CN113829626B

CN113829626B - Multi-job three-dimensional printing method, apparatus, storage medium, and software program product

Info

Publication number: CN113829626B
Application number: CN202111167922.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 吕如松; 向东清; 蒋韦
Original assignee: Zhuhai Sailner 3D Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: Zhuhai Sailner 3D Technology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-09-28
Filing date: 2021-09-28
Publication date: 2023-06-16
Anticipated expiration: 2041-09-28
Also published as: CN113829626A

Abstract

The present application relates to the field of three-dimensional printing technology, and in particular, to a multi-job three-dimensional printing method, apparatus, storage medium, and software program product, where the method includes: determining a starting layer for merging at least two print jobs; merging first job data corresponding to partial entities to be printed in the first print job and second job data corresponding to a second object to be printed in the second print job from the starting layer; and determining at least one set of combined print data corresponding to the at least one slice layer, respectively; wherein the first job data includes three-dimensional model data or slice layer data of a part of the entities to be printed in the first object from the start layer; the second operation data comprises three-dimensional model data or slice layer data corresponding to the second object; the combined print data is transmitted to the printing apparatus to perform the combined printing. The scheme can improve the utilization rate and the printing efficiency of the forming platform.

Description

Multi-job three-dimensional printing method, apparatus, storage medium, and software program product

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of three-dimensional printing technology, and in particular, to a multi-job three-dimensional printing method, apparatus, storage medium, and software program product.

Background

Three-dimensional printing, also known as 3D printing or additive manufacturing, is a technology for constructing objects by layer-by-layer printing using three-dimensional printing materials such as powder materials and/or liquid jettable materials based on digital model files. Currently, three-dimensional forming technologies are of various types, such as photosensitive resin selective curing (Stereo Lithography Apparatus, SLA) technology, and the main printing process is that a controller controls an ultraviolet light source to selectively irradiate photosensitive resin in a photosensitive resin tank according to layer printing data so as to cure and form the photosensitive resin; for another example, powder material selective laser sintering (Selected Laser Sintering, SLS) techniques, the primary printing process is that a controller controls a laser to selectively irradiate a powder layer on a forming platen based on layer print data to melt form the powder. Another technique combining powder spreading and ink-jet printing is that a controller controls an ink-jet print head to selectively spray a liquid material on a powder layer on a forming platform according to layer printing data, and then energy is provided to enable the liquid material to undergo a curing reaction for forming.

In the scheme realized based on the technology, in the printing process of the three-dimensional object, the printing of the next job can be performed after the printing of the current job is completed. In general, the object to be printed in the current job cannot cover the whole printable area of the forming platform, the uncovered printable area is not effectively utilized, the utilization rate of the forming platform is reduced, and the waste of printing resources is caused.

In view of this, a solution is needed to solve the above-mentioned problems.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides a multi-job three-dimensional printing method, equipment, a storage medium and a software program product, wherein other at least one printing job is combined in the printing process of a current job, the utilization rate of a forming platform is improved, the printing completion time of a plurality of jobs is shortened, and the printing efficiency is improved.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a multi-job three-dimensional printing method, including:

determining a starting layer for merging at least two print jobs; the at least two print jobs comprise a first print job for printing a first object and a second print job for printing a second object, wherein the initial layer is an Nth slice layer of the first object, and N is more than 1; merging first job data corresponding to partial entities to be printed in the first print job and second job data corresponding to a second object to be printed in the second print job from the starting layer; and determining at least one set of combined print data corresponding to the at least one slice layer, respectively; wherein the first job data includes three-dimensional model data or slice layer data of a part of the entities to be printed in the first object from the start layer; the second operation data comprises three-dimensional model data or slice layer data corresponding to the second object; the combined print data is transmitted to the printing apparatus to perform the combined printing.

In one possible implementation, determining a starting layer at which at least two print jobs are merged includes: and determining a starting layer for merging the first printing job and the second printing job based on the three-dimensional model data and/or slice layer data respectively corresponding to the first object and the second object.

In one possible implementation manner, determining a starting layer of merging the first print job and the second print job based on three-dimensional model data corresponding to the first object and the second object respectively includes: acquiring first three-dimensional model data of a first object and second three-dimensional model data of a second object; in a pre-constructed virtual platform, determining a first maximum projection area and a second maximum projection area of a first object and a second object on the virtual platform respectively based on first three-dimensional model data and second three-dimensional model data; determining an initial layer for merging the first printing job and the second printing job based on the boundary sizes of the first maximum projection area and the second maximum projection area and the size of the forming platform; the shaping platform is used for bearing the object to be printed, and the size ratio of virtual platform to shaping platform is one to one.

In one possible implementation, determining a starting layer for merging the first print job and the second print job based on the boundary dimensions of the first maximum projection area and the second maximum projection area and the dimensions of the modeling platform includes: under the condition that the sum of the first boundary size of the first maximum projection area and the second boundary size of the second maximum projection area is smaller than the size of the forming platform, determining that an initial layer for merging the first printing operation and the second printing operation is an N-th slice layer in the first object as an initial layer, wherein N is more than 1; in the state that the first print job is being printed, the nth slice layer is the next slice layer of the slice layer currently being printed.

In one possible implementation, determining a starting layer for merging the first print job and the second print job based on the boundary dimensions of the first maximum projection area and the second maximum projection area and the dimensions of the modeling platform includes: determining an Nth slice layer from the remaining three-dimensional model data to be printed in the first printing job based on the printing progress of the first printing job under the condition that the sum of the first boundary size of the first maximum projection area and the second boundary size of the second maximum projection area is equal to or larger than the size of the forming platform, so that the sum of the third boundary size and the second boundary size of a third maximum projection area of partial entities to be printed in the first object starting from the Nth slice layer on the virtual platform is smaller than the size of the forming platform; the nth slice layer is the starting layer for merging the first print job and the second print job.

In one possible implementation manner, starting from the start layer, merging the first job data corresponding to the part of the entities to be printed in the first print job with the second job data corresponding to the second object to be printed in the second print job includes: and on the virtual platform, starting from the initial layer, simultaneously slicing the first job data and the second job data to obtain at least one slice layer.

In one possible implementation, determining a starting layer for merging the first print job and the second print job based on the three-dimensional model data and slice layer data corresponding to the first object and the second object, respectively, includes: slicing and layering the three-dimensional model data corresponding to the partial entity to be printed in the first object or the second object to obtain slice layer data, and determining an initial layer for merging the first printing job and the second printing job based on the slice layer data corresponding to the partial entity to be printed in the first object and the second object respectively;

or in a pre-constructed virtual platform, determining the coverage area of the partial entity or the second object to be printed in the first object in the virtual platform based on the three-dimensional model data corresponding to the partial entity or the second object to be printed in the first object; and determining a starting layer for merging the first printing job and the second printing job according to the coverage area and the slice layer data.

In one possible implementation, determining a starting layer for merging the first print job and the second print job based on slice layer data corresponding to the first object and the second object, respectively, includes: acquiring first slice layer data to be printed in a first object and second slice layer data of a second object based on the printing progress of a first printing job; identifying a first printable area and a second printable area, respectively, based on the first sliced layer data and the second sliced layer data, and determining a first circumscribed rectangle of the first printable area and a second circumscribed rectangle of the second printable area, respectively; determining an initial layer for merging the first printing operation and the second printing operation according to the sizes of the first external rectangle and the second external rectangle and the size of the forming platform; the shaping platform is used for bearing the object, and the size of virtual platform is one to one with the size proportion of shaping platform.

