High-pressure laser forming equipment for metal powder

Abstract

The utility model relates to metal powder high-pressure laser forming equipment, and relates to the technical field of 3D printing. The machine frame is provided with a forming chamber and a high-pressure gas mixing chamber, the forming chamber is communicated with the high-pressure gas mixing chamber, one end of the forming chamber is connected with a gas extraction assembly so as to extract air in the forming chamber and the high-pressure gas mixing chamber, and one end of the high-pressure gas mixing chamber is provided with a gas inlet pipeline so as to convey protective gas and laser reaction gas. The high-pressure gas mixing chamber is used for mixing the protective gas and the laser reaction gas and conveying the protective gas and the laser reaction gas into the forming chamber, the high-pressure gas mixing chamber can provide a high-pressure environment for the forming chamber, the high-pressure environment is a gas environment only containing the protective gas and the laser reaction gas, oxygen does not exist, and therefore during laser reaction, the oxygen does not interfere with machining of metal powder; and during surface machining of the metal part, the situation of oxidation cannot occur, defects cannot be caused to the metal part, and the mechanical property of the metal part is utilized to the maximum extent.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of 3D printing technology, and in particular to a metal powder high-pressure laser forming device. Background Art

[0002] Rapid Prototyping (RP) is an advanced manufacturing technology that developed rapidly in the 1990s and is a key technology for developing new products in the manufacturing industry. Since its introduction, RP has gradually gained widespread application in manufacturing industries around the world, giving rise to an emerging technology field: 3D printing.

[0003] Currently, 3D printing methods include selective laser sintering (SLS). Selective laser melting is a technology that uses the heat of a laser beam to completely melt metal powder and solidify it after cooling. During molding, a laser beam with a certain power density is irradiated onto the surface of the substrate, melting the metal powder to form a molten pool. According to the path planning of the given layer cross-section, the metal material is scanned and accumulated layer by layer, and finally a metal solid part is produced. To prevent certain metals from oxidizing during the molding process, the above process is carried out in an atmosphere-protected chamber to prevent the metal from oxidizing during the laser molding process.

[0004] Before metal powder laser rapid prototyping, a replacement method is adopted to fill the interior of the chamber with inert gas and discharge the oxygen inside the chamber until the oxygen content in the chamber reaches the target before prototyping. However, this method will cause a large amount of oxygen to remain in the dead corners of the chamber, which may cause the oxygen content to suddenly increase during the prototyping process, resulting in large-scale oxidation of metal parts and a large number of internal defects. In addition, for active metals, there is a certain risk of combustion and explosion, which will affect the internal quality and mechanical properties of the final formed parts and cause serious deformation, warping and cracking of the printed metal components. Utility Model Content

[0005] In view of the above-mentioned shortcomings and deficiencies of the prior art, the present invention provides a metal powder high-pressure laser forming equipment, which solves the problem that the mechanical properties of the final product cannot be maximized when the existing equipment is processed in a normal pressure protective gas environment.

[0006] In order to achieve the above objectives, the main technical solutions adopted by the present invention include:

[0007] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a metal powder high-pressure laser forming device, comprising:

[0008] The frame is provided with a molding chamber and a high-pressure gas mixing chamber. The molding chamber and the high-pressure gas mixing chamber are connected. One end of the molding chamber is connected to an exhaust component to extract the air in the molding chamber and the high-pressure mixing chamber. One end of the high-pressure gas mixing chamber is provided with an air inlet pipeline to transport protective gas and laser reaction gas. The high-pressure gas mixing chamber is used to mix the protective gas and the laser reaction gas and transport them to the molding chamber.

[0009] Optionally, a workbench is provided in the molding chamber, and a conveying mechanism is provided on the workbench, the conveying mechanism is reciprocatingly arranged along a first direction to convey the part to a first surface of the workbench, a powder spreading mechanism is provided on the first surface of the workbench to spread metal powder on the surface of the part, the powder spreading mechanism is spaced relative to the first surface along the first direction, and a laser assembly is further provided inside the molding chamber;

[0010] The first direction is the direction of gravity.

[0011] Optionally, the laser assembly is located on the top of the molding chamber, and a projection of the laser assembly along the first direction is located on the part.

[0012] Optionally, a circulation component is provided between the molding chamber and the high-pressure gas mixing chamber;

[0013] The circulation component includes an air inlet duct and a return air duct. The input end of the air inlet duct is connected to the high-pressure air mixing chamber, the output end of the air inlet duct is connected to the top of the molding chamber, the input end of the return air duct is connected to the molding chamber, and the output end of the return air duct is connected to the high-pressure air mixing chamber.

