Metal 3D printing filtering device with cleaning function

Abstract

The metal 3D printing filtering device with the cleaning function comprises a printing bin, a first filtering assembly, a second filtering assembly, an argon pump and an adjusting piece, the first filtering assembly is communicated with the printing bin through a pipeline, the second filtering assembly is communicated with the first filtering assembly through a pipeline, and a three-way valve is arranged at the top of the second filtering assembly. One end of the three-way valve extends into the second filtering assembly and is connected with an adjusting piece used for balancing air pressure, the filter element is arranged in the first filtering assembly, the adjusting piece is located in the filter element, the argon pump is connected with the other two ports of the three-way valve through a negative pressure pipeline and a positive pressure pipeline, and the positive pressure pipeline is further connected with the printing bin through a branch pipe; the device has the advantages that the first filtering assembly filters and collects a small amount of large-particle metal dust, the second filtering assembly filters and collects other metal dust, and complete filtering is achieved through cooperation of the two components; when the adjusting piece cleans the filter element through back flushing, the air pressure at each horizontal height in the filter element is the same, and insufficient cleaning is avoided.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model belongs to the field of additive manufacturing technology, specifically a metal 3D printing filter device with cleaning function. Background Technology

[0002] Metal 3D printing technology is an important branch of additive manufacturing, capable of directly constructing complex metal parts from digital models, with a wide range of future applications. The printing process requires an inert gas (such as argon) environment. To improve print quality, it's crucial to promptly remove metal dust from the inert gas within the printing space. This typically involves extracting and filtering the gas, then returning the dust-free gas to the printing space. However, during filtration, the filter pores often trap some dust, affecting the filtration efficiency. When using positive pressure for backflushing, the pressure difference within the filter (higher pressure in the lower half than the upper half) can lead to incomplete cleaning in certain areas. Utility Model Content

[0003] The technical problem this invention aims to solve is that existing metal 3D printing devices suffer from insufficient cleaning during backflushing due to pressure differences within the filter element. To address this problem, a metal 3D printing filter device with a cleaning function is proposed, comprising a printing chamber, a first filter assembly, a second filter assembly, an argon pump, and an adjusting component. The first filter assembly is connected to the printing chamber via a pipe, and the second filter assembly is connected to the first filter assembly via a pipe. A three-way valve is located at the top of the second filter assembly, with one end extending into the second filter assembly and connected to the adjusting component for balancing air pressure. The filter element is disposed within the first filter assembly, and the adjusting component is located inside the filter element. The argon pump is connected to the other two ports of the three-way valve via negative and positive pressure pipes, respectively. The positive pressure pipe is also connected to the printing chamber via a branch pipe.

[0004] The technical solution of this utility model, by setting up a first filter component and a second filter component, the first filter component filters and collects a small amount of large metal dust particles, and the second filter component filters and collects the remaining metal dust particles. The two work together to filter the inert gas, so that the inert gas discharged into the printing chamber again does not contain metal dust, thus avoiding affecting the printing quality. By setting up an adjustment component, when backflushing to clean the filter element, the adjustment component can keep the air pressure at all horizontal heights in the filter element the same, avoiding the situation where the air pressure difference causes insufficient cleaning in some areas.

[0005] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the first filter assembly includes a base, a first collection box, a first filter chamber, and a support. The base is placed on the ground, and the support is mounted on the base. The first filter chamber is mounted on the support, and the first collection box is connected to the lower part of the first filter chamber. The first collection box is mounted on the base. The first filter assembly is used to filter a small amount of large metal dust particles, which are collected through the first collection box.

[0006] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the upper part of the first filter chamber is cylindrical and the lower part is conical funnel-shaped. During filtration, the conical part forms a vortex airflow, which can cause some larger metal dust particles to fall into the first collection box.

[0007] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the second filter assembly further includes a second filter chamber and a second collection box. The second filter chamber is placed on the ground by a support frame, and a detachable second collection box is provided at the bottom of the second filter chamber. An inspection door is provided on the outer wall of the second filter chamber. The second filter chamber filters most of the metal dust through the filter element and collects it centrally through the second collection box, which is convenient for cleaning and recycling.

[0008] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, an exhaust valve is provided on the positive pressure pipeline branch connected to the printing chamber. The exhaust valve is activated when the air pressure inside the printing chamber is too high, thereby releasing some of the gas.

