Aerosol in-situ jet printing forming system and method for intelligent bearing embedded sensor

Abstract

The invention provides an aerosol in-situ jet printing forming system and method for an intelligent bearing embedded sensor. The system comprises a computer control module, a self-adaptive aerosol jet printing module, a time sequence curing module, a visual module and a five-axis motion platform, and the working mode of key components in the system is improved and designed according to the structural characteristics of a bearing. According to the method, the structural characteristics of the surface of the bearing structural part are identified to obtain the motion trail of the spray head under curved surface parameterization mapping, and atomized functional material micro-droplets are directly deposited on the surface of the bearing structural part point by point, line, surface and layer according to the preset trail according to the structure and material characteristics of a target sensor. And meanwhile, by reasonably controlling the curing time and the curing sequence, uniform combination of heterogeneous / homogeneous materials of the spray deposition interface is promoted, in-situ integrated manufacturing of the bearing embedded sensor is achieved, and technical support is provided for standardized application of the intelligent bearing.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of advanced manufacturing technology, and in particular to an aerosol in-situ printing forming system and method for an embedded sensor of an intelligent bearing. Background Art

[0002] Intelligent bearings have the characteristics of self-sensing, self-decision-making and self-regulation. They provide an effective information source for the operation quality monitoring of major equipment such as wind power, rail transit, and engineering machinery. They are a key means to promote the transformation of bearings from machine joints to machine brains. At present, intelligent bearings mainly adopt an external structure, and sensors are arranged by adding specific special sealing rings, etc., which is difficult to meet the standardized application of bearings. In addition, the sensors are far away from the excitation source and cannot accurately measure the key information of the bearing operation status. Therefore, it is an important development trend for high-end bearings in the future to study the in-situ manufacturing technology of bearing embedded sensors and develop standardized intelligent bearings with embedded sensors.

[0003] However, the development of existing in-situ manufacturing technology is not yet mature, and it is difficult to match the current design concept of miniaturization and integration of embedded sensors in bearings. There are still the following technical difficulties in the in-situ integrated manufacturing of embedded sensors in intelligent bearings: ① Cross-scale manufacturing. There are differences in the scale of functional structure and overall structure of embedded sensors in bearings, ranging from centimeters to submicrometers. Traditional manufacturing methods are difficult to simultaneously meet the rapid prototyping of large-size areas and the high-resolution construction of micro-nano functional structures in a single manufacturing process; ② Multi-material integrated manufacturing. The types of embedded sensors in intelligent bearings mainly include speed, temperature, vibration and load, etc. Printable materials should cover semiconductor materials, ceramic materials, organic sensitive materials, nanomaterials, etc.; ③ Heterogeneous interface bonding. Bearings are usually in extreme service environments such as high speed, heavy load, and high temperature. The material interface between the sensor and the bearing matrix is ​​a weak point of bonding and is prone to breakage and detachment. The reliability and long-term stability of the embedded sensor place extremely high demands on the bonding strength of the heterogeneous interface.

[0004] In view of this, there is an urgent need to develop an aerosol in-situ printing forming system and method for embedded sensors in smart bearings, which can be used to improve the high-resolution in-situ integrated manufacturing capabilities of embedded sensors and provide a technical foundation for the intelligent development of key basic components. Summary of the invention

[0005] The purpose of the present invention is to provide an aerosol in-situ printing forming system and method for an embedded sensor of a smart bearing, so as to solve the problems existing in the prior art.

[0006] The technical solution adopted to achieve the purpose of the present invention is as follows: an aerosol in-situ printing forming system for embedded sensors in intelligent bearings, including a computer control module, and an adaptive aerosol printing module, a timed curing module, a vision module and a five-axis motion platform arranged in a clean environment.

[0007] The five-axis motion platform includes a three-dimensional workbench and a planar motion unit. The three-dimensional workbench has an X-direction moving axis, a Y-direction moving axis and a Z-direction moving axis to achieve movement in three directions of XYZ. The planar motion unit is placed above the three-dimensional workbench. The planar motion unit has two rotation axes to achieve two additional rotational degrees of freedom. The bearing structure is fixed on the planar motion unit.

[0008] The adaptive aerosol printing module includes an ink atomizing device, an air pump, a carrier gas flow controller, a sheath gas flow controller, an aerosol coaxial focusing head and an adaptive nozzle. The aerosol coaxial focusing head is arranged above the planar motion unit. The aerosol coaxial focusing head has a carrier gas flow channel and a sheath gas flow channel. The carrier gas flow channel is connected to the ink atomizing device through an air pipe. The sheath gas flow channel is connected to the sheath gas flow controller through an air pipe. The ink atomizing device is connected to the carrier gas flow controller, and the carrier gas flow controller is connected to the air pump. The sheath gas flow controller is connected to the air pump. The adaptive nozzle is arranged at the outlet of the aerosol coaxial focusing head.

