阅读说明：本技术 打印系统导轨清洁组件 (Clean subassembly of printing system guide rail ) 是由 M.G.德里格尔斯 J.明斯 于 2017-07-28 设计创作，主要内容包括：根据示例,一种打印系统可包括导轨和滑架。该滑架可包括支撑在该导轨上的可旋转构件。该打印系统还可包括安装到该滑架的清洁组件,并且该清洁组件可具有刮擦器,以从该导轨的至少一部分刮除碎屑。(According to an example, a printing system may include a rail and a carriage. The carriage may include a rotatable member supported on the rail. The printing system may also include a cleaning assembly mounted to the carriage, and the cleaning assembly may have a scraper to scrape debris from at least a portion of the guide rail.)

1. A printing system, comprising:

a guide rail;

a carriage having a rotatable member supported on the guide rail; and

a cleaning assembly mounted to the carriage, the cleaning assembly having a scraper to scrape debris from at least a portion of the guide rail.

2. The printing system of claim 1, wherein the wiper is positioned adjacent to the rotatable member.

3. The printing system of claim 1, wherein the cleaning assembly further comprises a complementary scraper to scrape debris from at least a portion of the guide rail, wherein the scraper is positioned adjacent a first side of the rotatable member and the complementary scraper is positioned adjacent a second side of the rotatable member.

4. The printing system of claim 1, wherein the rail extends in a first direction, and wherein the wiper is positioned at a smaller angle relative to the first direction than perpendicular to the first direction.

5. The printing system of claim 1, wherein the scraper is formed in a V-shape including a first section and a second section, the first section extending at a first angle relative to the guide rail and the second section extending at a second angle relative to the guide rail.

6. The printing system of claim 1, wherein the cleaning assembly further comprises a rotatable member wiper and a rotatable member brush to remove debris from the rotatable member.

7. The printing system of claim 1, wherein the cleaning assembly further comprises a brush to remove debris from at least a portion of the guide rail.

8. The printing system of claim 1, wherein the carriage supports a printhead, a heat lamp, a recoater to dispense layers of build material particles on a build platform, or a combination thereof.

9. A carriage, comprising:

a frame;

a rotating member rotatably mounted on the frame, wherein the rotating member supports the frame on a support rail and the rotating member passes over the support rail; and

a scraper mounted to the frame and positioned to scrape debris from at least a portion of the support rail as the frame translates over the support rail.

10. The carriage of claim 9, wherein the scraper is positioned adjacent to a first side of the rotating member, the carriage further comprising:

a complementary scraper positioned adjacent to the second side of the rotating member.

11. The carriage of claim 9, further comprising:

a second scraper; and

a third scraper, wherein each of the scraper, the second scraper, and the third scraper has a contact portion, and wherein each of the contact portions extends toward a common position relative to the cleaning assembly.

12. The carriage of claim 9, further comprising a rotatable member wiper and a rotatable member brush to remove debris from at least a portion of the rotating member during rotation of the rotating member.

13. The carriage of claim 9, further comprising:

a print head, a heat lamp, a recoater that dispenses layers of build material particles on the build platform, or a combination thereof.

14. A printing system, comprising:

a first rail;

a second rail;

a carriage having:

a frame supporting the print head;

a first member rotatably mounted to the frame; and

a second member rotatably mounted to the frame, wherein the carriage is translatable on first and second rails by the first and second members, respectively;

a cleaning assembly mounted to the chassis, the cleaning assembly having:

a first scraper to scrape debris from at least a portion of the first rail, the first scraper positioned at a first angle relative to the first rail; and

a second scraper that scrapes debris from at least a portion of the second rail, the second scraper being positioned at a second angle relative to the second rail.

15. The printing system of claim 14, the cleaning assembly further comprising:

a first brush that clears debris from at least a portion of the first rail;

a second brush that clears debris from at least a portion of the second rail; and

a first member scraper to scrape debris from at least a portion of the first member.

Background

In three-dimensional (3D) printing, a three-dimensional solid part is typically made from a digital model using an additive printing process. Some 3D printing techniques are considered additive processes because they involve applying successive layers or volumes of build material, such as powder or powdered build material, to an existing surface (or previous layer). Particles of build material may contaminate various surfaces of the part, which may cause defects in the printing of the 3D object.

