阅读说明：本技术 密闭式光固化3d打印机 (Closed photocuring 3D printer ) 是由 马修·哈德生 郭宗桦 于 2018-07-05 设计创作，主要内容包括：一种密闭式光固化3D打印机,具有处理单元、舱室、设于舱室一侧并令舱室内部形成密闭空间的活塞、设于活塞上的成型平台、设于舱室底部外侧的照射单元、储存成型液的成型液槽以及储存气体的气体槽。处理单元控制活塞及成型平台由舱室底部沿Z轴移动第一距离以将成型液吸入舱室,接着控制活塞沿Z轴移动第二距离以将气体吸入舱室,其中被吸入的气体沉淀在舱室底部,且成型平台底面与成型液底面间距离一个固化层的打印高度。处理单元控制照射单元依据切层信息朝成型平台进行照射,并控制成型平台沿Z轴方向移动,以连续固化多个切层物件。(A closed type photocuring 3D printer is provided with a processing unit, a cabin, a piston, a forming platform, an irradiation unit, a forming liquid tank and a gas tank, wherein the piston is arranged on one side of the cabin and enables the cabin to form a closed space, the forming platform is arranged on the piston, the irradiation unit is arranged on the outer side of the bottom of the cabin, and the forming liquid tank is used for storing forming liquid and storing gas. The processing unit controls the piston and the forming platform to move a first distance along the Z axis from the bottom of the chamber to suck the forming liquid into the chamber, and then controls the piston to move a second distance along the Z axis to suck gas into the chamber, wherein the sucked gas is deposited at the bottom of the chamber, and the distance between the bottom surface of the forming platform and the bottom surface of the forming liquid is equal to the printing height of the solidified layer. The processing unit controls the irradiation unit to irradiate towards the forming platform according to the layer cutting information and controls the forming platform to move along the Z-axis direction so as to continuously cure a plurality of layer cutting objects.)

1. A closed photocuring 3D printer, its characterized in that includes:

a chamber;

a processing unit;

a piston electrically connected to the processing unit and disposed inward from an opening side of the top of the chamber to form a closed space inside the chamber;

a forming platform electrically connected with the processing unit, arranged on the piston and positioned on the same horizontal plane with the piston;

the irradiation unit is electrically connected with the processing unit and is arranged outside the bottom of the cabin;

a molding liquid tank for storing a molding liquid and connecting the chamber; and

a gas tank for storing a gas and connecting the chamber;

the processing unit controls the piston and the forming platform to be lifted together from the bottom of the chamber along a Z axis by a first distance so as to suck the forming liquid into the chamber, and then controls the piston to be lifted along the Z axis by a second distance so as to suck the gas into the chamber, wherein the sucked gas is precipitated at the bottom of the chamber, and the distance between the bottom surface of the forming platform and the bottom surface of the forming liquid is equal to the printing height of a solidified layer;

when the processing unit prints, the irradiation unit is controlled to irradiate towards the bottom surface of the forming platform in sequence according to the multi-stroke cutting layer information of the 3D object, and the forming platform is controlled to lift the printing height of one curing layer in sequence along the Z-axis direction so as to continuously cure one cutting layer object of the curing layers of the 3D object.

2. The hermetic photocuring 3D printer of claim 1, wherein the gas has a specific gravity greater than that of the forming liquid.

3. The hermetic photo-curing 3D printer as claimed in claim 2, wherein a through hole is formed at one side of the chamber, and the chamber connects the molding liquid tank and the gas tank through the through hole to selectively suck the molding liquid or the gas into the chamber.

4. The hermetic photo-curing 3D printer as claimed in claim 3, further comprising a first switch, a second switch and a conduit, wherein the forming liquid tank is connected to the first end of the conduit through the first switch, the gas tank is connected to the second end of the conduit through the second switch, and the third end of the conduit is connected to the through hole, the processing unit turns on the first switch and turns off the second switch when the forming liquid is sucked into the chamber, and turns on the second switch and turns off the first switch when the gas is sucked into the chamber.

5. The hermetic photocuring 3D printer of claim 4, further comprising a third switch and an additive molding liquid tank for storing an additive molding liquid, the additive molding liquid tank being connected to the fourth end of the conduit via the third switch, the processing unit turning on the third switch and turning off the first switch and the second switch when the additive molding liquid is to be drawn into the chamber, wherein the specific gravity of the additive molding liquid is greater than the specific gravity of the molding liquid and less than the specific gravity of the gas.

6. The hermetic photocuring 3D printer of claim 4, further comprising a memory unit electrically connected to the processing unit, the memory unit recording the multi-cut layer information and a compensation information, the processing unit controlling the irradiation unit and the forming platform according to the compensation information during printing to compensate for an arc-shaped contact surface formed between the forming liquid and the gas due to surface tension of the gas.

