CN219402321U - Metal 3D printing equipment and zero point positioning system thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The application relates to the field of 3D printing, and aims to solve the problem that the printing of known 3D printing equipment and the switching of a powder cleaning station are low in efficiency, and provides metal 3D printing equipment and a zero point positioning system thereof. The metal 3D printing equipment comprises a printing chamber, a powder cleaning chamber, a lifting cylinder, a printing lifting shaft, a powder cleaning lifting shaft and a metal 3D printing equipment zero point positioning system. The lifting cylinder comprises a cylinder body and a piston assembly. The zero point positioning system comprises a transfer mechanism, an upper chuck and two lower chucks. The transfer mechanism can drive the lifting cylinder to move to a position corresponding to the printing chamber or the powder cleaning chamber. The upper chuck is connected to the piston assembly. The two lower chucks are named first and second lower chucks, respectively. The upper chuck can be locked to the first lower chuck or the second lower chuck, so that the printing jacking shaft or the powder cleaning jacking shaft is combined with the piston assembly, and printing or powder cleaning operation is realized. The beneficial effects of this application are clear powder and print the convenient high efficiency of switching, and can realize taking off by force.

Description

Metal 3D printing equipment and zero point positioning system thereof

Technical Field

The application relates to the field of 3D printing, in particular to metal 3D printing equipment and a zero point positioning system thereof.

Background

In the middle-large-size metal 3D printing processing process, because the part size is higher, powder cleaning operation can not be performed in the printing cabin, and the middle-large-size metal 3D printing equipment often needs to be provided with two operation stations, namely a printing station and a powder cleaning station. The structure for realizing the two-station operation in the known 3D printing equipment has the problems of complex structure or low switching efficiency, and influences the working efficiency.

Disclosure of Invention

The application aims at providing a zero point positioning system of a metal 3D printing device, so as to solve the problem that the printing and powder cleaning station switching efficiency of the known 3D printing device is low.

The application provides a metal 3D printing apparatus zero point positioning system, metal 3D printing apparatus have horizontal interval's printing room and clear powder room, and metal 3D printing apparatus zero point positioning system includes:

the transfer mechanism is used for bearing the lifting cylinder and driving the lifting cylinder to move to a position corresponding to the communicated printing chamber or to a position corresponding to the communicated powder cleaning chamber; the lifting cylinder comprises a cylinder body and a piston assembly which is slidably arranged in the cylinder body;

an upper chuck connected to the piston assembly;

the two lower chucks are respectively a first lower chuck and a second lower chuck;

the first lower chuck is connected to the top of a printing jacking shaft, and the printing jacking shaft corresponds to the printing chamber; the first lower chuck can vertically ascend to be fixedly connected with the upper chuck positioned at the position corresponding to the printing chamber under the drive of the printing jacking shaft, so that the piston assembly is driven to ascend and descend to realize printing operation;

the second lower chuck is connected to the top of a powder cleaning jacking shaft, and the powder cleaning jacking shaft corresponds to the powder cleaning chamber; the second lower chuck can vertically ascend to be fixedly connected with the upper chuck positioned at the position corresponding to the powder cleaning chamber under the drive of the powder cleaning jacking shaft, and then the piston assembly is driven to ascend and descend so as to realize powder cleaning operation.

In one possible implementation, the transfer mechanism comprises a transfer driver and a bearing plate, wherein the transfer driver is in transmission connection with the bearing plate and can drive the bearing plate to move. The bearing plate is provided with a through hole, the cylinder body is matched with the through hole, and the upper chuck exposes out of the bearing plate downwards.

In one possible embodiment, the upper chuck includes an upper tray body and a plurality of staples extending from a downwardly facing side surface of the upper tray body. The lower chuck comprises a lower disk body and a plurality of locking chucks arranged on the lower disk body, and the locking chucks correspond to the blind rivets one by one and can correspondingly lock or unlock the blind rivets.

In one possible embodiment, a side of the lower chuck away from the upper chuck is connected with a forced release structure, and the forced release structure comprises a forced release inflation port for inflating high-pressure gas to push a locking mechanism in the locking chuck to release the blind rivet.

