A metal particle gas flow shaping device

Abstract

The present application relates to the field of powder processing technology, and more particularly to a metal particle airflow shaping device, which comprises a shaping cavity and a grading cavity located above the shaping cavity, a plurality of horizontal nozzles are arranged on the periphery of the shaping cavity, and a lower nozzle is arranged on the bottom of the shaping cavity; external gas is sprayed into the shaping cavity through the horizontal nozzles and the lower nozzle; a plurality of material collecting hoppers are connected to the periphery of the lower part of the grading cavity, and the lower end of the material collecting hoppers is connected to the diffusion section of the horizontal nozzle through a material conveying pipe; a rotating grading impeller is arranged on the upper part of the grading cavity, an upper chamber is arranged above the grading cavity and is connected to the grading cavity through the grading impeller; and a fine powder outlet is arranged on the side of the upper chamber. The metal particle airflow shaping device can realize efficient and gentle spheroidization shaping of metal particles, prevent the material from depositing on the bottom of the shaping cavity and causing incomplete spheroidization, and separate coarse and fine powders to achieve the purpose of energy saving and consumption reduction.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of powder processing technology, and in particular to a metal particle airflow shaping device. Background Technology

[0002] The morphology of metal powders is crucial to their performance in additive manufacturing, powder metallurgy, and other fields. Metal powders with high sphericity and low porosity exhibit superior flowability and bulk density.

[0003] In traditional airflow shaping equipment, materials enter through a nozzle outlet and undergo extreme acceleration from rest to supersonic speed. The impact force is too strong, easily breaking up metal particles rather than rounding them. Furthermore, due to the short acceleration path and the intense but incomplete acceleration, the shaping chamber is filled with collisions between high-speed airflows, significantly reducing the sphericity effect and wasting energy.

[0004] Traditional airflow shaping machines employ an internal circulation structure, where coarse powder particles fall back within the chamber, and a high-speed airflow from the nozzle accelerates the particles, shaping them through high-speed collisions. This process is prone to over-grinding and irregular particle shapes, such as flaky or dumbbell-shaped particles, and also consumes a lot of energy. This internal circulation structure makes the circulation path of coarse powder particles uncontrollable, easily leading to sedimentation at the bottom of the chamber forming "dead zones," and some material not participating in spheroidization, resulting in incomplete spheroidization. Traditional airflow shaping machines generally use top discharge, which can cause discharge difficulties for heavy metal particles. Furthermore, because fine and coarse powders share the same outlet, they are easily mixed, making proper separation difficult.

[0005] Therefore, designing a metal particle airflow shaping device that can efficiently and gently spherically shape metal particles has become a technical problem that urgently needs to be solved by those skilled in the art. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a metal particle airflow shaping device that addresses the above-mentioned shortcomings, enabling efficient and gentle spherical shaping of metal particles, preventing material from depositing at the bottom of the shaping chamber and causing incomplete sphericalization, while also achieving separation of coarse and fine powders and achieving energy saving and consumption reduction.

[0007] To solve the above problems, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is as follows: A metal particle airflow shaping device includes a shaping chamber and a grading chamber located above the shaping chamber, which are connected. The shaping chamber has multiple horizontal nozzles on its periphery and an upward-facing lower nozzle at its bottom. External gas is sprayed into the shaping chamber through the multiple horizontal nozzles and the lower nozzle. A rotatably mounted grading impeller is located at the upper part of the grading chamber, and its outlet is under negative pressure when the grading impeller is working. The material in the shaping chamber is tumbled, collided, rubbed, and spheroidized by the airflow under the blowing action of the horizontal nozzles and the lower nozzle. The shaped material rises along the airflow in the shaping chamber to the grading impeller in the grading chamber and is separated. Fine powder passes through the grading impeller and is discharged, while coarse powder is blocked by the grading impeller, falls back into the shaping chamber, and is shaped again.

[0008] As an improvement, the lower periphery of the grading chamber is connected to multiple collection hoppers, and the lower end of the collection hoppers is connected to the diffuser section of the horizontal nozzle through a conveying pipe.

