CN220763568U

CN220763568U - Powder supply hopper and 3D printer

Info

Publication number: CN220763568U
Application number: CN202322135436.9U
Authority: CN
Inventors: 刘建业; 毛丽; 王毅; 刘振伟
Original assignee: Shanghai Hanbang United 3d Tech Co ltd
Current assignee: Shanghai Hanbang United 3d Tech Co ltd
Priority date: 2023-04-26
Filing date: 2023-08-09
Publication date: 2024-04-12
Anticipated expiration: 2033-08-09

Abstract

The utility model relates to a powder supply hopper and a 3D printer, wherein the powder supply hopper comprises a powder bin, a screw rod, a first switch plate and a second switch plate, the powder bin is provided with a discharge hole extending along the length direction of the powder bin, the screw rod is arranged along the length direction of the powder bin, the screw rod comprises a first rod and a second rod with opposite spiral lines, the first switch plate is movably connected with the first rod, the second switch plate is movably connected with the second rod, and the first switch plate and the second switch plate are adhered to the surface of the powder bin and can shield the discharge hole. When the first switch board and the second switch board are synchronously close to each other under the drive of the screw rod, the discharge hole is narrowed, the first switch board and the second switch board are synchronously far away from each other under the drive of the screw rod, and the discharge hole is widened, so that the width of powder falling can be flexibly adjusted according to actual requirements, the waste of powder is reduced, and the utilization rate of the powder is improved.

Description

Powder supply hopper and 3D printer

Technical Field

The utility model relates to the technical field of 3D printing additive manufacturing, in particular to a powder supply hopper and a 3D printer.

Background

Under the control of a computer control system, a traditional selective laser sintering forming device (SLS), a selective laser melting forming device (SLM) and an electron beam melting device (EBM) are used for spreading powder materials on a substrate through a 3D printing powder feeding and spreading system, then an energy source such as a laser vibrating mirror or an electron beam moves along the X axis and the Y axis, the energy source is used for sintering the powder materials spread on the substrate in the moving process, a layer of substrate is lowered by a layer thickness distance after sintering, then a layer of powder is spread, and finally a solid is obtained through layer-by-layer lamination of consumable materials on the substrate.

When SLS, SLM and EBM device adopt last powder structure, fall the width of powder and decide the width of shop's powder, traditional last powder device's that supplies powder width of falling is general invariable, when printing the region less, leads to the powder utilization ratio low.

Disclosure of Invention

Accordingly, it is necessary to provide a powder supply hopper and a 3D printer, which can effectively improve the utilization rate of powder.

The utility model provides a powder supply fill, includes powder storehouse, lead screw, first switch board and second switch board, the discharge gate that extends along its length direction is seted up to the powder storehouse, the lead screw is followed the length direction of powder storehouse sets up, the lead screw includes helix and revolves opposite first pole and second pole, first switch board with first pole swing joint, the second switch board with second pole swing joint, first switch board and second switch board paste and locate powder storehouse surface and can shelter from the discharge gate.

In one embodiment, the powder supply hopper further comprises a guide rod, the guide rod is arranged opposite to the screw rod and is respectively positioned at two sides of the powder bin, the first switch plate is movably connected with the guide rod, and the second switch plate is movably connected with the guide rod.

In one embodiment, the powder feeding hopper further comprises a first supporting plate connected with the first switch plate and a second supporting plate connected with the second switch plate, lugs are arranged on two sides of the first supporting plate and the second supporting plate, two lugs on one side of the powder bin are sleeved on the guide rod, and two lugs on the other side of the powder bin are sleeved on the first rod and the second rod respectively.

In one embodiment, the powder supply hopper includes two first supporting plates and two second supporting plates, the two first supporting plates are respectively connected to two ends of the first switch plate, and the two second supporting plates are respectively connected to two ends of the second switch plate.

