WO2018016668A1

WO2018016668A1 - Three-dimensional printer including molding plate origin adjustment device

Info

Publication number: WO2018016668A1
Application number: PCT/KR2016/008237
Authority: WO
Inventors: 서준석
Original assignee: 주식회사 큐비콘
Priority date: 2016-07-22
Filing date: 2016-07-27
Publication date: 2018-01-25
Also published as: KR20180010697A; KR101849600B1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a three-dimensional printer including a molding plate origin adjustment device capable of accurately moving a molding plate to a starting point when a three-dimensional structure is outputted, and comprises: a resin storage unit which stores a photocurable resin and of which the lower part is made of a transparent material; a light source for emitting light at the lower part of the resin storage unit; an upright supporter formed to be vertical; a horizontal supporter cantilever-supported so as to be elevatable along the upright supporter; a driving unit for elevating the horizontal supporter in a vertical direction; the molding plate coupled to the horizontal supporter and disposed so as to be elevated above the resin storage unit, wherein a three-dimensional structure is molded at the lower part thereof; a force sensor for measuring the force applied to the horizontal supporter; and a control unit for controlling the light source and the driving unit in correspondence to a molding area of the three-dimensional structure, wherein the control unit controls the driving unit such that the molding plate is disposed at an origin, according to the force measured by the force sensor when output of the three-dimensional structure starts.

Description

3D printer with molding plate homing device

The present invention relates to a three-dimensional printer having a molding plate origin adjustment device, and more particularly, to a three-dimensional printer having a molding plate origin adjustment device that can accurately move the molding plate to the start position when outputting the three-dimensional structure. It is about.

In the three-dimensional printing method, SRI (StereoLithography Apparatus) method using the principle that the scanned part is cured by scanning the laser light on the photocurable resin, functional polymer or metal powder is used instead of the photocurable resin in the SLA method, and the laser beam Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) method using the principle of scanning, solidifying and molding, FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) method of stacking structures by extruding filaments, and partially curing by irradiating light to the lower part of the reservoir where the photocurable resin is stored. DLP (Digital Light Processing) method using the principle.

Among these, in the case of the 3D printer of the DLP method, the DLP projector irradiates light to the lower part of the storage tank of the transparent material in which the photocurable resin is stored, and the photocurable resin in the light irradiated area is cured and 3 It will form the dimensional structure. That is, as light is irradiated in a form corresponding to the cross-sectional shape of the three-dimensional structure, the three-dimensional structure may be printed by a method in which the cured portions are stacked in multiple layers as the molding plate is raised.

However, in the case of the conventional DLP three-dimensional printer, in order to start the output of the three-dimensional structure, the molding plate must be moved to the position, that is, the origin, in contact with the bottom surface of the reservoir, and the user manually It is difficult to check the contact between the molding plate and the storage tank when moving to the origin, and when the output starts when the molding plate and the storage tank are not properly contacted, defects may occur in the shape of the three-dimensional structure to be molded. There is a problem that the output stability of the structure is lowered.

[Patent Document] Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 10-2016-0055707

The present invention has been proposed to solve the above problems, by providing an autoleveling function that can automatically find the origin using a precision force sensor, it is possible to print high-quality three-dimensional structure because the output is started at the exact origin The present invention provides a three-dimensional printer with a molding plate origin adjustment device.

The disclosed technology to achieve the above technical problem, the resin storage unit for storing the photocurable resin, the lower portion of the transparent material; A light source for irradiating light to the resin storage unit; An upright support formed vertically; A horizontal support cantilevered up and down along the upright support; A driving unit for elevating the horizontal support in the vertical direction; A molding plate coupled to the horizontal support and disposed to ascend and descend above the resin storage unit, and having a three-dimensional structure formed thereon; A force sensor for measuring a force applied to the horizontal support; And a control unit controlling the light source and the driving unit corresponding to the molding area of the three-dimensional structure, wherein the control unit includes the molding plate according to the force measured by the force sensor at the start of output of the three-dimensional structure. The driving unit is controlled to be disposed at the origin.

