A powder supply device for 3D printing

Abstract

The invention discloses a powder supply device for 3D printing, relates to the field of 3D printing auxiliary equipment, solves the problem that it is difficult to isolate air during the transportation of powder raw materials when using the existing powder supply device for 3D printing, and the raw material powder is easily wrapped by an oxide film, affecting the printing efficiency. The device comprises a shell, a storage hopper, a feeding mechanism, a conveying mechanism and a circulation mechanism. The feeding mechanism comprises an air storage tank, an air tank and a conveying disk. A plurality of conveying cavities are evenly arranged in the conveying disk. The invention controls the conveying disk to rotate and switch the position of the conveying cavity through the feeding mechanism, and extracts the air in the conveying cavity to be fed, injects inert gas, and at the same time extracts the inert gas in the conveying cavity after the feeding is completed into the air storage tank, injects air, and recycles it. The powder at the bottom of the storage hopper is upwardly conveyed to the powder outlet pipe by the conveying mechanism to complete the powder supply operation. At the same time, the water vapor in the powder is fully dried and the powder is preheated during the transportation process.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of 3D printing auxiliary equipment, and in particular to a powder supply device for 3D printing. Background Art

[0002] 3D printer, also known as three-dimensional printer, is a machine of cumulative manufacturing technology, that is, rapid prototyping technology. It is a technology based on digital model files, using special wax materials, powdered metal or plastic and other adhesive materials to print layers of adhesive materials to create three-dimensional objects. The technology constructs objects by printing layer by layer. The principle of 3D printer is to put data and raw materials into the 3D printer, and the machine will make the product layer by layer according to the program. The biggest difference between 3D printer and traditional printer is that the "ink" it uses is real raw material, and there are various forms of stacked thin layers. There are various types of media that can be used for printing, from a variety of plastics to metals, ceramics and rubber substances.

[0003] In the process of printing some metal products, the existing powder supply device for 3D printing needs to continuously transport metal powder as raw material to the output end for stacking and melting, and quickly solidify to form a three-dimensional structure. However, when transporting some easily oxidized metals, the existing powder supply device is difficult to effectively isolate the outside air. In the process of inputting the raw materials into the body, a certain amount of air will be carried. This air will react with the metal during the transportation and welding printing process to produce oxides wrapped around the outer wall of the metal, affecting the printing efficiency. The melting point of some oxides is extremely high, such as aluminum oxide, which will greatly increase energy consumption during the printing process. Summary of the invention

[0004] The object of the present invention is to provide a powder supply device for 3D printing that facilitates the input of raw materials while preventing air from entering the device to form an oxide film on the surface of metal powder, so as to solve the problems raised in the above-mentioned background technology.

[0005] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present invention provides the following technical solutions: a powder supply device for 3D printing, comprising a shell, a feeding mechanism, a conveying mechanism and a circulation mechanism, wherein a storage hopper is fixedly connected in the shell, the feeding mechanism comprises a gas storage tank and an air tank installed on the upper side of the shell, the gas storage tank is used to store inert gas, the air tank is used to store air, a conveying disc is provided on the upper side of the shell, a plurality of conveying cavities are evenly arranged in the conveying disc, the feeding mechanism can switch the position of the conveying cavity by rotating the conveying disc, and extract the air in the conveying cavity to be fed, inject Inert gas is introduced, and at the same time, the inert gas in the conveying chamber after the feeding is completed is extracted into the gas storage tank, and air is injected for recycling. The conveying mechanism is installed in the shell, and is used to convey the powder at the bottom of the storage hopper upward to the powder outlet pipe to complete the powder supply operation. At the same time, the water vapor in the powder is fully dried and the powder is preheated during the conveying process. The circulation mechanism is installed in the shell, and is used to extract and filter the water vapor and then circulate the inert gas into the gas storage tank, so as to prevent air from entering the equipment to form an oxide film on the surface of the metal powder while the raw materials are input.

