CN105328188A - Additive manufacturing device - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses an additive manufacturing device which comprises a forming chamber, a powder operation device and an installation frame, wherein the powder operation device is located inside the forming chamber; the installation frame is detachably connected onto the inner wall of the forming chamber; the powder operation device comprises at least one powder box, a powder laying platform, a powder laying device and a forming cylinder; and the powder box, the powder laying platform and the forming cylinder are all detachably connected with the installation frame. According to the additive manufacturing device, the installation frame is arranged and connected with all parts of the forming chamber and the powder operation device; and the installation frame of the forming chamber and/or all parts of the powder operation device can be moved out of the forming chamber, and then powder on the forming chamber and/or on all the parts is cleaned, so that the powder can be cleaned thoroughly, and the consumed time is short. Besides, the powder material can be replaced outside the forming chamber; larger operation space is provided; the replacement speed is high; the interval between two times of additive forming is short; and the efficiency of the additive forming is improved.

Description

A device for additive manufacturing

technical field

The invention relates to an additive manufacturing device, in particular to an additive manufacturing device that is convenient for cleaning and replacing powder materials.

Background technique

Additive manufacturing is a manufacturing technique that builds three-dimensional objects by successively fusing more than one thin layer of powdered material. Powder bed additive manufacturing is a kind of additive manufacturing technology route. Its basic process steps are as follows: the powder supply and paving system spreads the powder material into a thin layer on the working platform, and the high energy density beam (laser or Electron beam) scans a section of the three-dimensional object on the powder layer; after that, the working platform descends a distance of the thickness of the powder layer, lays a new layer of powder on the working platform, and scans the next section of the three-dimensional object with rays; repeat the above steps, until the three-dimensional object is manufactured.

Since additive manufacturing is usually aimed at small-batch and individualized production, in many cases a piece of equipment needs to manufacture three-dimensional objects of multiple materials, which involves the replacement of materials: that is, the last powder material is removed from the equipment and replaced. New powder material. In the existing technical solutions, the additive manufacturing device generally includes a forming chamber, and a powder box, a powder spreading device, a powder spreading platform, and a forming cylinder all placed in the forming chamber. There are two problems in the above additive manufacturing device: one is if To clean up the powder in the forming chamber (generally use a vacuum cleaner), the various devices installed in the forming chamber will hinder the cleaning work, resulting in unclean cleaning and time-consuming and laborious cleaning. Part of the powder that has not been cleaned remains in the forming chamber and will be mixed with the newly replaced powder, causing material pollution and affecting the manufacturing quality; second, the powder cleaning process is time-consuming and labor-intensive, and the replacement of powder materials is also time-consuming and labor-intensive, resulting in two additions before and after. The forming interval is long, which reduces the manufacturing efficiency of additive manufacturing.

Contents of the invention

The object of the present invention is to provide an additive manufacturing device that is more convenient and quicker for cleaning and replacing powder materials.

To achieve this purpose, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions: an additive manufacturing device, including a forming chamber and a powder handling device located in the forming chamber, and also includes a mounting frame, which is detachably connected to the inner wall of the forming chamber ;

The powder handling device includes at least one powder box, a powder spreading platform, a powder spreading device and a forming cylinder, and the powder box, the powder spreading platform and the forming cylinder are detachably connected to the installation frame.

Preferably, the forming chamber and the installation frame, the installation frame and the powder box, the powder spreading platform and the forming cylinder are all detachably connected by connecting pieces.

Preferably, the powder spreading device includes a drive motor located outside the forming chamber, a detachable transmission mechanism connected to the drive motor, a slider connected to the transmission mechanism, and a scraper mounted on the slider, the scraper Located above the powder spreading platform.

Preferably, the slider and the scraper are connected through a connecting piece.

Preferably, the transmission structure includes an active rotating member connected to the drive motor through a connecting member, a driven rotating member used in conjunction with the active rotating member, and a motion conversion mechanism connected to the driven rotating member, and the slider is fixed on On the motion conversion mechanism, the motion conversion mechanism performs linear motion.

Preferably, the motion conversion mechanism includes a belt transmission mechanism, a chain transmission mechanism or a rack and pinion transmission mechanism.

