KR20190119202A - Three dimensional printing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a three-dimensional printing device comprises: a cartridge in which at least one pellet including a metal powder and a binder is laminated; a housing having a coupling part to which the cartridge is coupled at one side; a piston provided on the other side of the housing; a transfer part provided in the housing to transfer the pellet of the cartridge coupled to the coupling part to the piston; and a heating part provided at one side of the piston to heat the pellet transferred to the piston. Therefore, metal products which require high precision with high strength can be manufactured by a three-dimensional printing technique by using a metal powder-containing raw material.

Description

3D printing device {THREE DIMENSIONAL PRINTING APPARATUS}

The present invention relates to a three-dimensional printing apparatus, and more particularly, to a three-dimensional printing apparatus that enables the production of metal products requiring high precision and high precision with a three-dimensional printing technique using a metal powder-containing raw material. .

Recently, the use of three-dimensional printers that can be molded in three dimensions to have the same or similar shape as the object by using three-dimensional (3D) data on the object has been increasing.

In the past, these 3D printers were used for modeling and sample production before mass production, but recently, the technological foundation that can be used for molding products that can be mass-produced based on small quantity products of various kinds is being established. The market is expected to expand rapidly.

The product forming method of the three-dimensional printer is a so-called additive type in which the object object is molded into a two-dimensional planar shape in three dimensions and melt-bonded to form a shape, and a cutting that cuts like a piece of material. There is a brother. And, as an additional type of the extrusion head mounted on the three-dimensional transfer mechanism is supplied to the wire or filament made of thermoplastic plastic through the supply reel and the transfer roll, and the supplied filament is positioned in the XYZ three directions relative to the work table There is a filament melt-lamination molding method (FDM method) for molding a product having a three-dimensional shape of an object to be printed by repeatedly laminating a two-dimensional planar shape (print layer) on a base plate by melting and discharging it from a nozzle.

However, the three-dimensional molding method used in the related art has a problem in that it is not bonded to form a product such as a metal part requiring high strength and high precision since the plastic raw material is used as described above.

In addition, when forming a three-dimensional product by manufacturing a raw material containing a metal powder to mold a metal part, due to the shape of the raw material containing a metal powder can not supply the raw material continuously like the conventional FDM method There is this.

The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a three-dimensional printing device that can be produced by a three-dimensional printing technology for a metal product that requires high precision and high strength using a metal powder-containing raw material.

The objects of the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned objects, and other objects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a three-dimensional printing apparatus comprising: a cartridge in which one or more pellets including a metal powder and a binder are stacked; A housing having a coupling part to which the cartridge is coupled at one side; A piston provided on the other side of the housing; A transfer part provided in the housing to transfer the pellets of the cartridge coupled to the coupling part to the piston; And a heating unit provided at one side of the piston to heat the pellets transferred to the piston. It includes.

In addition, the pellet may have a guide groove formed on a bottom surface thereof, and a flat portion having a transfer groove formed on an outer circumferential surface thereof.

In addition, the cartridge may include a cartridge body having an opening through which the pellet is introduced and the pellet stacked therein; A guide protrusion formed on the inner surface of the cartridge body and coupled to the guide groove so that the pellets are aligned in one direction; A push part provided inside the cartridge body to push the pellet into the opening; A support part formed to protrude on one side of the opening to prevent the pellet from being separated from the opening; And a passage part formed to be opened at a bottom of the opening to allow the pellet to be transferred to the piston by the transfer part. It may include.

In addition, the transfer groove may be formed by a thread.

The transfer unit may include a screw having a transfer thread corresponding to the transfer groove formed on an outer circumferential surface thereof so that the transfer thread contacts the transfer groove when the cartridge is coupled to the coupling unit; A driving unit providing a driving force to rotate the screw; And a transmission part provided between the driving part and the screw to transfer the driving force to the screw. It may include.

In addition, when the screw is rotated, the pellet may be passed to the piston through the passage.

In addition, the conveying groove may be formed at least one horizontally based on the bottom surface of the pellet.

The transfer unit may include: a timing belt formed on an outer surface of the transfer protrusion corresponding to the transfer groove so that the transfer protrusion contacts the transfer groove when the cartridge is coupled to the coupling unit; And a gear unit transmitting a driving force to the timing belt. It may include.

