RU209336U1 - CONSTRUCTION PRINTER EXTRUDER MIXER - Google Patents

Abstract

The utility model relates to the field of additive manufacturing, in particular to a construction printer extruder mixer. The technical result achieved by the solution is to improve the quality of mixing of the components, increase the reliability of the device. The specified technical result is achieved due to the fact that a construction printer extruder mixer has been developed, containing a mixing chamber made in the form of a cylindrical body; installed in the mixing chamber axis with a plurality of blades, made with the possibility of rotation; a drive configured to cause the axis to rotate; an inlet configured to receive the dry mixture from the end part of the mixing chamber; characterized in that the drive is installed on the opposite side of the input for receiving the dry mixture; the mixing chamber contains inputs for introducing water and additives.

Description

Field of technology to which the utility model belongs

The utility model relates to the field of additive manufacturing, in particular to a construction printer extruder mixer.

State of the art

A 3D printing device is known (KR20160068565A, publ. 06/15/2016), which discloses the use of a mixer in the nozzle of a construction printer.

However, this solution does not disclose the design features of the mixer.

Known, selected as a prototype, is a mixer (US20190047176A1, publ. 05/09/2019), which contains a drum having at least one inlet and one outlet. This mixer contains a drive and a mixing shaft, which is located in the drum and connected to the drive. In addition, the mixer includes a transport device, which is located in the drum and is located on the same axis as the mixing shaft.

However, this solution uses a mixer of a different design: the inlets for supplying the components of the mixture are located on the side (which increases the risk of blocking the inlet), the mixing means are pins that do not have high characteristics in terms of mixing the components.

Utility Model Disclosure

In one aspect of the utility model, a construction printer extruder mixer is disclosed, comprising

a mixing chamber made in the form of a cylindrical body;

installed in the mixing chamber axis with a plurality of blades, made with the possibility of rotation;

a drive configured to cause the axis to rotate;

- input for receiving dry mixture from the end part of the mixing chamber

characterized by the fact that

the drive is installed on the opposite side from the inlet for receiving the dry mixture;

the mixing chamber contains inputs for introducing water and additives.

In additional aspects, it is disclosed that the mixer further comprises nozzles for flushing the mixing chamber; mixing chamber purge inlets; the mixing chamber is a cylindrical body of variable diameter; the blades are configured to move the mixture to the exit; the blades are installed with a rotation that ensures the advancement of the mixture; some of the blades are movable and some of the blades are fixed.

The main objective of the claimed utility model to be solved is the high-quality mixing of the components supplied to the mixer of the extruder of a construction printer.

The essence of the utility model lies in the fact that in the proposed design of the mixer, the dry component is fed through the end of the cylindrical body, the liquid components are fed through the holes on the side surface of the body, the rotating shaft with the help of blades mixes the components qualitatively to obtain a homogeneous mixture.

The technical result achieved by the solution is to improve the quality of the mixing of the components.

Brief description of the drawings

Fig.1. shows a block diagram of an extruder with a mixture preparation unit (mixer).

2 schematically shows the design of the extruder.

Implementation of the utility model

Known extruders, as a rule, are a container containing concrete with a dosing device, such a technical solution makes it possible to issue only pre-prepared concrete of an unchanged composition. There are a number of solutions in which the dry mix and the necessary liquids are fed into the extruder, and the mixing takes place directly in the extruder, however, the quality of such mixing is extremely low due to the fact that both the means for supplying the mortar components (concrete) and the mixing means are on the same shaft, in one housing.

Usually, when building buildings using a construction 3D printer, it is necessary to prepare a large volume of the mixture in advance, store it somewhere and gradually pump it into the mentioned printer. With such an implementation, unforeseen downtime leads to damage to pre-prepared concrete (mortar), additional equipment is required for the preparation of concrete (mortar).

To achieve the best results, it is necessary to use mixtures with different compositions (different properties) in different areas of the building. Bearing walls must be made from a mixture that provides a large bearing capacity, interior partitions can be made from a mixture with a lower bearing capacity (of a different composition), areas above the openings must have increased strength, etc.

Since it is impossible to keep many containers with concrete / mortar with different compositions on the construction site and constantly switch the supply from one container to another, the task of creating an extruder that can independently prepare a building mixture with the required properties becomes relevant.

The extruder shown in Fig. 1 consists of a mixture preparation unit 101, a mixture output unit 102, a cement-containing mixture supply unit 103, a water supply unit (not shown in FIG. 1), an additive supply unit 105.

The block 101 for preparing the mixture is a cylindrical container containing inputs for supplying all the necessary components: a cement-containing mixture (or its equivalent) from the dry component supply block 103, water from the water supply block, additives from the additive supply block 105. Additives (additives) are used to modify the properties of the resulting mixture.

