Spray head water bath heating tool for electronic 3D printing

Abstract

The utility model provides a spray head water bath heating tool for electronic 3D printing. The spray head water bath heating tool comprises an upper control system, a constant-sensitivity circulating water bath kettle, a temperature acquisition device, a water circulating flow channel and two clamping pieces connected with each other, the first clamping piece and the second clamping piece are aluminum alloy pieces and are symmetrically arranged, the plate surface of each clamping piece is provided with a mounting groove for accommodating an ink bottle, a liquid pipe, a printing spray head and temperature acquisition equipment and is also provided with a water circulation flow channel connected with a constant-sensitivity circulation water bath kettle, and the two water circulation flow channels wrap the ink bottle, the liquid pipe and the printing spray head; the temperature collecting device is used for collecting ink temperature information and uploading the ink temperature information to the upper control system, and the upper control system can judge whether the ink temperature meets the printing requirement or not and control printing operation or control the constant-sensitivity circulating water bath kettle to adjust the heating temperature to continue heating according to the judgment result. According to the viscosity of different printing inks, constant-temperature heating is achieved, the viscosity of the printing inks is reduced, and the printing effect of the high-viscosity printing inks is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model belongs to the technical field of electronic additive manufacturing, and in particular relates to a nozzle water bath heating tool for electronic 3D printing. Background Art

[0002] Electronic 3D printing is an emerging type of technology that aims to minimize time bottlenecks, waste and manufacturing costs while allowing highly innovative and on-demand manufacturing of customizable electronic products in shorter prototype times. Electronic 3D printing has broad application prospects in the fields of curved circuits and flexible electronics.

[0003] Inkjet printing technology is a type of electronic 3D printing. Inkjet printing technology is digital, non-contact, maskless and material-saving. However, inkjet printing technology generally faces the problem of nozzle clogging during the printing process, and can only print low-viscosity fluids within a specific surface tension range, which limits the types of printing materials used in inkjet printing. In order to print ink materials with high viscosity at room temperature, it is usually necessary to heat the nozzle to reduce the viscosity of the printing material, so as to achieve a good inkjet effect to complete the task of printing three-dimensional entities.

[0004] The existing 3D printing tooling can only heat the substrate, but cannot heat the high-viscosity material, and still cannot completely solve the problem that the high-viscosity material is difficult to eject normally. Therefore, it is urgent to design a nozzle heating tooling for electronic 3D printing, which can heat the printing material to a temperature with a suitable viscosity and then eject it, so as to realize the printing function of high-viscosity materials at room temperature. Utility Model Content

[0005] The purpose of the utility model is to solve the problem that the nozzle is blocked by high-viscosity ink and cannot print, and the existing heating tool cannot directly heat the ink to reduce its viscosity. The utility model provides a nozzle water bath heating tool for electronic 3D printing. The temperature of the ink cartridge and the nozzle is collected by combining the upper control system and the temperature sensor. The constant sensitive circulating water bath is used to heat and maintain the temperature of the ink in the water circulation flow channel in the tool to ensure that the temperature of the ink droplets meets the printing requirements. In the utility model, the heating temperature can be adjusted by the constant sensitive circulating water bath according to the viscosity requirements of different materials, thereby effectively realizing inkjet printing of high-viscosity materials.

[0006] To achieve the above purpose, the technical solution provided by the utility model is:

[0007] A nozzle water bath heating tool for electronic 3D printing, which is special in that it includes a host control system, a constant-sensitive circulating water bath, a temperature acquisition device, a water circulation channel and two mutually connected clamping parts;

[0008] The two clamping members include a first clamping member and a second clamping member, which are symmetrical structural members made of aluminum alloy. Each clamping member plate is provided with a mounting groove for accommodating an ink bottle, a liquid pipe, a printing nozzle and a temperature acquisition device;

[0009] A water circulation channel is provided in each of the first clamping member and the second clamping member. The water circulation channel starts from the water inlet of the clamping member, snakes along the peripheral wall of the ink bottle, the liquid pipe and the installation groove of the print nozzle in sequence, and then communicates with the water outlet of the clamping member; when the first clamping member and the second clamping member are fixed together, the two water circulation channels cooperate to wrap the ink bottle, the liquid pipe and the print nozzle;

