Manufacturing process of seamless double-plastic high-cavity pipe

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of high polymer material additive manufacturing, in particular to a processing and manufacturing process of seamless double-plastic high-cavity pipe, which uses additive manufacturing process to manufacture the seamless double-plastic high-cavity pipe. The prefabricated plastic inner pipe is clamped on the rotatable clamp below the printing head, a base plate is arranged at the starting printing position and the outer pipe main pipe section is printed layer by layer on the base plate, the printing operation and the angle adjustment operation are alternately performed until the printing of the outer pipe main pipe section is completed, then the angle of the prefabricated plastic inner pipe is adjusted, and the outer pipe sealing section is printed layer by layer at the unprinted gap part of the hollow outer wall plastic outer pipe, during which a special disintegrable support sheet is used to support the formation of the overhanging upper bottom of the outer pipe sealing section. The prepared seamless double-plastic high-cavity pipe is used for structural analysis or performance test, and the application of additive manufacturing technology avoids the manufacturing of complex co-extrusion die head and the occupation of production equipment, which provides convenience for enriching the number of experimental groups and developing more mature products.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of additive manufacturing technology for polymer materials, specifically to a processing and manufacturing process for a seamless double-plastic high-cavity tube, which uses additive manufacturing technology to manufacture the seamless double-plastic high-cavity tube. Background Technology

[0002] Additive manufacturing (i.e., 3D printing) is a common molding process for polymer materials. It is often used in industrial product prototyping and R&D or in the manufacture of complex three-dimensional objects, such as handicrafts, in non-industrial fields.

[0003] Seamless double-walled high-cavity plastic pipe is a type of corrugated pipe developed by our company. It consists of an inner plastic pipe as the base pipe and an outer hollow plastic pipe composite surface, made of HDPE. Due to the trapezoidal cross-section of the outer wall, which is long and thin (width-to-height ratio > 1), it is necessary to ensure its strength by setting reinforcing ribs, reinforcing walls, or implanting reinforcing materials. For this type of pipe, even for process verification, it is necessary to design complex co-extrusion dies for each process condition and corresponding design dimensions and structure, and to produce samples online. However, in order to obtain a mature product, there are a lot of experimental groups designed in the early stage, which leads to huge mold costs, and the equipment occupation also has a significant impact on the production rhythm.

[0004] Although additive manufacturing technology has been successfully applied in the trial production and research and development of polymer material products, it has not yet been applied in the manufacturing of seamless double-sided plastic high-cavity tubes, because some technical difficulties need to be overcome. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present invention aims to solve the problems in the background art by providing a processing and manufacturing process for seamless double-plastic high-cavity tubes based on additive manufacturing technology.

[0006] Technical solution

[0007] A manufacturing process for a seamless double-sided plastic high-cavity tube includes the following steps:

[0008] S1, cut the prefabricated plastic inner tube to the required length, clamp it on the rotatable fixture located below the print head, set the base plate at the starting printing position and make the base plate horizontal;

[0009] S2, After positioning the print head, the print head begins to print the outer tube main section of the hollow outer wall plastic tube layer by layer on the base plate according to the pre-designed structure of the hollow outer wall plastic outer tube. After printing a predetermined number of layers or a predetermined thickness, the pre-made plastic inner tube is adjusted to a certain angle by operating the rotating fixture, and the print head is repositioned to continue printing the outer tube main section on the upper surface of the already printed part.

[0010] S3, repeating the printing and angle adjustment operation in step S2 until the printing of the outer tube main section is completed;

[0011] S4, adjusting the angle of the prefabricated plastic inner tube by operating the rotating clamp so that the unprinted gap part of the hollow outer wall plastic outer tube is upward and centered;

[0012] S5, positioning the printing head to print the outer tube sealing section of the hollow outer wall plastic outer tube layer by layer at the gap part, first printing the waist and vertical ribs of the outer tube sealing section, then inserting the support piece into the cavity between the waist and the vertical ribs, and finally printing the upper bottom of the outer tube sealing section, thereby completing the printing of the entire hollow outer wall plastic outer tube.

[0013] In a further embodiment, step S6 is also included, which is to use the prepared seamless double-plastic high-cavity tube for structural analysis or performance test.

[0014] In a further embodiment, in step S1, the base plate is attached to the prefabricated plastic inner tube by adhesion or hot melting.

[0015] In a further embodiment, in step S1, a plurality of base plates are arranged on the prefabricated plastic inner tube at equal intervals along the axial direction of the prefabricated plastic inner tube.

[0016] In a further embodiment, in step S2, the printing head uses wire material as raw material.

