KR20200036080A - Nozzle assembly for 3d printer - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a nozzle assembly for a 3D printer, comprising: a nozzle part (10) having a feeding channel (12′) formed through the nozzle part (10) and having a nozzle (12) from which a filament is discharged; a mounting part (40) coupled to the nozzle part (10); a support part (31) coupled with the mounting part (40); and a cooling part (30) provided at the support part (31) and equipped with a first ventilating guide (32) and a second ventilating guide (33) having a ventilating channel (34) formed therein, wherein a cooling pan (31′) is fixed to the support part (31) and a first cooling pan (32′) and a second cooling pan (33′) are fixedly seated in the first ventilating guide (32) and the second ventilating guide (33) respectively and the first ventilating guide (32) and the second ventilating guide (33) are disposed to face each other with the nozzle (12) interposed therebetween. According to the present invention, the wind of the first and second cooling fans comes into direct contact with the melted filament discharged through the nozzle to rapidly cure the melted filament, thus having an effect of enhancing the quality of outputs of the 3D printer and increasing a length of printable outputs of even a cantilever or bridge type without a supporter.

Description

Nozzle assembly for 3D printers {NOZZLE ASSEMBLY FOR 3D PRINTER}

The present invention relates to a nozzle assembly for a 3D printer, and more particularly, to a nozzle assembly for a 3D printer that discharges a filament through a nozzle to form an output.

A 3D printer refers to a machine that prints (forms) three-dimensional drawings (data) created by a computer design program in its original three-dimensional shape. Its use is becoming increasingly popular due to its innovative technical features that complex geometric models or pupils, which are difficult to produce with conventional manufacturing methods, can be molded into 3D moldings as long as 3D drawings (data) of finished products are available.

3D printers have solid, liquid, and powder methods depending on the materials used. In general, 3D printers using solid materials are inexpensive, so they are used in sample production of machinery and equipment parts in research institutes or are widely used in homes. The 3D printer using solid materials inserts a thin wire-shaped filament made of plastic into the nozzle assembly, then melts the filament inside and extrudes it through the nozzle, and the discharged filament hardens in the air and melts the filament again to discharge it. It is a method that makes the shape of the output by repeating the work that is hardened after it is made.

The nozzle assembly of the conventional stacked 3D printer includes a nozzle, a heating part, a feeding part, and a cooling part, and includes a channel through which a filament is inserted and discharged. When the filament is pulled by the feeding part and inserted into the channel of the nozzle assembly, the filament melted by heat generated in the heating part passes through the channel and is discharged to the outside through the nozzle.

However, the nozzle assembly of the solid material type 3D printer using the conventional filament has the following problems.

Since the melted filament discharged through the nozzle is naturally cured by being exposed to the air, hardening of the melted material occurs slowly, so the melted filament discharged from the end of the nozzle spreads wider than the diameter of the nozzle, resulting in poor quality of printout. have.

In addition, when producing a cantilever or bridge type output, the curing of the molten filament is slow, so that the length of the output that can be maintained in the air without support is too short, so the process of making the support is unnecessarily added. Since support is a part that needs to be removed from the output later, there is a problem that a lot of time is required for post-processing.

In addition, since the nozzle is exposed to the outside, there is a problem that the output of a certain quality does not come out by affecting the melted degree of the filament discharged through the nozzle according to the outside temperature.

Republic of Korea Patent No. 10-2015-0139216

The object of the present invention is to solve the conventional problems as described above, it is to quickly cure the molten filament discharged from the nozzle.

Another object of the present invention is to minimize the effect of the nozzle from the external environment.

The present invention is formed through a feeding channel therein, a nozzle unit provided with a nozzle through which a filament is discharged, a mounting unit coupled to the nozzle unit, a support unit coupled to the mounting unit, and connected to the support unit and inside It includes a cooling unit provided with a first ventilation guide and a second ventilation guide in which a ventilation channel is formed, a cooling fan is fixed to the support, and a first cooling fan and a second cooling guide are respectively provided to the first ventilation guide and the second ventilation guide. The cooling fan is seated and fixed, and the first ventilation guide and the second ventilation guide are arranged to face each other with the nozzle interposed therebetween.

The nozzle unit is provided with a main body formed through a feeding channel through which the filament is introduced, a plurality of cooling fins protruding from the outer surface of the main body, a nozzle discharging the filament, and provided between the nozzle and the main body. It includes a heating block for melting the filament.

The main body, the nozzle and the heating block are integrally formed so that the feeding channel continuously penetrates the inner surfaces of the main body, the nozzle and the heating block.

