Space on-orbit in-place manufacturing and repairing device and method for spaceflight structural part

Abstract

The invention discloses a space on-orbit in-place manufacturing and repairing device and method for spaceflight structural parts. The device comprises a crushing mechanism, a feeding mechanism and a repairing and manufacturing mechanism, the method comprises the steps that the material crushing machine is started to crush large metal scraps into scrap materials, the crushed scrap materials enter the material gathering hopper and the rigid feeding pipe, the feeding motor is controlled to start to drive the flexible spiral body to rotate, and the scrap materials are conveyed to the material storage space through the flexible spiral body. According to the method, material adding of the spaceflight metal structural part can be achieved, in-place repairing can be conducted on the damaged spaceflight structural part, the blank of metal scrap recycling and the space on-orbit in-place manufacturing and repairing technology is filled up, the problem that molten drops are difficult to transition due to the fact that a heat source is adopted is thoroughly solved, and the method has the advantage of being high in safety coefficient; and in-orbit in-place manufacturing and repairing can be smoothly, efficiently and stably achieved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of on-orbit manufacturing and repairing of space structural parts, and in particular relates to an on-orbit in-situ manufacturing and repairing device and method for aerospace structural parts. Background Art

[0002] With the advancement of space commercialization internationally and China's official entry into the era of space station operations, the number of spacecraft entering space will increase significantly. More and more space debris and small meteoroids increase the risk of spacecraft encountering collisions, and the demand for space maintenance and repair tasks has increased sharply. At the same time, through the on-orbit additive manufacturing of spacecraft structures, the constraints of the mechanical load of the active section of the launch vehicle can be broken, lightweight design can be achieved, the utilization rate and manufacturing rate of materials can be improved, and the cost can be reduced; moreover, space additive manufacturing technology can utilize resources in situ, and there is no need to bring a large number of parts and equipment from the ground into deep space. It can achieve significant advantages such as "made and used", which is an important means of on-orbit reconstruction and regeneration. Therefore, the on-orbit manufacturing and repair of spacecraft structural parts in space is of great significance.

[0003] At present, document CN111962059B discloses a solid-state 3D printing system and method for on-orbit manufacturing and repair of space components using cold spraying; document CN112572526B discloses an integrated on-orbit repair system, which realizes on-orbit additive manufacturing of metal wire and powder through arc and laser heat source; document CN113275748B discloses on-orbit laser repair equipment with ultrasonic assisted wire feeding, which realizes repair operations by filling defects with laser fuses; CN116277616A discloses a space recycling and remanufacturing method, which is divided into two subsystems: a recycling system and a manufacturing system. The recycling system includes a crushing mechanism, a melting mechanism, a filtering mechanism, a short-cut mechanism, a drying mechanism, and a material storage mechanism, which can realize the recycling and remanufacturing of carbon fiber. However, on-orbit additive manufacturing equipment and processes in space are still in their infancy, and the existing methods cannot realize the reuse of on-orbit metal waste. Moreover, the melting-based additive manufacturing or repair process using heat sources such as arc or laser has problems such as difficulty in transition of the droplet space and additive defects caused by high temperature, and the structural quality of the additive parts or repair parts has certain problems. More importantly, due to the extremely low air density in space and the extremely small influence of gravity on objects, it is impossible to use powdered metal materials for additive or repair using conventional solutions. Even if compressed air is used to transport powdered metal materials, there is a problem of extremely high safety factor. In particular, once powdered metal materials (such as aluminum component powder) penetrate into certain aerobic parts in the aircraft through the gap, it may even cause disintegration or even explosion accidents. Summary of the invention

[0004] At least in order to solve the technical problems mentioned in the background technology, one of the purposes of the present invention is to provide an on-orbit in-situ manufacturing and repair device for aerospace structural parts.

[0005] The present invention adopts the following technical solution.

