Nozzle Scraper
3D printers perform additive manufacturing by depositing heated material (commonly plastic) onto a surface from a printer nozzle. During a 3D print, nozzles may “ooze” excess material, leading to deformities in 3D prints. Disclosed is an anti-ooze mechanism that covers up 3D printer nozzles when they are not being used. A servo moves a nozzle shield in front of and away from a nozzle while a 3D print is happening so that no ooze drips onto a 3D print or otherwise escapes from a printer nozzle onto the printer bed. Moreover, the servo can move the nozzle shield quickly to minimize the amount of time that a nozzle spends uncovered, and the nozzle shield is also capable of “scraping off” excess material from the nozzle head.
1 . An ooze prevention mechanism for a 3D printer, comprising:
a particle deposition head having a nozzle, wherein the particle deposition head is configured to deposit heated material via a spout of the nozzle;
a protective member; and
a motor mechanically coupled to the protective member, wherein the motor is configured to move the protective member to contact the nozzle and thereby cover the spout for preventing heated material from exiting the spout.
2 . The ooze prevention mechanism of claim 1 , comprising a biasing member, wherein the biasing member is configured to be driven by the motor such that the motor rotates the biasing member.
3 . The ooze prevention mechanism of claim 2 , wherein the motor is a rotary servo configured to rotate the biasing member, and wherein the biasing member is configured to translate the protective member when the biasing member is rotated.
4 . The ooze prevention mechanism of claim 1 , comprising a linear actuator configured to move the particle deposition head in a vertical direction such that the particle deposition head is moved downwardly into a deployed position and upwardly into a retracted position.
5 . The ooze prevention mechanism of claim 4 , wherein the motor is configured to reposition the protective member to be in contact with the nozzle when the particle deposition head is in the retracted position.
6 . The ooze prevention mechanism of claim 5 , wherein the motor is configured to reposition the protective member to be withdrawn from contact with the nozzle prior to deploying the particle deposition head via the linear actuator.
7 . The ooze prevention mechanism of claim 1 , wherein the protective member comprises a geometry which removes any residual material accumulated at the spout of the nozzle when the protective member is moved to contact the nozzle.
8 . A 3D printer head, comprising:
a filament head configured to deposit filament;
a linear actuator operatively coupled to the filament head such that the filament head is vertically translatable between a retracted position and a deployed position;
a protective member configured to contact with a nozzle of the filament head when the filament head is in the retracted position; and
a servo configured to move the protective member out of contact with the nozzle to enable translation of the filament head to the deployed position.
9 . The 3D printer head of claim 8 , comprising a protective casing which at least partially encloses the filament head, linear actuator, servo, and protective member.
10 . The 3D printer head of claim 9 , comprising a cooling system that circulates air throughout the protective casing.
11 . The 3D printer head of claim 8 , wherein the servo is configured to move the protective member into contact with the nozzle such that the protective member contacts a tip of the nozzle.
12 . The 3D printer head of claim 8 , wherein a plurality of 3D printer heads is mechanically coupled together into a single master head, wherein the single master head is configured for lateral and longitudinal translation with respect to a printer bed such that the plurality of 3D printer heads are translated collectively in a lateral direction and a longitudinal direction.
13 . The plurality of 3D printer heads of claim 12 , wherein a maximum of one of the 3D printer heads may be in the deployed position at a time.
14 . The plurality of 3D printer heads of claim 12 , wherein an alignment member secures each of the plurality of 3D printer heads in a sleeve.
15 . A nozzle scraping system, comprising:
a nozzle with a tip configured to deposit heated material through the tip;
a nozzle shield; and
a servo operatively coupled to the shield, wherein the servo is configured to move the shield to physically contact an end of the nozzle,
wherein the nozzle shield is configured to scrape material accumulated on the end of the nozzle when the nozzle shield is moved to physically contact the nozzle.
16 . The nozzle scraping system of claim 15 , wherein the nozzle is disposed on a filament head which deposits plastic filament through the nozzle.
17 . The nozzle scraping system of claim 15 , wherein the servo moves the nozzle shield to cover the nozzle in a retracted position and the servo moves the nozzle shield to no longer cover the nozzle in a deployed position.
18 . The nozzle scraping system of claim 15 , wherein the nozzle shield is moved at a rate sufficient to expel ooze from the tip of the nozzle.
19 . The nozzle scraping system of claim 15 , comprising a biasing member which mechanically links the servo to the nozzle shield such that the nozzle shield is moved by the biasing member when the servo imparts a force on the biasing member.
20 . The nozzle scraping system of claim 15 , wherein the nozzle shield comprises a V-shaped configured to contact the tip of the nozzle.