阅读说明：本技术 金属过滤器及其制造方法 (Metal filter and method for manufacturing the same ) 是由 太田敦夫 今野晋也 于 2019-12-18 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明提供一种金属过滤器及其制造方法,其制造工时少且过滤性能高。无接缝且连续地设置：具有过滤功能的网眼状的过滤部(10)；以及由支撑过滤部(10)的多个梁部件(21、22)构成的支撑部(20)。(The invention provides a metal filter and a manufacturing method thereof, which has less manufacturing time and high filtering performance. Seamlessly and continuously: a mesh-like filter unit (10) having a filtering function; and a support part (20) composed of a plurality of beam members (21, 22) that support the filter part (10).)

1. A metal filter is characterized by comprising:

a mesh-like filter unit; and

a support portion composed of a plurality of beam members supporting the filter portion,

the filter portion and the support portion are continuous without a seam.

2. Metal filter according to claim 1,

the filter part and the support part are formed of the same metal.

3. Metal filter according to claim 1,

the filter part is formed in a cylindrical shape,

the support portion is located on at least one of an inner surface side and an outer surface side of the filter portion.

4. Metal filter according to claim 3,

further comprising a flange portion provided at least one of an upper end and a lower end of the metal filter,

the flange portion is continuous with the filter portion and the support portion without a seam.

5. Metal filter according to claim 3,

the width of the plurality of beam members in the radial direction of the filter house is larger than the thickness of the filter house in the radial direction of the filter house.

6. Metal filter according to claim 1,

the plurality of beam members are assembled in a lattice shape to form a plurality of lattices.

7. Metal filter according to claim 6,

the filter portion is formed to be located inside the plurality of cells.

8. A method for manufacturing a metal filter, comprising:

a first step of creating three-dimensional shape data of a metal filter, the metal filter including a mesh-like filter unit and a support unit made of a plurality of beam members for supporting the filter unit; and

and a second step of integrally forming the filter part and the support part by melting and solidifying metal powder using a metal three-dimensional printer according to the three-dimensional shape data.

9. The method of manufacturing a metal filter according to claim 8,

in the shaping of the filter unit in the second step, the irradiation conditions of the laser beam or the electron beam of the metal three-dimensional printer are partially changed to melt a part of the metal particles.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a metal filter capable of filtering solids in a fluid and a method for manufacturing the same.

Background

As a filter capable of filtering solids in a fluid, a metal filter (metal filter) having excellent heat resistance, pressure resistance, and impact resistance as compared with a resin, ceramic, glass, or the like is available. One of the metal filters is a sintered filter in which metal powder is sintered at a temperature around the melting point to form micropores. The sintered filter can exhibit a high filtering capacity because the metal particles are sintered in a three-dimensional complex manner. In order to improve the filtering ability of the sintered filter, for example, it is conceivable to make a sintered body having a smaller pore size by making the particle size of the metal powder fine and to increase the thickness of the sintered body.

In order to solve such a problem, patent document 1 discloses a metal filter in which a pressure loss is reduced by increasing a filter area. Specifically, disclosed is a metal filter in which a cylindrical support body having irregularities on the outer peripheral surface thereof and a fine filter layer having a thickness such that the shape cannot be maintained by a single body against a filter pressure are integrally sintered, and the outer peripheral surface (facing surface) of the support body is covered with the fine filter layer. In this metal filter, the pore diameter of the fine filter layer is smaller than the pore diameter of the support, and the coated surface (outer circumferential surface) of the support is formed to have irregularities of crests, so that the filter surface of the fine filter layer becomes a wavy filter surface, the average thickness of the fine filter layer in troughs between crests is made larger than the average thickness in the crests, and the filter surface of the fine filter layer is formed into a smooth curved surface.

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

In general, including the metal filter of patent document 1, it is necessary to prepare a die (inner die and outer die of patent document 1) for filling, pressurizing, and sintering metal powder in the production of a sintered filter. And sintered filters have difficulty in controlling the filter pore size due to the nature of sintering. And the degree of freedom of the shape of the sintered body is low due to the restriction of the mold structure.

In the filter of patent document 1, since the substantially cylindrical support is located on the entire inner peripheral surface side of the fine filtration layer, there is room for improvement in pressure loss.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a metal filter having a small number of manufacturing steps and high filtering performance, and a manufacturing method thereof.