[0009] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the cross-section of the adjusting component is annular, the inner cavity of the adjusting component is empty, the diameter of the upper end face of the adjusting component is larger than the diameter of the lower end face, and multiple through holes are provided on the side wall of the adjusting component. The diameter of the through holes gradually decreases from top to bottom. The inner cavity of the connecting component guides the gas to rush out through the through holes. By designing the shape of the connecting component and the diameter of the through holes, it can be ensured that there is no pressure difference inside the filter element.

[0010] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the upper end face of the adjusting member is provided with a connection port, which communicates with the inner cavity of the adjusting member and is threadedly connected to a three-way valve. After the connection port is connected to the three-way valve, it can ensure that no air pressure difference is generated inside the filter element when cleaning the filter element, thus avoiding the situation of insufficient cleaning in some areas.

[0011] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the through hole is connected to the inner cavity of the adjusting component, and the diameter of the through holes at the same horizontal height is the same. Therefore, the air pressure value at the same horizontal height is the same, which will not affect the cleaning of the filter element.

[0012] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the length of the adjusting member is less than the height of the internal cavity of the filter element, and the adjusting member can be completely placed inside the filter element.

[0013] The advantages of this utility model compared with the prior art are:

[0014] The technical solution of this utility model, by setting up a first filter component and a second filter component, the first filter component filters and collects a small amount of large metal dust particles, and the second filter component filters and collects the remaining metal dust particles. The two work together to filter the inert gas, so that the inert gas discharged into the printing chamber again does not contain metal dust, thus avoiding affecting the printing quality. By setting up an adjustment component, when backflushing to clean the filter element, the adjustment component can keep the air pressure at all horizontal heights in the filter element the same, avoiding the situation where the air pressure difference causes insufficient cleaning in some areas. Attached Figure Description

[0015] Figure 1 This is a three-dimensional illustration of the present utility model. Figure 1 ;

[0016] Figure 2 This is a three-dimensional illustration of the present utility model. Figure 2 ;

[0017] Figure 3 This is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the first filter component of this utility model;

[0018] Figure 4 This is an exploded view of the structure of the second filter component and the adjusting component of this utility model when they are in conjunction;

[0019] Figure 5 This is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the adjusting component of this utility model;

[0020] The components are: 1-printing chamber, 2-first filter assembly, 21-base, 22-first collection box, 23-first filter chamber, 24-bracket, 3-second filter assembly, 31-second filter chamber, 32-inspection door, 33-three-way valve, 34-filter element, 35-second collection box, 36-support frame, 4-argon pump, 41-negative pressure pipe, 42-positive pressure pipe, 43-exhaust valve, 5-adjusting component, 51-through hole, 52-connection port. Detailed Implementation

[0021] The following will refer to the appendix in the embodiments of this utility model. Figure 1-5 The technical solutions in the embodiments of this utility model will be described in detail below. Example 1

[0022] like Figure 1-5 As shown, this utility model is a metal 3D printing filter device with cleaning function, including a printing chamber 1, a first filter component 2, a second filter component 3, an argon pump 4, and an adjusting component 5.

[0023] In this embodiment, the printing chamber 1 is the manufacturing space for the final product, which is existing technology.

[0024] In this embodiment, the first filter assembly 2 includes a base 21, a first collection box 22, a first filter chamber 23 and a support 24. The first filter assembly 2 is used to filter a small amount of large metal dust particles.

[0025] In this embodiment, the base 21 is placed on the ground, and the upper surface of the base 21 is fixedly installed with a bracket 24, which supports the first filter chamber 23. The first collection box 22 is placed on the upper surface of the base 21 and is connected to the bottom of the first filter chamber 23. Specifically, it can be detached by threaded connection, so that the first collection box 22 can be removed and the metal dust collected after filtration can be cleaned.

[0026] In this embodiment, the upper part of the first filter chamber 23 is cylindrical, and the lower part is a conical funnel shape. The diameter of the cone decreases as it goes down, and it is constricted. The diameter of the cone at the lower part of the first filter chamber 23 is the smallest at the connection with the first collection box 22.

[0027] In this embodiment, the upper sidewall of the first filter chamber 23 is connected to the printing chamber 1 through a pipe, and the upper top of the first filter chamber 23 is connected to the second filter chamber 31 of the second filter assembly 3 through a pipe.

[0028] Furthermore, when filtering by negative pressure, the conical section will form a vortex airflow, causing larger metal particles to fall off and be collected in the first collection box 21.

[0029] In this embodiment, the second filter assembly 3 includes a second filter chamber 31, a three-way valve 33, a filter element 34, a second collection box 35, and a support frame 36. The second filter assembly 3 can filter metal dust in the gas through the filter element 34 and collect it in the second filter box 35.