Here, the horizontal support, the front flow portion which is a housing that is coupled to the molding plate flows; And a rear fixing part that is a housing coupled to and fixed to the upright support, wherein the force sensor generates an electric signal corresponding to the force applied to the front flow part and outputs the generated electric signal to the controller. have.

In addition, the force sensor, one end is fixed in the front flow portion, the other end is fixed in the rear fixed portion, the beam-like structure that is deformed by the contact force; And a piezoresistive layer configured to detect deformation of the beam structure to generate the electrical signal.

The controller may determine whether the molding plate is mounted based on the electrical signal.

The controller may determine whether the three-dimensional structure attached to the molding plate is separated by the electrical signal.

On the other hand, the control unit, the first step of raising the molding plate to the top at the start of the output of the three-dimensional structure, the second lowering the molding plate to a predetermined point that is lower than the top and above the origin; The driving unit may be divided into a third step of lowering the molding plate to the origin, and the descending speed of the second step may exceed the descending speed of the third step.

In the third step, the control unit may control the driving unit such that the molding plate intermittently descends by a predetermined height according to a step-down descending method.

Embodiments of the disclosed technology can have the effect of including the following advantages. However, the embodiments of the disclosed technology are not meant to include all of them, and thus the scope of the disclosed technology should not be understood as being limited thereto.

The three-dimensional printer with the molding plate origin adjustment device according to the present invention provides an autoleveling function to automatically find the origin by using a precision force sensor, thereby reducing the inconvenience of the user having to manually move the molding plate. In addition, since the output of the three-dimensional structure is started on the molding plate is automatically adjusted to the exact origin, there is an effect that the quality of the printed three-dimensional structure is improved.

1 and 2 is a view showing a three-dimensional printer with a molding plate origin adjustment device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 and 4 is a view showing a horizontal support and a force sensor of a three-dimensional printer with a molding plate homing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 5 is a flow chart showing the operation of the three-dimensional printer with a molding plate origin adjustment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Description of the code]

100: resin storage unit

200: light source

300: upright support

400: horizontal support

410: front flow portion

420 rear fixing part

500 drive unit

600: Molding Plate

700: force sensor

710: beam structure

720: piezoresistive layer

800: control unit

Description of the disclosed technology is only an embodiment for structural or functional description, the scope of the disclosed technology should not be construed as limited by the embodiments described in the text. That is, the embodiments may be variously modified and may have various forms, and thus the scope of the disclosed technology should be understood to include equivalents capable of realizing the technical idea.

On the other hand, the meaning of the terms described in the present application should be understood as follows.

The terms 'first', 'second', etc. are used to distinguish one component from another component and the scope of rights should not be limited by these terms. For example, the first component may be named a second component, and similarly, the second component may also be named a first component.

When a component is referred to as being "connected" to another component, it should be understood that there may be other components in between, although it may be directly connected to the other component. On the other hand, when a component is said to be "directly connected" to another component, it should be understood that there is no other component in between. On the other hand, other expressions describing the relationship between the components, such as "between" and "immediately between" or "neighboring to" and "directly neighboring to", should be interpreted as well.

Singular expressions should be understood to include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, and terms such as "comprise" or "have" refer to a feature, number, step, operation, component, part or implementation thereof. It is to be understood that the combination is intended to be present, but not to exclude in advance the possibility of the presence or addition of one or more other features or numbers, steps, operations, components, parts or combinations thereof.

Each step may occur differently from the stated order unless the context clearly dictates the specific order. That is, each step may occur in the same order as specified, may be performed substantially simultaneously, or may be performed in the reverse order.

All terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art unless otherwise defined. The terms defined in the commonly used dictionary should be interpreted to coincide with the meanings in the context of the related art, and should not be interpreted as having ideal or excessively formal meanings unless clearly defined in the present application.

1 and 2 is a view showing a three-dimensional printer with a molding plate origin adjustment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, the three-dimensional printer with a molding plate origin adjustment apparatus of the present invention, the resin storage unit The light source 200 may include a light source 200, an upright support 300, a horizontal support 400, a driver 500, a molding plate 600, a force sensor 700, and a controller 800.