Means for solving the problems

The present application includes a plurality of solutions to the above-described problem, but only one example thereof is a metal filter including a mesh-shaped filter unit and a support unit formed of a plurality of beam members supporting the filter unit, and the filter unit is continuous with the support unit without a seam.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

The metal filter with high filtering performance can be easily manufactured by adopting the invention.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a metal filter (metal filter) according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a view of the metal filter 1 of fig. 1 with the filter unit 10 removed.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of a portion a in fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a view of the metal filter 1 of fig. 1 with the support portion 20 removed.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged view of a portion B in fig. 4.

Fig. 6(a) to (c) are views schematically showing modifications of the positional relationship between the filter unit 10 and the support unit 20.

Fig. 7 is a schematic configuration diagram of a powder bed type 3D printer.

Fig. 8 is a diagram showing a process of manufacturing the metal filter 1 by the 3D printer 100 in six steps.

Fig. 9 is a configuration example when laser irradiation conditions are changed in a 3D printer.

In the figure:

1-metal filter, 10-filter section, 11-filter hole, 20-support section, 21-beam section, 22-beam section, 23-lattice partition, 30-flange section, 100-3D printer, 101-control device, 102-laser irradiation device, 103-powder injection section, 104-coater, 105-substrate, 106-manufacturing container, 107-metal powder, 108-first layer forming section, 109-second layer forming section, 110-third layer forming section, 200-computer.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a metal filter (metal filter) according to an embodiment of the present invention. The metal filter 1 shown in fig. 1 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, and includes: a mesh-like filter unit 10 that functions as a filter for filtering solids in a fluid; and a support portion 20 composed of a plurality of beam members 21, 22 that support the filter portion 10 and improve the structural strength of the metal filter 1. The filter house 10 and the support 20 are continuous at the interface therebetween without a seam. That is, the filter unit 10 and the support unit 20 are integrally formed, not being combined after being separately manufactured. The filter part 10 and the support part 20 may be formed of the same metal.

Flat ring-shaped flange portions 30 are provided at both ends (i.e., upper and lower ends of the cylindrical shape) of the axial support portion 20 of the metal filter 1. Similarly, the flange portion 30 is integrally formed with the filter portion 10 and the support portion 20 and is continuous at the boundary portion thereof without a seam. The flange 30 may be provided at either end of the support 20, or may be omitted.

Fig. 2 is a view of the metal filter 1 of fig. 1 with the filter unit 10 removed, and shows only the support portion 20 in a state of being drawn out. Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of a portion a in fig. 2.

The plurality of beam members 21, 22 are positioned at the upper end and the lower end of the metal filter 1 in the axial direction, and are bridged between two flange portions 30 arranged at intervals in the axial direction of the metal filter 1. The plurality of beam members 21 and 22 are assembled in a lattice shape to form a plurality of lattices. That is, the support 20 is formed with a plurality of rectangular lattice-shaped partitions 23 formed of: a plurality of first beam members 21 arranged at predetermined intervals along the first alignment direction; and a plurality of second beam members 22 arranged at predetermined intervals in a second arrangement direction intersecting the first arrangement direction. The filter unit 10 of the present embodiment is disposed so as to close the lattice-shaped partitions 23 from the outer side surface side of the metal filter 1.

The plurality of beam members 21 and 22 of the present embodiment have a width in the radial direction of the metal filter 1, which is equal to or smaller than the width (thickness in the radial direction) of the flange portion 30 in the radial direction of the metal filter 1. But is not smaller than the width (thickness) of the filter portion 10 in the radial direction of the metal filter 1. That is, when compared in the radial direction of the metal filter 1, the width of the plurality of beam members 21 and 22 is larger than the thickness of the filter unit 10 and is equal to or smaller than the width of the flange portion 30.

Fig. 4 is a view of the metal filter 1 of fig. 1 with the support portion 20 removed, and shows only the filter unit 10 drawn out. Fig. 5 is an enlarged view of a portion B in fig. 4.

As shown in fig. 4, the filter unit 10 of the present embodiment is formed in a hollow cylindrical shape, and the thickness of the cylinder is the thickness of the filter.

As shown in fig. 5, the filter unit 10 is formed of a checkered grid in which a plurality of straight lines extending in the vertical direction (filter axial direction) and the horizontal direction (filter circumferential direction) intersect perpendicularly, and the shape of each filter hole 11 is formed substantially uniformly. Although the filter holes 11 in fig. 5 are formed in a substantially square shape, the shape and size of the filter holes 11 may be changed to a desired shape.