[0009] The sequential curing module includes a curing forming device and a motion execution device. The motion execution device is arranged on a three-dimensional workbench. The curing forming device is installed on the motion execution device. The motion execution device provides multi-degree-of-freedom precise positioning and path control for the curing forming device. The curing forming device is used to perform partitioning and / or step-by-step curing of functional materials.

[0010] The visual module includes a three-dimensional laser scanner and a printing observation camera. The three-dimensional laser scanner is installed above the five-axis motion platform. The printing observation camera is arranged beside the adaptive nozzle. The shooting direction of the printing observation camera faces the bearing structure.

[0011] When working, the visual module locates and three-dimensionally measures the bearing structure that is actually installed and processed, and performs real-time micro-domain monitoring of the in-situ manufacturing process. The computer control module performs in-situ printing path planning according to the surface characteristics of the bearing structure, and coordinates the control of the adaptive aerosol printing module, the sequential curing module and the five-axis motion platform. The adaptive aerosol printing module sprays and deposits the atomized functional material ink onto the surface of the bearing structure in the form of an aerosol beam. The sequential curing module performs partitioning and step-by-step curing of the deposited functional material to control the in-situ construction and assembly of the sensing functional structure.

[0012] Furthermore, the ink atomization device is in the form of ultrasonic atomization, pneumatic atomization or electro-atomization.

[0013] Furthermore, the airflow control range of the carrier gas flow controller is 5 sccm to 2000 sccm. The airflow control range of the sheath gas flow controller is 10 sccm to 2000 sccm.

[0014] Furthermore, the specific curing method of the curing and forming device is laser sintering, ultraviolet light curing or near-infrared sintering.

[0015] Furthermore, the functional material ink is a liquid material or a liquid mixture formed by a liquid material and a solid particle material. The viscosity of the functional material ink is in the range of 1 to 1000 cP. The functional material ink is atomized into aerosol droplets with a diameter of 1 to 10 μm.

[0016] Furthermore, the functional material ink is a mixture of one or more of metallic materials, inorganic non-metallic materials, organic polymer materials, biological materials or composite materials.

[0017] The present invention also provides an aerosol in-situ printing forming method for an intelligent bearing embedded sensor according to any of the above-mentioned systems. By identifying the surface structural features of the bearing structure, the nozzle motion trajectory under the parametric mapping of the surface is obtained. According to the target sensor structure and material properties, the atomized functional material droplets are directly deposited point by point, line by line, surface by layer on the surface of the bearing structure according to a preset trajectory. At the same time, by reasonably controlling the curing time and curing order, the uniform combination of heterogeneous / homogeneous materials at the spray deposition interface is promoted, thereby realizing the in-situ integrated manufacturing of the bearing embedded sensor.

[0018] Further, the following steps are included:

[0019] 1) Functional material ink is prepared, and the mass ratio of solute, solvent and dopant is adjusted to obtain printing ink that is uniformly and stably dispersed and suitable for aerosol jetting, and the surface of the bearing structure to be manufactured is cleaned and dried.

[0020] 2) Fix the bearing structure on the planar motion part of the five-axis motion platform, use a three-dimensional laser scanner to scan the bearing structure to identify and obtain point cloud data of the in-situ printed surface, and the computer control module processes the point cloud data to obtain a three-dimensional model of the bearing structure.

[0021] 3) Arrange the target structure designed by the user on the three-dimensional model of the bearing structure in step 2), and slice it to obtain an aerosol in-situ printing program, wherein the aerosol in-situ printing program refers to a command program and a path planning control program for coordinating and controlling various system modules, which are generated by a computer control module and realize collaborative control.

[0022] 4) Start the aerosol in-situ printing program, the atomized functional material ink is focused by the adaptive aerosol printing module to form an aerosol beam with a size equivalent to that of the adaptive nozzle, and is deposited point by point, line by line, surface by surface, and layer by layer on the surface of the bearing structure according to the preset scanning trajectory.

[0023] 5) Based on step 4), the sequential curing module is started synchronously to perform in-situ synchronous curing or regional step-by-step curing on the deposited functional materials, so as to promote the phase change of the functional material ink and the interface assembly process of the heterogeneous materials.

[0024] 6) Repeat steps 4) and 5) until the target sensor structure is manufactured.

[0025] Furthermore, in step 5), the sequential curing strategy selects in-situ real-time curing or delayed curing.

[0026] The present invention also provides application of the above method in manufacturing a bearing embedded temperature sensitive sensor.

