Multi-material powder bed metal additive manufacturing printer and printing method

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of metal additive manufacturing, in particular to a multi-material powder bed metal additive manufacturing printer and a printing method.The multi-material powder bed metal additive manufacturing printer is characterized in that a laser galvanometer is arranged above a forming cylinder, a forming base plate is arranged in the forming cylinder, and a material distributing plate is arranged above the forming base plate; the first material cylinder is arranged on one side of the forming cylinder, scraper rails are fixedly connected to the two sides of the first material cylinder, and a first scraper is arranged above the first material cylinder; the second material cylinder is arranged on the other side of the forming cylinder, a second scraper is arranged above the second material cylinder, and a second splice plate and a lifting splice plate are arranged between the second material cylinder and the forming cylinder; different base material powder is arranged in the multiple sets of material cylinders respectively, the forming base plate is locally covered with the material distributing plate, and therefore the different powder can be laid to the target position, the target powder can be laid in any area, a printing main body material and supporting material powder are printed separately and formed on the same layer, and the printing efficiency is improved. And the problem that the support is difficult to remove is solved by utilizing attributes of different materials.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of metal additive manufacturing, and in particular to a multi-material powder bed metal additive manufacturing printer and a printing method. Background Art

[0002] A metal additive manufacturing printer is an advanced device that uses metal powder materials to manufacture three-dimensional entities by stacking them layer by layer. It can manufacture complex structures and high-performance parts that are difficult to achieve with traditional manufacturing methods by precisely controlling the melting and deposition of metal powder. This technology has broad application prospects in aerospace, automobile manufacturing, medical equipment and other fields. However, when using a metal additive printer to manufacture solid parts, it is usually avoided to remove the supports because they are difficult to remove. However, when manufacturing parts with special structural requirements, it will be difficult to avoid the use of supports. Summary of the invention

[0003] In order to solve the problems existing in the prior art, the main purpose of the present invention is to provide a multi-material powder bed metal additive manufacturing printer and a printing method.

[0004] To solve the above technical problems, according to one aspect of the present invention, the present invention provides the following technical solutions:

[0005] Multi-material powder bed metal additive manufacturing printer, including:

[0006] A forming cylinder, a laser galvanometer is arranged above the forming cylinder, a forming substrate is arranged inside the forming cylinder, and a material dividing plate is arranged above the forming substrate;

[0007] Material cylinder one, material cylinder one is arranged on one side of the forming cylinder, scraper tracks are fixedly connected to both sides of material cylinder one, and scraper one is arranged on the top of material cylinder one;

[0008] The second material cylinder is arranged on the other side of the forming cylinder, a second scraper is arranged above the second material cylinder, and a second splicing plate and a lifting splicing plate are arranged between the second material cylinder and the forming cylinder.

[0009] As a preferred solution of the multi-material powder bed metal additive manufacturing printer described in the present invention, wherein: one side of the forming cylinder is hinged with connecting rod one and connecting rod two, and a forming cylinder hinge motor is installed at the hinge between the forming cylinder and connecting rod two, and the forming cylinder hinge motor is used to control the swing of connecting rod two.

[0010] As a preferred solution of the multi-material powder bed metal additive manufacturing printer described in the present invention, a piston is arranged below the forming substrate, and the forming substrate can be raised and lowered inside the forming cylinder through the piston.

[0011] As a preferred solution of the multi-material powder bed metal additive manufacturing printer described in the present invention, one side of the dividing plate is connected to a dividing plate control rod, the middle part of the dividing plate control rod is hinged to the end of the connecting rod 2 away from the forming cylinder, and the end of the dividing plate control rod away from the dividing plate is hinged to the end of the connecting rod 1 away from the forming cylinder.

[0012] As a preferred solution of the multi-material powder bed metal additive manufacturing printer described in the present invention, a piston for lifting the powder material is arranged inside the material cylinder one, and a splicing plate one is fixedly connected between the material cylinder one and the forming cylinder.

[0013] As a preferred solution of the multi-material powder bed metal additive manufacturing printer described in the present invention, the scraper 1 is slidably fitted with the upper surface of the material cylinder 1, and the scraper 1 drive assembly is connected to both sides of the scraper 1, and the scraper 1 drive assembly is slidably arranged inside the scraper track.

[0014] As a preferred solution of the multi-material powder bed metal additive manufacturing printer described in the present invention, a scraper holder for material cylinder 2 is fixedly installed above the material cylinder 2, a scraper drive assembly is fixedly installed inside the scraper holder for material cylinder 2, and a drive rod is connected to the surface of the scraper drive assembly.

