Laser build-up manufacturing apparatus and laser build-up manufacturing method

Abstract

The application discloses a kind of laser layer manufacturing equipment and laser layer manufacturing method, laser layer manufacturing equipment includes: carrier plate, laser component, moving component and control component, laser component is emitted towards carrier plate by laser, moving component is connected carrier plate, control component is signal connected laser component and moving component, control component controls moving component to adjust the height position of carrier plate in precursor solution, and according to height position adjustment laser component and carrier plate relative position on horizontal plane.The application also provides a kind of laser layer manufacturing method.The application solves the plight that the existing typical liquid phase-based laser direct layer manufacturing method can only be used in plastic material.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to a kind of additive manufacturing equipment and additive manufacturing method, more particularly to a kind of high-precision, fast and low energy consumption laser additive manufacturing equipment and laser additive manufacturing method. BACKGROUND

[0002] The existing laser direct additive manufacturing method based on liquid phase can only be used on plastic, which generally uses photosensitive light curing glue, and uses the method of stereolithography (SLA) or direct light processing (DLP) to cure by light, so that precise additive manufacturing objects can be made. However, in terms of metal or other materials, only metal (or corresponding material) powder can be used to make additive objects by using high energy layer-by-layer sintering. In addition to limiting the precision of additive objects, the use of powder limits the speed of additive manufacturing due to high power laser resulting in high electricity cost. SUMMARY

[0003] The present application aims to solve the problems of existing laser additive manufacturing technology and proposes a kind of high-precision, fast and low energy consumption laser additive manufacturing equipment and laser additive manufacturing method.

[0004] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose and other purposes, the present application proposes a kind of laser additive manufacturing equipment, which comprises: a carrier plate; a laser component, the laser emitted by the laser component is directed to the carrier plate; a moving component connected to the carrier plate; and a control component connected to the laser component and the moving component, the control component controls the moving component to adjust the height position of the carrier plate in the precursor solution, and selectively adjusts the relative position of the laser and the carrier plate in the horizontal plane according to the height position.

[0005] Optionally, the carrier plate is transparent to the wavelength of the laser.

[0006] Optionally, the laser component is a laser direct writing device.

[0007] Optionally, the laser component is a laser array device.

[0008] Optionally, the laser component initially focuses the laser on the upper surface of the carrier plate, and the control component moves the carrier plate from the surface position of the precursor solution to the bottom position of the precursor solution.

[0009] Optionally, the laser component initially focuses the laser on the lower surface of the carrier plate, and the control component moves the carrier plate from the bottom position of the precursor solution to the surface position of the precursor solution.

[0010] The present application also provides a laser additive manufacturing method for manufacturing an additive of a specified material, the laser additive manufacturing method comprising the following steps: providing a precursor solution capable of forming the specified material after being heated; providing nanoparticles of the specified material and distributing the nanoparticles in the precursor solution; setting a carrier plate in the precursor solution; emitting laser light from a laser component toward the carrier plate, so that the nanoparticles first located on the surface of the carrier plate convert the light energy of the laser light into heat energy, wherein the wavelength of the laser light is at least one of the following: the absorption wavelength of the metal surface plasmon of the nanoparticles, the absorption wavelength of the light absorption of the semiconductor, and the absorption wavelength of the nanoparticle material; the heat energy generated by the nanoparticles causes the local precursor solution to react to deposit the specified material; adjusting the height position of the carrier plate in the precursor solution so that a sufficient amount of the nanoparticles is located in the focal depth of the laser component; and selectively adjusting the relative position of the laser and the carrier plate in the horizontal plane.

[0011] Optionally, the laser component initially focuses the laser light on the upper surface of the carrier plate, and then the carrier plate is moved from the surface position of the precursor solution to the bottom position of the precursor solution.

[0012] Optionally, the laser component initially focuses the laser light on the lower surface of the carrier plate, and then the carrier plate is moved from the bottom position of the precursor solution to the surface position of the precursor solution.

[0013] Therefore, the laser additive manufacturing device and the laser additive manufacturing method of the present application use a precursor solution combined with nanoparticles of a specified material to irradiate laser light to generate a laser additive additive, making it possible to use laser additive technology for materials such as metals and ceramics, and at the same time achieving the practical needs of low energy consumption, speed, low cost, high precision, and high resolution.