[0017] In a further embodiment, in step S3, during the repeated printing and angle adjustment operation, when the continued adjustment of the angle of the prefabricated plastic inner tube would cause the printed part of the outer tube main section to interfere with the printing head, it is considered that the printing of the outer tube main section is completed.

[0018] In a further embodiment, before or after step S4, the base plate is removed.

[0019] In a further embodiment, the support piece is made of a disintegrable material.

[0020] In a further embodiment, after step S5, the operation of disintegrating the support piece by applying external force at the outer tube sealing section is also included.

[0021] In a further embodiment, a plurality of hollow outer wall plastic outer tubes on the same prefabricated plastic inner tube are printed synchronously or one by one.

[0022] Advantages

[0023] The application provides a seamless double-plastic high-cavity pipe processing and manufacturing process, which first applies additive manufacturing technology to the processing and manufacturing of the seamless double-plastic high-cavity pipe, overcomes the difficulties in the modeling to forming process in additive manufacturing, and no longer needs to design a complex co-extrusion die one by one for the design size and structure corresponding to each process condition and to produce samples on line, thereby providing convenience for enriching the number of experimental groups and developing more mature products, greatly reducing the mold cost and reducing the occupation of production equipment. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0024] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the application or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings needed to be used in the embodiments or prior art description will be briefly introduced as follows.

[0025] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the state before additive manufacturing of the seamless double-plastic high-cavity pipe.

[0026] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the state of the additive manufacturing process of the outer pipe main pipe section.

[0027] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the state of the additive manufacturing process of the outer pipe main pipe section.

[0028] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the state of the additive manufacturing process of the outer pipe main pipe section.

[0029] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the state before additive manufacturing of the outer pipe sealing section.

[0030] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of the state of the additive manufacturing process of the outer pipe sealing section.

[0031] Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram of the state of the additive manufacturing process of the outer pipe sealing section.

[0032] Figure 8 It is a schematic diagram of the state of the additive manufacturing process of the outer pipe sealing section.

[0033] Figure 9 It is a schematic diagram of the state of the additive manufacturing process of the outer pipe sealing section.

[0034] Figure 10 It is a schematic diagram of the state of the additive manufacturing process of the outer pipe sealing section.

[0035] Figure 11 It is a schematic diagram of the state of the additive manufacturing process of the outer pipe sealing section.

[0036] In the figure: 1-printing head, 2-preformed plastic inner tube, 3-base plate, 4-hollow outer wall plastic outer tube, 41-outer tube main section, 42-outer tube sealing section, 421-waist, 422-vertical rib, 423-upper bottom, 5-supporting sheet, 51-first side, 52-second side, 53-disintegration hole. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] The following embodiments of the present application are illustrated by way of specific examples, and other advantages and effects of the present application will be readily understood by those skilled in the art from the disclosure of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, but not all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present application. The terms such as "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "middle" and the like used in the specification are only for the convenience of clear description, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present application. The change or adjustment of the relative relationship without substantial change of the technical content is also considered as the scope of the present application.

[0038] Embodiment 1

[0039] Reference Figures 1 to 7 The manufacturing process of the seamless double-plastic high-cavity tube provided by the present embodiment is used for the inner tube and the outer tube of the seamless double-plastic high-cavity tube, and the plastic used for the inner tube and the outer tube is HDPE. The width-to-height ratio of the trapezoidal cross section of the outer wall is greater than 1.

[0040] The manufacturing process of the seamless double-plastic high-cavity tube provided by the present embodiment is based on additive manufacturing technology and is not used for order production, but is used for providing samples for structural analysis or performance test in new product research and development.

[0041] Specifically, the manufacturing process of the present embodiment includes the following steps:

[0042] S1, cut the preformed plastic inner tube 2 of the required length, clamp it on the rotatable clamp below the printing head 1, paste the base plate 3 at the starting printing position and make the base plate 3 horizontal.

[0043] In this step, the diameter, thickness and other parameters of the preformed plastic inner tube 2 are selected according to the design requirements of the test product. The length of the preformed plastic inner tube 2 can not be exactly the same as the length of the actual product, but it also needs to ensure the referenceability of the performance test data.

[0044] The purpose of making the base plate 3 horizontal is to provide a base for the initial printing layer of the printing head 1. Since it is necessary to make a plurality of hollow outer wall plastic outer tubes 4 at equal intervals in the axial direction of the preformed plastic inner tube 2 in the later steps, a plurality of base plates 3 are pasted onto the preformed plastic inner tube 2 at equal intervals in the axial direction of the preformed plastic inner tube 2 in this step.

[0045] In addition to being adhered, the base plate 3 can also be temporarily fixed to the starting printing position of the prefabricated plastic inner tube 2 by other means such as hot melting.

