Automatic consumable feeding system for FDM type 3D printer

Abstract

The automatic consumable feeding system comprises a plurality of pay-off reels and a multi-channel material changing mechanism, a plurality of loading channels are arranged in the multi-channel material changing mechanism in parallel, the loading channels comprise a main channel and feeding channels arranged in parallel in sequence, and the feeding channels are communicated with the main channel. A forced feeding mechanism is arranged between each feeding channel and the corresponding pay-off reel, a wire wound on each pay-off reel is loaded into the corresponding wire loading channel after being unwound, and the wire loaded into the main channel penetrates through the main channel and then is connected into a machine head of the printer. The other wires firstly penetrate through the corresponding forced feeding mechanisms and then are loaded into the corresponding material continuing channels, the multi-channel material changing mechanism comprises a material changing base, a multi-channel switching module and a switching driving structure, and the switching driving structure can drive the multi-channel switching module to move along a switching sliding groove in the material changing base. By means of the mode, the automatic feeding function can be achieved, universality is high, and the structure is simple and reliable.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of 3D printing devices, and in particular to an automatic consumables feeding system for an FDM type 3D printer. Background Art

[0002] The consumables used in current 3D printers are round filament plastics with a diameter of 1.75mm. Usually, a roll of consumables is 300-400 meters. When the consumables are used up, they need to be replaced. Each time the consumables are replaced, the machine needs to be shut down, which is troublesome on the one hand and affects the overall printing efficiency on the other hand. In order to solve this problem, several automatic material changing devices have appeared on the market. However, the automatic material changing devices currently available are generally rich in functions and complex in structure. They are generally controlled by photoelectric structures, with a high overall price, and can only match specific 3D printer models, generally printers of the manufacturer's own brand. In order to test the versatility of materials, material manufacturers usually need to use a variety of different assembled printers for actual use testing. In this process, if each printer is equipped with a specific automatic material changing device, in actual use, on the one hand, due to the large number of types, mixed use will cause failures, and on the other hand, the overall equipment cost is high, so it is necessary to design an automatic material changing device with good versatility. Summary of the invention

[0003] The main technical problem solved by the present invention is to provide an automatic consumable material feeding system for an FDM type 3D printer, which can have good versatility.

[0004] In order to solve the above technical problems, a technical solution adopted by the present invention is: to provide an automatic consumables feeding system for an FDM type 3D printer, the automatic consumables feeding system comprising: a plurality of pay-off reels and a multi-channel material changing mechanism, a plurality of loading channels are arranged in parallel in the multi-channel material changing mechanism, the total number of the pay-off reels corresponds to the total number of the loading channels one by one, the plurality of loading channels comprise a main channel and feeding channels arranged in sequence in the same direction, a forced feeding mechanism is provided between each feeding channel and the corresponding pay-off reel, the wire wound on each pay-off reel is unwound and loaded into the corresponding loading channel, wherein the wire loaded into the main channel passes through the main channel and then is connected to the head of the FDM type 3D printer, and the remaining wire passes through the corresponding forced feeding mechanism and then is loaded into the corresponding feeding channel, the multi-channel material changing mechanism comprises a top cover, a material changing seat, and a multi-channel The multi-channel switching module and the switching drive structure, the top cover is mounted on the material changing seat, the material changing seat is composed of a front side baffle, a rear side baffle and a bottom plate, and the front side baffle, the rear side baffle and the bottom plate together surround a switching slide slot, the multi-channel switching module and the switching drive structure are both loaded into the switching slide slot, a plurality of wire loading channels are arranged in parallel on the multi-channel switching module, and the distances between adjacent wire loading channels are equal, the rear side baffle is lower than the wire loading height of the wire loading channel, the front side baffle is higher than the wire loading height of the wire loading channel, the front side baffle is provided with a right-angle guide groove, the top end of the guide inclined surface of the right-angle guide groove is provided with a wire outlet hole, the center line of the wire outlet hole is coplanar with the center line of all the wire loading channels, and the switching drive structure can drive the multi-channel switching module to move horizontally along the switching slide slot so that all the wire loading channels can be aligned with the wire outlet holes in sequence.