Preferably, the forming cylinder includes a cylinder located on one side of the powder spreading platform, and a piston located in the cylinder and moving up and down, the cylinder is connected to the installation frame through a connecting piece, and the piston is connected to the piston through a connecting piece The output end of the driving mechanism, the piston driving mechanism is located outside the forming chamber, and its output end is sealed and passed through the forming chamber.

Preferably, the powder box is located above the powder spreading platform, and is installed on the top and/or one side of the installation frame through a connecting piece.

Preferably, the powder box is located below the powder spreading platform, and a push piston is arranged inside it.

Preferably, the connecting member includes a bolt and nut structure, a hook, buckle or lock structure.

The beneficial effects of the present invention: by setting the installation frame and detachably connecting the installation frame with the forming chamber and the components of the powder handling device, the installation frame in the forming room and/or the components of the powder handling device can be moved out of the molding room, Subsequent cleaning of the powder from the build chamber and/or individual parts allows for a more thorough and less time-consuming powder cleaning. Moreover, the powder material can be replaced outside the forming room, which has a larger operating space, faster replacement speed, and a short interval between two additive forming, which improves the efficiency of additive forming.

Description of drawings

1 is a schematic structural view of an additive manufacturing device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a top view of the internal structure of the additive manufacturing device in Embodiment 1 of the present invention;

Fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of the powder handling device and the installation frame being moved out of the forming chamber in Example 1 of the present invention;

Fig. 4 is a schematic structural view of the powder box moving out of the forming chamber in Example 1 of the present invention;

Fig. 5 is a schematic structural view of the powder spreading platform moving out of the forming chamber in Example 1 of the present invention;

Figure 6 is a schematic structural view of the scraper moving out of the forming chamber in Example 1 of the present invention;

Fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of the forming cylinder moving out of the forming chamber in Example 1 of the present invention;

Fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of an additive manufacturing device according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

In the picture:

1. Powder handling device; 2. Installation frame; 3. Forming chamber; 4. Connector; 5. Radiation generating device; 6. Wiring groove; 11. Powder box; 12. Powder spreading platform; 13. Powder spreading device; 14 , forming cylinder; 15, powder layer film; 16, solid layer; 111, push piston; 112, driving mechanism; 131, slider; 132, scraper; 133, active rotating part; 134, driven rotating part; 135, movement Conversion mechanism; 141, cylinder body; 142, piston; 143, piston driving mechanism.

detailed description

The technical solutions of the present invention will be further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and through specific implementation methods.

Example 1:

This embodiment provides an additive manufacturing device, as shown in Figure 1 and Figure 2, which includes a forming chamber 3 and a powder handling device 1 located in the forming chamber 3, a ray generating device 5 is provided on the top of the forming chamber 3, An installation frame 2 is also provided in the forming chamber 3, and the specific installation frame 2 is detachably connected to the inner wall of the forming chamber 3 through a connector 4, and the powder handling device 1 is installed on the installation frame 2;

The above-mentioned powder handling device 1 includes at least one powder box 11, a powder spreading platform 12, a powder spreading device 13 and a forming cylinder 14, wherein:

The powder box 11 is located above the powder spreading platform 12, which is used to place powder materials and transport the powder materials to the powder spreading platform 12, and the powder box 11 is detachably connected to the top of the installation frame 2 and/or through the connector 4 Or on one side, when it is necessary to add powder material to the powder box 11, or to repair or replace the powder box 11, the powder box 11 can be disassembled separately and moved out of the forming chamber 3, as shown in FIG. 4 .

Preferably, a powder receiving box is provided below the powder box 11 for receiving the powder material conveyed by the powder box 11, and placing the powder material on the powder spreading platform 12; in this embodiment, when the powder box 11 is set to two At the same time, it is arranged on both sides of the forming cylinder 14, and is connected to the installation frame 2 through the connecting piece 4 respectively.

The powder spreading platform 12 is used to place powder materials, and it is detachably connected to the installation frame 2 through the connecting piece 4. When the powder spreading platform 12 needs to be repaired or replaced, the powder spreading platform 12 can be disassembled and removed separately, as shown in Figure 5 shown.

