A wind farm structure suitable for large-format metal printing equipment

Abstract

The present invention relates to a wind field structure suitable for large-format metal printing equipment, including an upper wind knife module, a blowing module, an air distribution module and an air suction module, wherein the upper wind knife module and the blowing module are installed on one side of the molding chamber cavity, and the air suction module is installed on the other side of the molding chamber cavity, the upper wind knife module is located above the molding chamber cavity, and the blowing module and the air suction module are both located at the bottom of the molding chamber cavity; the air distribution module is installed inside the molding chamber cavity and connected to the blowing module; the blowing module is divided into an upper blowing module and a lower blowing module, and the air volume ratio of the upper blowing module and the lower blowing module is adjustable, so as to realize the change of the pitch angle of the wind direction in the molding chamber cavity according to the Bernoulli principle. The present invention suppresses the wind direction from falling due to the influence of gravity, and the air outlet of the upper wind knife module is directly opposite to the air suction direction, which greatly increases the air volume, supplements the air flow, effectively protects the field mirror lens from being contaminated, and supplements the suction force of the air suction module.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the technical field of selective melting equipment, and in particular relates to a wind field structure suitable for large-format metal printing equipment. Background Art

[0002] With the development of additive manufacturing equipment technology, the size of printed parts is getting larger and larger, and the molding format is getting larger and larger. For large-format 3D metal printing equipment, traditional printing equipment has limited wind field effects due to the large printing format. For example, too fast wind field blowing speed will cause powder blowing problems, too slow blowing speed will cause the inability to remove the sintering residues that appear during the printing process, and too large format will cause the wind direction to be affected by gravity, making the overall path parabolic. Therefore, it is urgent to design this type of wind field from a new structural perspective. Summary of the invention

[0003] In view of the problems existing in the prior art, the present invention provides a wind field structure suitable for large-format metal printing equipment, which can solve the problem of limited wind field effect caused by the excessively large format of the printing equipment.

[0004] The present invention is implemented as follows: a wind field structure suitable for large-format metal printing equipment includes an upper wind knife module, a blowing module, an air distribution module and an air suction module, wherein the upper wind knife module and the blowing module are installed on one side of a molding chamber cavity, and the air suction module is installed on the other side of the molding chamber cavity, the upper wind knife module is located above the molding chamber cavity, and the blowing module and the air suction module are both located at the bottom of the molding chamber cavity; the air distribution module is installed inside the molding chamber cavity and is connected to the blowing module; the blowing module is divided into an upper blowing module and a lower blowing module, and the air volume ratio of the upper blowing module and the lower blowing module is adjustable, so that the pitch angle of the wind direction in the molding chamber cavity can be changed, thereby suppressing the wind direction from falling due to the influence of gravity.

[0005] In the above technical solution, preferably, the air ducts of the upper blowing module and the lower blowing module located on the outer side of the molding chamber cavity are both rotating air ducts, and the air ducts connected with the molding chamber cavity are horizontal air ducts, so that a static pressure cavity is formed in the air ducts of the upper blowing module and the lower blowing module.

[0006] In the above technical solution, preferably, the upper air knife module is a quasi-air knife structure, and the air outlet of the upper air knife module is directly opposite to the air suction outlet of the air suction module.

[0007] In the above technical solution, preferably, the cross-section of the upper air knife module at the outlet located on the inner side of the molding chamber cavity first gradually decreases along the fluid flow direction and then remains unchanged for a period of time, so that the flow rate of the fluid blown out by the upper air knife module is uniform.

[0008] In the above technical solution, preferably, the wind equalizing module includes a wind equalizing shell, a wind equalizing grid and a honeycomb panel, the wind equalizing grid and the honeycomb panel are both embedded in the wind equalizing shell, and the honeycomb panel is located on the inner side of the wind equalizing grid, so that the fluid passes through the honeycomb panel first and then through the wind equalizing grid.

[0009] In the above technical solution, preferably, the air suction module includes an inner air inlet and an outer air inlet, the inner air inlet is a bell-mouth structure, gradually decreasing along the fluid flow direction, the inner air inlet is located inside the molding chamber cavity, and the outer air inlet is located outside the molding chamber cavity.

