CN220163241U

CN220163241U - 3D printing device

Info

Publication number: CN220163241U
Application number: CN202321666947.7U
Authority: CN
Inventors: 赵雨; 胡京奇; 张定军; 江南; 张欣英
Original assignee: Qingyuan Taishuo Beijing Biomedical Technology Co ltd
Current assignee: Qingyuan Taishuo Beijing Biomedical Technology Co ltd
Priority date: 2023-04-26
Filing date: 2023-06-28
Publication date: 2023-12-12
Anticipated expiration: 2033-06-28
Also published as: CN116811247A

Abstract

The present utility model relates to a 3D printing device, comprising: a storage mechanism configured with a tank for storing ink; a head mechanism configured with a cartridge for receiving ink discharged from the tank; the nozzle mechanism is used for receiving the ink discharged by the charging barrel and spraying the ink outwards, wherein a rotating motor arranged on the horizontally placed nozzle mechanism can drive the connecting part to drive the charging barrel to rotate around the axis when being started, and a piston connected with the moving motor through a connecting rod is arranged in the charging barrel so as to adjust the position of the piston in the charging barrel through the moving motor. The utility model is especially suitable for the 3D printing process of the ink mixed with the solid particles with low viscosity, so as to solve the problems that the printed structure is uneven in material distribution and easy to cause nozzle blockage in the printing process, and the 3D printing device can better promote the uniformity of material distribution and effectively finish the anti-sedimentation printing of the ink mixed with the solid particles with low viscosity.

Description

3D printing device

Technical Field

The utility model relates to the technical field of 3D printing, in particular to a 3D printing device.

Background

The biological 3D printer is equipment capable of positioning and assembling biological materials or cell units according to an additive manufacturing principle under the drive of a digital three-dimensional model to manufacture products such as medical equipment, tissue engineering scaffolds, tissue organs and the like. The bio-3D printer may have a plurality of printheads through which bio-ink may be applied to print various bio-structures.

CN211307408U discloses a biological 3D printer, comprising a host and a print head, wherein a print head mounting seat is fixedly arranged in the host, and the print head is detachably connected to the print head mounting seat in the host; the printer comprises a printer head mounting seat, a printer head matching structure and a printer head matching structure, wherein the printer head mounting seat is provided with a bearing structure for bearing the printer head, the printer head is provided with a mounting structure matched with the bearing structure of the printer head mounting seat, and the printer head mounting seat supports the printer head through bearing matching between the mounting structure and the bearing structure. The printing head of the biological 3D printer can be reliably and stably mounted on the printing head, and is easy to detach and mount.

However, the prior art does not consider the case where low viscosity solid particle-mixed inks tend to precipitate during 3D printing, which can lead to uneven distribution of the printed structure internal materials and to nozzle clogging.

Furthermore, there are differences in one aspect due to understanding to those skilled in the art; on the other hand, as the inventors studied numerous documents and patents while the present utility model was made, the text is not limited to details and contents of all that are listed, but it is by no means the present utility model does not have these prior art features, the present utility model has all the prior art features, and the applicant remains in the background art to which the rights of the related prior art are added.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the shortcomings of the prior art, the present utility model is directed to a 3D printing device, so as to solve at least some of the above technical problems.

The utility model proposes a 3D printing device comprising:

a storage mechanism configured with a tank for storing ink;

a nozzle mechanism configured with a cartridge for receiving ink discharged from the tank;

and the nozzle mechanism is used for receiving the ink discharged by the charging barrel and spraying the ink outwards.

Preferably, the rotating motor arranged on the horizontally placed spray head mechanism can drive the connecting part to drive the charging barrel to rotate around the axis when being started, and the charging barrel is internally provided with a piston connected with the moving motor through a connecting rod so as to adjust the position of the piston in the charging barrel through the moving motor.

According to a preferred embodiment, a stirring paddle connected with a stirring motor through a connecting rod is arranged in the charging bucket, and the stirring motor can drive the stirring paddle to rotate around the axis when being started.

According to a preferred embodiment, the tank is provided with a gas valve which is in unidirectional communication from the outside to the inside of the tank, wherein the gas valve is arranged above the ink maximum level line of the tank.

According to a preferred embodiment, the connecting part is connected to one side end of the cartridge by at least part of the structure to bring the cartridge into synchronous rotation, wherein the connecting part is provided with at least an internal cavity capable of accommodating the movement motor.

