KR102205147B1 - 3d printer of surface print type - Google Patents

Abstract

A surface printing type 3D printer is disclosed. According to an embodiment, the 3D printer includes a container for receiving a print material, a heating unit that heats a solid print material to transform it into a liquid state, and discharge holes located at the top of the container for discharging the liquid print material. And a perforated plate including opening/closing elements for opening and closing the discharge holes, and a pressurizing portion for applying pressure to the liquid print material contained in the container so that the liquid print material is discharged to the upper portion of the perforated plate.

Description

Surface print type 3D printer{3D PRINTER OF SURFACE PRINT TYPE}

The following embodiments relate to a surface print type 3D printer.

A 3D printer can create three-dimensional objects based on input drawings, just as a 2D printer prints letters or pictures. A 2D printer generates output by moving in two dimensions (eg, x-axis, y-axis), but a 3D printer creates a three-dimensional output based on a 3D drawing by adding motion of one axis (eg, z-axis) to this. Existing 3D printers can be classified into a stacking type (additional or rapid prototyping method) and a cutting type (computer numerical control sculpting method) that cuts out large chunks according to the method of creating a three-dimensional shape. The lamination type is a method of creating a three-dimensional shape by stacking powder (powder such as gypsum or nylon), plastic liquid, or plastic thread in layers rather than paper. The thinner the layer, the more precise shape can be obtained and the coloring can be carried out simultaneously. The cutting type is a method of creating a three-dimensional shape by carving out a large mass like carving. The cutting type has the advantage of being more precise than the stacked type, but it consumes a lot of material, and it is difficult to produce a shape with a hollow like a cup, and a separate coloring work is required.

The following examples provide a 3D printer that allows free selection of print materials, the size of printouts is not limited by the size of the printer, enables rapid printout, and reuses existing printouts for new printouts. have.

According to an embodiment, a 3D printer includes a container for accommodating a printing material; A heating unit that heats the print material in a solid state to transform it into a liquid state; A perforated plate positioned on the top of the container and including discharge holes for discharging the print material in a liquid state and opening/closing elements for opening and closing the discharge holes; And a pressing part for applying pressure to the liquid state of the print material contained in the container so that the liquid state of the print material is discharged to the upper portion of the perforated plate through the discharge holes.

The 3D printer may further include a controller configured to determine opening/closing timing of each of the opening/closing elements based on a 3D model corresponding to the output, and controlling the opening/closing elements based on the opening/closing timing. The 3D printer may further include a convection promoting unit for promoting convection in the container of the print material in a liquid state.

The print material in the liquid state may be cured on the top of the perforated plate to form an output, and the output may be farther away from the upper portion of the perforated plate compared to a lower portion adjacent to the upper portion of the perforated plate and the lower portion. The print material may include an upper part, and the print material forming the upper part may be discharged from the perforated plate in time compared to the print material forming the lower part.

The pressing unit may adjust an intensity of pressure applied to the liquid state print material based on the weight of the liquid state print material discharged to the upper portion of the perforated plate.

According to another embodiment, a 3D printer includes a first container for accommodating a first printing material; A second container for accommodating a second print material that is combined with the first print material and transformed into a solid-state output; A perforated plate disposed between the first container and the second container and including discharge holes for discharging the first print material and opening/closing elements for opening and closing the discharge holes; And a pressing unit for applying pressure to the first print material contained in the first container so that the first print material is discharged to the second container through the discharge holes.

According to the examples below, a 3D printer is provided that allows free selection of print materials, the size of printouts is not limited by the size of the printer, enables rapid printout, and reuses existing printouts for new printouts. do.

1 is a view showing a surface printing type 3D printer according to an embodiment.
Figure 2 is a view showing the operation of the switching element according to an embodiment.
3 is a view showing the operation of a pressing unit according to an embodiment.
4 is a flowchart illustrating a 3D printing operation according to an exemplary embodiment.
5 is a view showing a 3D model and a 3D slicing operation according to an embodiment.
6 is a view showing an output according to an output operation according to an embodiment.
7 is a view showing a surface printing type 3D printer according to another embodiment.