[0046] S2, after positioning the print head 1, the print head 1 starts to print the outer tube main section 41 of the hollow outer wall plastic outer tube 4 on the base plate 3 according to the structure of the hollow outer wall plastic outer tube 4.

[0047] Specifically, the print head 1 of the present application uses wire as raw material, after printing a predetermined number of layers (or thickness), the prefabricated plastic inner tube 2 is adjusted at a certain angle by operating the rotary clamp, and the print head 1 is repositioned to continue printing the outer tube main section 41 on the upper surface of the already printed part.

[0048] The angle of adjustment of the prefabricated plastic inner tube 2 each time can be flexibly selected in combination with the printing accuracy, but it is appropriate to be no more than 2°.

[0049] Since multiple hollow outer wall plastic outer tubes 4 need to be made at equal intervals in the axial direction of the prefabricated plastic inner tube 2, in order to avoid repeated angle adjustment, printing is performed simultaneously on multiple base plates 3 in this step. Here, simultaneous does not mean that each layer of material printing is simultaneous, but rather that after the prefabricated plastic inner tube 2 is adjusted once, the current set number of layers (or thickness) of material is printed on all base plates 3. This process of printing the set number of layers (or thickness) of material on each base plate 3 can be performed one by one.

[0050] S3, the printing and angle adjustment operations in step S2 are repeated until the printing of the outer tube main section 41 is completed. The starting layer printed after each angle adjustment in this step is the uppermost layer of the last printing, Figure 3 The schematic is the state near the end of the additive manufacturing process of the outer tube main section 41, with the help of Figure 3 It can be understood that in this step, during the repeated printing and angle adjustment operations, when continuing to adjust the angle of the prefabricated plastic inner tube 2 will cause interference between the printed completed part of the outer tube main section 41 and the print head 1, it is considered that the printing of the outer tube main section 41 is completed.

[0051] S4, see Figure 5 In this step, the angle of the prefabricated plastic inner tube 2 is adjusted by operating the rotary clamp, so that the unprinted gap part of the hollow outer wall plastic outer tube 4 is upward and centered.

[0052] In combination with Figure 4 It can be seen that the base plate 3 has been removed before step S4 (or after).

[0053] S5, see Figure 6In this step, the printing head 1 is positioned to print the outer tube sealing section 42 of the hollow outer wall plastic outer tube 4 layer by layer at the gap position described in step S4.

[0054] The following will be understood by means of Figures 8 to 11 Since the upper bottom 423 of the outer tube sealing section 42 is completely suspended, the waist 421 and the vertical rib 422 of the outer tube sealing section 42 need to be printed first in this step, then the support sheet 5 is inserted into the cavity between the waist 421 and the vertical rib 422, and finally the upper bottom 423 of the outer tube sealing section 42 is printed, thereby completing the printing of the entire hollow outer wall plastic outer tube 4.

[0055] The support sheet 5 in the present application is made of a disintegrable material such as modeling wax or modeling sand, and only has a printing support strength without higher mechanical properties, so that after the seamless double-plastic high-cavity tube is completed in this step, the support sheet 5 can be disintegrated by applying an external force at the outer tube sealing section 42.

[0056] Preferably, as Figure 9 shown, the support sheet 5 of the present embodiment is not only easy to disintegrate itself, but also has a plurality of disintegration holes 53 made on the support sheet 5, which not only reduces the mechanical strength of the support sheet 5 to make the support sheet 5 more disintegrable, but also reduces the amount of debris generated after the support sheet 5 disintegrates. The debris after disintegration falls into the entire hollow outer wall plastic outer tube 4 and does not affect the subsequent mechanical property test.

[0057] In the structural design of the support sheet 5, the edge thereof comprises a first side 51 and a second side 52 from top to bottom, the first side 51 has a small inclination angle, and the second side 52 has a large inclination angle. The large inclination angle of the second side 52 not only helps to smoothly insert the support sheet 5 into the cavity between the waist 421 and the vertical rib 422, but also helps to further reduce the amount of material of the support sheet 5. The small inclination angle of the first side 51 ensures that the support sheet 5 can have a reliable contact with the materials on both sides after being inserted into the cavity between the waist 421 and the vertical rib 422, thereby reducing the risk of shaking of the first side 51. The small inclination angle of the first side 51 is preferably 5-20°, and the large inclination angle of the second side 52 is preferably more than 30°, and the upper limit is to ensure that the lower surface of the support sheet 5 has a reliable contact with the prefabricated plastic inner tube 2.

[0058] Finally, as an optional step S6, the prepared seamless double-plastic high-cavity tube is used for structural analysis or performance test.