[0027] The technical effects of the present invention are unquestionable:

[0028] A. It can meet the semiconductor materials, insulating materials, conductor materials, bonding materials and packaging materials required for the manufacturing of bearing embedded sensors, and improve the manufacturing capabilities of materials, structure and function integration of smart bearing embedded sensors;

[0029] B. The deposited layer can be solidified synchronously or regionally step-by-step according to the target functional structure. The asymmetric diffusion behavior of the deposited layer fluid can be suppressed by controlling the phase change process of the material, reducing the stress and deformation of the deposited layer, improving the contour accuracy of the formed structure, and promoting the uniform combination of the interface of heterogeneous / homogeneous materials, and controlling the in-situ construction and assembly of the bearing embedded sensor;

[0030] C. Aiming at the technical difficulties of in-situ integrated manufacturing of embedded sensors in smart bearings, aerosol jet printing technology is used to realize the in-situ integrated construction of the sensing functional structure on the surface of the bearing substrate. It is expected to overcome the manufacturing difficulties of the in-situ forming structure complexity, poor material compatibility and low processing efficiency of embedded sensors (speed, temperature, vibration and load, etc.), and provide a technical basis for promoting the standardized application of new intelligent basic components such as smart bearings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0031] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of aerosol in-situ printing system for embedded sensors in smart bearings;

[0032] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the principle of adaptive aerosol printing in Example 7;

[0033] Figure 3This is a schematic diagram of the in-situ printing formation of the bearing embedded temperature sensitive sensor in Example 9;

[0034] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the sequential curing strategy for in-situ aerosol printing in Example 10;

[0035] In the figure: adaptive aerosol printing module 1, ink atomization device 1-1, air pump 1-2, carrier gas flow controller 1-3, sheath gas flow controller 1-4, aerosol coaxial focusing head 1-5, adaptive nozzle 1-6, sequential curing module 2, curing forming device 2-1, motion execution device 2-2, vision module 3, three-dimensional laser scanner 3-1, printing observation camera 3-2, five-axis motion platform 4, computer control module 5, bearing structure 6, clean environment 7. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] The present invention is further described below in conjunction with the embodiments, but it should not be understood that the above subject matter of the present invention is limited to the following embodiments. Without departing from the above technical ideas of the present invention, various substitutions and changes are made according to the common technical knowledge and customary means in the art, which should all be included in the protection scope of the present invention.

[0037] Embodiment 1:

[0038] See also Figure 1 The present embodiment provides an aerosol in-situ printing forming system for an embedded sensor of an intelligent bearing, comprising a computer control module 5, and an adaptive aerosol printing module 1, a sequential curing module 2, a visual module 3 and a five-axis motion platform 4 arranged in a clean environment 7.

[0039] The five-axis motion platform 4 includes a three-dimensional workbench and a planar motion unit. The three-dimensional workbench has an X-direction moving axis, a Y-direction moving axis and a Z-direction moving axis to achieve movement in three directions of XYZ. The planar motion unit is placed above the three-dimensional workbench. The planar motion unit has two rotation axes to achieve two additional rotational degrees of freedom. The bearing structure 6 is fixed on the planar motion unit.

[0040] The adaptive aerosol printing module 1 includes an ink atomization device 1-1, an air pump 1-2, a carrier gas flow controller 1-3, a sheath gas flow controller 1-4, an aerosol coaxial focusing head 1-5 and an adaptive nozzle 1-6. The aerosol coaxial focusing head 1-5 is arranged above the planar motion unit. The aerosol coaxial focusing head 1-5 has a carrier gas flow channel and a sheath gas flow channel. The carrier gas flow channel is connected to the ink atomization device 1-1 through an air pipe. The sheath gas flow channel is connected to the sheath gas flow controller 1-4 through an air pipe. The ink atomization device 1-1 is connected to the carrier gas flow controller 1-3, and the carrier gas flow controller 1-3 is connected to the air pump 1-2. The sheath gas flow controller 1-4 is connected to the air pump 1-2. The adaptive nozzle 1-6 is arranged at the outlet of the aerosol coaxial focusing head 1-5.

[0041] The sequential curing module 2 includes a curing forming device 2-1 and a motion execution device 2-2. The motion execution device 2-2 is arranged on a three-dimensional workbench. The curing forming device 2-1 is installed on the motion execution device 2-2. The motion execution device 2-2 provides multi-degree-of-freedom precise positioning and path control for the curing forming device 2-1. The curing forming device 2-1 is used to partition and / or step-by-step cure the functional material.