In one embodiment, the powder supply hopper further comprises a sliding rail, a first sliding block connected with the first switch plate and a second sliding block connected with the second switch plate, wherein the sliding rail is arranged opposite to the screw rod and is respectively positioned at two sides of the powder bin, the first sliding block is in sliding connection with the sliding rail, and the second sliding block is in sliding connection with the sliding rail; or,

the powder supply hopper comprises two screw rods, the two screw rods are oppositely arranged and are respectively located at two sides of the powder bin, two sides of the first switch plate are respectively and movably connected with the two first rods, and two sides of the second switch plate are respectively and movably connected with the two second rods.

In one embodiment, the powder supply hopper further comprises a first supporting plate and a second supporting plate, the first supporting plate and the second supporting plate are respectively connected to two ends of the powder bin, one ends of the first supporting plate and the second supporting plate, far away from the powder bin, are respectively provided with a convex plate, and two ends of the screw rod are rotatably connected to the two convex plates.

In one embodiment, the powder feeding hopper further comprises a switch shaft and a first driving part, a shaft cavity matched with the switch shaft is arranged in the powder bin, the switch shaft is arranged in the shaft cavity, a through discharging groove is formed in the switch shaft, and the first driving part is in transmission connection with the switch shaft and is used for driving the switch shaft to rotate so that the discharging groove is opposite to the discharging hole or staggered.

In one embodiment, the powder bin is further provided with a feed inlet, the feed inlet and the discharge outlet are both communicated with the shaft cavity, and the feed inlet and the discharge outlet are both vertically arranged; and/or the number of the groups of groups,

the discharging groove comprises a first groove and a second groove which are communicated, and the included angle of the first groove and the second groove is an obtuse angle or a flat angle.

In one embodiment, the powder supply hopper further comprises a second driving piece and a transmission mechanism, wherein the second driving piece is connected with the transmission mechanism and is used for driving the screw rod to rotate so as to enable the first switch plate and the second switch plate to be close to or far away from each other.

A3D printer comprises the powder supply hopper.

Above-mentioned powder feed hopper and 3D printer, through first switch board with first pole swing joint, the second switch board with second pole swing joint, the first pole of lead screw is opposite with the helix of second pole revolves, when the lead screw is rotatory, can drive first switch board along first pole and drive second switch board along second pole and remove, because first switch board and second switch board paste and locate powder storehouse surface and can shelter from the discharge gate, first switch board and second switch board are synchronous when being close to under the drive of lead screw, and the discharge gate is narrowed, and first switch board and second switch board are synchronous kept away from under the drive of lead screw, and the discharge gate is widened to can be according to the nimble width of adjusting the powder that falls of actual demand, reduce the waste of powder, improve the utilization ratio of powder.

Drawings

The above, as well as additional purposes, features, and advantages of exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will become readily apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Several embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings and in which like reference numerals refer to similar or corresponding parts and in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a powder hopper according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic top view of the powder hopper shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a schematic front view of the powder hopper shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line B-B of FIG. 4;

fig. 6 is another schematic cross-sectional view along B-B in fig. 4.

Reference numerals illustrate:

10. a powder bin; 101. a discharge port; 102. a feed inlet; 20. a screw rod; 210. a first lever; 220. a second lever; 31. a first switch board; 32. a second switch board; 40. a guide rod; 51. a first pallet; 52. a second pallet; 501. a lug; 61. a first support plate; 62. a second support plate; 601. a convex plate; 70. a switching shaft; 71. a discharge chute; 701. a first groove; 702. a second groove; 80. a first driving member; 90. a second driving member; 100. a transmission mechanism; 110. a first gear; 120. and a second gear.

Detailed Description

The following description of the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure will be made clearly and completely with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present disclosure, and it is apparent that the described embodiments are some embodiments of the present disclosure, but not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments in this disclosure, all other embodiments that a person skilled in the art would obtain without making any inventive effort are within the scope of protection of this disclosure.

