Multi-nozzle 3D printer

Abstract

The invention relates to a multi-nozzle 3D printer. The multi-nozzle 3D printer is an integrated structural design integrating printing, leveling, curing and waste treatment functions. An X-axis, Y-axis and Z-axis linkage structure is adopted, a triangular three-nozzle assembly is arranged on the front side of a lifting bearing seat, a blowing device with a gradually-shrinking airflow channel and a heatable leveling roller are arranged on the rear side of the lifting bearing seat, efficient leveling and rapid curing of a printing layer are achieved, and a waste wax removing device is of a V-shaped groove clamping type scraper structure. The air blowing device is matched with a tooth groove flow guide channel and a double-heating system, solidified waste is effectively removed and recycled, the dust removal device is combined with a negative pressure dust suction pipe through an arc-shaped cover body, wax particles are synchronously collected in the operation process, the section compression ratio design of the air blowing device ranging from 3: 1 to 5: 1 is matched with a temperature feedback adjusting system, and accurate and controllable air flow output is ensured. According to the equipment, through cooperative work of multiple mechanisms, the printing precision, the material utilization rate and the cleanliness of the production environment are remarkably improved, and the equipment is particularly suitable for high-quality 3D printing scenes such as precision casting wax molds.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of 3D printer devices, and particularly to a multi-nozzle 3D printer. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, due to its advantages such as rapid prototyping and complex structure manufacturing, 3D printing technology has been widely applied in fields such as industrial design and precision casting. Multi-nozzle 3D printers achieve wax mold printing by configuring multiple nozzles, further expanding the technical application scenarios. However, the existing technology still has the following bottlenecks in practical applications: 1. Traditional devices mostly rely on a single nozzle to stack layer by layer, lacking an efficient interlayer leveling mechanism, which easily leads to rough surfaces or weak interlayer bonding forces. Although some solutions introduce leveling rollers, they do not combine temperature control and air flow assistance, making it difficult to achieve uniform material spreading and rapid curing simultaneously; 2. In scenarios such as wax mold printing, the waste wax removed by the scraper is easily adhered to the leveling roller or scattered inside the device. Traditional collection devices lack anti-solidification design and efficient diversion structures, resulting in difficult cleaning, material waste, and device pollution; 3. Dust or fine particles generated during the printing and leveling processes are easily diffused into the working environment, affecting printing accuracy and the health of operators. Most existing devices do not integrate an active dust removal system.

[0003] In response to the above problems, the existing technology attempts to improve by optimizing the nozzle path, adding auxiliary heating, etc., but there is still a lack of systematic integration in aspects such as leveling, curing, waste treatment, and environmental control. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a multi-nozzle 3D printing device that integrates high-precision printing, intelligent leveling and curing, efficient waste recycling, and environmental purification to break through the limitations of the existing technology and meet the requirements of high-quality scenarios such as precision manufacturing. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In response to the existing problems, the present invention proposes a multi-nozzle 3D printer, which significantly improves printing accuracy, material utilization rate, and cleanliness of the production environment through the coordinated operation of multiple mechanisms.

[0005] The present invention proposes a multi-nozzle 3D printer, comprising:

[0006] A base platform, on the surface of which there is an X-axis linear guide extending along the X-axis direction, and a reciprocally movable printing platform is slidably connected to the X-axis linear guide;

[0007] A support frame, vertically and fixedly arranged in the middle area of the base platform and extending upward along the Z-axis direction, and Z-axis linear guides are symmetrically arranged inside it;

[0008] A carrier seat, which is liftably assembled on the Z-axis linear guide;

[0009] A printing nozzle, which is installed on the front working surface of the carrier seat through a Y-axis linear guide;

[0010] Leveling and curing mechanism, including:

[0011] Leveling roller, rotatably mounted on the rear working surface of the carrier seat through a bearing seat, and the rotation axis of the leveling roller is parallel to the Y-axis direction;

[0012] Blowing device, extending along the Y-axis direction and arranged behind the leveling roller, with a tapered air flow channel inside, an air outlet slit formed at the end of the air flow channel, the extending direction of the air outlet slit being parallel to the axial direction of the leveling roller, and the air ejection direction being inclined away from the leveling roller, forming an acute angle of 20-40° with the surface of the printing platform.

