Powder screening system

Abstract

The present invention relates to a powder material screening system, comprising: a powder suction unit for conveying powder into a cone hopper by negative pressure; the powder screening unit is used for screening the powder in the conical hopper into powder sets with different particle sizes through a multi-stage vibrating screen; the powder collecting unit is used for receiving the powder screened by the vibrating screen; the powder information acquisition unit is used for acquiring the name of the powder and the mesh number of the lowermost vibrating screen and generating a two-dimensional code in which the name of the powder and the particle size information of the powder are stored; and the control unit is used for controlling all the units to operate automatically. According to the system, powder with different particle sizes and uniform particle size distribution can be screened out of powder with different particle sizes, the two-dimensional code storing the type and particle size information of the corresponding powder set is generated after screening is completed, and a worker in a subsequent process can collect the powder into a corresponding library only by scanning the two-dimensional code.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of powder material processing, and in particular to a powder screening system and a screening method. Background Art

[0002] With the development of binder jet printer technology, 3D printing technology for ceramic powder materials and metal powder materials has developed rapidly, and the performance requirements for ceramic powder or metal powder are also very high, such as the particle size distribution, fluidity and other properties of the powder. The density and hardness of products printed with powders of different particle sizes are very different. The larger the powder particle size, the lower the density and hardness of the product, that is, the particle size of the powder is negatively correlated with the density or hardness of the product. Therefore, for products with different density and hardness requirements, it is crucial to select powders with similar particle size distributions. However, the metal powder or ceramic powder in the existing technology has a dispersed particle size distribution, some large and some small, resulting in uneven distribution of density or hardness of the printed products, and it is impossible to print products that meet the density and hardness requirements. Summary of the Invention

[0003] Based on this, it is necessary to provide a powder screening system and screening method to address the problem that the uneven particle size distribution of metal powder or ceramic powder in the existing technology leads to uneven density and hardness distribution of printed products and the inability to print products that meet the requirements. The system can screen the original powder with uneven particle size distribution into several powder sets with uniform particle size distribution of different particle sizes, and after screening, generate a QR code that stores the type and particle size information of the corresponding powder set. The staff of the subsequent process only need to scan the QR code to collect the powder into the corresponding library.

[0004] A powder material screening system, comprising:

[0005] The powder suction unit transports the powder into the cone hopper through negative pressure;

[0006] The powder screening unit uses a multi-stage vibrating screen to screen the powder in the cone hopper into powders of different particle sizes;

[0007] a powder collecting unit for receiving the powder collected by the vibrating screen;

[0008] a powder information collection unit for collecting the name of the powder and the mesh size of the uppermost vibrating screen, and generating a QR code storing the powder name and powder particle size information;

[0009] The control unit controls the automatic operation of the above units.

[0010] Furthermore, the multi-stage vibrating screens are sequentially arranged below the cone bucket from top to bottom, and each of the vibrating screens is slidably connected to the cone bucket, and the mesh size of the vibrating screens decreases sequentially from top to bottom.

[0011] Furthermore, each level of vibrating screen is provided with a corresponding material receiving trolley.

[0012] Furthermore, the powder information collection unit is connected to a printer, and the powder information collection unit outputs the QR code to the printer for printing, and the staff sticks the printed QR code on the current material receiving trolley.

[0013] Furthermore, the powder information collection unit includes an input device and a display, and the powder name and the vibration screen mesh number are input into the information collection unit through the input device, and the working status of the powder screening system is displayed through the display.

[0014] Furthermore, the powder suction unit includes a negative pressure generator, which is connected to the inlet of the cone hopper through a suction valve. The negative pressure generator is started and the suction valve is opened to transport the upstream powder into the cone hopper.

[0015] Furthermore, a filter core is provided between the suction valve and the cone hopper inlet, and the filter core prevents the powder from entering the suction valve and the negative pressure generator.

[0016] Furthermore, a back-blowing portion is provided above the cone bucket, and the filter element and powder adhered to the cone bucket are back-blown through the back-blowing portion.

