WO2016032075A1

WO2016032075A1 - 3d printer control device

Info

Publication number: WO2016032075A1
Application number: PCT/KR2015/000311
Authority: WO
Inventors: 이상호
Original assignee: 이상호
Priority date: 2014-08-29
Filing date: 2015-01-13
Publication date: 2016-03-03

Abstract

A 3D printer control device is provided. The 3D printer control device, according to one embodiment of the present invention, is a control device connected with a 3D printer so as to manage a work schedule of the 3D printer, the control device comprising: a communication unit for receiving a 3D printing request signal from a server; a control unit for controlling a printing process of the 3D printer on the basis of the 3D printing request signal; and a sensing unit for generating sensing information by measuring printing environment information during the printing process, wherein the control unit determines whether the 3D printer is normally operated on the basis of the sensing information, and the control unit transmits, to the server, a result of whether printing is carried out.

Description

3D Printer Control

The present invention relates to a 3D printer control device, and more particularly, to a device that can be connected to the 3D printer to control the printing process of the 3D printer, and determine whether or not the normal output of the printer.

A 3D printer is a machine or apparatus that can output a desired three-dimensional shape based on a three-dimensional drawing made by a computer design program. Printing materials, which were initially limited to plastics, were able to produce prints using a variety of raw materials such as nylon, metal, and elastic members. Output parts, which were limited to printing industrial samples, also include watches, shoes, mobile phone cases, and automotive accessories. As it becomes possible to print, not only a workplace but also an individual user has a trend of having a 3D printer.

In recent years, with the spread of 3D printers, 3D printing services and related industries that output on behalf of 3D output by other people's requests are increasing, and appropriate printing services can be provided according to various requests of consumers. The importance of technology and platform development is on the rise.

Conventional 3D printers have had to perform complicated procedures until the user performs the 3D printer. In other words, the user has to select a material to be used for the output, determine the type of 3D printer that can perform the printing process using the selected material, and there was a problem that to control the printing process by operating the 3D printer. For example, if your 3D printer is unable to print using the material you choose, you will have to ask a professional to provide 3D printing services, which will cost you time and money. .

In addition, the conventional 3D printer can not detect the malfunction of the printer itself during the printing process, there is an inconvenience that the user must continuously observe the printing process, even if abnormal output is output due to the printer malfunction is constantly There was a problem of wasting time and money by performing the printing process.

The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to solve the above problems, combined with the existing 3D printer to improve the function of the printer, to respond to different operating formats according to the various 3D printer type a plurality of 3D printer It is to provide a 3D printer control device that can be managed.

Another technical problem to be solved by the present invention, the printing process can be performed in the 3D printer disposed in a physically spaced place and the output request, the user's output request among the various 3D printers having different specifications connected to the server It is to provide a 3D printer control device that can select the equipment to perform the printing process in response to the detailed information.

Another technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a 3D printer control device that can easily control the output process using a 3D printer safely in everyday life even ordinary users without professional knowledge.

The technical problems of the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned technical problems, and other technical problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

In order to solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the 3D printer control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, the control device connected to the 3D printer to manage the job schedule of the 3D printer, the control device, from the server A communication unit receiving a 3D printing request signal, a control unit controlling a printing process of the 3D printer based on the 3D printing request signal, and a sensing unit measuring sensing environment information during the printing process and generating sensing information. The controller determines whether the 3D printer is operating normally based on the sensing information, and the controller transmits whether to perform the printing to the server.

The server may receive print information including a 3D modeling drawing from a client device, and generate the 3D printing request signal based on the print information.

The print information may further include a printing method, a material, a color, a density, a price, an expected output completion date, a stacking unit, a use of a printout, and location information of the client device.

The server may determine a printing candidate group that satisfies the requirement of the print information among the plurality of control devices linked with the server, and transmit the 3D printing request signal to the control device included in the printing candidate group.