[0009] As an improvement, a material distribution cone is provided between the grading chamber and the shaping chamber, and a material passage hole is provided at the upper end of the material distribution cone. The grading chamber and the shaping chamber are connected through the material passage hole.

[0010] As an improvement, an upper chamber is provided above the grading chamber, and the upper chamber is connected to the grading chamber through a grading impeller; a fine powder outlet is provided on the side of the upper chamber.

[0011] As an improvement, the grading chamber is provided with a guide cone that is smaller at the bottom and larger at the top, and the guide cone is located below the grading impeller.

[0012] As an improvement, it also includes multiple air intake pipes and a feeding pipe connected to the shaping cavity, with the multiple air intake pipes respectively connected to a horizontal nozzle or a lower nozzle.

[0013] As an improvement, the lower end of the shaping cavity is provided with a gap valve, and the lower nozzle is installed inside the gap valve and passes through the gap valve from bottom to top.

[0014] As an improvement, the gap valve includes a tubular valve body and a valve core installed in the middle of the valve body, with a gap between the valve body and the valve core that allows material to pass through; a rubber tube is provided between the valve body and the valve core; the rubber tube can abut against or move away from the outer wall of the valve core to realize the opening and closing of the gap valve.

[0015] As an improvement, the rubber tube divides the gap between the valve body and the valve core into an inner chamber and an outer chamber, and the valve body is provided with an intake valve and an exhaust valve that are respectively connected to the outer chamber.

[0016] As an improvement, the upper and lower ends of the valve core are both flange-shaped, and each has multiple through holes running vertically through it.

[0017] The present invention adopts the above technical solution and has the following advantages compared with the prior art: 1. The present invention employs the above-described structure, allowing material to be drawn into the diffusion section of the horizontal jet nozzle and begin accelerating there. The gas-solid two-phase flow velocity gradient is large in the diffusion section of the jet nozzle, causing particles to tumble and rub against each other, effectively removing sharp edges. The accelerated coarse powder particles are ejected through the nozzle and undergo secondary spheroidization through collision and friction within the shaping chamber. Due to the long acceleration path, gentle acceleration is achieved, improving the acceleration effect, resulting in more thorough particle acceleration, enhanced spheroidization, and energy savings.

[0018] 2. The present invention employs the above-described structure, which allows material to be drawn into the horizontal nozzle by negative pressure through the diffusion section of the external circulation pipeline and sprayed into the shaping chamber, forming a forced closed-loop circulation with the material's upward path within the shaping chamber. Coarse powder is "sucked" back into the system, and the circulation path is controllable. Simultaneously, a lower nozzle is provided at the bottom of the shaping chamber to blow up the material at the bottom of the shaping chamber, ensuring that every material particle has an opportunity to be shaped.

[0019] 3. The present invention employs the above-described structure, enabling the material to repeatedly achieve coarse-fine separation, acceleration, and spheroidization through external circulation. Simultaneously, ultrafine particles in the material are drawn out from the fine powder outlet of the upper chamber and collected, thus achieving coarse-fine powder separation. At the same time, a lower discharge port is added at the bottom of the equipment, allowing the finished coarse powder particles to be discharged from the lower part of the shaping chamber through a gap valve and collected.

[0020] The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. Attached Figure Description

[0021] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a metal particle airflow shaping device according to the present invention; Figure 2 for Figure 1 AA section view in the middle; Figure 3 for Figure 1 BB section view in the middle; Figure 4 for Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the structure of the intermediate clearance valve; Figure 5 for Figure 4 Top view of the valve core; Figure 6 for Figure 1 Reference diagram showing the operating status of the intermediate clearance valve during material discharge; Wherein: 1-Shaping cavity, 2-Horizontal nozzle, 3-Lower nozzle, 4-Grading cavity, 5-Distribution cone, 6-Material passage, 7-Collection hopper, 8-Conveying pipe, 9-Grading impeller, 10-Upper chamber, 11-Fine powder outlet, 12-Rotating shaft, 13-Feeding pipe, 14-Guide cone, 15-Air inlet pipe, 16-Annular air manifold, 17-High-pressure gas inlet, 18-Gap valve, 19-Valve body, 20-Valve core, 21-Rubber hose, 22-Inner chamber, 23-Outer chamber, 24-Through hole, 25-Air inlet valve, 26-Exhaust valve, 27-Pressure gauge, 28-Pressure regulating ball valve, 29-Feed valve, 30-Transition tank, 31-First discharge valve, 32-Second discharge valve. Detailed Implementation

