Metal Additive Manufacturing Part Repair and Forming Method and Apparatus

Abstract

This invention provides a method and apparatus for repairing parts using metal additive manufacturing. The apparatus comprises a basic motion platform, a quantitative powder dispensing mechanism, a powder box forming system, a laser melting mechanism, and a vibration homogenizing mechanism. The basic motion platform provides basic motion and overall support; the quantitative powder dispensing mechanism dispenses powder quantitatively; the powder box forming system provides a platform for repairing damaged parts; the laser melting mechanism repairs damaged areas based on slice information; and the vibration homogenizing mechanism evenly disperses the powder pile within the damaged part. By generating a 3D model of the damaged area, adjusting the quantitative powder dispensing mechanism to dispense powder quantitatively, and controlling the laser melting mechanism to repair the damaged area layer by layer until the internal repair is complete, the external repair of the damaged area is then achieved through metal 3D printing. This invention improves the accuracy and quality of repairing internal damaged areas and promotes the development of metal 3D printing for repairing damaged parts.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of complex component repair, specifically the field of metal additive manufacturing, and particularly relates to a method and apparatus for repairing and forming metal additive manufactured parts. Background Technology

[0002] Metal additive manufacturing offers significant advantages over traditional manufacturing, including greater design freedom, higher material utilization, fewer processing steps, rapid prototyping, support for personalized and customized production, reduced inventory requirements, and lightweight design. These advantages enable additive manufacturing to produce parts with complex geometries and internal structures, reducing waste and production cycles, and accelerating product development.

[0003] Damaged parts repair technology is currently widely used in aerospace, automobile manufacturing, heavy machinery, medical devices, oil and gas and energy production. By repairing high-value and critical components such as aircraft engines, automobile engines and transmission parts, key parts of construction machinery, surgical instruments, drilling equipment and power equipment, it not only extends the service life and reliability of equipment and reduces replacement costs, but also improves overall efficiency and safety, which has significant economic and environmental benefits.

[0004] The development of component repair technology encompasses various methods, including traditional welding, machining, modern 3D printing, laser cladding, cold spraying, self-healing materials, and intelligent sensing, and is widely applied in aerospace, automotive, heavy machinery, and medical device industries. Its significance lies in reducing costs, extending equipment lifespan, reducing resource consumption and waste generation, promoting technological innovation and cross-domain applications, and improving equipment safety and production efficiency, thereby achieving the dual goals of economic benefits and environmental protection. Currently, the powder-laying repair process for metal additive manufacturing parts is relatively complex. Uneven powder laying, insufficient or excessive powder in a single layer, and inability to achieve uniform laser sintering of the powder-laying area hinder effective repair of complex components using metal additive manufacturing. Summary of the Invention

[0005] To address the aforementioned issues, this invention discloses a method and apparatus for repairing and forming metal additive manufacturing parts. In order to achieve effective repair of complex parts using metal additive manufacturing, this invention promotes the development of repairing damaged parts through metal 3D printing and further facilitates the multi-regional application of metal 3D printing.

[0006] This invention provides a method and apparatus for repairing and forming metal additive manufacturing parts. The apparatus consists of a basic motion platform, a quantitative powder dispensing mechanism, a powder box forming system, a laser melting mechanism, and a vibration homogenizing mechanism. The basic motion platform consists of a support frame, a square bracket, and module one. Module one is mounted on the support frame, and the square frame is fixed on module one. The quantitative powder dispensing mechanism consists of module two, a powder box, a funnel, butterfly valve controller one, butterfly valve controller two, a micro vibrator, and a funnel bracket. The powder box is fixed on the square frame, and butterfly valve controller one and butterfly valve controller two are fixed on cylinders on the powder box, with butterfly valve controller one above butterfly valve controller two. The two butterfly valve controllers mainly control the amount of powder. Module 2 is mounted on a square frame, and a funnel is mounted on Module 2. A micro vibrator is fixed to the funnel, using high-frequency, low-amplitude vibration to cause powder to accumulate on the damaged part. The powder box forming system consists of a powder box forming chamber and a lifting system. The powder box forming chamber provides a forming platform for the damaged part, and the lifting system allows for height adjustment of the damaged part and allows the powder box forming chamber to descend according to layer thickness during external repair of the damaged part. The laser melting mechanism consists of Module 3 and a laser generator. Module 3 is mounted on a square frame, and the laser generator is fixed to Module 3 and moves with Module 3. The vibration homogenization mechanism consists of a vibrating plate, the damaged part, a clamping sleeve, a matrix probe, a support connecting plate, a micro vibration motor, and elastic connectors. The support connecting plate is mounted on the lifting system, and four elastic connectors fix the support connecting plate and the vibrating plate. The micro vibration motor is fixed to the underside of the vibrating plate, using high-frequency, low-amplitude vibration to evenly distribute the powder accumulation in the damaged area. The clamping sleeve is fixed to the vibrating plate, and the matrix probe is mounted in the clamping sleeve. Air pressure is used to fix the matrix probe to the damaged part.

