KR102290893B1 - Laser sintering apparatus capable of continously laser sintering - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a laser sintering apparatus capable of continuous laser shaping, comprising: a rotating part which is partitioned in a circumferential direction and has a plurality of transfer chambers capable of suppressing external air contact and is rotatably arranged around a vertically arranged rotation axis; a modeling chamber capable of communicating with any one of the transfer chambers on an upper side of the rotating part, and in which contact with outside air can be suppressed; a container which is transferred to the molding chamber through the transfer chamber and is molded by accommodating a powder material therein; a container transfer unit for transferring the container accommodated in the transfer chamber disposed below the shaping chamber between a shaping position disposed inside the shaping chamber and a transfer location disposed in the transfer chamber; a powder material supply unit provided inside the shaping chamber to provide the powder material into the container; a laser light source unit irradiating a laser into the container inside the shaping chamber to shape the powder material; and a rotating unit driving unit for rotationally driving the rotating unit. It is constituted by providing Thereby,

Description

LASER SINTERING APPARATUS CAPABLE OF CONTINOUSLY LASER SINTERING

The present invention relates to a laser sintering apparatus, and more particularly, to a laser sintering apparatus capable of continuous laser molding since containers can be replaced without contact with outside air.

As is well known, a 3D printer is a type of additive manufacturing, and has the advantage of being able to manufacture complex and various shapes that are difficult to manufacture with conventional tool processing.

Although this 3D printer technology takes a lot of time to produce, it is not easy to mass-produce, but it is recognized as a solution technology for small-lot production of various types, production of personalized parts, and custom-made products.

Among the 3D printer techniques, a laser sintering device (technology) called LS (laser sintering) can be manufactured in relatively large quantities compared to other techniques, and has high material heat resistance, impact resistance and chemical resistance. It is used as production equipment in various application fields.

However, in such a conventional laser sintering device (LS), a pretreatment process in which the material is heated to a preset temperature to reduce the deformation and shrinkage of the material and proceeds until just before the sintering step, and deformation and contraction of the sculpture produced by sintering and lamination There is a problem that a post-processing process of cooling while minimizing the temperature is absolutely necessary, and a lot of time is required for the pre-processing process and the post-processing process.

In particular, there is a problem in that the actual operation rate of the laser molding unit is significantly low because the time required for the pre-processing process and the post-processing process is significantly longer than the molding time for sintering and laminating molding by irradiating a laser to the powder material.

US 1019960705647 A1 (1996.11.08.)

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a laser sintering apparatus capable of continuously performing laser molding by allowing replacement of containers without contact with outside air.

The present invention, in order to achieve the object as described above, is partitioned in the circumferential direction and provided with a plurality of transfer chambers that can be suppressed in contact with the outside air, and a rotating unit rotatably arranged around a vertically arranged rotating shaft; a modeling chamber capable of communicating with any one of the transfer chambers on an upper side of the rotating part, and in which contact with outside air can be suppressed; a container which is transferred to the molding chamber through the transfer chamber and is molded by accommodating a powder material therein; a container transfer unit for transferring the container accommodated in the transfer chamber disposed below the shaping chamber between a shaping position disposed inside the shaping chamber and a transfer location disposed in the transfer chamber; a powder material supply unit provided inside the shaping chamber to provide the powder material into the container; a laser light source unit irradiating a laser into the container inside the shaping chamber to shape the powder material; and a rotating unit driving unit configured to rotate the rotating unit.

In an embodiment, the rotation unit, the bottom plate and the top plate having a disk shape and spaced apart from the upper and lower portions of the rotation shaft; and a partition wall disposed in a radial direction between the bottom plate and the top plate.

In an embodiment, the rotating part may include a disc part disposed along the circumference of the bottom plate and the top plate, and the disc part may be configured to have a door for opening and closing the transfer chamber.

In an embodiment, the container may include: a cylindrical frame opened up and down; and a bottom plate provided so as to be able to move up and down inside the frame.

In an embodiment, the container transfer unit, a transfer screw disposed vertically inside the transfer chamber; a transfer screw driving motor for rotationally driving the transfer screw; a transfer nut screwed to the transfer screw; a supporter on which the container is placed on an upper surface; and a supporter connection part connected to one side of the transfer nut and the other side connected to the supporter.

In an embodiment, it may be configured to further include a; bottom plate driving unit for driving the elevation of the bottom plate with respect to the frame.

