Multi-direction spiral airflow generator of 3D printing nozzle

Abstract

The invention provides a 3D printing nozzle multi-direction spiral airflow generator which comprises a shell, a nozzle is arranged in the middle of the shell, a flow guide groove is formed in the bottom of the shell, a spiral airflow generator body is arranged in the flow guide groove, a plurality of air outlets are formed in the spiral airflow generator body in a downward inclined mode, and the multiple air outlets are formed in the outer side of the nozzle in the circumferential direction; air flow generated by the cooling fan flows into the flow guide groove, under the guidance of the spiral air flow generator body, the cooling air flow forms an anticlockwise (overlook angle) air flow vortex and a wind hole area in the center of the vortex air flow around the lower portion of the spray head, and under the help of the cooling effect of the omni-directional spiral air flow cooling, the cooling effect is improved. The fused deposition type 3D printer can successfully print the arm extension structure with the included angle ranging from 0 degree to 85 degrees with the vertical direction under the condition that a supporting structure is not printed, material waste of the FDM printer for printing the supporting structure is reduced, the overall printing time is shortened, the structural reliability of a 3D printing model is enhanced, and the success rate of 3D printing is increased.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of 3D printing additive manufacturing equipment, and in particular to a multi-directional spiral airflow generator for a 3D printing nozzle. Background Art

[0002] Nowadays, more and more people are using 3D printers, among which fused deposition type 3D printers have a larger audience. In fused deposition type 3D printers, the heat dissipation efficiency of the nozzle will greatly affect the printing quality. The existing heat dissipation cooling device of fused deposition type 3D printers has a simple structure and inefficient functions, and there are heat dissipation dead corners, which cannot provide efficient heat dissipation efficiency for the nozzle during the printing process.

[0003] If the heat dissipation efficiency of the nozzle is low, the 3D printer is likely to produce drawing, curling, thermal deformation, and bridging sagging during the printing process. When printing structures with an angle greater than 45° to the vertical direction, it is often necessary to add supports to ensure successful printing, which limits the arm span angle of the model design to a certain extent. Even in places with heat dissipation dead ends, even if supports are added, the model will deform during the printing process due to failure to cool and form in time, thereby reducing the printing quality of the model.

[0004] Therefore, there is an urgent need for a multi-directional spiral airflow generator for a 3D printing nozzle to solve the problem that the existing heat dissipation cooling device has poor heat dissipation effect and has heat dissipation dead corners. Summary of the invention

[0005] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a multi-directional spiral airflow generator for a 3D printing nozzle, which solves the problems raised in the background technology.

[0006] To achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following technical solutions:

[0007] The present invention provides a 3D printing nozzle multi-directional spiral airflow generator, comprising a shell, a nozzle is provided in the middle of the shell, a guide groove is provided at the bottom of the shell, a spiral airflow generator body is arranged in the guide groove, and the spiral airflow generator body is inclined downward and provided with a plurality of air outlets, and the plurality of air outlets are circumferentially arranged on the outside of the nozzle.

[0008] Preferably, one or more movable cross bars are provided on the upper portion of the housing.

[0009] Preferably, a heating block is provided on the nozzle.

[0010] Preferably, the spiral airflow generator body is embedded in the guide groove.

[0011] Preferably, the spiral airflow generator body is provided with four air outlets, and the four air outlets are arranged in an X shape. A guide vane is provided in each air outlet, which is inclined from the upper left to the lower right. The guide vane separates the air outlet into an upper air outlet and a lower air outlet. In the horizontal direction, the opening of the upper air outlet is inclined from the upper left to the lower right, and the opening direction of the lower air outlet forms an acute angle with the direction of the guide vane.

[0012] Preferably, the spiral airflow generator body is provided with four air outlets, and the four air outlets are arranged in a cross shape. Each air outlet is provided with a guide vane inclined from the upper left to the lower right, and the guide vane separates the air outlet into an upper air outlet and a lower air outlet. In the horizontal direction, the opening of the upper air outlet is inclined from the upper left to the lower right, and the opening direction of the lower air outlet forms an acute angle with the direction of the guide vane.

[0013] Preferably, the spiral airflow generator body is provided with a plurality of continuous connected air outlets (generally more than 4), and the plurality of the air outlets are arranged in a ring shape, and guide vanes are obliquely provided between adjacent air outlets. In the horizontal direction, the guide vanes are inclined in a counterclockwise direction (from a top-down perspective), and in the vertical direction, the guide vanes are inclined to the right (from a forward perspective).