[0006] Preferably, the feeding mechanism also includes a bottom plate fixedly mounted on the top of the storage hopper, the bottom plate is fixedly connected with a fixing column, the fixing column passes through the conveying disc and is rotatably connected to the inner wall of the conveying disc, the top of the fixing column is fixedly connected with a top plate, the upper and lower sides of the conveying disc respectively slide in contact with the top plate and the bottom plate, a feeding port is provided on the top plate that can be communicated with the top of any group of the conveying chambers, a conveying member for gas conveying is provided on the top plate, and a driving member for driving the conveying disc to rotate and switch is provided in the shell, so as to facilitate the switching of the position of the conveying chamber by rotating the conveying disc, and to extract the air in the conveying chamber to be fed, and inject inert gas, and at the same time, the inert gas in the conveying chamber after the feeding is completed is extracted into the gas storage tank, and air is injected for recycling.

[0007] Preferably, the conveying member includes two groups of first pipes fixedly mounted on the air storage tank, two groups of second pipes are fixedly connected to the air tank, an input port and an output port which can be communicated with the top end of any group of the conveying chambers are provided on the top plate, a discharge port which can be communicated with the bottom end of any group of the conveying chambers is provided on the bottom plate, a lifting plate is slidably connected to the input port and the output port respectively, the lifting plate can slide in the vertical direction with the inner wall of the conveying chamber, a control member for controlling the gas conveying state in the first pipe and the second pipe is provided on the top plate, so as to facilitate gas conveying.

[0008] Preferably, the control component includes a first sleeve and a second sleeve fixedly mounted on the lifting plate, the inner wall of the first sleeve is movably connected to the outer wall of the first pipe, the inner wall of the second sleeve is movably connected to the outer wall of the second pipe, the first sleeve and the second sleeve both pass through the lifting plate, the bottom ends of the first sleeve and the second sleeve can be connected to any group of the conveying chambers, and a lifting component for controlling the lifting of the lifting plate is provided on the top plate, so as to facilitate the control of the gas conveying state in the first pipe and the second pipe.

[0009] Preferably, the first sleeve located in the input port and the second sleeve located in the output port are respectively fixedly connected with a first one-way valve, and the second sleeve located in the input port and the first sleeve located in the output port are respectively fixedly connected with a second one-way valve, the first one-way valve is used to control the one-way downward flow of gas, and the second one-way valve is used to control the one-way upward flow of gas, so as to facilitate the control of the gas delivery direction.

[0010] Preferably, the conveying mechanism includes a conveying cylinder fixedly installed in the shell, the bottom of the conveying cylinder is fixedly connected to a fixed disk, the fixed disk is rotatably connected to a driving shaft, the outer wall of the driving shaft is fixedly connected to a spiral frame, the middle of the spiral frame is hollow, both ends of the spiral frame are open, the outer wall of the spiral frame fits and slides with the inner wall of the conveying cylinder, the spiral frame as a whole has a heating function, and the conveying cylinder is provided with a transmission part for conveying raw materials, which is convenient for conveying the powder at the bottom of the storage hopper upward to the powder outlet pipe to complete the powder supply operation, and at the same time, the water vapor in the powder is fully dried and the powder is preheated during the conveying process.

[0011] Preferably, the transmission member includes a transmission disk fixedly mounted on the driving shaft, the transmission disk is fitted and fixed to the bottom opening of the spiral frame, the bottom end of the storage hopper is fixedly connected to the conveying cylinder, a conveying pipe that can be connected to the bottom end of the storage hopper is opened in the transmission disk, the conveying pipe is connected to the conveying cylinder, and the top end of the conveying cylinder is connected to an output pipe to facilitate the conveying of raw materials.

[0012] Preferably, the circulation mechanism includes a circulation fan fixedly mounted on the upper side of the shell, the circulation fan having a built-in dehumidification structure, the output end of the circulation fan being connected to the gas storage tank, and the input end of the circulation fan being connected to an exhaust pipe connected to the top end of the conveying cylinder, so as to extract water vapor and circulate the inert gas into the gas storage tank after filtering.

