Printer powder recycling device

Abstract

The invention discloses a printer powder recycling and circulating device which comprises printing equipment arranged at intervals, a powder collecting tank, a transfer tank lifting assembly, a powder circulating assembly and a powder conveying truss manipulator, and a top powder supply device is arranged at the top of the printing equipment. Two powder collecting tanks are arranged on the front side of the printing equipment, and a switch valve device is arranged on the outer side of each powder collecting tank; the transfer tank lifting assembly is arranged below the two powder collecting tanks and used for lifting the two transfer tanks to the lower ends of the corresponding powder collecting tanks and conducting butt joint. A powder circulating assembly is arranged between every two printing devices, and each powder circulating assembly comprises a transfer powder tank containing table, a powder screening device, a powder drying device and a powder adding tank lifting device which are sequentially arranged from top to bottom. And the powder conveying truss manipulator is erected above the printing equipment. According to the invention, the circulation of automatic collection, screening, drying and powder feeding of the printed powder can be realized, and automatic circulating powder supply for multiple printing devices is realized at the same time.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the technical field of printing equipment, and in particular relates to a printer powder recycling device. Background Art

[0002] Selective laser melting is one of the additive manufacturing technologies with broad development prospects. Due to the use of laser beams and metal powders as manufacturing tools, the product development and manufacturing cycle is greatly shortened. SLM molding technology can be used to directly produce metal parts with high relative density, excellent mechanical properties, high dimensional accuracy and excellent surface quality. Compared with traditional processing technology, SLM can form arbitrarily complex metal parts, which are limited by the shape of the parts. It shows obvious advantages in metal materials and parts with complex shapes, which are difficult to process with traditional technologies. In the process of metal 3D printing, insufficient amount of metal powder material will directly lead to part printing failure. In addition, there will be a large amount of surplus material in the printing molding cylinder, which needs to be manually recycled, screened and dried before reuse. As the processing size of 3D printed parts gradually increases, its manufacturing cycle is getting longer and longer. However, only part of the metal powder material can be stored inside the 3D printing equipment. Therefore, metal powder material must be added to the equipment during the printing process, and the surplus powder after printing must be processed and recycled.

[0003] At present, the methods of adding metal powder to metal 3D printing equipment are mainly divided into manual powder adding, wind power conveying powder adding and single machine powder automatic circulation system. However, all three methods have some disadvantages:

[0004] Regarding manual powder adding: 3D printing factories generally have dozens or even hundreds of printing devices, and the amount of powder required is large. Manual addition is inefficient and labor-intensive. At the same time, the location of the 3D printer storage tank is high, and manual powder adding is inconvenient. Moreover, metal powder is easy to generate dust in an exposed environment, polluting the environment and damaging to health if inhaled by humans without proper protective measures.

[0005] As for adding powder by wind power: it is necessary to lay a complex pipe network, which takes up a lot of space; if the diameter of the laid pipe is small, it is easy to get blocked, and vice versa, the cost will increase; in addition, 3D printing factories need to deal with different work requirements, and each printer may use different metal powders for printing operations. If powder delivery pipelines are used to add powder, it is necessary to deal with different metal powder delivery requirements and set up multiple sets of powder delivery pipelines. A complex metal powder delivery pipeline network needs to be laid on the top of the printer, which has high manufacturing and later maintenance costs. When the pipeline leaks, there is a risk of dust explosion during the pipeline transportation of metal powder. For special powders, in order to prevent them from changing, they need to be transported using expensive inert gases.

[0006] For stand-alone automatic powder circulation devices: Each printing device in a 3D printing factory needs to be equipped with a set of automatic powder circulation equipment, which is costly and difficult to manage and maintain. At the same time, the automatic powder circulation equipment also requires regular manual powder addition, which is labor-intensive and inefficient. It is not conducive to large-scale, industrialized production in printing factories. Summary of the invention

[0007] In view of the above-mentioned problems, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a printer powder recovery and circulation device, which can realize the automatic collection, screening, drying and powder feeding cycle of the printed powder, and realize the automatic circulation powder supply to multiple printing devices at the same time.

