Structure facilitating powder cleaning of 3D printed part

Abstract

A structure facilitating powder cleaning of a 3D printed part is arranged in a supporting component or an extending component of a to-be-printed part, makes contact with a forming base plate or a forming bottom plate and comprises two flat plates which are parallel to each other and perpendicular to a working plane. The top ends of the two flat plates are connected through a top plate to form a main body structure, and the top plate is arc-shaped or semi-rhombic, so that powder cleaning grooves are formed in two ends of the main body structure; and a plurality of powder cleaning holes are formed in the two flat plates. According to the structure facilitating powder cleaning of the 3D printed part, the powder cleaning difficulty of the bottom of the part is effectively reduced, the powder cleaning time is shortened, residual powder in the part can be effectively cleaned, and the economic cost of follow-up acceptance inspection of the part and the safety risk of use are reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model belongs to the technical field of additive manufacturing, and in particular relates to a structure that facilitates powder cleaning of 3D printed parts. Background Art

[0002] Additive manufacturing technology is an advanced manufacturing technology with distinctive features such as digital manufacturing, high flexibility and adaptability, direct CAD model drive, fast, and rich and diverse material types. Since it is not limited by the complexity of the part shape and does not require any tooling and molds, it has a very wide range of applications. Selective Laser Melting (SLM) is one of the additive manufacturing technologies that has developed rapidly in recent years. It uses powder materials as raw materials and uses lasers to scan the cross-section of three-dimensional entities layer by layer to complete prototype manufacturing. Its basic working process is: the powder feeding device delivers a certain amount of powder to the working platform surface, the powder spreading device spreads a layer of powder material on the bottom plate of the forming cylinder or the upper surface of the formed part, and the laser galvanometer system controls the laser to scan the solid part powder layer according to the cross-sectional profile of the layer with an approximately constant spot size and beam energy, so that the powder melts and bonds with the formed part below; when a layer of cross section is sintered, the working platform drops a layer of thickness, and the powder spreading device spreads a layer of uniform and dense powder on it, and scans and sinters a new layer of cross section, and after several layers of scanning and superposition, the entire prototype manufacturing is completed.

[0003] With the continuous development of additive manufacturing technology, large size and multiple lasers are an inevitable development trend in the field of additive manufacturing technology. However, large-size equipment also puts forward higher requirements on the quality and precision of 3D printed parts, and the problems of post-printing processing are gradually emerging: since many large-size parts are not of conventional size, the complex structure of the bottom surface must require large-area support parts to assist in their molding. These large-area support parts are compactly arranged and have large support volumes, making it difficult to clean the powder inside the support. Cleaning the residual powder will consume more manpower and time, which not only affects the production delivery time, but also brings about a significant increase in manufacturing costs. Inadequate treatment and recycling of powder will also cause environmental pollution. Moreover, if the powder in the part is not cleaned up, it will have a great impact on the quality and safety of the part. Utility Model Content

[0004] In order to solve the above-mentioned technical problems existing in the prior art, the utility model provides a structure for facilitating powder cleaning of 3D printed parts, which can effectively clean the residual powder inside large parts, thereby ensuring the quality and safety of the parts.

[0005] In order to solve the above technical problems, the utility model provides a structure for facilitating powder cleaning of 3D printed parts, which is arranged in a supporting component or an extending component of the part to be printed and is in contact with a forming substrate or a forming bottom plate. The structure for facilitating powder cleaning of 3D printed parts includes two flat plates parallel to each other and perpendicular to the working plane, the top ends of the two flat plates are connected by a top plate to form a main structure, and the top plate is arc-shaped or semi-rhombus-shaped so that powder cleaning grooves are formed at both ends of the main structure; a plurality of powder cleaning holes are opened on the two flat plates.

[0006] As a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, when the top plate is semi-rhombus-shaped, the top ends of the two flat plates extend outward to form two horizontal plates.

[0007] As a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, the main structure is integrally formed and has a height of 3.5 mm-15 mm. The two flat plates are the same size and have a height of 2 mm-10 mm and a width of 2 mm-10 mm.

[0008] As a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, the powder cleaning holes are evenly and spaced apart on the flat plate, and the number of all the powder cleaning holes on the two flat plates is the same and the positions correspond one to one.

[0009] As a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, the powder cleaning hole runs through the entire height of the flat plate.

[0010] As a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, the powder cleaning hole is in a semicircular shape.

[0011] As a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, the powder cleaning hole is formed by splicing an upper part and a lower part, the lower part is a square, and the upper part is a triangle.

[0012] As a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, when the length of the support component is ≥40 mm and the width is ≥30 mm, at least one structure is provided below the support component to facilitate powder cleaning of 3D printed parts.

