Automatic powder supply device of printer

Abstract

The invention discloses an automatic powder supply device of a printer, which comprises printing equipment I and printing equipment II which are arranged at an interval, and further comprises a top powder supply device, a powder transfer device and a powder conveying truss manipulator, the first printing equipment and the second printing equipment are each provided with a top powder supply device, each top powder supply device comprises a top powder supply tank, a first electric butterfly valve arranged on the top powder supply tank and an air cylinder assembly used for controlling opening and closing of a manual butterfly valve, and each air cylinder assembly comprises a rotating air cylinder and a U-shaped mechanical arm. The powder transfer device is arranged between the printing equipment I and the printing equipment II and comprises an equipment mounting rack and a powder adding tank arranged on the equipment mounting rack, and a manual butterfly valve is arranged at the lower end of the powder adding tank; the powder conveying truss manipulator comprises a supporting seat, an X-axis truss, a Y-axis truss, a Z-axis truss and a clamping jaw. In short, the device has the advantages of novel structure, convenience in use, high efficiency, convenience and the like.

Description

Technical Field

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

[0002] 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:

[0003] 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.

[0004] 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.

[0005] 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

[0006] In view of the above-mentioned problems, the purpose of the present invention is to provide an automatic powder supply device for a printer, which can realize fully automatic powder supply to multiple printing devices and solve the problems of low efficiency, high labor intensity and great safety hazards in the existing powder supply method.

[0007] The technical solution of the present invention is: a printer automatic powder supply device, comprising a printing device 1 and a printing device 2 arranged at intervals, and also comprising:

[0008] A top powder supply device, both the printing device 1 and the printing device 2 are provided with the top powder supply device, the top powder supply device comprises a top powder supply tank, an electric butterfly valve 1 arranged on the top powder supply tank and a cylinder assembly;

[0009] A powder transfer device is arranged between the first printing device and the second printing device, the powder transfer device comprises an equipment mounting frame and a powder adding tank arranged on the equipment mounting frame, a manual butterfly valve is arranged at the lower end of the powder adding tank, the manual butterfly valve is used to dock with the first electric butterfly valve, and the cylinder assembly is used to control the opening and closing of the manual butterfly valve;

[0010] The powder conveying truss robot comprises a support seat, an X-axis truss, a Y-axis truss, a Z-axis truss and a clamp, wherein the support seat is divided into two parts, which are symmetrically installed on both sides of printing device one and printing device two, 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 in front of the Y-axis truss, and the clamp is arranged at the lower end of the Z-axis truss for clamping the powder adding tank.

[0011] Furthermore, the cylinder assembly comprises:

[0012] A rotating cylinder is arranged on the top of the first printing device or the second printing device through a mounting bracket;

[0013] A U-shaped mechanical arm is arranged at the output end of the rotating cylinder through a coupling. The U-shaped mechanical arm is connected to the electric butterfly valve 1 and is used to control the opening or closing of the electric butterfly valve 1.

[0014] Furthermore, a proximity switch and a material level sensor are provided on the top powder supply tank. The proximity switch is connected to the control module of the rotating cylinder, and is used to sense the approach of the powder adding tank and send a signal to the control module of the rotating cylinder. The material level sensor is connected to the control module of the powder conveying truss manipulator, and is used to send a signal to the control module of the powder conveying truss manipulator when the powder drops to a set value.

[0015] Furthermore, a plurality of new powder tanks are provided on the equipment mounting frame, which are used to supply powder to the top powder supply tank when the powder in the powder adding tank is insufficient.

[0016] Furthermore, the powder adding tank is provided with an electric butterfly valve 2 for adding powder.

[0017] Furthermore, the X-axis truss comprises:

[0018] An X-axis crossbeam, on which an X-axis spur rack is provided;

[0019] 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;

[0020] 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;

[0021] 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.

[0022] Furthermore, the Y-axis truss comprises:

[0023] A Y-axis crossbeam mounting block, fixedly disposed on the X-axis guide rail slider;

[0024] 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;

[0025] 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.

[0026] Furthermore, the Z-axis truss comprises:

[0027] A Z-axis crossbeam mounting block, fixedly disposed at the front end of the Y-axis crossbeam;

[0028] 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;

[0029] 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;

[0030] The Z-axis buffer is arranged at the upper end of the Z-axis vertical beam.

