WO2024085274A1

WO2024085274A1 - 3d printer

Info

Publication number: WO2024085274A1
Application number: PCT/KR2022/016006
Authority: WO
Inventors: 양태양; 조윤익; 이주연; 우휘인
Original assignee: 주식회사 포커스비전
Priority date: 2022-10-20
Filing date: 2022-10-20
Publication date: 2024-04-25

Abstract

The present invention relates to a FDM-type 3D printer which simultaneously has the precision of a direct drive type and the high speed of a Bowden type, and which comprises: a casing part providing an internal space; a workbed part; a printer head part; a motion control motor part; a timing belt part; a drive motor part; and a processor for controlling each of the motion control motor part and the drive motor part.

Description

3D printer

The present invention relates to a 3D printer, and more specifically, to an FDM type 3D printer that simultaneously has the precision of a direct drive type and the high speed of a Bowden type.

3D printers are largely divided into FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling), SLA (Stereolithography Apparatus), SLS (Selective Laser Simtering), and DLP (Direct Light Processing) methods depending on the method of producing three-dimensional output.

Among these various 3D printing methods, the SLA method developed by 3D Systems in 1986 and the FDM method developed by Stratasys in 1989 are the most commonly used. In particular, FDM 3D printers are the most commonly used. Because of its simple structure and low price, it is widely used for educational and personal purposes.

The FDM method is a method of melting and stacking plastic filaments such as PLA (Poly Latic Acid) or ABS (Acryontrie Butadiene Styrene) in a printer head. More specifically, it creates a three-dimensional shape by stacking melted and ejected plastic filaments in layers of 0.05 to 0.4 mm, which are thinner than paper.

In general, an FDM-type 3D printer consists of a printer head that melts and discharges the print material, a bed on which the discharged print material is piled, and a driving unit to move the print head and the bed.

If the print material is printed by moving the printer head and bed along the x- and y-axes in a 3-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system, a 2-dimensional output is created. In the above state, if you move the print head or bed along the z-axis and print to form a new layer on top of the existing printout, a three-dimensional printout with a height along the z-axis is created. The printing principle of an FDM-type 3D printer is to repeat these operations to create a three-dimensional shape of the desired shape.

Here, the printer head includes an extruder, and the extruder plays an important role in supplying raw plastic filament to the nozzle and melting and seating the filament on the bed.

There are two types of extruders depending on the method of pushing the filament. One is a direct extruder (direct type) and the other is a Bowden extruder (Bowden type).

The direct extruder has an extrusion motor located right above the nozzle and pushes out the filament directly, while the Bowden separates the filament supply device from the nozzle and extrudes the head using a Teflon tube to supply the filament. It is a way to connect wealth. The difference between these two extruders is the location of the motor that pushes the filament.

In the case of a direct extruder, the distance between the filament and the nozzle is short, so the filament is supplied stably and the output quality is good. However, since the extrusion motor is mounted on the head, the load on the head device itself increases, so the head device can be moved up and down or left and right. Not only does it require a large amount of power to transfer it, but as the load on the head device increases, it has the disadvantage of not being able to achieve high speeds and being vulnerable to vibration.

Meanwhile, the Bowden extruder has separate extrusion motors and heads, so the nozzle part is light and can move at high speeds, but the distance between the extrusion part and the head is long, so the load on the extrusion motor is high, and the supply of filament is unstable, leading to quality deterioration. There are disadvantages that arise.

The present invention was developed to solve the above problems, and its purpose is to provide a 3D printer with a new drive method that has both the precision of the direct drive method and the high speed of the Bowden method.

In addition, the present invention reduces the load on the printer head by installing the drive motor unit that controls the supply of filament (molding material filament, supporter filament) supplied to the printer head unit outside the 3D printer, rather than providing it in the printer head unit itself. The purpose is to provide a 3D printer that can not only reduce the power required to move the printer head, but also increase the output speed by reducing the weight of the printer head.

In addition, the present invention allows multiple motors to always operate simultaneously to perform one motion, so even if multiple motors are provided, even if the same number of motors is used compared to existing 3D printers in which one motor performs one motion, The goal is to provide a 3D printer that can produce much greater power.

In order to achieve the above object, a 3D printer according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a casing portion providing an internal space; A work bed portion installed to be movable in the Z-axis direction within the interior space and providing a contact surface on which filaments are stacked to produce a molded sculpture; a printer head unit spaced apart from an upper part of the work bed unit and movable in at least one of the X-axis and Y-axis directions; a motion control motor unit including N motion control motors that generate rotational force to move the printer head unit in at least one of the X-axis and Y-axis directions; a timing belt unit including N timing belts connecting the print head unit and the motion control motor unit to convert the rotational force of the motion control motor unit into movement in at least one of the X-axis and Y-axis directions; a drive motor unit installed on one of the outer sides of the casing unit and extruding filament to be supplied to the printer head unit; Control the motion control motor unit and the drive motor unit to move the printer head unit and output the filament, respectively, calculate the (x, y) coordinates to which the printer head unit will move, and calculate the (x, y) coordinates to which the printer head unit will move, based on the calculated (x, y) coordinates. A motion included in the motion control motor unit to determine at least one of a motion consisting of a combination of X-axis movement of the printer head, Y-axis movement, extrusion of the filament, and X-axis movement, Y-axis movement, and extrusion of the filament. It includes a processor that calculates the rotation direction and rotation speed of each control motor, and the printer head unit extrudes the filament supplied from the drive motor by a motion control motor unit and a timing belt unit that operate according to the determined motion. Do it as

The printer head unit includes a head unit that provides a movement path for the N timing belts and moves the filament in a downward direction; A sliding support part installed on both sides of the top of the casing part so that one side and the other side can move up and down along the Y-axis direction, and moves the head part left and right along the X-axis direction; a heating unit that supplies heat to the filament moved by the head unit to cause melting; and a nozzle unit having a nozzle through which the filament raw material molten by the heating unit is output.