[0014] Preferably, the spiral airflow generator body is embedded outside the guide groove.

[0015] Preferably, the spiral airflow generator body is provided with four air outlets, and the four air outlets are arranged in an X shape. A guide vane is provided in each air outlet, which is inclined from the upper left to the lower right. The guide vane separates the air outlet into an upper air outlet and a lower air outlet. In the horizontal direction, the opening of the upper air outlet is inclined from the upper left to the lower right, and the opening direction of the lower air outlet forms an acute angle with the direction of the guide vane.

[0016] Preferably, the spiral airflow generator body is provided with four air outlets, and the four air outlets are arranged in a cross shape. Each air outlet is provided with a guide vane inclined from the upper left to the lower right, and the guide vane separates the air outlet into an upper air outlet and a lower air outlet. In the horizontal direction, the opening of the upper air outlet is inclined from the upper left to the lower right, and the opening direction of the lower air outlet forms an acute angle with the direction of the guide vane.

[0017] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0018] The present invention provides a multi-directional spiral airflow generator for a 3D printing nozzle, comprising a shell, a nozzle is arranged in the middle of the shell, a guide groove is arranged at the bottom of the shell, a spiral airflow generator body is arranged in the guide groove, the spiral airflow generator body is tilted downward and provided with a plurality of air outlets, and the plurality of air outlets are circumferentially arranged on the outside of the nozzle; the airflow generated by a heat dissipation fan flows into the guide groove, and under the guidance of the spiral airflow generator body, the heat dissipation airflow forms a counterclockwise (viewing angle: looking down) airflow vortex around the bottom of the nozzle and an eye area in the center of the vortex airflow, so that during the printing process, the spiral airflow can realize 360-degree heat dissipation without dead angles, and the nozzle arranged in the eye area can avoid direct contact with the cooling airflow. With the help of the heat dissipation effect of this omnidirectional spiral airflow cooling, the fused deposition model (FDM) 3D printer can successfully print an arm span structure with an angle of 0-85° to the vertical direction without printing a support structure, reducing the material waste of the FDM printer when printing support structures during the printing process, reducing the overall printing time, enhancing the structural reliability of the 3D printed model, further reducing the occurrence of wire drawing, curling, thermal deformation, and bridging sagging, and improving the success rate of 3D printing. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative labor.

[0020] Figure 1 A schematic structural diagram of a 3D printing nozzle multi-directional spiral airflow generator embodiment 1 provided by the present invention;

[0021] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the exploded structure of a multi-directional spiral airflow generator for a 3D printing nozzle provided by the present invention in Example 1;

[0022] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the spiral airflow direction (top view) of the exploded structure of a 3D printing nozzle multi-directional spiral airflow generator embodiment 1 provided by the present invention;

[0023] Figure 4 A schematic structural diagram of a 3D printing nozzle multi-directional spiral airflow generator according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the exploded structure of a multi-directional spiral airflow generator for a 3D printing nozzle provided by the present invention;

[0025] Figure 6A schematic diagram of the spiral airflow direction (top view) of the exploded structure of a multi-directional spiral airflow generator for a 3D printing nozzle provided by the present invention in Example 2;

[0026] Figure 7 A schematic structural diagram of a 3D printing nozzle multi-directional spiral airflow generator embodiment 3 provided by the present invention;

[0027] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of the exploded structure of a 3D printing nozzle multi-directional spiral airflow generator according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention;

[0028] Fig. 9 A schematic diagram of the spiral airflow direction (top view) of the exploded structure of a 3D printing nozzle multi-directional spiral airflow generator embodiment 3 provided by the present invention;

[0029] Fig.10 A schematic structural diagram of a 3D printing nozzle multi-directional spiral airflow generator embodiment 4 provided by the present invention;

[0030] Fig.11 A schematic diagram of the exploded structure of a 3D printing nozzle multi-directional spiral airflow generator embodiment 4 provided by the present invention;

[0031] Fig.12 A schematic diagram of the spiral airflow direction (top view) of the exploded structure of a 3D printing nozzle multi-directional spiral airflow generator embodiment 4 provided by the present invention;

[0032] Fig.13 A schematic structural diagram of a 3D printing nozzle multi-directional spiral airflow generator embodiment 5 provided by the present invention;

[0033] Fig.14 This is a schematic diagram of the exploded structure of Example 5 of a multi-directional spiral airflow generator for a 3D printing nozzle provided by the present invention.

