Patent Description:
A diameter of an extrusion port for a traditional 3D printing device is generally fixed.

With development of 3D printing technologies, a novel extrusion port has gradually emerged. A size of such extrusion port can be adjusted dynamically according to an actual need. A 3D printing device with such extrusion port has obvious advantages in taking both printing accuracy and printing efficiency into account.

However, there is still room for further improvement of the 3D printing device.

<CIT> discloses a 3D printing head, including: a feeding nozzle <NUM>, heating rod <NUM> and a head body. the head body comprises a fixed nozzle <NUM> and a controllable nozzle. The feeding nozzle <NUM> is installed on the top of the fixed nozzle <NUM>, the heating rod <NUM> is arranged inside the fixed nozzle <NUM>. The controllable nozzle includes a wafer type pin array <NUM>, a nozzle mask <NUM> and a pin array driving device <NUM>. The wafer type pin array <NUM> comprises a plurality of wafer pin, which are closely attached to each other. Each wafer pin can swing around the nozzle mask <NUM> in a small amplitude by the controlling of the pin array drive device <NUM>, so that the head <NUM> of each wafer pin <NUM> can near or away from the edge of the fixed nozzle <NUM>. Thus, a nozzle, between the head <NUM> and the fixed nozzle <NUM>, can be opened or closed by the motion of each head <NUM>, so that the size of the nozzle for extruding material can be adjusted.

According to the present invention, a 3D printing device is provided, with an extrusion port having a variable size is provided, including: a feeding portion having an inlet and an outlet for a material; a discharging portion having an extrusion port, where the extrusion port is capable of being in fluid communication with the outlet of the feeding portion, so as to extrude the material, and the extrusion port is partitioned into a plurality of hole channels; and a control portion, configured to control, in a process of filling a single-communication region by utilizing the extrusion port, the feeding portion and the discharging portion to move relative to each other, so as to change a quantity of hole channels in communication with the outlet of the feeding portion in the plurality of hole channels, thereby changing a size of the extrusion port, wherein the feeding portion is an inner cylinder, and the discharging portion is a sleeve of the inner cylinder; and the control portion is configured to control the inner cylinder and the sleeve to move along an axial direction of the inner cylinder, so as to change a length of the extrusion port.

According to the present invention, a control method is provided, for a 3D printing device with an extrusion port having a variable size is provided. The 3D printing device includes: a feeding portion having an inlet and an outlet for a material; and a discharging portion having an extrusion port, where the extrusion port is capable of being in fluid communication with the outlet of the feeding portion, so as to extrude the material, and the extrusion port is partitioned into a plurality of hole channels. The control method includes: controlling the extrusion port to fill a single-communication region; and controlling, in a process of filling the single-communication region by utilizing the extrusion port, the feeding portion and the discharging portion to move relative to each other, so as to change a quantity of hole channels in communication with the outlet of the feeding portion in the plurality of hole channels, thereby changing a size of the extrusion port, wherein the feeding portion is an inner cylinder, and the discharging portion is a sleeve of the inner cylinder; and the controlling the feeding portion and the discharging portion to move relative to each other comprises: controlling the inner cylinder and the sleeve to move along an axial direction of the inner cylinder, so as to change a length of the extrusion port.

A diameter of an extrusion port for a traditional 3D printing device is generally fixed. With development of 3D printing technologies, a novel extrusion port has gradually emerged. A size of such extrusion port can be adjusted dynamically according to an actual need. A 3D printing device with such extrusion port has obvious advantages in taking both printing accuracy and printing efficiency into account.

In order to form an extrusion port with different sizes, generally, two movable blocks are disposed at the bottom of a 3D printing device in the related art (a gap between the two movable blocks is an extrusion port). In the related art, the two movable blocks are controlled to slide relative to each other, so that the gap between the two movable blocks is changed, thereby forming an extrusion port with different sizes. For the detailed description of the related art, reference may be made to, for example, <CIT> and <CIT>.

However, in the foregoing solution, a material is squeezed at the extrusion port while the size of the extrusion port is changed, resulting in non-uniform material flow rates of the material, thus reducing printing quality. For example, when it is desired to reduce a length of the extrusion port, the two movable blocks are moved toward each other along a length direction of the extrusion port. Such movement of the two movable blocks squeezes the material in the length direction of the extrusion port. As a result, a pressure is spread in the length direction of the extrusion port, causing the non-uniform material flow rates of the material in the length direction of the extrusion port.

