CN215849705U - Surplus powder recovery assembly and 3D printing equipment with same - Google Patents

Abstract

The utility model relates to a residual powder recovery assembly and 3D printing equipment with the same, wherein the residual powder recovery assembly comprises a tank body, an air bag and a control piece, wherein: the tank body is provided with an inner cavity communicated with the powder return channel; the balloon is disposed in the lumen; the control part is arranged outside the tank body and is communicated with the air bag, and the control part is used for controlling the inflation state of the air bag so as to occupy/release the space of the inner cavity. Occupy the inner chamber space through the gasbag, guarantee that air capacity is less in the inner chamber, and then avoid jar body and shaping storehouse to be connected the back, the air influence in the inner chamber takes shape the inert gas atmosphere in storehouse, fills the gassing through control gasbag, can be connected the back with shaping storehouse at jar body, releases the inner chamber space that the gasbag occupied to in the surplus powder of whereabouts in the powder passageway is returned in the storage.

Description

Surplus powder recovery assembly and 3D printing equipment with same

Technical Field

The utility model relates to the field of 3D printing, in particular to a residual powder recovery assembly and a 3D printing device with the same.

Background

In the 3D printing process of the powder bed, in order to prevent the high-temperature melt formed by heating the powder from undergoing a high-temperature chemical reaction with gas components in the air, which leads to deformation and denaturation of the material, the forming bin is usually filled with inert gas.

Since the bulk density of the powder is significantly lower than the bulk density after melt bonding, resulting in a surface height of the cured object during printing that is significantly lower than the surface height of the powder in the uncured areas, the cured object areas require a greater amount of powder fill in order to regain a flat powder plane when the next layer is powdered. In the actual printing process, the cross section shape of the cured material depends on the data of each slice layer of the three-dimensional component to be formed, and belongs to the variation factor of external input, and the powder spreading unit of the powder bed 3D printing equipment is forced to adopt the powder supply with high redundancy so as to take the dynamic requirements of the cross section shapes of various cured materials on the powder spreading amount into consideration. This results in a considerable amount of powder remaining after each layer of powder has been laid being pushed into the powder return channel by the powder laying unit and being collected by the powder return tank connected to the end of the powder return channel.

When the powder return tank which is responsible for recovering the powder is filled, the empty powder tank needs to be replaced to continue printing, and at the moment, the air in the empty powder tank can be diffused into the forming bin to influence the inert gas environment of the forming bin, so that the normal inert gas environment can be recovered only by long-time gas replacement;

at present most through increaseing powder jar capacity to make powder jar satisfies the surplus powder recovery demand of the biggest single shaping of returning, this often can be because of returning the too big equipment internal layout difficulty that leads to of powder jar volume, the inconvenient scheduling problem of operation.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

Based on this, it is necessary to provide a residual powder recycling assembly and a 3D printing apparatus having the same, which can reduce air brought by the recycling assembly without increasing the volume of the tank body.

The utility model firstly provides a residual powder recovery assembly, which comprises a tank body, an air bag and a control piece, wherein: the tank body is provided with an inner cavity communicated with the powder return channel; the balloon is disposed in the lumen; the control part is arranged outside the tank body and is communicated with the air bag, and the control part is used for controlling the inflation state of the air bag so as to occupy/release the space of the inner cavity.

Among the above-mentioned surplus powder recovery unit, occupy the inner chamber space through the gasbag, guarantee that air capacity is less in the inner chamber, and then avoid jar body and shaping storehouse to be connected the back, the air influence in the inner chamber takes shape the inert gas atmosphere in storehouse, through the inflation and deflation of control gasbag, can be connected the back at jar body and shaping storehouse, release the inner chamber space that the gasbag occupied, the inner chamber of being convenient for is deposited and is adorned surplus powder.

In one embodiment, the bottom of the tank body is further provided with a communicating piece, and two ends of the communicating piece are respectively connected with the air bag and the control piece in a conducting manner.

In one embodiment, the control member is in conductive connection with the communication member through a connecting pipe.

So set up for the gasbag can aerify under the condition of the certain distance of position interval with aerifing, and the inflation process is more nimble.

In one embodiment, the connecting tube has a mouthpiece end connectable to an external source of compressed gas to inflate the air-bag through the open control member.

So set up, can directly aerify to the gasbag through outside compressed air source for the inflation process is more simple and convenient.

In one embodiment, the top of the tank body is provided with a connecting part which can be detachably connected to the powder returning channel.

So set up, can make jar body fast with return powder access connection or disconnection to it is more convenient to make the dismantlement change process of surplus powder recovery subassembly.

In one embodiment, the residual powder recovery assembly further comprises a sensor for determining whether the powder in the tank reaches a preset height.