[0022] For ease of explanation rather than limitation, the side of the metal particle airflow shaping device closer to its center is defined as the inside, and the opposite side is defined as the outside.

[0023] Example

[0024] like Figures 1 to 6 As shown, a metal particle airflow shaping device includes a shaping chamber 1 and a grading chamber 4 located above the shaping chamber 1, with the shaping chamber 1 and the grading chamber 4 connected. Multiple horizontal nozzles 2 are arranged around the periphery of the shaping chamber 1, and an upward-facing lower nozzle 3 is provided at the bottom of the shaping chamber 1. External gas is sprayed into the shaping chamber 1 through the multiple horizontal nozzles 2 and the lower nozzle 3. The main function of the lower nozzle 3 is to blow up the material at the bottom of the shaping chamber 1, allowing it to enter the circulation shaping process, ensuring that every particle has a chance to be shaped.

[0025] Multiple collecting hoppers 7 are connected to the lower periphery of the grading chamber 4. The collecting hoppers 7 are located above the horizontal nozzles 2, and the number of collecting hoppers 7 is the same as the number of horizontal nozzles 2, with their positions corresponding one-to-one. The lower end of the collecting hoppers 7 is connected to the diffuser section of the horizontal nozzles 2 via a conveying pipe 8. Preferably, the conveying pipe 8 is a rubber hose in this embodiment. A distributing cone 5, smaller at the upper end and larger at the lower end, is provided between the grading chamber 4 and the shaping chamber 1. The upper end of the distributing cone 5 has a material passage hole 6, and the grading chamber 4 and the shaping chamber 1 are connected via the material passage hole 6. Multiple collecting hoppers 7 are distributed on the periphery of the lower end of the distributing cone 5.

[0026] In this embodiment, preferably, both the horizontal nozzle 2 and the lower nozzle 3 are jet nozzles. The jet nozzles are made of highly wear-resistant hard alloy or ceramic to ensure the life of the jet nozzles and the spheroidizing effect on the materials during use. There are twelve horizontal nozzles 2 and twelve collection hoppers 7. The twelve horizontal nozzles 2 are evenly distributed along the circumference of the shaping cavity 1 on the side wall of the shaping cavity 1; the twelve collection hoppers 7 are evenly distributed along the circumference of the grading cavity 4.

[0027] like Figure 1As shown, a rotatably mounted classifying impeller 9 is provided at the upper part of the classifying chamber 4, and the outlet of the classifying impeller 9 is connected to the fine powder outlet 11. An upper chamber 10 is provided above the classifying chamber 4, and the upper chamber 10 is connected to the classifying chamber 4 via the classifying impeller 9. The classifying impeller 9 is a conventional component in the powder processing field and belongs to the prior art; its structure is not an innovation of this application and will not be described in detail here. Any classifying wheel that can be used for separating coarse and fine metal particles in the prior art can be used in this application. A fine powder outlet 11 is provided on the side of the upper chamber 10. When this metal particle airflow shaping equipment is working, the fine powder outlet 11 is under negative pressure, and the fine powder is discharged from the fine powder outlet 11 and collected or sent to the next process. A vertically rotatable rotating shaft 12 is provided inside the upper chamber 10, and the upper end of the rotating shaft 12 extends to the outside of the upper chamber 10 and is connected to the power device for transmission. The lower end of the rotating shaft 12 extends to the classifying chamber 4, and the classifying impeller 9 is fixedly mounted on the lower end of the rotating shaft 12. When the rotating shaft 12 rotates, it drives the classifying impeller 9 to rotate. The classifying chamber 4 is equipped with a guide cone 14 that is smaller at the bottom and larger at the top. The guide cone 14 is located below the classifying impeller 9 and above the material passage hole 6.