The controller may manage detailed information of the 3D printer and compare the received 3D printing request signal with the detailed information to determine whether to perform printing.

The detailed information may include the model of the 3D printer, a location, a work schedule, an estimated time required for the output, and the remaining amount of raw materials.

The server may generate a notification message based on whether the printing is performed.

The sensing unit may transmit the measured sensing information to the server in real time, and the server may predict abnormal sensing information based on the sensing information.

The controller may extract a feature vector based on a time interval change rate of the sensing information, and determine whether the 3D printer is normally operated based on the feature vector.

The sensing information includes one of temperature, humidity, vibration, noise, and images around the 3D printer, wherein the sensing unit includes one of a thermometer, a hygrometer, three-axis acceleration, an angular velocity sensor, a microphone, and a camera unit. The image may be generated by photographing the output of the 3D printer using a unit.

The controller may determine whether the output is normal by comparing the output included in the image with a 3D modeling file included in the 3D printing request signal.

The controller generates learning information by accumulating a plurality of sensing information collected from the 3D printer, and compares the sensing information generated during the printing process with the learning information to determine whether the 3D printer is normally operated. The learning information may be an average value of the plurality of sensing information.

According to the present invention as described above, it is possible to easily control the 3D printing process using a control device coupled to the 3D printer, it is possible to determine whether the output is normally output during the output process by sensing around the 3D printer.

In addition, general users without specialized knowledge can conveniently output the results using 3D printers in daily life, and can satisfy various needs of consumers by matching optimized 3D printer equipment in response to user's requests. .

In addition, it is possible to provide an integrated service by connecting a control device to an existing 3D printer operating in different operating environments for each manufacturer.

1 is a view showing a schematic configuration of a 3D printer control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of controlling a 3D printing process using the 3D printer controller of FIG. 1.

3 is a diagram illustrating an example of determining whether normal output is performed during a 3D printing process using the 3D printer control apparatus of FIG. 1.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Advantages and features of the present invention and methods for achieving them will be apparent with reference to the embodiments described below in detail with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but may be implemented in various forms, and only the embodiments are intended to complete the disclosure of the present invention, and the general knowledge in the art to which the present invention belongs. It is provided to fully inform the person having the scope of the invention, which is defined only by the scope of the claims. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used in the present specification may be used in a sense that can be commonly understood by those skilled in the art. In addition, the terms defined in the commonly used dictionaries are not ideally or excessively interpreted unless they are specifically defined clearly.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. In this specification, the singular also includes the plural unless specifically stated otherwise in the phrase. As used herein, "comprises" and / or "comprising" does not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other components in addition to the mentioned components.

Hereinafter, a 3D printer control apparatus according to embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

1, there is shown a schematic configuration of a 3D printer control device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The 3D printer control apparatus according to the present embodiment (10), the communication unit 11 for receiving a 3D printing request signal from the server, a control unit 12 for controlling the printing process of the 3D printer based on the 3D printing request signal and And a sensing unit 13 for generating sensing information by measuring printing environment information during the printing process, wherein the control unit determines whether the 3D printer is normally operated based on the sensing information, and the control unit prints the printing information. Send whether to perform or not to the server.

In the present specification, a client may be a subject performing a series of processes of exchanging data with a server using a client device. In addition, the client device may refer to a client access terminal device for performing a function of collecting and transmitting necessary various information scattered on a server in some cases.

For example, the client device may be a computer such as a desktop PC or a notebook PC, and may be any kind of wired / wireless communication device that can use a two-way communication service by accessing a server through a predetermined network. In addition, the client device may be a mobile terminal such as a cellular phone, a personal communications services phone (PCS phone), or a synchronous / asynchronous International Mobile Telecommunication-2000 (ICT-2000) that communicates through a wireless Internet or a portable Internet. In addition, in addition to a Palm Personal Computer (PDA), Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), Smartphone (Smart phone), WAP phone (Wireless application protocol phone), mobile game machine (mobile play-station) It may mean all wired and wireless home appliances / communication devices having a communication module, a display device, and a user interface for connecting to a server. In the embodiments to be described later, the client and the client device may be interpreted in the same sense.