The head portion includes an upper frame; a lower frame spaced apart from the upper frame to face the upper frame; And between the upper frame and the lower frame, a plurality of pulleys arranged parallel to each other and spaced apart from each other so as to be perpendicular to the facing surfaces of each of the upper frame and the lower frame, wherein the plurality of pulleys are, the N At least one idler pulley providing a movement path for the timing belt of the dog; And at least one extruder pulley that extrudes the filament using coaxial heterogeneous torque according to the power of the N timing belts.

The at least one extruder pulley outputs the filament using coaxial heterogeneous torque according to the power of the N timing belts, and includes a first extruder pulley for extruding a molding material filament and a second extruder for extruding a support filament. It is characterized by including an extruder pulley.

Each of the first and second extruder pulleys consists of at least two belt pulley layers to which a timing belt is attached, and an extruder for extruding a filament, and the extruder is connected to the motion control motor unit. Power is transmitted from two timing belts to extrude filament when each belt pulley layer rotates in different directions, and is characterized as a tilting screw-based extruder or gear-based extruder.

The motion control motor unit may be provided with N motion control motors (N is a natural number of 2 or more), and when N is 2, it includes first and second motion control motors, and the first motion control motor and the second motion control motor. 2 Motion control motors (position-related content deleted, position information described in the specification) simultaneously rotate in the same direction, move the head unit in the X-axis direction and Y-axis direction, and the N timing belts are connected to the first and It includes a second timing belt, wherein the first timing belt transmits power of the first motion control motor, and the second timing belt transmits power of the second motion control motor.

When N is 4, the motion control motor unit includes first to fourth motion control motors, the N timing belts include first to fourth timing belts, and the first motion control motor and the second When the motion control motor rotates simultaneously in the same direction (deleted information related to location, description of location in the specification), it moves the head in one of the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction (four motors move each axis simultaneously). The responsible configuration is described in claim 11), the third motion control motor and the fourth motion control motor rotate to perform length compensation of the third timing belt and the fourth timing belt, respectively, and the third motion control motor rotates to perform length compensation of the third timing belt and the fourth timing belt, respectively. When the control motor and the fourth motion control motor (deleted content related to position, description of position in the specification) rotate simultaneously in the same direction, the head moves in a different direction, and the first motion control motor and the second motion control motor The control motor rotates to perform length compensation of the first timing belt and the second timing belt, respectively, the first timing belt transmits power of the first motion control motor, and the second timing belt transmits the power of the second timing belt. The third timing belt transmits the power of the motion control motor, and the fourth timing belt transmits the power of the fourth motion control motor.

The first motion control motor and the second motion control motor rotate simultaneously in the same direction, but when their rotational speeds (number of rotations) are different from each other or when they rotate simultaneously in opposite directions, the filament supplied to the head is extruded. , the third motion control motor and the fourth motion control motor rotate simultaneously in the same direction, but when the rotation speeds (number of rotations) are different from each other or when they rotate simultaneously in opposite directions, the filament supplied to the head is extruded. It is characterized by being

The at least one idler pulley is composed of N layers in which N idlers are stacked on a coaxial line, and a timing belt is attached to each idler of each layer.

The at least one idler pulley may include four idler pulleys that provide a movement path for the N timing belts.

When N is 4, the motion control motor unit includes first to fourth motion control motors, the N timing belts include first to fourth timing belts, and the first to fourth motion control motors is characterized in that one motion determined from the above process is simultaneously operated and performed, and when an axis is moved, movement to the corresponding axis is performed simultaneously.

According to the present invention, by providing a gearless extruder using a screw-based extrusion method that extrudes filament to the nozzle unit only with the power of the belt, there is an effect of enabling precision in a direct drive method. This can improve the quality of the final product.

In addition, according to the present invention, by installing a drive motor that supplies filament to the printer head unit externally, the load on the printer head unit is lightened, enabling a fast moving speed. As a result, the maximum output speed of the 3D printer can be improved and work time can be reduced.

In addition, according to the present invention, the movement of the printer head is determined by using a plurality of motors simultaneously, thereby enabling precise control of the movement of the printer head.

In addition, according to the present invention, the power of the motor is transmitted using a timing belt connecting a plurality of motors and the printer head, and the filament is immediately extruded as in a direct connection method using the transmitted power of the motor, thereby eliminating the tension accumulated in the filament. there is.

In addition, according to the present invention, because multiple motors operate together at the same time, much greater force can be produced at the same cost compared to existing 3D printers using the same number of motors. In addition, motors with high force but low resolution and force By combining weak but high-resolution motors into one set and allowing them to operate simultaneously, it is possible to produce a 3D printer with high resolution and great power at a low cost.

In addition, according to the present invention, since multiple motors can operate together at the same time to generate a large force, a relatively inexpensive small motor can be used, which has the effect of reducing manufacturing costs.

Figure 1 is a block diagram schematically showing the overall configuration of a 3D printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the detailed configuration of the printer head unit 300 shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing a first embodiment of the head portion 310 shown in FIG. 2, where (a) is a perspective view and (b) is a plan view.

FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing a second embodiment of the head unit 310 shown in FIG. 2, where (a) is a perspective view and (b) is a diagram showing a timing belt attached to the head unit.

FIG. 5 is an example diagram for explaining the principle of movement of the head portion 810 shown in FIG. 3 in the X-axis direction.

FIG. 6 is an example diagram for explaining the principle of movement of the head portion 810 shown in FIG. 3 in the Y-axis direction.

FIG. 7 is an example diagram for explaining the principle of movement of the head portion 910 shown in FIG. 4 in the X-axis direction.

FIG. 8 is an example diagram for explaining the principle of movement of the head portion 910 shown in FIG. 4 in the Y-axis direction.

Figure 9 is an example diagram for explaining the principle of extruding filament from the head shown in Figure 4.