< modification example >

While (a) the case where the filter unit 10 is located on the outer side surface side of the metal filter 1 (that is, the case where the support portion 20 is located on the inner side surface side of the filter unit 10) has been described above, (b) the filter unit 10 may be located on the inner side surface side of the metal filter 1 (that is, the support portion 20 may be located on the outer side surface side of the filter unit 10), or (c) the filter unit 10 may be located in the lattice of the support portion 10 (in the lattice-shaped partitions 23) (that is, the support portion 20 may be located on both the inner side surface side and the outer side surface side of the filter unit 10). Fig. 6(a) to (c) are views schematically showing the positional relationship between the filter unit 10 and the support unit 20 in the above cases (a), (b), and (c).

For example, the position of the support portion 20 may be appropriately selected from (a) - (c) according to the direction in which the fluid passes through the filter portion 10 (the filtering direction). Further, when the support portions 20 are provided on both the inner surface side and the outer surface side of the filter unit 10 as in the case of (c), the filter unit 10 can be supported on both the inner surface side and the outer surface side, and therefore, the structural strength of the metal filter 1 can be improved.

< manufacturing method >

The metal filter 1 is manufactured by integrally molding the filter unit 10 and the support unit 20 by a lamination molding (Additive Manufacturing). Specific methods for the laminate molding include the following: a powder bed method in which compacted metal powder is laid and a shaping portion is melted and solidified by a laser or an electron beam as a heat source, and a metal deposition method in which a molten metal material is laminated and solidified at a predetermined place to be shaped. The former includes: a laser beam system using a laser beam as a heat source, and an electron beam system using an electron beam as a heat source. The latter includes: a laser beam system in which metal powder is sprayed and melted by laser, and an arc discharge system in which a wire is melted by arc discharge.

The metal 3D printer is an example of an apparatus for manufacturing the metal filter 1 by the lamination molding, and in the present embodiment, the metal filter 1 is manufactured by a metal 3D printer of a powder bed method. Fig. 7 is a schematic configuration diagram of a powder bed type 3D printer. As shown in the drawing, the 3D printer 100 of the powder bed method includes: a control device 101, a laser irradiation device 102, a powder injection unit 103, a coater 104, a base plate 105, and a manufacturing container 106.

The control device 101 executes control of the 3D printer 100 such as laser irradiation output and position of the laser irradiation device 102, position of the base plate 105, control of the coater 104, and injection of the powder 107 by the powder injection unit 103. The control device 101 controls each part of the 3D printer 100 based on the configuration data (three-dimensional shape data) of the metal filter 1 (three-dimensional shaped object) generated by the computer 200. As a result, the 3D printer 100 forms the metal filter 1 by lamination molding.

When the metal filter 1 is molded by the 3D printer 100, first, the metal powder 107 melted and solidified by laser irradiation is injected into the manufacturing container 106 from the powder injection portion 103 on the base plate 105.

The coater 104 is then controlled to level the surface of the metal powder 107. Next, the laser irradiation device 102 is irradiated with laser light according to the structure of the metal filter 1 to selectively melt and solidify the metal powder 107. As a result, the first layer forming portion 108 is formed.

Next, the base sheet 105 is lowered to form the second-layer forming section 109. The metal powder 107 is again injected. The coater 104 is controlled to level the surface of the metal powder 107. The laser irradiation device 102 irradiates laser light to form the second layer forming portion 109.

By repeating these operations, the 3D printer 100 shapes the metal filter 1. That is, the 3D printer 100 melts and solidifies the powder 107 injected into the manufacturing container 106 to mold the three-dimensional shaped object. Fig. 8 is a diagram showing a process of manufacturing the metal filter 1 by the 3D printer 100 broken down into six steps, and the filtering portion 10 and the supporting portion 20 are integrally formed without being separated as time passes through the steps of (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), and (6) in the diagram.

However, in general, the laser irradiation apparatus 102 performs laser irradiation at a predetermined output and a predetermined scanning speed by the control apparatus 101 so that all metal particles existing in the laser irradiation range are melted and solidified. However, the normal laser irradiation conditions may be partially changed to melt and solidify only a part of the metal particles present in the laser irradiation range (for example, the scanning speed may be set to be the same as the normal state, the output may be reduced as compared with the normal state, or the scanning speed may be increased to maintain the output).

In this case, a part of the metal particles is melted or diffusion bonded, and the three-dimensional shape data generated by the computer 200 shows an irregular shape different from the predetermined shape of the metal filter 1, so that the surface area of the formed object can be increased as compared with the case where the laser irradiation output is constant. Therefore, for example, if the surface area of the filter unit 10 is increased by changing the normal laser irradiation conditions when adding the catalyst function to the filter unit 10, the contact area between the fluid and the catalyst when the filter unit 10 passes through can be increased, and the reaction can be promoted. Fig. 9 shows an example of the shape when the laser irradiation conditions are changed. However, fig. 9 does not show a part of the metal filter 1.

