3D printing build chamber sealing structure, 3D printing build chamber and 3D printing equipment

Abstract

This application discloses a 3D-printed build chamber sealing structure, comprising: a build chamber frame; an expansion core located at the bottom of the build chamber frame, shaped like a frustum; an expansion sleeve with an annular structure, its inner wall being frustum-shaped and its outer wall being cylindrical, the expansion sleeve being fitted onto the outer ring of the expansion core, and the outer side of the expansion sleeve having an annular step; a sealing felt installed on the annular step on the outer side of the expansion sleeve; and a sealing pressure plate installed above the expansion core; wherein, by adjusting bolts, the sealing pressure plate is locked to the expansion core, thereby increasing the radial dimension of the sealing felt and thus tightly fitting the sealing felt to the inner wall of the build chamber frame. The 3D-printed build chamber sealing structure of this application, by pressing down the sealing pressure plate, can reduce the height of the sealing felt while increasing its radial dimension, thereby filling the gap between the expansion sleeve and the inner wall of the build chamber frame, achieving a good sealing effect.

Description

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of 3D printing devices, and in particular to a 3D printing build chamber sealing structure, a 3D printing build chamber and a 3D printing device. Background Art

[0002] Selective Laser Melting (SLM) is the most mainstream process in the current metal 3D printing industry. It has the advantages of high material utilization, wide range of applicable materials, and the ability to manufacture complex-shaped parts. It is a rapid prototyping technology with great development prospects. Its main working principle is to import the file after 3D modeling and slicing into the 3D printing equipment, use a scraper to spread metal powder less than 60μm based on the powder feeding and spreading method, and use a computer to control the high-energy laser to scan the contour layer by layer to accumulate the workpiece.

[0003] The raw materials for metal 3D printing are generally spherical powders with a diameter of 15-53 μm. The current feeding system has two major problems: (1) During the powder feeding process, the powder is easily agglomerated due to force, resulting in jamming and making it impossible to continuously feed the powder, which eventually causes the printing work to stop, seriously restricting the process reliability of the printing process; (2) The powder feeding amount cannot be accurately controlled, and different material receiving amounts have an impact on the powder spreading effect and the comprehensive powder feeding time. Summary of the invention

[0004] The purpose of this application is to overcome the above problems or at least partially solve or alleviate the above problems.

[0005] According to one aspect of the present application, a 3D printing build chamber sealing structure is provided, comprising:

[0006] Constructing the warehouse frame;

[0007] The expansion core is located at the bottom of the building chamber frame and is in a truncated cone shape;

[0008] The expansion sleeve is an annular structure, and its inner wall is truncated cone-shaped and its outer wall is cylindrical. The expansion sleeve is sleeved on the outer ring of the expansion core, and an annular step is provided on the outer side of the expansion sleeve;

[0009] Sealing wool felt, installed on the annular step outside the expansion sleeve;

[0010] A sealing and pressing plate installed above the expansion core; and

[0011] The sealing pressing plate and the expansion core are locked by adjusting bolts, so that the radial dimension of the sealing wool felt becomes larger so that the sealing wool felt is closely fitted to the inner wall of the building chamber frame.

[0012] Optionally, the expansion sleeve is composed of four independent 1 / 4 circular rings, and the four independent 1 / 4 circular rings are fixed into a circular expansion sleeve by a contraction spring.

[0013] Optionally, the expansion sleeve and the expansion core are kept coaxial via a high-precision inclined surface.

[0014] Optionally, a substrate mounting block for mounting a printed substrate is installed at the center of the sealing and pressing plate, and the two are sealed and fixed by a sealing ring.

[0015] Optionally, an adjusting spring is sleeved on the outer side of the adjusting bolt.

[0016] According to another aspect of the present application, a 3D printing build chamber is provided, comprising: a build chamber and a build chamber motion mechanism installed below the build chamber, the build chamber comprising the 3D printing build chamber sealing structure, and the expansion core is locked to the build chamber motion mechanism by a locking screw.

[0017] According to another aspect of the present application, a 3D printing device is provided, comprising the 3D printing build chamber.

[0018] Beneficial effects of this application:

[0019] The 3D printing build chamber sealing structure of the present application can reduce the height of the sealing wool felt by pressing down the sealing clamping plate, while increasing its radial size, thereby filling the gap between the expansion sleeve and the inner wall of the build chamber frame, achieving a good sealing effect.