[0013] As a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, the workpiece to be printed, the supporting component and the structure for facilitating powder cleaning of the 3D printed workpiece are integrally formed by 3D printing.

[0014] As a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, the to-be-printed product, the supporting component and the structure for facilitating powder cleaning of the 3D printed product are made of the same material.

[0015] The utility model is a structure for facilitating powder cleaning of 3D printed parts, comprising two flat plates parallel to each other and perpendicular to a working plane, the top ends of the two flat plates being connected by a top plate to form a main structure, the top plate being arc-shaped or semi-rhombus-shaped so that powder cleaning grooves are formed at both ends of the main structure; a plurality of powder cleaning holes are provided on the two flat plates, so that the utility model is a structure for facilitating powder cleaning of 3D printed parts, not only effectively reduces the difficulty of powder cleaning at the bottom of the parts and reduces the powder cleaning time, but also effectively cleans the residual powder inside the parts, reducing the economic cost of subsequent acceptance of the parts and the safety risk of use. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of the utility model for facilitating the cleaning of powder for 3D printed parts;

[0017] Figure 2 A structural schematic diagram of the first embodiment of the utility model for facilitating the cleaning of powder for 3D printed parts;

[0018] Figure 3 for Figure 2 A partial enlarged schematic diagram of

[0019] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the structure of the second embodiment of the utility model for facilitating the cleaning of powder for 3D printed parts;

[0020] Figure 5 for Figure 4 A partial enlarged schematic diagram of

[0021] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the structure of the third embodiment of the utility model for facilitating the cleaning of powder for 3D printed parts;

[0022] Figure 7 for Figure 6 A partial enlarged schematic diagram of .

[0023] The parts in the figure are marked as follows:

[0024] 1. Flat plate, 2. Top plate, 3. Powder cleaning tank, 4. Powder cleaning hole, 5. Horizontal plate, 6. Part to be printed, 7. Support component, 8. Structure for facilitating powder cleaning of 3D printed parts. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand and implement the technical solution of the utility model, further detailed description will be given below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0026] like Figure 1The structure for facilitating the cleaning of powder from 3D printed parts shown is arranged in the support part 7 or the extension part of the part to be printed 6, and is in contact with the molding substrate or the molding bottom plate (when the 3D printing device does not include the molding substrate, it is in contact with the molding bottom plate). The structure for facilitating the cleaning of powder from 3D printed parts includes two plates 1 that are parallel to each other and perpendicular to the working plane. The top ends of the two plates 1 are connected by a top plate 2 to form a main structure. The top plate 2 is arc-shaped or semi-rhombus-shaped, so that the two ends of the main structure form a cleaning trough 3; a plurality of cleaning holes 4 are provided on the two plates 1. The support part 7 is arranged below the part to be printed 6, and is used to support the part to be printed 6; the extension part is formed by extending downward from the part to be printed. When the support part 7 is not provided under the part to be printed 6, an extension part needs to be formed at this time to allow the structure 8 for facilitating the cleaning of powder from 3D printed parts to be inserted. In a specific implementation, holes are provided in the support part 7 and the extension part to allow the structure 8 for facilitating the cleaning of powder from 3D printed parts to be inserted. It should be noted here that the above-mentioned working plane refers to the molding plane of the 3D printing equipment.

[0027] In the specific implementation, before printing the part 6 to be printed, a suitable support component 7 is selected. After the part model is repaired and before the support is generated, the structure 8 of the utility model that facilitates the cleaning of powder for 3D printed parts is integrated with the part 6 to be printed. After the support design is completed, the structure 8 of the utility model that facilitates the cleaning of powder for 3D printed parts, the support component 7 and the part 6 to be printed are regarded as a whole, exported to the file format required for 3D printing, and printed. After printing is completed, the powder in the main structure only needs to be cleaned and recovered by shaking or exhausting.

[0028] Figure 1 The schematic diagram of the structure of the utility model for facilitating the powder cleaning of 3D printed parts is provided. A support component 7 is provided at the bottom of the part 6 to be printed, so as to facilitate the printing and forming of the part and prevent the part from being deformed. A hole matching the shape of the powder cleaning groove 3 of the present application is partially opened at the part below the support component 7 that contacts the forming substrate, so that the powder cleaning groove 3 can be drawn out from the hole. The internal contour size of the hole is larger than the external contour size of the powder cleaning groove 3, and a gap of 2mm-5mm is left on one side.