[0013] Preferably, it further includes a waste wax removal device for removing and collecting the residual wax on the leveling roller, which includes:

[0014] Scraper, whose blade edge is in contact with the surface of the leveling roller and the scraping direction is opposite to the rotation direction of the leveling roller;

[0015] Fixed seat, composed of a base and an upper seat assembled, the base is provided with a V-shaped groove along the length direction, the upper seat is fitted into the V-shaped groove, and the bottom of the scraper is clamped and fixed between the inner wall of one side of the V-shaped groove and the upper seat;

[0016] Diversion structure, including a plurality of upper tooth grooves provided on the upper seat, drainage holes penetrating the bottom wall of the upper tooth grooves, and diversion holes provided on the inner wall of the other side of the V-shaped groove, the drainage holes and the diversion holes are connected to form a waste wax diversion channel;

[0017] Collection tank, located below the fixed seat and communicated with the outlet end of the diversion hole, for receiving the waste wax discharged from the diversion channel.

[0018] Preferably, a plurality of lower tooth grooves are formed on the side wall of the V-shaped groove of the base connected to the scraper, and the lower tooth grooves correspond to the upper tooth grooves of the upper seat for guiding the removed waste wax into the collection tank.

[0019] Preferably, a cavity is provided along the axial direction of the leveling roller, and a first heating tube is arranged in the cavity for heating the leveling roller and maintaining its working temperature.

[0020] Preferably, a second heating tube is arranged at the lower part of the outer side wall of the collection tank, and the heating area of the second heating tube corresponds to the waste wax collection area of the collection tank for preventing the waste wax from solidifying in the collection tank.

[0021] Preferably, it further includes a dust removal device, which includes: an arc-shaped cover body, with a gap of 3-5 mm between its inner arc surface and the scraping surface of the leveling roller; a vertical fixing part extending from one side of the arc-shaped cover body, connected to the upper end of the bearing seat of the leveling roller by bolts; a horizontal extension part extending from the other side of the arc-shaped cover body, and the distal end thereof covers more than 2 / 3 of the area of the opening of the collection tank.

[0022] Preferably, a plurality of dust suction ports are provided at the top end of the arc-shaped cover body, each dust suction port is connected to a dust suction pipe through a short pipe, the dust suction pipe is arranged parallel to the arc-shaped cover body, and one end of the dust suction pipe is communicated with an external negative pressure device through a connecting pipe.

[0023] Preferably, the cross-sectional compression ratio of the tapered air flow channel of the air blowing device is 3:1 to 5:1.

[0024] Preferably, a plurality of temperature sensors are arranged at the air outlet slit at the end of the air flow channel for real-time monitoring of the air outlet temperature and dynamically adjusting the rotation speed of the air inlet fan according to the temperature change.

[0025] Preferably, the printing nozzle includes a bottom plate, and three nozzles are arranged on the bottom plate in a triangular pattern.

[0026] The technical effects of the multi-nozzle 3D printer provided by the present invention are as follows:

[0027] 1. Through the combined design of the leveling roller and the tapered air blowing device, the leveling roller (heatable) performs hot pressing and leveling on the printing layer, combined with the auxiliary of the directional inclined air flow (20-40° acute angle) of the air blowing device. The inclined air flow setting prevents the interference of air blowing on hot pressing and leveling, realizes uniform spreading of materials and rapid cooling and solidification, significantly improves the interlayer bonding strength and surface smoothness, and reduces warping deformation.

[0028] 2. The waste wax removal device adopts a V-shaped groove clamping scraper structure, combined with upper and lower tooth groove diversion channels, reduces waste wax splashing, and combines a double heating system (the first heating pipe inside the leveling roller and the second heating pipe outside the collection tank) to ensure that the waste wax is effectively scraped off, prevent solidification and blockage, and is accurately recycled to the collection tank through the diversion holes, reducing material waste and equipment pollution.

