KR102524245B1 - Light source module for additive manufacturing and apparatus for additive manufacturing comprising the same - Google Patents

Abstract

A light source module for a 3D printer and a 3D printer capable of producing large 3D outputs at high speed and low cost while maintaining high resolution are proposed. The light source module for this 3D printer includes a light source; two or more optical switching elements positioned between the light source and the optical waveguide to turn on or off the propagation of light from the light source; and two or more optical waveguides corresponding to the light source to propagate the light emitted from the light source.

Description

Light source module for 3D printer and 3D printer {Light source module for additive manufacturing and apparatus for additive manufacturing comprising the same}

The present invention relates to a light source module and a 3D printer for a 3D printer, and more particularly, to a light source module and a 3D printer capable of producing large 3D outputs at high speed and low cost while maintaining high resolution.

The basic principle of 3D printers, which are used in a wide variety of fields such as industry, life, and medicine, is to build 3D objects by stacking thin 2D layers. Photocurable 3D printing methods include the SLA (StereoLithography Appartus) method and the DLP (Digital Light Processing) method.

The SLA method is a method in which photocurable resin is cured and laminated, and a laser is projected onto a water tank containing raw materials (liquid resin) using the principle of photocuring (hardening when exposed to light). In the water bath, only the part touched by the laser is hardened and laminated to complete the sculpture.

With the development of 3D printing technology, there have been attempts to increase the output speed in various ways, but the disadvantage of taking a long time to produce the output has not been solved, and the manufacturing cost of 3D printing is high, so it is necessary to popularize 3D printing. I'm having a hard time.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a light source module for a 3D printer and a 3D printer capable of producing large 3D outputs at high speed and low cost while maintaining high resolution.

A light source module for a 3D printer according to an embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above object includes a light source; two or more optical switching elements positioned between the light source and the optical waveguide to turn on or off the propagation of light from the light source; and two or more optical waveguides corresponding to the light source to propagate the light emitted from the light source.

The light source may be a UV lamp or a UV LED.

The optical waveguide may include an optical fiber.

The optical switching device may be any one of a multi-channel optical switch, an electrochromic device, and a liquid crystal/polarizer device.

The number of optical switching devices may be the same as the number of optical waveguide cores.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a light source, two or more optical switching elements positioned between the light source and the optical waveguide to turn on or off the propagation of light from the light source, and two or more optical waveguides corresponding to the light source to allow light emitted from the light source to propagate A light source unit including a; There is provided a 3D printer comprising a; and a photocuring unit including a photocurable material cured by light emitted from the light source unit.

The light source unit may be positioned above or below the photocuring unit.

The light source unit and the photocuring unit may be movable in a vertical direction or a left-right direction.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a light source, two or more optical waveguides corresponding to the light source so that light emitted from the light source proceeds, and two or more optical switching devices located between the light source and the optical waveguide to turn on or off the propagation of light from the light source. A light source unit including two or more light source modules including elements; There is provided a 3D printer comprising a; and a photocuring unit including a photocurable material cured by light emitted from the light source unit.

Two or more light source modules may contact each other at side surfaces, and the light source modules may contact each other such that a pitch between the internal optical waveguide cores and a pitch between the outermost optical waveguide cores of other light source modules are the same.

Two or more light source modules may be alternately arranged.

According to another aspect of the present invention, preparing a multi-channel optical waveguide including two or more optical waveguides; placing two or more optical switch elements on the multi-channel optical waveguide so as to correspond to the core of each optical waveguide; There is provided a method for manufacturing a light source module for a 3D printer including; and arranging a light source to emit light to an optical switch element.

According to embodiments of the present invention, large-area outputs can be produced at high speed by a light source unit that can move up and down, left and right, and even in the case of large-area outputs, precision can be maintained uniformly over the entire area, so that the quality of the outputs can be maintained. It works.

In addition, since an LED element can be used as a light source during 3D printing, the degree of freedom in wavelength selection and light output can be freely controlled compared to other light sources, thereby broadening the application range.

1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a light source module for a 3D printer according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A'.
3 and 4 are side cross-sectional views of a light source module for a 3D printer according to another embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 5 and 6 are side cross-sectional views of a light source module for a 3D printer according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. It is a side cross-sectional view of a light source module for a 3D printer according to another embodiment of the present invention.
8 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a 3D printer according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 9 is a side cross-sectional view.
10 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a light source module for a 3D printer according to another embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 11 is a side cross-sectional view, and FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the embodiments of the present invention can be modified in various other forms, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below. Embodiments of the present invention are provided to more completely explain the present invention to those skilled in the art. In the accompanying drawings, there may be components shown to have a specific pattern or have a predetermined thickness, but this is for convenience of description or distinction, so even if they have a specific pattern and predetermined thickness, the present invention is a feature of the illustrated component It is not limited to only

1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a light source module for a 3D printer according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A'. The light source module 100 for a 3D printer according to this embodiment includes a light source 110; two or more optical switching elements 120 positioned between the light source 110 and the optical waveguide 130 to turn on or off the propagation of light from the light source 110; and two or more optical waveguides 130 corresponding to the light source 110 so that the light emitted from the light source 110 travels (FIG. 1).