In addition, when the timing belt is rotated, the pellet may pass through the passage to be transferred to the piston.

Specific details of other embodiments are included in the detailed description and the drawings.

According to the three-dimensional printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, by using a metal powder-containing raw material it is possible to manufacture a metal product requiring high precision and high precision by the three-dimensional printing technology.

In addition, the metal powder-containing raw material is formed into pellets and stored in a cartridge to be stored in a stack to increase storage, and when the pellet is exhausted, the cartridge can be used to improve usability and improve the usability of the pellet. By transporting and using, the pellets can be continuously supplied and discharged.

The effects of the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned effects, and other effects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description of the claims.

1 is a flowchart illustrating a method of manufacturing a three-dimensional product with a three-dimensional printing apparatus using a metal powder-containing raw material of the present invention.
2 is a schematic diagram of a three-dimensional printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a perspective view of a pellet according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a perspective view of a cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is an exploded view showing a state before the cartridge is coupled to the raw material supply unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a coupling diagram showing a state in which the cartridge is coupled to the raw material supply unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a perspective view of a pellet according to another embodiment of the present invention.
8 is a view showing a transfer unit according to another embodiment of the present invention.
9 is a three-dimensional printing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

In describing the present invention, when it is determined that the detailed description of the related known function or configuration may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted. Even if the terms are the same, if the displayed portions are different, it is to be noted that the reference numerals do not match.

The terms to be described below are terms set in consideration of functions in the present invention, and may be changed according to the intention or custom of an operator such as an experimenter and a measurer, and the definitions thereof should be made based on the contents throughout the present specification.

In this specification, terms such as first and second may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by the terms. The terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, the first component may be referred to as the second component, and similarly, the second component may also be referred to as the first component. The term and / or includes a combination of a plurality of related items or any item of a plurality of related items.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. A singular expression includes a plural expression unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. Terms such as those defined in the commonly used dictionaries should be construed as having meanings consistent with the meanings in the context of the related art and shall not be construed in ideal or excessively formal meanings unless expressly defined in this application. Do not.

In addition, when a part is said to "include" a certain component, this means that it may further include other components, except to exclude other components unless otherwise stated.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Like reference numerals in the drawings denote like elements.

1 is a flowchart illustrating a method of manufacturing a three-dimensional product with a three-dimensional printing apparatus using a metal powder-containing raw material of the present invention. A three-dimensional printing method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1.

In the three-dimensional printing method according to an embodiment of the present invention, a metal powder-containing raw material including a metal powder and a binder is prepared in the raw material preparation step (S10).

The metal powder may be made of a known metal material. The binder may comprise a binder, a plasticizer, a lubricant and a surfactant. The metal powder is preferably contained in 80 to 99% by weight of the metal powder-containing raw material. The metal powder and the binder may be homogeneously mixed in a kneading machine to form a metal powder-containing raw material.

The binder constituting the binder is polystyrene (PS), polyethylene (PE; Polyethylene), polypropylene (PP; polypropylene), ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA; Ethylene-vinylacetate), ethylene ethyl acrylate (EEA; Ethylene-ethylacrylate) , Methyl methacrylate (MMA; Methal-methacrylate), butyl methacrylate (BMA; Butyl-methacrylate) preferably contains any one or more.

Plasticizers include dibutyl phthalate (DBP; Dibutyl-phthalate), dioctyl phthalate (DOP; Dioctyl-phthalate), ellidic alcohols, butylstearate (3-Octadecyloxy-1-propanol), and stearamide ( Stearamide) is preferably included.

The lubricant may include any one or more of stearic acid, oleic acid, paraffin wax, and montan wax.

In the molding machine, the metal powder-containing raw material in which the metal powder and the binder are mixed is molded into pellets 10. The metal powder-containing raw material may be injection molded in the form of pellets 10 in the molding machine, but the molding machine or the molding method is not limited thereto. In this case, the pellet 10 may be molded in the form shown in Figure 3 or below, as will be described later.