[0042] The visual module 3 includes a three-dimensional laser scanner 3-1 and a printing observation camera 3-2. The three-dimensional laser scanner 3-1 is installed above the five-axis motion platform 4. The printing observation camera 3-2 is arranged beside the adaptive nozzle 1-6. The shooting direction of the printing observation camera 3-2 faces the bearing structure 6.

[0043] When working, the visual module 3 locates and three-dimensionally measures the bearing structure 6 that is actually installed and processed, and performs micro-domain real-time monitoring of the in-situ manufacturing process. The computer control module 5 performs in-situ printing path planning according to the surface characteristics of the bearing structure 6, and coordinates the control of the adaptive aerosol printing module 1, the sequential curing module 2 and the five-axis motion platform 4. The adaptive aerosol printing module 1 sprays and deposits the atomized functional material ink on the surface of the bearing structure 6 in the form of an aerosol beam. The sequential curing module 2 performs partitioning and step-by-step curing of the deposited functional materials to control the in-situ construction and assembly of the sensing functional structure.

[0044] Embodiment 2:

[0045] The main contents of this embodiment are the same as those of Embodiment 1, wherein the ink atomization device 1-1 adopts ultrasonic atomization, pneumatic atomization or electroatomization.

[0046] Embodiment 3:

[0047] The main contents of this embodiment are the same as those of embodiment 1 or 2, wherein the gas flow control range of the carrier gas flow controller 1-3 is 5 sccm to 2000 sccm, and the gas flow control range of the sheath gas flow controller 1-4 is 10 sccm to 2000 sccm.

[0048] Embodiment 4:

[0049] The main content of this embodiment is the same as any one of Embodiments 1 to 3, wherein the specific curing method of the curing and forming device 2-1 is laser sintering, ultraviolet light curing or near-infrared sintering.

[0050] Embodiment 5:

[0051] The main content of this embodiment is the same as any one of embodiments 1 to 4, wherein the functional material ink is a liquid material or a liquid mixture formed by a liquid material and a solid particulate material. The viscosity of the functional material ink ranges from 1 to 1000 cP. The functional material ink is atomized into aerosol micro-droplets with a diameter of 1 to 10 μm. The functional material ink is a mixture of one or more selected from metal materials, inorganic non-metallic materials, organic polymer materials, biomaterials or composite materials.

[0052] Embodiment 6:

[0053] The main content of this embodiment is the same as any one of embodiments 1 to 5, wherein the bearing structure 6 is a component of the intelligent bearing. The bearing structure 6 includes inner ring, outer ring, rolling element, cage, seal or dust cover and other parts. The material of the bearing structure 6 includes but is not limited to bearing steel, stainless steel, cast iron, alloy, engineering plastic, ceramic, carbon material or composite material.

[0054] Embodiment 7:

[0055] The main contents of this embodiment are the same as any one of Embodiments 1 to 6, wherein, see Figure 2 The adaptive nozzles 1-6 are fixed-shape structures or flexible deformable structures, and can adjust the nozzle outlet size and cross-sectional shape according to the manufacturing structural characteristics to adapt to different printing accuracy, efficiency and material deposition requirements. The inner diameter of the adaptive nozzles 1-6 has a limit size range from micrometers to centimeters (20μm to 1cm), and the cross-sectional shapes include but are not limited to circular, elliptical, rectangular and polygonal cross-sections, wherein:

[0056] a) The circular cross section is suitable for high-precision, small line width printing scenarios and for fine processing of micro-sized structures;

[0057] b) The elliptical cross section can expand the printing line width in one direction by dynamically adjusting the ratio of the major axis to the minor axis of the ellipse, achieving rapid material filling in a wide area, which is suitable for efficient printing of large-area patterns;

[0058] c) Rectangular cross-section is suitable for fast and uniform printing over large areas, and can achieve uniform material coverage over large areas, and is used for the manufacture of uniformly coated thin film layers or large-scale structural parts;

[0059] d) The polygonal cross-section is suitable for the deposition of materials with complex shapes. Through the design of different polygonal shapes, high-precision printing of irregular shapes can be achieved.

[0060] Embodiment 8:

[0061] This embodiment provides an aerosol in-situ printing forming method for an embedded sensor in an intelligent bearing of any system in any of embodiments 1 to 7, by identifying the surface structural features of the bearing structure 6, the nozzle motion trajectory under the parametric mapping of the surface is obtained, and according to the target sensor structure and material properties, the atomized functional material micro-droplets are directly deposited point by point, line by line, surface by layer on the surface of the bearing structure 6 according to the preset trajectory, and at the same time, by reasonably controlling the curing time and curing order, the uniform combination of heterogeneous / homogeneous materials at the spray deposition interface is promoted to realize the in-situ integrated manufacturing of the embedded sensor in the bearing. The aerosol in-situ printing forming method for the embedded sensor in the intelligent bearing includes the following steps:

[0062] 1) Functional material ink is prepared, and a printing ink that is uniformly and stably dispersed and suitable for aerosol jetting is obtained by adjusting the mass ratio of solute, solvent and dopant, and the surface of the bearing structure 6 to be manufactured is cleaned and dried.

