Multi-material wire supply system for space additive manufacturing

Abstract

The utility model provides a multi-material wire supply system for space additive manufacturing and a working method of the multi-material wire supply system. The system comprises an elastic traction mechanism, a multi-wire pipe chain mechanism, an automatic opening and closing wire feeding mechanism, an upper base plate, a lower base plate and a nozzle. One end of a main body structure of the elastic traction mechanism is fixed on the upper substrate, and the other end is connected with the lower substrate to provide power for the multi-wire pipe chain mechanism to step, rotate and align to the nozzle; the multi-wire pipe chain mechanism is arranged outside the main body structure of the elastic traction mechanism and provides compact guiding and positioning for aligning the wire with the nozzle; the automatic opening and closing wire feeding mechanism is arranged at the other end of the elastic traction mechanism body structure and fixedly connected with the lower base plate, the multi-wire pipe chain mechanism drives different wires to be aligned with the nozzles when opened, the wires are automatically fed into the nozzles when closed, and the wires are melted or extruded after being melted. The space additive manufacturing multi-wire supply system can adapt to the extreme environment of space additive manufacturing and meet the constraint of limited space resources, and full automation and unmanned operation of space additive manufacturing multi-wire supply are achieved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of space additive manufacturing, in particular to a multi-material wire feeding system for space additive manufacturing. Background Art

[0002] Space additive manufacturing refers to additive manufacturing carried out in a space environment. This integrated forming technology brings new ideas to on-orbit in-situ manufacturing, and is expected to break through the limitations of rocket carrying volume, carrying mass, harsh mechanical conditions of the launch process, and high carrying costs, and meet the actual needs of low-cost on-orbit construction of large-size and complex structural parts.

[0003] Multi-material additive manufacturing leverages the performance advantages of different material combinations to address the mechanical performance deficiencies of single-material manufacturing, providing a new approach to improving the mechanical properties of space AM parts. However, existing multi-material additive manufacturing feed systems cannot meet the application requirements of space AM. This is because, unlike terrestrial AM, space AM not only needs to consider the severe impacts of the extreme space environment but also faces the stringent constraints of limited space resources, such as extreme constraints on structure size, weight, and power.

[0004] Currently, there are two types of wire feeding methods for ground-based multi-material additive manufacturing: single-nozzle extrusion for multiple wires and multi-nozzle extrusion for multiple wires. Besides the difference in the number of nozzles, both require multiple wire feeders, which not only introduce multiple power sources but also require supporting mechanical structures such as guides and transmissions. For example, if 10 materials are used, 10 wire feeders would be required, resulting in additional volume, weight, and power consumption. This clearly cannot meet the practical needs of multi-material additive manufacturing under space resource constraints. Other researchers have proposed a solution that uses a single wire feeder for multiple wire storage devices. However, this solution relies on gravity-assisted feeding, and alignment between the wire feeder and the wire storage device requires three-dimensional motion. In addition to the use of three motors, several auxiliary structural components are also involved. The complex motion mechanism presents challenges such as bulky structure, large size, high system power consumption, and low reliability. Furthermore, as space-based additive manufacturing faces unmanned applications, the manual insertion of different wires into the wire feeder, a method used in ground-based additive manufacturing, is no longer feasible. The method that relies on ground gravity to automatically drop the wires into the guide mechanism is also ineffective. Under the dual constraints of the extreme space environment and limited space resources, how to achieve automatic rotation of multiple filament raw materials in space additive manufacturing is an urgent problem to be solved. Utility Model Content

[0005] In view of this, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a multi-material wire feeding system for space additive manufacturing to solve the problems raised in the background technology.

[0006] Based on the above objectives, the utility model provides a multi-material wire feeding system for space additive manufacturing, comprising: an elastic traction mechanism, a multi-wire tube chain mechanism, an automatic opening and closing wire feeding mechanism, an upper base plate, a lower base plate and a nozzle;

[0007] The elastic traction mechanism is a single power source combined with an elastic tensioning structure. One end of the main structure of the elastic traction mechanism is fixed to the upper base plate, and the other end of the main structure of the elastic traction mechanism is connected to one side of the lower base plate, so as to provide power for the stepping and rotating of the multi-wire tube chain mechanism to align with the nozzle.

