阅读说明：本技术 用于三维结构物堆叠装置的材料再利用装置 (Material recycling device for three-dimensional structure stacking device ) 是由 尹汝洪 张宰荣 郑流淙 申明峻 于 2019-11-29 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明公开了一种用于基于选择性激光烧结的三维结构物堆叠装置的材料再利用装置,更具体地说,能在三维结构物堆叠装置高效率地进行材料的再利用,连接三维结构物堆叠装置与材料再利用装置并且在进行堆叠的过程中或堆叠完成后不需额外的处理过程就能再利用材料,提高再利用的精密度而缩短再利用时间并且提高再利用的材料的品质的用于基于选择性激光烧结的三维结构物堆叠装置的材料再利用装置。(Disclosed is a material recycling apparatus for a three-dimensional structure stacking apparatus based on selective laser sintering, and more particularly, to a material recycling apparatus for a three-dimensional structure stacking apparatus based on selective laser sintering, which can efficiently recycle materials in the three-dimensional structure stacking apparatus, connect the three-dimensional structure stacking apparatus and the material recycling apparatus, and recycle materials during stacking or after stacking is completed without an additional process, improve the precision of recycling to shorten the recycling time and improve the quality of recycled materials.)

1. A material recycling device for a three-dimensional structure stacking device based on selective laser sintering is characterized in that,

the method comprises the following steps:

a storage module for storing a storage plate for placing the three-dimensional structure and a material to be reused, which are formed by stacking, in order to perform a post-process on the three-dimensional structure stacked by the three-dimensional structure stacking device based on selective laser sintering;

a sieving module provided at a lower portion of the housing module, and performing a sieving process for removing foreign matters from the metal powder material generated during a post-treatment process of the three-dimensional structure by the housing module and reusing the metal powder material;

a connection unit connecting the receiving unit and the sieving module and transmitting the metal powder material generated on the receiving module to the sieving module;

and a foreign matter storage unit for storing the foreign matters separated by the screening module after the screening process.

2. The material recycling apparatus for a three-dimensional structure stacking apparatus based on selective laser sintering as claimed in claim 1,

and a reprocessing module which is connected to the three-dimensional structure stacking apparatus and recovers metal powder to be reused in order to recover and reuse metal powder dust generated on the three-dimensional structure stacking apparatus which stacks the three-dimensional structures and metal powder remaining after stacking.

3. The material recycling apparatus for a three-dimensional structure stacking apparatus based on selective laser sintering as claimed in claim 2,

the reprocessing module includes: a negative pressure generating unit that generates a negative pressure for recovering the metal powder dust and the powder remaining after stacking in the three-dimensional stacking apparatus; and an inflow prevention filter unit for preventing the recovered metal powder from flowing into the negative pressure generating unit.

4. The material recycling apparatus for a three-dimensional structure stacking apparatus based on selective laser sintering as claimed in claim 3,

and a communicating unit for connecting the reprocessing module and the connecting unit in order to transfer the metal powder recovered by the reprocessing module to the sieving module.

5. The material recycling apparatus for a three-dimensional structure stacking apparatus based on selective laser sintering as claimed in claim 1,

the sieving module is provided with two-stage filtering units so as to carry out a sieving process for recycling the metal powder flowing in through the connecting unit, and the particle size of the filter of the first filtering unit is larger than that of the second filtering unit.

6. The material recycling apparatus for a three-dimensional structure stacking apparatus based on selective laser sintering as claimed in claim 5,

further comprising an ultrasonic wave generating module which applies ultrasonic waves to the filtering unit of the sieving module in order to improve filtering efficiency during filtering of the metal powder by the filtering unit.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a recycling apparatus for a metal powder material used in an apparatus for stacking three-dimensional structures by selective laser sintering. More specifically, in order to reuse materials that are not used in the selective sintering and require removal of foreign materials, a material reuse apparatus for a three-dimensional structure stacking apparatus based on the selective laser sintering is connected to the three-dimensional structure stacking apparatus to improve material reuse efficiency.

Background

In the related art, a three-dimensional structure such as a machine part or a plastic product is manufactured by a process such as cutting or injection molding. Recently, a three-dimensional printer for manufacturing the three-dimensional structure in a manner of stacking cross-sectional layers has been increasingly popularized.

