Feeding mechanism of 3D printer and 3D printer

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of 3D printing, in particular to a feeding mechanism of a 3D printer and the 3D printer. Comprising a movable box, a vertical wire conduit, an inclined wire conduit, two movable pipes and two groups of wire fixing mechanisms, a wire conveying mechanism, a heating head and a glue outlet nozzle are mounted on the inner side of the movable box; the vertical wire conduit is vertically arranged on the moving box and communicates with the inner side of the moving box, the vertical wire conduit is located over the wire conveying mechanism, and the oblique wire conduit is obliquely connected to the bottom end of the vertical wire conduit; the bottom ends of the two movable pipes are slidably installed on the inner side of the vertical wire conduit and the inner side of the inclined wire conduit respectively. The wire rod fixing mechanisms on the two sides are installed at the upper ends of the two movable pipes correspondingly. Each wire rod fixing mechanism comprises an installation frame and a wire rod clamping assembly giving certain pressure to the wire rod. According to the invention, after the previous section of wire is used up, the next section of wire can be automatically fed, so that seamless connection is realized, and stable discharging of the printer is ensured.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of 3D printing, and in particular to a feeding mechanism of a 3D printer and the 3D printer. Background Art

[0002] Rapid prototyping technology can efficiently transform digital three-dimensional product designs into product prototypes with certain functions or directly manufacture parts with a certain accuracy. It can effectively shorten the product development cycle and reduce R&D costs. It is widely used in education, scientific research, automobiles, home appliances, medical care, machinery manufacturing, aerospace, precision casting and other industries.

[0003] 3D printers are machines that use rapid prototyping technology, digital model files as the basis, and filamentary materials such as wax, ABS, PC, PLA, and nylon to manufacture three-dimensional objects. Its basic working principle is to heat and melt the filamentary hot-melt material, and then, under the control of a computer program, a three-dimensional nozzle will apply the material on the workbench according to the cross-sectional profile information, and then quickly cool it to form a layer of cross-section. Then, the workbench will drop a certain height relative to the three-dimensional nozzle to form the next layer, until the entire solid model is formed.

[0004] When the wire on the material tray is exhausted, printing often fails. It is necessary to manually observe the consumption status of the wire at all times. When the consumables are about to be exhausted, new consumables need to be inserted into the wire tube. Since the print head is moving at this time, it is easy to cause wire installation failure, and the wire must be refilled just before it is exhausted, which has many limiting factors. Summary of the invention

[0005] The purpose of the present invention is to address the problems existing in the background technology and to provide a feeding mechanism for a 3D printer and a 3D printer.

[0006] In one aspect, the present invention provides a feeding mechanism for a 3D printer, comprising:

[0007] A mobile box, the inner side of which is equipped with a wire conveying mechanism, a heating head and a glue outlet nozzle;

[0008] A vertical wire pipe and an oblique wire pipe, the vertical wire pipe is vertically arranged on the moving box and communicated with the inner side of the moving box, the vertical wire pipe is located directly above the wire conveying mechanism, the oblique wire pipe is obliquely connected to the bottom end of the vertical wire pipe, and the oblique wire pipe is communicated with the vertical wire pipe;

[0009] Two movable tubes, the bottom ends of which are slidably mounted on the inner sides of the vertical wire tube and the oblique wire tube respectively;

[0010] Two sets of wire fixing mechanisms, the wire fixing mechanisms on both sides are respectively installed at the upper ends of the two movable tubes, the wire fixing mechanisms include a mounting frame and a wire clamping assembly that applies a certain pressure to the wires, the mounting frame is installed at the upper end of the movable tube, and the wire clamping assembly is installed on the mounting frame.

[0011] Preferably, a funnel is provided at the upper end of the mounting frames on both sides, and the opening diameter of the bottom end of the funnel is equal to the inner diameter of the movable tube.

[0012] Preferably, the mobile box is connected to a bracket, and the bracket is provided with two pull ropes that movably pass through the upper end thereof, the two pull ropes are respectively connected to the mounting frames on both sides, and the other ends of the two pull ropes are connected to pull rings.

[0013] Preferably, the wire conveying mechanism includes gears, anti-slip wheels and two motors. The gears and anti-slip wheels are rotatably installed on the inner side of the mobile box. There is a gap between the gears and the anti-slip wheels for the wire to pass through. The two motors are installed on the mobile box, and the output shafts of the two motors are respectively connected to the rotating shafts of the gears and the rotating shafts of the anti-slip wheels.

