KR20170132410A - Three dimensional printer material with replacable nozzles - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a three dimensional printer with replaceable nozzles to enable composite printing with different materials such as texture, colors, the melting temperature, etc. by having a plurality of nozzle kits. The three dimensional printer with replaceable nozzles comprises: a plurality of nozzle structures including nozzles melting and extruding raw materials, and a raw material supply unit supplying the raw materials to the nozzles and stopping supply; a transfer unit having a coupling structure coupled with the plurality of nozzle structures and transferring a nozzle structure coupled with one nozzle structure among the plurality of nozzle structures to an x-axis, a y-axis and a z-axis; a movable holding unit holding the plurality of nozzle structures and separating the coupled nozzle structure from the transfer unit; and a control unit controlling operation of the plurality of nozzle structures, the transfer unit and the movable holding unit.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a nozzle-

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a nozzle replacement type three-dimensional printer, and more particularly, to a nozzle replacement type three-dimensional printer having a plurality of nozzle kits and capable of performing compound output with different materials, will be.

Techniques for forming a three-dimensional structure include a method in which a thermoplastic plastic is extruded and laminated, a laser beam is projected in a water tank (Vat) containing a liquid photocurable resin, and a molding in a water tank is made into a layer Each time the water tank is lowered by a layer thickness and the laser is injected again to form a three-dimensional structure, the resin layer is solidified while projecting light of a shape to be molded in a liquid photo-curing resin (resin to be cured upon receiving light) A method of forming a structure, a method of forming a three-dimensional structure by extruding a liquid color ink and a curing material (binder) from a nozzle of a printer head into a powder raw material using an ink jet printer principle. Among them, a method of extruding and laminating thermoplastic plastics is to laminate one identical liquefying raw material (plastic, wax, metal, etc.) in a designated range to complete a three-dimensional structure.

In this technique called FFF (Fused Filament Fabrication) or FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling), raw materials such as filaments are supplied to the nozzles by the rotation of the rollers, and the raw materials are melted and extruded by high heat.

However, in the case of a conventional three-dimensional printer, since one or a plurality of nozzles are fixedly installed on the nozzle, the composite output using various kinds of raw materials having different materials, colors, and melting temperatures is difficult.

Korean Patent Publication No. 10-1589662

The present invention has been proposed in order to solve the above-mentioned problems. It is an object of the present invention to provide a nozzle for extruding a raw material in the form of a kit for each kind of raw material, and to automatically attach and detach the nozzle kit to the feeding means, Dimensional printer capable of performing compound output using a raw material of a nozzle.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a nozzle structure including: a nozzle for melting and extruding a raw material; and a raw material supply unit for supplying and stopping the raw material to the nozzle; A transfer unit for moving the nozzle structure coupled to one of the plurality of nozzle structures and coupled to the plurality of nozzle structures in the x-axis, the y-axis, and the z-axis; A movable mounting portion for receiving the plurality of nozzle structures and separating the combined nozzle structure from the transfer portion; And a control unit for controlling driving of the plurality of nozzle structures, the transfer unit, and the movable mount.

Here, the controller moves the conveying unit in the x-axis and the y-axis to contact one of the plurality of nozzle structures to couple the one of the plurality of nozzle structures to the coupling structure, and moves the movable mounting unit in the z- Thereby separating one of the plurality of nozzle structures from the coupling structure.

Further, the coupling structure may be a magnetic coupling structure.

The plurality of nozzle structures may further include an identification unit for generating an identification signal for identifying each of the plurality of nozzle structures, wherein the control unit receives the identification signal from the identification unit and identifies the combined nozzle structure .

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing apparatus comprising: a plurality of nozzle structures; a plurality of guide holes for providing respective paths of filaments supplied to the plurality of nozzle structures;

Meanwhile, the path unit may be moved horizontally under the control of the control unit.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, including: a plurality of nozzles for melting and extruding a raw material; A conveying unit that has a coupling structure to be coupled with the plurality of nozzles, and moves the nozzles coupled to one of the plurality of nozzles in the x-axis, the y-axis, and the z-axis; A movable mounting part for mounting the plurality of nozzles and separating the combined nozzles from the conveying part; A plurality of raw material supply portions for supplying and stopping the raw material to the plurality of nozzles; And a control unit for controlling driving of the plurality of nozzles, the plurality of feedstock supply units, the feeding unit, and the movable mounting unit.

