A dot-matrix circulation cooling mechanism for additive workpiece

Abstract

The present invention proposes an additive workpiece dot-matrix circulation cooling mechanism, comprising a cooling table, wherein a cooling module for cooling the upper surface of the workpiece is provided on the cooling table, a cooling channel for circulating coolant is provided inside the cooling module, and a bottom surface of the cooling module in contact with the upper surface of the workpiece protrudes downward from the bottom surface of the cooling table; a plurality of cooling modules with cooling channels are arranged in an array on the cooling table, thereby achieving the purpose of cooling the upper surface of the workpiece, improving the cooling efficiency of the upper surface of the workpiece, and by cooling the upper surface of the printed workpiece, the heat on the upper surface of the workpiece can complete the cooling process before being transferred to other parts of the workpiece, thereby effectively reducing the impact on the process temperature of other workpiece areas that have completed the printing process, thereby ensuring product quality, and the coolant does not directly contact the workpiece, which effectively protects the metal properties of the workpiece and avoids product defects.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the field of additive manufacturing, and in particular to a lattice circulation cooling mechanism for an additive workpiece. Background Art

[0002] The high heat input in additive manufacturing causes the workpiece to heat up quickly, especially the temperature of the upper surface of the workpiece. Because the mainstream method of metal additive manufacturing is to stack layers according to the sliced ​​model of the target product, the upper surface is the current processing surface during the manufacturing process, which is the highest temperature surface of the entire workpiece. In order to ensure product quality, the workpiece needs to maintain a relatively stable temperature level. The existing production process mainly uses the shutdown and waiting for natural cooling method, which has low cooling efficiency and affects manufacturing efficiency. The use of water cooling can effectively improve the cooling efficiency, but some materials have poor oxidation resistance and are not suitable for direct water cooling, or uncontrollable direct water cooling will cause the temperature to drop too quickly, resulting in product defects. If the input heat of the upper surface of the printed workpiece during the surfacing process is not removed in time and is transmitted to the parts of the printing equipment, the parts will work at a high temperature for a long time, affecting the service life and processing accuracy. Summary of the invention

[0003] In view of the deficiencies in the prior art, the present invention proposes a dot matrix circulating cooling mechanism for additive workpieces, which arranges a plurality of cooling modules with cooling channels in an array on a cooling table, and makes the bottom of the cooling module contact with the upper surface of the workpiece. When cooling the upper surface of the workpiece, it is only necessary to pass circulating coolant into the cooling channel so that the cooling module can exchange heat with the upper surface of the workpiece, thereby achieving the purpose of cooling the upper surface of the workpiece and improving the cooling efficiency of the upper surface of the workpiece. In addition, by cooling the upper surface of the printed workpiece, the heat on the upper surface of the workpiece can be cooled before being transferred to other parts of the workpiece, thereby effectively reducing the impact on the process temperature of other workpiece areas that have completed the printing process, thereby ensuring product quality.

[0004] The technical solution of the present invention is achieved in this way:

[0005] A dot-matrix circulation cooling mechanism for an additive workpiece comprises a cooling table, wherein a cooling module for cooling the upper surface of the workpiece is arranged on the cooling table, a cooling channel for circulating a coolant is arranged inside the cooling module, and a bottom surface of the cooling module in contact with the upper surface of the workpiece protrudes downward from the bottom surface of the cooling table, and the upper surface of the workpiece with the highest temperature is contact-cooled by the cooling module, so that the temperature of the upper surface of the workpiece is cooled before being transferred to other parts of the workpiece, thereby effectively reducing the influence on the process temperature of the area where the printing process has been completed, and while achieving the purpose of cooling the upper surface of the workpiece, the processability of the workpiece during the printing process is also guaranteed, and in this contact cooling process, the coolant does not directly contact the upper surface of the workpiece, and also effectively protects the metal properties of the workpiece, thereby avoiding product defects.

[0006] Furthermore, the cooling platform is provided with a plurality of through holes, and the cooling modules are movably arranged on the plurality of through holes.

[0007] Furthermore, the cooling channels of several cooling modules are connected in series in sequence through hoses.

[0008] Furthermore, a plurality of through holes and the cooling modules are distributed in an array on the cooling platform.

[0009] Furthermore, the cooling module includes a cooling seat and a top cover sealedly mounted on the cooling seat, the cooling channel is located on the cooling seat, and the top cover is provided with a liquid inlet hole and a liquid outlet hole, and the liquid inlet hole and the liquid outlet hole are both connected to the cooling channel.

