FFF Machine Tip Wipe Sacrificial Tower
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) machines face issues with media and debris buildup, leading to excess heating of the dispenser tip, which affects the material's viscosity and bond strength, resulting in weaker interfaces and potential faults in the printed parts, necessitating overdesign and increased costs.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a controller-operated FFF machine with a tip wipe assembly that cleans the liquefier tip remotely, ensuring the sacrificial slug of media dispensed after the tip wipe process is used to build the sacrificial tower, rather than the part, thereby maintaining optimal temperature and material properties.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the head assembly moves to the tip wipe assembly to clean the dispenser tip, then the dispenser tip is cleaned, but the deposited material in the workpiece is cooled and the media in the dispenser is heated above the normal deposition temperature
Solution Approach 1:
The controller is configured to move the head assembly to the sacrificial tower location before the tip wipe process, positioning the dispensed media to be deposited on the sacrificial tower rather than the workpiece. This preliminary positioning ensures that any media heated during the tip wipe process is deposited on the sacrificial tower, preventing temperature-related defects in the actual workpiece.
Solution Approach 2:
The sacrificial tower acts as an intermediary substrate. Media that is heated above normal deposition temperature during the tip wipe process is directed to be deposited on the sacrificial tower instead of the workpiece. The sacrificial tower absorbs the thermal stress and material degradation, protecting the workpiece from defects while still allowing the cleaning process to occur.
2Ease of operation
If the media is heated above the normal deposition temperature during tip wipe process, then the dispenser tip is cleaned, but the material is weakened or chemically altered
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts or separates the sacrificial tower build process from the workpiece build process. By directing media deposition to the sacrificial tower during tip wipe operations, the system isolates the harmful thermal effects from the workpiece material. The sacrificial tower serves as a disposable medium that can be discarded after use, while the workpiece material remains unaffected.
Solution Approach 2:
The sacrificial tower is designed as a disposable component. Any media that is heated, weakened, or chemically altered during the tip wipe process is deposited on the sacrificial tower, which can then be discarded. This eliminates the need to preserve or reuse the compromised media, as the sacrificial tower is intentionally temporary and replaceable.
3Ease of operation
If the initial slug of media is dispensed after the tip wipe process, then the dispenser tip is cleaned, but the filament becomes thinner due to increased viscosity
Solution Approach 1:
The controller positions the head assembly at the sacrificial tower location before initiating the tip wipe process. This preliminary positioning ensures that the initial slug of media dispensed after cleaning is deposited on the sacrificial tower, where thickness variations are acceptable, rather than on the workpiece where precise filament thickness is critical.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies different quality standards to different locations. The sacrificial tower accepts media with varying thickness and properties, while the workpiece requires consistent, precise filament thickness. By localizing the tip wipe process effect to the sacrificial tower area, the workpiece area maintains its high manufacturing precision requirements.
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
This solution prevents material weakening and chemical alteration, ensuring stronger bonds and reduced variability in the final product, allowing for certified parts without the need for overdesign, thus reducing costs and weight.
Implementation Method 1
a heater for heating the filament to a molten state
Implementation Method 2
The media is heated to a molten state and forced out of a dispenser and deposited on the growing workpiece
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~8
Figure 9~10
AI summary
A fused filament fabrication (FFF) machine includes a cabinet defining a build chamber for building a workpiece including a part and a sacrificial tower for the part at a build location. A head assembly has a filament dispenser for dispensing media through a liquefier tip at the build location during a build process. A controller is operably coupled to the head assembly to control the position of the head assembly and dispensing of the media during the build process. The controller periodically moves the head assembly away from the build location to a tip wipe assembly to clean the liquefier tip during a tip wipe process. The controller moves the head assembly from the tip wipe assembly to dispense a sacrificial slug of material away from the part after the tip wipe process before deposition of the material into the part.