[0008] The multi-wire tube chain mechanism is a linear array of multiple guide tubes and a double-end winding structure of a flexible base belt, which is arranged outside the main structure of the elastic traction mechanism and is used to provide passive compact guidance and positioning for the wire to align with the nozzle;

[0009] The automatic opening and closing wire feeding mechanism is arranged at the other end of the main structure of the elastic traction mechanism and is fixedly connected to the lower base plate, and is used for automatic opening and closing and automatic wire feeding. When the multi-wire tube chain mechanism is opened, the different wires are respectively aligned with the nozzles. When closed, the wires are automatically fed into the nozzles, so that the wires are melted or extruded after being melted.

[0010] The nozzle is arranged on the other side of the lower substrate, and the filament is extruded through the nozzle.

[0011] In one embodiment, the elastic traction mechanism includes: an elastic tensioner, a traction main transmission, a traction slave transmission, a traction drive, a pipe chain driving shaft, a pipe chain driven shaft, a positioning shaft, and a connecting shaft;

[0012] The elastic tensioner is installed on the upper side of the upper base plate and is used to provide tensioning force for positioning the multi-wire tube chain mechanism;

[0013] The traction main transmission is arranged on the upper side of the upper base plate and is connected to the output shaft of the traction drive for providing the main traction force;

[0014] The traction slave transmission is arranged on the upper side of the upper base plate and is fixedly connected to the upper end of the tube chain driving shaft to provide slave traction force;

[0015] The traction drive is fixed to the lower side of the upper base plate, and the power of the traction drive is transmitted to the traction slave drive through the traction main drive, driving the tube chain driving shaft to rotate;

[0016] Bearings are installed at both ends of the tube chain driving shaft and the tube chain driven shaft, the upper end bearing is fixed inside the upper base plate, and the lower end bearing is fixed inside the lower base plate; the outer walls of the tube chain driving shaft and the tube chain driven shaft are respectively connected to the multi-wire tube chain mechanism;

[0017] The upper end of the positioning shaft is fixedly connected to the upper base plate, and is used to provide a positioning fulcrum for the multi-wire tube chain mechanism to align with the nozzle;

[0018] The connecting shaft is arranged between the upper base plate and the lower base plate, and is used to fix the upper base plate and the lower base plate.

[0019] In one embodiment, the elastic tensioner includes: a coil spring holder, a coil spring and a top cover;

[0020] The coil spring holder is fixedly connected to the upper base plate, the coil spring is arranged in the coil spring holder, the central end is connected to the tube chain driven shaft, and the outer end extends out and is fixed to the coil spring holder. The coil spring contracts with the connection to the tube chain driven shaft to provide tension for positioning the multi-wire tube chain mechanism;

[0021] During operation, the top cover is fixed to the coil spring holder to prevent the coil spring from popping out.

[0022] In one embodiment, a multi-filament tube chain mechanism includes: a plurality of guide tubes and a flexible base belt;

[0023] The plurality of guide tubes are equipped with the wires, arranged in a linear array and fixed in the flexible base belt; the guide tubes pass through the positioning shaft along with the flexible base belt, and the highest point is supported by the positioning shaft to help the wires in the guide tubes align with the nozzle;

[0024] One end of the flexible base belt is wound and fixed on the middle of the driving shaft of the pipe chain, and the other end is wound and fixed on the middle of the driven shaft of the pipe chain, so as to fix the guide pipe and provide rotational power.

[0025] In one embodiment, the automatic opening and closing wire feeding mechanism includes: an active wire feeding unit, a follower wire feeding unit and an opening and closing unit;

[0026] The bottom of the active wire feeding unit is fixed on the lower base plate and is used to feed the wire into the nozzle;

[0027] The follower wire feeding unit is arranged between the active wire feeding unit and the opening and closing unit, is intermittently connected to the opening and closing unit, and has a bottom portion arranged on the lower base plate, and is used to cooperate with the active wire feeding unit to feed the wire into the nozzle;

[0028] The bottom of the opening and closing unit is fixed on the lower base plate and is used to control the distance between the follower wire feeding unit and the active wire feeding unit.

[0029] In one embodiment, the active wire feeding unit includes: a wire feeding drive, a wire feeding drive seat and a driving wheel;

[0030] The wire feeding drive is mounted on the wire feeding drive seat, the wire feeding drive seat is fixedly connected to the lower base plate, the driving wheel is fixedly connected to the output shaft of the wire feeding drive, and the driving wheel rotates continuously driven by the wire feeding drive.

