CN108247048A - Raw material source, the selective laser melting former including the raw material source and method - Google Patents

Abstract

Selective laser melting former and method the present invention provides a kind of raw material source, including the raw material source.The raw material source includes the multiple raw material layers set along feed direction sequence, and the multiple raw material layer includes powder, and the average grain diameter of the powder of the multiple raw material layer reduces along feed direction.Therefore, the increasing material manufacturing technique of such as selective laser melting technique is carried out by using the raw material source, the mechanical performance and surface quality of products obtained therefrom can be improved.

Description

Raw material source, selective laser melting molding equipment and method including the raw material source

technical field

The invention relates to a raw material source, selective laser melting molding equipment and method including the raw material source.

Background technique

Additive Manufacturing (Additive Manufacturing) is a technology that uses the method of gradually accumulating materials for manufacturing. In additive manufacturing technology, a selective laser melting (SLM, Selective laser melting) technology is proposed. That is, a powder such as a metal or a metal alloy is selectively melted under the action of a laser and then cooled and solidified to form a shape. The particle size of the powder and the distribution of powders of different particle sizes have a very significant impact on the mechanical properties of the products obtained by SLM technology. If the particle size is not selected properly, there may be defects such as pores and cracks in the final product, which will reduce the density of the product, which may seriously affect the mechanical properties of the product, such as strength, elongation, and fatigue and durability. , and will also affect the surface quality of the product.

Contents of the invention

The present invention aims to solve the above and/or other technical problems, and therefore provides a raw material source that can improve the mechanical properties and surface quality of products obtained by additive manufacturing processes, selective laser melting molding equipment and methods including the raw material source.

According to an exemplary embodiment, a raw material source is provided, the raw material source includes a plurality of raw material layers sequentially arranged along the feeding direction, the plurality of raw material layers include powder, and the powder of the plurality of raw material layers The average particle size decreases along the feeding direction. In an additive manufacturing process such as a selective laser melting process, the raw material source may provide powder as a raw material in a manner of increasing average particle size. Therefore, fatal defects of the resulting product can be prevented, and the mechanical properties and surface quality of the resulting final product can be improved.

The multiple raw material layers include the first raw material layer to the Nth raw material layer arranged in sequence, wherein the minimum value of the particle size range of the powder included in the i-th raw material layer is greater than that included in the i-1th raw material layer The minimum value of the particle size range of the powder is less than or equal to the maximum value of the particle size range of the powder included in the i-1th raw material layer, wherein 1<i≤N. For example, the multiple raw material layers include four raw material layers, wherein the particle size of the powder included in the first raw material layer is in the range of 10 microns to 50 microns, and the particle size of the powder included in the second raw material layer is within 20 microns. The particle size of the powder contained in the third raw material layer is in the range of 30 microns to 70 microns, and the particle size of the powder contained in the fourth raw material layer is in the range of 40 microns to 80 microns. Alternatively, the multiple raw material layers include four raw material layers, wherein the average particle diameter of the powder included in the first raw material layer is 30 microns, the average particle diameter of the powder included in the second raw material layer is 40 microns, and the third The average particle diameter of the powder contained in the raw material layer was 50 micrometers, and the average particle diameter of the powder contained in the fourth raw material layer was 60 micrometers. In addition, the powder of the raw material source includes a metal or metal alloy suitable for selective laser melting, for example, Inconel 718 alloy (IN718). Therefore, the raw material source can more fully use powders of various particle sizes, thereby reducing raw materials and saving costs.

According to another exemplary embodiment, there is provided a selective laser melting forming apparatus, the apparatus comprising a laser forming device and a raw material source as described above, the raw material source being configured to provide raw material to the laser forming device. Therefore, when the selective laser melting molding equipment performs the selective laser melting molding operation, the raw material source can provide the powder as raw material in a manner of increasing average particle size. Therefore, fatal defects of the resulting product can be prevented, and the mechanical properties and surface quality of the resulting final product can be improved. For example, the raw material source is configured to sequentially supply powders included in the plurality of raw material layers to the laser molding device along a feeding direction during selective laser melting molding.

