Disclosure of Invention
One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a ball mill having a simple structure, which is particularly suitable for improving the fluidity of metal powder for 3D printing.
The second objective of the present invention is to provide a method for improving the fluidity of metal powder for 3D printing, which is simple and can effectively reduce the number of satellite balls in the metal powder and improve the physical state of the surface of the metal powder.
The third purpose of the invention is to provide the metal powder for 3D printing obtained by the method, wherein the metal powder is spherical or nearly spherical, has excellent fluidity and high apparent density, does not increase the oxygen content and the impurity content compared with the metal powder raw material, and can meet the requirements of 3D printing on the metal powder.
The technical problem to be solved by the invention is realized by adopting the following technical scheme:
the invention provides a ball mill which comprises a ball milling tank body, a supporting device, an exhaust device and an air inlet device.
The ball-milling tank body comprises a tank shell and a ball-milling cavity formed by enclosing the tank shell, the supporting device is connected to the tank shell, and the air inlet device and the exhaust device are respectively symmetrically arranged at two opposite ends of the ball-milling tank body and are communicated with the ball-milling cavity.
The invention also provides a method for improving the fluidity of the metal powder for 3D printing, which comprises the following steps: ball-milling metal powder raw materials, grinding balls and a modifier in a ball-milling cavity of the ball mill, continuously inputting new inert gas into the ball mill through a gas inlet device in the ball-milling process, and continuously outputting old inert gas through an exhaust device; and screening a metal powder finished product with the granularity of 15-53 mu m after the ball milling is finished.
Preferably, the input rate of the new inert gas is equal to the output rate of the old inert gas.
The invention also provides the metal powder for 3D printing obtained by the method.
The ball mill, the method for improving the flowability of the metal powder for 3D printing and the metal powder for 3D printing provided by the preferred embodiment of the invention have the beneficial effects that:
the ball mill provided by the preferred embodiment of the invention has a simple structure, and is particularly suitable for improving the flowability of metal powder for 3D printing.
The method for improving the fluidity of the metal powder for 3D printing is simple, and the surface of the metal powder is modified by the modifier under the action of the inert gas under the conditions of physical collision between the grinding balls and the metal powder, between the metal powder and between the metal powder and the ball grinding tank body and high temperature generated in the collision process, so that the number of satellite balls of the metal powder is effectively reduced, and the physical state of the surface of the metal powder is improved.
The obtained 3D printing metal powder is spherical or nearly spherical, has excellent fluidity and high apparent density, does not increase the oxygen content and the impurity content compared with the metal powder raw material, and can meet the requirements of 3D printing on the metal powder.
Detailed Description
In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below. The examples, in which specific conditions are not specified, were conducted under conventional conditions or conditions recommended by the manufacturer. The reagents or instruments used are not indicated by the manufacturer, and are all conventional products available commercially.
The ball mill, the method for improving the fluidity of the metal powder for 3D printing, and the metal powder for 3D printing according to the embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below.
The embodiment of the invention provides a ball mill which comprises a ball milling tank body, a supporting device, an exhaust device and an air inlet device.
The ball-milling tank body comprises a tank shell and a ball-milling cavity formed by enclosing the tank shell, the supporting device is connected to the tank shell, and the air inlet device and the exhaust device are respectively symmetrically arranged at two opposite ends of the ball-milling tank body and are communicated with the ball-milling cavity.
Above-mentioned ball mill is through setting up air inlet unit and exhaust apparatus, and the gaseous air current effect of accessible improves the collision effect of ball-milling intracavity material, and this ball mill is particularly useful for improving 3D and prints and use metal powder mobility.
Preferably, the ball mill further comprises a filtering device, and the filtering device is arranged at one end of the exhaust device close to the ball milling cavity. Through setting up filter equipment, can avoid metal powder along with gaseous discharge and discharge ball-milling chamber in the lump.