Three-dimensional printers are classified into several types according to stacking methods, for example, various methods such as Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) in which a powder material is selectively sintered by a Laser, Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) in which a material is solidified after a wire material is melted and stacked, Stereolithography (SLA) in which a light is irradiated to a photo-curable material to be hardened, and the like, and each of the methods has advantages and disadvantages according to the shape, material, strength, and the like of a stacked three-dimensional structure, and thus, selection is made according to a three-dimensional structure to be stacked.

Early three-dimensional printers were typically used for Rapid Prototyping (RP) applications where the designed shapes were shown or prototyped purely or to make custom structures for private use by the user.

Recently, three-dimensional printers are suitable for customized products that are ordered by individuals who post graphics via the internet in an attached manner, or for parts that are difficult to be manufactured by existing processing methods such as machining or grinding in the prior art, high-strength aerospace parts, or customized implants, etc. which are manufactured by SLS type three-dimensional printers that are stacked after metal powder is selectively sintered.

The three-dimensional printer of SLS system is provided with a material supply unit containing metal powder on one side and forms a thin layer by a doctor blade or the like, and then stacks the three-dimensional structures by selectively sintering them by laser according to the cross-sectional shape of the three-dimensional structures to be stacked.

The SLS type three-dimensional printer uses a very small metal powder and is sintered by applying high-temperature heat by laser, and the probability of fire occurring during irradiation of laser to the metal powder layer for sintering is very high, so the SLS type three-dimensional printer is generally stacked after filling a chamber with an inert gas.

Further, unlike the three-dimensional printer of other modes, even if the three-dimensional structure is stacked by selective sintering, the stacked three-dimensional structure is surrounded by metal powder that is not sintered and a subsequent process is required to take out the three-dimensional structure.

In the prior art, the space for stacking the three-dimensional structure and the space for performing the subsequent process are realized in the same chamber, so that the subsequent process is very complicated and inconvenient, the powder material which is not used for sintering is difficult to recover and reuse, and the recycling efficiency is very low. In particular, since the recycling efficiency of the three-dimensional stacking apparatus using the expensive metal powder directly affects the production cost of the three-dimensional structure, it is very important to improve the recycling efficiency, but the material recycling efficiency of the conventional three-dimensional structure stacking apparatus is low.

In addition, an additional process is required to recycle the material during or after stacking the three-dimensional structures in the three-dimensional printer, so that the material recycling process cannot be organically realized, and much time is required to continuously stack the three-dimensional structures.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention has been made to solve the foregoing problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a material recycling apparatus for a three-dimensional structure stacking apparatus based on selective laser sintering, which can efficiently recycle materials in the three-dimensional structure stacking apparatus, which connects the three-dimensional structure stacking apparatus and the material recycling apparatus and can recycle the materials without an additional process during or after stacking, and which improves recycling precision to shorten recycling time and improve quality of the recycled materials.

In order to achieve the object, the material recycling apparatus for a three-dimensional structure stacking apparatus based on selective laser sintering of the present invention comprises: a storage module for storing a storage plate for placing the three-dimensional structure and a material to be reused, which are formed by stacking, in order to perform a post-process on the three-dimensional structure stacked by the three-dimensional structure stacking device based on selective laser sintering; a sieving module provided at a lower portion of the housing module, and performing a sieving process for removing foreign matters from the metal powder material generated during a post-treatment process of the three-dimensional structure by the housing module and reusing the metal powder material; a connection unit connecting the receiving unit and the sieving module and transmitting the metal powder material generated on the receiving module to the sieving module; and a foreign matter storage unit for storing the foreign matters separated by the screening module after the screening process.

And a reprocessing module which is connected to the three-dimensional structure stacking apparatus and recovers metal powder to be reused in order to recover and reuse metal powder dust generated on the three-dimensional structure stacking apparatus which stacks the three-dimensional structures and metal powder remaining after stacking.

Moreover, the reprocessing module includes: a negative pressure generating unit that generates a negative pressure for recovering the metal powder dust and the powder remaining after stacking in the three-dimensional stacking apparatus; and an inflow prevention filter unit for preventing the recovered metal powder from flowing into the negative pressure generating unit.

