ARRANGEMENT AND METHOD FOR GENERATING A LAYER OF A PARTICULATE BUILDING MATERIAL IN A 3D PRINTER

Abstract

Arrangement and method for generating a layer of a particulate building material in a 3D printer in which a quantity of applied material is increased while keeping the quality constant and forces acting on the construction site during application, smoothing and compacting of the particulate building material is reduced. The arrangement includes: a first assembly having a device for applying the particulate building material to a construction site moveable thereover; a second assembly spatially separate from the first assembly and which has a device for smoothing the applied particulate building material. In terms of the method: in a first step, applying the particulate building material to the construction site with the arrangement above and movable over the construction site; and in a second step, following in time and independent of the first step, smoothing the applied particulate building material, the first and second steps performed in a single movement.

Claims

1. Arrangement (1) for generating a layer (11) of a particulate building material (10) in a 3D printer, the arrangement (1) being movable over a construction site (5) and comprising: a first assembly (4a) having a device (2) for applying the particulate building material (10) to the construction site (5); and a second assembly (4b), which is arranged in the arrangement (1) technically separate and spatially separate from the first assembly (4a), having a device (3) for smoothing the applied particulate building material (10) are arranged.

2. The arrangement (1) according to claim 1, further comprising at least one further assembly (4d) having a device (3b) for smoothing the applied particulate building material (10) is arranged in the arrangement (1).

3. The arrangement (1) according to claim 1, further comprising: at least one further assembly (4c) having a device (2b) for applying the particulate building material (10) to the construction site (5) and a further assembly (4d) having a device (3b) for smoothing the applied particulate building material (10) are arranged in the arrangement (1).

4. The arrangement (1) according to claim 1, wherein the device (2) for applying the particulate building material (10) to the construction site (5) is a roller.

5. The arrangement (1) according to claim 1, wherein the device (3) for smoothing the particulate building material (10) is a blade.

6. The arrangement (1) according to claim 1, wherein the device (2) for applying the particulate material to the construction site (10) is arranged in the arrangement (1) at a distance (6a) from the device (3) for smoothing the particulate building material (10).

7. The arrangement (1) according to claim 1, further comprising a further assembly (4) having a device for compacting (15) the applied particulate building material (10) is arranged in the arrangement (1).

8. A method for generating a layer (11) of a particulate building material (10) in a 3D printer, in which for generating the layer (11) the particulate building material (10) is applied, smoothed and compacted to produce the layer (11), the method comprising the steps of: applying the particulate building material (10) to a construction site (5) with a coater arrangement (1) provided above the construction site (5) and movable over the construction site (5), and that in a second method step, which follows the first method step in time and which is independent of the first method step, smoothing the applied particulate building material (10), wherein the first and the second method steps are performed in a single movement of the coater arrangement (1) over the construction site (5).

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the first method step for generating the layer (11) in the single movement of the coater arrangement (1) over the construction site (5), a first particulate building material (10a) and/or a second particulate building material (10b) is applied on the construction site (5).

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein in the first method step for generating the layer (11) in the single movement of the coater arrangement (1) over the construction site (5), at least a first partial layer (13) and a second partial layer (14) are applied.

11. The method according to claim 8, wherein in the second method step, the applied particulate building material (10) is smoothed by at least one first smoothing step (7) and by a second smoothing step (8) in the single movement of the coater arrangement (1) over the construction site (5).

12. The method according to in claim 8, further comprising: a third method step, which follows the first or second method step in time and which is independent of the first or second method step, compacting the applied particulate building material (10) or the applied and smoothed particulate building material (10).

Description

[0060] The aforedescribed features and advantages of this invention will be better understood and appreciated after a careful study of the following detailed description of preferred non-limiting exemplary embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which show in:

[0061] FIG. 1: a perspective exemplary representation of the arrangement according to the invention in a first embodiment,

[0062] FIG. 2: a perspective exemplary representation of the arrangement according to the invention with two means for applying and two spatially separate means for smoothing particulate building material,

[0063] FIG. 3: a perspective exemplary representation of the arrangement according to the invention with a means for applying and a plurality of spatially separate means for smoothing particulate building material,

[0064] FIG. 4: a further representation of the arrangement of FIG. 3,

[0065] FIG. 5: a schematic representation of the operation of several means for smoothing particulate building material, and

[0066] FIG. 6 two spatially separate arrangements according to the invention, each with a means for applying and a means for smoothing particulate building material across a construction site.