[0014] Preferably, sliding holes are opened on both sides of the mounting frame, two sliding seats are slidably installed in the sliding holes on both sides, guide slide rods are provided in the sliding holes on both sides, the two sliding seats on the corresponding sides are slidably installed on the guide slide rods, and springs are sleeved and installed at both ends of the guide slide rods; the wire clamping assembly includes two clamping rollers arranged side by side, and the two ends of the clamping rollers are respectively rotatably installed on the sliding seats on the corresponding sides.

[0015] Preferably, the wire conveying mechanism, the heating head and the glue outlet nozzle are arranged in sequence from top to bottom.

[0016] Preferably, the angle between the vertical wire tube and the oblique wire tube is in the range of 10°-60°.

[0017] On the other hand, the present invention further provides a 3D printer including the feeding mechanism of the above 3D printer, comprising:

[0018] A base, a tablet computer is mounted on a side of the base;

[0019] A Y-axis moving platform, the Y-axis moving platform is arranged above the base, and a first linear module for driving the printing plate to move is installed on the base; a printing plate is arranged on the Y-axis moving platform, and a detachable connection is achieved between the printing plate and the Y-axis moving platform by magnetic attraction;

[0020] The gantry is arranged on the base, and two wire mounting brackets are installed on the gantry;

[0021] The X-axis moving guide rail is vertically slidably installed on the gantry, and a power component for driving the X-axis moving guide rail to move is installed on the gantry; the moving box is slidably installed on the X-axis moving guide rail, and a second linear module for driving the moving box to move along its length direction is installed on the X-axis moving guide rail.

[0022] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial technical effects:

[0023] 1. This technical solution can simultaneously insert two sections of wire through the vertical wire tube and the oblique wire tube, and through the installed movable tube and wire fixing mechanism, it can be replenished immediately after the wire on the other side is exhausted, thereby achieving seamless connection of the two sections of wire and ensuring the stability of the discharge. The entire structure does not require power parts and has a high degree of automation.

[0024] 2. The advantage of this technical solution is that the operator does not need to manually replenish the wire when the wire is exhausted. It only needs to replenish it after the first section of wire is exhausted and before the second section of wire is exhausted. There is no need to observe the working status of the 3D printer all the time. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of the present invention.

[0026] Figure 2 and Figure 3 All of them are structural schematic diagrams of the feeding mechanism of the 3D printer in the present invention.

[0027] Figure 4 It is a cross-sectional structural diagram of the feeding mechanism of the 3D printer in the present invention.

[0028] Figure 5 for Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the local enlarged structure at A.

[0029] Figure numerals: 1. moving box; 201. vertical wire tube; 202. oblique wire tube; 3. movable tube; 4. mounting frame; 401. sliding hole; 5. bracket; 6. funnel; 7. clamping roller; 8. guide slide bar; 9. spring; 10. motor; 111. gear; 112. anti-slip wheel; 12. motor housing; 13. heating head; 14. glue nozzle; 15. small cooling fan; 16. pull rope; 17. pull ring; 18. Y-axis moving platform; 19. tablet computer; 20. X-axis moving guide rail; 21. gantry; 22. wire mounting bracket; 23. printing board; 24. base; 25. sliding seat. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] Embodiment 1

[0031] like Figure 2-Figure 4As shown, the feeding mechanism of a 3D printer proposed in this embodiment includes a moving box 1, a vertical wire tube 201, an oblique wire tube 202, two movable tubes 3 and two sets of wire fixing mechanisms.

[0032] A wire feeding mechanism, a heating head 13 and a glue outlet 14 are installed on the inner side of the mobile box 1. The wire feeding mechanism, the heating head 13 and the glue outlet 14 are arranged in sequence from top to bottom. The heating method of the heating head 13 is to heat it by installing an electric heating wire. The wire feeding mechanism includes a gear 111, an anti-skid wheel 112 and two motors 10. The gear 111 and the anti-skid wheel 112 are both rotatably installed on the inner side of the mobile box 1. There is a gap between the gear 111 and the anti-skid wheel 112 for the wire to pass through. The two motors 10 are installed on the mobile box 1. On, the output shafts of the two motors 10 are respectively connected to the rotating shaft of the gear 111 and the rotating shaft of the anti-skid wheel 112. It should be supplemented that a small cooling fan 15 is installed on the mobile box 1. The small cooling fan 15 can be used to dissipate the heat inside the mobile box 1 to prevent the temperature from being too high. In order to achieve the heat insulation effect of the motor 10, two motor housings 12 are provided on the mobile box 1. The two motor housings 12 are recessed toward the inner side of the mobile box 1, and the outer side of the motor housing 12 is connected to the outside, and the motor 10 is installed on the inner side of the motor housing 12.

