JP2024030382A - Evaluation device, and laminate formation system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an evaluation device capable of appropriately evaluating whether a material is being correctly discharged during execution of a process for forming a laminate, and a laminate formation system provided with the evaluation device.

SOLUTION: An evaluation device 30 for evaluating appropriateness of a discharge position when discharging a material of a layer 41 from a nozzle 12a in a process of laminating the layer 41 on a base 11 to form a laminate 40 comprises: a first identification unit for identifying a designed movement path of a nozzle 12a when a discharge unit 12 including a nozzle 12a moves relative to the base 11 on the basis of design data of the laminate 40; a second identification unit for identifying an actual movement path of the nozzle 12a on the basis of measurement data obtained by measuring a position of the nozzle 12a during execution of the process; and a calculation unit for calculating a positional deviation of an actual discharge position from a designed discharge position on the basis of the designed movement path and the actual movement path.

SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

COPYRIGHT: (C)2024,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to an evaluation device and a laminate forming system, and more particularly to an evaluation device that evaluates the suitability of a discharge position when discharging material from a nozzle, and a laminate formation system equipped with the evaluation device.

As a laminating means for modeling, for example, a laminate forming apparatus using a fused deposition modeling method (FDM method) is known. An FDM type laminate forming apparatus melts a material such as a thermoplastic resin with heat, and discharges the molten material from the nozzle onto the base while moving the nozzle relative to the base. As a result, layers are formed on the base, and a desired laminate is formed by repeatedly laminating one layer at a time (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP2022-83574A

During the process of forming a laminate, the actual discharge position may deviate from the designed discharge position due to some causes such as operational errors of the device, surrounding vibrations, and temperature conditions. Once such a displacement of the discharge position occurs, the lamination after the displacement is not performed appropriately, and a desired laminate cannot be obtained. If the manufactured laminate does not meet the original requirements, the process described above must be restarted from the beginning, resulting in losses both in terms of material costs and manufacturing time. On the other hand, if positional deviation can be detected quickly during the above process, losses can be suppressed.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to provide an evaluation capable of evaluating whether the material is being correctly discharged during the process of forming a laminate. An object of the present invention is to provide a laminate forming system including an apparatus and an evaluation apparatus for the same.

The above problem can be solved by the evaluation apparatus of the present invention, which evaluates the suitability of the ejection position when ejecting the layer material from the nozzle in the process of laminating layers on a base to form a laminate. a first identifying part that identifies a designed movement path of the nozzle when the discharge part including the nozzle moves relative to the base based on the design data of the laminate; a second identifying section that identifies the actual movement path of the nozzle based on measurement data obtained by measuring the position of the nozzle; The problem is solved by including a calculation unit that calculates the positional deviation of the actual ejection position with respect to the position.

In the evaluation device of the present invention configured as described above, the calculation unit calculates the positional deviation of the actual ejection position with respect to the designed ejection position. Thereby, it is possible to appropriately evaluate whether the material is being correctly discharged during the process of forming the laminate.

Furthermore, in the above evaluation device, the measurement data may be data obtained by measuring the position of the nozzle while the nozzle is discharging material to form a layer.
According to the above configuration, the evaluation device can appropriately calculate the displacement of the ejection position by using the measurement data of the nozzle position as the measurement data of the ejection position. Thereby, it is possible to more appropriately evaluate whether the material is being discharged correctly during the process of forming the laminate.

In addition, in the above evaluation device, when the discharge part discharges the material from the nozzle while moving relative to the base while being disposed on the surface of the base on which the laminate is formed, the discharge part The measurement data may be obtained by simultaneously photographing the mark provided on the top surface of the part and the reference pattern provided on the surface of the base on which the laminate is formed.
According to the above configuration, since the position of the nozzle is calculated based on the reference pattern, the actual movement path of the nozzle is appropriately specified, and the displacement of the ejection position is appropriately calculated. Thereby, it is possible to more appropriately evaluate whether the material is being discharged correctly during the process of forming the laminate.

Furthermore, in the above evaluation device, the measurement data may be positioning data obtained based on reflected light of light irradiated toward a prism arranged in the ejection section.
According to the above configuration, the actual movement path of the nozzle is appropriately specified, so the positional deviation is appropriately calculated. Thereby, it is possible to appropriately evaluate whether the material is being correctly discharged during the process of forming the laminate.

Furthermore, in the above-mentioned evaluation device, the designed movement route may be defined for each layer, and the calculation unit may calculate the positional shift for each layer.
According to the above configuration, the calculation unit calculates the positional shift for each layer. Thereby, during the process of forming a laminate, it is possible to evaluate whether the material is being correctly discharged layer by layer.

Further, in the above evaluation device, the calculation unit calculates the first center position in the designed shape of the layer based on the designed shape of the layer estimated based on the designed movement path and the nozzle discharge conditions. A second center position in the actual layer shape is calculated based on the actual layer shape estimated from the actual movement route and the ejection conditions, and the first center position and the second center position are Based on this, the positional shift may be calculated.
According to the above configuration, the actual movement path of the nozzle in each layer is calculated based on a plurality of measurement points. The measurement error for the position of each measurement point may vary between measurement points, but since the measurement error of multiple measurement points is corrected in the process of calculating the second center position, the influence of measurement error is suppressed. The second center position is calculated as the calculated value. As a result, a stable positional deviation value is calculated. As a result, it is possible to more appropriately evaluate whether the material is being discharged correctly during the process of forming a laminate.