An insulating cover is formed to be coupled to surround the outer surface of the nozzle and the heating block.

The mounting portion is fixed to the nozzle portion by pressing the tip of the cooling fin, and a support rib protrudes from the inner surface of the mounting portion to be caught by the cooling fin.

The ventilation channel is formed to be bent so that the wind of the first and second cooling fans blowing in the vertical direction is diverted in the horizontal direction, and is opened to the first and second ventilation guides toward the tip of the nozzle. It communicates with the outlet.

As the ventilation channel moves toward the wind outlet, the area of its cross section becomes narrower.

The first and second ventilation guides are formed to be inclined downward, and the wind outlet is formed to point to the tip of the nozzle.

On the inner surface of the ventilation channel, a wind guide projecting in a spiral to form a vortex is formed.

A cooling guide provided with a cooling channel therein protrudes toward the main body.

The cooling channel is formed by bending to blow out the wind of the cooling fan blowing horizontally in the vertical direction.

The first ventilation guide and the second ventilation guide are formed with a first clamping portion and a second clamping portion for pressing and fixing the first cooling fan and the second cooling fan seated on the upper surface.

In the nozzle assembly for a 3D printer according to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

According to the present invention, since the wind of the first and second cooling fans directly contact the molten filament discharged through the nozzle to rapidly cure the molten filament, the quality of the output of the 3D printer increases, and the output of the cantilever or bridge type is also without a supporter. This has the effect of increasing the length that can be output.

According to the present invention, an insulating cover is formed to surround the nozzle and the heating block, so that the nozzle is relatively less affected by temperature in the wind blowing through the wind outlet, so that the filament in the feeding channel is well maintained in a molten state. have.

According to the present invention, the cooling unit is formed with a guide for blowing wind directly into the tip of the nozzle and the cooling fin, thereby increasing the air-cooled cooling efficiency.

According to the present invention, since a nozzle, a heating block, and a nozzle body of the nozzle unit are integrally formed, there is no gap due to coupling to the feeding channel, so that the melted filament is easily discharged and a certain amount of filament is discharged, thereby increasing the quality of the output. There is.

According to the present invention, the nozzle unit and the cooling unit are formed separately from each other, so that they can be easily assembled and disassembled by the mounting unit. Therefore, the parts and the structure of the nozzle assembly are very simplified, which has an effect of easy maintenance and repair.

According to the present invention, the air outlets are formed to face each other toward the tip of the nozzle, so that air blowing from both directions collides with each other to generate vortices, thereby increasing cooling efficiency. Therefore, the cooling performance is improved, and there is an effect that the configuration of the cooling unit can be relatively small.

1 is a perspective view showing a preferred embodiment of the nozzle assembly according to the present invention.
Figure 2 is a perspective view showing a nozzle assembly constituting an embodiment of the present invention from a different angle than Figure 1;
3 is a perspective view of a cooling unit constituting an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 4 is a perspective view of the mounting portion coupled to the cooling unit constituting an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA 'in FIG. 1;
6 is a bottom view of a nozzle assembly constituting an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, some embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail through exemplary drawings. It should be noted that in adding reference numerals to the components of each drawing, the same components have the same reference numerals as possible even though they are displayed on different drawings. In addition, in describing the embodiments of the present invention, when it is determined that detailed descriptions of related well-known structures or functions interfere with the understanding of the embodiments of the present invention, detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted.

In addition, in describing the components of the embodiments of the present invention, terms such as first, second, A, B, (a), (b), and the like can be used. These terms are only for distinguishing the component from other components, and the nature, order, or order of the component is not limited by the term. When a component is described as being "connected", "coupled" or "connected" to another component, that component may be directly connected to or connected to the other component, but another component between each component It should be understood that may be "connected", "coupled" or "connected".

In this specification, in order to clearly describe the structure and operation of the nozzle assembly and the cooling support frame, all of the electric wires connected to the heating block and the electric wires connected to the feeding part and the fan, which are difficult to see as main features, will be omitted.

A preferred embodiment of the nozzle assembly of the present invention will be described.

The nozzle assembly is composed of a nozzle unit 10 and a cooling unit 30. The nozzle unit 10 includes a main body 11 and a nozzle 12, a cooling fin 13, a heating block 14, and an insulating cover 15, and the cooling unit 30 includes a support unit 31 It is configured to include a plurality of fans, a plurality of clamping portions and mounting portions 40. The nozzle unit 10 and the cooling unit 30 are each assembled and can be easily detached. Hereinafter, each configuration will be described in detail.