[0017] The present invention provides a powder screening system that can separate powders with uneven particle size distribution into different powder sets with uniform particle size distribution. A powder information collection unit collects the powder name and particle size of each powder set and stores this information in a QR code. The QR code is printed and affixed to the corresponding material receiving cart, allowing subsequent staff to scan the QR code on the cart and collect powders of different particle sizes into the corresponding library. Furthermore, the present invention also includes a filter core and a backflush unit. The filter core prevents powder from entering the suction valve and negative pressure generator, while the backflush unit blows off powder adhering to the filter core and the inner surface of the cone bucket, preventing powder from clogging the filter core. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of a powder screening system of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the partial structure of a powder screening system of the present invention.

[0020] Reference numerals

[0021] 100. Powder suction unit, 200. Powder screening unit, 300. Powder collection unit, 400. Powder information acquisition unit, 500. Control unit, 110. Cone bucket, 120. Negative pressure generator, 130. Suction valve, 140. Filter element, 150. Backflush unit, 160. Powder storage device, 210. Multi-stage vibrating screen, 220 Ultrasonic vibration mechanism, 310. Material receiving trolley. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] To facilitate understanding of the present invention, the present invention will be described more fully below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings illustrate preferred embodiments of the present invention. However, the present invention may be implemented in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided to provide a more thorough and comprehensive understanding of the present disclosure.

[0023] It should be noted that when an element is referred to as being "disposed on" another element, it may be directly on the other element or there may be an element centered thereon. When an element is referred to as being "connected to" another element, it may be directly connected to the other element or there may be an element centered thereon. The terms "vertical," "horizontal," "left," "right," "top," "bottom," "bottom end," "top end," and similar expressions used herein are for illustrative purposes only and do not represent the only implementation methods.

[0024] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains. The terms used herein in the specification of the present invention are for the purpose of describing specific embodiments only and are not intended to limit the present invention. The term "and / or" as used herein includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0025] The present invention provides a powder screening system, comprising a powder suction unit, which transports powder into a conical bucket through negative pressure; a powder screening unit, which screens the powder in the conical bucket into powder sets of different particle sizes through a multi-stage vibrating screen; a powder collection unit, which receives the powder screened by the vibrating screen; a powder information collection unit, which collects the name of the powder and the mesh size of the topmost vibrating screen, and generates a QR code storing the powder name and powder particle size information; and a control unit, which controls the automatic operation of the above units.

[0026] A powder screening method, using the powder screening system as described above, the powder screening method comprises the following steps:

[0027] S1: Sucking powder, starting the powder suction unit to generate negative pressure to suck the powder into the cone hopper;

[0028] S2: Vibration screening: start the powder screening unit, and the multi-stage vibrating screen starts to vibrate to screen the powder in the cone hopper in sequence;

[0029] S3: Collect powder, start the powder collection unit, and the powder screened by the vibrating screen falls into the receiving trolley;

[0030] S4: Collect powder information, start the powder information collection unit, input the powder name and the particle size of the powder currently screened by the vibration screen into the powder information collection unit, and the powder information collection unit generates a QR code storing the powder name and powder particle size information.

[0031] S5: Printing the QR code, the information collection unit outputs the QR code to the printer, and the printer prints the QR code;

[0032] S6: Paste the QR code. The current QR code is pasted on the current material receiving trolley. The current material receiving trolley is moved away and replaced with the next material receiving trolley.

[0033] The present invention provides a powder screening system and screening method, which can screen powder with dispersed particle size distribution into several powder sets with different particle sizes through a multi-stage vibrating screen, and generate a QR code storing the corresponding powder set name and particle size information after screening. The QR code is pasted on the material receiving cart, and the staff of the subsequent process only need to scan the QR code to collect the powder into the corresponding library.

[0034] The powder screening system and screening method are described below in conjunction with specific embodiments to further understand the inventive concept of the powder screening system and screening method.

[0035] In one embodiment, if Figure 1-2 As shown, a powder screening system includes a powder suction unit 100, which transports powder into a cone bucket 110 through negative pressure; a powder screening unit 200, which screens the powder in the cone bucket 110 into powder sets of different particle sizes through a multi-stage vibrating screen 210; a powder collecting unit 300, which receives the powder screened by the vibrating screen; a powder information collection unit 400, which collects the name and particle size of the powder and extends a rod to store a QR code containing the powder name and powder particle size information; and a control unit 500, which controls the automatic operation of the above units.