In one embodiment, the sensor is disposed at a top end of a sidewall of the can.

So set up, can judge whether full with the powder in the jar body through the sensor.

In one embodiment, the control member is provided as a shut-off valve.

The utility model provides 3D printing equipment, and the 3D printing equipment comprises the residual powder recycling assembly.

In one embodiment, the 3D printing apparatus further includes a powder returning channel connected between the forming bin and the residual powder recycling assembly in a conducting manner, and a stop valve disposed on the powder returning channel and used for controlling a conducting state of the powder returning channel.

So set up, when the surplus powder recovery subassembly of needs replacement, through closing the stop valve, can guarantee to be in encapsulated situation in the shaping storehouse, avoid the inert gas environment in the shaping storehouse to be destroyed.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a residual powder recovery assembly according to the present invention;

fig. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a 3D printing apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 3-1 is a schematic view of the residual dust recovery assembly of FIG. 1 in a first inflated state;

FIG. 3-2 is a schematic view of the residual dust recovery assembly of FIG. 1 in a second inflated state;

FIG. 4-1 is a schematic view of the remaining powder recovery assembly and the powder return passage in FIG. 2 in a first operating state;

FIG. 4-2 is a schematic view of the remaining powder recovery assembly and the powder return passage in FIG. 2 in a second operating state;

fig. 4-3 are schematic views of the remaining powder recovering assembly and the powder returning passage in fig. 2 in a third working state.

Description of the main elements

1. A frame;

100. a residual powder recovery assembly; 10. a tank body; 11. an inner cavity; 12. a connecting portion; 13. a sensor;

20. an air bag; 30. a control member; 40. a communicating member; 50. a connecting pipe; 51. an interface end;

200. a forming bin; 210. a forming cylinder; 211. a forming platform; 300. a powder returning channel; 310. a stop valve; 400. a signal indicator; 500. a powder supply unit; 510. a powder spreading unit; 600. a scanning unit; 700. and an atmosphere unit.

The present invention is described in further detail with reference to the drawings and the detailed description.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being "mounted on" another element, it can be directly on the other element or intervening elements may also be present. When a component is referred to as being "disposed on" another component, it can be directly on the other component or intervening components may also be present. When an element is referred to as being "secured to" another element, it can be directly secured to the other element or intervening elements may also be present.

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. The terminology used in the description of the utility model herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the utility model. As used herein, the term "or/and" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

The present invention firstly provides a residual powder recycling assembly, as shown in fig. 1, including a tank 10, an air bag 20 and a control member 30, wherein: the tank 10 has an inner cavity 11 for communicating with the powder return passage 300; the balloon 20 is disposed in the inner cavity 11; the control member 30 is disposed outside the can body 10 and communicates with the airbag 20, and the control member 30 is used for controlling the inflation state of the airbag 20 to occupy/release the space of the inner cavity 11.

Referring to fig. 1 and 2, the air bag 20 is disposed in the inner cavity 11 and can change an inflation state under the control of the control member 30, so that when the empty residual powder recycling assembly 100 is placed back in the 3D printing apparatus, the air bag 20 is in the inflation state, and the control member 30 maintains the inflation state of the air bag 20 to enable the air bag 20 to occupy the space of the inner cavity 11, thereby preventing air in the inner cavity 11 from affecting the inert gas atmosphere of the forming chamber 200.

When the 3D printing apparatus starts to work, the inflation state of the air bag 20 is changed through the control member 30, so that the air bag 20 gradually discharges the internal air out of the tank body 10 through the opened control member 30, thereby releasing the space in the inner cavity 11, so as to store the residual powder falling in the powder returning channel 300.

Meanwhile, since the control member 30 is disposed outside the can body 10, the gas exhausted from the air bag 20 can be discharged to the outside air without affecting the atmosphere of the forming chamber 200, and thus, the air bag 20 can be directly charged with air.

In some embodiments, the inflated configuration of the balloon 20 can be adapted to the configuration of the inner cavity 11, so that the balloon in the inflated state can occupy the entire space of the inner cavity 11, avoiding the inert gas atmosphere in the inner cavity 11 from being affected by air residue.

Referring to fig. 1, the top of the can body 10 is provided with a connecting portion 12 capable of being detachably connected to the powder return passage 300. Connecting portion 12 is arbitrary common connection structure who has sealed effect, like flange, connecting pipe etc. through the setting of this connecting portion 12, can make jar body 10 be connected or break off with powder passageway 300 back fast to it is more convenient to make the dismantlement change process of surplus powder recovery subassembly.