[0033] The vertical wire tube 201 is vertically arranged on the mobile box 1 and is connected to the inner side of the mobile box 1. The vertical wire tube 201 is located directly above the wire conveying mechanism. The oblique wire tube 202 is obliquely connected to the bottom end of the vertical wire tube 201, and the oblique wire tube 202 is connected to the vertical wire tube 201; the angle between the vertical wire tube 201 and the oblique wire tube 202 ranges from 10° to 60°. If the angle between the vertical wire tube 201 and the oblique wire tube 202 is too small, the two sets of wire fixing mechanisms will be close together. If the angle is too large, the wire in the oblique wire tube 202 will be greatly bent after moving to the inner side of the vertical wire tube 201, which will affect the discharge of the wire. The angle range of 10° to 60° can ensure the smooth discharge of the wire.

[0034] The bottom ends of the two movable tubes 3 are slidably installed on the inner sides of the vertical wire tube 201 and the oblique wire tube 202 respectively; the wire fixing mechanisms on both sides are respectively installed on the upper ends of the two movable tubes 3, the wire fixing mechanisms include a mounting frame 4 and a wire clamping assembly that applies a certain pressure to the wire, the mounting frame 4 is installed on the upper end of the movable tube 3, the wire clamping assembly is installed on the mounting frame 4, sliding holes 401 are opened on both sides of the mounting frame 4, two sliding seats 25 are slidably installed in the sliding holes 401 on both sides, guide slide bars 8 are arranged in the sliding holes 401 on both sides, the two sliding seats 25 on the corresponding sides are slidably installed on the guide slide bars 8, and springs 9 are sleeved and installed at both ends of the guide slide bars 8, and the wire clamping assembly includes two clamping rollers 7 arranged side by side, and the two ends of the clamping roller 7 are respectively rotatably installed on the sliding seats 25 on the corresponding sides, and an annular groove is opened on the clamping roller 7, and the annular groove fits with the surface of the wire, thereby increasing the contact area between the clamping roller 7 and the wire.

[0035] A funnel 6 is provided at the upper end of the mounting frames 4 on both sides. The opening diameter of the bottom end of the funnel 6 is equal to the inner diameter of the movable tube 3. The setting of the funnel 6 enables the operator to easily pass the wire into the inner side of the movable tube 3; a bracket 5 is connected to the movable box 1, and the bracket 5 is provided with two pull ropes 16 that are movable through the upper end thereof. The two pull ropes 16 are respectively connected to the mounting frames 4 on both sides, and the other ends of the two pull ropes 16 are connected to pull rings 17.

[0036] Specifically, before preparing to print, take two wire rolls, pass the ends of the two wire rolls through the vertical wire tube 201 and the oblique wire tube 202 respectively, so that one side of the wire is placed between the anti-skid wheel 112 and the anti-skid wheel 112. Here, the wire that passes through the inside of the vertical wire tube 201 can be clamped between the gear 111 and the anti-skid wheel 112, and the end of the other side of the wire is pressed against the side of the output wire (the wire that passes through the inside of the vertical wire tube). It should be added here that before installing the two wires, the movable The tube 3 is pulled outward for a distance, so that the mounting frame 4 rises, and the vertical wire tube 201, the oblique wire tube 202 and the inner side of the movable tube 3 are all configured as structures for only a single wire to pass through, and the passing wire is clamped by two clamping rollers 7, and the spring 9 is configured to strengthen the clamping force of the clamping roller 7 on the wire, and the clamping force should ensure that the wire conveying mechanism can smoothly pull the wire to move during the wire conveying process while preventing sliding between the clamping roller 7 and the wire.