[0031] The working method of the present invention is as follows: when the material level sensor detects that there is insufficient powder in the top powder supply tank, a signal is sent to the control module of the powder conveying truss manipulator, and the powder conveying truss manipulator controls the X-axis truss, the Y-axis truss and the Z-axis truss to move the clamping claw to the top of the powder transfer device, and clamps the powder adding tank and moves it to the top powder supply tank. When the powder adding tank approaches, the proximity switch senses it and sends a signal to the control module of the rotating cylinder. The rotating cylinder drives the U-shaped mechanical arm to work, so that once the electric butterfly valve is opened, the powder adding tank adds powder to the top powder supply tank through the manual butterfly valve at the bottom, thereby completing the automatic powder supply operation. After the powder adding is completed, the rotating cylinder drives the electric butterfly valve to close, and the powder conveying truss manipulator controls the clamping claw to reset.

[0032] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effect of the present invention is that: the automatic powder supply device for a printer provided by the present invention can monitor the stock of powder in the top powder supply tank in real time by setting a material level sensor on the top powder supply tank. When the stock of powder reaches below the set value, the powder conveying truss manipulator drives the clamping claw to clamp the transfer powder tank, so that the electric butterfly valve at the lower end of the transfer powder tank is sealed and docked with the electric butterfly valve on the top powder supply tank to complete the powder supply operation. The powder is prevented from contacting with the air during the powder supply process, and the powder quality is ensured while preventing the powder from leaking during the conveying process. In short, the present invention has the advantages of novel structure, easy use, high efficiency and convenience. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0033] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the present invention;

[0034] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the powder conveying truss manipulator of the present invention;

[0035] Figure 3 It is a partial enlarged structural schematic diagram of the powder transfer device of the present invention;

[0036] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the top powder supply tank of the present invention.

[0037] Among them, 1-printing equipment 1, 1051-top powder supply tank, 1052-electric butterfly valve 1, 1053-proximity switch, 1054-level sensor, 1061-rotating cylinder, 1062-mounting bracket, 1063-U-shaped mechanical arm, 1064-coupling, 2-printing equipment 2, 3-powder transfer device, 301-equipment installation rack, 305-powder adding tank, 3051-manual butterfly valve, 3052-electric butterfly valve 2, 4-powder conveying truss manipulator, 401-support seat, 402-X-axis truss, 4021-X-axis beam, 4022-X-axis guide slider, 4023-X-axis Buffer 1, 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-gripper. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] 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.

[0039] 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.

[0040] 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.

[0041] Example: Figure 1 As shown, an automatic powder supply device for a printer includes a printing device 1 and a printing device 2 arranged at intervals, and also includes a top powder supply device, a powder transfer device 3 and a powder conveying truss manipulator 4. Among them:

[0042] The printing device 1 and the printing device 2 are both provided with a top powder supply device, such as Figure 4 As shown, the top powder supply device includes a top powder supply tank 1051, an electric butterfly valve 1052 arranged on the top powder supply tank 1051, and a cylinder assembly for controlling the opening and closing of the manual butterfly valve 3051. The cylinder assembly includes a rotating cylinder 1061 and a U-shaped mechanical arm 1063; the rotating cylinder 1061 is arranged on the top of the printing device 1 or the printing device 2 through a mounting bracket 1062; the U-shaped mechanical arm 1063 is arranged at the output end of the rotating cylinder 1061 through a coupling 1064, and the U-shaped mechanical arm 1063 is connected to the electric butterfly valve 1052. 1052 is connected to control the opening or closing of the electric butterfly valve 1052. A proximity switch 1053 and a material level sensor 1054 are provided on the top powder supply tank 1051. The proximity switch 1053 is connected to the control module of the rotating cylinder 1061 to sense the approach of the powder adding tank 305 and send a signal to the control module of the rotating cylinder 1061. The material level sensor 1054 is connected to the control module of the powder conveying truss manipulator 4 to send a signal to the control module of the powder conveying truss manipulator 4 when the powder drops to a set value.

[0043] The powder transfer device 3 is arranged between the printing device 1 and the printing device 2. Figure 3 As shown, the powder transfer device 3 includes an equipment mounting frame 301 and a powder adding tank 305 arranged on the equipment mounting frame 301, a manual butterfly valve 3051 is arranged at the lower end of the powder adding tank 305, the manual butterfly valve 3051 is used to dock with the electric butterfly valve 1052, the powder adding tank 305 is provided with an electric butterfly valve 2 3052 for adding powder, and a plurality of new powder tanks are arranged on the equipment mounting frame 301, which are used to supply powder to the top powder supply tank 1051 when the powder in the powder adding tank 305 is insufficient;