[0015] As a preferred solution of the multi-material powder bed metal additive manufacturing printer described in the present invention, the second scraper is slidably fitted to the upper surface of the second material cylinder.

[0016] As a preferred embodiment of the multi-material powder bed metal additive manufacturing printer described in the present invention, the second splicing plate is fixedly connected to the second material cylinder, a lifting drive assembly is fixedly installed on the bottom of the second splicing plate, a guide rod is fixedly installed on the bottom of the lifting drive assembly, a lead screw is rotatably installed on the bottom of the lifting drive assembly, the lifting splicing plate is arranged between the second splicing plate and the scraper track on the side of the first material cylinder close to the second material cylinder, a driving plate is fixedly arranged on the surface of the lifting splicing plate, the driving plate is slidably sleeved on the surface of the guide rod, and the driving plate is threadedly connected to the surface of the lead screw.

[0017] To solve the above technical problem, according to another aspect of the present invention, the present invention provides the following technical solution:

[0018] The printing method of the multi-material powder bed metal additive manufacturing printer is implemented using the above-mentioned multi-material powder bed metal additive manufacturing printer, and specifically includes the following steps:

[0019] Step 1: The forming cylinder hinge motor drives the second connecting rod to swing, and the second connecting rod drives the dividing plate to swing through the dividing plate control rod, so that the dividing plate is parallel to the forming base plate;

[0020] Step 2: The piston inside the material cylinder 1 raises the powder material inside the material cylinder 1 by one layer, and the lifting drive component controls the lifting splicing plate to sink so that the scraper 1 can pass normally. At this time, the scraper 1 is controlled to move in the direction close to the forming cylinder, and the layer of powder material raised by the material cylinder 1 is scraped flat and finally spread around the splicing plate 2 on the surface of the forming substrate;

[0021] Step 3: The laser galvanometer starts working to print the substrate around the second splicing board;

[0022] Step 4: The forming cylinder hinge motor drives the dividing plate to move to a vertical state, and cleans the powder of the main substrate adhered to the surface of the dividing plate;

[0023] Step 5: The lifting drive assembly controls the lifting splicing plate to rise, so that the lifting splicing plate fills the gap between the second splicing plate and the scraper track;

[0024] Step 6: The piston inside the second material cylinder raises the powder material inside the second material cylinder by one layer, and the second scraper driving assembly controls the second scraper to move towards the direction close to the forming cylinder, so as to flatten the raised layer of powder material inside the second material cylinder, and finally spread the empty space on the surface of the forming substrate after the material dividing plate is removed;

[0025] Step 7: The laser galvanometer starts working to print the current support material into shape, and the process from step 1 to step 7 is repeated. During the process, the molding substrate descends layer by layer to complete the printing of the physical part.

[0026] The beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows:

[0027] The present invention proposes a multi-material powder bed metal additive manufacturing printer and a printing method. By setting a plurality of groups of different material cylinders, different base material powders are respectively set in the plurality of material cylinders, and the forming substrate is partially covered by a dividing plate, so that different powders can be laid to the target position, thereby achieving the laying of target powder in any area, so that the printing main material and the support material powder are printed separately and formed in the same layer, and the properties of different materials are used to solve the problem of difficult support removal. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on the structures shown in these drawings without paying creative work.

[0029] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 2It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the lifting splicing plate of the present invention when it falls;

[0031] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the lifting splicing plate of the present invention when it is lifted.

[0032] In the figure: laser galvanometer 1, forming cylinder 2, forming substrate 21, material cylinder 1 3, material cylinder 2 4, scraper 1 5, scraper 1 drive assembly 51, splicing plate 1 6, scraper track 7, material cylinder 2 scraper holder 8, scraper 2 drive assembly 81, drive rod 82, scraper 2 9, dividing plate 10, dividing plate control rod 101, connecting rod 1 11, connecting rod 2 12, forming cylinder hinge motor 13, splicing plate 2 14, lifting drive assembly 141, guide rod 142, lead screw 143, lifting splicing plate 15, drive plate 151.