[0007] Furthermore, the bottom opening diameter of the funnel is 2mm, and the taper is greater than twice the natural powder stacking angle;

[0008] Furthermore, the butterfly valve controller 1 and butterfly valve controller 2 are equipped with weight sensors. After the powder accumulates to a certain mass, the controller opens and then closes.

[0009] Furthermore, the micro vibrator is a micro brushless motor with a vibration frequency of 1000 Hz and an amplitude of 0.2–0.4 mm. The micro vibration motor has a vibration frequency of 1000 Hz and an amplitude of 0.5–1 mm.

[0010] Furthermore, the control range of the matrix probe is greater than the range of the damaged parts, and the probe tip is covered with a silicone soft sleeve to prevent secondary damage to the damaged parts.

[0011] Furthermore, the elastic connector has metal plates at both ends and a metal spring in the middle, with the spring serving as a shock absorber.

[0012] A method for repairing parts using metal additive manufacturing involves observing the damaged part to determine if it meets the requirements for metal 3D printing. If it does, the damaged area inside the part is scanned, and an internal 3D model is generated. Simultaneously, an external 3D model is generated based on the missing external areas in the original 3D model of the part. The damaged part is placed on a vibrating plate and fixed using a matrix probe. Metal powder is placed in a powder box, and the powder is controlled by a butterfly valve controller 1 to fall onto a butterfly valve controller 2. The butterfly valve controller 2 then controls the quantitative falling of the metal powder onto a funnel. A module 2 controls the funnel to move above the damaged area of ​​the damaged part, and a micro-vibrator is activated to allow the metal powder to fall into the damaged area inside the part. The micro-vibration motor is started to evenly disperse the powder in the damaged area, and a laser melting mechanism is used to melt the area according to slices of the internal 3D model. The above steps are repeated until the internal printing of the damaged part is complete. The outside of the damaged part is then filled with metal powder, and the external area is generated layer by layer using metal 3D printing until the entire damaged part is repaired.

[0013] Furthermore, metal 3D printing requires that the internal cross-sectional area of ​​the damaged area be less than or equal to the internal cross-sectional area of ​​the upper layer, and the upper layer cannot obstruct the area of ​​the lower layer. Areas that do not meet the requirements need to be cut to meet the requirements of metal 3D printing.

[0014] Furthermore, the mass of the metal powder is M, the bulk density of the metal powder is P, and the single-layer volume of the internal damaged region is V, which have the following relationship:

[0015] M = P × V,

[0016] P = m / v,

[0017] V = S × H,

[0018] Where m is the mass of a certain amount of metal powder deposited in the graduated cylinder, v is the volume of the metal powder deposited, S is the cross-sectional area of ​​the slice at the printing area, and H is the thickness of the printing layer.

[0019] Furthermore, the damaged area of ​​the damaged part is the inner side of the part, and the damaged area inside is surrounded by metal.

[0020] Furthermore, the optical instrument scanning includes optical instruments capable of generating three-dimensional models, such as blue light scanning and structured light scanning.

[0021] After adopting the above technical solution, the beneficial effects of the present invention are:

[0022] 1. This device can adjust the amount of powder falling into the damaged area each time according to the three-mode model of the damaged area. At the same time, it can evenly disperse the powder pile in the damaged area through vibration, so as to achieve quantitative and precise powder spreading in the damaged area.

[0023] 2. This method can classify and repair the internal and external damaged areas, improve the repair accuracy and quality of the internal damaged areas, and thus achieve high-precision and high-quality repair of damaged parts.