5, the body 11 of the nozzle unit 10 is formed in a cylindrical shape. The main body 11 is formed with a feeding channel 12 'through which filaments are inserted and passed along the longitudinal direction of the main body 11 in the center.

Cooling fins 13 are formed on the outer surface of the body 11. The cooling fin 13 prevents the temperature of the main body 11 from excessively rising. The cooling fins 13 protrude in the circumferential direction along the edges of the main body 11, and a plurality of cooling fins 13 protrude at regular intervals along the longitudinal direction of the main body 11 so as to have a large area. do. The shape of the cooling fin 13 is not limited, but is preferably formed to correspond to the inner circumferential shape of the mounting portion 40 to be described later. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the cooling fin 13 has a cylindrical shape after the tip.

A nozzle 12 is formed at the bottom of the body 11. The nozzle 12 discharges the filament passing through the feeding channel 12 'to the outside. Since the nozzle 12 needs to maintain the state in which the filaments are melted, it is necessary to maintain a high temperature and be less affected by external influences. Meanwhile, the nozzle 12 may be coated with Teflon so that the molten filament does not stick to the tip of the nozzle 12.

A heating block 14 is installed between the nozzle 12 and the main body 11. The heating block 14 is formed at the lower end of the feeding channel 12 'to generate heat. The heat generated from the heating block 14 melts the filament passing through the inside of the feeding channel 12 'and is discharged through the nozzle 12. The heating block 14 is disposed adjacent to the nozzle 12 so that the nozzle 12 can maintain a high temperature.

The main body 11, the heating block 14, and the nozzle 12 are integrally formed so that the feeding channel 12 'that penetrates through the inside is continuously and seamlessly formed so that the filament is clogged or caught during transportation. prevent.

The nozzle 12 and the heating block 14 are covered with an insulating cover 15. The insulating cover 15 is formed of a material such as a thermosetting resin having excellent heat resistance. The insulating cover 15 is coupled to surround the outer surface of the nozzle 12 and the heating block 14, the nozzle 12 is in direct contact with the air discharged from the wind outlet 35 to be described later, the nozzle 12 ) Prevents cooling, and the heat of the heating block 14 is not scattered, so that the temperature of the nozzle 12 can be stably maintained and the thermal efficiency of the heating block 14 can be increased. In addition, the heating block 14 and the nozzle 12 are exposed to protect the user from the risk of burns.

Referring to FIG. 2, the cooling unit 30 includes a support unit 31 and first and second ventilation guides 32 and 33. The support portion 31 has a thin rectangular plate shape, the nozzle portion 10 is coupled to one side of the support portion 31, the cooling fan 31 'is seated on the other side. In the center of the support portion 31, a cooling fan 31 'is seated to form a hole (not shown) through which air passes. The support portion 31 has a wide surface facing the body 11 so that the nozzle portion 10 can be coupled to one side. On the other side of the support portion 31, the cooling fan 31 'is fixed by fastening means such as a bolt.

Referring to FIG. 3, a cooling guide 31a protrudes toward the main body 11 at a lower end of the support part 31. A cooling channel 31b is formed inside the cooling guide 31a. The cooling channel (31b) is formed by bending the wind of the cooling fan (31 ') blowing horizontally in the vertical direction to be discharged. The cooling guide 31a changes the direction of the wind so that the wind generated through the cooling fan 31 'can be moved toward the cooling fin 13 of the main body 11.

The first ventilation guide 32 and the second ventilation guide 33 are symmetrically formed on both sides of the support portion 31. The first and second ventilation guides 32 and 33 may be integrally formed with the support portion 31 or may be fastened in a mechanical manner by means of coupling. In this embodiment, the support portion 31 and the first and second ventilation guides 32 and 33 are integrally formed. The first and second ventilation guides 32 and 33 are formed in a direction substantially perpendicular to a direction in which the support part 31 is disposed to surround the nozzle part 10.

A first cooling fan 32 'and a second cooling fan 33' are mounted on the first and second ventilation guides 32 and 33, respectively, and the first and second ventilation guides 32 and 33 are provided. It is pressed and fixed by the first clamping portion 32a and the second clamping portion 33a protruding from it. In addition to the first clamping portion 32a and the second clamping portion 33a, the first and second cooling fans 32 'and 33' are provided to the first and second ventilation guides 32 and 33 through additional fastening means. Can be fixed. The first and second cooling fans 32 'and 33' generate wind in the longitudinal direction of the main body 11.