In an embodiment, the bottom plate driving unit, the coupling portion coupled to the bottom of the bottom plate; a bottom plate feed screw provided in the supporter connection part; a female screw member screwed to the bottom plate feed screw; And one side is connected to the female screw member, the other side is connected to the coupling portion connected to the coupling portion; may be configured to include.

In an embodiment, a locking part may be provided between the coupling part and the bottom plate so that the coupling state of the coupling part and the bottom plate can be maintained.

In an embodiment, a penetrating portion may be formed in the bottom of the molding chamber to allow a container lifted by the container transfer unit to be introduced.

In an embodiment, the powder material supply unit, a supply container for supplying the powder material to the container introduced through the through portion on one side of the through portion; a rail extending from an upper side of the supply container to an upper side of the container; It may be configured with a; roller for supplying the powder material of the supply container to the container while moving along the rail.

In an embodiment, the upper plate may include: a movable upper plate coupled to the upper end of the partition wall and having a communicating portion through which each transfer chamber may communicate with the through portion; and a fixed upper plate provided on the upper side of the movable upper plate to block the communication part.

In an embodiment, the fixed upper plate may form a bottom of the shaping chamber, and the penetrating portion may be formed through the fixed upper plate.

In an embodiment, a container heater provided on the outer surface of the container to heat the container; may be configured to further include.

In an embodiment, the rotating part driving unit, a driving pulley provided on the rotating shaft; a driving motor for generating a driving force; a driven pulley provided on the rotating shaft of the driving motor; and a transmission belt coupled to the driving pulley and the driven pulley.

As described above, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the container can be continuously transported between the transfer chamber and the molding chamber without contact with the outside air, so that the container can be easily replaced without being in contact with the outside air for continuous laser molding. This is possible.

1 is a perspective view of a laser sintering apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;
2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the laser sintering apparatus of FIG. 1;
3 is a plan view of the rotating part of FIG. 2;
4 is an enlarged view of the container area of FIG. 3;
5 is a modified example of the rotating part of FIG. 3;
Figure 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the powder material supply area of Figure 1,
7 is an enlarged perspective view of the container transport unit of FIG. 2;
8 is a cross-sectional view showing a molding position of the container of FIG. 2;
9 is a control block diagram of the laser sintering apparatus of FIG. 1 .

Hereinafter, embodiments disclosed in the present specification will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 and 2, the laser sintering apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of transfer chambers 115 that are partitioned in the circumferential direction and can suppress contact with outside air and are arranged vertically. a rotating unit 110 that is rotatably disposed about the rotating shaft 112; a modeling chamber 210 capable of communicating with any one of the transfer chambers 115 on an upper side of the rotating part 110 and of which contact with outside air can be suppressed; a container 250 that is transferred to the molding chamber 210 through the transfer chamber 115 and is molded by accommodating the powder material 260 therein; The container 250 accommodated in the transfer chamber 115 disposed below the shaping chamber 210 is transferred to a shaping position disposed inside the shaping chamber 210 and disposed in the delivery chamber 115 . Container transfer unit 270 for transferring between positions; a powder material supply unit 280 provided in the shaping chamber 210 to provide the powder material 260 into the container 250; a laser light source unit 290 for molding the powder material 260 by irradiating a laser to the container 250 inside the molding chamber 210; and a rotating unit driving unit 190 for rotatingly driving the rotating unit 110 .

The rotating unit 110 includes a bottom plate 116 and an upper plate 118 spaced apart from each other in the upper and lower portions of the rotating shaft 112 having a disk shape; and a partition wall 125 disposed in a radial direction between the bottom plate 116 and the top plate 118 .

The rotating unit 110 may be configured to include, for example, six transfer chambers 115 partitioned along the circumferential direction, as shown in FIG. 3 .

In this embodiment, although the case where the transfer chamber 115 is composed of six is exemplified, this is only an example and the number of the transfer chambers 115 may be appropriately adjusted.

Each of the transfer chambers 115 may be configured such that, for example, contact with outside air is suppressed.

A transfer chamber heating unit 170 may be provided inside the transfer chamber 115 to maintain the internal temperature at a preset temperature, for example.

The transfer chamber heating unit 170 may be configured to supply air heated to a preset temperature to the inside of the transfer chamber 115 , for example.

More specifically, a discharge hole 172 through which heated air is discharged is provided at the upper portion of the rotation shaft side of each transfer chamber 115 , and the air inside each transfer chamber 115 is provided below the discharge hole 172 . A suction hole 174 through which is sucked may be provided.