The pellets 10 formed in the molding machine are stacked and stored in the cartridge 110. In this case, as described later, the planar portion 13 of the pellet 10 is aligned and stored in one direction so as to be disposed so as to be positioned at the opening 113 of the cartridge 110. In addition, the pellets 10 are stacked A plurality of cartridges 110 may be prepared.

In the raw material supply step (S20), the pellets 10 in a molten state are supplied to the nozzles by supplying the pellets 10 to the raw material supply unit 100. In the raw material supply step (S20), first, the cartridge 110 is coupled to the raw material supply unit 100, and the pellet 10 stacked on the cartridge 110 is transferred from the transfer unit 120 to the piston 130. The pellet 10 transferred to the piston 130 is heated and melted in the heating unit 150.

When the piston 130 is further provided with a pressing unit 170, the pressing unit 170 transmits the pressing force to the piston 130, the pressing force is provided to the pellet 10 that is heated in the heating unit 150 and melted Can be. In this case, the pressing force provided to the pellet 10 allows the molten pellet 10 to flow at high pressure from the heating part 150 to the extrusion head 210.

In the stacking step (S30), the extrusion head 210 of the printing unit 200 discharges the pellets 10 melted through the nozzle 210a to the surface of the base plate 250 so that a print layer is formed on the base plate 250. Are stacked.

In the forming step (S40), the printing unit 200 repeats the lamination step to successively stack the print layer in a three-dimensional shape of the object to be printed to form a semi-finished product (50).

In the degreasing step (S50), the semi-finished product 50 extracted in the molding step (S40) is transferred to the degreasing unit, and the binder contained in the semi-finished product 50 is removed from the degreasing unit.

Finally, in the sintering step (S60), the semi-finished product 50 from which the binder is removed is transferred to the sintering unit, and the semi-finished product 50 is sintered in the sintering unit to finally produce a finished product having a three-dimensional shape of an object to be printed.

2 is a schematic diagram of a three-dimensional printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the 3D printing apparatus 1 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a raw material supply unit 100 and a printing unit 200.

The raw material supply unit 100 supplies the pellet 10 formed by homogeneously mixing the metal powder and the binder to the printing unit 200 through the raw material preparation step (S10). In this case, the raw material supply part 100 heats the pellet 10 and supplies it to the printing part 200 in a molten state. The detailed structure of the raw material supply part 100 is mentioned later in FIG.

The printing unit 200 performs printing in the three-dimensional shape of the object to be printed by using the molten pellet 10 supplied from the raw material supply unit 100 and 100 as a material. The printing unit 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention is an extrusion head 210 for receiving and discharging the molten pellet 10 from the raw material supply unit 100, 100, pellets melted in the raw material supply unit 100 ( Connection tube 270 for supplying 10 to the extrusion head 210, the extrusion head 210 is installed on one side, controlled by an external control system (not shown) X / Y on the base plate 250 The moving part 230 moving in the / Z-axis direction, and the base plate 250 is laminated with a metal powder-containing raw material discharged from the extrusion head 210.

The extrusion head 210 discharges the pellets 10 melted through the nozzle 210a to the surface of the base plate 250, thereby successively stacking the semi-finished product 50 by stacking the print layers in a three-dimensional shape of the object to be printed. Mold.

Looking at the operation of the printing unit 200 for molding the semi-finished product 50, the molten pellet 10 supplied from the raw material supply unit 100, 100 is supplied to the extrusion head 210, the moving unit 230 is It is controlled by an external control system (not shown) and moves in the X / Y / Z-axis direction from the base plate 250, and the extrusion head 210 installed on one side of the moving part 230 is a nozzle (210a) The metal powder-containing raw material 40 is discharged to the surface of the base plate 250 to sequentially stack the printed layer on the base plate 250 to form the semifinished product 50.

The semifinished product 50 is manufactured as a final product through a degreasing part (not shown) and a sintering part (not shown). The degreasing part removes the binder from the semi-finished product 50 produced by the printing part 200. At this time, the degreasing unit can remove the binder component from the semi-finished product 50 by degreasing of any one of solvent degreasing, hot degreasing or catalytic degreasing, or a combination of these.

The sintering part sinters the semi-finished product 50 from which the binder component has been removed by the degreasing part. In the sintering unit, the metal powder contained in the semifinished product 50 is melt sintered to produce a finished product, which is a final product in the semifinished product 50.