[0063] 2) Fix the bearing structure 6 on the planar motion part of the five-axis motion platform 4, use the three-dimensional laser scanner 3-1 to scan the bearing structure 6 to identify and obtain the point cloud data of the in-situ printed surface, and the computer control module 5 processes the point cloud data to obtain a three-dimensional model of the bearing structure 6.

[0064] 3) Arrange the target structure designed by the user on the three-dimensional model of the bearing structure 6 in step 2), and slice it to obtain an aerosol in-situ printing program, which refers to the command program and path planning control program that coordinate and control each system module, and is generated by the computer control module 5 to achieve collaborative control.

[0065] 4) Start the aerosol in-situ printing program, the atomized functional material ink is focused by the adaptive aerosol printing module 1 and forms an aerosol beam with a size equivalent to that of the adaptive nozzles 1-6, and is deposited point by point, line by line, surface by surface, and layer by layer on the surface of the bearing structure 6 according to the preset scanning trajectory.

[0066] 5) Based on step 4), the sequential curing module 2 is synchronously started to perform in-situ synchronous curing or regional step-by-step curing on the deposited functional materials to promote the phase change of the functional material ink and the interface assembly process of the heterogeneous materials.

[0067] 6) Repeat steps 4) and 5) until the target sensor structure is manufactured.

[0068] 9. The aerosol in-situ printing forming method for an embedded sensor in a smart bearing according to claim 8, characterized in that: in step 5), the sequential curing strategy selects in-situ real-time curing or delayed curing.

[0069] Embodiment 9:

[0070] See also Figure 3 This embodiment provides an application of the method according to Embodiment 8 in manufacturing a bearing embedded temperature sensor, comprising the following steps:

[0071] S1) The bearing structure 6 selects the inner ring of the bearing, cleans and dries the surface of the inner ring of the bearing, removes oil, dust and rust from the surface of the inner ring of the bearing, fixes the inner ring of the bearing on the planar motion part of the five-axis motion platform 4, uses a three-dimensional laser scanner 3-1 to scan the inner ring of the bearing to identify and obtain point cloud data of the in-situ printing surface, and the computer control module 5 processes the point cloud data to obtain a three-dimensional model of the inner ring of the bearing;

[0072] S2) Insulation layer printing, Al2O3 is selected as the insulation layer material, a certain amount of TiB2, ZrO2, and Y2O3 nanopowders are added to the Al2O3 precursor ceramic solution, and polyethylene glycol (PEG) is used as a stabilizing dispersant to obtain Al2O3 ceramic ink that is uniformly and stably dispersed and suitable for aerosol spraying; the aerosol in-situ printing program is started, and the adaptive nozzle 1-6 selects a rectangular cross-section nozzle with an inner diameter of 1 cm, and the atomized Al2O3 ceramic ink is deposited back and forth on the surface of the inner ring of the bearing in the form of a wide aerosol beam (20μm~1cm); the curing and forming device 2-1 selects the laser sintering method, the spot diameter is 1cm, the laser irradiation target point coincides with the aerosol beam deposition point, and the deposited Al2O3 ceramic ink is preliminarily cured in situ to obtain a protective layer with uniform thickness and a film thickness of 20~100μm;

[0073] S3) Printing of the sensing function layer, using platinum nanoparticles (PtNPs) as the temperature-sensitive sensing function material, ethylene glycol (EG) and water as solvents, and polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) as a stabilizing dispersant to obtain a nano-platinum slurry ink that is uniformly and stably dispersed and suitable for aerosol jetting; starting the aerosol in-situ printing program, the adaptive nozzle 1-6 selects a circular cross-section nozzle with an inner diameter of 20 to 300 μm, and the atomized nano-platinum slurry ink is deposited on the surface of the insulating layer according to the grid-shaped structure track; the curing and forming device 2-1 selects the laser sintering method, the spot diameter is 100 μm, the laser irradiation target point coincides with the aerosol beam deposition point, and the deposited nano-platinum slurry ink is in-situ synchronously cured to obtain a grid-shaped sensing function layer structure, the gate line width limit is 10 μm, and the sensing function layer thickness is 5 to 20 μm;