[0029] 3. The triangular layout of the three nozzles optimizes the space utilization rate, combined with the XYZ three-axis linkage control, avoids movement interference, and at the same time dynamically adjusts the working state of the nozzles, improving the forming efficiency and accuracy of complex structures.

[0030] 4. The dust removal device is linked with the arc-shaped cover body and the negative pressure dust suction pipe to collect dust and fine particles synchronously during the leveling process, avoiding diffusion and pollution of the working environment, and ensuring printing accuracy and the health of operators.

[0031] 5. The tapered air flow channel (compression ratio of 3:1 to 5:1) is combined with the real-time feedback of the temperature sensor to dynamically adjust the air speed and temperature, ensuring uniform and stable air flow, improving the energy utilization efficiency; the heating design of the leveling roller and the collection tank further adapts to the characteristics of heat-sensitive materials such as wax, preventing solidification or excessive softening.

[0032] 6. The functional modules such as leveling and curing, waste removal, and dust removal are highly integrated into the carrier seat and the support frame, with a compact structure and easy disassembly, installation, and maintenance, reducing the operation and maintenance costs of the equipment.

[0033] Through the collaborative optimization of multiple mechanisms, the present invention is significantly superior to traditional equipment in terms of printing accuracy, interlayer quality, material utilization rate, environmental friendliness, and equipment reliability. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0034] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the drawings required for the description of the embodiments or the prior art. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those of ordinary skill in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative efforts.

[0035] Figure 1 It is a schematic structural diagram of the multi-nozzle 3D printer according to the embodiment of the present invention;

[0036] Figure 2 It is a schematic structural diagram of the multi-nozzle 3D printer according to the embodiment of the present invention from another perspective;

[0037] Figure 3 It is a schematic structural diagram of the whole machine of the multi-nozzle 3D printer according to the embodiment of the present invention;

[0038] Figure 4 It is a schematic structural diagram of a part of the multi-nozzle 3D printer according to the embodiment of the present invention;

[0039] Figure 5 It is Figure 4 a schematic structural diagram from another perspective of

[0040] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of the working state of the air blowing device of the multi-nozzle 3D printer according to the embodiment of the present invention;

[0041] Figure 7 It is a schematic structural diagram of the air blowing device of the multi-nozzle 3D printer according to the embodiment of the present invention;

[0042] Figure 8 It is a schematic structural diagram of a part of the air blowing device of the multi-nozzle 3D printer according to the embodiment of the present invention;

[0043] Figure 9 It is a schematic structural diagram of the waste removal device and the dust removal device of the multi-nozzle 3D printer according to the embodiment of the present invention;

[0044] Figure 10 It is a schematic structural diagram of the waste removal device of the multi-nozzle 3D printer according to the embodiment of the present invention;

[0045] Figure 11Schematic diagram of the leveling roller, fixed seat and scraper structure of the multi-nozzle 3D printer according to the embodiment of the present invention;

[0046] Figure 12 Schematic diagram of the fixed seat and scraper structure of the multi-nozzle 3D printer according to the embodiment of the present invention;

[0047] Figure 13 Schematic diagram of the dust removal device structure of the multi-nozzle 3D printer according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[0048] Reference numerals: base platform 1; X-axis linear guide 2; printing platform 3; support frame 4; Z-axis linear guide 5; carrier seat 6; printing nozzle 7; bottom plate 701; nozzle 702; leveling and curing mechanism 8; leveling roller 81; first heating tube 8101; bearing seat 82; air blowing device 83; air flow channel 831; air outlet slit 832; fan 833; temperature sensor 834; waste wax removal device 9; scraper 91; fixed seat 92; base 921; V-shaped groove 921a; diversion hole 921b; lower tooth groove 921c; upper seat 922; upper tooth groove 922a; drainage hole 922b; collection tank 93; second heating tube 9301; dust removal device 10; arc-shaped cover body 101; vertical fixing part 102; horizontal extension part 103; short tube 104; dust suction pipe 105

[0049] Figure 1 Wherein, X-Y-Z is a three-axis coordinate system. Detailed implementation manners

[0050] Next, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all the embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0051] Please refer to Figure 1 、 Figure 2 、 Figure 3 、 Figure 4 and Figure 5 , the multi-nozzle 3D printer of this embodiment includes a base platform 1. On the upper surface of the base platform 1, an X-axis linear guide 2 is arranged along the X-axis direction. A printing platform 3 that can reciprocate is slidably connected to the X-axis linear guide 2, and the printing platform 3 is driven to reciprocate along the X-axis by a servo motor driving a synchronous belt.