[0067] FIG. 1 shows a perspective exemplary representation of the arrangement 1 according to the invention with a means 2 for applying and a spatially separate means 3 for smoothing a particulate building material 10, not shown in FIG. 1, in a first embodiment in a viewing direction obliquely from below onto the arrangement 1. The means 2 may be designed, for example, as a roller and the means 3 may be designed, for example, as a blade or a squeegee. The arrangement 1 also has a means 15 for compacting the applied and smoothed building material 10. The means 15 may also be designed as a blade, for example. The following figures do not show the means 15 for compacting the applied and smoothed building material 10.

[0068] The arrangement 1 or the coater arrangement 1 has a means 2 for applying a particulate building material 10 and a means 3 for smoothing the particulate building material 10, with the means 2 being arranged in an assembly 4a and the means 3 being arranged in an assembly 4b spatially separate from the assembly 4a. The means 15 for compacting the applied and smoothed building material 10 is arranged in an assembly 4c spatially separate from the assemblies 4a and 4b.

[0069] The assemblies 4a, 4b and 4c have components such as holding elements, drives, sensors, actuators and others, which are necessary for the proper functioning of the corresponding assembly 4a, 4b and 4c. For example, a storage container for the particulate building material 10 is also provided in the assembly 4a, as well as a cylinder or roller, via which the particulate building material 10 is placed on a construction site 5, which is shown in FIG. 1 and in the following figures only schematically by an area framed by a dash-dash line. Other components of the assemblies will not be explained here further, since they can be arbitrarily interchanged and are not essential for the present invention.

[0070] The distance 6a between the means 2 and the means 3 and the distance 6b between the means 3 and the means 15 in FIG. 1 can each be adjusted independently of one another.

[0071] The arrow 16 illustrates the direction in which the arrangement 1 is moved over the construction site 5 when the particulate construction material 10 is applied.

[0072] FIG. 2 shows in a further embodiment a perspective exemplary representation of the spatially separate arrangement 1 according to the invention for generating a layer 11 of a particulate building material 10 in a 3D printer in a viewing direction oblique from below the arrangement 1.

[0073] The arrangement 1 or the coater arrangement 1 has a first means 2a for applying the particulate building material 10 (not shown in FIG. 2) and a first means 3a for smoothing the particulate building material 10. The first means 2a is arranged in an assembly 4a. The first means 3a is arranged in an assembly 4b which is spatially separate from the assembly 4a. The means 2a and 3a may be arranged at the same distance from the surface of the construction site 5 and may be movable with the coater arrangement 1 in an imaginary plane over the construction area 5.

[0074] The assembly 4a has at least one means 2a for applying the particulate building material 10.

[0075] The assembly 4b has at least one means 3a for smoothing the previously applied particulate building material 10.

[0076] The coater arrangement 1 is arranged above a construction site 5 over which the coater arrangement 1 can be moved in the directions shown by the two arrows 16. The means required for moving and guiding the coater arrangement 1 are not shown in FIG. 2. According to the example in FIG. 2, the coater arrangement 1 can be moved to the right and to the left, but in the illustrated embodiment only one direction of movement to the left is provided when generating a layer 11 of the particulate building material 10, since the means 2a must be arranged in front of the means 3a as viewed in the direction of movement. However, a restriction to the example in FIG. 2 is not intended.

[0077] In an embodiment in which the arrangement of the assemblies 4c and 4d is interchanged within the coater subassembly 1b, the coater assembly 1 can be used in both directions to generate in each direction a respective layer 11 of the particulate building material 10.

[0078] Thus, in a direction of movement to the left, the coater subassembly 1a is used, and in a direction of movement to the right, the coater subassembly 1b is used to generate a layer 11.

[0079] In the embodiment of FIG. 2, too, the means 2a and 3a can be arranged in the coater arrangement 1 at an adjustable distance 6a from one another. This distance 6a, when viewed from the center axis of one means to the center axis of the adjacent means, is in a range between 10 mm and 150 mm, in particular in a range between 40 mm and 100 mm. This distance 6a is specified by the technical design (type of application, type of smoothing, type of compression) and is designed to be as small as possible in order to keep the resulting additional travel as small as possible. The same dimensional ranges as for the distance 6a may apply to the distance 6b between the means 3 and the means 15, shown only in FIG. 1.

[0080] In a particular embodiment, the distance 6a between the means 2a and the means 3a can be adjusted while the 3D printer is in operation. In this way, for example, an adaptation to different printing speeds and printing qualities can be achieved and particular physical process parameters such as the fluid behavior of the particulate building material 10 or the idle time of the space printed with particulate building material 10 can be addressed.

[0081] Furthermore, in the example illustrated in FIG. 2, an assembly 4c with a means 2b, which is also designed as a roller, and an assembly 4d with a means 3b, which is also designed as a blade, may be arranged.