[0006] A spacecraft structural component in-orbit on-site manufacturing and repair device comprises a crushing mechanism, a feeding mechanism and a repair manufacturing mechanism, wherein the crushing mechanism is used to crush large pieces of metal waste into chips, the feeding mechanism is used to feed the obtained chips into a storage space of the repair manufacturing mechanism, and the repair manufacturing mechanism is used to feed the chips in the storage space to an area to be added or an area to be repaired and realize spin forming; wherein the maximum size of the chips does not exceed 8 mm, and the minimum size of the chips is not less than 2 mm.

[0007] In order to realize on-track manufacturing and repair more smoothly, the crushing mechanism includes a silo, a crusher and a gathering hopper. A first pushing assembly is arranged in the silo, and the first pushing assembly is used to push large pieces of metal waste to the crushing tool of the crusher.

[0008] In order to realize on-track in-situ manufacturing and repair more smoothly, efficiently and stably with a minimalist structure, the feeding mechanism includes a rigid feeding tube and a flexible feeding tube, and a flexible spiral is arranged in the rigid feeding tube and the flexible feeding tube. The head end of the flexible spiral is connected to the feeding motor, and the tail end of the flexible spiral extends to the entrance of the storage space. In the present invention, the flexible spiral is composed of a flexible rod and a spiral piece fixedly arranged on the flexible rod. The flexible rod can be made of a steel wire soft spring made of stainless steel material. The pitch of the spiral piece on the flexible spiral is controlled to be 8~10mm. If the distance is too small, it is easy to cause the debris to be blocked, and if the distance is too large, it will be difficult to feed the debris smoothly. In the present invention, the flexible spiral used is very critical. This flexible spiral cannot feed debris in the ground environment (even with the auxiliary propulsion of airflow up to 0.8Mpa, it cannot smoothly feed the debris, because the debris always tends to sink in the channel and easily causes blockage). However, if it is applied to the weightless environment of space and is propulsioned with appropriate pressurized airflow, it can smoothly feed the debris, because the debris in this environment is floating.

[0009] As a preferred solution, the rigid feeding pipe is perpendicular to the axis of the aggregation funnel.

[0010] Furthermore, an air nozzle is provided on the rigid feeding pipe and outside the aggregation funnel, the air nozzle is connected to an air source pipe, and the air source pipe is externally connected to an airflow generator of the aircraft.

[0011] As a preferred embodiment, the repair manufacturing mechanism includes a storage space, a second pushing assembly arranged vertically is provided on the upper part of the storage space, a feeding chamber is provided below the storage space, and a rotating forming body is provided outside the feeding chamber. When there is space between the lower end surface of the rotating forming body and the surface of the additive matrix or the part to be repaired, metal fragments can enter the lower end surface of the rotating forming body and realize spin forming during the working process of the rotating forming body.

[0012] As a preferred embodiment, the repair manufacturing mechanism includes a storage space, a spiral rod is provided in the storage space, the upper part of the spiral rod is connected to the driving mechanism, a feeding chamber is provided below the storage space, and a rotating forming body is provided outside the feeding chamber. When there is space between the lower end surface of the rotating forming body and the surface of the additive matrix or the part to be repaired, metal fragments can enter the lower end surface of the rotating forming body and realize spin forming during the working process of the rotating forming body.

[0013] The second object of the present invention is to provide a method for on-track manufacturing and repairing of a structural component using the above-mentioned device, the steps comprising: Step 1, moving the rotating forming body to the starting end of the area to be added or the area to be repaired, and making the lower end surface of the rotating forming body penetrate 0-2 mm into the surface of the additive substrate or the structural part to be repaired; Step 2, using a robotic arm to load large pieces of metal waste into a silo, turning on a crusher to crush the large pieces of metal waste into scraps, and the scraps after crushing enter a gathering hopper and then a rigid feeding pipe; At the same time, the feeding motor is controlled to start driving the flexible spiral body to rotate, and the flexible spiral body is used to feed the debris to the storage space; Step 3, controlling the driving mechanism of the second pusher assembly or the screw rod to operate, and delivering the debris in the storage space to the feeding chamber. As the rotating forming body operates, the debris enters the vicinity of the lower end surface of the rotating forming body, and is spun and plasticized during the working process of the rotating forming body. Step 4, controlling the rotating forming body to move forward at a set speed, realizing spinning and plasticizing forming layer by layer, and finally realizing additive manufacturing or repair of structural parts.