In one possible embodiment, the plurality of locking chucks are circumferentially distributed on the lower tray body. The forced disengaging structure further comprises an annular cover, the annular cover is attached to one side, far away from the locking chuck, of the lower disc body in a sealing mode, an annular cavity is formed by surrounding the annular cover and the lower disc body, and the annular cavity is communicated with the inner cavities of the locking chucks. The forced release inflation port is communicated with the annular cavity so that high-pressure gas introduced into the annular cavity can act on a plurality of locking chucks simultaneously.

In one possible embodiment, there are three locking chucks, the three locking chucks being arranged in a chevron configuration.

In one possible implementation, the lower chuck further comprises triangular positioning convex blocks, the positioning convex blocks are arranged among the three locking chucks, and three sides of the positioning convex blocks are tangent to the three locking chucks respectively; the top surface of the positioning lug is convexly provided with a plurality of positioning pins. The upper chuck further comprises a triangular positioning block which is embedded in the upper disc body, and the positioning block is provided with a positioning hole corresponding to the positioning pin.

In one possible embodiment, the locking chuck further comprises a dust cap movably covering the entrance of the locking chuck and capable of resiliently collapsing under the top pressure of the blind rivet.

In one possible embodiment, a release sensor switch and a clamping sensor switch are further provided on the lower chuck, the release sensor switch being triggered when the locking chuck is in a release state, the clamping sensor switch being triggered when the locking chuck is in a clamping state. The metal 3D printing equipment zero point positioning system further comprises a control system, wherein the control system is respectively and electrically connected with the loosening inductive switch and the clamping inductive switch so as to receive and process trigger signals of the loosening inductive switch and the clamping inductive switch.

The application also provides a metal 3D printing apparatus, comprising:

the lower end of the printing chamber is flush with the lower end of the powder cleaning chamber, and the upper end of the printing chamber is higher than the upper end of the powder cleaning chamber;

the zero point positioning system of the metal 3D printing equipment;

the lifting cylinder is connected to the transfer mechanism; the lifting cylinder comprises a cylinder body and a piston assembly which is slidably arranged in the cylinder body;

the top of the printing jacking shaft is connected with an upper chuck;

the top of the clear powder jacking shaft is connected with a second lower chuck.

In summary, the metal 3D printing device zero point positioning system and the metal 3D printing device in the embodiments of the present application have at least one of the following beneficial effects:

1. the upper chuck and the two lower chucks are matched, so that the switching of the lifting cylinder between the printing station and the powder cleaning station is conveniently realized, and the switching is convenient and efficient;

2. by arranging the forced release structure, the forced release can be realized by introducing high-pressure gas when the locking chuck cannot normally release the blind rivet due to the metal powder or other reasons, so that the use safety is ensured; and through setting up this strong structure of taking off and take off by force, do benefit to the maintenance of the zero point positioning system in the limited space, in the dead condition of chuck card, can't carry out manual separation.

3. The chuck can be sensed to be in a clamping or loosening state by loosening the sensing switch and clamping the sensing switch, so that the action of the printing jacking shaft or the powder cleaning jacking shaft can be conveniently controlled. For example, when the printing jacking shaft/powder cleaning jacking shaft needs to be descended to be disconnected with the lifting cylinder, if the lower chuck is sensed to be in a clamping state and fails to be normally loosened, the descending action of the printing jacking shaft/powder cleaning jacking shaft needs to be suspended, the lower chuck is firstly loosened by the forced disengaging structure, and then the descending of the printing jacking shaft/powder cleaning jacking shaft is controlled, so that the descending of the printing jacking shaft/powder cleaning jacking shaft is ensured not to be hard pulled to cause equipment damage;

4. the dust cover is arranged to greatly reduce metal powder entering the locking chuck, so that the condition of blocking caused by internal pollution of the lower chuck due to powder entering is reduced.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the following description will briefly describe the drawings in the embodiments, it being understood that the following drawings only illustrate some embodiments of the present application and should not be considered as limiting the scope, and that other related drawings may be obtained according to these drawings without inventive effort for a person skilled in the art.