The light source module 100 for a 3D printer is a module for irradiating light in a 3D printer, and includes a light source 110. The light source 110 is selected according to the wavelength dependence of the polymer to be photocured in the 3D printer, but may be, for example, a UV lamp or a UV LED.

Light emitted from the light source 110 enters the optical waveguide 130 and is emitted to the outside. The optical waveguide 130 includes two or more optical waveguides 130 corresponding to the light source 110 .

The two or more optical waveguides 130 may be multi-channel optical waveguides, which are implemented in a form in which the pitches of optical waveguide cores 131 are arranged at regular intervals (FIG. 2). The multi-channel optical waveguide may be an optical fiber bundle.

The light source module 100 for a 3D printer according to the present invention is located between a light source 110 and an optical waveguide 130, and includes two or more optical switching elements 120 for turning on or off the propagation of light from the light source 110. include

The optical switching device 120 switches light from the light source 110 to be incident to the optical waveguide core 131 or to block the incident light. Since the optical switching device 120 must match the optical waveguide core 131, the number of optical switching devices 120 may be the same as the number of optical waveguide cores 131.

The optical switching device 120 is a device capable of controlling the propagation of light to the optical waveguide 130 by blocking or diverting the traveling direction of light, such as a multi-channel optical switch, an electrochromic device, a device composed of a liquid crystal and a polarizer.

3 and 4 are side cross-sectional views of a light source module for a 3D printer according to another embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 5 and 6 are side cross-sectional views of a light source module for a 3D printer according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. It is a side cross-sectional view of a light source module for a 3D printer according to another embodiment of the present invention.

The optical switching device 120 may be any one of a multi-channel optical switch, an electrochromic device, and a liquid crystal/polarizer device. In FIG. 3, an optical switch using a mirror 121 is applied. When a voltage is applied to the optical switch, As shown in FIG. 3 , the mirror 121 may transmit light or block light as shown in FIG. 4 . The mirrors 121 should be provided in the same number as the optical waveguide core 131 .

In FIG. 5 , the light switching device 120 includes the electrochromic device 122 . If the light switching element 120 is provided as the electrochromic element 122 between the light source 110 and the optical waveguide 130, the color of the electrochromic element 122 changes according to the application of voltage as shown in FIG. 5 or 6. By being changed, it is possible to control whether light is incident to or blocked from the optical waveguide 130 . The electrochromic element 122 should be provided in the same number as the optical waveguide core 131 .

In FIG. 7 , the light switching device 120 includes a liquid crystal 123/polarizer 124 device. If the optical switching element 120 is provided between the light source 110 and the optical waveguide 130 as the liquid crystal 123/polarizer 124 element, the liquid crystal 123/polarizer 124 element changes light according to the application of voltage. It is possible to control whether light is incident to or blocked from the optical waveguide 130 by adjusting the polarization. The liquid crystal 123/polarizer 124 elements should be provided in the same number as the optical waveguide core 131 .

8 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a 3D printer according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 9 is a side cross-sectional view. The 3D printer 1000 according to the present embodiment includes a light source 110 and two or more optical switching elements 120 positioned between the light source 110 and the optical waveguide 130 to turn on or off the propagation of light from the light source 110. ) and a light source unit 100 including two or more optical waveguides 130 corresponding to the light source 110 so that the light emitted from the light source 110 travels; and a photo-curing unit 200 including a photo-curing material 210 that is cured by light emitted from the light source unit 100 . With respect to the light source unit 100, descriptions of the same contents as those described for the light source module 100 for a 3D printer with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7 will be omitted.

The photocuring unit 200 includes a container 220 filled with a photocurable material 210 cured by light traveling through the optical waveguide 130 of the light source unit 100 and a stage capable of moving the container 220 ( 230). The photocurable material 210 may include a polymer resin resulting from light irradiation. In addition to the polymer resin, the photocurable material 210 may include a conductive or non-conductive powder such as metal powder, sand, or ceramic.

In FIG. 8 , the light source unit 100 is illustrated as being positioned above the light curing unit 200 , but the light source unit 100 may be located below the light curing unit 200 . The light source unit 100 and the photocuring unit 200 are movable in a vertical direction or a left-right direction.

The container 220 of the light source unit 100 and the photocuring unit 200 is movable by movement of an axis (not shown). The light source unit 100 turns on/off the light traveling to the optical waveguide 130 by the optical switching device 120 according to a desired pattern while moving left and right (FIG. 10) to form a layer of a desired pattern on the photocurable material 210. form When the pattern of one layer is completed, one layer of the photocurable material 210 is formed, and the light source unit 100 moves left and right again to form a layer of a desired pattern. An operation in which the pattern layers are stacked is repeatedly performed to obtain a 3D output object.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a light source, two or more optical waveguides corresponding to the light source so that light emitted from the light source proceeds, and two or more optical switching devices located between the light source and the optical waveguide to turn on or off the propagation of light from the light source. A light source unit including two or more light source modules including elements; There is provided a 3D printer comprising a; and a photocuring unit including a photocurable material cured by light emitted from the light source unit.