[0010] In the above technical solution, it is further preferred that the inner air outlet has a honeycomb structure at its smallest closing point.

[0011] In the above technical solution, preferably, the mounting surfaces between the upper air knife module, the blowing module, the air equalization module, the air suction module and the molding chamber cavity are respectively provided with sealing structures so that the gas flow direction is not affected.

[0012] In the above technical solution, preferably, the upstream (or source) of the upper air knife module, the blowing module and the suction module are all connected to dust removal equipment.

[0013] The advantages and positive effects of the present invention are:

[0014] The main design of the wind field structure of the present invention mainly utilizes the Bernoulli principle to divide the blowing module located at the bottom of the molding chamber cavity into two parts. According to the Bernoulli principle, the pitch angle change of the wind direction in the molding chamber cavity is achieved. By adjusting the fluid flow rate of the upper blowing module, the pressure is reduced, so that the fluid wind direction of the lower blowing module is affected by the pressure and rises, and the wind direction is suppressed from falling due to the influence of gravity; the upper wind knife module located above the molding chamber cavity is designed as a wind knife-like structure to reduce the wind outlet cross-sectional area. At the same time, the air outlet of the upper wind knife module faces the suction direction, which greatly increases the air volume, replenishes the airflow, cuts off the upward airflow, suppresses smoke and dust, and effectively protects the field mirror from being contaminated, while supplementing the suction force of the suction module. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] Figure 1 is a three-dimensional diagram of a wind field structure applicable to a large-format metal printing device provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0016] Figure 2 It is a structural schematic diagram of a wind field structure applicable to a large-format metal printing device provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0017] Figure 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a blowing module provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0018] Figure 4is a structural schematic diagram of an upper air knife module provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of the structure of the honeycomb panel of the wind distribution module provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 6 Schematic diagram of the structure of the wind balancing grid of the wind balancing module provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 7 It is a structural schematic diagram of the air suction module provided in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0022] In the figure: 10, upper air knife module; 20, blowing module; 201, upper blowing module; 202, lower blowing module; 30, air distribution module; 301, air distribution shell; 302, air distribution grid; 303, honeycomb panel; 40, air suction module; 401, inner air outlet; 402, outer air outlet; 50, molding chamber cavity. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention clearer, the present invention is further described in detail below in conjunction with the embodiments and the accompanying drawings. Those skilled in the art should know that the following specific embodiments or specific implementation methods are a series of optimized settings listed by the present invention to further explain the specific content of the invention, and these settings can be combined with each other or used in association with each other, unless it is clearly stated in the present invention that some or a specific embodiment or implementation method cannot be associated with other embodiments or implementation methods or used together. At the same time, the following specific embodiments or implementation methods are only used as the most optimized settings, and are not understood as limiting the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0024] In the description of the present invention, it is necessary to understand that the terms "upper", "lower", "front", "back", "left", "right", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", etc., indicating the orientation or position relationship 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, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on the present invention.

[0025] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "connected" and "connection" 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 it can be an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, or it can be the internal communication of two components. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0026] See also Figure 1 to Figure 7 The present embodiment provides a wind field structure suitable for large-format metal printing equipment, including an upper air knife module 10, a blowing module 20, an air distribution module 30 and an air suction module 40. The upper air knife module 10 and the blowing module 20 are installed on one side of the molding chamber cavity 50, and the air suction module 40 is installed on the other side of the molding chamber cavity 50. The upper air knife module 10 is located above the molding chamber cavity 50, and the blowing module 20 and the air suction module 40 are both located at the bottom of the molding chamber cavity 50; the air distribution module 30 is installed inside the molding chamber cavity 50 and connected to the blowing module 20. The air distribution module 30 completes the function of evenly distributing the fluid; the fluid changes shape and speed through the blowing module 20 and the air distribution module 30, covers the printing format, and takes away the printing sintering residue; the air suction module 40 recovers the fluid flowing through the printing format and the printing residue entrained therein to complete the fluid circulation.