7. A closed photocuring 3D printer, its characterized in that includes:

a chamber;

a processing unit;

a piston electrically connected to the processing unit and disposed inward from an opening side of the chamber bottom to form a closed space inside the chamber;

a forming platform electrically connected with the processing unit, arranged on the piston and positioned on the same horizontal plane with the piston;

the irradiation unit is electrically connected with the processing unit and is arranged outside the top of the cabin;

a molding liquid tank for storing a molding liquid and connecting the chamber; and

a gas tank for storing a gas and connecting the chamber;

wherein the processing unit controls the piston and the forming platform to descend from the top of the chamber along a Z-axis for a first distance together to suck the forming liquid into the chamber, and then controls the piston to descend along the Z-axis for a second distance separately to suck the gas into the chamber, wherein the sucked gas is suspended at the top of the chamber, and the distance between the top surface of the forming platform and the top surface of the forming liquid is equal to the printing height of a solidified layer;

when the processing unit prints, the irradiation unit is controlled to irradiate towards the top surface of the forming platform in sequence according to the multi-stroke cutting layer information of the 3D object, and the forming platform is controlled to descend by the printing height of one curing layer in sequence along the Z-axis direction so as to continuously cure one cutting layer object of the curing layers of the 3D object.

8. The closed photo-curing 3D printer as claimed in claim 7, wherein the specific gravity of the molding liquid is greater than that of the gas.

9. The hermetic photo-curing 3D printer as claimed in claim 8, wherein a through hole is formed at one side of the chamber, and the chamber connects the molding liquid tank and the gas tank through the through hole to selectively suck the molding liquid or the gas into the chamber.

10. The hermetic photo-curing 3D printer as claimed in claim 9, further comprising a first switch, a second switch and a conduit, wherein the molding liquid tank is connected to the first end of the conduit through the first switch, the gas tank is connected to the second end of the conduit through the second switch, and the third end of the conduit is connected to the through hole, the processing unit turns on the first switch and turns off the second switch when the molding liquid is sucked into the chamber, and turns on the second switch and turns off the first switch when the gas is sucked into the chamber.

11. The hermetic photocuring 3D printer of claim 10, further comprising a third switch and an additive molding liquid tank for storing an additive molding liquid, the additive molding liquid tank being connected to the fourth end of the conduit via the third switch, the processing unit turning on the third switch and turning off the first switch and the second switch when the additive molding liquid is to be drawn into the chamber, wherein the specific gravity of the additive molding liquid is less than the specific gravity of the molding liquid and greater than the specific gravity of the gas.

12. The hermetic photocuring 3D printer of claim 10, further comprising a memory unit electrically connected to the processing unit, the memory unit recording the multi-cut layer information and a compensation information, the processing unit controlling the irradiation unit and the forming stage according to the compensation information during printing to compensate for an arc-shaped contact surface formed between the forming liquid and the gas due to surface tension of the gas.

Technical Field

The invention relates to a photocuring 3D printer, in particular to a closed photocuring 3D printer.

Background

In view of the maturity of 3D printing technology, the reduction in size and price of 3D printers, 3D printers have become widespread at a very fast speed in recent years. Among them, Digital Light Processing (DLP) type 3D printers and laser curing (SLA) type 3D printers are preferred by many users due to their advantages of high dimensional accuracy, high quality of molded surface, and the like.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a 3D printer according to the related art. Fig. 1 discloses a DLP type 3D printer (hereinafter referred to as 3D printer 1), the 3D printer 1 mainly includes a water tank 11 for accommodating a molding liquid 2, a printing platform 12 disposed above the water tank 11, and an irradiation unit 13 disposed below the water tank 11.

During printing, a processing unit (not shown) of the 3D printer 1 controls the printing platform 12 to move to be immersed in the molding liquid 2 in the water tank 11 and located at a curing height of a cured layer. Then, the processing unit controls the irradiation unit 13 to perform corresponding irradiation towards the inside of the water tank 11, so that part of the molding liquid 2 is cured and attached to the printing platform 12, and a cured layer of the layer-cutting object 21 is formed on the printing platform 12. Furthermore, the processing unit controls the printing platform 12 and the irradiation unit 13 to repeatedly execute the above-mentioned operations, so as to generate a plurality of layer-cutting objects 21, and stack the plurality of layer-cutting objects 21 into a solid 3D object.

As shown in fig. 1, when a cut-layer object 21 is cured, it will adhere to both the bottom surface of the printing platform 12 and the bottom surface of the water tank 11. Before the printing platform 12 is lifted up, the processing unit must perform a peeling process to detach the layer-cutting object 21 from the bottom of the water tank 11. In the related art, the peeling process must be performed once every time the processing unit of the cut-layer object 21 is generated, thereby greatly delaying the overall printing time.

Furthermore, since the SLA type 3D printer and the DLP type 3D printer directly place the molding liquid in the water tank, if the molding liquid used by the user is easily oxidized, it may cause difficulty in printing. In addition, some types of molding liquids have a good curing effect, but may have a heavy odor, which affects the user's will and will be all the less.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to provide a closed photocuring 3D printer, which can perform solidification under the condition that a molding liquid is separated from the bottom surface of a chamber, so as to achieve the aim of continuous solidification without a stripping procedure after the molding liquid is solidified.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the closed type photo-curing 3D printer includes:

a chamber;

a processing unit;

a piston electrically connected to the processing unit and disposed inward from an opening side of the chamber to form a closed space inside the chamber;

a forming platform electrically connected with the processing unit, arranged on the piston and positioned on the same horizontal plane with the piston;

the irradiation unit is electrically connected with the processing unit and is arranged outside the bottom of the cabin;

a molding liquid tank for storing a molding liquid and connecting the chamber; and