The client or client device communicates with the server and can send and receive certain data with the server. The client device may be directly connected to the server to transmit and receive data, but is not limited thereto. The client device may be connected to a predetermined intermediate server to transmit and receive data through the intermediate server.

The server may allow connection of one or more client terminal devices through the network. The network may be a wired or wireless Internet, or may be a core network integrated with a wired public network, a wireless mobile communication network, or a portable Internet. The network may include various services existing in the TCP / IP protocol and higher layers, that is, the Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP). ), A global open computer network architecture that provides Telnet, File Transfer Protocol (FTP), Domain Name System (DNS), Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), and so on.

In detail, the communication unit 11 may be connected to a server through a wireless network to transmit and receive various data including a 3D printing request signal from the server.

The 3D printing request signal is a print code file, printing material, time required, material consumption, location of the requester, requirements, etc., corresponding to the type of 3D printer connected to the 3D printer controller 10 according to the present embodiment by wire or wirelessly. It may be a signal including information on the information, but is not limited thereto.

The controller 12 may control a printing process of the 3D printer connected to the 3D printer control apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment by using the received 3D printing request signal.

That is, the controller 12 may generate new work commands in the work queue of the 3D printer by analyzing the detailed information included in the 3D printing request signal, and the 3D printer may perform the printing process in the order of work arranged in the work queue. Can be. In addition, the controller 12 may adjust the priority of waiting jobs. For example, two work commands are already created in the work queue, and a new work command may be further generated by receiving a new 3D printing request signal from the server. In this case, by analyzing the new 3D printing request signal, the delivery date of the corresponding output may be analyzed to rearrange the work orders arranged in the work queue according to the delivery date.

The sensing unit 13 may generate printing information by measuring printing environment information during the printing process of the 3D printer, and transmit the sensing information to the server in real time. For example, the sensing unit 13 may be a temperature measuring sensor and may generate sensing information by measuring a temperature around the 3D printer while the 3D printer performs the printing process. As described above, the sensing unit 13 may include a temperature measuring sensor, but is not limited thereto. The sensing unit 13 may further include various sensor modules for measuring temperature, humidity, vibration, and noise and photographing an image. . The role of the specific sensing unit 13 will be described later with reference to FIG. 3.

The sensing information may be various sensing values measured by sensing the 3D printer in the sensing unit 13 of the control device 10 or may be printing environment information generated by the 3D printer itself. In general, the 3D printer itself measures the temperature of the nozzle and bed, the output speed and the like during output, and the control device 10 may further receive such operation information and use it as sensing information.

In some other embodiments, the control unit 12 may determine whether the 3D printer is operating normally by using the sensing information generated from the sensing unit 13. For example, the controller 12 sets a threshold value by numerically calculating temperature, vibration, and noise values when the 3D printer is in normal operation, and sets the threshold value when the sensing value measured by the sensing unit 13 exceeds the threshold value. You can determine that the printer is malfunctioning or behaving abnormally. Alternatively, the feature vector may be extracted according to the time interval change rate of the transmitted sensing information, and the feature vector may be compared with the normal or abnormal feature vector stored in the controller 12 to determine whether the 3D printer is in normal operation.

In some other embodiments, the control unit 12 may analyze the received 3D printing request signal to determine whether to perform printing and transmit it to the server. For example, when the required delivery date included in the 3D printing request signal is compared with the amount of work in the work queue of the 3D printer connected to the 3D printer control device, the output rejection signal may be transmitted to the server when the required delivery date is not satisfied. Alternatively, if it is determined that the remaining material amount of the 3D printer is not able to output the output included in the request signal as the current remaining amount, the output rejection signal may be transmitted to the server, but the present invention is not limited thereto and printing is performed according to various criteria. Can be sent to the server.