According to a preferred embodiment, the cartridge is provided with an opening at the opposite end connected to the connection for allowing ink to enter and/or exit the cartridge.

According to a preferred embodiment, the charging bucket is in communication with the opening of the charging barrel via a second pipe, wherein a second valve body for switching the on-off state is arranged on the second pipe.

According to a preferred embodiment, the opening of the cartridge communicates with the printing nozzle of the nozzle mechanism via a first tube, wherein a first valve body for switching the on-off state is provided on the first tube.

According to a preferred embodiment, the piston is movable in a direction approaching or moving away from the opening under the drive of the movement motor, wherein the first valve body is switched to the communication state when the piston moves in the direction approaching the opening; when the piston moves in a direction away from the opening, the second valve body is switched to the communication state. Preferably, the first valve body and the second valve body may not be in a communication state at the same time.

According to a preferred embodiment, the nozzle mechanism can be placed in a vertical direction so that a print floor provided below the print nozzles in the vertical direction can receive ink ejected from the print nozzles.

According to a preferred embodiment, the printing nozzle and/or the printing base plate can be connected to a three-dimensional movement mechanism to change the three-dimensional spatial positional relationship between the printing nozzle and the printing base plate.

The beneficial technical effects of the utility model are at least as follows:

1. the nozzle mechanisms of the conventional 3D printing device are vertically arranged, the height direction of the nozzle mechanisms is relatively long, the particle precipitation phenomenon is obvious, and the first printed structure is the region with the most serious particle precipitation, so that the uneven phenomenon that the first printed structure has more particles and the later printed structure has less particles can be formed. The spray head mechanism of the utility model is horizontally placed, i.e. the distance in the height direction is reduced, the total precipitation particles in unit area at the bottom is reduced, the printed structure sequence is horizontally unfolded, i.e. the ink near one side of the opening is first-out, and the precipitation direction is in the height direction, so that the obvious difference of the total particles in the first printing structure and the last printing structure can not occur.

2. According to the utility model, the horizontally placed charging barrel rotates around the axis and drives the ink mixed with solid particles with low viscosity in the charging barrel to synchronously rotate, so that the anti-sedimentation function of the ink mixed with solid particles with low viscosity is realized; the utility model adopts a stirring mode without a stirring paddle, can output ink by adopting a mode of pushing a piston by a motor instead of adopting a pneumatic spraying mode with the stirring paddle, and is characterized in that the pneumatic spraying mode is constant-pressure spraying and is not constant-flow spraying, the spraying flow is related to the gas pressure, the internal structure of a pipeline and the viscosity of the ink, and when the printing viscosity is slightly changed in the printing process, the flow is easily uneven, and an unqualified printing structure is generated; meanwhile, pneumatic printing is generally difficult to control low-viscosity material printing, and the air valve with the control precision of about 0.1kPa is far higher than a motor structure with the same control precision. Therefore, the rotatable charging barrel placed in the horizontal direction can be used as a spray head mechanism in a mode of pushing a piston by a motor, and better printing stability and control precision can be obtained at low cost.

3. Since the ink is generally a non-newtonian compressible fluid, and there is a possibility that the tube, the cartridge, etc. will deform under a certain pressure, the ink accumulated under a certain pressure will continue to be ejected through the nozzle to release the pressure after stopping printing, and this phenomenon of continuing to flow out of the ink is generally referred to as drooling phenomenon. In order to avoid the phenomenon of drooling from affecting the surface quality of a printing structure, the 3D printing device can utilize the first valve body to close and lock the pressure in the charging barrel, so that the phenomenon of drooling is greatly reduced, and the forming quality is improved.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a simplified overall structure schematic of the 3D printing apparatus of the present utility model.

List of reference numerals

1: printing a nozzle; 2: a temperature control module; 3: a first material pipe; 4: a first valve body; 5: a charging barrel; 6: a piston; 7: a motion motor; 8: a rotating electric machine; 9: a connection part; 10: a charging bucket; 11: an air valve; 12: stirring paddles; 13: a stirring motor; 14: a second material pipe; 15: a second valve body; 16: and printing the bottom plate.