Specific structural or functional descriptions of the embodiments according to the concept of the present invention disclosed in this specification are exemplified only for the purpose of describing the embodiments according to the concept of the present invention, and embodiments according to the concept of the present invention They may be implemented in various forms and are not limited to the embodiments described herein.

Since the embodiments according to the concept of the present invention can apply various changes and have various forms, the embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail herein. However, this is not intended to limit the embodiments according to the concept of the present invention to specific disclosed forms, and includes changes, equivalents, or substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Terms such as first or second may be used to describe various elements, but the elements should not be limited by the terms. The above terms are only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from other components, for example, without departing from the scope of rights according to the concept of the present invention, the first component may be named as the second component, Similarly, the second component may also be referred to as a first component.

When a component is referred to as being “connected” or “connected” to another component, it is understood that it may be directly connected or connected to the other component, but other components may exist in the middle. Should be. On the other hand, when a component is referred to as being “directly connected” or “directly connected” to another component, it should be understood that there is no other component in the middle. Expressions that describe the relationship between components, for example, “between” and “just between” or “directly adjacent to” should be interpreted as well.

The terms used in the present specification are only used to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In the present specification, terms such as "comprise" or "have" are intended to designate that the specified features, numbers, steps, actions, components, parts, or combinations thereof exist, but one or more other features or numbers, It is to be understood that the presence or addition of steps, actions, components, parts, or combinations thereof, does not preclude the possibility of preliminary exclusion.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs. Terms as defined in a commonly used dictionary should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the meaning in the context of the related technology, and should not be interpreted as an ideal or excessively formal meaning unless explicitly defined in this specification. Does not.

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the scope of the patent application is not limited or limited by these embodiments. The same reference numerals in each drawing indicate the same members.

1 is a view showing a surface printing type 3D printer according to an embodiment. Referring to FIG. 1, the 3D printer 100 may include a container 110, a heating unit 120, a perforated plate 130, a pressurizing unit 140, and a controller 150.

The container 110 may contain the printing material 101. The printing material 101 may exist in a solid state at room temperature, and may exist in a liquid state at a temperature of a certain level (eg, boiling point or higher). When the solid print material 101 is contained in the container 110, the heating unit 120 may heat the solid print material 101 in the container 110 to transform it into a liquid state. The heating unit 120 may know the melting point of the printing material 101 in advance, and may heat the printing material 101 to a melting point or higher. The heating unit 120 may be located within the container 110, surrounding the inner wall of the container 110, or located at the upper end of the pressing unit 140 (ie, the lower end of the bath apparatus 110).

For example, the printing material 101 may include a material such as metal, plastic, glass, and the like, and the solid state may include a powder state such as a powder, and a solid mass state such as a block. However, the type of the printing material 101 or the type of the solid state is only an example and is not necessarily limited thereto.

Since the solid print material 101 can be transformed into a liquid state by being contained in the container 110, various print materials that can be melted can be used. In addition, since the existing output can be melted in the container 110 and used to output a new output, the existing output can be reused for a new output.

The convection promoting unit 150 may promote convection in the container 110 of the liquid printing material 101 in order to transform the solid print material 101 into a uniform liquid state. For example, the convection promoting unit 150 may include at least one blade, and may promote convection of the liquid print material 101 by rotating at least one blade. Alternatively, the convection promoting unit 150 may generate ultrasonic waves in the liquid print material 101 to promote convection of the liquid print material 101. The latter method can be applied to small 3D printers.

The perforated plate 130 may include discharge holes 131 for discharging the liquid print material 101 and opening/closing elements 132 for opening and closing the discharge holes 131. The perforated plate 130 may be located above the container 110. The spacing of the discharge holes 131, the shape of the holes, and the arrangement may be variously determined, and the resolution of the output 102 may be determined according to the spacing of the discharge holes 131.

The pressurizing unit 140 applies pressure to the liquid print material 101 contained in the container 110 so that the liquid print material 101 is discharged to the upper portion of the perforated plate 130 through the discharge holes 131. Can be added.

