Elastic drum type printing head

Abstract

The invention belongs to the technical field of additive manufacturing, and particularly discloses an elastic drum type printing head. The elastic drum type printing head comprises a fixing module, an elastic drum feeding module, a pushing module and a heating module, the elastic drum feeding module comprises an elastic drum body and a feeding structure, the elastic drum body is detachably connected with the fixing module, and a storage cavity used for storing bars and provided with a discharging port is formed in the elastic drum body; the feeding structure is used for pushing bars in the cartridge drum body to a discharging port of the cartridge drum body; the pushing module and the heating module are both arranged on the fixing module, a hot extrusion channel is formed in the heating module, the output end of the pushing module, the discharging port of the elastic drum body and the hot extrusion channel of the heating module are coaxially arranged, and the pushing module is used for pushing a bar at the discharging port into the hot extrusion channel to be heated and extruded. The elastic drum type printing head has the advantages of being compact in structure, convenient to operate and high in adaptability.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application belongs to the technical field of additive manufacturing, and more specifically, relates to a drum-type print head. Background Art

[0002] Material Extrusion Additive Manufacturing (MEAM) is an additive manufacturing technology based on a binder system. The core principle of this technology is to fully stir and mix powder particles of metals, ceramics, or other functional materials with wax-based or polymer-based binder materials under heating and pressurization conditions, and then form a rod with a relatively large diameter (usually ≥6 mm) through an extrusion or injection molding process. Then, based on this rod, the extrusion additive manufacturing of parts is carried out.

[0003] Compared with the filament raw materials (diameter 1.75 mm or 2.85 mm) used in traditional Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM / FFF) technology, the rods used in material extrusion additive manufacturing technology have significant advantages: their thick diameter design (up to more than 6 mm) not only improves the raw material loading efficiency but also avoids the waste of storage space caused by filament winding. However, currently, most traditional MEAM print heads have problems such as complex structure, low efficiency, and difficult maintenance, which seriously limit the application expansion of material extrusion additive manufacturing technology in the high-end manufacturing field. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of the defects or improvement requirements of the prior art, this application provides a drum-type print head to improve the problems of complex structure, low efficiency, and difficult maintenance of traditional MEAM print heads.

[0005] A drum-type print head provided by this application includes a fixed module, a drum feeding module, a pushing module, and a heating module, where: The drum feeding module includes a drum body and a feeding structure. The drum body is detachably connected to the fixed module. A storage cavity for storing rods and having a discharge port is provided inside the drum body, and the feeding structure is used to push the rods in the storage cavity to the discharge port one by one; Both the pushing module and the heating module are provided on the fixed module. A hot extrusion channel is formed inside the heating module. The output end of the pushing module, the discharge port of the drum body, and the hot extrusion channel of the heating module are coaxially arranged. The pushing module is used to push the rod at the discharge port into the hot extrusion channel for heating and extrusion.

[0006] As a further preference, a convex structure is provided inside the drum body, and the side wall of the drum body close to the fixed module bulges outwards to form an arc-shaped plate structure, where: The convex structure and the arc plate structure enclose a material storage channel that spirally extends from the middle of the drum body to the outer edge of the drum body, and the rod materials can be arranged one by one in the material storage channel along the extension direction of the material storage channel; The drum body encloses the discharge port based on the arc plate structure, and uses the arc inner wall surface of the arc plate structure as the guiding surface for the rod materials.

[0007] As a further preference, the drum body includes a base and a drum cover, and the drum cover and the base can be detachably separated from each other to open the material storage channel.

[0008] As a further preference, the arc plate structure is arranged on the side surface of the base, and the convex structure includes a first convex structure arranged on the inner bottom wall of the base and a second convex structure arranged on the end surface of the drum cover; After the drum cover and the base are connected to each other, the first convex structure and the second convex structure are distributed up and down and jointly enclose the material storage channel with the arc plate structure, and a gap for the feeding structure to extend into the material storage channel is formed between the first convex structure and the second convex structure.

[0009] As a further preference, a pressing self-locking structure for connecting the fixing module and the drum body is arranged between the fixing module and the drum body.

[0010] As a further preference, the feeding structure includes: A push arm structure, the push arm structure is rotatably connected to the drum body, and the push arm structure extends into the material storage channel to push the rod material to move; An elastic member, the elastic member is connected to the push arm and the drum body, and the elastic member can release elastic potential energy after being pre-tightened to drive the push arm to rotate and push the rod material.