Specific embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The embodiment of the application provides a 3D printer, including the feed powder hopper, the width of powder can be adjusted in a flexible way according to actual demand to the feed powder hopper, reduces the waste of powder, improves the utilization ratio of powder. The 3D printer further comprises an energy source, the energy source sinters powder materials which are supplied to the powder hopper to be tiled on the substrate in the moving process, a layer of thick substrate is lowered by a layer of thick distance after sintering, then a layer of powder is paved and then sintered, and finally a solid is obtained through layer-by-layer lamination of consumable materials on the substrate.

Referring to fig. 1 to 3, the powder hopper of the present embodiment includes a powder bin 10, a screw 20, a first switch plate 31, and a second switch plate 32. The powder bin 10 is provided with a discharge hole 101 extending along the length direction of the powder bin 10, the screw rod 20 is arranged along the length direction of the powder bin 10, and the screw rod 20 comprises a first rod 210 and a second rod 220 with opposite spiral lines. The first switch plate 31 is movably connected with the first rod 210, and the second switch plate 32 is movably connected with the second rod 220. The first switch plate 31 and the second switch plate 32 are attached to the surface of the powder bin 10 and can shield the discharge hole 101. The powder supply hopper of this embodiment is used for last powder occasion, and wherein, the discharge gate 101 of powder storehouse 10 is located the bottom surface of powder storehouse 10, and the powder in the powder storehouse 10 falls out by discharge gate 101 under the effect of gravity. When the powder supply hopper is used for lower powder supply, the discharge hole 101 of the powder bin 10 is positioned on the top surface of the powder bin 10, and powder in the powder bin 10 is pushed upwards to the discharge hole 101 through the push plate to be pushed out.

The movable connection between the first switch plate 31 and the first rod 210 and the movable connection between the second switch plate 32 and the second rod 220 are similar to the connection between the screw rod 20 and the nut, the first rod 210 rotates to drive the first switch plate 31 to move linearly, and the second rod 220 rotates to drive the second switch plate 32 to move linearly.

Through first switch board 31 with first pole 210 swing joint, second switch board 32 with second pole 220 swing joint, the helix of first pole 210 of lead screw 20 and second pole 220 revolves to opposite, and when lead screw 20 rotated, can drive first switch board 31 along first pole 210 and drive second switch board 32 along second pole 220 and remove, because first switch board 31 and second switch board 32 paste and locate powder storehouse 10 surface and can shelter from the discharge gate 101, first switch board 31 and second switch board 32 are synchronous when being close to under the drive of lead screw 20, and discharge gate 101 narrows down, and first switch board 31 and second switch board 32 keep away from under the drive of lead screw 20 in step, and discharge gate 101 widens to can adjust the width of falling powder according to actual demand is nimble, reduces the waste of powder, provides the utilization ratio of powder.

Further, in one embodiment, the powder hopper further includes a guide rod 40, the guide rod 40 is disposed opposite to the screw rod 20 and is located at two sides of the bin, the first switch plate 31 is movably connected with the guide rod 40, and the second switch plate 32 is movably connected with the guide rod 40. The first switch plate 31 and the second switch plate 32 are movably connected with the guide rod 40, that is, the first switch plate 31 and the second switch plate 32 can move relative to the guide rod 40, when the screw rod 20 rotates, one side of the first switch plate 31 and one side of the second switch plate 32 are driven to move by the screw rod 20, and the other side of the first switch plate 31 and the other side of the second switch plate 32 synchronously move along the guide rod 40 under the guiding action of the guide rod 40, so that the first switch plate 31 and the second switch plate 32 are close to each other or are far away from each other more stably and smoothly.

1-4, in one embodiment, the powder hopper further includes a first pallet 51 connected to the first switch plate 31 and a second pallet 52 connected to the second switch plate 32. Two sides of the first supporting plate 51 and the second supporting plate 52 are respectively provided with a lug 501, two lugs 501 positioned on one side of the powder bin 10 are sleeved on the guide rod 40, and two lugs 501 positioned on the other side of the powder bin 10 are respectively sleeved on the first rod 210 and the second rod 220. The first supporting plate 51 and the second supporting plate 52 span between the screw rod 20 and the guide rod 40 through the lugs 501, the first switching plate 31 and the second switching plate 32 are suspended below the powder bin 10 through the first supporting plate 51 and the second supporting plate 52 and are tightly attached to the lower surface of the powder bin 10, and the first supporting plate 51 and the second supporting plate 52 drive the first switching plate 31 and the second switching plate 32 to be close to or far away from each other under the action of the screw rod 20 and the guide rod 40, so that the width of the discharge hole 101 is adjusted.

