FDM3D printer consumable tension balancing device

Abstract

The invention discloses an FDM 3D printer consumable tension balancing device which comprises a sliding table, a sliding frame, a reset spring, a rack, a ratchet gear, a pawl, a ratchet shaft, a rotary damper and the like, and the reset spring is installed between the sliding table and the sliding frame and used for absorbing tension generated by sudden acceleration of consumables; the rack is mounted on the sliding frame and meshed with the ratchet wheel gear to work; the outer side of the ratchet gear is provided with positive teeth meshed with the rack, and the inner side of the ratchet gear is provided with ratchets matched with the pawl; the pawl is arranged on the ratchet shaft and is matched with the inner side ratchet of the ratchet gear to work; the ratchet spring is connected with the pawl and the ratchet shaft and used for resetting the pawl and ensuring normal work of the ratchet gear; the ratchet shaft is mounted on an output shaft of the rotary damper; the rotary damper is mounted on the sliding table; the problems of consumable breakage, consumable knotting and the like caused by sudden increase or sudden disappearance of the tension of the consumable in the printing process are effectively solved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of 3D printing, and in particular to a tension balancing device for consumables of an FDM 3D printer. Background Art

[0002] During the printing process of the FDM3D printer, linear consumables (such as PLA, ABS, etc.) start from the material tray, pass through the consumable duct, enter the feeder, and are further squeezed through the feed gear to enter the nozzle for printing. In this process, due to the rapid reciprocating motion of the nozzle, the consumables repeatedly pull the heavy material tray, which will cause the tension of the consumables to suddenly increase or disappear during the printing process. A sudden increase in tension will cause the feeding mechanism to overload, the motion mechanism to lose steps, or even the consumables to break. A sudden disappearance of tension will cause the material tray to rotate excessively, the consumables on the material tray to loosen, or even fall off the edge of the material tray, causing the consumables to become knotted, seriously affecting the normal printing operation, printing quality, and printing speed. Summary of the invention

[0003] The present invention provides a tension balancing device for consumables of an FDM 3D printer. The purpose of the present invention is to solve a series of printing problems caused by the fluctuating tension of consumables when a 3D printing head moves at high speed, and to ensure that the tension of the consumables is always relatively stable.

[0004] A tension balancing device for consumables of an FDM 3D printer, comprising:

[0005] A disc assembly, used for discing consumables;

[0006] A slide, which serves as a mounting platform for the tension balancing device, and a guide assembly is mounted on the slide;

[0007] A slide, which is slidably mounted on the slide table together with the guide assembly, and the consumables are inserted into the feeder through the slide;

[0008] The return spring is installed between the slide and the carriage to absorb the tension caused by the sudden acceleration of the consumables;

[0009] A rack, which is mounted on the carriage and meshes with the ratchet gear;

[0010] The ratchet gear has spur teeth on the outside that mesh with the rack and ratchet teeth on the inside that work with the pawl;

[0011] A pawl, which is mounted on the ratchet shaft and works in cooperation with the inner ratchet teeth of the ratchet gear;

[0012] A ratchet spring connected to the ratchet pawl and the ratchet shaft and used to reset the ratchet pawl to ensure the normal operation of the ratchet gear;

[0013] A ratchet shaft mounted on the output shaft of a rotary damper; the rotary damper is mounted on the slide;

[0014] A feeder, which uses the consumables to perform printing operations;

[0015] When feeding quickly, the feeder pulls the consumables, and the tension of the consumables increases, causing the slide to move downward to compress the reset spring, and the reset spring absorbs the tension caused by the sudden acceleration of the consumables; when feeding stops, the slide moves upward due to the elastic force of the reset spring, thereby balancing the relaxation force of the consumables. When the slide moves upward, the ratchet gear rotates counterclockwise. At this time, under the reverse thrust of the pawl, the ratchet shaft and the ratchet gear rotate synchronously, and the ratchet shaft drives the rotary damper to rotate synchronously. The rotary damper causes the slide to rise slowly, and the pressure of the reset spring is slowly released.

[0016] As a further technical solution of the present invention, the guide assembly includes:

[0017] A slider is mounted on the carriage so that the carriage slides up and down along the guide rail;

[0018] The guide rail is installed on the slide and its function is to guide.

[0019] As a further technical solution of the present invention, it also includes limit blocks, which are installed at both ends of the guide rail to prevent the sliding block from falling off.

[0020] As a further technical solution of the present invention, the tray assembly includes a tray, which is a standard packaging tray for 3D printing consumables, installed on a tray bracket, and the tray bracket is used to mount the tray.

[0021] As a further technical solution of the present invention, a consumable guide tube and a slide cover are installed on the slide, the consumable guide tube is used to guide the movement direction of the consumables, and the slide cover is used to fix the consumable guide tube.

