US-12617151-B1 - Print head assembly and modeling apparatus

US12617151B1US 12617151 B1US12617151 B1US 12617151B1US-12617151-B1

Abstract

Disclosed is a print head assembly and a modeling apparatus, where the print head assembly is applied to the modeling apparatus, and the modeling apparatus includes a drive unit and a working platform; the print head assembly is connected to the drive unit and is configured to, when driven by the drive unit, generate a relative displacement with respect to the working platform; the print head assembly includes a mounting portion and an expansion module, where the mounting portion includes a first guide member extending along a first direction, the expansion module includes a second guide member extending along the first direction, and the first guide member and the second guide member are capable of being engaged with each other; and the print head assembly further includes a locking mechanism. The present application can improve installation firmness of the expansion module on the print head assembly in the modeling apparatus.

Inventors

Bin Liu
Jigeng Shang

Assignees

AtomForm Technology (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20250716
Priority Date: 20250307

Claims (13)

1 . A print head assembly applied to a modeling apparatus, wherein the modeling apparatus comprises a drive unit and a working platform; the print head assembly is connected to the drive unit and is configured to, when driven by the drive unit, generate a relative displacement with respect to the working platform; the print head assembly comprises a mounting portion and an expansion module, wherein the mounting portion comprises at least one first guide member extending along a first direction, the expansion module comprises at least one second guide member extending along the first direction, and the first guide member and the second guide member are capable of being engaged with each other along the first direction; the print head assembly further comprises a locking mechanism comprising at least one eccentric wheel handle assembly, wherein the eccentric wheel handle assembly comprises an eccentric wheel rotatably connected to the expansion module and a handle fixedly connected to the eccentric wheel; when the handle is rotated, an outer periphery of the eccentric wheel approaches or moves away from a surface of the mounting portion; when the eccentric wheel approaches, the eccentric wheel exerts a thrust force on the expansion module to move the expansion module away from the mounting portion, thereby enabling the first guide member and the second guide member to be locked in a second direction, perpendicular to the first direction, by eliminating sliding gaps between the first and the second guide members; and when the eccentric wheel moves away from the surface of the mounting portion, the locking between the first guide member and the second guide member is released; and the eccentric wheel handle assembly further includes a bearing, and the expansion module is provided with a shaft protruding therefrom, where an inner ring of the bearing is sleeved on the shaft, and a bearing hole of the eccentric wheel is sleeved on an outer ring of the bearing.
2 . The print head assembly of claim 1 , wherein the mounting portion further comprises a positioning unit, wherein the positioning unit comprises a first stop member and/or at least one snap-fit structure, wherein the first stop member comprises a blocking plate disposed at an end of the mounting portion along the first direction; and the snap-fit structure comprises a first snap formed on the mounting portion and a second snap formed on the expansion module, wherein when the expansion module slides along the first direction to the end of the mounting portion under a constraint of the first guide member and the second guide member, the first snap and the second snap are engaged with each other, thereby achieving positioning of the expansion module while producing a force variation that enables users to perceive that the expansion module has been installed in place.
3 . The print head assembly of claim 2 , wherein when the expansion module slides along the first direction under the constraint of the first guide member and the second guide member until the first snap and the second snap are engaged with each other, the locking mechanism is used to lock the expansion module with the mounting portion.
4 . The print head assembly of claim 2 , wherein the first snap is a female snap and the second snap is a male snap.
5 . The print head assembly of claim 1 , wherein the first direction is a Z-axis direction of the modeling apparatus.
6 . The print head assembly of claim 1 , wherein the mounting portion is provided with the first guide member in a quantity of two arranged at intervals along an X-axis direction, and the expansion module is provided with the second guide member in a quantity of two arranged at intervals along the X-axis direction; or the mounting portion is provided with the first guide member in a quantity of two arranged at intervals along a Y-axis direction, and the expansion module is provided with the second guide member in a quantity of two arranged at intervals along the Y-axis direction.
7 . The print head assembly of claim 1 , wherein the print head assembly further comprises two or more extrusion heads connected to the drive unit, and the mounting portion is arranged on the extrusion heads.
8 . The print head assembly of claim 7 , wherein the two extrusion heads comprise a first extrusion head and a second extrusion head, wherein the first extrusion head and the second extrusion head have different nozzle diameters, and/or the first extrusion head and the second extrusion head are configured to print different filaments, wherein the different filaments comprise filaments of different colors and/or filaments of different materials.
9 . The print head assembly of claim 7 , wherein the two extrusion heads comprise a first extrusion head and a second extrusion head, and the print head assembly further comprises a main frame, wherein the first extrusion head is fixedly connected to the main frame, and the second extrusion head is movably connected to the main frame along Z-axis direction.