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a metal 3D printing apparatus in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 2 is a three-dimensional view of an upper chuck in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 3 is a three-dimensional view of a lower chuck in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 4 is a three-dimensional view of another perspective of the lower chuck in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of the lower chuck and the pull-off structure coupled together in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is an exploded view of the lower chuck and the pull-off structure of fig. 5.

Description of main reference numerals:

metal 3D printing apparatus 10

Zero point positioning system 11 of metal 3D printing equipment

Printing chamber 12

Powder cleaning chamber 13

Transfer mechanism 14

Lifting cylinder 15

Cylinder 16

Piston assembly 17

Upper chuck 18

Lower chuck 19

First lower chuck 20

Second lower chuck 21

Print jacking shaft 22

Clear powder jacking shaft 23

Transfer driver 24

Bearing plate 25

Through holes 26

Upper tray 27

Blind rivet 28

Lower tray 29

Locking chuck 30

Strong take-off structure 31

Forced release inflation inlet 32

Annular cover 33

Annular cavity 34

Positioning bump 35

Locating pin 36

Positioning block 37

Positioning hole 38

Dust cover 39

Releasing the inductive switch 40

Clamping induction switch 41

Detailed Description

The following description of the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be made clearly and completely with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application, and it is apparent that the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present application, not all embodiments.

It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being "fixed to" another element, it can be directly on the other element or intervening elements may also be present. When an element is referred to as being "connected" to another element, it can be directly connected to the other element or intervening elements may also be present. When an element is referred to as being "disposed on" another element, it can be directly on the other element or intervening elements may also be present. The terms "vertical," "horizontal," "left," "right," and the like are used herein for illustrative purposes only.

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. The terminology used herein in the description of the application is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the application. The term "or/and" as used herein includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

Some embodiments of the present application are described in detail. The following embodiments and features of the embodiments may be combined with each other without collision.

Examples

Referring to fig. 1, the present embodiment proposes a metal 3D printing apparatus 10 including a printing chamber 12, a powder cleaning chamber 13, a lifting cylinder 15, a printing lifting shaft 22, a powder cleaning lifting shaft 23, and a metal 3D printing apparatus zero point positioning system 11.

Wherein the printing chamber 12 and the cleaning chamber 13 are horizontally spaced. Optionally, the lower end of the printing chamber 12 is flush with the lower end of the cleaning chamber 13, and the upper end of the printing chamber 12 is higher than the upper end of the cleaning chamber 13 to accommodate cleaning of larger sized parts.

The lift cylinder 15 includes a cylinder body 16 and a piston assembly 17 slidably disposed within the cylinder body 16.

The metal 3D printing apparatus zero point positioning system 11 includes a transfer mechanism 14, an upper chuck 18, and two lower chucks 19.

The transfer mechanism 14 is connected to and carries the lifting cylinder 15, and the transfer mechanism can drive the lifting cylinder 15 to move to a position corresponding to the printing chamber 12 or to a position corresponding to the powder cleaning chamber 13.

An upper chuck 18 is connected to the piston assembly 17. The two lower chucks 19 are named first lower chuck 20 and second lower chuck 21, respectively. Wherein the first lower chuck 20 and the second lower chuck 21 have the same structure.

Wherein the first lower chuck 20 is connected to the top of the print lift shaft 22, the print lift shaft 22 corresponding to the print chamber 12; the first lower chuck 20 can vertically rise to be fixedly connected with the upper chuck 18 positioned at the corresponding printing chamber 12 under the driving of the printing jacking shaft 22, so as to drive the piston assembly 17 to lift and lower to realize printing operation.

The second lower chuck 21 is connected to the top of a clear powder lifting shaft 23, and the clear powder lifting shaft 23 corresponds to the clear powder chamber 13; the second lower chuck 21 can vertically ascend to be fixedly connected with the upper chuck 18 positioned at the position corresponding to the powder cleaning chamber 13 under the drive of the powder cleaning jacking shaft 23, and further drives the piston assembly 17 to lift so as to realize powder cleaning operation.