a gas tank for storing a gas and connecting the chamber;

the processing unit controls the piston and the forming platform to be lifted together from the bottom of the chamber along a Z axis by a first distance so as to suck the forming liquid into the chamber, and then controls the piston to be lifted along the Z axis by a second distance so as to suck the gas into the chamber, wherein the sucked gas is precipitated at the bottom of the chamber, and the distance between the bottom surface of the forming platform and the bottom surface of the forming liquid is equal to the printing height of a solidified layer;

when the processing unit prints, the irradiation unit is controlled to irradiate towards the bottom surface of the forming platform in sequence according to the multi-stroke cutting layer information of the 3D object, and the forming platform is controlled to lift the printing height of one curing layer in sequence along the Z-axis direction so as to continuously cure one cutting layer object of the curing layers of the 3D object.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the specific gravity of the gas is greater than that of the molding liquid.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a through hole is disposed on one side of the chamber, and the chamber is connected to the molding liquid tank and the gas tank through the through hole to selectively suck the molding liquid or the gas into the chamber.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the closed type photo-curing 3D printer further includes a first switch, a second switch and a conduit, the forming liquid tank is connected to the first end of the conduit through the first switch, the gas tank is connected to the second end of the conduit through the second switch, and the third end of the conduit is connected to the through hole, the processing unit turns on the first switch and turns off the second switch when the forming liquid is sucked into the chamber, and turns on the second switch and turns off the first switch when the gas is sucked into the chamber.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the closed type photo-curing 3D printer further includes a third switch and an additional molding liquid tank for storing an additional molding liquid, the additional molding liquid tank is connected to the fourth end of the conduit through the third switch, and the processing unit opens the third switch and closes the first switch and the second switch when the additional molding liquid is sucked into the chamber, wherein the specific gravity of the additional molding liquid is greater than the specific gravity of the molding liquid and less than the specific gravity of the gas.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the closed type photo-curing 3D printer further includes a memory unit electrically connected to the processing unit, the memory unit records the multi-stroke cutting layer information and a compensation information, and the processing unit controls the irradiation unit and the forming platform according to the compensation information during printing to compensate for an arc contact surface formed between the forming liquid and the gas due to a surface tension of the gas.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the closed type photo-curing 3D printer includes:

a chamber;

a processing unit;

a piston electrically connected to the processing unit and disposed inward from an opening side of the chamber to form a closed space inside the chamber;

a forming platform electrically connected with the processing unit, arranged on the piston and positioned on the same horizontal plane with the piston;

the irradiation unit is electrically connected with the processing unit and is arranged outside the top of the cabin;

a molding liquid tank for storing a molding liquid and connecting the chamber; and

a gas tank for storing a gas and connecting the chamber;

wherein the processing unit controls the piston and the forming platform to descend from the top of the chamber along a Z-axis for a first distance together to suck the forming liquid into the chamber, and then controls the piston to descend along the Z-axis for a second distance separately to suck the gas into the chamber, wherein the sucked gas is suspended at the top of the chamber, and the distance between the top surface of the forming platform and the top surface of the forming liquid is equal to the printing height of a solidified layer;

when the processing unit prints, the irradiation unit is controlled to irradiate towards the top surface of the forming platform in sequence according to the multi-stroke cutting layer information of the 3D object, and the forming platform is controlled to descend by the printing height of one curing layer in sequence along the Z-axis direction so as to continuously cure one cutting layer object of the curing layers of the 3D object.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the specific gravity of the molding liquid is greater than that of the gas.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a through hole is disposed on one side of the chamber, and the chamber is connected to the molding liquid tank and the gas tank through the through hole to selectively suck the molding liquid or the gas into the chamber.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the closed type photo-curing 3D printer further includes a first switch, a second switch and a conduit, the forming liquid tank is connected to the first end of the conduit through the first switch, the gas tank is connected to the second end of the conduit through the second switch, and the third end of the conduit is connected to the through hole, the processing unit turns on the first switch and turns off the second switch when the forming liquid is sucked into the chamber, and turns on the second switch and turns off the first switch when the gas is sucked into the chamber.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the closed type photo-curing 3D printer further includes a third switch and an additional molding liquid tank for storing an additional molding liquid, the additional molding liquid tank is connected to the fourth end of the conduit through the third switch, and the processing unit opens the third switch and closes the first switch and the second switch when the additional molding liquid is sucked into the chamber, wherein the specific gravity of the additional molding liquid is smaller than the specific gravity of the molding liquid and larger than the specific gravity of the gas.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the closed type photo-curing 3D printer further includes a memory unit electrically connected to the processing unit, the memory unit records the multi-stroke cutting layer information and a compensation information, and the processing unit controls the irradiation unit and the forming platform according to the compensation information during printing to compensate for an arc contact surface formed between the forming liquid and the gas due to a surface tension of the gas.

The invention enables the irradiation unit to irradiate the molding liquid in a state that the molding liquid is separated from the bottom surface of the cabin, so that the solidification action of the next layer of the layer cutting object can be directly carried out without executing a stripping procedure after the layer cutting object is generated. Compared with the related art, the invention can greatly accelerate the printing speed because of the technical scheme of realizing continuous curing.

