Heat dissipation device for 3D printer, and 3D printer

Abstract

A heat dissipation device for a 3D printer, and a 3D printer. The heat dissipation device for the 3D printer comprises an effector, which is provided with an air duct, wherein the air duct is provided with an air intake mechanism and an air exhaust mechanism, the air intake mechanism is connected to an external air supply mechanism (7) by means of an air supply pipe (6), and the air exhaust mechanism comprises a first air exhaust structure for dissipating heat of a nozzle (9). By means of the external air supply mechanism (7) and by means of arranging the air duct on the effector, supplying air to the air duct by means of the air supply pipe (6) can increase the air volume and the air speed at an actual acting part, thereby ensuring the heat dissipation efficiency of the 3D printer during printing and also reducing the overall weight of the effector and occupying small space. The present invention can not only meet cooling requirements of a low-speed 3D printer, but can also meet requirements of a high-speed 3D printer and ensure the printing quality.

Description

3D printer heat dissipation device and 3D printer

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the China Patent Office on December 27, 2023, with application number 202311812548.1 and entitled “A heat dissipation device for a 3D printer and a 3D printer”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of 3D printing technology, and in particular to a heat dissipation device for a 3D printer and a 3D printer. Background Art

[0003] When a 3D printer prints an object, it needs to dissipate heat from the nozzle on the effector to ensure high print quality as the 3D printer prints layer by layer. The faster the 3D printer prints, the more quickly the extruded filament needs to cool. Current heat dissipation devices use a small fan mounted next to the nozzle to dissipate heat. However, due to the low wind speed, when printing at high speeds, the filament can be delayed in a short period of time, affecting print quality. Consequently, existing heat dissipation devices can only meet the cooling needs of low-speed 3D printers, but not those of high-speed ones.

[0004] There are two existing heat dissipation installation options: one is to add an additional fan inside the 3D printer that moves up and down with the print platform; the other is to install a larger fan next to the nozzle to meet heat dissipation requirements, as shown in CN206306452U. The first option is very inconvenient and costly because the fan is located far from the nozzle and its installation method takes up a lot of space. The second option is to add a large fan directly to the effector, which will also increase the overall weight of the effector. This increase in weight will also affect print quality due to the rapid movement of the effector during operation.

[0005] Therefore, there is a need for a lightweight device that can be used to quickly dissipate heat from the 3D printer nozzle to dissipate heat from the nozzle and shorten the cooling time. Summary of the Invention

[0006] Embodiments of the present application provide a heat dissipation device for a 3D printer and a 3D printer to solve or alleviate one or more technical problems in the prior art.

[0007] As one aspect of an embodiment of the present application, an embodiment of the present application provides a heat dissipation device for a 3D printer, including an effector, an air duct is provided on the effector, the air duct has an air inlet mechanism and an air exhaust mechanism, the air inlet mechanism is connected to the air supply mechanism of an external device through an air supply duct, and the exhaust mechanism includes a first exhaust structure for dissipating heat from a nozzle.

[0008] In one embodiment, the exhaust mechanism further includes a second exhaust structure for dissipating heat from the printed part.

[0009] In one embodiment, the air duct is provided on the effector housing.

[0010] In one embodiment, the effector housing includes an upper housing and a lower housing, the upper housing and the lower housing are connected by a hanging platform in the middle, and an air inlet is provided on the top of the upper housing as an air inlet mechanism;

[0011] Two upper air ducts are provided at the left and right positions in the upper shell, the upper ends of the two upper air ducts are connected to the air inlet, and the lower ends of the two upper air ducts are provided with air duct outlets;

[0012] Two lower air ducts are provided in the lower shell at positions corresponding to the two upper air ducts, and air duct inlets are provided at the upper ends of the two lower air ducts;

[0013] There are connecting openings on the hanging platform corresponding to the two upper air ducts / lower air ducts;

[0014] The upper air duct, the connecting port and the lower air duct corresponding to the left and right positions are connected to form an air duct;

[0015] A first exhaust structure and a second exhaust structure are provided at the downwind duct.

[0016] In one embodiment, an air guide plate is provided between the air inlet and the two upper air ducts. The air guide plate is a conical structure, with its top position corresponding to the air inlet and its two side edges respectively leading to the two upper air ducts.

[0017] In one embodiment, the hanging platform is further provided with a positioning groove around the connecting port, and the air duct outlet of the upper air duct and the air duct inlet of the lower air duct respectively protrude outwards and are sealed with the positioning groove.

[0018] In one embodiment, the first exhaust structure includes one or more exhaust ports arranged inside the downwind duct.