In this case, the sintering unit may sinter the semi-finished product 50 from which the binder component is removed by sintering of any one of general sintering, pressure sintering, hot hydrostatic sintering, or a combination thereof to manufacture a finished product.

3 is a perspective view of the pellet 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 4 is a perspective view of a cartridge 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 5 is a cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention 110 is an exploded view showing a state before coupling to the raw material supply unit 100, Figure 6 is a coupling diagram showing a state in which the cartridge 110 is coupled to the raw material supply unit 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, the raw material supply unit 100 of the three-dimensional printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

3 to 6, the raw material supply unit 100 of the three-dimensional printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is a cartridge 110, at least one of the pellet 10 including a metal powder and a binder is stacked on one side Cartridge 140 coupled to the coupling portion 101 is provided in the housing 140, the piston 130 is provided on the other side of the housing 140, the housing 140 is coupled to the coupling portion 101 is coupled to the cartridge 110 A conveying part 120 for transferring the pellets 10 of 110 to the piston 130, and a heating part 150 provided at the piston 130 to heat the pellets 10 transferred to the piston 130. do.

The pellet 10 comprises a metal powder and a binder as described above. The metal powder may be made of a known metal material. The binder may comprise a binder, a plasticizer, a lubricant and a surfactant. The metal powder is preferably contained in 80 to 99% by weight of the metal powder-containing raw material 40.

The binder constituting the binder is polystyrene (PS), polyethylene (PE; Polyethylene), polypropylene (PP; polypropylene), ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA; Ethylene-vinylacetate), ethylene ethyl acrylate (EEA; Ethylene-ethylacrylate) , Methyl methacrylate (MMA; Methal-methacrylate), butyl methacrylate (BMA; Butyl-methacrylate) preferably contains any one or more.

Plasticizers include dibutyl phthalate (DBP; Dibutyl-phthalate), dioctyl phthalate (DOP; Dioctyl-phthalate), ellidic alcohols, butylstearate (3-Octadecyloxy-1-propanol), and stearamide ( Stearamide) is preferably included.

The lubricant may include any one or more of stearic acid, oleic acid, paraffin wax, and montan wax.

The pellet 10 may be molded into a specific shape in a molding machine as described above. Pellet 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in Figure 3, is molded in a columnar shape. In this case, the guide groove 19 may be formed on the bottom surface 17 of the pellet 10, and the planar portion 13 having the transfer groove 15 formed on the outer circumferential surface 11 may be formed.

The guide groove 19 is formed to align the pellets 10 in one direction when the pellets 10 are stacked in the cartridge 110 to be described later. The guide groove 19 may be formed to be recessed to be coupled to the guide groove 19 of the cartridge 110. The guide groove 19 may be formed on at least one of the two bottom surfaces 17 of the circumference, and preferably, both the top and bottom surfaces of the bottom 17 of the circumference.

The outer circumferential surface 11 of the pellet 10 is formed to be curved. A flat portion 13 may be formed at one side of the outer circumferential surface 11 of the pellet 10. The planar portion 13 may be implemented with a surface formed at a position where a string exists, not a diameter or a diameter, based on the cross section of the circumference. The planar portion 13 may be implemented as a cut surface of a shape cut along the string.

In the flat portion 13, a transfer groove 15 is formed. The transfer groove 15 may be implemented in various ways according to the embodiment. Transfer groove 15 according to an embodiment of the present invention shown in Figure 3 may be formed of a screw thread.

The cartridge 110 stores the pellet 10. The pellet 10 may be stacked one or more in the cartridge 110. A plurality of cartridges 110 may be prepared. The user prepares the cartridge 110 in which the pellet 10 is stored, and when the pellet 10 of one cartridge 110 is exhausted, the user exchanges the cartridge with another cartridge 110 to resupply the pellet 10 to the raw material supply unit 100. can do. The detailed structure of the cartridge 110 will be described later.

The housing 140 forms an appearance of the raw material supply unit 100. One side of the housing 140 may be provided with a coupling portion 101 to which the cartridge 110 is coupled. In this case, a fixing protrusion 103 for fixing the cartridge 110 may be formed in the coupling portion 101, and a fixing groove 112 to which the fixing protrusion 103 is coupled may be formed in the cartridge 110. have.