And a communicating unit for connecting the reprocessing module and the connecting unit in order to transfer the metal powder recovered by the reprocessing module to the sieving module.

And, the sieving module is provided with a two-stage type filtering unit for performing a sieving process for reusing the metal powder flowed in through the connection unit, and the first filtering unit has a filter having a large particle size compared to the second filtering unit.

Also, the metal powder classifying device may further include an ultrasonic wave generating module applying ultrasonic waves to the filter unit of the classifying module in order to improve filtering efficiency during filtering of the metal powder by the filter unit.

The present invention configured as described above can greatly improve the material recycling efficiency of the three-dimensional structure stacking apparatus.

Moreover, an additional process is not required for recycling the material, and the material can be recycled in the stacking process.

Furthermore, the accuracy of material recycling is improved, the recycling time is shortened, and the quality of the recycled material is improved.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a front view of a material recycling apparatus for a three-dimensional structure stacking apparatus based on selective laser sintering according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a front view of a reprocessing module of a material recycling apparatus for a selective laser sintering-based three-dimensional structure stacking apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a front view of a sieving module of a material recycling apparatus for a selective laser sintering based three-dimensional structure stacking apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 shows an embodiment of the present invention of a filter unit of a material recycling apparatus sharing a sieving module for a selective laser sintering based three-dimensional structure stacking apparatus.

(description of reference numerals)

100: storage module

200: screening module

300: connection unit

400: foreign matter storage unit

500: reprocessing module

600: communication unit

Detailed Description

The material recycling apparatus for a three-dimensional structure stacking apparatus based on selective laser sintering according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is a front view of a material reusing apparatus for a selective laser sintering-based three-dimensional structure stacking apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, fig. 2 is a front view of a reprocessing module of the material reusing apparatus for a selective laser sintering-based three-dimensional structure stacking apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, fig. 3 is a front view of a sieving module of the material reusing apparatus for a selective laser sintering-based three-dimensional structure stacking apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and fig. 4 illustrates an embodiment of a filtering unit of the sieving module shared by the material reusing apparatus for a selective laser sintering-based three-dimensional structure stacking apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The three-dimensional structure stacking device is used for stacking and forming a three-dimensional structure by means of selective sintering, and then a subsequent treatment process is needed to separate the three-dimensional structure formed by stacking. In the prior art, the subsequent treatment process is carried out on the stacked three-dimensional structure stacking device, so that the device is polluted by metal powder and needs to be maintained, and the recycling efficiency of high-price metal powder is low.

The present invention is directed to solving the aforementioned problems of metal powder in the prior art and discloses a material recycling apparatus for a three-dimensional structure stacking apparatus based on selective laser sintering, which is capable of collecting metal powder generated in a post-treatment process after a three-dimensional stacking apparatus has completed stacking and storing a storage plate on which a three-dimensional structure is stored, efficiently removing foreign materials from the metal powder and efficiently recovering reusable metal powder, and further, a reprocessing module capable of reprocessing the metal powder is connected to the three-dimensional stacking apparatus, and capable of immediately recovering and reprocessing the metal powder remaining after the stacking of the three-dimensional structure is completed, thereby shortening the reprocessing time of the metal powder and improving the reprocessing efficiency.

The material recycling apparatus for a selective laser sintering-based three-dimensional structure stacking apparatus of the present invention includes: a receiving module 100 for receiving a shelf on which a three-dimensional structure stacked by selective laser sintering is placed; a sieving module 200 provided at a lower portion of the receiving module 100, and performing a sieving (sieving) process of filtering metal powder generated during a subsequent process from the receiving module 100 so as to reuse the metal powder material; a connection unit 300 for connecting the receiving module 100 and the input port of the sieving module 200 in order to transfer the metal powder generated in the receiving module 100 to the sieving module 200; the foreign matter storage unit 400 stores the foreign matter filtered after the metal powder filtered by the sieving module 200 and to be reused is transferred to the metal powder storage unit 220 at the lower part.

