Guiding system without rigid over-guiding for SLM equipment

Abstract

The present invention discloses a non-rigid over-guiding guiding system for SLM equipment, comprising a frame, a glove box and a central base fixedly mounted on the frame and facing each other up and down, a forming cylinder, a cylinder lifting drive device and a piston rod inch motion drive device. The forming cylinder comprises a cylinder body installed on the bottom surface of the lower end of the glove box and capable of lifting and lowering movement, a piston inserted in the cylinder body with a dynamic seal, and a piston rod fixed at the lower end of the piston. The cylinder body can be sealed and connected with a forming port at the lower end of the forming box of the SLM equipment. The cylinder body lifting drive device drives the cylinder body to lift and lower. The piston rod inch motion drive device is fixedly mounted on the central base and drives the piston rod to inch downward. A first linear guide or a first slider is provided on the inner side wall of the hollow structured piston rod, and a first slider or a first linear guide is provided on the side wall of the central base. The first slider can be slidably mounted on the first linear guide along the longitudinal direction. The present invention has no rigid over-guiding problem, and improves the reliability of downward guiding of the forming cylinder.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of 3D laser printing, and in particular to a non-rigid over-guiding guiding system for SLM equipment. Background Art

[0002] In traditional SLM molding technology, the molding cylinder is fixed in the longitudinal direction, and the piston in the molding cylinder descends by inch movement, so that the powder is spread layer by layer in the molding cylinder, and the workpiece is molded by laser scanning layer by layer. After molding, the molding box or the molding cylinder is first moved horizontally to dislocate the molding cylinder and the molding box, and then the piston in the molding cylinder rises to lift the workpiece to the outside of the molding cylinder to achieve powder cleaning and part removal. This structure makes it difficult to remove the workpiece and consumes energy.

[0003] Therefore, large-scale SLM systems urgently need an in-situ pick-up system, which has become an important system in SLM molding equipment. After the large-scale formed part is completed, it remains in place, and the forming cylinder is moved vertically downward to expose the formed part to a state where it can be forked and taken out by a forklift - in-situ pick-up. The adoption of in-situ pick-up technology can greatly simplify the equipment structure and increase the convenience and safety of operation.

[0004] The core of the in-situ pickup system is how to move the forming cylinder vertically downward. When the vertical guide system currently used in the SLM system is used to move the forming cylinder vertically downward, it is easy to have the problem of rigid over-guiding (a moving body is constrained by only one non-adjustable guide, which is called non-rigid over-guiding; if a moving body is constrained by more than two non-adjustable rigid guides, it is rigid over-guiding). This will easily lead to problems such as complex guiding structure and poor guiding reliability, so the processing accuracy needs to be greatly improved. Summary of the invention

[0005] In order to make up for the above shortcomings, the present invention provides a guiding system without rigid over-guiding for SLM equipment. The guiding system without rigid over-guiding for SLM equipment eliminates the problem of rigid over-guiding during the vertical downward movement of the forming cylinder, improves the reliability of the guiding of the downward movement of the forming cylinder, and the entire guiding system has a simple structure, clear guiding logic relationship, and is easy to assemble and adjust.

[0006] The technical solution adopted by the present invention to solve its technical problems is: a non-rigid over-guiding guide system for SLM equipment, including a frame, a central base, a glove box, a forming cylinder, a cylinder lifting drive device and a piston rod inch drive device, the glove box and the central base are respectively fixedly installed on the frame in an upper and lower direction, the forming cylinder includes a cylindrical cylinder, a piston and a piston rod, wherein the cylinder can be installed on the bottom surface of the lower end of the glove box so as to be able to move upward and downward, the cylinder can be sealed and connected with the forming port at the lower end of the forming box of the SLM equipment through the upper end opening of the glove box, and the cylinder lifting drive device is provided. The device is fixedly installed on the frame, the cylinder lifting drive device drives the cylinder lifting movement, the piston dynamic seal is inserted in the cylinder, the piston rod is fixedly installed on the lower end of the piston, the piston rod inch motion drive device is fixedly installed on the center base, the piston rod inch motion drive device drives the piston rod to move downward inch by inch, the piston rod forms a hollow structure, the inner wall of the piston rod is provided with a first linear guide or a first slider, the upper end of the center base is inserted in the inner side of the piston rod, the side wall of the center base is provided with a first slider or a first linear guide, and the first slider can be slidably mounted on the first linear guide along the longitudinal direction.

