• 专利附录
  • 专利说明
  • 权利要求
  • 类似技术
  • 同族专利
  • 引用文献
  • 法律状态
  • 优先权
    • 专利摘要:
    Stereolithography apparatus, comprising a vat (401) for holding resin during stereolithographic 3D printing, a resin delivery mechanism (701) comprising a piston (601) and at least one resin tank, wherein the resin tank is a resin capsule (501) having one single shot of resin (703), and the resin delivery mechanism is arranged to drain the resin from the vat (401) back inside the resin capsule (501) by the movement of the piston (601).
    公开号:FI20185584A1
    申请号:FI20185584
    申请日:2018-06-28
    公开日:2019-12-29
    发明作者:Jukka Kanerva；Tero Rakkolainen
    申请人:Planmeca Oy；
    IPC主号:
    专利说明:

    STEREOLITHOGRAPHY APPARATUS EQUIPPED WITH RESIN COLLECTING MECHANISM AND METHOD OF OPERATING SAID APPARATUS
    FIELD OF THE INVENTION
    The invention concerns the technology of stereolithographic 3D printing, also known as stereolithographic additive manufacturing. In particular the in-
    10vention concerns the task back to resin tank.ofcollecting extraresin BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 15Stereolithography isfive manufacturing techniquea 3D printing or in which opticaladdi-radia-
    20185584 prh 28 -06- 2018 tron is used to photopolymerize suitable raw material to produce the desired object. The raw material comes to the process in the form of a resin. A vat is used to hold an amount of resin, and a build platform is 20 moved in the vertical direction so that the object to be produced grows layer by layer, beginning on a build surface of the build platform. The optical radiation used for photopolymerizing may come from above the vat, in which case the build platform moves downwards 25 through the remaining resin as the manufacturing proceeds. The present description concerns in particular the so-called bottom up variant of stereolithography, in which the photopolymerizing optical radiation comes from below the vat and the build platform moves 30 upwards away from the remaining resin as the manufacturing proceeds .
    The resin is held in a container and the user estimates the amount of resin to dispense from the container to the vat. The container may be portable 35 (e.g. bottle) and the user pours the resin to the vat.
    However, it is difficult to estimate the amount of
    20185584 prh 28 -06- 2018 resin that is poured and the user easily pours too much resin and the additional resin is lost. As the resins are relatively expensive, care should be taken to not allow too much resin to enter the vat and to 5 utilize as much of the remaining resin as possible for actual manufacturing jobs. If the user pours too little resin, the desired object will be incomplete or the printing process is interrupted. Pouring may also be messy and the resin may even be spilled out of the 10 vat.
    The resin container may also be large fixed tank from which the resin is conducted to the vat by a separate channel. Different resins are needed for manufacturing different kinds of objects and large resin 15 tanks are unconventional because one resin material is very difficult to replace with another resin material. The whole resin tank and the resin channel must be cleaned carefully before starting a new process with the new resin material. If some previous resin materi20 al is left inside the tank or channel, it could lead to undesired result.
    OBJECTIVE OF THE INVENTION
    An objective of the invention is to enable a 25 convenient and economical handling of resins for stereolithographic 3D printing.
    SUMMARY
    The invention is aimed to present a stereo30 lithography apparatus and a method of operating a stereolithography apparatus enabling economical handling of resins for stereolithographic 3D printing.
    These and other advantageous aims are achieved by equipping the stereolithography apparatus 35 with a resin delivery mechanism comprising means to
    20185584 prh 28 -06- 2018 pump the resin out of the resin tank and drain the resin back inside the resin capsule.
    According to a first aspect, a stereolithography apparatus comprises a vat for holding resin dur5 ing stereolithographic 3D printing, a resin delivery mechanism comprising a piston, and at least one resin tank. The resin tank is a resin capsule having one single shot of resin, and the resin delivery mechanism is arranged to drain the resin from the vat back in10 side the resin capsule by the movement of the piston.
    In an embodiment of the stereolithography apparatus, the piston is sealed against inner wall of the resin tank.
    In an embodiment of the stereolithography ap15 paratus, the piston is arranged to move reciprocating manner inside the resin tank.