The embodiment of the invention also provides a method for improving the flowability of the metal powder for 3D printing, which comprises the following steps: and ball-milling the metal powder raw material, the grinding balls and the modifier in a ball-milling cavity of a ball mill. In the ball milling process, new inert gas is continuously input into the ball mill through the gas inlet device, and old inert gas is continuously output through the gas outlet device. And screening a metal powder finished product with the granularity of 15-53 mu m after the ball milling is finished.
Continuous aeration can play a role in protecting the metal powder raw material to avoid oxidation and nitridation in the ball milling process, and is favorable for discharging the modifier and gaseous impurities on the surface of the powder.
Preferably, the input rate of the new inert gas is equal to the output rate of the old inert gas. The two rates are equal, so that the air pressure in the ball milling cavity can be kept balanced, the metal powder in the ball milling cavity can collide with each other under a stable condition, and a better surface modification effect is achieved.
Alternatively, the metal powder raw material is alloy powder or elementary powder prepared by vacuum atomization, such as: fe powder, stainless steel powder, Co-based high-temperature alloy powder, Ni-based high-temperature alloy powder, die steel powder, Al-based alloy powder and the like.
Alternatively, the particle size of the metal powder feedstock in embodiments of the present invention may be 5-150 μm. The particle size range is beneficial to improving the treatment efficiency of the metal powder raw material.
By reference, the weight ratio of metal powder feedstock to grinding ball may be 3: 1-1: 5, e.g. 3: 1. 2: 1. 1: 1. 1: 2. 1: 3. 1: 4 and 1: 5. the metal powder raw materials and the grinding balls in the range can be fully ball-milled under the assistance of airflow so as to solve the problem of powder satellite balls and improve the sphericity and the fluidity of powder particles. It is worth to say that the weight ratio of the two is more than 3: after 1, the amount of the metal powder is far beyond that of the grinding balls, and the metal powder cannot be sufficiently ground; the weight ratio of the two is more than 1: after 5, the number of grinding balls is too large, the treatment efficiency is reduced, and the cost is increased.
Preferably, the weight ratio of the modifier to the metal powder raw material may be 1: 1000000-100: 1000000. the modifier modifies the surface of the metal powder through physical collision between the grinding balls and the metal powder, between the metal powder and between the metal powder and the ball grinding tank body and high temperature generated in the collision process, so as to improve the physical state of the surface of the metal powder. The proportion range can achieve better modification effect while the dosage of the modifier is lower.
Alternatively, the inert gas in the embodiment of the present invention may include, for example, nitrogen, argon, or helium. The flow rate of the inert gas may be 2-100L/min. When the air flow is more than 100L/min, fine powder is easy to be carried to block the filtering device during air exhaust, so that product waste is caused; when the air flow is less than 2L/min, impurities are not easy to be discharged, and the product quality is influenced.
Optionally, the ball milling time in the embodiment of the present invention may be, for example, 1 to 20 hours, and the ball milling time is comprehensively set according to the flow rate of the inert gas and the amounts of the metal powder raw material, the milling balls and the modifier, and the ball milling time can effectively solve the problem of the metal powder satellite balls in combination with the present solution, and improve the sphericity and the fluidity of the metal powder particles.
Further, after the ball milling is finished, the screening process comprises a first screening and a second screening, wherein the first screening is to remove the ball-milled metal powder raw materials with the particle size of less than 15 mu m in a grading mode, and the second screening is to select the metal powder raw materials with the particle size of less than 53 mu m from the metal powder raw materials obtained after the first screening. The screening method can effectively improve the screening efficiency of the powder on the premise of ensuring the granularity of the target product, so that the powder has a better screening effect.
The metal powder for 3D printing obtained by the method is spherical or nearly spherical in shape, has excellent fluidity and high apparent density, does not increase oxygen content and impurity content compared with metal powder raw materials, and can meet the requirements of 3D printing on the metal powder.
The features and properties of the present invention are described in further detail below with reference to examples.