[0074] S4) Printing of the protective layer, selecting SiCN as the protective layer material, adding a certain amount of TiB2, ZrO2, and Y2O3 nanopowders to the SiCN precursor ceramic solution, and using polyethylene glycol (PEG) as a stabilizing dispersant to obtain a uniformly and stably dispersed SiCN ceramic ink suitable for aerosol injection; starting the aerosol in-situ printing program, the adaptive nozzle 1-6 selects a rectangular cross-section nozzle with an inner diameter of 1 cm, and the atomized SiCN ceramic ink is deposited back and forth on the sensing function layer in the form of a wide aerosol beam (>2 mm); the curing and forming device 2-1 selects a laser sintering method, the spot diameter is 1 cm, the laser irradiation target point coincides with the aerosol beam deposition point, and the deposited SiCN ceramic ink is preliminarily cured in situ to obtain a protective layer with uniform thickness and a film thickness of less than 30 μm;

[0075] S5) The sensor is integrated in situ, and solder joints are coated on the two pins of the sensing function layer grid structure respectively. At the same time, the curing and forming device 2-1 performs preliminary irradiation and fixation on the overall structure. Then, the inner ring of the bearing with the integrated temperature-sensitive sensor is placed in a high-temperature environment of 400 to 800°C for further sintering, and the thermal decomposition process of the ceramic precursor material of the insulating layer and the protective layer is completed, so as to obtain a temperature-sensitive sensor structure with a stable interface.

[0076] S6) Sensor test: Assemble the inner ring of the bearing with an integrated temperature sensor to obtain an embedded temperature sensor bearing, and place it in a simulated working condition. Use a data acquisition system to obtain the temperature of the simulated working condition and the resistance signal of the embedded temperature sensor bearing in real time, so as to conduct a stability test on the embedded temperature sensor bearing under simulated working conditions. Test the resistance drift rate and high temperature stability of the embedded temperature sensor in the bearing in the range of 50℃ to 800℃, and verify the feasibility of the aerosol in-situ printing forming method for embedded sensors in smart bearings.

[0077] This embodiment realizes multi-material, cross-scale, and in-situ manufacturing while taking into account both accuracy and efficiency, so as to meet the manufacturing requirements of miniaturization and integration of embedded sensors in smart bearings.

[0078] Embodiment 10:

[0079] See also Figure 4 This embodiment provides an in-situ aerosol printing sequential curing strategy on two types of bearing structural surfaces, a plane and a curved surface, according to the method described in Example 8, including two methods, namely, in-situ real-time curing and delayed curing, to achieve on-demand regulation of the in-situ aerosol printing forming process, wherein:

[0080] (a) Real-time curing strategy, including the following steps:

[0081] 1) Functional material ink is prepared, and a printing ink that is uniformly and stably dispersed and suitable for aerosol jetting is obtained by adjusting the mass ratio of solute, solvent and dopant, and the surface of the bearing structure 6 to be manufactured is cleaned and dried.

[0082] 2) Fix the bearing structure 6 on the planar motion part of the five-axis motion platform 4, use a three-dimensional laser scanner 3-1 to scan the bearing structure 6 to identify and obtain the point cloud data of the in-situ printed surface, and the computer control module 5 processes the point cloud data to obtain a three-dimensional model of the bearing structure 6.

[0083] 3) Arrange the target structure designed by the user on the three-dimensional model of the bearing structure 6 in step 2), and slice it to obtain an aerosol in-situ printing program, which refers to the command program and path planning control program that coordinate and control each system module, and is generated by the computer control module 5 to achieve collaborative control.

[0084] 4) The aerosol in-situ printing program is started, and the atomized functional material ink is focused by the adaptive aerosol printing module 1 to form an aerosol beam flow with a size equivalent to that of the adaptive nozzles 1-6, and is deposited on the surface of the bearing structure 6 according to a preset scanning trajectory.

[0085] When the surface of the bearing structure 6 is a plane, the functional material ink spreads symmetrically and evenly under the action of gravity. When the surface of the bearing structure 6 is a curved surface, the functional material ink spreads asymmetrically under the combined action of gravity and curvature.

[0086] 5) Based on step 4), the sequential curing module 2 is started synchronously, the irradiation target of the curing forming device 2-1 coincides with the aerosol beam deposition point, the irradiation target and the scanning trajectory of the beam deposition are overlapped and followed in real time, and a phase change process occurs immediately after the functional material ink is deposited, thereby suppressing the lateral spreading process of the deposited functional material ink.

[0087] When the surface of the bearing structure 6 is a plane, the printing resolution is improved while the height of the deposited layer is increased, and the aspect ratio of the formed structure is improved. When the surface of the bearing structure 6 is a curved surface, the printing resolution is improved while the asymmetric spreading is suppressed, and the precision of the formed structure is increased.

