TW201730375A - Additive manufacturing method and apparatus employing plasma beam - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides an additive manufacturing method and apparatus employing a plasma beam. The method includes: A. providing a printer head having a conductor and a solid conductive material connected to a positive electrode and a negative electrode of a power-supply module respectively and spaced apart at a substantial distance; B. applying a working electric current to the conductive material and the conductor to form an electric discharge, where the conductive material is heated to a working temperature and subsequently a metal ion is produced, and injecting a carrier gas for carrying the metal ion off the printer head and depositing the metal ion onto a work surface; and C. moving the printer head relatively to the work surface for fabrication of a product. The techniques of the present invention endorse the use of high melting point materials and enable creation of products of various designs and structures in the additive manufacturing process.

Description

Plasma type laminated manufacturing method and device

The present invention relates to a method and a device for manufacturing a laminate, and more particularly to a method and a device for manufacturing a plasma laminate using metal ions at a high temperature.

3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, additive manufacturing (AM), related to the previous case, for example, Taiwan Patent Publication No. M509118 "3D printing machine automatic printing platform replacement platform". 3D printing is a kind of rapid prototyping technology. It is a technology that directly manufactures 3D solids based on digital model files. The 3D printing types mainly include: Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), Selective Laser Melting (SLM), and Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM).

Among them, the fused deposition type requires a temperature rise to a sufficient working temperature to melt the consumables, but the heating method generally has a limited temperature, and it is difficult to use a metal having a higher melting point as a consumable, which limits the application field of 3D printing.

Also, there is a search for a three-dimensional (3D) processing and printing with a plasma source as disclosed in Taiwan Patent Publication No. 201505820. The method includes: introducing a plurality of chemical precursors into one or more point plasma sources; Utilizing one or more power sources to generate plasma from the one or more point plasma sources; by utilizing the one or more point plasma sources to move a table, utilizing The generated plasma is partially patterned on a substrate placed on the workbench. However, this case is the use of chemical precursors to produce plasma, which is not the same as the technology of using solid metal as a consumable in this case.

Accordingly, the inventors of the present invention have proposed a method for manufacturing a plasma laminate by using a solid metal having a relatively high melting point as a consumable material, comprising: A. providing a printing head comprising an electric conductor and a solid state One conductive consumable is respectively connected to a positive pole and a negative pole of a power supply module, and a distance between the conductive consumable and the electrical conductor; B. applying the conductive consumable and the electrical conductor to form one of the discharge paths Current, thereby heating the conductive consumable to a working temperature to generate a metal ion, and transporting a carrier gas to cause the metal ion to be carried away from the printing head and attached to a working platform; C. relatively moving the printing The head and the working platform form a shaped article on the working platform.

Further, the conductive consumable is selected from any one or combination of the following: gold, silver, iron, aluminum, copper, titanium, chromium, silver, tungsten, tin, platinum.

Further, the operating current is between 1 amp and 20 amps.

Further, the carrier gas is any one or combination of nitrogen, carbon dioxide, argon, air, helium, and hydrogen.

Further, the conductive consumable is a wire, and the conductive consumable is contact-driven by a feeding mechanism, and the end of the conductive consumable or the feeding mechanism is electrically connected to the power supply module.

Further, the conductive consumable is a wire, and the conductive consumable is contact-driven by a feeding mechanism, the feeding mechanism includes a plurality of feeding wheels and a guiding member, and the feeding wheel or the guiding member is a conductive material and The power supply module is electrically connected to the plurality of feed wheels to define a clamping space for clamping the conductive consumable. The guiding member has a wire slot for guiding the conductive consumable.

The invention also relates to a plasma type laminated manufacturing device, comprising: a working platform; a power supply module; a printing head comprising a nozzle, and a feeding space communicating with the nozzle, the printing head having the feeding space An electric conductor and a conductive consumable, the electric conductor and the conductive consumable are respectively connected to a positive pole and a negative pole of the power supply module, and a distance between the conductive consumable and the electric conductor; and an air intake unit for conveying a control mechanism for connecting at least one of the working platform and the print head; and a control module electrically connected to the adjustment mechanism and the power supply module The adjusting mechanism controls the relative displacement of the working platform and the printing head, and controls the operating current of the power supply module.

According to the above technical features, the following effects can be achieved:

1. The conductive consumable is directly used as an electrode, so that the conductive consumable can release the metal ions of the plasma, so that a solid metal having a higher melting point can be used as a consumable for manufacturing the laminate, so that the laminated manufacturing can manufacture more diverse shaped articles. .

2. The conductive consumable can be connected to the power supply module by the feeding mechanism, so that the conductive consumable can be continuously supplied.