[0011] As a further preference, the push arm structure includes: A knob, which is rotatably arranged at the center of the drum body and is connected to the elastic member and the drum body; ]>A first push arm, which is fixedly connected to the knob and has a cantilever portion extending towards the side wall of the drum body; A second push arm, which is rotatably connected to the cantilever portion and has a pushing end extending into the material storage channel. When the knob rotates, the knob drives the second push arm through the first push arm, so that the pushing end of the second push arm moves along the extension direction of the material storage channel.

[0012] As a further preference, the heating module includes: A throat tube, which has a preheating channel for guiding the rod material; A heater, which has a heating channel for guiding the rod material; A nozzle, which has an extrusion channel for extruding the material; Among them, the preheating channel, the heating channel, and the extrusion channel are connected in series from top to bottom to form the thermal extrusion channel, and the heater is used to heat and preheat the rod stock in the heating channel and the preheating channel.

[0013] As a further preference, the heating module further includes a forward radiator and a lateral radiator. There are heat dissipation fins arranged on the outer periphery of the throat tube, where: The forward radiator faces the heat dissipation fins and is used for convective heat dissipation of the heat dissipation fins; The air outlet of the lateral radiator is located on the side of the nozzle and is used for cooling the material extruded by the nozzle.

[0014] As a further preference, the drum-type print head further includes a protective shell with openings. The protective shell is detachably connected to the fixing module, and the protective shell covers the outside of the material pushing module and the heating module.

[0015] Generally speaking, compared with the prior art through the above technical solutions conceived by this application, the following technical advantages are mainly possessed: 1. The drum-type print head of this design adopts a modular design, which makes the print head highly integrated and has the characteristics of simple structure and compact structure; in particular, a unique drum-type feeding design is adopted in this design, which can support users to quickly change materials with one hand, making operation and maintenance extremely convenient; and by coaxially arranging the output end of the material pushing module, the discharge port of the drum body, and the thermal extrusion channel of the heating module, it can ensure that the feeding accuracy deviation is extremely small, significantly improving the printing stability.

[0016] 2. This print head can be generally installed on most printing devices conveniently with the fixing module as the installation basis, which is conducive to the cross-platform use of the print head; under the unique modular design, the unity of structural compactness, cross-platform adaptability, and operation convenience can be achieved while ensuring printing accuracy. Description of the Drawings

[0017] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a drum-type print head provided by an embodiment of this application; Figure 2 is an overall structural schematic diagram of a drum-type print head provided by an embodiment of this application; Figure 3 is a partial structural schematic diagram of a drum-type print head provided by an embodiment of this application; Figure 4 is a structural schematic diagram of the fixing module, the material pushing module, the female head seat, and the heating module provided by an embodiment of this application; Figure 5 is an exploded view of the drum body provided by an embodiment of this application; Figure 6It is a cross-sectional view of the drum body provided by an embodiment of the present application; Figure 7 It is a schematic structural diagram of the base and the feeding structure provided by an embodiment of the present application; Figure 8 It is a schematic structural diagram of the drum cover provided by an embodiment of the present application; Figure 9 It is a schematic diagram of the feeding structure provided by an embodiment of the present application; Figure 10 It is a schematic diagram of the heating module provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0018] In all the drawings, the same reference numerals are used to represent the same elements or structures, where: 1. Fixed module; 2. Pushing module; 3. Heating module; 3-1. Throat tube; 3-1a. Heat sink; 3-2. Heater; 3-3. Nozzle; 3-4. Transition flange; 3-5. Forward radiator; 3-6. Lateral radiator; 3-7. Air duct; 4. Drum body; 4-1. Discharge port; 4-2. Material storage channel; 4-3. Base; 4-4. Drum cover; 4-5. Arc plate structure; 4-6. First convex structure; 4-7. Second convex structure; 5. Feeding structure; 5-1. Knob; 5-2. First push arm; 5-3. Second push arm; 6. Female head seat; 7. Male head seat; 8. Limit switch; 9. Protective shell. Detailed implementation manners

[0019] In order to make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the present application clearer, the present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present application and are not used to limit the present application.