The controller 150 controls the container 110, the heating unit 120, the perforated plate 130, the pressurizing unit 140, and the convection promoting unit 150 to form the output 102 based on the 3D model. I can. For example, the controller 150 may determine the opening/closing timing of each of the opening/closing elements 210 based on a 3D model corresponding to the output, and controlling the opening/closing elements 210 based on the opening/closing timing. The controller 150 may identify the opening and closing elements 210 based on coordinates, and may transmit an opening and closing command to each of the opening and closing elements 210 based on the coordinates. When the liquid print material 101 is exposed to the upper portion of the perforated plate 130 and cured at the upper portion of the perforated plate 130 and transformed into a solid state, the output 102 may be formed on the upper portion of the perforated plate 130. have.

Since the 3D printer 100 performs a printing operation in units of planes through the surface of the perforated plate 130, a printing operation may be performed more quickly than a method of performing a printing operation in units of points using a nozzle. Also, in the case of using a nozzle, the size of the output is limited by the movement range of the nozzle. For example, the height of the output may be limited to the maximum height at which the nozzle can move. However, in the case of the 3D printing 700, since the print material 101 is pushed up to generate the output 102, there is no limit to the height of the output 102 that can be generated.

2 is a view showing the operation of the switching element according to an embodiment. Referring to FIG. 2, the opening/closing element 210 may open or close the discharge hole 220 according to a control signal from the controller 230. For example, the opening/closing element 210 may be a piezoelectric element or a valve, and may open/close the discharge hole 220 by changing a shape according to a control signal provided by the controller 230. The control signal may include an open command and a close command.

Although not shown in the drawing, a temperature sensor for sensing the temperature of the print material flowing into the discharge hole 220 may be disposed. For example, a temperature sensor may be disposed around the discharge hole 220. The controller 230 may open the discharge hole 220 when it is confirmed that the print material is sufficiently heated to be liquefied evenly.

When the opening/closing element 210 is a piezoelectric element, the opening/closing element 210 may open/close the discharge hole 220 by expanding or contracting the volume according to the voltage level of the control signal. When the opening/closing element 220 is a valve, the discharge hole 220 may be opened and closed by rotating according to a control signal.

When the discharge hole 220 is opened, the liquid print element can be discharged through the discharge hole 220, and when the discharge hole 220 is closed, the liquid print element cannot pass through the discharge hole 220. . Accordingly, the controller 230 may open some of the discharge holes and close some of the discharge holes based on the 3D model corresponding to the output to form the output.

3 is a view showing the operation of the pressing unit according to an embodiment. Referring to FIG. 3, the pressing unit 320 may move up and down under the control of the controller 330. As the pressurization part 320 rises, pressure may be applied to the liquid print material in the container 310. In this case, the liquid print material may be discharged to the outside (eg, the upper part of the perforated plate) through the discharge hole in the open state.

The vertical movement is only an example, and the pressing operation is not necessarily limited thereto. The pressing unit 320 may apply pressure to the liquid print material through various known methods.

In order to form the slice to be output currently, it is necessary to push out the liquid print material with a pressure corresponding to the slice of the pressing unit 320. A slice represents a unit representing the thickness at which a printout is formed, and a 3D printer can form a printout by discharging the print material in slices.

The controller 330 may adjust the intensity of the pressure applied to the liquid print material based on the weight of the liquid print material (ie, at least a portion of the previously formed print material) discharged to the upper portion of the perforated plate. For example, if at least a portion of the previously formed printout applies pressure in the direction of the pressing part 320 with the weight of A(g), it is necessary to determine the pressure to be applied to the print material by considering the weight of this A(g). to be.

The controller 330 may directly measure the weight of the discharged print material, or may estimate the weight of the discharged print material in consideration of the volume of the discharged print material. For example, the controller 330 may know the density of the print material, and may calculate the weight of the discharged print material based on the density of the print material and the volume of the discharged print material.