10 . The print head assembly of claim 9 , wherein the second extrusion head moves along the Z-axis direction to cause a nozzle height of the second extrusion head to be greater than a nozzle height of the first extrusion head, so as to enable printing using the first extrusion head.
11 . The print head assembly of claim 9 , wherein the second extrusion head moves along the Z-axis direction to cause a nozzle height of the second extrusion head to be less than a nozzle height of the first extrusion head, so as to enable printing using the second extrusion head.
12 . The print head assembly of claim 1 , wherein the drive unit comprises a motor and a synchronous belt, wherein the motor is configured to drive movement of the synchronous belt arranged along different directions, thereby driving the print head assembly to generate the relative displacement with respect to the working platform.
13 . The print head assembly of claim 1 , wherein the outer periphery of the eccentric wheel is covered with an elastically deformable material, to prevent rebound or reverse rotation of the eccentric wheel.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202510277062.5, filed with the China National Intellectual Property Administration on Mar. 7, 2025 and entitled “PRINT HEAD ASSEMBLY, FILTER ASSEMBLY, CUTTING MODULE, WRITING MODULE, AND MODELING APPARATUS”, and Chinese Patent Application No. 202521279566.2, filed with the China National Intellectual Property Administration on Jun. 20, 2025 and entitled “PRINT HEAD ASSEMBLY AND MODELING APPARATUS”, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD The present application relates to the technical field of 3D printing, and in particular, to a print head assembly and a modeling apparatus. BACKGROUND 3D printing apparatuses represent a category of rapid modeling apparatus. The most commonly used 3D printing technology at present is Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), which, based on a digital model, operates by heating materials such as plastics to a molten state and extruding them through an extrusion head, followed by constructing a three-dimensional object through layer-by-layer printing. To expand the application scope of the aforementioned modeling apparatus, various types of expansion modules such as a laser module, a cutting module, or a writing module may be mounted on either a print head assembly or a drive unit. The expansion module may be connected to the print head assembly via threaded fasteners such as bolts, for example, a plurality of threaded holes may be formed in a main frame of the print head assembly, while a plurality of corresponding through-holes are formed in the expansion module, thereby enabling fixation of the expansion module onto the main frame by inserting the bolts through the through-holes into the threaded holes. In some embodiments, the expansion module may be connected through magnetic attraction. A magnet may be arranged on the expansion module and/or the main frame, such that the expansion module is fixed onto the main frame by the magnet's force of attraction. This mounting approach is simple and easy to operate. However, magnetic attraction typically provides insufficient stability, posing a risk of detachment when the print head assembly moves rapidly or is subjected to an external force. In conclusion, how to securely fasten the expansion module to the print head assembly remains a critical problem to be solved. SUMMARY An embodiment of the present application provides a print head assembly and a modeling apparatus, which are capable of improving installation firmness of the expansion module on the print head assembly. The technical solution of this embodiment of the present application is implemented as follows: In a first aspect, a print head assembly applied to a modeling apparatus is provided, where the modeling apparatus includes a drive unit and a working platform; the print head assembly is connected to the drive unit and is configured to, when driven by the drive unit, generate a relative displacement with respect to the working platform; the print head assembly includes a mounting portion and an expansion module, where the mounting portion includes at least one first guide member extending along a first direction, the expansion module includes at least one second guide member extending along the first direction, and the first guide member and the second guide member are capable of being engaged with each other along the first direction; and the print head assembly further includes a locking mechanism configured to, when the first guide member and the second guide member are engaged with each other, provide a force for bringing the mounting portion and the expansion module closer to or separating them from each other, so as to restrict movement of the expansion module along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. By arranging the guide members capable of being engaged with each other respectively on the mounting portion and on the expansion module of the print head assembly and the locking mechanism, the aforementioned technical solution provided by the present application, after moving the expansion module along the guide member to an installation position, causes the guide members on the mounting portion and the expansion module to fit closely through the locking mechanism, thereby eliminating sliding gaps between the guide members and enabling both convenient installation and secure connection. In some embodiments, the locking mechanism includes at least one eccentric wheel handle assembly, where the eccentric wheel handle assembly includes an eccentric wheel rotatably connected to the expansion module and a handle fixedly connected to the eccentric wheel. According to the above technical means, the locking mechanism is configured as the eccentric wheel handle assembly, which utilizes its eccentric characteristic to generate a thrust force during rotation, thereby achieving reliable locking between the fir