When the metal 3D printing apparatus 10 in this embodiment is used, the print jacking shaft 22 is lifted to drive the first lower chuck 20 to clamp the upper chuck 18, and then the print jacking shaft 22 can drive the piston assembly 17 to lift to realize printing operation; after the printing operation is finished, the first lower chuck 20 is loosened, the printing jacking shaft 22 is retracted to a position not blocking the transfer mechanism 14, and then the transfer mechanism 14 drives the lifting cylinder 15 to move to a position corresponding to the powder cleaning chamber 13; then the cleaning powder lifting shaft 23 is lifted to clamp the second lower chuck 21 to the upper chuck 18, and at the moment, the cleaning powder lifting shaft 23 can drive the piston assembly 17 to lift to realize cleaning powder operation, so that cleaning powder is completed.

The embodiment can conveniently realize the switching of the lifting cylinder 15 between the printing station and the powder cleaning station through the matching switching of the upper chuck 18 and the first lower chuck 20 or the second lower chuck 21, and the switching is convenient and efficient.

In this embodiment, optionally, the transfer mechanism 14 includes a transfer driver 24 and a carrier plate 25, where the transfer driver 24 is in transmission connection with the carrier plate 25 and can drive the carrier plate 25 to move. The bearing plate 25 is provided with a through hole 26, the cylinder 16 is matched with the through hole 26, and the upper chuck 18 is downwards exposed out of the bearing plate 25 so as to be conveniently matched and connected with the lower chuck 19.

The transfer driver 24 may be a linear motor, a linear cylinder, or other devices capable of outputting linear displacement, and is not limited herein.

Referring to fig. 2 in conjunction, in this embodiment, upper chuck 18 includes an upper plate 27 and a plurality of staples 28 extending from a downward facing side surface of upper plate 27. For example, as shown, three of the staples 28 are provided and are arranged in a zig-zag pattern. The upper chuck 18 further comprises a triangular positioning block 37, the positioning block 37 is embedded in the upper disc body 27, and the positioning block 37 is provided with a positioning hole 38. The positioning block 37 may be disposed at a central position of the upper disc 27, i.e., at a center position of the upper disc 27.

Referring to fig. 3 and 4, in this embodiment, the lower chuck 19 includes a lower disc 29 and a plurality of locking chucks 30 disposed on the lower disc 29, and the plurality of locking chucks 30 and the plurality of blind rivets 28 are in one-to-one correspondence, and can lock or unlock the blind rivets 28 correspondingly. The locking chuck 30 may be a conventional zero point chuck, and is capable of locking the blind rivet 28 when compressed air is filled into the cavity of the locking chuck under normal function, and releasing the blind rivet 28 when the compressed air is released.

Alternatively, there are three locking chucks 30, and the three locking chucks 30 are distributed in a delta shape. The lower chuck 19 further comprises triangular positioning protruding blocks 35, the positioning protruding blocks 35 are arranged among the three locking chucks 30, and three sides of the positioning protruding blocks 35 are tangent to the three locking chucks 30 respectively; the top surface of the positioning projection 35 is convexly provided with a plurality of positioning pins 36, and the positioning pins 36 respectively correspond to a plurality of positioning holes 38 on a positioning block 37 of the upper chuck 18 so as to be mutually positioned when combined, thereby ensuring the accurate alignment of the upper chuck 18 and the lower chuck 19.

Optionally, the locking chuck 30 further comprises a dust cap 39, the dust cap 39 being movably fitted over the entrance of the locking chuck 30 and being capable of being elastically retracted under the top pressure of the blind rivet 28. Before the blind rivet 28 is inserted, the dust cover 39 covers the entrance of the locking chuck 30, so that dust entering the locking chuck 30 is reduced, the reliability of the locking chuck 30 is improved, and the possibility of locking the locking chuck 30 is reduced. In use, the rivet 28 is inserted through the access opening of the locking chuck 30 and pushed away from the dust cap 39 until it corresponds to a locking feature (e.g., locking ball) in the locking chuck 30, at which point compressed air is introduced into the locking chuck 30 to lock the rivet 28.

