RU177332U1 - 3D PRINTER BLOCK - Google Patents

Abstract

The utility model relates to the field of additive technologies and can be used in 3D printers for use in aviation, rocket and space technology, medicine, the automotive industry and other industries. The printing unit of the 3D printer contains a print head, a pump and a container for storing working material, which are interconnected by means of hoses, and a bypass valve is installed at the pump outlet, connected by a hose to a container for storing working material, while the print head contains a contour head and a print node located on one axis. The utility model allows you to increase print speed while maintaining print accuracy. 5 ill.

Description

The technical field to which the utility model relates.

The utility model relates to the field of additive technologies and can be used in 3D printers for use in aviation, rocket and space technology, medicine, the automotive industry and other industries.

State of the art

At the moment, expensive printheads are used to print models using the inkjet method, this technology is called MultiJet Printing (MJP). Using this technology, printers of the S-Max, PolyJet type work. The essence of this technology is the selective application of material using a print head. This method is productive and accurate. The accuracy of the resulting models corresponds to the resolution of the print head. A strip equal to the width of the print head at a speed of up to 150 mm / s is sealed in one pass. The disadvantage of this method is the limited range of materials used. The print media should be suitable for use in this head in many ways. The most important are the viscosity of the liquid, the absence of various inclusions, and the material used for printing should not be too aggressive so as not to damage the print head. Another disadvantage is the high cost of the printheads themselves and the working material.

Another method of inkjet 3D printing is the extrusion of molten plastic through a nozzle, this technology is called Fused Filament. This technology is used in RepRap printers, etc. The advantages of this technology are its cheapness, since plastic thread and the simplicity of the printing unit, which consists of a heating element, a feed mechanism and a nozzle, are used as the working material.

The disadvantage of this method is the low printing speed, the material is squeezed out through only one nozzle, and the application rate of the material is limited by the feed rate of the working material, since the plastic thread must be previously melted.

The prior art system for the additive manufacturing of a three-dimensional object (see WO 2012143923, IPC ВСС 67/00, publ. 10.26.2012), containing the first metering head, configured to scan images and issue the first composition of the building material, the second metering head, made with the possibility of vector scanning and issuing a second composition of building material, as well as a controller for controlling the first and second heads. This 3D printing method is primarily intended for printing electronic circuit boards by applying conductive ink to the surface of a dielectric material. The principle of applying ink is that the supply of material is carried out by selective deposition of droplets of material through a piezoelectric head. This method does not differ from inkjet printing, the only difference is that a separate printhead is used for printing specific materials. The printing method using the piezoelectric principle is sensitive to the used printing fluids and the ability to use a wide range of working materials is limited. In the printhead we offer, the range of materials used is significantly increased, in particular, printing with furan resins and more viscous liquids is possible. The piezoelectric printing method uses complex and expensive printheads in design that require special working conditions and regular maintenance. Our printhead has a lower cost, does not require the use of expensive maintenance, and is easy to repair.

The closest analogue selected for the prototype is the 3D printing method (see application CN 106493939, IPC В29С 64/122, publ. 12/22/2016), which consists in applying the first layer with a spray head and then applying the peripheral layer using a peripheral head. This printing method uses two printing principles that are combined in one 3D printer. First, the material is applied according to the principle of FDM printing, and molten plastic is applied. Then, liquid material is applied using inkjet spray heads. This method implements multi-printing, i.e. printing with various materials. Our proposed printing unit prints with one material, however, to increase the accuracy and speed of printing, two types of printing devices are used, a contour head and a filling unit. The contour head implements vector printing of the product border, and the casting unit fills the internal space of the model section with working material with less accuracy, but with a higher speed. However, the print accuracy of the resulting products is determined by the contour head. In fact, our proposed printing unit and the selected prototype implement various printing methods. The printing method of the prototype implements the multi-printing method, our proposed printing unit is aimed at printing with one material without the use of inkjet printheads.

In the prototype there are no spray heads that are able to fill the section of the model with high speed, thus, our method allows us to print much faster without compromising quality.

Utility Model Essence

The objective of the utility model is to replace the industrial print head with a print unit for printing 3D models by the inkjet method.

The technical result is an increase in print speed.