[0013] Preferably, the lifting member includes an electric telescopic rod fixedly installed in the fixed column, the telescopic end of the electric telescopic rod is fixedly connected to the lifting frame, two groups of lifting frames are fixedly connected to the lifting frame, a guide plate is slidably connected in the lifting frame along the vertical direction, the top of the guide plate is fixedly connected to a return spring fixedly connected to the lifting frame, and the bottom ends of the two groups of guide plates are respectively fixedly connected to the top surfaces of the lifting plates on both sides, so as to facilitate the control of the lifting and lowering of the lifting plates.

[0014] Preferably, the driving member includes a driving motor fixedly installed in the shell, the output end of the driving motor is coaxially fixedly connected with a rotating rod, the top end of the rotating rod is coaxially fixedly connected with a driving gear, the outer wall of the conveying disc is fixedly connected with an external gear ring meshing with the driving gear, the rotating rod is coaxially fixedly connected with a first bevel gear, and the bottom end of the driving shaft is coaxially fixedly connected with a second bevel gear meshing with the first bevel gear, so as to drive the conveying disc to rotate and switch.

[0015] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects: The present invention provides a 3D printing powder supply device, which solves the problem that it is difficult to isolate air during the transportation of powder raw materials in the existing 3D printing powder supply device, and the raw materials are easily wrapped by an oxide film to affect the printing efficiency. The feeding mechanism controls the conveying disc to rotate and switch the position of the conveying cavity, and the air in the conveying cavity to be fed is extracted and injected with inert gas. At the same time, the inert gas in the conveying cavity after the feeding is completed is extracted into a gas storage tank, and air is injected for recycling. The powder at the bottom of the storage hopper is conveyed upward to the powder outlet pipe by the conveying mechanism to complete the powder supply operation. At the same time, the water vapor in the powder is fully dried and the powder is preheated during the transportation process. The water vapor is extracted and filtered by the circulation mechanism, and the inert gas is circulated to the gas storage tank. The device has strong integrity, can extract the input air during the raw material transportation process to avoid inputting into the equipment, and can avoid the inert gas inside the equipment from leaking in a large area during the raw material transportation process, thereby improving resource utilization, and can fully preheat and dry the raw material powder to improve the later printing efficiency. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the present invention.

[0017] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the shell of the present invention.

[0018] Figure 3 It is a partial structural sectional view of the conveying mechanism of the present invention.

[0019] Figure 4 for Figure 3 A magnified image of area A.

[0020] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the local structure of the circulation mechanism of the present invention.

[0021] Figure 6 for Figure 5 Enlarged view of area B.

[0022] Figure 7 It is an exploded view of the local structure of the feeding mechanism of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 8 It is a partial structural sectional view of the feeding mechanism of the present invention.

[0024] Fig. 9 for Figure 8 Enlarged view of area C.

[0025] Fig.10 It is a schematic diagram of the local structure of the conveying mechanism of the present invention.

[0026] Fig.11 It is a schematic diagram of the local structure of the feeding mechanism of the present invention.

[0027] In the figure: 1, shell; 2, storage hopper; 3, feeding mechanism; 4, air storage tank; 5, air tank; 6, conveying plate; 7, conveying chamber; 8, conveying mechanism; 9, circulation mechanism; 10, bottom plate; 11, fixed column; 12, top plate; 13, feeding port; 14, conveying member; 15, driving member; 16, first pipeline; 17, second pipeline; 18, input port; 19, output port; 20, discharge port; 21, lifting plate; 22, control member; 23, first sleeve; 24, second sleeve; 25, lifting member; 2 6. First one-way valve; 27. Second one-way valve; 28. Conveying cylinder; 29. ​​Fixed disk; 30. Driving shaft; 31. Screw frame; 32. Transmission member; 33. Transmission disk; 34. Conveying pipe; 35. Output pipe; 36. Circulating fan; 37. Exhaust pipe; 38. Electric telescopic rod; 39. Lifting frame; 40. Lifting frame; 41. Guide plate; 42. Return spring; 43. Driving motor; 44. Rotating rod; 45. Driving gear; 46. External gear ring; 47. First bevel gear; 48. Second bevel gear. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. 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.