[0030] In this embodiment, a support frame 36 is fixedly installed at the bottom of the second filter chamber 31. The support frame 36 supports the second filter chamber 36 so that it is placed on the ground. The bottom of the second filter chamber 31 is connected to the second collection box 35 by bolts. The second collection box 35 is detachable, which facilitates cleaning of the metal dust collected after filtration, so as to recycle it, reduce waste, and lower costs.

[0031] In this embodiment, the outer wall of the second filter chamber 31 is equipped with an openable maintenance door 32. The maintenance door 32 facilitates the installation of the filter element 34 and the adjustment component 5, and also facilitates maintenance in case of malfunction.

[0032] In this embodiment, a three-way valve 33 is provided on the top of the second filter chamber 31. One port of the three-way valve 33 extends into the interior of the second filter chamber 31, and the other two ports of the three-way valve 33 are located outside the second filter chamber 31.

[0033] In this embodiment, the upper part of the filter element 34 is open and is fixed to the upper wall of the inner cavity of the second filter chamber 31 by snap-fit. The filter element 34 is a backflush type coarse filter of F9 grade, specifically using a 325*660 specification.

[0034] Furthermore, the port of the three-way valve 33 is connected to the inner cavity of the filter element 34.

[0035] In this embodiment, the argon pump 4 is connected to the two ports of the three-way valve 33 located outside the second filter chamber 31 via the negative pressure pipe 41 and the positive pressure pipe 42.

[0036] Furthermore, the positive pressure pipeline 42 is equipped with a valve at the connection with the three-way valve 33. By manually opening, the positive pressure pipeline 42 is connected to the printing chamber 1 through a branch pipe. The branch pipe is equipped with an exhaust valve 43. Both the valve and the exhaust valve 43 are existing technologies.

[0037] In this embodiment, the argon pump 4 draws argon gas outward through the negative pressure pipe 41, and the printing chamber 1, the first filter chamber 23 and the second filter chamber 31 form a negative pressure to achieve filtration. The filtered argon gas does not contain metal powder and returns to the printing chamber 1 through the branch pipe of the positive pressure pipe 42. When the gas pressure in the printing chamber 1 is too high, the exhaust valve 43 on the branch pipe acts to release some gas to the outside, so that the gas pressure inside the printing chamber 1 returns to the normal level. The above process continues during the printing process.

[0038] In this embodiment, the valve is usually closed. Only when backflushing is performed to clean the filter element 34 is the valve manually opened to allow positive pressure gas to enter the filter element 34 and clean it. The backflushing cleaning process is performed intermittently and can be achieved by manually opening the valve. After cleaning is completed, the valve is closed.

[0039] In this embodiment, the adjusting member 5 is threadedly connected to the three-way valve 33 and is located in the inner cavity of the filter element 34. The length of the adjusting member 5 is less than the height of the inner cavity of the filter element 34, so the adjusting member 5 can be completely inserted into the filter element 34.

[0040] In this embodiment, the cross-section of the adjusting member 5 is annular, and its interior is a cavity. Multiple through holes 51 are opened on the side wall of the adjusting member 5, and the through holes 51 are used to allow gas to pass through.

[0041] In this embodiment, a connection port 52 is provided at the top of the adjusting member 5. The connection port 52 is connected to the inner cavity of the adjusting member 5, and a threaded connection with the three-way valve 33 is achieved through the connection port 52.

[0042] In this embodiment, the diameter of the upper end face of the adjusting member 5 is larger than the diameter of the lower end face, that is, the adjusting member 5 gradually shrinks from top to bottom, and the diameter of the through hole 51 also gradually decreases from top to bottom. Since the air pressure at the bottom of the filter element 34 is higher than the air pressure at the top when backflushing cleaning is usually performed using positive pressure gas, the air pressure in the upper part of the filter element 34 is higher than that in the upper part. Due to the air pressure difference, the upper part of the filter element 34 may not be cleaned sufficiently. The adjusting member 5 can balance the air pressure. In this way, when cleaning the filter element 34 with positive pressure, it can be ensured that the air pressure inside the filter element 34 is in a balanced state, there is no air pressure difference, and the cleaning effect will not be affected.

[0043] In this embodiment, the diameters of the through holes 51 at the same horizontal level are the same, so the air pressure values ​​at the same horizontal level can be kept the same, avoiding the generation of air pressure difference and affecting the cleaning effect of backflushing the filter element 34.