According to yet another exemplary embodiment, there is provided a method for manufacturing a raw material source, the method comprising: arranging a plurality of raw material layers in the raw material containing space of the raw material source, so that the plurality of raw material layers are sequentially arranged along the feeding direction Arrangement, wherein the multiple raw material layers include powder, and the average particle diameter of the powder in the multiple raw material layers decreases along the feeding direction.

According to yet another exemplary embodiment, there is provided a method for selective laser melting molding, which is characterized in that the method includes: sequentially supplying powders in a plurality of raw material layers included in the raw material source to the A laser forming device, wherein a plurality of raw material layers are sequentially arranged in the raw material source along the feeding direction, and the average particle diameter of the powder of the plurality of raw material layers decreases along the feeding direction; for the powder supplied to the laser forming device The body performs a selective laser melting molding process. Furthermore, according to yet another exemplary embodiment, there is provided a product manufactured by the above selective laser melting molding method.

According to an exemplary embodiment, when performing an additive manufacturing process such as a selective laser melting process, a powder layer with a smaller average particle size can be formed first, and then a powder layer with a larger average particle size can be formed , so that the deviation between the powder layer and the actual product layer obtained due to high temperature melting shrinkage can be reduced. In addition, because the average particle size of the powder provided gradually increases, it can prevent the above-mentioned deviation from gradually increasing with the increase of the number of product layers (or the increase of the height of the product), thereby preventing fatal defects in the final product and improving the quality of the product. The mechanical properties and surface quality of the final product are improved. In addition, the raw material source according to the exemplary embodiment can more fully use powders of various particle sizes, thereby reducing raw materials and saving costs.

Description of drawings

The accompanying drawings are only intended to illustrate and explain the present invention schematically, and do not limit the scope of the present invention. In the accompanying drawings,

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a raw material source according to an exemplary embodiment;

2 is a diagram illustrating distribution of raw material layers and particle diameters of powders according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a selective laser melting molding apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment.

Explanation of reference signs

100 Raw material source 1, 2, ..., N Raw material layer 300 Selective laser forming equipment

310 Raw material source 330 Laser forming device

311 Material Cylinder 313 Feed Piston 315 Feed Roller

331 Forming Cylinder 333 Forming Piston 335 Laser

Detailed ways

In order to have a clearer understanding of the technical features, purposes and effects of the present invention, the specific implementation manners of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a raw material source according to an exemplary embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1 , a raw material source 100 according to an exemplary embodiment may include a plurality of raw material layers, for example, a first raw material layer 1 , a second raw material layer 2 , . . . , an Nth raw material layer N. Referring to FIG.

The material source 100 according to an exemplary embodiment may be a material source for an additive manufacturing process or device. Therefore, the plurality of raw material layers 1 , 2 , . . . , N may include powder. In an exemplary embodiment, the raw material source 100 may be a raw material source for a Selective Laser Melting (SLM, Selective Laser Melting) process or equipment. For example, the powders included in the plurality of raw material layers 1, 2, ..., N may include metals or metal alloys suitable for selective laser melting, for example, Inconel718 alloy (IN718). IN718 is a precipitation hardening nickel-chromium-iron alloy containing niobium and molybdenum. IN718 has high strength, good toughness and high temperature resistance. However, the exemplary embodiment is not limited thereto, and the powder included in the raw material source may also be other materials with high strength and high temperature resistance.