[0014] For a more detailed understanding of the features and technical contents of the present application, please refer to the following detailed description of the application and the accompanying drawings, but these descriptions and accompanying drawings are only used to illustrate the present application, and do not limit the scope of the present application. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0015] Figure 1 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a laser additive manufacturing device according to a first embodiment of the present application;

[0016] Figure 2 FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a laser direct writing device according to the first embodiment of the present application;

[0017] Figure 3 FIG. 3 is a moving schematic diagram of the laser additive manufacturing device according to the first embodiment of the present application;

[0018] Figure 4 FIG. 4 is an operation schematic diagram of the laser additive manufacturing device according to the first embodiment of the present application.

[0019] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of a laser deposition manufacturing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of a laser deposition manufacturing apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 7 The absorption spectrum of the silver nanoparticles is shown.

[0022] Figure 8 This is a flowchart of a laser-based lamination manufacturing method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0023] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures:

[0024] 100 Laser Deposition Manufacturing Equipment

[0025] 100A Laser Deposition Manufacturing Equipment

[0026] 100B Laser Deposition Manufacturing Equipment

[0027] 1 Container

[0028] 2 Laser components

[0029] 21 Lenses

[0030] 22 Laser generating components

[0031] 2a Laser component

[0032] 3 Carrier plates

[0033] 31 Upper surface

[0034] 32 Lower surface

[0035] 4. Moving components

[0036] 5 Control components

[0037] L precursor solution

[0038] N nanoparticles

[0039] P pattern

[0040] S-Laminated Objects Detailed Implementation

[0041] To fully understand the present invention, the following specific embodiments, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, will provide a detailed description. Those skilled in the art can understand the purpose, features, and effects of the present invention from the content disclosed in this specification. It should be noted that the present invention can be implemented or applied through other different specific embodiments, and various details in this specification can also be modified and changed based on different viewpoints and applications without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Furthermore, the accompanying drawings are for simple illustrative purposes only and are not depictions based on actual dimensions. The following embodiments will further describe the relevant technical content of the present invention in detail, but the disclosed content is not intended to limit the claims of the present invention. The following explanation is provided:

[0042] The laser deposition method of this invention utilizes a precursor solution that can locally react to form the desired material (metal, ceramic, or colored plastic) after laser irradiation, thereby manufacturing the laser-deposited material. Currently, the biggest problem with this approach is that if the precursor solution is to be locally heated by a laser, the solution's heat dissipation and convection rates are quite rapid, making it difficult to achieve localized reaction unless the laser energy reaches extremely high levels. However, reactions at excessively high temperatures easily generate bubbles, and it is often necessary to increase the viscosity of the precursor solution to reduce convection problems. A viscous precursor solution can easily lead to uneven distribution of reacting ions in laser deposition, in other words, a loss of precision (resolution) and practicality.

[0043] Therefore, in order to solve the various problems mentioned above in laser deposition manufacturing using precursor solutions, this invention proposes a high-precision, high-speed, and low-energy-consumption laser deposition manufacturing equipment and laser deposition manufacturing method.

[0044] like Figures 1 to 4 As shown, the laser lamination manufacturing equipment 100 of the first embodiment of the present invention includes: a laser component 2, a carrier plate 3, a moving component 4, and a control component 5.

[0045] Cooperate Figure 8 The following will explain how to use the laser stacking manufacturing equipment 100 of the first embodiment of the present invention to perform the laser stacking manufacturing method of the present invention to manufacture a stacked material S of a specified material.

[0046] In step S101, a precursor solution L, which can form the aforementioned specified material upon heating, is first provided in container 1. The composition of the precursor solution L can be changed as needed. For example, if a laminate of copper metal is required, a precursor solution that can precipitate copper metal upon heating is used. The aforementioned precipitation is not limited to a chemical or physical reaction. In this embodiment, the specified material is silver metal, specifically silver nitrate powder (AgNO3) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (C6H9NO3). nglycol (HOCH2-CH2OH) solution as the precursor solution L. However, the present application is not limited thereto.

[0047] Next, at step S102, nanoparticles N of the specified material are provided and distributed in the precursor solution. In this embodiment, nanoparticles N of silver metal are processed from the silver nitrate powder contained in the aforementioned precursor solution L. For example, the aforementioned precursor solution L is heated and stirred for several hours to form nanoparticles N of silver metal. However, in other embodiments, nanoparticles N of silver metal can be externally added to the precursor solution L. Moreover, the present application is not limited thereto, and nanoparticles N of the specified material can be contained in the precursor solution L by other physical or chemical means.