[0019] In one embodiment, the first exhaust structure includes a first exhaust port and a second exhaust port, which are staggered in the front-to-back direction and the up-down direction, so that the first exhaust port points to the nozzle position and the second exhaust port points to the position next to the nozzle.

[0020] In one embodiment, the second exhaust structure includes one or more exhaust ports arranged on the lower side of the downwind duct.

[0021] In one embodiment, the second exhaust structure includes a third exhaust port and a fourth exhaust port, the third exhaust port and the fourth exhaust port are staggered in the front-to-back direction, and the third exhaust port and the fourth exhaust port are directed toward the printed piece.

[0022] In one embodiment, the upper shell is fixedly provided with an upwardly extending plug connector at the air inlet position, and a connecting head is provided for snap-fitting with the plug connector; the connecting head is provided with an internal thread, which is threadedly connected to the corresponding end of the air supply duct through the internal thread.

[0023] In one embodiment, a clamping portion is provided on the connector, and a stepped portion is correspondingly provided on the plug connector, and the clamping portion cooperates with the stepped portion to form a clamping connection.

[0024] As another aspect of the embodiments of the present application, the embodiments of the present application further provide a 3D printer, comprising the heat dissipation device for a 3D printer according to any of the above embodiments.

[0025] The beneficial effects of the above technical solution adopted in the embodiment of the present application are as follows:

[0026] (1) This application uses an external air supply mechanism and sets an air duct on the effector. Air is supplied to the air duct through the air supply pipe, which can increase the air volume and wind speed at the actual working part, ensure the heat dissipation efficiency of the 3D printer during printing, and at the same time reduce the overall weight of the effector and occupy a small space.

[0027] This application can not only meet the cooling needs of low-speed 3D printers, but also meet the needs of high-speed 3D printers to ensure printing quality.

[0028] (2) The present application can dissipate heat from the nozzle part through the first exhaust structure. The first exhaust structure is a horizontal exhaust mechanism, which includes one or more exhaust ports arranged inside the downwind duct to ensure heat dissipation from the nozzle part.

[0029] (3) The present application utilizes a second exhaust structure to dissipate heat from printed parts. The second exhaust structure is a vertical exhaust mechanism that includes one or more exhaust ports arranged below the downwind duct, which can discharge fine wind out of the housing, accelerating the cooling of the object. This can extend the blowing time on the object, especially when printing larger objects.

[0030] (4) The present application can form a wind waterfall through the cooperation of the first exhaust structure and the second exhaust structure, so that there is wind at the printing platform position, ensuring uniform heat dissipation, improving heat dissipation efficiency, and shortening cooling time.

[0031] (5) The effector shell of the present application includes an upper shell and a lower shell, which are connected by a hanging platform in the middle, and the hanging platform is used to achieve the connection of the air duct. This method facilitates the assembly of the shell and greatly reduces the difficulty of assembly.

[0032] (6) The present application provides a connector to achieve quick connection and installation between the air supply duct and the effector housing, and has good reliability.

[0033] The above summary is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to be limiting in any way. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments and features described above, further aspects, embodiments and features of the present application will be readily apparent by reference to the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0034] In the accompanying drawings, unless otherwise specified, the same reference numerals throughout the multiple drawings represent the same or similar components or elements. These drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. It should be understood that these drawings only depict some embodiments disclosed in this application and should not be construed as limiting the scope of this application.

[0035] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of this application;

[0036] FIG2 is a front view of the effector housing in this application;

[0037] FIG3 is a side view of the effector housing in the present application;

[0038] FIG4 is a partial cross-sectional view of the effector housing in the present application in the main viewing direction;

[0039] FIG5 is a perspective schematic diagram of the effector housing in the present application (after removing the front cover);

[0040] FIG6 is a perspective schematic diagram of the upper housing in the present application (after removing the front cover);

[0041] FIG7 is a side view of the upper housing of the present application (after removing the front cover);

[0042] FIG8 is a cross-sectional view AA in FIG7;

[0043] FIG9 is a perspective schematic diagram of the hanging platform in this application;

[0044] FIG10 is a perspective schematic diagram of the lower housing in this application;

[0045] FIG11 is an enlarged view of point B in FIG10 ;

[0046] FIG12 is a schematic diagram of the assembly of the effector in this application;

[0047] FIG13 is an enlarged view of point C in FIG4 .

