Seiko Epson Corporation

Yuki Ishii

Masaru Kumagai

Shinichi Nakamura

Yuichiro Matsuura

Yoshinori Nakajima

Keigo Sugai

Tomonaga Hasegawa

Yuta Abe

Motoki Takabe

Takanori Aimono

Kohei Utsunomiya

Koki Hirata

Masanori Mikoshiba

Masayuki Okuyama

A three-dimensional object printing apparatus executes a first printing operation in which a liquid is ejected into a first band region and a second printing operation in which the liquid is ejected into a second band region. When an angle formed by a vector at a first position in a first path and a vector at a second position in a second path is set as a first angle and an angle formed by a vector at a third position in the first path and a vector at a fourth position in the second path is set as a second angle, the first angle is more than the second angle, and a width in which the first band region overlaps with the second band region at the first position is less than a width in which the first band region overlaps with the second band region at the third position.

Three-dimensional object printing apparatus and three-dimensional object printing method

A liquid discharge head including a diaphragm, a pressure chamber substrate that is laminated on the diaphragm, and a piezoelectric element that includes a first active portion and a second active portion, and is laminated on the diaphragm, in which when a direction in which the first active portion and the second active portion are arranged is defined as a second direction when viewed in a lamination direction, and a direction orthogonal to the lamination direction and the second direction is defined as a third direction, and the piezoelectric element includes a first region which is a region in which both the first active portion and the second active portion are provided, and a second region which is a region in which one of the first active portion and the second active portion is provided and the other is not provided.

Liquid discharge head and liquid discharge apparatus

A printing apparatus includes a head and a robot which moves the head with respect to a workpiece, the head includes a first nozzle row for ejecting a first and a second nozzle row for ejecting a second ink which has lower brightness than the first ink, the robot includes an arm portion having a distal end, a proximal end, and a plurality of joints, and a base portion coupled to the proximal end, and supports the head by the distal end, and when a timing at which the first ink is ejected to a predetermined position on the workpiece is defined as a first timing, and a timing at which the second ink is ejected to the predetermined position is defined as a second timing, a distance between the distal end and the proximal end at the second timing is less than the first timing.

Printing apparatus

A printing device includes a head that ejects liquid to a work; a robot that changes relative positions of the work and the head; a positional information output unit that outputs positional information regarding a position of the robot; and a timing adjuster that adjusts, based on the positional information, an ejection timing of ejecting the liquid from the head. When a timing of acquiring first positional information as the positional information by the timing adjuster is a first acquisition timing, a timing of acquiring second positional information as the positional information by the timing adjuster after the first acquisition timing is a second acquisition timing, and the ejection timing after the second acquisition timing is a first ejection timing, the timing adjuster adjusts the first ejection timing based on the first positional information and the second positional information.

Printing device

A three-dimensional object printer includes a head having a plurality of nozzles that discharge a liquid, a movement mechanism having an arm section that supports the head and having a plurality of joint sections provided on the arm section, a drive circuit that generates a drive signal to drive the head, a control circuit that generates a control signal to control supply of the drive signal to the head, a first cable for transmitting the drive signal from the drive circuit to the head, and a second cable for transmitting the control signal from the control circuit to the head. At least a part of the second cable is arranged along the arm section. The control signal is transmitted as a differential signal to the second cable.

Three-dimensional object printer

A three-dimensional object printing apparatus includes: a head having a nozzle surface; a robot that has a base portion that supports the head, and changes a position of the head with respect to the base portion; and a cap portion having a fixed position to the base portion to cover the nozzle surface, in which the three-dimensional object printing apparatus is configured to execute: a capping operation of causing the robot to locate the head at a position at which the nozzle surface is covered with the cap portion, and a printing operation of causing the head to eject the liquid to a work with respect to the work, and a yaw angle of the head during the execution of the capping operation and a yaw angle of the head during the execution of the printing operation are different from each other.

A printing apparatus includes a head and a robot which changes a position of the head with respect to a workpiece, the head includes a first nozzle row for ejecting a first ink and a second nozzle row for ejecting a second ink which has lower brightness than the first ink, the robot includes an arm portion having a distal end, a proximal end, and a base portion coupled to the proximal end, and supports the head by the distal end, and a first joint which is a joint closest to the distal end and rotate around a first rotating axis, and a distance between the second nozzle row and the first rotating axis is less than a distance between the first nozzle row and the first rotating axis when viewed in a direction along the first rotating axis.

There is provided a three-dimensional object printing apparatus including a first robot supporting a head having a nozzle for discharging a liquid and changing a position and a posture of the head, a second robot supporting a three-dimensional workpiece and changing a position and a posture of the workpiece, a curing unit that emits energy to cure or solidify the liquid discharged from the head, and a maintenance unit that performs maintenance on the head. The first robot has a first base portion fixed to a base. The second robot has a second base portion fixed to the base. In a plan view of the base, a virtual line segment connecting the first base portion and the second base portion passes between the curing unit and the maintenance unit.

Three-dimensional object printing apparatus

A three-dimensional object printing apparatus includes: a head having a nozzle surface; and a robot that has a base portion and an arm portion that supports the head, and changes a position of the head with respect to the base portion, in which the three-dimensional object printing apparatus is configured to execute: a first printing operation of causing the head to print an image to a three-dimensional first medium, and a second printing operation of causing the head to print a test pattern while causing the robot to change a position of the head with respect to the second medium, and a yaw angle of the head during the execution of the first printing operation and a yaw angle of the head during the execution of the second printing operation are different from each other.

A surface of a workpiece has a smooth region, and a stepped region including a step. A three-dimensional object printing method includes first print operation of ejecting liquid from a head onto the smooth region, and second print operation, antecedent to or subsequent to the first print operation, of ejecting liquid from the head onto the stepped region. The amount of change in an angle of ejection, which is angle formed by a first normal line and a second normal line, during execution of the second print operation is larger than the amount of change in the angle of ejection during execution of the first print operation. The first normal line is a line normal to the ejection face. The second normal line is a line normal to the surface of the workpiece at a point of intersection with the first normal line.

Three-dimensional object printing method and robot teaching method

There is provided a three-dimensional object printing apparatus including an imaging device fixed to a base and imaging an object located inside an imaging range, a first robot supporting a head having a nozzle for discharging a liquid and changing a position and a posture of the head, and a second robot supporting a three-dimensional workpiece and changes a position and a posture of the workpiece. The three-dimensional object printing apparatus performs a material feeding step of causing the second robot to move the workpiece from an outside to an inside of the imaging range, and a printing step of causing the head to discharge the liquid to the workpiece while at least one of the first robot and the second robot relatively moves the head and the workpiece inside the imaging range.

A three-dimensional object print apparatus performs a first step at which a liquid ejecting head ejects liquid onto a workpiece and simultaneously a moving mechanism changes a location of the liquid ejecting head relative to the workpiece along a first route and further performs a second step at which an energy emitting section irradiates the liquid on the workpiece with energy and simultaneously the moving mechanism changes the location of the liquid ejecting head relative to the workpiece along a second route. In this case, L&#x3c;Lat the first step and L&#x3e;Lat the second step, where Ldenotes a distance in a direction normal to a nozzle surface of the liquid ejecting head between the workpiece and the nozzle surface, and Ldenotes a distance in a direction normal to an emission surface of the energy emitting section between the workpiece and the emission surface.

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Shiojiri, Japan

Yuki Ishii