CN217121749U

CN217121749U - Liquid metal additive manufacturing device and additive manufacturing system

Info

Publication number: CN217121749U
Application number: CN202220700135.9U
Authority: CN
Inventors: 张佼; 徐子涵; 姜海涛
Original assignee: Shanghai Jiaotong University
Current assignee: Shanghai Jiaotong University
Priority date: 2022-03-25
Filing date: 2022-03-25
Publication date: 2022-08-05
Anticipated expiration: 2032-03-25

Abstract

The embodiment of the application provides a liquid metal additive manufacturing device and an additive manufacturing system, and relates to the field of printing. The liquid metal additive manufacturing device comprises a crucible, wherein a plunger is arranged in the crucible close to the top, the plunger and the crucible form a liquid storage cavity which is relatively sealed and can be filled with molten metal together, the plunger can move up and down relative to the bottom surface of the crucible, and the bottom surface of the crucible is provided with a nozzle communicated with the liquid storage cavity; a cooling mold is arranged below the crucible, and the cooling mold and the crucible can move relatively. The liquid metal additive manufacturing device and the additive manufacturing system in the embodiment of the application can more accurately control the ejection amount of the printing liquid, do not introduce gas, and can improve the quality of a finished product printed by 3D.

Description

Liquid metal additive manufacturing device and additive manufacturing system

Technical Field

The application relates to the field of printing, in particular to a liquid metal additive manufacturing device and an additive manufacturing system.

Background

3D printing is a rapid prototyping technology, which is a technology for constructing an object by using a bondable material such as powdered metal or liquid metal as a printing liquid and printing layer by layer on the basis of a digital model file. 3D printing is typically accomplished by liquid metal additive manufacturing devices.

When a printing liquid such as a molten metal is ejected, a conventional liquid metal additive manufacturing apparatus generally injects a gas into the liquid metal additive manufacturing apparatus, and controls the ejection rate of the liquid by a gas pressure difference. However, the method of controlling the amount of liquid discharged by the gas pressure difference is not accurate enough, and gas is introduced into the molten metal, which tends to cause the discharged molten metal to solidify and generate pores, thereby deteriorating the quality of the finished product.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

The embodiment of the application provides a liquid metal vibration material disk device and vibration material disk system, can control the blowout amount of printing liquid more accurately, can not introduce gas moreover, can improve the quality of the finished product that 3D printed out.

The embodiment of the application provides a liquid metal additive manufacturing device, which comprises a crucible, wherein a plunger is arranged at a position close to the top in the crucible, the plunger and the crucible form a liquid storage cavity which is relatively sealed and can be filled with molten metal together, the plunger can move up and down relative to the bottom surface of the crucible, and the bottom surface of the crucible is provided with a nozzle communicated with the liquid storage cavity; a cooling mold is arranged below the crucible, and the cooling mold and the crucible can move relatively.

In the implementation process, the plunger and the crucible are jointly surrounded to form a liquid storage cavity which is relatively sealed, and when the liquid storage cavity is filled with molten metal, no gas exists in the liquid storage cavity; and because the plunger piston can reciprocate relative to the bottom surface of crucible, consequently when liquid metal vibration material disk manufacturing device during operation, the plunger piston is close to the bottom of crucible, and the molten metal in the crucible is compressed by the plunger piston, then spouts from the nozzle with stock solution chamber intercommunication, and whole process can not introduce gas yet, can control the blowout amount of more accurate control printing liquid like this, can reduce the phenomenon that produces the gas pocket when alloy liquid follow-up solidification again.

When the molten metal in the liquid storage cavity is sprayed out from the nozzle, the molten metal can fall into a cooling mold below, and the cooling mold and the crucible can move relatively, so that a 3D printing finished product with a specific shape can be manufactured by controlling the movement of the crucible or the cooling mold.

In a possible implementation mode, the liquid metal additive manufacturing device further comprises a pressing connecting plate located above the plunger, the pressing connecting plate is connected with the plunger through a guide rod, and the pressing connecting plate is connected with a servo motor in a synchronous transmission mode.

In the implementation process, when the pressing connecting plate arranged above the plunger piston moves up and down, the guide rod can be driven to move up and down, the guide rod moves up and down, and the plunger piston can be driven to move up and down, so that the plunger piston can complete the process of moving up and down relative to the bottom surface of the crucible. The servo motor can accurately control the speed and the position precision of the servo motor, and the servo motor is used for controlling the pressing connecting plate to carry out synchronous transmission, so that the ejection quantity of the molten metal can be controlled more accurately.