Furthermore, the above-mentioned evaluation device may correct the designed movement route based on the positional deviation.
According to the above configuration, if a positional shift occurs, the formation of the laminate can be continued appropriately by correcting the designed movement path of the nozzle in consideration of the positional shift in the subsequent process. , it is possible to ensure the quality of the laminate at the time of completion. This suppresses the occurrence of lost costs due to interruption or redo of the process of forming the laminate.

Furthermore, the above-mentioned evaluation device may correct the designed movement path for each layer based on the positional deviation.
According to the above configuration, even if misalignment occurs when forming the nth layer (n is a natural number greater than or equal to 1), the misalignment is improved at the stage of forming the n+1th layer. Therefore, the formation of the laminate can be continued appropriately.

Further, in the above evaluation device, the design data of the laminate includes layer data that defines a designed movement path for each layer, and the correction unit is configured to perform the After forming the layers, the (n+1)th layer data may be corrected based on the positional shift in the nth layer.
According to the above configuration, by correcting the (n+1)th layer data, positional deviation in the formation stage of the (n+1)th layer can be suppressed. Thereby, the (n+1)th and subsequent layers can be appropriately formed.

The above problem is solved by the laminate forming system of the present invention, which includes the above-mentioned evaluation device and a laminate forming device that has a discharge section and forms a laminate.

In the laminate forming system of the present invention configured as described above, the laminate forming system is equipped with the above evaluation device, so that, for example, the process is interrupted when the positional deviation is calculated, and the positional deviation is detected. It is possible to suppress the occurrence of loss costs caused by

According to the present invention, there is provided an evaluation device that can appropriately evaluate whether materials are being correctly discharged during the process of forming a laminate, and a laminate forming system equipped with the evaluation device. be able to.

1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a laminate forming system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a hardware configuration diagram of a laminate forming system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 3 is a block diagram regarding the functions of the evaluation device of FIG. 2. FIG. It is a conceptual diagram of the design data which a design data acquisition part acquires. FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram of layer data after the design data is subjected to layered processing. It is a figure explaining the ejection conditions of a nozzle. It is a figure showing an example of discharge conditions of a nozzle. It is a figure showing other examples of discharge conditions of a nozzle. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a designed movement path of a nozzle. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of an actual movement path of a nozzle. It is a figure which shows the 1st center position in an example of the designed movement route of a nozzle. It is a figure which shows the 2nd center position in an example of the actual movement path of a nozzle. It is a flow diagram showing processing by an evaluation device. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of a laminate forming system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

<<About the laminate forming system according to the first embodiment of the present invention>>
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A laminate forming system according to a first embodiment (hereinafter referred to as the present embodiment) of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
In addition, in the drawings, each member is illustrated in a somewhat simplified and schematic manner to make the explanation easier to understand. Further, the sizes (dimensions) of each member shown in the drawings, the intervals between members, etc. are also different from the actual ones.

Further, in this specification, three mutually orthogonal directions are referred to as X, Y, and Z directions. The X direction and the Y direction correspond to the horizontal direction, and the Z direction corresponds to the vertical direction. Note that "orthogonal" and "horizontal" include the generally allowable error range in the technical field of the present invention, and are within a range of less than several degrees (for example, 2 to 3 degrees) with respect to strict orthogonality and horizontality. This also includes the state where the values are out of alignment.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of a laminate forming system according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the laminate forming system 1 includes a laminate forming apparatus 10, a measuring device 20, and an evaluation device 30.

<Laminated product forming device>
The laminate forming apparatus 10 has approximately the same configuration as a general laminate forming apparatus that employs a fused deposition modeling method (FDM method), and as shown in FIG. 12. The laminate forming apparatus 10 melts the material with heat, and discharges the melted material onto the base 11 from the nozzle 12a while moving the discharge section 12 relative to the base 11. As a result, a layer 41 is formed on the base 11, and a desired laminate 40 is formed by repeatedly laminating the layers one by one. The material of the layer 41 is a general material used in the FDM method, and may be, for example, a metal material, a nonmetal material (inorganic or organic material), or a composite material thereof.

The base 11 is a stage or table on which the laminate 40 is stacked. A surface 11a of the base 11 extends in the X direction and the Y direction (ie, horizontal direction), and a laminate 40 is formed on the surface 11a. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, a reference pattern 11b is provided on the surface 11a. The reference pattern 11b serves as a reference for the X and Y coordinates of the mark 12c in the photographed image when the camera 21 included in the measuring device 20 photographs a mark 12c, which will be described later, provided on the upper surface 12b of the discharge section 12. The reference pattern 11b may be any reference pattern as long as it indicates the X and Y coordinates, and in this embodiment, it is a lattice pattern made up of lines extending in each of the X and Y directions. do.
Note that the standards of the X and Y coordinates shown in the standard pattern 11b (in this embodiment, the intersections of lines extending in the X direction and the Y direction) are known in advance on the evaluation device 30 side. As a result, if the positional relationship between the mark 12c and the reference pattern 11b is known, the X and Y coordinate position of the mark 12c can be found.