[0014] As a preferred solution, the metal waste is a low melting point metal material such as aluminum alloy, magnesium alloy, etc.

[0015] Furthermore, in step 2, the air flow generator is turned on at the same time to introduce gas with set parameters into the rigid feeding pipe.

[0016] As a more preferred solution, the air flow pressure entering the feeding pipe is controlled to be 0.3~0.5Mpa.

[0017] Beneficial effects: The adoption of the scheme of the present invention can not only realize the additive manufacturing of aerospace metal structural parts, but also carry out on-site repair of damaged aerospace structural parts, filling the gap in the recycling of metal waste (including floating space metal blocks, damaged metal structural parts of spacecraft) and on-orbit manufacturing and repair technology in space; the adoption of the scheme of the present invention can obtain high-quality additive parts or repair parts, completely solving the problem of difficult transition of molten droplets caused by the use of heat sources, and has the advantage of high safety factor, and can also smoothly, efficiently and stably realize on-orbit on-site manufacturing and repair; in the present invention, the "disadvantages" of thin air density, weightlessness and airflow propulsion in space are cleverly utilized in combination with a flexible spiral body to smoothly realize the transportation of chip-like materials, which significantly reduces the difficulty of implementing on-orbit manufacturing and repair in space and the stringent requirements on equipment precision. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the on-orbit manufacturing and repair device for aerospace structural parts in Example 1; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the on-orbit manufacturing and repair device for aerospace structural parts in Example 2; Figure 3 This is a partial schematic diagram of the on-orbit manufacturing and repair device for aerospace structural parts in Example 3. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] The technical solution of the present invention is described clearly and completely below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 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. Example 1

[0020] Combination Figure 1 As shown, an on-orbit manufacturing and repair device for aerospace structural parts comprises a crushing mechanism 1, a feeding mechanism 2 and a repair manufacturing mechanism 3. The crushing mechanism 1 is used to crush large pieces of metal waste (the metal waste is aluminum alloy) into chips, the feeding mechanism 2 is used to feed the obtained chips into a storage space 38 of the repair manufacturing mechanism 3, and the repair manufacturing mechanism 3 is used to feed the chips in the storage space 38 to an area to be added or an area to be repaired and realize spin forming; wherein the maximum size of the chips does not exceed 8 mm.

[0021] In this embodiment, the crushing mechanism 1 includes a silo 11, a crusher 13 and a gathering hopper 14. The motor 12 of the crusher 13 is installed outside the silo 11. A first pushing assembly 15 is arranged in the silo 11. The first pushing assembly 15 is used to push large pieces of metal waste to the crushing tool of the crusher 13.

[0022] In this embodiment, the feeding mechanism 2 includes a rigid feeding tube 21 and a flexible feeding tube 23, and a flexible spiral body 22 is arranged in the rigid feeding tube 21 and the flexible feeding tube 23. The pitch of the spiral blade on the flexible spiral body is controlled to be 9 mm. The head end of the flexible spiral body 22 is connected to the feeding motor 20, and the tail end of the flexible spiral body 22 extends to the entrance 33 of the storage space 38. The storage space 38 refers to the inner cavity of the cylinder 32, and the top of the cylinder 32 is used to install the driving mechanism 31 of the screw rod 30; the rigid feeding tube 21 is perpendicular to the axis of the aggregation funnel 14; an air nozzle 24 is provided on the rigid feeding tube 21 and located on the outside of the aggregation funnel 14, the air nozzle 24 is connected to the air source pipe, and the air source pipe is externally connected to the airflow generator 21 of the aircraft.