The resin storage unit (VAT) 100 stores a photocurable resin that is a liquid material for forming a three-dimensional structure, for example, an acrylic resin, a castable resin, and the like, and stores a lower portion of the transparent material. Equipped. Here, the lower part of the transparent material of the resin storage part 100 may be a material having excellent releasability with the three-dimensional structure, light transmittance and durability of the light emitted from the light source 200. In addition, the resin storage unit 100 provides a space where the photocurable resin is cured by the light irradiated from the light source 200.

The light source 200 irradiates the light which hardens photocurable resin to the lower part of the resin storage part 100. Here, the light source 200 receives a split image from the controller 800, for example, an image by a G code file generated from an STL (STereoLithography) file or an OBJ file by slicing software, and received the received image. It may be a DLP projector for irradiating light corresponding to the image.

The upright support 300 is formed vertically to provide a path for lifting and lowering the molding plate 600 attached to the horizontal support 400.

The horizontal supporter 400 is coupled to the upright supporter 300 so as to be raised and lowered along the upright supporter 300, and has one end supported by the upright supporter 300 so that the long axis is maintained in the horizontal direction. Have. In addition, the molding plate 600 is connected to the other end of the horizontal support 400.

The driver 500 provides power to the horizontal supporter 400 to rise and fall along the upright supporter 300 under the control of the controller 800. For example, a screw thread is formed on the upright support 300, and one end coupled to the upright support 300 of the horizontal support 400 includes a structure (not shown) for converting a rotational movement into a linear movement, and includes a driving unit ( According to the forward and reverse rotation of the motor (not shown) in the 500, the horizontal support member 400 may rise and fall, but is not limited thereto.

Molding plate 600 is coupled to the horizontal support 400 is disposed so as to rise or fall above the resin storage unit 100, the lower portion of the three-dimensional structure is formed by curing the photo-curable resin in the resin storage unit 100 Will be supported.

The force sensor 700 measures the force applied to the horizontal support, and outputs the measured value to the controller 800. In this case, the force sensor 700 is preferably a high-precision force sensor capable of supporting a weight of about 10 kg, but is not limited thereto.

The controller 800 controls the light source 200 and the driver 500 to correspond to the molding area of the 3D structure. That is, the controller 800 receives a control code such as a G code reflecting the cross-sectional image of the three-dimensional structure from a personal computer (PC) or a USB memory having a calculation function, and receives the resin storage unit 100 from the light source 200. The shape of the light irradiated to the lower part of the) is controlled. In addition, the controller 800 drives the 500 to gradually raise the molding plate 600 in a direction parallel to the long axis of the upright support 300 in order to solidify the three-dimensional structure formed by stacking the cross-sectional divided images for each layer. Will be controlled. In this case, the controller 800 may include a function of generating a control code such as a G code by slicing the STL file or the OBJ file, but is not limited thereto.

In addition, the controller 800 controls the driving unit 500 to arrange the molding plate 600 at the origin A according to the force detected by the force sensor 700 at the start of output of the 3D structure. Here, the origin (A) means the initial output position of the three-dimensional printer, the molding plate 600 is a position in contact with the bottom of the resin storage unit 100.

3 and 4 is a view showing a horizontal support 400 and a force sensor 700 of the three-dimensional printer with a molding plate origin adjustment device according to an embodiment of the present invention, as described below.

The horizontal supporter 400 may include a front flow part 410 and a rear fixing part 420 which are housings separated from each other.

The front flow part 410 is a housing which is coupled to the molding plate 600 and flows, and may include a screw structure for coupling with the molding plate 600, but is not limited thereto. At this time, the front flow portion 410 is separated while forming a predetermined spaced space with the rear fixing portion 420 so that the molding plate 600 is able to flow under the force when the molding plate 600 contacts the bottom of the resin storage unit 100. Can be.

In addition, the rear fixing part 420 is a housing coupled to and fixed to the upright support 300, and is formed by a force acting in the opposite direction to the bottom when the molding plate 600 contacts the bottom of the resin storage part 100. Even when the front flow portion 410 flows, the fixed state may be maintained.

The force sensor 700 generates an electric signal corresponding to the force applied to the front flow unit 410, and outputs the generated electric signal to the controller 800. Here, the force sensor 700 may include a beam structure 710 and a piezoresistive layer 720.