In one possible implementation manner, starting from the initial layer, merging each first slice layer to be printed in the first object and each second slice layer of the second object corresponding to the second print job respectively, including: and (3) starting from the initial layer, referring to the origin of the coordinate axis of the first object to be printed in the first printing job relative to the forming platform, integrating a second circumscribed rectangular area corresponding to the second slicing layer of the second object to be printed with a first circumscribed rectangular area corresponding to the first slicing layer of the first object to form a combined single slicing layer.

In one possible implementation, a gap of a predetermined length is reserved between the first circumscribed rectangular region and the second circumscribed rectangular region in the combined single slice layer.

In one possible implementation, determining at least one set of combined print data corresponding to at least one slice layer, respectively, includes: determining at least one set of merged slice layer data respectively corresponding to at least one slice layer; the combined slice layer data is converted into combined print data by a data processor.

In a second aspect, embodiments of the present application further provide a computing device communicatively coupled to a printing apparatus for performing multi-job three-dimensional printing; the computing device includes a data processing module and a readable memory; the data processing module is used for determining a starting layer for merging at least two print jobs; the at least two print jobs comprise a first print job for printing a first object and a second print job for printing a second object, wherein the initial layer is an Nth slice layer of the first object, and N is more than 1; and merging the first job data corresponding to the part of the entities to be printed in the first print job and the second job data corresponding to the second object to be printed in the second print job from the initial layer; and determining at least one set of combined print data corresponding to the at least one slice layer, respectively; wherein the first job data includes three-dimensional model data or slice layer data of a part of the entities to be printed in the first object from the start layer; the second operation data comprises three-dimensional model data or slice layer data corresponding to the second object; the combined print data is stored in the readable memory and transmitted to the printing device to cause the printing device to perform combined printing based on the combined print data.

In one possible implementation, the computing device further includes a slicing module; and the slicing module is used for acquiring the three-dimensional model data of the object to be printed from the readable memory and slicing and layering the three-dimensional model data to obtain slice layer data.

In a third aspect, embodiments of the present application also provide a computing device communicatively coupled to a printing apparatus; the printing device is used for executing multi-job three-dimensional printing; the computing device comprises a memory for storing program instructions and a processor for executing the program instructions, wherein the program instructions, when executed by the processor, trigger the computing device to perform the method of any of the first aspects described above.

In a fourth aspect, embodiments of the present application further provide a three-dimensional printing device, including a printing apparatus and a computing device as described in any one of the second or third aspects above; the printing device is used for carrying out combination printing based on the combination printing data output by the computing equipment.

In a fifth aspect, embodiments of the present application further provide a storage medium having stored therein program instructions which, when run on an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform the method according to any of the first aspects described above.

In a sixth aspect, embodiments of the present application also provide a software program product comprising program instructions which, when run on an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform the method according to any of the first aspects above.

According to the multi-job three-dimensional printing method, device, storage medium and software program product, at least two printing jobs are combined, namely, at least a second printing job is combined in the printing process of a first printing job, so that simultaneous printing of all or part of entities to be printed in different jobs is realized, the forming platform can accommodate the entities to be printed of different jobs at the same time, the utilization rate of the forming platform is improved, and the waste of printing resources is reduced; and the printing of the second job is not required to be performed after the printing of the first printing job is completed, so that the printing completion time of a plurality of jobs is shortened, and the printing efficiency of the printing device is improved.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic flow chart of a multi-job three-dimensional printing method provided by the application;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of one example of a molding platform in one embodiment provided herein;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an example D1 of a first object in one embodiment provided herein;

FIG. 4a is a schematic diagram of an example D2 of a second object in one embodiment provided herein;

FIG. 4b is a schematic view of another example D3 of a second object in another embodiment provided herein;

FIG. 5a is a schematic view of the overlapping areas c of the projection areas D10 and D20 in one embodiment provided in the present application;

FIG. 5b is a schematic illustration of the projected areas of the D20 and L12 layers being capable of being coplanar on a modeling platform in one embodiment provided herein;

FIG. 5c is a schematic diagram illustrating a relative positional relationship between the second object D2 and the first object in a Z-direction distance relative to the virtual platform 3' according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6a is a schematic illustration of projection areas D30 and D10 that can be coplanar on a molding table in yet another embodiment provided herein;

FIG. 6b is a schematic diagram of a relative position of a second object and a first object on a virtual platform according to still another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7a is a schematic view of slice images of an object to be printed in a first print job according to yet another embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 7b is a schematic illustration of a print area determined based on slice layer images of an object to be printed in a first print job according to yet another embodiment provided herein;

FIG. 7c is a schematic illustration of a print area determined based on slice layer images of an object to be printed in a first print job according to yet another embodiment provided herein;

8 a-8 b are schematic views of slice layer images of an object to be printed in a second print job and a determined print area according to still another embodiment of the present application;

fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of slice images of an nth slice in the first object D1 and a first slice in the second object D2 after being integrated according to still another embodiment of the present application;

fig. 10 is a schematic view of a position of a layer to be printed of a first object D1 on a virtual platform in a first print job according to still another embodiment provided in the present application;

FIG. 11 is a flow chart of one embodiment of a multi-job three-dimensional printing method provided herein;

FIG. 12 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a three-dimensional printing apparatus provided in the present application;

fig. 13 is a schematic block diagram of a computer in the three-dimensional printing apparatus provided in the present application.

Detailed Description

The terminology used in the description section of the present application is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments of the present application only and is not intended to be limiting of the present application.

The multi-job three-dimensional printing method, device, storage medium and software program product provided by the embodiment of the application can be applied to a three-dimensional printing scene, and particularly can be applied to the three-dimensional printing scene of laying a printing substrate layer by layer on a forming platform, for example, three-dimensional printing realized based on SLA technology, SLS technology or technology of combining powder laying with ink jet and the like. The three-dimensional printing technology is also called a three-dimensional forming technology or a rapid forming technology, a rapid prototyping technology, an additive manufacturing technology and the like, the basic principle of the three-dimensional printing technology is that slicing and layering are carried out on a 3D model based on slicing software to obtain slice layer data, a data processor converts the slice layer data of the model into layering printing data, a controller controls a printing component to execute printing action according to the layering printing data to form layers of a three-dimensional object, and a plurality of layers are stacked one by one to form the three-dimensional object; wherein the slicing software and the data processor may be independent or integrated together.

The embodiment of the application first provides a multi-job three-dimensional printing method, referring to fig. 1, the flow of the method may include the following steps:

s101, determining a starting layer for merging at least two print jobs.

The initial layer is the first slice layer of the combined printing. The at least two print jobs include a first print job for printing a first object and a second print job for printing a second object. In some embodiments, the first print job may be a print job being executed by the printing apparatus, that is, the method may be to combine other jobs (e.g., a second print job) during printing of the first print job, e.g., at least one print job may be combined with at least a portion of the remaining portion to be printed in the first print job, based on a size of an object to be printed (a first object) in the first print job, a size of a forming platform of the printing apparatus, and a size of an object to be printed (a second object) in the other print job (e.g., a second print job) different from the first print job. In this case, the starting layer is the nth slice layer of the first object, N > 1. The first print job and the second print job are used for printing at least one object to be printed, respectively.

S102, starting from the starting layer, merging the first job data corresponding to the part of entities to be printed in the first print job and the second job data corresponding to the second object to be printed in the second print job.

In the printing process, the printing device can firstly slice the model into a plurality of slice layers and then print the slice layers layer by layer, or can print the slice layers by edge, namely, the slice layers to be printed currently are firstly sliced on the model, the slice layers are processed into printing data after being sliced, and then the next slice layer is sliced on the model for printing, so that the job data can be three-dimensional model data or slice layer data. Specifically, the first job data includes three-dimensional model data or slice layer data of a part of the entities to be printed remaining in the first object from the start layer; the second job data includes three-dimensional model data or slice layer data corresponding to the second object, that is, the first job data may be three-dimensional model data of a remaining portion to be printed in the first object, or slice layer data of the remaining portion to be printed; the second job data may be three-dimensional model data of the second object, or slice layer data of the second object. And slicing the three-dimensional model data to obtain slice layer data. Different data types correspond to different processing methods, as will be described in more detail below.