The discharge part 12 moves relative to the base 11 while being disposed on the surface 11a. "Moving relative to the base 11" is a state in which at least one of the base 11 and the discharge section 12 is movable and their relative positions with respect to each other change. In this embodiment, the base 11 moves up and down in the Z direction, and the discharge section 12 moves in the X and Y directions. The laminate forming apparatus 10 moves the base 11 up and down along the unillustrated rails extending in the Z direction, and moves the discharge part 12 along the unillustrated rails extending in the X and Y directions. Note that the laminate forming apparatus 10 does not need to use such a movement mechanism using rails, but can be configured by using a mechanism that moves the discharge part 12 with the discharge part 12 disposed at the tip of the robot arm, for example, using a robot arm. may also be used.
The nozzle 12a is provided on the lower surface of the discharge section 12, and discharges the material when the discharge section 12 is moving relative to the base 11.
The mark 12c is provided on the upper surface 12b of the discharge section 12, and is located directly above the discharge port of the nozzle 12a. The mark 12c may be any type of mark as long as it can be recognized as a photographed image when photographed with the camera 21.

The laminate forming apparatus 10 includes a controller section (not shown). The controller section controls the respective drive sections of the base 11 and the discharge section 12 based on layer data 62, which will be described later, and executes the process of forming the laminate 40.

The measuring device 20 has a camera 21 as shown in FIG. The camera 21 simultaneously photographs the mark 12c and the reference pattern 11b, as shown in FIG. The photographed image data (measurement data) is transmitted from the measurement device 20 to the evaluation device 30.

<Evaluation device>
The evaluation device 30 evaluates the suitability of the discharge position when the material of the layer 41 is discharged from the nozzle 12a in the step of laminating the layer 41 on the base 11 to form the laminate 40.
More specifically, the evaluation device 30 calculates the positional deviation S (see FIG. 11) of the actual ejection position with respect to the designed ejection position on the XY plane, and evaluates the suitability of the ejection position. Furthermore, the evaluation device 30 corrects the layer data 62 (see FIG. 5) according to the positional deviation S of the evaluation result.
Note that the "ejection position" overlaps with the position of the nozzle 12a, in other words, the position of the mark 12c directly above the ejection opening of the nozzle 12a on the XY plane. Therefore, the evaluation device 30 uses the position of the nozzle 12a (specifically, the mark 12c) as a substitute for the ejection position to evaluate the appropriateness of the ejection position.

The evaluation device 30 is composed of an information processing terminal such as a computer.
FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of the laminate forming system according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the evaluation device 30 includes a processor 31, a storage device 32, a communication interface 33, an input device 34, and a display device 35 as hardware.

The processor 31 is hardware (for example, a CPU) for executing a set of instructions written in a program. The processor 31 executes various arithmetic processing based on programs and data stored in the storage device 32, and also controls each section of the evaluation device 30.

The storage device 32 includes, for example, a memory and a magnetic disk device, and in addition to storing various programs and data, it also functions as a work memory for the processor 31. Note that the storage device 32 may include an information storage medium such as a flash memory or an optical disk.

The communication interface 33 includes, for example, a network interface card, and communicates with the laminate forming device 10 and the measuring device 20. In this embodiment, the communication interface 33 may use either wireless communication or wired communication.

The input device 34 includes, for example, a touch panel, a keyboard, buttons, etc., and receives input from the user.

The display device 35 includes, for example, a liquid crystal display device, an organic EL display device, etc., and outputs a screen based on the graphic data generated by the processor 31.

<Functions provided by the evaluation device>
Next, with reference to FIG. 3, functions provided in the evaluation device 30 to realize the above processing will be described. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of the evaluation device 30.
As shown in FIG. 3, the evaluation device 30 has a design data acquisition section 51, a design data stratification processing section 52, a layer data storage section 53, a discharge condition acquisition section 54, a measurement data acquisition section 55, a first specific It includes a section 56, a second specifying section 57, a calculating section 58, and a correcting section 59.

The functions of the above-mentioned units included in the evaluation device 30 are realized by the processor 31 controlling each unit of the evaluation device 30 based on the program and data stored in the storage device 32. Note that the evaluation device 30 may read the above program from a computer-readable information storage medium, or may receive the program via a communication network such as the Internet or an intranet.
Hereinafter, the details of the functions of the above-mentioned parts provided in the evaluation device 30 will be explained.

[Description of design data acquisition section]
The design data acquisition unit 51 acquires and stores the design data 61 shown in FIG. 4 . The design data acquisition unit 51 is mainly realized by the processor 31 of the evaluation device 30.
As a method for generating the design data 61, first, a three-dimensional CAD model is constructed using three-dimensional CAD software, and the constructed model is converted into a three-dimensional mesh model. Next, using data processing software for 3D printers, the above three-dimensional mesh model is defined as a layered model, and the shape of each layer in the layered model is determined by multiple coordinates in a two-dimensional coordinate space (XY coordinate space). Defined by points. By adding the Z coordinate to each coordinate point, the shapes of all layers are aggregated as a plurality of coordinate points 61a in the three-dimensional coordinate space, as shown in FIG.
In this way, the design data 61 is composed of each coordinate point 61a in a three-dimensional coordinate space that defines the shape of each layer included in the layered model.
The design data 61 is, for example, G code commonly used in 3D printers.

[Description of design data stratification processing section]
As shown in FIG. 5, the design data layered processing unit 52 subdivides the design data 61 into each layer model to generate a plurality of layer data 62. The Z coordinate of each coordinate point 61a indicated by each layer data 62 indicates the same value in the same layer. The design data stratification processing unit 52 classifies each coordinate point 61a into layers based on the Z coordinate value. Thereby, the layer data 62 becomes data composed of a collection of coordinate points 61a for defining the shape of each layer. The X and Y coordinates of each coordinate point 61a of the layer data 62 define the shape of each layer in a two-dimensional coordinate space.
The design data stratification processing unit 52 is mainly realized by the processor 31 of the evaluation device 30.