[0010] Furthermore, the cooling channel is arranged in an S-shape or a U-shape on the cooling seat.

[0011] Furthermore, it also includes a first spring sheet, the fixed end of the first spring sheet is fixedly arranged on the cooling platform, and the free end of the first spring sheet is connected to the top of the cooling module.

[0012] Furthermore, the cooling module is provided with a temperature measuring probe for measuring the surface temperature of the workpiece, the cooling seat and the top cover are provided with connected temperature measuring holes, the temperature measuring probe is movably arranged on the temperature measuring hole, the top cover is provided with a second spring sheet, the fixed end of the second spring sheet is fixedly arranged on the top cover, and the free end of the second spring sheet is connected to the top of the temperature measuring probe.

[0013] Furthermore, a leak-proof sealing ring is provided on the temperature measuring hole, and the leak-proof sealing ring can prevent the coolant from leaking out of the temperature measuring hole.

[0014] Furthermore, a sealing groove is provided on the cooling seat, an annular sealing ring is provided on the sealing groove, and the top cover is fixedly mounted on the cooling seat by bolts.

[0015] Furthermore, it also includes a frame mounted on one side above the additive printing workbench, the cooling table is mounted on the frame through a mounting plate, a translation slide is provided on the frame, the mounting plate is slidably connected to the translation slide, a translation cylinder is provided between the mounting plate and the frame, and a lifting cylinder is installed between the mounting plate and the cooling table.

[0016] The beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: by arranging a plurality of cooling modules with cooling channels in an array on a cooling table, and making the bottom of the cooling module contact with the upper surface of the workpiece, when performing a cooling operation on the upper surface of the workpiece, it is only necessary to introduce circulating coolant into the cooling channel, so that the cooling module can exchange heat with the upper surface of the workpiece, thereby achieving the purpose of cooling the upper surface of the workpiece, improving the cooling efficiency of the upper surface of the workpiece, and effectively reducing the influence of the process temperature on the area where the printing process has been completed. During the cooling process, the coolant does not contact the surface of the workpiece, which effectively protects the metal properties of the workpiece and avoids product defects. An array-type, i.e., dot matrix cooling method is adopted to achieve the purpose of simultaneously cooling the upper surfaces of workpieces with different height differences, thereby improving adaptability. A temperature measuring probe is correspondingly installed on each cooling module, which can perform a multi-point temperature measurement operation on the upper surface of the workpiece. By performing multi-point temperature measurement on the upper surface of the workpiece, the purpose of accurately measuring the temperature of the workpiece can be achieved. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative labor.

[0018] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of a lattice circulation cooling mechanism for an additive workpiece according to the present invention;

[0019] Figure 2 It is a structural schematic diagram of a lattice circulation cooling mechanism for an additive workpiece according to the present invention from a first viewing angle;

[0020] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the bottom of the cooling platform;

[0021] Figure 4 for Figure 2 A partial enlarged view of part A;

[0022] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the cooling module;

[0023] Figure 6 This is an exploded diagram of the cooling module;

[0024] Figure 7 This is a structural schematic diagram of the cooling module from another perspective.

[0025] Illustrations: 1. Cooling table; 2. Cooling module; 3. Cooling channel; 4. First spring sheet; 5. Hose; 6. Cooling seat; 7. Top cover; 8. Liquid inlet hole; 9. Liquid outlet hole; 10. Temperature measuring probe; 11. Temperature measuring hole; 12. Second spring sheet; 13. Annular sealing ring; 14. Frame; 15. Mounting plate; 16. Translation rail; 17. Translation cylinder; 18. Lifting cylinder; 19. Bottom plate; 20. Liquid inlet pipe; 21. Liquid outlet pipe; 22. Leak-proof sealing ring. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0027] See also Figures 1 to 7 , a dot-matrix circulating cooling mechanism for additive workpieces, comprising a cooling platform 1, a cooling module 2 for cooling the upper surface of the workpiece is arranged on the cooling platform 1, a cooling channel 3 for circulating coolant of an external cooling system is arranged inside the cooling module 2, the bottom of the cooling module 2 is in contact with the upper surface of the workpiece, when cooling the upper surface of the workpiece, it is only necessary to pass circulating coolant into the cooling channel 3, so that the cooling module 2 can exchange heat with the upper surface of the workpiece to achieve the purpose of cooling the upper surface of the workpiece and improve the cooling efficiency of the upper surface of the workpiece, the bottom surface of the cooling module 2 in contact with the upper surface of the workpiece protrudes from the bottom surface of the cooling platform 1, because the bottom surface of the cooling module 2 protrudes downward from the bottom surface of the cooling platform 1, When the cooling table 1 is moved to the upper surface of the workpiece, the cooling module 2 can be brought into full contact with the upper surface of the workpiece to ensure full contact for efficient cooling. The upper surface of the workpiece with the highest temperature is contact-cooled by the cooling module so that the temperature of the upper surface of the workpiece can be cooled before it is transferred to other parts of the workpiece, thereby effectively reducing the impact on the process temperature of the area where the printing process has been completed. While achieving the purpose of cooling the upper surface of the workpiece, the processability of the workpiece during printing is also guaranteed. In addition, in this contact cooling process, the coolant does not directly contact the upper surface of the workpiece, thereby effectively protecting the metal properties of the workpiece and avoiding product defects.