[0010] The outlet of the constant sensitive circulating water bath is divided into two branches through a hose, which are respectively connected to the water inlets of the first clamp and the second clamp; the inlet of the constant sensitive circulating water bath is divided into two branches through a hose, which are respectively connected to the water outlets of the first clamp and the second clamp;

[0011] The temperature acquisition device includes a first temperature sensor and a second temperature sensor, which are respectively used to collect temperature information of ink in the ink bottle and the print head in real time and upload it to the upper control system;

[0012] The upper control system can judge whether the ink temperature in the ink bottle and the print head reaches the printing temperature according to the received temperature information. If so, it controls to open the external air pressure controller and air pressure pump connected to the air pipe on the ink bottle to perform the printing operation; otherwise, it controls the constant sensitive circulating water bath to adjust the heating temperature and continue the constant temperature heating;

[0013] The constant temperature water heated by the constant sensitive circulating water bath circulates through two water circulation channels to achieve constant temperature heating of the ink bottle, liquid pipe and ink in the print head.

[0014] Furthermore, the water circulation channel is a serpentine hole formed integrally with the clamp body.

[0015] Furthermore, the clamp body and the water circulation channel, as well as the mounting groove for accommodating the ink bottle, the liquid pipe, the printing nozzle and the temperature collection device are integrally manufactured by 3D printing.

[0016] Furthermore, the upper part of the clamp is a square structure, and the lower part is a conical structure; the installation groove for accommodating the ink bottle, the liquid tube and the first temperature sensor is opened on the square structure, and the installation groove for accommodating the print head and the second temperature sensor is opened on the conical structure.

[0017] Furthermore, a narrow hole is provided on the conical structure and at the installation position of the print head, which is used to observe the state of ink squeezed out of the glass nozzle of the print head through an external ink observation device, so as to control and adjust the heating temperature according to the ink state.

[0018] Furthermore, the ink viewing device is a camera, which is used to take real-time photos of the state of ink squeezed out of the glass nozzle and upload them to an external computer to determine whether the ink state meets the printing requirements through computer analysis.

[0019] Furthermore, the outer surface of the clamp is pasted with silicon dioxide nano aerogel thermal insulation felt.

[0020] Furthermore, a thermally conductive silicone pad is filled in the installation gap between the print head and the clamping member.

[0021] The advantages of the utility model are:

[0022] The utility model provides a heating tool with a water circulation flow channel for wrapping the ink bottle, the liquid pipe and the printing nozzle in two aluminum alloy clamping parts, adopts a water bath circulation heating method, heats the ink to the printing working temperature through heat conduction, reduces the viscosity of the ink, solves the limitation problem of poor printing effect of high-viscosity ink, and improves the printing quality of high-viscosity ink.

[0023] The utility model adopts a water bath circulation method for heating and a constant-sensitive circulating water bath pot to control the temperature of the circulating water. The temperature control is simple and convenient, and effectively ensures the accuracy of the heating temperature, thereby avoiding the problem of insufficient heating temperature or excessive temperature. After the heating temperature is set, the temperature of the circulating water continues to rise until it remains constant after the set temperature, ensuring that the heating effect is stable and controllable.

[0024] The heating device of the utility model can effectively realize inkjet printing of high-viscosity materials. The preset heating temperature of the constant-sensitive water bath can be adjusted according to the viscosity characteristics of different materials to meet the printing requirements, thereby realizing flexible printing of various materials and having strong applicability.

[0025] The utility model has the advantages of simple structure, high reliability and low cost. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] Figure 1 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the two clamping parts of the heating tool of the utility model after assembly, and the constant sensitive circulating water bath pot and the upper control system are not shown in the figure;

[0027] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 Side view of

[0028] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the coordination between the single-sided aluminum block and the ink bottle, liquid pipe, print head and sensor;

[0029] Figure 4 yes Figure 2 The AA cross-sectional view of the aluminum block on the left side shows the water circulation channel structure inside the aluminum block.

