Laser additive and subtractive composite manufacturing machine tool fixture apparatus

Abstract

The application provides a laser additive and subtractive composite manufacturing machine tool clamp equipment, which integrates the replacement of a laser processing head and a tool on a machine tool spindle of a same vertical machining tool, and folds the whole clamp mechanism to the vicinity of a machine tool column through a hydraulic rod after the replacement of the laser processing head and the tool is completed, and a cross guide rail is used to realize the positioning problem of the machine tool spindle during the replacement of the laser processing head and the tool; the application comprises a latch gripper device, a precise cross guide rail transmission device and a hydraulic swing arm device; the application realizes the rapid subtractive manufacturing after the additive manufacturing, shortens the additive and subtractive manufacturing processing time, reduces the volume of the additive and subtractive manufacturing equipment, has no influence on the subsequent processing, avoids the influence of the large heat input during the additive and subtractive manufacturing process on the precision and service life of the clamp, and has high positioning precision.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of laser additive and subtractive composite manufacturing equipment technology, and in particular to a fixture equipment for laser additive and subtractive composite manufacturing process equipment that facilitates the replacement of laser processing heads and cutting tools. Background Technology

[0002] Laser additive manufacturing is a manufacturing technology that integrates computer-aided design, materials processing and forming technology, and uses digital model files as a basis to build up specialized metal materials layer by layer through software and CNC systems to create physical objects. Although laser additive manufacturing technology is relatively mature internationally, the surface precision of parts manufactured by additive manufacturing is insufficient for manufacturing certain complex parts. It is necessary to combine it with traditional subtractive manufacturing to achieve the required processing precision. Therefore, additive-subtractive composite manufacturing technology is currently a key area of ​​development. Additive-subtractive composite manufacturing is a new type of rapid prototyping technology based on additive manufacturing and subtractive manufacturing processes. This technology combines the advantages of additive manufacturing and subtractive manufacturing, achieving high-precision, high-performance, and high-efficiency manufacturing of components through alternating additive / subtractive processes. Additive-subtractive composite manufacturing technology can rapidly produce high-precision, high-quality complex-shaped parts made of different materials, shortening the manufacturing cycle, saving materials, reducing costs, and enhancing product competitiveness. It is particularly beneficial for the production of complex-shaped, multi-variety, small-batch parts and has broad application prospects. Additive and subtractive composite manufacturing technology combines product design, software control, and additive and subtractive manufacturing, which is of great significance for the development of high-value, high-precision processing fields such as military and aerospace.

[0003] Although additive and subtractive manufacturing equipment plays an important role in the current processing and manufacturing field, the development of additive and subtractive manufacturing equipment is still imperfect. The main shortcomings are as follows: the additive manufacturing system and the subtractive manufacturing system are two separate systems, the whole equipment is relatively large, the replacement of laser processing head and tool is inconvenient, and the tool changing device has low precision and lifespan. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to address the need for replacing laser processing heads and cutting tools in laser additive-subtractive composite manufacturing equipment. It proposes a fixture system for easily replacing laser processing heads and cutting tools in laser additive-subtractive composite manufacturing equipment, thereby solving the problems of current laser additive-subtractive composite manufacturing systems where additive manufacturing and subtractive manufacturing are separate systems, the entire equipment is bulky, laser head and milling cutter replacement is inconvenient, and the tool changing device has low accuracy and lifespan.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, this invention provides a fixture for changing the laser processing head and cutting tool in a laser additive-subtractive manufacturing process. The replacement of the laser processing head and cutting tool is integrated onto the same spindle of a vertical machining center, allowing additive-subtractive manufacturing to be completed on a single spindle. This reduces the size of the additive-subtractive manufacturing equipment and shortens the manufacturing time. After the laser processing head and cutting tool are replaced, the entire fixture mechanism is folded near the machine tool column using a hydraulic rod, without affecting subsequent processing. This avoids the impact of significant heat input during additive-subtractive manufacturing on the fixture's accuracy and lifespan. Furthermore, this invention uses a cross guide rail to achieve high positioning accuracy between the laser processing head and cutting tool and the machine tool spindle. The additive-subtractive manufacturing machine tool fixture includes: a pin gripper device, a precision cross guide rail transmission device, and a hydraulic swing arm device.