A plurality of raw material layers 1, 2, . . . , N can be arranged sequentially along the feeding direction, as shown in FIG. 1 . Meanwhile, the average particle diameters of the powders included in the plurality of raw material layers 1 , 2 , . . . , N may be different from each other, for example, may decrease along the feeding direction. In this way, when using the raw material source 100 according to the exemplary embodiment for additive manufacturing or SLM process, the powder in the first raw material layer with the smallest average particle size can be provided first along the feeding direction. Then, powders in the second to Nth raw material layers having an average particle diameter larger than that of the first raw material layer are provided. That is, the raw material source 100 according to the exemplary embodiment may provide a powder as a raw material in a manner that the average particle size increases continuously. Therefore, as will be described in detail below, when performing an additive manufacturing process such as a selective laser melting process, the powder layer with a smaller average particle size is first formed, and then the powder layer with a larger average particle size is formed. The layer is formed, so that the deviation between the powder layer and the actual product layer obtained due to high temperature melting shrinkage can be reduced. In addition, because the average particle size of the powder provided gradually increases, it can prevent the above-mentioned deviation from gradually increasing with the increase of the number of product layers (or the increase of the height of the product), thereby preventing fatal defects in the final product and improving The mechanical properties and surface quality of the resulting final product were determined. In addition, the raw material source according to the exemplary embodiment can more fully use powders of various particle sizes, thereby reducing raw materials and saving costs.

FIG. 2 is a graph showing a relationship between a distribution of a raw material layer and a particle size of a powder according to an exemplary embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2 , the average particle size of the powders of the plurality of raw material layers 1 , 2 , . . . , N decreases along the feeding direction. In the exemplary embodiment shown in Fig. 2, a plurality of raw material layers 1, 2, ..., N may include four raw material layers 1, 2, 3, 4, wherein the first raw material layer includes powder The average particle size is 30 microns, the average particle size of the powder included in the second raw material layer is 40 microns, the average particle size of the powder included in the third raw material layer is 50 microns, and the average particle size of the powder included in the fourth raw material layer 60 microns in diameter.

To this end, each raw material layer may include powders within a certain range of particle sizes. For example, in the first raw material layer to the Nth raw material layer, the minimum value of the particle size range of the powder included in the i-th raw material layer may be greater than the particle size of the powder included in the i-1th raw material layer The minimum value of the range, and may be less than or equal to the maximum value of the range of the particle size of the powder included in the i-1th raw material layer, where 1<i≤N.

In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 2 , the plurality of material layers 1 , 2 , . . . , N may include four material layers 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 . The particle size of the powder included in the first raw material layer can be in the range of 10 microns to 50 microns, the particle size of the powder included in the second raw material layer can be in the range of 20 microns to 60 microns, and the particle size of the powder included in the third raw material layer The particle size of the powder may be in the range of 30 microns to 70 microns, and the particle size of the powder included in the fourth raw material layer may be in the range of 40 microns to 80 microns.

In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 2 , the distribution of powders with different particle sizes included in each raw material layer may conform to a normal distribution. However, the exemplary embodiment is not limited thereto. In other exemplary embodiments, the powders with different particle sizes included in each raw material layer may have various distribution forms, or the powders included in each raw material layer The particle sizes can be substantially the same.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a selective laser melting (SLM) molding apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3 , a selective laser melting molding apparatus 300 according to an exemplary embodiment may include a raw material source 310 and a laser molding device 330 .

The raw material source 310 may be the raw material source described above according to the exemplary embodiment. Raw material source 310 may provide raw material to laser structuring device 330 .

Specifically, the material source 310 may include a material supply cylinder 311 , a supply piston 313 and a supply roller 315 . The feed piston 313 is arranged in the raw material cylinder 311 and can move in the raw material cylinder 311 . Therefore, the material cylinder 311 and the material supply piston 313 together define a material receiving space. A plurality of raw material layers may be sequentially arranged in the raw material accommodating space, and the average particle size of the powder of the plurality of raw material layers may decrease along the feeding direction. The feed roller 315 may be provided at a raw material supply port of the raw material 311 . When the feed piston 313 moves in the raw material cylinder 311 so that a part or all of the raw material layer closest to the raw material supply port among the plurality of raw material layers is exposed to the outside of the raw material cylinder 311 through the raw material supply port, the feed roller 315 can promote the exposure. raw material to provide or transport the exposed raw material to the laser forming device 330.