[0052] The support frame 4 is vertically and fixedly arranged in the middle area of the base platform 1 and extends upward along the Z-axis direction, presenting a square shape. Its bottom frame is fixedly connected to the base platform 1, and the bottom frame and the X-axis linear guide 2 form a cross-shaped structure. Z-axis linear guides 5 are symmetrically arranged on both side frames of the support frame 4. A liftable carrier 6 is assembled on the Z-axis linear guides 5. The slider of the Z-axis linear guide 5 is driven by a stepper motor located on the top frame of the support frame 4, driving the carrier 6 to move up and down.

[0053] The printing nozzle 7 is installed on the front working surface of the carrier 6 through a Y-axis linear guide, including a bottom plate 701 and three nozzles 702 distributed in a triangular shape. The extrusion temperature of each nozzle is adjusted by an independent temperature control module.

[0054] The leveling and curing mechanism 8 is arranged at the rear side of the carrier 6, including: a leveling roller 81 and a blowing device 83. The leveling roller 81 can be made of aluminum alloy or ceramic material, and a cavity is axially formed inside. A first heating tube 8101 is embedded in the cavity for heating the leveling roller 81 and maintaining its working temperature. The leveling roller 81 is rotatably installed on the rear working surface of the carrier 6 through a bearing seat 82. The rotation axis of the leveling roller 81 is parallel to the Y-axis direction. The leveling roller 81 is driven to rotate by a servo motor, and the rotation speed is adjustable.

[0055] As Figure 6 、 Figure 7 and Figure 8 shown, the blowing device 83 extends parallel to the Y-axis direction and is arranged behind the leveling roller 81. A tapered air flow channel 831 is provided inside the housing. The ratio of the inlet cross-sectional area to the outlet cross-sectional area (compression ratio) is 3:1 to 5:1. An air outlet slit 832 is formed at the end of the air flow channel 831. The extending direction of the air outlet slit 832 is parallel to the axial direction of the leveling roller 81, and the air flow ejection direction is inclined away from the leveling roller 81, forming an acute angle a of 20 - 40° (preferably 30°) with the surface of the printing platform 3. It is supplied with air by a fan 833, and the wind speed of the fan 833 is adjustable. A plurality of temperature sensors 834 are arranged at the air outlet slit 832 to monitor the outlet air temperature in real time and dynamically adjust the rotation speed of the fan for the incoming air according to the temperature change.

[0056] As Figure 9 、 Figure 10 、 Figure 11 and Figure 12 shown, the waste wax removal device 9 is used to remove the residual wax on the leveling roller 81 and collect it, including: a scraper 91, a fixed seat 92, and a collection tank 93.

[0057] The scraper 91 is made of hard alloy material, the cutting edge contacts the surface of the leveling roller 81, and the scraping direction is opposite to the rotation direction of the leveling roller.

[0058] The fixing base 92 is assembled by a base 921 and an upper seat 922. The base 921 is provided with a V-shaped groove 921a along the length direction. The upper seat 922 is fitted into the V-shaped groove 921a. The bottom of the scraper 91 is located between the inner wall of one side of the V-shaped groove 921a and the upper seat 922, and is clamped and fixed by bolts. A plurality of lower tooth grooves 921c are formed on the side wall of the V-shaped groove 921a connected to the scraper 91. A plurality of upper tooth grooves 922a are provided on the upper seat 922. The lower tooth grooves 921c correspond to the upper tooth grooves 922a. A drainage hole 922b is provided on the bottom wall of each upper tooth groove 922a. A diversion hole 921b is provided on the other side wall of the V-shaped groove 921a of the base 921 away from the scraper 91. The drainage hole 922b is communicated with the diversion hole 921b to form a waste wax diversion channel, which constitutes the diversion structure of the cleaning device.