Although the case where the heat source of the 3D printer is a laser beam is described here, it is needless to say that an electron beam may be used. Metal deposition may also be used as well.

< Effect >

In the metal filter 1 configured as described above, the filter unit 10 is connected to the support portion 20 without a seam, and the filter unit 10 is supported on the side surfaces of the plurality of beam members 21 and 22 of the support portion 20, so that even if a filtering pressure acts on the filter unit 10 during use, the beam members 21 and 22 support the pressure and prevent deformation such as bending of the filter unit 10, and the thickness of the filter unit 10 can be easily made thin. At this time, as described in the above-described embodiment, if the flange portions 30 are provided at both ends of the metal filter 1 in the axial direction and the plurality of beam members 21 and 22 are bridged, the structural strength of the metal filter 1 can be further improved. Thus, the present embodiment can provide a metal filter having excellent filtration performance and pressure resistance.

Compared with the conventional sintered filter, the filter performance is easily improved because a large pressure loss does not occur even if the pore diameter of the filter pores 11 is reduced. Further, the controllability of the filter pore diameter is higher than that of a sintered filter in which the control of the filter pore diameter is difficult, and thus it is easy to ensure a desired filtration performance. Further, since a mold is not required for manufacturing the filter, the number of manufacturing steps is reduced as compared with the case of sintering the filter. Therefore, the filtering performance of the metal filter can be easily improved as compared with the conventional sintered filter.

Since the 3D printer 100 is used for manufacturing the metal filter 1 of the present embodiment, the filter unit 10 and the support unit 20 can be integrally formed, and the number of manufacturing steps can be significantly reduced compared to a case where the filter unit 10 and the support unit 20 are separately manufactured and then joined. Further, since the metal filter 1 is configured such that the filter unit 10 is supported by the plurality of beam members 21 and 22 from the lower end to the upper end in the axial direction, the filter unit 10 and the support portion 20 can be simultaneously laminated and formed in the entire process of manufacturing the metal filter 1 by the 3D printer 100, and the metal filter can be stably manufactured while avoiding deformation of the filter unit 10 having a small thickness during lamination. Since the 3D printer 100 faithfully reproduces the shape defined by the three-dimensional shape data, the thickness and the pore diameter of the filter pores 11 can be easily and accurately controlled. Since there is no restriction on the positional relationship between the filter unit 10 and the support unit 20 as compared with a sintered filter using a mold, a metal filter that meets the demand can be easily manufactured. Further, if the laser irradiation conditions are changed so that a part of the metal powder remains in an unmelted state, the metal powder can be shaped not only into a shape defined by the three-dimensional shape data but also into an irregular shape. If the surface area of the filter unit 10 is increased in this way, for example, the contact area between the filter unit 10 and the fluid passing therethrough is increased, and therefore the reaction is easily promoted when the filter unit 10 has a catalytic function or the like.

< Others >

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within a range not departing from the gist thereof. For example, the present invention is not limited to the case where the present invention includes all the configurations described in the above embodiments, and includes a case where a part of the configurations is deleted.

In the above embodiment, the plurality of beam members 21 and 22 form a square (diamond) lattice in the support portion 20, but the lattice may have any other desired shape. The shape of the beam members 21 and 22 is not limited to the above shape, and various shapes can be adopted as long as they have a side surface contacting the filter unit 10. In this case, it is not necessary to form a lattice from a plurality of beam members.

Although the above embodiment has been described with respect to the case where the filter unit 10 has a cylindrical shape, the position of the filter unit 10 with respect to the support 20 may be changed, for example, in accordance with the lattice-shaped partitions 23 formed in the support 20. That is, in one of the lattice-shaped partitions 23, the filter unit 10 is located on the inner surface side of the support 20, and in the other lattice-shaped partition 23, the filter unit 10 is located on the outer surface side of the support 20.

In the above embodiment, the hollow cylindrical metal filter 1 is exemplified, but the shape of the filter may be appropriately changed, and for example, the present invention may be applied to a cylindrical metal filter.

As a specific application object of the metal filter 1, a coke filter used in a system (coke recovery system) for recovering coke (an unreacted solid obtained by removing volatile matter and moisture from coal in a gasification furnace, mainly composed of ash and fixed carbon) generated in the case of integrated coal gasification combined cycle power generation or the like can be considered. The metal filter 1 of the present embodiment is preferable because controllability of the filter pore diameter, strength, and sulfidation resistance are required in the coke filter.