KR20220072531A - 3d printer and method for 3d printing using thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a 3D printer and a 3D printing method using the same, the 3D printer comprising: a build platform on which a sculpture is formed on one surface; an elevating control unit for elevating the build platform up and down; A resin tank provided under the build platform to accommodate a photopolymer required for the formation of the sculpture, an opening is formed on the bottom surface, and a flexible film-type elastic member is provided on the bottom surface to cover the opening (resin tank); a transparent member provided in the lower part of the resin tank and transmitting light irradiated from below to raise the membrane-type elastic member while in contact with the membrane-type elastic member when forming the sculpture; a lifting member connected to the transparent member to elevate the transparent member; and a light source provided under the transparent member to irradiate light to the resin tank.

Description

3D printer and 3D printing method using same

The present invention relates to a 3D printer and a 3D printing method using the same, and to a 3D printer using a membrane-type elastic member at the bottom of a resin tank and a 3D printing method using the same.

In general, when using a liquid 3D printer, a photopolymer is mainly used, and when a sculpture is formed on one surface of a build platform, the build platform is lifted up to separate it from the photocurable resin. This separation process requires more than a certain amount of force to separate the molded object from the photocurable resin due to the capillary phenomenon occurring between the solidified object and the liquid photocurable resin.

9 is a view for explaining peeling in the case of using the film 40 in the conventional resin tank 10. As shown in FIG. Conventionally, a transparent glass material 30 is provided on the lower portion of the resin tank 10 while the sculpture 50 is formed on the lower portion of the build platform 20 using the resin 60, and the film 40 on the inner bottom A type of 3D printer with (film) attached was used. In the case of using the film as described above, the film 40 was stretched due to continuous use. In this case, there was a problem in that it was not possible to obtain a sculpture of a desired quality due to undesirable non-uniform scattering of light. This is a problem that occurs because the glass member 30 is fixed to form the bottom surface of the resin tank 10 .

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention aims to solve the above and other problems. Another object of the present invention is to provide a 3D printer having a structure for elevating a membrane-type elastic member and a 3D printing method using the same.

According to one aspect of the present invention in order to achieve the above or other objects, a build platform on which a sculpture is formed on one surface (build platform); an elevating control unit for elevating the build platform up and down; A resin tank (resin) provided under the build platform to accommodate a photopolymer required for the formation of the sculpture, an opening is formed on the bottom surface, and a film-type elastic member is provided on the bottom surface to cover the opening tank); a transparent member provided in the lower part of the resin tank and transmitting light irradiated from below to raise the membrane-type elastic member while in contact with the membrane-type elastic member when forming the sculpture; a lifting member connected to the transparent member to elevate the transparent member; and a light source provided under the transparent member for irradiating light to the resin tank may be provided.

According to one aspect of the present invention, it is characterized in that a plurality of protrusions formed to be inclined from top to bottom are formed at regular intervals on the inner wall of the resin tank.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the transparent member is characterized in that it has a size corresponding to the opening.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a lens (lens) is formed under the transparent member to convert the light incident toward the transparent member into parallel light.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a rotating member for rotating the resin tank is provided on one side of the resin tank.

According to an aspect of the present invention, when the resin tank is provided in a holder, the rotating member may be fastened to the holder.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the transparent member may form the bottom surface of the resin tank while the sculpture is not formed.

According to one aspect of the present invention, an opening is formed on a bottom surface of a resin tank provided under a build platform, and a membrane-type elastic member covering the opening is formed on the bottom surface, and the In a 3D printing method by a 3D printer using a photopolymer (Photopolymer), the film-type elastic member is raised and lowered by a transparent member provided at the bottom of the resin tank, and the transparent member is raised/lowered by the lifting member, ( a) elevating the membrane-type elastic member by passing through the opening in a state in which the transparent member is positioned below the bottom surface of the resin tank by the lifting member and rising above the bottom surface; (b) aligning the build platform in a stacking position such that a gap between the build platform and the membrane-type elastic member is spaced apart by a predetermined distance; (c) laminating a sculpture on one surface of the build platform; and (d) the transparent member is lowered by the elevating member so that the membranous elastic member is peeled from the sculpture, and a 3D printing method repeating the steps (a) to (d) can be provided. .

According to an aspect of the present invention, after step (d), the method may further include rotating the resin tank before the descending transparent member ascends upward.

The effect of the 3D printer and the 3D printing method using the same according to the present invention will be described as follows.

According to at least one of the embodiments of the present invention, there is an advantage that light (light) can be uniformly irradiated during the formation of a sculpture by elevating the film-type stretchable member.

