Preheating powder supply device for SLM metal 3D printing equipment

Abstract

The utility model discloses a preheating powder supply device of an SLM metal 3D printing device, including a powder supply barrel for supplying metal powder to the printing device; the upper end of the powder supply barrel is a powder replenishing interface, and the lower end is a powder outlet mechanism for supplying powder to the molding chamber of the printing device; a heating rod heated by electric energy is plugged into a side wall of the lower part of the powder supply barrel, a K-type thermocouple is arranged inside the heating rod, and the heating end thereof extends into the inside of the powder supply barrel; the heating rod and the K-type thermocouple are both electrically connected to the control unit of the printing device, and are used to control the heating power of the heating rod according to the temperature obtained by the K-type thermocouple. The utility model preheats the metal powder before spreading the powder, improves the dehumidification effect, increases the fluidity of the powder, and the heating degree can be controlled, thereby improving the efficiency and reliability of powder heating.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model belongs to the technical field of laser selective melting in additive manufacturing, and in particular is a preheating powder supply device for SLM metal 3D printing equipment. Background Art

[0002] SLM metal 3D printing is the full name of Selective Laser Melting 3D Printing, which directly forms metal parts by melting metal powder with laser. As the raw material end of the metal 3D printing industry chain, the performance of spherical metal powder directly affects the entire subsequent 3D printing process. Generally speaking, metal powder used in additive manufacturing should have good plasticity, fine powder particle size, narrow particle size distribution, high sphericity, and must maintain good fluidity and high bulk density. This will directly affect the uniformity of powder spreading and the stability of the powder feeding process during printing.

[0003] In the prior art, in order to solve the problem of poor fluidity of 3D printing metal powder, technicians in this field have made many attempts. Conventional methods include designing a new and efficient powder dropping shaft, adding a powder stirring shaft, etc. Secondly, the prior art also adopts a method of heating the powder in the molding chamber, but it is only in the molding chamber, the action time is short, and the heating efficiency is low. The above methods can only partially solve the problem of poor fluidity of metal powder during the powder feeding process. Summary of the invention

[0004] The technical problem to be solved by the utility model is to overcome the existing defects and provide a preheating powder supply device for SLM metal 3D printing equipment. In the powder supply stage, a controllable heating component is set to preheat the metal powder before spreading the powder; on the one hand, the dehumidification effect can be improved and the fluidity of the powder can be improved; on the other hand, the centralized preheating of the molding chamber is changed to segmented preheating to improve the heating efficiency, so as to overcome the technical defects in the background technology.

[0005] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the utility model provides the following technical solutions: a preheating powder supply device for an SLM metal 3D printing device, comprising a powder supply barrel for supplying metal powder to the printing device; the upper end of the powder supply barrel is a powder replenishing interface, and the lower end thereof is a powder discharge mechanism for supplying powder to a molding chamber of the printing device; a heating rod heated by electric energy is plugged into a side wall of the lower part of the powder supply barrel, a K-type thermocouple is arranged inside the heating rod, and a heating end thereof extends into the interior of the powder supply barrel; the heating rod and the K-type thermocouple are both electrically connected to the control unit of the printing device, and are used to control the heating power of the heating rod according to the temperature obtained by the K-type thermocouple.

[0006] As a further optimization, the heating rod is arranged close to the powder discharging mechanism.

[0007] As a further optimization, a socket is opened on the side wall of the powder supply barrel, and a sleeve component is fixedly connected in the socket. The heating end of the heating rod is inserted into the powder supply barrel from a through hole preset in the center of the sleeve component, and the other end with a wiring harness connector is detachably connected to the sleeve component; the wiring harness connector is used to electrically connect the control unit.

[0008] As a further optimization, a sealing element is provided between the ferrule component and the heating rod.

[0009] As a further optimization, the ferrule component is a 3A type sanitary chuck.

[0010] As a further optimization, one end of the heating rod is provided with an external thread, and the through hole of the clamping sleeve component is provided with an internal thread section for threaded connection between the heating rod and the clamping sleeve component.

[0011] As a further optimization, a support plate rack is provided on the inner wall of the powder supply barrel; the support plate rack corresponds to the position of the heating rod and is used to support the end of the heating rod.