[0029] See also Figure 1-Figure 11The present invention provides a technical solution: a powder supply device for 3D printing, comprising a shell 1, a feeding mechanism 3, a conveying mechanism 8 and a circulation mechanism 9. A storage hopper 2 is fixedly connected in the shell 1. The feeding mechanism 3 comprises a gas storage tank 4 and an air tank 5 installed on the upper side of the shell 1. The gas storage tank 4 is used to store inert gas, and the air tank 5 is used to store air. A conveying disc 6 is provided on the upper side of the shell 1. A plurality of conveying cavities 7 are evenly arranged in the conveying disc 6. The feeding mechanism 3 can rotate and switch the position of the conveying cavity 7 through the conveying disc 6, and extract the air in the conveying cavity 7 to be fed, inject inert gas, and at the same time, extract the inert gas in the conveying cavity 7 after the feeding is completed into the gas storage tank 4, inject air, and recycle it. The conveying mechanism 8 is installed in the shell 1, and is used to convey the powder at the bottom of the storage hopper 2 upward to the powder outlet pipe to complete the powder supply operation. At the same time, the water vapor in the powder is fully dried and the powder is preheated during the conveying process. The circulation mechanism 9 is installed in the shell 1, and is used to extract the water vapor and filter it and then circulate the inert gas to the gas storage tank 4.

[0030] The feeding mechanism 3 also includes a bottom plate 10 fixedly mounted on the top of the storage hopper 2, a fixed column 11 is fixedly connected to the bottom plate 10, the fixed column 11 passes through the conveying disc 6, and is rotatably connected to the inner wall of the conveying disc 6, and the top of the fixed column 11 is fixedly connected to the top plate 12, and the upper and lower sides of the conveying disc 6 are respectively fitted and slid with the top plate 12 and the bottom plate 10, and a feeding port 13 that can be connected to the top of any group of conveying chambers 7 is opened on the top plate 12, and a cover plate for opening and closing the feeding port 13 can be provided on the top cover, and a conveying member 14 for gas conveying is provided on the top plate 12, and a rotary switch for driving the conveying disc 6 to rotate is provided in the housing 1. The driving member 15 and the conveying member 14 include two groups of first pipes 16 fixedly mounted on the gas storage tank 4, two groups of second pipes 17 fixedly connected to the air tank 5, an input port 18 and an output port 19 which can be communicated with the top end of any group of conveying chambers 7 are provided on the top plate 12, a discharge port 20 which can be communicated with the bottom end of any group of conveying chambers 7 is provided on the bottom plate 10, and lifting plates 21 are slidably connected to the input port 18 and the output port 19 respectively, and the lifting plates 21 can slide along the vertical direction with the inner wall of the conveying chamber 7, and a control member 22 for controlling the gas conveying state in the first pipe 16 and the second pipe 17 is provided on the top plate 12.

[0031] The control member 22 includes a first sleeve 23 and a second sleeve 24 fixedly mounted on the lifting plate 21, the inner wall of the first sleeve 23 is movably connected to the outer wall of the first pipe 16, the inner wall of the second sleeve 24 is movably connected to the outer wall of the second pipe 17, the first sleeve 23 and the second sleeve 24 both penetrate the lifting plate 21, the bottom ends of the first sleeve 23 and the second sleeve 24 can be connected to any group of conveying chambers 7, and a lifting member 25 for controlling the lifting of the lifting plate 21 is provided on the top plate 12. The lifting member 25 includes an electric telescopic rod 38 fixedly mounted in the fixed column 11, the telescopic end of the electric telescopic rod 38 is fixedly connected to a lifting frame 39, and two groups of lifting frames 40 are fixedly connected to the lifting frame 39, and a guide plate 41 is slidably connected in the vertical direction in the lifting frame 40, and the top of the guide plate 41 is fixedly connected to a reset spring 42 fixedly connected to the lifting frame 40, and the bottom ends of the two groups of guide plates 41 are respectively fixedly connected to the top surfaces of the lifting plates 21 on both sides.