S103, at least one group of combined printing data respectively corresponding to at least one slice layer is determined.

S104, transmitting the combined printing data to a printing device to perform combined printing.

Specifically, in S101, the determination of the start layer at which at least two print jobs are combined may be based on three-dimensional model data and/or slice layer data corresponding to the first object and the second object, respectively, and the determination of the start layer at which the first print job and the second print job are combined may be performed.

According to the data types of the first job data and the second job data to which the first print job and the second print job respectively correspond, the following cases can be classified: the first operation data and the second operation data are three-dimensional model data; the first operation data and the second operation data are slice layer data; one of the first job data and the second job data is slice layer data, and the other is three-dimensional model data.

For the above cases, the starting layer may be determined in the following ways:

mode one

The first mode is suitable for the situation that the first operation data and the second operation data are three-dimensional model data.

Firstly, acquiring first three-dimensional model data of the first object and second three-dimensional model data of the second object, and determining a first maximum projection area and a second maximum projection area of the first object and the second object in a virtual platform according to the first three-dimensional model data and the second three-dimensional model data in a pre-constructed virtual platform; and then, determining a starting layer for merging the first printing job and the second printing job according to the boundary sizes of the first maximum projection area and the second maximum projection area and the size of the forming platform.

The forming platform is used for bearing an object to be printed and a laid substrate, for example, in SLA technology, and is used for bearing a laid liquid material layer; in the SLS technology, a forming platform is used for bearing a paved powder material layer; in the combined powder and inkjet printing technique, a forming table is used to carry the layer of powder material laid down and the liquid material sprayed on the layer of powder material. The size of the molding platform limits the size of the objects to be printed and the number of the objects to be printed in one printing process. The larger the coverage area of the object to be printed on the forming platform in the one-time printing process is, the higher the utilization rate of the forming platform is. The virtual platform is a virtual forming platform established in computing equipment such as a computer, and the size of the virtual forming platform is the same as that of a physical forming platform, and the virtual forming platform is established according to a ratio.

Wherein, determining the initial layer for combining the first print job and the second print job according to the boundary sizes of the first maximum projection area and the second maximum projection area and the size of the molding platform, the following steps can be adopted:

in the case that the sum of the first boundary dimension of the first maximum projection area and the second boundary dimension of the second maximum projection area is smaller than the dimension of the shaping platform, that is, the projection of the three-dimensional model of the remaining part to be printed of the first object on the virtual platform and the projection of the second object on the virtual platform are not overlapped, the shaping platform of the entity can accommodate the remaining part to be printed of the first object and the second object at the same time, in this case, the starting layer for determining that the first printing job and the second printing job are combined is the nth slice layer in the first object, and N is greater than 1. When the first print job is in a state of being printed, the nth slice layer is the next layer of the slice layer currently being printed.

And determining an Nth slice layer as a starting layer from three-dimensional model data corresponding to the rest of entities to be printed in the first printing job based on the printing progress of the first printing job under the condition that the sum of the first boundary size of the first maximum projection area and the second boundary size of the second maximum projection area is equal to or larger than the size of the forming platform, so that the sum of the third boundary size and the second boundary size of a third maximum projection area of the rest of entities to be printed in the first object starting from the Nth slice layer is smaller than the size of the forming platform, namely ensuring that the rest of the first object and the second object can be accommodated on the forming platform together. And in order to avoid adhesion between printed objects, a space or gap with a preset width is reserved between different projection areas.

Mode two

The second mode is suitable for the situation that the first operation data and the second operation data are slice layer data.

In this manner, the slicing software has previously sliced the model of the first object and the model of the second object into a plurality of slice layers, the data processor directly reads slice layer data in the three-dimensional printing process, and then determines a starting layer for merging the first print job and the second print job according to the slice layer data of the first object and the second object, specifically, according to the printing progress of the first print job, the printing progress may be represented by the number of layers of the slice layer currently printed, for example, currently printed to the L11 th layer. After reading first slice data to be printed in a first object and second slice data of a second object, respectively identifying a first printable area and a second printable area according to the first slice data and the second slice data, and respectively determining a first circumscribed rectangle of the first printable area and a second circumscribed rectangle of the second printable area; and determining an initial layer for merging the first printing operation and the second printing operation according to the sizes of the first external rectangle and the second external rectangle and the size of the forming platform.

Mode three

The third mode is applicable to the case that one of the first operation data and the second operation data is slice layer data and the other is three-dimensional model data.

In this case, the three-dimensional model data may be firstly sliced to obtain a plurality of slice layers, that is, the three-dimensional model data therein is processed into slice layer data, so that the operation data of both operations are slice layer data, and the starting layer may be determined according to the second mode described above; or in a pre-constructed virtual platform, determining the coverage area of the partial entity to be printed or the second object in the first object in the virtual platform based on the three-dimensional model data corresponding to the partial entity to be printed or the three-dimensional model data corresponding to the second object in the first object; and determining a starting layer for merging the first printing job and the second printing job according to the coverage area and the slice layer data.

Furthermore, after the starting layer is determined, in S102-104, the implementation to be adopted will also be different for different situations of job data type.

In the case where the first job data and the second job data are both three-dimensional model data, that is, the first mode is continued, in S102, the first job data corresponding to the partial entity to be printed in the first print job and the second job data corresponding to the second object to be printed in the second print job are combined from the start layer, that is, the two three-dimensional models are combined first, that is, the remaining partial model of the first object to be printed and the model of the second object are combined on the virtual platform, and then, the combined models are sliced from the start layer, which is equivalent to slicing the two models of the first job data and the second job data at the same time, so as to obtain at least one slice layer, which is the combined slice layer and includes one slice layer of the first object and one slice layer of the second object. Next, in S103, the data processor converts the merged slice layer data into layer print data (combined print data), and in S104, the data processor transmits the layer print data to a controller in the printing apparatus, so that the controller can control the printing section to perform a printing action according to the layer print data, forming one layer of the first object and the second object of the entity.

In the case that the first job data and the second job data are slice layer data, the second embodiment of the above manner is continued, and in S102, the first job data corresponding to the part of the entity to be printed in the first print job and the second job data corresponding to the second object to be printed in the second print job are combined from the start layer, that is, the combined single slice layer may be formed by referring to the origin of the coordinate axes of the first object to be printed in the first print job relative to the forming platform, and integrating the second external rectangular area corresponding to the second slice layer of the second object to be printed and the first external rectangular area corresponding to the first slice layer of the first object. Next, in S103 and S104, the combined individual slice layers are processed into layer print data (combined print data), respectively, and then corresponding physical layers including one physical slice layer of the first object and one physical slice layer of the second object are printed out via the printing device, so that printing of one layer is achieved, and at least two physical layers of the objects are obtained simultaneously.

In the combined single slice layer, a gap with a predetermined length is reserved between the first circumscribed rectangular region and the second circumscribed rectangular region.

In the case that one of the first job data and the second job data is slice layer data and the other is three-dimensional model data, continuing the third mode, after the model is split into a plurality of slice layers, subsequent processing can be performed according to the mode that the job data is slice layer data, and details are not repeated here.

To facilitate further understanding of the above embodiments, specific examples corresponding to the above cases, respectively, are enumerated.