Further, in one embodiment, the powder hopper includes two first supporting plates 51 and two second supporting plates 52, the two first supporting plates 51 are respectively connected to two ends of the first switch plate 31, and the two second supporting plates 52 are respectively connected to two ends of the second switch plate 32. That is, along the length direction of the powder bin 10, the two first supporting plates 51 are arranged at the two ends of the first switch plate 31 at intervals, the two second supporting plates 52 are arranged at the two ends of the second switch plate 32 at intervals, and the first switch plate 31 and the second switch plate 32 are further close to each other or kept away from each other more stably and smoothly, so that the width of the discharge port 101 can be conveniently and flexibly adjusted.

Optionally, in other embodiments, the powder feeding hopper is not provided with a guide rod 40, and the powder feeding hopper further includes a sliding rail, a first sliding block connected with the first switch board 31, and a second sliding block connected with the second switch board 32, where the sliding rail is disposed opposite to the screw rod 20 and is located at two sides of the powder bin 10, and the first sliding block is slidably connected with the sliding rail, and the second sliding block is slidably connected with the sliding rail. When the screw rod 20 rotates, one side of the first switch plate 31 and one side of the second switch plate 32 are driven to move by the screw rod 20, the first sliding block on the other side of the first switch plate 31 is in sliding fit with the sliding rail, the second sliding block on the other side of the second switch plate 32 is in sliding fit with the sliding rail, and under the guiding action of the sliding rail and the sliding block, the first switch plate 31 and the second switch plate 32 are close to each other or kept away from each other more stably and smoothly.

Or in another embodiment, the powder feeding hopper is not provided with a guide rod 40 or a sliding rail, the powder feeding hopper includes two screw rods 20, the two screw rods 20 are oppositely arranged and are respectively located at two sides of the powder bin 10, two sides of the first switch plate 31 are respectively movably connected with the two first rods 210, and two sides of the second switch plate 32 are respectively movably connected with the two second rods 220. When the two screw rods 20 rotate synchronously, both sides of the first switch plate 31 are driven to move along the first rod 210, and both sides of the second switch plate 32 are driven to move along the second rod 220, so that the first switch plate 31 and the second switch plate 32 are close to each other or kept away from each other more stably and smoothly.

Further, in one embodiment, the powder hopper further includes a first support plate 61 and a second support plate 62, the first support plate 61 and the second support plate 62 are respectively connected to two ends of the powder bin 10, one ends of the first support plate 61 and the second support plate 62 far away from the powder bin 10 are respectively provided with a convex plate 601, and two ends of the screw rod 20 are rotatably connected to two convex plates 601. The two ends of the powder bin 10 are respectively connected with the first supporting plate 61 and the second supporting plate 62, and the two ends of the screw rod 20 are arranged on the convex plate 601 of the first supporting plate 61 and the convex plate 601 of the second supporting, so that the whole structure is compact and stable. Optionally, the convex plate 601 is provided with a shaft hole, a bearing is arranged in the shaft hole, two ends of the screw rod 20 are respectively arranged in the bearing, and the screw rod 20 rotates relative to the first support plate 61 and the second support plate 62.