The beam-shaped structure 710 is fixed at one end of the front flow portion 410 and the other end of the beam structure 420, and may be deformed by contact force. That is, the beam structure 710 is a connection structure of the front flow part 410 and the rear fixing part 420 separated from each other, and at the same time, the molding plate 600 contacts the bottom of the resin storage part 100 so as to provide a front structure. As the eastern portion 410 rises, one end may be deformed. In this case, the beam type structure 710 may be provided with a screw structure for coupling with the front flow portion 410 and a screw structure for coupling with the rear fixing portion 420, but is not limited thereto.

The piezoresistive layer 720 detects deformation of the beam structure 710 to generate an electrical signal, and controls the electrical signal generated through a predetermined wire (not shown) connected to the controller 800, for example. You can output

The beam structure 710 may have a predetermined hole in the vicinity of the piezoresistive layer 720 in order to be easily deformed by the force transmitted through the molding plate 600.

The controller 800 may receive an electric signal from the piezoresistive layer 720, and calculate a force applied to the front flow part 410 according to the input electric signal.

In this case, the controller 800 may determine whether the molding plate 600 is in contact with the bottom of the resin storage part 100 according to the calculated value, and the molding plate 600 may have a front flow part 410. ), The output attached to the molding plate 600 during the output of the three-dimensional structure can be determined. That is, in the beam structure 710, the portion coupled with the front flow portion 410 may be deformed in the direction of gravity acceleration, and the molding plate 600 is mounted to the front flow portion 410 so that the three-dimensional structure is formed on the molding plate. The first state attached to the lower portion of the 600, the molding plate 600 is mounted to the front flow portion 410, but the second state that the three-dimensional structure is not attached to the bottom and the forming plate 600 is the front flow portion ( Assuming a third state that is not mounted on the 410, the first state is most deformed in the direction of gravity acceleration, and the degree of deformation is relaxed in the order of the second state and the third state. Accordingly, the controller 800 may receive various electrical signals generated from the piezoresistive layer 720 in response to the degree of deformation of the beam structure 710 to determine various states of the 3D printer.

Figure 5 is a flow chart showing the operation of the three-dimensional printer with a molding plate origin adjustment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, with reference to Figures 1 to 5 three-dimensional with a molding plate origin adjustment apparatus of the present invention. The operation of the printer will be described below.

First, when the user detects an input signal that the user wants to use the 3D printer, the controller 800 may apply to a value output from the current force sensor 700, that is, an electrical signal generated by the piezoresistive layer 720. The calculated value is stored (S100).

Subsequently, the controller 800 detects information by the rotation of the motor in the driving unit 500 and the like, so that the horizontal support 400 coupled with the molding plate 600 is positioned on the top of the upright support 300. It is determined whether or not (S200).

If the horizontal support 400 coupled with the molding plate 600 is not positioned at the top of the path of the upright support 300, the controller 800 controls the driving unit 500 to control the molding plate 600. Raise the horizontal support 400 coupled to the top (S300).

On the other hand, when the horizontal support 400 coupled with the molding plate 600 is located at the top on the providing path of the upright support 300, the controller 800 controls the driving unit 500 to control the molding plate 600. The combined horizontal supporter 400 is lowered to the first position B, which is a predetermined point that is lower than the uppermost part and above the origin (S400).

In this case, the controller 800 may receive an electric signal generated from the piezoresistive layer 720 and determine whether a force applied to the force sensor 700 is in a normal range (S500).

If the control unit 800 determines that the force applied to the force sensor 700 is not in the normal range, immediately stops the lowering operation of the horizontal support 400 coupled with the molding plate 600, and performs operation error processing. It is made (S600). As an example in which the control unit 800 determines that the force applied to the force sensor 700 is not the normal range, the beam-type structure fixed in the front flow part 410 is not coupled to the horizontal plate 400 by the molding plate 600. When the force in the direction of gravity acceleration is less applied to the 710, the force sensor 700 is broken, etc. In addition, if the control unit 800 can determine that the abnormality is applied to the force sensor 700 Loss of force may include both an abnormal state that can be determined according to the magnitude and direction of the force.