[Description of layer data storage section]
The layer data storage unit 53 stores layer data 62 generated by the design data layered processing unit 52. The layer data storage section 53 is mainly realized by the storage device 32 of the evaluation device 30.
Note that, before starting the step of forming the laminate 40, the evaluation device 30 receives a user's instruction from the input device 34 and inputs all the layer data 62 for forming the laminate 40 to the laminate forming device 10. The data is sent to the controller section. The laminate forming apparatus 10 stores each layer data 62 in the controller section, controls each driving section of the base 11 and the discharge section 12 based on each layer data 62, and starts the process of forming the laminate 40.
Furthermore, when the layer data 62 is corrected by the correction section 59 described later, the evaluation device 30 transmits the corrected layer data 62 to the controller section of the laminate forming apparatus 10. The laminate forming apparatus 10 updates only the target layer data 62 among all the stored layer data 62.

[Description of the discharge condition acquisition unit]
The discharge condition acquisition unit 54 acquires and stores the designed discharge conditions of the nozzle 12a. The ejection condition acquisition unit 54 is mainly realized by the processor 31 of the evaluation device 30.
As shown in FIG. 6, the "discharge conditions" include the diameter D of the discharge port of the nozzle 12a, the relative moving speed V of the nozzle 12a with respect to the base 11, and the discharge speed when the nozzle 12a discharges the material from the discharge port. U, and the distance G between the discharge port of the nozzle 12a and the surface 11a of the base 11. Note that the values of the above ejection conditions are input in advance by the user via the input device 34 according to instructions displayed on the display device 35.

FIG. 7A is a diagram showing an example of the discharge conditions of the nozzle 12a, and FIG. 7B is a diagram showing another example of the discharge conditions of the nozzle 12a.
FIG. 7A shows a case where the G/D ratio is 1.2 and the V/U ratio is 1. In this case, since the interval G is larger than the diameter D and the moving speed V of the nozzle 12a is approximately the same as the ejection speed U of the nozzle 12a, the cross section of the layer 41 to be formed has, for example, a substantially circular shape. In this case, the width B and height H in the cross section of the layer 41 are approximately the same.
On the other hand, FIG. 7B shows a case where the G/D ratio is 0.6 and the V/U ratio is 0.5. In this case, since the interval G is smaller than the diameter D and the moving speed V of the nozzle 12a is slower than the ejection speed U of the nozzle 12a, the cross section of the layer 41 to be formed is in the horizontal direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the nozzle 12a. It has an elliptical shape with the longitudinal direction being the vertical direction and the short direction being the vertical direction. In this case, in the cross section of the layer 41, the width B is larger than the height H.
In this way, the cross-sectional shape of the layer 41 changes depending on the discharge conditions of the nozzle 12a. Note that the cross-sectional shape of the layer 41 shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B is an example for convenience to make the explanation easier to understand, and changes depending on the type of material to be discharged.

[Description of measurement data acquisition section]
The measurement data acquisition unit 55 acquires measurement data obtained by measuring the position of the nozzle 12a during the process of forming the laminate 40. The measurement data acquisition section 55 is mainly realized by the processor 31, the storage device 32, and the communication interface 33 of the evaluation device 30.
The measurement data is obtained by simultaneously photographing the mark 12c provided on the upper surface 12b of the discharge part 12 and the reference pattern 11b provided on the surface 11a of the base 11 on which the laminate 40 is formed using the camera 21. This is image data. Measurement data is acquired for each layer 41. Further, a plurality of pieces of measurement data are acquired for each layer 41 based on a predetermined sampling period from the start to the end of forming the layer 41.
Note that, as explained above, the evaluation device 30 uses the position of the nozzle 12a (mark 12c) as the ejection position. Therefore, "measurement data" is limited to data obtained by measuring the position of the nozzle 12a while the nozzle 12a is discharging material to form the layer 41.

[Description of the first specific part]
The first specifying unit 56 specifies, based on design data 61 of the laminate 40, a designed movement path 63 of the nozzle 12a when the discharge section 12 including the nozzle 12a moves relative to the base 11. . The first specifying unit 56 is mainly realized by the processor 31 and the storage device 32 of the evaluation device 30.
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a designed movement path 63 of the nozzle 12a. As shown in FIG. 8, the designed movement path 63 of the nozzle 12a is a two-dimensional movement path defined for each layer 41.
The first specifying unit 56 acquires layer data 62 from the layer data storage unit 53 in order to define a designed movement route 63 for each layer 41. Then, the first specifying unit 56 sets a plurality of design points 63a defined by X and Y coordinates based on the layer data 62, and specifies the designed movement route 63 by sequentially tracing each design point 63a. . Note that the interval between adjacent design points 63a on the designed movement path 63 changes depending on the mesh size of the three-dimensional data of the laminate 40 set in advance, so the user can The mesh size of the three-dimensional data of the laminate 40 is set according to the quality required.

[Description of the second specific part]
The second specifying unit 57 specifies the actual movement path 64 of the nozzle 12a based on the measurement data. The second specifying unit 57 is mainly realized by the processor 31, the storage device 32, and the communication interface 33 of the evaluation device 30.
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of an actual movement path 64 of the nozzle 12a. As shown in FIG. 9, the actual moving path 64 of the nozzle 12a is set for each layer 41.
The second specifying unit 57 acquires the measurement data from the measurement data acquisition unit 55, sets a plurality of measurement points 64a defined by X and Y coordinates based on the measurement data, and sets each measurement point 64a in each layer 41. The actual travel route 64 is set by sequentially tracing the following.
Note that the interval between the measurement points 64a adjacent to each other in the same layer 41 changes depending on a predetermined sampling period set by the measurement device 20. Therefore, the user sets the sampling period on the measuring device 20 side in advance in accordance with the accuracy required for specifying the actual movement path 64 of the nozzle 12a (that is, the accuracy required for calculating the positional deviation S, which will be described later).