[0020] Currently, there are prominent problems in the print head design of existing MEAM devices, such as structural redundancy, poor adaptability, and difficult maintenance, which seriously restrict the popularization of this technology in industrial application scenarios.

[0021] Although the current mainstream MEAM print heads adopt a split structure design, such as physically separating components such as the feeding mechanism and the heating module. However, this separation is often achieved through complex mechanical connectors (such as multiple groups of brackets and adapter plates), resulting in a bloated overall structure, typically excessive weight, and the need to additionally configure external guiding components (such as linear guides and timing belts) to ensure the working coordination of each component.

[0022] This design exposes obvious defects when dealing with industrial multi-material printing or large-size device adaptation: First, the interface standards of devices from different manufacturers are not unified, which requires redesigning the adapter structure when the print head is switched between different devices; Second, when the feeding gear is blocked or the heating rod fails, maintenance personnel need to disassemble multiple fasteners and recalibrate, and the average maintenance time exceeds 15 minutes; In addition, the traditional modular design fails to solve the collaborative optimization problem between the feeding system and the motion platform, severely restricting the high-frequency switching ability of multi-color / multi-material.

[0023] In response to the above problems, several improvement schemes have been proposed in the prior art, but all have obvious limitations. For example, although the quick-release feeding system uses snap connections for the cartridge, the feeding gear spacing still needs to be manually adjusted during actual material replacement; The miniaturized print head design reduces the volume by shortening the length of the Bowden tube, but increases the feeding resistance of flexible materials (such as TPU) by more than 30%; Although some standardized interface schemes define a unified mounting hole pitch, they do not fully consider the differences in the vibration characteristics of the hot beds of different models, and are prone to resonance phenomena with an amplitude exceeding 0.1 mm during high-speed printing. More critically, the existing modular solutions generally fail to achieve the collaborative optimization of function concentration and volume compression. The separated design of the feeding module and the heating module improves the maintainability, but the additional mass of 150 - 200 g of moving parts will reduce the printing acceleration by up to 40%.

[0024] In summary, the current MEAM print head technology still faces the problem of unifying structural compactness, cross-platform adaptability, and operational convenience while ensuring printing accuracy. The prior art has not provided a satisfactory solution, which directly restricts the application expansion of MEAM technology in the high-end manufacturing field. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a new modular print head design solution to fundamentally solve the above technical problems.

[0025] The following will further elaborate on this application Figures 1 - 10 in more detail.

[0026] The embodiments of this application disclose a drum-type print head, which can achieve the unity of structural compactness, cross-platform adaptability, and operational convenience while ensuring printing accuracy. Refer to Figures 1 - 6, the drum - type print head includes a fixing module 1, a drum feeding module, a material pushing module 2, and a heating module 3. Among them, the drum feeding module includes a drum body 4 and a feeding structure 5. The drum body 4 is detachably connected to the fixing module 1. A storage cavity for storing bar materials and having a discharging port 4 - 1 is provided inside the drum body 4. The feeding structure 5 is used to push the bar materials in the drum body 4 one by one to the discharging port 4 - 1 of the drum body 4; both the material pushing module 2 and the heating module 3 are arranged on the fixing module 1. A hot extrusion channel is formed inside the heating module 3. The output end of the material pushing module 2, the discharging port 4 - 1 of the drum body 4, and the hot extrusion channel of the heating module 3 are coaxially arranged. The material pushing module 2 is used to push the bar material at the discharging port 4 - 1 into the hot extrusion channel for heating and extrusion.

[0027] Further, in some embodiments, a storage channel 4 - 2 for arranging and placing bar materials is provided in the drum body 4. The storage channel 4 - 2 extends in a spiral shape to the outer wall surface of the drum body 4; the bar materials can be arranged one by one along the extending direction of the storage channel 4 - 2 in the storage channel 4 - 2, and the bar materials can reach the discharging port 4 - 1 with the push of the material pushing module 2, so that the bar materials are in the position to be pushed one by one, ensuring the stability and accuracy of the material pushing.

[0028] Further, as Figure 5 and Figure 6 shown, in some embodiments, the drum body 4 is generally cylindrical, including a base 4 - 3 and a drum cover 4 - 4. The drum cover 4 - 4 is detachably connected to the base 4 - 3. The drum cover 4 - 4 and the base 4 - 3 can be detachably separated from each other to open the storage channel 4 - 2. Both the side walls of the drum cover 4 - 4 and the base 4 - 3 have a hollow - out design, which is convenient for observing the feeding process and the remaining number of bar materials.