The storage module 100 of the present invention stores the three-dimensional structure stacking apparatus on which the three-dimensional structure is placed by selectively sintering the storage plates of the stacked three-dimensional structures, performs a subsequent process, and transfers metal powder generated during the process to the sieving module 200 provided at the lower portion. For the post-processing of the three-dimensional structure, the post-processing step may be manually performed after the handling hole 110 is provided on the front surface of the housing module 100. Of course, the storage module 100 may be filled with an inert gas such as argon (Ar) to prevent a fire in a subsequent process, so that the inside and the outside of the storage module 100 may be shielded, or gloves attached to the operation holes 110 may be provided to facilitate the operation. The receiving module 100 may be provided with an air gun to improve convenience of a subsequent process. This is because, when the stacked three-dimensional structure is selectively sintered, it is necessary to remove the powder material using an air gun since the stacked three-dimensional structure is surrounded by the powder material.

The sieving module 200 of the present invention receives the metal powder material generated during the subsequent process of the receiving module 100 through the connection unit 300, filters foreign materials in the metal powder material by filtration, and then receives the reusable metal powder. The sieving module 200 removes foreign materials through the filtering unit 210 constructed in two stages after receiving the recovered metal powder material at the upper portion through the hole connected to the connection unit 300. This is because, in order to improve the filtration efficiency, when the metal powder used for three-dimensional stacking is used as a very fine powder for rapid sintering and precise stacking of three-dimensional structures, it takes too long time to filter when the fine powder is reused by one filter. Therefore, in the present invention, in order to remove foreign matters having a size larger than that of the metal powder material, the filter 210a having a large particle size is used in the first stage, and after the foreign matters are filtered, the filter 210b having a small particle size is used in the second stage to finally filter the foreign matters, and then the metal powder is transferred to the metal powder storage unit 220. The filtering efficiency can be further improved by attaching the ultrasonic wave generating unit 230 to the filter 210 and allowing the ultrasonic waves to reach the entire filtering unit 210 in order to improve the filtering efficiency during the filtering by means of the filtering unit 210.

The reprocessing module 500 of the present invention directly connects the metal powder dust generated in the three-dimensional stacking apparatus for stacking three-dimensional structures and the metal powder remaining after stacking to the three-dimensional structure stacking apparatus for recycling. The three-dimensional stacking apparatus based on selective sintering thinly spreads a metal powder forming layer before selective sintering and irradiates laser stacking along the cross-sectional shape of a three-dimensional structure, and repeats this process to collect metal powder remaining after forming the layer at one place. The reprocessing module 500 of the present invention not only directly recovers metal powder dust in the three-dimensional stacking apparatus, but also directly recovers metal powder remaining after forming a layer and recycles the metal powder material after reprocessing, and the recycling structure of the metal powder material formed by the reprocessing module 500 can greatly reduce the personnel and time required for recycling the material.

The reprocessing module 500 includes: a negative pressure generating unit 510 that generates a negative pressure for directly recovering the metal powder in the three-dimensional stacking apparatus; a recovery hole 530 for recovering the metal powder by the negative pressure formed by the negative pressure generating unit 510; an inflow prevention filter unit 520 for preventing the metal powder recovered by the recovery hole 530 from directly flowing into the negative pressure generating unit 510; the reprocessing filtering unit 540 reprocesses the recovered metal powder by filtering.

The negative pressure generating unit 510 is a component for generating negative pressure, and is advantageous in preventing fire when used after connecting a hose or the like to a vacuum pump provided outside. Preferably, the inflow prevention filter unit 520 is formed of a filter having a particle size smaller than that of the metal powder so that the negative pressure is transmitted to the recovery hole 530 without allowing the metal powder to flow in. Preferably, it is designed that the ends of the recovery holes 530 are formed in a cyclone structure such that the recovered metal powder flows to the lower portion, and the air flow caused by the negative pressure is connected to the negative pressure generating unit 510 provided at the upper portion.

The reprocessing filter unit 540 has the same structure as the filter unit 210 of the previously described sieving module 200, and may be constructed in such a manner that the communication unit 600 is connected to the connection unit 300 without additionally providing the reprocessing filter unit 540 and the filter unit 210 of the sieving module 200 is commonly used in order to reduce the production cost.