[0031] In one embodiment, the follower wire feeding unit includes: a driven wheel, a driven wheel shaft, a spring base, an opening and closing slider, a slider guide seat, a spring shaft, an opening and closing trigger block and a spring;

[0032] The driven wheel is a rotating structure, with the driven wheel shaft installed in the center, and the driven wheel is fixed to the front end of the opening and closing slider along with the driven wheel shaft; the spring base is fixedly connected to the lower base plate, and the opening and closing slider is placed on the spring base, and both sides are fixedly connected to the slider guide seat, and the spring is placed in the internal spring groove; the opening and closing slider can move back and forth in a straight line, and the slider guide seat limits the opening and closing slider, limiting the other degrees of freedom of movement of the opening and closing slider except the front and back straight line direction; the spring shaft is installed on the opening and closing slider, and can be rotated to adjust the penetration depth to provide positioning and guidance for the spring; the opening and closing trigger block is fixedly connected to the end of the opening and closing slider, and the opening and closing trigger block is pushed and pulled to drive the opening and closing slider to move in a straight line back and forth.

[0033] In one embodiment, the opening and closing unit includes: an opening and closing drive, an opening and closing drive seat, and a drive finger;

[0034] The opening and closing drive is fixed on the opening and closing drive seat, the opening and closing drive seat is fixedly connected to the lower base plate, the driving finger is connected to the output shaft of the opening and closing drive, and the opening and closing drive can drive the driving finger to rotate to a fixed angle.

[0035] From the above description, it can be seen that the multi-material wire feeding system for space additive manufacturing provided by the present invention has the following advantages:

[0036] 1. The utility model discloses a multi-material wire feeding system for space additive manufacturing. Its multi-wire tube chain mechanism provides passive, compact guidance and positioning for multiple wires to align with the nozzle through the linear array arrangement of multiple guide tubes and the double-end winding design of the flexible base belt, realizing integrated installation in an extremely small volume, and solving the problem of miniaturization and lightweighting of the feeding, positioning and guiding of dozens of wires under the conditions of space resource constraints.

[0037] 2. The elastic traction mechanism of the utility model is driven by a single power source and equipped with an elastic tensioning structural design, combined with a multi-wire tube chain mechanism. It can realize the automatic alignment of dozens of wire materials with a single wire feeding mechanism by relying on a single degree of freedom movement, thereby solving the problems of the existing mechanism with multiple degrees of freedom of movement, bulky mechanical structure, high energy consumption and complex motion control, and meeting the requirements of unmanned, automated, miniaturized, low power consumption and high reliability of multi-wire feeding under the conditions of space resource constraints.

[0038] 3. The automatic opening and closing wire feeding mechanism of the utility model has both automatic opening and closing functions and automatic wire feeding functions. In conjunction with the elastic traction mechanism and the multi-wire tube chain mechanism, only a single set of wire feeding actuator is used. It can automatically select multiple wires in the microgravity environment of space and automatically feed them into the nozzle. Under the constraints of limited resources, it can meet the use needs of unmanned scenarios in space additive manufacturing.

[0039] 4. The multi-material wire feeding system of the present invention is applicable to a wide range of wire materials, including polymers and their composite materials, metals and their composite materials, polymer and metal composite materials, etc. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0040] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0041] Figure 1 This is a schematic structural diagram of a multi-material wire feeding system for space additive manufacturing in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0042] Figure 2 This is a schematic structural diagram of an elastic traction mechanism in a multi-material wire feeding system for space additive manufacturing in an embodiment of the present utility model;

[0043] Figure 3 This is a structural diagram of the elastic tensioner in the elastic traction mechanism in an embodiment of the present utility model when the top cover is open;

[0044] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the expanded structure of a multi-wire tube chain mechanism in a multi-material wire feeding system for space additive manufacturing in an embodiment of the present utility model;

[0045] Figure 5 This is a structural schematic diagram of an opening and closing wire feeding mechanism in a multi-material wire feeding system for space additive manufacturing in an embodiment of the present utility model;

[0046] Figure 6This is a schematic cross-sectional view of the automatic opening and closing wire feeding mechanism in the embodiment of the present utility model in the open state;

[0047] Figure 7 It is a schematic cross-sectional structural diagram of the automatic opening and closing wire feeding mechanism in the closed state in an embodiment of the present utility model.

