JP2019031360A - Powder supply device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a powder supply device which is low in cost and hard to break down.SOLUTION: The powder supply device includes a hopper for accommodating a powder and having a supply port on a lower surface for supplying the powder to outside, and a vibrating unit capable of vibrating the hopper. The plate is provided above the supply port in the hopper, an end portion of the plate and an inner wall of the hopper are separated from each other, the powder is movable from an upper side of the plate to the supply port through a space between the end portion and the inner wall, a suppression portion is provided below the plate in the hopper and rising from the lower surface of the hopper, for suppressing discharge of the powder from the supply port, and an angle between a line segment, connecting an upper end of the suppression portion and the end portion of the plate, and a horizontal direction is equal to or less than an angle of repose of the powder.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a powder supply apparatus.

  A three-dimensional modeling apparatus that models a three-dimensional model is known (for example, Patent Document 1). Metal or non-metallic powder is supplied from the three-dimensional modeling apparatus, and a model is modeled from the powder.

JP 2006-155362 A

  In order to control the supply of powder, a shutter that opens and closes a supply port may be used. However, since the structure becomes complicated, the cost increases. In addition, failure may occur when powder is caught in the shutter. Then, it aims at providing the powder supply apparatus which is low-cost and hardly breaks down.

  The object includes a hopper that contains powder and has a supply port on the lower surface for supplying the powder to the outside, and a vibration part that can vibrate the hopper. A plate is provided above the supply port, the end of the plate and the inner wall of the hopper are spaced apart, and the powder passes from the upper side of the plate through the end and the inner wall. A suppression unit that is movable over the supply port, is provided below the plate in the hopper, rises from the lower surface of the hopper, and suppresses discharge of the powder from the supply port. The angle formed by the line connecting the upper end and the end of the plate and the horizontal direction can be achieved by a powder supply device that is equal to or less than the repose angle of the powder.

  It is possible to provide a powder supply device that is low in cost and hardly breaks down.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a powder supply apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2A is a diagram illustrating a powder supply apparatus according to Comparative Example 1. FIG. 2B is a diagram illustrating a powder supply apparatus according to Comparative Example 2. FIG. 2C illustrates a powder supply apparatus according to Comparative Example 3. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a powder supply apparatus according to the second embodiment.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, the powder supply apparatus 100 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a powder supply apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment. The X axis indicates the horizontal direction. The Y axis indicates the vertical direction and is orthogonal to the X axis. The Z axis indicates the depth direction and is orthogonal to the X axis and the Y axis. As shown in FIG. 1, the powder supply apparatus 100 includes a hopper 10 and an actuator 20, and is used for a three-dimensional modeling apparatus such as a 3D printer.

  The hopper 10 is a container for storing the powder 11. A supply port 12 penetrating the lower surface from the top to the bottom (in the Y-axis direction) is provided on the lower surface of the hopper 10. The powder 11 moves from top to bottom due to gravity and is supplied from the supply port 12 to the outside of the hopper 10. The powder 11 is, for example, metallic or non-metallic particles, and is dry sand that does not contain a curing agent or the like.

  The side wall 10a of the hopper 10 is along the Y direction, and the side wall 10b is opposed to the side wall 10a and is inclined from the top to the bottom. That is, the width of the hopper 10 decreases as it goes from top to bottom. The side wall 10a is provided with a plate 14 (plate) extending horizontally (X direction) in the hopper 10. One end of the plate 14 is connected to the side wall 10a, and the other end (end portion 14a) is separated from the side wall 10b and faces the side wall 10b in the X direction. The plate 14 contacts two wall surfaces of the hopper 10 in the Z direction.

  A triangular suppression portion 16 is provided below the plate 14 and on the lower surface of the hopper 10. The suppression unit 16 rises upward from the lower surface of the hopper 10 and is adjacent to the supply port 12. The slope of the restraining part 16 faces the side wall 10 b of the hopper 10. An upper end 16 a (a triangular apex) of the suppressing unit 16 forms an inlet of the supply port 12. An angle θ formed by a virtual line segment L1 connecting the upper end 16a and the end portion 14a of the plate 14 and a horizontal virtual line segment L2 passing through the upper end 16a is equal to the angle of repose of the powder 11. The angle θ is an angle on the powder 11 side (side wall 10b side) among the angles formed by the line segments L1 and L2. Here, the angle of repose is the maximum angle at which the powder 11 stored in the hopper 10 does not flow out and remains stable. That is, the suppressing unit 16 suppresses the outflow of the powder 11 from the supply port 12.

  The actuator 20 is operated by electricity, for example, and vibrates the hopper 10. When the hopper 10 vibrates, the stable pile 11 of the powder 11 collapses and flows out from the supply port 12 as indicated by an arrow A1. When the actuator 20 stops the vibration of the hopper 10, the outflow of the powder 11 is also stopped. That is, the powder 11 forms a mountain that contacts the suppressing portion 16.

