Powder supplying and forming mechanism of SLS printer

Abstract

The utility model discloses a powder supplying and forming mechanism of an SLS printer. The device comprises a supporting part, two material bins and a material pushing part, the two material bins are arranged on the supporting part side by side along the Y axis, each material bin comprises a bin body and a material jacking part, the bin body is provided with two bin openings which are oppositely arranged, one end of the material jacking part is arranged on the supporting part, and the other end of the material jacking part extends into the bin body from one bin opening and can slide along the inner wall of the bin body; the material pushing part comprises a driving part and a material pushing part, the driving part is arranged on the supporting part, the material pushing part is in linkage with the driving part, and the driving part pushes the material pushing part to do reciprocating motion between bin openings of the two material bins. By arranging the two material bins, the raw materials can be directly pushed into the other material bin from one material bin to be machined and formed, a workbench does not need to be additionally designed for containing the raw materials for machining and forming, and therefore the size of the SLS printer is reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the field of 3D printing, and in particular to a powder supply and molding mechanism of an SLS printer. Background Art

[0002] 3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, is a technology that manufactures physical parts based on three-dimensional CAD data by adding materials layer by layer. An SLS printer is a type of 3D printer. The raw material used in an SLS printer is in powder form. The laser inside the SLS printer selectively scans and heats the raw material powder on the workbench, raising the temperature of the raw material powder to its melting point. This causes the surface layer of the raw material powder to melt, and the raw material powders to bond together, gradually forming a layer of cross-section of the molded part. The raw material powder that has not been molded remains loose. The powder supply methods for SLS printers are divided into top powder supply and bottom powder supply. The top powder supply method supplies powder from the top downwards. Since the raw material is in powder form, spraying it from above will cause it to fall to other locations, resulting in waste of raw material. Therefore, the bottom powder supply method is mostly used.

[0003] like Figure 1 As shown, the raw material powder feeding method includes a powder supply bin 01, a powder spreading mechanism 02, a workbench 03, a collection bucket 04, and a scanning system 05. During operation, the powder spreading mechanism 02 pushes the raw material from the powder supply bin 01 onto the workbench, where the laser of the scanning system 05 above the workbench 03 sinteres the raw material. After the raw material solidifies from powder into a molded part, the powder spreading mechanism 02 pushes the unsintered raw material powder on the surface and surrounding areas of the molded part into the collection bucket. Because the raw material is in powder form, the movement of the powder spreading mechanism 02 leaves marks on the powder surface, affecting the smoothness of the powder during sintering. Furthermore, continuing to push the raw material onto the workbench 03 will compress the molded part, causing damage to the part. Furthermore, using the workbench 03 in the powder feeding mechanism increases the overall size of the mechanism, making it difficult to transport. It also complicates the entire powder feeding mechanism, making it inconvenient to maintain. Utility Model Content

[0004] Aiming at the deficiencies of the existing technology, the utility model provides a powder supply mechanism for an SLS printer.

[0005] The purpose of this utility model is achieved through the following solutions:

[0006] A powder supply and molding mechanism for an SLS printer includes: a support portion, two material bins and a pusher portion; the two material bins are arranged side by side along the Y-axis on the support portion, and each material bin includes a cabin body and a pusher portion, the cabin body has two oppositely arranged bay openings, one end of the pusher portion is arranged on the support portion, and the other end extends into the cabin body from one of the bay openings and can slide along the inner wall of the cabin body; the pusher portion includes a drive portion and a pusher member, the drive portion is arranged on the support portion, the pusher member is linked to the drive portion, and the drive portion drives the pusher member to reciprocate between the bay openings of the two material bins.

[0007] In one embodiment, the ejecting part includes a base, an ejecting driving part and an ejecting plate; the base is arranged on the supporting part, the ejecting driving part is arranged on the base, the ejecting plate is connected to the ejecting driving part, and the ejecting plate extends into the cabin from one of the openings and can slide along the inner wall of the cabin, and the peripheral wall of the ejecting plate contacts the inner wall of the cabin to seal one of the openings.

[0008] In one embodiment, the ejection drive member includes a mounting plate and a drive member. The mounting plate is provided with a plurality of mounting holes. The driving end of the drive member is connected to the ejection plate through one of the mounting holes, and the other end of the drive member is arranged in the base.