[0029] Preferably, when the top plate 2 is a semi-rhombus, the top ends of the two flat plates 1 extend outward to form two horizontal plates 5, so that the support required for the workpieces above and on both sides thereof falls directly on the top of the powder cleaning trough 3 and the horizontal plates 5 on both sides thereof, thereby ensuring that there are sufficient gaps on both sides of the powder cleaning trough 3, and the powder can flow into the powder cleaning trough 3 more smoothly through the gaps and thus be recovered, so that the powder at the bottom of the workpiece 6 to be printed can flow into the powder cleaning trough 3 as completely as possible through the gaps on both sides of the powder cleaning trough 3.

[0030] In a specific implementation, the main structure is integrally formed, with a height of 3.5mm-15mm, and the two plates 1 are the same size, with a height of 2mm-10mm and a width of 2mm-10mm. Of course, in a specific implementation, other specific values ​​can be determined according to the different sizes of the support component 7 and the extension component, which are not listed here one by one.

[0031] Preferably, the powder cleaning holes 4 are evenly and spaced apart on the plate 1, and the number of all the powder cleaning holes 4 on the two plates 1 is the same and the positions correspond to each other. This not only makes the structure symmetrical and beautiful, but also facilitates the cleaning of powder.

[0032] Preferably, in order to better clean the powder, the powder cleaning hole 4 runs through the entire height of the plate 1. Of course, in a specific implementation, the top of the powder cleaning hole 4 can be at a certain distance from the top of the plate 1, for example, greater than 0.5 mm and less than or equal to 10 mm.

[0033] Specifically, the powder cleaning hole 4 is in a semicircular shape, or the powder cleaning hole 4 is formed by splicing an upper part and a lower part, the lower part is in a square shape, and the upper part is in a triangle shape.

[0034] In another specific implementation, when the length of the support member 7 is ≥40mm and the width is ≥30mm, at least one structure 8 for facilitating the cleaning of powder from 3D printed parts is provided below the support member 7. Specifically, a single or multiple structures 8 for facilitating the cleaning of powder from 3D printed parts of the present invention can be provided at a certain position or multiple positions on the part that meet the range of the support area size to clean the powder. The specific number depends on the structure and size of the part. If the bottom structure of the part is complex, the support area is large, and the single support area is larger than the above support area setting range, multiple structures of the present invention can be used.

[0035] For the convenience of printing, the workpiece to be printed 6, the supporting component 7 and the structure 8 for facilitating the cleaning of powder from 3D printed workpieces are integrally formed by 3D printing, and the workpiece to be printed 6, the supporting component 7 and the structure 8 for facilitating the cleaning of powder from 3D printed workpieces are made of the same material.

[0036] In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand and implement the technical solution of the present invention, the technical solution of the present invention is described in detail below in combination with the accompanying drawings and in the form of embodiments.

[0037] Embodiment 1

[0038] like Figure 2 and Figure 3As shown, the structure for facilitating powder cleaning of 3D printed parts in this embodiment is arranged in the supporting component 7 of the part 6 to be printed and is in contact with the molding substrate. The structure 8 for facilitating powder cleaning of 3D printed parts includes two flat plates 1 parallel to each other and perpendicular to the working plane. The top ends of the two flat plates 1 are connected by a top plate 2 to form a main structure. The top plate 2 is semi-rhombus-shaped so that powder cleaning grooves 3 are formed at both ends of the main structure; a plurality of powder cleaning holes 4 are opened on the two flat plates 1.

[0039] The main structure is integrally formed, with a height of 8 mm, and the two flat plates 1 are of the same size, with a height of 4 mm and a width of 7 mm. The powder cleaning hole 4 is formed by splicing an upper part and a lower part, the lower part is square, and the upper part is triangular, which is the same shape as the powder cleaning groove 3.

[0040] Embodiment 2

[0041] like Figure 4 and Figure 5 As shown, the structure for facilitating powder cleaning of 3D printed parts in this embodiment is arranged in the supporting component 7 of the part 6 to be printed and is in contact with the forming substrate. The structure 8 for facilitating powder cleaning of 3D printed parts includes two flat plates 1 parallel to each other and perpendicular to the working plane. The top ends of the two flat plates 1 extend outward to form two horizontal plates 5. The two horizontal plates 5 are the same in size and shape. Preferably, the length of the horizontal plate 5 is equal to the length of the flat plate 1, and the width is 2-4mm (in specific implementation, the width value can also be set according to actual needs); the top ends of the two flat plates 1 are connected by a top plate 2 to form a main structure, and the top plate 2 is semi-rhombus so that powder cleaning grooves 3 are formed at both ends of the main structure; a plurality of powder cleaning holes 4 are opened on the two flat plates 1.