Further, in one embodiment, referring to fig. 1-6, the powder supply hopper further includes a switch shaft 70 and a first driving member 80, an axial cavity matched with the switch shaft 70 is provided in the powder bin 10, the switch shaft 70 is disposed in the axial cavity, a through discharge chute 71 is formed on the switch shaft 70, and the first driving member 80 is in transmission connection with the switch shaft 70, and is used for driving the switch shaft 70 to rotate so that the discharge chute 71 is opposite to or staggered with the discharge hole 101. The powder bin 10 is close to one end of the first driving piece 80 and is provided with a yielding hole, one end of the switch shaft 70 is connected with a driving piece, the driving piece passes through the yielding hole and is in transmission connection with the first driving piece 80, the first driving piece 80 is started to drive the switch shaft 70 to rotate, when the discharging groove 71 of the switch shaft 70 is opposite to the discharging hole 101, powder can fall out through the discharging groove 71 and the discharging hole 101, and when the discharging groove 71 of the switch shaft 70 is staggered with the discharging hole 101, referring to fig. 5 and 6, as the discharging groove 71 is blocked by the inner wall of the shaft cavity, the discharging hole 101 is blocked by the outer wall of the switch shaft 70, the powder cannot fall out, so that the opening or closing of the discharging hole 101 can be conveniently and flexibly realized.

Further, in one embodiment, the powder bin 10 is further provided with a feeding hole 102, the feeding hole 102 and the discharging hole 101 are both communicated with the shaft cavity, and the feeding hole 102 and the discharging hole 101 are both vertically arranged. Specifically, the inlet 102 and the outlet 101 are disposed along the center line of the axial cavity. Powder enters the powder bin 10 from the feed inlet 102 under the action of gravity, when the discharge chute 71 is opposite to the feed inlet 102, referring to fig. 5, the powder falls into the discharge chute 71, and when the discharge chute 71 is staggered from the feed inlet 102, referring to fig. 6, the powder cannot fall into the discharge chute 71. The feeding hole 102 and the discharging hole 101 are vertically arranged, so that the powder feeding and discharging processes are smoother and more efficient.

Optionally, referring to fig. 5 and 6, the discharging chute 71 includes a first chute 701 and a second chute 702 that are in communication, and an included angle between the first chute 701 and the second chute 702 is an obtuse angle. Namely, the discharge chute 71 is not communicated with the feed inlet 102 and the discharge outlet 101 at the same time, so that the powder discharge amount can be accurately controlled. When the first groove 701 is opposite to the feeding hole 102, the second groove 702 is staggered with the feeding hole 101, at this time, the powder is filled in the discharging groove 71, when the second groove 702 is opposite to the feeding hole 101, the first groove 701 is staggered with the feeding hole 102, at this time, the powder in the discharging groove 71 falls down from the feeding hole 101, so that the discharging amount of each time is consistent, the powder spreading is more uniform, and the utilization rate of the powder is further improved.

In other embodiments, the first groove 701 and the second groove 702 have a flat angle. Namely, the discharging groove 71 is communicated with the feeding hole 102 and the discharging hole 101 at the same time, so that the powder can be conveniently and rapidly paved, and the powder paving efficiency is improved.

Further, in one embodiment, the powder hopper further includes a second driving member 90 and a transmission mechanism 100, where the second driving member 90 is connected to the transmission mechanism 100, and is used to drive the screw 20 to rotate so as to make the first switch plate 31 and the second switch plate 32 approach to or separate from each other. The second driving member 90 is activated to transmit power to the screw 20 through the transmission mechanism 100, thereby driving the screw 20 to rotate. Referring to fig. 1, 2, 5, and 6, in one embodiment, the transmission mechanism 100 includes a first gear 110 and a second gear 120 that are meshed with each other, the first gear 110 is connected to the second driving member 90, the second gear 120 is sleeved on the screw 20, and the first gear 110 and the second gear 120 are used for driving the screw 20 to rotate. In other embodiments, the transmission 100 may also employ a pulley configuration, a sprocket-chain configuration, etc.

In the foregoing description of the present specification, the terms "fixed," "mounted," "connected," or "connected" are to be construed broadly, unless explicitly stated or limited otherwise. For example, in terms of the term "coupled," it may be fixedly coupled, detachably coupled, or integrally formed; can be mechanically or electrically connected; either directly or indirectly through intermediaries, or in communication with each other or in interaction with each other. Therefore, unless otherwise specifically defined in the specification, a person skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in the present utility model according to the specific circumstances.