The transfer chamber heating unit 170 is provided in, for example, an air circulation passage 175 through which air drawn through the suction hole 174 circulates, and the air circulation passage 175 to allow the flow of air. A blowing fan 177 to promote the , and a heating unit 178 for heating the air of the air circulation passage 175 may be configured.

Here, the heating unit 178 for heating the air of the air circulation passage 175 may be implemented as, for example, an electric heater.

The discharge hole 172, for example, although not specifically shown in the drawings, may be provided with a flow rate control means for adjusting the flow rate of the discharged air.

The flow rate control means may be implemented as, for example, a damper (not shown) that adjusts the flow cross-sectional area of air.

Accordingly, the supply amount of the heated air may be adjusted according to the internal temperature of each transfer chamber 115 .

The rotating parts 110 may be disposed at intervals of 60 degrees along a counterclockwise direction in the drawing.

Each transfer chamber 115 of the rotation unit 110 may sequentially pass through a first rotational position P1 to a sixth rotational position P6 arranged at intervals of 60 degrees along the circumferential direction.

More specifically, the lower side of the molding chamber 210 is defined as a second position P2, and the position before rotation of the second position P2 in the counterclockwise direction is the first position P1, and the second position P2 is The positions after the rotation of the positions P2 may be respectively defined as third positions P3 .

The first position P1 before the rotation of the second position P2 is, for example, a preheating section in which the new container 250 introduced from the previous position (the sixth position (P6)) is preheated to a preset temperature. can be defined.

In the second position P2, for example, the container 250 preheated at the first position P1 is upwardly transferred to the molding chamber 210, and laser molding is actually performed in the molding chamber 210. It may be a modeling section.

The third position P3 may be, for example, a cooling section in which the molded container 250 transferred from the second position P2 is cooled at a preset temperature.

The fourth position P4 may be, for example, an additional cooling section in which the container 250 cooled in the third position P3 is rotated and further cooled.

The fifth position P5 is, for example, a recovery section in which the container 250 cooled at the fourth position P4 is rotated and the powder material 260 and the sculpture 262 are separated from each other and recovered. can

The sixth position may be, for example, an input section in which a new container 250 to be newly molded is put into the transfer chamber 115 .

On the other hand, the rotating unit 110, for example, the bottom plate 116 and the top plate 118 may be configured to include a disk portion 131a disposed along the circumference.

The disk part 131a may be fixedly disposed on the outside of the bottom plate 116 and the top plate 118 , for example.

The disk portion 131a may be implemented, for example, in a cylindrical shape.

A door 135 may be provided on one side of the disk portion 131a to open and close the transfer chamber 115 rotated to a preset position.

In this embodiment, the disc part 131a is provided with a door 135 to open and close the transfer chamber 115 disposed at the fifth position P5 and the sixth position P6, respectively. are doing

Here, as shown in FIG. 4 , the partition wall 125 , the bottom plate 116 and the upper plate 118 may be configured to include a disk portion 131b coupled to block the circumferential section.

The disk part 131b may be configured to be rotatable integrally with the rotation shaft 112 , the partition wall 125 , and the bottom plate 116 .

Each of the disk portions 131b may be provided with, for example, a door 135 to open and close the corresponding transfer chamber 115, respectively.

The upper plate 118 of the rotating part 110 includes, for example, a movable upper plate 119a coupled to the partition wall 125 and rotating integrally; and a fixed upper plate 119b coupled to an upper side of the movable upper plate 119a.

A communication portion 121 may be formed on an upper side of each movable upper plate 119a to communicate with the shaping chamber 210 .

Each of the communication parts 121 may be blocked by the fixed upper plate 119b.

On the other hand, a lower side of the rotating unit 110 may be provided with a rotating unit support unit 140 for rotatably supporting the rotating unit (110).

The rotating part support part 140 may include, for example, a bottom plate support part 141 for rotatably supporting the bottom plate 116 .

The bottom plate support part 141 includes a horizontal section part 143 spaced apart from the lower side of the bottom plate 116 and a vertical section part 144 extending downward of the horizontal section part 143. can be

A thrust bearing 145 for rotatably supporting the bottom plate 116 may be provided between the bottom plate 116 and the horizontal section 143 .

The rotating part support unit 140 may include, for example, a rotating shaft support unit 151 that receives and rotatably supports the lower end region of the rotating shaft 112 .