[0005] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the forced feeding mechanism is a spring feeder, which includes a spring box, a loading box and a spring transmission shaft. The loading box is provided with a feeding channel, and a pair of one-way wire feeding gears are symmetrically arranged on the upper and lower sides of the feeding channel. The spring box is installed on one side of the loading box. A handle is provided at one end of the spring transmission shaft, and the other end continuously passes through the spring box and a central axis in a one-way wire feeding gear to connect the two together. The power storage feeding length of the spring box is not less than 1.2 times the distance from the multi-channel material changing mechanism to the head of the FDM type 3D printer.

[0006] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a first fixed-torque guide tube is installed between the wire outlet hole of the multi-channel material changing mechanism and the head of the FDM type 3D printer, and a second fixed-torque guide tube is installed between the wire loading channel of the multi-channel material changing mechanism and the corresponding forced feeding mechanism.

[0007] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a wire blocking wheel group is installed on the base, and the wire blocking wheel group is composed of multiple rollers whose wheel surfaces are tangent to the straight line where the wire outlet hole is located. The multi-channel switching module is composed of multiple wire loading sliders of the same specifications, each wire loading slider is provided with a wire loading channel, and the wire loading channel is provided with a funnel structure on the wire inlet on the wire loading slider, and each wire loading slider is also provided with a wire blocking wheel avoidance groove. Multiple pairs of clamping wheels are installed in the wire blocking wheel avoidance groove along the path of the wire loading channel. The switching drive structure includes an elastic element, a positioning column and a hanging joint arranged in the wire blocking wheel avoidance groove, the positioning column is installed at the end position of one end of the bottom of the switching slide, one end of the elastic element is fixed on the positioning column, and the other end is connected to the hanging joint in the wire blocking wheel avoidance groove of the wire loading slider farthest from the positioning column, and the contraction direction of the elastic element is in the same direction as the guiding direction of the guide slope of the right-angle guide groove. The elastic element is a spring or a rubber band.

[0008] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the angle between the guiding slope and the wire loading channel is 45° to 75°.

[0009] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a funnel structure is provided on the inner side of the wire outlet hole.

[0010] The beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: the present invention adopts a purely mechanical structure to realize the automatic material refilling function. Compared with the common automatic material changing equipment on the market, the present invention does not use any photoelectric control device. The overall structure is not only simple and reliable, but also quick and convenient to load. Moreover, there are no requirements for the printer brand and the device can be applied to printers of different manufacturers. The device has good versatility and low equipment cost. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the installation structure of a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

[0012] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the feeding mechanism used in the illustrated embodiment;

[0013] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the multi-channel material changing mechanism used in the illustrated embodiment after the top cover is removed before material changing;

[0014] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the multi-channel material changing mechanism used in the illustrated embodiment after the material is changed and the top cover is removed;

[0015] Figure 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a material changing slider of a multi-channel material changing mechanism in the illustrated embodiment;

[0016] The markings of the components in the accompanying drawings are as follows:

[0017] 1. Pay-off reel, 2. Multi-channel material changing mechanism, 3. Forced feeding mechanism, 4. Inlet duct, 5. Outlet duct, 6.

[0018] Machine head, 7. Wire;

[0019] 201. Wire loading slider, 2011. Wire blocking wheel avoidance groove, 2012. Clamping wheel, 2013. Hanging joint, 2014. Wire inlet, 202. Spring, 203. Front baffle plate, 204. Rear baffle wall, 205. Bottom plate, 206. Right-angle guide groove, 207. Wire outlet hole, 208. Positioning column, 209. Wire blocking wheel assembly;

[0020] 301. Loading box, 302. Spring box, 303. Spring transmission shaft, 304. One-way wire feeding gear. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] The preferred embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings so that the advantages and features of the present invention can be more easily understood by those skilled in the art, thereby making a clearer and more definite definition of the protection scope of the present invention.