[0009] In one embodiment, the lifting part also includes a linkage and multiple groups of lifting sliding assemblies, the linkage is slidably connected to the lifting drive member, the multiple groups of lifting sliding assemblies are arranged around the lifting drive member along the Z axis, and one end of the multiple groups of lifting sliding assemblies is connected to the linkage, and the other end of each group of lifting sliding assemblies is connected to the lifting plate through the corresponding mounting hole.

[0010] In one embodiment, a protective shell is further provided on the ejection drive member, one end of the protective shell passes through one of the mounting holes and abuts against the ejection plate, and the other end of the protective shell is connected to the linkage member.

[0011] In one embodiment, at least one first buffer component is further provided on the base, and the at least one first buffer component is provided opposite to the linkage component.

[0012] In one embodiment, at least one second buffer component is further provided on the mounting plate, and the at least one second buffer component is provided opposite to the linkage component.

[0013] In one embodiment, the driving part includes two linear modules, which are arranged on the support part in parallel along the X-axis direction and directly above the two bin openings. One end of the pusher is linked to one of the linear modules, and the other end of the pusher is linked to the other linear module, and the pusher reciprocates between the bin openings of the two material bins along the Y-axis direction.

[0014] In one embodiment, at least one shock absorbing member is further provided on the support portion, the at least one shock absorbing member is provided between the two linear modules, and the plurality of shock absorbing members are respectively provided opposite to the pushing member.

[0015] In one embodiment, pull rings are further provided on the two material bins.

[0016] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has at least the following advantages:

[0017] The utility model discloses a powder feeding mechanism for an SLS printer. By providing a structure with two silos, raw materials can be directly pushed from one silo into the other silo for processing and forming. No additional workbench is required to place the raw materials for processing and forming, thereby reducing the size of the SLS printer. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] The drawings described herein are used to provide a further understanding of the present application and constitute a part of the present application. The illustrative embodiments of the present application and their descriptions are used to explain the present application and do not constitute an improper limitation on the present application. In the drawings:

[0019] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the powder supply mechanism of an SLS printer in the prior art;

[0020] Figure 2 This is a three-dimensional diagram of the powder supply and molding mechanism of an SLS printer of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 3 for Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the material warehouse structure in;

[0022] Figure 4 for Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the mid-cabin structure;

[0023] Figure 5 for Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the top material structure;

[0024] Figure 6 for Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the pusher structure;

[0025] Among them, the accompanying drawings are marked as,

[0026] 01. Powder supply bin; 02. Powder spreading mechanism; 03. Workbench; 04. Collection bucket; 05. Scanning system

[0027] 1. Support part; 11. Shock absorber

[0028] 2. Material warehouse; 21. Cabin; 211. Warehouse opening;

[0029] 22. Top material part; 221. Base; 2211. First buffer member;

[0030] 222. Ejector drive member; 2221. Mounting plate; 22211. Mounting hole; 22212. Second buffer member; 2222. Drive member; 2223. Protective housing;

[0031] 223. Ejector plate; 224. Linkage member; 225. Lifting sliding assembly;

[0032] 23. Pull ring; 3. Pushing part; 31. Driving part; 311. Linear module; 32. Pushing part; DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0033] The following diagrams illustrate various embodiments of the present invention. For clarity, many practical details will be included in the following description. However, it should be understood that these practical details are not intended to limit the present invention. In other words, in some embodiments of the present invention, these practical details are not essential. Furthermore, to simplify the drawings, some commonly used structures and components are depicted in simplified schematic form.

[0034] It should be noted that all directional indications such as up, down, left, right, front, back, etc. in the embodiments of the present invention are only used to explain the relative position relationship, movement status, etc. between the various components in a certain specific posture as shown in the accompanying drawings. If the specific posture changes, the directional indication will also change accordingly.

[0035] In addition, in the present invention, descriptions such as "first" and "second" are only used for descriptive purposes and do not specifically refer to the order or sequence, nor are they used to limit the present invention. They are only used to distinguish components or operations described with the same technical terms, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying their relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Therefore, the features defined as "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one such feature. 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 a combination of technical solutions does not exist and is not within the scope of protection required by the present invention.

