Rail-guided arc-based additive manufacturing device and method

Abstract

The application discloses a kind of based on guide rail auxiliary's DIC observation electric arc additive component device and method.It includes DIC measuring device, robotic additive manufacturing device, annular guide rail device and automatic control device, electric transmission device;Annular guide rail is arranged outside additive robot and base station and responsible for the movement of transmission device, the camera of DIC measuring device is fixed on the electric sliding table of transmission device, electric transmission device is installed on annular guide rail and responsible for adjusting the height and distance of camera, and automatic control device can control transmission device to move camera position for automatic calibration according to camera identification situation.The electric guide rail transmission device of the application is used as support structure, can be used for the observation of different size and shape components, adjusts front and back and up and down distance and observation surface, facilitates camera calibration, reduces error, realizes factory automation.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of metal additive manufacturing, specifically relating to a device and method for a large-scale additive component for DIC observation arc based on guide rail assistance. Background Technology

[0002] The DIC measurement principle is to obtain the displacement vector of the same pixel by tracking the position of the same pixel in two speckle images before and after the deformation of the object surface, thereby obtaining the full-field displacement of the specimen surface.

[0003] The principle of arc additive manufacturing is to use a high-energy electric arc to melt metal powder and deposit it onto the surface of a workpiece. In this process, the high temperature generated by the arc melts the metal powder to form liquid metal, which is then sprayed onto the workpiece surface through a nozzle to form a metal deposition layer. This process is repeated until the desired three-dimensional structure is formed.

[0004] Automation of DIC measurement is an essential step in creating digital twins and realizing intelligent manufacturing and automation. Current DIC measurement processes are complex and cumbersome, requiring recalibration and speckle fabrication after each additive manufacturing step. For testing large components, multiple acquisition heads need to be purchased, used for fixed-point acquisition, and frequently changed, resulting in large space requirements, significant errors, and high costs. However, the combination of control software with guide rails and transmission devices effectively solves this problem, and the height of the electric cylinder and the length of the slide can be flexibly changed to meet experimental requirements. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to provide a guide rail-assisted DIC observation arc additive large component device and method, which can automatically adjust the observation position and calibration position of the DIC camera, reduce costs, save time, reduce errors, and has no environmental limitations, realize the automation of observation, and lay the foundation for digital twins.

[0006] The technical solution to achieve the purpose of this invention is as follows:

[0007] A device for observing large additive components with electric arc based on rail-assisted DIC (Digital Interference Capacity) includes...

[0008] VIC-3D's DIC measurement device, Yaskawa Robotics' additive manufacturing device, Cyber ​​ring guide device and MEXE02 automatic control device, and Dongfang Motor's electric drive device.

[0009] The cyber ring guide rail is set outside the additive robot and the base to change the observation surface. The Dongfang Motor electric guide rail transmission device is installed on the ring guide rail, and the high-speed camera is fixed on the electric transmission device. The electric transmission device is used to adjust the vertical and horizontal distance of the camera. According to the size of the component, the position of the camera is adjusted to achieve precise image capture. The MEXE02 automatic control device can automatically calibrate according to the camera calibration feedback, and after the calibration is completed, it issues a command to the robot to start additive manufacturing while simultaneously conducting observation. The coordinate setting of the device transmission can be manually or automatically moved to follow the additive heat source to change the observation surface.

[0010] Furthermore, the Yaskawa robot additive manufacturing device includes: an additive power supply, an additive robot arm, an additive gun, a wire feeder, a protective gas device, and a control system for controlling the additive motion trajectory of the additive robot arm;

[0011] Furthermore, the VIC-3D DIC measurement device includes: two HS-V2640 cameras, two 50mm lenses, two 12mm lenses, a CSI-ZF3000 LED lighting system, the VIC-3D software package, and a VIC-3D high-performance acquisition and computing main control computer. Image capture and data collection are performed via the cameras, while image processing and data processing are handled by the main control computer and software.

[0012] Furthermore, the ring guide rail device includes: an arc-shaped guide rail with a width of 25mm and a radius of 1.5m and a 2-meter linear guide rail, and a matching 25mm wide electric slider.

[0013] Furthermore, the electric slide has a maximum length of 50cm and a moving distance of 50-850mm.

[0014] Furthermore, the electric cylinder has a maximum length of 2m and a telescopic distance of 50-300mm.

[0015] The circular guide rail device is installed around the additive robot to control the movement of the electric drive device in the x and y directions. The electric slider is installed on the circular guide rail and is responsible for controlling the movement of the entire drive device.

[0016] Electric drive systems include: EZS series electric slides, EAC series electric cylinders, and DG2 series rotary platforms.

