Auxiliary preheating powder spreading device for 3D printing

Abstract

The utility model relates to the technical field of 3D printing equipment, in particular to a 3D printing auxiliary preheating powder spreading device which comprises a powder hopper assembly installed on an equipment body and used for spreading powder, a powder supply bin located above the powder hopper assembly and used for providing powder materials and a heating assembly used for preheating the powder materials, and the heating assembly is installed in the powder hopper assembly. The heating assembly comprises a heating pipe installed in the powder hopper assembly in an embedded mode, spiral electric heating alloy wires are evenly distributed on the heating pipe in the axial direction of the center in the heating pipe, and the heating assembly further comprises a thermocouple sensor used for detecting the heating temperature of powder materials. The SLS3D printing powder is preheated in advance through the powder hopper assembly and the heating assembly, the preheating time during SLS3D printing is shortened, and the printing efficiency is improved.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The utility model relates to 3D printing equipment technical field especially is a kind of 3D printing auxiliary preheating powder laying device. BACKGROUND

[0002] The preheating treatment of SLS3D printing is the key step to improve printing quality, reduce printing material shrinkage, prevent warping from printing platform, prevent caking and improve printing efficiency, especially in processing high-temperature materials (such as ABS, nylon, PC and other materials). The general preheating temperature of non-metal is 80~200 ℃ during preheating. But in the current preheating process, it is usually to use infrared heating lamp to irradiate the powder bed of SLS3D printer, which needs to ensure the uniform temperature of powder bed preheating through 30~60 minutes in advance. This greatly reduces the printing efficiency of SLS3D printer, and single scraper powder laying is easy to produce stripe. SUMMARY

[0003] The utility model solves the technical problem to provide a kind of 3D printing auxiliary preheating powder laying device, through powder hopper assembly and heating assembly, SLS3D printing powder is preheated in advance, reduce the preheating time when SLS3D prints, improve printing efficiency.

[0004] In order to solve the above technical problems, the utility model adopts the following technical scheme:

[0005] A kind of 3D printing auxiliary preheating powder laying device, including the powder hopper assembly for laying powder installed on equipment main body, the powder supply bin for providing powder material located above powder hopper assembly and the heating assembly for preheating powder material, the heating assembly is installed in the powder hopper assembly;The heating assembly includes the heating pipe embeddedly installed in the powder hopper assembly, the heating pipe is uniformly distributed along the screw electric heating alloy wire of pipe inner center axis, the heating assembly also includes the thermocouple sensor for detecting powder material heating temperature;When printing, electric heating alloy wire is connected to power supply, heating pipe starts heating, and after the required temperature of heating is detected by thermocouple sensor, the powder material temporarily stored in the powder supply bin enters powder hopper assembly to preheat and starts powder laying operation.

[0006] Further, the powder hopper assembly includes the powder laying hopper for containing powder material and the heating cavity arranged on the periphery of the powder laying hopper, the heating pipe and the thermocouple sensor are installed in the heating cavity, and the powder laying hopper is located below the powder supply bin.

[0007] Further, the bottom of the powder laying hopper is provided with a leakage groove for powder material to fall out, and the width of the leakage groove is 2mm.

[0008] Further, the bottom of the powder laying hopper is provided with a convex rib, and the convex rib is located on both sides of the leakage groove.

[0009] Further, the powder hopper assembly further comprises a guide light axis for supporting the powder laying hopper to reciprocate for powder laying operation, sliding blocks are arranged on the two side walls of the powder laying hopper, the sliding blocks are slidingly sleeved on the guide light axis, and the guide light axis is installed on the printer equipment main body.

[0010] Further, the powder supply bin is provided with a powder outlet for powder material export and a baffle for controlling powder material export, one side of the baffle is hingedly installed on one side of the powder outlet, and a motorized telescopic rod for driving the baffle to open and close is further hingedly arranged on the baffle, and the motorized telescopic rod is hingedly installed on the printer equipment main body.

[0011] Further, the baffle is connected with a photoelectric switch.