[0036] like Figure 2As shown, the powder suction unit includes a cone hopper 110 and a negative pressure generator 120. The cone hopper 110 and the negative pressure generator 120 are connected by a pipe, which can be a plastic hose or a corrugated tube. A suction valve 130 is also installed on the pipe between the cone hopper 110 and the negative pressure generator 120, which controls the start and stop of negative pressure suction. The upper end of the cone hopper 110 is sealed by a sealing cover, which is provided with a pipe that connects to an external powder storage device 160. The negative pressure generator 120 and the suction valve 130 are both in communication with a control unit 500, which controls the start and stop of the negative pressure generator 120 and the suction valve 130. To draw powder into the cone hopper 120, the control unit 500 activates the negative pressure generator 120, opens the suction valve 130, and begins to draw powder from the powder storage device into the cone hopper 110.

[0037] like Figure 2 As shown, the powder screening unit 200 includes a multi-stage vibrating screen 210, each vibrating screen 210 is slidably arranged below the cone bucket 110, specifically, a plurality of chutes are respectively provided on the inner side wall below the cone bucket 110, and each vibrating screen 210 is inserted into the chutes to complete the installation of the vibrating screen 210. It should be noted that the mesh number of the vibrating screen 210 decreases from top to bottom, that is, the mesh number of the top vibrating screen is the largest, and from top to bottom, the mesh number of the vibrating screen 210 decreases stepwise, and the mesh number of the bottom vibrating screen is the least. The vibrating screens 210 at all levels are connected to a vibration mechanism, which can be an ultrasonic vibration mechanism 220. The ultrasonic vibration mechanism 220 communicates with the control unit 500, and the start and stop of the ultrasonic vibration mechanism is controlled by the control unit 500. The relationship between the mesh number and aperture of the vibrating screen is: aperture = 15000 / mesh number, the aperture is the maximum particle size of the powder that the vibrating screen 210 can screen, the larger the mesh number, the smaller the particle size of the powder that can be screened, that is to say, the mesh number of the top vibrating screen is the largest, and the particle size of the powder that can be screened is the smallest, that is, the powder with a particle size below the aperture of the vibrating screen can pass through the top vibrating screen, and then pass through the vibrating screens below in turn and finally fall into the material receiving trolley.

[0038] like Figure 2 As shown, the powder collection unit 300 includes a number of material receiving carts 310 corresponding to the number of the vibrating screens 210. The material receiving carts 310 are located directly below the vibrating screens 210, and the powder screened by the vibrating screens 210 falls into the corresponding material receiving carts 310.

[0039] The powder information collection unit 400 yuan includes an input device and a display. The name of the current powder is input through the input device, such as ceramic silicon carbide powder, metal nickel alloy powder, etc. In addition, the aperture value corresponding to the current uppermost vibrating screen is input through the input device, that is, the maximum particle size information of the powder that can be screened by the current vibrating screen. The display is used to display the working status of the powder screening system. The device and the display are both in communication with the control unit 500. The information collection unit 400 is also connected to a printer. The powder information collection unit outputs the QR code information to the printer, prints the QR code through the printer, and the staff puts the printed QR code sticker on the corresponding material receiving cart.

[0040] In another embodiment, the powder suction unit 100 further includes a filter element 140, which is disposed between the suction valve and the inlet of the cone hopper 110. Preferably, the filter element 140 can be disposed at the inlet of the cone hopper 110, so as to prevent powder from being sucked back into the suction valve 130 and the negative pressure generator 120.

[0041] In another embodiment, a back-flushing portion 150 is further provided on the upper portion of the cone bucket, and the back-flushing portion 150 is used to back-flush the filter element 140 and the powder adhered to the inner wall of the cone bucket 110 .

[0042] In another embodiment, a powder screening method is provided, using the powder screening system described above, the screening method comprising the following steps:

[0043] S1: Sucking powder, starting the powder suction unit 100 to generate negative pressure to suck the powder into the cone bucket 110; specifically, the control unit 500 starts the negative pressure generator 120 and opens the suction valve 130, and under the action of negative pressure, the powder in the powder storage device is sucked into the cone bucket 110.

