Build material handling
阅读说明:本技术 构造材料处理 (Build material handling ) 是由 亚历山大·大卫·劳斯 彼得·布舍 德威纳·克普尔 萨曼莎·康 查尔斯·休·奥佩内梅 贾丝廷 于 2017-07-27 设计创作,主要内容包括:根据一个方面,提供了一种用于3D打印系统的构造材料处理装置。系统包括:筛网,用于筛分构造材料,筛网用于接收构造材料的流动;振动器机构,用于以共振频率振动筛网。提供了控制器,用于确定筛网的位移特性,基于位移特性确定筛网的填充状态,以及基于所确定的填充状态,控制构造材料向筛网的流动。(According to one aspect, a build material handling apparatus for a 3D printing system is provided. The system comprises: a screen for screening build material, the screen for receiving a flow of build material; a vibrator mechanism for vibrating the screen at a resonant frequency. A controller is provided for determining a displacement characteristic of the screen, determining a fill state of the screen based on the displacement characteristic, and controlling a flow of build material to the screen based on the determined fill state.)
1. A build material handling apparatus for a 3D printing system, comprising:
a screen for screening build material, the screen for receiving a flow of build material;
a vibrator mechanism for vibrating the screen at a resonant frequency;
a controller to:
determining a displacement characteristic of the screen;
determining a fill state of the screen based on the displacement characteristic; and
controlling flow of build material to the screen based on the determined fill state.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a sensor coupled to the screen for measuring a displacement characteristic of the screen.
3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the sensor is to measure at least one of: vibration frequency, amplitude, vibration direction and displacement.
4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller determines the displacement characteristic of the screen from the vibrator mechanism.
5. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a flow conditioner through which build material is delivered to the screen, wherein the controller is to control flow of the build material through the flow conditioner.
6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller is to:
the flow controller is turned on when the determined fill state is empty and is operative to turn off the flow controller when the determined fill state is full.
7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the controller is to determine when the fill state remains empty after the flow controller has been opened and to stop the vibrating of the screen.
8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller is to adjust the flow regulator between an open position and a closed position based on the determined fill state.
9. A three-dimensional printer comprising:
a build material formation module for forming a layer of build material on a build platform of a build unit;
a selective curing module for selectively curing portions of each formed layer of build material according to the object model;
a build material handling module to extract uncured build material from the build unit after a printing operation is completed;
a screen to receive a flow of build material from the build material processing module;
a vibrator for vibrating the screen at a resonant frequency;
a controller to:
determining a displacement characteristic of the screen;
determining a fill state of the screen based on the displacement characteristic; and
controlling flow of the build material to the screen based on the determined fill state.
10. The three-dimensional printer according to claim 9, further comprising a sensor attached to the screen for measuring at least a vibration frequency, amplitude and vibration direction of the screen.
11. The three-dimensional printer according to claim 9, wherein the vibrator is configured to automatically determine the resonant frequency of the screen.
12. The three-dimensional printer according to claim 9, further comprising a drive circuit for driving the vibrator at the resonant frequency of the screen.
13. The three-dimensional printer according to claim 10, further comprising a storage container for storing the build material processed by the screen for use in subsequent 3D printing operations.
14. A method of controlling flow of build material into a build material processor, comprising:
vibrating the screen at a resonant frequency;
determining a displacement characteristic of the screen;
determining an amount of build material in the screen from the displacement characteristic;
controlling a flow of build material into the screen as a function of the determined amount of build material in the screen.
15. The method of claim 14, further comprising determining when the screen remains empty and stopping the vibrating of the screen.
Background
Some three-dimensional (3D) printing or additive manufacturing systems use build materials of the powder type to generate 3D printed objects. Such 3D printing systems typically move powdered build material between different locations within the system, for example, from a storage unit to a build platform. Some 3D printers, or post-processing units used in conjunction with 3D printers, may use at least partially automated techniques to recover any uncured build material from the build unit from which the 3D object has been generated.
Drawings
Examples will now be described, by way of non-limiting example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view of a build material processing system according to one example;
FIG. 2 is a flow chart summarizing a method for controlling a build material handling system, according to one example; and
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a three-dimensional printing system including build material handling modules according to one example.
Detailed Description
The unfused build material may be recovered from the build unit in which the 3D object has been generated using various techniques, such as flowing air through the build unit, drawing build material out of the build unit, and vibrating the build unit. In some cases, these techniques may be used alone or in combination.
Recycled build material may need to be processed before it can be reused to generate other 3D objects. Processing may include, for example, screening to remove any semi-fused or coalesced portions of the recovered build material.
Referring now to FIG. 1, a build
The
Build material may be loaded into the
In another example, the function of the flow conditioner may be performed by an upstream element (not shown), such as an element that configures the material delivery system.
The
The
The
In one example, a linear encoder may be used to enable the
In one example, the drive circuit may be switched to operate in one of at least two modes. For example, a first mode may vibrate the
In another example, the
The
Example operations for constructing
At
At
At
At
The
Referring now to FIG. 3, a block diagram of a three-dimensional printing system 300 according to one example is shown. The 3D printing system 300 includes a build material formation module 302 for forming a continuous layer of a suitable powder or particle type of build material, for example, on a build platform of a build unit. Exemplary powders may include PA12, PA11, ceramics, metals, thermoplastics, and the like. Build material formation module 302 may form a layer of build material on a build platform, for example, by spreading out a stack of build material deposited on one side of the build platform with a roller.
The 3D printing system 300 also includes a selective curing module 304. The module is to selectively cure portions of each formed layer of build material to generate a layer of the 3D object being generated. The selective curing may be performed, for example, in association with a digital model of the 3D object to be generated. In one example, the selective curing module includes a laser sintering system. In another example, the selective curing module includes a fixer (fusing agent) and a fixer lamp system in which the fixer can be selectively printed on each formed layer of build material, and the fixer lamp heats and melts and fuses the portion of build material to which the fixer has been applied.
The 3D printing system 300 further includes a build material processing module 306, such as build
3D printer controller 308 controls the operation of each of modules 302, 304, and 306 to form a 3D object. Once the 3D print job or 3D printing operation has been completed, unfused or uncured build material in the build unit may be extracted from the build unit and sent to build material processing module 306 for processing. Any suitable conveying system (e.g., pneumatic or mechanical conveying system) may be used to transport build material between modules of the 3D printing system. The unfused build material processed by the build material processing module may be stored in a storage container within the 3D printing system and reused during subsequent 3D print jobs to generate other 3D objects.
It will be understood that the examples described herein may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software.
All of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), and/or all of the steps of any method or process so disclosed, may be combined in any combination, except combinations where at least some of such features and/or steps are mutually exclusive.
Each feature disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings) may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.