To resolve the foregoing problems, as shown in <FIG>, a 3D printing device is provided in the present application. The 3D printing device may perform 3D printing by utilizing a flowable material (or a material in a molten state). A size of an extrusion port of the 3D printing device is variable.

The 3D printing device includes a feeding portion <NUM> and a discharging portion <NUM>. A material in the 3D printing device may be conveyed to the discharging portion <NUM> through the feeding portion <NUM>, and then extruded by the discharging portion <NUM>.

The feeding portion <NUM> includes an inlet <NUM> and an outlet <NUM> for a material. A feeding channel <NUM> may be disposed between the inlet <NUM> and the outlet <NUM>. The material may enter from the inlet <NUM>, pass through the feeding channel <NUM>, and flow out from the outlet <NUM>. The outlet <NUM> for the material may be a slot, and a cross-sectional shape of the slot is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application. For example, the slot may be in a shape of a narrow and long rectangle, a trapezoid, or another shape.

The discharging portion <NUM> has an extrusion port <NUM>. The extrusion port <NUM> is capable of being communicated with a fluid in the outlet <NUM> of the feeding portion <NUM>, so as to extrude the material. For example, the extrusion port <NUM> may be disposed at an outer side of the outlet <NUM>.

The extrusion port <NUM> may be configured to fill a region. The region may be a single-communication region. The extrusion port <NUM> may be used to fill the single-communication region in a surface filling manner, that is, in the process of filling the single-communication region, a length of the extrusion port <NUM> may change with a contour line of the single-communication region, so that the single-communication region is completely filled at a time.

The extrusion port <NUM> has a plurality of hole channels <NUM>, or may be partitioned into a plurality of hole channels <NUM> (each hole channel may be a square hole or a circular hole). For example, the extrusion port <NUM> may be partitioned into a hole channel array with at least one row of hole channels. The hole channels <NUM> may be separated from each other by a hole wall (or a partition). The plurality of hole channels <NUM> may be closely arranged to make materials extruded from adjacent hole channels be capable of mutually fused (or connected to each other) in a region to be filled. Alternatively, in other words, an arrangement of the plurality of hole channels <NUM> makes the materials extruded from the adjacent hole channels in the plurality of hole channels <NUM> be capable of mutually fused on a printing platform (or referred to as a building platform). For example, when the printing platform is coated with the material extruded from each of the plurality of hole channels <NUM>, since the materials extruded from the adjacent hole channels are close to each other, a mutually-connected coating (or a printing layer) may be formed by the flowing materials under their own weights. Certainly, in some embodiments, some auxiliary means (such as a mechanical rolling way) may further be used to ensure a fusion effect of the materials extruded from the plurality of hole channels <NUM>.

It should be noted that, in the embodiments of the present application, a wall thickness of each of the plurality of hole channels <NUM>, a distance between every two hole channels, or closeness of the arrangement of the hole channels are not specifically limited, which may be set according to material texture and fluidity.

Thicknesses of printing layers formed by the hole channels with different diameters are different. For example, for precision printing, a hole channel with a diameter of <NUM> or below may be used to form an ultra-thin printing layer with a printing thickness of less than <NUM>. For another example, for high-efficiency printing, a hole channel with a diameter of <NUM> or above may be used to form an extra-thick printing layer with a printing thickness of more than <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, the 3D printing device further includes a control portion <NUM>. The control portion <NUM> may be used to control, in a process of filling a single-communication region by utilizing the extrusion port <NUM>, the feeding portion <NUM> and the discharging portion <NUM> to move relative to each other, so as to change a quantity of hole channels <NUM> in communication with the outlet <NUM> of the feeding portion <NUM> in the plurality of hole channels <NUM>, thereby changing a size of the extrusion port <NUM>.

According to the present invention, as shown in <FIG>, the feeding portion <NUM> is an inner cylinder, and the discharging portion <NUM> is a sleeve of the inner cylinder. The control portion <NUM> is configured to control the inner cylinder and the sleeve to move along an axial direction of the inner cylinder, to change a length of the extrusion port <NUM>. For example, when the inner cylinder and the sleeve are at the positions shown in <FIG> is a partial enlarged view of a region near the extrusion port <NUM> in a state shown in <FIG>), all the hole channels <NUM> in the extrusion port <NUM> are communicated with the outlet <NUM>, and the extrusion port <NUM> has the longest length. When the control portion <NUM> controls the inner cylinder and the sleeve to slide along an axis of the inner cylinder to the positions shown in <FIG> is a partial enlarged view of a region near the extrusion port <NUM> in a state shown in <FIG>), some hole channels <NUM> in the extrusion port <NUM> are shielded, the materials fail to be extruded from these shielded hole channels, and thus the length of the extrusion port <NUM> is shortened.

