Three-dimensional printing appratus and method for calibrating printing inaccuracy thereof

• US 10,539,949 B2
• Filed: 09/25/2015
• Issued: 01/21/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 06/05/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cal-Comp Electronics & Communications Company Limited (Cal-Comp Electronics Public Company Limited), Kinpo Electronics Incorporated (Cal-Comp Electronics Public Company Limited), XYZprinting, Inc.
• Original Assignee: XYZprinting, Inc.
• Inventors: Ho, Kwan, Yang, Yu-Jie
• Primary Examiner(s): Wollschlager, Jeffrey M
• Assistant Examiner(s): Melendez, Armand
• Application Number:
  US14/864,901
• Publication Number:
  US 20160354980A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,579 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 64/106 using only liquids or viscous materials, e.g. depositing a continuous bead of viscous material
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 64/118 using filamentary material being melted, e.g. fused deposition modelling [FDM]
• 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 50/02 for controlling or regulating additive manufacturing processes
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/4099 Surface or curve machining, making 3D objects, e.g. desktop manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/35134 3-D cad-cam
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/49007 Making, forming 3-D object, model, surface

Abstract

A three-dimensional printing apparatus and a method for calibrating printing inaccuracy thereof are provided. A printing head of the three-dimensional printing apparatus is adapted for moving along a straight printing path on a datum plane and simultaneously feeding out forming material, so as to generate a layer object on a supporting surface of a platform. If a path distance of the straight printing path is greater than a threshold, a plurality of linear compensation relationships respectively corresponding to a plurality of first zones of the supporting surface are used for calculating a first compensation value of a starting point and a second compensation value of an ending point. If the path distance of the straight printing path is not greater than the threshold, a common compensation values is decided based on at least one of second zones and which is corresponding to the starting point and the ending point.

Claims

1. A method for calibrating printing inaccuracy, adapted to calibrate at least a straight printing path of a printing head on a datum plane, wherein the datum plane is a reference plane of the printing head, wherein the datum plane is a XY plane in an XYZ coordinate system, wherein the printing head is controlled to move along the straight printing path and simultaneously feeds out a forming material so as to generate a layer object on a supporting surface, and the straight printing paths respectively comprise a starting point and an ending point, the method comprising:

obtaining three-dimensional printing information of the layer object;

determining whether a path distance between the starting point and the ending point is greater than a threshold value;

dividing the supporting surface into a plurality of first zones using a plurality of calibration position points of the supporting surface;

determining a plurality of linear compensation relationships of each of the first zones using a plurality of first reference compensation values of the calibration position points at vertices of each of the first zones;

dividing the first zones to obtain a plurality of second zones and calculating a plurality of second reference compensation values along the Z-axis respectively corresponding to the second zones;

when the path distance between the starting point and the ending point is greater than the threshold value, then calculating a first compensation value of the starting point and a second compensation value of the ending point, both the first compensation value and the second compensation value being along a Z-axis, by using the linear compensation relationships respectively corresponding to the first zones of the supporting surface, calibrating a printing height corresponding to the starting point based on the first compensation value relative to a datum plane, calibrating a printing height corresponding to the ending point based on the second compensation value relative to the datum plane, wherein the first compensation value of the starting point and the second compensation value of the ending point are calculated by respectively inputting a position of the starting point and a position of the ending point into linear functions,

when the path distance between the starting point and the ending point s not greater than the threshold value, then

determining a common compensation value along the Z-axis by using at least one of the second reference compensation values of at least one of the second zones, wherein the at least one of the second zones is corresponding to the starting point and the ending point, and

calibrating the printing height corresponding to the starting point and the printing height corresponding to the ending point based on the common compensation value relative to the datum plane,

wherein a calibrated path is determined based on the calibrated printing height of the starting point and the calibrated printing height of the ending point,

wherein the method further comprises;

controlling the printing head to move along the calibrated path and feeding out forming material to print out the layer object, and using the common compensation value or both the first compensation value and the second compensation value to compensate differences from the datum plane to the supporting surface and to adjust the height of the printing head while printing,

wherein the method further comprises;

repeatedly controlling the printing head to move respectively toward the calibration position points along a normal line direction of the datum plane at a predetermined height until the printing head is in contact with the calibration position points to respectively obtain the first reference compensation values respectively corresponding to the calibration position points relative to the datum plane,

wherein the linear compensation relationships are the linear functions formed by the positions of the calibration position points and the first reference compensation values of the calibration position points.

2. The method for calibrating printing inaccuracy of claim 1, wherein a shape of the first zones is rectangular.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of calculating the first compensation value of the starting point and the second compensation value of the ending point by using the linear compensation relationships respectively corresponding to the first zones of the supporting surface comprise:

determining the starting point is located in one of the first zones based on a coordinate of the starting point, and determining the ending point is located in another one of the first zone based on a coordinate of the ending point; and

calculating the first compensation value of the starting point according to a linear compensation relationship of the one of the first zones, and calculating the second compensation value of the ending point according to a linear compensation relationship of the another one of the first zones.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the second reference compensation values respectively corresponding to reference points are calculated based on coordinates of the reference points on the datum plane and the corresponding linear compensation relationships;

the reference points are respectively inside the corresponding second zones, and the method further comprising;

recording the second reference compensation values respectively corresponding to the second zones.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the step of determining the common compensation value based on the at least one of the second zones corresponding to the starting point and the ending point comprises:

determining one of the second zones the starting point locates in, determining one of the second zones the ending point locates in;

determining whether the one of the second zones the starting point locates in is the same or not the same as the one of the second zones the ending point locates in; and

setting one of the second reference compensation values corresponding to the one of the second zone the starting point locates in as the common compensation value if the one of the second zones the starting point locates in is the same as the one of the second zones the ending point locates in.

6. The method of claim 5, comprising:

calculating an average value of one of the second reference compensation values corresponding to the one of the second zones the starting point locates in and one of the second reference compensation values corresponding to the one of the second zones the ending point locates in if the one of the second zones the starting point locates in is not the same as the one of the second zones where the ending point locates in.

7. The method of claim 1, comprising:

obtaining a first printing coordinate of the starting point and a second printing coordinate of the ending point based on the calibrated printing height of the starting point and the calibrated printing height of the ending point; and

controlling the printing head to move along the calibrated path and feed out the forming material at the same time to print out the layer object associated to the three-dimensional printing information based on the first printing coordinate and the second printing coordinate.