[0024] 3. This device and method achieve high-quality repair of damaged areas by introducing three-dimensional scanning, high-frequency low-amplitude vibration mechanism, and butterfly valve controller for precise control of powder pile quality, which promotes the development of the direction of repairing damaged parts by metal 3D printing and further promotes the multi-area application of metal 3D printing. Attached Figure Description

[0025] Figure 1 Structural diagram of a repair and forming device for metal additive manufacturing parts;

[0026] Figure 2 Left view of a metal additive manufacturing part repair and forming apparatus;

[0027] Figure 3 Right view of a metal additive manufacturing part repair and forming apparatus;

[0028] Figure 4 Top view of a metal additive manufacturing part repair and forming apparatus;

[0029] Figure 5 for Figure 4 Screenshot at point AA;

[0030] Figure 6 for Figure 4 Screenshot of BB in the middle;

[0031] Figure 7 Enlarged view of a vibrating powder layer in a metal additive manufacturing part repair forming device;

[0032] Figure 8 Schematic diagram of the distribution of micro vibrators in a metal additive manufacturing part repair and forming device;

[0033] Figure 9 A flowchart of a method for repairing and forming parts manufactured using metal additive manufacturing;

[0034] Figure 10 A schematic diagram of the process for repairing and forming parts using metal additive manufacturing;

[0035] Figure 11 Flowchart for obtaining the three-dimensional model inside and outside the damaged area in the repair and forming method of metal additive manufacturing parts;

[0036] Figure descriptions: 101, Support frame; 102, Module 1; 103, Square bracket; 201, Module 2; 202, Powder box; 203, Funnel; 204, Butterfly valve control 1; 205, Butterfly valve controller 2; 206, Funnel bracket; 207, Miniature vibrator; 301, Powder box forming chamber; 302, Lifting system; 401, Module 3; 402, Laser generator; 501, Vibrating plate; 502, Damaged parts; 503, Fixture sleeve; 504, Matrix probe; 505, Support connecting plate; 506, Miniature vibration motor; 507, Flexible connector. Detailed Implementation

[0037] The present invention will be further illustrated below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. It should be understood that the following specific embodiments are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. It should be noted that the terms "front," "rear," "left," "right," "up," and "down" used in the following description refer to directions in the accompanying drawings, and the terms "inner" and "outer" refer to directions toward or away from the geometric center of a specific component, respectively.

[0038] like Figure 1-8As shown, the metal additive manufacturing repair part device of this embodiment consists of a basic motion platform, a quantitative powder dispensing mechanism, a powder box forming system, a laser melting mechanism, and a vibration homogenizing mechanism. The basic motion platform consists of a support frame 101, a square bracket 103, and a module 102. Module 102 is mounted on the support frame 101, and the square frame is fixed on module 102. The quantitative powder dispensing mechanism consists of a module 201, a powder box 202, a funnel 203, a butterfly valve controller 204, a butterfly valve controller 205, a micro vibrator 207, and a funnel bracket 206. The powder box 202 is fixed on the square frame, and the butterfly valve controllers 204 and 205 are fixed on cylinders on the powder box 202. Module 201 is mounted on the square frame, the funnel 203 is mounted on module 203, and the micro vibrator 207 is fixed on the funnel 203. The mechanism uses high-frequency... Low-amplitude vibration causes powder to accumulate on the damaged parts; the powder box forming system consists of a powder box forming chamber 301 and a lifting system 302; the laser melting mechanism consists of a module 3 401 and a laser generator 402; the module 3 401 is mounted on a square frame, and the laser generator 402 is fixed on the module 3 401 and moves with the module 3 401; the vibration uniform mechanism consists of a vibration plate 501, a damaged part 502, a clamp sleeve 503, a matrix probe 504, a support connecting plate 505, a micro vibration motor 506, and an elastic connector 507; the support connecting plate 505 is mounted on the lifting system 302; four elastic connectors 507 are fixedly connected to the support connecting plate 505 and the vibration plate 501; the micro vibration motor 506 is fixed on the lower side of the vibration plate 501; the clamp sleeve 503 is fixed on the vibration plate 501; and the matrix probe 504 is mounted in the clamp sleeve 503. The matrix probe is used to fix the damaged parts by air pressure.

