A laser cladding device and a laser cladding method

Abstract

The application discloses a laser cladding device and a laser cladding method. The laser cladding device is configured to be capable of moving relatively along the axial direction of a tubular workpiece. The laser cladding device comprises: a laser generating assembly, which is used for emitting a hollow light beam; an optical path adjusting assembly, which is used for receiving the hollow light beam, shaping the hollow light beam and then outputting the hollow light beam to the inner wall of the tubular workpiece, so as to form a ring-shaped light spot coaxial with the tubular workpiece on the inner wall of the tubular workpiece; and a powder feeding assembly, which is used for providing cladding material to the position where the ring-shaped light spot is located. The laser generating assembly emits the hollow light beam, and the optical path adjusting assembly shapes the hollow light beam into the ring-shaped light spot coaxial with the tubular workpiece, so that the whole-circumferential annular synchronous cladding of the inner wall of the tubular workpiece can be realized. The problems, such as device heating caused by long line of single-point laser helical feeding, breakpoints caused by segmented cladding, and uneven helical lap, are avoided, so that the inner wall cladding efficiency and the uniformity of the whole-circumferential cladding layer are improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of laser cladding technology, and in particular to a laser cladding device and a laser cladding method. Background Technology

[0002] Laser cladding technology, with its advantages of high coating bonding strength, small heat-affected zone, and high material utilization, has become a core process for heavy processing of metal tubular workpieces, such as internal wall corrosion protection and surface strengthening. It is widely used in pipeline maintenance and upgrading in fields such as petroleum, chemical, municipal, and aerospace.

[0003] In related technologies, laser cladding devices mostly use a single-point laser spiral advance to achieve laser cladding on the inner wall of tubular workpieces. The single-point spiral feed path is long, and one-time forming can easily cause the device to heat up. Multiple forming will cause laser cladding breakpoints. The above problems result in low welding efficiency and uneven welding points in the single-point laser inner wall welding process. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This application aims to at least solve one of the aforementioned technical problems existing in the prior art. Therefore, the purpose of this application is to provide a laser cladding apparatus and a laser cladding method that can improve the welding efficiency of laser cladding and make the weld points more uniform.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the technical solution adopted in this application is as follows: According to a first aspect of an embodiment of this application, a laser cladding apparatus is configured to be movable relative to the axial direction of the tubular workpiece, comprising: A laser generating assembly, wherein the laser generating assembly is used to emit a hollow light beam; An optical path adjustment component is used to receive the hollow light beam, shape the hollow light beam, and output it to the inner wall of the tubular workpiece to form an annular light spot coaxial with the tubular workpiece on the inner wall of the tubular workpiece. A powder feeding assembly is used to provide cladding material to the location of the annular light spot.

[0006] The laser cladding apparatus according to the embodiments of this application has at least the following beneficial effects: In this embodiment, the laser generating component emits a hollow laser beam, which is a high-energy laser beam. The hollow laser beam is shaped by the optical path adjustment component into a high-temperature annular spot coaxial with the tubular workpiece. The powder feeding component provides cladding material to the location of the annular spot. The annular spot melts the inner wall of the tubular workpiece and the cladding material to form an annular molten pool. After the annular spot is removed, the annular molten pool cools and solidifies to form a coating, thereby achieving synchronous annular cladding of the entire inner wall of the tubular workpiece.

[0007] The laser cladding device moves relative to the axis of the tubular workpiece to continuously clad the inner wall of the workpiece. Since the shape of a single cladding is a complete circumference, the feed path of the laser cladding device or the tubular workpiece is only the axial length of the tubular workpiece. Unlike single-point spiral feed, it does not need to repeatedly scan along the circumference. The feed path is shortened, thereby improving welding efficiency. At the same time, the synchronous cladding method avoids the uneven thickness problem caused by spiral overlap. The thickness of the cladding layer is consistent and highly uniform.

[0008] According to some embodiments of this application, the hollow beam is a conical hollow beam, and the optical path adjustment assembly includes a first collimating mirror and a reflecting mirror. The first collimating mirror is used to receive the conical hollow beam and collimate it into a cylindrical hollow beam. The reflecting mirror is used to reflect the cylindrical hollow beam onto the inner wall of the tubular workpiece to form the annular light spot coaxial with the tubular workpiece.

[0009] According to some embodiments of this application, the laser cladding device further includes a zoom component connected to the first collimating lens. The zoom component is used to adjust the distance between the first collimating lens and the laser generating component to adjust the focal length of the hollow beam.

[0010] According to some embodiments of this application, the zoom assembly includes a main lens barrel, a rotating barrel, and a positioning pin. The rotating barrel is rotatably sleeved on the outside of the main lens barrel. The positioning pin is connected to the first collimating lens. The first collimating lens is disposed inside the main lens barrel. The main lens barrel is provided with a sliding groove extending along the axial direction. The rotating barrel is provided with a spiral guide groove. The positioning pin passes through the sliding groove and extends into the spiral guide groove. The first collimating lens is slidably connected to the sliding groove and the spiral guide groove through the positioning pin.