A 3D printer according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a casing portion providing an internal space; A work bed portion installed to be movable in the Z-axis direction within the interior space and providing a contact surface on which filaments are stacked to produce a molded sculpture; a printer head unit spaced apart from an upper part of the work bed unit and movable in at least one of the X-axis and Y-axis directions; a motion control motor unit including N motion control motors that generate rotational force to move the printer head unit in at least one of the X-axis and Y-axis directions; a timing belt unit including N timing belts connecting the print head unit and the motion control motor unit to convert the rotational force of the motion control motor unit into movement in at least one of the X-axis and Y-axis directions; a drive motor unit installed on one of the outer sides of the casing unit and extruding filament to be supplied to the printer head unit; Control the motion control motor unit and the drive motor unit to move the printer head unit and output the filament, respectively, calculate the (x, y) coordinates to which the printer head unit will move, and calculate the (x, y) coordinates to which the printer head unit will move, based on the calculated (x, y) coordinates. A motion included in the motion control motor unit to determine at least one of a motion consisting of a combination of X-axis movement of the printer head, Y-axis movement, extrusion of the filament, and X-axis movement, Y-axis movement, and extrusion of the filament. It includes a processor that calculates the rotation direction and rotation speed of each control motor, and the printer head unit extrudes the filament supplied from the drive motor by a motion control motor unit and a timing belt unit that operate according to the determined motion. Do it as

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. At this time, the same components in each drawing are indicated by the same symbols whenever possible. Additionally, detailed descriptions of already known functions and/or configurations will be omitted. The content disclosed below focuses on parts necessary to understand operations according to various embodiments, and descriptions of elements that may obscure the gist of the explanation are omitted. Additionally, some components in the drawings may be exaggerated, omitted, or shown schematically. The size of each component does not entirely reflect the actual size, and therefore the content described here is not limited by the relative sizes or spacing of the components drawn in each drawing.

In describing the embodiments of the present invention, if it is determined that a detailed description of the known technology related to the present invention may unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description will be omitted. The terms described below are defined in consideration of the functions in the present invention, and may vary depending on the intention or custom of the user or operator. Therefore, the definition should be made based on the contents throughout this specification. The terminology used in the detailed description is only for describing embodiments of the present invention and should in no way be limiting. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, singular forms include plural meanings. In this description, expressions such as “comprising” or “comprising” are intended to indicate certain features, numbers, steps, operations, elements, parts or combinations thereof, and one or more than those described. It should not be construed to exclude the existence or possibility of any other characteristic, number, step, operation, element, or part or combination thereof.

In addition, terms such as first, second, etc. may be used to describe various components, but the components are not limited by the terms, and the terms are used for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another component. It is used only as

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the attached drawings.

As shown in Figure 1, the 3D printer 1 according to the present invention includes a casing unit 100, a work bed unit 200, a printer head unit 300, a motion control motor unit 400, and a timing belt unit. It includes at least 500, a drive motor unit 600, and a processor 700.

The casing part 100 provides an internal space consisting of an upper surface, a lower surface, and a side surface, and the internal space may be composed of a plurality of frames to have a box shape.

The work bed unit 200 is installed to be movable in the Z-axis direction within the internal space, and filaments are stacked on the top to provide a contact surface on which a molded sculpture is manufactured.

The printer head unit 300 is disposed on the upper part of the work bed unit 200 to be spaced apart from the contact surface, and is installed to be movable in at least one of the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction. That is, the printer head unit 300 can not only move in the X-axis direction or the Y-axis direction, but also move diagonally according to the (x, y) coordinates of the movement target point.

The motion control motor unit 400 generates a rotational force to move the printer head unit 300 in at least one of the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction, and is provided with N (N is a natural number of 2 or more) motion control motors. It can be. For example, when the motion control motor unit 400 is equipped with two motion control motors, the printer head unit 300 can be moved in the X-axis direction and/or the Y-axis direction using two timing belts. For another example, when the motion control motor unit 400 is equipped with four motion control motors, the printer head unit 300 can be moved in the X-axis direction and/or Y-axis direction using four timing belts. there is.

This motion control motor unit 400 is not a set of two motion control motors responsible for moving one axis, but a plurality of sets, for example, two sets (four motion control motors) are responsible for moving one axis. It can also be implemented to take charge. That is, multiple motor sets can serve as motors for one core XY (core xy).

The timing belt unit 500 is a printer head unit 300 and a motion control motor in order to convert the rotational force of each motion control motor included in the motion control motor unit 400 into movement in the X-axis direction and/or Y-axis direction. Each motion control motor of the unit 400 is connected, and N timing belts can be provided as many as the number of motion control motors. For example, one timing belt connects two motion control motors and the printer head unit 300 to form one loop, and transmits the rotational force starting from the first motion control motor to the printer head unit 300. The printer head unit 300 uses this to output filament to the work bed unit 200, and the timing belt passing through the printer head unit 300 passes through the second motion control motor and returns to the first motion control motor. . As a result, the first motion control motor and the second motion control motor rotate together and the tension of the timing belt can be kept constant.

The drive motor unit 600 is installed on one of the outer sides of the casing unit 100 and extrudes the filament so that it is supplied to the printer head unit 300.

Here, the filament may be of two types: a molding material filament and a support filament, and the two filaments may be compressed and supplied to the printer head unit 300, respectively. The molding material filament is the raw material that makes up the molded sculpture to be manufactured, and the support filament is used to support the contact surface between the molded sculpture being manufactured and the work bed portion 200 or the internal space and shape of the molded sculpture and is soluble in water to be removed after the work is completed. Plastics, etc. are used.

Removal of the support filament is sometimes done using sandpaper, but in the present invention, the support filament can be easily removed using a plastic material that dissolves in water, thereby ensuring a smooth surface of the molded sculpture.

In this embodiment, the drive motor unit 600 that supplies the filament is installed externally, and the head unit that performs the extrusion function of the filament is located closest to the heating unit to lighten the weight and at the same time reduce the tension accumulated in the filament. By minimizing the filament, the ejection of the filament can be stopped as soon as the extrusion of the filament stops.

The processor 700 controls the motion control motor unit 400 and the drive motor unit 600, respectively, for movement of the printer head unit 300 and output of filament, and the printer head unit 300 moves (x, y). ) coordinates are calculated, and the rotation direction, rotation speed, and number of rotations of each motion control motor provided in the motion control motor unit 400 are calculated so that the filament is extruded and output based on the calculated (x, y) coordinates.