According to at least one of the embodiments of the present invention, there is an advantage in that the object can be easily peeled off by lowering the film-type elastic member when the object is peeled from the film-type elastic member.

According to at least one of the embodiments of the present invention, there is an advantage in that incident light can be converted in parallel by forming a lens.

According to at least one of the embodiments of the present invention, there is an advantage that costs can be reduced by not replacing the entire resin tank by using a membrane-type elastic member at the bottom of the resin tank and replacing only the membrane-type elastic member.

Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific embodiments such as the preferred embodiments of the present invention are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the present invention may be clearly understood by those skilled in the art.

1 is a schematic diagram of a 3D printer related to the present invention.
2a and 2b are schematic diagrams showing the use state of the 3D printer related to the present invention.
3 is a cross-sectional view of a 3D printer showing a state in which a lens is provided under the transparent member related to the present invention.
4 is a cross-sectional view of a 3D printer to which a configuration for rotating a resin tank according to the present invention is added.
5 is a perspective view of a rotating member according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is an exploded perspective view of a resin tank and a holder according to an embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a view illustrating light passing through a lens according to an embodiment of the present invention.
8 is a flowchart of a 3D printing method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
9 is a schematic diagram of a conventional 3D printer.

Hereinafter, the embodiments disclosed in the present specification will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the same or similar components will be given the same reference numbers regardless of reference numerals, and redundant descriptions thereof will be omitted. The suffix "part" for the components used in the following description is given or mixed in consideration of only the ease of writing the specification, and does not have a meaning or role distinct from each other by itself. In addition, in describing the embodiments disclosed in the present specification, if it is determined that detailed descriptions of related known technologies may obscure the gist of the embodiments disclosed in the present specification, the detailed description thereof will be omitted. In addition, the accompanying drawings are only for easy understanding of the embodiments disclosed in the present specification, and the technical idea disclosed herein is not limited by the accompanying drawings, and all changes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention , should be understood to include equivalents or substitutes.

Terms including an ordinal number such as 1st, 2nd, etc. may be used to describe various elements, but the elements are not limited by the terms. The above terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another.

The singular expression includes the plural expression unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

In the present application, terms such as “comprises” or “have” are intended to designate that a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification exists, but one or more other features It should be understood that this does not preclude the existence or addition of numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

An embodiment of the present invention relates to a 3D printer using a liquid resin such as a photopolymer and a 3D printing method using the same, wherein the photocurable resin has a property of hardening when exposed to light. By using its properties to irradiate light in a desired shape and harden the photocurable resin, a solid 3D print can be obtained, which is called a liquid 3D printer.

The liquid type 3D printer includes methods such as SLA (Stereo Lithography Apparatus), DLP (Digital Lighting Process), and CDLP (Continuous Direct Light Processing).

The SLA (Stereo Lithography Apparatus) method 3D printing is a method of curing a liquid resin material using a laser. A fine shape pillar plays an auxiliary role, and it is possible to implement a fine shape, and various materials are used.

The DLP (Digital Lighting Process) method 3D printing uses a photocurable liquid resin and solidifies the photocurable resin with light reflected by more than a million small mirrors. As the resolution decreases, the dimensional accuracy decreases.

In addition, the continuous direct light processing (CDLP) method operates in the same manner as the DLP, but the bed also continuously moves in the Z-axis while irradiating light. It can be said that it is a method that takes advantage of the advantage of DLP, which is an advantage of fast printing time.

An embodiment of the present invention is mainly described mainly for the 3D printer of the SLA method, but unless there is a particular conflict, it may be applied to a liquid type 3D printer including the DLP and CDLP methods.

1 is a schematic diagram of a 3D printer 100 related to the present invention, and FIGS. 2A and 2B are schematic diagrams illustrating a state of use of the 3D printer 100 related to the present invention. Hereinafter, it will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 2A and 2B.

The 3D printer 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a build platform 110 on which a sculpture 135 is formed on one surface, and an elevation control unit 120 for raising and lowering the build platform 110 up and down. And, it is provided under the build platform 110 to accommodate the photocurable resin 133 (Photopolymer) required for the formation of the sculpture 135, the bottom surface is formed with an opening 131, the opening 131 A resin tank 130 (resin tank) provided with a film-type elastic member 150 on the bottom surface so as to cover When the sculpture 135 is formed, the transparent member 140 is connected to the transparent member 140 and the transparent member 140 is connected to the transparent member 140 while in contact with the membrane-type elastic member 150 to raise the membrane-type elastic member 150 . It comprises a lifting member 160 for lifting and lowering, and a light source unit 102 provided under the transparent member 140 to irradiate light to the resin tank 130 . The film-type stretchable member 150 may be, for example, a coating layer, a thin film, a film, a silicon film, or the like.