[0028] Specifically, the cooling platform 1 is provided with a plurality of through holes, and the cooling modules 2 are movably arranged on the plurality of through holes, wherein the through holes penetrate the upper and lower surfaces of the cooling platform, and the through holes are used to install and place the cooling modules 2 so as to achieve the purpose that the cooling modules 2 can contact the upper surface of the workpiece. Since the upper surface of the workpiece will be relatively rough and uneven during the additive printing process, in order to allow as many contact surfaces as possible between the upper surface of the workpiece and the cooling modules 2 to achieve the purpose of further improving the cooling efficiency, in this embodiment, a plurality of through holes for installing the cooling modules 2 are designed on the cooling platform 1, and the plurality of cooling modules 2 are evenly distributed. They are arranged at different positions of the cooling platform 1. When the workpiece needs to be cooled, the cooling platform 1 is moved to the upper surface of the workpiece. Since the cooling modules 2 are movably arranged on the corresponding through holes, and the upward or downward movement of the cooling modules 2 relative to each other is not interfered by other cooling modules 2, when encountering the upper surface of the workpiece with a relative height difference, the corresponding cooling module 2 can contact with the corresponding upper surface of the workpiece under the action of its own gravity or other external driving force to perform contact cooling operation, thereby achieving the purpose of simultaneously performing cooling operations on the upper surfaces of workpieces with different height differences and improving adaptability.

[0029] Preferably, it also includes a first spring sheet 4, the fixed end of which is fixedly arranged on the cooling platform 1, and the free end of the first spring sheet 4 is connected to the top of the cooling module 2. Specifically, the free end of the first spring 4 is fixedly connected to the top of the cooling module 2 to achieve the purpose of installing the cooling module 2 on the through hole, and because the first spring 4 itself has elasticity, the purpose of movably installing the cooling module 2 on the through hole is achieved, and accordingly, when contact cooling is performed with the upper surface of the workpiece, the first spring 4 also achieves the function of providing a downward pressing force for the cooling module 2, so that the cooling module 2 can fully contact with the upper surface of the workpiece.

[0030] Furthermore, the cooling channels 3 of several cooling modules 2 are connected in series through the hose 5 in sequence, that is, the cooling modules 2 are connected in series through the hose 5, so that the purpose of connecting all the cooling modules 2 in series into a complete cooling system can be achieved, and the purpose of circulating cooling can be achieved by only connecting the two cooling modules 2 located at the head and tail of the cooling system formed in series to the liquid inlet pipe 20 and the liquid outlet pipe 21 of the external cooling system respectively, so as to quickly output the high-temperature coolant from the cooling channel 3 and timely input the low-temperature coolant, thereby improving the heat exchange efficiency.

[0031] Preferably, a plurality of through holes and cooling modules 2 are distributed in an array on the cooling platform 1, so as to achieve the purpose of uniformly cooling the upper surface of the workpiece.

[0032] Specifically, the cooling module 2 includes a cooling seat 6 and a top cover 7 sealed and installed on the cooling seat 6. The cooling channel 3 is located on the cooling seat 6. The bottom surface of the cooling seat 6 is used to contact the upper surface of the workpiece. The cooling channel 3 is arranged on the cooling seat 6 to improve the heat exchange efficiency and the cooling effect. The top cover 7 is provided with a liquid inlet 8 and a liquid outlet 9. The liquid inlet 8 and the liquid outlet 9 are both connected to the cooling channel 3. The liquid inlet 8 and the liquid outlet 9 are used to install a connecting hose 5. In terms of the specific series connection method, in this embodiment, the liquid outlet 9 of any cooling module 2 is connected to the liquid inlet 8 of an adjacent cooling module 2 through a hose 5, so that the purpose of connecting all cooling modules 2 in series can be achieved.