[0034] Fig.15 A schematic diagram of the spiral airflow direction (top view) of the exploded structure of a multi-directional spiral airflow generator for a 3D printing nozzle provided by the present invention in Example 5; DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be described clearly and completely below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all the embodiments.

[0036] In the description of the present invention, it is necessary to understand that the terms "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", "looking down", "looking forward", "counterclockwise" and the like indicate directions or positional relationships based on the directions or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific direction, be constructed and operated in a specific direction, and therefore should not be understood as a limitation on the present invention.

[0037] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", and "set" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, they can be fixedly connected or set, or detachably connected or set, or integrally connected or set. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0038] Embodiment 1:

[0039] See also Figure 1-3 The present embodiment provides a technical solution: a 3D printing nozzle multi-directional spiral airflow generator, comprising a shell 1, a nozzle 2 is provided in the middle of the shell 1, a guide groove 3 is provided at the bottom of the shell 1, a spiral airflow generator body is arranged in the guide groove 3, and the spiral airflow generator body is inclined downward and provided with a plurality of air outlets 4, and the plurality of air outlets 4 are circumferentially arranged on the outside of the nozzle 2.

[0040] A movable cross bar 5 is provided on the upper portion of the housing 1 for movement along the X-axis direction.

[0041] Furthermore, a heating block 6 is provided on the nozzle 2 for heating during the printing process.

[0042] Specifically, the spiral airflow generator body is embedded in the guide groove 3, and the spiral airflow generator body is provided with four air outlets 4, and the four air outlets 4 are arranged in an X shape. A guide plate 7 is provided in each air outlet 4, which is inclined from the upper left to the lower right. The guide plate 7 separates the air outlet 4 into an upper air outlet and a lower air outlet. In the horizontal direction, the opening of the upper air outlet is inclined from the upper left to the lower right, and the opening direction of the lower air outlet is at an acute angle to the direction of the guide plate 7.

[0043] One of the functions of the guide vane 7 is to rectify the intake air flow to prevent the intake air flow from being squeezed to one side of the air outlet 4. The second function is to divide the air outlet 4 into two. In the horizontal direction, taking the opposite air outlets as an example, because the directions of the opposite upper air outlets are parallel to each other, the airflows coming out of the upper air outlets are parallel to each other and will not overlap, avoiding the collision of airflows, and the two airflows are tangent to the center point of the nozzle 2 in the horizontal direction, which is beneficial to cooling the material extruded from the nozzle 2 without cooling the nozzle 2 itself.

[0044] The angle between the direction of the lower and upper air outlets in the horizontal direction is set to an acute angle. The airflow from the upper air outlet is tangent to the center point of the nozzle 2 in the horizontal direction, and the angle between the airflow from the lower air outlet and the airflow from the upper air outlet is an acute angle. This setting is to enable the airflow from the upper air outlet to dissipate heat and cool the material extruded from the nozzle 2 with maximum efficiency on the one hand; on the other hand, it enables the airflow from the lower air outlet to integrate and constrain the airflow from the upper air outlet to prevent part of the airflow from escaping.

[0045] The airflow from the upper air outlet is integrated and constrained by the airflow from the lower air outlet, and converges with the airflow from the air outlet. Since the four air outlets are designed the same, the airflows from the four air outlets will form a counterclockwise vortex airflow around the nozzle 2 after converging.

[0046] In the vertical direction, the opening direction of the air outlet 4 is tilted downward at a certain angle, so the airflow from the air outlet 4 is below the nozzle 2. Furthermore, the vortex airflow formed by the convergence of the airflows from the four air outlets is below the nozzle 2, and the vortex airflow cools the printed material coming out of the nozzle 2, but does not cool the nozzle 2 itself.

[0047] During the printing process, the movement direction of the nozzle 2 is mostly counterclockwise (viewed from top to bottom), and the counterclockwise vortex heat dissipation airflow generated by the embedded X-shaped structure vortex airflow generator has the same flow direction as the movement direction of the nozzle, which is beneficial to the heat dissipation of the airflow along the direction of movement of the nozzle.

[0048] Under the action of the embedded X-shaped vortex airflow generator, the airflow forms a counterclockwise vortex heat dissipation airflow in the horizontal direction, and at the same time generates a vortex eye at the center. The nozzle 2 is at the vortex eye, and the nozzle 2 itself will not be affected by the vortex airflow.