[0048] 1-elastic traction mechanism, 11-elastic tensioner, 111-coil spring holder, 112-coil spring, 113-top cover, 12-traction main drive, 13-traction slave drive, 14-traction drive, 15-tube chain driving shaft, 16-tube chain driven shaft, 17-positioning shaft, 18-connecting shaft, 2-multi-wire tube chain mechanism, 21-guide tube, 22-flexible base belt, 3-automatic opening and closing wire feeding mechanism, 31-active wire feeding unit, 311-wire feeding drive, 3 12-wire feeding drive seat, 313-driving wheel, 32-follow-up wire feeding unit, 321-driven wheel, 322-driven wheel shaft, 323-spring base, 324-opening and closing slider, 325-slider guide seat, 326-spring shaft, 327-opening and closing trigger block, 328-spring, 33-opening and closing unit, 331-opening and closing drive, 332-opening and closing drive seat, 333-driving finger, 4-upper base plate, 5-lower base plate, 6-nozzle, 7-wire. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0049] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more clearly understood, the present invention is further described in detail below in conjunction with specific embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0050] It should be noted that, unless otherwise defined, the technical or scientific terms used in the embodiments of the present invention should have the common meanings understood by people with ordinary skills in the field to which the present invention belongs. The terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "upper", "lower", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", etc., indicating the orientation or position relationship, are based on the orientation or position relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing the present invention 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 operate in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be understood as limiting the present invention. In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood to indicate or imply relative importance or implicitly specify the number of the technical features indicated. Therefore, features specified as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of the present invention, "multiple" means two or more, unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0051] In the description of the utility model, it is to be explained that, unless another explicit provision and limitation, the term "installation", "connection", "connect" should be broad sense understanding, for example, can be fixed connection, also can be detachable connection, or integrally connected, can be mechanical connection, also can be electric connection or can communicate with each other, can be directly connected, also can be indirectly connected through intermediate medium, can be the intercommunication of two elements or the interaction of two elements. For ordinary skilled in the art, the specific meaning of the above-mentioned terms in the utility model can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0052] In the utility model, unless another explicit provision and limitation, the first feature is "on" or "under" the second feature can include that the first and second features are in direct contact, or can include that the first and second features are not in direct contact but are in contact through another feature between them. Moreover, the first feature "on", "above" and "above" the second feature includes that the first feature is directly above and obliquely above the second feature, or only indicates that the horizontal height of the first feature is higher than that of the second feature. The first feature "under", "below" and "below" the second feature includes that the first feature is directly below and obliquely below the second feature, or only indicates that the horizontal height of the first feature is less than that of the second feature.

[0053] Figure 1 A multi-material wire feeding system structure for space additive manufacturing of the utility model is shown, mainly by elastic traction mechanism 1, multi-wire pipe chain mechanism 2, automatic opening and closing wire feeding mechanism 3, upper base plate 4, lower base plate 5 and nozzle 6 are composed. The main structure of elastic traction mechanism 1 is fixed to the upper base plate 4 at one end, and the other end is connected to one side of the lower base plate 5. Multi-wire pipe chain mechanism 2 is located between the upper base plate 4 and the lower base plate 5, and is wound and fixed in the elastic traction mechanism 1 at both ends; Automatic opening and closing wire feeding mechanism 3 is aligned with nozzle 6 and is fixed on the upper side of lower base plate 5, and nozzle 6 is located on the lower side of lower base plate 5. Several wires 7 are arranged in multi-wire pipe chain mechanism 2, which are melted or melted by automatic opening and closing wire feeding mechanism 3 and then extruded through nozzle 6.

[0054] Elastic traction mechanism 1 uses a single power source to cooperate with elastic tensioning structure, and provides power for multi-wire pipe chain mechanism 2 to step and rotate to align nozzle 6; Multi-wire pipe chain mechanism 2 provides passive compact guidance and positioning for different wires 7 to align nozzle 6; Automatic opening and closing wire feeding mechanism 3 has automatic opening and closing function and automatic wire feeding function, different wires 7 are aligned with nozzle 6 when multi-wire pipe chain mechanism 2 is opened, and the wires 7 are automatically fed into the nozzle 6 when it is closed, so that the wires 7 are melted / liquefied and then extruded.