[0017] The electric cylinder is mounted on the mounting block, the rotating platform is mounted on the electric cylinder, the electric slide is mounted on the rotating platform, and the DIC camera is mounted on the electric slide. The electric cylinder adjusts the movement in the z direction, the rotating platform adjusts the rotation angle of the electric slide, and the electric slide adjusts the movement distance of the camera in the x and y directions.

[0018] Furthermore, the automatic control device includes: MEXE02 control software, which sets the running trajectory of the electric drive device on the guide rail, observation position, observation time, moving speed, moving time, and automatic camera calibration according to the software settings. It automatically adjusts the calibration position of the camera and issues a command to the robot to start additive manufacturing after the calibration is completed. The above parameters can be manually controlled.

[0019] A method for measuring DIC using the above-described apparatus includes the following steps:

[0020] Step (1): Determine the size and shape of the component, determine the additive manufacturing path: co-directional additive manufacturing or reciprocating additive manufacturing, and the additive manufacturing time and cooling time for each segment of the path.

[0021] Step (2): Set the observation point and movement time according to the first layer printing time and speckle production time. The speckle production time is about one minute, and the movement time is controlled to be about one minute.

[0022] Step (3): After the additive manufacturing begins, when speckle formation is performed on each observation surface, the transmission device moves from the previous observation point to the next observation point according to the set time. After the speckle is formed, manual calibration is started. Based on the size of the observation surface and the speckle formation, and based on the feedback from the camera's captured image, the software will automatically adjust the camera distance and height for calibration. Once calibration is complete, the additive manufacturing robot is given a command to start the additive manufacturing process and observation begins.

[0023] Step (4): After the required observation surface has been tested, proceed to the next cycle test.

[0024] Furthermore, the guide rails are divided into straight and curved types. The straight guide rails are 2m long, and the curved guide rails have a radius of 1.5m. The length and range of the guide rails can be adjusted according to the size of the robot and the site.

[0025] Furthermore, the scope of additive components extends to large components.

[0026] Compared with the prior art, the significant advantages of this invention are:

[0027] (1) This invention employs a VIC-3D DIC measurement device, utilizing a guide rail system to efficiently perform DIC measurements using a single device. The device contains two HS acquisition heads, each mounted on a separate transmission device. The transmission devices automatically adjust the movement and positioning of the two cameras on the guide rail, allowing for measurements of different areas. DIC measurement itself is not significantly limited by the size of the component; small components can be measured with just one device. However, for large components, measuring with one device requires constantly changing measurement points and refocusing, while multiple devices are too costly.

[0028] (2) This invention is designed for stress and strain testing of large components. It uses DIC for measurement and makes reasonable use of the transmission device to automatically adjust the distance between the camera and the component. It can test components of different sizes and avoid defects such as the camera being unable to focus or the image being unclear due to the small size of the specimen.

[0029] (3) The present invention uses a cyber ring guide rail and an automatic transmission device to lay the foundation for digital twins. Manually adjusting the position of the two cameras will result in a large error because they cannot completely coincide with the previous observation point. In order to reduce the error, a fixed observation point is set to ensure that each time an observation surface is reached, it coincides with the position of the previous test, thereby reducing the error.

[0030] (4) This invention employs an automatic control device. The MEXE02 software enables automatic camera calibration. The camera automatically identifies speckle patterns and adjusts the slide table and electric cylinder according to the size of the observation surface until calibration is complete. Once completed, the robot is instructed to begin additive manufacturing. This automates DIC measurement. Furthermore, it can be integrated with other auxiliary devices to achieve intelligent, digital, and smart manufacturing. Attached Figure Description

[0031] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the device of the present invention.

[0032] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the method flow of the present invention.

[0033] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the transmission device of the present invention.

[0034] Among them, 1-1 linear track, 1-2 arc track, 2-transmission device, 2-1 electric cylinder, 2-2 rotating platform, 2-3 electric slide, 2-3-1 first layer of slide, 2-3-2, second layer of slide, 2-4 camera, 3-worktable, (4-1, 4-2, 4-3, 4-4)-additive robot, 5-mounting block. Detailed Implementation

[0035] The present invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0036] Combination Figure 1The present invention relates to a guide rail-assisted DIC observation arc additive component device, comprising an SB-LGV25XL linear track 1-1, a CR25159 R180 arc track 1-2, an Oriental Motor electric guide rail transmission device 2: an electric cylinder 2-1, a rotary platform 2-2, an SRC25159 electric slide table 2-3: slide table first layer 2-3-1, slide table second layer 2-3-2, an HS-V2640 camera 2-4, a worktable 3, a Yaskawa additive robot: 4-1, 4-2, 4-3, 4-4, and an SRC25159 electric slide table 5. The present invention also relates to a VIC-3D DIC measurement device, comprising: two HS-V2640 cameras, two 50mm lenses, two 12mm lenses, a CSI-ZF3000 LED lighting system, a VIC-3D software package, and a VIC-3D high-performance acquisition and computing main control computer. The electric drive system includes: an EZS series electric slide, an EAC series electric cylinder, and a DG2 series rotary platform; the electric cylinder is mounted on a ring guide rail, the rotary platform is mounted on the electric cylinder, the electric slide is mounted on the rotary platform, and two HS-V2640 cameras are mounted on the two electric slides respectively. The electric cylinder adjusts the movement in the z-direction, the rotary platform adjusts the rotation angle of the electric slide, and the electric slide adjusts the movement distance of the camera in the x and y directions.