[0036] In order to further understand the content, features and effects of the present invention, the following embodiments are given as examples and described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings:

[0037] like Figure 2As shown, the present invention provides an SLS printer powder supply mechanism, comprising a support portion 1, two material bins 2, and a pusher portion 3. The support portion 1 is used to mount the two material bins 2. In practice, the two material bins 2 can function as a discharge bin for storing raw materials, as well as a molding bin for storing raw materials to be processed into molded parts. The pusher portion 3 is used to push the raw materials from the discharge bin into the molding bin for processing. As such, the present invention eliminates the need for a workbench 03 to process raw materials, reducing the size of the SLS printer powder supply and molding mechanism. Furthermore, the reduced workbench 03 and structural components of the SLS printer powder supply and molding mechanism make the SLS printer powder supply and molding mechanism simpler and easier to maintain.

[0038] like Figure 3-5 Specifically, two material bins 2 are arranged side by side along the Y-axis on the support part 1, and each material bin 2 includes a cabin body 21 and a top material part 22. The cabin body 21 has two oppositely arranged bay openings 211. One end of the top material part 22 is arranged on the support part 1, and the other end extends into the cabin body 21 from one of the bay openings 211 and can slide along the inner wall of the cabin body 21.

[0039] like Figure 6 As shown, specifically, the pushing portion 3 includes a driving portion 31 and a pushing piece 32. The driving portion 31 is arranged on the supporting portion 1. The pushing piece 32 is linked to the driving portion 31. The driving portion 31 pushes the pushing piece 32 to reciprocate between the bin openings 211 of the two material bins 2.

[0040] It should be noted that, in practice, one material bin 2 serves as a discharge bin for storing raw materials, while the other serves as a forming bin for storing raw materials. During operation, the discharge bin lifts the raw materials to a certain height via the lifting portion 22, while the forming bin lowers the lifting portion 22 to the same height as the discharge bin. The pushing portion 3 then pushes the raw materials into the forming bin, where they are processed into formed parts.

[0041] Further, refer to Figure 5 , review Figure 3 and Figure 4The ejection portion 22 includes a base 221, an ejection drive 222, and an ejection plate 223. The base 221 is provided on the support portion 1, the ejection drive 222 is provided on the base 221, and the ejection plate 223 is connected to the ejection drive 222. The ejection plate 223 extends from one of the openings 211 into the chamber 21 and can slide along the inner wall of the chamber 21. The peripheral wall of the ejection plate 223 contacts the inner wall of the chamber 21 to seal one of the openings 211. It should be noted that during operation, the raw material is placed in the chamber 21 of a material bin 2 serving as a discharge bin, and is lifted to a certain height to the opening 211 by the ejection drive 222. It is then pushed into the chamber 21 of another material bin 2 serving as a molding bin by the ejection portion 3 for processing and molding. After the raw material is processed into a molded part, since the raw material has a certain thickness after each sintering and solidification layer, it needs to be lowered to a certain height to re-place the raw material for processing and molding. Therefore, the height to which the material ejecting drive member 222 in the molding chamber body 21 descends is consistent with the height to which the material ejecting drive member 222 in the discharge chamber body 21 ascends. This ensures that the raw materials can be continuously pushed from the discharge chamber into the molding chamber for processing and molding.

[0042] Specifically, if Figure 5 As shown, the ejection drive member 222 includes a mounting plate 2221 and a drive member 2222. The mounting plate 2221 is provided with multiple mounting holes 22211. The driving end of the drive member 2222 passes through one of the mounting holes 22211 to connect with the ejection plate 223. The other end of the drive member 2222 is disposed within the base 221. The mounting plate 2221 facilitates securing the ejection plate 223 and preventing it from shifting within the cabin 21. The driving end of the drive member 2222 passes through one of the mounting holes 22211 to connect with the ejection plate. The mounting holes 22211 provide a positioning function, preventing the ejection plate 223 from shifting during lifting or lowering. The other end of the drive member 2222 is disposed within the base 221 to secure the drive member 2222. In this embodiment, the drive member 2222 utilizes a ball screw motor and has three mounting holes 22211.