In another example which is not according to the present invention, as shown in <FIG>, the feeding portion <NUM> may be in a shape of a cube, a cylinder, or in any other shape. The discharging portion <NUM> may be a shielding plate located at an outer side of the outlet <NUM> of the feeding portion <NUM>. The control portion <NUM> may be configured to control the feeding portion <NUM> and the shielding plate <NUM> to move relative to each other along a length direction of the extrusion port <NUM>. For example, when the feeding portion <NUM> and the shielding plate <NUM> are at the positions shown in <FIG>, all the hole channels <NUM> in the extrusion port <NUM> are communicated with the outlet <NUM>, and the extrusion port <NUM> has the longest length. When the control portion <NUM> controls the shielding plate to slide along a length direction of the extrusion port <NUM> to the position shown in <FIG>, some hole channels <NUM> in the extrusion port <NUM> are shielded, and the length of the extrusion port <NUM> is shortened.

The above two examples are exemplified by changing the length of the extrusion port <NUM>. In some embodiments, a width of the extrusion port <NUM> may be changed by controlling a relative movement between the feeding portion <NUM> and the discharging portion <NUM>.

In an example, as shown in <FIG>, a plurality of hole channels <NUM> may form a plurality of rows of hole channels (two rows of hole channels are shown in <FIG>). The control portion <NUM> may control the feeding portion <NUM> and the discharging portion <NUM> to move relative to each other, so as to change a quantity of rows of hole channels in a communication state, thereby changing the width of the extrusion port <NUM>. When the control portion <NUM> controls the feeding portion <NUM> and the discharging portion <NUM> to move relative to each other to make the outlet <NUM> of the feeding portion <NUM> and the plurality of rows of hole channels be at the positions shown in <FIG>, one row of hole channels in the plurality of rows of hole channels is in fluid communication with the outlet <NUM>, and the width h of the extrusion port <NUM> is relatively small, which is equivalent to the diameter of one hole channel. When the control portion <NUM> controls the feeding portion <NUM> and the discharging portion <NUM> to move relative to each other to make the outlet <NUM> of the feeding portion <NUM> and the plurality of rows of hole channels be at the positions shown in <FIG>, the width h of the extrusion port <NUM> is increased, which is equivalent to a sum of the diameters of two hole channels.

In 3D printing, a single-layer printing thickness may be changed by changing the width of the extrusion port, so that the 3D printing device may implement different printing efficiency and printing accuracy. For example, when a printing accuracy requirement is relatively low, the single-layer printing thickness may be increased to improve the printing efficiency. When refined printing is required, the single-layer printing thickness may be reduced to improve the printing accuracy.

In the embodiments of the present application, an arrangement of the plurality of rows of hole channels is not specifically limited. In addition to a rectangular arrangement shown in <FIG>, a staggered arrangement shown in <FIG> may be used and this arrangement is more compact. Compared with the arrangement shown in <FIG>, a contour edge printed by using the plurality of rows of hole channels shown in <FIG> is different.

In a 3D printing process, a printing process often needs to be paused. For example, when printing reaches a contour edge of a section or region, the printing process needs to be paused, the 3D printing device is moved to a new printing starting position, and then printing continues. Since a material (such as a high molecular material) used in a 3D printing technology is usually viscoelastic, when conveying of the material is stopped, the material usually cannot stop flowing abruptly. In this case, the material is accumulated continuously outside a contour edge of a section or region to be printed, which destroys a contour shape of the printing section or region, reducing geometric accuracy of a printed piece.

In order to resolve the foregoing problems, in some embodiments, the control portion <NUM> may further be configured to make the plurality of hole channels <NUM> move out of a region where the outlet <NUM> of the feeding portion <NUM> is located (that is, making the plurality of hole channels <NUM> be misaligned with the outlet <NUM> to block the plurality of hole channels <NUM>), so as to simultaneously close the plurality of hole channels <NUM> quickly.