[0037] During the printing process, the wire conveying mechanism pulls the wire inside the vertical wire tube 201 downward, and the wire passes through the heating head 13 and melts and is finally ejected through the glue nozzle 14. While pulling the wire to move, the mounting frame 4 at the upper end of the vertical wire tube 201 is driven to move downward, and the mounting frame 4 drives the movable tube 3 to move to the inner side of the vertical wire tube 201. When the mounting frame 4 moves to the upper end limit position of the vertical wire tube 201, it no longer moves. At this time, the pulling force on the wire is greater than the clamping force of the two clamping rollers 7 on the wire, so that the wire can continue to discharge, and the wire drives the clamping roller 7 to rotate during the movement. The purpose of setting the clamping roller 7 as a rotating structure is to reduce The friction between the vertical wire tube 201 and the wire is small; since the wire inside the vertical wire tube 201 is not exhausted, the end of the wire inside the oblique wire tube 202 is always against the side of the output wire, which makes the wire unable to move downward. When the output wire is about to be exhausted, the output wire moves to the lower position of the oblique wire tube 202, and the wire to be supplemented inside the oblique wire tube 202 slides down obliquely under the action of gravity, so that the end of the supplementary wire is tightly pressed against the end of the output wire. The movement of the supplementary wire drives the movable tube 3 and the installation frame 4 to move. When the installation frame 4 moves to the upper end of the oblique wire tube 202, the bottom end of the supplementary wire is placed between the gear 111 and the anti-slip wheel 112, thereby realizing the function of continuous discharge.

[0038] When the wire roll on one side is exhausted, a new wire roll is installed. The installation time should not be performed immediately after it is exhausted, but it must be ensured that it is installed before the second batch of wire rolls are exhausted. After the new wire roll is installed on the wire installation bracket 22, the end of the wire is pulled out. During this process, the 3D printer is in working condition. The convenience of wire threading is improved by setting the funnel 6. The end of the wire slides to the inner side of the movable tube 3 through the inclined surface of the funnel 6, and the wire is pushed to the limited position. Before inserting the wire, the pull rope 16 must be pulled upward to drive the movable tube 3 to move a distance before inserting the wire. The pull rope 16 is a flexible material. Compared with pulling the movable tube 3 to move by setting a fixed structure connected to the installation frame 4, it can greatly reduce the obstruction caused to the moving box 1 during the movement. The pull rope 16 is a breakable material. When the movement of the moving box 1 is seriously obstructed, the pull rope 16 automatically breaks to protect the equipment.

[0039] In summary, the present technical solution can simultaneously insert two sections of wire through the vertical wire tube 201 and the oblique wire tube 202, and through the installed movable tube 3 and the wire fixing mechanism, it can immediately replenish the wire after the other side is exhausted, thereby achieving seamless connection between the two sections of wire and ensuring the stability of material discharge; the advantage of the present technical solution is that the operator does not need to manually replenish the wire at the moment the wire is exhausted, but only needs to replenish it after the first section of wire is exhausted and before the second section of wire is exhausted, and there is no need to observe the working status of the 3D printer all the time.

[0040] Embodiment 2

[0041] like Figure 1 As shown, a 3D printer proposed in this embodiment includes a feeding mechanism of a 3D printer in the first embodiment, and further includes a base 24, a Y-axis moving platform 18, a gantry 21 and an X-axis moving guide rail 20.

[0042] A tablet computer 19 is installed on the side of the base 24. In addition, in this technical solution, the 3D printer can also be controlled by a computer or a mobile phone; the Y-axis moving platform 18 is arranged above the base 24, and a first linear module for driving the printing plate 23 to move is installed on the base 24; a printing plate 23 is arranged on the Y-axis moving platform 18, and the printing plate 23 and the Y-axis moving platform 18 are detachably connected by magnetic attraction; a gantry 21 is arranged on the base 24, and two wire mounting brackets 22 are installed on the gantry 21; an X-axis moving guide rail 20 is vertically slidably installed on the gantry 21, and a A power assembly for driving the X-axis movable guide rail 20 to move. Further, the power assembly includes a servo motor and a lead screw. The servo motor is installed on the gantry 21. The lead screw is connected to the output shaft of the servo motor. A slider is installed on the X-axis movable guide rail 20 so that the slider is threadedly connected to the lead screw. The X-axis movable guide rail 20 can be driven to move up and down by adjusting the rotation direction of the lead screw. The movable box 1 is slidably installed on the X-axis movable guide rail 20. A second linear module for driving the movable box 1 to move along its length direction is installed on the X-axis movable guide rail 20. The above-mentioned structure enables the movable box 1 to move in three dimensions.

[0043] The embodiments of the present invention are described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and various changes can be made within the knowledge scope of technicians in the relevant technical field without departing from the purpose of the present invention.