The laser shaping device 330 may include a shaping cylinder 331 and a shaping piston 333 . The forming plug 333 is disposed in the forming cylinder 331 and can move in the forming cylinder 331 . Therefore, the forming steel 331 and the forming piston 333 together define a forming space. In addition, the laser shaping device 330 may further include a laser 335 . The laser 335 may generate a laser beam and irradiate the generated laser light to the molding space.

The operation of the selective laser melting molding apparatus 300 according to an exemplary embodiment is briefly described below.

First, the feed piston 313 can move in the raw material cylinder 311 , so that a part or all of the raw material layer closest to the raw material supply port among the plurality of raw material layers is exposed to the outside of the raw material cylinder 311 through the raw material supply port. Then, the feed roller 315 may push the exposed material to supply or transport the exposed material to the laser forming device 330 to fill in the forming space defined together by the forming cylinder 331 and the forming piston 333 .

Then, the laser 335 may irradiate a laser beam to the raw material in the molding space, thereby selectively melting and solidifying the irradiated raw material into a desired pattern. Then, the forming piston 333 moves in the forming cylinder 331 to form a new forming space in the forming cylinder 333 .

The above operations can be repeated until the desired shaped product is finally obtained.

As mentioned above, the raw material source 310 may include multiple raw material layers sequentially arranged along the feeding direction, and the average particle size of the powder in the multiple raw material layers may decrease along the feeding direction. Therefore, during the above-mentioned selective laser forming process, the raw material source 310 may sequentially supply powders included in a plurality of raw material layers to the laser forming device along the feeding direction. In other words, the raw material source 310 according to the exemplary embodiment may provide powder as a raw material in a manner of increasing average particle size. Specifically, in the selective laser melting molding method according to the exemplary embodiment, first, the raw material source 310 can provide the powder with the smallest average particle size included in the first raw material layer to the laser molding device 330, and the laser The forming device 330 performs a laser forming process on the powder with the smallest average particle size. Then, after all the powders included in the first raw material layer are provided to the laser forming device 330, the raw material source 310 can make the average particle diameter of the powder included in the second raw material layer larger than the average particle diameter of the powder in the first raw material layer The powder is provided to the laser forming device 330, and the laser forming process is performed by the laser forming device 330. Finally, the raw material source 310 can provide the powder with the largest average particle size included in the Nth raw material layer to the laser forming device 330, and the laser forming device 330 performs a laser forming process, thereby finally obtaining the selective Products manufactured by laser melting molding method.

The raw material source 310 according to the exemplary embodiment can be manufactured by the following method, that is, a plurality of raw material layers can be arranged in the raw material accommodation space of the raw material source 310 so that the plurality of raw material layers are arranged sequentially along the feeding direction, Wherein, the multiple raw material layers include powder, and the average particle size of the powder in the multiple raw material layers decreases along the feeding direction. For example, the powder with the smallest average particle size may be firstly filled into the raw material storage space of the raw material source 310 to form the Nth raw material layer adjacent to the raw material supply port of the raw material source 310 . Then, powders with an average particle size greater than that of the Nth raw material layer can be filled into the raw material storage space of the raw material source 310 to form an N-1th raw material layer adjacent to the Nth raw material layer. Finally, the powder with the largest average particle size is filled into the raw material storage space of the raw material source 310 to form a first raw material layer, thereby obtaining the raw material source 310 according to the exemplary embodiment. However, the exemplary embodiment is not limited thereto, and the first to Nth raw material layers may be sequentially arranged in a direction opposite to the feeding direction to obtain the raw material source 350 according to the exemplary embodiment.