Drawings

Features of the present disclosure are illustrated by way of example and not limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which like references indicate similar elements and in which:

FIG. 1A illustrates a front view of an exemplary printing system that can include an exemplary cleaning assembly;

FIGS. 1B and 1C respectively show side views of the exemplary printing system depicted in FIG. 1A with other exemplary cleaning assemblies;

FIG. 1D depicts an enlarged view of a scraper (scarper) and mounting members of the scraper assembly depicted in FIGS. 1A-1C, according to one example;

FIG. 2 illustrates a side perspective view of the exemplary cleaning assembly and rotatable member shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B;

FIG. 3A illustrates a top perspective view of another cleaning assembly that may be mounted to a portion of a frame of a carriage in a printing system, according to one example; and

figure 3B illustrates a bottom perspective view of a portion of the exemplary cleaning assembly and chassis depicted in figure 3A.

Detailed Description

In powder-based three-dimensional (3D) printing systems, successive layers of build material, such as powder or powder-type build material, may be formed on, for example, a build platform. Portions of each layer may be selectively cured, where each portion represents a portion of the 3D object to be formed. In some examples, the build material may include a powdered build material that is composed of particles in the form of a fine powder or granules. Additionally or in other examples, the build material may include short fibers. Regardless, the powdered build material may include particles of metal, plastic, polymer, ceramic, or other materials.

The 3D printing system may include various components that are movable, for example, over a build platform to create successive layers and selectively cure portions of the layers. For example, a carriage supporting printing components, such as printheads, recoaters, heat lamps, etc., may be swept across the build platform during printing and other operations. The carriage may include a rotatable member supported on one or more rails such that the rotatable member rotates as the carriage sweeps. In many cases, particles of build material powder may become airborne (or airborne) due to the environment and/or the printing process and may contaminate various surfaces of the 3D printing system, including the rotatable member, one or more rails on which the carriage rolls.

Contamination of the one or more rails may interfere with contact between the rotatable member and the rails, which may cause defects in the formation of the 3D object. For example, debris on the guide rails and/or rotatable members may prevent the build material particles from being applied as a smooth horizontal layer. As another example, debris may interfere with the accurate positioning of the carriage relative to the build platform, which may result in, for example, printing liquid being deposited in unintended locations. Similar types of errors due to debris such as dust and other airborne particles may also occur in two-dimensional (2D) printing systems that employ a carriage and one or more guide rails.

A cleaning assembly mountable to a carriage of a printing system, and a carriage and printing system on which the cleaning assembly is mountable are disclosed herein. The cleaning assembly disclosed herein may include a wiper to clear debris from at least a portion of the rail as the carriage sweeps over the rail. The cleaning assemblies disclosed herein may also include a brush to further remove debris from at least a portion of the rail. Additionally, or in other examples, the cleaning assembly may include a wiper and/or brush to remove debris from at least a portion of a rotatable member on which the carriage is supported on the guide rail.

By implementing the cleaning assemblies disclosed herein, debris can be cleared from at least a portion of the guide rail and/or rotatable member simply by moving the carriage over the guide rail. As such, for example, the rail and/or the rotatable member may be continuously cleaned during a printing operation, and thus, a separate cleaning operation may not be performed to clean the rail. Thus, in one aspect, the number of defects caused by contamination on the guide rail and/or the rotatable member may be reduced or minimized.

Before continuing, it is noted that, as used herein, the terms "include" and "comprise" mean, but are not limited to, "including" or "comprising" and "including at least" or "including at least". The term "based on" means, but is not limited to, "based on" and "based, at least in part, on".

Reference is first made to fig. 1A-1C. Fig. 1A illustrates a front view of an exemplary printing system 100 that may include an exemplary cleaning assembly 102. Fig. 1B and 1C respectively show side views of the exemplary printing system 100 depicted in fig. 1A with other exemplary cleaning assemblies 102. It should be understood that the printing system 100 and cleaning assembly 102 depicted in fig. 1A-1C may include additional components, and that certain components described herein may be removed and/or modified without departing from the scope of the printing system 100 disclosed herein. Additionally, it should also be understood that components of the printing system 100 may not be drawn to scale, and thus, the components may have different respective dimensions without departing from the scope of the printing system 100 disclosed herein.

The printing system 100 depicted in fig. 1A-1C may be part of a three-dimensional (3D) printing system or part of a two-dimensional (2D) printing system. In examples where printing system 100 is a 3D printing system, printing system 100 may form a 3D object from layers of build material particles, which may be in powder or powder form. In other examples, printing system 100 may also form 3D objects from other types of materials. In an example where printing system 100 is a 2D printing system, printing system 100 may print marking material, such as ink, onto a medium, such as paper.