  2A to 2C show powder supply apparatuses 100R1 to 100R3 according to Comparative Examples 1 to 3. FIG. The hoppers 10R1 to 10R3 of the powder supply devices 100R1 to 100R3 are not provided with a plate and a suppressing portion, and the lower surface is flat. FIG. 2A is a diagram illustrating a powder supply apparatus 100R1 according to Comparative Example 1. As shown in FIG. 2A, the width of the supply port 12 is large. When the powder 11 is a wet sand with low fluidity, the leakage of the powder 11 can be suppressed, and the actuator 11 can vibrate the hopper 10R1 to supply the powder 11. However, when the powder 11 is dry sand having high fluidity, the powder 11 may flow out from the supply port 12 without the actuator 20 vibrating the hopper 10R1.

  FIG. 2B is a diagram illustrating a powder supply apparatus 100R2 according to Comparative Example 2. As shown in FIG. 2B, the width of the supply port 12 of the hopper 10R2 is smaller than that of the hopper 10R1. For this reason, the leakage of the powder 11 can be suppressed. However, since the supply port 12 is small, the outflow amount of the powder 11 is reduced, and there is a possibility that appropriate modeling cannot be performed.

  FIG. 2C illustrates a powder supply apparatus 100R3 according to Comparative Example 3. As shown in FIG. 2C, a shutter 13 is provided at the supply port 12 of the hopper 10R3. The shutter 13 is, for example, an electric type and is slidable in the X direction as indicated by an arrow. By closing the shutter 13, the supply of the powder 11 from the supply port 12 can be stopped, and by opening the shutter 13, the powder 11 can be supplied to the outside from the supply port 12. However, the shutter 13 may break down due to the powder 11 biting into the shutter 13. Further, the provision of the movable shutter 13 increases the cost of the hopper 10R3.

  On the other hand, according to the present embodiment, the angle θ formed by the line segment L1 connecting the upper end 16a of the suppressing part 16 and the end part 14a of the plate 14 and the line segment L2 in the horizontal direction is The angle of repose. For this reason, the outflow of the powder 11 is suppressed by the suppression unit 16. When the actuator 20 vibrates the hopper 10, the crest of the powder 11 collapses and flows out from the supply port 12 as indicated by the arrow A1. As described above, the supply of the powder 11 can be controlled by the powder supply apparatus 100. Since the hopper 10 is not provided with a movable part such as a shutter, the cost can be reduced as compared with the hopper 10R3. In addition, failure due to the powder 11 being caught in the movable part is also suppressed. Therefore, the powder supply apparatus 100 is low in cost and is not likely to fail.

  The angle θ may be equal to or less than the angle of repose, for example, may be equal to or less than 2/3 times the angle of repose. In FIG. 1, the end portion 14 a of the plate 14 is positioned more on the −X side, or the upper end 16 a of the suppressing unit 16 is positioned on the + Y side, thereby reducing the angle θ. As the powder 11, for example, wet sand containing a curing agent can be used. However, the fluidity of the powder 11 is reduced, and the trouble of cleaning the shaped article is increased. Therefore, it is preferable to use dry sand as the powder 11. Even if dry sand with high fluidity is used, unintentional outflow can be suppressed by the suppression unit 16. The angle of repose is determined by the material and particle size of the powder 11. In accordance with the powder 11, it is preferable to adjust the shape of the suppressing portion 16 so that the upper end 16 a of the suppressing portion 16 forms an angle of repose with the end portion 14 a of the plate 14.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a powder supply apparatus 200 according to the second embodiment. The description of the same configuration as that of the first embodiment is omitted. As shown in FIG. 3, an L-shaped suppressing portion 17 rising from the lower surface is formed in the hopper 10 of the powder supply apparatus 200. An angle θ formed by a virtual line segment L3 connecting the upper end 17a of the suppressing unit 17 and the end part 14a of the plate 14 and a virtual line segment L2 in the horizontal direction is equal to the angle of repose of the powder 11. Thereby, the outflow of the powder 11 is suppressed by the suppressing unit 17. The powder 11 can be supplied from the supply port 12 by vibrating the hopper 10 by the actuator 20. According to the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the powder supply device 200 is low in cost and is less likely to fail.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the shape of the suppressing portion is triangular and L-shaped, but the shape is not limited to this. The shape of the suppression part may be changed as long as the slope of the mountain of the powder 11 that remains in the suppression part can be an angle of repose and the outflow can be suppressed.

  Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments, and various modifications and changes can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention described in the claims. It can be changed.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Hopper 10a, 10b Side wall 11 Powder 12 Supply port 14 Plate 14a End part 16, 17 Control part 16a, 17a Upper end 20 Actuator 100, 200 Powder supply apparatus

Claims (1)

A hopper containing powder and having a supply port on the lower surface for supplying the powder to the outside;
A vibrating portion capable of vibrating the hopper,
A plate is provided in the hopper and above the supply port,
The end of the plate and the inner wall of the hopper are spaced apart, and the powder is movable from the upper side of the plate to the supply port through between the end and the inner wall,
On the lower side of the plate in the hopper, a suppression unit is provided that rises from the lower surface of the hopper and suppresses discharge of the powder from the supply port,
The powder supply device, wherein an angle formed between a line segment connecting the upper end of the suppression unit and the end of the plate and the horizontal direction is equal to or less than an angle of repose of the powder.

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