The supply of all components is carried out through the control of the appropriate means: the supply of the cement-containing mixture is controlled by setting the screw speed with known parameters, the water supply is carried out through the control of the water supply valve (with control of the flow meter readings), the supply of the additive or additives is carried out through the control of the valve / additive supply valves / additives (with control of indications of a flowmeter/flowmeters).

Blocks 102, 103, 105 are not separately disclosed in detail, since they do not relate to the essence of the claimed solution. For a person skilled in the art it is clear how they can be implemented to ensure the operability of the block 101 preparation of the mixture.

Block 103 may be a cylindrical body with an auger for dosing dry mix into block 101, water and additive supply blocks are hoses with controlled valves and flow meters. The connection of the blocks to each other is shown in Fig. 2. Connecting blocks 101 and 102 at an angle provides better mixing, since the prepared mixture does not fall under the action of gravity from one block to another, but moves in a controlled manner as it is prepared.

The composition of the components to be supplied to the mixing unit 101 determines the properties of the resulting product. However, these properties will be achieved only in the case of high-quality mixing (ensuring the uniformity of the composition over the volume of the mixture). For this purpose, the mixture preparation unit 101, which is a cylindrical container, contains a drive for rotating a shaft with blades mounted on it. When the shaft with blades rotates, the components of the mixture are mixed to ensure the uniformity of the composition. For different mixtures, their own shaft rotation speed can be selected. The location of the drive at the opposite end from the end inlet for the cement-containing mixture makes it easy to control the speed of rotation of the shaft with blades (in the known solutions of the prior art, the feed screw and the shaft with blades are on the same axis and are controlled by one drive), which improves the quality of mixing.

The extruder operates continuously, so the supply of a cement-containing mixture in the form of a dry powder, the supply of water, the supply of liquid (preferably) additives occur continuously. The supply of the cement-containing mixture is carried out by a screw, that is, the mass of the cement-containing mixture is continuously moving towards the block 101 for preparing the mixture, similarly, water and additive / additives are continuously supplied at a given flow rate. In block 101, the incoming mixture of components is continuously mixed, and the mixing process advances the prepared mixture to the exit of block 101 with a small intensity to ensure high-quality mixing of the mixture.

The outlet of the mixture preparation unit 101 is connected to the inlet of the mixture dispensing unit 102, which is also a cylindrical container with an installed screw that moves the prepared mixture towards the nozzle 106 and dispenses it through the said nozzle 106.

The extruder can be manually controlled, in which case the operator himself controls the supply of the mixture components, having information about which part of the structure the construction printer prints, but it is preferable that this process be controlled by a circuit specially designed for this. The circuit may be implemented on the basis of an application-specific integrated circuit, a controller, or a processor. The circuit sets the mode of supply of the mixture components (by controlling the blocks for supplying a cement-containing mixture, supplying water, supplying additives), mixing mode (by controlling the screw drive of block 101), the dispensing mode (by controlling the screw drive of block 102).

Specific software is not disclosed here in detail, as it does not relate to the essence of the solution.

The drives may be servos, stepper motors, electric motors, or any other suitable means.

In some embodiments, block 101, which is a mixing chamber, is implemented as a cylinder with a variable diameter, in the central part the diameter of the cylinder is greater than the diameters at the ends of the cylinder, this solution allows you to create an air space inside the mixing chamber, which allows you to better mix the cement-containing mixture and liquid components .

In some embodiments, the blades on the mixing chamber shaft are configured to move the mixture from inlet to outlet while mixing. The blades are elongated plates (or perforated plates, and the shape is not essential in this solution), fixed perpendicular to the shaft with rotation relative to its axis at an angle of -10° to +20°. The total angle of rotation must be greater than zero in order to push the mixture towards the exit. In some embodiments, paddles with negative and positive turns alternate for better mixing of the mixture.

In some embodiments, some of the blades are made stationary, and some - rotating, this design provides better mixing of the mixture. Fixed blades can be fixed on the body of the mixing chamber.

The mixing chamber contains inlets on the side surface for supplying water and additives, to improve the quality of mixing, the inlets can contain nozzles that atomize the liquid and provide better initial conditions for mixing in terms of mixture uniformity.

There can be several water supply nozzles, for example, 3 or 4, they can also be used to flush the extruder after completion of work. By supplying water through the nozzles, it is possible to wash off a significant part of the mixture from the walls of the mixing chamber and from the blades, which improves the performance of the device. In some embodiments, an air inlet is also provided to blow through the extruder and dry it, which also improves its performance, as deterioration of the extruder elements due to remaining water and the resulting corrosion is prevented.