[0022] As a further technical solution of the present invention, the feeder includes a feed gear and a nozzle, and the rotation of the gear drives the consumables into the nozzle for printing. The feed gear is used to drive the consumables to move, and the nozzle is used to heat and then spray liquid consumables for printing.

[0023] Beneficial effects achieved by the present invention:

[0024] The present invention introduces a tension balancing device for FDM 3D printer consumables, which effectively solves the problems of consumables breakage, consumables knotting, etc. caused by sudden increase or disappearance of consumables tension during printing, thereby improving printing quality, printing speed and printing success rate. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] Figure 1It is a structural schematic diagram of a tension balancing device for FDM 3D printer consumables.

[0026] Figure 2 This is the schematic diagram of the tension balancing device balancing the tension of consumables.

[0027] Figure 3 It is a three-dimensional diagram of the tension balance device structure.

[0028] Figure 4 This is the schematic diagram of the rack and ratchet mechanism of the tension balancing device.

[0029] Figure 5 A three-dimensional diagram of the consumable guide tube.

[0030] Notes on the figure numbers: 1-slide, 2-slider, 3-guide rail, 4-limit block, 5-reset spring, 6-slide, 7-consumable guide tube, 8-slide cover, 9-consumable, 10-tray, 11-tray bracket, 12-feeder, 13-feed gear, 14-nozzle, 15-workpiece, 16-printing base plate, 17-rack, 18-ratchet gear, 19-pawl, 20-ratchet spring, 21-ratchet shaft, 22-rotational damper. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] The technical solution of the present invention is described in detail below in conjunction with the specific drawings.

[0032] See also Figures 1 to 5 , an embodiment of the present invention provides a tension balancing device for consumables of a FDM 3D printer, comprising:

[0033] A tray assembly, used for storing consumables 9 in trays, wherein the consumables 9 are 3D printing consumables (PLA, ABS, etc.);

[0034] A slide 1, which serves as a mounting platform for the tension balancing device, and a guide assembly is mounted on the slide 1;

[0035] The slide 6 and the guide assembly are slidably arranged on the slide 1, and the consumable material 9 passes through the slide 6 and is inserted into the feeder 12;

[0036] A return spring 5, which is installed between the slide 1 and the carriage 6, and whose function is to absorb the tension generated by the sudden acceleration of the consumable 9;

[0037] A rack 17 mounted on the carriage 6 and meshing with a ratchet gear 18;

[0038] The ratchet gear 18 has spur teeth on the outside, meshing with the rack 17, and ratchet teeth on the inside, cooperating with the pawl 19;

[0039] A ratchet pawl 19, which is mounted on the ratchet shaft 21 and cooperates with the inner ratchet teeth of the ratchet gear 18;

[0040] A ratchet spring 20, which is connected to the ratchet pawl 19 and the ratchet shaft 21, and is used to reset the ratchet pawl 19 to ensure the normal operation of the ratchet gear 18;

[0041] The ratchet shaft 21 is mounted on the output shaft of the rotary damper 22, on which three ratchet pawls 19 and three ratchet springs 20 are mounted; the rotary damper 22 is mounted on the slide 1, and the output shaft of the rotary damper 22 has a fixed rotation resistance, which is used to prevent the pressure of the reset spring 5 from being released instantly when the slide 6 is reset when the consumable 9 suddenly loses tension, thereby damaging the mechanism;

[0042] A feeder 12 uses the consumable material 9 to perform printing operations.

[0043] In this embodiment, the guide assembly includes:

[0044] The slider 2 is mounted on the slide 6 so that the slide 6 slides up and down along the guide rail 3;

[0045] The guide rail 3 is installed on the slide 1 and its function is to guide. The number of the guide rails 3 is two.

[0046] In this embodiment, there is also a limit block 4 installed at both ends of the guide rail 3 to prevent the slider 2 from falling off.

[0047] In this embodiment, the tray assembly includes a tray 10 , which is a standard packaging tray for 3D printing consumables and is mounted on a tray bracket 11 . The tray bracket 11 is used to mount the tray 10 .

[0048] In this embodiment, a consumable guide tube 7 and a slide cover plate 8 are installed on the slide 6 . The consumable guide tube 7 is used to guide the movement direction of the consumable 9 , and the slide cover plate 8 is used to fix the consumable guide tube 7 .

[0049] In this embodiment, the feeder 12 includes a feed gear 13 and a nozzle 14. The gear 13 rotates to drive the consumable 9 into the nozzle 14 for printing. The feed gear 13 is used to drive the consumable 9 to move. The nozzle 14 is used to spray liquid consumable 9 after heating for printing. The printing base plate 16 is used to support the printed workpiece 15 and ensure that the workpiece 15 is firmly bonded.