The stopper 105 may protrude from one side of the coupling part 101. The stopper 105 supports the one surface of the cartridge 110 when the cartridge 110 is coupled to the coupling portion 101 to determine the coupling position of the cartridge 110 together with the fixing protrusion 103.

The piston 130 is provided on the other side of the housing 140. The piston 130 transfers the pellets 10 received from the transfer unit 120 to the heating unit 150 as described below. In this case, a hollow through which the pellet 10 passes may be formed in the piston 130.

The piston 130 may be further provided with a pressing unit 170. The pressurizing unit 170 transmits the pressing force to the piston 130, so that the piston 130 may be heated in the heating unit 150, which will be described later, to provide the pressing force to the melted pellet 10. The pressing force causes the melted pellet 10 to flow at high pressure from the heating part 150 to the extrusion head 210 from the heating head 150.

The pressing unit 170 according to an embodiment of the present invention may be implemented as an air compressor. The pressurizing unit 170 transmits the air pressure to the piston 130 by external control, and the pellet 10 melted by the air pressure transmitted to the piston 130 flows to the connection tube 270, finally. The molten pellet 10 is injected from the extrusion head 210.

The transfer part 120 is provided in the housing 140. The transfer unit 120 transfers the pellet 10 of the cartridge 110 coupled to the coupling unit 101 to the piston 130. The transfer unit 120 receives the driving force to transfer the pellet 10 to the piston 130. The detailed structure of the transfer part 120 will be described later.

The heating part 150 is provided at one side of the piston 130. The heating unit 150 heats the pellet 10 transferred to the piston 130. The heating part 150 heats the pellet 10 to make it molten. The pellet 10 flows along the connection tube 270 connected between the heating part 150 and the extrusion head 210 in a molten state. In this case, according to the embodiment, the pressing unit 170 provided in the piston 130 may provide a pressing force to the melted pellet 10. The molten pellet 10 supplied to the extrusion head 210 is discharged from the extrusion head 210 is molded into a three-dimensional semifinished product 50 as described above.

Raw material supply unit 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is formed by molding the metal powder-containing raw material of the three-dimensional finished product in the form of pellets 10 and stored in the cartridge 110 to be stored to increase the storage properties, When exhausted, the cartridge 110 may be replaced and used to improve usability, and the pellet 10 stored in the cartridge 110 may be transferred to the piston 130 from the transfer unit 120 to be used. Continuous supply and discharge are possible.

Hereinafter, the detailed configuration of the cartridge 110 will be described. Cartridge 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in Figure 4, the cartridge body 111 is formed with an opening 113 through which the pellet 10 is introduced and the pellet 10 is stacked therein Is formed to protrude on the inner surface of the cartridge body 111, the guide protrusion 115 is coupled to the guide groove 19 so that the pellet 10 is aligned in one direction, the inside of the cartridge body 111 is provided with a pellet 10 ) Push portion 114 for pushing the opening 113, a support portion 119 formed to protrude on one side of the opening 113 to prevent the pellet 10 from being separated into the opening 113, and the opening 113. It is formed to be opened in the bottom surface 17 of the) and includes a passage 117 for the pellets to be transferred to the piston 130 by the conveying unit (120).

One or more pellets 10 are stored and stacked in the cartridge body 111. At this time, the interior of the cartridge body 111 is formed a cavity (cavity) receiving space for storing a plurality of pellets (10).

One side of the cartridge body 111 is formed with an opening 113 through which the pellet 10 is introduced. The user may insert the pellets 10 into the openings 113 of the cartridge body 111 one by one to stack a plurality of pellets 10 in the accommodation space of the cartridge body 111.

The pellet 10 may be formed of a metal powder and a binder to enable elastic deformation. Accordingly, the user can press the pellet 10 and pass the support 119 to be described later to stack the pellet 10 on the cartridge body 111 through the opening.

The guide body 115 is formed in the cartridge body 111. The guide protrusion 115 may be formed to protrude on the inner surface of the cartridge body 111. The guide protrusion 115 is formed to correspond to the guide groove 19 formed in the bottom surface 17 of the pellet 10. In some embodiments, when the guide grooves 19 are formed on both the upper and lower surfaces of the pellet 10, the guide grooves 19 may protrude from both the upper and lower inner surfaces of the cartridge body 111.