Embodiments of the disclosed technique may have effects that include the following advantages. It should be understood, however, that the scope of the disclosed technology is not to be construed as limited thereby, since the embodiments of the disclosed technology are not meant to include all such embodiments.

The nozzle-interchangeable three-dimensional printer according to the present invention is characterized in that the nozzles among the components for performing the extrusion function are kits for each kind of the raw materials and the nozzle kits are automatically attached to and detached from the feeding means according to the kind of the desired raw materials, Without the need for replacement, it is possible to produce multiple outputs using various types of raw materials.

1 is a block diagram showing a nozzle-interchangeable three-dimensional printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2A to 2C are views illustrating the structure of a nozzle-interchangeable three-dimensional printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIGS. 3A and 3B are views showing a structure of a nozzle of a nozzle-interchangeable three-dimensional printer according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention and a coupling structure between the transfer parts. FIG.
4A and 4B are views showing a detailed structure of a nozzle structure of a nozzle-interchangeable three-dimensional printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5A and 5B are views showing an embodiment of a material supply unit of a nozzle-interchangeable three-dimensional printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a view for explaining a path portion of a nozzle-interchangeable three-dimensional printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The description of the disclosed technique is merely an example for structural or functional explanation and the scope of the disclosed technology should not be construed as being limited by the embodiments described in the text. That is, the embodiments are to be construed as being variously embodied and having various forms, so that the scope of the disclosed technology should be understood to include equivalents capable of realizing technical ideas.

Meanwhile, the meaning of the terms described in the present application should be understood as follows.

The terms " first, " " second, " and the like are used to distinguish one element from another, and the scope of the right should not be limited by these terms. For example, the first component may be referred to as a second component, and similarly, the second component may also be referred to as a first component.

It is to be understood that when an element is referred to as being "connected" to another element, it may be directly connected to the other element, but there may be other elements in between. On the other hand, when an element is referred to as being "directly connected" to another element, it should be understood that there are no other elements in between. On the other hand, other expressions that describe the relationship between components, such as "between" and "between" or "neighboring to" and "directly adjacent to" should be interpreted as well.

It is to be understood that the singular " include " or "have" are to be construed as including the stated feature, number, step, operation, It is to be understood that the combination is intended to specify that it is present and not to preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts or combinations thereof.

Each step may take place differently from the stated order unless explicitly stated in a specific order in the context. That is, each step may occur in the same order as described, may be performed substantially concurrently, or may be performed in reverse order.

All terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the disclosed technology belongs, unless otherwise defined. Terms defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted to be consistent with meaning in the context of the relevant art and can not be construed as having ideal or overly formal meaning unless expressly defined in the present application.

FIG. 1 is a view showing a nozzle-interchangeable three-dimensional printer according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 (a) is a bird's-eye view illustrating the structure of a nozzle-interchangeable three-dimensional printer according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2C is a vertical cross-sectional view illustrating the structure of a nozzle-interchangeable three-dimensional printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. Referring to FIG. 2C, the nozzle-interchangeable three-dimensional printer includes a nozzle structure 100, a transfer unit 200, a movable mounting unit 300, and a control unit 400.

The plurality of nozzle structures 100 are supplied with the raw material by control to the control unit 400, and melt the supplied raw materials to produce a molding on the molding plate 500. It is preferable to use a thermoplastic resin as the raw material, and it is preferable that the thermoplastic resin is provided in the form of filaments such as PLA, ABS, HDPE (High-Density PolyEthylene), Nylon, and Laywood But is not limited thereto. In addition, the shape of the raw material may be a filament, and if the generated output is maintained at a high temperature, deformation may occur in the output, so that the output is cooled by using a cooling fan (not shown) near the nozzle structure 100 desirable. Referring to FIG. 2A, the plurality of nozzle structures 100 may be eight first to eighth nozzle structures 101 to 108, but is not limited thereto.

The transfer unit 200 has a coupling structure to be coupled with a plurality of nozzle structures 100 and controls the control unit 400 to control the nozzle structure of one of the plurality of nozzle structures 100, As shown, the nozzle structure 101 coupled with the first nozzle structure 101 can be moved along the x, y, and z axes. Here, the transfer unit 300 may include a vertical transfer unit for moving the plurality of nozzle structures 100 up and down, and a horizontal transfer unit for moving the plurality of nozzle structures 100 along the x-axis and the y-axis. 2A, the conveying unit 300 may include a conveying motor and a conveyance belt 301 for converting the rotational motion of the conveying motor into a linear motion. In addition, the conveying unit 300 may include a conveying motor and a lead screw screw, or a voice coil motor or a cylinder capable of transporting a plurality of nozzle structures 100 may be used.