[0029] Specifically, a convex structure is provided inside the drum body 4. An arc - shaped plate structure 4 - 5 protrudes outward from the side wall of the drum body 4 close to the fixing module 1. Among them, the convex structure and the arc - shaped plate structure 4 - 5 enclose a storage channel 4 - 2 that spirally extends from the middle of the drum body 4 to the outer edge of the drum body 4. Preferably, the ratio of the pitch of the spiral - shaped storage channel 4 - 2 to the diameter of the bar material is 1.2:1 to 1.5:1, ensuring the smooth movement of the bar materials.

[0030] As Figure 6 and Figure 7 shown, in some specific embodiments, the base 4 - 3 is in the shape of a semi - cylindrical body with an open top and a hollow - out side wall. The drum cover 4 - 4 is detachably connected to the upper end of the base 4 - 3 (for example, the drum cover 4 - 4 has a fixed bayonet structure, and the base 4 - 3 correspondingly has a slot).

[0031] Further, the convex structure includes a first convex structure 4-6 and a second convex structure 4-7. The first convex structure 4-6 is disposed on the inner bottom wall of the base 4-3 and extends spirally. The first convex structure 4-6 is connected to the arc plate structure 4-5. The bottom center of the base 4-3 has a mounting orifice for mounting the feeding structure 5, and an arc plate structure 4-5 protrudes outward from the side wall of the base 4-3.

[0032] Wherein, the base 4-3 forms a perforation coaxial with the output end of the pushing module 2 inside the arc plate structure 4-5, and the arc plate structure 4-5 and the perforation form the discharge port 4-1 of the drum body 4, and the arc inner wall surface of the arc plate structure 4-5 and the inner wall surface of the perforation are used as the guiding surfaces for the rod material.

[0033] Wherein, the second convex structure 4-7 is formed on the end face of the drum cover 4-4, and the extending path of the second convex structure 4-7 is substantially the same as that of the first convex structure 4-6. In this design, when the base 4-3 and the drum cover 4-4 are spliced together, a gap as shown in Figure 6 is maintained between the first convex structure 4-6 and the second convex structure 4-7 to ensure that the feeding structure 5 can extend into the storage channel along this gap to perform the pushing operation of the rod material.

[0034] Of course, in some other embodiments, the second convex structure 4-7 may not be provided on the end face of the drum cover 4-4, and the first convex structure 4-6 is directly used as the main component of the storage channel 4-2. At this time, a gap should be left between the top of the first convex structure 4-6 and the drum cover 4-4.

[0035] Further, in some embodiments, the feeding structure 5 includes a pushing arm structure and an elastic member. Among them, the pushing arm structure is rotatably connected to the drum body 4, and the pushing arm structure extends into the storage channel 4-2 to push the rod material to move; the elastic member is connected to the pushing arm and the drum body 4, and the elastic member can elastically recover after being pre-tightened to drive the pushing arm to rotate and push the rod material, and can continuously pre-position the rod material at the discharge port 4-1.

[0036] Under this design, the feeding structure 5 does not have complex mechanical transmission designs such as feeding gears, but is based on the elastic recovery effect of the elastic member and the guidance of the storage channel 4-2. This design can achieve self-adaptive calibration of the rod material position, and does not require disassembling too many components during maintenance operations.

[0037] Preferably, as Figure 9As shown, in some embodiments, the push arm structure includes a knob 5-1, a first push arm 5-2, and a second push arm 5-3. The knob 5-1 is rotatably disposed at the center of the magazine body 4 and is connected to the elastic member and the magazine body 4. The first push arm 5-2 is fixedly connected to the knob 5-1 and has a cantilevered portion extending toward the side wall of the magazine body 4. The second push arm 5-3 is rotatably connected to the cantilevered portion and has a push end that extends into the storage channel 4-2. The push end is preferably a rod-shaped structure.

[0038] When the knob 5-1 rotates, the knob 5-1 drives the second push arm 5-3 through the first push arm 5-2, so that the pushing end of the second push arm 5-3 moves along the extension direction of the storage channel 4-2, pushing the rod material to move toward the discharge port 4-1.