[0043] Preferably, if Figure 5 As shown, the ejection portion 22 also includes a linkage 224 and multiple lift slide assemblies 225. The linkage 224 is slidably connected to the ejection drive 222. The multiple lift slide assemblies 225 are arranged around the ejection drive 222 along the Z axis. One end of each lift slide assembly 225 is connected to the linkage 224, and the other end of each lift slide assembly 225 is connected to the ejection plate 223 through a corresponding mounting hole 22211. When the drive 2222 is raised or lowered, the linkage can pull the multiple lift slide assemblies to move the ejection plate 223 up or down, preventing the ejection plate from shifting during the raising or lowering. In this embodiment, the lift slide assembly adopts an optical axis sliding sleeve assembly.

[0044] Preferably, if Figure 5 As shown, the ejection drive member 222 is also provided with a protective shell 2223. One end of the protective shell 2223 passes through one of the mounting holes 22211 and abuts against the ejection plate 223. The other end of the protective shell 2223 is connected to the linkage member 224. The protective shell 2223 is sleeved on the drive member 2222. In this embodiment, the drive member 2222 uses a ball screw motor. Since the screw is the component that links the ejection plate 223 to the motor, it will cause the screw to wear under the drive of the motor. Therefore, the protective shell 2223 can prevent the screw from wearing.

[0045] Preferably, if Figure 5 As shown, the base 221 is further provided with at least one first buffer member 2211, which is positioned directly opposite the linkage member 224. To prevent the linkage member 224 from crushing the base 221 when the driving member 2222 drives the ejection plate 223 downward, multiple first buffer members are provided to mitigate the pressure exerted on the base 221 by the linkage member 224. In this embodiment, the first buffer member 2211 is a spring buffer member.

[0046] Preferably, if Figure 5 As shown, the mounting plate is further provided with at least one second buffer member 22212, positioned directly opposite the linkage member 224. When the driving member 2222 drives the ejecting plate 223 upward, the second buffer member 22212 is used to mitigate the impact of the linkage member 2222 on the mounting plate 2221 due to inertia, to prevent damage to the mounting plate 2221 caused by the linkage member 2224 during its ascent. In this embodiment, the second buffer member 22212 is a spring buffer member.

[0047] Furthermore, if Figure 6As shown, the drive unit 31 includes two linear modules 311, which are arranged parallel to the support unit 1 along the X-axis and directly above the two bin openings 211. One end of the pusher 32 is linked to one of the linear modules 311, and the other end of the pusher 32 is linked to the other linear module 311. The pusher 32 reciprocates along the Y-axis between the bin openings 211 of the two material bins 2. The two linear modules are ball screw linear modules, with the ends of the pusher 32 respectively linked to the two ball screw linear modules. Through the synchronous operation of the two ball screw linear modules, the pusher 32 is driven to reciprocate along the Y-axis between the bin openings 211 of the two material bins 2. In specific work, the two material bins 2 are used as a discharge bin and a molding bin respectively. The pushing piece 32 is arranged above the bin opening 211 of the discharge bin. When the driving piece 2222 lifts the raw material to a certain height to the bin opening 211, the driving piece 2222 of the molding bin also descends to the same height as the height of the raw material lifting. The two ball screw linear modules drive the pushing piece 32 to push the raw material into the molding bin for processing and molding. The two ball screw linear modules then bring the pushing piece back to the top of the bin opening 211 of the discharge bin to continue pushing the material.

[0048] Preferably, if Figure 6 As shown, the support portion 1 is further provided with at least one shock absorber 11, which is disposed between the two linear modules 311 and directly opposite the pusher 32. It should be noted that in this embodiment, the shock absorber 11 is a hydraulic buffer. To prevent the pusher 32 from colliding with the support portion 1 due to the high-speed impact of the two ball screw linear modules, the hydraulic buffer is used to mitigate the impact of the pusher 32 on the support portion 1.

[0049] Preferably, if Figure 2 As shown, the two material bins 2 are also provided with pull rings 23. Since the two material bins 2 are placed on the support portion 1, the pull rings 23 can be used to conveniently pull the material bins out to take out molded parts or add raw materials. In summary, the powder supply and molding mechanism of an SLS printer of the present invention is provided with two material bins 2. In actual operation, the two material bins 2 are divided into a molding bin for placing processed molded parts and a discharge bin for placing raw materials. Raw materials can be pushed from the discharge bin by the pushing member 32 into the other molding bin for processing and molding, eliminating the need for an additional workbench 03 to place raw materials for processing, thereby reducing the size of the SLS printer.