[0039] The butterfly valve controller 204 is located above the butterfly valve controller 205, and both controllers control the amount of powder. The bottom opening of the funnel 203 has a diameter of 2mm and a taper greater than twice the natural powder accumulation angle. Weight sensors are installed on both butterfly valve controllers 204 and 205; the controllers open and close after a certain amount of powder has accumulated.

[0040] The miniature vibrator 207 is a miniature brushless motor with a vibration frequency of 1000 Hz and an amplitude of 0.2–0.4 mm; the miniature vibration motor 506 has a vibration frequency of 1000 Hz and an amplitude of 0.5–1 mm. The matrix probe 504 has a control range exceeding the range of the damaged parts, and its front end is covered with a silicone soft sleeve. The elastic connector 507 has metal plates at both ends and a metal spring in the middle.

[0041] A method for repairing parts using metal additive manufacturing involves observing the damaged part to determine if it meets the requirements for metal 3D printing. If it does, the damaged area inside the part is scanned, and an internal 3D model is generated. Simultaneously, an external 3D model is generated based on the missing external areas in the original 3D model of the part. The damaged part is placed on a vibrating plate and fixed using a matrix probe. Metal powder is placed in a powder box, and the powder is controlled by a butterfly valve controller 1 to fall onto a butterfly valve controller 2. The butterfly valve controller 2 then controls the quantitative falling of the metal powder onto a funnel. A module 2 controls the funnel to move above the damaged area of ​​the damaged part, and a micro-vibrator is activated to allow the metal powder to fall into the damaged area inside the part. The micro-vibration motor is started to evenly disperse the powder in the damaged area, and a laser melting mechanism is used to melt the area according to slices of the internal 3D model. The above steps are repeated until the internal printing of the damaged part is complete. The outside of the damaged part is then filled with metal powder, and the external area is generated layer by layer using metal 3D printing until the entire damaged part is repaired.

[0042] Among them, the requirements for metal 3D printing are that the internal cross-sectional area of ​​the damaged area is less than or equal to the internal cross-sectional area of ​​the upper layer, and the upper layer cannot block the area of ​​the lower layer. If the area does not meet the requirements, the damaged area needs to be cut to meet the requirements of metal 3D printing.

[0043] Wherein, the certain mass of metal powder is M, the bulk density of the metal powder is P, and the single-layer volume V of the internal damaged region has the following relationship:

[0044] M = P × V,

[0045] P = m / v,

[0046] V = S × H,

[0047] m is the mass of a certain amount of metal powder deposited in the graduated cylinder, v is the volume of the metal powder deposited, S is the cross-sectional area of ​​the slice at the printing area, and H is the thickness of the printing layer.

[0048] The damaged area of ​​the damaged part is the inner side of the part, and the inner damaged area is surrounded by metal.

[0049] The optical instrument scanning includes optical instruments that can generate three-dimensional models, such as blue light scanning and structured light scanning.

[0050] The damaged parts were successfully repaired using the aforementioned device and method, and their performance met the requirements for use. However, further finishing and surface treatment are needed to improve the overall precision and strength.

[0051] The technical means disclosed in this invention are not limited to those disclosed in the above embodiments, but also include technical solutions composed of any combination of the above technical features.

Claims

1. A metal additive manufacturing repair part device, characterized in that: The device consists of a basic motion platform, a quantitative powder dispensing mechanism, a powder box forming system, a laser melting mechanism, and a vibration homogenizing mechanism. The basic motion platform consists of a support frame (101), module one (102), and a square bracket (103). Module one (102) is mounted on the support frame (101), and the square frame (103) is fixed on module one (102). The quantitative powder dispensing mechanism consists of module two (201), a powder box (202), a funnel (203), a butterfly valve controller one (204), a butterfly valve controller two (205), and a micro-vibration mechanism. The powder box (202) is fixed on a square frame, and butterfly valve controller one (204) and butterfly valve controller two (205) are fixed on the cylinders on the powder box (202). Module two (201) is installed on the square frame, and the funnel (203) is installed on module two (201). The micro vibrator (207) is fixed on the funnel (203) and causes the powder to fall onto the damaged parts through high-frequency, low-amplitude vibration. The powder box forming system consists of a powder box forming chamber (301) and a lifting system (302). The laser melting mechanism consists of module three (401) and laser generator (402). Module three (401) is mounted on a square frame, and laser generator (402) is fixed on module three (401) and moves with module three (401). The vibration uniform mechanism consists of a vibrating plate (501), damaged parts (502), clamp sleeve (503), matrix probe (504), support connecting plate (505), micro vibration motor (506) and elastic connector (507). Support connecting plate (505) is mounted on lifting system (302). Four elastic connectors (507) are fixedly connected to support connecting plate (505) and vibrating plate (501). Micro vibration motor (506) is fixed on the lower side of vibrating plate (501). Clamp sleeve (503) is fixed on vibrating plate (501). Matrix probe (504) is mounted in clamp sleeve (503). The matrix probe fixes the damaged parts by air pressure.