[0039] Further, such as Figure 6 As shown, the elastic member includes, but is not limited to, a coil spring (not shown). When the coil spring is used as the elastic member, a chamber is formed at the mounting opening of the base 4-3. The inner ring of the coil spring is fixed to the knob 5-1, and the outer ring of the coil spring is fixed inside the chamber. Furthermore, the base 4-3 has a removable cover for covering the chamber, and the cover has a through-hole for the knob 5-1 to pass through.

[0040] During actual use, by turning the knob 5-1, the rotation of the knob 5-1 drives the coil spring to contract, storing elastic potential energy. After releasing the knob 5-1, the elastic potential energy is released through the coil spring, driving the coil knob to rotate, further driving the first push arm 5-2 and the second push arm 5-3 to rotate, pushing the rod material to move outward along the storage channel 4-2 to the discharge port 4-1. Under the action of the elastic potential energy of the coil spring, one side of the rod material at the discharge port 4-1 is restricted by the arc plate structure 4-5, and the other side is exerted with lateral resistance force under the action of the elastic potential, so as to achieve precise positioning of the rod material at the discharge port 4-1.

[0041] Further, such as Figure 4 and Figure 5 As shown, in some embodiments, a push-locking structure is provided between the fixing module 1 and the magazine body 4 for connecting the two. Preferably, the push-locking structure includes a female seat 6 and a male seat 7. The female seat 6 and the male seat 7 preferably adopt a spring groove locking method to achieve push-locking, so that the magazine body 4 can be quickly installed with the fixing module 1.

[0042] Specifically, if Figure 4 As shown, the female head seat 6 is installed in the fixed module 1. The female head seat 6 has a spring with a groove for clamping the male head seat 7. The female head seat 6 serves as a fixed end and has a semicircular notch structure on the side facing the drum feeding module to facilitate the alignment of the loading structure and align the push rod and the center of the rod. There is an annular structure with an angled angle at the bottom to correct possible tilt of the rod.

[0043] Among them, the male head seat 7 is installed on the side of the drum body 4 and is located at the discharge port 4-1. By pressing and inserting the male head seat 7 into the female head seat 6, the male head seat 7 can be self-locked in the spring of the female head seat 6 to achieve rapid installation and positioning between the drum body 4 and the fixed module 1, ensuring the correct feeding position. By pulling the drum body 4, the drum body 4 can be quickly separated from the fixed module 1. In addition, in some specific implementations, the main structure of the female head seat 6 can be integrally processed as a part of the fixed module 1.

[0044] Further, as Figure 3 and Figure 4 shown, in some embodiments, the pusher module 2 includes a push rod motor, which is fixed on the fixed module 1, and the central axis of the push rod is coaxial with the perforation at the discharge port of the drum feeding module to ensure the stability of pushing the material.

[0045] In some specific embodiments, the pusher motor itself is equipped with a push rod, usually a lead screw passing through the pusher motor. The pusher motor can be a stepper motor or a servo motor. When the motor rotates, it drives the push rod to push up and down. When the push rod is pushed upward and reaches a certain distance, it will trigger the limit switch 8 installed above it on the fixed module 1. This position can be set as the origin position of the push rod in the software (the setting principle is prior art and will not be elaborated here) to facilitate better control of the pusher process.

[0046] In other embodiments, the pusher module 2 includes a friction wheel and a driving motor. The friction wheel can contact the bar stock, and by driving the friction wheel to rotate through the driving motor, the bar stock can be driven to move by the friction wheel; in this improvement, the loading end discharge port of the drum-type feeding module needs a corresponding hollow design to meet the requirement of the friction wheel contacting the bar stock.

[0047] Further, in some embodiments, as Figure 10 shown, the heating module 3 includes a throat tube 3-1, a heater 3-2, and a nozzle 3-3. Among them, the throat tube 3-1 is arranged below the drum feeding module, and the throat tube 3-1 has a preheating channel for guiding the bar stock. The heater 3-2 is arranged below the throat tube 3-1, and the heater 3-2 has a heating channel for guiding the bar stock; the nozzle 3-3 is arranged below the heater 3-2, and the nozzle 3-3 has an extrusion channel for extruding the material; among them, the preheating channel, the heating channel, and the extrusion channel are sequentially connected in series to form a through hot extrusion channel, and the heater 3-2 can heat the bar stock in the heating channel and preheat the bar stock in the preheating channel.