[0014] Optionally, both ends of the return air pipeline are connected to the bottom of the high-pressure mixing chamber and the bottom of the molding chamber respectively.

[0015] Optionally, a pressure vacuum gauge is provided on the top of the high-pressure gas mixing chamber to measure the air pressure of the high-pressure gas mixing chamber, and a blower assembly is provided in the high-pressure gas mixing chamber to fully mix the protective gas and the laser reaction gas.

[0016] Optionally, a plurality of branch pipes are provided on the air intake pipe.

[0017] Optionally, a valve is provided on the air intake pipeline to control the opening or closing of the air intake pipeline.

[0018] The beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: the metal powder high-pressure laser forming equipment of the present invention exhausts the air in the forming chamber and the high-pressure mixing chamber through the exhaust component to provide a vacuum environment, and transports the protective gas and the laser reaction gas under the action of the air intake pipeline and transports the gas, so that the final forming chamber is in a high-pressure environment, and the gas in the environment is only the protective gas and the laser reaction gas. Therefore, when the parts are finally processed, the protective gas can prevent the oxidation of the metal parts. At the same time, the purity of the laser reaction gas in this environment is higher. When the laser acts on the metal powder processing, the interference with the laser can be reduced and the processing accuracy is improved. The forming chamber and the high-pressure mixing chamber are separate areas, and the gas is transported through a connecting device. When mixing in the high-pressure mixing chamber, it will not affect the processing operation in the forming chamber, which is beneficial to the processing efficiency in the forming chamber. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of a metal powder high-pressure laser forming device disclosed in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0020] Figure 2 This is a schematic front view of the structure of a metal powder high-pressure laser forming device disclosed in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0021] Figure 3 This is a schematic side view of the structure of a metal powder high-pressure laser forming device disclosed in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0022] Figure 4 It is a structural schematic diagram of the interior of a molding chamber of a metal powder high-pressure laser molding device disclosed in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0023] [Description of Reference Numerals]

[0024] 1. Frame; 2. Molding chamber; 3. High-pressure mixing chamber; 4. Valve; 5. Exhaust assembly; 6. Air inlet pipe; 7. Workbench; 8. Conveying mechanism; 9. Powder spreading mechanism; 10. Laser assembly; 11. Circulation assembly; 1101. Air inlet pipe; 1102. Return air pipe; 12. Pressure vacuum gauge; 13. Fan assembly; 14. Branch pipe; A. First surface; a. First direction. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] In order to better explain the present invention and facilitate understanding, the present invention is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and through specific embodiments. Figure 1 The orientation is referenced.

[0026] An embodiment of the present invention proposes a metal powder high-pressure laser forming device, which forms a high-pressure oxygen-free environment in the forming chamber through the action of the vacuum component and the high-pressure gas mixing chamber. Therefore, when the laser component processes the metal powder and parts, oxygen will not interfere, which greatly improves the mechanical properties of the final product and reduces the probability of severe deformation, warping and cracking of the finished product.

[0027] To better understand the above technical solutions, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Although exemplary embodiments of the present invention are shown in the accompanying drawings, it should be understood that the present invention can be implemented in various forms and should not be limited by the embodiments described herein. Instead, these embodiments are provided to enable a clearer and more thorough understanding of the present invention and to fully convey the scope of the present invention to those skilled in the art.

[0028] Example 1:

[0029] Reference Figures 1 to 4 The present embodiment provides a metal powder high-pressure laser forming device, which includes: a frame 1, a forming chamber 2 and a high-pressure gas mixing chamber 3 are provided on the frame 1, the forming chamber 2 and the high-pressure gas mixing chamber 3 are connected, one end of the forming chamber 2 is connected to an exhaust component 5 to extract the air in the forming chamber 2 and the high-pressure mixing chamber, one end of the high-pressure gas mixing chamber 3 is provided with an air inlet pipe 6 to transport protective gas and laser reaction gas, and the high-pressure gas mixing chamber 3 is used to mix the protective gas and the laser reaction gas and transport them to the forming chamber 2.

[0030] Specifically, in order to solve the problem that the mechanical properties of the final product cannot be maximized when processing in a normal pressure protective gas environment of existing equipment, the high-pressure mixing chamber 3 provided in this embodiment can provide a high-pressure environment for the molding chamber 2, and it is a gas environment with only protective gas and laser reaction gas, and there is no oxygen. Therefore, when the laser reaction is carried out, oxygen will not interfere with the processing of metal powder. At the same time, when processing in a high-pressure oxygen-free environment, oxidation will not occur during the surface processing of metal parts, and no defects will be caused to the metal parts, thereby maximizing the utilization of the mechanical properties of the metal parts.