[0022] See also Figures 1 to 5 , the embodiment of the present invention includes:

[0023] A consumables automatic feeding system for an FDM type 3D printer, the consumables automatic feeding system comprising: a plurality of pay-off reels 1 and a multi-channel material changing mechanism 2, wherein three loading channels are arranged in parallel in the multi-channel material changing mechanism 2, the total number of the pay-off reels and the total number of the loading channels are also three, the three loading channels include a main channel and two feeding channels arranged in sequence and in the same direction, a forced feeding mechanism 3 is provided between each feeding channel and the corresponding pay-off reel 1, the wire 7 wound on each pay-off reel 1 is loaded into the corresponding loading channel after unwinding, wherein the wire 7 loaded into the main channel passes through the main channel and then is connected to the head 6 of the FDM type 3D printer, and the remaining wire 7 first passes through the corresponding forced feeding mechanism 3 and then is loaded into the corresponding feeding channel, the multi-channel material changing mechanism 2 comprises a top cover, a material changing seat, a multi-channel switching module and a switching drive structure, the top cover is installed on the material changing seat, and the material changing seat is composed of a front The side baffle plate 203, the rear baffle plate 204 and the bottom plate 205 are composed of the front baffle plate 203, the rear baffle plate 204 and the bottom plate 205, which together enclose a switching chute, the multi-channel switching module and the switching drive structure are both loaded into the switching chute, three wire loading channels are arranged in parallel on the multi-channel switching module, and the distances between adjacent wire loading channels are equal, the rear baffle plate 204 is lower than the wire loading height of the wire loading channel, and the front baffle plate 203 is higher than the wire loading height of the wire loading channel, a right-angle guide groove 206 is arranged on the front baffle plate 203, a wire outlet hole 207 is arranged at the top of the guiding inclined surface of the right-angle guide groove 206, a funnel mouth structure is arranged on the inner side of the wire outlet hole 207, the center line of the wire outlet hole 207 is coplanar with the center lines of all the wire loading channels, and the switching drive structure can drive the multi-channel switching module to move horizontally along the switching chute so that all the wire loading channels can be aligned with the wire outlet hole 207 in sequence.

[0024] The forced feeding mechanism 3 is a spring feeder, which includes a spring box 302, a loading box 301 and a spring transmission shaft 303. The loading box 301 is provided with a feeding channel, and a pair of one-way wire feeding gears 304 are symmetrically arranged on the upper and lower sides of the feeding channel. The spring box 302 is installed on one side of the loading box 301. One end of the spring transmission shaft 303 is provided with a handle, and the other end continuously passes through the central axis of the spring box 302 and a one-way wire feeding gear 304 to connect the two together. The power feeding length of the spring box 302 is not less than 1.2 times the distance from the multi-channel material changing mechanism 2 to the head 6 of the FDM type 3D printer, and is generally 1.3 times. By using a spring feeder, the spring can be manually tightened to keep the wire 7 loaded into the feeding channel always in a forward pushing state, so that when the front loading channel moves forward as a whole due to lack of material under the action of the spring 202, it can automatically replace the position and squeeze into the outlet hole 207. The length of the spring power storage can ensure that the wire 7 can be delivered to the machine head 6 when the material is fed.

[0025] A first fixed-torque guide tube 5 is installed between the outlet hole 207 of the multi-channel material changing mechanism 2 and the head 6 of the FDM type 3D printer, and a second fixed-torque guide tube 4 is installed between the wire loading channel of the multi-channel material changing mechanism 2 and the corresponding forced feeding mechanism 3. The first fixed-torque guide tube 5 and the second fixed-torque guide tube 4 are installed for two purposes, one is to protect the wire 7 from being affected by the outside world during the feeding process, and the other is to determine the distance of the feeding path to prevent the speed difference at both ends during feeding from causing the middle distance to change due to the bending of the wire 7, thereby improving the feeding stability.