[0048] Next, at step S103, the carrier plate 3 is disposed in the precursor solution L. As shown in Figure 1 , if the laser emitted by the laser device 2 is directed toward the upper surface 31 of the carrier plate 3, the carrier plate 3 is preferably disposed at a shallow layer in the precursor solution L, i.e., close to the surface of the precursor solution L. The precursor solution L must at least flood the upper surface 31.

[0049] Next, at step S104, the laser device 2 emits a laser toward the carrier plate 3, so that the nanoparticles N first located on the surface (in this embodiment, the upper surface 31) of the carrier plate 3 convert the optical energy of the laser into heat energy. The wavelength of the laser is at least one of the following: the absorption wavelength of the plasmon of the metal surface of the nanoparticles N; if the specified material is a semiconductor, it can be the absorption wavelength of the optical absorption of the semiconductor (such as intrinsic absorption, exciton absorption, lattice vibration absorption, impurity absorption, and free carrier absorption); or the absorption wavelength corresponding to various nanoparticle materials, which can be the wavelength of the peak in the absorption spectrum, or a wavelength in a certain range near the peak with relatively better absorption. As shown in Figure 7 , several absorption peaks of nanoparticles N of silver metal are shown. The energy of the short wavelength is large, the energy consumption is high, and it is easy to cause equipment damage; there is also a peak at 300 nm, and the carrier plate 3 (in this embodiment, glass material) will absorb the wavelength of 300 nm, so the laser device 2 of this embodiment selects a blue laser of 450 nm. However, the present application is not limited thereto, and other favorable wavelength bands can also be selected, and when the specified material is not silver metal, the wavelength of the laser also needs to be selected accordingly.

[0050] The specified material is, for example, a material with a surface plasmon absorption wavelength, such as gold, silver, copper, lead, tin, etc., and a corresponding laser wavelength is selected. It can also be a semiconductor, a ceramic (such as an oxide of group 6A), or even a dyed plastic. Any nanoparticles that can efficiently convert optical energy into heat energy are suitable for the laser additive manufacturing method of the present application.

[0051] In this embodiment, as shown inFigure 1 and Figure 2 As shown in FIG. 1, the laser device 2 is a laser direct writing device, which includes a lens 21 and a laser generating component 22. The laser generated by the laser generating component 22 is focused on the upper surface 31 of the substrate 3 through the lens 21.

[0052] In step S104, the nanoparticles N on the upper surface 31 of the substrate 3 are excited by the laser to convert the light energy into heat energy, which causes the precursor solution L in the local area (i.e. near the light spot on the upper surface 31) to react to form a deposit of the specified material in the following step S105. As shown in FIG. 2, the laser device 2 is moved along the predetermined pattern P on the substrate 3 to form the first layer of the deposit. The movement is the relative movement between the laser device 2 and the substrate 3, which can be achieved by moving at least one of the laser device 2 and the substrate 3. Figure 2

[0053] Then in step S106, since the substrate 3 is initially close to the shallow position of the precursor solution L, it is not possible to wait for the silver metal to diffuse slowly to replenish the silver metal in the local area of the upper surface 31. In order to replenish the silver metal in the local area of the upper surface 31 quickly, the height position of the substrate 3 in the precursor solution L is adjusted (in this embodiment, the substrate 3 is moved from the surface position of the precursor solution L towards the bottom position) to ensure that sufficient nanoparticles N are located in the focal depth of the laser device 2. As shown in FIG. 3, the moving device 4 is connected to the substrate 3, and the control device 5 is signal connected to the laser device 2 and the moving device 4. The control device 5 adjusts the height position of the substrate 3 in the precursor solution L to replenish the silver metal to be deposited. Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown in FIG. 3, the moving device 4 is connected to the substrate 3, and the control device 5 is signal connected to the laser device 2 and the moving device 4. The control device 5 adjusts the height position of the substrate 3 in the precursor solution L to replenish the silver metal to be deposited. In this embodiment, if the moving device 4 moves the substrate 3 at the same speed as the speed of the silver metal deposition, the laser device 2 does not need to change the focal position, and continues to project the laser on the previous layer of the laser deposit to form a new layer of the laser deposit as the substrate 3 moves downwards. The moving device 4 can be a stepping motor, a servo motor or any other powered device. The control device 5 can be a control chip or a control circuit.

