Patent Application
20170166415
This disclosure relates generally to the degradation of filaments over time, and more particularly to the property of filaments to slowly absorb moisture from the air around them and become unusable due to the change in properties that occurs as a cause of this absorbed moisture. When a consumer purchases certain filaments for their specific properties, especially in the case of 3D printing, the consumer must either use the filament up incredibly quickly or constantly store and remove the filament from a moisture-resistant enclosure each and every time that the filament is used, which can become a time-consuming process.
It would be useful to develop a technique for preventing moisture from absorbing into filaments over time and degrading the quality of the filaments.
One embodiment described herein is A sealing apparatus comprising a moisture barrier that engages with a filament spool to create a moisture-resistant enclosure for housing a filament on said spool, and a passageway in said sealing apparatus so that the remaining filament can exit said sealing apparatus during use.
A method of manufacturing and selling is described herein where the filament spool, the filament, and the sealing apparatus are manufactured individually, fixed together, and then sold in a single filament unit.
Another method of manufacturing and selling is described herein where the filament spool, the filament, and the sealing apparatus are manufactured individually, only the filament spool and the filament are fixed, and the two are sold as separate units to be later fixed by the customer.
This embodiment is an enclosure that attaches to 3D printing filament spools to create a moisture-resistant environment for the filament. This enclosure keeps the filament from absorbing moisture from the air and allows the spool to still be placed on printers and storage racks.
One embodiment is a flexible, tube-shaped, sealing apparatus that fits over 3D printing filament spools in order to provide a moisture-resistant enclosure for filaments without having to remove them from the enclosure in order to use them. The sealing apparatus slides onto current filament rolls and snaps into place to create a moisture-resistant seal.
As used herein, the term “frustocone” means a cone with the vertex cut off to make a new rounded face. The “remaining filament” refers to the filament still inside of the filament spool and sealing apparatus.
Referring to the drawings,
Referring to
The sealing apparatus 10 includes a passageway 40 which has suitable size and shape to permit a feed portion 41 of the filament 42 to extend therethrough while maintaining a moisture-resistant barrier inside the filament spool between the filament spool floor 44 and the inner surface of the sealing apparatus 16. The space between the inner surface 16 of the sealing apparatus 10 and the top wrapped layer 48 of filament 42 is the filament gap 50 and the space between the filament spool floor 44 and the top wrapped layer of filament 48 is the remaining filament 52, ie the filament that is still inside the sealing apparatus 10. A desiccant 53 is added to certain embodiments of the sealing apparatus 10 to further reduce the amount of moisture that comes in contact with the filament 42. The desiccant 53 sits in the filament gap 50.
In embodiments, the passageway 40 is frustoconical in shape with the frustocone's truncated circular end 54 on the outer surface 14 of the sealing apparatus 10 so that the feed portion 41 of the filament 42 can exit the sealing apparatus 10 independent of the size of the filament gap 50 and the amount of remaining filament 52, while still keeping a moisture-resistant seal around the remaining filament 52. The current sealing apparatus 10 has a passageway 40 with approximately a 2 mm diameter, but can be configured to have a passageway 40 that has diameters in the range of 0.5 mm to 4 mm, or 1.25 mm to 3.5 mm. An embodiment of the sealing apparatus 10 has a passageway 40 that is 20 mm in length, but can be configured to have a passageway 40 with a length in the range of 5 mm to 100 mm, or 10 mm to 50 mm.
One version of the sealing apparatus 10 fits the most common filament spool, which is approximately 8 inches in diameter and 2 inches wide, but in embodiments, the sealing apparatus can be configured to fit around spools having diameters in the range of 2 to 20 inches, or 4 to 10 inches and have widths hi the range of 0.5 to 8 inches, or 1 to 4 inches.
In one embodiment, the sealing apparatus 10 is mounted on the spool 26 at the time of the spoors 26 manufacturing. The manufacturer for this embodiment makes the filament spool 26, makes the filament 42, wraps the filament 42 around the spool 26, makes the sealing apparatus 10, and then fixes the sealing apparatus 10 to the filament spool 26 before any part is sold to a consumer. In another embodiment the sealing apparatus 10 is mounted after the manufacturing of the filament spool 26. Here, the filament spool 26 and filament 42 are made and packaged and the sealing apparatus 10 is made and packaged separately from the spool 26 and filament 42. The filament spool 26 and the sealing apparatus 10 would then be fixed before use by the end user. In one embodiment a user buys a 3D printing filament spool 26 from one source, buys the sealing apparatus 10 from another source, and fixes the two together directly before use. After long periods of not using the filament 42, the feed portion 41 of the filament 42 absorbs moisture from the air and its properties degrade over time. The feed portion 41 can be trimmed in order to avoid using this deteriorated filament.
In embodiments, the filament is formed from a thermoplastic, thermoset, or other material that tends to absorb moisture. Non-limited examples of filaments include polylactic acid, acryionitrile butadiene styrene, and nylon. In embodiments, the filament is biodegradable.
In embodiments, the sealing apparatus is made from a rigid and transparent plastic that is able to hold its shape around a filament spool. Non-limited examples of sealing apparatuses are formed from an acrylic material or a polycarbonate material.
A number of alternatives, modifications, variations, or improvements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art, which are also intended to be encompassed by the following claims.