Detailed Description

The present utility model will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The utility model discloses a 3D printing device, in particular to a 3D printing device suitable for low-viscosity ink mixed with solid particles, which at least comprises a storage mechanism, a nozzle mechanism and a nozzle mechanism, wherein the ink can be stored in the storage mechanism preferentially, when printing operation needs to be executed, the ink in the storage mechanism can be introduced into the nozzle mechanism first, the ink temporarily stored in the nozzle mechanism can be introduced into the nozzle mechanism again according to the actual printing requirement, and finally the ink is ejected through the nozzle mechanism. Preferably, the spray head mechanism may be arranged in a horizontal direction, and the nozzle mechanism may be arranged in a vertical direction.

Preferably, the material storage mechanism is provided with a material tank 10 for storing ink, the material tank 10 is internally provided with a stirring paddle 12 connected with a stirring motor 13 through a connecting rod, and the stirring paddle 12 at least can extend below the ink liquid level, so that the stirring motor 13 can drive the stirring paddle 12 to rotate around an axis when being started, and the material storage mechanism has an anti-sedimentation function for the low-viscosity ink mixed with solid particles. Preferably, the stirring paddle 12 may be any shape that can perform a stirring function.

Preferably, the tank 10 is provided with a gas valve 11 which circulates unidirectionally from the outside to the inside of the tank 10 so as to allow only the gas to enter the inside from the outside of the tank 10, but not to allow the gas to be discharged from the inside of the tank 10, so that the volatilization of ink can be reduced or even avoided, and the effect of timely replenishment of the gas pressure by the feed tank 10 can be reduced. Further, the air valve 11 may be disposed above the ink level line of the tank 10, wherein it is preferably disposed at the top of the tank 10.

Preferably, the tank 10 is sealed to prevent ink from escaping the tank 10 after evaporation, wherein the volume of the tank 10 may further preferably be 500ml-5L.

Preferably, the material storage mechanism and the spray head mechanism can be connected through a second material pipe 14, wherein the second material pipe 14 can be respectively connected with the material tank 10 of the material storage mechanism and the material cylinder 5 of the spray head mechanism, and the second material pipe 14 can be provided with a second valve body 15 for switching the on-off state of the second valve body.

Preferably, the nozzle mechanism and the nozzle mechanism may be connected through a first material pipe 3, wherein the first material pipe 3 may be connected to a material cylinder 5 of the nozzle mechanism and a printing nozzle 1 of the nozzle mechanism, respectively, and the first material pipe 3 may be provided with a first valve body 4 for switching the on-off state thereof.

Preferably, the materials of the first material pipe 3 and the second material pipe 14 are materials which are non-reactive with the ink, and more preferably hard pipes, so as to reduce the pressure accumulation of the pipe walls.

Preferably, the first valve body 4 and the second valve body 15 may be one or two of a solenoid valve, a piezoelectric valve, and a motor valve, and further preferably a small inner diameter pipe valve.

Preferably, the rotating motor 8 of the horizontally placed nozzle mechanism arrangement is capable of driving the connecting portion 9 to rotate when activated, the connecting portion 9 being connected to one side end portion of the cartridge 5 by at least a part of the structure to drive the cartridge 5 to rotate synchronously, wherein the cartridge 5 is provided with an opening allowing ink to enter and/or exit the cartridge 5 at the opposite side end portion connected to the connecting portion 9, through which opening the cartridge 5 can communicate with the first feed pipe 3 and/or the second feed pipe 14. Preferably, the rotation mode of the rotating motor 8 can be counterclockwise or clockwise single-direction continuous rotation, or combined swinging rotation clockwise and anticlockwise according to a certain rotation angle, and further preferably swinging rotation with single direction not exceeding 360 degrees, wherein the rotation of the rotating motor 8 at least ensures that the upward lifting speed of the ink is driven to be greater than or equal to the sedimentation speed of particles in the ink.

Preferably, the piston 6 disposed within the cartridge 5 defines a storage space for ink within the cartridge 5, wherein a change in the position of the piston 6 within the cartridge 5 may adjust the size of the storage space and power the ink into and/or out of the cartridge 5. Further, the piston 6 is communicated with the movement motor 7 through a connecting rod to adjust the position of the piston 6 in the cartridge 5 based on the operation of the movement motor 7, wherein the movement motor 7 can drive the piston 6 to move in the horizontal direction, i.e., can make the piston 6 move in a direction parallel to the arrangement direction of the head mechanism. Preferably, the connection 9 is provided with at least an internal cavity capable of housing the movement motor 7. Preferably, the volume of the cartridge 5 may be 0-50ml, further preferably 0-10ml.