[0011] According to some embodiments of this application, the zoom assembly further includes a first driving member, which is mounted on the main lens barrel and has its output end connected to the rotating barrel. The first driving member is used to drive the rotating barrel to rotate relative to the main lens barrel.

[0012] According to some embodiments of this application, the optical path adjustment assembly further includes a focusing lens, which is used to receive the cylindrical hollow light beam and focus the cylindrical hollow light beam onto the inner wall of the tubular workpiece.

[0013] According to some embodiments of this application, the laser cladding apparatus further includes an angle adjustment component connected to the powder feeding component, the angle adjustment component being used to adjust the spray angle of the cladding material provided by the powder feeding component.

[0014] According to some embodiments of this application, the angle adjustment assembly includes a second drive member, a lead screw, a slider, and a connecting rod; The second driving member is connected to the optical path adjustment assembly, the lead screw is connected to the output shaft of the second driving member, the slider is sleeved on the lead screw and threaded with the lead screw, the second driving member is used to drive the lead screw to rotate so as to drive the slider to move along the axial direction of the lead screw, one end of the connecting rod is hinged to the slider, and the other end is hinged to the powder feeding assembly, the powder feeding assembly is hinged to the optical path adjustment assembly.

[0015] The laser cladding method of the laser cladding apparatus according to the second aspect of the embodiments of this application includes the following steps: The laser generating component is controlled to emit the hollow beam; The optical path adjustment component receives the hollow beam and shapes it before outputting it to the inner wall of the tubular workpiece, so as to form an annular light spot coaxial with the tubular workpiece on the inner wall of the tubular workpiece. The powder feeding assembly is controlled to provide the cladding material to the location of the annular light spot; The tubular workpiece or the laser cladding device is moved along the axial direction of the tubular workpiece.

[0016] The laser cladding method according to the embodiments of this application has at least the following beneficial effects: The laser cladding method in this application uses the laser cladding provided in this application. Therefore, the laser cladding method has the beneficial effects of the laser cladding apparatus of this application.

[0017] According to some embodiments of this application, before controlling the laser generating component to emit the hollow beam, the steps include: The focal length of the hollow beam and the powder spraying parameters of the powder feeding assembly are determined based on the inner diameter of the tubular workpiece. Based on the focal length of the hollow beam, the zoom component of the laser cladding device is controlled to adjust the distance between the first collimating lens of the optical path adjustment component and the laser generating component. Based on the powder spraying parameters of the powder feeding component, the angle adjustment component of the laser cladding device is controlled to adjust the spraying angle of the cladding material provided by the powder feeding component. Attached Figure Description

[0018] The accompanying drawings are used to provide a further understanding of the technical solutions disclosed in this application and form part of the specification. They are used together with the embodiments disclosed in this application to explain the technical solutions of this application and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions disclosed in this application.

[0019] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the laser cladding device in the embodiments of this application; Figure 2This is a schematic diagram of the laser optical path in an embodiment of this application; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the optical path of the laser generating component in the embodiments of this application; Figure 4 This is one of the partial structural schematic diagrams of the laser cladding device in the embodiments of this application; Figure 5 This is a second partial structural schematic diagram of the laser cladding device in the embodiments of this application; Figure 6 for Figure 5 Sectional view along AA; Figure 7 This is the third partial structural schematic diagram of the laser cladding device in the embodiments of this application; Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram showing the movement of the guide pin along the slide and spiral guide groove in an embodiment of this application; Figure 9 This is the fourth partial structural schematic diagram of the laser cladding device in the embodiments of this application; Figure 10 for Figure 1 A magnified view of detail B in the middle; Figure 11 This is one of the step diagrams of the laser cladding method in the embodiments of this application; Figure 12 This is the second step diagram of the laser cladding method in the embodiments of this application.

[0020] Reference numerals: 100, Laser generating assembly; 110, Optical fiber; 120, Laser; 130, Second collimating lens; 140, Beam expander; 150, Annular lens; 160, Concave lens; 170, Plane lens; 200, Optical path adjustment assembly; 210, First collimating lens; 220, Reflector; 230, Focusing lens; 300, Powder feeding assembly; 310, Metal powder tube; 320, Protective gas tube; 330, T-junction; 340, Nozzle; 400, Zoom assembly; 410, Main lens barrel; 411, Slide groove; 420, Rotating cylinder; 421, Spiral guide groove ; 430, Inner lens frame; 431, Positioning pin; 440, First driving component; 450, Potentiometer; 460, Protective lens; 470, Protective lens barrel; 500, Angle adjustment assembly; 510, Second driving component; 520, Lead screw; 530, Slider; 540, Connecting rod; 550, Rocker arm; 560, Support; 101, Inner laser surface; 102, Outer laser surface; 103 / 204, Tubular hollow beam; 104, Ring beam; 201, Conventional conical laser; 202, Collimated parallel beam; 203, Expanded laser beam; 205, Conical hollow beam. Detailed Implementation

[0021] The embodiments of this application are described in detail below. Examples of these embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions throughout. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are only used to explain this application, and should not be construed as limiting this application.

[0022] In the description of this application, it should be understood that the orientation descriptions, such as up, down, front, back, left, right, etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on this application.