Example 1
Referring to fig. 1, a ball mill 10 of the present embodiment includes a ball mill tank 11, a supporting device 12, an exhaust device 13, an air intake device 14, and a filtering device 15.
The ball milling pot 11 includes a pot housing 111 and a ball milling chamber 112 enclosed by the pot housing 111. The supporting device 12 is connected to the shell 111 of the ball mill tank, and the air inlet device 14 and the air outlet device 13 are respectively symmetrically arranged at two opposite ends of the ball mill tank 11 and are communicated with the ball milling cavity 112. The filter device 15 is disposed at an end of the exhaust device 13 adjacent to the ball grinding chamber 112.
Example 2
The embodiment provides a method for improving the flowability of metal powder for 3D printing, which comprises the following steps:
and adding grinding balls, a modifier and a stainless steel powder raw material with the granularity of 5-150 mu m, which is prepared by vacuum atomization, into a ball milling cavity of a ball mill. The weight ratio of the stainless steel powder raw material to the grinding ball is 1: 1, the weight ratio of the modifier to the stainless steel powder raw material is 100: 1000000, ball milling for 20 h.
And in the ball milling process, new argon is continuously input into the ball milling cavity through the air inlet device, and old argon is continuously output through the exhaust device. The input rate of new argon gas is equal to the output rate of old argon gas, and the flow rate of argon gas is 50L/min.
After the ball milling is finished, removing the stainless steel powder with the granularity of less than 15 mu m after the ball milling in a grading mode, and then selecting the stainless steel powder with the granularity of less than 53 mu m to obtain the stainless steel powder with the granularity of 15-53 mu m.
Example 3
The embodiment provides a method for improving the flowability of metal powder for 3D printing, which comprises the following steps:
and adding grinding balls, a modifier and a Fe powder raw material with the granularity of 10-100 mu m, which is prepared by vacuum atomization, into a ball milling cavity of a ball mill. The weight ratio of the Fe powder raw material to the grinding balls is 3: 1, the weight ratio of the modifier to the stainless steel powder raw material is 50: 1000000, ball milling for 10 h.
And in the ball milling process, new argon is continuously input into the ball milling cavity through the air inlet device, and old argon is continuously output through the exhaust device. The input rate of new argon gas is equal to the output rate of old argon gas, and the flow rate of argon gas is 2L/min.
After the ball milling is finished, removing the ball milled Fe powder with the granularity of less than 15 mu m by a grading mode, and then selecting the Fe powder with the granularity of less than 53 mu m to obtain the Fe powder with the granularity of 15-53 mu m.
Example 4
The embodiment provides a method for improving the flowability of metal powder for 3D printing, which comprises the following steps:
adding grinding balls, a modifier and a Co-based high-temperature alloy powder raw material with the granularity of 15-60 mu m, which is prepared by vacuum gas atomization, into a ball milling cavity of a ball mill. The weight ratio of the Co-based high-temperature alloy powder raw material to the grinding ball is 1: 5, the weight ratio of the modifier to the stainless steel powder raw material is 1: 1000000, ball milling for 1 h.
And in the ball milling process, new argon is continuously input into the ball milling cavity through the air inlet device, and old argon is continuously output through the exhaust device. The input rate of new argon gas is equal to the output rate of old argon gas, and the flow rate of argon gas is 2L/min.
After the ball milling is finished, removing the Co-based high-temperature alloy powder with the granularity of less than 15 mu m after the ball milling in a grading mode, and then selecting the Co-based high-temperature alloy powder with the granularity of less than 53 mu m to obtain the Co-based high-temperature alloy powder with the granularity of 15-53 mu m.
Example 5
The embodiment provides a method for improving the flowability of metal powder for 3D printing, which comprises the following steps:
adding grinding balls, a modifier and a Ni-based high-temperature alloy powder raw material with the granularity of 5-100 mu m, which is prepared by vacuum atomization, into a ball milling cavity of a ball mill. The weight ratio of the Ni-based high-temperature alloy powder raw material to the grinding ball is 2: 1, the weight ratio of the modifier to the stainless steel powder raw material is 10: 1000000, ball milling for 5 h.