[Description of calculation section]
As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the calculation unit 58 calculates the position of the actual ejection position relative to the designed ejection position based on the designed movement path 63 of the nozzle 12a and the actual movement path 64 of the nozzle 12a. Calculate the deviation S. The calculation unit 58 is realized by the processor 31 and the storage device 32 of the evaluation device 30.

The process of calculating the positional deviation S will be described in detail below.
The calculation unit 58 includes a first center position calculation unit 58a, a second center position calculation unit 58b, and a positional deviation calculation unit 58c.

First, the first center position calculation section 58a will be explained with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a first center position 66 in an example of the designed movement path 63 of the nozzle 12a.
As shown in FIG. 10, the first center position calculation unit 58a calculates the designed shape 65 of the layer 41 estimated based on the designed movement path 63 of the nozzle 12a and the discharge conditions of the nozzle 12a. A first center position 66 in the shape 65 of the upper layer 41 is calculated.
To explain in more detail, the first center position calculation unit 58a acquires the values of the ejection conditions including the diameter D, the moving speed V, the ejection speed U, the interval G, etc. from the ejection condition acquisition unit 54, and determines the width of the layer 41. Calculate B. Furthermore, the first center position calculation unit 58a acquires information about the designed movement path 63 of the nozzle 12a from the first identification unit 56. The first center position calculation unit 58a estimates the designed shape 65 of the layer 41 by applying the designed width B of the layer 41 to the designed movement path 63 of the nozzle 12a, and calculates the first center of the shape 65. Calculate position 66.
The first center position 66 is determined by, for example, the following equation, assuming that the designed shape 65 of the layer 41 is a two-dimensional model.

In Equation 1, _XG indicates the X coordinate of the first center position 66, and _YG indicates the Y coordinate of the first center position 66. m _i , x _i , y _i represent information at an arbitrary point of the designed shape 65 of the layer 41, m _i represents the mass, x _i represents the x coordinate, and y _i represents the y coordinate. Assuming that the value of width B is constant, shape 65 can be assumed to be a set of points (x _i , y _i ).
Note that since the designed shape 65 of the layer 41 is assumed to be a two-dimensional model, the following equation is obtained by substituting 1 for the mass m _{i in Equation 1 without considering the mass m i .}

In this way, the first center position 66 is determined for each layer 41 using Equation 2.

Next, the second center position calculation section 58b will be explained with reference to FIG. 11. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a second center position 68 in an example of the actual movement path 64 of the nozzle 12a.
The second center position calculation unit 58b calculates the second center position in the actual shape 67 of the layer 41 based on the actual shape 67 of the layer 41 estimated based on the actual movement path 64 of the nozzle 12a and the ejection conditions of the nozzle 12a. A center position 68 is calculated. To explain in more detail, the second center position calculation unit 58b calculates the width B of the layer 41 by acquiring values including the diameter D, movement speed V, discharge speed U, interval G, etc. from the discharge condition acquisition unit 54. Furthermore, information on the actual movement route 64 of the nozzle 12a is acquired from the second specifying unit 57. The second center position calculation unit 58b estimates the actual shape 67 of the layer 41 by applying the designed width B of the layer 41 to the actual movement path 64 of the nozzle 12a, and calculates the second center position 68 of the shape 67. Calculate.
Note that, assuming that the actual shape 67 of the layer 41 is a two-dimensional model, the second center position 68 is calculated, for example, using Equation 2, similarly to the first center position calculation unit 58a.

The positional deviation calculation unit 58c calculates the positional deviation S of the ejection position for each layer 41, as shown in FIG. 11, based on the first center position 66 and the second center position 68 calculated as described above. . The positional deviation S indicates the difference in the X and Y coordinates between the first center position 66 and the second center position 68, respectively.
Through the above calculation process, the positional deviation S between the actual ejection position and the designed ejection position is calculated.

The evaluation device 30 evaluates the appropriateness of the ejection position based on the positional deviation S calculated as described above, based on whether or not it exceeds a preset threshold. Then, the evaluation device 30 interrupts the process based on this evaluation result, or corrects the positional deviation S by the correction unit 59 described below and continues the process.
Note that the determination of whether to interrupt or stop the process may be made by the evaluation device 30, or may be made by the user. For example, the evaluation device 30 may have an automatic mode in which the device automatically makes a decision, and a manual mode in which the user makes a decision.

[Description of correction section]
The correction unit 59 corrects the designed movement path 63 of the nozzle 12a for each layer 41 based on the positional deviation S. The correction unit 59 is realized by the processor 31 and the storage device 32 of the evaluation device 30.
When n is a natural number of 1 or more, after forming the n-th layer 41 in the step of forming the laminate 40, the correction unit 59 corrects the n+1-th layer based on the positional deviation S in the n-th layer 41. Correct the data 62.
To explain in more detail, when the value of the positional deviation S exceeds a preset threshold, the correction unit 59 acquires the (n+1)th designed layer data 62 from the layer data storage unit 53, and performs a predetermined correction procedure. The (n+1)th layer data 62 is corrected according to the following. The corrected layer data 62 is stored in the layer data storage section 53 by overwriting the designed layer data 62 stored in the layer data storage section 53 .
Note that the correction unit 59 may correct not only the n+1-th layer data 62 but also the subsequent layer data 62.