The printing system 100 may include a first rail 104 and a second rail 106, but in some examples, the printing system 100 may include a single rail 104 or more than two rails 104, 106. The printing system 100 may also include a carriage 110 that may be swept along the first and second rails 104, 106 across a build area (3D printing system) or a print area (2D printing system), which first and second rails 104, 106 may also be referred to herein as rails 104, 106. The build area may generally be defined as an area of the printing system 100 where a 3D object may be formed from build material particles. Likewise, the print zone may generally be defined as an area of the printing system 100 that is printable on media.

First guide rail 104 and second guide rail 106 may extend across a portion of the entire build/print area of printing system 100 or over the entire build/print area of printing system 100. The carriage 110 may include a frame 114, and rotatable members 116-1 to 116-3, collectively referred to herein as rotatable members 116 (or equivalently, collectively referred to as rotatable members 116), may be rotatably mounted on the frame 114, and the rotatable members 116-1 to 116-3 may be supported on the first rail 104 and the second rail 106. As shown, a first rotatable member 116-1 (which may also be referred to herein as a first rotatable member 116-1) may be rotatably mounted to a first side of the frame 114. Also as shown, a second rotatable member 116-2 and a third rotatable member 116-3 may be rotatably mounted to a second side of the frame 114.

The rotatable member 116, which may be a wheel, bearing, roller, or the like, may be formed of any suitable material, such as rubber, metal, plastic, or the like. In addition, the rotatable member 116 may be rotatably mounted to the frame 114 by respective shafts.

Additionally, the carriage 110 may support a printing system component 112 (shown in phantom), which printing system component 112 may be controlled to perform an action as the carriage 110 sweeps over a build area or a print area on the first rail 104 and the second rail 106. Printing system component 112 may be any combination of the following, namely: a print head to deliver flux and/or marking material onto the build material particles/media, a heat lamp to apply heat to the build material particles/media, a recoater to dispense a layer of build material particles across a build area (e.g., a build platform), a number of these components, and so forth. In this regard, the acts may include any acts that may be performed by the printing system component 112 described above.

Although not shown, the frame 114 may be attached to a belt, chain, rod, or other implement that may push or pull the frame 114 across the build/print area of the printing system 100. The rotatable member 116 may rotate as the carriage 110 moves over the rails 104, 106. During operation, debris such as build material particles, dust, particulates, and the like may contaminate the rails 104, 106 and other components in the printing system 100, such as the rotatable member 116. Contamination of the guide rails 104, 106 (and the rotatable member 116) may interfere with contact between the rotatable member 116 and the guide rails 104, 106, which may cause defects in the formation of 3D objects, printed media, and the like. For example, debris on the rails 104, 106 and/or the rotatable member 116 may prevent the build material particles from applying as a smooth horizontal layer. As another example, debris may interfere with the precise positioning of carriage 110 relative to the build/print area, which may result in, for example, printing liquid being deposited at unintended locations.

According to an example, the cleaning assemblies 102-1 through 102-3, collectively referred to herein as cleaning assemblies 102, can be mounted on opposite sides of the carriage 110 to clear debris from at least a portion of the guide rails 104, 106 as the carriage 110 sweeps across the guide rails 104, 106. Each of the cleaning assemblies 102 may include a plate 118 and a scraper 120. The wipers 120 may be attached to respective plates 118, and the plates 118 may be mounted to respective sides of the frame 114. In other examples, the scraper 120 may be mounted directly to the frame 114 without the plate 118. Regardless, the first scraper 120-1 may contact a portion of the surface of the first rail 104 and the second scraper 120-2 may contact a portion of the surface of the second rail 106. The section of the portion of the surface of the scraper 120 that contacts the rails 104, 106 may be contoured to match or complement the shape of the rails 104, 106.

The scraper 120 may be formed of a material that is durable, low friction, capable of withstanding relatively high temperatures, and the like. For example, the squeegee 120 may be formed of plastic such as polyimide, metal such as brass, bronze, stainless steel, or the like. The scraper 120 may also be formed from a combination of materials. For example, the scraper 120 may have a base section and a contact section, wherein the base section may be formed of a relatively more rigid material than the contact section that will contact the rails 104, 106. In these examples, the base section may cantilever from the plate 118, and the contact section may extend from the base section to contact the rails 104, 106.