[0008] The technical solution of the present invention is: a printer powder recycling device, comprising printing devices arranged at intervals, a top powder supply device is provided on the top of the printing device, and further comprising:

[0009] Two powder collecting tanks, two powder collecting tanks are arranged on the front side of the printing device, and both of the two powder collecting tanks are used to receive the residual powder generated by the printing device;

[0010] A transfer tank lifting assembly is arranged below the two powder collecting tanks, and is used to lift the two transfer tanks to the lower ends of the corresponding powder collecting tanks and dock them;

[0011] A powder circulation assembly, one of which is arranged between every two printing devices, and comprises an equipment mounting frame and a transfer powder tank placing table, a powder screening device, a powder drying device and a powder adding tank lifting device which are arranged on the equipment mounting frame from top to bottom in sequence, wherein the transfer powder tank placing table is used to place the transfer tank, the powder screening device is connected to the transfer tank, and is used to receive and screen the powder in the transfer tank, the powder drying device is used to dry the powder screened by the powder screening device, and the powder adding tank lifting device is used to lift the powder adding tank to the output end of the powder drying device, so that the dried powder enters the powder adding tank;

[0012] The powder conveying truss robot is erected above the printing device, and the powder conveying truss robot is used to grab the transfer tank or the powder adding tank and move it to a specified position.

[0013] Furthermore, a switch valve device is provided on the side of each powder collecting tank, and the switch valve device is used to control the opening or closing of the lower end port of the corresponding powder collecting tank.

[0014] Furthermore, the powder conveying truss robot includes a support seat, an X-axis truss, a Y-axis truss, a Z-axis truss and a clamp. The support seat is divided into two parts, left and right, and is symmetrically installed on both sides of the printing device. The X-axis truss is erected between the upper ends of the two support seats, the Y-axis truss is horizontally slidably erected on the X-axis truss, the Z-axis truss is vertically slidably arranged on the front side of the Y-axis truss, and the clamp is arranged at the lower end of the Z-axis truss for grabbing the transfer tank or the powder adding tank.

[0015] Furthermore, the X-axis truss comprises:

[0016] An X-axis crossbeam, on which an X-axis spur rack is provided;

[0017] An X-axis guide rail slider, the X-axis spur rack is movably provided with an X-axis guide rail slider, and the Y-axis truss is fixedly arranged on the X-axis guide rail slider;

[0018] An X-axis servo motor is connected to the X-axis guide rail slider through an X-axis planetary reducer, and is used to drive the X-axis guide rail slider to move on the X-axis spur rack;

[0019] X-axis buffer 1 and X-axis buffer 2 are respectively arranged at both ends of the X-axis crossbeam and are used for limiting and protecting the X-axis guide rail slider.

[0020] Furthermore, the Y-axis truss comprises:

[0021] A Y-axis crossbeam mounting block, fixedly disposed on the X-axis guide rail slider;

[0022] The Y-axis crossbeam is movably arranged in the Y-axis crossbeam mounting block through a Y-axis guide rail slider, and the Z-axis truss is arranged at the front end of the Y-axis crossbeam;

[0023] The Y-axis servo motor is connected to the Y-axis guide rail slider through the Y-axis planetary reducer and is used to drive the Y-axis crossbeam to move in the Y-axis crossbeam mounting block.

[0024] Furthermore, the Z-axis truss comprises:

[0025] A Z-axis crossbeam mounting block, fixedly disposed at the front end of the Y-axis crossbeam;

[0026] A Z-axis vertical beam is movably arranged in the Z-axis crossbeam mounting block through a Z-axis guide rail slider, and the clamp is arranged at the lower end of the Z-axis vertical beam;

[0027] A Z-axis servo motor is connected to the Z-axis guide rail slider through a Z-axis planetary reducer, and is used to drive the Z-axis vertical beam to move up and down in the Z-axis horizontal beam mounting block;

[0028] The Z-axis buffer is arranged at the upper end of the Z-axis vertical beam.