[0007] As a further improvement of the invention, an auxiliary guide sleeve is fixedly provided on the bottom surface of the glove box, and the cylinder body of the forming cylinder can be inserted into the auxiliary guide sleeve on the bottom surface of the glove box so as to slide longitudinally.

[0008] As a further improvement of the invention, at least one first sealing ring is fixedly provided on the inner surface of the auxiliary guide sleeve, and the first sealing ring is in dynamic sealing contact with the outer surface of the cylinder body of the forming cylinder.

[0009] As a further improvement of the invention, the glove box is a cylindrical structure with an opening at the lower end, the auxiliary guide sleeve is sealingly inserted on the inner side of the lower end of the glove box, the upper end surface of the auxiliary guide sleeve forms the bottom surface of the glove box, and at least one adjusting bolt is provided, the adjusting bolt is axially stopped and rotatable on the auxiliary guide sleeve in the circumferential direction, the adjusting bolt is movably threaded with the upper end surface of the frame, a second linear guide rail is fixedly installed on the frame, a second slider is fixedly installed on the auxiliary guide sleeve, and the second slider can be slidably mounted on the second linear guide rail in the longitudinal direction.

[0010] As a further improvement of the invention, the auxiliary guide sleeve is a T-shaped ring sleeve structure with an outer diameter of the upper end being larger than that of the lower end. The lower end of the auxiliary guide sleeve is arranged on the inner side of the frame, and the upper end of the auxiliary guide sleeve is sealed and inserted in the glove box. The annular step structure formed between the upper and lower ends of the auxiliary guide sleeve is stopped on the upper end surface of the frame, and the adjusting bolts are evenly spaced and distributed on the annular step structure of the auxiliary guide sleeve.

[0011] As a further improvement of the invention, a support is fixedly installed on the inner wall of the frame, and a screw is provided on the support, which is axially stopped and rotatable in the circumferential direction. A screw nut is movably screwed on the screw, and the screw nut is fixedly connected to the outer wall of the cylinder body. A first servo motor and a first reducer are also fixedly installed on the frame, and the first servo motor outputs power to the screw through the first reducer.

[0012] As a further improvement of the invention, the piston rod inching drive device includes a second servo motor, a second reducer, a transmission gear and a transmission rack. The second servo motor and the second reducer are fixedly mounted on the center base, the transmission gear is rotatably mounted on the center base, the transmission rack is fixedly mounted on the inner wall of the piston rod, the transmission gear is meshed with the transmission rack, and the second servo motor drives the transmission gear to rotate intermittently through the second reducer.

[0013] As a further improvement of the invention, the transmission gear is a helical gear, and the transmission rack is a helical rack.

[0014] As a further improvement of the invention, the central base is a ring-columnar structure with a T-shaped cross section, and the intermediate columnar body is inserted into the inner side of the lower end of the piston rod.

[0015] As a further improvement of the invention, the lower end of the cylinder body is sealed and connected to the piston rod through a second sealing ring.