Additionally, the processor 700 can control the movement path of the timing belt in real time by optimizing the calculation formula. Through optimization of these mathematical calculations, the length and number of path changes of the timing belt can be reduced. For example, the movement path of the timing belt shown in Figures 7 and 8 is more optimized than the movement path of the timing belt shown in Figures 5 and 6.

In addition, the processor 700 requires a large number of calculations because it must simultaneously drive multiple motion control motors, for example, two motion control motors, four motion control motors, etc., so it can be implemented as a 32-bit-based computing system. .

As described above, the 3D printer according to the present invention is an extruder using coaxial heterogeneous torque by installing a drive motor unit externally that extrudes filament and supplies it to the printer head, and connects the motor and the printer head unit using a timing belt. has been implemented, allowing filament to be output like a direct drive method.

Accordingly, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a 3D printer that simultaneously has the precision of the direct drive method and the high speed of the Bowden method.

As shown in FIG. 2, the printer head unit 300 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes at least a head unit 310, a sliding support unit 320, a heating unit 330, and a nozzle unit 340. It is composed.

The head portion 310 provides a movement path for the N timing belts 500 and moves the filament in the downward direction.

To this end, the head portion 300 includes at least an upper frame 311, an idler pulley 312, an extruder pulley 313, and a lower frame 314.

That is, the head portion 300 is spaced apart from each other in parallel between the upper frame 311 and the lower frame 314 arranged to face each other, so as to be perpendicular to the facing surfaces of the upper frame 311 and the lower frame 314, respectively. It includes a plurality of pulleys that are arranged.

Here, the plurality of pulleys include at least one idler pulley that provides a movement path for the N timing belts, and at least one extruder pulley that outputs the filament to the bottom using coaxial heterogeneous torque according to the power of the N timing belts. Includes. The extruder pulley may include a first extruder pulley for extruding a molding material filament and a second extruder pulley for extruding a support filament.

First, the idler pulley 312 has a structure in which idlers are stacked coaxially as many as the number of timing belts. If there are two timing belts, it is implemented as a two-layer structure with one timing belt attached to each layer.

The extruder pulley 313 receives power from the timing belt connected to each motion control motor to extrude the filament. For this, at least two timing belts must be attached and the timing belts can rotate in different directions. It is implemented. In addition, the extruder pulley 313 is configured to allow the two timing belts to rotate in the same direction, but in this case, extrusion of the filament is not performed.

The sliding support part 320 is installed on both sides facing each other at the upper end of the casing part 100 so that one side and the other side can move up and down along the Y-axis direction, and moves the head part 310 left and right along the X-axis direction. Support so that it can be moved.

The heating unit 330 supplies heat to the filament moved by the head unit 310 to cause melting. This heating unit 330 can generate high temperature heat of 250°C or higher to melt the molding material filament and support filament. Meanwhile, although not shown, the heating unit 330 may further include a cooling means adjacent to the heating unit 330 that can dissipate the heat of the heating unit 330 when the extrusion (output) of the filament stops. .

The nozzle unit 340 is provided with a nozzle (not shown) that outputs the filament raw material melted by the heating unit 330 to the work bed unit 200. The nozzle unit 340 has a nozzle that outputs filaments equal to the number of extruder pulleys 313 provided in the head unit 310.

An actual implementation example of the above-described head unit 310 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing a first embodiment of the head portion 310 shown in FIG. 2, where (a) is a perspective view and (b) is a plan view. Here, the 3D printer according to the present invention will be described as an example where it is equipped with four motion control motors and four timing belts. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be configured with two or more motion control motors and a timing belt depending on the design.

As shown in Figures 3 (a) and (b), the head part 810 according to the first embodiment of the present invention is located on the upper part of the sliding support part 320, and includes an upper frame 811 and a lower frame ( 814), four idler pulleys (812-1, 812-2, 812-3, 812-4) and one extruder pulley (813) provided between the upper frame (811) and the lower frame (814) It is designed to include Here, the upper and lower frames are configured in a square shape, and each idler pulley is disposed adjacent to a corner of the square frame.

The upper frame 811, the lower frame 814, and the extruder pulley 813 are provided with one or more openings penetrating in a coaxial line, and filament flows in along the openings to form an extruder pulley. Depending on the rotation of each layer of the belt pulley, the filament remains stationary or is extruded downward. (It is difficult to determine from the drawings in the data how the nozzle for extruding the filament is formed, so it was created arbitrarily, so check the contents and drawings. wish.)

Each of the idler pulleys (812-1, 812-2, 812-3, and 812-4) provides a path where two timing belts intersect, so there is an idler with separate layers for each location where each timing belt is attached. It is configured to be stacked on a coaxial line.

The extruder pulley 813 has a structure in which belt pulleys separated by the number of timing belts are stacked on a coaxial line so that four timing belts are attached to each, and it depends on the rotation direction and rotation speed of the timing belt attached to each belt pulley. Perform extrusion and suspension of the filament accordingly. Here, the belt pulley is a device that has grooves at equal intervals like a gear and moves through rotation as it engages with the belt. For example, when two timing belts rotate in the same direction at the same rotation speed, the extruder pulley 813 stops extruding the filament, and the two timing belts rotate at different rotation speeds or in different directions. When rotating, the extruder pulley 813 can extrude the filament. In this way, by adjusting the rotation speed and direction of rotation of each timing belt, that is, the rotation speed and direction of rotation of the motor, the printer head unit can be controlled to extrude the filament while moving.

FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing a second embodiment of the head unit 310 shown in FIG. 2, where (a) is a perspective view and (b) is a diagram showing a timing belt attached to the head unit. Here, the 3D printer according to the present invention will be described as an example where it is equipped with four motion control motors and four timing belts. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be configured with two or more motion control motors and a timing belt depending on the design.

As shown in Figures 4 (a) and (b), the head portion 910 according to the second embodiment of the present invention includes an upper frame 911, a lower frame 914, an upper frame 911, and a lower frame. It is configured to include one idler pulley 912 and two extruder pulleys 913-1 and 913-2 provided between the frames 914. Here, the upper and lower frames are configured in a triangular shape, and the idler pulley 912 and the extruder pulleys 913-1 and 913-2 are arranged adjacent to each corner of the triangle shape. However, the positions of the idler pulley 912 and the extruder pulleys 913-1 and 913-2 are not limited to each corner, and are optimized for the center of gravity of the head portion 910 and the movement path of the timing belt. An appropriate location can be determined after consideration.