[0032] A first one-way valve 26 is fixedly connected to the first sleeve 23 located in the input port 18 and a second one-way valve 27 is fixedly connected to the second sleeve 24 located in the input port 18 and the first sleeve 23 located in the output port 19. The first one-way valve 26 is used to control the one-way downward flow of gas, and the second one-way valve 27 is used to control the one-way upward flow of gas.

[0033] The conveying mechanism 8 includes a conveying cylinder 28 fixedly installed in the shell 1, a fixed disk 29 is fixedly connected to the bottom of the conveying cylinder 28, a driving shaft 30 is rotatably connected to the fixed disk 29, a spiral frame 31 is fixedly connected to the outer wall of the driving shaft 30, the middle of the spiral frame 31 is hollow, both ends of the spiral frame 31 are open, the outer wall of the spiral frame 31 fits and slides with the inner wall of the conveying cylinder 28, the spiral frame 31 as a whole has a heating function, a transmission member 32 for conveying raw materials is provided on the conveying cylinder 28, the transmission member 32 includes a transmission disk 33 fixedly installed on the driving shaft 30, the transmission disk 33 is fit and fixed with the bottom opening of the spiral frame 31, the bottom end of the storage hopper 2 is fixedly connected to the conveying cylinder 28, a conveying pipe 34 that can be connected to the bottom end of the storage hopper 2 is opened in the transmission disk 33, the conveying pipe 34 is connected to the conveying cylinder 28, and the top of the conveying cylinder 28 is connected with an output pipe 35.

[0034] The circulation mechanism 9 includes a circulation fan 36 fixedly mounted on the upper side of the shell 1. The circulation fan 36 has a built-in dehumidification structure that can absorb water vapor in the input gas and then discharge it. The output end of the circulation fan 36 is connected to the gas storage tank 4, and the input end of the circulation fan 36 is connected to the exhaust pipe 37 connected to the top of the conveying cylinder 28.

[0035] The driving member 15 includes a driving motor 43 fixedly installed in the shell 1. The model of the driving motor 43 is preferably YYHS-40. The output end of the driving motor 43 is coaxially fixedly connected with a rotating rod 44, and the top of the rotating rod 44 is coaxially fixedly connected with a driving gear 45. The outer wall of the conveying plate 6 is fixedly connected with an external gear ring 46 meshing with the driving gear 45. A first bevel gear 47 is coaxially fixedly connected to the rotating rod 44, and the bottom end of the driving shaft 30 is coaxially fixedly connected with a second bevel gear 48 meshing with the first bevel gear 47.

[0036] Working principle: The metal raw material powder to be processed is input into the connected conveying chamber 7 through the feed port 13. At this time, the conveying chamber 7 will carry a part of the external air, and the rotating rod 44 is driven by the driving motor 43 to rotate. The rotating rod 44 drives the driving gear 45 to make the outer gear ring 46 and the conveying disc 6 rotate synchronously. When the conveying disc 6 rotates one circle, the conveying chamber 7 will be connected with the feed port 13, the input port 18, the discharge port 20, and the output port 19 one by one, and the rotation state of the driving motor 43 needs to be controlled during the feeding process, so that the conveying chamber 7 pauses for a period of time every time it rotates 90°, and the corresponding gas conveying operation is performed, and this cycle is repeated. When the top of the conveying chamber 7 is connected to the bottom of the feed port 13, the feeding operation can be performed. After that, the conveying chamber 7 rotates to the place connected with the input port 18, and the control motor The movable telescopic rod 38 pulls the lifting frame 39 and the lifting frame 40 to move downward, and the lifting frame 40 pushes the reset spring 42 so that the guide plate 41 pushes the lifting plate 21 to move downward. At this time, when the lifting plate 21 in the input port 18 moves downward, the air in the conveying chamber 7 will be discharged into the second sleeve 24 through the second one-way valve 27, and then conveyed to the air tank 5 until the bottom of the lifting plate 21 is compacted with the powder. At this time, the reset spring 42 is gradually compressed. When the lifting frame 39 moves down to the lowest point, the electric telescopic rod 38 is controlled to push the lifting frame 39 to move upward, so that the lifting plate 21 moves up to the input port 18 for reset, and the inert gas in the first sleeve 23 and the first pipeline 16 will be conveyed to the conveying chamber 7 through the first one-way valve 26 for filling, thereby ensuring that the subsequently input powder is surrounded by inert gas to reduce the probability of oxidation.