[0054] As shown in FIG. 4, in step S107, the control device 5 selectively adjusts the relative position of the laser device 2 and the substrate 3 in the horizontal plane (relative height direction) according to the height position of the substrate 3 to connect the newly formed deposit with the previous layer of the deposit but partially displaced to form a three-dimensional deposit S which is not simply columnar. If the relative position of the laser device 2 and the substrate 3 in the horizontal plane is not moved, each layer of the deposit is simply repeated as shown in FIG. 5. Figure 4 Figure 2 ​​The same pattern P shown will form a column with a consistent cross-section. However, there are many other low-cost and fast methods to generate columns with consistent cross-sections. Therefore, the advantage of this method lies in generating a laminate S other than a column.

[0055] In summary, the laser deposition manufacturing equipment 100 and laser deposition manufacturing method of the present invention utilize a precursor solution L combined with nanoparticles N of a specified material to generate a laser-deposited laminate S by irradiation with a laser, making laser deposition technology, including materials such as metals and ceramics, possible, and simultaneously achieving the practical requirements of low energy consumption, high speed, low cost, high precision, and high resolution.

[0056] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the carrier plate 3 is transparent to the wavelength of the laser. That is, the carrier plate 3 will not absorb the laser and generate heat. If the carrier plate 3 generates heat, it may cause silver metal to be deposited unexpectedly in non-predetermined locations, resulting in poor precision and resolution of the formed deposit S.

[0057] Furthermore, the present invention proposes a second embodiment. The difference between the laser deposition modeling apparatus 100a of the second embodiment and the laser deposition modeling apparatus 100 of the first embodiment is that the laser component 2a is a laser array device. The laser array device includes multiple lenses and multiple laser generating components, and can simultaneously project an array of laser patterns onto the carrier plate 3. Compared to the laser direct writing apparatus of the first embodiment, the laser array device of this embodiment has better efficiency in generating the deposited material S, but the laser array device is more expensive.

[0058] Furthermore, such as Figure 6 As shown, in the third embodiment of the present invention, the difference between the laser deposition manufacturing equipment 100b of the third embodiment and the laser deposition manufacturing equipment 100 of the first embodiment is that the laser component 2 projects a laser from below the carrier plate 3 and focuses it on the lower surface 32 of the carrier plate 3. The optical path can be changed and adjusted through various methods such as reflection and refraction. The laser component 2 does not necessarily have to be below the carrier plate 3; however, the final optical path is that the laser is focused on the lower surface 32 of the carrier plate 3. Preferably, the carrier plate 3 is at the bottom of the precursor solution L. The control component 5 controls the moving component 4 to move the carrier plate 3, causing the carrier plate 3 to move from the bottom position of the precursor solution L towards the surface position. The principle and method of its movement are the same as in the first embodiment, and the laminate S grows downwards from the lower surface 32 of the carrier plate 3. This embodiment is more suitable for laminates S with a short height, avoiding breakage of the laminate S due to gravity during deposition.

[0059] The present application has been disclosed above in terms of preferred embodiments thereof, which are intended to be illustrative only and not limiting to the scope of the present application. It is noted that various changes and modifications to the described embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and it is intended to encompass such changes and modifications within the scope of the present application. Therefore, the scope of the present application is to be interpreted only in accordance with the claims set forth below.

Claims

1. A laser-based lamination manufacturing method for manufacturing laminates of a specified material, characterized in that, The laser-assisted deposition manufacturing method includes the following steps: Provide a precursor solution that, when heated, can form the specified material; Nanoparticles of the specified material are provided and distributed in the precursor solution; A carrier plate is placed in the precursor solution; A laser component emits a laser toward the carrier plate, such that the nanoparticles initially located on the surface of the carrier plate convert the light energy of the laser into heat energy, wherein the wavelength of the laser is at least one of the following: the absorption wavelength of plasma on the metal surface of the nanoparticles, the absorption wavelength of light absorption by the semiconductor, and the absorption wavelength of the nanoparticle material. The heat generated by the nanoparticles causes a localized reaction of the precursor solution, resulting in the deposition of the specified material. Adjust the height of the carrier plate in the precursor solution to ensure that a sufficient amount of the nanoparticles are located at the focusing depth of the laser component; and The relative position of the laser and the carrier plate on the horizontal plane can be selectively adjusted.

2. The laser deposition manufacturing method according to claim 1, characterized in that, When the laser component initially focuses the laser onto the upper surface of the carrier plate, the carrier plate is adjusted to move from the surface position of the precursor solution toward the bottom position of the precursor solution.

3. The laser deposition manufacturing method according to claim 1, characterized in that, When the laser component initially focuses the laser onto the lower surface of the carrier plate, the carrier plate is adjusted to move from the bottom position of the precursor solution toward the surface position of the precursor solution.

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