    In an embodiment of the stereolithography apparatus, the piston is arranged to be pulled back, whereby a vacuum is formed inside the resin capsule 20 and resin is drained back inside the resin capsule.
    In an embodiment of the stereolithography apparatus, the resin capsule is located above the vat.
    In an embodiment of the stereolithography apparatus, the resin capsule comprises an outlet ar25 ranged in proximity of the vat.
    In an embodiment of the stereolithography apparatus, the vat has an inclined position whereby the vat is inclined towards the resin capsule.
    According to a second aspect, a method of op30 erating a stereolithography apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, comprising steps of pumping resin from the resin capsule into the vat, manufacturing the object, and draining extra resin back inside the resin capsule.
    In an embodiment of the method of operating a stereolithography apparatus, the resin is pumped from the resin capsule and drained back inside the resin capsule by the movement of a piston.
    In an embodiment of the method of operating a stereolithography apparatus, the resin is drained by 5 forming a vacuum inside the resin capsule by pulling the piston back up.
    In an embodiment of the method of operating a stereolithography apparatus, the method further comprises a step of inclining the vat towards the resin 10 capsule.
    BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
    The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention 15 and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description help to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings:
    20185584 prh 28 -06- 2018
    Figure 1illustratesastereolithographyap-20paratusin a frontview with itslid closed, Figure 2illustratesastereolithographyap- paratusin a sideview with itslid closed, Figure 3illustratesastereolithographyap- paratusin a frontview with itslid open, 25 Figure 4illustratesastereolithographyap- paratusin a sideview with itslid open, Figure 5illustratesastereolithographyap- paratus, Figure 6illustratesastereolithographyap-30paratusin a frontview, Figure 7illustratesaresin delivery mecha- nism, Figure 8illustratesastereolithographyap- paratuswithout aresin tank, and 35 Figure 9illustratesastereolithographyap- paratuswith the resin tank inafront view.
    20185584 prh 28 -06- 2018
    DETAILED DESCRIPTION
    Figs. 1 to 4 illustrate an example of a stereolithography apparatus. The apparatus could also be called a stereolithographic 3D printer, or a stereo5 lithographic additive manufacturing apparatus. Basic parts of the apparatus are a base part 101 and a lid 102, of which the lid 102 is movably coupled to the base part 101 so that it can move between a closed position shown in figs. 1 and 2 and an open position 10 shown in figs. 3 and 4. Here the direction of the movement is vertical, but this is not a requirement; the movement of the lid 102 in relation to the base part 101 could take place in other directions. An important advantage of a movable lid of this kind is 15 that an ongoing stereolithographic 3D printing process can be protected from any interfering external optical radiation by closing the lid 102.
    A vat 401 is provided in the base part 101 for holding resin for use in the stereolithographic 3D 20 printing process. A build platform 402 with a build surface 403 is supported above the vat 401 so that the build surface 403 faces the vat 401. This arrangement is typical to the so-called bottom up variant of stereolithography, in which the photopolymerizing ra25 diation comes from below the vat. The bottom of the vat 401 is or can be selectively made transparent or translucent for the kind of radiation used for said photopolymerizing.
    A moving mechanism is provided and configured 30 to move the build platform 402 in a working movement range between first and second extreme positions. Of these, the first extreme position is the one proximal to the vat 401, and the second extreme position is the one distant from the vat 401. In the first extreme po35 sition the build surface 403 is very close to the bottom of the vat 401. The first layer of the object to be manufactured will be photopolymerized onto the
    20185584 prh 28 -06- 2018 build surface 403 when the build platform 402 is in the first extreme position. Consequently, in said first extreme position the distance between the build surface 403 and the bottom of the vat 401 is in the 5 order of the thickness of one layer in the stereolithographic 3D printing process.
    The position shown in figs. 3 and 4 may be the second extreme position, or at least closer to the second extreme position than to the first extreme po10 sition. A working region of the stereolithography apparatus may be said to exist between the vat 401 and the second extreme position of the build platform 402, because the object to be manufactured will appear within this region. The build platform 402 does not 15 need to move up to or even close to the second extreme position during the manufacturing of an object; the second extreme position may be most useful for making it easier to detach a manufactured object from the build platform 402 once the object is complete.