One idler pulley 912 has a structure in which the number of idlers corresponding to the number of timing belts is stacked on a coaxial line. In this embodiment, it is made of four layers, and each layer has a timing belt attached. It supports rotation when moving, but does not provide power.

That is, in the embodiment of the present invention, all four timing belts pass through the idler pulley 912, which means that the sum of the movements of the four motion control motors is transmitted to each layer and decomposed into the final movement. As a result, even if there is a small movement, the four motion control motors always move in cooperation, making very precise and fast movement possible.

The two extruder pulleys (913-1, 913-2) have a first extruder pulley (913-1) through which the molding material filament flows into the top and is extruded toward the bottom, and a support filament flows into the top and is extruded toward the bottom. It includes a second extruder pulley (913-2).

Each extruder pulley (913-1, 913-2) has two belt pulley layers stacked on the same axis so that two timing belts are attached to each, and the filament is extruded in the downward direction (nozzle direction). It may include first and

second extruders

915 and 916 for ease of use. Here, the first and

second extruders

915 and 916 may be configured as a tilting screw-based extruder or a gear-based extruder. A belt pulley is a device that has grooves at equal intervals like a gear and moves through rotation as it engages with the belt. That is, in an embodiment of the present invention, the filament is extruded and stopped according to the rotation direction and rotation speed of the timing belt attached to each belt pulley.

Equally spaced grooves are formed on the outer peripheral surface of each belt pulley layer of the two belt pulley layers located above the first extruder 915 and the two belt pulley layers located below the second extruder 916, , a timing belt with protrusions at the same intervals as the grooves on the outer peripheral surface of each belt pulley layer is attached to the inside and engages accurately, and through this, the rotational force of the motion control motor is transmitted to the corresponding extruder. The extruder uses the transmitted rotational force to extrude the filament toward the lower nozzle part.

Figure 5 is an example diagram for explaining the principle of movement of the head portion 810 shown in Figure 3 in the X-axis direction, (a) is a diagram showing the direction of movement of the belt before movement along the This diagram shows the change in length of the timing belt after the axis moves.

As shown in Figures 5 (a) and (b), in one embodiment of the present invention, when the head part 810 has a square shape, four motion control motors (4 motion control motors) are installed at each corner of the upper part of the casing part. M1, M2, M3, M4) are installed respectively, and four idler bars (11 to 18, 21 to 28) are placed between the two motion control motors. However, in the present invention, the position of the motion control motor is not limited to this, and the position of the motion control motor can be any position that can provide power to the timing belt even if it is placed adjacent to one corner, thereby optimizing the movement path of the timing belt. The appropriate location can be determined by considering such factors.

Idler bars (11 to 18, 21 to 28) are provided to maintain tension and change direction when the timing belt moves, and are configured to enable reciprocating movement between the two motors at the upper part of the casing. These idler bars (11 to 18, 21 to 28) may have a structure in which idlers are stacked in a coaxial line as many as the number of timing belts so that each timing belt can be attached and rotated.

First, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the movement of the head unit 810 in the X-axis direction is controlled by the third and fourth motion control motors (M3, M4), and the third and fourth motion control motors (M3, M4) ) Each drives to transmit rotational force to the 3rd and 4th timing belts (long dashed line, long dashed line-dotted line-dotted line), and the 3rd timing belt (long dashed line) moves in the direction of the arrow and the idler bar (starting from M3, 11->15->17->M4->18->16->12, arrives at M3) to form a loop. At the same time, the fourth timing belt (long broken line-dotted line-dotted line) moves in the direction of the arrow via the idler bar (starting from M4, 18->14->12->M3->11->13->17). Forms one loop. At this time, the third and fourth motion control motors (M3, M4) and the third and fourth timing belts (long broken line, long broken line-dotted line-dotted line) each form one loop and repeat infinite rotation with the formed loop. It is controlled to perform the desired motion (moving the head part, extruding and stopping the filament, moving the head part while extruding and stopping the filament, etc.).

In this way, through the driving of the third and fourth motion control motors (M3, M4), the third and fourth timing belts (long dashed line, long dashed line-dotted line-dotted line) rotate in the first direction of the It moves over the sliding support 320 in the direction of the arrow).

At this time, the third and fourth timing belts (long broken line, long broken line-dotted line-dotted line) rotate in the same direction, so extrusion of the filament is not performed in the head portion 810.

Additionally, similarly, the first and second motion control motors M1 and M2 are driven to rotate the first and second timing belts (round dotted lines, broken lines). However, the rotation of the first and second timing belts (round dotted lines, broken lines) is not a rotation to move the head portion 810, but timing that occurs as the head portion 810 moves in the first direction of the X-axis direction. This is necessary to maintain belt tension. Even at this time, since the first and second timing belts (round dotted line, broken line) rotate together in the same direction, extrusion of the filament is not performed in the head portion 810.

And, the idler bars 21 to 28 move in the X-axis direction according to the movement of the head portion 810.

As described above, in the 3D printer according to the present invention, four motion control motors rotate simultaneously to perform one motion called X-axis movement.

Figure 6 is an example diagram for explaining the principle of movement of the head portion 810 shown in Figure 3 in the Y-axis direction. (a) is a diagram showing the direction of movement of the belt before movement along the Y-axis, and (b) is a diagram showing the movement direction of the belt before movement along the Y-axis. This diagram shows the change in timing belt length after Y-axis movement.

As shown in Figures 6 (a) and (b), in one embodiment of the present invention, when the head part 810 has a square shape, four motion control motors (4 motion control motors) are installed at each corner of the upper part of the casing part. M1, M2, M3, M4) are installed respectively, and four idler bars (11 to 18, 21 to 28) are placed between the two motion control motors. However, in the present invention, the position of the motion control motor is not limited to this, and the position of the motion control motor can be any position that can provide power to the timing belt even if it is placed adjacent to one corner, thereby optimizing the movement path of the timing belt. The appropriate location can be determined by considering such factors.