The 3D printer of this embodiment includes two or more light source modules. 10 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a light source module for a 3D printer according to another embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 11 is a side cross-sectional view, and FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view.

Referring to FIG. 10 , the first light source module 101 and the second light source module 102 contact each other from side surfaces. When both light source modules are in contact, the pitch between the outermost optical waveguide cores of the first light source module 101 and the second light source module 102 is the pitch between the optical waveguide cores inside the first light source module 101 or At least one of the pitches between optical waveguide cores inside the second light source module 102 may be brought into contact with each other. The pitch between the optical waveguide cores of the first light source module 101 and the second light source module 102 in the red circle may contact each other such that the pitch between the optical waveguide cores inside each light source module is the same.

The larger the size of the light source module, the higher the 3D printer can perform high-speed lamination. Therefore, it is desirable to match the pitches of optical waveguides in order to maintain high resolution while enlarging the size of the light source module. In order to match the pitch of the optical waveguides, the first light source module 101 and the second light source module 102 may be disposed not in parallel (FIG. 11). Referring to FIG. 12, the first light source module 101, the second light source module 102, the third light source module 103, the fourth light source module 104, and the optical waveguide 130 have a zigzag shape, that is, They may be arranged to stagger each other.

According to another aspect of the present invention, preparing a multi-channel optical waveguide including two or more optical waveguides; placing two or more optical switch elements on the multi-channel optical waveguide so as to correspond to the core of each optical waveguide; There is provided a method for manufacturing a light source module for a 3D printer including; and arranging a light source to emit light to an optical switch element.

In the above-described embodiments, the light source module is implemented in a one-dimensional array form, but may be implemented in a two-dimensional array form. In this case, a 3D output can be produced only by moving up and down without moving left and right. When the optical waveguide has the form of a two-dimensional array, the optical switch device must also be configured in the form of a two-dimensional array.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, those skilled in the art can add, change, delete, or add components within the scope not departing from the spirit of the present invention described in the claims. The present invention can be variously modified and changed by the like, and this will also be said to be included within the scope of the present invention.

100: light source module for 3D printer
110: light source
120: light switching element
130: optical waveguide
131: optical waveguide core
200: light curing unit
210: photocurable material
220: Courage
230: stage

Claims (12)

light source;
two or more optical switching elements positioned between the light source and the optical waveguide and capable of turning on or off the propagation of light from the light source to allow light from the light source to enter the core of the optical waveguide or to block the incidence of light; and
A light source module for a 3D printer including two or more optical waveguides corresponding to the light source so that the light emitted from the light source proceeds,
A light source module for a 3D printer, characterized in that the number of optical switching elements is equal to the number of optical waveguide cores. The method of claim 1,
A light source module for a 3D printer, characterized in that the light source is a UV lamp or a UV LED. The method of claim 1,
A light source module for a 3D printer, characterized in that the optical waveguide includes an optical fiber. The method of claim 1,
The optical switching device is a light source module for a 3D printer, characterized in that any one of a multi-channel optical switch, an electrochromic device and a liquid crystal / polarizer device. delete A light source, two or more optical switching elements positioned between the light source and the optical waveguide to turn on or off the propagation of light from the light source to allow the light from the light source to enter the core of the optical waveguide or to block the incidence of light, and the light emitted from the light source a light source unit including two or more optical waveguides corresponding to the light source so as to propagate; and
A 3D printer comprising a; photocuring unit including a photocurable material cured by light emitted from the light source unit,
3D printer, characterized in that the number of optical switching elements is equal to the number of optical waveguide cores. The method of claim 6,
3D printer, characterized in that the light source unit is located above or below the photocuring unit. The method of claim 6,
A 3D printer, characterized in that the light source unit and the light curing unit are movable in the vertical direction or the left and right directions. A light source module including a light source and two or more optical switching elements positioned between the light source and the optical waveguide to turn on or off the propagation of light from the light source to allow light from the light source to enter the core of the optical waveguide or to block the incidence of light. A light source unit comprising the above; and
A 3D printer comprising a; photocuring unit including a photocurable material cured by light emitted from the light source unit,
3D printer, characterized in that the number of optical switching elements is equal to the number of optical waveguide cores. The method of claim 9,
Two or more light source modules are in contact with each other from the side,
The light source module is a 3D printer, characterized in that in contact with each other so that the pitch between the inner optical waveguide core and the outermost optical waveguide core of the other light source module are the same. The method of claim 9,
Two or more light source modules are 3D printers, characterized in that arranged alternately. preparing a multi-channel optical waveguide including two or more optical waveguides;
In the multi-channel optical waveguide, it is located between the light source and the optical waveguide to correspond to the core of each optical waveguide and turns on or off the propagation of light from the light source to make the light from the light source incident to the optical waveguide core or block the incident light. arranging two or more optical switch elements that can be positioned in the same number as the number of cores of the optical waveguide; and
A method for manufacturing a light source module for a 3D printer comprising the steps of arranging a light source to emit light to an optical switch device.

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