In a possible implementation manner, an extrusion support plate for stabilizing the guide rod is further arranged between the plunger and the pressing connection plate, and the guide rod penetrates through the extrusion support plate and is connected with the plunger.

In the implementation process, the extrusion support plate is additionally arranged between the plunger and the connecting plate, so that the function of stabilizing the guide rod can be achieved, and the guide rod penetrates through the extrusion support plate, so that the extrusion support plate cannot hinder the guide rod from moving up and down; when the liquid metal additive manufacturing device works, the supporting plate is extruded, so that the direction of the guide rod cannot deviate during movement.

In a possible realization mode, the heating pipe is arranged on the crucible, and the outer part of the crucible is covered with the protective cover.

In the implementation process, the protective cover sleeved outside the crucible can play a role in protecting the crucible, and damage of the crucible caused by external force is reduced; the heating pipe can heat the metal liquid in the liquid storage cavity, and the metal liquid is guaranteed to be in a liquid state before being sprayed out of the liquid storage cavity, so that the phenomenon that the nozzle is blocked cannot be caused, and the spraying amount is conveniently controlled.

In one possible implementation manner, the liquid metal additive manufacturing device further comprises a mounting plate, wherein the mounting plate is positioned outside the crucible, and the crucible is fixed on the mounting plate; the surface of the mounting plate, which is far away from the crucible, is provided with a first power mechanism, and the first power mechanism can drive the mounting plate to move along the spraying direction of the molten metal.

In the implementation process, the first power mechanism arranged on the mounting plate can drive the mounting plate to move along the injection direction of the molten metal, the crucible fixed with the mounting plate can also move along the injection direction of the molten metal, and the molten metal in the liquid storage cavity can be stacked along the injection direction of the molten metal through the first power mechanism to form a model with a specific shape.

In one possible implementation, a second power mechanism is provided below the cooling mold, and the second power mechanism is configured to control the movement of the cooling mold in a direction perpendicular to the ejection direction of the molten metal.

In the implementation process, the second power mechanism arranged below the cooling mold can drive the cooling mold to move in the two-dimensional direction, the moving direction is perpendicular to the spraying direction of the molten metal, and the molten metal is conveniently sprayed out and then solidified to form a preset shape.

In a possible implementation manner, a printing platform for supporting the cooling mold is further arranged between the cooling mold and the second power mechanism.

In the implementation process, the printing platform arranged between the cooling die and the second power mechanism can play a role of supporting the cooling die on one hand, and can also provide mounting sites for the second power mechanism on the other hand, so that the second power mechanism can control the cooling die to move in a direction vertical to the spraying direction of the molten metal.

In a possible implementation manner, a cooling pipeline for cooling is arranged inside the cooling mold, and the cooling pipeline is communicated with the outside through a water outlet and a water inlet respectively.

In the implementation process, when the liquid metal additive manufacturing device works, the low-temperature fluid such as cold air or cooling water can be introduced into the cooling pipeline from the water outlet, then the fluid flows out from the water outlet, and when the low-temperature fluid flows in the cooling pipeline, the heat of the metal liquid on the cooling mould can be taken away, so that the metal liquid can be conveniently and rapidly cooled and formed.

In a second aspect, the embodiment of the application provides an additive manufacturing system, which includes a casing and the above-mentioned liquid metal additive manufacturing device, the casing is provided with a vacuum cavity inside, and the liquid metal additive manufacturing device is located in the vacuum cavity.

In the implementation process, the vacuum cavity inside the shell can provide a working space for the liquid metal additive manufacturing device, the shell is arranged in a sealing mode, and when the additive manufacturing system works, gas in the sealed vacuum cavity can be pumped out, so that a vacuum working environment is created.

In a possible realization, the outer surface of the shell is provided with an extraction hole, and the extraction hole is communicated with the vacuum cavity.

In the implementation process, when the additive manufacturing system works, the gas in the vacuum cavity needs to be pumped away through the pumping hole, so that a vacuum environment is created.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the drawings that are required to be used in the embodiments of the present application will be briefly described below, it should be understood that the following drawings only illustrate some embodiments of the present application and therefore should not be considered as limiting the scope, and that those skilled in the art can also obtain other related drawings based on the drawings without inventive efforts.

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a liquid metal additive manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 2 is a schematic half-section view of a liquid metal additive manufacturing apparatus;

FIG. 3 is a schematic structural view of a cooling mold in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of an additive manufacturing system according to an embodiment of the present application.

