Slicing printing method for color 3D model

• US 10,252,464 B2
• Filed: 06/02/2016
• Issued: 04/09/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kinpo Electronics Incorporated (Cal-Comp Electronics Public Company Limited), XYZprinting, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Kinpo Electronics Incorporated (Cal-Comp Electronics Public Company Limited), XYZprinting, Inc.
• Inventors: Kuo, Tsung-Hua, Huang, Yao-Te
• Primary Examiner(s): Barnes-Bullock, Crystal J
• Application Number:
  US15/171,489
• Publication Number:
  US 20170269475A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,041 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B28B 1/001 Rapid manufacturing of 3D objects by additive depositing, agglomerating or laminating of material selective deposition modelling of metallic powder B22F10/00; rapid manufacturing of 3D objects in general and in particular of plastics B29C64/00
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 48/92 Measuring, controlling or regulating
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 64/112 using individual droplets, e.g. from jetting heads
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 64/386 Data acquisition or data processing for additive manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 64/393 for controlling or regulating additive manufacturing processes
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 64/40 Structures for supporting 3D objects during manufacture and intended to be sacrificed after completion thereof
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 10/00 Processes of additive manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 30/00 Apparatus for additive manufacturing; Details thereof or accessories therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 50/00 Data acquisition or data processing for additive manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 50/02 for controlling or regulating additive manufacturing processes
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 80/00 Products made by additive manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/0037 Production of three-dimensional images
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/042 using digital processors G05B19/05 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/4099 Surface or curve machining, making 3D objects, e.g. desktop manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/49007 Making, forming 3-D object, model, surface
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/49019 Machine 3-D slices, to build 3-D model, stratified object manufacturing SOM
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/12 Digital output to print unit , e.g. line printer, chain printer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/00 Computer-aided design [CAD]
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 17/00 Three dimensional [3D] modelling, e.g. data description of 3D objects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/60 : Colour correction or control H04N1/54 takes precedence

Abstract

A slicing printing method for color 3D model is disclosed. The method comprises following steps of: building a color 3D object into a coloring model; dividing the coloring model into a plurality of color cells, wherein a shell of each of the color cells forms an accommodating space configured to accommodate a color material; setting respectively the color of the color material accommodated by each color cell according to the color of the color 3D object and generating a printing color data corresponding to the color 3D model; generating a printing object data associated with the printing color data according to the color cells. The disclosed example can effectively realize the printing of the color 3D model through the inkjet manner via generating color cells configured to accommodate color materials.

Claims

1. A slicing printing method for color 3D model, the method comprising the following steps embodied by a processor:

a) building a coloring model according to a color 3D object;

b) dividing the coloring model into a plurality of color cells, wherein a shell of each of the color cells forming an accommodating space configured to accommodate a color material;

c) setting respectively the colors of the color materials accommodated in each of the color cells according to the color of the color 3D object, and generating a printing color data corresponding to the color 3D model;

d) generating a printing object data associated with the printing color data according to the printing color data and the color cells;

e) controlling a first nozzle of a color 3D printer to print the color cells layer by layer according to the printing object data; and

f) during the period of printing the color cells, controlling a second nozzle of the color 3D printer to fill the coloring materials respectively in the accommodating space of the color cells according to the printing color data.

2. The slicing printing method for color 3D model as claim 1, wherein the step a) is to build the coloring model and an interior model according to the color 3D object;

the step d) is to generate the printing object data corresponding to the color 3D model according to the printing color data, the interior model and the color cells.

3. The slicing printing method for color 3D model as claim 2, wherein the step a) comprising a step a1):

dividing the color 3D model into the coloring model and the interior model according to a coloring thickness.

4. The slicing printing method for color 3D model as claim 3, wherein the step a1) is to divide the color 3D model into the coloring model and the hollow interior model.

5. The slicing printing method for color 3D model as claim 3, wherein the step b) comprises a step b1):

dividing the coloring model into the color cells according to a number of color cells and a size of color cells.

6. The slicing printing method for color 3D model as claim 5, wherein the color cells are columns.

7. The slicing printing method for color 3D model as claim 5, wherein the step b) further comprises a step b2):

adding a top cover on the shell of the color cell when judging one of the color cells is on the top layer.

8. The slicing printing method for color 3D model as claim 7, wherein the step a1) divides the color 3D model according to the coloring thickness, the number of color cells and the size of color cells.

9. The slicing printing method for color 3D model as claim 1, wherein the step c) comprises the following steps:

c11) retrieving an object color of one of the plurality portions of the color 3D object;

c12) setting colors of the color materials accommodated by the color cells corresponding to the portion according to the object color and a dithering algorithm, so that the color cells present the object color in the form of mesh points manner via the coloring materials; and

c13) repeating the execution of the step c11 and the step c12 until completing the settings of the color of the coloring materials accommodated by all of the color cells; and

c14) generating the printing color data according to colors of the coloring materials accommodated by the color cells.

10. The slicing printing method for color 3D model as claim 1, wherein the step c) comprises the following steps:

c21) retrieving an object color of one of the plurality portions of the color 3D object;

c22) calculating a color value corresponding to the object color;

c23) setting colors of the coloring materials accommodated by the color cells corresponding to the portion as the color value;

c24) repeating the execution of the step c21), the step c22) and the step c23) until completing the settings of the color of the coloring materials accommodated by all of the color cells; and

c25) generating the printing color data according to colors of the coloring materials accommodated by the color cells.

11. The slicing printing method for color 3D model as claim 1, wherein the step e) is to print the color cells layer by layer from the bottom up, only after the completion of filling in the coloring materials of the color cells on the bottom layer, the color cells on the up layer are being printed, so as to apply a plurality of bases of the color cells on the up layer as a plurality of top covers of the color cells on the bottom layer.

12. The slicing printing method for color 3D model as claim 1, wherein the first nozzle is to use a UV curable resin to process printings, and to impose lights to the printed UV curable resin to harden the UV curable resin, and the coloring materials are inks with different colors.

13. The slicing printing method for color 3D model as claim 12, wherein the hardened UV curable resin is light-transparent.

14. The slicing printing method for color 3D model as claim 1, wherein the step f) is when the color cells on the same layer completing the printing, controlling the second nozzle to fill the color materials respectively in the accommodating space of the color cells on the same layer according to the printing color data.