The rotation shaft support part 151 includes, for example, a thrust bearing part 153 supporting the rotation shaft 112 in a vertical direction and a radial bearing part 155 supporting the rotation shaft 112 in a radial direction. can be configured.

A rotating unit driving unit 190 for rotatingly driving the rotating unit 110 may be provided on one side of the rotating shaft 112 .

The rotating part driving unit 190 includes, for example, a driving motor 195 for generating a driving force, a driving pulley 197 provided on the rotating shaft 196 of the driving motor 195 , and a rotating shaft 112 provided on the rotating shaft 112 . A driven pulley 198 may be provided with a transmission belt 199 coupled to the driving pulley 197 and the driven pulley 198 .

On the other hand, a shaping chamber 210 may be provided on the upper side of the rotating unit 110 to communicate with any one of the transfer chambers 115 of the rotating unit 110 .

In the present embodiment, a case in which one molding chamber 210 is configured is exemplified, but the number of the molding chambers 210 may be appropriately adjusted.

The shaping chamber 210 may be configured such that contact with the outside air is suppressed.

As a result, contact with the outside air and the powder material and/or the object can be suppressed, thereby suppressing the occurrence of shrinkage and/or deformation of the object due to temperature change.

More specifically, the molding chamber 210 may include a plurality of side wall portions 212 extending upwardly from the upper end of the rotating unit 110 , and a ceiling portion 214 formed to block the upper end of each side wall portion 212 ; and a bottom portion 216 blocking the lower end of each of the sidewall portions 212 .

The shaping chamber 210 may have a penetrating portion 217 formed in the bottom portion 216 to communicate with the lower transfer chamber 115 .

Here, the bottom part 216 of the shaping chamber 210 may be implemented as a part of the fixed top plate 119b of the rotating part 110 .

A powder material supply unit 280 for supplying the powder material 260 to the container 250 introduced upward through the through portion 217 may be provided on one side of the inside of the shaping chamber 210 .

A laser light source unit 290 for irradiating a laser to the container 250 transferred from the transfer chamber 115 may be provided above the powder material supply unit 280 .

The laser light source unit 290, for example, although not specifically shown in the drawings, may be configured to include a galvanometer mirror and an F-theta (F-theta) lens.

The laser light source unit 290 is the powder material (shape) in a preset pattern (shape) so that the powder material 260 supplied from the powder material supply unit 280 to the inside of the container 250 can be heated to a critical temperature or higher. 260) may be configured to be irradiated with a laser.

A shaping chamber heater 220 may be provided inside the shaping chamber 210 to heat the inside of the shaping chamber 210 .

The inside of the shaping chamber 210 may be maintained at a preset temperature by the shaping chamber heater 220 .

Thereby, laser shaping of the powder material 260 may be performed smoothly.

The powder material supply unit 280 is, for example, as shown in FIG. 6 , a supply container 230 for supplying the powder material 260 to the container 250 to be molded, and the supply container 230 . The upper panel 282 extending from the upper side to the upper side of the container 250 where the molding is to be made, the rail 285 extending above the container 250 where the laser molding is to be performed on the upper side of the supply container 230, the A roller 287 for supplying the powder material 260 of the supply container 230 to the container 250 to be molded while moving along the rail 285 and the roller 287 along the rail 285 It may be configured with a roller driving unit 288 for reciprocating driving.

The upper panel 282 is coupled to the container so that the upper end of the container 250 transferred upward from the transfer chamber 115 and introduced into the molding chamber 210 through the through portion 217 can be inserted and coupled. A portion 284 may be formed.

The supply container 230 , for example, as shown in FIG. 6 , a cylindrical frame 232 opened up and down, and a bottom plate 234 , which is provided so as to be liftable inside the frame 232 . It may be configured by providing each.

An actuator 235 for elevating the bottom plate 234 may be provided under the supply container 230 .

A supply container heater 237 may be provided on the outer surface of the supply container 230 to heat the supply container 230 .

Thereby, the powder material 260 inside the supply container 230 can be maintained at a preset temperature.

Here, the supply container heater 237 may be configured to be heated to different temperatures along the vertical direction, for example.

More specifically, for example, in the supply container heater 237 , the temperature of the powder material 260 on the uppermost side (layer) immediately before being supplied to the container 250 is the temperature of the powder material 260 on the lower side (layer). It may be configured to be able to control higher than the temperature.