[0048] Specifically, the upper part of the throat tube 3-1 is connected with a transition flange 3-4. The transition flange 3-4 is a flange with a certain length, and the flange plate surface is machined with fixing threads. The upper part of the transition flange 3-4 is fixedly assembled with the annular structure through a plurality of screws, so that the bar stock moves correctly along the directions of the transition flange 3-4, the throat tube 3-1, the heater 3-2, and the nozzle 3-3, and the path deviation is ≤0.1 mm.

[0049] Further preferably, the heater 3-2 is preferably a heating head. The heating head is connected to the nozzle 3-3 below and the throat tube 3-1 above. There is a notch in the heating head, and components such as heating sheets and temperature sensors are installed in the notch. The temperature is controlled at an appropriate value through the heating sheets and temperature sensors to reach the melting temperature of the bar stock, and at the same time, part of the heat is conducted to the throat tube 3-1 to preheat the bar stock.

[0050] In some preferred embodiments, the outside of the heating head is also covered with a silica gel sleeve to ensure the heating rate; preferably, the silica gel sleeve is a high-temperature resistant silica gel sleeve with a thickness of 2-3 mm (Shore hardness 50A-70A), and the clearance between its inner surface and the heating head is ≤0.2 mm. In actual use, by using a temperature controller to collect the temperature parameters of the temperature sensor and dynamically adjust the output power of the heating sheet, the temperature of the heating head can be ensured to be at the set value.

[0051] Furthermore, the discharge hole diameter of the nozzle 3-3 can be designed according to the printing requirements, and its size can reach 0.2 mm.

[0052] Furthermore, as Figure 3 shown, in some embodiments, the heating module 3 further includes a forward radiator 3-5 and a lateral radiator 3-6. Heat dissipation fins 3-1a are arranged on the outer periphery of the throat tube 3-1; wherein, a fixing plate is fixed on the transition flange 3-4, and the forward radiator 3-5 and the lateral radiator 3-6 are fixed on the fixing plate. The forward radiator 3-5 faces the radiator and is used for convective heat dissipation to the heat dissipation fins 3-1a; the air outlet of the lateral radiator 3-6 is located on the side of the nozzle 3-3 and is used for cooling the material extruded by the nozzle 3-3. Preferably, two lateral radiators 3-6 are provided and are respectively arranged on both sides of the nozzle 3-3. The lateral radiator 3-6 includes a fan and an air duct 3-7. In actual use, the air volume can be controlled by using PWM through the upper computer.

[0053] In some specific embodiments, the inner diameter of the preheating channel can be slightly larger than the diameter of the bar stock, and its length can be appropriately adjusted according to the length of the bar stock. The heat dissipation fins 3-1a are usually two heat dissipation fins with a semi-circular structure in the middle. The two heat dissipation fins 3-1a are combined to cover the throat tube 3-1, and thermal conductive silicone grease is applied, which can achieve the cooling of the throat tube 3-1, and the throat tube 3-1 and the heating head are in threaded fit.

[0054] Under this design, the outside of the throat 3-1 is wrapped with a heat sink 3-1a, and a forward heat sink 3-5 is used to conduct convective heat dissipation to the heat sink 3-1a, which can prevent the temperature of the throat 3-1 from being too high. The lateral heat sink 3-6 is in a lateral air outlet mode, and the air flow is guided to the extruded semi-solid material through the air ducts 3-7 on both sides of the fan fixing plate it carries, accelerating its cooling speed, and the air flow direction forms an angle of 30°-60° with the movement direction of the extruded material.

[0055] In some embodiments, the drum-type print head further includes a protective shell 9 with openings. The protective shell 9 is detachably connected to the fixing module 1, and the protective shell 9 covers the outside of the material pushing module 2, the heating module 3, and the extrusion module. The fixing module 1 is preferably a standardized fixing module. The fixing module 1 has assembly holes, and the assembly holes are standard threaded holes or aluminum profile interfaces, which can be adapted to the vast majority of industrial-grade 3D printing devices.

[0056] Specifically, a connecting plate is installed on the back of the fixing plate of the fixing module 1 by screws. The connecting plate protrudes from both sides of the fixing plate, and the connecting plate also has assembly holes. The fixing module 1 realizes switching installation between different devices through the connecting plate (the connecting plate can be replaced if necessary).