[0044] The method of using a metal 3D printing filter device with a cleaning function in this embodiment is as follows:

[0045] Argon pump 4 draws argon gas outward through negative pressure pipe 41. The argon gas in printing chamber 1 enters the first filter chamber 23. Under negative pressure, the conical part at the connection between the first filter chamber 23 and the first collection box 22 forms a vortex airflow. Larger metal powder particles in the gas will fall into the first collection box 22. Then the gas enters the second filter chamber 31 and is filtered by filter element 34. All metal dust falls into the second collection box 35. The filtered gas does not contain metal dust and enters the inner cavity of the regulating element 5 through the through hole 51. Then it enters the negative pressure pipe 41 through the three-way valve 33, and then enters the positive pressure pipe 42 through argon pump 4. It returns to printing chamber 1 through the branch pipe of the positive pressure pipe 42. When the gas pressure in printing chamber 1 is too high, the exhaust valve 43 is activated to discharge some gas to the outside, so that the gas pressure in printing chamber 1 returns to normal.

[0046] When backflushing is required to clean the filter element 34, the valve is manually opened. Gas enters the inner cavity of the regulating component 5 through the three-way valve via the positive pressure pipe 42 and rushes out through the through hole 51 of the regulating component 5 to backflush the filter element 34, thereby cleaning the filter element 34. Furthermore, due to the shape of the regulating component 5 and the diameter of the through hole 51, the air pressure value of the gas rushing out at any height in the vertical direction is the same, and there is no air pressure difference, so the cleaning of the filter element 34 is completely thorough.

[0047] The above embodiments are only for illustrating the technical concept of this utility model and should not be used to limit the protection scope of this utility model. Any modifications made to the technical solution based on the technical concept proposed by this utility model shall fall within the protection scope of this utility model.

Claims

1. A metal 3D printing filtering device with cleaning function, characterized in that: The printing chamber (1), the first filter assembly (2), the second filter assembly (3), the argon pump (4) and the adjusting part (5) are connected by pipes, the top of the second filter assembly (3) is provided with a three-way valve (33), one end of the three-way valve (33) extends into the second filter assembly (3) and is connected with the adjusting part (5) for balancing air pressure, the filter core (34) is arranged in the first filter assembly (2), the adjusting part (5) is located in the inside of the filter core (34), the argon pump (4) is connected with the other two ports of the three-way valve (33) through the negative pressure pipe (41) and the positive pressure pipe (42) respectively, and the positive pressure pipe (42) is also connected with the printing chamber (1) through a branch pipe.

2. The metal 3D printing filtering device with cleaning function according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first filter assembly (2) comprises a base (21), a first collecting box (22), a first filter chamber (23) and a support (24), the base (21) is placed on the ground, the support (24) is arranged on the base (21), the first filter chamber (23) is arranged on the support (24), and the first collecting box (22) is connected with the lower part of the first filter chamber (23) and arranged on the base (21).

3. The metal 3D printing filtering device with cleaning function according to claim 2, characterized in that: The upper part of the first filter chamber (23) is in a cylindrical shape, and the lower part is in a conical funnel shape.

4. The metal 3D printing filtering device with cleaning function according to claim 1, characterized in that: The second filter assembly (3) further comprises a second filter chamber (31) and a second collecting box (35), the second filter chamber (31) is placed on the ground through a support frame (36), the bottom of the second filter chamber (31) is provided with a detachable second collecting box (35), and the outer wall of the second filter chamber (31) is provided with an inspection door (32).

5. The metal 3D printing filtering device with cleaning function according to claim 1, characterized in that: The positive pressure pipe (42) branch pipe connected with the printing chamber (1) is provided with an exhaust valve (43).

6. The metal 3D printing filtering device with cleaning function according to claim 1, characterized in that: The adjusting part (5) is in a circular ring shape in cross section, the inner cavity of the adjusting part (5) is empty, the diameter of the upper end surface of the adjusting part (5) is larger than that of the lower end surface, a plurality of through holes (51) are arranged on the side wall of the adjusting part (5), and the diameters of the through holes (51) gradually decrease from top to bottom.

7. The metal 3D printing filtering device with cleaning function according to claim 6, characterized in that: The upper end surface of the adjusting part (5) is provided with a connecting port (52), the connecting port (52) is in communication with the inner cavity of the adjusting part (5), and the connecting port (52) is threadedly connected with the three-way valve (33). 8.The metal 3D printing filter device with cleaning function according to claim 6, wherein: The through holes (51) are in communication with the inner cavity of the adjusting part (5), and the through holes (51) at the same horizontal height are of the same diameter. 9.The metal 3D printing filter device with cleaning function according to claim 1, wherein: The length of the adjusting part (5) is less than the height of the inner cavity of the filter core (34).

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