[0023] In the description of this application, "several" means one or more, "multiple" means two or more, "greater than," "less than," and "exceeding" are understood to exclude the stated number, while "above," "below," and "within" are understood to include the stated number. The use of "first" and "second" in the description is merely for distinguishing technical features and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance, or implicitly indicating the number of indicated technical features, or implicitly indicating the order of the indicated technical features.

[0024] In the description of this application, unless otherwise expressly defined, terms such as "setup," "installation," and "connection" should be interpreted broadly, and those skilled in the art can reasonably determine the specific meaning of the above terms in this application in conjunction with the specific content of the technical solution.

[0025] In the description of this application, the terms "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "illustrative embodiment," "example," "specific example," or "some examples," etc., refer to specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described in connection with that embodiment or example, which are included in at least one embodiment or example of this application. In this specification, the illustrative expressions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples.

[0026] It should be noted that laser cladding is a technology that uses a high-energy laser beam to melt the cladding material and the surface of the substrate together to form a molten pool. After the molten pool solidifies, it forms a high-performance coating. It is mainly used for surface strengthening and repair remanufacturing of parts. The cladding material can be metal powder, ceramic powder or composite powder.

[0027] In related technologies, laser cladding devices form a single spot on the inner wall of a tubular workpiece, and then rotate to feed the laser cladding device or the tubular workpiece to achieve circumferential cladding of the entire tubular workpiece. If the entire inner wall of the tubular workpiece is to be clad, the laser cladding device needs to be spirally fed, resulting in a long feeding path. Single cladding formation can easily cause the laser cladding device to overheat, and multiple segmented cladding will cause cladding breaks. The above problems lead to low welding efficiency and uneven welding points in traditional laser cladding devices.

[0028] like Figures 1 to 12 As shown, a laser cladding apparatus according to a first aspect of an embodiment of this application is configured to move relative to a tubular workpiece along its axial direction. The laser cladding apparatus includes: Laser generating component 100, which is used to emit a hollow beam; The optical path adjustment component 200 is used to receive the hollow beam and shape the hollow beam before outputting it to the inner wall of the tubular workpiece to form an annular light spot coaxial with the tubular workpiece on the inner wall of the tubular workpiece (not shown in the figure). The powder feeding assembly 300 is used to provide cladding material to the location of the annular light spot.

[0029] In this embodiment, the laser generating component 100 emits a hollow laser beam, which is a high-energy laser beam. The hollow laser beam is shaped by the optical path adjustment component 200 into a high-temperature annular spot coaxial with the tubular workpiece. The powder feeding component 300 provides cladding material to the location of the annular spot. The annular spot melts the inner wall of the tubular workpiece and the cladding material to form an annular molten pool. After the annular spot is removed, the annular molten pool cools and solidifies to form a coating, thereby achieving synchronous annular cladding of the entire inner wall of the tubular workpiece.

[0030] The laser cladding device moves relative to the axis of the tubular workpiece to continuously clad the inner wall of the tubular workpiece. Since the shape of a single cladding is a full circumference ring, the feed path is only the axial length of the tubular workpiece. Unlike single-point spiral feed, it does not need to repeatedly scan along the circumference. The feed path is shortened, thereby improving welding efficiency. At the same time, the full circumference ring synchronous cladding method avoids the problem of uneven thickness caused by spiral overlap. The thickness of the full circumference cladding layer is consistent and highly uniform.

[0031] Specifically, the laser output power and annular taper of the laser generating component 100 are selected according to the requirements of the cladding process. The laser output end of the laser generating component 100 is seamlessly connected to the incident end of the optical path adjustment component 200. The laser generating component 100 and the optical path adjustment component 200 are sealed to prevent dust from entering the optical path and to ensure that there is no offset loss in the optical path.

[0032] According to some embodiments of this application, such as Figure 2As shown, the hollow beam is a conical hollow beam 205. The optical path adjustment assembly 200 includes a first collimating mirror 210 and a reflecting mirror 220. The first collimating mirror 210 is used to receive the conical hollow beam 205 and collimate it into a cylindrical hollow beam 103. The reflecting mirror 220 is used to reflect the cylindrical hollow beam 103 onto the inner wall of the tubular workpiece to form an annular light spot coaxial with the tubular workpiece.

[0033] In this embodiment, the conical hollow beam 205, the first collimating mirror 210, and the reflecting mirror 220 are coaxially arranged. After collimation, the conical hollow beam 205 is transformed into a cylindrical hollow beam 103, and the energy is uniformly distributed on the cylindrical cross-section, which provides a basis for the subsequent formation of a uniform annular light spot and avoids the problem of inconsistent thickness of the cladding layer due to uneven beam distribution.

[0034] Specifically, the reflector 220 is set as a 45° tapered reflector. The reflector 220 is configured with an inner conical surface reflection structure and the taper is fixed at 45°. It is used to receive the cylindrical hollow beam 103 output by the first collimating lens 210 and reflect the cylindrical hollow beam 103 into a horizontal ring laser perpendicular to the axis of the inner wall of the tubular workpiece. The formed ring spot fits the inner wall of the tubular workpiece, which meets the requirements of the cladding operation. The uniformity error of the ring spot is small.