[0057] Specifically, the above-mentioned push rod motor, limit switch 8, and drum feeding module are all fixed on the fixing plate of the fixing module 1. The back of the fixing plate is connected to the wire trough box. The cables of all components are routed through the back to reduce space interference, realizing the coordinated optimization of function concentration and volume compression.

[0058] In addition, the whole of this print head is encapsulated on the fixing plate via the protective shell 9. The protective shell 9 has an opening design above, and a quick-release plug, such as an aviation connector, can be installed, which is convenient for the installation and disassembly of the print head. The side of the protective shell 9 also has an opening design for ventilation and heat dissipation.

[0059] In some embodiments, for the rod material used for extrusion printing, the functional material can be metal, ceramic, or a combination of the two, as well as other powder materials, and the binder material can be wax-based, polymer-based materials, and other materials with low melting points.

[0060] When actually using this drum-type print head, material-based additive manufacturing can be carried out based on this print head. The printed parts are degreased and sintered to complete the forming of the final part products. The drum feeding module adopted in this design can supply materials in real time, reduce the time-consuming of the material changing link, and can improve the production efficiency of the part products as a whole.

[0061] This design achieves efficient and stable material extrusion through an innovative modular design and a self-locking, press-type drum feed mechanism. The printhead utilizes a coaxial design between the pusher module 2 and the drum body 4, ensuring feeding accuracy within 0.1mm. An integrated temperature control system keeps material temperature fluctuations within ±2°C, significantly improving printing stability. Furthermore, this design eliminates the need for complex mechanical connectors and external guide components, resulting in a compact and lightweight printhead.

[0062] Furthermore, the unique drum-style feeding design of this application enables quick, one-handed material changes, reducing operation time to less than 3 seconds. Combined with the standardized fixing module 1, it is compatible with most industrial-grade 3D printing equipment. Furthermore, the entire machine adopts an integrated cable housing design to avoid cable entanglement, and the quick-disassembly structure of the pusher module 2 improves maintenance efficiency.

[0063] In addition, this design is particularly suitable for high-filler (60 vol%) metal / ceramic composite rods with a diameter of 6 mm or more. The lateral forced air cooling system increases the material cooling rate by 40%, effectively reducing interlayer thermal stress deformation, providing a reliable solution for the additive manufacturing of high-quality complex parts, and is conducive to the application and expansion of MEAM technology in the field of high-end manufacturing.

[0064] Additionally, in some embodiments, multiple drum print heads may be combined to achieve multi-material mixed printing or batch printing.

[0065] It should be understood that expressions such as "include" and "may include" used in this application indicate the existence of the disclosed functions, operations, or constituent elements, and do not limit one or more additional functions, operations, and constituent elements. In this application, terms such as "include" and / or "have" may be interpreted as indicating a specific characteristic, number, operation, constituent element, component, or combination thereof, but may not be interpreted as excluding the existence or possibility of adding one or more other characteristics, numbers, operations, constituent elements, components, or combinations thereof.

[0066] It should be understood that the terms "center", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "inside", "outside", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", "axial", "radial", "circumferential", etc., indicating the orientation or position relationship, are based on the orientation or position relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on the present application.

[0067] In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the quantity of the indicated technical features. Thus, features defined with "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of such features. In the description of this application, "a plurality of" means two or more unless otherwise specifically defined.

[0068] In this application, unless otherwise clearly specified and defined, terms such as "mounted", "connected", "coupled", "fixed", etc. shall be construed in a broad sense. For example, it may be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it may be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it may be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, and it may be the communication inside two elements. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in this application can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0069] It is easy for those skilled in the art to understand that the above are only the preferred embodiments of this application and are not intended to limit this application. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principle of this application shall be included within the protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. A drum-type print head, characterized in that, It includes a fixing module (1), a drum feeder module, a pushing module (2) and a heating module (3), wherein: The drum feeder module includes a drum body (4) and a feeding structure (5). The drum body (4) is detachably connected to the fixing module (1). A storage cavity for storing bar stock and having a discharge port (4-1) is provided in the drum body (4). The feeding structure (5) is used to push the bar stock in the storage cavity to the discharge port (4-1) one by one; The pushing module (2) and the heating module (3) are both arranged on the fixing module (1). A hot extrusion channel is formed inside the heating module (3). The output end of the pushing module (2), the discharge port (4-1) of the drum body (4) and the hot extrusion channel of the heating module (3) are coaxially arranged. The pushing module (2) is used to push the bar stock at the discharge port (4-1) into the hot extrusion channel for heating and extrusion.