    In the embodiment of figs. 1 to 4 the moving mechanism for moving the build platform 402 is inside the base part 101, and only represented by the two slits 301 seen in a vertical surface of the base part 101, as well as the horizontal support 404 of the 25 build platform 402. There is also a similarly hidden moving mechanism for moving the lid 102 with respect to the base part 101. This second moving mechanism may comprise parts inside the base part 101 and/or parts inside the lid 102. Enclosing essentially all moving 30 mechanisms within the casings of the base part 101 and/or the lid 102 involves the advantage of added safety, because it makes it improbable that a user could get injured by any moving parts of such mechanisms .
    The horizontal support 404 of the build platform 402 is shown only schematically in the drawings. In a practical implementation a support of the build platform 402 may comprise various advanced technical features, like joints and/or fine tuning mechanisms
    forensuring thatthe orientationof the buildsurface403is appropriate. However,suchfeatures areout of5 thescope of thisdescriptionandare therefore omit-tedhere . Anotherfeature oftheexemplarystereo-
    20185584 prh 28 -06- 2018 lithography apparatus of figs. 1 to 4 is a user interface, which comprises a touch-sensitive display 103 in 10 the lid 102. The user interface may comprise various functions for implementing interactions between the apparatus and its user, including but not being limited to buttons for controlling the movements of the lid 102 and the build platform 402. A touch-sensitive 15 display is an advantageous feature of a user interface in particular if the stereolithography apparatus is to be used in environments where thorough cleaning and disinfecting are regularly required, like at medical and/or dental clinics. Placing a touch-sensitive dis20 play 103 and/or other parts of the user interface in a front part of the lid 102 is advantageous, because it makes such parts of the user interface easily accessible to the user. As such, at least some parts of the user interface could be implemented in the base part 25 101. The touch-sensitive display 103 may be used for receiving information of the object design and the resin. It may be also used for inputting needed parameters (e.g. properties of the resin) for the printing process .
    The resin that is to be used in the stereolithographic 3D printing process may be brought to the stereolithography apparatus in a resin tank. The designation resin tank is used in this text as a general descriptor of any kinds of containers that may 35 hold resin in readiness for the resin to be used in a stereolithographic 3D printing process. Fig. 5 illustrates an example of a stereolithography apparatus
    20185584 prh 28 -06- 2018 having the lid 102 in the open position. The resin tank is provided in form of a resin capsule 501, which contains one single shot of resin that is needed for a single stereolithographic 3D printing process. The 5 needed amount of resin depends on the object to be printed and, therefore, the size of the resin capsule 501 may vary. The needed amount of resin may be calculated by the user or the stereolithography apparatus may have means to calculate the amount based on the 10 object design. After calculating the needed amount of resin, the stereolithography apparatus may suggest the resin capsule to be used. The resin capsule 501 is located above the vat 401 so that the resin may be emptied from the resin capsule 501 straight into the vat 15 401, which prevents unnecessary spillage.
    According to one embodiment, the vat 401 comprises a channel that is arranged to receive the resin from the resin capsule. In fig. 5, the channel 502 is located below the resin capsule 501 in the corner of 20 the vat 401. The channel may be a groove or a tube which conducts the resin further into the vat 401. The vat 401 may comprises several channels so that one is located below each resin capsule.
    The stereolithography apparatus may comprise 25 a holder for removably receiving a resin capsule to an operating position in the stereolithography apparatus.
    An example of such a holder is illustrated in fig. 6 and 8 with the reference designator 602. Providing a holder for removably receiving a resin capsule in30 volves the advantage that the user may easily exchange resin capsules to ensure the use of the most optimal resin for each stereolithographic 3D printing job.
    A resin capsule that can be removably received in the holder 602 may have the form of an elon35 gated capsule, as in figures, preferably with a cover or plug covering an opening in one end, and with an outlet 704 appearing in the other end. The outlet 704
    20185584 prh 28 -06- 2018 may be equipped with a valve, seal, plug, or some other means that keep the resin from escaping the resin capsule unless explicitly desired. Such an elongated resin capsule can be removably received in the holder 5 602 so that the end with the opening is upwards, and the outlet 704 is in or close to the vat 401.