[0035] According to some embodiments of this application, such as Figure 3 As shown, the laser generating assembly 100 includes a laser 120, a second collimating lens 130, a beam expander 140, a ring lens 150, and a concave lens 160. Laser 120 is used to output a conventional conical laser 201; second collimating lens 130 is used to receive the conventional conical laser 201 and adjust it into a collimated parallel beam 202; beam expander 140 is used to expand and amplify the collimated parallel beam 202 output by second collimating lens 130, and output a Gaussian distributed expanded laser beam 203; ring lens 150 is used to convert the expanded laser beam 203 into a cylindrical hollow beam 204; concave lens 160 is used to diffuse the cylindrical hollow beam 204 to generate a conical hollow beam 205.

[0036] It should be noted that, Figure 3 The dashed line represents the inner laser surface of the cylindrical hollow beam 204, and the solid line represents the outer laser surface of the cylindrical hollow beam 204.

[0037] Specifically, the laser generating assembly 100 further includes an energy source (not shown in the figure), an optical fiber 110, and a plane lens 170. The energy source, optical fiber 110, and laser 120 are connected in sequence. The optical fiber 110 is used to transmit the laser light from the energy source to the laser 120. The plane lens 170 is used to receive and emit a conical hollow beam 205. The plane lens 170 also serves as a protective lens 460 for the laser generating assembly 100. The laser generating assembly 100 described above in this application can convert a conventional conical laser 201 into a conical hollow beam 205, so that the conical hollow beam 205 is then shaped into an annular spot by the optical path adjustment assembly 200. The formed annular spot adheres to the inner wall of the pipe, meeting the requirements for cladding operations on the inner wall of the pipe workpiece. The laser generating assembly 100 in this application is not limited to the above structure; the laser generating assembly 100 only needs to be able to output a conical hollow beam 205.

[0038] According to some embodiments of this application, such as Figures 4 to 6 As shown, the laser cladding device also includes a zoom component 400, which is connected to the first collimating lens 210. The zoom component 400 is used to adjust the distance between the first collimating lens 210 and the laser generating component 100 to adjust the focal length of the hollow beam.

[0039] The zoom component 400 can change the focal length and annular radius of the hollow beam by adjusting the axial distance between the first collimating lens 210 and the laser generating component 100, so that the diameter of the annular spot projected onto the inner wall of the tubular workpiece matches the inner diameter of different tubular workpieces. This allows the same device to adapt to the cladding requirements of workpieces with various inner diameter specifications without replacing the entire laser head or optical components, reducing equipment costs and improving cladding efficiency.

[0040] According to some embodiments of this application, such as Figures 6 to 8 As shown, the zoom assembly 400 includes a main lens barrel 410, a rotating barrel 420, and a positioning pin 431. The rotating barrel 420 is rotatably sleeved on the outside of the main lens barrel 410. The positioning pin 431 is connected to a first collimating lens 210, which is disposed inside the main lens barrel 410. The main lens barrel 410 is provided with a sliding groove 411 extending along the axial direction. The rotating barrel 420 is provided with a spiral guide groove 421. The positioning pin 431 passes through the sliding groove 411 and extends into the spiral guide groove 421. The first collimating lens 210 is slidably connected to the sliding groove 411 and the spiral guide groove 421 through the positioning pin 431.

[0041] Specifically, the zoom assembly 400 also includes an inner lens frame 430 disposed within the main lens barrel 410, a first collimating lens 210 coaxially mounted to the inner lens frame 430, and the inner lens frame 430 connected to a positioning pin 431.

[0042] like Figures 5 to 8As shown, the working principle of the zoom component 400 adjusting the distance between the first collimating lens 210 and the laser generating component 100 in this embodiment is as follows: The rotating cylinder 420 is rotatably fitted onto the outside of the main lens barrel 410. A spiral guide groove 421 is formed on the rotating cylinder 420, extending spirally relative to the axis of the rotating cylinder 420. The main lens barrel 410 remains fixed. A sliding groove 411 extending axially is formed on the wall of the main lens barrel 410. This sliding groove 411 only allows the positioning pin 431 to slide axially, while constraining the circumferential movement of the positioning pin 431. The positioning pin 431 passes through the sliding groove 411 of the main lens barrel 410 and extends into the spiral guide groove 421 of the rotating cylinder 420. Simultaneously, the positioning pin 431 is connected to the first collimating lens 210 via the inner lens frame 430, so that the first collimating lens 210 is positioned inside the main lens barrel 410. When the drive drum 420 rotates, the groove wall of the spiral guide groove 421 applies a tangential thrust to the positioning pin 431, causing the positioning pin 431 to move along the trajectory of the spiral guide groove 421. Since the positioning pin 431 also passes through the slide groove 411 of the main lens barrel 410, the slide groove 411 applies a circumferential constraint to the positioning pin 431, preventing it from undergoing circumferential displacement following the rotation direction of the drum 420, so that the positioning pin 431 can only move axially in a straight line along the slide groove 411.