Ventilation channels 34 are formed in the first and second ventilation guides 32 and 33, respectively. The ventilation channel 34 is formed to be bent so that the wind of the first and second cooling fans 32 'and 33' blowing in the vertical direction is diverted in the horizontal direction.

The ventilation channel 34 communicates with the wind outlets 35 formed in the first and second ventilation guides 32 and 33. As the ventilation channel 34 moves toward the wind outlet 35, the area of its cross section becomes narrower and the area of the wind outlet 35 is formed to be the narrowest. The ventilation channel 34 can effectively circulate the wind because the speed of the wind blowing from the first and second cooling fans 32 'and 33' increases due to the structure narrowing toward the wind outlet 35. . A wind guide (not shown) is spirally formed on the inner surface of the ventilation channel 34 to cause vortex.

The wind outlet 35 is opened toward the nozzle 12. By this structure, the wind generated by the first and second cooling fans 32 'and 33' moves toward the nozzle 12 to lower the temperature of the molten filament discharged from the nozzle 12 and speed up the curing. Do it quickly. The wind outlet 35 is formed in the first and second ventilation guides 32 and 33, respectively, and is disposed in a form facing the nozzle 12 in front. Therefore, the wind blowing through the wind outlets 35 facing each other may collide with each other to generate vortices, thereby uniformly cooling the tip of the nozzle 12 as a whole. On the other hand, in this embodiment, the first and second ventilation guides 32 and 33 are formed to be inclined downward so that the wind outlet 35 is formed to point to the tip of the nozzle 12. That is, the wind outlet 35 is formed to be inclined downward in the direction indicated by the tip of the nozzle 12. By this structure, the nozzle 12 is less affected by wind. In addition, since the wind can be more directly transferred to the molten filament discharged from the nozzle 12, the curing time of the molten filament can be further shortened.

Meanwhile, in order to prevent the nozzle 12 from directly contacting and cooling the air discharged from the wind outlet 35, the insulating cover 15 wraps the outer surfaces of the nozzle 12 and the heating block 14 To be combined.

A mounting portion 40 is fixed to the front surface of the support portion 31. That is, the cooling fan 31 'and the mounting portion 40 are fixed by being combined into one by a fastening means such as a bolt with the support portion 31 therebetween. The mounting part 40 is fixed to surround the outer surface of the body 11 of the nozzle part 10. In more detail, it is combined with the main body 11 in a shape surrounding the front ends of the plurality of cooling fins 13 protruding out of the main body 11. A supporting rib 41 protrudes from the inner circumferential surface of the mounting portion 40 and is caught by the cooling fin 13, thereby increasing the coupling force between the mounting portion 40 and the cooling fin 13. When the nozzle unit 10 and the mounting unit 40 are coupled, fastening means such as bolts and screws may be additionally used to increase the bonding force between the nozzle unit 10 and the mounting unit 40.

Next, a description will be given of how the nozzle unit 10 and the cooling unit 30 operate in combination.

When the cooling fin 13 protruding from the outer surface of the main body 11 is combined with the mounting portion 40, the nozzle portion 10 and the cooling portion 30 are completed. At this time, the tip of the nozzle 12 is located between the wind outlets 35 of the first and second ventilation guides 32 and 33.

When a wire-shaped filament is drawn into the feeding channel 12 'by an operation of a feeding unit (not shown), the filament is melted in the feeding channel 12' by heat generated from the heating block 14 do. At this time, the cooling fan 31 'generates a wind toward the main body 11 to properly maintain the temperature in the feeding channel 12'. If the temperature is too high, the filament introduced through the feeding part (not shown) starts to melt before it enters the feeding channel 12 'and flows back and becomes clogged. Needs to be maintained.

The molten filament is discharged through the nozzle 12. The wind generated from the first cooling fan 32 'and the second cooling fan 33' passes through the ventilation channel 34 and the wind outlet 35 to cool the tip of the nozzle 12. At the tip of the nozzle 12, since the filament is discharged in a molten state, the filament is cured faster by the wind generated from the first cooling fan 32 'and the second cooling fan 33'. At this time, the ventilation channel 34 is formed so that the area of the cross section becomes narrower toward the wind outlet 35, so that the wind moves faster. In addition, since the wind outlets 35 are arranged to face the nozzles 12, the wind discharged through each of the wind outlets 35 collides with each other near the nozzles 12 to generate vortices. . When vortex of air is generated in the vicinity of the nozzle 12, it can be cured by evenly cooling the molten filament by cooling to a range surrounding the nozzle 12. At this time, the nozzle 12 is covered with the insulating cover 15, so even if the wind blows, it prevents heat transfer to the inside of the nozzle 12, so that the temperature of the nozzle 12 is not prevented from dropping rapidly. do.