The powder spreading device 13 includes a driving motor (not shown) positioned at the outside of the molding chamber 3, the output end of the driving motor is detachably connected with a transmission mechanism through the connector 4, and the transmission mechanism is connected with a slide block 131. A scraper 132 is detachably connected to the block 131 through the connector 4, and the scraper 132 is located above the powder spreading platform 12, and is used to lay the powder material on the powder spreading platform 12 into the forming cylinder 14 to form a powder thin layer 15, and then The ray generator 5 emits ray to scan and melt the powder material to form the solid layer 16 of the three-dimensional object to be manufactured;

The above-mentioned transmission structure includes a driving rotating member 133 detachably connected to the output end of the drive motor through a connecting member 4, and a driven rotating member 134 used in conjunction with the driving rotating member 133. In this embodiment, the driving rotating member 133 and the driven rotating member The part 134 can be two gears meshing with each other, or two pulleys connected by a belt; the driven rotating part 134 is connected with a motion conversion mechanism 135, and the motion conversion structure 135 converts the above-mentioned rotary motion into a linear motion, and the slide block 131 is fixed on the motion conversion mechanism 135, and is driven by the motion conversion mechanism 135 to move in a straight line. Its movement stroke covers the powder spreading platform 12 and the forming cylinder 14 successively from left to right, so as to ensure that the scraper 132 will cover the powder spreading platform 12. The powder is scraped over the forming cylinder 14 to form a thin layer 15 of powder.

In this embodiment, the motion conversion mechanism 135 can adopt a belt transmission mechanism, a chain transmission mechanism or a rack and pinion transmission mechanism, wherein the belt transmission mechanism includes two pulleys and a conveyor belt, and one of the pulleys is coaxial with the driven rotating member 134 Set to rotate with it, the slider 131 is fixed on the conveyor belt, and moves linearly with the conveyor belt; the chain transmission mechanism includes two sprockets and a chain, and one of the sprockets is set coaxially with the driven rotating member 134 to rotate with it, and the slide The block 131 is fixed on the chain and moves linearly with the chain; the rack and pinion transmission mechanism includes a gear and a rack, wherein the gear and the driven rotating member 134 are coaxially arranged to rotate with it, and the slider 131 is fixed on the rack On the top, through the meshing of the rack and the gear, it moves linearly with the rack.

The above-mentioned slider 131 and the scraper 132 are connected by a connecting piece 4. When the scraper 132 needs to be overhauled, as shown in FIG. Repair, replace.

The output end of the driving motor is connected to the main rotating member 133 through the connecting piece 4. When the powder handling device 1 is moved out of the forming chamber 3, the driving motor can be separated from the driving rotating member 133 so that the powder handling device 1 can be completely removed.

Moreover, setting the drive motor outside the forming chamber 3 can reduce the size of the forming chamber 3 and also save the internal space of the forming chamber 3, so that the individual components in the forming chamber 3 can be better arranged.

In this embodiment, the forming cylinder 14 is detachably connected to the installation frame 2 through the connecting piece 4, which includes a cylinder 141 located on one side of the powder spreading platform 12, and a piston 142 located in the cylinder 141 and moving up and down, wherein the cylinder The upper end surface of the body 141 is flat and airtightly connected to the powder spreading platform 12. The powder box 11 is arranged on one side of the cylinder body 14. The powder spreading device 13 spreads the powder material on the powder spreading platform 12 on the piston 142 through the scraper 132. Specifically, the space formed by the top of the piston 142 and the cylinder body 141 is covered, and the powder material forms a thin powder layer 15 . In this embodiment, the scraper 132 spans the entire cylinder body 141 to ensure that the powder material laid on the piston 142 can form the required thin powder layer 15 .

