RU2782021C1 - Construction printer extruder - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: additive manufacturing.

SUBSTANCE: group of inventions relates to the field of additive manufacturing. The extruder of the construction printer includes the following units. The dry component supply unit is the first cylindrical housing with a screw installed in it, driven by the first drive. The mixture preparation unit is a cylindrical container, the first input of which is connected to the output of the dry component supply unit, and the output is connected to the input of the mixture delivery unit. Moreover, an axis with many blades is installed in the tank, driven by a second drive. The water supply unit is a channel with a controlled valve, the outlet of which is connected to the second inlet of the mixture preparation unit. The additive supply unit is a channel with a controlled valve, the outlet of which is connected to the third inlet of the mixture preparation unit. The mixture delivery unit is a second cylindrical housing with a screw installed in it, driven by a third drive, and a nozzle is installed at the output of the delivery unit.

EFFECT: increase in the quality of mixing components in the extruder.

5 cl, 2 dwg

Description

The technical field to which the invention belongs

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

State of the art

A 3D printing device is known (KR20160068565A, publ. 06/15/2016), which provides the ability to change the properties of the mixture supplied from the extruder. In the known solution, in order to easily create a three-dimensional structure of concrete or plastic with one device in accordance with the requirements of thermal properties and mechanical strength, a hopper part in which the material is stored and a movable part for moving the nozzle part are provided, and the hopper part includes a first part of the plastic material storage bin; and a second part of the concrete material storage bin. The nozzle unit provides a 3D printing device having a structure in which material is mixed to form a concrete structure or a plastic structure.

However, this solution does not disclose in detail how the concrete is prepared, it is described only in general terms that it is prepared in the nozzle block, the functionality for preparing concrete is not disclosed, regardless of its delivery.

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, in this solution, both the mixing unit and the dispensing unit are structurally one unit, which makes it impossible to control the mixing and feeding process separately, which in turn makes it impossible to create a mixture of different composition.

Disclosure of invention

In one aspect of the invention, a construction printer extruder is disclosed, comprising:

- dry component supply unit;

- water supply unit; doses, synchronized with augers, servo drives and controllers

- additive supply unit;

- mixture preparation unit;

- mixture dispensing unit;

characterized by the fact that

the dry component supply unit is a first cylindrical body with a screw installed in it, driven by the first drive;

the mixture preparation unit is a cylindrical container, the first inlet of which is connected to the outlet of the dry component supply unit, and the outlet is connected to the inlet of the mixture dispensing unit, and an axle with a plurality of blades driven by a second drive is installed in the container;

the water supply unit is a channel with a controlled valve, the output of which is connected to the second input of the mixture preparation unit;

the additive supply unit is a channel with a controlled valve, the output of which is connected to the third input of the mixture preparation unit;

the mixture dispensing unit is a second cylindrical body with a screw installed in it, driven by a third drive, and a nozzle is installed at the outlet of the dispensing unit.

In another aspect of the invention, a method for operating an extruder is disclosed, comprising the steps of:

- the dry component is supplied to the mixture preparation unit using the dry component supply unit;

- water is supplied to the mixture preparation unit using a water supply unit;

- the additive is supplied to the mixture preparation unit using the additive supply unit;

- dispense the prepared mixture using the mixture dispensing unit,

characterized by the fact that

- to supply the dry component, the feed screw of the dry component supply unit is actuated by means of the first drive;

- to prepare the mixture, the shaft with mixing blades of the mixture preparation unit is driven using the second drive;

- to dispense the mixture, the mixture dispensing screw of the mixture dispensing unit is actuated by means of a third drive.

In additional aspects, it is disclosed that in the working position, the supply unit and the mixing unit are located essentially on the first axis inclined to the vertical at an angle of 30 to 60 degrees; in the working position, the mixture delivery unit is located on the second axis, inclined relative to the vertical at an angle of 90 to 135 degrees, the nozzle is located essentially vertically; a damper is installed at the inlet of the dry component supply unit.