[0037] The circular guide rail is composed of a straight line 1-1 and a circular guide rail 1-2. Different lengths and shapes of guide rails can be flexibly replaced depending on the additive robot and the additive environment. Mounting blocks are installed on the circular guide rail for sliding. The transmission device 2 is mounted on the mounting blocks, and the mounting blocks carry the transmission device along the circular guide rail. The circular guide rail is installed around the worktable 3 and additive robots 4-1, 4-2, 4-3, and 4-4 to prevent collisions and interference between the transmission device and the robots. The worktable 3 is 50-100cm above the ground. Based on this, the movement and stopping times of the transmission device are pre-set using control software or manually controlled. Since DIC measurement requires simultaneous observation by two cameras, two transmission devices need to be installed.

[0038] Transmission device (such as) Figure 3The system consists of an electric cylinder 2-1, a rotating platform 2-2, and an electric slide 2-3. Camera 2-4 is the image acquisition tool for the DIC observation system, used to observe and transmit data from the additive components. Camera 2-4 is mounted on the electric slide 2-3, which consists of a first layer 2-3-1 and a second layer 2-3-2. The second layer is fixed to the rotating platform 2-2, which allows the electric slide 2-3 to rotate freely in the X / Y plane, flexibly adjusting the camera's observation position. The first layer uses the second layer as a base plate and acts as a sliding guide, allowing for forward and backward sliding. With the mounting block as the origin, sliding towards the worktable 3 is positive, and sliding away from the worktable is negative. The length of the second layer plus the length of the first layer exceeding the second layer adjusts the distance between the camera and the worktable. The sliding distance of the second layer can be controlled by software or manually. The lengths of the two layers of the slide can be selected and replaced according to actual needs.

[0039] The rotating block is mounted on the electric cylinder 2-1, which is in turn mounted on the mounting block. The lower half of the cylinder fits over the upper half, allowing the upper half to move up and down. The height of the upper half is determined by the sum of the height of the lower half and the exposed height of the upper half. The height of the movement is set by the control software or manually controlled, thus determining the observation height of the camera 2-4. Furthermore, the lengths of the upper and lower parts of the electric cylinder 2-1 can be changed according to actual needs.

[0040] Combination Figure 2 The process of using the guide rail-assisted DIC observation method for additive components of electric arcs according to the present invention is as follows:

[0041] Step 1: Determine the size and shape of the component, and determine the additive manufacturing path: co-directional additive manufacturing or reciprocating additive manufacturing, as well as the additive manufacturing time and cooling time for each segment of the path.

[0042] Step 2: Determine the movement time of the transmission device (manual or automatic) based on the time required to manufacture speckle and the planned additive manufacturing path, and set each observation point according to the size and shape of the component.

[0043] Step 3: Based on the additive manufacturing path and the size and shape of the component, configure the software to prompt the camera to begin automatic position adjustment for calibration until calibration is complete. The acquisition software will evaluate the speckle pattern across the entire area before the experiment, providing the uncertainty of speckle pixels across the entire observation surface. This ensures that the lighting and focus during the experimental preparation phase meet the observation requirements, preventing displacement accuracy from being affected by speckle pixels. For example, after the speckle pattern is created, the camera begins calibration. If it cannot achieve focus, the software will automatically adjust the front and rear distances based on the data transmitted from the camera until focus is achieved.

[0044] Step 4: After calibration is complete, the software will give instructions to the robot to start additive manufacturing.

[0045] Step 5: After the additive manufacturing process begins, the camera observes and collects data, which is then transmitted to the processor to provide real-time line graphs and videos.

[0046] Step 6: After the additive manufacturing is completed, the transmission device moves to the next observation surface according to the set path, while waiting for the speckle pattern to be made and calibrated on the next surface. Repeat steps 4-6 until the component is printed.

[0047] Example 1:

[0048] The invention will be further described below with reference to experiments.

[0049] The experimental material used was 316L stainless steel with dimensions of 2m×2m×10cm as the substrate. After grinding the ER316L stainless steel welding wire with a diameter of 1.2m, it was fixed on the worktable. The printed component was a cavity structure with dimensions of 1.6m×1m×0.8m. After determining the process parameters, the printing was carried out according to the planned additive path.