[0012] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the utility model are:

[0013] (1) The device heats the metal powder in advance before the molding chamber, and disassembles the original centralized heating into multi-stage heating, making the heating in the molding chamber faster and more effective.

[0014] (2) The device preheats the metal powder before spreading the powder, thereby improving the dehumidification effect and increasing the fluidity of the powder.

[0015] (3) The heating rod of the device has a simple structure and a temperature monitoring function, which facilitates the control of the heating temperature and avoids insufficient or excessive heating.

[0016] In summary, the utility model preheats the metal powder before spreading the powder, thereby improving the dehumidification effect, increasing the fluidity of the powder, and the heating degree can be controlled, thereby improving the efficiency and reliability of powder heating. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of an embodiment of the utility model;

[0018] Figure 2 for Figure 1 Side view of.

[0019] The corresponding relationship between the technical features and the reference numerals in the figure is: powder supply barrel 1; powder replenishing interface 11; support plate frame 12; ferrule component 2; heating rod 3; wiring harness connector 31; powder outlet mechanism 4. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be described clearly and completely below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all of the embodiments.

[0021] Example 1, please refer to Figure 1-2 . The utility model provides a technical solution: a preheating powder supply device for SLM metal 3D printing equipment, comprising a powder supply barrel 1 for providing metal powder to the printing equipment; the upper end of the powder supply barrel 1 is a powder replenishing interface 11, and the lower end is a powder discharge mechanism 4 for supplying powder to the molding chamber of the printing equipment; a heating rod 3 heated by electric energy is plugged into a side wall of the lower part of the powder supply barrel 1, and a K-type thermocouple is arranged inside the heating rod 3, and its heating end extends into the inside of the powder supply barrel 1; the heating rod 3 and the K-type thermocouple are both electrically connected to the control unit of the printing equipment, and are used to control the heating power of the heating rod 3 according to the temperature obtained by the K-type thermocouple. The powder discharge mechanism 4 is driven to rotate by a motor, which drives the plum blossom-shaped round rod to rotate to achieve precise discharge. The discharge port and the heating rod 3 are as close as possible to ensure that the powder is fully preheated before falling. Among them, the heating rod 3 with the temperature detection component can be seen at least in the prior art announcements as shown in CN203590507U and CN2446744Y patents.

[0022] When in use, metal powder is added to the powder supply barrel 1 through some interfaces, and then the heating rod 3 is started to heat the metal powder, remove the moisture contained in it, and improve the fluidity of the powder particles. At this time, the heating rod 3 connected to the external control unit forms a closed-loop control as a whole. The closed-loop control of heating can achieve safe and controllable control, control the maximum heating power of the heating rod 3, and even if the closed loop is out of control, the heating rod 3 can be controlled within a safe temperature range to avoid over-temperature runaway and damage the fluidity of the metal powder. Then, the motor is started to rotate, driving the plum blossom-shaped round rod to rotate to achieve accurate discharge. It can be seen that this device is mainly used to provide the required metal powder for the molding chamber of the metal 3D printing equipment and to pre-treat the powder. The main function is to preheat the powder in one level, which can make subsequent heating faster and more effective. Secondly, after preheating, the fluidity of the powder can be improved, thereby improving the powder dropping efficiency. In this process, a certain amount of water can also be evaporated to keep the powder dry. Before the printing equipment starts working, the upper device of the powder supply barrel 1 starts to feed powder to the powder supply barrel 1. The powder supply barrel 1 stops after it is filled. When the device starts working and before printing begins, the heating rod 3 starts working. When the required temperature is reached, the powder discharging mechanism 4 of the powder supply barrel 1 starts to work, accurately discharges the material, and printing begins. When there is a little excess material in the powder supply barrel 1, the powder supply barrel needs to be re-fed until it is full. During this process, the powder discharging mechanism 4 is still working. Before the remaining material is used up, the device can complete the preheating of the new material, thereby achieving uninterrupted heating and ensuring the continuity of printing.

[0023] In order to improve the heating effect, the heating rod 3 is arranged close to the powder discharging mechanism 4 .

