Deposition head of a three-dimensional printer, said deposition head being configured to deposit several wires simultaneously, and three-dimensional printer comprising said deposition head
A deposition head for a three-dimensional printer with at least one pay-out device which comprises several wire spools, each spool having a wire to be deposited simultaneously with the other wires, a drive system having a drive roller with several grooves, one for each wire to be deposited simultaneously, a wire guide which has a first end, a second end close to a deposition zone during operation, and also a passage hole opening out at each of the first and second ends, the passage hole having several passage sections at the second end, one for each wire to be deposited simultaneously, and each passage section having a section substantially identical to the section of the wire to be guided.
1 . A deposition head for a three-dimensional printer, the deposition head comprising:
at least one pay-out device comprising at least two wire spools, each wire spool for a wire, the wires to be deposited simultaneously,
a drive system comprising a drive roller configured to pivot about a pivot axis at a rotational speed determined as a function of a desired speed of travel of at least one wire, the drive roller having a cylindrical lateral surface coaxial with the pivot axis, wherein the drive roller has a plurality of grooves positioned on the lateral surface, each groove located in a separate plane perpendicular to the pivot axis, one groove for each wire to be deposited simultaneously,
a guide system positioned proximate a deposition zone during operation, the guide system comprising a wire guide which has a first end, a second end close to the deposition zone during operation, compared to the first end, and a passage hole opening out at each of the first and second ends, the passage hole opening comprising a plurality of passage sections at the second end, one second end for each wire to be deposited simultaneously, and wherein each passage section has a section identical to a section of a wire to be guided, and
wherein the pay-out device further comprises, for at least one wire spool, a friction braking system for limiting rotation of the wire spool,
wherein the pay-out device further comprises at least one cylindrical support on which at least one wire spool is threaded, and wherein the friction braking system comprises a body mounted on the support, a coupling connecting the body and the at least one wire spool, and a friction mechanism limiting, by friction, a pivoting movement of the body with respect to the support.
2 . The deposition head as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the body comprises first and second tubular parts which are separated by a transverse slot which extends over part of a cross section of the body, the first tubular part mounted on the support with a sliding fit, and the second tubular part comprising a longitudinal slot which extends to the transverse slot in such a way that the second tubular part has a C-shaped cross section with two ends.
3 . The deposition head as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the friction mechanism comprises a toggle latch connecting the two ends of the C-shaped cross section of the second tubular part.
4 . The deposition head as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the coupling comprises at least one radial branch which has a first end connected to the body and a second end connected to the wire spool by a removable connecting element.
5 . The deposition head as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the pay-out device further comprises a bearing face,
wherein the support comprises a first end connected to said bearing face, a free end, and an axle perpendicular to the bearing face,
wherein the support is dimensioned to support the at least two wire spools such that a first wire spool is closed to the free end compared to the first end of the support and a second wire spool is pressed against the bearing face, and
wherein the friction braking system is mounted on the support in such a way that the second wire spool is kept pressed against the bearing face by the first wire spool, which is pressed against the second wire spool by the friction mechanism.
6 . The deposition head as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the drive system further comprises an upstream or downstream wire guide, positioned upstream or downstream of the drive roller in a direction of travel of the at least one wire, the upstream or downstream wire guide comprising a body which extends between first and second ends and has a passage hole opening out at each of the first and second ends, the second end being positioned as close as possible to the drive roller so a wire therein remains rectilinear between the upstream or downstream wire guide and the drive roller, and,
wherein the passage hole opening of the upstream or downstream wire guide comprises a passage section for each wire to be deposited simultaneously, each passage section having a section identical to the section of the wire to be guided.
7 . The deposition head as claimed in claim 6 , wherein each passage section has a rectilinear segment which extends from the second end by a few millimeters, the segments of each of the passage sections being parallel to one another and being oriented in a direction tangential to the drive roller.
8 . The deposition head as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the passage sections are separated from one another by a distance substantially equal to that which separates the grooves of the drive roller.
9 . The deposition head as claimed in claim 8 , wherein each passage section has a rectilinear segment which extends from the second end by a few millimeters, the segments of each of the passage sections being parallel to one another and being oriented in a direction tangential to the drive roller.
10 . A three-dimensional printer comprising:
the deposition head as claimed in claim 1 .