In view of the above technical features, the main functions of the plasma-type laminated manufacturing method and apparatus of the present invention will be clearly shown in the following embodiments, and similar elements will be denoted by the same reference numerals.

Please refer to the first figure and the second figure for revealing a plasma layering manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention, comprising: a working platform (1), a power supply module (2), a row of printing heads (3), and a a gas unit (4), an adjustment mechanism (5), and a control module (6), wherein:

As shown in the first figure, the print head (3) includes a spout (31), and a feed space (32) communicates with the spout (31), the print head (3) having the feed space ( 32) an electrical conductor (301), and a conductive consumable (302), the electrical conductor (301) and the conductive consumable (302) are respectively connected to a positive electrode (21) and a negative electrode of the power supply module (2) 22), and the conductive consumable (302) has a distance from the electrical conductor (301). In detail, the conductive consumable (302) is a solid wire, and the material may be selected from any one or combination of the following: gold, silver, iron, aluminum, copper, titanium, chromium, silver, tungsten, tin, platinum, but materials. Not limited to this, it can also be other materials with conductive properties.

As shown in the first figure, the air intake unit (4) is configured to transport a carrier gas (41) to the feed space (32) and the nozzle (31). In detail, the air intake unit (4) delivers the carrier gas (41), for example, a compressed gas cylinder with a delivery line, and the carrier gas (41) is, for example, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, argon, air, helium, hydrogen. Inert gas. However, it should be emphasized that the above gas types are merely examples and are not limited thereto.

As shown in the second figure, the adjustment mechanism (5) connects at least one of the work platform (1) and the print head (3). The control module (6) is electrically connected to the adjustment mechanism (5) and the power supply module (2) to control the working platform (1) and the print head (3) by the adjustment mechanism (5) Displacement and control the operating current of the power supply module (2). The operating current is, for example, between 1 amp and 20 amps. For example, the adjustment mechanism (5) may include, for example, a displacement platform and a lifting module, the displacement platform can provide X and Y axis displacement, and the lifting module can provide the displacement of the Z axis, but the adjustment The mechanism (5) is already a conventional technology and is not limited thereto, as long as the purpose of allowing the working platform (1) and the printing head (3) to be relatively displaced is not described herein.

As shown in the first and third figures, it is preferable to further include a feeding mechanism (7), which may include, for example, a plurality of feeding wheels (71) and a guiding member. (72) and a reel (73), the feeding wheel (71), the guiding member (72) or the reel (73) is electrically conductive and electrically connected to the power supply module (2), the plurality of feedings A clamping space (711) is defined between the wheels (71) for clamping the conductive consumable (302), and the guiding member (72) has a wire slot (721) for guiding the conductive consumable (302). The reel (73) is connected to the end of the conductive consumable (302), whereby the conductive consumable (302) is delivered. However, the feeding mechanism (7) is not limited thereto, as long as the conductive consumable (302) can be transported and can be electrically conducted to the conductive consumable (302). For example, the end of the conductive consumable (302) can be directly electrically connected to the power supply module (2), or the power supply module (2) can be electrically connected by a reel (73) of a conductive material. The purpose of conductive consumables (302).

Use the steps, please refer to the third and fourth figures. The above-mentioned plasma type laminated manufacturing device can be disposed in an environment close to vacuum, and the conductive consumable (302) can be first fed by the feeding wheel (71) of the feeding mechanism (7) and the guiding member (72). And feeding to the feeding space (32) of the printing head (3) such that the conductive consumable (302) and the electric conductor (301) have the aforementioned distance.

Referring to the first figure, the electrical conductor (301) and the conductive consumable (302) are then applied to form an operating current of the discharge path, thereby heating the conductive consumable (302) to a working temperature (depending on The metal ion (D) is generated depending on the material of the conductive consumable, and a carrier gas (41) is transported to cause the metal ion (D) to be carried away from the print head (3) and attached to the working platform (1) )on.

Continuing to refer to the first figure and the second figure, the control module (6) controls the relative movement of the print head (3) and the work platform (1) according to the expected path, and the conductive consumable (302) After consuming a certain length (for example, detecting the length consumption by the photo detecting unit or setting the feeding rate of the conductive consumable according to the consumption rate), the feeding head (3) can be further sent to the printing head (3) via the feeding mechanism (7). Thereby, the generated metal ions (D) can be successively attached to the working platform (1) or stacked, and a formed article is gradually formed on the working platform (1).

In view of the foregoing description of the embodiments, the operation and the use of the present invention and the effects of the present invention are fully understood, but the above described embodiments are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention, and the invention may not be limited thereto. Included within the scope of the present invention are the scope of the present invention.