    In the example embodiment of fig. 6 and 8 a piston 601 is attached to the same support 404 as the build platform 402. When the build platform 402 moves 10 downwards in order to assume the first extreme position, which is the starting position for producing a new object, the piston 601 moves downwards in concert with the build platform 402. This movement of the piston 601 pumps the resin out of the resin capsule that 15 was received in the holder 602, so that the resin flows out of the outlet 704 and into the vat 401. The cover or plug that covered the opening in the upper end of the resin capsule must naturally have been removed before that, as well as the means that closed 20 the outlet 704 unless some mechanism is provided that automatically opens the outlet when needed.
    It must be noted that making the piston 601 move in concert with the build platform 402 is only an example implementation. It involves the advantage that 25 only one moving mechanism is needed to move two parts.
    However, in some applications it may be desirable to be able to control the delivery of resin to the vat 401 independently of the movement of the build platform 402. For such applications an embodiment can be 30 presented in which there are separate mechanisms for moving the build platform 402 and for delivering resin from a resin capsule into the vat 401. Such a separate mechanism may involve for example a piston that is otherwise like the piston 601 in fig. 6 but supported 35 and moved by a moving mechanism of its own.
    Figures comprise only examples of the piston design. It is understood that the piston may have dif
    20185584 prh 28 -06- 2018 ferent shapes and structures as far as it works in its purpose and is suitable to pump the resin out of the resin capsule 501.
    Only one holder 602 for one resin capsule is shown in the drawings, but the stereolithography apparatus may comprise two or more holders, and/or a single holder may be configured to receive two or more resin capsules. In particular if there are separate mechanisms for pumping resin from different resin cap10 sules to the vat 401, the provision of places for receiving multiple resin capsules involves the advantage that different resins can be used automatically, even during the manufacturing of a single object. Such a feature may be useful for example if the object to be 15 manufactured should exhibit a sliding change of color.
    The stereolithography apparatus might comprise two resin capsules of differently pigmented resin, and these could be delivered to the vat in selected proportions so that the resulting mix of resins in the 20 vat would change its color accordingly.
    According to one embodiment, the holder 602 comprises adjustable clasps 702 that may be adjusted to receive resin capsules with different sizes and shapes .
    Fig. 7 illustrates a resin delivery mechanism
    701 comprising a resin capsule 501 having some resin 703 inside. The resin capsule is held by the adjustable clasps 702 that retain the resin capsule from its sides. The resin delivery mechanism comprises also a 30 piston 601 arranged to move up and down. The downwards movement pumps the resin 703 out of the resin capsule so that the resin flows out of the outlet 704 and to the vat 401.
    According to an embodiment, the resin capsule 35 501 is disposable so that after single use, the resin capsule is replaced by a new one.
    20185584 prh 28 -06- 2018
    As the resin is relatively expensive, it is not economical to waste the resin that is left over after the printing process. Therefore, according to one embodiment, the upwards movement causes a vacuum 5 inside the resin capsule 501 and the resin from the vat 401 may be drained back into the resin capsule 501 and used again later. The vacuum is achieved by sealing the piston air tightly against the inner wall of the resin capsule. As the piston is pulled back up, a 10 vacuum is formed inside the resin capsule between the piston 601 and the outlet 704. The resin capsule is located so that the outlet is at the proximity of the vat and it is able to reach the resin on the vat. After the printing process, the extra resin is drained 15 back inside the resin capsule for later use.
    According to an embodiment, the vat 401 may be inclined towards the resin capsule. In this inclined position, the extra resin is flown towards the outlet of the resin capsule and the extra resin may be 20 collected more efficiently.
    Fig. 9 illustrates schematically a case in which a resin capsule 501 has been received in the holder 702. The resin capsule 501 may comprise an identifier (e.g. graphical or electronical) having in25 formation regarding the resin, contained in that particular resin capsule 501, or the resin capsule 501 itself. Said information may contain for example one or more of the following: an identifier of resin contained in the resin capsule 501, an indicator of 30 amount of resin contained in the resin capsule, a manufacturing date of resin contained in the resin capsule 501, a best before date of resin contained in the resin capsule, unique identifier of the resin capsule 501, a digital signature of a provider of resin con35 tained in the resin capsule 501. Said information may be used for controlling the stereolithography apparatus. For example the identifier may contain infor12 mation of the size of the resin capsule 501 and said information is used to define the movement of the piston 601 when pumping the resin out of the resin capsule 501 or when draining the left over resin back in5 side the resin capsule 501.
