Three-dimensional printer tool systems

• US 9,085,109 B2
• Filed: 11/15/2013
• Issued: 07/21/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: MakerBot Industries, LLC (Ultimaker BV)
• Original Assignee: MakerBot Industries, LLC (Ultimaker BV)
• Inventors: Schmehl, Peter Joseph, Kemperle, Aljosa, Schmehl, Stewart, Tuzman, David R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Del Sole, Joseph S
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Thukhanh T
• Application Number:
  US14/081,922
• Publication Number:
  US 20150140145A1
• Time in Patent Office: 613 Days
• Field of Search: 425/131.1, 425/174, 425/375, 425/447, 425/449, 425/174.4
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 48/02 Small extruding apparatus, e.g. handheld, toy or laboratory extruders
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 48/266 Means for allowing relative movements between the apparatus parts, e.g. for twisting the extruded article or for moving the die along a surface to be coated
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 48/2888 in band or in strip form, e.g. rubber strips
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 48/832 Heating
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 48/92 Measuring, controlling or regulating
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 64/112 using individual droplets, e.g. from jetting heads
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 64/118 using filamentary material being melted, e.g. fused deposition modelling [FDM]
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 64/295 Heating elements
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 64/30 Auxiliary operations or equipment
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 64/35 Cleaning
• CPC Class Codes: B29L 2009/00 Layered products
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 10/00 Processes of additive manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 30/00 Apparatus for additive manufacturing; Details thereof or accessories therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 40/00 Auxiliary operations or equipment, e.g. for material handling

Abstract

An extruder or other similar tool head of a three-dimensional printer is slidably mounted along a feedpath of build material so that the extruder can move into and out of contact with a build surface according to whether build material is being extruded. The extruder may be spring-biased against the forward feedpath so that the extruder remains above the build surface in the absence of applied forces, and then moves downward into a position for extrusion when build material is fed into the extruder. In another aspect, modular tool heads are disclosed that can be automatically coupled to and removed from the three-dimensional printer by a suitable robotics system. A tool crib may be provided to store multiple tool heads while not in use.

Claims

1. A device comprising:

a housing configured to removably and replaceably couple to a three-dimensional printer in a predetermined alignment to a drive assembly of the three-dimensional printer and an axis of a feedpath for a filament of build material driven by the drive assembly; and

an extrusion head including an input proximal to the drive assembly along the feedpath when the housing is placed for use in the three-dimensional printer and a nozzle distal to the drive assembly along the feedpath, the input coupled to the nozzle by a chamber within the extrusion head, the extrusion head moveably coupled to the housing to permit movement of the extrusion head within the housing parallel to an axis of the feedpath.

2. The device of claim 1 further comprising a spring coupled to the extrusion head and biasing the extrusion head toward the drive assembly when the housing is placed for use in the three-dimensional printer.

3. The device of claim 1 further comprising a spring coupled between the extrusion head and the drive assembly, the spring biasing the extrusion head away from the drive assembly with a predetermined spring force.

4. A device comprising:

an extrusion head for use in a three-dimensional printer, the extrusion head including an axis aligned to a feedpath of the three-dimensional printer when placed for use in the three-dimensional printer;

a housing about the extrusion head, the housing having a surface configured to support the extrusion head against displacement along the axis under a force applied by a build material along the feedpath when the housing is placed into a complementary surface of the three-dimensional printer; and

one or more magnets disposed on a vertical surface of the housing and positioned to magnetically couple to a corresponding vertical wall of the three-dimensional printer to resist rotational displacement of the housing when placed in the three-dimensional printer.

5. The device of claim 4 wherein the extrusion head is movably coupled to the housing to permit linear movement of the extrusion head parallel to the axis within the housing.

6. The device of claim 5 further comprising a spring having a predetermined spring force coupling the extrusion head to the housing.

7. The device of claim 6 wherein the predetermined spring force is less than a force applied by a filament to the extrusion head to extrude the filament from the extrusion head.

8. The device of claim 6 wherein the spring includes a coil spring.

9. The device of claim 6 wherein the spring is a coil spring wound about the axis of the feedpath.

10. The device of claim 6 further comprising a heating element positioned to liquefy a filament within a portion of the feedpath.

11. The device of claim 6 wherein the spring is responsive to an applied force of a filament from a drive gear of the three-dimensional printer to move the extrusion head along the axis into an extruding position.

12. The device of claim 11 wherein the spring is responsive to a removal of the applied force of the filament from the drive gear to move along the axis into a retracted position.

13. The device of claim 6 wherein the predetermined spring force retains the extrusion head proximal to a drive gear of the three-dimensional printer in the absence of an applied force from a filament driven by the drive gear, and wherein the predetermined spring force permits that extrusion head to move away from the drive gear when the applied force exceeds a predetermined threshold.

14. The device of claim 13 wherein the predetermined threshold is less than a force required to extrude the filament through the nozzle of the extrusion head.

15. The device of claim 14 further comprising a sensor configured to detect a movement of the extrusion head relative to a component of the three-dimensional printer.

16. The device of claim 15 wherein the sensor includes a Hall effect sensor.

17. The device of claim 4 further comprising circuitry to identify the extrusion head.

18. The device of claim 17 wherein the circuitry includes a Radio Frequency Identification tag.

19. The device of claim 4 wherein the housing is removably and replaceably coupled to the three-dimensional printer.

20. The device of claim 19 wherein the three-dimensional printer includes a robotic system and a build platform, the robotic system including a mount configured to removably and replaceably receive the housing and further configured to position the extrusion head, when coupled to the mount, relative to the build platform.

21. The device of claim 20 wherein the extrusion head includes a pressure sensor configured to detect a contact force between the extrusion head and the build platform.

22. The device of claim 20 further comprising a second robotic system configured to remove the device from the mount and replace the device to the mount.

23. The device of claim 22 further comprising a tool crib including a number of bins to store a corresponding number of tools for the three-dimensional printer, wherein the second robotic system is configured to select one of the number of tools and couple the one of the number of tools to the mount of the three-dimensional printer.