[0029] Furthermore, a new powder tank is also provided on the equipment mounting frame.

[0030] The working method of the present invention is as follows: when the printing device is working, the top powder supply device supplies powder, and the residual powder generated when the printing device is working enters the powder collecting tank. When the residual powder in the powder collecting tank reaches a critical amount, the transfer tank lifting component drives the transfer tank to be lifted to the lower end of the powder collecting tank and docked with the powder collecting tank. The switch valve device opens the lower end port of the powder collecting tank, and the residual powder in the powder collecting tank enters the transfer tank. The transfer tank lifting component drives the transfer tank to reset, and the powder conveying truss manipulator grabs the transfer tank and moves it to the transfer powder tank placement table. The powder in the transfer tank enters the powder screening device for screening. After screening, The powder enters the powder drying device for drying, the powder adding tank lifting device drives the powder adding tank to rise to the lower end of the powder drying device and docks with the lower end of the powder drying device, the powder dried in the powder drying device enters the powder adding tank, the powder adding tank lifting device drives the powder adding tank to reset, the powder conveying truss manipulator grabs the powder adding tank and moves it to the top powder supply device to add powder to the top powder supply device; when the powder in the top powder supply device is exhausted and there is insufficient powder in the powder adding tank, the powder conveying truss manipulator grabs the new powder tank on the equipment mounting frame to add powder to the top powder supply device.

[0031] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: the printer powder recycling and circulation device provided by the present invention can recycle and reuse the residual powder generated when the printing device is working by setting a powder collecting tank, thereby saving the cost of raw materials. At the same time, a powder circulation component is set to screen and dry the collected residual powder, so that the recovered residual powder can be reused, and then the recovered residual powder is added back to the top powder supply device of the printing device by the set powder conveying truss manipulator. The whole process can be fully unmanned, greatly reducing labor costs and management costs. The printer powder recycling and circulation device provided by the present invention can realize the automatic collection, screening, drying and powder feeding of the powder after printing, and realize the automatic circulation powder supply to multiple printing devices at the same time. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the present invention;

[0033] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the powder collecting tank, the switch valve device, and the transfer tank lifting assembly of the present invention;

[0034] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the powder circulation component of the present invention;

[0035] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the powder conveying truss robot of the present invention.

[0036] Among them, 1-printing equipment, 101-top powder supply device, 102-powder collecting tank, 103-switch valve device, 104-transfer tank lifting assembly, 105-transfer tank, 3-powder circulation assembly, 301-equipment installation rack, 303-powder screening device, 304-powder drying device, 306-transfer powder tank placement table, 307-powder adding tank, 308-powder adding tank lifting device, 309-new powder tank, 4-powder conveying truss manipulator, 401-support seat, 402-X-axis truss, 4021-X-axis crossbeam, 4022-X-axis guide rail slider, 4023-X-axis buffer one, 4024-X-axis spur rack, 4025-X-axis buffer 2, 4026-X-axis planetary reducer, 4027-X-axis servo motor, 403-Y-axis truss, 4031-Y-axis beam, 4032-Y-axis beam mounting block, 4033-Y-axis guide slider, 4034-Y-axis servo motor, 4035-Y-axis planetary reducer, 404-Z-axis truss, 4041-Z-axis vertical beam, 4042-Z-axis guide slider, 4043-Z-axis beam mounting block, 4044-Z-axis planetary reducer, 4045-Z-axis servo motor, 4046-Z-axis buffer, 405-grip. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] The following is combined with Figure 1 To the attached Figure 4 , the specific embodiments of the present invention are described in detail. In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "center", "upper", "lower", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside" and the like indicate positions or positional relationships based on the positions or positional relationships 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 limiting the present invention.