The supply container heater 237 divides the frame 232 of the supply container 230 into a plurality of regions (layers) in the vertical direction, and the uppermost (layer) has the highest temperature and the lowermost (layer) has the highest temperature. It may be configured to precisely heat the frame 232 of the supply container 230 so that it becomes the lowest.

The temperature of the uppermost (layer) of the powder material 260 inside the supply container 230 is less than the critical temperature at which the temperature of the uppermost (layer) is heated and molded by the laser inside the container 250 by the supply container heater 237 . It can be heated to be maintained at a temperature of

The container 250 may include, for example, a cylindrical frame 252 opened up and down, and a bottom plate 254 provided in the frame 252 so as to be able to move up and down.

A container heater 257 may be provided on the outer surface of the frame 252 of the container 250 to heat the container 250 .

Accordingly, the container 250 may be heated to be maintained at a preset temperature.

The container heater 257 divides the container 250 into a plurality of layers along the vertical direction of the container 250, and allows the temperature of each layer to gradually decrease from top to bottom. 250) may be configured to precisely heat.

Thereby, the container 250 sets the temperature at which the powder material 260 and the object 262 are set in advance through the control (temperature control) of the amount of heat generated by the container heater 257 after the powder material 260 is molded therein. It can be cooled down gradually while maintaining the

Thereby, contraction and/or deformation of the sculpture 262 inside the container 250 is suppressed, so that it can be easily managed in a desired shape and size.

On the other hand, the rotating unit 110 may be provided with a container transfer unit 270 for transferring the container 250 of the transfer chamber 115 to the shaping chamber 210 .

The container transfer unit 270 may be provided inside each transfer chamber 115 , for example.

The container transfer unit 270 includes, for example, as shown in FIGS. 2, 4 and 7, a supporter 310 on which the container 250 is placed; a transfer screw 315 disposed vertically on one side of the supporter 310 inside the transfer chamber 115; a transfer screw driving motor 320 for rotationally driving the transfer screw 315; a transfer nut 325 screwed to the transfer screw 315; and a supporter connection part 330 connected to one side of the transfer nut 325 and the other side connected to the supporter 310 .

The supporter 310 may be configured, for example, to have a rectangular frame shape in which an opening is formed so that a lower end of the frame 252 of the container 250 can be partially inserted.

On one side of the supporter 310 , the transfer screw 315 may be disposed along the vertical direction of the transfer chamber 115 to be rotatably provided.

A transfer screw driving motor 320 for rotating the transfer screw 315 may be provided at one end of the transfer screw 315 .

The transfer screw driving motor 320 may be configured to be capable of forward rotation and reverse rotation.

A transfer nut 325 that is screwed to the transfer screw 315 and moves relative to each other when the transfer screw 315 is rotated may be coupled to the transfer screw 315 .

On both sides of the transfer screw 315, for example, guide rods 335 disposed in the vertical direction in parallel with the transfer screw 315 may be provided, respectively.

The other end of the supporter connection part 330 having one side connected to the transfer nut 325 may be connected to the supporter 310 .

The supporter connection unit 330 may be configured as a pair.

Each supporter connection part 330 may include a protruding section 332 protruding from the supporter 310 and a bending section 334 bent from the protruding section 332 , respectively.

Sliders 337 slidably coupled to the circumference of the guide rod 335 may be provided in each supporter connection part 330 .

As a result, each slider 337 slides along the respective guide rods 335 when the transfer nut 325 is raised and lowered, so that the supporter 310 can be smoothly moved up and down.

Each of the sliders 337 may be formed, for example, in a boundary region between the protruding section 332 and the bending section 334 of each supporter connecting portion 330 .

Meanwhile, at one side of the supporter 310 , a bottom plate driving unit 350 for lifting and lowering the bottom plate 254 of the container 250 may be provided.

The bottom plate driving unit 350 includes, for example, a coupling portion 352 coupled to the bottom of the bottom plate 254 of the container 250; a bottom plate feed screw 355 provided in the supporter connection part 330; a female screw member 357 screwed to the bottom plate feed screw 355; And one side is connected to the female screw member (357) and the other side is connected to the coupling portion (359) connected to the coupling portion (352); may be configured with a.

The coupling part 352 may have, for example, a rectangular parallelepiped shape.

An upwardly recessed receiving part 256 may be formed at the bottom of the bottom plate 254 so that the coupling part 352 can be inserted and coupled.

