Automatic cleaning device for feeding gear of FDM 3D printer

Abstract

The invention discloses an automatic cleaning device for a feeding gear of an FDM 3D printer, and the automatic cleaning device comprises a feeder main body which is used for bearing all parts of a system; the material pressing wheel support is installed on the feeding machine body, a material pressing wheel is installed on the material pressing wheel support, pressure is continuously provided for the material pressing wheel through a material pressing spring, continuous feeding force is provided for consumables in cooperation with a feeding gear, and the printing requirement is met; the detection wheel support is provided with a detection wheel reset spring and a detection wheel, and the detection wheel is tightly meshed with the feeding gear all the time through the elastic force of the detection wheel reset spring; the photoelectric sensor is used for identifying whether the position of the detection wheel is normal; and the brush assembly is used for cleaning residues in the gap groove of the feeding gear. The situation that printing fails due to blockage and slipping of the feeding gear of the printer is effectively solved, meanwhile, the automatic cleaning device can effectively solve the problems of manual inspection and manual cleaning, personnel investment is reduced, and working efficiency is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of 3D printing, and in particular to an automatic cleaning device for a feed gear of an FDM 3D printer. Background Art

[0002] The working principle of the existing FDM3D printer feeder is: the feed gear tooth tip clamps the cylindrical surface of the wire, and then rotates to squeeze the filament into the nozzle. Since the filaments mainly targeted by the FDM3D printing principle are non-metallic materials such as PLA, ABS, PETG, PEEK, etc., during the long-term operation of the feeder, the gap groove of the feed gear will often be filled with filament residues, resulting in a significant reduction in the protruding length of the gear tooth tip, thereby greatly reducing the friction with the linear filament, resulting in gear blockage and slippage, which further leads to material shortage during the printing process, insufficient density of the printed workpiece, or even printing failure.

[0003] It is obviously very difficult to manually intervene and clean the gear gap groove during the printing process. It is difficult to detect and clean it at any time. In addition, most 3D printer feeders are equipped with dust covers to prevent dust. The feed gears are inconvenient to observe and difficult to clean. At the same time, it is impossible to clean it in the middle of printing. By the time the gear is found to be slipping, the printed workpiece is inevitably scrapped.

[0004] Due to the above defects, the phenomenon of feed gear clogging and slipping of FDM3D printers poses certain risks to the long-term operation of large printers. At present, the main cleaning method is manual regular cleaning or stopping the machine for cleaning when the density of the printed workpiece is greatly reduced.

[0005] As mentioned above, the current FDM3D printer feed gear cleaning mainly relies on manual labor, and the gear blockage and slippage are related to the printing environment, temperature, printing speed, and materials. They are random phenomena and unpredictable. Therefore, the cleaning of the feed gear is not only laborious, but also easily leads to the scrapping of workpieces, especially large workpieces, which take more than ten days to print. If the gear is blocked or slipped during printing, the time cost and asset cost lost are immeasurable, and the resulting product delivery delay is even more difficult to make up. Summary of the invention

[0006] The present invention provides an automatic cleaning device for a feed gear of an FDM 3D printer. The purpose of the present invention is to detect the blocking state of the feed gear by a meshing method and automatically clean the consumables residue in the gap of the feed gear to solve the above-mentioned problem.

[0007] An automatic cleaning device for a feeding gear of an FDM 3D printer, comprising:

[0008] The feeder body is used to carry all the components of the system;

[0009] The pressure wheel bracket is installed on the feeder body. The pressure wheel bracket is installed with a pressure wheel. The pressure spring continuously provides pressure to the pressure wheel and cooperates with the feed gear to provide continuous feeding force for the consumables to ensure printing requirements.

[0010] The detection wheel bracket is provided with a detection wheel reset spring and a detection wheel, and the detection wheel is always closely meshed with the feed gear by the elastic force of the detection wheel reset spring;

[0011] Photoelectric sensor, used to identify whether the position of the detection wheel is normal;

[0012] The brush assembly is used to clean the residue in the gap groove of the feed gear.