For example, in the embodiment illustrated in <FIG>, the outlet <NUM> of the feeding portion <NUM> may be designed as a slot with a very small width. When the control portion <NUM> controls the inner cylinder or the sleeve to rotate at a very small angle around the axis of the inner cylinder, the plurality of hole channels <NUM> may be allowed to leave the region where the outlet is located, so that an extrusion process of the material is stopped quickly.

For another example, in the embodiment illustrated in <FIG>, when the control portion <NUM> controls the shielding plate to slide along the length direction of the extrusion port <NUM> to the position shown in <FIG>, all the hole channels <NUM> in the extrusion port <NUM> are shielded, and the length of the extrusion port <NUM> becomes zero. In this case, the 3D printing device stops material extrusion.

If the plurality of hole channels <NUM> have a plurality of rows of hole channels shown in <FIG>, the control portion <NUM> may control the feeding portion <NUM> and the discharging portion <NUM> to move to the positions shown in <FIG>. In this way, the outlet <NUM> is completely staggered with the plurality of rows of hole channels, and the size of the extrusion port is zero, thus the 3D printing device stops material extrusion.

In the above solution of controlling the 3D printing device to stop material discharging, the designed solution of the inner cylinder combined with the sleeve is simple to control, which is more helpful for the 3D printing device to quickly respond to a printing stop command from a control system, so as to prevent the material from continuing to flow out after the system sends the printing stop command.

It should be noted that, in a process of changing the width of the extrusion port <NUM>, the control portion <NUM> may control the feeding portion <NUM> and the discharging portion <NUM> to move relative to each other, or control the feeding portion <NUM> and the discharging portion <NUM> to rotate relative to each other, which is related to a structure of the feeding portion <NUM> and the discharging portion <NUM>. This is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. For example, assuming that the feeding portion <NUM> and the discharging portion <NUM> adopt the structure of the inner cylinder combined with the sleeve shown in <FIG>, each row of hole channels in the plurality of rows hole channels may be arranged along the axial direction of the inner cylinder, and different rows of hole channels are distributed in a circumferential direction of the inner cylinder. In this case, the control portion <NUM> may control the inner cylinder and the sleeve to rotate relative to each other around the axis of the inner cylinder, so as to change a quantity of rows of hole channels in communication with the outlet <NUM>, thereby changing the width of the extrusion port. For another example which is not according to the appended claims, assuming that the feeding portion <NUM> and the discharging portion <NUM> adopt the structure that a shielding plate <NUM> is disposed at the bottom of the feeding portion <NUM> shown in <FIG>, the control portion <NUM> may control the shielding plate <NUM> to move along the width direction of the extrusion port <NUM>, thereby changing the width of the extrusion port <NUM>.

Since opening/closing control of the hole channels does not cause squeezing of a material in the length direction or width direction of the extrusion port, a problem of non-uniform material flow rates is avoided, so that printing quality may be improved.

It should be noted that, in some embodiments, length control and width control of the extrusion port <NUM> may be combined with each other, so that sizes of the extrusion port <NUM> in various dimensions may be changed flexibly according to an actual need.

A first hole channel array formed by a plurality of hole channels <NUM> is more suitable for printing of a solid structure (<FIG> shows an example of a first hole channel array, and a solid structure printed based on this array is shown in <FIG>). In order to be compatible with grid printing, in some embodiments, the 3D printing device may be configured with a second hole channel array shown in <FIG> on the basis of the first hole channel array. Compared with the first hole channel array, hole channels in the second hole channel array are arranged more sparse, making materials extruded from different hole channels in the second hole channel array be separated from each other on a printing platform. Therefore, each hole channel in the second hole channel array may be regarded as an independent extrusion port. <FIG> are examples of grid structures printed by using the second hole channel arrays shown in <FIG>, respectively.

Grid members that can be printed by the 3D printing device are not limited to the foregoing forms. For different appearance or structure requirements, the 3D printing device may be controlled to print out grid members with different shapes, which may be specifically implemented by changing a movement mode of the 3D printing device. For example, when printing different layers, the 3D printing device may be deflected by a specific angle. The deflection angle is not limited, and may be any value. For example, printing of the grid structure shown in <FIG> is implemented by deflecting a movement direction of the 3D printing device by <NUM> degrees during interlayer printing. For another example, printing of a grid structure shown in <FIG> is realized by deflecting the movement direction of the 3D printing device by <NUM> degrees during the interlayer printing.

