3D Printing Discharge Unit with Elastic Joint for Viscous Material Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing technologies face challenges in producing small batch sizes of plastic parts with properties similar to injection molding, particularly in handling highly viscous liquid materials that require high pressures and temperatures, as they often encounter sealing issues and difficulties in forming small, uniform drops with sufficient kinetic energy to overcome adhesion forces.
Innovation Solution
A device with a discharge unit featuring an elastic malleable solid body joint minimizes external seals, using a jet needle as a closure mechanism to manage high pressures and temperatures, allowing for the discharge of highly viscous materials in small, discrete portions with controlled kinetic energy, and incorporates a pressure generating unit to ensure reliable operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If high pressure is applied to discharge highly viscous liquid material in small discrete portions, then the material can be discharged in small uniform drops, but sealing problems occur due to the testing conditions in the material reservoir
Solution Approach 1:
The discharge unit is segmented into distinct functional zones: a seal-free discharge region where drops are formed and ejected, and a sealed material reservoir region. The jet needle acts as a movable separator between these zones, allowing the system to achieve both high-pressure discharge for uniform drops and reliable sealing for the material reservoir simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing function is extracted from the discharge mechanism. Instead of requiring seals throughout the high-pressure discharge path, the patent uses a jet needle that creates a temporary seal only when retracted, while the discharge itself occurs in a seal-free environment. This extraction allows the discharge unit to operate at high pressures without compromising sealing reliability.
2Manufacturing precision
If the discharge orifice diameter is reduced to produce small drops, then drop size can be controlled precisely, but the shutter speed must be extremely fast to maintain discrete portioning
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the traditional mechanical shutter system with a jet needle actuation system. Instead of using a fast-moving shutter to open and close the discharge orifice, a jet needle is propelled by a pressure gradient to eject material. This substitution eliminates the need for extremely fast shutter speeds while maintaining precise drop size control through pressure management.
Solution Approach 2:
The jet needle operation follows a periodic cycle: it is propelled forward by a pressure gradient to eject a discrete drop, then retracts to allow material reservoir pressure to build for the next drop. This periodic action, synchronized with pressure cycling, enables precise drop size control without requiring continuously fast mechanical shutter speeds.
3Reliability
If material is supplied siphon-like from a storage tank without pressure, then sealing is simpler, but the material cannot overcome adhesion forces to become detached as discrete droplets
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a pressure gradient (hydraulic principle) to propel the jet needle and discharge material. By creating a pressure difference between the material reservoir and the discharge environment, the system generates sufficient force to overcome adhesion forces and eject discrete drops. This hydraulic approach maintains sealing simplicity while enabling effective drop detachment.
Solution Approach 2:
The material reservoir is pre pressurized before discharge, and the jet needle is positioned and ready for actuation. When discharge is initiated, the pre-established pressure gradient immediately propels the jet needle forward to eject the drop. This preliminary preparation eliminates the need for complex real-time pressure control during the actual discharge moment.
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
The device effectively produces three-dimensional objects by discharging highly viscous materials in small, uniform drops with sufficient kinetic energy, overcoming adhesion forces and achieving precise control over drop size and shape, even under high pressure and temperature conditions, while minimizing external seals to prevent sealing issues.
Implementation Method 1
at least one pressure generating unit (18) is provided to generate pressure on the liquid phase in the material reservoir (12)
Implementation Method 2
owing to the adhesive forces of the material, high pressure and generally high temperatures must also be applied. In the process, the drops should be 0.01 to 0.5 mm3 in size
Implementation Method 3
the sealing material features an elastic malleable solid body joint (24)
Data Source
AI summary
A device for the production of a three-dimensional object made of solidifiable material having at least one processing unit (11) for the processing of the solidifiable material into a liquid phase to discharge the material from a material reservoir (12) via a discharge unit (13) in the direction of a construction space (17) in the form of intermittent drops (15). The conditions required for this can be satisfied (FIG. 2) via the closing mechanism featuring a plastic malleable solid body joint (24).