The coupling portion 352 has, for example, protrudes when coupled with the receiving portion 256 to maintain the coupled state of the coupling portion 352 and the receiving portion 256 and the receiving portion 256 when withdrawn. A locking part 360 having a plurality of locking protrusions 362 for releasing the coupling state of the coupling part 352 may be provided.

The locking part 360 may include a locking protrusion groove 364 formed in the receiving part 256 so that the locking protrusion 362 can be inserted, respectively.

Here, the locking protrusion 362 may be configured to protrude and retract by, for example, an electric actuator (not shown).

Accordingly, locking and unlocking of the locking unit 360 can be controlled by an electric signal (eg, a control unit 370 to be described later).

The bottom plate feed screw 355 may be provided in the supporter connection part 330 .

The bottom plate feed screw 355 may be disposed in a vertical direction to the supporter connection part 330 to be rotatable, for example.

The supporter connection part 330 may be provided with a bracket 354 for rotatably supporting the bottom plate feed screw 355 .

The bracket 354 may be simultaneously coupled to the two supporter connection parts 330 .

One end of the bottom plate feed screw 355 may be rotatably coupled to the bracket 354 .

The bracket 354 may be provided with a driving motor 356 for rotationally driving the bottom plate feed screw 355 .

The driving motor 356 may be configured to minutely rotate the bottom plate feed screw 355 .

More specifically, the driving motor 356 may be configured to be precisely controllable so that the bottom plate 254 of the container 250 can move a minute distance corresponding to the stacking thickness of the sculpture 262 . .

A support member 358 for rotatably supporting the upper end of the bottom plate feed screw 355 may be provided on the upper side of the bracket 354 .

On the other hand, the laser sintering apparatus of the present embodiment, for example, as shown in FIG. 8, may be configured by having a control program 370 implemented by a microprocessor with a control program.

The control unit 370 may, for example, be configured to control the rotating unit driving unit 190 so that the rotating unit 110 can rotate around the rotating shaft 112 .

The control unit 370, for example, six transfer chambers 115 are sequentially disposed below the molding chamber 210 to control the rotating part driving unit 190 so that laser molding can be continuously performed. have.

The control unit 370 may be configured to control the container heater 257 so that each of the containers 250 can be maintained at a preset temperature, for example.

The control unit 370, for example, may be configured to control the transfer chamber heating unit 170 so that the inside of each transfer chamber 115 is maintained at a preset temperature.

That is, the control unit 370 controls the flow rate control means (damper) provided in the heating unit 178 of the transfer chamber heating unit 170 and the discharge hole 172 of each transfer chamber 115 to each transfer. The internal temperature of the chamber 115 may be maintained at a preset temperature.

The control unit 370, for example, to be configured to be able to control the laser light source unit 290 so as to irradiate the laser in a preset pattern to the container 250 transferred to the inside of the shaping chamber 210. can

The control unit 370 controls the powder material supply unit 280 so that the powder material 260 can be supplied to the container 250 transferred to the inside of the shaping chamber 210 with a preset stacking thickness. It can be configured to be controllable.

The control unit 370 may be configured to control the supply container heater 237 so that, for example, the powder material 260 inside the supply container 230 can be preheated to a preset temperature. .

The controller 370 may, for example, be configured to control the shaping chamber heater 220 so that the inside of the shaping chamber 210 is maintained at a preset temperature.

A container temperature sensing unit 375 for sensing the temperature of the container 250 may be connected to the control unit 370 to enable signal transmission.

To the control unit 370 , a molding chamber temperature sensing unit 380 for sensing the temperature inside the molding chamber 210 may be connected to transmit a signal.

A transfer chamber temperature sensing unit 385 that detects a temperature inside each transfer chamber 115 may be connected to the control unit 370 to transmit a signal.

A signal input unit 390 for inputting a manipulation signal so that the rotating unit 110 can be rotated at a preset time interval may be connected to the control unit 370 to enable signal transmission.

With this configuration, when a driving start signal is input through the signal input unit 390, the control unit 370 controls the rotating unit driving unit 190 to set the rotating unit 110 at a preset angle (position) at a preset time interval. can be rotated with

A new container 250 is put in the sixth position P6 and the container 250 rotated to the first position P1 may be heated to a preset temperature by the container heater 257 .

The container 250 transferred to the second position P2 may be transferred upwardly into the molding chamber 210 by the container transfer unit 270 .

When the container 250 passing through the first position P1 is rotated to the second position P2, the control unit 370 controls the transfer screw driving motor 320 so that the transfer nut 325 moves. The transfer screw 315 may be rotated in the upward movement direction.