The scraper 120 may be angled relative to the rails 104, 106 such that as the carriage 110 moves, the scraper serves to plow or push away clearing across the rails 104, 106. By way of example, the frame 114 may extend along a first axis, such as a horizontal axis, and the first scraper 120-1 may be at an angle of between about 181 degrees and about 269 degrees relative to the first axis when in contact with the first support rail 104. As a particular example, the first scraper 120-1 may be between about 200 degrees and about 230 degrees relative to the first axis when in contact with the first support rail 104. Additionally, the second scraper 120-2 may be between about 271 degrees and about 359 degrees relative to the first axis when in contact with the second support rail 106. As a particular example, the second scraper 120-2 may be between about 290 degrees and about 330 degrees relative to the first axis when in contact with the second support rail 106. The wipers 120 may have different angles when not in contact with the rails 104, 106. As such, for example, placing the scraper 120 in contact with the rails 104, 106 may cause the scraper 120 to bend to a greater extent.

Additionally, or in other examples, the scraper 120 may bend before being positioned in contact with the rails 104, 106 and/or due to contact with the rails 104, 106. When the scraper 120 scrapes the surface of the rails 104, 106, the scraper 120 may maintain a curved shape to thereby remove debris that may have accumulated on the surface of the rails 104, 106 that the rotatable member 116 contacts. That is, the curvature of the scraper 120 may facilitate removal of debris from the rails 104, 106.

As shown in fig. 1B and 1C, the scraper 120 may be part of a respective scraper assembly 122, the scraper assembly 122 may further include a mounting member 124, the scraper 120 being correspondingly attached and/or inserted to the mounting member 124. Additionally, the mounting member 126 may be mounted to the plate 118 or directly to the frame 114. As shown, the mounting member 124 may receive or support a corresponding complementary scraper 126, which complementary scraper 126 may be located on an opposite side of the mounting member 124 relative to the scraper 120. The complementary wipers 126 may be positioned adjacent to the respective wipers 120, and the angle of the complementary wipers 126 may have an opposite angle to the angle of the wipers 120 attached to the respective mounting members 124. In this regard, the complementary wipers 126 may wipe the rails 104, 106 to remove debris as the carriage 110 moves in a direction opposite to the direction in which the wipers 120 wipe the rails 104, 106 to remove debris. The complementary scraper 126 may be formed of the same material as the scraper 120. In some examples, the complementary scraper 126 may be formed from a respective single piece of material with the scraper 120. In these examples, for example, a single piece of material may be formed into a V-shape to form the scraper 120 and the complementary scraper 126, and the single piece of material may be inserted into the mounting member 124, for example as shown in fig. 1D.

With particular reference to fig. 1D, which depicts an enlarged view of the scraper 120 and mounting member 124 of the scraper assembly 122 according to one example, the scraper 120 may have an unsupported (or exposed) length l and a thickness t. According to an example, the length l and/or thickness t of the scraper 120 may be varied to adjust the force and contact angle of the scraper 120 on the rails 104, 106. In this regard, by selecting wipers 120 with different unsupported lengths and/or thicknesses, the amount of force and contact angle of the wipers 120 may be optimized for a particular application.

The scraper assembly 122 may also include a brush 128 attached to the mounting member 124. The brush 128 may be formed of a material similar to that discussed above with respect to the scraper 120. Additionally, the brush 128 may be positioned to contact the rails 104, 106 to also brush debris away from at least a portion of the rails 104, 106. As shown, the brushes 128 may be located between respective sets of wipers 120 and complementary wipers 126. However, in other examples, the brush 128 may be located outside of the scraper 120 and/or the complementary scraper 126.

As also shown in fig. 1B and 1C, additional scraper assemblies 122 may be located at multiple positions relative to the rotatable member 116. For example, the scraper assemblies 122 may be located on opposite sides of a first rotatable member 116-1, on opposite sides of a second rotatable member 116-2, and on opposite sides of a third rotatable member 116-3. The scraper assembly 122 may additionally be located at other positions relative to the rotatable member 116. For example, the scraper assembly 122 may be positioned to scrape the surface of the rotatable member 116 that contacts the rails 104, 106. In this regard, some scraper assemblies 122 may include a rotatable member scraper 120 and/or a rotatable member brush 128 to be implemented to remove debris from the rotatable member 116.