2. The metal additive manufacturing repair part apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first butterfly valve controller (204) is located above the second butterfly valve controller (205), and the first butterfly valve controller (204) and the second butterfly valve controller (205) control the amount of powder.

3. The metal additive manufacturing repair part apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that: The bottom opening diameter of the funnel (203) is 2 mm, and the taper is greater than twice the natural accumulation angle of the powder.

4. The metal additive manufacturing repair part apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that: The butterfly valve controller 1 (204) and butterfly valve controller 2 (205) are equipped with weight sensors. The controllers open and close after the powder accumulates to a certain mass.

5. The metal additive manufacturing repair part apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that: The micro vibrator (207) is a micro brushless motor with a vibration frequency of 1000 Hz and an amplitude of 0.2~0.4 mm; the micro vibration motor (506) has a vibration frequency of 1000 Hz and an amplitude of 0.5~1 mm.

6. The metal additive manufacturing repair part apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that: The control range of the matrix probe (504) is greater than that of the damaged parts, and the front end of the matrix probe (504) is covered with a silicone soft sleeve.

7. The metal additive manufacturing repair part apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that: The elastic connector (507) has metal plates at both ends and a metal spring in the middle.

8. A method for repairing parts by metal additive manufacturing, using the apparatus for repairing parts by metal additive manufacturing as described in any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that: Inspect the damaged parts to determine if they meet the requirements for metal 3D printing. This includes the following steps: Step 1: Under suitable conditions, scan the damaged areas inside the parts and generate an internal 3D model. At the same time, generate an external 3D model based on the missing areas in the original 3D model of the parts. Step 2: Place the damaged part on the vibration plate and use a matrix probe to fix the damaged part; Step 3: Put metal powder into the powder box, control the metal powder to fall onto butterfly valve controller 2 through butterfly valve controller 1, and then use butterfly valve controller 2 to realize the quantitative falling of metal powder onto the funnel. Use module 2 to control the funnel to move above the damaged area of ​​the damaged part, and turn on the micro vibrator to make the metal powder fall into the damaged area inside the damaged part. Step 4: Start the micro vibration motor to evenly disperse the powder in the damaged area, and use the laser melting mechanism to melt the area according to the internal three-dimensional model slice. Repeat the above steps until the internal printing of the damaged part is completed. Step 5: Fill the outside of the damaged part with metal powder, and use metal 3D printing to generate the outer area of ​​the damaged part layer by layer until the entire damaged part is repaired.

9. The method for repairing metal additive manufacturing according to claim 8, characterized in that: Metal 3D printing requires that the cross-sectional area inside the damaged area be less than or equal to the cross-sectional area inside the upper layer, and the upper layer cannot obstruct the area of ​​the lower layer. Areas that do not meet the requirements need to be cut to meet the requirements of metal 3D printing. The damaged area of ​​the damaged part is the inner area of ​​the part, and the inner damaged area is surrounded by metal.

10. The method for repairing metal additive manufacturing according to claim 8, characterized in that: The mass of the metal powder is M, the bulk density of the metal powder is P, and the single-layer volume of the internal damaged region is V, which have the following relationship: M = P×V, P = m / v, V = S ×H, Where m is the mass of a certain amount of metal powder deposited in the graduated cylinder, v is the volume of the deposited metal powder, S is the cross-sectional area of ​​the slice at the printing area, and H is the thickness of the printing layer.

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