[0037] Afterwards, the conveying chamber 7 rotates 90° again, and the conveying chamber 7 rotates to a position connected with the discharge port 20, so that the metal powder in the conveying chamber 7 can be conveyed downward to the storage hopper 2 for storage. At this time, since the storage hopper 2 is filled with inert gas, a part of the inert gas will remain in the conveying chamber 7 when the powder is conveyed downward. Then, the conveying chamber 7 rotates 90° again, and the conveying chamber 7 is connected with the bottom of the discharge port 19. At this time, when the electric telescopic rod 38 drives the lifting plate 21 to lift, the lifting plate 21 is pressed downward to convey the inert gas in the conveying chamber 7 to the first sleeve 23 and the first pipe through the second one-way valve 27. The air in the second sleeve 24 is transported downward to the conveying chamber 7 through the first one-way valve 26. Finally, when the conveying chamber 7 is rotated 90° again, the inert gas can be prevented from flowing out to the outside when it is connected to the feed port 13. At the same time, the air in the conveying chamber 7 is output. At this time, the powder raw material can be input into the conveying chamber 7 again for rotation and transportation. This structure effectively completes the raw material transportation while also preventing outside air from flowing into the equipment and affecting the subsequent printing operation of the powder metal.

[0038] During the rotation of the rotating rod 44, the first bevel gear 47 is also driven to rotate, and the first bevel gear 47 drives the second bevel gear 48 to rotate the driving shaft 30, and the driving shaft 30 drives the spiral frame 31 and the transmission disk 33 to rotate. When the transmission disk 33 rotates, one end of the conveying pipe 34 is intermittently controlled to be connected to the bottom of the storage hopper 2, and the powder at the bottom of the storage hopper 2 will flow into the conveying cylinder 28 through the conveying pipe 34. As the spiral frame 31 rotates, the opening at the bottom of the spiral frame 31 shovels this part of the powder into the spiral frame 31, and as the spiral frame 31 rotates, it is gradually conveyed upward to the top of the spiral frame 31, and finally discharged into the output pipe 35 for output. The output pipe 35 is connected to the raw material input end of the 3D printing equipment to complete the powder supply operation. The initial temperature of the powder metal preheated by the spiral frame 31 is higher, which can reduce the energy consumption in the subsequent printing process to a certain extent.

[0039] It is worth noting that: during the powder conveying process in the spiral frame 31, since the spiral frame 31 is tilted and the amount of powder output from the output pipe 35 is relatively uniform for each rotation of the drive shaft 30, this part of the powder will be accumulated at the oblique lower part of the spiral frame 31 and conveyed upward to the top opening position as the spiral frame 31 rotates. Since the spiral frame 31 has a heating and drying function as a whole, the powder will fully contact the inner wall of the spiral frame 31 during the conveying process, so that the metal powder can be fully dried. At the same time, the water vapor flows along the upper channel to the top of the conveying cylinder 28 and is sucked into the circulating fan 36 by the exhaust pipe 37 for drying. Since this part of the gas after drying is mainly inert gas, it can be directly conveyed to the gas storage tank 4 for storage and recycling. Among them, the inclined spiral frame 31 can gradually convey the raw materials at the lower part upward to the upper output pipe 35, thereby reducing the height of the feed port 13. If the bottom of the storage hopper 2 is directly output downward to the output pipe 35, the height of the entire equipment will increase, and the position of the feed port 13 will move up, affecting the feeding efficiency.