[0043] The axial movement of the positioning pin 431 drives the first collimating lens 210 to move axially synchronously via the inner mirror frame 430. This changes the distance between the first collimating lens 210 and the laser generating assembly 100. The change in distance between the first collimating lens 210 and the light source directly alters the focal length and annular radius of the hollow beam, allowing continuous adjustment of the annular light spot projected onto the inner wall of the tubular workpiece, thus adapting to tubular workpieces with different inner diameters. The entire adjustment process can be completed by driving the rotating drum 420 to rotate, without disassembling or replacing any optical components, making it convenient to operate and highly accurate.

[0044] According to some embodiments of this application, such as Figure 4 As shown, the zoom assembly 400 also includes a first drive member 440, which is mounted on the main lens barrel 410. The output end of the first drive member 440 is connected to the rotating barrel 420, and the first drive member 440 is used to drive the rotating barrel 420 to rotate relative to the main lens barrel 410.

[0045] This application realizes the automatic drive of the 420° rotation of the drum, which has higher positioning accuracy and adjustment consistency compared with manual adjustment, thus ensuring the stability of the cladding quality.

[0046] Specifically, such as Figure 4As shown, the end of the rotating cylinder 420 facing the first driving member 440 is circumferentially provided with serrations. The output end of the first driving member 440 is provided with mating teeth that match the serrations of the rotating cylinder 420. The output end of the first driving member 440 is connected to the end face serrations of the rotating cylinder 420 through the mating teeth. When the first driving member 440 is started, its output end rotates, and the rotational torque is transmitted to the rotating cylinder 420 through the meshing serrations, driving the rotating cylinder 420 to rotate relative to the main lens barrel 410 around its own axis. As an example, the first driving member 440 is set as a motor.

[0047] The zoom assembly 400 also includes a potentiometer 450, which is mounted on the main lens barrel 410. The potentiometer 450 is connected to the rotating barrel 420 via a gear pair. When the first drive unit 440 drives the rotating barrel 420 to rotate, the rotating barrel 420 drives the potentiometer 450 to rotate synchronously. The potentiometer 450 converts the rotation angle of the rotating barrel 420 into a corresponding electrical signal and outputs it to the controller of the laser cladding device (not shown in the figure). The controller determines the actual displacement of the first collimating lens 210 based on the corresponding electrical signal and compares it with the preset target position. When the actual displacement matches the target position, the controller controls the first drive unit 440 to stop operating, thereby realizing stepless adjustment of the laser focal length.

[0048] According to some embodiments of this application, such as Figure 2 As shown, the optical path adjustment assembly 200 also includes a focusing lens 230, which is used to receive the cylindrical hollow beam 103 and focus the cylindrical hollow beam 103 onto the inner wall of the tubular workpiece.

[0049] Specifically, such as Figure 2 As shown, the diverging conical hollow beam 205 has an inner laser surface 101 and an outer laser surface 102. After being collimated by the first collimating lens 210, the inner laser surface 101 and the outer laser surface 102 of the conical hollow beam 205 are parallel, resulting in a cylindrical hollow beam 103. The inner laser surface 101 and the outer laser surface 102 of the cylindrical hollow beam 103 are parallel.

[0050] like Figure 2 As shown, the annular beam 104 obtained after the reflector 220 reflects the cylindrical hollow beam 103 still has a certain degree of divergence. The inner laser surface 101 and the outer laser surface 102 of the annular beam 104 are parallel. The focusing lens 230 can focus the divergent annular beam 104, so that the inner laser surface 101 and the outer laser surface 102 converge to the inner wall of the tubular workpiece, ensuring welding accuracy.

[0051] As the focusing structure at the end of the optical path, the focusing lens 230 can be replaced with different specifications according to actual needs to flexibly adjust the position of the final laser focus, as shown in the following example. Figure 4 As shown, the focusing lens 230 is ring-shaped.

[0052] According to some embodiments of this application, such as Figure 4 and Figure 6 As shown, protective lenses 460 are provided at both ends of the main lens barrel 410 along the axial direction.

[0053] Specifically, the protective lens 460 is configured as a disc-shaped full lens. The protective lens 460 can effectively block dust, impurities, and other contaminants from entering the optical path system without affecting the normal transmission of the optical path.

[0054] According to some embodiments of this application, such as Figure 5 As shown, the optical path adjustment assembly 200 also includes a protective lens barrel 470, a focusing lens 230 and a reflecting lens 220 disposed inside the protective lens barrel 470, the protective lens barrel 470 being connected to the main lens barrel 410, and the focusing lens 230, the reflecting lens 220 and the protective lens barrel 470 being coaxially arranged.

[0055] Specifically, the sides and bottom of the protective lens barrel 470 are all full lenses. The top of the protective lens barrel 470 is hollow and connected to the bottom of the main lens barrel 410, so that the focusing lens 230 and the reflecting mirror 220 are sealed between the protective lens 460 at the bottom of the main lens barrel 410 and the protective lens barrel 470. The protective lens barrel 470 achieves sealed protection for the focusing lens 230 and the reflecting mirror 220, preventing the focusing lens and the reflecting mirror 220 from being contaminated. At the same time, the protective lens barrel 470 is set as a full lens so as not to affect the normal transmission of the laser beam, ensuring the stability of the optical path throughout the entire process.