[0020] The 3D printing build chamber of the present application has a good sealing structure established within the build chamber frame to ensure that no powder falls into the interior of the build chamber movement mechanism during the movement of the build chamber.

[0021] The 3D printing device of the present application has a building chamber with good sealing performance, which prevents powder from entering the interior of the building chamber movement mechanism, thereby ensuring processing cleanliness.

[0022] Based on the detailed description of the specific embodiments of the present application in combination with the accompanying drawings below, those skilled in the art will become more aware of the above and other objects, advantages and features of the present application. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] Hereinafter, some specific embodiments of the present application will be described in detail in an exemplary and non-limiting manner with reference to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numerals in the accompanying drawings indicate the same or similar components or parts. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that these drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. In the accompanying drawings:

[0024] Figure 1 It is a half-section view of the sealing structure of the 3D printing build chamber of an embodiment of the present application.

[0025] Reference numerals:

[0026] Build chamber frame-1; print base plate-2; sealing clamping plate-3; adjusting bolt-4; base plate mounting block-5; adjusting spring-6; sealing ring-7; locking screw-8; expansion core-9; sealing wool felt-10; contraction spring-11; expansion sleeve-12; motion mechanism-13. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] Example 1

[0028] Figure 1 3D printing chamber sealing structure of the embodiment of the present application. Figure 1 The sealing structure generally includes: a building bin frame 1, an expansion core 9, an expansion sleeve 12, a sealing wool felt 10 and a sealing pressing plate 3.

[0029] The expansion core 9 is located at the bottom of the building chamber frame 1 and is in a truncated cone shape. Figure 1 It can be seen that the core 9 is located at the bottom center of the building chamber frame 1. The so-called truncated cone shape means that the upper and lower bases of the core 9 are coaxial circles and the upper base size is smaller than the lower base size. Any side surface of the core 9 is a smooth inclined surface.

[0030] The expansion sleeve 12 is annular, and its inner wall is truncated and its outer wall is cylindrical. The expansion sleeve 12 is cylindrical as a whole but hollow inside, and any side of its inner wall is a smooth inclined surface. The expansion sleeve 12 and the expansion core 9 are kept coaxial through high-precision inclined surfaces, and the expansion sleeve 12 is sleeved on the outer ring of the expansion core 9. The sizes of the two are matched to form a complete cylindrical shape.

[0031] See also Figure 1 The sealing pressing plate 3 is installed above the expansion core 9 to achieve the compression effect on the expansion core 9 and the expansion sleeve 12.

[0032] See also Figure 1 The expansion sleeve 12 is composed of four independent 1 / 4 circular rings, the upper size of each 1 / 4 circular ring is larger than the lower size, and the four independent 1 / 4 circular rings are fixed into the circular expansion sleeve 12 by using the contraction spring 11.

[0033] An annular step is provided on the outside of the expansion sleeve 12, and the sealing wool felt 10 is installed on the annular step on the outside of the expansion sleeve 12. In the free state without the sealing pressing plate 3 pressing, the four 1 / 4 rings are spliced ​​into a complete ring, and the top of the sealing wool felt 10 is flush with the top of the expansion sleeve 12.

[0034] During the downward pressing process of the sealing pressure plate 3, the expansion sleeve 12 will also be affected by the downward pressure, so that the gaps between the four 1 / 4 circular rings that were originally combined will gradually increase, so that the expansion sleeve 12 will sink as a whole. After the expansion sleeve 12 sinks as a whole, the radial dimension of its outer edge will increase, and the sealing wool felt 10 will be forced to open. Finally, the outer edge of the sealing wool felt 10 will fit tightly with the inner wall of the outer frame of the building bin, forming a tighter sealing structure; then the sealing pressure plate 3 and the expansion core 9 are locked by adjusting the bolt 4 to ensure continuous sealing during its operation.

[0035] See also Figure 1 , an adjusting spring 6 is sleeved on the outside of the adjusting bolt 4. The adjusting spring 6 mainly plays a protective role. After the entire sealing structure is assembled, the adjusting spring 6 is fixed on the adjusting bolt 4 and is subjected to a certain pre-tightening force to keep it in a locked state; during the movement of the building chamber, it may be stuck and unable to move due to some reasons, and the entire sealing structure will be subjected to the force from below, so that the adjusting spring 6 is subjected to an upward pressing force. When the force on the adjusting spring 6 exceeds about 10kg, the elasticity fails and pushes the sealing pressing plate 3 to move upward, while driving the expansion sleeve 12 and the sealing wool felt 10 to move upward, so that the outer diameter of the sealing wool felt 10 becomes smaller and the friction with the inner wall of the building chamber becomes smaller, and the entire sealing mechanism fails, which can protect the key components therein.