[0016] The beneficial technical effects of the present invention are: the in-situ pickup technology of the SLM equipment greatly simplifies the equipment structure and increases the convenience and safety of operation. In-situ pickup is an important feature of modern large and super-large SLM equipment. The present invention proposes a built-in forming cylinder double-motion system that ensures in-situ pickup. The cylinder body of the forming cylinder and the piston inside it can independently move vertically and vertically (the displacement is 0.02mm, repeated tens of thousands of times, and the movement with a load of 10 tons). The double-motion system of the present invention can not only complete the independent displacement of the cylinder body and the piston of the forming cylinder, but also eliminate the problem of rigid over-guiding (that is, a moving part is guided by multiple rigid non-adjustable guiding structures), thereby reducing the processing accuracy requirements. The present invention uses the central base as the basic structure of the guiding system for guidance; the first slider or the first linear guide on the central base is matched with the first linear guide or the first slider on the inner side of the piston rod to complete the hollow The piston rod is guided through the second servo motor, the second reducer, the coupling and the transmission gear on the center base, which drive the transmission rack fixed on the inner wall of the hollow piston rod, thereby driving the piston rod to perform heavy-load inching motion; the hollow piston rod drives the piston to perform vertical lifting and lowering inching motion; the axis of the piston rod is the axis of the vertical inching of the forming cylinder; the piston is the guiding basis for the forming displacement of the forming cylinder; in this way, a composite guiding chain of the center base, the piston rod, the piston and the forming cylinder is formed without the problem of rigid over-guiding; the frame and the center base are fixed structures, and the auxiliary guide sleeve and the frame are adjustable connection structures. The auxiliary guide sleeve is adjusted by adjusting the adjusting bolt to ensure that the axis of the auxiliary guide sleeve is coaxial with the axis of the center base, rather than ensuring it through the processing of the frame. This structure is simple and easy to implement, which improves the reliability of the downward guidance of the forming cylinder, and the entire guiding system has a simple structure, a clear guiding logic relationship, and is easy to assemble and adjust. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the structural principle of the present invention;

[0018] Figure 2 This is a diagram of the present invention in the process of forming;

[0019] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the present invention in a completed forming state;

[0020] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the powder cleaning state of the forming cylinder of the present invention when it descends;

[0021] Figure 5 This is a state diagram of the present invention where the pickup is completed;

[0022] Figure 6 This is a front view of the SLM device using the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the invention more clearly understood, the present invention is further described in detail below in combination with specific embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0024] Embodiment: A non-rigid over-guiding guide system for SLM equipment, comprising a frame 1, a central base 2, a glove box 3, a forming cylinder, a cylinder body 4 lifting drive device and a piston rod 17 inch drive device, wherein the glove box 3 and the central base 2 are respectively fixedly installed on the frame 1 in an up-and-down manner, and the forming cylinder comprises a cylindrical cylinder body 4, a piston 16 and a piston rod 17, wherein the cylinder body 4 is installed on the bottom surface of the lower end of the glove box 3 so as to be able to move upward and downward, and the cylinder body 4 can be sealed and connected with the lower end forming port of the forming box 18 of the SLM equipment through the upper end opening of the glove box 3, and the cylinder body 4 lifting drive device is fixedly installed on the frame 1, and the cylinder body The lifting drive device drives the cylinder body 4 to move up and down, the piston 16 is inserted in the cylinder body 4 with dynamic sealing, the piston rod 17 is fixedly installed at the lower end of the piston 16, the piston rod 17 inch driving device is fixedly installed on the center base 2, and the piston rod 17 inch driving device drives the piston rod 17 to move downward inch by inch, the piston rod 17 forms a hollow structure, the inner wall of the piston rod 17 is provided with a first linear guide 5 or a first slider 6, the upper end of the center base 2 is inserted inwardly of the piston rod 17, the side wall of the center base 2 is provided with a first slider 6 or a first linear guide 5, and the first slider 6 can be slidably mounted on the first linear guide 5 in the longitudinal direction.