[0056] According to some embodiments of this application, such as Figure 1 and Figure 9 As shown, the laser cladding device also includes an angle adjustment component 500, which is connected to the powder feeding component 300 and is used to adjust the spray angle of the cladding material provided by the powder feeding component 300.

[0057] In this embodiment, the spraying area of ​​the powder feeding component 300 can be adaptively adjusted according to changes in the inner diameter of the tubular workpiece or the position of the annular light spot, ensuring that the powder feeding component 300 always accurately sprays powder to the location of the annular light spot. Specifically, before the hollow beam is emitted, the focal length of the hollow beam and the spraying angle of the cladding material are adjusted to match the current inner diameter of the tubular workpiece. This ensures that after the laser generating component 100 is activated, the annular light spot is accurately formed on the inner wall of the workpiece, and the cladding material can be simultaneously and accurately sprayed to the location of the annular light spot without repeated adjustments after the laser is turned on. Furthermore, the adjustment operations of the zoom component 400 and the angle adjustment component 500 are simple, and the adjustment results have good consistency.

[0058] Furthermore, the powder feeding position can be adjusted in one step before the cladding operation via the angle adjustment component 500, or it can be adjusted in real time during processing according to actual working conditions, further improving the process adaptability of the device and the stability of the cladding quality. Especially when dealing with tubular workpieces of different inner diameters, the angle adjustment component 500 can quickly respond to the needs without replacing the powder feeding component 300 or manually disassembling and adjusting, thus improving cladding efficiency and ease of operation.

[0059] It is understandable that the angle adjustment component 500 can be any mechanical transmission structure that can drive the powder feeding component 300 to change its spatial position, such as a lead screw and slider mechanism, a gear and rack mechanism, or a worm gear mechanism.

[0060] According to some embodiments of this application, such as Figure 1 and Figure 9 As shown, the angle adjustment assembly 500 includes a second drive member 510, a lead screw 520, a slider 530, and a connecting rod 540; The second drive member 510 is connected to the optical path adjustment assembly 200. The lead screw 520 is connected to the output shaft of the second drive member 510. The slider 530 is sleeved on the lead screw 520 and threadedly engaged with the lead screw 520. The second drive member 510 is used to drive the lead screw 520 to rotate, so as to drive the slider 530 to move along the axial direction of the lead screw 520. One end of the connecting rod 540 is hinged to the slider 530, and the other end is hinged to the powder feeding assembly 300. The powder feeding assembly 300 is hinged to the optical path adjustment assembly 200.

[0061] according to Figure 1 , Figure 9 and Figure 10 This explains the principle by which the angle adjustment component 500 adjusts the powder spraying position of the powder feeding component 300: The second driving component 510 is mounted on the optical path adjustment assembly 200. The output shaft of the second driving component 510 is connected to one end of the lead screw 520. The lead screw 520 rotates around its own axis under the drive of the second driving component 510. The slider 530 is sleeved on the outside of the lead screw 520 and threadedly engaged with the lead screw 520. Since one end of the connecting rod 540 is hinged to the slider 530 and the other end is hinged to the powder feeding assembly 300, which is also hinged to the optical path adjustment assembly 200, the slider 530 is constrained in the circumferential direction and cannot rotate with the lead screw 520. Therefore, when the lead screw 520 rotates, the slider 530 reciprocates linearly along the axial direction of the lead screw 520 under the drive of the threaded pair. Its direction of motion depends on the rotation direction of the lead screw 520.

[0062] When the slider 530 moves along the axial direction of the lead screw 520, the slider 530 drives one end of the connecting rod 540 to move, and the other end of the connecting rod 540 pushes the powder feeding assembly 300 to swing around the hinge point of the powder feeding assembly 300 and the optical path adjustment assembly 200. The swing of the powder feeding assembly 300 changes the spatial orientation of the spray nozzle, so that the spray area of ​​the cladding material can match the position of the annular light spot.

[0063] The aforementioned transmission structure is simple and reliable. The lead screw 520 transmission has a self-locking characteristic, meaning that after the second drive component 510 stops operating, the powder feeding assembly 300 can remain in the current adjusted position without deflection due to external force or its own weight, ensuring the stability of the powder feeding position during the cladding process. The second drive component 510 is a motor.

[0064] Specifically, the angle adjustment assembly 500 also includes a support 560, which is connected to the rotating drum 420. The second drive member 510 is connected to the support 560. The lead screw 520 is assembled inside the support 560. The support 560 is provided with a guide groove that extends along the axial direction of the lead screw 520. The slider 530 extends out of the guide groove from the lead screw 520. The guide groove is used to restrict the movement of the slider 530 along the axial direction of the lead screw 520. The powder feeding assembly 300 is hinged to the support 560.

[0065] In this application, both the angle adjustment component 500 and the powder feeding component 300 are connected to the rotating drum 420 via a support 560. The guide groove of the support 560 further constrains the slider 530 in the circumferential direction, restricting the slider 530 to move only along the axial direction of the lead screw 520, thus ensuring more stable linkage between the slider 530, the connecting rod 540, and the powder feeding component 300. Furthermore, the support 560 is detachably connected to the rotating drum 420, facilitating the assembly and disassembly of the device.