[0028] like Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, the metal particle airflow shaping device also includes multiple air inlet pipes 15 and a feeding pipe 13 connected to the shaping chamber 1, with a feeding valve 29 on the feeding pipe 13. The multiple air inlet pipes 15 are respectively connected to a horizontal nozzle 2 or a lower nozzle 3. Preferably, in this embodiment, an annular air chamber 16 is provided around the shaping chamber 1, and a high-pressure gas inlet 17 is provided on the annular air chamber 16; the annular air chamber 16 is connected to the horizontal nozzle 2 or the lower nozzle 3 through the multiple air inlet pipes 15. Preferably, in this embodiment, the high-pressure gas used in the metal particle airflow shaping device is an inert gas, which can effectively prevent the oxidation of metal particles and is safer to use.

[0029] like Figures 1 to 6 As shown in the preferred embodiment, the lower end of the shaping cavity 1 is provided with a gap valve 18, and the lower nozzle 3 is installed inside the gap valve 18 and passes through the gap valve 18 from bottom to top. The gap valve 18 includes a tubular valve body 19 and a valve core 20 installed in the middle of the valve body 19. A gap is provided between the valve body 19 and the valve core 20 to allow material to pass through. A rubber tube 21 is provided between the valve body 19 and the valve core 20. The rubber tube 21 can abut against or move away from the outer wall of the valve core 20 to realize the opening and closing of the gap valve 18. In this preferred embodiment, the rubber tube 21 divides the gap between the valve body 19 and the valve core 20 into an inner chamber 22 and an outer chamber 23. The valve body 19 is provided with an inlet valve 25 and an exhaust valve 26 that are respectively connected to the outer chamber 23.

[0030] In this preferred embodiment, both the intake valve 25 and the exhaust valve 26 are solenoid valves. Figure 4 As shown, the upper and lower ends of the valve core 20 are both flange-shaped, each with multiple through holes 24 extending vertically. Both ends of the valve body 19 have flanges adapted to the valve core 20. The valve core 20 and the flanges at both ends of the valve body 19 are fixedly connected by connectors. The flanges at both ends of the valve body 19 are located outside the valve core 20, i.e., above and below the valve core 20. The two ends of the rubber tube 21 are fixed between the flanges at the ends of the valve core 20 and the valve body 19.

[0031] In this preferred embodiment, a transition tank 30 is installed at the lower end of the gap valve 18, and a first discharge valve 31 is installed at the lower end of the transition tank 30. A second discharge valve 32 is provided between the gap valve 18 and the transition tank 30. Preferably, the feed valve 29, the first discharge valve 31, and the second discharge valve 32 are all pneumatic butterfly valves.

[0032] During use, the lower nozzle 3 employs a relatively low injection pressure. A pressure gauge 27 and a pressure regulating ball valve 28 are installed on the air inlet pipe 15 connected to the lower nozzle 3. By adjusting the opening of the pressure regulating ball valve 28, the air inlet pressure of the lower nozzle 3 is controlled. By controlling the blowing force of the lower nozzle 3, the flow direction of the material in the shaping chamber is controlled.

[0033] When using this metal particle airflow shaping equipment to shape materials, close the gap valve 18, the first discharge valve 31, and the second discharge valve 32 at the lower end of the shaping chamber 1. The specific operation of closing the gap valve 18 is as follows: the exhaust valve 26 is closed, the inlet valve 25 is opened, and gas is injected into the outer chamber 23 through the inlet valve 25. The air pressure in the outer chamber 23 increases, and the rubber tube 21 is compressed, stretched, and tightened onto the outer wall of the valve core 20 after being pressed, so the gap valve 18 is in the closed state.