The above-mentioned cylinder 141 is connected to the installation frame 2 through the connecting piece 4, and the piston 142 is connected to the output end of the piston driving mechanism 143 through the connecting piece 4. The piston driving mechanism 143 is located outside the forming chamber 3, and its output end is sealed and penetrated in the forming chamber 3, through the piston driving mechanism 143, the piston 142 can be moved up and down, so as to form the space required for laying powder materials. Specifically, the piston driving mechanism 143 can be a driving device such as an air cylinder or an oil cylinder, and the piston driving mechanism 143 is arranged outside the forming chamber 3, which can further reduce the size of the forming chamber 3 so that it has a reasonable space structure and saves The internal space of the forming chamber 3 is improved, and the utilization rate of the internal space of the forming chamber 3 is improved.

The cylinder body 141 can be round or square, and its lower end can be provided with a plurality of connectors 4 as required, so that the forming cylinder 14 can be supported by the installation frame 2. In this embodiment, two connectors 4 are provided to connect the cylinder body 141 With the installation frame 2.

In this embodiment, by separating the cylinder body 141 from the mounting frame 2 and the piston 142 from the output end of the piston driving mechanism 143, the forming cylinder 14 can be disassembled and moved out of the forming chamber 3 to remove the formed parts and clean up the powder .

In this embodiment, when it is necessary to clean the powder of the forming chamber 3 (if it is the same powder, it does not need to be cleaned), as shown in Figure 3, it is only necessary to connect the output end of the driving motor of the powder spreading device 13 to the active rotating member 133 Disconnect the connection between the piston 142 and the output end of the piston driving mechanism 143, and then disassemble the installation frame 2 from the forming chamber 3 and move it out of the forming chamber 3, then the forming chamber 3 can be thoroughly cleaned, and the cleaning is more efficient. Convenient;

And while cleaning the forming chamber 3, the powder material in the powder box 11 of the powder handling device 1 can be replaced, and a set of spare installation frame 2 and powder handling device 1 can be placed directly outside the forming chamber 3, and The powder material for the next layer of additive manufacturing is placed in the powder handling device 1 , and after the cleaning of the forming chamber 3 is completed, the spare installation frame 2 and the powder handling device 1 can be directly installed in the forming chamber 3 through the connecting piece 4 . Compared with the existing additive manufacturing device, it is cleaned first and then replaced, which undoubtedly reduces the time interval between two additive formings and improves the efficiency of additive forming.

The above-mentioned connecting piece 4 is a split structure, which is divided into a locking piece and a locked piece. The two parts are locked or unlocked and separated through the above-mentioned locking piece and the locked piece. Specifically, the connecting piece 4 can be a bolt and nut structure, that is, through Bolts and nuts are used to realize the fixation or separation between the two parts, and it can also be a hook structure, that is, to realize the fixation or separation between the two parts through the hook and the slot, or it can be a buckle or lock structure to achieve Fixation or separation between two parts. However, the structure of the connecting member 4 is not limited to the above structure, as long as the detachable connection between the two parts can be realized, that is, the two parts connected to each other are fixed temporarily rather than permanently.

Preferably, the connecting piece 4 between the above-mentioned various components may be of the same structure, or multiple structures may be selected according to strength requirements.

In this embodiment, there is also a wiring groove 6 on the installation frame 2, which is used for collecting the wires of the above-mentioned components, so that the layout of the entire additive manufacturing device is more reasonable and clear.

In this embodiment, the radiation generated by the radiation generating device 5 may be an electron beam. At this time, the interior of the forming chamber 3 is in a vacuum state, the accelerating voltage of the electron beam is 60 kV, and the maximum power is 3 kW. The forming chamber 3 is maintained at a pressure of 0.001-1Pa by vacuum equipment. The powder material can be pure metal or metal alloy, such as titanium alloy, titanium, aluminum alloy, aluminum, titanium aluminum alloy, stainless steel, Co-Cr alloy, etc., and the powder particle size range is 10-150 microns. It is also possible to change the electron beam into a laser beam, and replace the vacuum environment in the forming chamber 3 with an inert gas protection environment. The powder material is not limited to metal, and can be non-metallic materials such as nylon and polymer materials.

Example 2:

The difference between this embodiment and Embodiment 1 is that the position of the powder box 11 is different. Specifically, the powder box 11 is located below the powder spreading platform 12, and a push piston 111 is provided inside it, and the powder material is placed above the push piston 111. The pushing piston 111 is connected with a driving mechanism 112, and the driving mechanism 112 drives the pushing piston 111 to move upwards to push the powder material to a part higher than the plane of the powder spreading platform 12, so as to facilitate the laying of the powder material by the powder spreading device 13. Specifically, the driving mechanism 112 may be a driving device such as an air cylinder or an oil cylinder.