[0082] In this embodiment, the distance 6a between the means 2b and the means 3b is also adjustable. In addition, the distance between the first coater subassembly 1a and the second coater subassembly 1b, which is not shown in FIG. 2, can also be set freely. The distance between the coater subassemblies 1a and 1b thus determines the distance between the means 3a and 2b.

[0083] Such a coater arrangement 1, consisting of a first coater sub-arrangement 1a and a second coater sub-arrangement 1b, makes it possible to produce a layer 11 consisting of two partial layers of the particulate building material 10, which is not shown in FIG. There is no restriction of the invention to just a first coater subassembly 1a in connection with a second coater subassembly 1b. For example, when three coater subassemblies 1a, 1b and 1c are arranged in a coater assembly 1, a layer 11 of the particulate building material 10 consisting of three sublayers can be produced.

[0084] FIG. 3 shows a perspective exemplary representation of the arrangement 1 according to the invention or the coater arrangement 1 from below with a means 2a for applying particulate building material 10 and with a plurality of means 3a, 3b and 3c arranged spatially separate from the means 2a for smoothing the particulate building material 10.

[0085] For better understanding, a further illustration of the arrangement from FIG. 3 is shown in FIG. 4. The following description can therefore apply to both FIGS. 3 and 4.

[0086] In this case, the means 2a is arranged in the first assembly 4a. The means 3a is arranged in the assembly 4b, the means 3b is arranged in the assembly 4d and the means 3c is arranged in the assembly 4e. As already explained in relation to FIG. 2, each assembly 4a, 4b, 4d and 4e also has components such as holding elements, drives, sensors, actuators and others, which will not be explained here in more detail.

[0087] The means 2a in the first assembly 4a is designed, for example, as a roller, via which the particulate building material 10 is uniformly applied to the building site 5, while the coater arrangement 1 moves evenly over the building site 5 to the left in the direction shown by the left arrow 16. Such means 2a with a roller for applying the building material 10 are known from the prior art.

[0088] During this movement over the construction site 5, the assemblies 4a, 4b, 4d and 4e are moved uniformly and together with the coater arrangement 1 in the same direction und in a virtual plane over the construction site 5, wherein the distances between the means 2a, 3a, 3b and 3c und their distances to the surface of the construction site 5 do not change while the coater arrangement 1 moves over the construction site 5.

[0089] When the coater arrangement 1 moves to the left, a first smoothing step 7 of the particulate building material 10 applied to the construction site 5 is carried out by the means 3a arranged in the assembly 4b, which is designed as a blade in the example in FIGS. 3 and 4. In the same movement of the coater arrangement 1, but taking place at a later time, a second smoothing step 8 is carried out with the blade 3b arranged in the assembly 4d and a third smoothing step 9 with the blade 3c arranged in the assembly 4e.

[0090] FIG. 5 illustrates schematically the smoothing of the particulate building material 10, divided into three smoothing steps 7, 8 and 9, in a movement of der coater arrangement 1 over the construction site 5.

[0091] The particulate building material 10, which was applied by a means 2 (not shown) for applying the particulate building material 10, is shown above a construction site 5. The three means 3a, 3b and 3c for smoothing the particulate building material 10 are moved simultaneously and uniformly over the construction site 5 in the direction of movement shown by the arrow 16.

[0092] A first smoothing step 7 is carried out with the means 3a, a second smoothing step 8 with the means 3b and a third smoothing step 7 with the means 3c, which in their sum provide the applied and smoothed particulate building material 10, i.e. a layer 11 applied according to the invention, not shown in FIG. 5.

[0093] Advantageously, the means 3a, 3b and 3c are arranged above the construction site 5 at an angle 12 relative to the vertical. Such an angle 12 has the effect that the means 3a, 3b and 3c not only smooth the building material 10, but also compact that the building material 10. This angle 12 can be in a range between −80° and +80°, in particular in a range between −20° and +20°.

[0094] Advantageously, the angle 12 may be set to have the same magnitude for all three means 3a, 3b and 3c. Alternatively, a different angle may be set for each of the means 3a, 3b and 3c.

[0095] Advantageously, the shape of the edge of the blade or of the squeegee can influence the compaction, the flow behavior and the positioning of the particulate building material.

[0096] FIG. 6 shows two spatially separate coater subassemblies 1a and 1b according to the invention above a construction site 5, as viewed obliquely from below, each coater subassembly having a means 2 for applying and a means 3 for smoothing particulate building material 10.

[0097] The coater subassembly 1a has a first assembly 4a, in which at least one means 2a for applying particulate building material 10 is arranged. The coater subassembly 1a also has a second assembly 4b, in which at least one means 3a for smoothing the applied particulate building material 10 is arranged. In the example of FIG. 6, the means 2a is a roller and the means 3a is a blade.