In addition, in some embodiments, different relative movement modes may be used between the 3D printing device and the printing platform. For example, when the structure shown in <FIG> is printed, the relative movement mode between the 3D printing device and the printing platform is a linear movement mode. When the structure shown in <FIG> is printed, the relative movement mode between the 3D printing device and the printing platform is a linear movement mode combined with a curved movement mode. When the structure shown in <FIG> is printed, the relative movement mode between the 3D printing device and the printing platform is a pure curved movement mode. In the embodiments of the present application, there is no specific limitations on the relative movement modes between the 3D printing device and the printing platform, and different movement modes may be combined arbitrarily, so as to form grid members with various structures.

The control portion <NUM> may control the first hole channel array to be in fluid communication with the outlet <NUM> of the feeding portion <NUM>, or control the second hole channel array to be in fluid communication with the outlet <NUM> of the feeding portion <NUM>. In other words, the control portion <NUM> may select a hole channel array in fluid communication with the outlet <NUM> of the feeding portion <NUM> from the first hole channel array and the second hole channel array. For example, the solution of the inner cylinder combined with the sleeve illustrated in <FIG> is used as an example, the first hole channel array and the second hole channel array are located at different positions in the circumferential direction of the sleeve, respectively, and the control portion <NUM> may control the inner cylinder and the sleeve to rotate relative to each other, so as to make a choice between the first hole channel array and the second hole channel array.

It should also be noted that, there are many ways for the control portion <NUM> to control the relative movement of the feeding portion <NUM> and the discharging portion <NUM>, For example, the feeding portion <NUM> may be kept stationary, and the discharging portion <NUM> is controlled to move; or the discharging portion <NUM> may be kept stationary, and the feeding portion <NUM> is controlled to move; or both are controlled to move simultaneously.

If it is desired to apply the 3D printing device to the surface building scene described in <CIT> or <CIT>, in a printing process, the control portion <NUM> may control a length of the extrusion port <NUM> to change with a contour line of a region to be filled, so as to complete filling of the region at one time.

The 3D printing device provided in the present application may refer to a 3D printing head or a whole 3D printing system. The control portion of the 3D printing device may be implemented by software, hardware, or a combination thereof.

In the present application, printing, filling and coating are sometimes interchangeable. For example, printing a region may refer to coating the region or filling the region with a material.

Embodiment <NUM> mainly differs from Embodiment <NUM> in that a plurality of hole channels are disposed in an inner part of an outlet <NUM> of the feeding portion <NUM> in Embodiment <NUM>, and the plurality of hole channels are referred to as an upper row of hole channels in Embodiment <NUM>. The plurality of hole channels <NUM> in the discharging portion <NUM> in Embodiment <NUM> are referred to as a lower row of hole channels in Embodiment <NUM>. In other words, a control portion <NUM> in Embodiment <NUM> implements adjustment of one or more of a length size and a width size of an extrusion port <NUM> mainly by controlling a relative position of the upper and lower rows of hole channels. Other structures in Embodiment <NUM> are similar to those in Embodiment <NUM>. For example, a discharging portion <NUM> in Embodiment <NUM> may also adopt the sleeve structure shown in <FIG>.

Therefore, for a structure not described in detail in Embodiment <NUM>, reference may be made to Embodiment <NUM>.

Referring to <FIG>, the outlet <NUM> of the feeding portion <NUM> has or is partitioned into an upper row of hole channels <NUM>, and a lower row of hole channels <NUM> is disposed in an inner part of the extrusion port <NUM>. The diameters of the upper row of hole channels <NUM> and the lower row of hole channels <NUM> may be the same or have some difference. A row of materials (such as one row of filamentous materials) may be extruded from a row of hole channels in communication with the upper row of hole channels <NUM> in the lower row of hole channels <NUM>.

The control portion <NUM> may control the upper row of hole channels <NUM> and the lower row of hole channels <NUM> to move relative to each other (such as slide relative to each other) along an arrangement direction (or an extension direction) of the upper row of hole channels <NUM> or the lower row of hole channels <NUM>, to change a quantity of hole channels in communication with the upper row of hole channels <NUM> in the lower row of hole channels <NUM>, so as to change a length of materials extruded from the lower row of hole channels <NUM>.

In a 3D printing process, a printing process often needs to be paused. For example, when printing reaches a contour edge of a section or region, the printing process needs to be paused, the 3D printing device is moved to a new printing starting position, and then a subsequent printing process continues. Since a material (such as a high molecular material) used in a 3D printing technology is usually viscoelastic, when conveying of the material is stopped, the material usually cannot stop flowing abruptly. In this case, the material is accumulated continuously outside a contour edge of a section or region to be printed, which destroys a contour shape of the printing section or region, reducing geometric accuracy of a printed piece.