In addition, in order to achieve the purpose of separating the molding liquid from the bottom surface of the chamber, the chamber is internally provided with a closed space by the piston, so that the 3D printer can be used for printing by a user by using the molding liquid which is easy to oxidize, and can also solve the problem that the odor of part of the molding liquid is too heavy and is not accepted by the user.

The invention is described in detail below with reference to the drawings and specific examples, but the invention is not limited thereto.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a related art 3D printer;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a 3D printer according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a 3D printer according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a printing flow diagram of a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5A is a first print action diagram of one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5B is a second print action diagram of one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5C is a third print operation of one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5D is a fourth print operation of one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5E is a fifth print operation of one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a printing flow diagram of a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of a 3D printer according to a second embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 8A is a first enlarged partial view of the contact surface of the molding liquid with the gas;

FIG. 8B is a second enlarged partial view of the molding liquid/gas interface;

FIG. 8C is a third enlarged partial view of the contact surface of the molding liquid and the gas;

fig. 9 is a schematic view of a 3D printer according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

Wherein the reference numerals

1 … 3D printer

11 … water tank

12 … printing platform

13 … irradiation unit

2 … Molding liquid

21 … laminated article

3. 9 … 3D printer

30. 90 … processing unit

31. 91 … cabin

310. 910 … through hole

32. 92 … piston

33. 93 … printing platform

34. 94 … irradiation unit

35. 95 … first switch

36. 95 … second switch

37. 97 … catheter

38 … memory cell

381 … slicing layer information

382 … Compensation information

39 … third closure

4 … enclosed space

5. 5' … shaping liquid

51. 51' … shaping liquid tank

6. 6' … gas

60 … contact surface

61. 61' … gas tank

7 … slicing article

8 … additive forming liquid

81 … additive shaping liquid tank

S10-S26 … printing steps

S30-S40 … printing steps

Detailed Description

The following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention is provided in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a 3D printer according to a first embodiment of the invention. The present invention discloses a closed photo-curing 3D printer (hereinafter referred to as 3D printer 3), and particularly, the technical solution of the present invention can be applied to a Digital Light Processing (DLP) type 3D printer or a laser curing (SLA) type 3D printer, for convenience of description, fig. 2 only illustrates the DLP type 3D printer, but not limited thereto.

As shown in fig. 2, the 3D printer 3 mainly includes a chamber 31, a piston 32, a forming platform 33, an irradiation unit 34, a forming liquid tank 51 for storing a forming liquid, and a gas tank 61 for storing a gas.

Fig. 3 is a block diagram of a 3D printer according to a first embodiment of the invention. As shown in fig. 3, the 3D printer 3 further includes a processing unit 30 electrically connected to the piston 32, the forming platform 33 and the irradiation unit 34.

The chamber 31 is mainly U-shaped and forms an open side at the top. The piston 32 is disposed inward from the opening side of the chamber 31, and forms a closed space 4 inside the chamber. The forming platform 33 is disposed on the piston 32 and is located at the same level as the piston 32. Specifically, the piston 32 has a receiving groove (not shown) therein, the forming platform 33 is disposed in the receiving groove, and the bottom surface of the piston 32 and the bottom surface of the forming platform 33 are located on the same horizontal plane. When the piston 32 and the forming platform 33 are controlled by the processing unit 30 to move toward the bottom of the chamber 31, the piston 32 and the bottom surface of the forming platform 33 can be engaged with the inner side of the bottom of the chamber 31.

It should be noted that, if the chamber 31 has the closed space 4 formed therein due to the arrangement of the piston 32, the processing unit 30 needs to simultaneously deflate the chamber 31 when controlling the piston 32 and the forming platform 33 to move toward the bottom of the chamber 31, so that the piston 32 and the forming platform 33 can move smoothly. Therefore, the chamber 31 may preferably be provided with a venting structure (not shown) electrically connected to the processing unit 30.

The irradiation unit 34 is mainly disposed outside the bottom of the chamber 31 and faces the bottom surface of the forming table 33 (i.e., faces the inside of the chamber 31).

Before the 3D printer 3 performs printing, the processing unit 30 controls the piston 32 and the forming platform 33 to move together to the bottom of the chamber 31 to empty the enclosed space 4. Then, the processing unit 30 controls the piston 32 and the molding 33 to be lifted together from the bottom of the chamber 31 along the Z-axis of the 3D printer 3 (for example, by a first distance) to be away from the bottom of the chamber 31, and sucks the molding liquid in the molding liquid tank 51 into the chamber 31 by using pressure.

After the chamber 31 is filled with the molding liquid, the processing unit 30 further controls the piston 32 to lift along the Z-axis (for example, to lift a second distance) to separate the piston 32 from the molding platform 33, and simultaneously, the gas in the gas tank 61 is sucked into the chamber 31 by pressure.

One of the technical features of the present invention is that the specific gravity of the gas is greater than that of the molding liquid, and after the molding liquid and the gas are respectively sucked into the chamber 31, the sucked gas will be settled at the bottom of the chamber 31, i.e., the molding liquid will be suspended above the gas. Furthermore, the processing unit 30 can control the amount of the molding liquid and the gas sucked into the chamber 31 by controlling the first distance and the second distance, so that after the gas is sucked into the chamber 31, the bottom surface of the molding platform 33 and the bottom surface of the sucked molding liquid are separated from each other by the printing height of one cured layer, thereby facilitating the 3D printer 3 to start the subsequent printing operation.