[0034] The equipment employs an intermittent spheroidizing method. The material to be spheroidized is weighed and quantitatively added to the spheroidizing chamber 1 via the feeding pipe 13. Then, the horizontal nozzle 2, lower nozzle 3, and classifying impeller 9 are activated. After spheroidizing in the spheroidizing chamber 1 for a certain period, the finished material is released from the spheroidizing chamber 1. Upon entering the spheroidizing chamber 1, the material is blown up by the horizontal nozzle 2 and lower nozzle 3 and rises with the airflow. It enters the classifying chamber 4 through the material passage 6 at the upper end of the distribution cone 5. Under the action of the guide cone 14, the material is dispersed and enters the classifying zone of the classifying impeller 9, where coarse and fine particles are separated. Fine powder is carried by the airflow through the classifying impeller 9 and discharged from the fine powder outlet 11 and collected. Coarse powder particles are blocked by the classifying impeller 9 and fall along the side wall of the classifying chamber 4 under gravity, being collected by multiple collecting hoppers 7 located at the lower end of the classifying chamber 4. The coarse powder particles collected by the collecting hoppers 7 descend along the conveying pipe 8 and enter the diffusion section of the horizontal nozzle 2. Under the negative pressure of the airflow in the diffuser section of the horizontal nozzle 2, coarse powder particles are drawn in and accelerated, and finally sprayed into the shaping chamber 1. The gas-solid two-phase flow velocity gradient is large in the diffuser section of the horizontal nozzle 2, causing the coarse powder particles to tumble and rub against each other, effectively removing sharp edges. The accelerated material is then sprayed at high speed through the horizontal nozzle 2 into the shaping chamber 1, where it undergoes secondary spheroidization through collision and friction. It is then carried upwards by the airflow and returns to the classifying impeller 9 for particle separation, initiating a material particle circulation mode. A lower nozzle 3 is installed at the bottom of the shaping chamber 1. The lower nozzle 3 blows up the material at the bottom of the shaping chamber 1, allowing it to enter the circulation shaping process, ensuring that every material particle has a shaping opportunity. The spheroidization opportunity is equal for the material, resulting in the separation of coarse and fine materials and thorough circulation spheroidization.

[0035] During this process, the material undergoes repeated separation of coarse and fine particles, acceleration, and spheroidization. After spheroidization for a certain period and reaching the required particle size, the shaped coarse powder particles are discharged and collected through the gap valve 18 at the bottom of the shaping chamber 1. With the gap valve 18, the second discharge valve 32, and the first discharge valve 31 at the bottom of the shaping chamber 1 open, the finished coarse powder particles are sequentially discharged and collected through the second discharge valve 32, the transition tank 30, and the first discharge valve 31 at the bottom of the gap valve 18. Fine powder is drawn out from the fine powder outlet 11 of the upper chamber 10 and collected, thus achieving the separation of coarse and fine powder.

[0036] In the above process, the material is drawn into the diffusion section of the horizontal jet nozzle and begins to accelerate there. The longer particle acceleration path results in more thorough acceleration. Compared to existing metal particle airflow shaping equipment, this embodiment uses a relatively low shaping gas source pressure of 0.2-0.3 MPa, avoiding over-crushing of the material and effectively saving energy.

[0037] like Figure 6As shown, during unloading, the gap valve 18 is opened. The specific operation of opening the gap valve 18 is as follows: the air inlet valve 25 is closed and the air outlet valve 26 is opened. The gas in the outer chamber 23 is discharged through the air outlet valve 26, the air pressure in the outer chamber 23 drops, the rubber tube 21 rebounds and disengages from the outer wall of the valve core 20 and resets, and the gap valve 18 is in the open state.

[0038] After unloading, close the gap valve 18. Then, weigh the material to be shaped and add it quantitatively into the shaping chamber 1 through the feeding pipe 13, repeating the above shaping and discharging process.

[0039] This metal particle airflow shaping equipment adopts an external circulation mode. Coarse powder particles blocked by the classifying impeller 9 are collected by the collecting hopper 7 and then reach the diffusion section of the horizontal nozzle 2 through the conveying pipe 8, where they are sucked in. The coarse powder particles begin to accelerate in the diffusion section. This process involves gentle acceleration and a long path, resulting in more thorough particle acceleration, improved spheroidization effect, and energy savings.