[0048] Explanation of the accompanying drawings: 1-upper shell, 2-hanging platform, 3-lower shell, 41-first exhaust outlet, 42-second exhaust outlet, 51-third exhaust outlet, 52-fourth exhaust outlet, 6-air supply duct, 7-air supply mechanism, 81-plug connector, 82-connector, 811-stepped portion, 821-clamping portion, 822-internal thread, 9-nozzle, 10-air guide plate, 11-upper air duct, 12-air duct outlet, 20-positioning groove, 21-connecting port, 31-lower air duct, 32-air duct inlet, 33-buffer section. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0049] Hereinafter, only certain exemplary embodiments are briefly described. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the described embodiments may be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit or scope of the present application. Therefore, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive.

[0050] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described clearly and completely below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application.

[0051] Example 1:

[0052] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the present application, Figure 2 is a front view of the effector shell in the present application, Figure 3 is a side view of the effector shell in the present application, and Figure 4 is a partial sectional view of the effector shell in the main viewing direction in the present application.

[0053] As shown in Figures 1 to 4, this embodiment provides a heat dissipation device for a 3D printer, including an effector housing, an air duct provided in the effector housing, the air duct having an air inlet mechanism and an air exhaust mechanism, the air inlet mechanism being connected to an external air supply mechanism 7 via an air supply duct 6, and the air exhaust mechanism including a first exhaust structure for dissipating heat from a nozzle 9, and a second exhaust structure for dissipating heat from a printed part.

[0054] In specific applications, the air supply mechanism 7 can be a blower, and the air supply duct 6 can be a flexible threaded connection pipe. During operation, the wind generated by the blower is transmitted through the flexible threaded connection pipe to the air duct inside the effector housing, and is blown out from the first exhaust structure and the second exhaust structure respectively to dissipate heat from the nozzle and the printed part.

[0055] This application uses an external air supply mechanism and sets an air duct on the effector. Air is supplied to the air duct through the air supply pipe, which can increase the air volume and wind speed at the actual action part, ensure the heat dissipation efficiency of the 3D printer during printing, and at the same time reduce the overall weight of the effector, occupy a small space, meet the heat dissipation requirements of the printed part, and ensure printing quality.

[0056] Example 2:

[0057] Figure 5 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the effector shell in the present application (after removing the front cover), Figure 6 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the upper shell 1 in the present application (after removing the front cover), Figure 7 is a side view of the upper shell 1 in the present application (after removing the front cover), Figure 8 is the AA sectional view in Figure 7, Figure 9 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the hanging platform 2 in the present application, Figure 10 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the lower shell 3 in the present application, Figure 11 is an enlarged view of point B in Figure 10, and Figure 12 is an assembly schematic diagram of the effector in the present application.

[0058] As shown in Figures 1 to 4 and Figures 5 to 12, based on the first embodiment, the effector shell of this embodiment adopts a three-part assembly structure of an upper shell 1, a hanging platform 2 and a lower shell 3, which not only realizes the connectivity of the air duct, but also facilitates the assembly of the shell, greatly reducing the difficulty of assembly.

[0059] The specific settings of the effector housing and air duct are as follows:

[0060] The effector housing comprises an upper housing 1 and a lower housing 3 , which are connected via a hanging platform 2 in the middle, for ease of assembly and processing.

[0061] The upper housing 1 also has a removable front cover on its front side for easy installation. An air inlet is provided at the top of the upper housing 1 as an air intake mechanism. Partitions are provided on the left and right sides of the upper housing 1 to form two symmetrical upper air ducts 11. The upper ends of both upper air ducts 11 are connected to the air inlet, and the lower ends of both upper air ducts 11 are provided with air duct outlets 12.

[0062] In order to evenly disperse the wind entering from the air inlet to the two upper air ducts 11, an air guide plate 10 is provided between the upper ends of the two upper air ducts 11 and the air inlet. The air guide plate 10 is a conical structure, and its tip position corresponds to the air inlet. Its two side edges are respectively connected to the partition to guide the wind to the two upper air ducts 11, so that the wind can be better transmitted to the lower air duct outlet 12 to achieve uniform wind guidance.

[0063] Two lower air ducts 31 are provided in the lower shell 3 at positions corresponding to the two upper air ducts 11 , and air duct inlets 32 are provided at the upper ends of the two lower air ducts 31 .

[0064] A connecting port 21 is provided on the hanging platform 2 at positions corresponding to the two upper air ducts 11 / down air ducts 31. The connecting port 21 completely corresponds to the air duct outlet 12 of the upper air duct 11 and the air duct inlet 32 ​​of the down air duct 31, so that the upper air duct 11, the connecting port 21 and the down air duct 31 corresponding to the left and right positions are connected to form an air duct, so that the wind can be better directed to the first exhaust structure and the second exhaust structure.