[0031] Among them, the metal powder high-pressure laser forming equipment provided in this embodiment is used for metal powder processing operations. The forming chamber 2 on the frame 1 is the occurrence area for metal powder processing, wherein the forming chamber 2 and the high-pressure mixing chamber 3 are both sealed areas. The air can be uniformly extracted through the exhaust component 5 connected to the forming chamber 2 to provide a vacuum environment for the forming chamber 2 and the high-pressure mixing chamber 3, thereby completely emptying the oxygen in the forming chamber 2 and the high-pressure mixing chamber 3, reducing interference with the processing of the forming component 4, and the high-pressure mixing chamber 3 transports protective gas and laser reaction gas to its interior through the air intake pipe 6. At the same time, a number of branch pipes 14 are provided on the air intake pipe 6, that is, multiple gases can be transported at the same time, greatly improving the transportation efficiency, while also reducing the risk of gas leakage caused by batch transportation, and thus it is impossible to maintain the high-pressure environment of the forming chamber 2 and the high-pressure mixing chamber 3. A valve 4 is also provided on the air intake pipe 6. Specifically, the valve 4 is located at one end of the air intake pipe 6 close to the high-pressure mixing chamber 3, and can uniformly control the gas input by the branch pipe 14 to achieve real-time control of gas transportation.

[0032] In addition, if Figure 4 As shown, a workbench 7 is provided in the molding chamber 2. The workbench 7 is a platform for processing parts. It can be understood that when processing parts, the parts can be placed on the surface of the conveying mechanism 8, and then the conveying mechanism 8 is controlled by an external controller to convey the parts to the first surface A of the workbench 7. Then, the metal powder is spread on the surface of the part by the powder spreading mechanism 9. Finally, the metal powder and the part are processed under the irradiation of the laser component. When the powder spreading mechanism 9 spreads powder on the surface of the part, the environment at this time is already a high-pressure vacuum environment. Specifically, before spreading powder, the exhaust component 5 and the air intake are The pipeline 6 works first to create a high-pressure vacuum environment in the molding chamber 2 and the high-pressure mixing chamber 3. Therefore, when the powder spreading mechanism 9 is spreading the powder, the metal powder will not be affected by the wind and fly around, and the powder spreading mechanism 9 is a one-time powder spreading mechanism, that is, the metal powder used for processing is spread once. When the air pressure is adjusted, the powder spreading mechanism 9 does not spread the powder, which can also reduce the splashing of the metal powder. At the same time, the laser assembly 10 is located at the top of the molding chamber 2, and the projection of the laser assembly 10 along the first direction a is located on the part. Therefore, the laser assembly 10 is facing the metal powder and the part, and precise processing of the part can be achieved.

[0033] Secondly, a circulation component 11 is provided between the molding chamber 2 and the high-pressure gas mixing chamber 3. Specifically, the circulation component 11 includes an air inlet pipe 1101 and an air return pipe 1102. It can be understood that when the vacuum component 5 performs a vacuum operation on the molding chamber 2, the air inlet pipe 1101 and the air return pipe 1102 make the molding chamber 2 and the high-pressure gas mixing chamber 3 the same connected environment, so that the molding chamber 2 and the high-pressure gas mixing chamber 3 are both in a vacuum environment. Subsequently, when the protective gas and the laser reaction gas are transported to the high-pressure gas mixing chamber 3 through the air inlet pipe 6, the air inlet pipe 11 can also be used. 01 is transported to the molding chamber 2 to provide the required environment for the processing in the molding chamber 2. At the same time, the output end of the air inlet duct 1101 and the input end of the return air duct 1102 are located at both ends of the molding chamber 2 along the first direction a, so that when the gas circulation is realized, every area in the molding chamber 2 can be covered. Then, when processing is carried out in the molding chamber 2, the molding chamber 2 is filled with protective gas and laser reaction gas, which is conducive to efficient laser processing. Similarly, the output end of the return air duct 1102 also enters the high-pressure mixing chamber 3 from the bottom of the high-pressure mixing chamber 3 to form a complete loop.

[0034] In addition, a pressure vacuum gauge 12 is provided on the top of the high-pressure mixing chamber 3, which can measure the air pressure in the same environment of the molding chamber 2 and the high-pressure mixing chamber 3, and adjust the protective gas and laser reaction gas transported by the air intake pipe at any time. At the same time, the input gas can be fully mixed through the fan assembly 13 in the high-pressure mixing chamber 3, wherein the fan assembly 13 can be but not limited to a propeller. The fan assembly 13 can be rotated by an external controller to achieve gas mixing and realize the circulation of gas between the molding chamber 2 and the high-pressure mixing chamber 3.

