Rod feeder for three-dimensional (3d) printing

Abstract

An apparatus, and corresponding method, feeds build material, in the form of rods, to a drive system in a three-dimensional (3D) printing system. The apparatus dispenses a rod to a media tray and into a first groove defined by a flipper arm. The flipper arm is in a substantially horizontal position supported by a bottom ridge of the media tray. The flipper arm is rotated away from the bottom ridge and toward a stopper coupled to the flipper arm and the media tray. The stopper defines a second groove. The apparatus deposits the rod into the drive system via a feed shaft formed by the first and second grooves of the flipper arm and stopper, respectively. The apparatus enables high-speed 3D printing using the rods by overcoming challenges in loading the rods due to brittleness of the rods.

What is claimed: 
     
         1 . A cartridge for dispensing rods within a three-dimensional (3D) printing system, the cartridge comprising:
 a housing configured to store rods stacked horizontally along an interior length of the housing, the housing defining a housing exit to dispense rods;   a ramp interior to the housing; and   a roller disposed at the housing exit and defining a slot therein along at least a portion of a length of the roller, the roller configured to (i) receive a rod in the slot as the roller rotates within the housing and (ii) dispense the rod from the slot as the slot rotates toward the housing exit, the ramp angled to direct rods toward the roller that, in turn, dispenses the rods via the slot to the housing exit.   
     
     
         2 . The cartridge of  claim 1 , wherein the housing exit is disposed at a bottom of the housing. 
     
     
         3 . The cartridge of  claim 1 , wherein the slot is a first slot and wherein the roller further defines a second slot therein along the at least a portion of the length of the roller, the second slot located opposite the first slot of the roller. 
     
     
         4 . The cartridge of  claim 1 , wherein the roller further defines a plurality of slots along the at least a portion of the length of the roller to receive rods as the roller rotates within the housing. 
     
     
         5 . The cartridge of  claim 1 , wherein the roller includes at least one protrusion along a portion of its circumference, the at least one protrusion configured to displace rods within the housing. 
     
     
         6 . The cartridge of  claim 5 , wherein the at least one protrusion is configured to displace rods to prevent the rods from forming a bridge over the roller. 
     
     
         7 . The cartridge of  claim 1 , wherein the roller includes an interface and wherein the 3D printing system includes a roller drive assembly configured to control rotation of the roller via the interface. 
     
     
         8 . A three-dimensional (3D) printing system comprising a feeder assembly, the feeder assembly including:
 a cartridge configured to contain and dispense a rod; and   a media tray with a flipper arm and a stopper coupled to the flipper arm, the flipper arm defining a first groove to hold the rod and configured to receive the rod from the cartridge in the first groove while in a substantially horizontal position supported by a bottom ridge of the media tray, the stopper defining a second groove, the flipper arm further configured to rotate away from the bottom ridge and toward the stopper to deposit the rod into a drive system of the 3D printing system via a feed shaft formed by the first and second grooves of the flipper arm and stopper, respectively.   
     
     
         9 . The 3D printing system of  claim 8 , wherein the flipper arm is further configured to rotate to a substantially vertical position. 
     
     
         10 . The 3D printing system of  claim 8 , wherein the housing exit is disposed at a bottom of the housing. 
     
     
         11 . The 3D printing system of  claim 8 , wherein the media tray includes at least one inclined side configured to direct a falling rod dispensed from the cartridge to the first groove in the flipper arm. 
     
     
         12 . The 3D printing system of  claim 8 , wherein the cartridge includes:
 a housing configured to store rods stacked horizontally along an interior length of the housing, the housing defining a housing exit to dispense rods;   a ramp interior to the housing; and   a roller disposed at the housing exit and defining a slot therein along at least a portion of a length of the roller, the roller configured to (i) receive a rod in the slot as the roller rotates within the housing and (ii) dispense the rod from the slot as the slot rotates toward the housing exit, the ramp angled to direct rods toward the roller that, in turn, dispenses the rods via the slot to the housing exit.   
     
     
         13 . The 3D printing system of  claim 12 , wherein the feeder assembly further includes a cartridge interface configured to engage a roller drive assembly with the roller and cause the cartridge to dispense the rod. 
     
     
         14 . The 3D printing system of  claim 8 , wherein the feeder assembly further includes a flipper arm coupling that is configured to couple the flipper arm to an actuator to rotate the flipper arm toward the stopper. 
     
     
         15 . The 3D printing system of  claim 14 , further comprising a sensor configured to detect a presence of the rod in the first groove and wherein the actuator is configured to transition the flipper arm between the substantially horizontal position and a substantially vertical position via the coupling based on whether the presence of the rod is detected. 
     
     
         16 . A method for dispensing rods within a three-dimensional (3D) printing system, the method comprising:
 dispensing a rod to a media tray and into a first groove defined by a flipper arm in a substantially horizontal position supported by a bottom ridge of the media tray;   rotating the flipper arm away from the bottom ridge and toward a stopper coupled to the flipper arm and the media tray, the stopper defining a second groove; and   depositing the rod into a drive system of the 3D printing system via a feed shaft formed by the first and second grooves of the flipper arm and stopper, respectively.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein rotating includes rotating the flipper arm to a substantially vertical position. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising directing the rod into the first groove of the flipper arm via an inclined wall of the media tray. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising storing rods, stacked horizontally, along an interior length of a housing of a cartridge, the housing defining a housing exit to dispense rods, wherein the dispensing includes dispensing the rod from the housing exit. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , further comprising rotating a roller disposed at the housing exit, the roller defining a slot therein along at least a portion of a length of the roller, wherein the dispensing includes dispensing the rod from the slot as the slot rotates toward the housing exit.