[0023] In this embodiment, the repair manufacturing mechanism 3 includes a storage space 38, in which a spiral rod 30 is arranged, and the upper part of the spiral rod 30 is connected to the driving mechanism 31, and a feeding chamber 34 is arranged below the storage space 38. A rotating forming body 39 is arranged outside the feeding chamber 34, and a gear 37 on the upper part of the rotating forming body 39 is connected to an external gear drive system. When there is space between the lower end surface of the rotating forming body 39 and the surface of the additive matrix or the part to be repaired, metal fragments can enter the lower end surface of the rotating forming body 39 and realize spin forming during the working process of the rotating forming body 39.

[0024] An on-orbit manufacturing and repair method for a structural component using the device of this embodiment comprises the following steps: Step 1, move the rotating forming body 39 to the starting end of the area to be added or the area to be repaired, and make the lower end surface of the rotating forming body 39 penetrate 0-2mm into the surface of the additive substrate or the structural part to be repaired; Step 2, using a mechanical arm to load large pieces of metal waste into the silo 11, turning on the crusher 13 to crush the large pieces of metal waste into scraps, and at the same time turning on the driving mechanism of the first pusher assembly 15 to continuously press down the large pieces of metal waste, and the scraps after crushing enter the gathering funnel 14 and enter the rigid feeding pipe 21; At the same time, the feeding motor 20 is controlled to start driving the flexible spiral body 22 to rotate, and the flexible spiral body 22 is used to feed the debris to the storage space 38; at the same time, the airflow generator 21 is turned on to pass the gas with set parameters (the airflow pressure is controlled to be 0.4Mpa) into the rigid feeding pipe 21; in this embodiment, the pressurized airflow supplied by the airflow generator 21 is also very critical, and its function is to push the debris against the spiral sheet of the flexible spiral body 22, and then cooperate with the flexible spiral body 22 to gradually push the debris; Step 3, controlling the driving mechanism of the second pusher assembly 36 or the screw rod 30 to operate, and delivering the debris in the storage space 38 to the feeding chamber 34. As the rotating forming body 39 operates, the debris enters the vicinity of the lower end surface of the rotating forming body 39, and is spun and plasticized during the operation of the rotating forming body 39; Step 4, controlling the rotating forming body 39 to move forward at a set speed, realizing spinning and plasticizing forming layer by layer, and finally realizing additive manufacturing or repair of the structural parts. Example 2

[0025] Combination Figure 2 As shown, a space on-orbit in-situ manufacturing and repair device for aerospace structural parts has a main structure referring to Example 1, and the main difference between it and Example 1 is that the repair and manufacturing mechanism 3 includes a storage space 38, a second pushing assembly 36 arranged vertically is arranged on the upper part of the storage space 38, a pushing plate 35 is arranged at the lower end of the telescopic rod of the second pushing assembly 36, a feeding chamber 34 is arranged below the storage space 38, and a rotating forming body 39 is arranged on the periphery of the feeding chamber 34. When there is space between the lower end face of the rotating forming body 39 and the surface of the additive matrix or the part to be repaired, metal fragments can enter the lower end face of the rotating forming body 39 and realize spin forming during the working process of the rotating forming body 39. Example 3

[0026] Combination Figure 3 As shown, a space on-orbit manufacturing and repair device for aerospace structural parts, the main structure of which refers to Example 1, and the main difference between it and Example 1 is that the air nozzle 24 and the airflow generator 21 connected thereto are omitted.