The main problem solved by the claimed invention is the qualitative mixing of the components supplied to the extruder.

The essence of the invention lies in the fact that the proposed extruder contains a separate block for preparing the mixture (mortar or concrete) and a separate block for dispensing the mixture, their operation is controlled by separate drives, which allows you to thoroughly and efficiently mix the mixture components.

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

Brief description of the drawings

Fig. 1. Shows the block diagram of the extruder.

Fig. 2 schematically shows the construction of an extruder.

Implementation of the invention

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 deterioration of 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 proposed extruder shown in Fig. 1 consists of a separate block 101 for the preparation of the mixture and a separate block 102 for the issuance of the mixture, each of the blocks has its own characteristics that affect the possibility of creating a mixture with the required properties.

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 104, 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 rotational speed of the screw 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). Additives serve to provide the necessary characteristics of the solution.

The individual control units are not shown in FIG. 1, their implementation is standard and one skilled in the art will be able to implement them without any creative effort.

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.

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. Due to the separate control of the speed of rotation of the screw for supplying the cement-containing mixture and the speed of rotation of the shaft with blades, it is possible to achieve 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 and dispenses it through the said nozzle. Moreover, the screw block 102 is controlled by its drive, which makes it possible to dose the prepared mixture at a given speed.

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 feed mode of the mixture components (by controlling blocks 103-105), the mixing mode (by controlling the screw drive of block 101), the issuing mode (by controlling the screw drive of block 102).

Specific software is not disclosed in detail here, a person skilled in the art, without making creative efforts, will be able to implement control of the means of supplying components to provide the required quantitative composition of the mixture, as well as control of mixing and dispensing to ensure that the required amount of quality mixture is dispensed.

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

The dry component supply unit 103 is a cylindrical container with a screw, at the inlet of which the powder of the cement-containing mixture is fed. Block 103 contains a drive to bring the screw into rotation. The means of transmitting force from the drive to the axis of the screw are not disclosed here in detail, since they do not relate to the essence of the solution. These means can be implemented in the form of a belt drive or a gear drive.

The water supply unit 104 is a controlled valve with a flow meter. Water is supplied to the inlet of block 104, with the help of an electronic valve and under the control of a flow meter, block 104 supplies the required amount of water to block 101 for preparing the mixture. Preferably, the supply is carried out using nozzles in order to improve the quality of the resulting mixture.

The additive delivery unit 105 is a pilot operated valve with a flow meter or a plurality of pilot valves with flow meters. Water enters the input (inputs) of block 105, with the help of an electronic valve and under the control of a flow meter, block 104 supplies the required amount of water to block 101 for preparing the mixture. Preferably, the supply is carried out using nozzles in order to improve the quality of the resulting mixture.

To ensure the possibility of washing the extruder after the end of work, a damper is provided in block 103, which blocks the flow of the cement-containing mixture. After the cement-containing mixture is completely removed from the block 103, the water supply for washing is turned on, the extruder is completely washed from the remains of the cement-containing mixture and dried, preferably by means of an air stream. Means for supplying water for washing and means for supplying air flow are not shown in the drawings, since their implementation does not relate to the essence of the solution and is not associated with creative efforts.

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, forming a building layer by layer. In this case, the movement of the extruder and the preparation and delivery of the mixture is controlled by a remote control unit, the operation of which is not related to the essence of the proposed solution.

Embodiment 1

In this embodiment, a building system is claimed, comprising an extruder, an extruder mover, a control unit for the extruder mover, and an extruder.

The means of movement (preferably a portal) is mounted on the site where the building is planned to be erected. The portal is used to move the extruder along the trajectory determined by the building plan (previously loaded into the control unit). As the extruder moves, according to signals from the control unit, it produces a mixture (concrete or mortar) for the layer-by-layer formation of the building.