The evaluation device 30 transmits the (n+1)th layer data 62 stored in the layer data storage section 53 to the controller section of the laminate forming apparatus 10. The laminate forming apparatus 10 stores the corrected (n+1)th layer data 62 and forms the (n+1)th layer 41 based on the layer data 62.

<Explanation of evaluation flow>
Next, the flow of processing (hereinafter referred to as evaluation flow) executed by the evaluation device 30 will be described with reference to FIG. 12. Note that the evaluation flow shown in FIG. 10 is a process executed by the processor 31 of the evaluation device 30 based on a program stored in the storage device 32.

The evaluation flow is executed in parallel with the process of forming the laminate 40. Therefore, the evaluation flow ends when the first layer to the final Nth layer among the plurality of layers 41 constituting the laminate 40 are formed.
When the evaluation flow is started, the evaluation device 30 acquires the n-th (defined as n=1 to N (S11)) layer data 62 (S12), and acquires the designed ejection conditions of the nozzle 12a ( S13). Next, the evaluation device 30 specifies the designed movement path 63 of the nozzle 12a, as shown in FIG. 8, based on the n-th layer data 62 (S14). Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 10, the evaluation device 30 calculates the designed shape 65 of the layer 41 estimated based on the designed movement path 63 of the nozzle 12a and the discharge conditions of the nozzle 12a. A first center position 66 in the shape 65 of the layer 41 is calculated (S15).
In addition, in FIG. 12, the processes of S12 to S15 described above are performed in parallel with the process of forming the n-th layer 41, but before the process of forming the n-th layer 41 starts, or It may be carried out immediately after the step of forming 41 is completed.

From the start to the end of the process of forming the n-th layer 41, the measuring device 20 uses the camera 21 to acquire a plurality of image data (measurement data). When the step of forming the n-th layer 41 is completed, the evaluation device 30 acquires a plurality of measurement data on the n-th layer 41 from the measurement device 20 (S16). Subsequently, the evaluation device 30 specifies the actual movement path 64 of the nozzle 12a, as shown in FIG. 9, based on the measurement data of the n-th layer 41 (S17). Then, as shown in FIG. 11, the evaluation device 30 determines the shape of the actual layer 41 based on the actual shape 67 of the layer 41 estimated based on the actual movement path 64 of the nozzle 12a and the ejection conditions of the nozzle 12a. A second center position 68 in the shape 67 is calculated (S18).

Next, the evaluation device 30 calculates the positional deviation S of the actual ejection position with respect to the designed ejection position, as shown in FIG. 11, based on the first center position 66 and the second center position 68 (S19 ). If the calculated value of positional deviation S does not exceed the preset threshold (S20), the following processes of S21 and S22 are skipped.
On the other hand, if the value of the calculated positional deviation S exceeds a preset threshold (S20), the n+1st layer data 62 is corrected as shown in FIG. 12 (S21). Then, the evaluation device 30 transmits the (n+1)th corrected layer data 62 to the controller section of the laminate forming device 10 (S22). The laminate forming apparatus 10 updates only the n+1-th layer data 62, controls each drive unit based on the layer data 62, and starts forming the n+1-th layer 41. Subsequently, when n reaches the specified number N (S23), the evaluation device 30 ends the evaluation flow. On the other hand, if n has not reached the specified number N (S23), the evaluation device 30 performs the processes of S12 to S22 described above until n reaches the specified number N.

In addition, in the above flow, when the calculated value of the positional deviation S exceeds a preset threshold value, the evaluation device 30 calculates the n+1th design layer data 62 based on the value of the positional deviation S. I decided to correct it. For example, if the calculated value of the positional deviation S exceeds a preset threshold, the evaluation device 30 may temporarily interrupt the process and wait for the user's decision. Thereafter, when the user determines to correct the positional deviation S, the (n+1)th designed layer data 62 may be corrected based on the value of the positional deviation S.

<Actions and effects of the first embodiment>
As described above, according to the evaluation device 30, as shown in FIG. 11, the calculation unit 58 calculates the positional deviation S between the actual ejection position and the designed ejection position. Thereby, it is possible to appropriately evaluate whether the material is being correctly discharged during the process of forming the laminate 40. With such an effect, the user can stop the process at the time when the positional deviation S is calculated, and can suppress the occurrence of loss costs due to the positional deviation S.

Further, the measurement data is data obtained by measuring the position of the nozzle 12a while the nozzle 12a is discharging material to form the layer 41.
With this configuration, the evaluation device 30 can appropriately calculate the positional deviation S of the ejection position by using the measurement data of the position of the nozzle 12a as the measurement data of the ejection position. Thereby, it is possible to appropriately evaluate whether the material is being correctly discharged during the process of forming the laminate 40. As a result, the user can interrupt the process of forming the laminate 40 at an appropriate timing, and can suppress the occurrence of loss costs caused by the positional deviation S.