[0026] A wire blocking wheel group 209 is installed on the bottom plate 205 of the switching slide, and the wire blocking wheel group 209 is composed of two rollers whose wheel surfaces are tangent to the straight line where the wire outlet hole 207 is located. The multi-channel switching module is composed of three wire loading slide blocks 201 of the same specifications, each of which is provided with a wire loading channel, and each wire loading channel is provided with a funnel structure on the wire inlet 2014 on the wire loading slide block 201, and each wire loading slide block 201 is also provided with a wire blocking wheel avoidance groove 2011. Two pairs of clamping wheels 2012 are installed in the wire blocking wheel avoidance groove 2011 along the path of the wire loading channel. The purpose of setting the wire blocking wheel group 209 and the wire blocking wheel avoidance groove 201 is to reduce the contact area between the wire 7 and the channel wall when passing through the wire loading channel, thereby reducing the friction during the loading process. On the other hand, the wire blocking wheel group 209 can help calibrate the wire 7 passing path, and can block the wire 7 body when starting to change materials, reducing the reaction force of the right-angle groove wall of the right-angle guide groove 206 on the part of the wire 7 end entering the right-angle guide groove 206, so that it is easier to enter the wire outlet hole 207. In addition, the two pairs of clamping wheels 2012 are respectively arranged near the two ends of the wire loading channel to further improve the stability of the wire 7 when passing.

[0027] The switching drive structure includes an elastic element, a positioning column 208 and a hanging joint 2013 arranged in the blocking wheel avoidance groove 2011, the positioning column 208 is installed at the end position of one end of the bottom of the switching slide, the elastic element can use a spring 202 or a rubber band, in this embodiment, the elastic element is a spring 202, one end of the spring 202 is fixed on the positioning column 208, and the other end is connected to the hanging joint 2013 in the blocking wheel avoidance groove 2011 of the wire loading slider 201 farthest from the positioning column 208, and the contraction direction of the spring 202 is the same as the guiding direction of the guiding slope of the right-angle guide groove 206. In this way, when there is no wire 7 in a wire loading slider 201, the spring 202 can pull all the wire loading sliders 201 to move toward the positioning column 208 at the same time until the wire 7 in the next wire loading slider 201 is blocked by the groove wall of the right-angle guide groove 206 and the blocking wheel group 209.

[0028] The included angle between the guiding slope and the loading channel is greater than 45°, and is generally 60° in actual implementation. Because the included angle is too small, the guiding slope is shorter, and the setting space of the loading channel is small, which is difficult to meet the needs.

[0029] The actual working principle of the present invention is as follows:

[0030] When the FDM type 3D printer is working, the wire 7 of a wire pay-off drum 1 is first directly passed through the loading channel on the wire loading slider 201 closest to the positioning column 208, so that the wire 7 passes through the wire outlet hole 207 and is directly connected to the machine head 6. At this time, the wire blocking wheel group 209 just blocks the wire 7 in the wire blocking wheel avoidance groove 2011. After the remaining wire pay-off drums 1 pay off the wire, the wire 7 first passes through the corresponding spring feeder and then is loaded into the wire loading channel of the remaining wire loading slider 201. After passing through the wire loading channel, the wire 7 hits the guide slope of the right-angle guide groove 206 Finally, hang one end of the spring 202 on the positioning column 208, and the other end on the hanging joint 2013 on the outermost wire loading slider 201, tighten all the springs to store power, so that when the wire 7 passing through the main channel is used up, the corresponding wire loading slider 201 will automatically slide toward the positioning column 208 under the contraction force of the spring 202 to make way for the loading position, until the next wire loading slider 201 slides to the loading position, because the end of the wire 7 protrudes and there is a wire blocking wheel group 209 on the bottom plate 205, the wire loading slider 201 is automatically blocked. After blocking, the end of the wire 7 squeezes into the wire outlet hole 207 through the funnel mouth structure, and the spring feeder is triggered at this time, sending the wire 7 forward until it is sent to the machine head 6, completing the automatic feeding action.