[0065] In this embodiment, a positioning groove 20 is further dug on the hanging platform 2 around the connecting port 21. The air duct outlet 12 of the upper air duct 11 protrudes downward and cooperates with the positioning groove 20, and the air duct inlet 32 ​​of the lower air duct 31 protrudes upward and cooperates with the positioning groove 20, so that the upper shell 1 and the lower shell 3 are stably connected to the hanging platform 2. A sealing gasket can also be installed inside the positioning groove 20 to further improve the sealing performance.

[0066] The first exhaust structure and the second exhaust structure are arranged at the lower air duct 31 of the lower shell 3 to respectively dissipate heat for the nozzle 9 and the printed part.

[0067] The first exhaust structure includes one or more exhaust ports arranged inside the downwind duct 31. Specifically, in this embodiment, the first exhaust structure includes a first exhaust port 41 and a second exhaust port 42. The first exhaust port 41 and the second exhaust port 42 are staggered in the front-to-back direction and the up-down direction, and a buffer section 33 is provided between the first exhaust port 41 and the second exhaust port 42 to buffer the wind force.

[0068] in:

[0069] The first air outlet 41 points to the nozzle 9 and can directly dissipate heat from the nozzle 9 .

[0070] The second air outlet 42 points to the side of the nozzle 9, which can drive the air flow around the nozzle 9 and improve the heat dissipation efficiency.

[0071] The second exhaust structure includes one or more exhaust ports arranged below the downwind duct 31. Specifically, in this embodiment, the second exhaust structure includes a third exhaust port 51 and a fourth exhaust port 52. The third and fourth exhaust ports 51, 52 are staggered in the front-to-back direction, enabling fine wind to be discharged out of the housing, dissipating heat when printing large objects.

[0072] The first exhaust structure and the second exhaust structure can form a wind waterfall through the arrangement of four exhaust ports, so that wind can flow to the printing platform, dissipate heat evenly, improve heat dissipation efficiency, and shorten cooling time.

[0073] Example 3:

[0074] Figure 13 is an enlarged view of point C in Figure 4. As shown in Figures 1 to 4 and 13, based on the second embodiment, in order to achieve rapid connection and installation between the air supply duct 6 and the effector housing, this embodiment designs a plug connector 81 and a connector 82.

[0075] The upper shell 11 is fixedly provided with an upwardly protruding plug connector 81 at the air inlet position. The plug connector 81 is integrally formed with the upper shell 11 , and a connector 82 is provided for snap-fitting with the plug connector 81 .

[0076] The specific connection method between the connector 82 and the plug connector 81 is as follows: a snap-fit ​​portion 821 is provided on the connector 82, and a corresponding step portion 811 is provided on the plug connector 81. The snap-fit ​​portion 821 cooperates with the step portion 811 to form a snap-fit ​​connection, ensuring that the connection between the connector 82 and the plug connector 81 is more stable.

[0077] At the same time, the connector 82 is provided with an internal thread 822, which is threadedly connected to the corresponding end of the air supply duct 6 through the internal thread 822, so that the flexible threaded connecting tube and the effector housing are better connected and the connection is stable.

[0078] Example 4:

[0079] This embodiment discloses a 3D printer including a heat sink. The structure of the heat sink can be referred to in any of the above embodiments and will not be further described here. As such, since the 3D printer of this embodiment utilizes the technical solution of the heat sink of any of the above embodiments, the 3D printer possesses all the beneficial effects of the heat sink of any of the above embodiments.

[0080] The heat dissipation device for a 3D printer and other components of the 3D printer in the above-mentioned embodiment may adopt various technical solutions known to ordinary technicians in this field now and in the future, and will not be described in detail here.

[0081] In the description of this specification, it should be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", "axial", "radial", "circumferential" and the like indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing this 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 should not be understood as a limitation on this application.

[0082] Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood to indicate or imply relative importance or to implicitly indicate the quantity of the technical features indicated. Thus, features defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features.

[0083] In this application, unless otherwise expressly specified or limited, terms such as "installed," "connected," "connect," and "fixed" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, they may refer to fixed connection, detachable connection, or integration; mechanical connection, electrical connection, or communication; direct connection or indirect connection through an intermediate medium; and internal communication between two components or interaction between two components. Those skilled in the art will understand the specific meanings of the above terms in this application based on specific circumstances.