As shown in fig. 3, the 3D printer 3 further has a memory unit 38 electrically connected to the processing unit 30, and the memory unit 38 stores multi-stroke layer information 381 of a 3D object to be printed. After the molding liquid and the gas are both sucked into the chamber 31, the processing unit 30 controls the irradiation unit 34 to sequentially irradiate toward the bottom surface of the molding platform 33 according to the multi-slice information 381, and controls the molding platform 33 to sequentially lift the printing height of one cured layer along the Z-axis direction, so as to continuously cure the sliced objects of the cured layers of the 3D object.

One technical effect of the present invention is that the forming liquid is separated from the bottom of the chamber 31 by a layer of gas, i.e. the solidification position of the sliced object is not at the bottom of the chamber 31. After the layer-cutting object is cured, the processing unit 30 does not need to perform an additional peeling process (i.e., the cured layer-cutting object does not need to be separated from the bottom of the chamber 31), so that the purpose of continuous printing can be achieved, thereby greatly increasing the printing speed.

As shown in FIG. 2, a through hole 310 is provided on one side of the chamber 31 of the present invention, and the chamber 31 connects the molding liquid tank 51 and the gas tank 61 through the through hole 310. When the processing unit 30 controls the piston 32 and the forming platform 33 to lift, the forming liquid or gas can be selectively sucked into the chamber 31 through the through hole 310.

As shown in fig. 2, the 3D printer 3 of the present invention further includes a first switch 35, a second switch 36 and a conduit 37, wherein the conduit 37 in fig. 2 is a Y-shaped conduit, but not limited thereto. As shown in fig. 3, the processing unit 30 is electrically connected to the first switch 35 and the second switch 36.

Specifically, the molding liquid tank 51 is connected to a first end of the conduit 37 through a first switch 35, the gas tank 61 is connected to a second end of the conduit through a second switch 36, and a third end of the conduit 37 is connected to the through hole 310. When the processing unit 30 is about to suck the molding liquid into the chamber 31, the first switch is controlled to be turned on and the second switch is controlled to be turned off, and then the piston 32 and the molding platform 33 are controlled to be lifted. Thus, when the piston 32 and the molding stage 33 move, the molding liquid can be sucked into the chamber 31 from the molding liquid tank 51 by pressure. Also, since the second switch 36 is closed, the gas in the gas tank 61 is not sucked into the chamber 31.

Similarly, when the processing unit 30 is about to suck gas into the chamber 31, the second switch is controlled to be turned on and the first switch is controlled to be turned off, and then the piston 32 is controlled to be lifted. Thus, when the piston 32 moves, gas can be sucked into the chamber 31 from the gas tank 61 by pressure. Also, since the first switch 35 is off, the molding liquid in the molding liquid tank 51 is not sucked into the chamber 31.

Fig. 4 is a flowchart of a printing process according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 4 discloses a printing method of the present invention, which is mainly applied to the 3D printer 3 shown in fig. 2 and 3. Specifically, the printing method is applied to a specific photo-curing 3D printer, and the photo-curing 3D printer comprises the chamber 31, the processing unit 30, the piston 32 capable of forming the sealed space 4 inside the chamber 31, the forming platform 33 disposed on the piston 32 and located at the same level as the piston 32, the irradiation unit 34 disposed outside the bottom of the chamber 31, the forming liquid tank 51 for storing the forming liquid, and the gas tank 61 for storing the gas.

As shown in fig. 4, to start the printing operation by the 3D printer 3, first, the processing unit 30 controls the piston 32 and the forming table 33 to move together to the bottom of the chamber 31 (step S10) to clear the enclosed space 4 in the chamber 31. Specifically, the processing unit 30 can simultaneously control the venting structure on the chamber 31 to vent so that the piston 32 and the forming platform 33 can move inward to the bottom of the chamber 31.

Next, the processing unit 30 sucks the molding liquid into the chamber 31 by the movement of the piston 32 and the molding platform 33, so that the processing unit 30 first opens the first switch 35 connected to the molding liquid tank 51 and closes the second switch 36 connected to the gas tank 61 (step S12), and then controls the piston 32 and the molding platform 33 to be lifted together from the bottom of the chamber 31 along the Z-axis direction by a first distance to suck the molding liquid in the molding liquid tank 51 into the chamber 31 through the through hole 310 in the chamber 31 (step S14).

Then, the processing unit 30 is to suck the gas into the chamber 31 by the movement of the piston 32, so that the processing unit 30 opens the second switch 36 connected to the gas tank 61 and closes the first switch 35 connected to the molded liquid tank 51 (step S16), and then the piston 32 is controlled separately to continue to be lifted a second distance in the Z-axis direction from the current position to suck the gas in the gas tank 61 into the chamber 31 through the through-hole 310 in the chamber 31 (step S18). Wherein the sucked gas will settle at the bottom of the chamber 31 and the current bottom surface of the forming platform 33 will be at a printing height of the solidified layer from the bottom surface of the forming liquid. The printing height referred to herein is a cutting thickness adopted by the 3D object to be printed by the 3D printer 3. The thickness of the cutting layer is a common technology in the field of 3D printing, and is not described herein again.