[0066] According to some embodiments of this application, such as Figure 9 and Figure 10 As shown, the powder feeding assembly 300 includes a powder feeding pipeline and a nozzle 340. The powder feeding pipeline is connected to the nozzle 340 and is used to provide the nozzle 340 with a mixture of cladding material and protective gas. The nozzle 340 is used to provide the mixture of cladding material and protective gas to the location of the annular light spot. The nozzle 340 is hinged to the optical path adjustment assembly 200.

[0067] This application provides a powder feeding pipeline connected to the nozzle 340, supplying a mixture of cladding material and protective gas to the nozzle 340. This allows the cladding material and protective gas to be mixed during transport and ejected from the nozzle 340 in a mixed state. Compared to the separate injection of cladding material and protective gas, the mixed injection ensures that the powdered cladding material is fully enveloped by the protective gas upon reaching the molten pool, preventing powder agglomeration and improving the uniformity of powder injection. The powder-gas mixing ratio can be adjusted according to the specific process, including the amount of air and powder fed.

[0068] Specifically, such as Figure 9 and Figure 10 As shown, the angle adjustment component 500 also includes a rocker arm 550, with the nozzle 340 connected to the rocker arm 550. The rocker arm 550 is hinged to the support 560, so that the nozzle 340 is hinged to the support 560 via the rocker arm 550. Multiple powder feeding components 300 are provided, evenly distributed along the circumference of the rotating drum 420. Multiple angle adjustment components 500 are also provided, each corresponding to one of the powder feeding components 300. The angle adjustment components 500 are evenly distributed along the circumference of the rotating drum 420. Preferably, the angle adjustment components 500 and the powder feeding components 300 are continuously distributed along the circumference of the rotating drum 420 to achieve uniform annular powder spraying.

[0069] As an example, such as Figure 1 In the laser cladding device shown, there are 8 angle adjustment components 500 and 8 powder feeding components 300 to achieve uniform powder spraying at the annular spot.

[0070] According to some embodiments of this application, such as Figure 9 and Figure 10 As shown, the powder feeding pipeline includes a metal powder pipe 310, a protective gas pipe 320, and a three-way pipe 330. The metal powder pipe 310 is used to introduce the cladding material, the protective gas pipe 320 is used to introduce the protective gas, the first end of the three-way pipe 330 is used to connect to the metal powder pipe 310, the second end of the three-way pipe 330 is used to connect to the protective gas pipe 320, and the third end of the three-way pipe 330 is used to connect to the nozzle 340.

[0071] It is understood that in this embodiment, the cladding material is metal powder. The ends of both the metal powder tube 310 and the protective gas tube 320 are connected to a tee tube 330, allowing the metal powder and protective gas to be fully mixed within the tee tube 330. Preferably, the tee tube 330 and the nozzle 340 can be connected via a flexible hose, so that the nozzle 340 will not interfere with the rigid piping when adjusting its angle.

[0072] According to some embodiments of this application, the nozzle 340 has an inlet end and an outlet end. The outlet end is located at the end of the nozzle 340 away from the three-way pipe 330, and the inlet end is located at the end of the nozzle 340 close to the three-way pipe 330. The inlet end is connected to the three-way pipe 330, and the cross-sectional area of ​​the nozzle 340 gradually decreases from the inlet end to the outlet end. This causes the material to gradually converge from the inlet end to the outlet end, thereby pressurizing and spraying out the mixed protective gas and metal powder, accurately providing cladding material at the location of the annular spot, and improving the uniformity of cladding.

[0073] Reference Figure 11 As shown, the laser cladding method based on the above-mentioned laser cladding device includes the following steps: S100: Determine the focal length of the hollow beam and the powder spraying parameters of the powder feeding assembly 300 based on the inner diameter of the tubular workpiece. S200: Based on the focal length of the hollow beam, control the zoom assembly 400 to adjust the distance between the first collimating lens 210 and the laser generating assembly 100; S300: Based on the powder spraying parameters of the powder feeding assembly 300, the angle adjustment assembly 500 adjusts the spraying angle of the cladding material provided by the powder feeding assembly 300.

[0074] Reference Figure 12 As shown, the laser cladding method based on the above-mentioned laser cladding device further includes the following steps: S400: Controls the laser generating component 100 to emit a hollow beam.

[0075] S500: The optical path adjustment component 200 receives the hollow beam and shapes it before outputting it to the inner wall of the tubular workpiece to form an annular light spot coaxial with the tubular workpiece on the inner wall of the tubular workpiece.

[0076] S600: Controls the powder feeding assembly 300 to provide cladding material to the location of the annular light spot.

[0077] Step S600 specifically includes: S610: Based on the powder-gas mixing ratio, determine the amount of cladding material fed into the metal powder pipe 310, and determine the amount of protective gas fed into the protective gas pipe 320.

[0078] S620: Based on the powder feed rate and air feed rate, control the powder feeding assembly 300 to provide a mixture of protective gas and cladding material to the location of the annular light spot.

[0079] S700: Moves the tubular workpiece or laser cladding device along the axial direction of the tubular workpiece.