Idler bars (11 to 18, 21 to 28) are provided to maintain tension and change direction when the timing belt moves, and are configured to enable reciprocating movement between the two motion control motors at the upper part of the casing. These idler bars (11 to 18, 21 to 28) may have a structure in which idlers are stacked in a coaxial line as many as the number of timing belts so that each timing belt can be attached and rotated.

First, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the movement of the head unit 810 in the Y-axis direction is controlled by the first and second motion control motors (M1, M2), and the first and second motion control motors (M1, M2) ) Each drives to transmit rotational force to the first and second timing belts (round dotted line, dashed line), and as the first timing belt (round dotted line) moves in the direction of the arrow, the idler bar (M1 starts, 28->22-> 24->M2->23->21->27, arrives at M1) to form a loop. At the same time, the second timing belt (dashed line) moves in the direction of the arrow and makes one loop via the idler bar (M2 starts, 23->25->27->M1->28->26->24, M2 arrives). forms. At this time, the first and second motion control motors (M1, M2) and the first and second timing belts (round dotted line, dashed line) each form one loop and repeat infinite rotation with the formed loop to achieve the desired motion (head part). It is controlled to perform movement, extrusion and stopping of the filament, extrusion and stopping of the filament simultaneously with movement of the head, etc.).

In this way, through the driving of the first and second motion control motors (M1, M2), the first and second timing belts (round dotted lines, broken lines) rotate and move in the first direction of the Y-axis (black arrow direction). do. At this time, the sliding support unit 320 also moves in the first direction of the Y-axis direction.

At this time, since the first and second timing belts (round dotted line, broken line) rotate in the same direction, extrusion of the filament is not performed in the head portion 810.

Additionally, similarly, the third and fourth motion control motors (M3, M4) (red, blue) are driven to rotate the third and fourth timing belts (long dashed line - dotted line - dotted line). However, the rotation of the third and fourth timing belts (long dashed line - dotted line - dotted line) is not rotation to move the head part 810, but rather moves in the first direction of the Y-axis direction of the head part 810. It is necessary to maintain the tension of the timing belt. Even at this time, since the third and fourth timing belts (long dashed line - dotted line - dotted line) rotate together in the same direction, extrusion of the filament is not performed in the head portion 810.

And, the idler bars 11 to 18 move in the first direction of the Y-axis direction as the head portion 810 moves.

As described above, in the 3D printer according to the present invention, four motion control motors are driven simultaneously to rotate all four timing belts to perform one motion called Y-axis movement.

Figure 7 is an example diagram for explaining the principle of movement of the head part 910 shown in Figure 4 in the (b) is a diagram showing the direction of movement of the belt before moving along the X-axis, and (c) is a diagram showing the change in length of the timing belt after moving along the X-axis.

As shown in Figures 7 (a) to (c), in one embodiment of the present invention, when the head part 910 has a triangular shape, four motion control motors (4 motion control motors) are installed at each corner of the upper part of the casing part. M1, M2, M3, M4) are installed respectively, idler bars (31, 32, 33, 34) are arranged one by one in pairs with each motor, and an idler bar (35) is placed between the second and third motion control motors. , 36), two

idler bars

37 and 38 are disposed between the first and fourth motion control motors. Here, the positions of the motion control motors (M1, M2, M3, M4) and the idler bars (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38) are not limited to this, and in the present invention, the positions of the motion control motors Since the position can be any position that can provide power to the timing belt even if it is placed adjacent to one corner, the motion control motor and idler bar can be determined at an appropriate position by considering optimization of the movement path of the timing belt.

The idler bars (35 to 38) are provided to maintain tension and change direction when the timing belt moves, and the idler bars (31 to 34) arranged in pairs with each motion control motor are fixed in position and are positioned between the two motion control motors. The idler bars 35 to 38 arranged in are configured to be able to move back and forth between the two motion control motors at the upper end of the casing. These idler bars (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, and 38) may have a structure in which idlers are stacked in a coaxial line as many as the number of timing belts so that each timing belt can be attached and rotated.

First, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the movement of the head unit 910 in the X-axis direction is controlled by the third and fourth motion control motors (M3, M4), and the third and fourth motion control motors (M3, M4) ) Each drives to transmit rotational force to the 3rd and 4th timing belts (long dashed line, long dashed line-dashed line-dashed line), and the 3rd timing belt (long dashed line) moves in the direction of the arrow and moves the idler bar (M3 starting, 35 ->36->M2->32->34->38->idler pulley->2nd extruder pulley->35, arrives at M3) to form one loop. At the same time, the fourth timing belt (long broken line-dotted line-dotted line) moves in the direction of the arrow and moves the idler bar (M4 starting, 38->idler pulley->2nd extruder pulley->35->31->34-> It forms a loop via M1->37->38, arriving at M4). At this time, the third and fourth motion control motors (M3, M4) and the third and fourth timing belts (long broken line, long broken line-dotted line-dotted line) each form one loop and repeat infinite rotation with the formed loop. It is controlled to perform the desired motion (moving the head part, extruding and stopping the filament, moving the head part while extruding and stopping the filament, etc.).

In this way, through the driving of the third and fourth motion control motors (M3, M4), the third and fourth timing belts (long dashed line - dotted line - dotted line) rotate in the first direction of the X axis (black arrow direction). It moves on the sliding support 320 (not shown).

At this time, the third and fourth timing belts (long dashed line - dotted line - dotted line) rotate in the same direction, so extrusion of the filament is not performed in the head portion 910.

Additionally, similarly, the first and second motion control motors M1 and M2 are driven to rotate the first and second timing belts (round dotted lines, broken lines). However, the rotation of the first and second timing belts (round dotted lines, broken lines) is not rotation to move the head portion 910, but timing that occurs as the head portion 910 moves in the first direction of the X-axis direction. It is necessary to maintain tension by controlling changes in belt tension. Even at this time, since the first and second timing belts (round dotted line, broken line) rotate together in the same direction, extrusion of the filament is not performed in the head portion 910.