[0025] The central base 2 of the guide system is a double-action guide basic structure, and the first slider 6 or the first linear guide 5 on it matches the first linear guide 5 or the first slider 6 on the piston rod 17 to complete the guidance of the hollow piston rod 17; the hollow piston rod 17 drives the piston 16 to make a vertical downward movement - inching; the hollow piston rod 17 makes a general vertical displacement upward, and the axis of the piston rod 17 is the axis of the vertical inching of the forming cylinder; the piston 16 is the guiding basis for the forming displacement of the forming cylinder; the cylinder body 4 of the forming cylinder independently completes the vertical up and down displacement through the cylinder body 4 lifting drive device. In this way, a composite guide chain of the central base 2, the piston rod 17, the piston 16, and the forming cylinder is formed without the problem of rigid over-guiding.

[0026] When the SLM equipment performs laser cladding forming, the timing of each movement of the forming cylinder is:

[0027] The rising process is that the cylinder body 4 of the forming cylinder comes first, and the piston 16 comes later, that is, after the cylinder body 4 of the forming cylinder rises to the top dead center, the piston 16 rises from the lowest point. At this time, the piston 16 does not move in an inching motion, but generally moves vertically upward. The piston 16 rises to the top dead center and stops;

[0028] During the descending process, the cylinder body 4 does not move, and the piston 16 descends in the cylinder body 4 and moves in an inching manner; only after the piston 16 descends to the bottom dead center does the cylinder body 4 move down to its bottom dead center.

[0029] An auxiliary guide sleeve 7 is fixedly provided on the bottom surface of the glove box 3, and the cylinder body 4 of the forming cylinder can be inserted into the auxiliary guide sleeve 7 on the bottom surface of the glove box 3 in a longitudinally slidable manner. The auxiliary guide sleeve 7 is used to guide the lifting movement of the cylinder body 4 of the forming cylinder, so as to prevent the cylinder body 4 from tilting during the lifting movement and ensure that the cylinder body 4 and the piston 16 are coaxially sealed.

[0030] At least one first sealing ring 8 is fixedly disposed on the inner surface of the auxiliary guide sleeve 7, and the first sealing ring 8 is in dynamic sealing contact with the outer surface of the cylinder body 4 of the forming cylinder. The first sealing ring 8 realizes a sealed connection between the cylinder body 4 and the glove box 3, thereby preventing the powder from leaking to the outside of the glove box 3 when the cylinder body 4 of the forming cylinder descends.

[0031] The glove box 3 is a cylindrical structure with an opening at the lower end. The auxiliary guide sleeve 7 is sealingly inserted on the inner side of the lower end of the glove box 3. The upper end surface of the auxiliary guide sleeve 7 forms the bottom surface of the glove box 3. At least one adjusting bolt 9 is also provided. The adjusting bolt 9 is axially stopped and rotatably installed on the auxiliary guide sleeve 7 in the circumferential direction. The adjusting bolt 9 is movably threaded with the upper end surface of the frame 1. A second linear guide rail 19 is fixedly installed on the frame 1, and a second slider 20 is fixedly installed on the auxiliary guide sleeve 7. The second slider 20 can be slidably mounted on the second linear guide rail 19 in the longitudinal direction. The frame 1 and the center base 2 are fixedly connected. The auxiliary guide sleeve 7 and the frame 1 are adjustably connected by adjusting bolts 9. The height of the side walls of the auxiliary guide sleeve 7 in different directions can be adjusted by adjusting bolts 9, and then the axis of the auxiliary guide sleeve 7 can be adjusted, ensuring that the axis of the auxiliary guide sleeve 7 is coaxial with the axis of the center base 2. Therefore, the auxiliary guide sleeve 7 will not cause the cylinder body 4 of the forming cylinder to be rigidly over-guided, forming a non-rigid over-guided structure, which does not need to be guaranteed by processing the frame 1. The frame 1 has low processing accuracy requirements and is easy to implement.

[0032] The auxiliary guide sleeve 7 is a T-shaped ring sleeve structure with an outer diameter of the upper end being larger than that of the lower end. The lower end of the auxiliary guide sleeve 7 is arranged on the inner side of the frame 1, and the upper end of the auxiliary guide sleeve 7 is sealed and inserted in the glove box 3. The annular step structure formed between the upper and lower ends of the auxiliary guide sleeve 7 is stopped on the upper end surface of the frame 1, and the various adjusting bolts 9 are evenly spaced and distributed on the annular step structure of the auxiliary guide sleeve 7.