[0030] Explanation of the reference numerals: 1-left side clamping piece, 101-left water inlet, 102-left water outlet; 2-right side clamping piece, 201-right water inlet, 202-right water outlet; 3-water circulation channel, 301-ink bottle channel, 302-liquid pipe channel, 303-nozzle channel, 304-return channel; 4-ink bottle, 5-air pipe, 6-liquid pipe; 7-print nozzle, 701-nozzle wire, 702-glass nozzle; 8-first temperature sensor, 9-second temperature sensor, 10-slit hole. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] The embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below. The embodiments are exemplary and intended to be used to explain the present invention, but should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

[0032] Reference Figure 1-Figure 4 , a nozzle water bath heating tool for electronic 3D printing, including a host control system, a constant sensitive circulating water bath, a left clamp 1, a right clamp 2, a water circulation channel 3, a first temperature sensor 8, a second temperature sensor 9, and an ink bottle 3 and a printing nozzle 4 of an inkjet printing device. The left clamp 1 and the right clamp 2 are symmetrically arranged and have exactly the same structure. The left clamp 1 and the right clamp 2 fit each other and are fixed as a whole by a number of screws and pins. When ink droplets block the nozzle outlet during printing or the nozzle needs to be cleaned, it is only necessary to remove the screws and pins connecting the two aluminum alloy blocks and take out the printing device, which is convenient for the installation of the heating tool and the cleaning of the printing parts.

[0033] Aluminum alloy has a high thermal conductivity, which enables it to quickly conduct heat and improve heat transfer efficiency, and it has good machinability, low cost, and good corrosion resistance. Therefore, the left clamping piece 1 and the right clamping piece 2 of the utility model are made of aluminum alloy.

[0034] The left clamping member 1 and the right clamping member 2 are completely symmetrical structures. The left clamping member 1 and the right clamping member 2 are symmetrically provided with mounting grooves adapted to the ink bottle 4, the liquid pipe 6, the print head 7, the first temperature sensor 8 and the second temperature sensor 9, which together form the mounting space of the ink bottle 4, the liquid pipe 6, the print head 7, the first temperature sensor 8 and the second temperature sensor 9. The ink bottle 4 is located above the print head 7. The ink bottle 4 is filled with printing ink, and the top end thereof is connected with an air pipe 5 and a liquid pipe 6, the air pipe 5 is connected to an external air pressure pump, and the ink bottle is connected to the print head 7 through the liquid pipe 6.

[0035] The upper part of the clamp is a square structure, and the lower part is a conical structure; the installation slots for accommodating the ink bottle, the liquid pipe and the first temperature sensor 8 are opened on the square structure, and the installation slots for accommodating the print head body, the print head wire 701, the glass nozzle 702 and the second temperature sensor 9 are opened on the conical structure. The installation slot of the first temperature sensor 8 is located on the side of the installation slot of the ink bottle 4 and on the side away from the liquid pipe 6; the installation slot of the second temperature sensor is located on the side of the print head 7. The first temperature sensor 8 and the second temperature sensor 9 use PT100 temperature sensors, which are used to collect the ink temperature data in the ink bottle and the print head in real time, respectively, and feed it back to the upper control system. The upper control system automatically controls and adjusts the heating temperature of the constant sensitive circulating water bath according to the collected temperature data and heating requirements to ensure the stability of the ink and the printing quality during the printing process.

[0036] Reference Figure 4 A water circulation channel 3 is provided in each of the left clamping member 1 and the right clamping member 2, and the water circulation channel 3 includes an ink bottle channel 301, a liquid pipe channel 302, a nozzle channel 303 and a return channel 304. The water circulation channel on the left clamping member enters from the left water inlet 101 of the left clamping member, and is connected to the left water outlet 102 of the left clamping member after winding along the peripheral wall of the installation groove of the ink bottle 4, the liquid pipe 6 and the printing nozzle 7 in sequence. The water circulation channel on the right clamping member enters from the water inlet 201 of the right clamping member, and is connected to the right water outlet 202 of the right clamping member after winding along the peripheral wall of the installation groove of the ink bottle 4, the liquid pipe 6 and the printing nozzle 7 in sequence. After the left clamp 1 and the right clamp 2 are fixed together, the two water circulation channels cooperate to wrap the ink bottle, liquid pipe and print nozzle, and jointly realize the heating and heat preservation of the ink in the ink bottle, liquid pipe and print nozzle, ensuring that the print nozzle reaches the set working temperature and reduces the viscosity of the ink. The design of the water circulation channel in the present invention helps to increase the contact area between the water and the uniformly heated surface and improve the heating efficiency. The water circulation channel is a serpentine hole formed integrally with the clamp body. Preferably, the clamp body and the water circulation channel, as well as the mounting groove for accommodating the ink bottle, liquid pipe, print nozzle and temperature acquisition equipment are integrally manufactured by 3D printing.