Corresponding to the first mode, in the case where the first job data and the second job data are both three-dimensional model data, respective examples are as follows:

for ease of understanding and description, in the examples listed in the embodiments of the present application, the first print job is used for only one object to be printed (first object), and during the printing of the first print job, only one print job, that is, the second print job, is combined at the same time, and the second print job is used for printing only one object to be printed (second object). In practice, however, the first object and the second object in the present application are not limited to only one object to be printed, and may include 2 objects to be printed, 3 objects to be printed, and the like, for example.

In this example, the first three-dimensional model data corresponding to the first print job and the second three-dimensional model data corresponding to the second print job are read, the three-dimensional digital model of the second object D2 or D3 is imported on the virtual platform carrying the three-dimensional digital model of the first object D1, and the relative position of the three-dimensional digital model of the second object D2 or D3 on the virtual platform with respect to the first object D1 is adjusted so that the partial entity to be printed of the first object D1 and the second object D2 or D3 can be carried on the virtual platform together. The virtual platform is arranged in a computer electrically connected with the three-dimensional printing device, and the shape and the size of the virtual platform are completely consistent with those of the forming platform in the three-dimensional printing device.

For example, referring to fig. 2, in this embodiment, the length a of the molding platform 3 is 300mm, and the width b is 400mm; as an example, referring to fig. 3, in the first printing operation of the present embodiment, the first object D1 is a sphere, and the radius R11 of the sphere is 75mm; as an example, referring to fig. 4a, in the second print job of the present embodiment, the second object D2 to be printed is a cylinder, the radius R2 of the cylinder is 130mm, and the height h2 of the cylinder in the Z direction is 100mm. Alternatively, referring to fig. 4b, in the second print job in this embodiment, the second object D3 to be printed is a circular table, the radius R3 of the bottom circle of the circular table is 70mm, and the height of the circular table in the Z direction is 100mm.

According to the job data corresponding to the first object D1 to be printed, the first object D1 is printed layer by layer, the first print job is in a printing state, for example, printing of the M-th layer in the first object D1 is being performed, and M is an integer greater than 0. In the printing process, the position parameters of the model or the slice layer can be obtained in real time, wherein the position parameters refer to the position of the object to be printed relative to the origin of the coordinate axes of the forming platform in the first printing operation, namely the position of the first object D1 relative to the origin of the coordinate axes of the forming platform.

In this embodiment, the determination method that the partial entity of the first object D1 to be printed and the second object D2 or D3 can be jointly carried on the virtual platform may be: in the virtual platform, determining a first maximum projection area and a second maximum projection area of the first object D1 and the second object D2 or D3 on the virtual platform respectively based on the three-dimensional model data of the first object D1 and the three-dimensional model data of the second object D2 or D3; determining a starting layer for merging the first object D1 and the second object D2 or D3 based on the boundary sizes of the first maximum projection area and the second maximum projection area and the size of the forming platform; the shaping platform is used for bearing the object to be printed, and the size ratio of the virtual platform to the shaping platform is one to one. That is, firstly, judging whether the maximum projection areas of the first object and the second object can be coplanar on the virtual platform, if the maximum projection areas can be coplanar, other parts can be coplanar; if the maximum projected area cannot be coplanar, then it is necessary to further determine the size of the projected area in conjunction with the print progress.

For example, referring to fig. 3 and 5a, on the virtual platform 3', the maximum projection area of the first object D1 on the virtual platform in the first printing job is D10, and the radius R11 of the layer to be printed L11, D10 corresponding to the first object D1 is 75mm; the largest projected area of the second object D2 on the virtual platform 3 'in the second print job is D20, the radius R2 of which is 130mm, and the virtual platform 3' has a length a of 300mm and a width of 400mm, it can also be seen from fig. 5a that the projected areas D10 and D20 have an overlap area c, i.e. the layer L11 to be printed of the first object D1 cannot be coplanar with the second object D2.

In this example, since the height h2 of the second object D2 is 100mm, which is greater than the height of the first object D1 below the layer L11 to be printed, the start printing timing of the second print job (i.e., the start layer after the first print job is combined with the second print job), the nth layer after the first print job prints the M layers, N is greater than M, and the start printing timing of the specific second print job is after the first print job prints the layer L11 to be printed.

In other examples, if the height of the second object is smaller than the height below the layer L11 to be printed (excluding the layer L11) and above the mth layer (excluding the layer M) in the first object D1, it may be determined whether the maximum projection area of the plurality of slice layers to be printed below the layer L11 (excluding the layer L11) and above the layer M (excluding the layer M) may be coplanar with the maximum projection area of the second object, and if the maximum projection area of the slice layers cannot be coplanar, the start layer is a slice layer above the layer L11, and if the maximum projection area of the slice layers cannot be coplanar, the start layer may be a slice layer below the layer L11. In one printing method, the slice layers positioned below are printed layer by layer in the order from bottom to top, that is, the slice layers positioned below the L11 layer are printed before the slice layers positioned above, that is, the slice layers positioned below the L11 layer are printed chronologically before the L11 layer.

Further, continuing to analyze the first print job and the second print job, referring to fig. 5b, in the first print job, a radius R12 of the layer L12 to be printed of the first object D1 is 70mm, and a radius R2 of the projection area D20 of the second object D2 in the second print job is 130mm, where the layer L12 to be printed of the first object D1 and the second object D2 are just coplanar on the virtual platform 3', and in order to facilitate separation of the objects to be printed after printing is completed, a certain gap is preferably reserved between the objects to be printed; therefore, after determining that the initial printing timing of the second object D2 is that the first object D1 finishes printing the layer L12 to be printed, as shown in fig. 5c, the relative position of the second object D2 on the virtual platform 3 'with respect to the first object D1 is that the Z-direction distance h3 of the initial printing layer of the second object D2 with respect to the virtual platform 3' is greater than the sum of R11 and h1, i.e., the first slice layer in the second object is located above the plane of the L12 th slice layer in the Z-axis direction (perpendicular to the forming platform and in a direction away from the forming platform), and if the slice layer L12 is the N-1 th layer, the initial printing timing of the second object D2, i.e., the combined printing initial layer is the N-th layer.

After determining the start printing time of the second object D2, starting from the nth layer of the first object D1 in the first printing job, slicing the first object D1 in the first printing job and the second object D2 in the second printing job simultaneously by using slicing software, generating sliced layer data, and performing data processing on the sliced layer data to obtain printing data.

In one embodiment, the slice layer data includes contour information, attribute information, and position information of the object to be printed. When the object to be printed is a color object, the attribute information refers to color information; when the object to be printed is an object with different hardness, the attribute information refers to the mechanical property information of the material, and the embodiment is not limited. The position information refers to the position coordinates of each print position relative to the origin of the coordinate axes.

The slicing process and the data process are repeated until the first print job and the second print job are printed. The print data obtained after the combined slice layers are subjected to data processing is combined print data, wherein the print data of one slice layer of the rest objects to be printed in the first print job and the print data of one slice layer of the objects to be printed in the second print job are included. After the N-1 th layer of the first object D1 is printed in the first print job, printing of the second object D2 is started according to the generated print data, while the subsequent layers of the first object D1 are also printed until the printing of the first object D1 and the second object D2 is completed.

In one embodiment, when the height of the second object is higher than the total height of the plurality of slice layers above the nth layer (including the nth layer) in the first object, after the first object finishes printing, the second print job is used as the print job currently being printed, and other print jobs to be executed are merged, for example, the third print job is merged, and the merging mode of the second print job and the third print job can refer to the merging mode of the first print job and the second print job and is not repeated.