[0059] It should be noted that although the synchronous printing of the plurality of hollow outer wall plastic outer tubes 4 on the same prefabricated plastic inner tube 2 is a time-saving and efficient operation mode, it is obviously feasible in alternative embodiments to select the mode of printing each hollow outer wall plastic outer tube 4 on the same prefabricated plastic inner tube 2, and such a printing mode should also be considered as an effective embodiment of the present application, and will not be described in detail.

[0060] In summary, the seamless double-plastic high-cavity tube processing and manufacturing process provided by the embodiments of the present application first applies additive manufacturing technology to the processing and manufacturing of seamless double-plastic high-cavity tubes and overcomes a plurality of difficulties in the modeling to forming process in additive manufacturing. The seamless double-plastic high-cavity tube is used to provide a sample for structural analysis or performance test in new product research and development, so that the research and development test phase no longer needs to design a complex co-extrusion die one by one for each design size and structure corresponding to the process condition, and the online production sample is provided, which facilitates the enrichment of the number of experimental groups and the development of more mature products, greatly reduces the mold cost and reduces the occupation of production equipment.

[0061] Although the present application has been described in detail in the foregoing description with general principles and specific embodiments, some modifications or improvements can be made to the present application on the basis of the present application, which is obvious to those skilled in the art. Therefore, these modifications or improvements made on the basis of not deviating from the spirit of the present application, all belong to the scope of protection required by the present application.

Claims

1. A process for manufacturing a seamless double plastic high-cavity tube, characterized in that, The method comprises the following steps: S1, cutting a prefabricated plastic inner tube (2) to a desired length, clamping it on a rotating clamp below a printing head (1), setting a base plate (3) at a starting printing position and making the base plate (3) horizontal; S2, after positioning the printing head (1), the printing head (1) starts to print an outer tube main section (41) of a hollow outer wall plastic outer tube (4) on the base plate (3) according to the structure of the hollow outer wall plastic outer tube (4) designed in advance, layer by layer, after printing a predetermined number of layers or a predetermined thickness, the prefabricated plastic inner tube (2) is adjusted at an angle by operating the rotating clamp, the printing head (1) is repositioned, and the outer tube main section (41) is continuously printed on the upper surface of the part that has been printed; S3, repeating the printing and angle adjustment operation in step S2 until the printing of the outer tube main section (41) is completed; S4, adjusting the angle of the prefabricated plastic inner tube (2) by operating the rotating clamp, so that the unprinted gap part of the hollow outer wall plastic outer tube (4) is upward and centered; S5, positioning the printing head (1), printing an outer tube sealing section (42) of the hollow outer wall plastic outer tube (4) at the gap part layer by layer, first printing the waist part (421) and vertical ribs (422) of the outer tube sealing section (42), then inserting a support piece (5) into the cavity between the waist part (421) and the vertical ribs (422), and finally printing the upper bottom (423) of the outer tube sealing section (42), thereby completing the printing of the entire hollow outer wall plastic outer tube (4).

2. The process for manufacturing seamless dual plastic high cavity tubing as claimed in claim 1 wherein, It also comprises step S6, using the prepared seamless double-plastic high-cavity tube for structural analysis or performance test.

3. The process for manufacturing seamless dual plastic high cavity tubing as claimed in claim 1 wherein, In step S1, the base plate (3) is set on the prefabricated plastic inner tube (2) by pasting or hot melting.

4. The process for manufacturing a seamless dual plastic high cavity tube according to claim 1, wherein, In step S1, a plurality of base plates (3) are arranged on the prefabricated plastic inner tube (2) at equal intervals along the axial direction of the prefabricated plastic inner tube (2).

5. The process for manufacturing seamless dual plastic high cavity tubing as claimed in claim 1 wherein, In step S2, the printing head (1) uses a wire material as raw material.

6. The process for manufacturing a seamless dual plastic high cavity tube according to claim 1, wherein, In step S3, during the repeated printing and angle adjustment operation, when the continued adjustment of the angle of the prefabricated plastic inner tube (2) will cause the printed part of the outer tube main section (41) to interfere with the printing head (1), it is considered that the printing of the outer tube main section (41) is completed.

7. The process for manufacturing a seamless dual plastic high cavity tube according to claim 1, wherein, Before or after step S4, the base plate (3) is removed.

8. The process for manufacturing a seamless dual plastic high cavity tube according to claim 1, wherein, The support piece (5) is made of a disintegrable material.

9. The process for manufacturing a seamless dual plastic high cavity tube according to claim 8, wherein, After step S5, it further comprises the operation of disintegrating the support piece (5) by applying an external force to the outer tube sealing section (42).

10. The process for manufacturing a seamless dual plastic high-cavity tube according to any one of claims 1-9, wherein, Multiple hollow outer wall plastic outer tubes (4) on the same prefabricated plastic inner tube (2) are printed synchronously or one by one.

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