Referring to fig. 5 and 6, in this embodiment, a strong release structure 31 is connected to a side of the lower chuck 19 facing away from the upper chuck 18, and the strong release structure 31 includes a strong release inflation port 32 for inflating high pressure gas to push a locking structure (such as a locking ball) in the locking chuck 30 to release the blind rivet 28. Optionally, a plurality of locking chucks 30 are circumferentially distributed on the lower tray 29. The forced release structure 31 further includes an annular cover 33, where the annular cover 33 is sealingly attached to a side of the lower disc 29 away from the locking chucks 30, and encloses an annular cavity 34 with the lower disc 29, and the annular cavity 34 is communicated with the inner cavities of the locking chucks 30. The high pressure release plenum 32 communicates with the annular cavity 34 to enable high pressure gas to the annular cavity 34 to be applied simultaneously to a plurality of locking chucks 30. Through this structure setting, only need a strong inflation inlet 32 of taking off alright realize the strong taking off of a plurality of locking chucks 30 simultaneously, convenient to use.

Referring again to fig. 4 or 6, in this embodiment, optionally, a release sensor switch 40 and a clamp sensor switch 41 are further provided on the lower chuck 19, the release sensor switch 40 is triggered when the locking chuck 30 is in the release state, and the clamp sensor switch 41 is triggered when the locking chuck 30 is in the clamp state. The metal 3D printing apparatus zero point positioning system 11 further includes a control system electrically connected to the unclamping inductive switch 40 and the clamping inductive switch 41, respectively, to receive and process trigger signals of the unclamping inductive switch 40 and the clamping inductive switch 41.

By loosening the inductive switch 40 and the clamping inductive switch 41, the fact that the lower chuck 19 is in a clamping or loosening state can be sensed, and the action of the printing jacking shaft 22 or the cleaning jacking shaft 23 can be conveniently controlled. For example, when the print lifting shaft 22/powder cleaning lifting shaft 23 needs to be lowered to be disconnected from the lifting cylinder 15, if the lower chuck 19 is sensed to be in a clamping state and fails to be normally released, the lowering action of the print lifting shaft 22/powder cleaning lifting shaft 23 needs to be suspended, and the lower chuck 19 is firstly released from the upper chuck 18 through the strong releasing structure 31; after detecting that the locking chuck 30 is in a release state, the printing lifting shaft 22/cleaning lifting shaft 23 is controlled to descend, so that the descending of the printing lifting shaft 22/cleaning lifting shaft 23 is ensured not to hard pull the upper chuck 18 to cause equipment damage.

The above embodiments are only for illustrating the technical solution of the present application and not for limiting, and although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the above preferred embodiments, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that the technical solution of the present application may be modified or substituted without departing from the spirit and scope of the technical solution of the present application.

Claims (10)

1. A metal 3D printing apparatus zero point positioning system, wherein the metal 3D printing apparatus has a horizontally spaced printing chamber and a purge chamber, the metal 3D printing apparatus zero point positioning system comprising:

the transfer mechanism is used for bearing the lifting cylinder and driving the lifting cylinder to move to a position corresponding to the printing chamber or a position corresponding to the powder cleaning chamber; the lifting cylinder comprises a cylinder body and a piston assembly which is slidably arranged in the cylinder body;

an upper chuck connected to the piston assembly;

the two lower chucks are respectively a first lower chuck and a second lower chuck;

the first lower chuck is connected to the top of a printing jacking shaft, and the printing jacking shaft corresponds to the printing chamber; the first lower chuck can vertically ascend to be fixedly connected with the upper chuck positioned at the position corresponding to the printing chamber under the drive of the printing jacking shaft, so that the piston assembly is driven to ascend and descend to realize printing operation;

the second lower chuck is connected to the top of a clear powder lifting shaft, and the clear powder lifting shaft corresponds to the clear powder chamber; the second lower chuck can vertically ascend to be fixedly connected with the upper chuck positioned at the position corresponding to the powder cleaning chamber under the drive of the powder cleaning jacking shaft, and then the piston assembly is driven to ascend and descend so as to realize powder cleaning operation.