[0055] As Figure 2 And Figure 3As shown, the elastic traction mechanism 1 is composed of an elastic tensioner 11, a traction main transmission 12, a traction slave transmission 13, a traction drive 14, a pipe chain driving shaft 15, a pipe chain driven shaft 16, a positioning shaft 17 and a connecting shaft 18; wherein the elastic tensioner 11 is composed of a coil spring clamp seat 111, a coil spring 112 and a top cover 113. The elastic tensioner 11 is installed on the upper side of the upper base plate 4, the coil spring clamp seat 111 is fixed with the upper base plate 4, the coil spring 112 is located in the coil spring clamp seat 111, the center end thereof is connected with the pipe chain driven shaft 16, the outer end thereof extends out and is fixed with the coil spring clamp seat 111, the top cover 113 is fixed with the coil spring clamp seat 111 during work to prevent the coil spring 112 from being ejected; the coil spring 112 is retracted with the pipe chain driven shaft 16 to provide a tensioning force for positioning the multi-wire pipe chain mechanism 2. The traction main transmission 12 is located on the upper side of the upper base plate 4 and is connected with the output shaft of the traction drive 14; the traction slave transmission 13 is located on the upper side of the upper base plate 4 and is fixed with the upper end of the pipe chain driving shaft 15; the traction drive 14 is fixed on the lower side of the upper base plate 4, the power of which is transmitted to the traction slave transmission 13 through the traction main transmission 12 to drive the pipe chain driving shaft 15 to rotate. The pipe chain driving shaft 15 and the pipe chain driven shaft 16 are both installed with bearings at both ends, the upper end bearings are fixed in the upper base plate 4, and the lower end bearings are fixed in the lower base plate 5; the outer walls of the pipe chain driving shaft 15 and the pipe chain driven shaft 16 are respectively connected with the multi-wire pipe chain mechanism 2. The positioning shaft 17 is fixed with the upper base plate 4 at the upper end to provide a positioning fulcrum for the multi-wire pipe chain mechanism 2 to align the nozzle 6. The connecting shaft 18 is used to fix the upper base plate 4 and the lower base plate 5.

[0056] As shown in Figure 4 , the multi-wire pipe chain mechanism 2 is composed of a guide pipe 21 and a flexible base strip 22, the batch guide pipe 21 is embedded with wire rods 7, which are arranged in a straight line array and fixed in the flexible base strip 22. In combination with Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 3 , one end of the flexible base strip 22 is wound and fixed in the middle of the pipe chain driving shaft 15, and the other end is wound and fixed in the middle of the pipe chain driven shaft 16; the guide pipe 21 is supported to the highest point by the positioning shaft 17 along with the flexible base strip 22, which helps the wire rods 7 in the guide pipe 21 to align the nozzle 6.

[0057] As shown in Figure 5 , Figure 6 and Figure 7 , the automatic opening and closing wire feeding mechanism 3 is composed of a driving wire feeding unit 31, a following wire feeding unit 32 and an opening and closing unit 33. Among them, the driving wire feeding unit 31 is composed of a wire feeding drive 311, a wire feeding drive seat 312 and a driving wheel 313. The wire feeding drive 311 is installed on the wire feeding drive seat 312, the wire feeding drive seat 312 is fixed with the lower base plate 5, the driving wheel 313 is fixed with the output shaft of the wire feeding drive 311, and the driving wheel 313 can continuously rotate under the driving of the wire feeding drive 311.

[0058] The follower wire feeding unit 32 is composed of a driven wheel 321 , a driven wheel shaft 322 , a spring base 323 , an opening and closing slider 324 , a slider guide seat 325 , a spring shaft 326 , an opening and closing trigger block 327 and a spring 328 . The driven wheel 321 is rotatable, and the driven wheel shaft 322 is installed at the center, and is fixed to the front end of the opening and closing slider 324 with the driven wheel shaft 322; the spring base 323 is fixed to the lower base plate 5, and the opening and closing slider 324 is placed on it, and the two sides are fixed to the slider guide seats 325, and the spring 328 is placed in the internal spring groove; the opening and closing slider 324 can move back and forth in a straight line, and the slider guide seat 325 limits the opening and closing slider 324, limiting the other degrees of freedom of movement of the opening and closing slider 324 except the front and back straight line direction; the spring shaft 326 is installed on the opening and closing slider 324, and can be rotated to adjust the insertion depth to provide positioning and guidance for the spring 328; the opening and closing trigger block 327 is fixed to the end of the opening and closing slider 324, and the opening and closing trigger block 327 is pushed and pulled to drive the opening and closing slider 324 to move back and forth in a straight line.