In further embodiments, illustratively, the second object to be printed in the second print job is D3; on a virtual platform carrying the three-dimensional digital model of the first object D1, the three-dimensional digital model of the second object D3 to be printed is imported, and the relative position of the three-dimensional digital model of the second object D3 to be printed on the virtual platform relative to the first object D1 is adjusted, so that the part behind the M-th layer of the first object D1 and the object D3 to be printed can be carried on the virtual platform together. Referring to fig. 6a, in this embodiment, on the virtual platform 3', the maximum projection area of the first object D1 on the virtual platform in the first printing job is D10, and the radius R11 of the layer to be printed L11, D10 corresponding to the first object D1 is 75mm; the maximum projection area of the object D3 to be printed on the virtual platform 3' in the second print job is D30, and the radius R3 is 70mm; when the D10 and the D30 are coplanar, the maximum length occupied on the virtual platform is 150mm, the maximum width is 290mm, and the maximum length and the maximum width are respectively smaller than the length 300mm and the width 400mm of the virtual platform 3'; therefore, any layer after the mth layer of the first print job can be used as the start print timing of the second print job, that is, any layer after the mth layer can be used as the start layer of the merged print. Referring to fig. 6b, correspondingly, the relative position of the second object and the first object on the virtual platform is shown in fig. 6b, in this embodiment, N may be equal to m+1, that is, the start printing timing of the second object D3 to be printed is the nth layer in this embodiment, that is, the nth layer of the first object D1 and the first layer of the object D3 to be printed may be combined and printed.

After determining the start printing timing of the second object D2, the print data is generated according to the method for acquiring print data disclosed in the foregoing embodiment, which is not described herein. After the N-1 th layer of the first object D1 is printed in the first print job, printing of the second object D2 is started according to the generated print data, while the subsequent layers of the first object D1 are also printed until the printing of the first object D1 and the second object D2 is completed.

In the second embodiment, an example of the case where the first job data and the second job data are slice layer data is listed below.

In this example, slice layer data of the remaining portion of the first object to be printed is included in the first print job, and slice layer data of the second object is included in the second print job; and analyzing slice layer data of the first object D1 after the M layer in the first printing job and slice layer data of the second object D2 in the second printing job, identifying a printable area, determining an external rectangle of the printable area, determining the relative positions of the first object D1 in the first printing job and the second object D2 in the second printing job on the virtual platform 3' according to the size of the external rectangle, and finally determining the initial printing time of the second printing job. In the embodiment of the present application, slice layer data is image data or non-image data; the following description will take slice layer data as image data as an example.

Illustratively, the slice layer data is image data, the image data may be represented by a bitmap image, referring to fig. 7a, in this example, a slice layer image of an object D1 to be printed in a first print job is shown in fig. 7a, wherein 0 represents a pixel position where the printing apparatus does not perform printing, 1 represents a pixel position where the printing apparatus performs printing, and by identifying the slice layer data, a print area L11 is finally identified, referring to fig. 7b, a length a11 of a circumscribed rectangle of the print area L11 is 150mm, and a width b11 is 150mm.

Next, referring to fig. 8a-8b, fig. 8a is a schematic view of slice layer images of a second object D2 to be printed in a second print job, by identifying slice layer data of the second object D2, a print area L2 as shown in fig. 8b is finally identified, where a length a2 of a circumscribed rectangle of the print area L2 is 260mm, and a width b2 is 260mm.

Since the sum of the width b11 and the width b2 is greater than 400mm of the width of the virtual deck 3', it is judged that the printing area L11 of the first object D1 and the second object D2 cannot be coplanar; in this way, the analysis and comparison of the layers following the layer L11 of the first object D1 with the layers of the second object D2 is continued, and finally a layer which can be coplanar is determined.

Referring to fig. 7c, fig. 7c is a schematic view of another slice layer image of the object D1 to be printed in the first print job, wherein the print area L12 of the other slice layer identified in the first object D1 has a length a12 of 140mm and a width b12 of 140mm; since the sum of the width b12 and the width b2 is 400mm, the virtual platform 3' can completely bear the part of the first object D1 after the other slice layer and the second object D2, and thus, all the subsequent layers from the layer L12 in the first object D1 can be coplanar with the second object D2, so that the start printing time of the second print job starts to print after the first print job prints the N-1 layer, N-1 is greater than M, and in particular, the nth layer after the layer L12 is determined to be the start printing time of the second print job.

It should be noted that, in practical application, a certain gap needs to be set between the circumscribed rectangle corresponding to the printable area of the slice layer of the first object and the circumscribed rectangle corresponding to the printable area of the slice layer of the second object, so as to prevent adhesion between the printed objects and not easy separation.

After the starting layer is determined to be the nth layer, starting from the nth layer of the first object D1 in the first printing job, identifying the circumscribed rectangle of the printable area in the slice layer data of the first object D1 and the circumscribed rectangle of the printable area in the slice layer data of the second object D2, and integrating the circumscribed rectangle area of the printable area in the slice layer data of the second object D2 with the circumscribed rectangle area of the printable area in the slice layer data of the first object D1 by referring to the position of the first object D1 relative to the origin of the coordinate axis of the forming platform in the first printing job to form a single slice layer.

Specifically, referring to fig. 9, fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of slice images of an nth slice in a first object D1 and a first slice in a second object D2 after being integrated according to an embodiment of the present application; and then carrying out data processing on the integrated slice layer data to generate printing data. The merged print data includes print data of one sliced layer of the partial object remaining in the first print job and print data of one sliced layer of the object to be printed in the second print job. After the N-1 th layer of the first object D1 is printed in the first print job, printing of the second object D2 is started according to the generated print data, while the subsequent layers of the first object D1 are also printed until the printing of the first object D1 and the second object D2 is completed.

In the following, an example will be given in which one of the first job data and the second job data is three-dimensional model data and the other is slice layer data, corresponding to the third mode.

In this example, the first print job includes three-dimensional model data of an object to be printed, the second print job includes slice layer data of the object to be printed, and the object to be printed in the second print job is D2, unlike the foregoing example.

By determining the coverage area of the first object D1 on the virtual platform 3 'in the first print job, thereby determining the area available for the second object D2 on the virtual platform 3' in the second print job, it is analyzed whether the available area can accommodate the second object D2. Specifically, the coverage area of the layer behind the mth layer of the first object D1 on the virtual platform 3 'in the first print job is determined, so that the usable area of the second object D2 on the virtual platform 3' in the second print job is determined; in this application, the layer to be printed to be analyzed may be selected according to the shape of the object to be printed in the first print job, which is not described herein in detail.

It should be noted that, the manner of determining the coverage area of the first object D1 on the virtual platform 3' in the first print job may be: the method comprises the steps of determining a maximum projection area (fourth maximum projection area) of a first object on a virtual forming platform 3 'based on three-dimensional model data of the first object, wherein the maximum projection area is a coverage area of the first object D1 on the virtual platform 3', determining a starting layer based on the coverage area and slice layer data of a second object, namely, taking the remaining area except a rectangular area where the coverage area of the first object is located on the forming platform as a printable area which can be used by the second object, and determining the starting layer by comparing the sizes of the printable area and the slice layers of the second object.

The fourth maximum projection area may be a maximum projection area of the first object on the virtual platform, or may be a maximum projection area of the second object on the virtual platform, or may also be a maximum projection area of the portion to be printed in the first object on the virtual platform that can be coplanar with the second object.

In a further embodiment, the manner of determining the coverage area of the first object D1 on the virtual platform 3' in the first print job may be: firstly, slicing a three-dimensional model of a first object to obtain slice layer data, determining the area occupied by the first object, namely the coverage area of the first object layer by layer, determining the remaining printable area, and then determining the initial layer by comparing the size relation between the printable area and the sizes of slice layers of the second object or directly comparing the size relation between the sum of the sizes of slice layers of the first object and the second object and the size of a virtual forming platform.