[0027] An on-orbit manufacturing and repair method for a structural component using the device of this embodiment comprises the following steps: Step 1, move the rotating forming body 39 to the starting end of the area to be added or the area to be repaired, and make the lower end surface of the rotating forming body 39 penetrate 0-2mm into the surface of the additive substrate or the structural part to be repaired; Step 2, using a mechanical arm to load large pieces of metal waste into the silo 11, turning on the crusher 13 to crush the large pieces of metal waste into scraps, and at the same time turning on the driving mechanism of the first pusher assembly 15 to continuously press down the large pieces of metal waste, and the scraps after crushing enter the gathering funnel 14 and enter the rigid feeding pipe 21; At the same time, the feeding motor 20 is controlled to start driving the flexible spiral body 22 to rotate, and the flexible spiral body 22 is used to feed the debris to the storage space 38; at the same time, the flexible feeding tube 23 is controlled to repeatedly extend and retract at a frequency of 2 times / second (specifically, the crushing mechanism 1 and the feeding mechanism 2 are installed on the track, and then the crushing mechanism 1 is controlled to reciprocate along the track. In the case of no airflow assistance, the process of repeated extension and retraction of the flexible feeding tube 23 is more critical, and its function is to adjust the relative position of the debris and the spiral sheet on the flexible spiral body 22 so that the two are in contact, and then the debris can be pushed forward with the help of the flexible spiral body 22); Step 3, controlling the driving mechanism of the second pusher assembly 36 or the screw rod 30 to operate, and delivering the debris in the storage space 38 to the feeding chamber 34. As the rotating forming body 39 operates, the debris enters the vicinity of the lower end surface of the rotating forming body 39, and is spun and plasticized during the operation of the rotating forming body 39; Step 4, controlling the rotating forming body 39 to move forward at a set speed, realizing spinning and plasticizing forming layer by layer, and finally realizing additive manufacturing or repair of the structural parts.

[0028] During use: For the scheme in Example 1, the crushed debris enters the gathering funnel 14 and enters the rigid feeding tube 21. When the feeding motor 20 is not turned on, the debris will stay on the upper part of the rigid feeding tube 21 due to weight loss but will not move forward; when the feeding motor 20 is turned on and the airflow generator 21 is turned on, the debris will first be pushed forward by the airflow and abut on the spiral sheet of the flexible spiral body 22, and then gradually pushed forward by the flexible spiral body 22, so that it can smoothly and continuously reach the entrance 33 of the storage space 38; For the scheme in Example 3, the crushed debris enters the gathering funnel 14 and then enters the rigid feeding tube 21. When the feeding motor 20 is not turned on, the debris will stay on the upper part of the rigid feeding tube 21 due to weight loss but will not move forward; when the feeding motor 20 is turned on and the flexible feeding tube 23 is controlled to repeatedly extend and retract, the debris will be attached to the spiral sheet of the flexible spiral 22, and then gradually pushed by the flexible spiral 22, so that it can smoothly and continuously reach the entrance 33 of the storage space 38. In Comparative Scheme 1, according to the method of Example 1 but without turning on the airflow generator 21, there is a problem of intermittent feeding, which makes it difficult to smoothly implement additive manufacturing or repair; in Comparative Scheme 2, according to the method of Example 4 but without controlling the flexible feeding tube 23 to repeatedly extend and retract, there is also a problem of intermittent feeding, which makes it difficult to smoothly implement additive manufacturing or repair.

[0029] By adopting the scheme in the embodiment, not only can the additive manufacturing of aerospace metal structural parts be achieved, but also the damaged aerospace structural parts can be repaired on-site, filling the gap in the recycling of metal waste (including floating space metal blocks, damaged metal structural parts of spacecraft) and the space on-orbit on-site manufacturing and repair technology; by adopting this scheme, high-quality additive parts or repair parts can be obtained, and the problem of difficult transition of molten droplets caused by the use of heat sources is completely solved, and it has the advantage of a high safety factor, and can also smoothly, efficiently and stably achieve on-orbit on-site manufacturing and repair; this scheme cleverly utilizes the "disadvantages" of thin air density, weightlessness and airflow propulsion in space, and cooperates with a flexible spiral to smoothly realize the transportation of chip-like materials, which significantly reduces the difficulty of implementing on-orbit on-orbit manufacturing and repair in space and the stringent requirements on equipment precision.

Claims

1. An on-orbit manufacturing and repair device for aerospace structural parts, comprising a material crushing mechanism (1), a material feeding mechanism (2) and a repair manufacturing mechanism (3), characterized in that: The crushing mechanism (1) is used to crush large pieces of metal waste into chips, the feeding mechanism (2) is used to feed the obtained chips into a storage space (38) of the repair and manufacturing mechanism (3), and the repair and manufacturing mechanism (3) is used to feed the chips in the storage space (38) to an area to be added or an area to be repaired and to achieve spin forming; wherein the maximum size of the chips does not exceed 8 mm.

2. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The crushing mechanism (1) comprises a silo (11), a crusher (13) and a gathering hopper (14). A first pushing assembly (15) is arranged in the silo (11). The first pushing assembly (15) is used to push large pieces of metal waste to the crushing tool of the crusher (13).

3. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The feeding mechanism (2) comprises a rigid feeding tube (21) and a flexible feeding tube (23), wherein a flexible spiral body (22) is arranged inside the rigid feeding tube (21) and the flexible feeding tube (23), wherein the head end of the flexible spiral body (22) is connected to the feeding motor (20), and the tail end of the flexible spiral body (22) extends to the entrance (33) of the storage space (38).

4. The device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The rigid feeding pipe (21) is perpendicular to the axis of the aggregation hopper (14).

5. The device according to claim 4, characterized in that: An air nozzle (24) is provided on the rigid feeding pipe (21) and outside the material gathering funnel (14). The air nozzle (24) is connected to an air source pipe, and the air source pipe is externally connected to an air flow generator (21) of the aircraft.

6. The device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The repair manufacturing mechanism (3) comprises a material storage space (38), a second material pushing assembly (36) arranged vertically is arranged on the upper part of the material storage space (38), a material feeding chamber (34) is arranged below the material storage space (38), and a rotating forming body (39) is arranged on the periphery of the material feeding chamber (34). When there is space between the lower end surface of the rotating forming body (39) and the surface of the additive matrix or the part to be repaired, metal fragments can enter the lower end surface of the rotating forming body (39) and realize spin forming during the working process of the rotating forming body (39).

7. The device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The repair manufacturing mechanism (3) comprises a material storage space (38), a spiral rod (30) is arranged in the material storage space (38), the upper part of the spiral rod (30) is connected to the driving mechanism (31), a feeding chamber (34) is arranged below the material storage space (38), and a rotating forming body (39) is arranged outside the feeding chamber (34), when there is space between the lower end surface of the rotating forming body (39) and the surface of the additive matrix or the part to be repaired, the metal fragments can enter the lower end surface of the rotating forming body (39), and realize the spinning forming during the working process of the rotating forming body (39).

8. A method for on-track manufacturing and repairing of a structural component using the device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the steps include: Step 1, moving the rotating forming body (39) to the starting end of the area to be added or the area to be repaired, and making the lower end surface of the rotating forming body (39) penetrate 0-2 mm into the surface of the additive substrate or the structure to be repaired; Step 2, using a robotic arm to load large pieces of metal waste into a silo (11), turning on a crusher (13) to crush the large pieces of metal waste into scraps, and the scraps after crushing enter a gathering hopper (14) and then enter a rigid feeding pipe (21); At the same time, the feeding motor (20) is controlled to start driving the flexible screw (22) to rotate, and the flexible screw (22) is used to feed the debris to the storage space (38); Step 3, controlling the driving mechanism of the second pushing assembly (36) or the screw rod (30) to operate, so as to deliver the debris in the storage space (38) to the feeding chamber (34); as the rotating forming body (39) operates, the debris enters the vicinity of the lower end surface of the rotating forming body (39), and is spun and plasticized during the operation of the rotating forming body (39); Step 4, controlling the rotating forming body (39) to move forward at a set speed, realizing spinning and plasticizing forming layer by layer, and finally realizing additive manufacturing or repair of the structural part.

9. The method for on-track manufacturing and repairing of structural parts of the device according to claim 8, characterized in that: Metal scraps are low melting point metal materials such as aluminum alloy and magnesium alloy.

10. The method for on-track manufacturing and repairing of structural parts of the device according to claim 9, characterized in that: In step 2, the air flow generator (21) is turned on at the same time to introduce gas with set parameters into the rigid feeding pipe (21).

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