[0050] The above is merely an embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications and variations of the present invention are possible. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, or improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present invention are intended to be within the scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A powder supply and molding mechanism for an SLS printer, characterized in that: The invention comprises a support portion (1), two material bins (2) and a pushing portion (3); the two material bins (2) are arranged side by side on the support portion (1) along the Y axis, and each material bin (2) comprises a chamber (21) and a pushing portion (22), the chamber (21) has two chamber openings (211) arranged opposite to each other, one end of the pushing portion (22) is arranged on the support portion (1), and the other end extends into the chamber (21) from one of the chamber openings (211) and can slide along the inner wall of the chamber (21); the pushing portion (3) comprises a driving portion (31) and a pushing piece (32), the driving portion (31) is arranged on the support portion (1), the pushing piece (32) is linked to the driving portion (31), and the driving portion (31) pushes the pushing piece (32) to reciprocate between the chamber openings (211) of the two material bins (2).

2. The powder supply and molding mechanism of an SLS printer according to claim 1, characterized in that: The ejection portion (22) includes a base (221), an ejection drive member (222) and an ejection plate (223); the base (221) is arranged on the support portion (1), the ejection drive member (222) is arranged on the base (221), the ejection plate (223) is connected to the ejection drive member (222), and the ejection plate (223) extends into the cabin from one of the openings (211) and can slide along the inner wall of the cabin (21), and the peripheral wall of the ejection plate (223) contacts the inner wall of the cabin (21) to seal one of the openings (211).

3. The powder supply and molding mechanism of an SLS printer according to claim 2, characterized in that: The ejection drive member (222) comprises a mounting plate (2221) and a drive member (2222), wherein the mounting plate (2221) is provided with a plurality of mounting holes (22211), a driving end of the drive member (2222) passes through one of the mounting holes (22211) and is connected to the ejection plate (223), and the other end of the drive member (2222) is arranged in the base (221).

4. The powder supply and molding mechanism of an SLS printer according to claim 2, characterized in that: The ejection portion (22) further includes a linkage member (224) and a plurality of lifting sliding assemblies (225), wherein the linkage member (224) is slidably connected to the ejection driving member (222), and the plurality of lifting sliding assemblies (225) are arranged around the ejection driving member (222) along the Z axis, and one end of the plurality of lifting sliding assemblies (225) is connected to the linkage member (224), and the other end of each group of lifting sliding assemblies (225) is connected to the ejection plate (223) through the corresponding mounting hole (22211).

5. The powder supply and molding mechanism of an SLS printer according to claim 3, characterized in that: The ejection drive member (222) is also provided with a protective shell (2223), one end of the protective shell (2223) passes through one of the mounting holes (22211) and abuts against the ejection plate (223), and the other end of the protective shell (2223) is connected to the linkage member (224).

6. A powder supply and molding mechanism for an SLS printer according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that: At least one first buffer component (2211) is also provided on the base (221), and the at least one first buffer component (2211) is provided directly opposite the linkage component (224).

7. A powder supply and molding mechanism for an SLS printer according to any one of claims 3-4, characterized in that: At least one second buffer member (22212) is also provided on the mounting plate (2221), and the at least one second buffer member (22212) is provided directly opposite the linkage member (224).

8. The powder supply and molding mechanism of an SLS printer according to claim 1, characterized in that: The driving part (31) includes two linear modules (311), and the two linear modules (311) are arranged on the support part (1) in parallel along the X-axis direction and directly above the two bin openings (211). One end of the pushing member (32) is linked to one of the linear modules (311), and the other end of the pushing member (32) is linked to the other linear module (311), and the pushing member reciprocates between the bin openings (211) of the two material bins (2) along the Y-axis direction.

9. The powder supply and molding mechanism of an SLS printer according to claim 8, characterized in that: At least one shock-absorbing member (11) is further provided on the support portion (1), and the at least one shock-absorbing member (11) is provided between the two linear modules (311), and a plurality of the shock-absorbing members (11) are respectively provided opposite to the pushing member (32).

10. The powder supply and molding mechanism of an SLS printer according to claim 1, characterized in that: Pull rings (23) are also provided on the two material bins (2).

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