The elevating member 160 and the elevating control unit 120 may be provided on the base member 101 , and the elevating control unit 120 may include, for example, a motor M, and the motor M ) is connected to the rotation shaft 121 formed perpendicular to the. The build platform 110 is connected to the rotation shaft 121 to elevate.

The resin tank 130 is composed of a vertical portion 136 forming a wall and a horizontal portion 137 constituting a bottom surface, and the opening 131 is formed by partially cutting the horizontal portion 137 . The transparent member 140 may be formed to have a size corresponding to the opening 131 or may be formed to be smaller than the opening 131 . The transparent member 140 moves up and down along the opening 131 . The elevating control unit 120 may include a motor M for elevating the build platform 110 . The membrane-type elastic member 150 is made of a transparent material, and is fixed to the horizontal part 137 of the resin tank 130 . That is, when the transparent member 140 penetrates through the opening 131 and ascends and descends, the transparent member 140 comes into contact with the end 138 of the horizontal portion 137 and ascends and descends. At this time, the film-type elastic member 150 has elasticity, so that the portion in contact with the transparent member 140 has the shape of the transparent member 140 .

In one embodiment of the present invention, the sculpture 135 is easily separated from the elastic film-type elastic member 150 while the transparent member 140 located at the lower portion of the resin tank 130 is raised and lowered. In an embodiment of the present invention, a state in which the sculpture 135 is spaced apart from the membrane-type elastic member 150 after one layer is stacked on the build platform 110 is referred to as a first state, and the first state is the It means the state in which the transparent member 140 is lowered. In addition, the state in which the photo-curable resin 133 is laminated to form the sculpture 135 on the build platform 110 is referred to as a second state, and in the second state, the transparent member 140 is disposed in the opening 131 . ) means that it has risen to the top. The transparent member 140 may be, for example, glass.

FIG. 2A is a view related to the first state, and FIG. 2B is a view related to the second state, which will be described below with reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B .

As shown in Figure 2a, after the photo-curable resin 133 is laminated as one layer on the build platform 110, the sculpture 135 and the film-type elastic member 150 are spaced apart. At this time, the transparent member 140 is lowered, and the force applied to the film-type elastic member 150 that has been stretched to the shape of the transparent member 140 is lost, and the original shape is restored. This is because the membranous elastic member 150 has an elastic force. As described above, in one embodiment of the present invention, when the external force is removed by the transparent member 140 by using the elastic force of the membrane-type elastic member 150, it is automatically restored to its original state. In this case, the transparent member 140 is positioned on the same level as the horizontal portion 137 that is the inner edge of the resin tank 130 . When the transparent member 140 has the same size as the opening 131 while the sculpture 135 is not formed on the build platform 110 , the transparent member 140 touches the bottom surface of the resin tank 130 . will form The first state may include a state before the sculpture 135 is formed on the build platform 110 .

As shown in FIG. 2b , while the sculpture 135 is formed on the build platform 110 , the transparent member 140 rises, and the sculpture 135 between the membrane-type elastic member 150 and the build platform 110 . ) are stacked. The film-type elastic member 150 is raised by the elevation of the transparent member 140, so that light is irradiated in a state in which the film-type elastic member 150 is taut. can suppress the effect of

The film-type stretchable member 150 has elasticity, and when the transparent member 140 rises, the film-shaped stretchable member 150 is taut in the second state, and the transparent member 140 is again in the original state in the first state. When descending to the state, the membrane-type elastic member 150 is restored to the first state, which is the original state. Although shown exaggeratedly for understanding in FIG. 2B , the transparent member 140 may be raised or lowered only to a height of about 10 to 30 μm, which is the height when one layer is laminated with the 3D printer 100 .

3 is a cross-sectional view of a 3D printer 100a showing a lens 170 is added to FIG. 1 and a lens 170 is provided under the transparent member 140 related to the present invention, and FIG. 7 is It is a view showing light L1, L2, L3, L4, and L5 passing through the lens 170 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, it will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 7 . In an embodiment of the present invention, a lens 170 is formed under the transparent member 140 to parallel the light L1 , L2 , L3 , L4 , and L5 incident toward the transparent member 140 . It was made to be converted into light or vertical light. The light source O is positioned under the transparent member 140 , and the light L1 , L2 , L3 , L4 , and L5 irradiated from the light source O to the transparent member 140 have different incident angles. , the lens 170 is formed to adjust the same. The lens 170 may be formed by coating with silicon. The lens 170 may be an f-theta lens.