[0013] As a further technical solution of the present invention, it also includes a feed motor, which is used to receive a feed signal sent by the host to rotate, drive the feed gear, and then transport the required consumables for the printing process.

[0014] As a further technical solution of the present invention, the number of teeth, module and tooth width of the detection wheel are equal to those of the feed gear. The detection wheel is installed on the detection wheel bracket and is kept in close mesh with the feed gear by the elastic force provided by the detection wheel reset spring.

[0015] As a further technical solution of the present invention, the brush assembly comprises:

[0016] The brush motor is a miniature reduction stepping motor, which is used to drive the brush head to rotate, so as to clean the residue in the gap groove of the feed gear;

[0017] The coupling is used to connect the brush motor and the brush shaft, so that the rotation of the main shaft of the brush motor drives the brush shaft to rotate, and further drives the brush head to rotate.

[0018] As a further technical solution of the present invention, the brush assembly further includes:

[0019] Photoelectric sensor is used to detect the position of the brush head to ensure that the brush head is in the lower position when it stops working, so as not to affect the normal operation of the feed gear;

[0020] The shading sheet is installed on the brush shaft and rotates simultaneously with the brush shaft when working. When stopped, the shading sheet is in the sensing slot of the photoelectric sensor, thereby ensuring that the brush head is in the lower position when not working;

[0021] The brush shaft is used to install the brush head and the shading sheet, and is fixed to the feeder body through two bearing seats. At the same time, it is connected to the main shaft of the brush motor through a coupling to rotate.

[0022] As a further technical solution of the present invention, the brush head is a semicircular brush, and the bristles are copper wires, which can effectively remove foam and residues of consumables.

[0023] As a further technical solution of the present invention, it also includes a brush controller, which is used to control the rotation of the brush motor.

[0024] As a further technical solution of the present invention, it also includes a nozzle, which is an extrusion element of the consumables.

[0025] Beneficial effects achieved by the present invention:

[0026] The present invention introduces an automatic cleaning device for the feed gear of an FDM 3D printer, which effectively solves the problem of printing failure caused by blockage and slippage of the printer feed gear. At the same time, the automatic cleaning device can effectively solve the problems of manual inspection and manual cleaning, reduce manpower input, and improve work efficiency, especially improve the success rate of printing large workpieces, and provide technical guarantee for the application of large printers. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an automatic cleaning device for the feed gear of an FDM 3D printer.

[0028] Figure 2 This is a cross-sectional view of the normal state of the feed gear of an FDM 3D printer's automatic cleaning device.

[0029] Figure 3 This is a working diagram of a feed gear blockage state of an automatic cleaning device for an FDM 3D printer feed gear.

[0030] Figure 4 This is a partial schematic diagram of the working status of the feed gear cleaning brush.

[0031] Figure 5 This is the control logic diagram of the automatic cleaning device.

[0032] Notes on figure numbers: 1-feeding machine body, 2-pressing spring, 3-pressing wheel bracket, 4-pressing wheel, 5-consumables, 6-feeding motor, 7-feeding gear, 8-detection wheel bracket, 9-detection wheel reset spring, 10-detection wheel, 11-photoelectric sensor, 12-brush motor, 13-coupling, 14-photoelectric sensor, 15-shading sheet, 16-brush shaft, 17-brush head, 18-bearing, 19-nozzle, 20-brush controller. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0033] The technical solution of the present invention is described in detail below in conjunction with the specific drawings.

[0034] See also Figures 1 to 5 , an embodiment of the present invention provides an automatic cleaning device for a feed gear of a FDM 3D printer, comprising:

[0035] Feeder body 1, used to carry all parts of the system;

[0036] The pressure wheel bracket 3 is installed on the feeder body 1. The pressure wheel bracket 2 is equipped with a pressure wheel 4. The pressure spring 2 continuously provides pressure to the pressure wheel 4 and cooperates with the feed gear 7 to provide continuous feeding force for the consumable 5 to ensure printing requirements. The consumable 5 is a linear consumable dedicated to the FDM3D printer;

[0037] A feed motor 6, which is used to receive a feed signal sent by the host to rotate, drive a feed gear 7, and then transport the consumables 5 required for the printing process;

[0038] The detection wheel bracket 8 is provided with a detection wheel reset spring 9 and a detection wheel 10. The detection wheel 10 is always tightly meshed with the feed gear 7 by the elastic force of the detection wheel reset spring 9.