[0031] The above descriptions are merely embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the patent scope of the present invention. Any equivalent structure or equivalent process transformation made using the contents of the present invention specification and drawings, or directly or indirectly applied in other related technical fields, are also included in the patent protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An automatic consumables feeding system for an FDM type 3D printer, characterized in that: The consumable material automatic feeding system comprises: a plurality of pay-off reels and a multi-channel material changing mechanism, wherein a plurality of loading channels are arranged in parallel in the multi-channel material changing mechanism. The total number of the pay-off reels corresponds to the total number of the loading channels one by one. The multiple loading channels include a main channel and feeding channels arranged in sequence in the same direction. A forced feeding mechanism is provided between each feeding channel and the corresponding pay-off reel. The wire wound on each pay-off reel is unwound and loaded into the corresponding loading channel. The wire loaded into the main channel passes through the main channel and then is connected to the head of the FDM type 3D printer. The remaining wires first pass through the corresponding forced feeding mechanism and then are loaded into the corresponding feeding channel. The multi-channel material changing mechanism comprises a top cover, a material changing seat, a multi-channel switching module and a switching driving structure, the top cover is installed on the material changing seat, the material changing seat is composed of a front side baffle, a rear side baffle and a bottom plate, and the front side baffle, the rear side baffle and the bottom plate together surround a switching slide slot, the multi-channel switching module and the switching driving structure are both loaded into the switching slide slot, a plurality of wire loading channels are arranged in parallel on the multi-channel switching module, and the distances between adjacent wire loading channels are equal, the rear side baffle is lower than the wire loading height of the wire loading channel, the front side baffle is higher than the wire loading height of the wire loading channel, a right-angle guide groove is arranged on the front side baffle, a wire outlet hole is arranged at the top end of the guide inclined surface of the right-angle guide groove, the center line of the wire outlet hole is coplanar with the center line of all the wire loading channels, and the switching driving structure can drive the multi-channel switching module to move horizontally along the switching slide slot so that all the wire loading channels can be aligned with the wire outlet hole in sequence.

2. The automatic consumables feeding system for the FDM type 3D printer according to claim 1, characterized in that: The forced feeding mechanism is a spring feeder, which includes a spring box, a loading box and a spring transmission shaft. A feeding channel is provided in the loading box, and a pair of one-way wire feeding gears are symmetrically arranged on the upper and lower sides of the feeding channel. The spring box is installed on one side of the loading box. A handle is provided at one end of the spring transmission shaft, and the other end continuously passes through the spring box and a central axis in the one-way wire feeding gear to connect the two together.

3. The automatic consumables feeding system for the FDM type 3D printer according to claim 2, characterized in that: The power storage feeding length of the clockwork box is not less than 1.2 times the distance from the multi-channel material changing mechanism to the head of the FDM type 3D printer.

4. The automatic consumables feeding system for the FDM type 3D printer according to claim 1, characterized in that: A first fixed-torque guide tube is installed between the wire outlet hole of the multi-channel material changing mechanism and the head of the FDM type 3D printer, and a second fixed-torque guide tube is installed between the wire loading channel of the multi-channel material changing mechanism and the corresponding forced feeding mechanism.

5. The automatic consumables feeding system for the FDM type 3D printer according to claim 1, characterized in that: A wire-blocking wheel group is installed on the base, and the wire-blocking wheel group consists of a plurality of rollers whose wheel surfaces are tangent to the straight line where the wire outlet hole is located. The multi-channel switching module consists of a plurality of wire-loading sliders of the same specifications, and each wire-loading slider is provided with a wire-loading channel. The wire-loading channel is provided with a funnel mouth structure on the wire inlet on the wire-loading slider, and each wire-loading slider is also provided with a wire-blocking wheel avoidance groove.

6. The automatic consumables feeding system for the FDM type 3D printer according to claim 5, characterized in that: A plurality of pairs of clamping wheels are installed in the wire-blocking wheel avoidance groove along the path of the wire-loading channel.

7. The automatic consumables feeding system for the FDM type 3D printer according to claim 5, characterized in that: The switching drive structure includes an elastic element, a positioning column and a hanging joint arranged in the wire-blocking wheel avoidance groove. The positioning column is installed at the end position of one end of the bottom of the switching slide groove. One end of the elastic element is fixed to the positioning column, and the other end is connected to the hanging joint in the wire-blocking wheel avoidance groove of the wire loading slider farthest from the positioning column. The contraction direction of the elastic element is the same as the guiding direction of the guide slope of the right-angle guide groove.

8. The automatic consumables feeding system for the FDM type 3D printer according to claim 7, characterized in that: The elastic element is a spring or a rubber band.

9. The automatic consumables feeding system for the FDM type 3D printer according to claim 1, characterized in that: The included angle between the guiding slope and the wire loading channel is 45° to 75°.

10. The automatic consumables feeding system for the FDM type 3D printer according to claim 1, characterized in that: A funnel mouth structure is provided on the inner side of the wire outlet hole.

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