[0036] The 3D printing build chamber sealing structure of the present application can reduce the height of the sealing wool felt 10 by pressing down the sealing clamping plate 3, while increasing its radial dimension, thereby filling the gap between the expansion sleeve 12 and the inner wall of the build chamber frame 1, achieving a good sealing effect.

[0037] Example 2

[0038] Embodiment 2 of the present application provides a 3D printing build chamber, including: a build chamber and a build chamber motion mechanism 13 installed below the build chamber, the build chamber includes a 3D printing build chamber sealing structure, and the expansion core 9 is locked to the build chamber motion mechanism 13 by a locking screw 8.

[0039] The construction chamber sealing structure used is the construction chamber sealing structure described in Example 1.

[0040] A substrate mounting block 5 for mounting the printed substrate 2 is installed at the center of the sealing pressing plate 3, and a sealing ring 7 is used to seal and fix the two.

[0041] The 3D printing build chamber of the present application has a good sealing structure established in the build chamber frame 1 to ensure that no powder falls into the build chamber movement mechanism 13 during the movement of the build chamber.

[0042] Example 3

[0043] Embodiment 3 of the present application provides a 3D printing device, including the 3D printing build chamber described in Embodiment 2.

[0044] The 3D printing device of the present application has a building chamber with good sealing performance, which prevents powder from entering the interior of the building chamber movement mechanism 13, thereby ensuring processing cleanliness.

[0045] It should be noted that, unless otherwise specified, the technical terms or scientific terms used in this application should have the common meanings understood by technicians in the field to which this application belongs.

[0046] In the description of the present application, it should be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", "axial", "radial", "circumferential" and the like indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the referred device or element must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as a limitation on the present application.

[0047] In addition, the terms "first", "second", etc. are used for descriptive purposes only and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. In the description of this application, the meaning of "plurality" is more than two, unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0048] In this application, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", "connected", "fixed" and the like should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, it can be the internal connection of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in this application can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0049] In the present application, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, a first feature being “above” or “below” a second feature may mean that the first and second features are in direct contact, or the first and second features are in indirect contact through an intermediate medium. Moreover, a first feature being “above”, “above”, and “above” a second feature may mean that the first feature is directly above or obliquely above the second feature, or simply means that the first feature is higher in level than the second feature. A first feature being “below”, “below”, and “below” a second feature may mean that the first feature is directly below or obliquely below the second feature, or simply means that the first feature is lower in level than the second feature.

[0050] The above is only a preferred specific implementation of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily thought of by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present application should be included in the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A 3D printing construction chamber sealing structure, characterized in that: include: Constructing the warehouse frame; The expansion core is located at the bottom of the building chamber frame and is in a truncated cone shape; The expansion sleeve is an annular structure, and its inner wall is truncated cone-shaped and its outer wall is cylindrical. The expansion sleeve is sleeved on the outer ring of the expansion core, and an annular step is provided on the outer side of the expansion sleeve; Sealing wool felt, installed on the annular step outside the expansion sleeve; A sealing pressing plate is installed above the expansion core; and The sealing pressing plate and the expansion core are locked by adjusting the bolts, so that the radial dimension of the sealing wool felt becomes larger so that the sealing wool felt is closely fitted to the inner wall of the building chamber frame; A substrate mounting block for mounting a printed substrate is mounted at the center of the sealing pressing plate, and the two are sealed and fixed by a sealing ring.

2. The 3D printing construction chamber sealing structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: The expansion sleeve is composed of four independent 1 / 4 circular rings, and the four independent 1 / 4 circular rings are fixed into a circular expansion sleeve by using a contraction spring.

3. The 3D printing construction chamber sealing structure according to claim 2, characterized in that: The expansion sleeve and the expansion core are kept coaxial through a high-precision inclined surface.

4. The 3D printing construction chamber sealing structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: An adjusting spring is sleeved on the outer side of the adjusting bolt.

5. A 3D printing construction chamber, characterized in that: include: A building chamber and a building chamber motion mechanism installed below the building chamber, the building chamber comprising a 3D printing building chamber sealing structure as described in any one of claims 1-4, and the expansion core is locked on the building chamber motion mechanism by a locking screw.

6. A 3D printing device, characterized in that: Comprising a 3D printing build chamber as described in claim 5.

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