[0049] Under the action of the embedded X-shaped vortex airflow generator, the formed vortex heat dissipation airflow is inclined downward in the vertical direction, and the downward inclined airflow is beneficial to cooling the printing material coming out of the nozzle 2.

[0050] Since the vortex airflow generator is an X-shaped structure, the printing condition of the print head can be clearly observed during the printing process of the print head.

[0051] With the help of the heat dissipation effect of this omnidirectional spiral airflow cooling, the fused deposition model (FDM) 3D printer can successfully print an arm span structure with an angle of 0-85° to the vertical direction without printing a support structure, reducing the material waste of the FDM printer when printing support structures during the printing process, reducing the overall printing time, enhancing the structural reliability of the 3D printed model, further reducing the occurrence of wire drawing, curling, thermal deformation, and bridging sagging, and improving the success rate of 3D printing.

[0052] Embodiment 2:

[0053] As a variation of Example 1, this embodiment provides another structure of the spiral airflow generator body, such as Figure 4-6 As shown, the spiral airflow generator body is provided with four air outlets 4, and the four air outlets 4 are arranged in a cross shape. A guide vane 7 is provided in each of the air outlets 4, which is inclined from the upper left to the lower right. The guide vane 7 separates the air outlet 4 into an upper air outlet and a lower air outlet. In the horizontal direction, the opening of the upper air outlet is inclined from the upper left to the lower right, and the opening direction of the lower air outlet forms an acute angle with the direction of the guide vane 7.

[0054] The only difference between this embodiment and the first embodiment is that the arrangement of the air outlet 4 is changed from an X-shape to a cross-shape, and the rest of the structure and principle are the same as those of the first embodiment.

[0055] Embodiment 3:

[0056] This embodiment provides another spiral airflow generator body structure, such as Figure 7-9 As shown, different from Examples 1 and 2, the spiral airflow generator body in this embodiment is provided with a plurality of connected air outlets 4, the plurality of air outlets 4 are arranged in a ring shape, and guide vanes 7 are obliquely provided between adjacent air outlets 4. In the horizontal direction, the guide vanes 7 are inclined in the counterclockwise direction (looking down), and in the vertical direction, the guide vanes 7 are inclined to the right (looking forward).

[0057] Since the air outlet 4 is tilted to the right at a certain angle, when the airflow passes through the guide groove 3, a counterclockwise vortex airflow will be formed under the action of the ring-shaped vortex airflow generator composed of multiple air outlets 4. During the printing process, the movement direction of the print head is mostly counterclockwise (looking down), so the direction of the vortex airflow is the same as the movement direction of the print head, which is conducive to the airflow dissipating heat along the direction of the print head movement.

[0058] The guide vane 7 is inclined to the right at a certain angle in the vertical direction, so the airflow formed after the airflows coming out of the annular structure vortex airflow generator converge is a rotating vortex airflow.

[0059] Except for the above differences, other structures and principles of this embodiment are the same as those of embodiments 1 and 2.

[0060] Embodiment 4:

[0061] As another variation of Embodiment 1, this embodiment provides a structure in which the main body of the spiral airflow generator is embedded outside the guide groove 3 .

[0062] like Figure 10-12 As shown, the spiral airflow generator body is provided with four air outlets 4, and the four air outlets 4 are arranged in an X shape. A guide vane 7 is provided in each of the air outlets 4, which is inclined from the upper left to the lower right. The guide vane 7 separates the air outlet into an upper air outlet and a lower air outlet. In the horizontal direction, the opening of the upper air outlet is inclined from the upper left to the lower right, and the opening direction of the lower air outlet forms an acute angle with the direction of the guide vane 7.

[0063] Except that the arrangement position of the spiral airflow generator body is different from that of Example 1, the rest of the structure and principle of this embodiment are the same as those of Example 1.

[0064] Embodiment 5:

[0065] As another variation of Example 2, this example provides a structure in which the main body of the spiral airflow generator is embedded outside the guide groove 3. Of course, it can also be regarded as a variation of Example 4.

[0066] like Figure 13-15 As shown, the spiral airflow generator body is provided with four air outlets 4, and the four air outlets 4 are arranged in a cross shape. A guide vane 7 is provided in each of the air outlets 4, which is inclined from the upper left to the lower right. The guide vane 7 separates the air outlet 4 into an upper air outlet and a lower air outlet. In the horizontal direction, the opening of the upper air outlet is inclined from the upper left to the lower right, and the opening direction of the lower air outlet forms an acute angle with the direction of the guide vane 7.