[0059] The opening and closing unit 33 consists of an opening and closing driver 331, an opening and closing driver base 332, and a driving finger 333. The opening and closing driver 331 is fixed to the opening and closing driver base 332, which is fixed to the lower base plate 5. The driving finger 333 is connected to the output shaft of the opening and closing driver 331. The opening and closing driver 331 can drive the driving finger 333 to rotate to a certain angle.

[0060] When the automatic opening and closing wire feeding mechanism 3 is in the open state, the driving finger 333 rotates to a fixed angle under the drive of the opening and closing drive 331, pushing the opening and closing trigger block 327 and making it retreat. The spring 328 is compressed. Under the constraint of the slider guide seat 325, the opening and closing trigger block 327 drives the opening and closing slider 324 to move backward in a straight line. The driven wheel 321 then retreats and separates from the driving wheel 313, and the two are separated by a fixed gap.

[0061] When the automatic opening and closing wire feeding mechanism 3 is in the closed state, the driving finger 333 returns to the zero position along with the opening and closing drive 331, the opening and closing trigger block 327 moves forward, the spring 328 becomes longer, and the driven wheel 321 moves forward in a straight line along with the opening and closing slider 324 to contact the wire. After the spring 328 becomes longer, it is still in a compressed state. Under its action, the driven wheel 321 presses the wire into the guide groove of the driving wheel 313.

[0062] The traction drive 14 and the wire feeding drive 311 can be implemented in the form of motor drive, hydraulic drive or pneumatic drive. The traction main transmission 12 and the traction slave transmission 13 can be implemented in the form of synchronous belt drive, gear drive, belt drive, chain drive or friction drive. The spring 328 can be used alone or in multiple groups at the same time. The connecting shaft 18 can be used alone or in multiple groups at the same time. The wire materials 7 applicable to the multi-material wire feeding system include polymers and their composite materials, metals and their composite materials or metal and polymer composite materials. In this embodiment, when the wire material 7 is polylactic acid (PLA), the traction drive 14 and the wire feeding drive 311 are micro stepping motors, the opening and closing drive is a micro servo, the traction main transmission 12 and the traction slave transmission 13 are a pair of gears, two springs 328 are used, and a pair of connecting shafts 18 are installed.

[0063] A working method of a multi-material filament feeding system for space additive manufacturing is as follows:

[0064] Open the automatic opening and closing wire feeding mechanism 3: the driven wheel 321 moves backward and maintains a fixed distance from the driving wheel 313.

[0065] The elastic traction mechanism 1 rotates, and the multi-wire tube chain mechanism 2 rotates in coordination to align the designated wire 7 with the nozzle 6: the traction drive 14 rotates, and the transmission is transmitted through the traction main transmission 12 and the traction slave transmission 13, and the tube chain driving shaft 15 rotates, driving the flexible base belt 22 fixed at one end of the tube chain driving shaft 15 to rotate, and the flexible base belt 22 fixed at one end of the tube chain driven shaft 16 rotates accordingly, the coil spring 112 is tensioned, and the designated wire 7 in the guide tube 21 moves with the flexible base belt 22 and is aligned with the inlet of the nozzle 6.

[0066] Close the automatic opening and closing wire feeding mechanism 3: the driven wheel 321 moves backward, pressing the wire into the guide groove of the driving wheel 313.

[0067] The automatic opening and closing wire feeding mechanism 3 feeds the wire downward: the wire feeding drive 311 drives the driving wheel 313 to rotate clockwise, rolling the wire 7 downward, and the driven wheel 321 rotates frictionally accordingly, cooperating with the driving wheel 313 to feed the wire 7 into the nozzle 6;

[0068] The automatic opening and closing wire feeding mechanism 3 rewinds the wire upwards: the wire feeding drive 311 drives the driving wheel 313 to rotate counterclockwise, rolling the wire 7 to move upwards, and the driven wheel 321 rotates frictionally accordingly, cooperating with the driving wheel 313 to feed the wire 7 out of the nozzle 6.