[0039] The number of teeth, module and tooth width of the detection wheel 10 are all equal to those of the feed gear 7. The detection wheel 10 is installed on the detection wheel bracket 8 and is kept in close mesh with the feed gear 7 by the elastic force provided by the detection wheel reset spring 9.

[0040] The photoelectric sensor 11 is used to identify whether the position of the detection wheel 10 is normal. If the detection wheel 10 is normally engaged with the feed gear 7, the detection wheel bracket 8 is in the left position, and the photoelectric sensor 11 outputs a low level. When the gap groove of the feed gear 7 is blocked by consumable residues, the detection wheel 10 engaged with the feed gear 7 will be pushed to the right. At this time, the detection wheel bracket 8 is in the right position, and the light of the photoelectric sensor 11 is blocked, and the output is a high level. Figure 3 As shown;

[0041] The brush assembly is used to clean the residue in the gap groove of the feed gear 7.

[0042] The brush assembly comprises:

[0043] The brush motor 12 is a miniature reduction stepping motor, which is used to drive the brush head 17 to rotate, so as to clean the residue in the gap groove of the feed gear 7. Figure 4 As shown;

[0044] The coupling 13 is used to connect the brush motor 12 and the brush shaft 16, so that the rotation of the main shaft of the brush motor 12 drives the brush shaft 16 to rotate, and further drives the brush head 17 to rotate.

[0045] The photoelectric sensor 14 is used to detect the position of the brush head 17 to ensure that the brush head 17 is in the lower position when it stops working, so as not to affect the normal working of the feed gear 7;

[0046] The shading sheet 15 is mounted on the brush shaft 16 and rotates simultaneously with the brush shaft 16 when working. When stopped, the shading sheet 15 is in the sensing groove of the photoelectric sensor 14, thereby ensuring that the brush head 17 is in the lower position when not working;

[0047] The brush shaft 16 is used to install the brush head 17 and the shading sheet 15, and is fixed to the feeder body 1 through two bearing seats 18, and is connected to the main shaft of the brush motor 12 through the coupling 13 for rotation; the function of the bearing seat 18 is to fix the brush shaft 16 on the feeder body 1 and ensure that the brush shaft 16 rotates smoothly.

[0048] The brush head 17 is a semicircular brush. When working, the brush head 17 rotates to remove the residue in the inter-tooth groove of the feed gear 7 to ensure that the inter-tooth groove of the feed gear 7 is clean and in normal working state; when not working, the semicircle of the brush head 17 with bristles is in the lower position, which does not affect the normal working of the feed gear 7. The bristles are copper wires, which can effectively remove the foam residue of the consumables 5.

[0049] It also includes a nozzle 19, which is an extrusion element for the consumables 5. The purpose of keeping the feed gear 7 clean is to effectively transport the consumables 5 to the nozzle 19 to ensure a normal and stable printing process.

[0050] It also includes a brush controller 20, which is used to control the rotation of the brush motor 12. When there is no residue in the gap of the feed gear 7, the detection wheel 10 is normally engaged with the feed gear 7, the detection wheel bracket 8 is in the left position, and the photoelectric sensor 11 outputs a low level, the brush controller 20 does not drive the brush motor 12 to work. When the gap groove of the feed gear 7 is blocked by consumable residue, the detection wheel 10 meshing with the feed gear 7 will be pushed to the right. At this time, the detection wheel bracket 8 is in the right position, the light of the photoelectric sensor 11 is blocked, and the output is a high level. The brush controller 20 drives the brush motor 12 to drive the coupling 13 to rotate, further drives the brush shaft 16 to rotate, and further drives the brush head 17 to rotate. After this process continues for a period of time, the photoelectric sensor 11 detects the position of the detection wheel bracket 8 again until it outputs a low level. At this time, there is no residue in the gap of the feed gear 7, the detection wheel 10 is normally meshed with the feed gear 7, and the detection wheel bracket 8 is in the left position. The brush controller 20 drives the brush motor 12 to rotate the brush head 17 to the lower position, and the automatic cleaning work ends and enters the next detection cycle.