After step S18, the gas required for printing has been drawn into the chamber 31, and thus the processing unit 30 may further close the second switch 36 connected to the gas tank 61 (step S20).

Next, the processing unit 30 obtains a piece of slice information (e.g., slice information of the first layer) of the 3D object to be printed, and controls the irradiation unit 34 to irradiate towards the bottom surface of the forming platform 33 according to the slice information to generate a slice object of a cured layer (e.g., the first layer) of the 3D object (step S22). Next, the processing unit 30 determines whether the 3D object is printed (step S24), that is, whether the multi-stroke slice information of the 3D object has been adopted and the corresponding slice object is generated.

If the processing unit 30 determines that the 3D object is printed, the printing method of the present invention can be ended. If the processing unit 30 determines that the 3D object is not printed, the processing unit 30 controls the forming platform 33 to lift the printing height of one cured layer from the current position along the Z-axis direction (step S26), so that the forming platform 33 is located at the curing height of the next cured layer (e.g., the second layer). Then, the processing unit 30 executes the step S22 again to control the irradiation unit 34 to perform irradiation according to the next slice information (e.g. the slice information of the second layer) of the 3D object, so as to generate a slice object of the next cured layer.

Fig. 5A to 5E are schematic diagrams illustrating a first print action diagram to a fifth print action diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, as shown in fig. 5A, before printing is started, the processing unit 30 controls the piston 32 and the printing platform 33 to move towards the inside of the chamber 31 to the bottom of the chamber 31, and the piston 32 and the bottom of the printing platform 33 are located at the same horizontal plane and attached to the bottom of the chamber 31. As shown in FIG. 5A, the molding liquid tank 51 and the gas tank 61 are not connected to the chamber 31.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5B, the processing unit 30 first opens the first switch 35 connected to the molding liquid tank 51 (and closes the second switch 36 connected to the gas tank 61) so that the molding liquid tank 51 can be connected to the chamber 31 through the conduit 37 and the through hole 310 (in this case, the gas tank 61 is not connected to the chamber 31). Then, the processing unit 30 controls the piston 32 and the forming platform 33 to lift together, so as to suck the forming liquid 5 into the chamber 31 from the forming liquid tank 51. As shown in FIG. 5C, the processing unit 30 further opens the second switch 36 connected to the gas tank 61 (and closes the first switch 35 connected to the molding liquid tank 51) so that the gas tank 61 can be connected to the chamber 31 through the conduit 37 and the through hole 310 (at this time, the molding liquid tank 51 is not connected to the chamber 31). Then, the processing unit 30 individually controls the piston 32 to be lifted so that the piston 32 is separated from the forming table 33, and sucks the gas 6 from the gas groove 61 into the chamber 31.

As shown in the foregoing, to apply the 3D printer 3 and the printing method of the present invention, a specific molding liquid and a specific gas are selected, wherein the specific gravity of the molding liquid needs to be smaller than that of the gas. Therefore, as shown in fig. 5C, the sucked gas 6 is deposited below the molding liquid 5 to separate the molding liquid 5 from the bottom of the chamber 31.

Then, as shown in fig. 5D, the processing unit 30 first closes the first switch 35 and the second switch 36 to disconnect the molding liquid tank 51 and the gas tank 61 from the chamber 31, and then starts the printing process.

Specifically, the processing unit 30 controls the irradiation unit 34 to irradiate toward the bottom surface of the forming platform 33 according to the obtained layer cutting information 381, so as to solidify a portion of the forming liquid 5 and generate the corresponding layer cutting object 7. As shown in fig. 5D, since the molding liquid 5 does not directly contact the bottom of the chamber 31, the resultant sliced product 7 does not stick to the bottom of the chamber 31, and thus the processing unit 30 does not need to perform an additional peeling process. Therefore, the 3D printer 3 of the present invention can greatly increase the printing speed by continuous printing.

Next, as shown in fig. 5E, after the cut-layer object 7 of one cured layer is cured, the processing unit 30 controls the forming platform 33 to raise the printing height of one cured layer again along the Z-axis direction. Then, the processing unit 30 controls the irradiation unit 34 to perform irradiation according to the layer cutting information 381 of the next cured layer, so as to generate the layer cutting object 7 of the next cured layer. And, by repeatedly performing the actions shown in fig. 5E, the 3D printer 3 can finally stack the required 3D object from the plurality of sliced objects 7.

As described above, the 3D printer 3 and the printing method according to the present invention can achieve the purpose of continuous printing without executing a peeling program, and thus can greatly increase the printing speed. On the other hand, since the chamber 31 of the 3D printer 3 is in a sealed state, the molding liquid 5 and the gas 6 sucked into the chamber 31 do not directly contact the air, and therefore, the user can effectively use a material that is easily oxidized as the molding liquid. Further, since the odor of the molding liquid 5 and the gas 6 sucked into the chamber 31 does not drift in the air, the user does not need to endure the odor emitted by the molding liquid 5 and the gas 6.