The technical result is achieved due to the printing unit of a 3D printer containing a print head, a pump and a container for storing working material, which are interconnected by hoses, moreover, an overflow valve is installed at the pump outlet, connected by a hose to a container for storing working material, while printing the head contains a contour head and a printing unit located on the same axis.

Brief Description of the Drawings

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a printing unit.

FIG. 2 is a general view of a printing unit on a 3D printer.

FIG. 3 is a plan view. Drawing a model border with a contour nozzle.

FIG. 4 is a side view. Front sprayed from the print site.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of filling the circuit with a printing unit. View from above.

The following positions are indicated in the drawings:

1 - contour head; 2 - printing unit; 3 - hose system; 4 - pump; 5 - bypass valve; 6 - capacity for storing working material; 7 - front spray nozzles of the printing unit; 8 - sealed area after the first pass of the printing unit; 9 - the second passage of the printing unit; 10 is a contour formed by a contour nozzle.

Utility Model Implementation

The main technical task is to replace the industrial printhead with a print unit. Replacement caused by certain disadvantages described in the disadvantages of analogues. This technical solution allows for 3D inkjet printing without the use of industrial printheads with increased speed and print quality, and also allows you to expand the range of materials used for printing.

In FIG. 1 shows a diagram of a printing unit. In the design of the printing unit, a pump (4) is used to supply the working material from the tank (6) for storing the working material to the nozzles of the inkjet print head. The pump (4) creates the necessary (set) pressure in the system. The bypass valve (5) is installed at the outlet of the pump (4) and serves to drain the working material back into the tank (6) if the pressure exceeds a predetermined limit. Furan, photopolymer or epoxy can be used as a working material. At the pump outlet (4) behind the bypass valve (5), an inkjet print head is installed, which contains a contour head (1) and a print unit (2) located on the same axis. All elements of the printing unit are interconnected by hoses (3), through which the working material is supplied from the tank (6) through the pump (4) to the printing unit (2) and the contour head (1). The printing unit (2) consists of a series of solenoid valves with nozzles installed on them, which allow filling the working field not pointwise, but over a larger area. The contour head (1) is an electromagnetic valve with a nozzle installed on it, however, unlike the printing unit, a narrowly directed nozzle is installed on it. The contour head (1) feeds the working material through one nozzle and is designed to “draw” the model boundary of a given thickness. The control of the printing unit (2) and the contour head (1) is carried out using a microcontroller. The printing unit, unlike the contour nozzle, allows you to fill the working field not pointwise, but over a larger area.

The printing unit operates as follows.

At the beginning, the contour head (1) applies the working material along the contour of the section of the manufactured model, depending on the print settings, you can choose the thickness of the contour (Fig. 3 shows the drawing of the model border by the contour nozzle.). The thickness of the contour depends on the resolution of the nozzle of the contour head (1). After constructing the border of the printed model, the printing unit (2) passes over the surface of the desktop and fills in the unpainted areas of the model (Fig. 4 and Fig. 5 show the spray torch by the printing unit and the outline painting scheme). A preliminary drawing of the outline of the model is necessary, since the printing unit consists of a number of nozzles and has a low print resolution. Using the direct printing unit (2), it is not possible to print an exact section of the model. Thus, printing consists of two stages: 1 - construction of the section border using a contour nozzle; 2 - filling the internal space of the model using the print node. A contour is formed for each new layer in accordance with the current section.

The printing unit (2) and the contour head (1) are located on the movable portal beam and can move along two coordinates X and Y.

Printing of the model is carried out using a printing unit having a different principle of operation than traditional printheads.

Printing is as follows.

The working fluid is pumped to the print unit and the contour head through a piping system (hoses). To create the pressure necessary for the operation, a bypass valve is provided in the system, which dumps part of the working fluid back into the storage capacity of the working material when pressure is exceeded. The printing process itself consists of two stages.

1. A contour nozzle is applied to the working fluid along the contour of the section of the model.

2. The printing unit fills the internal space of the constructed circuit at the first printing stage.

Thus, layer by layer all sections of the model are printed.

All the features of the utility model formula is an integral part of the printing unit, which are aimed at achieving the task and technical result.

Claims (1)

A 3D printer printing unit comprising a print head, a pump and a storage container for working material, which are interconnected by hoses, characterized in that a bypass valve is installed at the pump outlet, connected by a hose to a storage container for the working material, the print head comprising a contour head and a printing unit located on the same axis.

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