In order to resolve the foregoing problems, in some embodiments, the control portion <NUM> may control a relative movement between the upper row of hole channels <NUM> and the lower row of hole channels <NUM>, to make the upper row of hole channels <NUM> and the lower row of hole channels <NUM> be misaligned with each other simultaneously, thus quickly closing the lower row of hole channels <NUM>, so that extrusion of a material from the lower row of hole channels <NUM> stops simultaneously.

For example, in the embodiment illustrated in <FIG>, the control portion <NUM> may control an inner cylinder <NUM> or a sleeve <NUM> to rotate at a very small angle around an axis of the inner cylinder <NUM>. In this case, an upper row of hole channels <NUM> and a lower row of hole channels <NUM> are misaligned with each other simultaneously, to stop a material extrusion process quickly. If the upper row of hole channels <NUM> and the lower row of hole channels <NUM> both include one row of hole channels, for a quick closing mode of the lower row of hole channels <NUM>, reference may be made to a process shown in <FIG>. If the upper row of hole channels <NUM> and the lower row of hole channels <NUM> both include a plurality of rows of hole channels, for a quick closing mode of the lower row of hole channels <NUM>, reference may be made a process shown in <FIG>. The designed solution of the inner cylinder combined with the sleeve is easy to control, which is more helpful for the 3D printing device to quickly respond to a printing stop command from the control portion, so as to prevent the material from continuing to flow out after the system sends the printing stop command.

In 3D printing, different printing efficiency and printing accuracy may be implemented by changing a single-layer printing thickness. For example, when a printing accuracy requirement is relatively low, the single-layer printing thickness may be increased to improve the printing efficiency. When refined printing is required, the single-layer printing thickness may be reduced to improve the printing accuracy.

In order to be capable of adjusting a printing thickness, the upper row of hole channels <NUM> and the lower row of hole channels <NUM> may both include a plurality of rows of hole channels. <FIG> is used as an example, the upper row of hole channels (indicated by black circles in <FIG>) and the lower row of hole channels (indicated by white circles in <FIG>) both include two rows of hole channels. In a state shown in <FIG>, all the upper row of hole channels <NUM> and the lower row of hole channels <NUM> have no overlapping hole channels, and all the hole channels are in a blocked state, so that materials cannot flow out. In a state shown in <FIG>, the upper row of hole channels <NUM> and the lower row of hole channels <NUM> have one row of overlapping hole channels, in this case, a single-layer printing thickness is a width of one row of hole channels. In the state shown in FIG. <NUM>(c), the upper row of hole channels <NUM> and the lower row of hole channels <NUM> have two rows of overlapping hole channels, In this case, the single-layer printing thickness is a width of the two rows of hole channels. The control portion <NUM> may control the upper row of hole channels <NUM> and the lower row of hole channels <NUM> to move along a width direction of the upper row of hole channels <NUM>, so as to change a quantity of rows of hole channels, from which materials can be extruded, in the lower row of hole channels.

In the present application, an arrangement of the hole channel arrays is not specifically limited. In addition to the rectangular arrangements shown in <FIG>, the staggered arrangements shown in <FIG> may also be used. The arrangements of the hole channel arrays shown in <FIG> makes the hole channels be arranged more compact. Compared with the hole channel arrays shown in <FIG>, a contour edge printed by utilizing the hole channel arrays shown in <FIG> is also different.

Channel depths of the upper and lower rows of hole channels are superimposed together, and thus a resistance of materials passing through the two rows of hole channels is relatively large. In this case, the 3D printing device needs to provide relatively high pressure to extrude the materials from the two rows of hole channels. This problem is particularly prominent in a case of high-precision printing. This is because, in the case of high-precision printing, diameters of the hole channels in the two rows of hole channels may be very small, for example, may be <NUM> or less. In a printing process, a resistance of materials passing through the two rows of hole channels having very small diameters at a high speed may be very large, and a very high extrusion pressure is required to extrude the materials from the hole channels at a required speed. The high requirement of the two rows of hole channels for the extrusion pressure causes a relatively large size and high energy consumption of a whole material extrusion mechanism, thereby increasing costs of the 3D printing device.