[0040] When there is no need to perform synchronous feeding operation in the storage hopper 2, the upper feeding port 13 is directly closed, and the electric telescopic rod 38 is closed at the same time. Thereafter, the powder metal conveying and powder supply operation can be performed only by driving the driving shaft 30 and the spiral frame 31 to rotate through the driving motor 43. Two groups of driving motors 43 can be provided, which are respectively driven and connected to the rotating rod 44 and the driving shaft 30. In this way, during the switching process, a certain group of driving motors 43 can be independently controlled to realize the function switching of only feeding or only powder supply.

[0041] It should be noted that, in this article, relational terms such as first and second, etc. are only used to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Moreover, the terms "include", "comprise" or any other variants thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or device including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device.

[0042] Although embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions and variations may be made to the embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the present invention, and that the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A powder supply device for 3D printing, characterized in that: include: A housing (1), wherein a storage hopper (2) is fixedly connected to the housing (1); Also includes: A feeding mechanism (3), the feeding mechanism (3) comprising a gas storage tank (4) and an air tank (5) mounted on the upper side of the shell (1), the gas storage tank (4) being used to store inert gas, the air tank (5) being used to store air, a conveying disc (6) being provided on the upper side of the shell (1), a plurality of groups of conveying cavities (7) being evenly arranged in the conveying disc (6), the feeding mechanism (3) being able to switch the position of the conveying cavity (7) by rotating the conveying disc (6), and to extract the air in the conveying cavity (7) to be fed, and to inject inert gas, and at the same time, to extract the inert gas in the conveying cavity (7) after the feeding is completed into the gas storage tank (4), and to inject air for recycling; A conveying mechanism (8), the conveying mechanism (8) being installed in the housing (1) and used to convey the powder at the bottom of the storage hopper (2) upward to the powder outlet pipe to complete the powder supply operation, and at the same time fully drying the water vapor in the powder and preheating the powder during the conveying process; A circulation mechanism (9), the circulation mechanism (9) being installed in the housing (1) and used for extracting and filtering water vapor and then circulating the inert gas into the gas storage tank (4).

2. A powder supply device for 3D printing according to claim 1, characterized in that: The feeding mechanism (3) further comprises a bottom plate (10) fixedly mounted on the top of the storage hopper (2), a fixing column (11) fixedly connected to the bottom plate (10), the fixing column (11) passing through the conveying disc (6) and being rotatably connected to the inner wall of the conveying disc (6), a top plate (12) fixedly connected to the top of the fixing column (11), the upper and lower sides of the conveying disc (6) respectively slidingly fit with the top plate (12) and the bottom plate (10), a feeding port (13) capable of communicating with the top of any group of the conveying chambers (7) being provided on the top plate (12), a conveying member (14) for gas conveying being provided on the top plate (12), and a driving member (15) for driving the conveying disc (6) to rotate and switch being provided in the housing (1).

3. A powder supply device for 3D printing according to claim 2, characterized in that: The conveying member (14) comprises two groups of first pipes (16) fixedly mounted on the gas storage tank (4); the air tank (5) is fixedly connected to two groups of second pipes (17); the top plate (12) is provided with an input port (18) and an output port (19) which are capable of communicating with the top end of any group of the conveying chambers (7); the bottom plate (10) is provided with a discharge port (20) which is capable of communicating with the bottom end of any group of the conveying chambers (7); the input port (18) and the output port (19) are respectively slidably connected to a lifting plate (21); the lifting plate (21) is capable of sliding along the inner wall of the conveying chamber (7) in a vertical direction; and the top plate (12) is provided with a control member (22) for controlling the gas conveying state in the first pipes (16) and the second pipes (17).