The guide protrusion 115 aligns the pellet 10 in one direction. That is, the guide protrusion 115 aligns the pellets 10 in one direction such that the pellets 10 coupled to the guide grooves 19 are arranged such that the openings 113 and the transfer grooves 15 are positioned. In this case, the direction of the guide groove 19 and the guide protrusion 115 may be disposed in a normal direction perpendicular to the plane portion 13 in which the transfer groove 15 of the pellet 10 is formed.

The push part 114 is provided inside the cartridge body 111. The push part 114 pushes the pellet 10 stacked on the cartridge body 111 to the opening 113. The push unit 114 may be composed of a push plate 114-1 for pressing the pellet 10 and an elastic member 114-2 for providing an elastic force to the push plate 114-1, as shown in FIG. However, embodiments are not limited thereto.

The support 119 is formed to protrude on one side of the opening 113. The support part 119 prevents the pellet 10 pushed by the push part 114 from the opening part 113 from the opening part 113 among the pellets 10 laminated | stacked on the cartridge body 111. FIG.

The support portion 119 may be formed to be curved to support the outer circumferential surface 11 of the pellet 10 at both sides of the opening 113. In this case, the pellet 10 as described above ) Is formed of a metal powder and a binder so that elastic deformation is possible, so that the user can press the pellet 10 and pass the support 119 to stack the pellet 10 on the cartridge body 111.

The passage part 117 is formed in the bottom surface 17 of the opening part 113. The passage 117 may be formed to be opened so that the pellet 10 passes. The passage part 117 is formed to be recessed further inward than the upper surface of the cartridge body 111. The passage part 117 may be passed through the pellets 10 so that the pellets 10 may be transferred to the piston 130 by the transfer part 120 after the cartridge 110 is coupled to the coupling part 101. It is opened to the size that it is.

According to the cartridge 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention, since the plurality of pellets 10 are stored in one cartridge 110, the pellets 10 may be replaced by simply replacing the cartridges 110 when the pellets 10 are exhausted. There is an advantage to resupply.

In addition, a guide protrusion 115 coupled to the guide groove 19 formed in the pellet 10 is formed on the inner surface of the cartridge 110 so that the transfer groove 15 of the pellet 10 is positioned at the opening 113. Since it is arranged so that the pellet 10 by the transfer unit 120 can be continuously supplied to the piston (130).

Hereinafter, the detailed configuration of the transfer unit 120 will be described. When a screw thread is formed in the transfer groove 15 of the flat portion 13 according to an embodiment of the present invention, the structure of the transfer portion 120 may be correspondingly implemented.

As illustrated in FIGS. 5 to 6, the transfer part 120 according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention has a feed thread 121a corresponding to the transfer groove 15 formed on the outer circumferential surface 11, thereby providing a cartridge 110. ) Is coupled to the coupling portion 101, the screw 121 is in contact with the conveying thread (121a) to the conveying groove 15, the driving unit 125 for providing a driving force for rotating the screw 121, and the driving unit 125 And a transmission unit 123 provided between the screw 121 and transmitting the driving force to the screw 121.

First, when the conveying groove 15 is formed in the pellet 10 in the pellet 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, the conveying groove 15 may be formed in the same shape as the thread formed on the inner surface of the nut.

At this time, the screw 121, the feed screw 121a corresponding to the feed groove 15 is formed on the outer peripheral surface (11). When the cartridge 110 is coupled to the coupling portion 101, the transfer thread 121a is in contact with the transfer groove 15. The pellet 10 is arranged by the guide groove 19 and the guide protrusion 115 so that the transfer groove 15 is located in the opening 113 as described above, so that the cartridge 110 is coupled to the coupling portion 101. When coupled to the feed screw 121a is in contact with the feed groove (15).

The driver 125 provides a driving force for rotating the screw 121. The driver 125 may be implemented as a motor that receives power from the outside, but embodiments are not limited thereto.

The transmission part 123 is provided between the driving part 125 and the screw 121. The transmission unit 123 transmits the driving force of the driving unit 125 to the screw 121. The transfer unit 123 may be implemented in various known embodiments such as pulleys, gears, belts, and the like.

