive manufacturing material manufactured from the waste material or the material manufactured from the waste material;
A method of supporting manufacturing, wherein a second manufacturing parameter used when performing the additive manufacturing is generated from the additive manufacturing material based on the second physical property value. A system having one or more processors and one or more memory resources,
the memory resource stores a manufacturing support program;
By executing the manufacturing support program, the processor
Acquiring a first physical property value that is a physical property value of a first material that is a waste material or a material manufactured from a waste material,
A system for generating a first manufacturing parameter for use in manufacturing an additive manufacturing material from the first material based on the first physical property value. A system having one or more processors and one or more memory resources,
the memory resource stores a manufacturing support program;
By executing the manufacturing support program, the processor
Acquiring a second physical property value that is a physical property value of the additive manufacturing material manufactured from the waste material or the material manufactured from the waste material;
A system according to claim 1, wherein a second manufacturing parameter for use in performing the additive manufacturing from the additive manufacturing material is generated based on the second physical property value. 11. The system of claim 10, wherein
The second manufacturing parameter includes at least one of the following:
* Output of a laser for heating an additive manufacturing material provided in the additive manufacturing apparatus for performing the additive manufacturing * Temperature of a preheating heater for the additive manufacturing material provided in the additive manufacturing apparatus for performing the additive manufacturing. 11. The system of claim 10, wherein
The second manufacturing parameter includes at least one of the following:
A system characterized by: sliced layer thickness of the object manufactured by the additive manufacturing modeling angle of the object manufactured by the additive manufacturing maximum length of the object manufactured by the additive manufacturing molding position of the object on a modeling floor; .

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