For example, referring to fig. 10, fig. 10 is a schematic diagram of a position of a layer to be printed of a first object D1 on a virtual platform in a first print job, where a radius R11 of the layer to be printed is 75mm (i.e., a radius of a coverage area is 75 mm), a length a of a printable area of a second print job remaining on the virtual platform 3' is 300mm, and a width b-R11 is 250mm, and since a radius R2 of the layer to be printed of a second object D2 in the second print job is 130mm, it is determined that the layer L11 to be printed in the first print job cannot be coplanar with the object to be printed in the second print job, that is, the layer L11 to be printed in the first print job cannot be used as a start printing timing of the second print job; according to this method, the layer to be printed after the layer to be printed L11 in the first object D1 in the first print job is continuously analyzed, and it is finally determined that all the subsequent layers from the layer to be printed L12 in the first object D1 can be coplanar with the second object D2 in the second print job, so that the start printing timing of the second print job starts to print after the first print job prints N-1 layers, N-1 is greater than M, specifically, the layer after the layer L12, such as the nth layer, is determined as the start printing timing of the second print job.

After determining the start printing timing of the second object D2, the first object D1 is sliced and layered using slice software from the nth layer of the first object D1 to generate slice layer data, and the slice layer data is taken as image data for illustration.

It should be noted that, the step of slicing the first object to generate slice layer data may be performed before the step of determining the starting layer based on the correspondence of fig. 10, that is, the three-dimensional model may be sliced first, then the starting layer may be determined, or the starting layer may be determined first, and then the three-dimensional model may be sliced.

According to the method in the above example, the slice layer data of the first object D1 and the slice layer data of the second object D2 are analyzed to identify an external rectangle of the printable area, and the external rectangle is integrated to form a single slice layer, which is not described herein again; and then carrying out data processing on the integrated slice layer data to generate printing data. The print data of the single slice layer is combined print data, including print data of one slice layer of a part of the object to be printed in the first print job and print data of one slice layer of the second object in the second print job. After the N-1 th layer of the first object D1 is printed in the first print job, printing of the second object D2 is started according to the generated print data, while the subsequent layers of the first object D1 are also printed until the printing of the first object D1 and the second object D2 is completed. Alternatively, in the case where one of the first object and the second object is printed and the other is not printed, the other print jobs are merged, for example, the third print job is merged.

In addition, in the case that the first print job includes slice layer data of the object to be printed, and the second print job includes model data of the object to be printed, slice layering is performed on the second object D2 to be printed in the second print job by using slice software on the virtual platform to obtain a plurality of slice layer data, taking the slice layer data as image data as an example, in the example corresponding to the second mode, a starting layer (i.e., a starting printing timing of the second print job) where the first print job and the second print job are combined is determined, which is not described herein again.

After the initial printing time of the second printing job is determined, merging the unprinted part of the first printing job with the second printing job to form a single printing job according to the determined initial printing time and the position of the object to be printed in the first printing job relative to the origin of the coordinate axes of the forming platform. Then, the combined print job is subjected to data processing to generate print data. The print data comprises print data of an object to be printed in the first print job and print data of the object to be printed in the second print job after being combined with the second print job. After the N-1 th layer of the first object D1 is printed in the first print job, printing of the second object D2 is started according to the generated print data, while the subsequent layers of the first object D1 are also printed until the printing of the first object D1 and the second object D2 is completed. Alternatively, in the case where one of the first object and the second object is printed and the other is not printed, the other print jobs are merged.

The main flow of the multi-job three-dimensional printing method provided in the embodiment of the present application is described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Referring to fig. 11, the multi-job three-dimensional printing method provided in the embodiment of the present application may include the following procedures:

s110, during the execution of the first printing job, reading first job data corresponding to the rest to-be-printed part in the first printing job and second job data corresponding to the second printing job;

s111, judging whether the first printing job and the second printing job can be combined or not based on the first job data and the second job data, if so, entering S112; if not, the process advances to S113 or S114.

S112, determining a starting layer of merging printing;

specifically, in the process of judging whether the part which is not printed temporarily in the first print job can be combined with the second print job or not in the printing process of the first print job, the judging method may refer to the method of determining the start printing time of the second print job in the foregoing embodiments or examples, when the layer of the first object D1 in the first print job and the layer of the second object D2 in the second print job where the overlapped part in the height direction, i.e. the Z direction, is coplanar on the virtual platform 3', the first print job and the second print job are considered to be combined, otherwise, since the virtual platform cannot simultaneously bear the object to be printed in the first print job and the object to be printed in the second print job in the horizontal direction, the first print job and the second print job are judged to be not combined.

S113, only printing of the first print job is performed until printing of the first print job is completed;

s114, receiving the third print job, and continuously judging whether the third print job can be combined with the first print job.

S115, starting from the initial layer, merging the first job data corresponding to the part of the entities to be printed in the first print job and the second job data corresponding to the second object to be printed in the second print job.

S116, carrying out data processing on the combined slice layers to obtain combined printing data after combination.

S117, based on the combined print data, combined printing of one slice layer in the first print job and one slice layer in the second print job is performed.

The printing method in the prior art not only can not fully utilize the printing resources, but also can prolong the printing completion time of all the jobs. According to the multi-job three-dimensional printing method, in the printing process of the first printing job, the first printing job and the second printing job are partially or completely combined according to the first printing job data and the second printing job data, so that different printing jobs can be printed at the same time, the printing completion time of a plurality of jobs is shortened, and the printing efficiency is improved; meanwhile, the utilization rate of the printing device is improved, and the waste of printing resources is reduced.

The multi-job three-dimensional printing method provided by the embodiment of the application is described above, and the hardware equipment for realizing the method is described below. The device for implementing the multi-job three-dimensional printing method in the application can be SLA equipment, SLS equipment, equipment combining inkjet and powder paving, and the like. Illustratively, the printing apparatus in this example is an apparatus combining inkjet and powder spreading, and is used to perform the printing methods of the various embodiments in the foregoing examples.

Referring to fig. 12, a three-dimensional printing apparatus provided in an embodiment of the present application includes a computer 9 and a printing device 1. The computer 9 is communicatively connected to the printing apparatus 1. The computer 9 may be a desktop computer, a notebook computer, a palm computer, a cloud server, or other computing devices. The computer 9 is connected to the printing apparatus 1 via a network, or the computer 9 is built in the printing apparatus 1, which is not limited in this embodiment.

The printing apparatus 1 prints a first print job based on the first job data; the computer 9 analyzes the first print job and at least a second print job to be printed according to the information of the print progress of the first print job and the like to determine whether the second print job can be merged with the first print job, and merges the start layers of printing. Specifically, the computer 9 determines a start layer at which at least two print jobs are merged, merges first job data corresponding to a part of entities to be printed in a first print job with second job data corresponding to a second object to be printed in a second print job from the start layer, and then determines at least one set of combined print data respectively corresponding to at least one slice layer; the combined print data is transmitted to the printing apparatus 1, and the printing apparatus 1 performs combined printing of the portion to be printed in the first print job and the object to be printed in the second print job based on the combined print data.

Illustratively, a virtual platform, such as the virtual platform 3 'shown in fig. 5a, is included in the computer, the shape and size of the virtual platform 3' being identical to the shape and size of the molded platform 3 of the entity in the printing apparatus 1. The virtual platform 3' is used for three-dimensionally presenting the first print job and the second print job, for example, as a three-dimensional model of a first object D1 in the first print job and a three-dimensional model of a second object D2 in the second print job, by presenting on the virtual platform 3', whether the virtual platform 3' can simultaneously carry the first object D1 and the second object D2 in the horizontal direction and the relative positions of the first object D1 and the second object D2 on the virtual platform are judged, so as to determine whether the first print job and the second print job can be combined and determine which layer to combine specifically.