With continued reference to FIG. 1, the bottom of the can body 10 is also provided with a communication member 40. in one embodiment, the communication member 40 extends through the bottom of the can body 10 and is sealingly secured thereto. Both ends of the communication member 40 are respectively connected to the airbag 20 and the control member 30 in a conductive manner. The control member 30 is in fluid communication with the communication member 40 via a connection pipe 50. The connecting tube 50 has a nipple end 51, and the nipple end 51 is connectable to an external source of compressed air to inflate the airbag 20 through the open control member 30.

By conducting the connecting control member 30 and the connecting pipe 50 of the communicating member 40, the airbag 20 can be connected with an external compressed air source through the interface end 51 of the connecting pipe 50 for inflation, so that the airbag 20 can be inflated at a certain distance from the external compressed air source, and the inflation process is more flexible; the pressure of the external compressed air source exceeds the atmospheric pressure and is sufficient to overcome the air bag contraction elastic force.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 1, the control member 30 is provided as any stop valve capable of controlling the connection or sealing of the connection tube 50, and in one embodiment, the control member 30 is provided as a manual stop valve, and the air bag 20 in the empty residual powder recovering assembly 100 of this embodiment is inflated as follows:

opening the control member 30, connecting the mouthpiece end 51 to an external compressed air source to inflate the air bag 20, in the process, the air bag 20 will gradually expand and fill the inner cavity 11, and the original air in the inner cavity 11 will be discharged from the connecting portion 12 (see fig. 3-1);

when the air bag 20 is inflated to fill the inner cavity 11, the control member 30 is closed, the mouthpiece end 51 is disconnected from the external compressed air source, and the air bag 20 is maintained in the inflated state, so that the empty residual powder recovering assembly 100 is in a standby state before replacement (see fig. 3-2).

In some embodiments, the connection tube 50 is flexible and can be bent to allow more flexibility in connecting the mouthpiece end 51 to an external compressed air source, thereby facilitating connection of the mouthpiece end 51 to the external compressed air source.

With continued reference to fig. 1, the residual powder recycling assembly 100 further includes a sensor 13 for determining whether the powder in the tank 10 reaches a predetermined height, wherein the sensor 13 is disposed at the top end of the sidewall of the tank 10. So that whether the powder in the can body 10 is full can be judged by the sensor 13.

Referring to fig. 2, the present invention further provides a 3D printing apparatus, where the 3D printing apparatus includes the residual powder recycling assembly 100 according to any one of the foregoing embodiments. The 3D printing equipment comprises a frame 1, wherein a forming bin 200 is arranged on the frame 1, a forming cylinder 210 is arranged in the frame 1, the upper opening of the forming cylinder 210 is connected with the bottom plate of the forming bin 200 in a jogged mode, a forming platform 211 is arranged in the forming cylinder 210, and the forming cylinder 210 can drive the forming platform 211 to move up and down and be positioned; the forming bin 200 is internally provided with a powder supply unit 500 and a powder spreading unit 510, the powder spreading unit 510 can receive powder required by single-layer powder spreading from the powder supply unit 500 each time, and the powder spreading unit 510 can push the powder to translate on the bottom plate of the forming bin 200, so that powder spreading is carried out on the opening area of the forming cylinder 210; the bottom plate of the forming bin 200 is connected with the powder return channel 300, the lower opening of the powder return channel 300 is provided with a stop valve 310 and is connected with the residual powder recovery assembly 100, and when the stop valve 310 is opened, the powder paving unit 510 can push residual powder after powder paving into the powder return channel 300 so as to be collected by the residual powder recovery assembly 100; the top of the forming bin 200 is provided with a scanning unit 600, and the scanning unit 600 can scan the powder thin layer in any designated area of the opening range of the forming cylinder 210; an atmosphere unit 700 is arranged in the frame 1, and the atmosphere unit 700 is respectively connected with the air outlet and the air inlet of the left side plate and the right side plate of the forming bin 200.

Thus, when the can body 10 of the residual powder recovering assembly 100 is filled and needs to be replaced, the stop valve 310 is closed, and the communication between the forming bin 200 and the external environment can be blocked, so that the air in the external environment is prevented from entering the forming bin 200 and damaging the inert gas environment in the forming bin 200.

After the residual powder recovery assembly 100 is connected to the powder return channel 300, the stop valve 310 is opened, and the residual powder in the forming bin 200 can fall to the inner cavity 11 through the powder return channel 300. Moreover, the inert gas in the forming chamber 200 can generate a positive pressure acting on the air bag 20, so that the gas in the air bag 20 can be rapidly and thoroughly discharged to the external environment, and the space in the inner cavity 11 can be released as soon as possible for storing residual powder.