[0050] The experimental robot is a Yaskawa robot. The worktable is 1m high, the linear guide is 2m long, the curved guide has a radius of 1m, the electric cylinder reaches a maximum height of 1.8m, and the electric slide has a maximum distance of 30cm. The component has a cavity structure. According to the DCI measurement principle, two acquisition cameras are required for simultaneous observation. Camera 1 is set on the front face of the 1.6m × 0.8m surface, and Camera 2 is set at the corner of the adjacent 1m × 0.8m surface. The component has already been printed to 0.6m. Observation is performed based on the existing component height. The camera is automatically calibrated at the observation position. Based on the size of the observation surface, speckle pattern, and lighting conditions, the camera height is automatically adjusted to 1.5m, while the front-to-back distance remains constant. Simultaneously, the robot is given a command to begin additive manufacturing after calibration. DCI measurement is performed simultaneously after printing begins. After printing is complete, the two transmission devices... Figure 1 Move the device in the indicated direction. Drive unit 1 moves to the opposite surface, and drive unit 2 moves to the first adjacent corner. Automatic calibration begins. Repeat the above observation and printing steps, maximizing both observation efficiency and range. After observation and welding are complete, turn off all system power and process the measurement data.

Claims

1. An automatic testing device for measuring large additive components using DIC (Digital Arc Control) based on guide rails, characterized in that, The device includes Robotic additive manufacturing equipment for additive manufacturing of large components; DIC measuring device, used for capturing images of the observation surface; The DIC measurement device is the VIC-3D DIC measurement device from Correlated Solutions, including: two HS-V2640 cameras, two 50mm lenses, two 12mm lenses, a CSI-ZF3000 LED lighting system, a VIC-3D software package, and a VIC-3D high-performance acquisition and computing main control computer; The guide rail device, consisting of a ring-shaped guide rail, is located outside the additive robot and the base, and is used to change the observation surface. An electric drive system is mounted on a circular guide rail. The electric drive system includes: an EZS series electric slide, an EAC series electric cylinder, and a DG2 series rotary platform. The electric cylinder is mounted on the circular guide rail, the rotary platform is mounted on the electric cylinder, and the electric slide is mounted on the rotary platform. Two HS-V2640 cameras are mounted on the two electric slides respectively. The electric cylinder adjusts the movement in the z-direction, the rotary platform adjusts the rotation angle of the electric slide, and the electric slide adjusts the movement distance of the cameras in the x and y directions. The DIC measuring device is equipped with a camera fixed on an electric drive mechanism. The electric drive mechanism can adjust the camera's vertical and horizontal distances, and adjust the camera's position according to the size of the component to achieve precise image capture. The automatic control device performs automatic calibration based on camera calibration feedback. After calibration, it issues a command to the additive manufacturing device to start additive manufacturing while simultaneously observing the device, setting the coordinates of the device's drive, and manually or automatically moving the device to follow the additive heat source and change the observation surface.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, A robotic additive manufacturing apparatus includes: an additive power supply, an additive robot arm, an additive gun, a wire feeder, a protective gas device, and a control system for controlling the additive motion trajectory of the additive robot arm.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The circular guide rail device is the Cyber ​​SB-LGV25XL-CR25159 R180 circular guide rail device; it includes: an arc-shaped guide rail with a width of 25mm and a radius of 1.5m and a 2-meter linear guide rail, and a matching 25mm wide electric slider; the circular guide rail device is installed on the periphery of the additive robot to control the movement of the electric drive device in the x and y directions.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The electric slide table has a maximum length of 50cm and a moving distance of 50-850mm; the electric cylinder has a maximum height of 2m and a telescopic distance of 50-300mm.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The automatic control device, including the control software MEXE02, sets the running trajectory of the electric drive device on the guide rail: observation position, observation time, moving speed, and the camera moving back and forth in 5cm intervals based on the data feedback, until the main control unit determines the focus is complete.

6. A method for performing DIC measurement using the apparatus according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: Step (1): Determine the size and shape of the component, determine the additive manufacturing path: co-directional additive manufacturing or reciprocating additive manufacturing, and the additive manufacturing time and cooling time for each segment of the path; Step (2): Set the observation point and movement time according to the first layer printing time and speckle production time. The speckle production and movement time should be controlled within two minutes. Step (3): After the additive manufacturing begins, when speckle production is carried out on each observation surface, the transmission device moves from the previous observation point to the next observation point according to the set time. After the speckle is produced, manual calibration is started. According to the size of the observation surface and the speckle production situation, the software will automatically adjust the camera distance and height for calibration based on the feedback from the camera captured image. After calibration is completed, the additive manufacturing robot is given a command to start additive manufacturing and observation begins. Step (4): After the required observation surface has been tested, proceed to the next cycle test.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The length and distance of the circular guide rail are adjusted according to the size of the robot and the space.

8. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The range of additive components is 30cm. 2 -2.5m 2 Large components.

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