Specifically, from the software and hardware implementation level, the computer may be configured based on the module architecture shown in fig. 13. As an embodiment, the computer 9 includes a slicing module 93, a data processing module 92, and a computer readable memory 91. In a specific embodiment, the slicing module 93 obtains data information from the computer readable memory 91 and performs slicing layering processing on the obtained three-dimensional model of the object to be printed to obtain slice layer data, and illustratively, the slicing module 93 obtains data information corresponding to the first object D1 and the second object D2 respectively, and performs slicing layering on the first object D1 and the second object D2 to obtain slice layer data; the data processing module 92 performs data processing on the generated slice layer data to obtain print data and stores the print data in the computer-readable memory 91, the computer 9 communicates with the printing apparatus 1, the print data is transmitted to the printing apparatus 1, and the printing apparatus 1 performs a printing operation based on the print data.

In another embodiment, the slicing module 93 obtains data information from the computer readable memory 91 and slices and layers the obtained three-dimensional digital model of the object to be printed to obtain slice layer data, and the slicing module 93 obtains data information of the first object D1 and slices and layers the first object D1 to obtain slice layer data; the data processing module 92 analyzes and identifies slice layer data of the first object D1 and slice layer data of the second object D2, integrates the slice layer data into the same slice layer data, performs data processing on the integrated slice layer data to obtain print data, and stores the print data in the computer-readable memory 91, the computer 9 communicates with the printing apparatus 1, the print data is transmitted to the printing apparatus 1, and the printing apparatus 1 performs a printing operation according to the print data.

With continued reference to fig. 13, a computer readable memory 91 has stored thereon program instructions 911 for executing and directing the execution of a multi-job three-dimensional printing method as described in any of the foregoing embodiments or examples.

The three-dimensional printing equipment provided by the embodiment of the application can execute the multi-job three-dimensional printing method in the embodiment, realize the combined printing of different jobs in the printing process, improve the printing completion efficiency of the multi-job, improve the utilization rate of a printing device and reduce the waste of printing materials.

Further, in another example, with continued reference to fig. 12, in the three-dimensional printing apparatus provided in the embodiment of the present application, the printing device 1 includes a powder supply part 2, where the powder supply part 2 includes a powder storage cavity 23, a lifter 22, and a powder spreader 21, the powder storage cavity is used for storing the powder material 0, a movable support plate 231 is provided in the powder storage cavity 23, and the lifter 22 is connected to the support plate 231 and can drive the support plate 231 to rise or fall in the Z direction; the powder spreader 21 is used to spread the powder material 0 in the powder storage chamber 23 onto the forming table 3 to form a powder material layer L0, and a commonly used powder spreader 21 may be a powder spreading rod or a scraper.

The size and shape of the modeling platform 3 affects the number and volume of objects to be printed in a single print job.

The printing device 1 further comprises a material dispenser 6, the material dispenser 6 being an inkjet printhead, which in this embodiment may be a single pass printhead or a multi-channel printhead, the number of printheads being dependent on the kind of liquid material used for the object to be printed and/or the amount of liquid material to be applied, e.g. when the liquid material comprises functional materials of different colours, the liquid material of different colours is ejected through different printheads or different channels of the same printhead. For another example, when the volume of a single ink droplet to be applied is insufficient in a larger amount of liquid material, a plurality of printheads or a plurality of channels may be simultaneously used to eject the same kind of material in order to improve printing efficiency. In at least one of the plurality of powder material layers, the material dispenser 6 prints the first region of the powder material layer L0 according to the print data of the first object D1 in the first print job to form a print layer; in at least another one of the plurality of powder material layers, the material dispenser 6 prints the first region and the second region of the powder material layer L0 according to the second set of layer print data to form a print layer; the second set of layer print data is print data generated by combining the first print job and the second print job. The specific method for merging the first print job and the second print job and the method for generating the print data have been described above, and will not be described herein.

Further, as an embodiment, a gap having a prescribed distance between the region for accommodating the first object and the region for accommodating the second object is provided to prevent adhesion between the object to be printed in the first print job and the object to be printed in the second print job. In one embodiment, the gaps may be connected by bridge structures.

Optionally, the printing apparatus 1 further comprises an energy supply device 8, and the energy provided by the energy supply device 8 may be radiant energy or thermal energy, for example, the energy supply device may be at least one selected from an ultraviolet lamp, an infrared lamp, a microwave emitter, a heating wire, a heating sheet, and a heating plate. It should be noted that, in the specific selection of which form of the energy supply device and the type of the active ingredient in the liquid material or the type of the active ingredient and the type of the first auxiliary agent, when the active ingredient in the liquid material is subjected to photopolymerization, the energy supply device 8 supplies radiant energy such as ultraviolet radiation, and the active ingredient is induced to undergo photopolymerization by the ultraviolet radiation; when the thermal polymerization reaction of the active ingredient in the liquid material occurs, the energy supply means supplies heat energy such as an infrared lamp, a microwave, a heating wire, a heating sheet, a heating plate, and the thermal polymerization reaction of the active ingredient is initiated by the heat energy.

Further, the printing apparatus 1 may further include a lifting mechanism 4, wherein the lifting mechanism 4 is connected to the forming platform 3, and drives the forming platform 3 to lift or lower in a vertical direction.

Optionally, the printing device 1 further comprises a preheating part 5 and/or a heating part 10, the preheating part 5 being used for preheating the powder material layer, promoting the dissolution of the powder material by the active components in the liquid material; the heating element 10 is used to heat the layer of powder material after application of the liquid material to promote dissolution of the powder material by the active components in the liquid material. The preheating part 5 and the heating part 10 can be at least one selected from ultraviolet lamps, infrared lamps, microwave emitters, heating wires, heating plates and heating plates respectively.

In the present embodiment, the preheating part 5, the material dispenser 6, the heating part 10, and the power supply means 8 may be sequentially installed on the guide rail 11, and may be movable on the guide rail 11. In the embodiment of the present application, when the energy supply device 8 is a device for supplying heat energy, the heating part 10 may be omitted, and the energy supply device 8 may be used to heat the powder material layer to which the liquid material is applied and initiate the polymerization reaction. The printing apparatus 1 may further comprise a temperature monitor (not shown in fig. 12) for monitoring the temperature of the layer of powder material.

In this example, the computer 9 is also used to control the operation of at least one of the powder feeding part 2, the material dispenser 6, the energy supply device 8, the preheating part 5, the heating part 10, and the temperature monitor. For example, the temperature monitor feeds back the monitored temperature to the controller 9, which controls the amount of energy provided by the preheating part 5 and/or the heating part 10 and the energy supply means 8 based on the information fed back by the temperature monitor.

In summary, by judging whether the first print job and the second print job can be combined, the scheme provided by the embodiment of the application automatically combines different print jobs, improves the automation degree of the printing equipment, improves the utilization rate of the equipment and materials, reduces the preparation time before combining different print jobs, and improves the printing efficiency.

The number of data processors in the computer may be one or more, and optionally the number of memories may be one or more, the data processors and memories may be connected by a bus or other means. The memory, as a non-transitory computer readable storage medium, may be used to store non-transitory software programs, non-transitory computer executable programs, and modules, such as program instructions/modules corresponding to the apparatus in embodiments of the present application. The processor executes various functional applications and data processing by running non-transitory software programs, instructions, and modules stored in the memory, i.e., implementing the anti-hacking method in any of the method embodiments described above. The memory may include a memory program area and a memory data area, wherein the memory program area may store an operating system, at least one application program required for a function; and necessary data, etc. In addition, the memory may include high-speed random access memory, and may also include non-transitory memory, such as at least one magnetic disk storage device, flash memory device, or other non-transitory solid state storage device.

