Shot Cascading Apparatus For Cleaning 3D Printer

Abstract

A shot cascading apparatus for cleaning 3D printed components, generally of any surface debris, such as residue silica from the printing of the component, includes a series of vertically aligned structures, including a shot supply hopper, having a bottom regulated shot gate, for discharging through gravity of metallic shot, into a lower aligned funnel, nested within the bin of a machine base, that allows for surface cleansing of a printed component while achieving a finished product. The supply hopper has a shot gate that is adjustable, for controlling the amount of released shot, and the bottom of the funnel includes a sand separator nozzle, that separates the steel shot from the residue sand, drawing the sand back into the nozzle and conveying it by suction to a location for collection. Beneath the bin is a shot recycle pump, that returns the steel shot back into the supply hopper, for immediate reusage. Various structural support is provided for the hopper, the funnel, and the bin, to maintain the relative degree of separation between these components, to facilitate their usage and operations.

Claims

1. A shot cascading apparatus for use for surface cleaning of 3D printed components, comprising: an apparatus base, said base for holding a shot gathering bin after the component has been cleaned of its surface impurities such as silica; a funnel, said funnel provided for nesting within said base and therein collecting the cascading shot and surface impurities after its impinging upon the component being cleaned, there being a spacing between the bottom of the funnel and the lower interior of the bin for holding a separator nozzle for use for separating the shot from the surface impurities removed from the surface of the component being cleaned by the falling shot; a shot supply hopper provided above the said funnel, and there being a spacing between the hopper and the funnel to allow the component to be cleaned to locate therein for exposure to the falling shot to attain its surface cleansing; and whereby the combination of the hopper, funnel, and shot bin being spaced vertically with respect to each other to provide for the positioning of the component to be cleaned under the shot supply hopper, allowing the funnel to collect the combined shot and surface impurities cleaned from the component, and as the combination falls into the bin, a separator nozzle separates the surface impurities from the shot, the latter which falls into the bin for further collection.

2. The shot cascading apparatus of claim 1, wherein the shot supply hopper includes a shot gate provided at its bottom end, to adjust the quantity of the shot being delivered from the hopper for falling onto the positioned component to attain its surface cleansing.

3. The shot cascading apparatus of claim 2, wherein said separator nozzle is vacuum operative, and drawings in by vacuum the removed surface, impurities such as silica while allowing the heavier shot to fall into the bin during its collection.

4. The shot cascading apparatus of claim 3, and a shot recycle pump provided underneath the located bin, and provided for pumping the gathered shot through a recycle conduit for deposit into the shot supply hopper for reuse in the surface cleansing of further components.

5. The shot cascading apparatus of claim 4, wherein the provided shot is steel shot, and the dominant surface impurities removed from the component comprises silica.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] In referring to the drawings,

[0027] FIG. 1 is a front isometric view of the shot cascading apparatus of this invention;

[0028] FIG. 2 is a rear isometric view of the shot tower apparatus;

[0029] FIG. 3 is an isometric view of the exploded structures forming the shot delivering apparatus of this invention;

[0030] FIG. 4 is a view of the shot supply hopper, with the pneumatic operative shot gate at its bottom for controlled delivering the shot stream by gravity downwardly therefrom;

[0031] FIG. 5 is an isometric view of the sand separator nozzle which is applied to the funnel structure of the apparatus, and showing a path for flow of the deposited shot, and surface removed sand, for the apparatus;

[0032] FIG. 5b is a perspective view of the sand separator nozzle and disclosing the removal of the deposited light weight sand that is drawn in by vacuum from the apparatus; and

[0033] FIG. 6 shows the separated shot that deposits within the machine base and the pump for recycling the shot back into its supply hopper, for reusage.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0034] As previously summarized, the concept of this invention is to provide a shot cascading apparatus for use for cleaning 3D printed components. As stated, this invention is designed to provide just the right and proper amount of shot, whether it be of the metallic type, ceramic, or other pelletized materials, at a proper flow rate, applying a range of pressure upon the printed product, so as to eliminate the surface granular material, usually silica, from the product, so that the finished product can be readily observed, handled, processed, to determine physical structure and aesthetics of the product, when they may be used to cast or mold in abundance the finished products for commercial use, application, or sale.

[0035] As can be noted, in FIG. 1, the shot cascading apparatus 1 of this invention is readily disclosed. This is a front view of the apparatus, and it includes a series of generally vertically aligned structures, in the form of a machine base 2 that includes a supported bin 3 and which is designed for resting upon the ground surface, during usage and application. Sufficient clearance is provided between the bottom of the bin 3, and the shot recycle pump 4 that is useful for returning the spent shot back to its shot supply hopper 5 for reuse and in preparation for further cleansing of the printed product, during usage. Located within the bin 3 is a funnel like arrangement 6, added somewhat nested within the bin, as noted, and leaving some space between the bottom of the funnel, and the bottom of the bin 3, for locating other operative components of this apparatus, as will be described. As noted, the funnel 6 has a series of handles, as at 7, to provide for its lifting and removal from the bin 3, as becomes necessary for servicing or cleaning out of the apparatus.

