Lower air duct assembly with adjustable blowing height in additive manufacturing process

Abstract

The utility model provides a lower air duct assembly with adjustable blowing height in an additive manufacturing process, which comprises an air duct shell with a mounting inner cavity, an upper air duct plate, a lower air duct plate and an adjusting assembly acting on the upper air duct plate and the lower air duct plate, the upper air duct plate and the lower air duct plate are both installed in the installation inner cavity of the air duct shell in an up-down moving mode, and a protective gas air duct is formed between the upper air duct plate and the lower air duct plate. The upper air duct plate and the lower air duct plate which are used for forming the protective gas air duct are arranged to be capable of moving up and down, so that the height of the protective gas air duct is adjustable, the height from the protective gas air duct to the bottom of the printing cabin can be adjusted, and the air blowing height of the lower air duct assembly is adjustable. In the debugging stage of the additive manufacturing equipment, the appropriate height of the shielding gas air duct can be conveniently debugged according to the material characteristics of powder and actual printing parameters, a good shielding gas distribution state can be formed, and the situation that a large amount of research and development cost is consumed in structure replacement is avoided.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of additive manufacturing, in particular to a downwind duct component with adjustable blowing height in the additive manufacturing process. Background Art

[0002] Additive Manufacturing technology usually refers to a manufacturing method that creates three-dimensional objects by stacking materials layer by layer. Compared with traditional subtractive manufacturing technology, additive manufacturing technology has many advantages, such as the ability to manufacture complex shapes, reduce material waste, and shorten production cycles.

[0003] Usually, additive manufacturing equipment is equipped with upper and lower air duct components, which are used to transport protective gas to the printing chamber. The protective gas is generally argon or nitrogen. The protective gas plays an important role in the printing process:

[0004] 1. Prevent oxidation: Some metal materials are prone to oxidation reaction with oxygen in the air at high temperature, resulting in an oxide layer or deterioration on the surface of the printed part. By using inert gas (such as nitrogen, argon) as a protective gas, the oxygen in the air can be effectively isolated, the material can be prevented from oxidation, and the quality and performance of the printed part can be guaranteed.

[0005] 2. Control temperature: The flow of shielding gas can help control the temperature distribution of the printing area. In the additive manufacturing process, the material needs to be heated to a high enough temperature to melt and flow. By adjusting the flow rate and temperature of the shielding gas, the temperature of the printing area can be effectively controlled to ensure that the material is printed within a suitable temperature range.

[0006] 3. Improve printing quality: By optimizing the flow rate, temperature and fluidity of the protective gas, the sintered materials splashed during printing can be blown away from the printing surface, improving the surface quality, density and mechanical properties of the printed parts. Appropriate protective gas can help reduce residual stress, reduce the generation of pores and defects, thereby improving the quality and accuracy of printed parts.

[0007] Therefore, a good distribution state of the protective gas (i.e., the wind field) will directly affect the printing effect. There are many factors that affect the wind field, among which the height of the downwind duct assembly from the bottom of the printing chamber has a significant impact on the distribution state of the wind field. However, in existing additive manufacturing equipment, the height of the downwind duct assembly from the bottom of the printing chamber is limited by the installation structure of the downwind duct assembly, resulting in the inability to flexibly adjust the height. When the height needs to be adjusted, the structure of the downwind duct assembly always needs to be replaced and reinstalled, which increases the R&D cost. Utility Model Content

[0008] In view of the above-mentioned shortcomings of the prior art, the technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a lower air duct component with adjustable blowing height during additive manufacturing, which can adjust the height of the protective gas air duct from the bottom of the printing chamber.

[0009] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the utility model provides a down-air duct assembly with adjustable blowing height during additive manufacturing, comprising a duct shell having an installation inner cavity, an upper duct plate and a lower duct plate arranged opposite each other up and down, and an adjustment assembly acting on the upper duct plate and the lower duct plate, wherein the upper duct plate and the lower duct plate can be installed in the installation inner cavity of the duct shell so as to be movable up and down, and a protective air duct is formed between the upper duct plate and the lower duct plate.

[0010] Furthermore, the duct housing is provided with waist-shaped holes extending up and down on the outer peripheral sides of the upper duct plate and the lower duct plate, and the adjustment component includes a fastening screw passed through the waist-shaped hole, and the end of the fastening screw is abutted against the upper duct plate and the lower duct plate.

[0011] Furthermore, along the extension direction of the protective air duct, the duct shell is provided with waist-shaped holes at the front and rear ends of the upper duct plate and at the front and rear ends of the lower duct plate;

[0012] Along a direction perpendicular to the extending direction of the protective air duct, the duct shell is provided with waist-shaped holes at the left and right ends of the upper duct plate and at the left and right ends of the lower duct plate.