[0088] 6) Repeat steps 4) and 5) until the target sensor structure is manufactured.

[0089] (b) Delayed curing strategy, including the following steps:

[0090] 1) Functional material ink is prepared, and a printing ink that is uniformly and stably dispersed and suitable for aerosol jetting is obtained by adjusting the mass ratio of solute, solvent and dopant, and the surface of the bearing structure 6 to be manufactured is cleaned and dried.

[0091] 2) Fix the bearing structure 6 on the planar motion part of the five-axis motion platform 4, use a three-dimensional laser scanner 3-1 to scan the bearing structure 6 to identify and obtain the point cloud data of the in-situ printed surface, and the computer control module 5 processes the point cloud data to obtain a three-dimensional model of the bearing structure 6.

[0092] 3) Arrange the target structure designed by the user on the three-dimensional model of the bearing structure 6 in step 2), and slice it to obtain an aerosol in-situ printing program, which refers to the command program and path planning control program that coordinate and control each system module, and is generated by the computer control module 5 to achieve collaborative control.

[0093] 4) The aerosol in-situ printing program is started, and the atomized functional material ink is focused by the adaptive aerosol printing module 1 to form an aerosol beam flow with a size equivalent to that of the adaptive nozzles 1-6, and is deposited on the surface of the bearing structure 6 according to a preset scanning trajectory.

[0094] When the surface of the bearing structure 6 is a plane, the functional material ink spreads symmetrically and evenly under the action of gravity. When the surface of the bearing structure 6 is a curved surface, the functional material ink spreads asymmetrically under the combined action of gravity and curvature.

[0095] 5) Based on step 4), the sequential curing module 2 is started, the irradiation target of the curing forming device 2-1 lags behind the deposition point of the aerosol beam, and the irradiation target is consistent with the scanning trajectory of the beam deposition. The functional material ink undergoes a delayed phase change process after deposition, and the deposited functional material ink further undergoes a lateral spreading process during this period of time.

[0096] When the surface of the bearing structure 6 is a plane, the printing line width is increased while the height of the deposited layer is reduced, and the aspect ratio of the formed structure is reduced. When the surface of the bearing structure 6 is a curved surface, the conformal spreading time of the deposited functional material ink on the curved surface is increased to improve the shape matching degree between the formed structure and the curved surface.

[0097] 6) Repeat steps 4) and 5) until the target sensor structure is manufactured.

Claims

1. An aerosol in-situ printing forming system for embedded sensors in smart bearings, characterized by: It comprises a computer control module (5), and an adaptive aerosol printing module (1), a sequential curing module (2), a visual module (3) and a five-axis motion platform (4) arranged in a clean environment (7); The five-axis motion platform (4) comprises a three-dimensional workbench and a planar motion unit; the three-dimensional workbench has an X-direction moving axis, a Y-direction moving axis and a Z-direction moving axis, so as to realize motion in three directions of X, Y and Z; the planar motion unit is placed above the three-dimensional workbench; the planar motion unit has two rotation axes, so as to realize two rotational degrees of freedom; the bearing structure (6) is fixed on the planar motion unit; The adaptive aerosol printing module (1) comprises an ink atomizing device (1-1), an air pump (1-2), a carrier gas flow controller (1-3), a sheath gas flow controller (1-4), an aerosol coaxial focusing head (1-5) and an adaptive nozzle (1-6); the aerosol coaxial focusing head (1-5) is arranged above the planar motion unit; the aerosol coaxial focusing head (1-5) has a carrier gas flow channel and a sheath gas flow channel; the carrier gas flow channel is connected to the ink atomizing device (1-1) through an air pipe; the sheath gas flow channel is connected to the sheath gas flow controller (1-4) through an air pipe; the ink atomizing device (1-1) is connected to the carrier gas flow controller (1-3), and the carrier gas flow controller (1-3) is connected to the air pump (1-2); the sheath gas flow controller (1-4) is connected to the air pump (1-2); the adaptive nozzle (1-6) is arranged at the outlet of the aerosol coaxial focusing head (1-5); The sequential curing module (2) comprises a curing forming device (2-1) and a motion execution device (2-2); the motion execution device (2-2) is arranged on a three-dimensional workbench; the curing forming device (2-1) is mounted on the motion execution device (2-2); the motion execution device (2-2) provides multi-degree-of-freedom precise positioning and path control for the curing forming device (2-1); the curing forming device (2-1) is used to perform partitioning and / or step-by-step curing on the functional material; The visual module (3) comprises a three-dimensional laser scanner (3-1) and a printing observation camera (3-2); the three-dimensional laser scanner (3-1) is installed above the five-axis motion platform (4); the printing observation camera (3-2) is arranged beside the adaptive nozzle (1-6); the shooting direction of the printing observation camera (3-2) faces the bearing structure (6); When working, the visual module (3) locates and three-dimensionally measures the bearing structure (6) that is actually installed and processed, and performs micro-domain real-time monitoring of the in-situ manufacturing process; the computer control module (5) performs in-situ printing path planning according to the surface characteristics of the bearing structure (6), and coordinates the control of the adaptive aerosol printing module (1), the sequential curing module (2) and the five-axis motion platform (4); the adaptive aerosol printing module (1) sprays and deposits the atomized functional material ink on the surface of the bearing structure (6) in the form of an aerosol beam; the sequential curing module (2) performs partitioning and step-by-step curing on the deposited functional material, and controls the in-situ construction and assembly of the sensing functional structure.