In order to resolve the foregoing problems, as shown in <FIG>, in some embodiments, a groove <NUM> may be disposed in an inner wall of the feeding portion <NUM> (a shape of the groove <NUM> is not limited to the rectangle groove shown in <FIG>, for example, may be designed as a circular arc). In this way, the channel depth is reduced by a depth of a groove. Since the resistance of the materials passing through the hole channels is proportional to the depths of the hole channels, a resistance of extruding materials by the 3D printing device may be reduced according to this embodiment.

In addition, in some other implementations, the channel depth may be reduced by thinning a cylinder wall where the sleeve is located. For example, as shown in the leftmost figure of <FIG>, a part of the cylinder wall near the lower row of hole channels may be cut off in a specific arc shape.

In Embodiment <NUM> or Embodiment <NUM>, the sleeve <NUM> may be in a shape of a cylinder or another shape. For example, as shown in <FIG>, an upper part of the sleeve <NUM> may be designed as a thick and large structure, so that a heater <NUM> may be conveniently mounted therein.

Embodiment <NUM> shows method embodiments, and the description of the method embodiments corresponds to the description of the device embodiments. Therefore, for the part not described in detail herein, reference may be made to those in the device embodiments described above.

<FIG> is a schematic flowchart of a control method for a 3D printing device with an extrusion port having a variable size according to Embodiment <NUM> of the present application. The 3D printing device includes: a feeding portion having an inlet and an outlet for a material; and a discharging portion having an extrusion port, where the extrusion port is capable of being in fluid communication with the outlet of the feeding portion, so as to extrude the material, and the extrusion port is partitioned into a plurality of hole channels.

The control method shown in <FIG> may include steps S1610 and S1620 as follows.

In step S1610: controlling an extrusion port to fill a single-communication region.

In step S1620: controlling, in a process of filling the single-communication region by utilizing the extrusion port, the feeding portion and the discharging portion to move relative to each other, so as to change a quantity of hole channels in communication with the outlet of the feeding portion in the plurality of hole channels, thereby changing a size of the extrusion port.

According to the present invention, the feeding portion is an inner cylinder, and the discharging portion is a sleeve of the inner cylinder; and step S1620 includes: controlling the inner cylinder and the sleeve to move along an axial direction of the inner cylinder, so as to change the length of the extrusion port.

The feeding portion is an inner cylinder, and the feeding portion is a sleeve of the inner cylinder; and the plurality of hole channels include a plurality of rows of hole channels. Step S1620 includes: controlling the inner cylinder and the sleeve to rotate around an axis of the inner cylinder, so as to change a quantity of rows of hole channels in a communication state in the plurality of rows of hole channels, thereby changing a width of the extrusion port.

Optionally, the method shown in <FIG> may further include: making the plurality of hole channels move out of a region where the outlet of the feeding portion is located, so as to simultaneously close the plurality of hole channels.

Optionally, step S1610 may include: controlling a length of the extrusion port, to make the length of the extrusion port change with a contour line of the region, so as to fill the region completely at one time.

Optionally, the plurality of hole channels form a lower row of hole channels, and an upper row of hole channels opposite the lower row of hole channels is disposed in the outlet of the feeding portion.

Claim 1:
A 3D printing device with an extrusion port (<NUM>) having a variable size, comprising:
a feeding portion (<NUM>) having an inlet (<NUM>) and an outlet (<NUM>) for a material;
a discharging portion (<NUM>) having an extrusion port (<NUM>), wherein the extrusion port (<NUM>) is capable of being in fluid communication with the outlet (<NUM>) of the feeding portion (<NUM>), so as to extrude the material, and the extrusion port (<NUM>) is partitioned into a plurality of hole channels (<NUM>); and
a control portion (<NUM>), configured to control, in a process of filling a single-communication region by utilizing the extrusion port (<NUM>), the feeding portion (<NUM>) and the discharging portion (<NUM>) to move relative to each other, so as to change a quantity of hole channels in communication with the outlet (<NUM>) of the feeding portion (<NUM>) in the plurality of hole channels (<NUM>), thereby changing a size of the extrusion port (<NUM>);
characterized in that,
the feeding portion (<NUM>) is an inner cylinder, and the discharging portion (<NUM>) is a sleeve of the inner cylinder; and
the control portion (<NUM>) is configured to control the inner cylinder and the sleeve to move along an axial direction of the inner cylinder, so as to change a length of the extrusion port (<NUM>).