Referring to FIG. 2, an example of controlling a 3D printing process using the 3D printer controller of FIG. 1 is illustrated.

The controller 10 may be connected to the 3D printer 20 by wire or wirelessly. For example, the controller 10 and the 3D printer 20 may be connected to each other by a USB cable or by using a wireless communication network such as Wi-Fi. You can also send and receive.

The server 30 may be connected to a network with the 3D printer control apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment, but is not limited thereto, and a plurality of different 3D printer control apparatuses may be further connected with the server.

The server 30 may receive print information from the first client device 41, which is a print requester (S11). For example, the output requester may request output to the server using the first client device 41, and print information including a printing method, a material to be used, a color, a density, a required delivery date, and a purpose of the output of the server (e.g., 30).

The print information may further include a 3D modeling drawing, but is not limited thereto. When the print information does not include the 3D modeling drawing, the server 30 may receive the 3D modeling drawing from another client device connected to the server. Can be. For example, if the output requester sends print information to the server 30 using the first client device 41, but the output requester does not have a 3D modeling drawing or is an expert in the field, the request of the output requester The 3D modeling drawing may be generated by the server 30 itself, or may be requested by receiving a 3D modeling drawing from another client device that is an external expert.

The server 30 may generate a 3D printing request signal based on the print information (S12). At this time, the server 30 may determine a printing candidate group that satisfies the requirements of the print information of the plurality of control devices connected to the server 30, and selectively transmit the 3D printing request signal only to the control device included in the printing candidate group. have. In addition, the server 30 may further receive location information of the first client device 41, and may select a candidate group optimized for the location information of the client device 40.

In addition, the server 30 transmits a 3D printing request signal to the plurality of control devices 10 included in the candidate group, and transmits different 3D printing request signals corresponding to different types of 3D printers connected to each control device. Can transmit The 3D printer may perform output in different operable formats such as .gcode, .x3g, and .s3g, and the server may transmit a request signal in a format corresponding to the format received from each controller.

When the controller 10 receives the 3D printing request signal from the server 30 (S13), the controller 10 transmits the second client device 42, which is the 3D printer holder, and the second client device 42 analyzes the request signal. By determining whether to perform the output, it can be retransmitted to the server (30) (S14). The second client device 42 compares the received request information with detailed information of the 3D printer 20 connected to the control device 10, and outputs an output rejection signal when the request information is satisfied, and when the request information is not satisfied. The server 30 may transmit the data, and when the output is approved, a new work command may be generated in the work queue of the 3D printer 20 to update the work queue (S15).

Referring to FIG. 3, an example of determining whether a normal output is performed during a 3D printing process using the 3D printer control apparatus of FIG. 1 is illustrated.

When the printing process is performed in the 3D printer 20 by the control device 10, the sensor unit included in the control device 10 measures the environmental information during the printing process of the 3D printer 20 to generate sensing information. Can be. For example, the 3D printer 20 output unit may be photographed using a camera module provided at one side of the control apparatus 10 to generate an image file or a video file photographing the shape of the output in real time or at predetermined time intervals. Alternatively, the temperature sensor provided in the control device 10 measures the temperature around the 3D printer 20, measures the ambient noise using the microphone module, or senses the vibration degree during the printing process using the vibration sensing module. Although not limited thereto, and referring to FIG. 1, the sensing unit 13 included in the control device 10 may include one or more of a thermometer, a hygrometer, a three-axis acceleration sensor, an angular velocity sensor, a microphone, and a camera unit. It may include, it is possible to sense the environment information of the 3D printer 20 using this.