Please refer to fig. 6 and fig. 7 for a printing flowchart and a schematic diagram of a 3D printer according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

The 3D printer 3 of the present invention may further include a third switch 39 and an additional molding liquid tank 81 for storing the additional molding liquid 8. As shown in FIG. 7, the additive liquid tank 81 is connected to the fourth end of the conduit 37 via a third switch 39 and to a through hole 310 in the chamber 31 via the conduit 37. When the processing unit 30 determines that the additive molding liquid 8 needs to be used during printing, the third switch 39 is controlled to open and close the first switch 35 and the second switch 36, and the additive molding liquid 8 is sucked into the chamber 31 from the additive molding liquid tank 81 by controlling the lifting of the piston 32.

In one embodiment, the specific gravity of the additional molding liquid 8 is greater than the specific gravity of the molding liquid 5 and less than the specific gravity of the gas 6. As shown in fig. 7, the additional molding liquid 8 is sucked into the chamber 31 and then is located between the molding liquid 5 and the gas 6. The processing unit 30 may control the position of the shaping table 33 during printing such that the bottom surface of the shaping table 33 is at a printing height of the solidified layer from the bottom surface of the additional shaping liquid 8. Since the additional molding liquid 8 is located below the molding liquid 5, when the irradiation unit 34 irradiates, the additional molding liquid 8 is directly irradiated, and a part of the additional molding liquid 8 is solidified to produce the corresponding sliced product 7.

Through the technical scheme, the 3D printer 3 can generate the layer cutting object 7 made of different materials by irradiating the forming liquid 5 or the additional forming liquid 8, so that the finally generated 3D object has different properties, characteristics or colors.

As shown in fig. 6, after the processing unit 30 has sucked both the molding liquid 5 and the gas 6 into the chamber 31, as shown in step S22 of fig. 4, the irradiation unit 34 is controlled to perform irradiation according to the slicing information 381, so as to generate the corresponding sliced object 7 (step S30). Next, the processing unit 30 determines whether the 3D object to be printed has been printed (step S32), and ends the printing when the 3D object has been printed.

If the processing unit 30 determines that the 3D object is not printed, the processing unit 30 obtains the next cut layer information 381, and determines whether the additional molding liquid 8 needs to be used according to the cut layer information 381 (step S34), i.e., whether different properties, characteristics or colors are recorded in the cut layer information 381. If the processing unit 30 determines no in step S34, as shown in step S26 of fig. 4, the processing unit 30 directly controls the forming platform 33 to raise the printing height of one solidified layer along the Z-axis direction (step S36), and performs step S30 again to generate the sliced layer object 7 of the next solidified layer.

If the processing unit 30 determines yes in step S34, the processing unit 30 controls the third switch 39 to be turned on, controls the first switch 35 and the second switch 36 to be turned off (step S38), and independently controls the piston 32 to be lifted along the Z-axis direction (e.g., a third distance) to suck the additional forming liquid 8 from the additional forming liquid tank 81 into the chamber 31 (step S40).

As described above, since the specific gravity of the additional molding liquid 8 is greater than that of the molding liquid 5 and less than that of the gas 6, the additional molding liquid 8 sucked into the chamber 31 is located between the molding liquid 5 and the gas 6. And, the processing unit 30 may control the third distance to control the amount of the additional molding liquid 8 sucked into the chamber 31 so that the bottom surface of the molding platform 33 is spaced from the bottom surface of the additional molding liquid 8 by the printing height of the solidified layer. After step S40, the processing unit 30 may execute step S30 again to control the irradiation unit 34 to irradiate to generate the sliced layer object 7 of the next solidified layer.

According to the technical scheme, the 3D printer 3 can utilize various different types of molding liquid to perform a curing procedure, so that the generated 3D object has various different properties, characteristics or colors, and the performance of the 3D printer 3 is improved.

Referring to fig. 8A, 8B and 8C, a first partial enlarged view to a third partial enlarged view of a contact surface of the molding liquid and the gas are respectively shown.

Due to the surface tension of the gas 6 sucked into the chamber 31, an arc-shaped contact surface 60 may be formed between the molding liquid 5 and the gas 6, in other words, the bottom surface of the molding liquid 5 may not be horizontal. Although the processing unit 30 can control the amount of the gas 6 sucked into the chamber 31 by the aforementioned step S18 of fig. 4, so as to make the bottom surface of the forming platform 33 and the bottom surface of the forming liquid 5 be separated by the printing height of one solidified layer, if the arc-shaped contact surface 60 exists, the generation of the sliced layer objects 7 of the first solidified layers of the 3D object may fail.

In this embodiment, the memory unit 38 of the 3D printer 3 further stores compensation information 382 (as shown in fig. 3). During printing (for example, during the execution of steps S22 and S26 in fig. 4), the processing unit 30 can control the irradiation unit 34 and the forming platform 33 according to the compensation information 382 to compensate the arc-shaped contact surface 60 in a software manner.

In one embodiment, the processing unit 30 can adjust the number of cured layers of the 3D object to solve the above problem. As shown in fig. 8A, when the forming platform 33 is located at the printing height of the first cured layer of the 3D object, the processing unit 30 does not control the irradiation platform 34 to irradiate since the current height is affected by the arc-shaped contact surface 60. Next, as shown in fig. 8B, the processing unit 30 controls the forming platform 33 to be lifted to the printing height of the second cured layer, and because the current height is still within the range of the arc-shaped contact surface 60, the processing unit 30 still does not control the irradiation platform 34 to perform irradiation.