[0006] The pin gripper device consists of a U-shaped pin gripper, a pin groove, a U-shaped pin washer, a spring, a reinforcing adapter, and an adapter buckle plate.

[0007] The U-shaped pin gripper is used to connect and fix the laser processing head and cutting tool that need to be replaced.

[0008] The pin slot, in conjunction with the spring and U-shaped pin washer, enables a flexible fit between the U-shaped pin gripper and the pin slot, facilitating the replacement of the laser processing head and cutting tools.

[0009] The reinforced adapter is used to connect the pin slot and the adapter plate.

[0010] The adapter plate is used to transmit the movement of the lead screw guide rail and also plays a certain role in protecting the lead screw guide rail, which can improve the service life of the lead screw guide rail.

[0011] The precision cross guide rail transmission device consists of a guide rail base, a lead screw, a guide rail, a sealing plate, a motor base, and a slider seat.

[0012] The guide rail base is used to install the lead screw, guide rail, sealing plate and motor base.

[0013] The lead screw is connected to a slider seat, which is used to transmit the motion of the electric motor.

[0014] The sealing plate is used to protect the lead screw guide rail and improve its service life.

[0015] The motor base is installed at the end of the guide rail base and is used to install the motor.

[0016] The slider seat is used to connect two vertical guide rails to form a cross guide rail transmission device, and also serves to transmit the movement of the lead screw.

[0017] The hydraulic swing arm device consists of a fixed base, a hinge base, a telescopic hydraulic rod, a swing arm, and a hinge.

[0018] The fixed base is used to install on the machine tool column to fix the entire mechanism.

[0019] The hinge base is mounted on the fixed base and the swing arm for connecting the hydraulic rod.

[0020] The hydraulic rod is connected between the fixed base and the swing arm via a hinge base, which allows the swing arm to move relative to the fixed base, thereby realizing the movement of the entire mechanism.

[0021] The swing arm is used to install a precision cross guide rail transmission device, and the upper part is equipped with stiffeners to achieve a lightweight design without weakening the overall strength.

[0022] The hinge is positioned between the fixed base and the swing arm to serve as a connection.

[0023] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are:

[0024] This invention enables rapid replacement of the laser processing head and cutting tool on the same spindle, allowing for quick subtractive manufacturing after additive manufacturing, thus shortening the processing time and reducing the size of the additive manufacturing equipment. After replacing the laser processing head and cutting tool, the entire fixture mechanism is folded near the machine tool column using hydraulic rods, without affecting subsequent processing. This avoids the impact of large heat input during additive manufacturing on the fixture's accuracy and lifespan. Furthermore, it utilizes guide rails in two directions to address the positioning issue during laser processing head and cutting tool replacement, achieving high positioning accuracy. Attached Figure Description

[0025] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of laser additive and subtractive manufacturing machine tool fixtures;

[0026] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the pin-and-grip device;

[0027] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of hydraulic swing arm device. Detailed Implementation

[0028] The following description, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, further illustrates the detailed content of the present invention and its specific embodiments.

[0029] Combination Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 3 The present invention provides a laser additive and subtractive composite manufacturing machine tool fixture, which consists of a pin gripper device, a precision cross guide transmission device, and a hydraulic swing arm device.

[0030] The pin gripper device consists of a U-shaped pin gripper 9, a pin groove 10, a U-shaped pin washer 11, a spring 12, a reinforced adapter 7, and an adapter buckle 8.

[0031] The U-shaped pin gripper is used to connect and fix the laser processing head 1 that needs to be replaced.

[0032] Combination Figure 2 The pin groove 10, spring 12, and U-shaped pin washer 11 cooperate to achieve flexible engagement between the U-shaped pin gripper and the pin groove. Spring 12 is placed in the small hole inside the pin groove 10, and U-shaped pin washer 11 is placed on the spring.

[0033] The reinforced adapter 7 is used to connect the pin slot 10 and the adapter plate 8. It is located between the pin slot 10 and the adapter plate 8 and is connected by bolts.

[0034] The adapter plate 8 is installed on the guide rail 3 to transmit the movement of the lead screw guide rail, and also plays a certain role in protecting the lead screw guide rail, which can improve the service life of the lead screw guide rail.