[0038] The terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Therefore, the features defined as "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features; in the description of the present invention, unless otherwise specified, "plurality" means two or more.

[0039] It should be noted that the circuit connections involved in the present invention all adopt conventional circuit connection methods and do not involve any innovation.

[0040] Example: Figure 1As shown, a printer powder recycling device includes a printing device 1 arranged at intervals, a top powder supply device 101 is provided on the top of the printing device 1, and also includes a powder collecting tank 102, a transfer tank lifting component 104, a powder recycling component 3 and a powder conveying truss manipulator 4. Among them:

[0041] like Figure 2 As shown, two powder collecting tanks 102 are provided on the front side of the printing device 1, and the two powder collecting tanks 102 are used to receive the residual powder generated by the printing device 1. A switch valve device 103 is provided on the side of each powder collecting tank 102, and the switch valve device 103 is used to control the opening or closing of the lower end port of the corresponding powder collecting tank 102;

[0042] The transfer tank lifting assembly 104 is disposed below the two powder collecting tanks 102, and the transfer tank lifting assembly 104 is used to lift the two transfer tanks 105 to the lower ends of the corresponding powder collecting tanks 102 and dock them;

[0043] A powder circulation assembly 3 is arranged between every two printing devices 1, such as Figure 3 As shown, the powder circulation component 3 includes an equipment mounting frame 301 and a transfer powder tank placing platform 306, a powder screening device 303, a powder drying device 304 and a powder adding tank lifting device 308 which are sequentially arranged on the equipment mounting frame 301 from top to bottom. The transfer powder tank placing platform 306 is used to place the transfer tank 105. The powder screening device 303 is connected to the transfer tank 105 and is used to receive and screen the powder in the transfer tank 105. The powder drying device 304 is used to dry the powder screened by the powder screening device 303. The powder adding tank lifting device 306 is used to raise the powder adding tank 307 to the output end of the powder drying device 304 so that the dried powder enters the powder adding tank 307. A new powder tank 309 is also provided on the equipment mounting frame 301.

[0044] The powder conveying truss manipulator 4 is mounted above the printing device 1, and the powder conveying truss manipulator 4 is used to grab the transfer tank 105 or the powder adding tank 307 and move it to a specified position; Figure 4As shown, the powder conveying truss manipulator 4 includes a support seat 401, an X-axis truss 402, a Y-axis truss 403, a Z-axis truss 404 and a clamp 405. The support seat 401 is divided into two parts, which are symmetrically installed on both sides of the printing device 1 and the printing device 2. The X-axis truss 402 is mounted between the upper ends of the two support seats 401, the Y-axis truss 403 is horizontally slidably mounted on the X-axis truss 402, and the Z-axis truss 404 is vertically slidably arranged on the front side of the Y-axis truss 403. The clamp 405 is arranged at the lower end of the Z-axis truss 404 for grabbing the powder transfer tank 105 or the powder adding tank 307; the X-axis truss 402 includes an X-axis crossbeam 4021, an X-axis guide The X-axis servo motor 4027 is connected to the X-axis guide rail slider 4022 through the X-axis planetary reducer 4026, and is used to drive the X-axis guide rail slider 4022 to move on the X-axis spur rack 4024; the X-axis buffer 1 4023 and the X-axis buffer 2 4025 are respectively arranged at both ends of the X-axis beam 4021, and are used to The X-axis guide slider 4022 is limited and protected; the Y-axis truss 403 includes a Y-axis beam mounting block 4032, a Y-axis beam 4031 and a Y-axis servo motor 4034; the Y-axis beam mounting block 4032 is fixedly arranged on the X-axis guide slider 4022; the Y-axis beam 4031 is movably arranged in the Y-axis beam mounting block 4032 through the Y-axis guide slider 4033, and the Z-axis truss 404 is arranged at the front end of the Y-axis beam 4031; the Y-axis servo motor 4034 is connected to the Y-axis guide slider 4033 through the Y-axis planetary reducer 4035, and is used to drive the Y-axis beam 4031 to move in the Y-axis beam mounting block 4032; the Z-axis truss 404 includes It includes a Z-axis crossbeam mounting block 4043, a Z-axis vertical beam 4041, a Z-axis servo motor 4045 and a Z-axis buffer 4046; the Z-axis crossbeam mounting block 4043 is fixedly arranged at the front end of the Y-axis crossbeam 4031; the Z-axis vertical beam 4041 is movably arranged in the Z-axis crossbeam mounting block 4043 through the Z-axis guide rail slider 4042, and the clamp 405 is arranged at the lower end of the Z-axis vertical beam 4041; the Z-axis servo motor 4045 is connected to the Z-axis guide rail slider 4042 through the Z-axis planetary reducer 4044, and is used to drive the Z-axis vertical beam 4041 to move up and down in the Z-axis crossbeam mounting block 4043; the Z-axis buffer 4046 is arranged at the upper end of the Z-axis vertical beam 4041.