Further, the discharge unit 12 is disposed on the surface 11a of the base 11 on which the laminate 40 is formed, and discharges the material from the nozzle 12a while moving relative to the base 11. In this state, the camera 21 simultaneously photographs the mark 12c provided on the upper surface 12b of the discharge portion 12 and the reference pattern 11b provided on the surface 11a of the base 11 on which the laminate 40 is formed, thereby obtaining measurement data. is obtained.
With this configuration, the position of the nozzle 12a is calculated with reference to the reference pattern 11b, so the actual movement path 64 of the nozzle 12a is appropriately specified, and the displacement of the ejection position is appropriately calculated. Thereby, it is possible to appropriately evaluate whether the material is being correctly discharged during the process of forming the laminate 40. As a result, the user can interrupt the process at an appropriate timing, and the loss cost caused by the positional deviation S can be suppressed.

Further, a designed movement path 63 is defined for each layer 41, and the calculation unit 58 calculates the positional deviation S for each layer 41.
With this configuration, the calculation unit 58 calculates the positional deviation S for each layer 41. Thereby, it is possible to evaluate whether the material is being correctly discharged for each layer during the process of forming the laminate 40. As a result, the user can judge whether the process is progressing appropriately for each layer 41, and can more effectively suppress the occurrence of loss costs due to positional deviation S.

Further, as shown in FIG. 10, the calculation unit 58 calculates the designed shape 65 of the layer 41 estimated based on the designed movement path 63 of the nozzle 12a and the discharge conditions of the nozzle 12a. A first center position 66 in the shape 65 of the layer 41 is calculated. Further, as shown in FIG. 11, the calculation unit 58 calculates the shape of the actual layer 41 based on the actual shape 67 of the layer 41 estimated based on the actual movement path 64 of the nozzle 12a and the ejection conditions of the nozzle 12a. A second center position 68 in the shape 67 is calculated. Then, the calculation unit 58 calculates the positional deviation S based on the first center position 66 and the second center position 68.
With this configuration, the actual movement path 64 of the nozzle 12a in each layer 41 is calculated based on the plurality of measurement points 64a. The measurement error in the position of each measurement point 64a varies among the measurement points, but since the measurement error in each measurement point 64a is averaged in the process of calculating the second center position 68, the influence of measurement error is suppressed. A second center position 68 is calculated as the calculated value. Thereby, it is possible to more appropriately evaluate whether the material is being discharged correctly during the process of forming the laminate 40. As a result, the user can interrupt the process at an appropriate timing, and the loss cost caused by the positional deviation S can be suppressed.

Furthermore, the evaluation device 30 corrects the designed movement path 63 for each layer 41 based on the positional deviation S.
With this configuration, even if a positional deviation S occurs when forming the n-th layer 41, the positional deviation S is improved at the stage of forming the n+1-th layer 41, so that the laminate 40 is formed. can be continued appropriately, and the quality of the laminate 40 at the time of completion can be ensured. This suppresses the occurrence of lost costs due to interruption or redo of the process of forming the laminate 40.

Furthermore, in the evaluation device 30, the design data 61 of the laminate 40 includes layer data 62 that defines a designed movement path 63 for each layer 41, as shown in FIG. Then, after forming the n-th layer 41 in the step of forming the laminate 40, the correction unit 59 corrects the n+1-th layer data 62 based on the positional deviation S in the n-th layer 41.
With this configuration, the n+1-th layer data 62 is corrected, thereby suppressing positional deviation in the formation stage of the n+1-th layer 41. Thereby, the (n+1)th and subsequent layers 41 can be appropriately formed.

Furthermore, when correcting based on the positional deviation S, the correction unit 59 rewrites the target layer data 62. As a result, the data rewriting time is shortened, and after the formation of the n-th layer 41 in which the positional deviation S has occurred is completed, but before the formation of the n+1-th layer 41 corrected based on the positional deviation S is started. During this period, the occurrence of process interruption time due to data rewriting time is suppressed.

To explain in more detail, when correcting the design data based on the displacement of the discharge position, the conventional laminate forming apparatus rewrites all the design data 61 of the laminate 40, that is, all the layer data 62. , it took a long time to correct the data. Therefore, it is necessary to temporarily interrupt the process after the formation of the n-th layer 41 is completed until the formation of the n+1-th layer 41 is started, and the interruption time becomes long.
On the other hand, in this embodiment, the design data layered processing unit 52 generates layer data 62 for each layer 41 based on data included in the design data 61, as shown in FIG. Since the evaluation device 30 corrects only the target layer data 62 when correcting the layer data 62, the time required for correction can be further shortened. As a result, the time required to interrupt the process while correcting the layer data 62 becomes shorter than in the past, and as a result, loss costs due to process interruptions are suppressed.

<<About the laminate forming system according to the second embodiment of the present invention>>
Next, a laminate forming system according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 13.
FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of a laminate forming system 100 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In the following description, points that are different from the first embodiment will be described, and descriptions of points that overlap with the first embodiment will be omitted.

In the first embodiment, the measurement data is obtained by simultaneously photographing the mark 12c provided on the upper surface 12b of the discharge section 12 and the reference pattern 11b provided on the surface 11a of the base 11 on which the laminate 40 is formed. Obtained. On the other hand, in the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 13, the measurement data is obtained based on the reflected light of the light irradiated toward the prism 12d arranged on the upper surface 12b of the ejection part 12.

To explain in more detail, in the laminate forming system 100, the measuring device 20 has a surveying instrument 22 instead of having a camera 21, and the discharge part 12 does not have a mark 12c on the top surface 12b, but has a mark 12c on the top surface. 12b has a prism 12d. Furthermore, the base 11 does not have the reference pattern 11b on the surface 11a.
The surveying instrument 22 measures the position of an object using the same principle as a known laser displacement sensor. Specifically, the surveying instrument 22 emits light toward a prism 12d to be detected, and receives reflected light from the prism 12d. By receiving the light, positioning data for specifying the position of the prism 12d is obtained. The prism 12d is, for example, a 360° prism commonly used in surveying situations, and is located directly above the discharge port of the nozzle 12a.
Positioning data is transmitted from the measurement device 20 to the evaluation device 30, as in the first embodiment.