[0035] The precision cross guide rail transmission device includes a guide rail base 2, a lead screw 5, a guide rail 3, a motor base 4, and a slider seat 6.

[0036] The guide rail base 2 is used to install the lead screw 5, guide rail 3 and motor base 4, and is mounted on the hydraulic swing arm device to follow the movement of the hydraulic swing arm device.

[0037] The lead screw 5 is connected to the slider seat 6. The motor drives the lead screw 5 to rotate, which in turn drives the slider seat 6 to move.

[0038] The motor base 4 is installed at the end of the guide rail base 2 and is used to install the motor.

[0039] The slider seat 6 is mounted on the lead screw 5 and is used to connect two vertical guide rails to form a cross guide rail transmission device, and also plays the role of transmitting the movement of the lead screw.

[0040] Combination Figure 3 The hydraulic swing arm device consists of a fixed base 13, a hinge base 14, a telescopic hydraulic rod 15, a swing arm 16, and a hinge 17.

[0041] The fixed base 13 is used to install on the machine tool column to fix the entire mechanism.

[0042] The hinge base 14 is mounted on the fixed base 13 and the swing arm 16 for connecting and fixing the hydraulic rod 15.

[0043] The hydraulic rod 15 is connected between the fixed base 13 and the swing arm 16 via the hinge base 14, which allows the swing arm 16 to move relative to the fixed base 13, thereby realizing the movement of the entire mechanism.

[0044] The front end of the swing arm 16 is equipped with a precision cross guide rail transmission device, and the rear end is fixed to the fixed base 13 by a hinge 17.

[0045] The hinge 17 is bolted to the base 13 and the swing arm 16 to serve as a connection.

[0046] The cutting tool replaced in this invention is used for subtractive manufacturing and can be mounted on a machine tool spindle; it is typically a milling cutter. The machine tool is a vertical machining center, and the machine tool spindle can only move up and down. The fixture device is fixed to the side of the upper column of the machine tool by bolts, or it can be fixed to other suitable locations. The material supply method for the additive manufacturing technology can be powder feeding or wire feeding. The additive manufacturing technology is laser powder feeding additive manufacturing, or it can be laser or arc wire melting additive manufacturing. The subtractive machining can be CNC milling.

[0047] This invention combines additive and subtractive manufacturing technology, enabling rapid replacement of the laser processing head and cutting tools on the same vertical machining center spindle. This allows additive and subtractive manufacturing to be completed on a single spindle, reducing the size of the equipment. This equipment facilitates rapid subtractive manufacturing after additive manufacturing, shortening the manufacturing time. After replacing the laser processing head and cutting tools, a hydraulic rod folds the entire fixture mechanism near the machine tool column, without affecting subsequent processing. This avoids the impact of significant heat input during additive and subtractive manufacturing on the fixture's accuracy and lifespan. Furthermore, this invention uses a cross guide rail to achieve high positioning accuracy when replacing the laser processing head and cutting tools with the machine tool spindle.