Icon: 001-a liquid metal additive manufacturing device; 002-shell; 003-vacuum cavity; 004-air exhaust holes; 100-crucible; 110-a plunger; 120-a liquid storage cavity; 130-a nozzle; 140-heating tube; 150-a heating block; 160-a protective cover; 161-pressing plate; 200-cooling the mould; 210-a water outlet; 220-a water inlet; 300-pressing the connecting plate; 310-a guide bar; 320-a synchronous belt; 330-a screw rod; 340-a servo motor; 350-extruding a support plate; 400-mounting a plate; 410-a first connection plate; 420-a second connecting plate; 500-a first power mechanism; 510-Z axis orbit; 520-a slider; 530-Z axis servo motor; 600-a second power mechanism; 700-printing platform.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application.

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are some embodiments of the present application, but not all embodiments. The components of the embodiments of the present application, generally described and illustrated in the figures herein, can be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations.

Thus, the following detailed description of the embodiments of the present application, as presented in the figures, is not intended to limit the scope of the claimed application, but is merely representative of selected embodiments of the application. 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 application.

It should be noted that: like reference numbers and letters refer to like items in the following figures, and thus, once an item is defined in one figure, it need not be further defined and explained in subsequent figures.

In the description of the present application, it should be noted that the terms "upper", "lower", "inner", "outer", and the like indicate orientations or positional relationships based on orientations or positional relationships shown in the drawings or orientations or positional relationships conventionally found in use of products of the application, and are used only for convenience in describing the present application and for simplification of description, but do not indicate or imply that the referred devices or elements must have a specific orientation, be constructed in a specific orientation, and be operated, and thus should not be construed as limiting the present application. Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," and the like are used merely to distinguish one description from another, and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

In the description of the present application, it is further noted that, unless expressly stated or limited otherwise, the terms "disposed," "mounted," "connected," and "connected" are to be construed broadly, e.g., as meaning either a fixed connection, a removable connection, or an integral connection; can be mechanically or electrically connected; they may be connected directly or indirectly through intervening media, or they may be interconnected between two elements. The specific meaning of the above terms in the present application can be understood in a specific case by those of ordinary skill in the art.

First embodiment

Referring to fig. 1 to 3, the liquid metal additive manufacturing apparatus 001 according to the present embodiment includes a crucible 100 and a cooling mold 200, wherein the cooling mold 200 is disposed below the crucible 100, and the cooling mold 200 and the crucible 100 can move relative to each other.

A plunger 110 is arranged in the crucible 100 close to the top, a liquid storage cavity 120 for filling metal liquid is formed among the plunger 110, the side wall of the crucible 100 and the bottom surface of the crucible 100, a nozzle 130 communicated with the liquid storage cavity 120 is arranged on the bottom surface of the crucible 100, the liquid storage cavity 120 is arranged in a sealing manner, and the plunger 110 can move up and down relative to the bottom surface of the crucible 100, so that the metal liquid in the liquid storage cavity 120 is sprayed out of the nozzle 130. The outer surface of the sidewall of the crucible 100 is provided with a heating pipe 140 for heating, and the outer surface of the nozzle 130 is also provided with a heating block 150 for heating. The heating pipe 140 and the heating block 150 can both perform a heating function, so as to ensure that the molten metal in the liquid storage chamber 120 is in a liquid state before being sprayed out, thereby preventing the nozzle 130 from being blocked and conveniently controlling the spraying amount. In addition, the protective cover 160 is covered outside the crucible 100, the protective cover 160 does not contact with the heating pipe 140 and the heating block 150, and the protective cover 160 is used for protecting the crucible 100, so that the service life of the liquid metal additive manufacturing device 001 can be prolonged. Heat insulation materials such as heat insulation cotton are filled between the protective cover 160 and the heating pipe 140, so that a heat insulation effect can be achieved, and the molten metal in the liquid storage cavity 120 is ensured to be less prone to solidification; the top end of the shield 160 is further provided with a pressing plate 161, and the pressing plate 161 extends toward the crucible 100 and is connected to the crucible 100 to stabilize and support the crucible 100.