[0080] The powder feeding assembly 300 has two powder feeding methods. The powder feeding assembly 300 can first spray the cladding material onto the surface of the tubular workpiece, and then the laser generating assembly 100 emits a hollow beam to form an annular light spot at the position of the cladding material on the inner wall of the tubular workpiece, melting the cladding material. The powder feeding assembly 300 can also send the cladding material into the position of the annular light spot to complete the cladding simultaneously. Therefore, steps S400, S500 and S600 in the embodiments of this application are not limited to being performed sequentially. In other embodiments, steps S400, S500 and S600 can also be executed simultaneously, or step S600 can be executed before steps S400 and S500.

[0081] It is understood that in step S700, the tubular workpiece can be kept fixed and the laser cladding device can be moved along the axial direction of the tubular workpiece, or the laser cladding device can be kept fixed and the tubular workpiece can be moved along the axial direction of the tubular workpiece. Both of the above settings can continuously clad the inner wall of the tubular workpiece.

[0082] The above embodiments are preferred embodiments of this application, but the implementation of this application is not limited to the above embodiments. Any changes, modifications, substitutions, combinations, or simplifications made without departing from the spirit and principle of this application shall be considered equivalent substitutions and shall be included within the protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. A laser cladding device, characterized in that, The laser cladding device is movable along the axial direction of the tubular workpiece, and the laser cladding device includes: A laser generating assembly, wherein the laser generating assembly is used to emit a hollow light beam; An optical path adjustment component is used to receive the hollow light beam, shape the hollow light beam, and output it to the inner wall of the tubular workpiece to form an annular light spot coaxial with the tubular workpiece on the inner wall of the tubular workpiece. A powder feeding assembly is used to provide cladding material to the location of the annular light spot.

2. The laser cladding apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The hollow beam is a conical hollow beam. The optical path adjustment assembly includes a first collimating mirror and a reflecting mirror arranged coaxially. The first collimating mirror is used to receive the conical hollow beam and collimate it into a cylindrical hollow beam. The reflecting mirror is used to reflect the cylindrical hollow beam onto the inner wall of the tubular workpiece to form the annular light spot coaxial with the tubular workpiece.

3. The laser cladding apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that, The laser cladding device further includes a zoom component connected to the first collimating lens. The zoom component is used to adjust the distance between the first collimating lens and the laser generating component to adjust the focal length of the hollow beam.

4. The laser cladding apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that, The zoom assembly includes a main lens barrel, a rotating barrel, and a positioning pin. The rotating barrel is rotatably sleeved on the outside of the main lens barrel. The positioning pin is connected to the first collimating lens, which is disposed inside the main lens barrel. The main lens barrel is provided with a sliding groove extending along the axial direction. The rotating barrel is provided with a spiral guide groove. The positioning pin passes through the sliding groove and extends into the spiral guide groove. The first collimating lens is slidably connected to the sliding groove and the spiral guide groove through the positioning pin.

5. The laser cladding apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in that, The zoom assembly further includes a first drive member, which is mounted on the main lens barrel. The output end of the first drive member is connected to the rotating barrel, and the first drive member is used to drive the rotating barrel to rotate relative to the main lens barrel.

6. The laser cladding apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that, The optical path adjustment assembly also includes a focusing lens, which is used to receive the cylindrical hollow light beam and focus the cylindrical hollow light beam onto the inner wall of the tubular workpiece.

7. The laser cladding apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The laser cladding device further includes an angle adjustment component connected to the powder feeding component, which is used to adjust the spray angle of the cladding material provided by the powder feeding component.

8. The laser cladding apparatus according to claim 7, characterized in that, The angle adjustment assembly includes a second drive element, a lead screw, a slider, and a connecting rod; The second driving member is connected to the optical path adjustment assembly, the lead screw is connected to the output shaft of the second driving member, the slider is sleeved on the lead screw and threaded with the lead screw, the second driving member is used to drive the lead screw to rotate so as to drive the slider to move along the axial direction of the lead screw, one end of the connecting rod is hinged to the slider, the other end of the connecting rod is hinged to the powder feeding assembly, and the powder feeding assembly is hinged to the optical path adjustment assembly.

9. A laser cladding method based on the laser cladding apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, Including the following steps: The laser generating component is controlled to emit the hollow beam; The optical path adjustment component receives the hollow beam and shapes it before outputting it to the inner wall of the tubular workpiece, so as to form an annular light spot coaxial with the tubular workpiece on the inner wall of the tubular workpiece. The powder feeding assembly is controlled to provide the cladding material to the location of the annular light spot; The tubular workpiece or the laser cladding device is moved along the axial direction of the tubular workpiece.

10. The laser cladding method according to claim 9, characterized in that, Before controlling the laser generating component to emit the hollow beam, the steps include: The focal length of the hollow beam and the powder spraying parameters of the powder feeding assembly are determined based on the inner diameter of the tubular workpiece. Based on the focal length of the hollow beam, the zoom component of the laser cladding device is controlled to adjust the distance between the first collimating lens of the optical path adjustment component and the laser generating component. Based on the powder spraying parameters of the powder feeding component, the angle adjustment component of the laser cladding device is controlled to adjust the spraying angle of the cladding material provided by the powder feeding component.

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