[0040] In summary, the present invention provides a metal particle airflow shaping device that can achieve efficient and gentle spherical shaping of metal particles, prevent material from depositing at the bottom of the shaping chamber and causing incomplete sphericalization, and simultaneously achieve the separation of coarse and fine powders and the purpose of energy saving and consumption reduction.

[0041] Finally, it should be noted that the above descriptions are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art can still modify the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments or make equivalent substitutions for some of the technical features. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A metal particle airflow shaping device, comprising a shaping chamber (1) and a grading chamber (4) located above the shaping chamber (1), wherein the shaping chamber (1) and the grading chamber (4) are connected, characterized in that: The shaping cavity (1) is provided with multiple horizontal nozzles (2) on its periphery, and a downward nozzle (3) is provided at the bottom of the shaping cavity (1) and is positioned upward; external gas is sprayed into the shaping cavity (1) through the multiple horizontal nozzles (2) and the downward nozzle (3). The upper part of the grading chamber (4) is provided with a rotating grading impeller (9). When the grading impeller (9) is working, its outlet is under negative pressure. The material in the shaping chamber (1) is tumbled, collided, rubbed and spheroidized by the airflow under the blowing action of the horizontal nozzle (2) and the lower nozzle (3). The shaped material rises along the airflow in the shaping chamber (1) to the grading impeller (9) of the grading chamber (4) and is separated. The fine powder material passes through the grading impeller (9) and is discharged. The coarse powder material is blocked by the grading impeller (9) and falls back into the shaping chamber (1) to be shaped again. The lower periphery of the grading chamber (4) is connected to multiple collection hoppers (7), and the lower end of the collection hoppers (7) is connected to the diffusion section of the horizontal nozzle (2) through the conveying pipe (8). A material distribution cone (5) is provided between the grading cavity (4) and the shaping cavity (1). The upper end of the material distribution cone (5) is provided with a material passage hole (6). The grading cavity (4) and the shaping cavity (1) are connected through the material passage hole (6).

2. The metal particle airflow shaping equipment as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The upper chamber (10) is provided above the grading chamber (4), and the upper chamber (10) is connected to the grading chamber (4) through the grading impeller (9); the side of the upper chamber (10) is provided with a fine powder outlet (11).

3. The metal particle airflow shaping equipment as described in claim 2, characterized in that: The grading chamber (4) is provided with a guide cone (14) that is small at the bottom and large at the top. The guide cone (14) is located below the grading impeller (9).

4. The metal particle airflow shaping equipment as described in claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes multiple air inlet pipes (15) and a feeding pipe (13) connected to the shaping cavity (1), with the multiple air inlet pipes (15) respectively connected to the horizontal nozzle (2) or the lower nozzle (3).

5. The metal particle airflow shaping device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The lower end of the shaping cavity (1) is provided with a gap valve (18), and the lower nozzle (3) is installed inside the gap valve (18) and passes through the gap valve (18) from bottom to top.

6. The metal particle airflow shaping device as described in claim 5, characterized in that: The gap valve (18) includes a tubular valve body (19) and a valve core (20) installed in the middle of the valve body (19). A gap is provided between the valve body (19) and the valve core (20) to allow material to pass through. A rubber tube (21) is provided between the valve body (19) and the valve core (20). The rubber tube (21) can abut against the outer wall of the valve core (20) or move away from the outer wall of the valve core (20) to realize the opening and closing of the gap valve (18).

7. The metal particle airflow shaping device as described in claim 6, characterized in that: The rubber tube (21) divides the gap between the valve body (19) and the valve core (20) into an inner chamber (22) and an outer chamber (23). The valve body (19) is provided with an intake valve (25) and an exhaust valve (26) that are respectively connected to the outer chamber (23).

8. The metal particle airflow shaping equipment as described in claim 6, characterized in that: The upper and lower ends of the valve core (20) are both flange-shaped, and multiple through holes (24) are provided on each of them.

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