In order to ensure that the plunger 110 can move up and down relative to the bottom surface of the crucible 100, in this embodiment, a pressing connection plate 300 is exemplarily disposed above the plunger 110, a guide rod 310 is disposed between the pressing connection plate 300 and the plunger 110, the pressing connection plate 300 is in synchronous transmission connection with a servo motor 340 through a synchronous belt 320 and a lead screw 330, since the lead screw 330 can convert a rotary motion into a linear motion or convert a linear motion into a rotary motion, when the servo motor 340 rotates, the pressing connection plate 300 can be synchronously driven to move up and down through the synchronous belt 320 and the lead screw 330, and then the guide rod 310 can drive the plunger 110 to move up and down relative to the bottom surface of the crucible 100, so as to extrude the molten metal in the reservoir 120 out of the nozzle 130. And since the servo motor 340 can accurately control the speed and position accuracy of the servo motor, the servo motor 340 is used to control the pressing connection plate 300 in the embodiment, so that the ejection amount of the molten metal can be more accurately controlled. In addition, in order to ensure that the guide rod 310 is stable during the up-and-down movement and that the guide rod 310 does not shake during the movement, an extrusion support plate 350 for stabilizing the guide rod 310 is further disposed between the plunger 110 and the lower press-connection plate 300, and the guide rod 310 penetrates through the extrusion support plate 350.

Of course, in other embodiments, other means of ensuring that the plunger 110 can move up and down relative to the bottom surface of the crucible 100 may be used. For example, the servo motor 340 is replaced with a general motor, or the plunger 110 is controlled to move up and down with respect to the bottom surface of the crucible 100 by a hydraulic structure or the like, and in the present embodiment, the arrangement by which the servo motor 340 and the pressing-down link plate 300 are coupled is not to be construed as limiting the present application.

The cooling mold 200 is provided therein with a cooling pipeline (not shown in the figures) for cooling, the cooling pipeline is respectively communicated with the outside through a water outlet 210 and a water inlet 220 (see fig. 3), when the molten metal is sprayed in the cooling mold 200, a low-temperature fluid such as cold air or cooling water is introduced into the cooling pipeline from the water outlet 210, then the fluid flows out from the water outlet 210, and the low-temperature fluid flows in the cooling pipeline, so that the heat of the molten metal on the cooling mold 200 can be taken away, and the molten metal can be conveniently cooled and formed rapidly.

In addition, since the crucible 100 and the cooling mold 200 in the embodiment of the present application can move relative to each other, the present application further provides a mounting plate 400 outside the crucible 100, and a first actuating mechanism 500 is mounted on the mounting plate 400, and a second actuating mechanism 600 is mounted on the cooling mold 200; the first power mechanism 500 and the second power mechanism 600 can ensure the relative movement between the crucible 100 and the cooling mold 200.

Specifically, referring to a half-sectional view of the liquid metal additive manufacturing apparatus in fig. 2 (the drawing does not include the cooling mold 200), in this embodiment, a first connecting plate 410 is disposed on the protective cover 160 sleeved outside the crucible 100, a second connecting plate 420 is disposed on the extrusion support plate 350, the first connecting plate 410 and the second connecting plate 420 are respectively connected to the same mounting plate 400, and a first power mechanism 500 is disposed on the surface of the mounting plate 400 away from the crucible 100; the first power mechanism 500 includes a Z-axis track 510 located on the surface of the mounting plate 400, a slider 520 disposed on the Z-axis track 510 and matched with the Z-axis track 510, and a Z-axis servo motor 530, wherein the Z-axis servo motor 530 is in transmission connection with the slider 520 through a transmission rod, and the Z-axis track 510, the slider 520, and the Z-axis servo motor 530 in the first power mechanism 500 are matched with each other, so that the mounting plate 400 can move along the Z-axis direction, and the crucible 100 and the plunger 110 are simultaneously driven to move along the Z-axis direction (the Z-axis direction in this embodiment is a direction in which molten metal is ejected). Thus, the molten metal in the reservoir chamber 120 can be stacked by the first actuating unit 500 along the spraying direction of the molten metal to form a mold having a specific shape.

The second power mechanism 600 performs a movement in a manner similar to that of the first power mechanism 500, except that two sets of servo motors, rails, and sliders are respectively disposed in the second power mechanism 600, so that the cooling mold 200 can move along two movement directions, which are perpendicular to each other and perpendicular to the spraying direction of the molten metal, and are respectively referred to as an X-axis direction and a Y-axis direction. In addition, a printing platform 700 is further disposed between the second power mechanism 600 and the cooling mold 200, and the printing platform 700 can serve to support the cooling mold 200 and provide a mounting point for the second power mechanism 600.