In this embodiment, preferably, there are two powder boxes 11 arranged on two sides of the forming cylinder 14 .

Similarly, the movement stroke of the slider 131 in this embodiment covers the powder spreading platform 12 and the forming cylinder 14 sequentially along the powder spreading direction, so as to ensure that the scraper 132 scrapes the powder on the powder spreading platform 12 to the top of the forming cylinder 14 to form a thin layer of powder 15.

The rest of the structure is the same as that of Embodiment 1, for example, the separation between the two connecting parts is realized through the connecting piece 4, so as to better realize the cleaning of the powder on the forming chamber 3 and/or each part and the powder material replacement.

Apparently, the above-mentioned embodiments of the present invention are only examples for clearly illustrating the present invention, rather than limiting the implementation of the present invention. For those of ordinary skill in the art, other changes or changes in different forms can be made on the basis of the above description. It is not necessary and impossible to exhaustively list all the implementation manners here. All modifications, equivalent replacements and improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present invention shall be included within the protection scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims (10)

1. An additive manufacturing device, comprising a forming chamber (3) and a powder handling device (1) located in the forming chamber (3), characterized in that it also includes an installation frame (2), and the installation frame (2) detachably connected to the inner wall of the forming chamber (3); The powder handling device (1) comprises at least one powder box (11), a powder spreading platform (12), a powder spreading device (13) and a forming cylinder (14), wherein the powder box (11), the powder spreading platform ( 12) and the forming cylinder (14) can be detachably connected to the mounting frame (2). 2. The additive manufacturing device according to claim 1, characterized in that, between the forming chamber (3) and the installation frame (2), the installation frame (2) and the powder box (11), the powder spreading platform ( 12) and the forming cylinder (14) are detachably connected by connecting piece (4). 3. The additive manufacturing device according to claim 1, characterized in that, the powder spreading device (13) comprises a drive motor positioned outside the forming chamber (3), detachably connected to the transmission mechanism of the drive motor, connected to The slider (131) on the transmission mechanism, and the scraper (132) installed on the slider (131), the scraper (132) is located above the powder spreading platform (12). 4. The additive manufacturing device according to claim 3, characterized in that, the slider (131) and the scraper (132) are connected by a connecting piece (4). 5. The additive manufacturing device according to claim 3, characterized in that, the transmission structure includes an active rotating member (133) connected to the drive motor through a connecting member (4), used in conjunction with the active rotating member (133) The driven rotary member (134) is connected to the motion conversion mechanism (135) of the driven rotary member (134), and the slide block (131) is fixed on the motion conversion mechanism (135), and the motion conversion mechanism (135) ) for linear motion. 6. The additive manufacturing device according to claim 5, characterized in that, the motion conversion mechanism (135) comprises a belt transmission mechanism, a chain transmission mechanism or a rack and pinion transmission mechanism. 7. The additive manufacturing device according to claim 1, characterized in that, the forming cylinder (14) comprises a cylinder (141) positioned on one side of the powder spreading platform (12), and a cylinder (141) located in the cylinder (141) And the piston (142) that moves up and down, the cylinder body (141) is connected to the installation frame (2) through the connector (4), and the piston (142) is connected to the piston driving mechanism (143) through the connector (4) The output end of the piston driving mechanism (143) is located outside the forming chamber (3), and its output end is sealed and penetrated in the forming chamber (3). 8. The additive manufacturing device according to claim 1, characterized in that, the powder box (11) is located above the powder spreading platform (12), and it is installed on the mounting frame (2) through a connector (4). top and/or side. 9. The additive manufacturing device according to claim 1, characterized in that, the powder box (11) is located below the powder spreading platform (12), and a push piston (111) is provided inside it. 10. The additive manufacturing device according to any one of claims 1-9, characterized in that, the connecting member (4) comprises a bolt and nut structure, a hook, a buckle or a lock.