Those skilled in the art will also appreciate from the foregoing description that terms such as "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "length," "width," "thickness," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," "outer," "axial," "radial," "circumferential," "center," "longitudinal," "transverse," "clockwise," or "counterclockwise" and the like are used herein for the purpose of facilitating description and simplifying the description of the present utility model, and thus do not necessarily have to have, configure, or operate in, the specific orientations, and thus are not to be construed or construed as limiting the present utility model.

In addition, the terms "first" or "second" and the like used in the present specification to refer to the numbers or ordinal numbers are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defining "a first" or "a second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one such feature. In the description of the present specification, the meaning of "plurality" means at least two, for example, two, three or more, etc., unless explicitly defined otherwise.

While various embodiments of the present utility model have been shown and described herein, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that such embodiments are provided by way of example only. Many modifications, changes, and substitutions will now occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the utility model. It should be understood that various alternatives to the embodiments of the utility model described herein may be employed in practicing the utility model. The appended claims are intended to define the scope of the utility model and to cover such modular compositions, equivalents, or alternatives falling within the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. The utility model provides a powder supply fill, its characterized in that, includes powder storehouse, lead screw, first switch board and second switch board, the discharge gate that extends along its length direction has been seted up to the powder storehouse, the lead screw is followed the length direction of powder storehouse sets up, the lead screw includes helix revolves first pole and second pole opposite to, first switch board with first pole swing joint, the second switch board with second pole swing joint, first switch board and second switch board paste and locate the powder storehouse surface just can shelter from the discharge gate.

2. The powder hopper of claim 1, further comprising a guide rod disposed opposite to the screw rod and disposed on two sides of the powder bin, wherein the first switch plate is movably connected to the guide rod, and the second switch plate is movably connected to the guide rod.

3. The powder hopper of claim 2, further comprising a first supporting plate connected with the first switch plate and a second supporting plate connected with the second switch plate, wherein lugs are arranged on two sides of the first supporting plate and the second supporting plate, two lugs on one side of the powder bin are sleeved on the guide rod, and two lugs on the other side of the powder bin are sleeved on the first rod and the second rod respectively.

4. A powder hopper according to claim 3, wherein the powder hopper comprises two first support plates and two second support plates, the two first support plates are respectively connected to two ends of the first switch plate, and the two second support plates are respectively connected to two ends of the second switch plate.

5. The powder supply hopper of claim 1, further comprising a slide rail, a first slide block connected with the first switch plate, and a second slide block connected with the second switch plate, wherein the slide rail is arranged opposite to the screw rod and is respectively positioned at two sides of the powder bin, the first slide block is in sliding connection with the slide rail, and the second slide block is in sliding connection with the slide rail; or,

6. The powder supply hopper of claim 1, further comprising a first support plate and a second support plate, wherein the first support plate and the second support plate are respectively connected to two ends of the powder bin, one ends of the first support plate and the second support plate, which are far away from the powder bin, are respectively provided with a convex plate, and two ends of the screw rod are rotatably connected to two convex plates.

7. The powder-feeding hopper according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a switch shaft and a first driving member, wherein a shaft cavity matched with the switch shaft is arranged in the powder bin, the switch shaft is arranged in the shaft cavity, a through discharging groove is formed in the switch shaft, and the first driving member is in transmission connection with the switch shaft and is used for driving the switch shaft to rotate so that the discharging groove is opposite to or staggered with the discharging hole.

8. The powder hopper of claim 7, wherein the powder bin is further provided with a feed inlet, the feed inlet and the discharge outlet are both communicated with the shaft cavity, and the feed inlet and the discharge outlet are both vertically arranged; and/or the number of the groups of groups,

9. The powder hopper of claim 1, further comprising a second driving member and a transmission mechanism, wherein the second driving member is connected to the transmission mechanism and is configured to drive the screw to rotate so as to bring the first switch plate and the second switch plate closer to or farther away from each other.

10. A 3D printer comprising the powder supply hopper of any one of claims 1-9.