Description of the device

The construction printer includes a means for moving the extruder, which may be a portal structure; a structure containing cables and drives; boom swivel structure or other suitable structure.

An extruder is attached to the means of movement, hoses are connected to it for supplying water, additives, and a cement-containing mixture; wires for supplying control electrical signals.

Under the action of control signals from the control unit, the extruder produces the building mixture prepared by it - layer by layer, forming a building. At the same time, the control of the movement of the extruder and the preparation and delivery of the mixture is carried out by a remote control unit, the operation of which does not relate to the essence of the proposed solution.

A predetermined amount of cement-containing mixture, a predetermined amount of water and additives are supplied to block 101, block 101 continuously mixes the supplied components with the help of blades so as to ensure a high-quality (homogeneous) mass of the final building mixture at the outlet.

Upon completion of work, the extruder can be washed and dried.

The embodiments are not limited to the embodiments described here, a specialist in the field of technology, based on the information set forth in the description and the knowledge of the prior art, other embodiments of the utility model will become apparent that do not go beyond the essence and scope of this utility model.

Elements mentioned in the singular do not exclude the plurality of elements, unless otherwise specified.

The functional connection of elements should be understood as a connection that ensures the correct interaction of these elements with each other and the implementation of one or another functionality of the elements. Particular examples of functional communication may be communication with the ability to exchange information, communication with the ability to transmit electric current, communication with the ability to transmit mechanical motion, communication with the ability to transmit light, sound, electromagnetic or mechanical vibrations, etc. The specific type of functional connection is determined by the nature of the interaction of the mentioned elements, and, unless otherwise indicated, is provided by well-known means, using principles well-known in the art.

The methods disclosed herein contain one or more steps or actions to achieve the described method. The steps and/or steps of the method may replace each other without departing from the scope of the claims of the utility model. In other words, if a specific order of steps or actions is not defined, the order and/or use of specific steps and/or actions can be changed without going beyond the scope of the claims of the utility model.

The application does not indicate specific software and hardware for the implementation of blocks in the drawings, but a specialist in the field of technology should understand that the essence of the utility model is not limited to a specific software or hardware implementation, and therefore any software and hardware can be used to implement the utility model. known in the art. Thus, hardware may be implemented in one or more ASICs, digital signal processors, digital signal processors, programmable logic devices, user programmable gate arrays, processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, electronic devices, other electronic modules configured to perform the functions described in this document, a computer, or a combination of the above.

Although the exemplary embodiments have been described in detail and shown in the accompanying drawings, it should be understood that such embodiments are illustrative only and are not intended to limit the wider utility model, and that the utility model should not be limited to the particular arrangements shown and described, and designs, as various other modifications may be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Features mentioned in various dependent claims, as well as implementations disclosed in various parts of the description, can be combined to achieve beneficial effects, even if the possibility of such a combination is not explicitly disclosed.

Any numerical values set forth herein or in the figures are intended to include all values from the lower value to the upper value in one unit increments, provided that there is an interval of at least two units between any lower value and any upper value. value. By way of example, if it is stated that the value of a component or value of a process variable such as temperature, pressure, time, and the like, for example, has a value of 1 to 90, preferably 20 to 80, more preferably 30 to 70 , it is understood that values such as 15 to 85, 22 to 68, 43 to 51, 30 to 32, etc. are explicitly listed in this specification. As for values that are less than one, if necessary, one unit element is considered to have a value of 0.0001, 0.001, 0.01, or 0.1. These are merely examples of what is specifically intended, and all possible combinations of multiple values between the lowest value listed and the highest value listed are to be considered expressly stated in this application in this way.

Claims (6)

1. The mixer of the extruder of a construction printer, containing a mixing chamber made in the form of a cylindrical body; installed in the mixing chamber axis with a plurality of blades, made with the possibility of rotation; a drive configured to cause the axis to rotate; an inlet configured to receive a dry mixture from the end part of the mixing chamber, characterized in that the drive is installed on the opposite side from the inlet for receiving the dry mixture; the mixing chamber contains inlets for water and additives; the mixing chamber is a cylindrical body of variable diameter. 2. Mixer according to claim 1, additionally containing nozzles for washing the mixing chamber. 3. Mixer according to claim 1, additionally containing nozzles for purging the mixing chamber. 4. The mixer according to claim 1, in which the blades are configured to advance the mixture to the outlet 5. The mixer according to claim 5, in which the blades are installed with an inclination to ensure the advancement of the mixture. 6. The mixer according to claim 1, wherein part of the blades are movable and part of the blades are stationary.

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