When the driving unit 125 generates a driving force to transfer the driving force to the screw 121 through the transmission unit 123, the screw 121 is rotated. When the screw 121 is rotated, the feed screw 121a rotates, and the rotating feed screw 121a moves relative to the feed groove 15, so that the pellet 10 is fed in one direction.

Accordingly, when the screw 121 is rotated, the pellet 10 passes through the passage 117 and is transferred to the piston 130. As described above, since the passage portion 117 is formed at one side of the opening 113, the pellet 10 passes through the passage portion 117 through relative movement with the screw 121 and is transferred in the direction of the piston 130. Then, it is transferred to the end point of the screw 121 and finally transferred to the piston 130.

In this case, after one pellet 10 is transferred, another pellet 10 stored in the cartridge 110 by the push part 114 is positioned in the opening 113. In the pellet 10 pushed by the opening part 113 by the push part 114, the feed groove 15 is in contact with the feed thread 121a of the screw 121, and by the rotation of the screw 121, It passes through 117 and is conveyed toward the piston 130.

Therefore, the plurality of pellets 10 stacked on the cartridge 110 are continuously supplied to the piston 130 when the screw 121 is rotated. Thereafter, the pellet 10 is melted by the heating unit 150 as described above, is pressed by the pressing unit 170 is finally supplied to the extrusion head 210 through the connecting tube 270.

7 is a perspective view of the pellet 10 according to another embodiment of the present invention, Figure 8 is a view showing a transfer unit 120 according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, another embodiment of the pellet 10 and the transfer unit 120 will be described. Hereinafter, the description will be focused on the components having a difference, and components not described or illustrated are replaced with descriptions and illustrated contents of the above-described components.

As shown in FIG. 7, the transfer groove 25 according to another embodiment of the present invention is formed horizontally with respect to the bottom surface 17 of the pellet 10. That is, different from the thread form of the pellet 10 shown in Figure 3, the transfer groove 25 is formed in the horizontal direction relative to the bottom surface 17 of the pellet 10. One or more transfer grooves 25 may be formed in parallel with each other.

The structure of the transfer part 320 may be implemented to correspond to the shape of the transfer groove 25. When the conveying groove 25 is formed as shown in FIG. 7, in the conveying part 320 according to another embodiment of the present invention, the conveying protrusion 321a corresponding to the conveying groove 25 is formed on the outer surface of the cartridge 110. ) Includes a timing belt 321 in which the transfer protrusion 321a contacts the transfer groove 25 and a gear unit 323 transmitting a driving force to the timing belt 321 when the coupling portion 101 is coupled to the coupling portion 101.

The timing belt 321 may be implemented as a belt or a caterpillar, but embodiments are not limited thereto.

The transfer protrusion 321a is formed on the outer surface of the timing belt 321. The transfer protrusion 321a is formed to protrude. The transfer protrusion 321a may be formed to correspond to the transfer groove 25.

The transfer protrusion 321a is in contact with the transfer groove 25 when the cartridge 110 is coupled to the coupling portion 101 as in the exemplary embodiment of the present invention. At this time, since the pellet 10 is arranged aligned by the guide groove 19 and the guide protrusion 115 so that the transfer groove 25 is located in the opening 113 as described above, the cartridge 110 is coupled to the coupling portion ( When coupled to the 101, the projection projection (321a) is in contact with the conveying groove (25).

The gear unit 323 transmits a driving force to the timing belt 321. The driving force may be provided by various driving units 125 as in one embodiment of the present invention. When the driving force is transmitted to the gear unit 323, the timing belt 321 is rotated.

When the driving force is applied to the gear unit 323 and the gear unit 323 rotates, the timing belt 321 rotates. When the timing belt 321 rotates, the transfer protrusion 321a of the timing belt 321 transfers the pellet 10 coupled to the transfer groove 25 in one direction.

Accordingly, when the timing belt 321 rotates, the pellet 10 passes through the passage 117 and is transferred to the piston 130. As described above, since the passage portion 117 is formed at one side of the opening 113, the pellet 10 passes through the passage portion 117 by the rotation of the timing belt 321 and is transferred in the piston 130 direction. Then, it is transferred to the end point of the timing belt 321 and finally transferred to the piston 130.