In the above embodiments, it may be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the present application are produced in whole or in part. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable apparatus. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium, for example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center by a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line), or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. that contains an integration of one or more available media. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., floppy Disk, hard Disk, tape), an optical medium (e.g., DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., solid State Disk), etc.

In the embodiments of the present application, "at least one" means one or more, and "a plurality" means two or more. "and/or", describes an association relation of association objects, and indicates that there may be three kinds of relations, for example, a and/or B, and may indicate that a alone exists, a and B together, and B alone exists. Wherein A, B may be singular or plural. The character "/" generally indicates that the context-dependent object is an "or" relationship. "at least one of the following" and the like means any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b and c may represent: a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, or a-b-c, wherein a, b, c may be single or plural.

The foregoing is merely a preferred embodiment of the present application and is not intended to limit the present application, and various modifications and variations may be made to the present application by those skilled in the art. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the present application should be included in the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A multi-job three-dimensional printing method, comprising:

Determining a starting layer for merging at least two print jobs; the at least two print jobs comprise a first print job for printing a first object and a second print job for printing a second object, wherein the starting layer is an Nth slice layer of the first object, and N is more than 1;

the method comprises the steps that the initial layer for combining at least two print jobs is determined, and specifically comprises the steps that the initial layer for combining the first print job and the second print job is determined based on three-dimensional model data and/or slice layer data corresponding to the first object and the second object respectively;

wherein determining, based on three-dimensional model data corresponding to the first object and the second object, a starting layer at which the first print job and the second print job are combined, includes: acquiring first three-dimensional model data of the first object and second three-dimensional model data of the second object; determining a first maximum projection area and a second maximum projection area of the first object and the second object on the virtual platform respectively based on the first three-dimensional model data and the second three-dimensional model data in a pre-constructed virtual platform; determining a starting layer for merging the first printing job and the second printing job based on the boundary sizes of the first maximum projection area and the second maximum projection area and the size of the forming platform; the forming platform is used for bearing an object to be printed, and the size ratio of the virtual platform to the forming platform is one-to-one;

Or,

determining a starting layer for merging the first print job and the second print job based on the three-dimensional model data and slice layer data respectively corresponding to the first object and the second object, including: slicing and layering partial entities to be printed in the first object or three-dimensional model data corresponding to the second object to obtain slice layer data, and determining a starting layer for merging the first printing job and the second printing job based on the slice layer data corresponding to the partial entities to be printed in the first object and the second object respectively; or in a pre-constructed virtual platform, determining the coverage area of the partial entity to be printed in the first object or the second object in the virtual platform based on the partial entity to be printed in the first object or the three-dimensional model data corresponding to the second object; determining a starting layer for merging the first print job and the second print job according to the coverage area and the slice layer data;

or,

determining a starting layer for merging the first print job and the second print job based on slice layer data corresponding to the first object and the second object respectively, including: acquiring first slice layer data to be printed in the first object and second slice layer data of the second object based on the printing progress of the first printing job; identifying a first printable area and a second printable area, respectively, based on the first slice data and the second slice data, and determining a first circumscribed rectangle of the first printable area and a second circumscribed rectangle of the second printable area, respectively; determining an initial layer for merging the first print job and the second print job according to the sizes of the first external rectangle and the second external rectangle and the size of the forming platform; the forming platform is used for bearing objects, and the size ratio of the virtual platform to the forming platform is one-to-one;

Combining first job data corresponding to partial entities to be printed in the first print job and second job data corresponding to a second object to be printed in the second print job from the starting layer; and determining at least one set of combined print data corresponding to the at least one slice layer, respectively; wherein the first job data includes three-dimensional model data or slice layer data of a part of the entities to be printed in the first object from the start layer; the second operation data comprises three-dimensional model data or slice layer data corresponding to the second object;

and transmitting the combined printing data to a printing device to perform combined printing.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining a starting layer for merging the first print job and the second print job based on a boundary dimension of the first maximum projected area and the second maximum projected area and a dimension of a build platform comprises:

determining that a starting layer for merging the first printing operation and the second printing operation is an Nth slice layer in the first object as the starting layer when the sum of the first boundary size of the first maximum projection area and the second boundary size of the second maximum projection area is smaller than the size of the forming platform, wherein N is more than 1; and when the first printing job is in a printing state, the nth slice layer is the next layer of the slice layer which is currently being printed.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining a starting layer for merging the first print job and the second print job based on a boundary dimension of the first maximum projected area and the second maximum projected area and a dimension of a build platform comprises:

determining an Nth slice layer from the remaining three-dimensional model data to be printed in the first printing job based on the printing progress of the first printing job under the condition that the sum of the first boundary size of the first maximum projection area and the second boundary size of the second maximum projection area is equal to or larger than the size of the forming platform, so that the sum of the third boundary size and the second boundary size of a part of entities to be printed in the first object starting from the Nth slice layer on the third maximum projection area on the virtual platform is smaller than the size of the forming platform; the nth slice layer is the starting layer for merging the first print job and the second print job.

4. A method according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein merging, from the initiation layer, first job data corresponding to a part of entities to be printed in the first print job with second job data corresponding to a second object to be printed in the second print job, comprises:

And on the virtual platform, starting from the starting layer, simultaneously slicing the first job data and the second job data to obtain at least one slice layer.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein, starting from the start layer, merging each first slice layer to be printed in the first object and each second slice layer of the second object corresponding to the second print job, respectively, includes:

and starting from the starting layer, referring to the origin of the coordinate axis of the first object to be printed in the first printing operation relative to the forming platform, integrating a second circumscribed rectangular area corresponding to a second slice layer of the second object to be printed with a first circumscribed rectangular area corresponding to the first slice layer of the first object to form a combined single slice layer.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein a gap of a predetermined length remains between the first circumscribed rectangular region and the second circumscribed rectangular region in the merged single slice layer.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining at least one set of combined print data corresponding to at least one slice layer, respectively, comprises: determining at least one set of merged slice layer data respectively corresponding to at least one slice layer;

And converting the combined slice layer data into combined printing data by a data processor.

8. A computing device communicatively coupled to a printing apparatus for performing multi-job three-dimensional printing; the computing device includes a data processing module and a readable memory;

the data processing module is used for determining a starting layer for merging at least two print jobs; the at least two print jobs comprise a first print job for printing a first object and a second print job for printing a second object, wherein the starting layer is an Nth slice layer of the first object, and N is more than 1;

Or,

or,

And merging, from the start layer, first job data corresponding to a part of entities to be printed in the first print job and second job data corresponding to a second object to be printed in the second print job; and determining at least one set of combined print data corresponding to the at least one slice layer, respectively; wherein the first job data includes three-dimensional model data or slice layer data of a part of the entities to be printed in the first object from the start layer; the second operation data comprises three-dimensional model data or slice layer data corresponding to the second object; storing the combined print data into the readable memory, and transmitting to the printing device to cause the printing device to perform combined printing based on the combined print data.

9. The computing device of claim 8, further comprising a slicing module;

and the slicing module is used for acquiring the three-dimensional model data of the object to be printed from the readable memory and slicing and layering the three-dimensional model data to obtain slice layer data.

10. A computing device, wherein the computing device is communicatively coupled to a printing apparatus; the printing device is used for executing multi-job three-dimensional printing;

The computing device comprising a memory for storing program instructions and a processor for executing the program instructions, wherein the program instructions, when executed by the processor, trigger the computing device to perform the method of any of claims 1-7.

11. A three-dimensional printing device comprising printing means and a computing device according to claim 8 or 10;

the printing device is used for carrying out combination printing based on the combination printing data output by the computing equipment.

12. A storage medium having stored therein program instructions which, when run on an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform the method of any of claims 1-7.

13. A software program product, characterized in that the software program product comprises program instructions which, when run on an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform the method according to any of claims 1-7.