[0067] Except that the arrangement position of the spiral airflow generator body is different from that of Example 2, the rest of the structure and principle of this embodiment are the same as those of Example 2.

[0068] The above shows and describes the basic principles and main features of the present invention and the advantages of the present invention. It is obvious to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the details of the above exemplary embodiments, and the present invention can be implemented in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or basic features of the present invention. Therefore, no matter from which point of view, the embodiments should be regarded as exemplary and non-restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the attached claims rather than the above description, and it is intended that all changes falling within the meaning and scope of the equivalent elements of the claims are included in the present invention. Any figure mark in the claims should not be regarded as limiting the claims involved.

[0069] In addition, it should be understood that although the present specification is described according to implementation modes, not every implementation mode contains only one independent technical solution. This description of the specification is only for the sake of clarity. Those skilled in the art should regard the specification as a whole. The technical solutions in each embodiment may also be appropriately combined to form other implementation modes that can be understood by those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A multi-directional spiral airflow generator for a 3D printing nozzle, characterized in that: It includes a shell, a nozzle is provided in the middle of the shell, a guide groove is provided at the bottom of the shell, a spiral airflow generator body is arranged in the guide groove, and the spiral airflow generator body is inclined downward and provided with multiple air outlets, and the multiple air outlets are circumferentially arranged on the outside of the nozzle.

2. The multi-directional spiral airflow generator for a 3D printing nozzle according to claim 1, characterized in that: One or more moving cross bars are arranged on the upper part of the shell.

3. The multi-directional spiral airflow generator for a 3D printing nozzle according to claim 1, characterized in that: A heating block is arranged on the nozzle.

4. The multi-directional spiral airflow generator for a 3D printing nozzle according to claim 1, characterized in that: The spiral airflow generator body is embedded in the guide groove.

5. The multi-directional spiral airflow generator for a 3D printing nozzle according to claim 4, characterized in that: The spiral airflow generator body is provided with 4 air outlets, and the 4 air outlets are arranged in an X shape. A guide vane is provided in each air outlet, which is inclined from the upper left to the lower right. The guide vane separates the air outlet into an upper air outlet and a lower air outlet. In the horizontal direction, the opening of the upper air outlet is inclined from the upper left to the lower right, and the opening direction of the lower air outlet forms an acute angle with the direction of the guide vane.

6. The multi-directional spiral airflow generator for a 3D printing nozzle according to claim 4, characterized in that: The spiral airflow generator body is provided with 4 air outlets, and the 4 air outlets are arranged in a cross shape. Each air outlet is provided with a guide vane inclined from the upper left to the lower right. The guide vane separates the air outlet into an upper air outlet and a lower air outlet. In the horizontal direction, the opening of the upper air outlet is inclined from the upper left to the lower right, and the opening direction of the lower air outlet forms an acute angle with the direction of the guide vane.

7. The multi-directional spiral airflow generator for a 3D printing nozzle according to claim 4, characterized in that: The spiral airflow generator body is provided with a plurality of continuous connected air outlets, and the plurality of air outlets are arranged in a ring shape. Guide vanes are obliquely provided between adjacent air outlets. In the horizontal direction, the guide vanes are successively inclined in the counterclockwise direction, and in the vertical direction, the guide vanes are inclined to the right.

8. The multi-directional spiral airflow generator for a 3D printing nozzle according to claim 1, characterized in that: The spiral airflow generator body is embedded outside the guide groove.

9. The multi-directional spiral airflow generator for a 3D printing nozzle according to claim 8, characterized in that: The spiral airflow generator body is provided with 4 air outlets, and the 4 air outlets are arranged in an X shape. A guide vane is provided in each air outlet, which is inclined from the upper left to the lower right. The guide vane separates the air outlet into an upper air outlet and a lower air outlet. In the horizontal direction, the opening of the upper air outlet is inclined from the upper left to the lower right, and the opening direction of the lower air outlet forms an acute angle with the direction of the guide vane.

10. The multi-directional spiral airflow generator for a 3D printing nozzle according to claim 8, characterized in that: The spiral airflow generator body is provided with 4 air outlets, and the 4 air outlets are arranged in a cross shape. Each air outlet is provided with a guide vane inclined from the upper left to the lower right. The guide vane separates the air outlet into an upper air outlet and a lower air outlet. In the horizontal direction, the opening of the upper air outlet is inclined from the upper left to the lower right, and the opening direction of the lower air outlet forms an acute angle with the direction of the guide vane.

Images