[0012] The powder hopper assembly and the heating assembly of the present application have the following beneficial effects:

[0013] In actual use, the powder material is preloaded in the powder supply bin for temporary storage, and the powder hopper assembly is used for powder laying operation on the powder bed of the SLS 3D printer during printing. The preheating of the powder material by the heating assembly before powder laying can effectively improve the printing quality and reduce the shrinkage of the printing material. During work, the power supply is connected to the electric heating alloy wire, the heating pipe is heated, the powder hopper assembly is preheated, the thermocouple sensor monitors the temperature of the powder hopper assembly, the printer equipment adjusts and controls the heating pipe of the powder hopper assembly through the feedback of the sensor and the temperature control algorithm, further controls the preheating temperature, so that the heating temperature of the powder hopper assembly can always be maintained at a suitable preheating temperature, and then the powder supply bin supplies powder to the powder hopper assembly. After the powder material enters the powder hopper assembly, it is preheated, and then the powder material is laid flat on the powder bed for printing operation. The powder hopper assembly and the heating assembly of the present application preheat the SLS 3D printing powder in advance, reduce the preheating time during SLS 3D printing, and improve the printing efficiency. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0014] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the present application;

[0015] Figure 2 It is another perspective view of the present application;

[0016] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the overall cross-sectional structure of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] In order to facilitate the understanding of those skilled in the art, the present application will be further described below in conjunction with the embodiments and the drawings. The content mentioned in the embodiments is not a limitation of the present application.

[0018] As Figures 1-3As shown, the utility model provides a kind of 3D printing auxiliary preheating powder laying device, including the powder hopper assembly 1 for laying powder for being installed on equipment main body, the powder supply bin 2 for providing powder material located above powder hopper assembly 1 and the heating assembly 3 for preheating powder material, the heating assembly 3 is installed in the powder hopper assembly 1;

[0019] The heating assembly 3 includes a heating tube 31 embeddedly installed in the powder hopper assembly 1, the heating tube is uniformly distributed with helical electrothermal alloy wires along the central axis inside the tube, and the heating assembly 3 further includes a thermocouple sensor 32 for detecting the heating temperature of the powder material.

[0020] During printing, the electrothermal alloy wires are connected to the power supply, the heating tube 31 starts heating, and after the thermocouple sensor 32 detects the required heating temperature, the temporarily stored powder material in the powder supply bin 2 enters the powder hopper assembly 1 for preheating and then starts the powder laying operation.

[0021] In this embodiment, the powder material is temporarily stored in the powder supply bin 2, and the powder hopper assembly 1 is used for laying powder on the powder bed of the SLS 3D printer during printing. Preheating the powder material by the heating assembly 3 before laying powder can effectively improve the printing quality and reduce the shrinkage of the printing material. During operation, the electrothermal alloy wires are connected to the power supply, the heating tube heats up, and the powder hopper assembly 1 is preheated. The thermocouple sensor 32 monitors the temperature of the powder hopper assembly 1. The printer equipment adjusts the heating tube 31 of the powder hopper assembly 1 through the feedback of the sensor and the temperature control algorithm, further controls the preheating temperature, keeps the heating temperature of the powder hopper assembly 1 at the appropriate preheating temperature, and then supplies powder from the powder supply bin 2 to the powder hopper assembly 1. After the powder material enters the powder hopper assembly 1, it is preheated, and then the powder material is laid flat on the powder bed for printing. This powder laying device preheats the SLS 3D printing powder through the powder hopper assembly and the heating assembly, reduces the preheating time during SLS 3D printing, and improves the printing efficiency.

[0022] As shown in Figure 2 And Figure 3 As shown, the powder hopper assembly 1 includes a powder laying hopper 11 for containing powder material and a heating cavity 12 arranged around the powder laying hopper 11, the heating tube 31 and the thermocouple sensor 32 are installed in the heating cavity 12, and the powder laying hopper 11 is located below the powder supply bin 2. In this embodiment, the heating cavity 12 is arranged around the powder laying hopper 11 to ensure uniform heating, and the thermocouple sensor 32 is close to the bottom of the powder laying hopper 11 to more accurately monitor the temperature at the powder outlet.

[0023] As shown in Figure 3As shown, the bottom of the powder spreading hopper 11 is provided with a trough 111 for powder to fall out, and the width of the trough 111 is 2mm. In this embodiment, the trough 111 is provided at the bottom of the powder spreading hopper 11, and the trough opening width is set to 2mm, which can ensure that the powder is evenly discharged and evenly spread on the powder bed.

[0024] like Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, the bottom of the powder spreading hopper 11 is provided with protruding ridges 112, which are located on both sides of the trough 111. In this embodiment, the tiny protruding ridges designed on both sides of the trough 111 at the bottom of the powder spreading hopper 11 allow the powder to fall through the trough 111, and the tiny protruding ridges can further smooth the powder surface. As the powder spreading hopper 11 moves back and forth, the powder on the powder bed is smoothed to form a 0.1mm thick powder layer, improving the smoothness of the powder spreading surface.