[0048] This invention provides a fixture for easy replacement of laser processing heads and tools in laser additive-subtractive composite manufacturing equipment, belonging to the field of laser additive-subtractive composite manufacturing equipment technology. This equipment and technology allows for rapid replacement of laser processing heads and tools on the same vertical machining center spindle, enabling additive-subtractive composite manufacturing to be completed on a single spindle, reducing the size of the additive-subtractive composite manufacturing equipment. This equipment allows for rapid subtractive manufacturing after additive manufacturing, shortening the additive-subtractive manufacturing process time. After replacing the laser processing head and tools, a hydraulic rod folds the entire fixture mechanism near the machine tool column, without affecting subsequent processing. This avoids the impact of large heat input during additive-subtractive manufacturing on the fixture's accuracy and lifespan. Furthermore, this invention uses a cross guide rail to solve the positioning problem with the machine tool spindle when replacing the laser processing head and tools, achieving high positioning accuracy. This equipment and technology enables convenient replacement of laser processing heads and tools during additive and subtractive manufacturing processes. It solves the problems of current laser additive and subtractive composite manufacturing systems, which consist of two separate systems, resulting in bulky equipment, inconvenient laser processing head and tool replacement, and low precision and lifespan of tool changing devices. This equipment includes a pin-and-grip device, a precision cross-guide transmission device, and a hydraulic swing arm device. The pin-grip device uses a self-designed U-shaped pin gripper to connect to the laser processing head. The other end of the U-shaped pin gripper is inserted into the pin slot. The U-shaped pin gripper and the pin slot are flexibly matched through the U-shaped pin washer and spring, making it more convenient to change the processing head and tool. The pin slot is fixed to the adapter plate with bolts through a reinforced adapter, realizing the function of transmitting the movement of the cross guide rail. The precision cross guide rail device adopts a ball screw guide rail drive and includes two mutually perpendicular guide rails. The lower guide rail is sealed with a sealing plate to improve the service life of the guide rail. The two perpendicular guide rails are connected by a slider seat, and the upper guide rail is connected to the adapter plate through the slider seat. A motor seat is installed at the end of the guide rail for placing the motor. The hydraulic swing arm device drives the swing arm to move between the hinge and the fixed base through a set of telescopic hydraulic rods. The hinge is installed on the swing arm and the fixed base through the hinge base. The method of implementing this invention is to drive the swing arm to move relative to the fixed base to a designated position by a telescopic hydraulic rod, and then the precision cross guide device starts to work. The screw moves to make the pin gripper device reach the vicinity of the spindle. After the laser processing head / tool ​​is attracted to the machine tool spindle, the telescopic hydraulic rod works again to drive the precision cross guide transmission device and the hydraulic swing arm device back to their original positions, and the replacement between the laser processing head and the tool is completed.

Claims

1. A laser additive-subtractive hybrid manufacturing machine tool fixture apparatus, characterized by, The laser processing head and the tool are integrated on the machine tool spindle of the same vertical machining tool, and after the replacement of the laser processing head and the tool is completed, the whole fixture mechanism is folded to the vicinity of the machine tool column through a hydraulic rod, and a cross guide is also used to realize the positioning problem with the machine tool spindle when the laser processing head and the tool are replaced; the latch gripper device, the precise cross guide transmission device and the hydraulic swing arm device are included; the latch gripper device includes a U-shaped latch gripper, a latch slot, a U-shaped latch gasket, a spring, a reinforced adapter and an adapter buckle plate; the U-shaped latch gripper is used to connect and fix the laser processing head and the tool which need to be replaced, the latch slot cooperates with the spring and the U-shaped latch gasket to realize the flexible cooperation of the U-shaped latch gripper and the latch slot, so as to facilitate the replacement of the laser processing head and the tool, the reinforced adapter is used to connect the latch slot and the adapter buckle plate, and the adapter buckle plate is used to transmit the movement of the lead screw guide and also protects the lead screw guide, so that the service life of the lead screw guide can be improved.

2. Laser additive-subtractive hybrid manufacturing machine tool fixture apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The precise cross guide transmission device includes a guide base, a lead screw, a guide rail, a cover plate, a motor base and a slider seat; the guide base is used to install the lead screw, the guide rail, the cover plate and the motor base, the slider seat is connected to the lead screw and is used to transmit the movement of the motor, the cover plate is used to protect the lead screw guide, the motor base is installed at the end of the guide base and is used to install the motor, and the slider seat is used to connect two perpendicular guide rails to form the cross guide transmission device and also plays a role in transmitting the movement of the lead screw.

3. The laser additive-subtractive hybrid manufacturing machine tool fixture apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, The hydraulic swing arm device includes a fixed base, a hinge base, a telescopic hydraulic rod, a swing arm and a hinge; the fixed base is used to be installed on the machine tool column and plays a role in fixing the whole mechanism, the hinge base is installed on the fixed base and the swing arm and is used to connect the hydraulic rod, the hydraulic rod is connected between the fixed base and the swing arm through the hinge base, so that the swing arm can move relative to the fixed base, the movement of the whole mechanism is realized, the swing arm is used to install the precise cross guide transmission device, and the upper part is provided with a rib plate to play a role in lightweight design, and the hinge is arranged between the fixed base and the swing arm to play a connecting role.

4. The laser additive-subtractive hybrid manufacturing machine tool fixture apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, The machine tool is a vertical machining tool, and the machine tool spindle can only move up and down.

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