[0033] The realization of the purpose, functional features and advantages of the present invention will be further explained in conjunction with embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] The following will be described clearly and completely in conjunction with the technical solutions in the embodiments. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0035] Please see attached Figure 1 To Attachment Figure 3 As shown, the present invention provides a multi-material powder bed metal additive manufacturing printer, comprising:

[0036] A forming cylinder 2, wherein a laser galvanometer 1 is arranged above the forming cylinder 2, a connecting rod 11 and a connecting rod 2 12 are hinged on one side of the forming cylinder 2, a forming cylinder hinge motor 13 is installed at the hinge between the forming cylinder 2 and the connecting rod 2 12, and the forming cylinder hinge motor 13 is used to control the swing of the connecting rod 2 12, a forming substrate 21 is arranged inside the forming cylinder 2, a piston is arranged below the forming substrate 21, and the forming substrate 21 can be lifted and lowered inside the forming cylinder 2 through the piston, a dividing plate 10 is arranged above the forming substrate 21, a dividing plate control rod 101 is connected to one side of the dividing plate 10, a middle part of the dividing plate control rod 101 is hinged to an end of the connecting rod 2 12 away from the forming cylinder 2, and an end of the dividing plate control rod 101 away from the dividing plate 10 is hinged to an end of the connecting rod 11 away from the forming cylinder 2;

[0037] A material cylinder 3, wherein the material cylinder 3 is arranged at one side of the forming cylinder 2, a piston for lifting the powder material is arranged inside the material cylinder 3, a splicing plate 6 is fixedly connected between the material cylinder 3 and the forming cylinder 2, scraper tracks 7 are fixedly connected on both sides of the material cylinder 3, a scraper 5 is arranged above the material cylinder 3, the scraper 5 is slidably fitted with the upper surface of the material cylinder 3, and a scraper driving assembly 51 is connected on both sides of the scraper 5, and the scraper driving assembly 51 is slidably arranged inside the scraper track 7;

[0038] A second material cylinder 4 is provided on the other side of the forming cylinder 2, a second material cylinder scraper holder 8 is fixedly installed above the second material cylinder 4, a second scraper drive assembly 81 is fixedly installed inside the second material cylinder scraper holder 8, a driving rod 82 is connected to the surface of the second scraper drive assembly 81, a second scraper 9 is provided above the second material cylinder 4, the second scraper 9 is slidably fitted with the upper surface of the second material cylinder 4, a second splicing plate 14 and a lifting splicing plate 15 are provided between the second material cylinder 4 and the forming cylinder 2, the second splicing plate 14 is fixedly connected to the second material cylinder 4, and the splicing plate A lifting drive assembly 141 is fixedly installed at the bottom of the second 14, a guide rod 142 is fixedly installed at the bottom of the lifting drive assembly 141, a lead screw 143 is rotatably installed at the bottom of the lifting drive assembly 141, the lifting splicing plate 15 is arranged between the splicing plate 2 14 and the scraper track 7 on the side of the cylinder 1 3 close to the cylinder 2 4, and a driving plate 151 is fixedly installed on the surface of the lifting splicing plate 15, the driving plate 151 is slidably sleeved on the surface of the guide rod 142, and the driving plate 151 is threadedly connected to the surface of the lead screw 143.

[0039] The printing method of the multi-material powder bed metal additive manufacturing printer is implemented according to the above-mentioned multi-material powder bed metal additive manufacturing printer, and specifically comprises the following steps:

[0040] Step 1: The forming cylinder hinge motor 13 drives the second connecting rod 12 to swing, and the second connecting rod 12 drives the dividing plate 10 to swing through the dividing plate control rod 101, so that the dividing plate 10 is parallel to the forming base plate 21;

[0041] Step 2: The piston inside the material cylinder 13 raises the powder material inside the material cylinder 13 by one layer, and the lifting drive assembly 141 controls the lifting splicing plate 15 to sink, so that the scraper 15 can pass normally. At this time, the scraper 15 is controlled to move toward the direction close to the forming cylinder 2, and the layer of powder material raised by the material cylinder 13 is scraped flat and finally spread around the splicing plate 2 14 on the surface of the forming substrate 21;

[0042] Step 3: The laser galvanometer 1 starts to work, and prints the substrate laid around the second splicing plate 14;

[0043] Step 4: The forming cylinder hinge motor 13 drives the dividing plate 10 to move to a vertical state, and cleans the powder of the main substrate adhered to the surface of the dividing plate 10;

[0044] Step 5: The lifting drive assembly 141 controls the lifting splicing plate 15 to rise, so that the lifting splicing plate 15 fills the gap between the splicing plate 2 14 and the scraper track 7;

[0045] Step 6: The piston inside the second material cylinder 4 raises the powder material inside the second material cylinder 4 by one layer, and the second scraper driving assembly 81 controls the second scraper 9 to move toward the direction close to the forming cylinder 2, so as to flatten the raised layer of powder material inside the second material cylinder 4, and finally spread the empty space on the surface of the forming substrate 21 after the material dividing plate 10 is removed;

[0046] Step 7: The laser galvanometer 1 starts to work, prints the current support material into shape, and repeats the process from step 1 to step 7. During the process, the molding substrate 21 descends layer by layer, thereby completing the printing of the physical part.