[0044] like Figure 2As 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 clamping the powder adding tank 305; the X-axis truss 402 includes an X-axis crossbeam 4021, an X-axis guide slider 402 2. X-axis servo motor 4027, X-axis buffer 1 4023 and X-axis buffer 2 4025; X-axis spur rack 4024 is provided on X-axis crossbeam 4021; X-axis guide rail slider 4022 is movably provided on X-axis spur rack 4024, and Y-axis truss 403 is fixedly provided on X-axis guide rail slider 4022; X-axis servo motor 4027 is connected to X-axis guide rail slider 4022 through X-axis planetary reducer 4026, and is used to drive X-axis guide rail slider 4022 to move on X-axis spur rack 4024; X-axis buffer 1 4023 and X-axis buffer 2 4025 are respectively provided at both ends of X-axis crossbeam 4021, and are used to limit and maintain The X-axis guide slider 4022 is provided; 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 a Z 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 material level sensor 1054 detects that the powder in the top powder supply tank 1051 is insufficient, a signal is sent to the control module of the powder conveying truss manipulator 4, and the powder conveying truss manipulator 4 controls the X-axis truss 402, the Y-axis truss 403 and the Z-axis truss 404 to move the clamp 405 to the top of the powder transfer device 3, and clamp the powder adding tank 305 to move to the top powder supply tank 1051. When the powder adding tank 305 is close to the opening, the powder conveying truss manipulator 4 moves the clamp 405 to the top of the powder transfer device 3. The switch 1053 senses and sends a signal to the control module of the rotating cylinder 1061, and the rotating cylinder 1061 drives the U-shaped robot arm 1063 to work, so that the electric butterfly valve 1052 is opened, and the powder adding tank 305 adds powder to the top powder supply tank 1051 through the manual butterfly valve 3051 at the bottom, thereby completing the automatic powder supply operation. After the powder adding is completed, the rotating cylinder 1061 drives the electric butterfly valve 1052 to close, and the powder conveying truss robot 4 controls the clamping claw 405 to reset.

[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 automatic powder supply device, comprising a printing device 1 (1) and a printing device 2 (2) arranged at intervals, characterized in that: Also includes: A top powder supply device, the printing device 1 (1) and the printing device 2 (2) are both provided with the top powder supply device, the top powder supply device comprising a top powder supply tank (1051), an electric butterfly valve 1 (1052) arranged on the top powder supply tank (1051), and a cylinder assembly; A powder transfer device (3) is arranged between the printing device 1 (1) and the printing device 2 (2), the powder transfer device (3) comprising an equipment mounting frame (301) and a powder adding tank (305) arranged on the equipment mounting frame (301), a manual butterfly valve (3051) is arranged at the lower end of the powder adding tank (305), the manual butterfly valve (3051) is used to dock with the electric butterfly valve 1 (1052), and the cylinder assembly is used to control the opening and closing of the manual butterfly valve (3051); A powder conveying truss robot (4) comprises a support seat (401), an X-axis truss (402), a Y-axis truss (403), a Z-axis truss (404) and a clamp (405), wherein the support seat (401) is divided into two parts, which are symmetrically installed on both sides of a printing device (1) and a 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), 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 clamping the powder adding tank (305).

2. The automatic powder supply device for a printer as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The cylinder assembly comprises: A rotating cylinder (1061) is arranged on the top of the printing device 1 (1) or the printing device 2 (2) via a mounting bracket (1062); A U-shaped mechanical arm (1063) is arranged at the output end of the rotary cylinder (1061) via a coupling (1064); the U-shaped mechanical arm (1063) is connected to the electric butterfly valve (1052) and is used to control the opening or closing of the electric butterfly valve (1052).

3. The automatic powder supply device for a printer as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The top powder supply tank (1051) is provided with a proximity switch (1053) and a material level sensor (1054); the proximity switch (1053) is connected to the control module of the rotating cylinder (1061) and is used to sense the approach of the powder supply tank (305) and send a signal to the control module of the rotating cylinder (1061); the material level sensor (1054) is connected to the control module of the powder conveying truss manipulator (4) and is used to send a signal to the control module of the powder conveying truss manipulator (4) when the powder drops to a set value.

4. The automatic powder supply device for a printer as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The powder adding tank (305) is provided with an electric butterfly valve 2 (3052) for adding powder.

5. The automatic powder supply device for a printer as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: A plurality of new powder tanks are arranged on the equipment mounting frame (301) for supplying powder to the top powder supply tank (1051) when the powder in the powder adding tank (305) is insufficient.

6. The automatic powder supply device for a printer as claimed in claim 1, 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).

7. The automatic powder supply device for a printer as claimed in claim 6, 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).

8. The automatic powder supply device for a printer as claimed in claim 7, 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).

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