[0098] Immediately adjacent to the first coater subassembly 1a, the coater assembly 1 has a further coater subassembly 1b. The coater subassembly 1b has an assembly 4c in which at least one means 2b for applying particulate building material 10 is arranged. The coater subassembly 1b also has a further assembly 4d, in which at least one means 3b for smoothing the applied particulate building material 10 is arranged. In the example of FIG. 6, the means 2b is a roller and the means 3b is a blade.

[0099] The coater arrangement 1 can be moved over the construction site 5 in the directions shown by the arrows 16. As is known from the prior art, the distance between the coater arrangement 1 and the construction site 5 can also be changed by moving the coater arrangement 1. In this way, the distance from the construction site 5 can be increased or decreased.

[0100] As is common, when building up the layers, the coater arrangement 1 moves continuously upwards away from the construction site 5, and this movement can be controlled accordingly. It is thus possible to move the coater arrangement 1 away from the construction site 5 by the entire amount of the height of a generated layer 11. It is also possible to move the coater arrangement 1 away from the construction site 5 by only a fraction of the total height of a generated layer 11.

[0101] In the construction site 5 shown in FIG. 6, three layers 11a, 11 b and 11c have already been generated. The coater arrangement 1 is shown in a movement directed to the left in FIG. 6. During this movement, a first partial layer 13 is generated with the first coater subassembly 1a. The first partial layer 13 is generated by applying particulate building material 10 on the previously generated layer 11c with the means 2a (a roller) and smoothed with the means 3a (a blade).

[0102] In the same movement process of the coater arrangement 1, a second partial layer 14 is generated by means of the second coater subassembly 1b. The second partial layer 14 is generated by applying particulate building material 10 on the previously generated first partial layer 13 with the means 2b and smoothed with the means 3b.

[0103] With the coating arrangement 1 shown in FIG. 6, a complete layer 11 of the particulate building material 10 can be generated with the coater subassembly 1a or the coater subassembly 1b in a single movement of the coater arrangement 1 over the construction site 5, in the example depicted in FIG. 6 from right to left.

[0104] In a first alternative, a complete layer 11 of the particulate building material 10 can be generated by generating a first partial layer 13 with the first coater subassembly 1a in a movement of the coater arrangement 1 over the construction site 5 and thereafter generating a second partial layer 14 with the second coater subassembly 1b. In this case, the complete layer 11 is composed of identical or different proportions of the first partial layer 13 and the second partial layer 14.

[0105] In another alternative, a complete layer 11 of the particulate building material 10 can be generated by first generating with the first coater subassembly 1a in a movement of the coater arrangement 1 over the construction site 5 the entire thickness of the layer 11, using a first particulate building material 10a, and by subsequently generating with the second coater subassembly 1b a full thickness of layer 11, using a second particulate building material 10b. This process is shown in FIG. 6 in the already generated layer 11a. This process can be repeated as often as desired with changing particulate building material 10a and 10b. When the coater arrangement 1 has, for example, three coater subassemblies 1a, 1b and 1c, the layer 11 can be generated using three different particulate building materials 10a, 10b and 10c.

[0106] With the coater arrangement 1 according to the invention, the layer 11 can be generated both by using different particulate building materials 10 and by using a plurality of partial layers 13, 14 in a single movement of der coater arrangement 1 over the construction site 5, with no restriction to just two partial layers.

[0107] A portion of the possibilities feasible with the coater arrangement 1 when generating the layer 11 is shown in FIG. 6 in the layers 11a, 1b and 11c.

[0108] In each of the illustrated embodiments of the invention, a further means for compacting 15 the particulate building material 10 may be arranged in addition to the means 2 for applying the particulate building material 10 to a construction site 5 and the means 3 for smoothing the applied particulate building material 10.

LIST OF REFERENCE SYMBOLS USED

[0109] 1, 1a, 1b, . . . , 1n Arrangement for generating a layer of a particulate building material in a 3D printer/coater arrangement/coater subassembly [0110] 2, 2a, 2b, . . . , 2n Means for applying particulate building material/roller [0111] 3, 3a, 3b, . . . , 3n Means for smoothing particulate building material/blade [0112] 4, 4a, 4b, . . . , 4n Assembly [0113] 5 Construction site [0114] 6a, 6b Distance [0115] 7 First smoothing step [0116] 8 Second smoothing step [0117] 9 Third smoothing step [0118] 10, 10a, 10b, . . . , 10n Particulate building material [0119] 11, 11a, 11b, . . . , 11n Layer of particulate building material [0120] 12 Angle [0121] 13 First partial layer [0122] 14 Second partial layer [0123] 15 Means for compacting particulate building material [0124] 16 Arrow