Additionally, the controller 330 may adjust the intensity of pressure applied to the liquid print material based on the number of discharge holes to be opened. The controller 330 may set the intensity of the pressure applied to the print material as the number of discharge holes to be opened increases.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a 3D printing operation according to an exemplary embodiment. 4, a 3D model is provided in step 410, a slice model is generated based on slicing on the 3D model in step 420, and an output operation is performed based on the slice model in step 430 do.

The 3D model may be existing on the market or may be created by a user. Users can create 3D models using various tools. The slicing operation may be performed through a separate slicing program. The slicing program may perform a slice model by performing a slicing operation on the 3D model. A slice represents a unit in which an output is formed (ie, an output operation is performed) according to an embodiment of the present invention. In step 430, the 3D printer may output the print material in slice units to form an output.

5 is a diagram illustrating a 3D model and a 3D slicing operation according to an exemplary embodiment. Referring to FIG. 5, a slice model 520 may be generated through a slicing operation on the 3D model 510. The 3D printer may perform an output operation in units of slices based on the slice model 520.

5 illustrates a state in which the perforated plate 530 is opened and closed for each time (T0 to T4) corresponding to the slices of the slice model 520. For example, discharge holes in the region 531 of the perforated plate 530 may be opened to output the slice 521 at time T0. Such operations may be repeated at each time T0 to T4 to form an output, and the output according to the output operation at each time T0 to T4 is shown in FIG. 6.

6 is a diagram showing an output according to an output operation according to an exemplary embodiment. Referring to FIG. 6, the final output 600 includes slices 610 to 640.

The output 600 may be divided into a lower portion adjacent to the upper portion of the perforated plate and an upper portion farther away from the upper portion of the perforated plate compared to a lower portion and a lower portion thereof. For example, if the slice 610 is an upper portion, the slices 620 to 640 may correspond to a lower portion, respectively. In this case, the print material forming the upper portion may be discharged in time from the perforated plate compared to the print material forming the lower portion.

That is, since the 3D printer according to the embodiment forms the output 600 while pushing the print material as a surface printing type, the slice 610 formed at time T0 is temporally compared to the slice 640 formed at time T4. It can be formed first.

7 is a diagram showing a 3D printer of a surface printing type according to another embodiment. Referring to FIG. 7, the 3D printer 700 may include a first container 711, a second container 712, a perforated plate 720, and a pressing part 730.

The first container 711 may contain the first print material 701, and the second container 712 may contain the second print material 702. The first printing material 701 and the second printing material 701 may exist in a liquid state inside the first container 711 and the second container 712, respectively. For example, the first container 711 and the second container 712 may each include the heating unit 120 and the convection promoting unit 150 of FIG. 1, and the first printing material 701 and the second The printing material 701 may be transformed from a solid state to a liquid state inside the first container 711 and the second container 712, respectively.

The second print material 702 may be combined with the first print material 701 and transformed into a solid-state output 703. For example, when the first print material 701 and the second print material 702 are combined, an output 703 corresponding to a solid polymer may be formed.

A perforated plate 720 may be positioned between the first container 711 and the second container 712. The perforated plate 720 may include discharge holes 721 for discharging the first print material 701 and opening/closing elements 722 for opening and closing the discharge holes 721. The pressurization unit 730 may apply pressure to the first print material 701 contained in the first container 711, and accordingly, the first print material 701 may pass through the discharge holes 721 to the second container 712. ) Can be discharged. In addition, with respect to the perforated plate 720 and the pressing portion 730, the description of the perforated plate 130 of FIG. 1 may be applied.

When the first print material 701 is discharged to the second container 712 through the discharge holes 721, harmony between the first print material 701 and the second print material 702 in the second container 712 A reaction may occur, and an output 703 corresponding to a polymer in a solid state may be formed. The shape of the output 703 may be determined based on the opening/closing timing of the opening/closing elements 722. In addition, at least some of the items described with respect to the 3D printer 100 of FIG. 1 may be applied to the 3D printer 700.