[0036] It can be seen that there is further structural support, as at 8, and lateral support 9 for holding the hopper 5 in position vertically above the combined funnel and bin of the apparatus.

[0037] At the bottom of the hopper 5 is located a gate mechanism 10, as also seen in FIG. 4, and this particular gate mechanism may be pneumatically, manually, or electrically operated, in order to provide for shifting, through its lever arrangement 11 for opening fully or partially, or closing, the shot supply hopper 5, as may be necessary during the operations of this apparatus.

[0038] As previously reviewed, the hopper is designed for functioning as a shot gate, which when opened, allows a series of streams of falling steel or other material shot media downwardly, by gravity, and to impact upon the positioned printed component, to provide for its surface cleansing.

[0039] Generally, as can be seen in FIG. 2, there is a substantial spacing between the bottom of the hopper 5, and the upper edges of the funnel 6, generally as noted at 12, and it is in this location where the operator may hold the printed component, directly in the falling path of the steel shot media, falling by gravity out of the hopper 5, in order to provide for an abrasive cleansing of the surface residue deposits of the silica or sand aspects of the print material forming the component, which, as desired, will only remove that surface content of the sand, and, not imbed in any way into the actual formed component itself, which desires to be fully preserved for further usage in the development of a particular commercial product, as desired. For example, the printed component may comprise the housing body of, for example, a gasoline dispensing nozzle, which eventually will be molded from aluminum, or other metal, and the predeveloped product can be inkjet printed through methods as previously described, and known in the art, so that an example and idea of the product configuration of the desired nozzle, can be readily observed, before the model component may be used, as for forming the mold, for casting of commercial products, when forming the gasoline dispensing nozzle housing for marketing. The operator may even hold the product for cleansing, within that spacing 12, or make use of other type of grasping instrument for supporting it within the stream of the falling shot media, during a cleansing process. The operator can readily observe when the component is fully cleaned, upon its surface, because of the openness of the apparatus, during its usage and operation, when the component is held in that spacing 12, while performing a surface cleansing process.

[0040] The bottom of the shot gate 10 may have a series of openings, along its bottom surface 13, and the slide portion 14 of the shot case cylinder 11, has a series of openings, which can be shifted into alignment fully or partially with the openings at the bottom of the said gate 13, to control the amount of shot being discharged, from the hopper, during its functioning.

[0041] As can also be seen in FIG. 3, there is a sand separator nozzle 14 operatively associated with the bottom of the funnel 6, and this funnel is connected with a suction tube 15 to which is vacuum source is applied, and functions as follows:

[0042] As can be seen in FIG. 5a, the nozzle 14, which is secured by fasteners, located through the openings 15, to the lower sloping side of the shown funnel 6, has an extending portion 16 that locates beneath the bottom opening of the funnel 6, and the combined mixed sand, removed from the surface of the component being treated, and the metallic shot, drop to the bottom of the funnel, and cascades over the upper frontal surface of the separator nozzle, generally as indicated by the flow path B, which exposes the mixed sand and shot to the lower opened end 17 of the nozzle, during its operations. The suction tube 15 connects with the integral fitting 18 at the upper end of the shown nozzle 14, and when the nozzle is operative, the heavier steel shot portion of the abrasive cleaner will fall downwardly from the lower edge of the shown nozzle, as noted by the path B, because the steel shot is of heavier consistency than the combination of the mixed sand and shot, while at the same time, the suction from the tube 15 will pull the relatively light weight sand and draw it into the nozzle, as noted through the schematic of path A, and return the sand back to a area for collection, and reuse, in the component forming process. Thus, as can be readily understood, the heavier steel shot will fall off the end of the nozzle, while the relatively light weight sand is pulled back into the nozzle, for transfer, and collection, for reusage. Usually this type of granular material is relatively expensive, and its cleaning and reusage is encouraged, from a cost standpoint.

[0043] On the other hand, since the steel shot falls to the bottom of the funnel, and down into the bin 3, it locates, by gravity, at the bottom end of the bin, and falls into the shot recycle pump 4, where it, likewise, is collected, and transferred through a shot recycle conduit 19 back to the top of and discharged into the shot supply hopper 5, for reapplication for a continuous cleansing process of the components being cleaned.

[0044] The foregoing provides an example and an analysis of the structural components that make up the assembly of this shot cascading apparatus, and how it can, be continuously used for cleaning components formed upon the inkjet printer, through a procedure that has previously been reviewed herein, and which has been known for many years, in the art.

[0045] Variations or modifications of the subject matter of this invention may occur to those skilled in the art upon review of the development as explained herein. Such variations, if within the spirit of this invention, are intended to be encompassed within the scope of any claims to patent protection issuing upon this development. The Summary of the Invention as provided herein, and its explanation as the preferred embodiment, and as depicted in the drawings, is generally set forth for illustrative purposes only. Such variations, if within the concept of this invention, are intended to be encompassed within the scope of any claims to patent protection issuing upon this invention.