[0045] The working method of the above embodiment is as follows: when the printing device 1 is working, the top powder supply device 101 supplies powder, and the residual powder generated when the printing device 1 is working enters the powder collecting tank 102. When the residual powder in the powder collecting tank 102 reaches a critical amount, the transfer tank lifting component 104 drives the transfer tank 105 to be lifted to the lower end of the powder collecting tank 102 and docked with the powder collecting tank 102. The switch valve device 103 opens the lower end port of the powder collecting tank 102, and the residual powder in the powder collecting tank 102 enters the transfer tank 105. The transfer tank lifting component 104 drives the transfer tank 105 to reset, and the powder conveying truss manipulator 4 grabs the transfer tank 105 and moves it to the transfer powder tank placement table 306. The powder in the transfer tank 105 enters the powder screening device 303 for screening. The separated powder enters the powder drying device 304 for drying, the powder adding tank lifting device 308 drives the powder adding tank 307 to rise to the lower end of the powder drying device 304 and docks with the lower end of the powder drying device 304, the dried powder in the powder drying device 304 enters the powder adding tank 307, the powder adding tank lifting device 308 drives the powder adding tank 307 to reset, the powder conveying truss manipulator 4 grabs the powder adding tank 307 and moves it to the top powder supply device 101, and adds powder to the top powder supply device 101. When the powder in the top powder supply device 101 is exhausted and the powder adding tank 307 is insufficient, the powder conveying truss manipulator 4 grabs the new powder tank 309 on the equipment mounting frame 301 to add powder to the top powder supply device 101.

[0046] The specific models of the above electronic components are not specially specified, and ordinary products available on the market can be selected as long as they can meet the use requirements of the present invention.

[0047] The specific embodiments described above further illustrate the objectives, technical solutions and beneficial effects of the present invention in detail. It should be understood that the above description is only a specific embodiment of the present invention and does not limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the present invention are included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A printer powder recycling device, comprising printing devices (1) arranged at intervals, wherein a top powder supply device (101) is provided on the top of the printing device (1), characterized in that: Also includes: Two powder collecting tanks (102), the two powder collecting tanks (102) being arranged on the front side of the printing device (1), and the two powder collecting tanks (102) being used to receive the residual powder generated by the printing device (1); A transfer tank lifting assembly (104) is arranged below the two powder collecting tanks (102), and the transfer tank lifting assembly (104) is used to lift the two transfer tanks (105) to the lower ends of the corresponding powder collecting tanks (102) and dock them; A powder circulation assembly (3), wherein one powder circulation assembly (3) is arranged between every two printing devices (1), and the powder circulation assembly (3) comprises an equipment mounting frame (301) and a transfer powder tank placing table (306), a powder screening device (303), a powder drying device (304) and a powder tank lifting device (308) arranged on the equipment mounting frame (301) in sequence from top to bottom, wherein the transfer powder tank placing table (306) is used to place the powder tank The transfer tank (105), the powder screening device (303) is connected to the transfer tank (105) and is used to receive and screen the powder in the transfer tank (105), the powder drying device (304) is used to dry the powder screened by the powder screening device (303), and the powder adding tank lifting device (306) is used to lift the powder adding tank (307) to the output end of the powder drying device (304) so ​​that the dried powder enters the powder adding tank (307); A powder conveying truss robot (4) is erected above the printing device (1), and the powder conveying truss robot (4) is used to grab the transfer tank (105) or the powder adding tank (307) and move it to a designated position.