On the other hand, when the control unit 800 determines that the force applied to the force sensor 700 falls within the normal range, the driving unit 500 is controlled to be coupled with the molding plate 600 stopped at the first position B. FIG. The horizontal support 400 is lowered to the origin A (S700). At this time, the control unit 800, when lowering the horizontal support 400 coupled to the molding plate 600 to the first position (B) at the top, at a relatively high speed, the horizontal support coupled to the molding plate 600 ( When the 400 is lowered from the first position B to the origin A, it is lowered at a relatively slow speed, thereby increasing the operation speed and increasing the precision of the origin arrangement.

At this time, when the control unit 800 lowers the horizontal support 400 coupled with the molding plate 600 from the first position B to the origin A, the horizontal support 400 moves in a step-down manner. For example, the controller 800 may control the driving unit 500. The control unit 800 intermittently lowers the horizontal supporter 400 by about 20 μm, and an electrical signal input from the force sensor 700 is applied between each drop. In operation S800, a predetermined value, that is, a value corresponding to the bottom of the molding plate 600 may be determined.

If the control unit 800 determines that the bottom of the molding plate 600 does not reach the origin A by the electric signal input from the force sensor 700 (S900), the control unit 800 includes the horizontal support 400. While descending in a stepwise manner, each operation is performed again to check whether the electric signal input from the force sensor 700 is a preset value.

On the other hand, when the controller 800 determines that the bottom of the molding plate 600 has reached the origin A by the electric signal input from the force sensor 700, the controller 800 controls the drive unit 500. The movement of the horizontal support member 400 is stopped, and the light source 200, the driver 500, and the like are controlled to start the output operation of the 3D structure at the position.

The disclosed method and apparatus have been described with reference to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings for ease of understanding, but these are merely exemplary, and various modifications and equivalent other embodiments are possible to those skilled in the art. Will understand. Therefore, the true technical protection scope of the disclosed technology should be defined by the appended claims.

Claims

A resin storage unit for storing a photocurable resin and a lower portion of the photocurable resin;

A light source for irradiating light to the resin storage unit;

An upright support formed vertically;

A horizontal support cantilevered up and down along the upright support;

A driving unit for elevating the horizontal support in the vertical direction;

A molding plate coupled to the horizontal support and disposed to ascend and descend above the resin storage unit, and having a three-dimensional structure formed thereon;

A force sensor for measuring a force applied to the horizontal support; And

A control unit for controlling the light source and the driving unit corresponding to the molding area of the three-dimensional structure,

The control unit, a three-dimensional printer having a modeling plate homing device for controlling the drive unit to be positioned at the origin in accordance with the force measured by the force sensor when the output of the three-dimensional structure.
The method according to claim 1,

The horizontal support,

A front flow part that is a housing coupled to the molding plate and flows; And

A rear fixing part which is a housing coupled to and fixed to the upright support;

The force sensor is a three-dimensional printer having a modeling plate homing device for generating an electrical signal corresponding to the force applied to the front flow portion, and outputs the generated electrical signal to the controller.
The method according to claim 2,

The force sensor,

A beam structure having one end fixed in the front flow portion and the other end fixed in the rear fixed portion, and deformed by a contact force; And

3D printer comprising a modeling plate homing device including a piezoresistive layer for generating the electrical signal by detecting the deformation of the beam-like structure.
The method according to claim 3,

The control unit is a three-dimensional printer having a molding plate origin adjustment device for determining whether or not to mount the molding plate in accordance with the electrical signal.
The method according to claim 3,

The control unit is a three-dimensional printer having a molding plate origin adjustment device for determining whether the three-dimensional structure attached to the molding plate by the electrical signal.
The method according to claim 3,

The control unit may include a first step of raising the molding plate to the top when the output of the three-dimensional structure starts, a second step of lowering the molding plate to a predetermined point below the top and above the origin; The driving unit is divided into a third step of lowering the molding plate to the origin,

And a descending speed of the second step is greater than a falling speed of the third step.
The method according to claim 6,

The control unit, in the third step, a three-dimensional printer with a molding plate origin control device for controlling the drive unit so that the molding plate is intermittently lowered by a predetermined height in accordance with the step-down method.