The apparatus described above may be implemented as a hardware component, a software component, and/or a combination of a hardware component and a software component. For example, the devices and components described in the embodiments are, for example, a processor, a controller, an Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU), a digital signal processor, a microcomputer, a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). , PLU (Programmable Logic Unit), a microprocessor, or any other device capable of executing and responding to instructions, it may be implemented using one or more general purpose computers or special purpose computers. The processing device may execute an operating system (OS) and one or more software applications executed on the operating system. In addition, the processing device may access, store, manipulate, process, and generate data in response to the execution of software. For the convenience of understanding, although it is sometimes described that one processing device is used, one of ordinary skill in the art, the processing device is a plurality of processing elements and/or a plurality of types of processing elements. It can be seen that it may include. For example, the processing device may include a plurality of processors or one processor and one controller. In addition, other processing configurations are possible, such as a parallel processor.

The software may include a computer program, code, instructions, or a combination of one or more of these, configuring the processing unit to behave as desired or processed independently or collectively. You can command the device. Software and/or data may be interpreted by a processing device or to provide instructions or data to a processing device, of any type of machine, component, physical device, virtual equipment, computer storage medium or device. , Or may be permanently or temporarily embodyed in a transmitted signal wave. The software may be distributed over networked computer systems and stored or executed in a distributed manner. Software and data may be stored on one or more computer-readable recording media.

The method according to the embodiment may be implemented in the form of program instructions that can be executed through various computer means and recorded in a computer-readable medium. The computer-readable medium may include program instructions, data files, data structures, and the like alone or in combination. The program instructions recorded on the medium may be specially designed and configured for the embodiment, or may be known and usable to those skilled in computer software. Examples of computer-readable recording media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tapes, optical media such as CD-ROMs and DVDs, and magnetic media such as floptical disks. -A hardware device specially configured to store and execute program instructions such as magneto-optical media, and ROM, RAM, flash memory, and the like. Examples of program instructions include not only machine language codes such as those produced by a compiler but also high-level language codes that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like. The hardware device described above may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform the operation of the embodiment, and vice versa.

As described above, although the embodiments have been described by the limited embodiments and drawings, various modifications and variations are possible from the above description by those of ordinary skill in the art. For example, the described techniques are performed in a different order from the described method, and/or components such as a system, structure, device, circuit, etc. described are combined or combined in a form different from the described method, or other components Alternatively, even if substituted or substituted by an equivalent, an appropriate result can be achieved.

Therefore, other implementations, other embodiments, and claims and equivalents fall within the scope of the claims to be described later.

Claims (5)

A first container containing a first print material;
A second container containing a second print material;
A perforated plate disposed between the first container and the second container and including discharge holes for discharging the first print material and opening/closing elements for opening and closing the discharge holes; And
A pressing unit for applying pressure to the first print material contained in the first container so that the first print material is discharged to the second container through the discharge holes; And
Controller for controlling the opening and closing of the opening and closing elements
Including,
The first print material is present in a liquid state in the first container, enters the second container through the discharge holes, and is combined with the second print material in the second container,
A solid state output is formed in a second container according to the harmony of the first printing material and the second printing material,
The shape of the output is determined based on which of the discharge holes the liquid state of the first print material is discharged according to the opening/closing timing of the opening and closing elements,
3D printer. The method of claim 1,
The controller is
Determining an opening/closing timing of each of the opening/closing elements based on a 3D model corresponding to the output, and controlling the opening/closing elements based on the opening/closing timing,
Further comprising a, 3D printer. The method of claim 1,
A convection promoting unit for promoting convection of the liquid state of the first printing material in the first container
Further comprising a, 3D printer. The method of claim 1,
The output includes a lower portion adjacent to the upper portion of the perforated plate and an upper portion farther from the upper portion of the perforated plate compared to the lower portion,
The first print material forming the upper part is discharged in time from the perforated plate compared to the first print material forming the lower part,
3D printer. The method of claim 1,
The pressing part
Adjusting the strength of the pressure applied to the liquid state of the first printing material based on the amount of the liquid state of the first printing material discharged to the upper portion of the perforated plate,
3D printer.

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