[0013] Furthermore, the adjustment component also includes a handle, both ends of which are placed in the waist-shaped hole and fixedly connected to the upper air duct plate and the lower air duct plate respectively.

[0014] Furthermore, the air duct shell is provided with shell side panels on both left and right sides of the upper air duct plate and the lower air duct plate, and the waist-shaped holes are opened on the shell side panels and distributed at the front edge and the rear edge of the shell side panels.

[0015] Furthermore, the air duct housing further comprises an upper sealing plate and a lower sealing plate, wherein the upper sealing plate blocks the opening between the air duct housing and the upper air duct plate, and the lower sealing plate blocks the opening between the air duct housing and the lower air duct plate.

[0016] Furthermore, the height of the protective air duct from the bottom of the installation inner cavity is 15-30 mm.

[0017] As described above, the lower air duct assembly with adjustable blowing height in the additive manufacturing process of the utility model has the following beneficial effects:

[0018] In the present application, the upper duct plate and the lower duct plate used to form the protective gas duct are set to be movable up and down, so that the height of the protective gas duct is adjustable, and then the height of the protective gas duct from the bottom of the printing chamber can be adjusted, that is, the blowing height of the lower duct assembly is adjustable. During the debugging stage of the additive manufacturing equipment, the height of the protective gas duct can be conveniently debugged according to the material properties of the powder and the actual printing parameters, which is conducive to forming a good distribution state of the protective gas and avoiding a large amount of R&D costs on replacing the structure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] Figure 1 and Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the lower air duct component with adjustable blowing height in the additive manufacturing process in this application, where the protective gas duct is 15 mm away from the bottom surface of the installation inner cavity.

[0020] Figure 3 and Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the lower air duct component with adjustable blowing height in the additive manufacturing process in this application, where the protective air duct is 30 mm away from the bottom surface of the installation inner cavity.

[0021] Figure 5 Print the distribution diagram of the protective gas velocity when the protective gas duct is 3mm away from the bottom of the inner cavity.

[0022] Figure 6 Print the distribution diagram of the protective gas velocity when the protective gas duct is 13mm away from the bottom of the inner cavity.

[0023] Figure 7 The distribution diagram of the protective gas velocity is printed when the protective gas duct is 23mm away from the bottom of the inner cavity.

[0024] Component number description

[0025] 10 Air duct housing

[0026] 11 Install the inner chamber

[0027] 12 waist-shaped hole

[0028] 13 Shell side panel

[0029] 20 Upper air duct plate

[0030] 30 Downwind plate

[0031] 40 Protective air duct

[0032] 50 Handle DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0033] The following is a description of the implementation of the present invention by means of specific embodiments. People familiar with the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present invention from the contents disclosed in this specification.

[0034] It should be noted that the structures, proportions, sizes, etc. drawn in the drawings of this specification are only used to match the contents disclosed in the specification for people familiar with this technology to understand and read, and are not used to limit the limiting conditions for the implementation of the utility model, so they have no substantial technical significance. Any modification of the structure, change of the proportional relationship or adjustment of the size, without affecting the effects and purposes that can be achieved by the utility model, should still fall within the scope of the technical content disclosed by the utility model. At the same time, the terms such as "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "middle" and so on quoted in this specification are only for the convenience of description, and are not used to limit the scope of the implementation of the utility model. The change or adjustment of their relative relationship should also be regarded as the scope of the implementation of the utility model without substantial change of the technical content.

[0035] It should also be noted that when an element is referred to as being "fixed on" or "disposed on" another element, it may be directly on the other element or there may be an intermediate element at the same time. When an element is referred to as being "connected to" another element, it may be directly connected to the other element or may be indirectly connected to the other element through an intermediate element.

[0036] In addition, the descriptions of "first", "second", etc. in this application are only used for descriptive purposes and cannot be understood as indicating or implying their relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Therefore, the features defined as "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of the features. In addition, the technical solutions between the various embodiments can be combined with each other, but they must be based on the ability of ordinary technicians in this field to implement them. When the combination of technical solutions is contradictory or cannot be implemented, it should be deemed that such combination of technical solutions does not exist and is not within the scope of protection required by this application.

[0037] The present application relates to the technical field of additive manufacturing, and in particular to a downwind duct assembly with adjustable blowing height during additive manufacturing, wherein the downwind duct assembly is used to provide protective gas to a printing cabin of an additive manufacturing device.