[0027] In this embodiment, the upper air knife module 10 and the blowing module 20 are installed on the left side of the molding chamber cavity 50, the air distribution module 30 is installed on the left side inside the molding chamber cavity 50, and the suction module 40 is installed on the right side of the molding chamber cavity 50. The mounting surfaces between the upper air knife module 10, the blowing module 20, the air distribution module 30, the suction module 40 and the molding chamber cavity 50 are respectively provided with sealing structures so that the gas flow direction is not affected.

[0028] Specifically, the blowing module 20 is divided into an upper blowing module 201 and a lower blowing module 202. The air volume ratio of the upper blowing module 201 and the lower blowing module 202 is adjustable, so that the pitch angle of the wind direction in the forming chamber cavity can be changed, thereby suppressing the wind direction from falling due to the influence of gravity. According to the Bernoulli equation When an ideal positive pressure fluid performs steady motion under the action of potential volume force, as the velocity of the fluid flow increases, the pressure decreases; as the velocity decreases, the pressure increases; by increasing the fluid velocity in the air duct of the upper air blowing module 201, thereby reducing the pressure, an upward pressure is applied to the fluid in the air duct of the lower air blowing module 202, causing the fluid flow to rise upward, thereby offsetting the influence of gravity and avoiding or weakening the powder blowing phenomenon in the wind field.

[0029] The air ducts of the upper air blowing module 201 and the lower air blowing module 202 located on the outer side of the molding chamber cavity 50 are both rotating air ducts, and the connection with the molding chamber cavity 50 is a horizontal air duct, so that a static pressure cavity is formed in the air ducts of the upper air blowing module 201 and the lower air blowing module 202.

[0030] In this embodiment, the air outlet of the blowing module 20 is located 20-30 mm above the bottom plate of the molding chamber cavity 50 , and the blowing width of the blowing module is 80 mm larger than the single side width of the molding width of the molding chamber cavity 50 .

[0031] The upper wind knife module 10 is a wind knife-like structure, and the air outlet of the upper wind knife module 10 is directly opposite to the air intake of the air suction module 40. It mainly utilizes the wind knife-like principle. According to the requirement of fluid quantity conservation, the flow velocity is large at a small cross-section and small at a large cross-section. The fluid with a high flow velocity can take away the smoke and fine particles close to the field lens, effectively protecting the field lens from external environmental pollution. At the same time, the fluid in the blowing module 20 is blown from one side to the other side, and the fluid velocity gradually decreases on the flow path, the blowing force weakens, and begins to rise. At this time, the upper wind knife module 10 facing the air intake of the air suction module 40 is used to supplement the airflow, cut off the upward airflow, suppress smoke, and supplement the suction force of the air suction module 40.

[0032] The cross section of the upper air knife module 10 at the outlet located inside the molding chamber cavity 50 gradually decreases along the fluid flow direction and then remains unchanged for a period of time, so that the flow rate of the fluid blown out by the upper air knife module 10 is uniform.

[0033] The sum of the effective flow channel area of ​​the blowing module 20 and the effective flow channel area of ​​the upper wind knife module 10 is equal to the cross-sectional area of ​​the upstream pipeline. That is, the flow channel area of ​​the horizontal air duct of the upper blowing module 201 and the lower blowing module 202 plus the flow channel area of ​​the section with constant cross-sectional area at the end of the upper wind knife module 10 is equal to the cross-sectional area of ​​the upstream pipeline. The wind equalization module 30 includes a wind equalization shell 301, a wind equalization grid 302 and a honeycomb panel 303. The wind equalization grid 302 and the honeycomb panel 303 are both embedded in the wind equalization shell 301. The honeycomb panel 303 is located on the inner side of the wind equalization grid 302, so that the fluid first passes through the honeycomb panel 303 and then passes through the wind equalization grid 302. The fluid passes through the double-layer wind equalization to ensure the uniformity of the fluid flowing into the molding chamber cavity 50, thereby achieving the wind equalization effect. In this embodiment, the honeycomb panel 303 mainly has four rows of ventilation holes, and each row corresponds to 100 ventilation holes; 100 grids are evenly distributed on the wind equalization grid 302 to ensure uniform air volume within the format.