As shown in fig. 4, an additive manufacturing system is further provided in an embodiment of the present application, and includes the above-described liquid metal additive manufacturing apparatus 001 and a casing 002, the casing 002 is hermetically disposed, a vacuum chamber 003 is formed inside the casing 002, an air suction hole 004 communicating with the vacuum chamber 003 is disposed on an outer surface of the casing 002, and the liquid metal additive manufacturing apparatus 001 is placed in the vacuum chamber 003. When the additive manufacturing system works, gas in the vacuum cavity 003 is pumped out through the air pumping hole 004, and a vacuum working environment is formed.

The following takes the additive manufacturing system in this embodiment as an example, and the working process thereof is specifically described:

the gas in the vacuum chamber 003 is evacuated through the evacuation hole 004 to form a vacuum. Then the servo motor 340 is started, the servo motor 340 drives the plunger 110 to move downwards and extrude the liquid storage cavity 120 filled with the molten metal, the plunger 110 extrudes the molten metal in the liquid storage cavity 120 through the nozzle 130 and sprays the molten metal onto the cooling mold 200, the molten metal is cooled under the action of circulating water, the water cooling mold is installed on a printing platform, the cooling mold moves in two dimensions according to a designed movement track under the action of the second power mechanism 600, the jetted molten metal is accumulated in a given shape in the cooling mold 200, after one-layer printing is completed, the crucible 100 and the plunger 110 are lifted by the action of the first power mechanism 500 according to instructions to one-layer height, the steps are repeated in sequence until the printing is completed, then the servo motor 340 is closed, the spraying of the molten metal is also stopped immediately, and all the actions are completed in the vacuum cavity 003.

In summary, in the working process of the additive manufacturing system provided by the embodiment of the application, the metal liquid is extruded out of the liquid storage cavity by using the plunger, so that gas is not introduced, and the quality of a finished product printed by 3D printing is greatly improved; further, the ejection amount of the molten metal is controlled by the plunger, and therefore, the accuracy is higher and the delay is lower than when the ejection amount of the molten metal is controlled by using the pneumatic pressure.

The above description is only an example of the present application and is not intended to limit the scope of the present application, and various modifications and changes may be made by those skilled in the art. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement and the like made within the spirit and principle of the present application shall be included in the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. The liquid metal additive manufacturing device is characterized by comprising a crucible, wherein a plunger is arranged at a position close to the top in the crucible, the plunger and the crucible form a liquid storage cavity which is relatively sealed and can be filled with molten metal together, the plunger can move up and down relative to the bottom surface of the crucible, and the bottom surface of the crucible is provided with a nozzle communicated with the liquid storage cavity; and a cooling mold is also arranged below the crucible, and the cooling mold and the crucible can move relatively.

2. The liquid metal additive manufacturing device of claim 1, further comprising a pressing connecting plate located above the plunger, wherein the pressing connecting plate is connected with the plunger through a guide rod, and the pressing connecting plate is synchronously connected with a servo motor in a transmission manner.

3. A liquid metal additive manufacturing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein an extrusion support plate for stabilizing the guide rod is further provided between the plunger and the press-down connecting plate, and the guide rod extends through the extrusion support plate and is connected to the plunger.

4. The liquid metal additive manufacturing apparatus of claim 1, wherein a heating pipe is provided on the crucible, and an outer cover of the crucible is provided with a shield.

5. The liquid metal additive manufacturing apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a mounting plate, the mounting plate being located outside the crucible, and the crucible being fixed to the mounting plate; and a first power mechanism is arranged on the surface of the mounting plate, which deviates from the crucible, and the first power mechanism can drive the mounting plate to move along the spraying direction of the molten metal.

6. The liquid metal additive manufacturing apparatus of claim 1, wherein a second power mechanism is disposed below the cooling mold, and the second power mechanism is configured to control movement of the cooling mold in a direction perpendicular to a spraying direction of the molten metal.

7. The liquid metal additive manufacturing device according to claim 6, wherein a printing platform for supporting the cooling mold is further arranged between the cooling mold and the second power mechanism.

8. The liquid metal additive manufacturing device according to claim 1, wherein a cooling pipeline for cooling is arranged inside the cooling mold, and the cooling pipeline is communicated with the outside through a water outlet and a water inlet respectively.

9. An additive manufacturing system, comprising a casing and the liquid metal additive manufacturing device as claimed in any one of claims 1-8, wherein the casing is hermetically arranged, a vacuum chamber is arranged in the casing, and the liquid metal additive manufacturing device is located in the vacuum chamber.

10. The additive manufacturing system of claim 9, wherein an outer surface of the housing is provided with a suction hole, the suction hole being in communication with the vacuum chamber.