[0038] like Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, or as Figure 3 and Figure 4As shown, the lower air duct assembly with adjustable blowing height in the additive manufacturing process involved in the present application includes an air duct housing 10 with an installation inner cavity 11, an upper air duct plate 20 and a lower air duct plate 30 that are arranged opposite to each other up and down, and an adjustment assembly acting on the upper air duct plate 20 and the lower air duct plate 30. The upper air duct plate 20 and the lower air duct plate 30 are both installed in the installation inner cavity 11 of the air duct housing 10 so as to be movable up and down, and a protective air duct 40 is formed between the upper air duct plate 20 and the lower air duct plate 30. For the convenience of description, the extension direction of the protective air duct 40 is defined as the front-to-back direction.

[0039] In the above-mentioned downwind duct assembly, the protective gas duct 40 delivers protective gas to the printing chamber; the upper duct plate 20 and the lower duct plate 30 can move up and down relative to the duct housing 10, so the installation heights of the upper duct plate 20 and the lower duct plate 30 in the installation cavity 11 can be adjusted, so that the height of the protective gas duct 40 is adjustable, and then the height of the protective gas duct 40 from the bottom of the printing chamber can be adjusted, that is, the blowing height of the downwind duct assembly is adjustable. While ensuring that the air outlet area remains unchanged, the adjustable design of the blowing height of the downwind duct assembly brings great advantages in the debugging stage of the additive manufacturing equipment. According to the material properties of the powder and the actual printing parameters, the height of the protective gas duct 40 can be conveniently debugged, which is conducive to forming a good distribution state of the protective gas and avoiding a large amount of R&D costs on replacing the structure. At the same time, the protective gas duct 40 with adjustable height can cope with equipment with different printing formats, which is conducive to production as a standard part while meeting customer customization.

[0040] Furthermore, if Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, or as Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the upper air duct plate 20 and the lower air duct plate 30 are both flat plate structures, the air duct housing 10 is a frame-type component that passes through from front to back, and the left and right sides of the upper air duct plate 20 and the lower air duct plate 30 are in contact with the inner wall of the air duct housing 10, or there is a very small gap, then the protective air duct 40 is surrounded by the air duct housing 10, the upper air duct plate 20 and the lower air duct plate 30.

[0041] Furthermore, if Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, or as Figure 3 and Figure 4As shown, the duct housing 10 is provided with waist-shaped holes 12 extending up and down on the outer peripheral sides of the upper duct plate 20 and the lower duct plate 30, and the adjustment assembly includes a fastening screw inserted into the waist-shaped hole 12, and the end of the fastening screw abuts against the upper duct plate 20 and the lower duct plate 30. After the fastening screw is loosened, the height of the upper duct plate 20 and the lower duct plate 30 can be freely adjusted within the length range of the waist-shaped hole 12, that is, the blowing height of the lower duct assembly can be adjusted, and the adjustment range is the length of the waist-shaped hole 12. In this embodiment, the duct housing 10 is provided with housing side panels 13 on the left and right sides of the upper duct plate 20 and the lower duct plate 30, and the waist-shaped holes 12 are opened on the housing side panels 13 and distributed at the front edge and the rear edge of the housing side panels 13. In addition, four waist-shaped holes 12 are provided on each shell side plate 13 of the air duct shell 10, that is, a total of eight waist-shaped holes 12 are provided on the air duct shell 10, and the distribution pattern of the eight waist-shaped holes 12 is as follows: along the extension direction of the protective air duct 40, that is, in the front-to-back direction, the air duct shell 10 is provided with waist-shaped holes 12 at the front and rear ends of the upper air duct plate 20, and at the front and rear ends of the lower air duct plate 30; along the direction perpendicular to the extension direction of the protective air duct 40, that is, in the left-right direction, the air duct shell 10 is provided with waist-shaped holes 12 at the left and right ends of the upper air duct plate 20, and at the left and right ends of the lower air duct plate 30.

[0042] Furthermore, if Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, or as Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the adjustment assembly further includes a handle 50, both ends of which are placed in the waist-shaped hole 12 and are respectively fixedly connected to the upper air duct plate 20 and the lower air duct plate 30. The upper air duct plate 20 and the lower air duct plate 30 can be conveniently manipulated to move up or down by the handle 50, and the setting of the handle 50 enables the upper air duct plate 20 and the lower air duct plate 30 to move up or down synchronously, and only the height of the protective gas duct 40 is adjusted, but the size of the protective gas duct 40 will not be changed.