[0033] Preferably, the cooling channel 3 is arranged in an S-shape or a U-shape on the cooling seat 6, which can play a role in expanding the contact area during heat exchange and improving the heat exchange efficiency.

[0034] As a preferred solution of this embodiment, a temperature measuring probe 10 for measuring the surface temperature of the workpiece is provided on the cooling module 2, and a temperature measuring hole 11 is provided on the cooling seat 6 and the top cover 7. When the top cover 7 is installed on the cooling seat 6, the temperature measuring hole 11 on the top cover 7 is correspondingly connected to the temperature measuring hole 11 on the cooling seat 6, and the temperature measuring probe 10 is movably arranged on the temperature measuring hole 11, and a second spring sheet 12 is provided on the top cover 7. The fixed end of the second spring sheet 12 is fixedly arranged on the top cover 7, and the free end of the second spring sheet 12 is connected to the top of the temperature measuring probe 10. Specifically, the free end of the second spring 12 is fixedly connected to the top of the temperature measuring probe 10, so as to realize the movability of the temperature measuring probe 10 on the measuring The purpose of the temperature hole 11 is to measure the temperature of the workpiece at a plurality of locations on the workpiece surface. In addition, the bottom of the temperature measuring probe 10 protrudes downward from the bottom of the cooling seat 6, so that when the cooling module 2 contacts the surface of the workpiece, and because the second spring itself has elasticity, the temperature measuring probe 10 can achieve the purpose of fully contacting the surface of the workpiece, thereby achieving the purpose of accurate temperature measurement, and a plurality of cooling modules 2 are installed on the cooling table 1 in a uniform array, and each cooling module 2 is correspondingly installed with a temperature measuring probe 10, so that the upper surface of the workpiece can be subjected to multi-point temperature measurement operation, and the purpose of accurate temperature measurement of the workpiece can be achieved by performing multi-point temperature measurement on the upper surface of the workpiece.

[0035] Preferably, a sealing groove is provided on the cooling seat 6, an annular sealing ring 13 is provided on the sealing groove, the cooling channel 3 is arranged on the cooling seat 6 located on the inner side of the annular sealing ring 13, and the top cover 7 is fixedly installed on the cooling seat 6 by bolts to achieve the purpose of sealing installation between the top cover 7 and the cooling seat 6.

[0036] In addition, a leak-proof sealing ring 22 is provided on the temperature measuring hole 11 , and the leak-proof sealing ring 22 can prevent the coolant from leaking out of the temperature measuring hole 11 .

[0037] Furthermore, since cooling is not required when the workpiece is being printed by additive cladding, the workpiece surface needs to be cooled only after one or more printing layers are completed. Therefore, in order to achieve the purpose that the dot matrix circulation cooling mechanism can adapt to the additive printing device, in this embodiment, the dot matrix circulation cooling mechanism also includes a frame 14 mounted on one side above the additive printing workbench, wherein the additive printing workbench is a working base for additive cladding of workpieces in the additive printing device, and the cooling table 1 is mounted on the frame 14 through a mounting plate 15, and a translation slide rail 16 is provided on the frame 14, and the mounting plate 15 and the translation slide rail 16 sliding connection, wherein, in the specific mode of the sliding connection, a sliding block compatible with the translational slide rail 16 is arranged on the mounting plate 15, a translational cylinder 17 is arranged between the mounting plate 15 and the frame 14, wherein the cylinder body of the translational cylinder 17 is mounted on the mounting plate 15, and the piston rod of the translational cylinder 17 is connected to the frame 14 to achieve the purpose of translational cooling table 1, and a lifting cylinder 18 is installed between the mounting plate 15 and the cooling table 1, wherein the cylinder body of the lifting cylinder 18 is mounted on a base plate 19 at the bottom of the mounting plate 15, and the piston rod of the lifting cylinder 18 is connected to the cooling table 1 to achieve the purpose of lifting the cooling table 1.