Therefore, according to an exemplary embodiment, when performing an additive manufacturing process such as a selective laser melting process, firstly, a powder layer with a smaller average particle size can be formed, and then a powder layer with a larger average particle size can be formed. Molding is performed so that the deviation between the powder layer and the obtained actual product layer due to high-temperature melting shrinkage can be reduced. In addition, because the average particle size of the powder provided gradually increases, it can prevent the above-mentioned deviation from gradually increasing with the increase of the number of product layers (or the increase of the height of the product), thereby preventing fatal defects in the final product and improving the quality of the product. The mechanical properties and surface quality of the final product are improved. In addition, the raw material source according to the exemplary embodiment can more fully use powders of various particle sizes, thereby reducing raw materials and saving costs.

It should be understood that although this description is described according to various embodiments, not each embodiment only includes an independent technical solution, and this description of the description is only for clarity, and those skilled in the art should take the description as a whole , the technical solutions in the various embodiments can also be properly combined to form other implementations that can be understood by those skilled in the art.

The above descriptions are only illustrative specific implementations of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Any equivalent changes, modifications and combinations made by those skilled in the art without departing from the concept and principle of the present invention shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims (10)

1. Raw material source (100, 310), it is characterized in that, described raw material source comprises a plurality of raw material layers arranged in sequence along the feeding direction, and described a plurality of raw material layers comprises powder, and the powder of described a plurality of raw material layers The average particle size of the body decreases along the feeding direction. 2. The raw material source according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of raw material layers include the first raw material layer to the Nth raw material layer arranged in sequence, wherein the particles of the powder in the i-th raw material layer The minimum value of the diameter range is greater than the minimum value of the particle size range of the powder included in the i-1th raw material layer, and is less than or equal to the minimum value of the particle size range of the powder included in the i-1th raw material layer Maximum value, where 1<i≤N. 3. The raw material layer according to claim 2, wherein the plurality of raw material layers comprises four raw material layers, wherein the particle size of the powder contained in the first raw material layer is in the range of 10 microns to 50 microns The particle size of the powder included in the second raw material layer is in the range of 20 microns to 60 microns, the particle size of the powder included in the third raw material layer is in the range of 30 microns to 70 microns, and the powder included in the fourth raw material layer The particle size of the body is in the range of 40 microns to 80 microns. 4. raw material layer as claimed in claim 1, is characterized in that, described multiple raw material layer comprises four raw material layers, and wherein, the average particle diameter of the powder body that the 1st raw material layer comprises is 30 microns, the 2nd raw material layer The average particle diameter of the included powder is 40 microns, the average particle diameter of the powder included in the third raw material layer is 50 microns, and the average particle diameter of the powder included in the fourth raw material layer is 60 microns. 5. The feedstock layer of claim 1, wherein the powder comprises a metal or metal alloy suitable for selective laser melting. 6. Selective laser melting molding equipment, characterized in that the equipment comprises: a laser forming device (330); A raw material source (310) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, configured to supply raw materials to a laser forming device. 7. The selective laser melting molding device according to claim 6, wherein the raw material source is configured to sequentially feed the multiple raw material layers including The powder is provided to the laser forming device. 8. The manufacturing method of raw material source, it is characterized in that, described method comprises: A plurality of raw material layers are arranged in the raw material storage space of the raw material source, so that the plurality of raw material layers are arranged sequentially along the feeding direction, wherein the plurality of raw material layers include powder, and the powder of the plurality of raw material layers The average particle size of the body decreases along the feeding direction. 9. A selective laser melting method, characterized in that the method comprises: The powders in the multiple raw material layers included in the raw material source are sequentially provided to the laser forming device along the feeding direction, wherein the multiple raw material layers are sequentially arranged in the raw material source along the feeding direction, and the multiple raw material layers The average particle size of the powder decreases along the feeding direction; A selective laser melting forming process is performed on the powder supplied to the laser forming device. 10. A product manufactured by the selective laser melting method as claimed in claim 9.