In this case, after one pellet 10 is transferred, another pellet 10 stored in the cartridge 110 by the push part 114 is positioned in the opening 113. Since the feed groove 25 is in contact with the feed projection 321a of the timing belt 321, the pellet 10 located in the opening 113 passes through the passage 117 by the rotation of the timing belt 321. It is conveyed in the piston 130 direction.

Therefore, the plurality of pellets 10 stacked on the cartridge 110 are continuously supplied to the piston 130 when the timing belt 321 rotates. Thereafter, as described above, the pellet 10 is melted by the heating unit 150, pressurized by the pressing unit 170, and finally supplied to the extrusion head 210.

9 is a three-dimensional printing apparatus 2 according to another embodiment of the present invention.

In the three-dimensional printing apparatus 2 according to another embodiment of the present invention, the raw material supply unit 100 and the nozzle 410 are disposed in direct connection. In this case, the extrusion head 210 and the connection tube 270 is omitted. That is, the raw material supply unit 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention instead of the extrusion head 210 is located in the extrusion head 210, and a separate extrusion head (directly connected to one end of the heating unit 150) ( It is implemented with a nozzle-integrated raw material supply unit 400 that does not need to have a (210). Accordingly, the user can replace the cartridge 110 of the nozzle integrated raw material supply unit 400 when the pellet 10 is exhausted, so that the three-dimensional semifinished product 50 can be molded.

It is to be understood that the invention may be embodied in other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential features. Therefore, it should be understood that the embodiments described above are exemplary in all respects and not restrictive.

The scope of the present invention is indicated by the scope of the following claims rather than the detailed description, and all changes or modifications derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and the equivalent concept are included in the scope of the present invention. Should be interpreted.

100: raw material supply unit 120: transfer unit
110: cartridge 130: piston
150: heating unit

Claims (9)

A cartridge in which at least one pellet including metal powder and a binder is laminated;
A housing having a coupling part coupled to the cartridge at one side;
A piston provided on the other side of the housing;
A transfer part provided in the housing to transfer the pellets of the cartridge coupled to the coupling part to the piston; And
A heating unit provided at one side of the piston to heat the pellets transferred to the piston;
Three-dimensional printing device comprising a.
The method of claim 1,
The pellet is a three-dimensional printing device is formed with a guide groove is formed on the bottom surface, a flat portion formed with a transfer groove on the outer peripheral surface.
The method of claim 2,
The cartridge,
A cartridge body in which an opening through which the pellet is introduced is formed and the pellet is stacked;
A guide protrusion formed on the inner surface of the cartridge body and coupled to the guide groove so that the pellets are aligned in one direction;
A push part provided inside the cartridge body to push the pellet into the opening;
A support part formed to protrude on one side of the opening to prevent the pellet from being separated from the opening; And
A passage part formed to be opened at a bottom of the opening to allow the pellet to be transferred to the piston by the transfer part;
Three-dimensional printing device comprising a.
The method of claim 3,
The transfer groove is a three-dimensional printing device is formed of a thread.
The method of claim 4, wherein
The transfer unit,
A screw having a feed screw thread corresponding to the feed groove formed on an outer circumferential surface thereof so that the feed screw thread contacts the feed groove when the cartridge is coupled to the coupling part;
A driving unit providing a driving force to rotate the screw; And
A transmission unit provided between the driving unit and the screw to transfer the driving force to the screw;
Three-dimensional printing device comprising a.
The method of claim 5,
The pellet is three-dimensional printing device is passed to the piston through the passage when the screw is rotated.
The method of claim 3,
The conveying groove is a three-dimensional printing device that is formed at least one horizontally with respect to the bottom of the pellet.
The method of claim 7, wherein
The transfer unit,
A timing belt formed on an outer surface of the transfer groove corresponding to the transfer groove so that the transfer protrusion contacts the transfer groove when the cartridge is coupled to the coupling part; And
A gear unit transmitting a driving force to the timing belt;
Three-dimensional printing device comprising a.
The method of claim 8,
And the pellet is passed to the piston through the passage when the timing belt rotates.

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