2. The drum-type print head according to claim 1, wherein, A convex structure is provided in the drum body (4). The side wall of the drum body (4) close to the fixing module (1) protrudes outward to form an arc plate structure (4-5), wherein: The convex structure and the arc plate structure (4-5) enclose a storage channel (4-2) that spirally extends from the middle of the drum body (4) to the outer edge of the drum body (4). The bar stock can be arranged one by one in the storage channel (4-2) along the extending direction of the storage channel (4-2); The drum body (4) encloses the discharge port (4-1) based on the arc plate structure (4-5), and uses the arc inner wall surface of the arc plate structure (4-5) as the guiding surface of the bar stock.

3. The drum-type print head according to claim 2, wherein, The drum body (4) includes a base (4-3) and a drum cover (4-4). The drum cover (4-4) and the base (4-3) can be detachably separated from each other to open the storage channel (4-2).

4. The drum-type print head according to claim 3, wherein, The arc plate structure (4-5) is arranged on the side surface of the base (4-3). The convex structure includes a first convex structure (4-6) arranged on the inner bottom wall of the base (4-3) and a second convex structure (4-7) arranged on the end surface of the drum cover (4-4); After the drum cover (4-4) is connected to the base (4-3), the first convex structure (4-6) and the second convex structure (4-7) are distributed up and down and jointly enclose the storage channel (4-2) with the arc plate structure (4-5), and a gap for the feeding structure (5) to extend into the storage channel (4-2) is formed between the first convex structure (4-6) and the second convex structure (4-7).

5. The drum-type print head according to claim 1, characterized in that, A pressing self-locking structure for connecting the fixing module (1) and the drum body (4) is provided between them.

6. The drum-type print head according to claim 1, wherein, The feeding structure (5) includes: A push arm structure, which is rotatably connected to the drum body (4). The push arm structure extends into the storage channel (4-2) to push the bar stock to move; An elastic member, which is connected to the push arm and the drum body (4). The elastic member can release elastic potential energy after being pre-tightened to drive the push arm to rotate and push the bar stock.

7. The drum-type print head according to claim 6, wherein, The push arm structure includes: A knob (5-1) rotatably penetrates through the center of the drum body (4) and is connected to an elastic member and the drum body (4); A first push arm (5-2) fixedly connected to the knob (5-1), having an overhanging portion extending toward the side wall of the drum body (4); A second push arm (5-3) rotatably connected to the overhanging portion, having a pushing end extending into the material storage channel (4-2). When the knob (5-1) rotates, the knob (5-1) drives the second push arm (5-3) through the first push arm (5-2), so that the pushing end of the second push arm (5-3) moves along the extending direction of the material storage channel (4-2).

8. The drum-type print head according to claim 1, wherein, The heating module (3) includes: A throat tube (3-1) having a preheating channel for guiding the bar stock; A heater (3-2) having a heating channel for guiding the bar stock; A nozzle (3-3) having an extrusion channel for extruding the material; Wherein, the preheating channel, the heating channel, and the extrusion channel are sequentially connected in series from top to bottom to form the hot extrusion channel, and the heater (3-2) is used to heat and preheat the bar stock in the heating channel and the preheating channel.

9. The drum-type print head according to claim 8, wherein The heating module (3) further includes a forward radiator (3-5) and a lateral radiator (3-6). Heat dissipation fins (3-1a) are provided on the outer periphery of the throat tube (3-1), wherein: The forward radiator (3-5) faces the heat dissipation fins (3-1a) for convective heat dissipation of the heat dissipation fins (3-1a); The air outlet of the lateral radiator (3-6) is located on the side of the nozzle (3-3) for cooling the material extruded by the nozzle (3-3).

10. The drum-type print head according to any one of claims 1-9, characterized in that, The drum-type print head further includes a protective shell (9) with openings. The protective shell (9) is detachably connected to the fixing module (1), and the protective shell (9) covers the outside of the material pushing module (2) and the heating module (3).

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