[0047] The present invention proposes a multi-material powder bed metal additive manufacturing printer and printing method. By setting multiple groups of different material cylinders, different base material powders are respectively set in the multiple groups of material cylinders, and the forming substrate 21 is partially covered by the dividing plate 10, so that different powders can be laid to the target position, thereby achieving the laying of target powder in any area, so that the printed main material and support material powders are printed separately and formed in the same layer, and the properties of different materials are used (for example, the main material high entropy alloy FeCoCrNiMn or titanium-based alloy Tc4 is more corrosion-resistant, while the support material 304 stainless steel is not corrosion-resistant) to solve the problem of difficult support removal.

[0048] As a further improvement of the present invention, the thickness of the dividing plate 10 is maintained at the thickness of one layer of printing, and the shape is the supporting two-dimensional cross-sectional shape after slicing by the printer slicing software. Multiple groups of dividing plates 10 driven by the forming cylinder hinge motor 13 can be set.

[0049] As a further improvement of the present invention, a splicing plate is provided between the multiple groups of material cylinders and the forming cylinders to make the powder material transition from the material cylinders to the forming cylinders smoother.

[0050] The present invention proposes a multi-material powder bed metal additive manufacturing printer. When in use, the forming cylinder hinge motor 13 drives the connecting rod 2 12 to swing, and the connecting rod 2 12 drives the dividing plate 10 to swing through the dividing plate control rod 101, so that the dividing plate 10 is parallel to the forming substrate 21, and then the piston inside the material cylinder 3 raises the powder material inside the material cylinder 3 by one layer, and the lifting drive component 141 controls the lifting splicing plate 15 to sink, so that the scraper 15 can pass normally. At this time, the scraper 15 is controlled to move in the direction close to the forming cylinder 2, and the layer of powder material raised by the material cylinder 3 is scraped flat and finally spread around the splicing plate 2 14 on the surface of the forming substrate 21. At this time, the laser galvanometer 1 starts to work, and the substrate spread around the splicing plate 2 14 is printed and formed, and then the forming cylinder hinge motor 13 drives the dividing plate 10 to move to a vertical state, and cleans the powder of the main substrate adhered to the surface of the dividing plate 10. At this time, the lifting drive component 141 controls the lifting splicing plate 15 to rise, so that the lifting splicing plate 15 fills the gap between the splicing plate 14 and the scraper track 7, and then the piston inside the material cylinder 4 raises the powder material inside the material cylinder 4 by one layer. The scraper 2 drive component 81 controls the scraper 2 9 to move toward the direction close to the forming cylinder 2, and scrapes the raised layer of powder material inside the material cylinder 4 flat, and finally covers the empty position on the surface of the forming substrate 21 after the dividing plate 10 is removed. At this time, the laser galvanometer 1 starts to work, prints the current support material, and repeats the above operation. During the process, the forming substrate 21 descends layer by layer, thereby completing the printing of the solid part.

[0051] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and does not limit the patent scope of the present invention. All equivalent structural changes made by using the contents of the present invention specification under the inventive concept of the present invention, or directly / indirectly applied in other related technical fields are included in the patent protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A multi-material powder bed metal additive manufacturing printer, characterized in that: include: A forming cylinder (2), wherein a laser galvanometer (1) is arranged above the forming cylinder (2), a forming substrate (21) is arranged inside the forming cylinder (2), and a material dividing plate (10) is arranged above the forming substrate (21); A material cylinder (3), wherein the material cylinder (3) is arranged on one side of the forming cylinder (2), scraper tracks (7) are fixedly connected to both sides of the material cylinder (3), and a scraper (5) is arranged above the material cylinder (3); A second material cylinder (4), the second material cylinder (4) is arranged on the other side of the forming cylinder (2), a second scraper (9) is arranged above the second material cylinder (4), and a second splicing plate (14) and a lifting splicing plate (15) are arranged between the second material cylinder (4) and the forming cylinder (2).

2. The multi-material powder bed metal additive manufacturing printer according to claim 1, characterized in that: One side of the molding cylinder (2) is hinged with a connecting rod 1 (11) and a connecting rod 2 (12), and a molding cylinder hinge motor (13) is installed at the hinge between the molding cylinder (2) and the connecting rod 2 (12), and the molding cylinder hinge motor (13) is used to control the swing of the connecting rod 2 (12).