4. A powder supply device for 3D printing according to claim 3, characterized in that: The control member (22) comprises a first sleeve (23) and a second sleeve (24) fixedly mounted on the lifting plate (21); the inner wall of the first sleeve (23) is movably sleeved with the outer wall of the first pipe (16); the inner wall of the second sleeve (24) is movably sleeved with the outer wall of the second pipe (17); the first sleeve (23) and the second sleeve (24) both penetrate the lifting plate (21); the bottom ends of the first sleeve (23) and the second sleeve (24) can be connected to any group of the conveying chambers (7); and a lifting member (25) for controlling the lifting of the lifting plate (21) is provided on the top plate (12).

5. A powder supply device for 3D printing according to claim 4, characterized in that: The first sleeve (23) located in the input port (18) and the second sleeve (24) located in the output port (19) are respectively fixedly connected with a first one-way valve (26); the second sleeve (24) located in the input port (18) and the first sleeve (23) located in the output port (19) are respectively fixedly connected with a second one-way valve (27); the first one-way valve (26) is used to control the one-way downward flow of gas, and the second one-way valve (27) is used to control the one-way upward flow of gas.

6. A powder supply device for 3D printing according to claim 2, characterized in that: The conveying mechanism (8) comprises a conveying cylinder (28) fixedly mounted in the housing (1); a fixed disk (29) is fixedly connected to the bottom of the conveying cylinder (28); a driving shaft (30) is rotatably connected to the fixed disk (29); a spiral frame (31) is fixedly connected to the outer wall of the driving shaft (30); the middle of the spiral frame (31) is hollow; both ends of the spiral frame (31) are open; the outer wall of the spiral frame (31) is slidably fitted with the inner wall of the conveying cylinder (28); the spiral frame (31) as a whole has a heating function; and a transmission member (32) for conveying raw materials is provided on the conveying cylinder (28).

7. A powder supply device for 3D printing according to claim 6, characterized in that: The transmission member (32) comprises a transmission disc (33) fixedly mounted on the drive shaft (30); the transmission disc (33) is fixedly fitted with the bottom opening of the spiral frame (31); the bottom end of the storage hopper (2) is fixedly connected to the conveying cylinder (28); a conveying pipe (34) capable of communicating with the bottom end of the storage hopper (2) is provided in the transmission disc (33); the conveying pipe (34) is connected to the conveying cylinder (28); and the top end of the conveying cylinder (28) is connected to an output pipe (35).

8. A powder supply device for 3D printing according to claim 6, characterized in that: The circulation mechanism (9) comprises a circulation fan (36) fixedly mounted on the upper side of the housing (1), the circulation fan (36) having a built-in dehumidification structure, the output end of the circulation fan (36) being connected to the gas storage tank (4), and the input end of the circulation fan (36) being connected to an exhaust pipe (37) connected to the top end of the conveying cylinder (28).

9. A powder supply device for 3D printing according to claim 4, characterized in that: The lifting member (25) comprises an electric telescopic rod (38) fixedly mounted in the fixed column (11); the telescopic end of the electric telescopic rod (38) is fixedly connected to a lifting frame (39); two sets of lifting frames (40) are fixedly connected to the lifting frame (39); a guide plate (41) is slidably connected in a vertical direction in the lifting frame (40); a return spring (42) fixedly connected to the lifting frame (40) is fixedly connected to the top of the guide plate (41); and the bottom ends of the two sets of guide plates (41) are respectively fixedly connected to the top surfaces of the lifting plates (21) on both sides.

10. A powder supply device for 3D printing according to claim 6, characterized in that: The driving member (15) comprises a driving motor (43) fixedly mounted in the housing (1); an output end of the driving motor (43) is coaxially fixedly connected to a rotating rod (44); a top end of the rotating rod (44) is coaxially fixedly connected to a driving gear (45); an outer toothed ring (46) meshing with the driving gear (45) is fixedly connected to the outer wall of the conveying plate (6); a first bevel gear (47) is coaxially fixedly connected to the rotating rod (44); and a second bevel gear (48) meshing with the first bevel gear (47) is coaxially fixedly connected to the bottom end of the driving shaft (30).

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