    It is obvious to a person skilled in the art that with the advancement of technology, the basic idea of the invention may be implemented in various ways. The invention and its embodiments are thus not 10 limited to the examples described above, instead they may vary within the scope of the claims.
    权利要求:
    Claims (11)
    [1] 1. Stereolithography apparatus, comprising:
    - a vat (401) for holding resin during stereolithographic 3D printing,
    5 - a resin delivery mechanism (701) comprising a piston (601) and at least one resin tank, wherein
    - the resin tank is a resin capsule (501) having one single shot of resin (703), and
    - the resin delivery mechanism is arranged to drain
    10 the resin from the vat (401) back inside the resin capsule (501) by the movement of the piston (601).
    [2] 2. A stereolithography apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the piston (601) is sealed against inner wall of the resin tank (501).
    15
    [3] 3. A stereolithography apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the piston (601) is arranged to move reciprocating manner inside the resin tank (501).
    [4] 4. A stereolithography apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the piston (601)
    20 is arranged to be pulled back, whereby a vacuum is formed inside the resin capsule (501) and resin (703) is drained back inside the resin capsule (501) .
    [5] 5. A stereolithography apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, the resin capsule (501)
    25 is located above the vat (401) .
    [6] 6. A stereolithography apparatus according to any of preceding claims, wherein the resin capsule (501) comprises an outlet (704) arranged in proximity of the vat (401) .
    30
    [7] 7. A stereolithography apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the vat (401) has an inclined position, wherein the vat is inclined towards the resin capsule (501).
    [8] 8. A method of operating a stereolithography apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, comprising steps of:
    - pumping resin from the resin capsule (501) into the
    5 vat (401),
    - manufacturing the object,
    - draining extra resin (703) back inside the resin capsule (501).
    [9] 9. A method of operating a stereolithography
    [10] 10 apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the resin is pumped from the resin capsule (501) and drained back inside the resin capsule (501) by the movement of a piston ( 601) .
    10. A method of operating a stereolithography
    15 apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the resin is drained by forming a vacuum inside the resin capsule (501) by pulling the piston (601) back up.
    [11] 11. A method of operating a stereolithography apparatus according to any of claims 9-11, comprising
    20 a step of inclining the vat (401) towards the resin capsule (501) .
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    同族专利:
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    引用文献:
    公开号 | 申请日 | 公开日 | 申请人 | 专利标题
    US5247180A|1991-12-30|1993-09-21|Texas Instruments Incorporated|Stereolithographic apparatus and method of use|
    US6051179A|1997-03-19|2000-04-18|Replicator Systems, Inc.|Apparatus and method for production of three-dimensional models by spatial light modulator|
    US6607689B1|2000-08-29|2003-08-19|Micron Technology, Inc.|Layer thickness control for stereolithography utilizing variable liquid elevation and laser focal length|
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    US10150247B2|2013-03-12|2018-12-11|Orange Maker LLC|3D printing using spiral buildup and high viscosity build materials|
    WO2016063996A1|2014-10-20|2016-04-28|아이투스 인터내셔날|Three-dimensional printer|
    US20200078831A1|2016-12-14|2020-03-12|Carbon, Inc.|Methods and apparatus for washing objects produced by stereolithography|
    CN106915077A|2017-02-28|2017-07-04|深圳市金石三维打印科技有限公司|A kind of three probe printing equipments for SLA 3D Stereolithographies|
    CN107627601B|2017-09-19|2020-06-12|中国科学院上海硅酸盐研究所|A sealed booster-type thick liquids pond device for overhead light source 3D printer|
    法律状态:
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    FI20185584A|FI128627B|2018-06-28|2018-06-28|Stereolithography apparatus equipped with resin collecting mechanism and method of operating said apparatus|FI20185584A| FI128627B|2018-06-28|2018-06-28|Stereolithography apparatus equipped with resin collecting mechanism and method of operating said apparatus|
    PCT/FI2019/050507| WO2020002776A1|2018-06-28|2019-06-27|Stereolithography apparatus equipped with resin collecting mechanism and method of operating said apparatus|
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