In the proposed system, dry powder (cement-containing mixture), water and additives are continuously supplied to the extruder, the supply of components is controlled using a control unit, which also controls:

- an auger for supplying a cement-containing mixture (regulates the speed of its rotation) using the first drive to provide a given amount of a cement-containing mixture at the inlet of the mixture preparation unit 101;

- a valve of the water supply line to provide a predetermined amount of water at the inlet of the mixture preparation unit 101 (with operation control based on the readings of the flow meter). The supply is preferably carried out using nozzles, which, even at the inlet of the mixing unit 101, provide an increased uniformity of water distribution in the volume of the cement-containing mixture;

- a valve for the additive supply line to provide a predetermined amount of additives at the inlet of the mixture preparation unit 101 (with operation control based on the readings of the flow meter). The supply is preferably carried out using nozzles, which, even at the inlet of the block 101 for preparing the mixture, provide an increased uniformity of distribution of the additive in the volume of the cement-containing mixture;

- the process of preparing the mixture, controlling the intensity of mixing the mixture using the second drive;

- an auger for dispensing the finished mixture, controlling the third drive.

The functional communication lines between the control unit and the execution units are preferably wired, however, a variant with wireless communication lines is also possible.

The claimed solution assumes that the inlet of the extruder is always supplied with a flow of cement-containing mixture by means of an external pump, which pumps the cement-containing mixture from an external container; the inlet of the water supply line is always supplied with a flow of water using an external pump that pumps water from an external source, or thanks to a connection to a centralized water supply; the inlet of the additive supply line is always supplied with a sufficient amount of additives by means of a pump and an additive container.

Options with multiple inputs for introducing different additives are possible, in which case a plurality of controlled valves, a plurality of flow meters are used, and additives are supplied to the inputs of additive injection units using pumps.

The control unit controls the extruder and the mover to ensure that the mixture is dispensed at given points in space. The control unit can be implemented on the basis of a PC, a laptop, a specialized integrated circuit, a control panel.

The composition of the prepared mixture is determined by the area of the building that is being printed at the moment or will be printed after some time (the delay is due to the fact that some time passes from the moment the preparation of the mixture starts until it is issued, which can be determined in practice or estimated theoretically).

When it is determined that the outer wall of the building is being printed, the first composition of the components (cement-containing mixture, water, additives) is fed into the extruder, this set is mixed, the output mixture is applied. When it is determined that after, for example, 10 seconds, the inner wall will need to be printed, the extruder control unit commands the cement feed screw, the water supply valve, and the additive supply valve to provide a second mixture output. If necessary, signals are sent to the mixing unit 101 to provide, for example, more intensive mixing if the composition of the mixture so requires. After 10 seconds, a mixture of a different composition enters the extruder outlet and the process of printing the inner wall begins.

Preferably, even at the design stage, the compositions of the mixture used in different parts of the building were set. In another version, these parameters are set before the building is printed by an engineer who assigns specific mixtures to specific areas.

Embodiment 2

This variant is characterized by the fact that the mixture preparation unit 101 is a cylindrical container in which the axis with fixed blades rotates, some of the blades may not rotate or be fixed on the walls of the container, which provides better mixing. The angle of inclination of the blades to the axis is chosen so as to ensure a slight advance of the mixture from the inlet to the outlet. Thanks to gravity and the rotation of the blades, the mixture is not only mixed, but also moves to the exit.

Preferably, the mixing unit 101 has a variable diameter: it has an extension in the central part. This solution provides the possibility of better mixing, since the prepared mixture is not pushed to the outlet by the incoming cement-containing mixture. In addition, such an expansion provides some air space in the mixing unit 101, which allows better mixing of the mixture components.

Embodiment 3

This embodiment is characterized in that the dispensing unit 102 is formed by a cylindrical body and a nozzle attached thereto, the nozzle being at an angle of 90 to 135 degrees to the body and directed substantially vertically. In addition, the nozzle is rotatable around its axis. Due to the fact that the nozzle outlet has an elongated shape, that is, its maximum length is greater than its maximum width (rectangle, oval, rounded rectangle are examples without exception, but more complex hole shapes can be used), it is possible to set the width of the printed wall. When the nozzle opening is located with the wide side across the printing direction, the maximum width of the wall is provided, when rotated 60 degrees from the above location, the width is half that. In addition, the ability to rotate the nozzle provides the ability to print walls at an angle to each other. This does not require the entire extruder to be rotated, making it easier to print complex structures.