The movable mounting part 300 serves to mount the plurality of nozzle structures 100 and separate the nozzle structure 100 which is controlled by the control part 400 from the conveying part 200. 2A, the movable mounting part 300 includes a first movable mounting part (not shown) disposed on one side of the upper side of the molding plate 500 to mount the first to fourth nozzle structures 101 to 104 And a second movable mounting portion 302 disposed on the other lateral side of the molding plate 500 to receive the fifth to eighth nozzle structures 105 to 108. However, the present invention is not limited thereto.

The control unit 400 controls the plurality of nozzle structures 100, the transfer unit 200, and the movable mount unit 300. That is, the controller 400 moves the transfer unit 200 along the x-axis and the y-axis, as shown in FIG. 2B and FIG. 2C, The first nozzle structure 101 is brought into contact with the first nozzle structure 101 and the first nozzle structure 101 is moved to move the movable mount 300 in the z axis as shown in the path B as shown in Fig. So as to separate the first nozzle structure 101 from the coupling structure. In other words, the control unit 400 first controls the transfer unit 200 to move the first nozzle structure 101 on the movable mount 300 along the path A shown in Fig. 2C to a position where the first nozzle structure 101 can be mounted The first movable mounting portion 301 is lifted up in the vertical direction B to separate the first nozzle structure 101 and the transporting portion 200 and then the first movable mounting portion 301 is moved in the vertical direction B, So that the first nozzle structure 101 can be engaged with the feed unit 200 again.

In addition, the control unit 400 controls the degree of movement of the transfer unit 300 according to a command in the horizontal slicing file with respect to the three-dimensional molding. For example, the control unit 400 displays a graphic file stored in the STL (STEREO LITHOGRAPHIC) format on a coordinate system of a horizontal section for forming a three-dimensional sculpture through a sliced G code or the like, It is possible to generate a control signal for specifying the degree of movement of one of the structures 100, for example, the conveying unit 300 advancing the first nozzle structure 101 as shown in FIG. 2A. That is, the control unit 400 may distribute the work of the horizontal transfer unit and the vertical transfer unit from data such as G code, and may generate a control signal for controlling the horizontal transfer unit and the vertical transfer unit in accordance with the distributed work. Here, the control unit 400 may include an X-axis encoding unit and a Y-axis encoding unit to drive the horizontal transfer unit.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are views showing a coupling structure between a first nozzle structure 101 and a transfer unit 200 of a nozzle-interchangeable three-dimensional printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. The first nozzle structure 101, (200a) in which a coupling structure is formed. 3A and 3B illustrate the first nozzle structure 101 of the plurality of nozzle structures 100 as an example, the same structure may be applied to the remaining second to eighth nozzle structures 102 to 108 .

3A and 3B, a plurality of mounting magnets 110 are formed on one side surface 101a of the first nozzle structure 101 and a plurality of mounting magnets 110 A plurality of attachment magnets 210 may be formed at positions corresponding to the first nozzle structure 101 and the transfer unit 200 by magnetic force. Although the magnets having different poles may be respectively attached to the first nozzle structure 101 and the transfer unit 200 in the magnetic coupling structure as described above, the first nozzle structure 101 and the transfer unit 200 One may attach a magnet and the other may be attached with a metal that can be coupled by a magnetic force.

The identification unit 120 is formed on one side of the plurality of nozzle structures 100 and the corresponding nozzle structure of the plurality of nozzle structures 100 in accordance with the operation sequence controlled by the control unit 400, For example, the first nozzle structure 101 can be attached and operated.

The control unit 400 may receive an identification signal output from the identification unit 120 through the connector 220 formed on one side 200a of the transfer unit 200. [ At this time, the identification unit 120 may be a contact for generating an electrical signal or an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), but is not limited thereto.

4A and 4B are perspective views showing a detailed structure of a nozzle structure 100 of a nozzle-interchangeable three-dimensional printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the nozzle structure 100 of the three-dimensional printer of the present invention, 130, a heating block 140, and a raw material supply unit 150.

The nozzle 130 extrudes a raw material for forming a three-dimensional molding. That is, the nozzle 130 receives the filament 1000 as a raw material, applies heat transferred from the heating block 140, and extrudes the molten raw material through heat. The filament 1000 injected through a predetermined path And a molding is formed on the molding plate 500 by melting and extruding. The diameter of the raw material discharging portion of the nozzle 130 is preferably 0.25 mm to 0.4 mm, but the viscosity of the raw material varies depending on the type of raw material and the temperature at which the raw material is liquefied.