And, the idler bars 35 to 38 move in the first direction of the X-axis direction according to the movement of the head portion 910.

As described above, in the 3D printer according to the present invention, four motion control motors rotate simultaneously to rotate all four timing belts to perform one motion called X-axis movement.

Figure 8 is an example diagram for explaining the movement principle of the head part 910 shown in Figure 4 in the Y-axis direction, (a) is the position where four timing belts are attached to the idler pulley of the head part 910 This is a drawing showing, (b) is a drawing showing the direction of movement of the belt before moving along the Y axis, and (c) is a drawing showing the change in length of the timing belt after moving along the Y axis.

As shown in (a) to (c) of Figure 8, in one embodiment of the present invention, when the head part 910 has a triangular shape, four motion control motors (4 motion control motors) are installed at each corner of the upper part of the casing part. M1, M2, M3, M4) are installed respectively, idler bars (31, 32, 33, 34) are arranged one by one in pairs with each motion control motor, and an idler bar is between the second and third motion control motors. (35, 36), two idler bars (37, 38) are disposed between the first and fourth motion control motors. Here, the positions of the motion control motors (M1, M2, M3, M4) and the idler bars (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38) are not limited to this, and in the present invention, the positions of the motion control motors Since the position can be any position that can provide power to the timing belt even if it is placed adjacent to one corner, the motion control motor and idler bar can be determined at an appropriate position by considering optimization of the movement path of the timing belt.

The idler bars (35 to 38) are provided to maintain tension and change direction when the timing belt moves, and the idler bars (31 to 34) arranged in pairs with each motion control motor are fixed in position and are positioned between the two motion control motors. The disposed idler bars 35 to 38 are configured to be able to move back and forth between the two motion control motors at the upper end of the casing. These idler bars (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, and 38) may have a structure in which idlers are stacked in a coaxial line as many as the number of timing belts so that each timing belt can be attached and rotated.

First, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the movement of the head unit 910 in the Y-axis direction is controlled by the first and second motion control motors (M1, M2), and the first and second motion control motors (M1, M2) ) Each drives to transmit rotational force to the first and second timing belts (round dotted line, broken line), and as the first timing belt (round dotted line) moves in the direction of the arrow, the idler bar (M1 starts, 37->idler pulley- >First extruder pulley->36->32->34->M4->38->37, arrives at M1) to form one loop. At the same time, the second timing belt (dashed line) moves in the direction of the arrow and moves the idler bar (M2 starting, 36->35->M3->31->33->37->idler pulley->first extruder pulley- >36, arrives at M2) to form a loop. At this time, the first and second motion control motors (M1, M2) and the first and second timing belts (round dotted line, dashed line) each form one loop and repeat infinite rotation with the formed loop to achieve the desired motion (head part). It is controlled to perform movement, extrusion and stopping of the filament, extrusion and stopping of the filament simultaneously with movement of the head, etc.).

At this time, since the first and second timing belts (round dotted line, broken line) rotate in the same direction, extrusion of the filament is not performed in the head portion 910.

Additionally, similarly, the third and fourth motion control motors M3 and M4 are driven to rotate the third and fourth timing belts (long broken line, long broken line-dotted line-dotted line). However, the rotation of the third and fourth timing belts (long dashed line, long dashed line-dotted line-dotted line) is not rotation to move the head portion 910, but in the first direction among the Y-axis directions of the head portion 810. It is necessary to maintain tension by controlling the change in tension of the timing belt that occurs as it moves. Even at this time, since the third and fourth timing belts (long broken line, long broken line-dotted line-dotted line) rotate together in the same direction, extrusion of the filament is not performed in the head portion 910.

And, the idler bars 35 to 38 move in the first direction of the Y-axis direction as the head portion 910 moves.

As seen with reference to FIGS. 5 to 8, in the 3D printer according to the present invention, four motion control motors rotate simultaneously to perform X-axis movement, Y-axis movement, molding material filament extrusion, support filament extrusion, and combinations thereof. Determine one of the motions and control it to perform it. For example, the 3D printer according to the present invention controls the rotation of a plurality of motion control motors to perform a motion that only performs X-axis movement (filament extrusion stop) and a Y-axis movement (filament extrusion stop) according to the rotation speed and direction of rotation. Extrusion stop), motion to extrude filament in place without moving, motion to extrude filament while moving, etc. can be determined.

As shown in Figure 9, in the 3D printer according to an embodiment of the present invention, the first and second extruders are used to perform the extruder function of extruding filament from the head unit 910 provided in the printer head unit. Equipped with a truer pulley (913-1, 313-2).

The first and second extruder pulleys (913-1, 313-2) each have two belt pulley layers so that two timing belts are attached top and bottom to one axis (indicated by black circles), The two timing belts move across different motion control motors (M1, M2), but if the two motion control motors (M1, M2) move in the same direction, the filaments (A, S) are not extruded and the head ( Only the movement of 910 is performed, and when moving in different directions, the head portion 910 does not move and only the filaments (A, S) are extruded. At this time, the first extruder pulley 913-1 and the second extruder pulley 913-2 must be controlled to selectively extrude only one filament so as not to extrude the filament at the same time.

In other words, the head part moves and the filament is extruded by controlling the rotation direction and rotation speed of the motion control motor for motions such as X-axis movement, Y-axis movement, molding material filament (A) extrusion, and support filament (S) extrusion. Driving is also possible.

For example, the first and second motion control motors (M1, M2) are connected to the first and second timing belts (round dotted lines, dashed lines) (black circles) on the axis of the first extruder pulley (913-1). is attached and receives rotational force from the motor, thereby taking charge of Y-axis movement and extrusion of the molding material filament (A), and the third and fourth motion control motors (M3, M4) are connected to the second extruder pulley (913- The 3rd and 4th timing belts (long dashed line, long dashed line-dotted line-dotted line) (black circle) are attached to the axis of 2) and receive rotational force from the motion control motor to move the X axis and the support filament (S). Responsible for extrusion.

As such, in the present invention, the head portion 910 not only moves but also performs the extruder function of the direct drive method, thereby achieving the effects of the direct drive method such as precise extrusion and good surface quality.