(1) ‧‧‧Working Platform
(2) ‧‧‧Power supply module
(21)‧‧‧ positive
(22)‧‧‧negative
(3) ‧‧‧Print heads
(31)‧‧‧ spout
(32)‧‧‧Feed space
(301)‧‧‧Electrical conductors
(302)‧‧‧Electrical consumables
(4)‧‧‧Air intake unit
(41)‧‧‧ Carrying gas
(5) ‧ ‧ adjustment agencies
(6) ‧‧‧Control Module
(7)‧‧‧Feed institutions
(71)‧‧‧ Feeding wheel
(711)‧‧‧掣掣空间
(72) ‧‧‧Guide
(721)‧‧‧ wire trough
(D)‧‧‧Metal ions

[First Figure] is a schematic plan view of a plasma type laminated manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Second diagram] is a schematic diagram of a system architecture of a plasma type laminated manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Third Figure] is a plan view schematically showing a feeding device of a plasma type laminated manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Fourth Diagram] is a schematic flow chart showing the steps of the use of the plasma type laminated manufacturing apparatus of the embodiment of the present invention.

(1) ‧‧‧Working Platform

(2) ‧‧‧Power supply module

(21)‧‧‧ positive

(22)‧‧‧negative

(3) ‧‧‧Print heads

(31)‧‧‧ spout

(32)‧‧‧Feed space

(301)‧‧‧Electrical conductors

(302)‧‧‧Electrical consumables

(4)‧‧‧Air intake unit

(41)‧‧‧ Carrying gas

(7)‧‧‧Feed institutions

(D)‧‧‧Metal ions

Claims (9)

A method for manufacturing a plasma laminate, comprising: A. providing a printing head, the printing head comprising an electric conductor, and a solid conductive consumable connected to a positive electrode and a negative electrode respectively of a power supply module, and the conductive consumable is The conductive body has a distance therebetween; B. the conductive consumable and the electric conductor are applied with an operating current for forming a discharge path, thereby heating the conductive consumable to a working temperature to generate a metal ion, and transporting a metal ion Carrying a gas to cause the metal ions to be attached to a working platform by being carried away from the printing head; C. relatively moving the printing head and the working platform to form a molded article on the working platform. The method of manufacturing a plasma laminate according to claim 1, wherein the conductive consumable is selected from any one or combination of the following: gold, silver, iron, aluminum, copper, titanium, chromium, silver, tungsten, Tin, platinum. The method for manufacturing a plasma laminate according to claim 1, wherein the operating current is between 1 amp and 20 amps. The method for manufacturing a plasma laminate according to claim 1, wherein the carrier gas is any one or a combination of nitrogen, carbon dioxide, argon, air, helium, and hydrogen. The method of manufacturing a plasma laminate according to claim 1, wherein the conductive consumable is a wire, and the conductive consumable is contact-driven by a feeding mechanism, and the end of the conductive consumable or the feeding mechanism is electrically Connect the power module. The method of manufacturing a plasma laminate according to claim 1, wherein the conductive consumable is a wire, and the conductive consumable is contact-driven by a feeding mechanism, wherein the feeding mechanism comprises a plurality of feed wheels and a a guiding member, the feeding wheel or the guiding member is electrically conductive and electrically connected to the power supply module, and a plurality of clamping spaces are defined between the plurality of feeding wheels for clamping the conductive consumable, the guiding member has A wire slot is used to guide the conductive consumable. A plasma type laminating manufacturing apparatus comprises: a working platform; a power supply module; a printing head comprising a nozzle, and a feeding space communicating with the nozzle, the printing head having an electric conductor located in the feeding space, And a conductive material in the solid state, the conductive body and the conductive consumable are respectively connected to a positive pole and a negative pole of the power supply module, and a distance between the conductive consumable and the electrical conductor; an air intake unit for transporting a load a gas to the feed space and the spout; an adjustment mechanism connecting at least one of the working platform and the print head; and a control module electrically connected to the adjustment mechanism and the power supply module for the adjustment The mechanism controls the working platform and the relative displacement of the print head, and controls the operating current of the power supply module. The slurry type manufacturing apparatus of claim 7, wherein the conductive consumable is a wire; further comprising a feeding mechanism for conveying the conductive consumable to the feeding space, the end of the conductive consumable Or the feeding mechanism is electrically connected to the power supply module. The plasma-type laminated manufacturing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the conductive consumable is a wire; further comprising a feeding mechanism, the feeding mechanism comprising a plurality of feeding wheels and a guiding member, the foregoing The feeding wheel or the guiding member is electrically conductive and electrically connected to the power supply module, and a plurality of clamping spaces are defined between the plurality of feeding wheels for clamping the conductive consumable. The guiding member has a wire guide for guiding Lead the conductive consumables.