3D Printing Blade Cleaning With Immersion Brushes and Solvent Flow
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for cleaning and maintaining additive manufacturing machines, particularly those used for layerwise printing and filling with viscous paste, are labor-intensive and inefficient, leading to imperfect filling, scratching, and vacuum seal failures due to manual cleaning and frequent interruptions.
Innovation Solution
An integrated cleaning system using solvents and filtration to disperse paste from instruments, including immersion baths with rotating brushes and air ducts for blade cleaning, and a wiping mechanism for die slots, along with a sealing mechanism to prevent paste drying.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual cleaning methods are used to remove excess paste from blades and die slots, then labor intensity is reduced and production speed is maintained, but cleaning effectiveness is insufficient leading to residual paste, imperfect mold filling, scratches, and vacuum seal failures
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning system operates automatically without human intervention. The blade is submerged in solvent and rotated by a motor-driven mechanism, with solvent pumped through the system and filtered automatically. This self-service automation resolves the contradiction by maintaining high production speed while ensuring thorough cleaning that prevents defects.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses a pump to circulate solvent through the blade and die slot, and a motor to rotate the blade during cleaning. These pneumatic and hydraulic elements enable automated, consistent cleaning at production speed while ensuring complete removal of residual paste, thereby improving both productivity and manufacturing precision.
2Manufacturing precision
If manual cleaning is performed frequently to remove residual paste, then mold filling quality is improved, but production time is lost and overall productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning system is integrated into the production cycle and operates continuously or at designated intervals without stopping the manufacturing process. The automated blade rotation and solvent circulation ensure continuous cleaning action, maintaining high mold filling quality while minimizing interruption to production flow, thus resolving the contradiction between precision and productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning system performs cleaning operations in advance or during transition periods between production cycles. By proactively removing residual paste before it causes defects, the system ensures high mold filling quality without requiring frequent production stoppages, thereby maintaining both precision and productivity.
3Ease of operation
If manual wiping is used to clean the blade, then the blade surface is cleaned, but the die slot with internal spaces cannot be cleaned effectively, leading to paste accumulation and vacuum seal failures
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses a pump to force solvent through the die slot and a motor to rotate the blade, creating comprehensive cleaning action that reaches internal spaces. This mechanical automation overcomes the limitation of manual wiping by ensuring solvent penetration into complex geometries, thereby maintaining vacuum seal integrity while keeping the operation simple and automated.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning system automatically cleans both the blade and die slot without human intervention. The motor-driven blade rotation and pump-circulated solvent work together to self-clean internal spaces that manual methods cannot reach, ensuring reliable vacuum seal integrity while maintaining operational simplicity through automation.
4Manufacturing precision
If cleaning is performed frequently to maintain quality, then residual paste is removed and product quality is improved, but production time is lost and labor intensity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The automated cleaning system requires no human labor and operates quickly within the production cycle. The motor-driven blade rotation and pump-circulated solvent perform thorough cleaning in minimal time, maintaining high product quality without losing production time or increasing labor intensity.
Solution Approach 2:
The use of pump and motor enables rapid, automated cleaning that is both thorough and time-efficient. The hydraulic and pneumatic elements ensure complete removal of residual paste while operating within production time constraints, thereby improving product quality without sacrificing production time or increasing labor demands.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances production quality by automating the cleaning process, ensuring smooth and even paste application, and maintaining a vacuum seal, thereby improving overall manufacturing efficiency and reducing manual labor.
Implementation Method 1
uses a solvent selected for the paste, for example water or organic solvents, to disperse the paste from the instruments
Implementation Method 2
includes a feature for cleaning the internal spaces of the die slot and then uses filtration to allow recirculation of the solvent
Implementation Method 3
a vacuum source evacuates air from the sealing hood in its closed position to apply a vacuum to the paste. The vacuum causes liquids to evaporate from the paste, and thus hardens the paste
Implementation Method 4
An integrated cleaning system using solvents and rotating brushes
Implementation Method 5
combined with filtration and sealing mechanisms to ensure effective removal of excess paste and maintain a vacuum seal
Data Source
AI summary
A 3D printing system in which paste is used to fill a space enclosed by a 3D printed mold wall, uses a blade for spreading the paste. A cleaning system for the blade includes an immersion bath, which is filled with fluid to a fluid level. Rotating brushes are partly submerged in the fluid, and when cleaning is needed, the blade is located between the brushes. The brushes rotate onto the knife such that each surface of the knife is brushed over to remove debris from the paste into the fluid.