In addition, the 3D printer according to the present invention controls four motion control motors to operate simultaneously to perform one motion, so that the power is four times that of a conventional 3D printer in which one motor performs one motion (movement). As this increases, the weight of the head decreases, so the acceleration force also increases. As a result, the vibration of the head part is much less and filament output is possible more quickly.

The above description is merely an illustrative explanation of the technical idea of the present invention, and various modifications and variations will be possible to those skilled in the art without departing from the essential characteristics of the present invention. Accordingly, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention are not intended to limit the technical idea of the present invention, but are for illustrative purposes, and the scope of the technical idea of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. The scope of protection of the present invention should be interpreted in accordance with the claims below, and all technical ideas within the equivalent scope should be construed as being included in the scope of rights of the present invention.

Claims

A casing portion providing an internal space;

A work bed portion installed to be movable in the Z-axis direction within the interior space and providing a contact surface on which filaments are stacked to produce a molded sculpture;

a printer head unit spaced apart from an upper part of the work bed unit and movable in at least one of the X-axis and Y-axis directions;

a motion control motor unit including N motion control motors that generate rotational force to move the printer head unit in at least one of the X-axis and Y-axis directions;

a timing belt unit including N timing belts connecting the print head unit and the motion control motor unit to convert the rotational force of the motion control motor unit into movement in at least one of the X-axis and Y-axis directions;

a drive motor unit installed on one of the outer sides of the casing unit and extruding filament to be supplied to the printer head unit;

Control the motion control motor unit and the drive motor unit to move the printer head unit and output the filament, respectively, calculate the (x, y) coordinates to which the printer head unit will move, and calculate the (x, y) coordinates to which the printer head unit will move, based on the calculated (x, y) coordinates. A motion included in the motion control motor unit to determine at least one of a motion consisting of a combination of X-axis movement of the printer head, Y-axis movement, extrusion of the filament, and X-axis movement, Y-axis movement, and extrusion of the filament. It includes a processor that calculates the rotation direction and rotation speed of each control motor,

The printer head unit is a 3D printer that extrudes filament supplied from the drive motor by a motion control motor unit and a timing belt unit that operate according to a determined motion.
According to paragraph 1,

The printer head unit includes a head unit that provides a movement path for the N timing belts and moves the filament in a downward direction;

A sliding support part installed on both sides of the top of the casing part so that one side and the other side can move up and down along the Y-axis direction, and moves the head part left and right along the X-axis direction;

a heating unit that supplies heat to the filament moved by the head unit to cause melting; and

A 3D printer comprising a nozzle unit through which the filament raw material melted by the heating unit is output.
According to paragraph 2,

The head portion includes an upper frame;

a lower frame spaced apart from the upper frame; and

Between the upper frame and the lower frame, a plurality of pulleys arranged parallel to each other and spaced apart from each other so as to be perpendicular to opposing surfaces of each of the upper frame and the lower frame,

The plurality of pulleys include at least one idler pulley providing a movement path for the N timing belts; and

A 3D printer comprising: at least one extruder pulley that extrudes the filament using coaxial heterogeneous torque according to the power of the N timing belts.
According to paragraph 3,

The at least one extruder pulley outputs the filament using coaxial heterogeneous torque according to the power of the N timing belts, and includes a first extruder pulley for extruding a molding material filament and a second extruder for extruding a support filament. A 3D printer comprising an extruder pulley.
According to clause 4,

Each of the first and second extruder pulleys includes at least two belt pulley layers to which a timing belt is attached, and an extruder for extruding a filament,

The extruder receives power from two timing belts connected to the motion control motor unit and extrudes the filament when each belt pulley layer rotates in different directions. The extruder is a tilting screw-based extruder or a gear-based extruder. A 3D printer characterized by being a truer.
According to clause 5,

The motion control motor unit may include N motion control motors (N is a natural number of 2 or more), and when N is 2, it includes first and second motion control motors,

When the first and second motion control motors rotate simultaneously in the same direction, the head unit moves in at least one of the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction,

The N timing belts include first and second timing belts,

The first timing belt transmits power of the first motion control motor, and the second timing belt transmits power of the second motion control motor.
According to clause 5,

When N is 4, the motion control motor unit includes first to fourth motion control motors,

The N timing belts include first to fourth timing belts,

When the first motion control motor and the second motion control motor simultaneously rotate in the same direction, the head unit moves in one of the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction, and the third motion control motor and the fourth motion control motor rotates to perform length compensation of the third and fourth timing belts, respectively,

When the third motion control motor and the fourth motion control motor simultaneously rotate in the same direction, the head part moves in a different direction, and the first motion control motor and the second motion control motor are respectively connected to the first timing belt and the second motion control motor. 2 Rotate to perform length compensation of the timing belt,

The first timing belt transmits power of the first motion control motor, the second timing belt transmits power of the second motion control motor, and the third timing belt transmits power of the third motion control motor. , and the fourth timing belt transmits power of the fourth motion control motor.
In clause 7,

The first motion control motor and the second motion control motor rotate simultaneously in the same direction, but when their rotational speeds (number of rotations) are different from each other or when they rotate simultaneously in opposite directions, the filament supplied to the head is extruded. ,

The third motion control motor and the fourth motion control motor rotate simultaneously in the same direction, but when their rotation speeds (number of rotations) are different from each other or when they rotate simultaneously in opposite directions, the filament supplied to the head is extruded. A 3D printer characterized in that.
According to paragraph 6 or 8,

The at least one idler pulley is made of N layers in which N idlers are stacked on a coaxial line, and a timing belt is attached to each idler of each layer.
According to clause 9,

A 3D printer, wherein the at least one idler pulley includes four idler pulleys that each provide a movement path for the N timing belts.
In clause 7,

When N is 4, the motion control motor unit includes first to fourth motion control motors, and the N timing belts include first to fourth timing belts,

The first to fourth motion control motors simultaneously operate and perform one motion determined in the process, and when an axis moves, the 3D printer is characterized in that it simultaneously operates and performs movement to the corresponding axis.