Then, as shown in fig. 8C, the processing unit 30 controls the forming platform 33 to be lifted to the printing height of the third solidified layer, and since the current height is already out of the influence range of the arc-shaped contact surface 60, the processing unit 30 can control the illumination platform 34 to illuminate according to the slice information 381 of the first solidified layer of the 3D object, so as to generate the slice object 7 of the first solidified layer at the current height.

In another embodiment, the processing unit 30 can compensate the arc-shaped contact surface 60 through a sensor. For example, the processing unit 30 may control the shaping platform 33 to be lifted to the printing height of the next solidified layer when sensing that the shaping platform 33 still can contact the gas 6, and start to perform the generation of the sliced layer object 7 of the first solidified layer of the 3D object when sensing that the shaping platform 33 cannot contact the gas 6.

In another embodiment, the processing unit 30 can also control the irradiation unit 34 to irradiate according to additional information (not shown) while the forming platform 33 is still located within the range of the arc-shaped contact surface 60, so as to generate a support object that can be discarded. Moreover, after the forming platform 33 is lifted to a range of influence of the arc-shaped contact surface 60, the processing unit 30 controls the irradiation unit 34 to perform irradiation according to the layer cutting information 381 of the first cured layer of the 3D object, so as to generate the layer cutting object 7 of the first cured layer.

The above description is only exemplary of the present invention, and should not be taken as limiting the scope of the invention.

In the foregoing embodiment, the 3D printer 3 is mainly an under-illumination type photo-curing 3D printer with a U-shaped cabin 31 (i.e., the illumination unit 34 is disposed outside the bottom of the cabin 31). In other embodiments, the present invention can also be applied to a top-illuminated 3D printer with an inverted U-shaped chamber.

Fig. 9 is a schematic view of a 3D printer according to a third embodiment of the invention. Fig. 9 discloses another closed photo-curing 3D printer (hereinafter referred to as 3D printer 9 ') with a processing unit 90, a chamber 91, a piston 92, a forming platform 93, an irradiation unit 94, a first switch 95, a second switch 96, a conduit 97, a through hole 910, a forming liquid tank 51' and a gas tank 61 'similar to the 3D printer 3 of fig. 2, except that the chamber 91 of the 3D printer 9' of the present embodiment is an inverted U-shaped chamber 91, and the irradiation unit 94 is disposed outside the top of the chamber 91.

Specifically, the chamber 91 has a bottom surface forming an opening side, and the piston 92 is disposed inward from the opening side of the bottom surface of the chamber 91, and forms a closed space inside the chamber 91. The forming table 93 is disposed on the piston 92 and is located at the same level as the piston 92.

Before printing, the processing unit 90 controls the piston 92 and the forming platform 93 to move together to the top of the chamber 91 to clear the enclosed space in the chamber 91. Next, the processing unit 90 controls the piston 92 to descend from the top of the chamber 91 by a first distance along the Z-axis direction together with the molding platform 93 to suck the molding liquid 5 'from the molding liquid tank 51' into the chamber 91. Then, the processing unit 90 individually controls the piston 92 to be lowered by a second distance in the Z-axis direction from the current position to suck the gas 6 'from the gas groove 61' into the chamber 91.

It should be noted that in the embodiment, the user must select the specific molding liquid 5 'and the specific gas 6', and different from the embodiment shown in fig. 2 to 4, the specific gravity of the molding liquid 5 'is greater than that of the gas 6'. Therefore, when the processing unit 90 sucks the molding liquid 5 ' and the gas 6 ' into the chamber 91, the sucked gas 6 ' is suspended at the top of the chamber 91, and the sucked molding liquid 5 ' is deposited below the gas 6 '.

Likewise, the processing unit 90 controls the amount of gas 6 'sucked so that the top surface of the forming table 93 is spaced from the top surface of the forming liquid 5' by the printing height of the solidified layer.

In this embodiment, the connection relationship between the chamber 91 and the first switch 95, the second switch 96, the conduit 97, the through hole 910, the forming liquid tank 51 'and the gas tank 61', and the control means of the processing unit 90 for the first switch 95 and the second switch 96 are similar to the chamber 31, the first switch 35, the second switch 36, the conduit 37, the through hole 310, the forming liquid tank 51 and the gas tank 61 shown in fig. 2 to 4, and are not repeated herein. In another embodiment, the 3D printer 9 may also include the memory unit 38, the layer cutting information 381, and the compensation information 382 shown in fig. 3, and the third switch 39 and the additional forming liquid tank 81 shown in fig. 7, which are not described herein again.

After the molding liquid 5 'and the gas 6' are both sucked into the chamber 91, the processing unit 90 controls the irradiation unit 94 to sequentially irradiate toward the top surface of the molding platform 93 according to the multi-slice information of the 3D object to be printed, and controls the molding platform 93 to sequentially lower the printing height of one cured layer along the Z-axis direction to continuously cure the multi-slice objects 7 of the cured layers of the 3D object.

The 3D printer 3, 9 of the present invention can realize a continuous printing process by sucking the gas 6, 6' into the chamber 31, 91, thereby greatly increasing the printing speed. Further, since the chambers 31 and 91 of the 3D printers 3 and 9 are sealed, the user can use the molding liquid which is easily oxidized or the molding liquid which has a strong odor with ease.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof, and it should be understood that various changes and modifications can be effected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.