In some embodiments, the 3D printing apparatus further includes a signal indicator 400 disposed outside the frame 1 and coupled to the sensor 13, and when the sensor 13 detects that the powder in the tank 10 reaches a predetermined height, the signal indicator 400 transmits a signal to prompt a field operator through words, patterns, lights, sounds, etc. to perform an operation of replacing the powder tank.

In other embodiments, the control member 30 and the external industrial robot are coupled to the sensor 13, so that when the sensor 13 detects that the powder in the tank 10 reaches a preset height, the external industrial robot and the control member 30 are controlled to operate according to a preset program, that is, the industrial robot automatically completes the replacement operation of the residual powder recovery assembly 100, the control member 30 of the residual powder recovery assembly 100 after the replacement is completed is automatically opened and automatically closed after a preset time, and the preset time for the control member 30 to be automatically opened is longer than the time required for the air bag 20 to exhaust the internal air, so that the replacement operation of the residual powder recovery assembly 100 can be automatically completed.

In addition, the shut-off valve 310 and the forming chamber 200 are coupled to the sensor 13. When the sensor 13 detects that the powder in the tank 10 reaches the preset height, the stop valve 310 and the forming bin 200 are controlled to stop automatically, so that the automation degree of the 3D printing device is improved.

Referring back to fig. 1, in use, when the residual powder recycling assembly 100 in the 3D printing apparatus is full, that is, the powder in the inner cavity 11 reaches the set height of the sensor 13, the residual powder recycling assembly 100 is replaced, and the steps of replacing the residual powder recycling assembly 100 are as follows:

pausing the 3D printing operation in the forming bin 200, closing the stop valve 310, and disconnecting the powder return channel 300 from the residual powder recovery assembly 100 after the stop valve 310 is closed (as shown in figure 4-1);

connecting the empty residual powder recovering assembly 100 to be used with the powder recovering channel 300, opening the control member 30 in the residual powder recovering assembly 100 after the connection is completed, opening the stop valve 310, and controlling the forming bin 200 to start generating inert gas, so that the air bag 20 starts exhausting air to the external environment under the action of positive pressure (see fig. 4-2);

when the air in the air bag 20 is exhausted, the control member 30 is closed, the forming chamber 200 is controlled to stop generating the inert gas, and the 3D printing operation in the forming chamber 200 is restarted (as shown in fig. 4-3).

The technical features of the embodiments described above may be arbitrarily combined, and for the sake of brevity, all possible combinations of the technical features in the embodiments described above are not described, but should be considered as being within the scope of the present specification as long as there is no contradiction between the combinations of the technical features.

The above-mentioned embodiments only express several embodiments of the present invention, and the description thereof is more specific and detailed, but not construed as limiting the scope of the utility model. It should be noted that, for a person skilled in the art, several variations and modifications can be made without departing from the inventive concept, which falls within the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present patent shall be subject to the appended claims.

Claims (10)

1. A residual powder recycling assembly is characterized by comprising a tank body (10), an air bag (20) and a control part (30), wherein:

the tank body (10) is provided with an inner cavity (11) communicated with the powder returning channel (300);

the balloon (20) is disposed in the lumen (11);

the control part (30) is arranged outside the tank body (10) and is communicated with the air bag (20), and the control part (30) is used for controlling the inflation state of the air bag (20) so as to occupy/release the space of the inner cavity (11).

2. The residual powder recycling assembly of claim 1, wherein a communication member (40) is further disposed at the bottom of the tank (10), and two ends of the communication member (40) are respectively connected to the air bag (20) and the control member (30) in a conducting manner.

3. Residual powder recycling assembly according to claim 2, characterized in that the control member (30) is in conductive connection with the communication member (40) through a connection tube (50).

4. Residual powder recycling assembly according to claim 3, characterized in that the connection tube (50) has a mouthpiece end (51), the mouthpiece end (51) being connectable to an external compressed air source for inflating the air bag (20) through the opened control member (30).

5. The residual powder recycling assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the top of the tank (10) is provided with a connecting part (12) which can be detachably connected to the powder returning channel (300).

6. The residual powder recovering assembly according to claim 5, wherein the residual powder recovering assembly (100) further comprises a sensor (13) for determining whether the powder in the tank (10) reaches a predetermined height.

7. Residual powder recycling assembly according to claim 6, characterized in that the sensor (13) is arranged at the top end of the side wall of the tank (10).

8. Residual powder recycling assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that the control element (30) is provided as a shut-off valve.

9. A 3D printing apparatus, characterized in that the 3D printing apparatus comprises a residual dust recycling assembly (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. The 3D printing apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising a powder returning channel (300) connected between the forming bin (200) and the residual powder recycling assembly (100) in a conducting manner, and a stop valve (310) arranged on the powder returning channel (300) and used for controlling the conducting state of the powder returning channel (300).

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