Preferably, the nozzle mechanism arranged in the vertical direction may include at least the printing nozzle 1, wherein the printing floor 16 provided below the printing nozzle 1 in the vertical direction is capable of receiving ink ejected from the printing nozzle 1. Preferably, the inner diameter of the printing nozzle 1 may be 0.01 to 3mm, and more preferably 0.05 to 0.8mm.

Preferably, the nozzle mechanism may further comprise a temperature control module 2 for adjusting the temperature of the ink entering the printing nozzle 1 according to the ink printing requirements, wherein the adjustment may comprise heating and/or cooling, and the control temperature is further preferably 0-70 ℃.

Preferably, the printing nozzle 1 and/or the printing base plate 16 can be connected to a three-dimensional movement mechanism to change the three-dimensional spatial positional relationship between the printing nozzle 1 and the printing base plate 16.

The temperature control module 2 and the three-dimensional movement mechanism are the same as the prior art, for example, chinese patent CN215882599U discloses a movement platform of a 3D printer and the 3D printer, and the movement platform is included; chinese patent CN113508025a discloses a 3D printing apparatus for applying printing material with a temperature regulating device, comprising a temperature regulating device. The utility model can use the same moving platform and temperature adjusting device, and the utility model does not intend to improve the temperature control module 2 and the three-dimensional moving mechanism, and does not relate to the improvement of a method or a calculation program.

Working principle: the 3D printing apparatus of the present utility model may perform the steps of:

i, firstly adding the low-viscosity solid particle mixed ink into a charging bucket 10, and starting a stirring motor 13 to drive a stirring paddle 12 to stir the low-viscosity solid particle mixed ink so as to prevent particles from precipitating;

ii when the horizontally placed nozzle mechanism needs to be filled, the first valve body 4 is closed, the second valve body 15 is opened, the piston 6 is pulled by starting the motion motor 7 to increase the storage space and move away from the opening (leftwards in the drawing), the ink mixed with the solid particles with low viscosity can be pumped into the charging barrel 5 from the charging barrel 10 through the second material pipe 14 based on the movement of the piston 6, and the second valve body 15 is closed after the filling requirement is met;

iii, the rotating motor 8 is started, the connecting part 9 drives the charging barrel 5 to rotate around the axis of the charging barrel 5, so that the ink mixed with solid particles with low viscosity in the charging barrel 5 can be driven to rotate around the axis of the charging barrel 5, and the anti-sedimentation function of the ink mixed with solid particles with low viscosity is achieved;

iv when the material needs to be ejected, opening the first valve body 4, and enabling the motion motor 7 to push the piston 6 to move towards the direction close to the opening (move rightwards in the drawing) so as to reduce the trend of the storage space, enabling the ink to reach the printing nozzle 1 through the first material pipe 3, enabling the printing nozzle 1 to eject the ink to the printing baseplate 16 in a substantially vertical direction, and closing the motion motor 7 and the first valve body 4 until the printing work of the current round is completed, wherein the printing work of the current round can be that the ink in the material cylinder 5 is used up by printing or the printing task is finished;

v if the ink in the cartridge 5 is used up, the process returns to the above step ii, and the steps iii and iv are repeated until the printing task is completed after the ink is replenished to the cartridge 5.

According to a preferred embodiment, the print job may be completed in this embodiment by the steps of:

firstly, adding 500ml of 10% PLGA ink mixed with magnesium powder particles (diameter is 30 microns) with low viscosity into a charging bucket 10 with the volume of 500ml, starting a stirring motor 13 to drive a stirring paddle 12 to stir the ink at the speed of 30 revolutions per minute, and preventing particles from precipitating;

ii when the horizontally placed rotatable anti-settling spray head needs to be filled, the first valve body 4 is closed, the second valve body 15 is opened, the piston 6 is pulled by starting the motion motor 7 at a speed of 10mm/s to increase the storage space of the 10ml of the cartridge 5, the movement is towards the direction away from the opening (leftwards in the drawing), the ink is sucked into the cartridge 5 from the cartridge 5, and the second valve body 15 is closed;

iii, the rotating motor 8 is started to drive the charging barrel 5 to swing reciprocally around the axis of the charging barrel 5 by +/-180 degrees (the swing speed is 30 degrees/s), and the ink in the charging barrel 5 is driven to rotate along the axial direction of the charging barrel 5, so that the anti-sedimentation function of the ink mixed with solid particles with low viscosity is achieved;