On the other hand, the 3D printer 100b according to an embodiment of the present invention has a configuration capable of uniformly mixing the resin 133 accommodated in the resin tank 130 by rotating the resin tank 130 . 4 is a cross-sectional view of the 3D printer 100b to which a configuration for rotating the resin tank 130 related to the present invention is added, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the rotating member 180 according to an embodiment of the present invention. It will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 .

The 3D printer 100b further includes a rotating member 180 provided on one side of the resin tank 130 to rotate the resin tank 130 , and the rotating member 180 is the resin tank 130 . It may be provided on the side of More specifically, as shown in FIG. 5 , a screw thread 139 is formed on the outer circumferential surface of the resin tank 130 , and a screw formed to engage the screw thread 139 on one side of the resin tank 130 . (181) may be provided. The screw 181 is rotated by a motor 183 , and the screw 181 rotates the resin tank 130 by the motor 183 . The motor 183 is provided on a vertical support shaft 185 .

Meanwhile, FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the resin tank 130 and the holder 132 , according to an embodiment of the present invention, for explaining a case in which the resin tank 130 is coupled to the holder 132 . Referring to FIG. 6 , the lower part of the resin tank 130 has a horizontal part 137 formed thereon and is fastened to the upper surface of the holder 132 . A plurality of holes 132b are formed on the upper surface of the holder 132 for stronger fastening, and preset points of the horizontal portion 137 are located in the holes 132b. 4 and 5 illustrate that a screw thread 139 is formed on the outer circumferential surface of the resin tank 130 and the resin tank 130 is directly rotated by a screw 181 . 6 illustrates a configuration in which the resin tank 130 is rotated by directly rotating the holder 132 rather than directly rotating the resin tank 130 . To this end, teeth 132a are formed on the lower surface of the holder 132, and the electric gear 182 gear-coupled to the teeth 132a is disposed adjacently. The electric gear 182 and the teeth 132a have a configuration corresponding to the screw 181 and the thread 139 in FIG. 5, respectively, and the electric gear 182 and the teeth 132a are the rotating member 180. can be configured. The holder 132 and the resin tank 130 are rotated by the gear coupling between the electric gear 182 and the teeth 132a.

Furthermore, in one embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 6 , a plurality of protrusions 136a are formed to be spaced apart from each other at regular intervals on the inner wall of the vertical portion 136 of the resin tank 130 . The plurality of protrusions 136a are substantially rectangular and inclined from top to bottom. Thereby, when the resin tank 130 is rotated, the photocurable resin 133 in the resin tank 130 can be uniformly stirred up and down, and the photocurable resin 133 is prevented from oscillating excessively due to centrifugal force. You may. For example, when the resin tank 130 rotates in the forward direction, if the photocurable resin 133 can be uniformly mixed up and down, when the resin tank 130 rotates in the reverse direction, the photocurable resin 133 is It performs a function of preventing excessive elevation along the inner wall of the vertical portion 136 by centrifugal force. This may be equally applied to other embodiments of the present invention as long as it does not conflict with one embodiment of the present invention. For example, although the protrusion 136a is not shown on the inner wall of the resin tank 130 in FIGS. 1 to 5 , a configuration of the protrusion 136a may be included.

On the other hand, in an embodiment of the present invention, a method of 3D printing using the 3D printer 100 is provided. More specifically, the resin tank 130 provided under the build platform 110 (resin). An opening 131 is formed on the bottom surface of the tank, a film-type elastic member 150 covering the opening 131 is formed on the bottom surface, and a transparent member 140 provided at a lower portion of the resin tank 130 . ), the film-type elastic member 150 is raised and lowered, and the transparent member 140 is lifted by the lifting member 160. 3D by a 3D printer 100 using a photocurable resin (133, Photopolymer) A printing method is provided. 8 is a flowchart of a 3D printing method according to an embodiment of the present invention, which will be described below with reference to FIG. 8 .

In the 3D printing method according to an embodiment of the present invention, the transparent member 140 passes through the opening 131 in a state where the transparent member 140 is positioned under the bottom surface of the resin tank 130 by the elevating member 160 and the Step (S110) of raising the membrane-type elastic member 150 by rising above the floor surface, and the build platform 110 so that the distance between the build platform 110 and the membrane-type elastic member 150 is spaced apart by a predetermined interval. ) aligning to the stacking position (S120), stacking and forming the sculpture 135 on one surface of the build platform 110 (build platform) (S130), and the transparent by the elevating member 160 This is a method in which the member 140 descends and the membrane-type elastic member 150 is peeled from the sculpture 135 ( S140 ), and the steps S110 to S140 are repeated ( S150 ).