In the above, even if all the components constituting the embodiment according to the present invention are described as being combined or operated as one, the present invention is not necessarily limited to these embodiments. That is, if it is within the scope of the present invention, all of the components may be selectively combined and operated. In addition, the terms "include", "consist" or "have" as described above mean that the corresponding component can be intrinsic, unless specifically stated to the contrary, excluding other components. It should be construed that it may contain other components. All terms, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as generally understood by a person skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains, unless otherwise defined. Commonly used terms, such as predefined terms, should be interpreted as being consistent with the contextual meaning of the related art, and are not to be interpreted as ideal or excessively formal meanings unless explicitly defined in the present invention.

The above description is merely illustrative of the technical idea of the present invention, and those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains may make various modifications and variations without departing from the essential characteristics of the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention are not intended to limit the technical spirit of the present invention, but to explain, and the scope of the technical spirit of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. The scope of protection of the present invention should be interpreted by the claims below, and all technical spirits within the scope equivalent thereto should be interpreted as being included in the scope of the present invention.

10: nozzle unit 11: body
12: Nozzle 12 ': Feeding channel
13: cooling fin 14: heating block
15: insulation cover 30: cooling unit
31: support 31a: cooling guide
31b: cooling channel 31 ': cooling fan
32: first ventilation guide 32a: first clamping part
32 ': 1st cooling fan 33: 2nd ventilation guide
33a: 2nd clamping part 33 ': 2nd cooling fan
34: ventilation channel 35: wind outlet
40: mounting portion 41: support rib

Claims (12)

The nozzle is provided with a nozzle through which the feeding channel is formed, through which the filament is discharged,
A mounting portion coupled to the nozzle portion,
It includes a support unit coupled to the mounting portion, a cooling unit provided with a first ventilation guide and a second ventilation guide connected to the support unit and having a ventilation channel formed therein,
A cooling fan is fixed to the support part, and a first cooling fan and a second cooling fan are respectively seated and fixed to the first ventilation guide and the second ventilation guide,
The first ventilation guide and the second ventilation guide are nozzle assemblies arranged to face each other with the nozzle interposed therebetween.
The method of claim 1, wherein the nozzle unit
The main body through which the feeding channel through which the filament enters is formed, and
A plurality of cooling fins protruding from the outer surface of the main body,
A nozzle for discharging the filament,
A nozzle assembly including a heating block provided between the nozzle and the body to melt the introduced filament.
The nozzle assembly according to claim 2, wherein the main body, the nozzle and the heating block are integrally formed such that the feeding channel continuously penetrates the inner surfaces of the main body, the nozzle and the heating block.
According to claim 2, Nozzle assembly is formed with a heat insulating cover is coupled to surround the outer surface of the nozzle and the heating block.
The method of claim 2, wherein the mounting portion is fixed to the nozzle portion by pressing the tip of the cooling fin,
A nozzle assembly that protrudes on the inner surface of the mounting portion and is caught by the cooling fin.
The ventilation channel of claim 1, wherein the ventilation channel is formed to be bent so that the wind of the first and second cooling fans blowing in the vertical direction is diverted in the horizontal direction to be discharged.
A nozzle assembly in communication with a wind outlet opening in the first and second ventilation guides toward the front end of the nozzle.
7. The nozzle assembly of claim 6, wherein the area of the cross section becomes narrower as the ventilation channel moves toward the wind outlet.
The nozzle assembly of claim 7, wherein the first and second ventilation guides are formed to be inclined downward so that the wind outlet is formed to point to the tip of the nozzle.
The nozzle assembly of claim 8, wherein a wind guide projecting in a spiral shape to create a vortex is formed on an inner surface of the ventilation channel.
The nozzle assembly of claim 1, wherein a cooling guide having a cooling channel therein protrudes toward the main body.
The nozzle assembly of claim 10, wherein the cooling channel is formed to be bent so as to raise and blow the wind of the cooling fan blowing in the horizontal direction.
12. The method of any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the first ventilation guide and the second ventilation guide include a first clamping part and a first clamping part for pressing and fixing the first cooling fan and the second cooling fan seated on an upper surface. 2 Nozzle assembly with clamping part.

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