iv when the material needs to be ejected, the first valve body 4 is opened, the movement motor 7 is made to push the piston 6 at the speed of 6 mu m/s to reduce the trend of the storage space to move towards the direction close to the opening (move rightwards in the drawing), the ink passes through the first material pipe 3 (with the inner diameter of 3 mm) to reach the printing nozzle 1, the temperature of the ink can be kept at 25 ℃ by using the temperature control module 2, the ink can be ejected from the outlet (with the inner diameter of 0.5 mm) of the printing nozzle 1 to the printing bottom plate 16 placed in the forming space at the temperature of minus 30 ℃, the movement speed of the three-dimensional movement mechanism under the printing parameter is 20mm/s, and the movement motor 7 and the first valve body 4 are closed until the printing work of the current round is completed;

and v, if the ink in the charging barrel 5 is used up by printing, repeating the steps until the printing task is finished.

It should be noted that the above-described embodiments are exemplary, and that a person skilled in the art, in light of the present disclosure, may devise various solutions that fall within the scope of the present disclosure and fall within the scope of the present disclosure. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the present description and drawings are illustrative and not limiting to the claims. The scope of the utility model is defined by the claims and their equivalents. Throughout this document, the word "preferably" is used in a generic sense to mean only one alternative, and not to be construed as necessarily required, so that the applicant reserves the right to forego or delete the relevant preferred feature at any time.

Claims

1. A 3D printing apparatus, comprising:

a storage mechanism provided with a tank (10) for storing ink,

a nozzle mechanism provided with a cartridge (5) for receiving the ink discharged from the tank (10),

a nozzle mechanism for receiving the ink discharged from the cartridge (5) and ejecting the ink outwardly,

the rotary motor (8) arranged on the horizontally placed spray head mechanism can drive the connecting part (9) to drive the charging barrel (5) to rotate around the axis when being started, and the charging barrel (5) is internally provided with a piston (6) connected with the moving motor (7) through a connecting rod, so that the position of the piston (6) in the charging barrel (5) is adjusted through the moving motor (7).

2. 3D printing device according to claim 1, characterized in that a stirring paddle (12) connected with a stirring motor (13) through a connecting rod is arranged in the charging bucket (10), and the stirring motor (13) can drive the stirring paddle (12) to rotate around an axis when being started.

3. 3D printing device according to claim 1, characterized in that the tank (10) is provided with a gas valve (11) flowing unidirectionally from the outside to the inside of the tank (10), wherein the gas valve (11) is arranged above the highest level of ink in the tank (10).

4. 3D printing device according to claim 1, characterized in that the connection part (9) is connected to one side end of the cartridge (5) by means of at least a partial structure to bring about a synchronous rotation of the cartridge (5), wherein the connection part (9) is provided with at least an internal cavity capable of accommodating a movement motor (7).

5. 3D printing device according to claim 4, characterized in that the cartridge (5) is provided with an opening at the opposite end connected to the connection (9) allowing ink to enter and/or exit the cartridge (5).

6. 3D printing device according to claim 5, characterized in that the charging bucket (10) communicates with the opening of the charging barrel (5) through a second material pipe (14), wherein a second valve body (15) for switching the on-off state is arranged on the second material pipe (14).

7. 3D printing device according to claim 6, characterized in that the opening of the cartridge (5) communicates with the printing nozzle (1) of the nozzle mechanism via a first pipe (3), wherein the first pipe (3) is provided with a first valve body (4) for switching the on-off state.

8. 3D printing device according to claim 7, characterized in that the piston (6) is movable in a direction approaching or moving away from an opening under the drive of the motion motor (7), wherein the first valve body (4) is switched to a communication state when the piston (6) is moved in a direction approaching an opening; when the piston (6) moves in a direction away from the opening, the second valve body (15) is switched to a communication state.

9. 3D printing device according to claim 7, characterized in that the nozzle mechanism is positionable in a vertical direction such that a printing floor (16) arranged below the printing nozzle (1) in the vertical direction is able to receive ink ejected by the printing nozzle (1).

10. 3D printing device according to claim 9, characterized in that the printing nozzle (1) and/or the printing soleplate (16) is connectable to a three-dimensional movement mechanism to change the three-dimensional spatial positional relationship between the printing nozzle (1) and the printing soleplate (16).