[0044] S2: Vibration screening: start the powder screening unit 200, and the multi-stage vibrating screen 210 starts to vibrate the powder in the cone hopper 110;

[0045] S3: Collecting powder, starting the powder collecting unit 300, and the powder after vibration screening falls into the receiving trolley 310;

[0046] Specifically, after the negative pressure suction unit 100 starts working, the control unit 500 controls the ultrasonic vibration mechanism to start, and the ultrasonic vibration mechanism drives the vibration screens 210 at each level to start vibrating and screening the powder. At the beginning of screening, the vibration screens 210 at each level all participate in the screening work. Because the top vibration screen 210 has the largest mesh number and the smallest aperture, the particle size of the powder that can be screened is also the smallest. After passing through the top vibration screen, the powder with small particle size passes through the vibration screens with decreasing mesh number below in turn, and then falls into the current vibration cart 310.

[0047] S4: Collecting powder information: activating the powder information collection unit, inputting the powder name and the maximum particle size of the powder currently screened by the uppermost vibration screen into the powder information collection unit, and the powder information collection unit generating a QR code storing the powder name and powder particle size information;

[0048] S5: Printing the QR code, the information collection unit outputs the QR code to the printer, and the printer prints the QR code;

[0049] S6: Paste the QR code on the current material receiving trolley, move the current material receiving trolley away, and replace it with the next material receiving trolley.

[0050] Specifically, when the multi-stage vibrating screen is no longer discharging powder, it means that the powder that can be screened by the top vibrating screen has been screened, and the next material receiving trolley is replaced at this time.

[0051] S7: withdraw the uppermost vibrating screen and repeat steps S2 to S7 until the screening of the bottommost vibrating screen is completed.

[0052] The present invention provides a powder screening system and screening method, which screens powder with uneven particle size distribution through a multi-stage vibrating screen, and screens the powder into different powder sets with relatively uniform particle size distribution in turn, and a QR code storing the powder name and particle size information is pasted on the material receiving cart. The staff of the subsequent process only needs to scan the QR code to know the information of the current powder for easy use. In addition, the staff of the subsequent process can also add other information to the information stored in the QR code. For example, if the powder needs to be mixed with another kind of powder or several kinds of powders, the staff can also store the information of the another kind of powder or several kinds of powders in the QR code. When the staff of the last process has the powder in their hands, the staff only needs to scan the QR code to know all the information of the powder.

[0053] The technical features of the above-mentioned embodiments can be combined arbitrarily. In order to make the description concise, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above-mentioned embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.

[0054] The above-described embodiments merely represent several implementation methods of the present invention. While the descriptions are relatively specific and detailed, they should not be construed as limiting the scope of the patent. It should be noted that a person skilled in the art would be able to make various modifications and improvements without departing from the spirit of the present invention, all of which fall within the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the patent for this invention shall be determined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A powder screening system, characterized in that: The powder screening system comprises: The powder suction unit transports the powder into the cone hopper through negative pressure; The powder screening unit uses a multi-stage vibrating screen to screen the powder in the cone hopper into powder sets of different particle sizes; a powder collecting unit for receiving the powder collected by the vibrating screen; a powder information collection unit for collecting the name of the powder and the mesh size of the uppermost vibrating screen, and generating a QR code storing the powder name and powder particle size information; The control unit controls the automatic operation of the above units.

2. A powder screening system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The multi-stage vibrating screens are sequentially arranged below the cone bucket from top to bottom, and each vibrating screen is slidably connected to the cone bucket. The mesh size of the vibrating screens decreases sequentially from top to bottom.

3. A powder screening system according to claim 2, characterized in that: Each level of vibrating screen is equipped with a corresponding material receiving trolley.

4. A powder screening system according to claim 3, characterized in that: The powder information collection unit is connected to a printer, and the powder information collection unit outputs the two-dimensional code to the printer for printing. The staff then affixes the printed two-dimensional code to the current material receiving trolley.

5. A powder screening system according to claim 2, characterized in that: The powder information collection unit includes an input device and a display. The powder name and the vibration screen mesh number are input into the information collection unit through the input device, and the working status of the powder screening system is displayed through the display.

6. A powder screening system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The powder suction unit includes a negative pressure generator, which is connected to the inlet of the cone hopper through a suction valve. The negative pressure generator is started and the suction valve is opened to transport the upstream powder into the cone hopper.

7. A powder screening system according to claim 6, characterized in that: A filter core is further provided between the suction valve and the cone hopper inlet, and the filter core prevents the powder from entering the suction valve and the negative pressure generator.

8. A powder screening system according to claim 7, characterized in that: A back-blowing portion is further provided above the cone bucket, and the filter element and powder adhered to the cone bucket are back-blown through the back-blowing portion.

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