In the ball milling process, new helium is continuously input into the ball milling cavity through the air inlet device, and old helium is continuously output through the air outlet device. The input rate of the new helium gas is equal to the output rate of the old helium gas, and the flow rate of the helium gas is 10L/min.
After the ball milling is finished, removing the ball-milled Ni-based high-temperature alloy powder with the granularity of less than 15 mu m by a grading mode, and then selecting the Ni-based high-temperature alloy powder with the granularity of less than 53 mu m to obtain the Ni-based high-temperature alloy powder with the granularity of 15-53 mu m.
Example 6
The embodiment provides a method for improving the flowability of metal powder for 3D printing, which comprises the following steps:
adding grinding balls, a modifier and a die steel powder raw material with the granularity of 10-80 mu m, which is prepared by vacuum atomization, into a ball milling cavity of a ball mill. The weight ratio of the die steel powder raw material to the grinding ball is 1: 2, the weight ratio of the modifier to the stainless steel powder raw material is 60: 1000000, ball milling for 15 h.
In the ball milling process, new helium is continuously input into the ball milling cavity through the air inlet device, and old helium is continuously output through the air outlet device. The input rate of the new helium gas is equal to the output rate of the old helium gas, and the flow rate of the helium gas is 80L/min.
After the ball milling is finished, removing the ball-milled die steel powder with the granularity of less than 15 mu m in a grading mode, and then selecting the die steel powder with the granularity of less than 53 mu m to obtain the die steel powder with the granularity of 15-53 mu m.
Example 7
The embodiment provides a method for improving the flowability of metal powder for 3D printing, which comprises the following steps:
adding grinding balls, a modifier and an Al-based alloy powder raw material with the granularity of 5-120 mu m, which is prepared by vacuum atomization, into a ball milling cavity of a ball mill. The weight ratio of the Al-based alloy powder raw material to the grinding ball is 1: 3, the weight ratio of the modifier to the stainless steel powder raw material is 30: 1000000, ball milling for 6 h.
In the ball milling process, new nitrogen is continuously input into the ball milling cavity through the air inlet device, and old nitrogen is continuously output through the exhaust device. The input rate of new nitrogen is equal to the output rate of old nitrogen, and the flow rate of nitrogen is 30L/min.
After the ball milling is finished, removing the ball-milled Al-based alloy powder with the granularity of less than 15 mu m by a grading mode, and then selecting the Al-based alloy powder with the granularity of less than 53 mu m to obtain the Al-based alloy powder with the granularity of 15-53 mu m.
Test examples
The above examples 2 to 7 were repeated to obtain a sufficient amount of metal powder. Referring to fig. 2, a morphology chart of the obtained stainless steel powder finished product is shown in table 1, and the obtained stainless steel powder finished product and the stainless steel powder raw material are compared with each other.
TABLE 1 comparative results
As can be seen from table 1, by the method of example 2, the fluidity of the finished product can be effectively improved compared to the stainless steel powder raw material without increasing the oxygen content and the impurity content as compared to the metal powder raw material.
In summary, the ball mill provided by the preferred embodiment of the present invention has a simple structure, and is particularly suitable for improving the fluidity of the metal powder for 3D printing. The method for improving the fluidity of the metal powder for 3D printing is simple, the number of satellite balls of the metal powder can be effectively reduced, and the physical state of the surface of the metal powder is improved. The obtained 3D printing metal powder is spherical or nearly spherical, has excellent fluidity and high apparent density, does not increase the oxygen content and the impurity content compared with the metal powder raw material, and can meet the requirements of 3D printing on the metal powder.
The embodiments described above are some, but not all embodiments of the invention. The detailed description of the embodiments of the present invention is not intended to limit the scope of the invention as claimed, but is merely representative of selected embodiments of the invention. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.