[0037] Reference Figure 2The left side wall of the left clamp 1 is provided with a left water inlet 101 and a left water outlet 102, and the right side wall of the right clamp 2 is provided with a right water inlet 201 and a right water outlet 202. The outlet and inlet of the constant sensitive circulating water bath are respectively divided into two outlet branches and inlet branches through a hose. The two outlet branches are respectively connected to the inlet of the water circulation channel through the water inlets of the left clamp and the right clamp, and the two inlet branches are respectively connected to the outlet of the water circulation channel through the water outlets of the left clamp and the right clamp. The circulating water enters the two water circulation channels through the constant sensitive circulating water bath. Based on the external circulation function of the constant sensitive circulating water bath, the water passes through the ink bottle channel 301, the liquid pipe channel 302 and the nozzle channel 303 in turn, and finally returns to the water outlet of the clamp through the return channel 304, realizing continuous circulation flow, so as to ensure uniform temperature distribution during heating and effectively control the heating speed and temperature change.

[0038] In this embodiment, the length and width of the ink bottle are 60 mm and 27 mm respectively, the length of the liquid pipe is 120 mm, and the length and width of the print head are 47 mm and 7 mm respectively. The designed tooling needs to meet the requirements of lightweight design of the heating tooling while ensuring the heating and heat preservation effect of the water circulation flow channel. Therefore, the upper square structure of the clamping member designed in this embodiment is 87 mm long, 25 mm wide, and 83 mm high, and the length of the lower cone is 47 mm. The LVP dielectric ink used in the experiment of this embodiment has a large viscosity at room temperature, and the ink needs to be heated to at least 60 degrees to change its performance to meet the printing requirements. Therefore, the heating temperature of the constant sensitive circulating water bath is set to 60 degrees. According to the simulation experiment analysis, as the diameter of the water circulation flow channel increases, the water that can enter the flow channel for circulation will also increase, and its total heat will also increase. The better the heating effect of the ink, the temperature of the ink in the ink bottle 4, the liquid pipe 6 and the print head 7 can reach the working temperature of the ink, so that the viscosity of the ink is reduced and the printing effect is improved. Based on the size of the tooling and the size limitations of the ink bottle and the print head in this embodiment, the diameter of the water circulation channel is designed to be 4 mm in this embodiment.

[0039] In order to reduce the heat exchange between the left and right aluminum blocks and the room temperature as much as possible, the utility model sets thermal insulation parts on the outer surfaces of the left and right aluminum blocks. Preferably, the silica nano aerogel thermal insulation felt is glued to the outer surfaces of the left and right aluminum blocks for insulation, thereby reducing the heat loss of the circulating water in the flow channel during the heating process. In addition, due to the installation gap between the nozzle and the aluminum block, the heating effect of the circulating water on the inkjet in the nozzle is deteriorated. In the utility model, a thermal conductive silicone pad is filled in the installation gap. Since the thermal conductive silicone pad has very good thermal conductivity, good softness and good elasticity, it can ensure a high heat transfer efficiency.

[0040] A narrow hole is provided on the conical structure of the left clamping member 1 and the right clamping member 2 and is located at the printing nozzle installation position, so that the state of the ink squeezed out of the glass nozzle 702 can be observed through the narrow hole by an external ink observation device, so as to adjust the heating temperature of the constant sensitive circulating water bath pot according to the ink state in real time to ensure the printing quality. The ink observation device is a camera, which can upload the photograph of the state of the ink squeezed out of the glass nozzle 702 to an external computer in real time, and judge whether the ink state meets the printing requirements through computer analysis.

[0041] The installation and working principle of this utility model are as follows:

[0042] The heating function of the constant-sensitivity circulating water bath is turned on, and the heating temperature is set. The heating temperature is selected according to the viscosity of different ink droplets so that the ink droplets can meet the use requirements. When heated to the set temperature, the external circulation function of the water bath is turned on, and the heated water flows into the water circulation channel of the tooling through the water bath outlet hose, circulates along the water circulation channel, and then flows back to the water bath through the return channel 114, thus circulating.

[0043] The first temperature sensor 8 and the second temperature sensor 9 collect temperature information of the ink in the ink bottle and the nozzle in real time and upload it to the upper control system. The upper control system determines whether the current temperature meets the temperature requirement for printing based on the received information. If so, the upper control system controls the printer to start inkjet printing.