[0069] The advantages and beneficial effects of the utility model are:

[0070] 1. The utility model discloses a multi-material wire feeding system for space additive manufacturing. Its multi-wire tube chain mechanism provides passive, compact guidance and positioning for multiple wires to align with the nozzle through the linear array arrangement of multiple guide tubes and the double-end winding design of the flexible base belt, realizing integrated installation in an extremely small volume, and solving the problem of miniaturization and lightweighting of the feeding, positioning and guiding of dozens of wires under the conditions of space resource constraints.

[0071] 2. The elastic traction mechanism of the utility model is driven by a single power source and equipped with an elastic tensioning structural design, combined with a multi-wire tube chain mechanism. It can realize the automatic alignment of dozens of wire materials with a single wire feeding mechanism by relying on a single degree of freedom movement, thereby solving the problems of the existing mechanism with multiple degrees of freedom of movement, bulky mechanical structure, high energy consumption and complex motion control, and meeting the requirements of unmanned, automated, miniaturized, low power consumption and high reliability of multi-wire feeding under the conditions of space resource constraints.

[0072] 3. The automatic opening and closing wire feeding mechanism of the utility model has both automatic opening and closing functions and automatic wire feeding functions. In conjunction with the elastic traction mechanism and the multi-wire tube chain mechanism, only a single set of wire feeding actuator is used. It can automatically select multiple wires in the microgravity environment of space and automatically feed them into the nozzle. Under the constraints of limited resources, it can meet the use needs of unmanned scenarios in space additive manufacturing.

[0073] 4. The multi-material wire feeding system of the present invention is applicable to a wide range of wire materials, including polymers and their composite materials, metals and their composite materials, polymer and metal composite materials, etc.

[0074] Those skilled in the art should understand that the discussion of any of the above embodiments is merely illustrative and is not intended to imply that the scope of the present invention (including the claims) is limited to these examples. Within the scope of the present invention, the technical features in the above embodiments or different embodiments may be combined, the steps may be implemented in any order, and there are many other variations of the different aspects of the present invention as described above, which are not provided in detail for the sake of simplicity.

[0075] The embodiments of the present invention are intended to cover all such substitutions, modifications, and variations that fall within the broad scope of the appended claims. Therefore, any omissions, modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included in the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A multi-material wire feeding system for space additive manufacturing, characterized in that: include: Elastic traction mechanism, multi-wire tube chain mechanism, automatic opening and closing wire feeding mechanism, upper base plate, lower base plate and nozzle; The elastic traction mechanism is a single power source combined with an elastic tensioning structure. One end of the main structure of the elastic traction mechanism is fixed to the upper base plate, and the other end of the main structure of the elastic traction mechanism is connected to one side of the lower base plate, so as to provide power for the stepping and rotating of the multi-wire tube chain mechanism to align with the nozzle. The multi-wire tube chain mechanism is a linear array of multiple guide tubes and a double-end winding structure of a flexible base belt, which is arranged outside the main structure of the elastic traction mechanism and is used to provide passive compact guidance and positioning for the wire to align with the nozzle; The automatic opening and closing wire feeding mechanism is arranged at the other end of the main structure of the elastic traction mechanism and is fixedly connected to the lower base plate, and is used for automatic opening and closing and automatic wire feeding. When the multi-wire tube chain mechanism is opened, the different wires are respectively aligned with the nozzles. When closed, the wires are automatically fed into the nozzles, so that the wires are melted or extruded after being melted. The nozzle is arranged on the other side of the lower substrate, and the filament is extruded through the nozzle.

2. A multi-material wire feeding system for space additive manufacturing according to claim 1, characterized in that: The elastic traction mechanism includes: an elastic tensioner, a traction main transmission, a traction slave transmission, a traction drive, a pipe chain driving shaft, a pipe chain driven shaft, a positioning shaft and a connecting shaft; The elastic tensioner is installed on the upper side of the upper base plate and is used to provide tensioning force for positioning the multi-wire tube chain mechanism; The traction main transmission is arranged on the upper side of the upper base plate and is connected to the output shaft of the traction drive for providing the main traction force; The traction slave transmission is arranged on the upper side of the upper base plate and is fixedly connected to the upper end of the tube chain driving shaft to provide slave traction force; The traction drive is fixed to the lower side of the upper base plate, and the power of the traction drive is transmitted to the traction slave drive through the traction main drive, driving the tube chain driving shaft to rotate; Bearings are installed at both ends of the tube chain driving shaft and the tube chain driven shaft, the upper end bearing is fixed inside the upper base plate, and the lower end bearing is fixed inside the lower base plate; the outer walls of the tube chain driving shaft and the tube chain driven shaft are respectively connected to the multi-wire tube chain mechanism; The upper end of the positioning shaft is fixedly connected to the upper base plate, and is used to provide a positioning fulcrum for the multi-wire tube chain mechanism to align with the nozzle; The connecting shaft is arranged between the upper base plate and the lower base plate, and is used to fix the upper base plate and the lower base plate.