[0033] A support 10 is fixedly mounted on the inner wall of the frame 1, and a lead screw 11 is provided on the support 10, which is axially stopped and rotatable in the circumferential direction. A lead screw nut 12 is movably screwed on the lead screw 11, and the lead screw nut 12 is fixedly connected to the outer wall of the cylinder body 4. A first servo motor and a first reducer are also fixedly mounted on the frame 1, and the first servo motor outputs power to the lead screw 11 through the first reducer. The lead screw 11 is driven to rotate by the first servo motor and the first reducer, thereby driving the lead screw nut 12 to rise or fall, and then driving the cylinder body 4 to rise and fall. In addition, it can also be achieved through a gear rack transmission mechanism, which is an equivalent replacement structure that can be easily thought of by those skilled in the art based on this patent and falls within the scope of protection of this patent.

[0034] The piston rod 17 inch motion driving device includes a second servo motor 13, a second reducer, a transmission gear and a transmission rack 14. The second servo motor 13 and the second reducer are fixedly mounted on the center base 2, the transmission gear is rotatably mounted on the center base 2, the transmission rack 14 is fixedly mounted on the inner wall of the piston rod 17, the transmission gear is meshed and connected with the transmission rack 14, and the second servo motor 13 drives the transmission gear to rotate intermittently through the second reducer. A driving and transmission system is formed by the second servo motor 13, the second reducer, the coupling and the transmission gear on the center base 2, which drives the transmission rack 14 fixed on the hollow piston rod 17 to inch, thereby driving the piston rod 17 to perform heavy-load inch motion; generally vertical displacement upward, the structure is simple, can withstand a large load, inch operation is accurate, occupies a small space, and is suitable for transmission in the hollow piston rod 17. In addition, in addition to using the gear rack mechanism for transmission, the transmission can also be realized through the screw 11 nut mechanism.

[0035] The transmission gear is a helical gear, and the transmission rack 14 is a helical rack. The helical gear and the helical rack are meshed and transmitted, and the transmission precision is high and the overall strength is high.

[0036] The central base 2 is a ring-column structure with a T-shaped cross section, wherein the intermediate column is inserted inside the lower end of the piston rod 17. The frame 1 and the central base 2 are fixedly connected, and the central base 2 forms a centrally symmetrical ring-column structure, which is stable in support.

[0037] The lower end of the cylinder body 4 is sealed and connected to the piston rod 17 through the second sealing ring 15. It is used to achieve airtightness of the lower end of the cylinder body 4 to prevent the inert gas in the molding chamber from overflowing under the action of air pressure.

[0038] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, rather than to limit the same. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments may still be modified, or some of the technical features may be replaced by equivalents. However, these modifications or replacements do not deviate the essence of the corresponding technical solutions from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A non-rigid over-guiding guiding system for a SLM device, characterized in that: The invention comprises a frame (1), a central base (2), a glove box (3), a forming cylinder, a cylinder lifting drive device and a piston rod inch drive device, wherein the glove box and the central base are respectively fixedly mounted on the frame in an up-and-down manner, and the forming cylinder comprises a cylindrical cylinder body (4), a piston (16) and a piston rod (17), wherein the cylinder body is mounted on the bottom surface of the lower end of the glove box so as to be able to move upward and downward, and the cylinder body can be sealed and connected with the lower end forming port of the forming box (18) of the SLM equipment through the upper end opening of the glove box, and the cylinder body lifting drive device is fixedly mounted on the frame, and the cylinder body The lifting drive device drives the cylinder body to move up and down, the piston dynamic seal is inserted in the cylinder body, the piston rod is fixedly installed on the lower end of the piston, the piston rod inching drive device is fixedly installed on the center base, and the piston rod inching drive device drives the piston rod to move down inchingly. The piston rod forms a hollow structure, and a first linear guide (5) or a first slider is provided on the inner wall of the piston rod. The upper end of the center base is inserted in the inner side of the piston rod, and a first slider (6) or a first linear guide is provided on the side wall of the center base. The first slider can be slidably mounted on the first linear guide along the longitudinal direction.