[0044] When inkjet printing starts, the air pipe 5 above the ink bottle is connected to the external air pressure pump and the air pressure controller, and the positive pressure switch of the air pressure controller is turned on. If the ink can be sprayed out normally, it is switched to a low negative pressure state; under the action of the inverse piezoelectric effect, the piezoelectric ceramics at the nozzle position are deformed to squeeze the cavity, so that the ink in the cavity is squeezed out by the squeezing force; a pulse voltage is applied to squeeze out ink droplets, and the ink droplet extrusion state at the glass nozzle 702 is monitored in real time through the ink viewing device. When the display module of the ink viewing device shows that the ink is in a continuous single ink drop state, it indicates that normal printing can begin.

[0045] By adopting the tooling of the utility model, the viscosity of ink in the ink bottle, the liquid pipe and the printing nozzle is reduced, the actual printing requirements are met, and the printing effect is improved.

[0046] The above description is only a specific implementation mode of the present utility model, but the protection scope of the present utility model is not limited thereto. Any technician familiar with the technical field can easily think of various equivalent modifications or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present utility model, and these modifications or substitutions should be included in the protection scope of the present utility model.

Claims

1. A nozzle water bath heating tool for electronic 3D printing, characterized in that: It includes an upper control system, a constant-sensitivity circulating water bath, a temperature acquisition device, a water circulation channel, and two mutually connected clamping parts; The two clamping members include a first clamping member and a second clamping member, which are symmetrical structural members made of aluminum alloy. Each clamping member plate is provided with a mounting groove for accommodating an ink bottle, a liquid pipe, a printing nozzle and a temperature acquisition device; A water circulation channel is provided in each of the first clamping member and the second clamping member. The water circulation channel starts from the water inlet of the clamping member, snakes along the peripheral wall of the ink bottle, the liquid pipe and the installation groove of the print nozzle in sequence, and then communicates with the water outlet of the clamping member; when the first clamping member and the second clamping member are fixed together, the two water circulation channels cooperate to wrap the ink bottle, the liquid pipe and the print nozzle; The outlet of the constant sensitive circulating water bath is divided into two branches through a hose, which are respectively connected to the water inlets of the first clamp and the second clamp; the inlet of the constant sensitive circulating water bath is divided into two branches through a hose, which are respectively connected to the water outlets of the first clamp and the second clamp; The temperature acquisition device includes a first temperature sensor and a second temperature sensor, which are respectively used to collect temperature information of ink in the ink bottle and the print head in real time and upload it to the upper control system; The upper control system can judge whether the ink temperature in the ink bottle and the print head reaches the printing temperature according to the received temperature information. If so, it controls to open the external air pressure controller and air pressure pump connected to the air pipe on the ink bottle to perform the printing operation; otherwise, it controls the constant sensitive circulating water bath to adjust the heating temperature and continue the constant temperature heating; The constant temperature water heated by the constant sensitive circulating water bath circulates through two water circulation channels to achieve constant temperature heating of the ink bottle, liquid pipe and ink in the print head.

2. The heating tool according to claim 1, characterized in that: The water circulation channel is a serpentine hole formed integrally with the clamp body.

3. The heating tool according to claim 2, characterized in that: The clamp body, the water circulation channel, and the mounting groove for accommodating the ink bottle, the liquid pipe, the printing nozzle and the temperature collection device are integrally manufactured by 3D printing.

4. The heating tool according to claim 3, characterized in that: The upper part of the clamp is a square structure, and the lower part is a conical structure; the installation groove for accommodating the ink bottle, the liquid pipe and the first temperature sensor is opened on the square structure, and the installation groove for accommodating the print head and the second temperature sensor is opened on the conical structure.

5. The heating tool according to claim 4, characterized in that: A narrow hole is provided on the conical structure and located at the installation position of the print head, which is used to observe the state of ink squeezed out of the glass nozzle of the print head through an external ink observation device, so as to control and adjust the heating temperature according to the ink state.

6. The heating tool according to claim 5, characterized in that: The ink viewing device is a camera, which is used to take real-time photos of the ink state squeezed out of the glass nozzle and upload them to an external computer to determine whether the ink state meets the printing requirements through computer analysis.

7. The heating tool according to claim 1 or 6, characterized in that: The outer surface of the clamping piece is pasted with silicon dioxide nano aerogel heat insulation felt.

8. The heating tool according to claim 7, characterized in that: The installation gap between the printing nozzle and the clamping member is filled with a thermally conductive silicone pad.

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