[0051] The above-mentioned automatic cleaning device for the feed gear of the FDM3D printer effectively solves the problem of printing failure caused by blockage or slipping of the printer feed gear 7. At the same time, the automatic cleaning device can effectively solve the problems of manual inspection and manual cleaning, reduce manpower input, and improve work efficiency, especially improve the success rate of printing large workpieces, and provide technical guarantee for the application of large printers.

[0052] It should be noted that, in this article, the term "comprises" or any other variant thereof is intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or device including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also includes other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. In the absence of more restrictions, an element defined by the sentence "comprises a ..." does not exclude the existence of other identical elements in the process, method, article or device including the element.

[0053] The above are only preferred 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 cleaning device for a feeding gear of a FDM 3D printer, characterized in that: include; The feeder body is used to carry all the components of the system; The pressure wheel bracket is installed on the feeder body. The pressure wheel bracket is installed with a pressure wheel. The pressure spring continuously provides pressure to the pressure wheel and cooperates with the feed gear to provide continuous feeding force for the consumables to ensure printing requirements. The detection wheel bracket is provided with a detection wheel reset spring and a detection wheel, and the detection wheel is always closely meshed with the feed gear by the elastic force of the detection wheel reset spring; Photoelectric sensor, used to identify whether the position of the detection wheel is normal; The brush assembly is used to clean the residue in the gap groove of the feed gear.

2. The automatic cleaning device for the feed gear of a FDM 3D printer according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a feed motor, which is used to receive a feed signal sent by the host to rotate, drive the feed gear, and then transport the required consumables for the printing process.

3. The automatic cleaning device for the feed gear of a FDM 3D printer according to claim 1, characterized in that: The number of teeth, module and tooth width of the detection wheel are all equal to those of the feed gear. The detection wheel is installed on the detection wheel bracket and is kept in close mesh with the feed gear by the elastic force provided by the detection wheel reset spring.

4. The automatic cleaning device for the feed gear of a FDM 3D printer according to claim 1, characterized in that: The brush assembly comprises: The brush motor is a miniature reduction stepping motor, which is used to drive the brush head to rotate, so as to clean the residue in the gap groove of the feed gear; The coupling is used to connect the brush motor and the brush shaft, so that the rotation of the main shaft of the brush motor drives the brush shaft to rotate, and further drives the brush head to rotate.

5. The automatic cleaning device for the feed gear of a FDM 3D printer according to claim 4, characterized in that: The brush assembly also includes: Photoelectric sensor is used to detect the position of the brush head to ensure that the brush head is in the lower position when it stops working, so as not to affect the normal operation of the feed gear; The shading sheet is installed on the brush shaft and rotates simultaneously with the brush shaft when working. When stopped, the shading sheet is in the sensing slot of the photoelectric sensor, thereby ensuring that the brush head is in the lower position when not working; The brush shaft is used to install the brush head and the shading sheet, and is fixed to the feeder body through two bearing seats. At the same time, it is connected to the main shaft of the brush motor through a coupling to rotate.

6. The automatic cleaning device for the feeding gear of a FDM 3D printer according to claim 4, characterized in that: The brush head is a semicircular brush, and the bristles are copper wires, which can effectively remove the foam and residue of the consumables 5.

7. The automatic cleaning device for the feed gear of a FDM 3D printer according to claim 4, characterized in that: It also includes a brush controller, which is used to control the rotation of the brush motor.

8. The automatic cleaning device for the feed gear of a FDM 3D printer according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also included is a nozzle, which is an extrusion element for the consumables.

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