As explained above, according to the evaluation device 30 of the laminate forming system 100, the measurement data is obtained based on the reflected light of the light irradiated toward the prism 12d disposed in the discharge section 12.
In the second embodiment, although there is a difference in that measurement data is acquired with the above-described configuration, the same effects as in the first embodiment can be obtained.

<<About other embodiments>>
One embodiment of the evaluation device and the laminate forming system of the present invention has been described above, but the above embodiment is only an example to facilitate understanding of the present invention, and does not limit the present invention. It's not something you do. That is, the present invention can be modified and improved without departing from its spirit. Moreover, it goes without saying that the present invention includes equivalents thereof.

In the above embodiment, the calculation unit 58 calculated the positional deviation S for each layer 41. However, the calculation unit 58 is not limited to this, and there may be layers 41 for which the positional deviation S is not calculated. For example, the calculation unit 58 calculates the positional deviation S of the odd-numbered layers 41, but the calculation unit 58 calculates the positional deviation S of the even-numbered layers 41. It is not necessary to calculate. This reduces the calculation load on the evaluation device 30.

Further, in the above embodiment, the correction unit 59 corrects the designed movement path 63 of the nozzle 12a for each layer 41 based on the positional deviation S. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and there may be a layer 41 that does not correct the designed movement path 63. For example, the correction unit 59 does not need to correct the layer 41 for which the calculation unit 58 did not calculate the positional deviation S.
With this configuration, when the positional deviation S occurs, in the subsequent process, the designed moving path 63 of the nozzle 12a is corrected in consideration of the positional deviation S, so that the formation of the laminate 40 can be continued appropriately. This makes it possible to ensure the quality of the laminate 40 at the time of completion. This suppresses the occurrence of lost costs due to interruption or redo of the process of forming the laminate 40. Furthermore, the calculation load on the evaluation device 30 is reduced.

1,100 Laminate forming system 10 Laminate forming device 11 Base 11a Surface 11b Reference pattern 12 Discharge section 12a Nozzle 12b Top surface 12c Mark 12d Prism 20 Measuring device 21 Camera 22 Surveying instrument 30 Evaluation device 31 Processor 32 Storage device 33 Communication interface 34 Input device 35 Display device 40 Laminated product 41 Layer 51 Design data acquisition unit 52 Design data stratification processing unit 53 Layer data storage unit 54 Discharge condition acquisition unit 55 Measurement data acquisition unit 56 First identification unit 57 Second identification unit 58 Calculation unit 58a first center position calculation section 58b second center position calculation section 58c positional deviation calculation section 59 correction section 61 design data 61a coordinate points 62 layer data 63 designed movement path 63a design point 64 actual movement path 64a measurement point 65, 67 Shape 66 First center position 68 Second center position B Width D Diameter G Interval H Height S Misalignment U Discharge speed V Travel speed

Claims (10)

An evaluation device for evaluating the suitability of a discharge position when discharging material of the layer from a nozzle in a step of laminating layers on a base to form a laminate, comprising:
a first identifying unit that identifies, based on design data of the laminate, a designed movement path of the nozzle when the discharge section including the nozzle moves relative to the base;
a second identifying unit that identifies the actual movement path of the nozzle based on measurement data obtained by measuring the position of the nozzle during the execution of the step;
An evaluation device comprising: a calculation unit that calculates a positional shift of the actual ejection position with respect to the designed ejection position based on the designed movement path and the actual movement path. The evaluation device according to claim 1, wherein the measurement data is data obtained by measuring the position of the nozzle while the nozzle is discharging the material to form the layer. In the case where the discharge part discharges the material from the nozzle while moving relative to the base in a state where the discharge part is disposed on the surface of the base on which the laminate is formed, the discharge part The evaluation device according to claim 2, wherein the measurement data is obtained by simultaneously photographing a mark provided on the upper surface and a reference pattern provided on the surface of the base on which the laminate is formed. . The evaluation device according to claim 2, wherein the measurement data is positioning data obtained based on reflected light of light irradiated toward a prism arranged in the ejection section. The designed movement path is defined for each layer,
The evaluation device according to claim 1, wherein the calculation unit calculates the positional deviation for each layer. The calculation unit is
Calculating a first center position in the designed shape of the layer based on the designed shape of the layer estimated by the designed movement path and the discharge conditions of the nozzle;
Calculating a second center position in the actual shape of the layer based on the actual shape of the layer estimated based on the actual movement path and the ejection condition;
The evaluation device according to claim 5, wherein the positional deviation is calculated based on the first center position and the second center position. The evaluation device according to claim 1, further comprising a correction section that corrects the designed movement route based on the positional deviation. The evaluation device according to claim 5, further comprising a correction unit that corrects the designed movement path for each layer based on the positional deviation. The design data of the laminate includes layer data that defines the designed movement path for each layer,
The correction unit corrects the n+1th layer data based on the positional shift in the nth layer after forming the nth layer in the step, where n is a natural number of 1 or more. , The evaluation device according to claim 8. An evaluation device according to any one of claims 1 to 9,
A laminate forming system comprising: a laminate forming device having the discharge section and forming the laminate.

Images