2. The non-rigid over-guiding guiding system for SLM equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: An auxiliary guide sleeve (7) is fixedly arranged on the bottom surface of the glove box, and the cylinder body of the forming cylinder can be inserted into the auxiliary guide sleeve on the bottom surface of the glove box in a manner that the cylinder body can slide longitudinally.

3. The non-rigid over-guiding guiding system for SLM equipment according to claim 2, characterized in that: At least one first sealing ring (8) is fixedly arranged on the inner surface of the auxiliary guide sleeve, and the first sealing ring is in dynamic sealing contact with the outer surface of the cylinder body of the forming cylinder.

4. The non-rigid over-guiding guiding system for SLM equipment according to claim 2, characterized in that: The glove box is a cylindrical structure with an opening at the lower end. The auxiliary guide sleeve is sealingly inserted into the inner side of the lower end of the glove box. The upper end surface of the auxiliary guide sleeve forms the bottom surface of the glove box. At least one adjusting bolt (9) is also provided. The adjusting bolt is axially stopped and rotatable in the circumferential direction and is installed on the auxiliary guide sleeve. The adjusting bolt is movably threaded with the upper end surface of the frame. A second linear guide rail (19) is fixedly installed on the frame. A second slider (20) is fixedly installed on the auxiliary guide sleeve. The second slider is sleeved on the second linear guide rail and can slide in the longitudinal direction.

5. The non-rigid over-guiding guiding system for SLM equipment according to claim 4, characterized in that: The auxiliary guide sleeve is a T-shaped ring sleeve structure with an upper outer diameter greater than a lower outer diameter. The lower end of the auxiliary guide sleeve is arranged on the inner side of the frame, and the upper end of the auxiliary guide sleeve is sealed and inserted in the glove box. The annular step structure formed between the upper and lower ends of the auxiliary guide sleeve is stopped on the upper end surface of the frame, and the various adjusting bolts are evenly spaced and distributed on the annular step structure of the auxiliary guide sleeve.

6. The non-rigid over-guiding guiding system for SLM equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: A support (10) is fixedly mounted on the inner wall of the frame, a lead screw (11) is provided on the support and is axially fixed and rotatable in the circumferential direction, a lead screw nut (12) is movably screwed on the lead screw, and the lead screw nut is fixedly connected to the outer wall of the cylinder body. A first servo motor and a first reducer are also fixedly mounted on the frame, and the first servo motor outputs power to the lead screw through the first reducer.

7. The non-rigid over-guiding guiding system for SLM equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The piston rod inching drive device comprises a second servo motor (13), a second reducer, a transmission gear and a transmission rack (14), wherein the second servo motor and the second reducer are fixedly mounted on the central base, the transmission gear is rotatably mounted on the central base, the transmission rack is fixedly mounted on the inner wall of the piston rod, the transmission gear is meshedly connected with the transmission rack, and the second servo motor drives the transmission gear to rotate intermittently through the second reducer.

8. The non-rigid over-guiding guiding system for SLM equipment according to claim 7, characterized in that: The transmission gear is a helical gear, and the transmission rack is a helical rack.

9. The non-rigid over-guiding guiding system for SLM equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The central base is a ring-column structure with a T-shaped cross section, wherein the intermediate column is inserted into the inner side of the lower end of the piston rod.

10. The non-rigid over-guiding guiding system for SLM equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The lower end of the cylinder body is sealed and connected to the piston rod via a second sealing ring (15).

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