[0034] The air suction module 40 includes an inner air intake 401 and an outer air intake 402. The inner air intake 401 is a bell-mouth structure that gradually decreases along the fluid flow direction. The inner air intake 401 has a honeycomb structure at its smallest intake to achieve uniform air suction. The inner air intake 401 is located inside the molding chamber cavity 50, and the outer air intake 402 is located outside the molding chamber cavity 50. The air suction module 40 consists of two air intakes. The inner air intake 401 can recycle the fluid from the upper air knife module 10 and the blowing module 20, and the wind field is circulated through the second outer air intake 402.

[0035] The upstream (or source) of the upper air knife module 10, the blowing module 20 and the suction module 40 are all connected to dust removal equipment to achieve the circulation of inert gas to remove smoke and dust during the operation of the equipment.

[0036] The main design of the present invention mainly utilizes the Bernoulli principle to divide the blowing module 20 located at the bottom of the molding chamber cavity 50 into two parts. According to the Bernoulli principle, the pitch angle of the wind direction in the molding chamber cavity 50 is changed. By adjusting the fluid flow rate of the upper blowing module 201 and reducing the pressure, the fluid wind direction of the lower blowing module 202 is affected by the pressure and rises, thereby suppressing the wind direction from falling due to the influence of gravity. The upper wind knife module 10 located above the molding chamber cavity 50 is designed as a wind knife-like structure to reduce the wind outlet cross-sectional area. At the same time, the air outlet of the upper wind knife module faces the suction direction, which greatly increases the air volume, supplements the airflow, cuts off the upward airflow, suppresses smoke and dust, and effectively protects the field mirror from being contaminated, while supplementing the suction force of the suction module 40.

[0037] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, rather than to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments, or replace some or all of the technical features therein with equivalents, and these modifications or replacements do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A wind field structure suitable for large-format metal printing equipment, characterized in that: It comprises an upper air knife module, a blowing module, an air distribution module and an air suction module, wherein the upper air knife module and the blowing module are installed on one side of the molding chamber cavity, and the air suction module is installed on the other side of the molding chamber cavity, the upper air knife module is located above the molding chamber cavity, and the blowing module and the air suction module are both located at the bottom of the molding chamber cavity; the air distribution module is installed inside the molding chamber cavity and is connected to the blowing module; the blowing module is divided into an upper blowing module and a lower blowing module, and the air volume ratio of the upper blowing module and the lower blowing module is adjustable, so that the pitch angle of the wind direction in the molding chamber cavity can be changed, thereby suppressing the wind direction from falling due to the influence of gravity; The air ducts of the upper air blowing module and the lower air blowing module at the outer part of the molding chamber cavity are both rotating air ducts, and the parts connected with the molding chamber cavity are horizontal air ducts, so that static pressure cavities are formed in the air ducts of the upper air blowing module and the lower air blowing module; The upper air knife module is a quasi-air knife structure, and the air outlet of the upper air knife module is directly opposite to the air suction port of the air suction module.

2. The wind farm structure suitable for large-format metal printing equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The cross section of the upper air knife module at the outlet located on the inner side of the molding chamber cavity first gradually decreases along the fluid flow direction and then remains unchanged for a period of time.

3. The wind farm structure suitable for large-format metal printing equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The wind equalizing module includes a wind equalizing shell, a wind equalizing grid and a honeycomb plate. The wind equalizing grid and the honeycomb plate are both embedded in the wind equalizing shell. The honeycomb plate is located on the inner side of the wind equalizing grid, so that the fluid passes through the honeycomb plate first and then through the wind equalizing grid.

4. The wind farm structure suitable for large-format metal printing equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The air suction module includes an inner air intake port and an outer air intake port, wherein the inner air intake port is a bell-mouth structure and gradually decreases along the fluid flow direction, the inner air intake port is located inside the molding chamber cavity, and the outer air intake port is located outside the molding chamber cavity.

5. The wind farm structure suitable for large-format metal printing equipment according to claim 4, characterized in that: The inner air outlet has a honeycomb structure at its smallest closing point.

6. The wind farm structure suitable for large-format metal printing equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The mounting surfaces between the upper air knife module, the blowing module, the air equalization module, the air suction module and the molding chamber cavity are respectively provided with sealing structures.

7. The wind farm structure suitable for large-format metal printing equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The upstream of the upper air knife module, the blowing module and the suction module are all connected to dust removal equipment.

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