[0059] The collecting tank 93 is located below the fixing base 92 and is communicated with the outlet end of the diversion hole 921b, and is used for receiving the waste wax discharged from the diversion channel. A second heating pipe 9301 is provided at the lower part of the outer side wall of the collecting tank 93. The heating area of the second heating pipe 9301 corresponds to the waste wax collecting area of the collecting tank 93, and is used to prevent the waste wax from solidifying in the collecting tank 93.

[0060] As Figure 9 and Figure 13 shown, the dust removal device 10 includes: an arc-shaped cover body 101, the inner arc surface of which maintains a gap of 3-5 mm from the scraping surface of the leveling roller 81 and covers the scraping area of the leveling roller 81. A vertical fixing part 102 extending from one side of the arc-shaped cover body 101 is connected to the upper end of the bearing seat 82 of the leveling roller 81 by bolts to ensure that the arc-shaped cover body 101 moves synchronously with the leveling roller 81. A horizontal extension part 103 is provided on the other side of the arc-shaped cover body 101, and the distal end thereof covers more than 2 / 3 of the area of the opening of the collecting tank 90. A plurality of dust suction ports are provided at the top of the arc-shaped cover body 101. Each dust suction port is connected to a dust suction pipe 105 through a short pipe 104. The dust suction pipe 105 is arranged parallel to the arc-shaped cover body 101, and one end of the dust suction pipe 105 is communicated with an external negative pressure device through a connecting pipe.

[0061] Workflow:

[0062] 1. Printing stage: The printing platform moves along the X-axis to below the nozzle, and the three nozzles simultaneously extrude molten wax materials according to the preset path to form a printing layer.

[0063] 2. Leveling and curing stage: The carrier seat descends until the leveling roller contacts the surface of the printing layer. The leveling roller rotates, and the first heating pipe maintains the working temperature of the roller body to hot-press and level the wax layer; the air blowing device simultaneously outputs air flow, and the inclined air flow accelerates the cooling and curing of the wax layer and avoids interfering with the leveling roller at the same time.

[0064] 3. Scrap removal stage: The scraper scrapes off the residual waste wax on the surface of the leveling roller. The waste wax is guided to the drainage holes through the upper and lower tooth grooves and flows into the collection tank through the drainage holes. The second heating pipe maintains the temperature of the collection tank to keep the waste wax fluid.

[0065] 4. Environmental purification stage: The negative pressure device is started, and the dust raised during the leveling process is sucked through the dust suction port and discharged after being filtered by the dust suction pipe.

[0066] In this embodiment, through modular design, a high degree of integration of printing, leveling, waste recycling and dust removal functions is achieved. The leveling roller and the blowing device work together to reduce the surface roughness of the wax layer to Ra≦1.6 microns, the recovery rate of waste wax reaches more than 95%, and the dust emission is reduced by 80%, significantly improving the forming quality and production efficiency of precision casting wax molds.

[0067] The above are only the preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present invention shall be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A multi-nozzle 3D printer, characterized in that: include: A base platform (1) is provided on its surface with an X-axis linear guide rail (2) extending along the X-axis direction, and a reciprocating printing platform (3) is slidably connected to the X-axis linear guide rail (2); A support frame (4) is vertically fixedly arranged in the middle area of ​​the base platform (1) and extends upward along the Z-axis direction, and a Z-axis linear guide rail (5) is symmetrically arranged on the inner side thereof; A bearing seat (6) is mounted on the Z-axis linear guide rail (5) in a liftable manner; A print head (7) is mounted on the front working surface of the bearing seat (6) via a Y-axis linear guide rail; The leveling and curing mechanism (8) comprises: A leveling roller (81) is rotatably mounted on the rear working surface of the bearing seat (6) via a bearing seat (82), and the rotation axis of the leveling roller (81) is parallel to the Y-axis direction; The air blowing device (83) is extended along the Y-axis direction and arranged behind the leveling roller (81), and a tapered air flow channel (831) is provided inside the air blowing device. An air outlet slit (832) is formed at the end of the air flow channel (831). The extension direction of the air outlet slit (832) is parallel to the axial direction of the leveling roller (81), and the air flow ejection direction is inclined away from the leveling roller (81), forming an acute angle of 20-40° with the surface of the printing platform (3).