2. According to claim 1, an aerosol in-situ printing forming system for an embedded sensor of a smart bearing is characterized by: The ink atomization device (1-1) is in the form of ultrasonic atomization, pneumatic atomization or electro-atomization.

3. The aerosol in-situ printing forming system for the embedded sensor of the smart bearing according to claim 1 is characterized by: The airflow control range of the carrier airflow controller (1-3) is 5 sccm to 2000 sccm; the airflow control range of the sheath airflow controller (1-4) is 10 sccm to 2000 sccm.

4. The aerosol in-situ printing forming system for the embedded sensor of the smart bearing according to claim 1 is characterized by: The specific curing method of the curing and forming device (2-1) is laser sintering, ultraviolet light curing or near-infrared sintering.

5. The aerosol in-situ printing forming system for the embedded sensor of the smart bearing according to claim 1 is characterized by: The functional material ink is a liquid material or a liquid mixture formed by a liquid material and a solid particle material; the viscosity of the functional material ink ranges from 1 to 1000 cP; the functional material ink is atomized into aerosol micro droplets with a diameter of 1 to 10 μm.

6. The aerosol in-situ printing forming system for the embedded sensor of the smart bearing according to claim 5 is characterized by: The functional material ink is a mixture of one or more of metal materials, inorganic non-metal materials, organic polymer materials, biological materials or composite materials.

7. The aerosol in-situ printing forming method for the embedded sensor of the smart bearing according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: By identifying the surface structural features of the bearing structure (6), the movement trajectory of the nozzle under the parametric mapping of the surface is obtained. According to the target sensor structure and material properties, the atomized functional material micro-droplets are directly deposited point by point, line by line, surface by layer on the surface of the bearing structure (6) according to the preset trajectory. At the same time, by reasonably controlling the curing time and curing sequence, the uniform combination of heterogeneous / homogeneous materials at the spray deposition interface is promoted, thereby realizing the in-situ integrated manufacturing of the bearing embedded sensor.

8. The aerosol in-situ printing forming method for an embedded sensor of a smart bearing according to claim 7, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: 1) preparing functional material ink, adjusting the mass ratio of solute, solvent and dopant to obtain printing ink that is uniformly and stably dispersed and suitable for aerosol jetting, and cleaning and drying the surface of the bearing structure (6) to be manufactured; 2) fixing the bearing structure (6) on the planar motion part of the five-axis motion platform (4), scanning the bearing structure (6) with a three-dimensional laser scanner (3-1) to identify and obtain point cloud data of the in-situ printing surface, and processing the point cloud data with a computer control module (5) to obtain a three-dimensional model of the bearing structure (6); 3) arranging the target structure designed by the user onto the three-dimensional model of the bearing structure (6) in step 2), and slicing the model to obtain an aerosol in-situ printing program, wherein the aerosol in-situ printing program refers to a command program and a path planning control program for coordinating and controlling various system modules, and is generated and coordinated by a computer control module (5); 4) starting the aerosol in-situ printing program, the atomized functional material ink is focused by the adaptive aerosol printing module (1) to form an aerosol beam flow with a size equivalent to that of the adaptive nozzle (1-6), and is deposited point by point, line by line, surface by surface, and layer by layer on the surface of the bearing structure (6) according to a preset scanning trajectory; 5) Based on step 4), the sequential curing module (2) is started synchronously to perform in-situ synchronous curing or regional step-by-step curing on the deposited functional materials, so as to promote the phase change of the functional material ink and the interface assembly process of the heterogeneous materials; 6) Repeat steps 4) and 5) until the target sensor structure is manufactured.

9. The aerosol in-situ printing forming method for an embedded sensor of a smart bearing according to claim 8, characterized in that: In step 5), the sequential curing strategy uses in-situ real-time curing or delayed curing.

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