[0050] In this embodiment, when the printer nozzle 14 moves quickly from one point to another and feeds quickly, the feed gear 13 will pull the consumables 9, and the tension of the consumables 9 will increase. At this time, the material tray 10 starts to rotate from a stationary state under the tension of the consumables 9, but due to the large inertia of the material tray 10, the acceleration is slow. At this time, the tension of the consumables 9 is applied to the slide 6 through the consumable guide tube 7, and the slide 6 moves downward to compress the reset spring 5. At the same time, the rack 17 drives the ratchet gear 18 to rotate clockwise. When the ratchet gear 18 rotates clockwise, the pawl 19 is repeatedly pressed down and repeatedly bounces up under the elastic force of the ratchet spring 20. Therefore, when the ratchet gear 18 rotates clockwise, the ratchet shaft 21 does not rotate, and there is no resistance generated by the rotation damper 22. Therefore, the speed of the slide 6 moving downward is relatively fast, and it can quickly balance the sudden increase in the tension of the consumables 9 caused by the rapid movement of the nozzle 14.

[0051] When the nozzle 14 moves in the opposite direction and stops feeding, the tension of the consumable 9 will disappear instantly. As mentioned above, when the material tray 10 is in motion, due to the principle of inertia, it will not stop immediately, but will continue to rotate at a certain angle, thus causing the consumable 9 to be in a relaxed state. At this time, due to the elastic force of the return spring 5, the slide 6 moves upward, thereby balancing the relaxation force of the consumable 9.

[0052] When the carriage 6 moves upward, the ratchet gear 18 rotates counterclockwise. At this time, under the reverse thrust of the pawl 19, the ratchet shaft 21 rotates synchronously with the ratchet gear 18, and the ratchet shaft 21 drives the rotary damper 22 to rotate synchronously. Therefore, the carriage 6 moves slowly upward, which serves to slowly increase the tension of the consumable 9 so that the material tray 10 does not suddenly accelerate or decelerate.

[0053] The present invention introduces a tension balancing device for FDM 3D printer consumables, which effectively solves the problems of consumables breakage, consumables knotting, etc. caused by sudden increase or disappearance of consumables tension during printing, thereby improving printing quality, printing speed and printing success rate.

[0054] 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.

[0055] 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. A tension balancing device for FDM 3D printer consumables, characterized in that: include; A disc assembly, used for discing consumables; A slide, which serves as a mounting platform for the tension balancing device, and a guide assembly is mounted on the slide; A slide, which is slidably mounted on the slide table together with the guide assembly, and the consumables are inserted into the feeder through the slide; The return spring is installed between the slide and the carriage to absorb the tension caused by the sudden acceleration of the consumables; A rack, which is mounted on the carriage and meshes with the ratchet gear; The ratchet gear has spur teeth on the outside that mesh with the rack and ratchet teeth on the inside that work with the pawl; A pawl, which is mounted on the ratchet shaft and works in cooperation with the inner ratchet teeth of the ratchet gear; A ratchet spring connected to the ratchet pawl and the ratchet shaft and used to reset the ratchet pawl to ensure the normal operation of the ratchet gear; A ratchet shaft mounted on the output shaft of a rotary damper; the rotary damper is mounted on the slide; A feeder, which uses the consumables to perform printing operations; When feeding quickly, the feeder pulls the consumables, and the tension of the consumables increases, causing the slide to move downward to compress the reset spring, and the reset spring absorbs the tension caused by the sudden acceleration of the consumables; when feeding stops, the slide moves upward due to the elastic force of the reset spring, thereby balancing the relaxation force of the consumables. When the slide moves upward, the ratchet gear rotates counterclockwise. At this time, under the reverse thrust of the pawl, the ratchet shaft and the ratchet gear rotate synchronously, and the ratchet shaft drives the rotary damper to rotate synchronously. The rotary damper causes the slide to rise slowly, and the pressure of the reset spring is slowly released.

2. A FDM 3D printer consumables tension balancing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The guide assembly comprises: A slider is mounted on the carriage so that the carriage slides up and down along the guide rail; The guide rail is installed on the slide and its function is to guide.

3. A tension balancing device for FDM 3D printer consumables according to claim 2, characterized in that: It also includes limit blocks, which are installed at both ends of the guide rail to prevent the slider from falling off.

4. A FDM 3D printer consumables tension balancing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The tray assembly includes a tray, which is a standard packaging tray for 3D printing consumables and is installed on a tray bracket, and the tray bracket is used to mount the tray.

5. The FDM 3D printer consumable material tension balancing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: A consumable guide tube and a slide cover are installed on the slide. The consumable guide tube is used to guide the movement direction of the consumable, and the slide cover is used to fix the consumable guide tube.

6. The FDM 3D printer consumable material tension balancing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The feeder includes a feed gear and a nozzle. The rotation of the gear drives the consumables into the nozzle for printing. The feed gear is used to drive the consumables to move, and the nozzle is used to heat and then spray liquid consumables for printing.

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