[0038] Working principle: When cooling operation is required, the installation plate 15 is pushed to move on the translation slide rail 16 by controlling the translation cylinder 17. Since the cooling table 1 is installed on the installation plate 15 by the lifting cylinder 18, the purpose of moving the cooling table 1 to the top of the workpiece can be achieved. Then the lifting cylinder 18 is driven to lower the cooling table 1, so that the cooling table 1 can press the cooling module 2 down to a position where it is in full contact with the upper surface of the workpiece. Next, coolant is introduced into the cooling channel 3 to perform workpiece surface cooling operation.

[0039] The beneficial effects of this embodiment are as follows: by arranging a plurality of cooling modules with cooling channels in an array on the cooling table, and making the bottom of the cooling module contact with the upper surface of the workpiece, when performing the cooling operation on the upper surface of the workpiece, it is only necessary to introduce circulating coolant into the cooling channel, so that the cooling module can exchange heat with the upper surface of the workpiece, thereby achieving the purpose of cooling the upper surface of the workpiece, improving the cooling efficiency of the upper surface of the workpiece, and effectively reducing the impact on the process temperature of the area where the printing process has been completed. During the cooling process, the coolant does not contact the surface of the workpiece, which effectively protects the metal properties of the workpiece and avoids product defects. An array-type, i.e., dot matrix cooling method is adopted to achieve the purpose of simultaneously cooling the upper surfaces of workpieces with different height differences, thereby improving adaptability. A temperature measuring probe is correspondingly installed on each cooling module, which can perform multi-point temperature measurement operations on the upper surface of the workpiece. By performing multi-point temperature measurement on the upper surface of the workpiece, the purpose of accurate temperature measurement of the workpiece can be achieved.

[0040] It should be noted that when an element is referred to as being "fixed to" or "disposed on" another element, it can be directly on the other element or indirectly on the other element. When an element is referred to as being "connected to" another element, it can be directly connected to the other element or indirectly connected to the other element.

[0041] It should be understood that the orientation or position relationship indicated by terms such as "length", "width", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside" and "outside" are based on the orientation or position relationship shown in the drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operate in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on the present invention.

[0042] In addition, the terms "first", "second", "element I", "element II" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Therefore, the features defined as "first", "second", "element I", "element II" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of the present invention, "multiple" and "several" mean two or more, unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0043] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present invention should be included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A dot-matrix circulating cooling mechanism for additive workpieces, characterized in that: The invention comprises a cooling platform and a first spring sheet, wherein a cooling module for cooling the upper surface of a workpiece is arranged on the cooling platform, a fixed end of the first spring sheet is fixedly arranged on the cooling platform, and a free end of the first spring sheet is connected to the top of the cooling module; a cooling channel for the circulation of coolant is arranged inside the cooling module, and a bottom surface of the cooling module in contact with the upper surface of the workpiece protrudes downward from the bottom surface of the cooling platform; the cooling module comprises a cooling seat and a top cover sealedly mounted on the cooling seat, the cooling channel is located on the cooling seat, a liquid inlet hole and a liquid outlet hole are arranged on the top cover, and the liquid inlet hole and the liquid outlet are connected to the cooling channel; the cooling module is provided with a temperature measuring probe for measuring the surface temperature of the workpiece, the cooling seat and the top cover are provided with connected temperature measuring holes, the temperature measuring probe is movably arranged on the temperature measuring hole, the top cover is provided with a second spring sheet, the fixed end of the second spring sheet is fixedly arranged on the top cover, and the free end of the second spring sheet is connected to the top of the temperature measuring probe; a plurality of through holes are provided on the cooling platform, and the cooling modules are movably arranged on a plurality of the through holes, and the plurality of through holes and the cooling modules are distributed in a dot matrix on the cooling platform.

2. The additive workpiece lattice circulation cooling mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: The cooling channels of the plurality of cooling modules are connected in series in sequence through hoses.

3. The additive workpiece lattice circulation cooling mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: The cooling channel is arranged in an S-shape or a U-shape on the cooling seat.

4. The additive workpiece lattice circulation cooling mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: The cooling seat is provided with a sealing groove, the sealing groove is provided with an annular sealing ring, and the top cover is fixedly mounted on the cooling seat by bolts.

5. The additive workpiece lattice circulation cooling mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a frame mounted on one side above the additive printing workbench, the cooling table is mounted on the frame through a mounting plate, a translation slide is provided on the frame, the mounting plate is slidably connected to the translation slide, a translation cylinder is provided between the mounting plate and the frame, and a lifting cylinder is installed between the mounting plate and the cooling table.

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