Claims

1. A feeding mechanism for a 3D printer, characterized in that: include: A mobile box (1), wherein a wire conveying mechanism, a heating head (13) and a glue outlet nozzle (14) are installed on the inner side of the mobile box (1); A vertical wire pipe (201) and an oblique wire pipe (202), wherein the vertical wire pipe (201) is vertically arranged on the moving box (1) and is communicated with the inner side of the moving box (1), the vertical wire pipe (201) is located directly above the wire conveying mechanism, and the oblique wire pipe (202) is obliquely connected to the bottom end of the vertical wire pipe (201), and the oblique wire pipe (202) is communicated with the vertical wire pipe (201); Two movable tubes (3), the bottom ends of the two movable tubes (3) are slidably mounted on the inner sides of the vertical wire tube (201) and the oblique wire tube (202) respectively; Two sets of wire fixing mechanisms are provided, and the wire fixing mechanisms on both sides are respectively installed at the upper ends of the two movable tubes (3). The wire fixing mechanisms include a mounting frame (4) and a wire clamping assembly that applies a certain pressure to the wires. The mounting frame (4) is installed at the upper end of the movable tube (3), and the wire clamping assembly is installed on the mounting frame (4).

2. A feeding mechanism for a 3D printer according to claim 1, characterized in that: A funnel (6) is provided at the upper ends of the mounting frames (4) on both sides, and the opening diameter of the bottom end of the funnel (6) is equal to the inner diameter of the movable tube (3).

3. A feeding mechanism for a 3D printer according to claim 2, characterized in that: The movable box (1) is connected to a bracket (5), and the bracket (5) is provided with two pull ropes (16) that movably pass through the upper end thereof. The two pull ropes (16) are respectively connected to the mounting frames (4) on both sides, and the other ends of the two pull ropes (16) are connected to pull rings (17).

4. The feeding mechanism of a 3D printer according to claim 1, characterized in that: The wire conveying mechanism comprises a gear (111), an anti-skid wheel (112) and two motors (10); the gear (111) and the anti-skid wheel (112) are both rotatably mounted on the inner side of a moving box (1); there is a gap between the gear (111) and the anti-skid wheel (112) for the wire to pass through; the two motors (10) are both mounted on the moving box (1), and the output shafts of the two motors (10) are respectively connected to the rotating shaft of the gear (111) and the rotating shaft of the anti-skid wheel (112).

5. The feeding mechanism of a 3D printer according to claim 1, characterized in that: Sliding holes (401) are provided on both sides of the mounting frame (4), two sliding seats (25) are slidably mounted in the sliding holes (401) on both sides, guide slide bars (8) are provided in the sliding holes (401) on both sides, the two sliding seats (25) on the corresponding sides are slidably mounted on the guide slide bars (8), and springs (9) are sleeved and mounted on both ends of the guide slide bars (8); the wire clamping assembly comprises two clamping rollers (7) arranged side by side, and the two ends of the clamping rollers (7) are rotatably mounted on the sliding seats (25) on the corresponding sides.

6. The feeding mechanism of a 3D printer according to claim 1, characterized in that: The wire conveying mechanism, the heating head (13) and the glue outlet nozzle (14) are arranged in sequence from top to bottom.

7. The feeding mechanism of a 3D printer according to claim 1, characterized in that: The included angle between the vertical wire tube (201) and the oblique wire tube (202) is in the range of 10°-60°.

8. A 3D printer, characterized in that: A feeding mechanism for a 3D printer according to any one of claims 1 to 7, comprising: A base (24), a tablet computer (19) is mounted on a side of the base (24); A Y-axis moving platform (18), the Y-axis moving platform (18) is arranged above a base (24), a first linear module for driving a printing plate (23) to move is installed on the base (24); a printing plate (23) is arranged on the Y-axis moving platform (18), and a detachable connection is achieved between the printing plate (23) and the Y-axis moving platform (18) by means of magnetic attraction; A gantry (21), the gantry (21) is arranged on a base (24), and two wire mounting brackets (22) are mounted on the gantry (21); An X-axis movable guide rail (20) is vertically slidably mounted on a gantry (21), and a power assembly for driving the X-axis movable guide rail (20) to move is mounted on the gantry (21); a movable box (1) is slidably mounted on the X-axis movable guide rail (20), and a second linear module for driving the movable box (1) to move along its length direction is mounted on the X-axis movable guide rail (20).

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