The supporter 310 may be moved upward by the movement of the transfer nut 325 .

The container 250 placed on the upper side of the supporter 310 may be disposed at the molding position inside the molding chamber 210 through the communication portion 121 and the through portion 217 .

When the container 250 is coupled to the powder material supply unit 280 , the control unit 370 controls the bottom plate driving unit 350 so that the bottom plate 254 of the container 250 is the container 250 . It can be located in a preset position of the inner upper region of the frame 252 of the.

The control unit 370 may control the powder material supply unit 280 to supply the powder material 260 to the inside of the container 250 with a preset stacking thickness.

When the powder material 260 is supplied to the inside of the container 250 , the control unit 370 controls the laser light source unit 290 so that the laser light source is irradiated into the container 250 in a preset pattern. can

Accordingly, the powder material 260 inside the container 250 may be heated and sintered to form a preset pattern.

The control unit 370 controls the bottom plate driving unit 350 to lower the bottom plate 254 of the container 250 by the laminate thickness when the laser light source unit 290 completes the molding of the laminated layer. can

The control unit 370 may control the powder material supply unit 280 to additionally supply the powder material 260 to the inside of the container 250 to correspond to the next stacking thickness.

When the entire laser molding process of the sculpture 262 inside the container 250 is completed by repeating the process of supplying the powder material, laser irradiation (shaping), and lowering the bottom plate 254, the control unit 370 controls the container to By controlling the sending unit 270, the container 250 on which the molding is completed can be lowered to a transport position inside the transport chamber 115 at the second position P2.

The control unit 370 controls the rotating unit 110 to rotate the rotating unit 110 when the molded container 250 is lowered into the transfer chamber 115 at the second position P2. have.

The container 250 inside the transfer chamber 115 at the second position P2 may be rotated to the third position P3.

The control unit 370 controls the container heater 257 inside the transfer chamber 115 at the third position P3 to control the powder material 260 and the sculpture 262 inside the container 250 that has been molded. It can be cooled at this preset temperature (temperature lower than the internal temperature of the shaping chamber 210).

The controller 370 may control the container heater 257 so that the temperature of the container 250 inside the transfer chamber 115 at the third position P3 is gradually lowered as time elapses. have.

When the molding of the container 250 transferred into the molding chamber 210 is completed and the control unit 370 descends to the transfer position inside the transfer chamber 115 at the second position P2, the rotating unit 110 ) can be rotated by 60 degrees.

Accordingly, a new container 250 preheated in the transfer chamber 115 disposed at the first position P1 is transferred to the inside of the shaping chamber 210 when the rotating part 110 is rotated by 60 degrees, thereby continuously Laser engraving is possible.

In addition, when the molding chamber 210 is molded, the container 250 inside the transfer chamber 115 at the first position P1 is preheated to a preset temperature, and the third position P3 and the fourth position P3 are preheated to a preset temperature. The container 250 inside the transfer chamber 115 at the position P4 is cooled, and the powder material 260 and the sculpture in the container 250 inside the transfer chamber 115 at the fifth position P5. (262) can be collected separately. In addition, a new container 250 may be inserted into the transfer chamber 115 at the sixth position P6 .

The laser sintering apparatus of this embodiment includes preheating of the container 250 at the same time as laser molding, cooling of the container 250 that has been molded, and separate collection of the powder material 260 and the sculpture 262 of the container 250 that has been molded, And since the input operation of the new container 250 is performed at the same time, the operation rate of the molding chamber 210 in which the schiele laser molding is performed can be significantly increased.

In addition, in the laser sinteril apparatus of this embodiment, when the irradiation pattern of the laser light source is different, mixed production of different products is possible. Thereby, various kinds of products can be produced quickly.

In addition, in the laser sintering apparatus of this embodiment, since the molded container 250 does not come into contact with the outside air, there is no fear of shrinkage and/or deformation due to the contact with the outside air, so that accurate size management is possible.

In the foregoing, specific embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described. However, since the present invention can be embodied in various forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof, the embodiments described above should not be limited by the content of the detailed description.

In addition, even the embodiments not listed in the detailed description described above should be interpreted broadly within the scope of the technical spirit defined in the appended claims. And, all changes and modifications included within the technical scope of the claims and their equivalents should be embraced by the appended claims.