The control device 10 may determine whether the 3D printer 20 operates normally based on the sensing information collected as described above. That is, the control device 10 may compare the 3D printing request signal received from the server 30 with the sensing information to determine whether it is normally operated. For example, the controller 10 may determine the shape of the required output included in the 3D printing request signal. It can be compared with the image or video captured by the camera unit, and if the output is different from the shape of the required output, it can be determined that the current printer outputs a wrong result. Alternatively, the sensing information related to the received temperature, noise, and vibration may be compared with a threshold value set by the control device 10 to determine whether the 3D printer 20 operates normally or malfunctions.

If the 3D printer 20 is determined to be a malfunction, abnormal state or outputs an abnormal result during the printing process, the control device 10 may transmit the same to the server 30, but is not limited thereto. In real time, the sensing information may be transmitted to the server 30, and the server 30 may determine whether the normal output or the printer malfunctions.

To this end, the control apparatus 10 receives and learns information related to the output from the connected 3D printer 20, and compares the operation values measured at the time of output based on the learned normal operation values to determine whether the operation is normal. Can be.

If it is determined that the 3D printer is malfunctioning or abnormal, the server 30 may generate a notification message and transmit the notification message to the first or

second client devices

41 and 42, and the output requester or the 3D printer holder may receive the notification message. You can check the normal output in real time.

In addition, the server 30 may receive the sensing information in real time from the control device 20, and may predict the malfunction time of the 3D printer based on the received sensing information. In detail, the server 30 constructs a sensing information pattern when the 3D printer 20 is in a normal operation or a malfunction as a database, and compares the pattern of sensing information received in real time with the learned information to predict a malfunction at a specific point in time. Can be.

Although embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains may implement the present invention in other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential features thereof. I can understand that. Therefore, it should be understood that the embodiments described above are exemplary in all respects and not restrictive.

Claims

In the control device connected to the 3D printer to manage the job schedule of the 3D printer,

The control device,

Communication unit for receiving a 3D printing request signal from the server;

A controller for controlling a printing process of the 3D printer based on the 3D printing request signal; And

Including a sensing unit for generating the sensing information by measuring the printing environment information during the printing process,

The controller determines whether the 3D printer is operating normally based on the sensing information.

The control unit transmits whether to perform the printing, the 3D printer control device.
The method of claim 1,

And the server receives print information including a 3D modeling drawing from a client device, and generates the 3D printing request signal based on the print information.
The method of claim 2,

The print information further includes at least one of a printing method, a material, a color, a density, a price, an expected output completion date, a stacking unit, a use of a printout, and position information of the client device.
The method of claim 2,

The server determines a printing candidate group that satisfies the requirements of the print information of the plurality of control devices linked to the server,

3D printer control device for transmitting the 3D printing request signal to the control device included in the printing candidate group.
The method of claim 1,

The controller controls detailed information of the 3D printer and compares the received 3D printing request signal with the detailed information to determine whether to perform printing.
The method of claim 5,

The detailed information may include a model, a location, a work schedule, an estimated time required for the output, and a remaining amount of raw materials of the 3D printer.
The method of claim 5,

The server generates a notification message based on whether or not the printing, 3D printer control device.
The method of claim 1,

The sensing unit transmits the measured sensing information in real time to the server, and the server predicts abnormal sensing information based on the sensing information.
The method of claim 1,

The controller extracts a feature vector according to a time interval change rate of the sensing information, and determines whether the 3D printer is normally operated based on the feature vector.
The method of claim 1,

The sensing information includes one of temperature, humidity, vibration, noise, and images around the 3D printer,

The sensing unit includes a camera unit,

3D printer control device for generating the image by photographing the output of the 3D printer using the camera unit.
The method of claim 10,

The controller compares the output included in the image with the 3D modeling file included in the 3D printing request signal to determine whether the normal output.
The method of claim 1,

The controller generates learning information by accumulating a plurality of sensing information collected from the 3D printer, and compares the sensing information generated during the printing process with the learning information to determine whether the 3D printer is normally operated.

The learning information is an average value of a plurality of sensing information, 3D printer control device.