In this case, after the step S140 , the method may further include rotating the resin tank 130 before the lowered transparent member 140 ascends upward.

As described above, in one embodiment of the present invention, the transparent member 140 is located below the bottom surface of the resin tank 130 before the 3D printing operation. Then, as the transparent member 140 pushes up the membrane-type elastic member 150, preparation for lamination starts. The build platform 110 adjusts the spacing with the membrane-type elastic member 150 by aligning the stacking position to match a preset vertical resolution. When the positions of the build platform 110 are aligned to match the preset resolution, the sculpture 135 is stacked on the build platform 110, and the lifting member 160 is lowered after one layer is stacked. The transparent member 140 descends together, and the elastic film-type elastic member 150 is restored to its original state. That is, the membrane-type elastic member 150, which has been stretched upward, is relaxed downward while returning to its original state. By this operation, the membrane-type elastic member 150 is naturally peeled from the sculpture 135 . In addition, in an embodiment of the present invention, whenever one layer is stacked on the build platform 110 , the build platform 110 is raised to align the stacking position, and the build platform 110 is raised for subsequent stacking. When the resin tank 130 is rotated by the rotating member 180, the resin 133 can be mixed more uniformly.

The above detailed description should not be construed as restrictive in all respects and should be considered as exemplary. The scope of the present invention should be determined by a reasonable interpretation of the appended claims, and all modifications within the equivalent scope of the present invention are included in the scope of the present invention.

100: 3D printer, 101: body, 102: light source, 110: build platform, 120: elevating control, 130: resin tank, 131: opening, 132: holder, 132a: gear, 132b: hole, 133: resin, 182: Electric gear, 135: sculpture, 140: transparent member, 150: membrane-type elastic member, 160: elevating member, 170: lens, 180: rotating member

Claims (9)

a build platform on which a sculpture is formed on one surface;
an elevating control unit for elevating the build platform up and down;
It is provided at the lower part of the build platform to accommodate the photopolymer required for the formation of the sculpture, and the bottom surface has an opening formed therein and a film-type elastic member is provided on the bottom surface to cover the opening. tank);
a transparent member provided in the lower part of the resin tank and transmitting light irradiated from below to raise the membrane-type elastic member while in contact with the membrane-type elastic member when forming the sculpture;
a lifting member connected to the transparent member to elevate the transparent member; and
A 3D printer comprising a light source provided under the transparent member to irradiate light to the resin tank. According to claim 1,
3D printer, characterized in that a plurality of protrusions are formed at regular intervals on the inner wall of the resin tank. The method of claim 1,
The 3D printer, characterized in that the transparent member has a size corresponding to the opening. 3. The method of claim 2,
3D printer, characterized in that a lens (lens) is formed under the transparent member to convert light incident toward the transparent member into parallel light. According to claim 1,
3D printer, characterized in that a rotating member for rotating the resin tank is provided on one side of the resin tank. 6. The method of claim 5,
3D printer, characterized in that when the resin tank is provided in the holder (holder), the rotating member is fastened to the holder. 4. The method of claim 3,
3D printer, characterized in that the transparent member forms the bottom surface of the resin tank while the sculpture is not formed. An opening is formed on a bottom surface of a resin tank provided under a build platform, and a film-type expansion and contraction member is formed on the bottom surface to cover the opening, and a transparent transparent provided at the bottom of the resin tank. In the 3D printing method using a 3D printer using a photopolymer (Photopolymer) that the film-type elastic member is raised and lowered by a member, and the transparent member is raised/lowered by the lifting member,
(a) elevating the membrane-type elastic member by passing through the opening in a state in which the transparent member is positioned below the bottom surface of the resin tank by the lifting member and rising above the bottom surface;
(b) aligning the build platform in a stacking position so that a gap between the build platform and the membrane-type elastic member is spaced apart by a preset distance;
(c) laminating a sculpture on one surface of the build platform; and
(d) the transparent member is lowered by the elevating member, comprising the step of peeling the membrane-type elastic member from the sculpture,
3D printing method repeating the steps (a) to (d). 9. The method of claim 8
After the step (d), the 3D printing method further comprising the step of rotating the resin tank before the descending transparent member rises upward.

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