US-12623402-B2 - Three-dimensional (3D) printer having a variously configurable printing platform assembly

US12623402B2US 12623402 B2US12623402 B2US 12623402B2US-12623402-B2

Abstract

A three-dimensional (3D) printer includes a platform assembly on which a 3D object can be built, an extruder, a filament feeding assembly feeding a filament to the extruder, a movable nozzle receiving heated filament from the extruder in a flowable form and directing the flowable filament material on the platform assembly to create the 3D object, and a controlling circuit for controlling an operation of the 3D printer. The platform assembly may include first and second plates separated from one another, a plurality of elongated structures connecting the first and second plates to one another, and a plurality of post assemblies disposed between the first and second plates. The post assemblies may include posts that can be selectively raised and lowered to protrude over the plate, from among the first and second plates, on which the 3D object will be built to assist with the building process.

Inventors

Basem Motea Abdullah Abdo

Assignees

KING SAUD UNIVERSITY

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20250619

Claims (14)

1 . A platform assembly for a three-dimensional (3D) printer, comprising: a first platform assembly plate; a second platform assembly plate separated from the first platform assembly plate, wherein the second platform assembly plate defines a build surface of the 3D printer; a plurality of elongated structures extending between the first and second platform assembly plates and connecting the first and second platform assembly plates to one another; and a plurality of post assemblies disposed between the first and second platform assembly plates, wherein each one of the post assemblies includes at least one elongated post, wherein the second platform assembly plate includes a plurality of through openings, each through opening of the plurality of through openings being configured to accommodate therethrough a respective one of the at least one elongated post of each post assembly of the plurality of post assemblies; and wherein each one of the post assemblies can be selectively operated to cause its respective at least one elongated post to extend through its respective through opening in the second platform assembly plate by a certain length, wherein a first post assembly of the plurality of post assemblies includes: said at least one elongated post; a threaded rod, wherein an entire length of the threaded rod extends between the first and second platform assembly plates; and a post assembly plate fixedly coupled to said at least one elongated post and threadably rotatably coupled to the threaded rod, wherein a rotation of the threaded rod is configured to cause the post assembly plate to be moved between the first and second platform assembly plates and to cause the at least one elongated post of the first post assembly to extend through its respective through opening in the second platform assembly plate, wherein the least one elongated post of the first post assembly includes a plurality of elongated posts, and wherein the threaded rod of the first post assembly is arranged between the plurality of elongated posts.
2 . The platform assembly of claim 1 , wherein the first post assembly further includes: a motor electrically connected to a controlling circuit and structurally connected to the threaded rod, the motor being configured to rotate the threaded rod bi-directionally based on a command of the controlling circuit.
3 . The platform assembly of claim 2 , wherein the post assembly plate of the first post assembly is slidably connected to a first elongated structure of the plurality of elongated structures such that said post assembly plate can be slid along a length of the first elongated structure, wherein the slidable connection between the post assembly plate of the first post assembly and the first elongated structure is configured to prevent said post assembly plate from rotating when the threaded rod of the first post assembly is being rotated, and wherein the threaded connection between the post assembly plate of the first post assembly and the threaded rod of the first post assembly plate is configured to cause said post assembly plate to be moved toward the first platform assembly plate or toward the second platform assembly plate, depending on a rotation direction of said threaded rod.
4 . The platform assembly of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of post assemblies is arranged in rows and columns.
5 . The platform assembly of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of post assemblies is arranged in a staggered formation.
6 . The platform assembly of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of elongated structures is arranged in rows and columns.
7 . The platform assembly of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of elongated structures is arranged in a staggered formation.
8 . The platform assembly of claim 1 , wherein the at least one elongated post of a first one of the post assemblies has a round bar shape.
9 . The platform assembly of claim 1 , wherein the at least one elongated post of a first one of the post assemblies has a flat bar shape.
10 . The platform assembly of claim 1 , wherein the threaded rod is rotatably coupled to the second platform assembly plate.
11 . The platform assembly of claim 1 , wherein the first post assembly further includes a first bearing rotatably connecting an upper end of the threaded rod to the second post assembly plate.
12 . The platform assembly of claim 11 , wherein the first post assembly plate further includes a second bearing rotatably connecting a lower end of the threaded rod to the first post assembly plate.