[0025] like Figure 2 As shown, the toner hopper assembly 1 also includes a guide optical shaft 13 for supporting the reciprocating toner spreading operation of the toner spreading hopper 11. Slider blocks 14 are provided on both side walls of the toner spreading hopper 11, and the sliders 14 are slidably fitted onto the guide optical shaft 13. The guide optical shaft 13 is mounted on the printer body. In this embodiment, the guide optical shaft 13 supports and guides the toner spreading hopper 11 to perform the reciprocating toner spreading operation. Under the action of a drive, the toner spreading hopper 11 reciprocates along the guide optical shaft 13, spreading the preheated toner evenly onto the printer's toner bed during the movement.

[0026] like Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, the powder supply hopper 2 is equipped with a powder outlet 21 for powder discharge and a baffle 22 for controlling powder discharge. One side of the baffle 22 is hinged to one side of the powder outlet 21. An electric telescopic rod 23 for driving the baffle 22 to open and close is also hinged to the baffle 22. The electric telescopic rod 23 is hinged to the main body of the printer. In this embodiment, the opening and closing of the powder outlet is achieved by using the electric telescopic rod 23 to drive the baffle 22, which facilitates powder supply to the powder hopper 11 as needed.

[0027] like Figure 2 As shown, a photoelectric switch 24 is connected to the baffle 22. In this embodiment, the photoelectric switch is used to detect the distance the powder surface falls in the powder spreading hopper 11. When the powder surface is detected to be lower than the set value, it feeds back to the electric telescopic rod 23, which then pushes open the baffle 22 to supply powder to the powder spreading hopper 11. Once the powder surface reaches the set value, it feeds back to the electric telescopic rod 23 to retract, causing the baffle to close the powder outlet 21 and stop supplying powder.

[0028] All technical features in this embodiment can be modified in appearance according to actual needs.

[0029] The above embodiment is a preferred implementation scheme of the present application, in addition to this, the present application can be implemented in other ways, and any obvious replacement without departing from the technical scheme concept is within the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A 3D printing auxiliary preheating powder spreading device, characterized in that: It includes a powder hopper assembly (1) installed on the main body of the equipment for spreading powder, a powder supply bin (2) located above the powder hopper assembly (1) for providing powder, and a heating assembly (3) for preheating the powder, wherein the heating assembly (3) is installed inside the powder hopper assembly (1); The heating assembly (3) includes a heating tube (31) embedded in the powder hopper assembly (1), the heating tube (31) having a spiral electric heating alloy wire evenly distributed along the central axis inside the tube, and the heating assembly (3) also includes a thermocouple sensor (32) for detecting the heating temperature of the powder. During printing, the power is connected to the heating alloy wire, the heating tube (31) starts to heat up, and after the thermocouple sensor (32) detects the required heating temperature, the powder temporarily stored in the powder supply hopper (2) enters the powder hopper assembly (1) for preheating and then the powder spreading operation begins.

2. The 3D printing auxiliary preheating powder spreading device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The powder hopper assembly (1) includes a powder spreading hopper (11) for holding powder materials and a heating chamber (12) located around the powder spreading hopper (11). The heating tube (31) and thermocouple sensor (32) are installed in the heating chamber (12). The powder spreading hopper (11) is located below the powder supply bin (2).

3. The 3D printing auxiliary preheating powder spreading device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The bottom of the powder hopper (11) is provided with a trough (111) for the powder to fall out, and the width of the trough (111) is 2mm.

4. The 3D printing auxiliary preheating powder spreading device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The bottom of the powder spreading hopper (11) is provided with a protruding ridge (112), which is located on both sides of the trough (111).

5. A 3D printing auxiliary preheating powder spreading device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The powder hopper assembly (1) also includes a guide optical shaft (13) for supporting the reciprocating powder spreading operation of the powder spreading hopper (11). Slider (14) is provided on both sides of the powder spreading hopper (11). The slider (14) is slidably fitted on the guide optical shaft (13). The guide optical shaft (13) is installed on the main body of the printer.

6. The 3D printing auxiliary preheating powder spreading device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The powder supply chamber (2) is provided with a powder outlet (21) for discharging powder and a baffle (22) for controlling the discharge of powder. One side of the baffle (22) is hinged to one side of the powder outlet (21). An electric telescopic rod (23) for driving the baffle (22) to open and close is also hinged to the baffle (22). The electric telescopic rod (23) is hinged to the main body of the printer.

7. A 3D printing auxiliary preheating powder spreading device according to claim 6, characterized in that: A photoelectric switch (24) is connected to the baffle (22).

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