2. A printer powder recycling device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: A switch valve device (103) is provided on the side of each powder collecting tank (102), and the switch valve device (103) is used to control the opening or closing of the lower end port of the corresponding powder collecting tank (102).

3. A printer powder recycling device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The powder conveying truss robot (4) includes a support seat (401), an X-axis truss (402), a Y-axis truss (403), a Z-axis truss (404) and a clamp (405). The support seat (401) is divided into two left and right parts and is symmetrically installed on both sides of the printing device (1). The X-axis truss (402) is erected between the upper ends of the two support seats (401), the Y-axis truss (403) is horizontally slidably erected on the X-axis truss (402), the Z-axis truss (404) is vertically slidably arranged in front of the Y-axis truss (403), and the clamp (405) is arranged at the lower end of the Z-axis truss (404) for grabbing the transfer tank (105) or the powder adding tank (307).

4. A printer powder recycling device as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that: The X-axis truss (402) comprises: An X-axis crossbeam (4021) on which an X-axis spur rack (4024) is disposed; An X-axis guide rail slider (4022), the X-axis spur rack (4024) being movably provided with the X-axis guide rail slider (4022), and the Y-axis truss (403) being fixedly provided on the X-axis guide rail slider (4022); An X-axis servo motor (4027) is connected to the X-axis guide rail slider (4022) via an X-axis planetary reducer (4026) and is used to drive the X-axis guide rail slider (4022) to move on the X-axis spur rack (4024); X-axis buffer 1 (4023) and X-axis buffer 2 (4025) are respectively arranged at two ends of the X-axis crossbeam (4021) and are used to limit and protect the X-axis guide rail slider (4022).

5. A printer powder recycling device as claimed in claim 4, characterized in that: The Y-axis truss (403) comprises: A Y-axis crossbeam mounting block (4032) fixedly disposed on the X-axis guide rail slider (4022); A Y-axis beam (4031) is movably arranged in the Y-axis beam mounting block (4032) via a Y-axis guide rail slider (4033), and the Z-axis truss (404) is arranged at the front end of the Y-axis beam (4031); The Y-axis servo motor (4034) is connected to the Y-axis guide rail slider (4033) through the Y-axis planetary reducer (4035) and is used to drive the Y-axis beam (4031) to move in the Y-axis beam mounting block (4032).

6. A printer powder recycling device as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that: The Z-axis truss (404) comprises: A Z-axis crossbeam mounting block (4043) fixedly disposed at the front end of the Y-axis crossbeam (4031); A Z-axis vertical beam (4041) is movably arranged in the Z-axis cross beam mounting block (4043) via a Z-axis guide rail slider (4042), and the clamping claw (405) is arranged at the lower end of the Z-axis vertical beam (4041); A Z-axis servo motor (4045) is connected to the Z-axis guide rail slider (4042) via a Z-axis planetary reducer (4044) and is used to drive the Z-axis vertical beam (4041) to move up and down in the Z-axis horizontal beam mounting block (4043); The Z-axis buffer (4046) is arranged at the upper end of the Z-axis vertical beam (4041).

7. A printer powder recycling device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: A new powder tank (309) is also provided on the equipment mounting frame (301).

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