3. A multi-material wire feeding system for space additive manufacturing according to claim 2, characterized in that: The elastic tensioner comprises: a coil spring holder, a coil spring and a top cover; The coil spring holder is fixedly connected to the upper base plate, the coil spring is arranged in the coil spring holder, the central end is connected to the tube chain driven shaft, and the outer end extends out and is fixed to the coil spring holder. The coil spring contracts with the connection to the tube chain driven shaft to provide tension for positioning the multi-wire tube chain mechanism; During operation, the top cover is fixed to the coil spring holder to prevent the coil spring from popping out.

4. A multi-material wire feeding system for space additive manufacturing according to claim 2, characterized in that: The multi-wire tube chain mechanism includes: a plurality of guide tubes and a flexible base belt; The plurality of guide tubes are equipped with the wires, arranged in a linear array and fixed in the flexible base belt; the guide tubes pass through the positioning shaft along with the flexible base belt, and the highest point is supported by the positioning shaft to help the wires in the guide tubes align with the nozzle; One end of the flexible base belt is wound and fixed on the middle of the driving shaft of the pipe chain, and the other end is wound and fixed on the middle of the driven shaft of the pipe chain, so as to fix the guide pipe and provide rotational power.

5. The multi-material wire feeding system for space additive manufacturing according to claim 1, characterized in that: The automatic opening and closing wire feeding mechanism comprises: an active wire feeding unit, a follow-up wire feeding unit and an opening and closing unit; The bottom of the active wire feeding unit is fixed on the lower base plate and is used to feed the wire into the nozzle; The follower wire feeding unit is arranged between the active wire feeding unit and the opening and closing unit, is intermittently connected to the opening and closing unit, and has a bottom portion arranged on the lower base plate, and is used to cooperate with the active wire feeding unit to feed the wire into the nozzle; The bottom of the opening and closing unit is fixed on the lower base plate and is used to control the distance between the follower wire feeding unit and the active wire feeding unit.

6. A multi-material wire feeding system for space additive manufacturing according to claim 5, characterized in that: The active wire feeding unit comprises: a wire feeding drive, a wire feeding drive seat and a driving wheel; The wire feeding drive is mounted on the wire feeding drive seat, the wire feeding drive seat is fixedly connected to the lower base plate, the driving wheel is fixedly connected to the output shaft of the wire feeding drive, and the driving wheel rotates continuously driven by the wire feeding drive.

7. The multi-material wire feeding system for space additive manufacturing according to claim 5, characterized in that: The follower wire feeding unit comprises: a driven wheel, a driven wheel shaft, a spring base, an opening and closing slider, a slider guide seat, a spring shaft, an opening and closing trigger block and a spring; The driven wheel is a rotating structure, and the driven wheel shaft is installed in the center. The driven wheel is fixed to the front end of the opening and closing slider along with the driven wheel shaft; the spring base is fixedly connected to the lower base plate, and the opening and closing slider is placed on the spring base, and the two sides are fixedly connected to the slider guide seat, and the spring is placed in the internal spring groove; the opening and closing slider can move forward and backward in a straight line, and the slider guide seat limits the opening and closing slider, limiting the other degrees of freedom of movement of the opening and closing slider except the forward and backward straight line direction; the spring shaft is installed on the opening and closing slider and can be rotated to adjust the insertion depth to provide positioning and guidance for the spring; the opening and closing trigger block is fixedly connected to the end of the opening and closing slider, and the opening and closing trigger block is pushed and pulled to drive the opening and closing slider to move forward and backward in a straight line.

8. The multi-material wire feeding system for space additive manufacturing according to claim 5, characterized in that: The opening and closing unit includes: an opening and closing drive, an opening and closing drive seat and a driving finger; The opening and closing drive is fixed on the opening and closing drive seat, the opening and closing drive seat is fixedly connected to the lower base plate, the driving finger is connected to the output shaft of the opening and closing drive, and the opening and closing drive can drive the driving finger to rotate to a fixed angle.

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