110: rotating part 112: rotating shaft
115: transfer chamber 116: bottom plate
118: upper plate 119a: movable upper plate
119b: fixed upper plate 121: communication part
131a, 131b: disc part 135: door
140: rotating part support part 141: bottom plate support part
151: rotating shaft support unit 170: transfer chamber heating unit
172: discharge hole 174: suction hole
175: air circulation flow path 177: blowing fan
178: heating part 190: rotating part driving part
195,356: drive motor 197: drive pulley
198: driven pulley 199: electric belt
210: molding chamber 217: penetrating part
220: molding chamber heater 230: supply container
232,252: frame 234,254: bottom plate
250: container 257: container heater
270: container transfer unit 280: powder material supply unit
282: upper panel 284: container coupling part
285: rail 287: roller
288: roller driving unit 290: laser light source unit
310: supporter 315: transfer screw
320: feed screw drive motor 325: feed nut
330: surfer connection part 335: guide rod
337: guide rod 350: bottom plate driving part
352: coupling part 355: bottom plate feed screw
357: female thread member 359: coupling part connection part
360: locking part 362: locking projection
364: lock projection groove 370: control unit
375: container temperature sensing unit 380: molding chamber temperature sensing unit
385: transfer chamber temperature sensing unit 390: signal input unit

Claims (12)

a rotating part which is partitioned in the circumferential direction and has a plurality of transfer chambers capable of suppressing external air contact and is rotatably arranged around a vertically arranged rotating shaft;
a modeling chamber capable of communicating with any one of the plurality of transfer chambers on an upper side of the rotating part, and capable of suppressing contact with external air;
a container which is transferred to the molding chamber through the transfer chamber and is molded by accommodating a powder material therein;
a container transfer unit for transferring the container accommodated in the transfer chamber disposed below the shaping chamber between a shaping position disposed inside the shaping chamber and a transfer location disposed in the transfer chamber;
a powder material supply unit provided inside the shaping chamber to provide the powder material into the container;
a laser light source unit irradiating a laser into the container inside the shaping chamber to shape the powder material; and
Laser sintering apparatus comprising a; a rotating unit driving unit for rotationally driving the rotating unit. According to claim 1,
The rotating unit may include: a bottom plate and an upper plate having a disk shape and being spaced apart from the upper and lower portions of the rotating shaft; a partition wall disposed in a radial direction between the bottom plate and the top plate; and a disc part disposed along the circumference of the bottom plate and the top plate, wherein a door for opening and closing the transfer chamber is provided in the disc part. delete According to claim 1,
The container may include: a cylindrical frame opened up and down; And Laser sintering device comprising a; a bottom plate provided to be lifted up and down inside the frame. 5. The method of claim 4,
The container transfer unit may include: a transfer screw disposed vertically inside the transfer chamber; a transfer screw driving motor for rotationally driving the transfer screw; a transfer nut screwed to the transfer screw; a supporter on which the container is placed on an upper surface; and a supporter connection part connected to one side of the transfer nut and the other side connected to the supporter. 6. The method of claim 5,
It further includes; a bottom plate driving unit for driving the bottom plate to lift with respect to the frame,
The bottom plate driving unit, the coupling portion coupled to the bottom of the bottom plate; a bottom plate feed screw provided in the supporter connection part; a female screw member screwed to the bottom plate feed screw; And Laser sintering apparatus including a; one side is connected to the female screw member and the other side is connected to the coupling part connected to the coupling part. delete 3. The method of claim 2,
A penetrating portion is formed at the bottom of the shaping chamber so that a container raised by the container transfer unit can be introduced;
The powder material supply unit, a supply container for supplying the powder material to the container introduced through the through portion on one side of the through portion; a rail extending from an upper side of the supply container to an upper side of the container; and a roller for supplying the powder material of the supply container to the container while moving along the rail. 9. The method of claim 8,
The upper plate may include: a movable upper plate coupled to an upper end of the partition wall and having a communicating part through which each transfer chamber communicates with the penetrating part; and a fixed upper plate provided on an upper side of the movable upper plate to block the communication part. 10. The method of claim 9,
The fixed upper plate forms a bottom of the shaping chamber, and the through portion is formed through the fixed upper plate. According to claim 1,
The laser sintering apparatus further comprising a; container heater provided on the outer surface of the container to heat the container. According to claim 1,
The rotating part driving unit may include: a driving pulley provided on the rotating shaft; a driving motor for generating a driving force; a driven pulley provided on the rotating shaft of the driving motor; and a transmission belt coupled to the driving pulley and the driven pulley.

Images