13 . The platform assembly of claim 2 , wherein the motor is disposed closer to the first platform assembly plate than to the second platform assembly plate, and wherein the first post assembly further includes a ring attached to the motor, the ring being configured to prevent the post assembly plate from traveling along a length of the threaded rod beyond a location of the ring when said post assembly plate is moved in a direction toward the first platform assembly plate.
14 . The platform assembly of claim 1 , wherein the at least one elongated post of the first post assembly is configured to be selectively moved between: a retracted state, in which an entire length of said at least one elongated post extends between the first platform assembly plate and an outer side surface of the second platform assembly plate that defines the build surface of the 3D printer, such that the at least one elongated post does not protrude from said outer side surface of the second platform assembly plate when arranged in the retracted state; and an extended state, in which the at least one elongated post of the first post assembly extends through its respective opening in the second platform assembly plate, thereby protruding from the outer side surface of the second platform assembly plate by said certain length.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/615,064, filed on Mar. 25, 2024, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to a three-dimensional (3D) printer, and more particularly, to a 3D printer having a variously configurable printing platform assembly. DISCUSSION OF THE RELATED ART Three-dimensional (3D) printing, also known as additive manufacturing (AM), allows users to create 3D objects based on digital designs by layering materials such as plastics, metals, and ceramics over a building platform. This process offers several advantages over traditional manufacturing methods, including the ability to create complex geometries, reducing material waste, eliminating the need for molds or tooling, and reducing production time and costs. As 3D printing technology continues to mature, the technology is expected to become widely adopted in a wide range of industries including healthcare, automotive, aerospace, and consumer products. A fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printer operates, generally speaking, by heating a thermoplastic filament to make the filament flowable, and depositing the flowable filament layer by layer on a platform of the FDM 3D printer. This process is relatively affordable, making FDM printers popular among consumers. FDM 3D printing can be used to create a wide variety of objects, including prototypes, functional parts, works of art, etc. FDM 3D printing may be used to create objects that have complex geometries, the manufacturing of which would otherwise be difficult to carry out by using traditional manufacturing methods. An FDM 3D printer includes, generally speaking, a platform on which a desired 3D object can be built, an extruder, a filament feeding system configured to feed a filament to the extruder, a movable nozzle configured to receive heated filament from the extruder in flowable form and to direct the flowable filament on the platform for constructing the 3D object, one or more pieces of supporting material that aid the construction (e.g., printing) of the 3D object but are not part of the object, and a control circuit configured to control the process of discharging heated filament over the platform to create the intended 3D object. One of the problems with conventional FDM 3D printing technology is the difficulty in printing (e.g., discharging flowable filament material) in between two elevated structures that are separated from one another in order to connect the structure tops to one another with flowable filament material. This difficulty is because the flowable filament material has fluid-like properties, and therefore, cannot support its own weight when laid horizontally in mid-air between the elevated structures. Therefore, a supporting material (e.g., a block of material), conventionally, must be created to have a size and shape that fills a void (or empty space) between two elevated structures and must be placed in the void in order to create a bridge-like structure that can support the flowable filament while it is being discharged from the printing nozzle between the tops of the elevated structures. When the 3D object has been printed and cooled down, the supporting material can be disconnected from the structure in order to present the 3D structure in its intended configuration. This process of custom-making a supporting structure for every project that requires connecting two or more elevated structure tops to one another is undesirable because it increases the manufacturing complexity, manufacturing cost and manufacturing time. SUMMARY The present disclosure relates to a three-dimensional (3D) printer that includes a build platform having a number of variously configurable posts that can be selectively raised from under a building surface of the build platform to a desired/needed height above the building surface. This configuration can be used to structurally support a flowable filament being discharged from a nozzle of the 3D printer across a void or air gap that separates a pair of elevated structural components of a 3D object being printed. This configuration eliminates the need to manually create a supporting structure and place the supporting structure over the build platform to structurally support the flowable filament, as must be done when using conventional 3D printers. In addition, the posts of the build platform of the present disclosure can be retracted at or below the building surface of the build platform when not needed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The above and other features of the present disclosure will become more apparent by describing in detail exemplary embodiments thereof in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a build platform of a three-dimensional (3D) printer according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. 2 is an explo