[0024] In order to facilitate the plugging and unplugging of the heating rod 3, a plug hole is provided on the side wall of the powder supply barrel 1, and the ferrule component 2 is fixedly connected to the plug hole. The heating end of the heating rod 3 is inserted into the powder supply barrel 1 from the through hole preset in the center of the ferrule component 2, and the other end with the harness connector 31 is detachably connected to the ferrule component 2; the harness connector 31 is used to electrically connect the control unit. It can be seen that the heating rod 3 is detachable, which is convenient for maintenance and replacement.

[0025] In order to improve the sealing effect, a sealing element is provided between the clamping sleeve component 2 and the heating rod 3 .

[0026] Preferably, the ferrule component 2 is a 3A type sanitary chuck.

[0027] An exemplary connection method of a detachable heating rod 3 is provided, wherein one end of the heating rod 3 is provided with an external thread, and the through hole of the clamping sleeve component 2 is provided with an internal thread section for threaded connection between the heating rod 3 and the clamping sleeve component 2.

[0028] In order to prevent the heating rod 3 from becoming a cantilever support structure, reduce shaking, and improve the stability of the heating rod 3, a support frame 12 is provided on the inner wall of the powder supply barrel 1; the support frame 12 corresponds to the position of the heating rod 3 and is used to support the end of the heating rod 3.

[0029] The advantages of the utility model are as follows.

[0030] (1) The device heats the metal powder in advance before the molding chamber, and disassembles the original centralized heating into multi-stage heating, making the heating in the molding chamber faster and more effective.

[0031] (2) The device preheats the metal powder before spreading the powder, thereby improving the dehumidification effect and increasing the fluidity of the powder.

[0032] (3) The heating rod 3 of the device has a simple structure and a temperature monitoring function, which facilitates the control of the heating temperature and avoids insufficient or excessive heating.

[0033] In summary, this embodiment preheats the metal powder before spreading the powder, thereby improving the dehumidification effect and increasing the fluidity of the powder. The degree of heating can be controlled, thereby improving the efficiency and reliability of powder heating.

[0034] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions and variations may be made to the embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the present invention, and that the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A preheating powder supply device for an SLM metal 3D printing device, comprising a powder supply barrel (1) for supplying metal powder to the printing device; the upper end of the powder supply barrel (1) is a powder replenishing interface (11), and the lower end thereof is a powder discharge mechanism (4) for supplying powder to a molding chamber of the printing device; characterized in that: A heating rod (3) heated by electric energy is plugged into a lower side wall of the powder supply barrel (1); a K-type thermocouple is arranged inside the heating rod (3), and a heating end of the heating rod (3) extends into the interior of the powder supply barrel (1); the heating rod (3) and the K-type thermocouple are both electrically connected to a control unit of the printing device, and are used to control the heating power of the heating rod (3) according to the temperature obtained by the K-type thermocouple.

2. The preheating powder supply device of the SLM metal 3D printing equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The heating rod (3) is arranged close to the powder discharging mechanism (4).

3. The preheating powder supply device of the SLM metal 3D printing equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: A plug hole is provided on the side wall of the powder supply barrel (1), a sleeve component (2) is fixedly connected to the plug hole, the heating end of the heating rod (3) is inserted into the powder supply barrel (1) from a through hole preset in the center of the sleeve component (2), and the other end of the heating rod (3) is detachably connected to the sleeve component (2); the wiring harness connector (31) is used to electrically connect the control unit.

4. The preheating powder supply device of the SLM metal 3D printing equipment according to claim 3, characterized in that: A sealing element is provided between the clamping sleeve component (2) and the heating rod (3).

5. The preheating powder supply device of the SLM metal 3D printing equipment according to claim 3, characterized in that: The ferrule component (2) is a 3A type sanitary chuck.

6. The preheating powder supply device of the SLM metal 3D printing equipment according to claim 3, characterized in that: One end of the heating rod (3) is provided with an external thread, and the through hole of the clamping sleeve component (2) is provided with an internal thread section for threaded connection between the heating rod (3) and the clamping sleeve component (2).

7. The preheating powder supply device of the SLM metal 3D printing equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: A support plate frame (12) is provided on the inner wall of the powder supply barrel (1); the support plate frame (12) corresponds to the position of the heating rod (3) and is used to support the end of the heating rod (3).

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