[0042] The main structure is integrally formed, with a height of 7 mm, and the two flat plates 1 are of the same size, with a height of 4 mm and a width of 6 mm. The powder cleaning hole 4 is formed by splicing an upper part and a lower part, the lower part is square, and the upper part is triangular.

[0043] Embodiment 3

[0044] like Figure 6 and Figure 7 As shown, the structure for facilitating powder cleaning of 3D printed parts in this embodiment is arranged in the supporting component 7 of the part 6 to be printed and is in contact with the molding substrate. The structure 8 for facilitating powder cleaning of 3D printed parts includes two flat plates 1 which are parallel to each other and perpendicular to the working plane. The top ends of the two flat plates 1 are connected by a top plate 2 to form a main structure. The top plate 2 is arc-shaped so that powder cleaning grooves 3 are formed at both ends of the main structure. A plurality of powder cleaning holes 4 are opened on the two flat plates 1.

[0045] The main structure is integrally formed, with a height of 8 mm, and the two plates 1 are of the same size, with a height of 4 mm and a width of 6 mm. The powder cleaning hole 4 is formed by splicing an upper part and a lower part, the lower part is square, and the upper part is triangular.

[0046] Embodiments 1 and 3 are more suitable for the case where the bottom support of the workpiece is relatively loose, while embodiment 2 is suitable for the case where the bottom support of the workpiece is relatively dense. In order to allow the powder at the bottom of the workpiece to flow into the powder cleaning trough 3 as completely as possible through the pores on both sides of the powder cleaning trough 3, thereby achieving the purpose of complete powder cleaning, flat plates 1 are arranged on both sides of the powder cleaning trough 3 so that the support required for the workpiece above and on both sides falls directly on the horizontal plates 5 on the top and both sides of the powder cleaning trough 3. This ensures that there is enough space on both sides of the powder cleaning trough 3, and the powder can flow into the powder cleaning trough 3 more smoothly through the space and thus be recovered.

[0047] The above embodiments are only preferred implementations of the present invention. The protection scope of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. All technical solutions under the concept of the present invention should belong to the protection scope of the present invention. It should be pointed out that some modifications and modifications without departing from the principle of the present invention should be regarded as the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A structure for facilitating powder cleaning of 3D printed parts, characterized in that: The structure for facilitating powder cleaning of 3D printed parts is arranged in a supporting component or an extending component of the part to be printed and is in contact with a forming substrate or a forming bottom plate. The structure for facilitating powder cleaning of 3D printed parts includes two flat plates that are parallel to each other and perpendicular to a working plane. The top ends of the two flat plates are connected by a top plate to form a main structure. The top plate is arc-shaped or semi-rhombus-shaped so that powder cleaning grooves are formed at both ends of the main structure. A plurality of powder cleaning holes are opened on the two flat plates.

2. The structure for facilitating powder cleaning of 3D printed parts according to claim 1, characterized in that: When the top plate is in a semi-rhombus shape, the top ends of the two flat plates extend outward to form two horizontal plates.

3. The structure for facilitating powder cleaning of 3D printed parts according to claim 1, characterized in that: The main structure is integrally formed and has a height of 3.5mm-15mm. The two flat plates are of the same size and have a height of 2mm-10mm and a width of 2mm-10mm.

4. The structure for facilitating powder cleaning of 3D printed parts according to claim 1, characterized in that: The powder cleaning holes are evenly and spaced apart on the flat plate, and the number of all the powder cleaning holes on the two flat plates is the same and the positions are one-to-one corresponding.

5. The structure for facilitating powder cleaning of 3D printed parts according to claim 4 is characterized in that: The powder cleaning hole runs through the entire height of the flat plate.

6. The structure for facilitating powder cleaning of 3D printed parts according to claim 5, characterized in that: The powder cleaning hole is in a semicircular shape.

7. The structure for facilitating powder cleaning of 3D printed parts according to claim 5, characterized in that: The powder cleaning hole is formed by splicing an upper part and a lower part, the lower part is square, and the upper part is triangular.

8. The structure for facilitating powder cleaning of 3D printed parts according to claim 1, characterized in that: When the length of the support component is ≥40 mm and the width is ≥30 mm, at least one structure is provided below the support component to facilitate powder cleaning of 3D printed parts.

9. The structure for facilitating powder cleaning of 3D printed parts according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The workpiece to be printed, the supporting component and the structure for facilitating powder cleaning of the 3D printed workpiece are integrally formed through 3D printing.

10. The structure for facilitating powder cleaning of 3D printed parts according to claim 9, characterized in that: The material of the workpiece to be printed, the supporting component and the structure for facilitating powder cleaning of the 3D printed workpiece is the same.

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