3. The multi-material powder bed metal additive manufacturing printer according to claim 2, characterized in that: A piston is arranged below the molding substrate (21), and the molding substrate (21) can be raised and lowered inside the molding cylinder (2) by the piston.

4. The multi-material powder bed metal additive manufacturing printer according to claim 3, characterized in that: One side of the dividing plate (10) is connected to a dividing plate control rod (101), the middle part of the dividing plate control rod (101) is hinged to the end of the second connecting rod (12) away from the forming cylinder (2), and the end of the dividing plate control rod (101) away from the dividing plate (10) is hinged to the end of the first connecting rod (11) away from the forming cylinder (2).

5. The multi-material powder bed metal additive manufacturing printer according to claim 4, characterized in that: A piston for lifting the powder material is arranged inside the material cylinder one (3), and a splicing plate one (6) is fixedly connected between the material cylinder one (3) and the forming cylinder (2).

6. The multi-material powder bed metal additive manufacturing printer according to claim 5, characterized in that: The scraper one (5) is slidably fitted with the upper surface of the material cylinder one (3), and the two sides of the scraper one (5) are connected with a scraper one driving component (51), and the scraper one driving component (51) is slidably arranged inside the scraper track (7).

7. The multi-material powder bed metal additive manufacturing printer according to claim 6, characterized in that: A second material cylinder scraper frame (8) is fixedly installed above the second material cylinder (4), a second scraper drive assembly (81) is fixedly installed inside the second material cylinder scraper frame (8), and a drive rod (82) is connected to the surface of the second scraper drive assembly (81).

8. The multi-material powder bed metal additive manufacturing printer according to claim 7, characterized in that: The scraper 2 (9) is slidably fitted to the upper surface of the material cylinder 2 (4).

9. The multi-material powder bed metal additive manufacturing printer according to claim 8, characterized in that: The second splicing plate (14) is fixedly connected to the second material cylinder (4); a lifting drive assembly (141) is fixedly installed at the bottom of the second splicing plate (14); a guide rod (142) is fixedly installed at the bottom of the lifting drive assembly (141); a lead screw (143) is rotatably installed at the bottom of the lifting drive assembly (141); the lifting splicing plate (15) is arranged between the second splicing plate (14) and the scraper track (7) on the side of the first material cylinder (3) close to the second material cylinder (4); a driving plate (151) is fixedly installed on the surface of the lifting splicing plate (15); the driving plate (151) is slidably sleeved on the surface of the guide rod (142); and the driving plate (151) is threadedly connected to the surface of the lead screw (143).

10. A printing method for a multi-material powder bed metal additive manufacturing printer, characterized in that: The method is implemented by using the multi-material powder bed metal additive manufacturing printer according to any one of claims 1 to 9, specifically by the following steps: Step 1: The forming cylinder hinge motor (13) drives the second connecting rod (12) to swing, and the second connecting rod (12) drives the dividing plate (10) to swing through the dividing plate control rod (101), so that the dividing plate (10) is parallel to the forming base plate (21); Step 2: The piston inside the material cylinder 1 (3) raises the powder material inside the material cylinder 1 (3) by one layer, and the lifting drive assembly (141) controls the lifting splicing plate (15) to sink, so that the scraper 1 (5) can pass normally. At this time, the scraper 1 (5) is controlled to move in the direction close to the forming cylinder (2), and the layer of powder material raised by the material cylinder 1 (3) is scraped flat and finally spread around the splicing plate 2 (14) on the surface of the forming substrate (21); Step 3: The laser galvanometer (1) starts to work, printing the substrate laid around the second splicing plate (14); Step 4: The forming cylinder hinge motor (13) drives the dividing plate (10) to move to a vertical state, and cleans the powder of the main substrate adhered to the surface of the dividing plate (10); Step 5: The lifting drive assembly (141) controls the lifting splicing plate (15) to rise, so that the lifting splicing plate (15) fills the gap between the second splicing plate (14) and the scraper track (7); Step 6: The piston inside the second material cylinder (4) raises the powder material inside the second material cylinder (4) by one layer, and the second scraper driving assembly (81) controls the second scraper (9) to move in the direction close to the forming cylinder (2), so as to flatten the raised layer of powder material inside the second material cylinder (4), and finally spread the powder material on the surface of the forming substrate (21) after the material dividing plate (10) is removed; Step 7: The laser galvanometer (1) starts working to print the current support material into shape, and the process from step 1 to step 7 is repeated, and the molding substrate (21) is lowered layer by layer during the process, thereby completing the printing of the physical part.

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