Embodiment 4

It is possible to implement an extruder (FIG. 2) in which block 101 and block 103 are located on a vertical axis, however, an implementation in which block 101 and 103 are located on the same axis, which is inclined to the vertical at an angle of 30 to 60 degrees, is preferable, such an arrangement leads to better mixing of the mixture in the block 101, since the mixture moves at a slower speed through the block 101 due to gravity and is better mixed by the blades of the block 101.

With this design, the mixture dispensing unit 102 is positioned at an angle of 90 to 135 degrees to the vertical (0 to 45 degrees to the horizontal), this solution also reduces the movement of the mixture due to gravity and makes the dispensing more controllable. The nozzle, installed at the outlet of the block 102 in the vertical direction, determines the shape of the output flow of the mixture. Also, this arrangement of blocks reduces the dimensions of the extruder.

An exemplary embodiment of the construction described above is shown in FIG. 2, where symbols 101, 102, 105 correspond to the same blocks in FIG. 1 and block 106 is a nozzle.

Embodiments are not limited to the embodiments described herein, other embodiments of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art based on the information set forth in the description and knowledge of the prior art without going beyond the spirit and scope of the present invention.

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 one another without departing from the scope of the claims. In other words, if no specific order of steps or actions is specified, the order and/or use of specific steps and/or actions may be varied without departing from the scope of the claims.

The application does not specify specific software and hardware for implementing the blocks in the drawings, but it should be clear to a person skilled in the art that the essence of the invention is not limited to a specific software or hardware implementation, and therefore any software and hardware known in the art can be used to implement the invention. the level of technology. 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 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 invention, and that the present invention should not be limited to the particular arrangements and structures shown and described. 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 parameter 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 expressly 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 (24)

1. A construction printer extruder, comprising: - dry component supply unit; - water supply unit; - additive supply unit; - mixture preparation unit; - mixture dispensing unit; characterized by the fact that the dry component supply unit is a first cylindrical body with a screw installed in it, driven by the first drive; the mixture preparation unit is a cylindrical container, the first inlet of which is connected to the outlet of the dry component supply unit, and the outlet is connected to the inlet of the mixture dispensing unit, and an axle with a plurality of blades driven by a second drive is installed in the container; the water supply unit is a channel with a controlled valve, the output of which is connected to the second input of the mixture preparation unit; the additive supply unit is a channel with a controlled valve, the output of which is connected to the third input of the mixture preparation unit; the mixture dispensing unit is a second cylindrical body with a screw installed in it, driven by a third drive, and a nozzle is installed at the outlet of the dispensing unit. 2. The extruder according to claim 1, in which in the working position the dry component supply unit and the mixture preparation unit are located essentially on the first axis inclined to the vertical at an angle of 30 to 60 degrees. 3. The extruder according to claim 1, in which in the working position the mixture delivery unit is located on the second axis, inclined relative to the vertical at an angle of 90 to 135 degrees, the nozzle is located essentially vertically. 4. The extruder according to claim 1, in which a damper is installed at the inlet of the dry component supply unit. 5. The method of operation of the extruder according to claim 1, containing the steps in which: - the dry component is supplied to the mixture preparation unit using the dry component supply unit; - water is supplied to the mixture preparation unit using a water supply unit; - the additive is supplied to the mixture preparation unit using the additive supply unit; - dispense the prepared mixture using the mixture dispensing unit, characterized by the fact that - to supply the dry component, the feed screw of the dry component supply unit is actuated by means of the first drive; - to prepare the mixture, the shaft with mixing blades of the mixture preparation unit is driven using the second drive; - to dispense the mixture, the mixture dispensing screw of the mixture dispensing unit is actuated by means of a third drive.

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