[0043] Further, the air duct housing 10 further includes an upper sealing plate and a lower sealing plate, the upper sealing plate blocks the opening between the air duct housing 10 and the upper air duct plate 20, and the lower sealing plate blocks the opening between the air duct housing 10 and the lower air duct plate 30, so that the protective gas only passes through the protective gas air duct 40, and does not flow into the upper area of ​​the upper air duct plate 20 and the lower area of ​​the lower air duct plate 30. Based on this, along the direction of the protective gas flowing forward in the protective gas air duct 40, the upper sealing plate and the lower sealing plate can be set only at the rear end of the air duct housing 10, or the upper sealing plate and the lower sealing plate can be set at both the front end and the rear end of the air duct housing 10.

[0044] Further, in a specific embodiment, the length of the waist-shaped hole 12 is 15 mm. When the upper air duct plate 20 and the lower air duct plate 30 are at the lowest position, as shown in FIG. Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the height of the protective air duct 40 from the bottom of the installation cavity 11 is 15 mm. When the upper duct plate 20 and the lower duct plate 30 are at the highest position, as shown in FIG. Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the height of the protective air duct 40 from the bottom of the installation inner cavity 11 is 30 mm. Therefore, this embodiment achieves stepless adjustment of the height of the protective air duct 40 from the bottom of the installation inner cavity 11 within the range of 15-30 mm while ensuring that the air outlet area remains unchanged.

[0045] Furthermore, it can be seen from the simulation results that when the height of the protective gas duct 40 from the bottom of the installation inner cavity 11 is 3 mm, Figure 5 As shown, the speed distribution of the protective gas on the printing surface is poor; when the height of the protective gas duct 40 from the bottom of the installation cavity 11 is 13 mm, as shown in FIG. Figure 6 As shown, the speed distribution of the protective gas on the printing surface is slightly worse; when the height of the protective gas duct 40 from the bottom of the installation cavity 11 is 23 mm, as shown in FIG. Figure 7 Therefore, in this embodiment, the height of the protective gas duct 40 from the bottom of the installation inner cavity 11 is set within the range of 15-30 mm, which can obtain a better protective gas distribution state.

[0046] In summary, the utility model effectively overcomes various shortcomings of the prior art and has high industrial utilization value.

[0047] The above embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles and effects of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention. Anyone familiar with the technology may modify or alter the above embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, all equivalent modifications or alterations made by a person of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and technical concept disclosed in the present invention shall still be covered by the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A downwind duct assembly with adjustable blowing height in an additive manufacturing process, comprising an air duct housing (10) having a mounting inner cavity (11), characterized in that: The invention also comprises an upper air duct plate (20) and a lower air duct plate (30) which are arranged opposite to each other vertically, and an adjustment component acting on the upper air duct plate (20) and the lower air duct plate (30); the upper air duct plate (20) and the lower air duct plate (30) are both installed in the installation cavity (11) of the air duct housing (10) so as to be movable up and down; and a protective air duct (40) is formed between the upper air duct plate (20) and the lower air duct plate (30).

2. The downwind duct assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: The air duct housing (10) is provided with waist-shaped holes (12) extending upward and downward on the outer peripheral sides of the upper air duct plate (20) and the lower air duct plate (30); the adjustment component comprises a fastening screw passing through the waist-shaped hole (12); the end of the fastening screw abuts against the upper air duct plate (20) and the lower air duct plate (30).

3. The downwind duct assembly according to claim 2, characterized in that: Along the extension direction of the protective air duct (40), the duct housing (10) is provided with waist-shaped holes (12) at the front and rear ends of the upper duct plate (20) and at the front and rear ends of the lower duct plate (30); Along a direction perpendicular to the extending direction of the protective air duct (40), the duct housing (10) is provided with waist-shaped holes (12) at both left and right ends of the upper duct plate (20) and at both left and right ends of the lower duct plate (30).

4. The downwind duct assembly according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that: The adjustment assembly also includes a handle (50), the two ends of which are placed in the waist-shaped hole (12) and are fixedly connected to the upper air duct plate (20) and the lower air duct plate (30) respectively.

5. The downwind duct assembly according to claim 2, characterized in that: The air duct housing (10) is provided with housing side panels (13) on both left and right sides of the upper air duct plate (20) and the lower air duct plate (30), and the waist-shaped holes (12) are opened on the housing side panels (13) and distributed at the front edge and the rear edge of the housing side panels (13).

6. The downwind duct assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: The air duct housing (10) further comprises an upper sealing plate and a lower sealing plate, wherein the upper sealing plate seals the opening between the air duct housing (10) and the upper air duct plate (20), and the lower sealing plate seals the opening between the air duct housing (10) and the lower air duct plate (30).

7. The downwind duct assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: The height of the protective gas duct (40) from the bottom of the installation inner cavity (11) is 15-30 mm.

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