[0035] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood to indicate or imply relative importance or implicitly specify the number of the technical features indicated. Therefore, a feature specified as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of the present invention, "plurality" means two or more, unless otherwise specifically defined.

[0036] In the present invention, unless otherwise expressly specified or limited, the terms "mounted," "connected," "connect," "fixed," etc. should be understood broadly. For example, they may refer to fixed connection, detachable connection, or integration; mechanical connection or electrical connection; direct connection or indirect connection through an intermediate medium; and internal communication between two components or interaction between two components. Those skilled in the art will understand the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention based on specific circumstances.

[0037] In the present invention, unless otherwise expressly specified or limited, when a first feature is "above" or "below" a second feature, it may mean that the first and second features are in direct contact, or that the first and second features are in indirect contact through an intermediate medium. Furthermore, when a first feature is "above," "above," or "above" a second feature, it may mean that the first feature is directly above or obliquely above the second feature, or simply means that the first feature is at a higher level than the second feature. When a first feature is "below," "below," or "below" a second feature, it may mean that the first feature is directly below or obliquely below the second feature, or simply means that the first feature is at a lower level than the second feature.

[0038] In the description of this specification, the terms "one embodiment", "some embodiments", "embodiments", "examples", "specific examples" or "some examples" refer to the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment or example and included in at least one embodiment or example of the present invention. In this specification, the schematic expressions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described may be combined in any one or more embodiments or examples in a suitable manner. In addition, those skilled in the art may combine and combine different embodiments or examples described in this specification and features of different embodiments or examples, unless they are mutually inconsistent.

[0039] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described above, it will be understood that the above embodiments are illustrative and are not to be construed as limitations on the present invention. A person skilled in the art may alter, modify, replace and modify the above embodiments within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A metal powder high pressure laser forming equipment, characterized in that: include; A frame (1) is provided with a molding chamber (2) and a high-pressure gas mixing chamber (3), the molding chamber (2) and the high-pressure gas mixing chamber (3) are connected, one end of the molding chamber (2) is connected to an exhaust assembly (5) for extracting air from the molding chamber (2) and the high-pressure gas mixing chamber (3), one end of the high-pressure gas mixing chamber (3) is provided with an air inlet pipeline (6) for conveying protective gas and laser reaction gas, and the high-pressure gas mixing chamber (3) is used to mix the protective gas and the laser reaction gas and convey them into the molding chamber (2).

2. The metal powder high-pressure laser forming equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: A workbench (7) is provided in the molding chamber (2), a conveying mechanism (8) is provided on the workbench (7), the conveying mechanism (8) is reciprocatingly arranged along a first direction to convey parts to a first surface of the workbench (7), a powder spreading mechanism (9) is provided on the first surface of the workbench (7) to spread metal powder on the surface of the parts, the powder spreading mechanism (9) is spaced relative to the first surface along a first direction, and a laser assembly (10) is also provided inside the molding chamber (2); Wherein, the first direction is the direction of gravity.

3. The metal powder high-pressure laser forming equipment according to claim 2, characterized in that: The laser assembly (10) is located on the top of the molding chamber (2), and the projection of the laser assembly (10) along the first direction is located on the part.

4. The metal powder high-pressure laser forming equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: A circulation component (11) is provided between the molding chamber (2) and the high-pressure gas mixing chamber (3); The circulation component (11) comprises an air inlet pipeline (1101) and an air return pipeline (1102); the input end of the air inlet pipeline (1101) is in communication with the high-pressure air mixing chamber (3); the output end of the air inlet pipeline (1101) is in communication with the top end of the molding chamber (2); the input end of the air return pipeline (1102) is in communication with the molding chamber (2); and the output end of the air return pipeline (1102) is in communication with the high-pressure air mixing chamber (3).

5. The metal powder high-pressure laser forming equipment according to claim 4, characterized in that: The two ends of the return air pipeline (1102) are respectively connected from the bottom of the high-pressure mixing chamber (3) to the bottom of the molding chamber (2).

6. The metal powder high-pressure laser forming equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: A pressure vacuum gauge (12) is provided on the top of the high-pressure gas mixing chamber (3) to measure the gas pressure in the high-pressure gas mixing chamber (3); and a fan assembly (13) is provided in the high-pressure gas mixing chamber (3) to fully mix the protective gas and the laser reaction gas.

7. The metal powder high-pressure laser forming equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The air intake pipeline (6) is provided with a plurality of branch pipes (14).

8. The metal powder high-pressure laser forming equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The air intake pipeline (6) is provided with a valve (4) to control the opening or closing of the air intake pipeline (6).

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