The heating block 140 includes a metal block coupled to the outside of the nozzle 130 and a heating line disposed inside the metal block to heat the nozzle 130. That is, the heating block 140 is a metal block formed on the outer circumferential surface of the nozzle 130. The heating block 140 generates high-temperature heat by internal heat rays heated by the control of the controller 400, (130).

The raw material supply unit 150 supplies the raw material to the nozzle 130 according to the supply control signal output from the control unit 400 and stops supply of the raw material to the nozzle 130 according to the stop control signal output from the control unit 400 do. That is, the raw material supply unit 150 adjusts the supply of the filament 1000 to the nozzle 130 by moving the inserted filament 1000 up and down according to a signal from the controller 400. At this time, the raw material supply unit 150 may include a motor 151, a drive gear 152, and an idler gear 153.

The driving gear 152 connected to the motor 151 rotates to move the filament 1000 up and down according to the supply control signal or the stop control signal output from the controller 400. [ . When the filament 1000 is pulled by the drive gear 152 in contact with one side surface of the filament 1000, the idler gear 153 rotates by receiving the feeding force by the filament 1000 being pulled .

5A and 5B are views showing various implementations of a raw material supply part 150 of a nozzle replacement type three-dimensional printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5A is a cross- 5B schematically shows a structure in which a raw material supplying part 150 is disposed in a spool 100 in which a filament 1000 is wound separately by adopting a Bowden method. (1100). ≪ / RTI >

5A, the material supply unit 150 may be disposed in the nozzle structure 100. However, as shown in FIG. 5B, the material supply unit 150 may be disposed outside the three-dimensional printer housing, Only the module for extrusion can be disposed in the container 100 'to reduce the weight that the feeder 200 should bear.

6 is a view for explaining a path unit 600 of a nozzle-interchangeable three-dimensional printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. The path unit 600 includes a guide portion (guide hole) 600 can be disposed between the filaments 1000, thereby preventing the various types of filaments 1000 from being twisted or bent.

6, the control unit 400 moves the filament 1000 in the x-axis direction and the y-axis direction, thereby moving the filament 1000 So that it can be fed smoothly.

Although the disclosed method and apparatus have been described with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications and equivalent embodiments are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention. I will understand that. Accordingly, the true scope of protection of the disclosed technology should be determined by the appended claims.

100: Nozzle structure
200:
300: movable mounting part
400:
500: plastic plate
600:
1000: filament
1100: spool

Claims (7)

A plurality of nozzle structures including a nozzle for melting and extruding the raw material, and a raw material supply portion for supplying and stopping the raw material to the nozzle;
A transfer unit for moving the nozzle structure coupled to one of the plurality of nozzle structures and coupled to the plurality of nozzle structures in the x-axis, the y-axis, and the z-axis;
A movable mounting portion for receiving the plurality of nozzle structures and separating the combined nozzle structure from the transfer portion; And
And a controller for controlling the driving of the plurality of nozzle structures, the transfer unit, and the movable mount.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the controller moves the transport unit in the x and y axes to contact one of the plurality of nozzle structures to couple one of the plurality of nozzle structures to the engagement structure and to move the moveable mount in the z axis Thereby separating one of the plurality of nozzle structures from the coupling structure.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the coupling structure is a magnetic coupling structure.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the plurality of nozzle structures comprise:
Further comprising an identification unit for generating an identification signal for identification of each of the plurality of nozzle structures,
Wherein the control unit receives the identification signal from the identification unit and identifies the combined nozzle structure.
The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising a path portion having a plurality of guide holes for providing respective paths of the filaments supplied to the plurality of nozzle structures.
The method of claim 5,
Wherein the path unit is moved horizontally under the control of the control unit.
A plurality of nozzles for melting and extruding the raw material;
A conveying unit having a coupling structure to be coupled with the plurality of nozzles and moving a nozzle coupled with one of the plurality of nozzles and moving the combined nozzle in the x-axis, the y-axis, and the z-axis;
A movable mounting part for mounting the plurality of nozzles and separating the combined nozzles from the conveying part;
A plurality of raw material supply portions for supplying and stopping the raw material to the plurality of nozzles; And
And a control unit for controlling the driving of the plurality of nozzles, the plurality of feedstock supply units, the feeding unit, and the movable mounting unit.

Images