Although specific reference is made herein to a printing system 100 that includes both a first rail 104 and a second rail 106, in some examples, the printing system 100 may include a single rail 104 without departing from the scope of the printing system 100 disclosed herein. In these examples, the carriage 110 may be supported on a single rail 104, on the rail 104 and another surface, on the rail 104 and another structure, and so forth. In other examples, the printing system 100 may include two rails 104, 106, but the carriage 110 may be supported on one of the rails 104 and/or the carriage 110 may be supported on both rails 104, 106, but the cleaning assembly 102 may be provided to clean one of the rails 104.

Additionally or in other examples, although the rails 104, 106 are depicted as having a circular cross-section, it should be understood that the rails 104, 106 may have cross-sections with other geometries. For example, the rails 104, 106 may have a cross-section in the shape of a square, rectangle, triangle, combinations thereof, and the like. Further, the first rail 104 may have a different profile and/or size than the second rail 106.

Turning now to FIG. 2, a side perspective view of the exemplary cleaning assembly 102-1 and rotatable member 116-1 shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B is shown. The cleaning assemblies 102-2 and 102-3 may have similar configurations. As shown, the wipers 120-1, 126 and brushes 128 may be mounted to the wiper assembly 122, and the wiper assembly 122 may be mounted to the plate 118-1 by mechanical fasteners 200. Additionally, the plate 118-1 may be mounted to the frame 114 of the carriage 110 by mechanical fasteners 202. However, in other examples, the scraper assembly 122 may be mounted to the plate 118-1 and the plate 118-1 may be mounted to the frame 114 by other mechanisms, such as welding, glue, and the like.

Reference is now made to fig. 3A and 3B. Fig. 3A illustrates a top perspective view of another cleaning assembly 300, which cleaning assembly 300 may be mounted to a portion of the frame 114 of the carriage 110 in the printing system 100. Fig. 3B illustrates a bottom perspective view of the exemplary cleaning assembly 300 and a portion of the frame 114 depicted in fig. 3A. It should be understood that the cleaning assembly 300 depicted in fig. 3A and 3B may include additional components, and that some of the components described herein may be removed and/or modified without departing from the scope of the cleaning assembly 300 disclosed herein. Additionally, it should also be understood that the components of the cleaning assembly 300 may not be drawn to scale, and thus, the components may have different respective dimensions without departing from the scope of the cleaning assembly 300 disclosed herein.

Cleaning assembly 300 may include a plate 302 attachable to frame 114. The cleaning assembly 300 may also include a plurality of wipers 304 attached to the plate 302. Each of the wipers 304 may be formed of a base portion 306 and a contact portion 308, wherein the base portion 306 may be formed of a relatively more rigid material than the contact portion 308. Additionally, the scraper 304 may be formed of materials similar to those discussed above with respect to the scraper 120.

As shown, the wipers 304 may contact different sections of the rail 104 and may be aligned with the respective rotatable members 310. Additionally, each of the contact portions 308 of the scraper 304 may extend toward a common location, such as a central axis of the guide rail, relative to the cleaning assembly 300. The rotatable member 310 may be similar to the rotatable member 116 discussed above with respect to fig. 1A-1C, and may be rotatably mounted to the frame 114. Additionally, similar to the rotatable member 116, the rotatable member 306 may rotate as the carriage 110 moves relative to the rail 104.

Regardless, as the carriage 110 moves relative to the rail 104, the wiper 304, and more specifically the contact portion 308, may contact different sections of the rail 104 and may scrape debris from or remove debris from at least a portion of the rail 104. The scraper assembly 300 may also include a brush 312 that may additionally clear debris from at least a portion of the guide rail 104. Although the brush 312 is depicted as being mounted to the frame 114, it should be understood that the brush 312 may alternatively be attached to the plate 302 without departing from the scope of the cleaning assembly 300. Additionally, a scraper and/or brush may be positioned to clear debris from the rotatable member 310.

While described specifically throughout this disclosure, representative examples of the disclosure have utility for a wide range of applications, and the above discussion is not intended and should not be construed as limiting, but is provided as an illustrative discussion of various aspects of the disclosure.

Described and illustrated herein is one example of the present disclosure and some variations thereof. The terms, descriptions and figures used herein are set forth by way of illustration only and are not meant as limitations. Many variations are possible within the spirit and scope of the disclosure, which variations are intended to be defined by the following claims and their equivalents, in which all terms are meant in their broadest reasonable sense unless otherwise indicated.