[0084] In this application, unless otherwise expressly specified or limited, a first feature being "above" or "below" a second feature may include the first and second features being in direct contact, or may include the first and second features being in contact not directly but through another feature between them. Moreover, a first feature being "above," "above," and "above" a second feature includes the first feature being directly above and obliquely above the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is higher in level than the second feature. A first feature being "below," "below," and "below" a second feature includes the first feature being directly above and obliquely above the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is lower in level than the second feature.

[0085] The disclosure above provides many different embodiments or examples for realizing different structures of the present application. In order to simplify the disclosure of the present application, the components and settings of specific examples are described above. Of course, they are merely examples and are not intended to limit the present application. In addition, the present application may repeat reference numbers and / or reference letters in different examples. Such repetition is for the purpose of simplicity and clarity and does not in itself indicate the relationship between the various embodiments and / or settings discussed.

[0086] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can easily conceive of various modifications or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in this application, and such modifications or substitutions should be included in the scope of protection of the present application. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A heat dissipation device for a 3D printer, comprising an effector, characterized in that, An air duct is provided on the effector, the air duct having an air inlet mechanism and an air outlet mechanism. The air inlet mechanism is connected to an external air supply mechanism through an air supply pipe, and the air outlet mechanism includes a first air outlet structure for dissipating heat from the nozzle.

2. The heat dissipation device for a 3D printer according to claim 1, wherein, The air outlet mechanism further includes a second air outlet structure for dissipating heat from the printed part.

3. The heat dissipation device for a 3D printer according to claim 2, characterized in that, The air duct is provided on the effector housing.

4. The heat dissipation device for a 3D printer according to claim 3, characterized in that, The effector housing includes an upper housing and a lower housing, the upper housing and the lower housing being connected by a middle suspension platform. An air inlet is provided at the top of the upper housing as the air inlet mechanism; Two upper air ducts are provided at the left and right positions inside the upper housing. The upper ends of the two upper air ducts are both connected to the air inlet, and the lower ends of the two upper air ducts are provided with air duct outlets; Two lower air ducts are provided at positions corresponding to the two upper air ducts inside the lower housing. The upper ends of the two lower air ducts are provided with air duct inlets; Communication ports are provided at positions on the suspension platform corresponding to the two upper air ducts or the two lower air ducts; The corresponding upper air ducts, communication ports, and lower air ducts at the left and right positions are connected to form the air duct; The first air outlet structure and the second air outlet structure are provided at the lower air duct.

5. The heat dissipation device for a 3D printer according to claim 4, characterized in that, A wind guide plate is provided between the air inlet and the two upper air ducts. The wind guide plate is of a conical structure, with its pointed top position exactly corresponding to the air inlet, and its two side edges respectively guiding to the two upper air ducts.

6. The heat dissipation device for a 3D printer according to claim 4, characterized in that, The suspension platform is further provided with a positioning groove around the communication port. The air duct outlet of the upper air duct and the air duct inlet of the lower air duct respectively protrude outwards and are in sealing cooperation with the positioning groove.

7. The heat dissipation device for a 3D printer according to claim 4, wherein, The first air outlet structure includes one or more air outlet openings arranged inside the lower air duct.

8. The heat dissipation device for a 3D printer according to claim 7, characterized in that, The first air outlet structure includes a first air outlet and a second air outlet. The first air outlet and the second air outlet are arranged in a staggered manner in the front-rear direction and the up-down direction, so that the first air outlet points to the position of the nozzle, and the second air outlet points to the position beside the nozzle.

9. The heat dissipation device for a 3D printer according to claim 4, characterized in that, The second air outlet structure includes one or more air outlet openings arranged on the lower side of the lower air duct.

10. The heat dissipation device for a 3D printer according to claim 9, characterized in that, The second air outlet structure includes a third air outlet and a fourth air outlet. The third air outlet and the fourth air outlet are arranged in a staggered manner in the front-rear direction, and the third air outlet and the fourth air outlet point to the printed part.

11. The heat dissipation device for a 3D printer according to claim 4, characterized in that, An upwardly protruding plug connector is fixedly provided at the air inlet position of the upper housing. A connector is provided in a snap-fit with the plug connector; the connector is provided with an internal thread and is threadedly connected to the corresponding end of the air supply pipe through the internal thread.

12. The heat dissipation device for a 3D printer according to claim 11, wherein, The connector is provided with a snap-fit portion, and the plug connector is correspondingly provided with a stepped portion. The snap-fit portion and the stepped portion cooperate to form a snap connection.

13. A 3D printer, characterized in that, A heat dissipation device for a 3D printer according to any one of claims 1-12.

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