2. The multi-nozzle 3D printer according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a waste wax removal device (9) for removing and collecting the residual wax on the leveling roller (81), which includes: A scraper (91), the edge of which contacts the surface of the leveling roller (81) and the scraping direction of which is opposite to the rotation direction of the leveling roller (81); The fixed seat (92) is composed of a base (921) and an upper seat (922) assembled together, wherein the base (921) is provided with a V-shaped groove (921a) along the length direction, the upper seat (922) is embedded in the V-shaped groove (921a), and the bottom of the scraper (91) is clamped and fixed between the inner wall of one side of the V-shaped groove (921a) and the upper seat (922); The flow guide structure comprises a plurality of upper tooth grooves (922a) provided on the upper seat (922), a flow guide hole (922b) penetrating the bottom wall of the upper tooth groove (922a), and a flow guide hole (921b) provided on the inner wall of the other side of the V-shaped groove (921a), wherein the flow guide hole (922b) is connected with the flow guide hole (921b) to form a waste wax flow guide channel; The collecting tank (93) is located below the fixing seat (92) and is in communication with the outlet end of the guide hole (921b), and is used to receive the waste wax discharged from the guide channel.

3. The multi-nozzle 3D printer according to claim 2, characterized in that: A plurality of lower tooth grooves (921c) are provided on a side wall where the V-shaped groove (921a) of the base (921) is connected to the scraper (91); the lower tooth grooves (921c) correspond to the upper tooth grooves (922a) of the upper seat (922) and are used to guide the removed waste wax into the collection tank (93).

4. The multi-nozzle 3D printer according to claim 3, characterized in that: The leveling roller (81) is provided with a cavity along its axial direction, and a first heating tube (8101) is provided in the cavity. The first heating tube (8101) is used to heat the leveling roller (81) and maintain its working temperature.

5. The multi-nozzle 3D printer according to claim 4, characterized in that: A second heating tube (9301) is provided at the lower portion of the outer wall of the collecting tank (93); the heating area of ​​the second heating tube (9301) corresponds to the waste wax collection area of ​​the collecting tank (93) and is used to prevent the waste wax from solidifying in the collecting tank (93).

6. The multi-nozzle 3D printer according to claim 2, characterized in that: It also includes a dust removal device (10), which includes: an arc-shaped cover body (101), whose inner arc surface maintains a gap of 3-5 mm with the scraping surface of the leveling roller (81); a vertical fixing portion (102) extending from one side of the arc-shaped cover body (101) and connected to the upper end of the bearing seat (82) of the leveling roller (81) through bolts; and a horizontal extension portion (103) extending from the other side of the arc-shaped cover body (101), whose far end covers more than 2 / 3 of the area of ​​the opening of the collection tank (93).

7. The multi-nozzle 3D printer according to claim 6, characterized in that: A plurality of dust suction ports are arranged at the top of the arc-shaped cover body (101), each of the dust suction ports is connected to a dust suction pipe (105) via a short pipe (104), the dust suction pipe (105) is arranged parallel to the arc-shaped cover body (101), and one end of the dust suction pipe (105) is connected to an external negative pressure device via a connecting pipe.

8. The multi-nozzle 3D printer according to claim 1, characterized in that: The cross-sectional compression ratio of the tapered airflow channel (831) of the blowing device (83) is 3:1 to 5:

1.

9. The multi-nozzle 3D printer according to claim 8, characterized in that: A plurality of temperature sensors (834) are provided at the air outlet slit (832) at the end of the air flow channel (831) for real-time monitoring of the air outlet temperature and for dynamically adjusting the rotation speed of the air inlet fan (833) according to temperature changes.

10. The multi-nozzle 3D printer according to claim 1, characterized in that: The printing nozzle (7) comprises a bottom plate (701), on which three nozzles (702) distributed in a herringbone shape are arranged.

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