2. The metallic 3D printing apparatus zero point positioning system of claim 1, wherein:

the transfer mechanism comprises a transfer driver and a bearing plate, wherein the transfer driver is in transmission connection with the bearing plate and can drive the bearing plate to move;

the bearing plate is provided with a through hole, the cylinder body is matched with the through hole, and the upper chuck exposes out of the bearing plate downwards.

3. The metallic 3D printing apparatus zero point positioning system of claim 1, wherein:

the upper chuck comprises an upper disk body and a plurality of blind nails extending from the downward side surface of the upper disk body;

the lower chuck comprises a lower disc body and a plurality of locking chucks arranged on the lower disc body, the locking chucks correspond to the blind nails one by one, and the blind nails can be correspondingly locked or unlocked.

4. A metal 3D printing device zero point positioning system according to claim 3, characterized in that:

one side of the lower chuck, which is away from the upper chuck, is connected with a forced disengaging structure, and the forced disengaging structure comprises a forced disengaging inflation inlet for inflating high-pressure gas so as to push a locking mechanism in the locking chuck to loosen the blind rivet.

5. The metallic 3D printing apparatus zero point positioning system of claim 4, wherein:

the locking chucks are circumferentially distributed on the lower disc body;

the forced disengaging structure further comprises an annular cover, wherein the annular cover is in sealing fit with one side, far away from the locking chuck, of the lower disc body, an annular cavity is formed by surrounding the annular cover and the lower disc body, and the annular cavity is communicated with the inner cavities of the locking chucks;

the forced release inflation port is communicated with the annular cavity, so that high-pressure gas introduced into the annular cavity can act on a plurality of locking chucks simultaneously.

6. A metal 3D printing device zero point positioning system according to claim 3, characterized in that:

the locking chucks are three, and the three locking chucks are distributed in a delta shape.

7. The metallic 3D printing apparatus zero point positioning system of claim 6, wherein:

the lower chuck further comprises triangular positioning convex blocks, the positioning convex blocks are arranged among the three locking chucks, and three sides of the positioning convex blocks are tangent to the three locking chucks respectively; the top surface of the positioning lug is convexly provided with a plurality of positioning pins;

the upper chuck further comprises a triangular positioning block which is embedded in the upper disc body, and the positioning block is provided with a positioning hole corresponding to the positioning pin.

8. A metal 3D printing device zero point positioning system according to claim 3, characterized in that:

the locking chuck further comprises a dust cover which is movably covered at the inlet of the locking chuck and can elastically retract under the top pressure of the blind rivet.

9. A metal 3D printing device zero point positioning system according to claim 3, characterized in that:

the lower chuck is also provided with a loosening induction switch and a clamping induction switch, the loosening induction switch is triggered when the locking chuck is in a loosening state, and the clamping induction switch is triggered when the locking chuck is in a clamping state;

the zero point positioning system of the metal 3D printing equipment further comprises a control system, wherein the control system is respectively and electrically connected with the loosening inductive switch and the clamping inductive switch so as to receive and process trigger signals of the loosening inductive switch and the clamping inductive switch.

10. A metal 3D printing apparatus, comprising:

the lower end of the printing chamber is flush with the lower end of the powder cleaning chamber, and the upper end of the printing chamber is higher than the upper end of the powder cleaning chamber;

the metal 3D printing device zero point positioning system of any one of claims 1-9;

a lifting cylinder connected to the transfer mechanism; the lifting cylinder comprises a cylinder body and a piston assembly which is slidably arranged in the cylinder body;

the top of the printing jacking shaft is connected with the upper chuck;

and the top of the clear powder jacking shaft is connected with the second lower chuck.