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DE-102021203657-B4 - Device for treating metal powder particles for 3D printing

DE102021203657B4DE 102021203657 B4DE102021203657 B4DE 102021203657B4DE-102021203657-B4

Abstract

Device (10) for treating metal powder particles (12) for 3D printing, comprising a supply unit (14) for receiving metal powder particles (12) to be treated and a treatment unit (16) that can be coupled to the supply unit (14) for user-defined treatment of the supplied metal powder particles (12), characterized in that the treatment unit (16) comprises working surfaces (22) which are designed for mechanical interaction with the metal powder particles (12) to be treated, wherein the respective metal powder particles (12) can be accelerated relative to the working surfaces (22) by at least two different forces acting on them, such that a change in the geometry of the respective metal powder particles (12) to be treated can be effected, wherein two mutually aligned working surfaces (22) are provided, wherein at least one of the two working surfaces (22) is user-defined and movable relative to the other working surface (22), such that a user-defined adjustable gap exists between them. (28) is adjustable, wherein at least one end of the gap (28) a suction device (34) of the device (10) is provided, so that respective metal powder particles (12), which can be transferred from the supply unit (14) to the treatment unit (16) according to the principle of gravity, can be moved between the two mechanically acting surfaces (22) in the direction of at least one end.

Inventors

  • Tom Eggers
  • Sven Crull
  • Alexander Rütjes

Assignees

  • VOLKSWAGEN AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20210414

Claims (8)

  1. Device (10) for treating metal powder particles (12) for 3D printing, comprising a supply unit (14) for receiving metal powder particles (12) to be treated and a treatment unit (16) connectable to the supply unit (14) for user-defined treatment of the supplied metal powder particles (12), characterized in that the treatment unit (16) comprises working surfaces (22) which are designed for mechanical interaction with the metal powder particles (12) to be treated, wherein the respective metal powder particles (12) can be accelerated relative to the working surfaces (22) by at least two different forces acting on them, such that a change in the geometry of the respective metal powder particles (12) to be treated can be effected, wherein two mutually aligned working surfaces (22) are provided, wherein at least one of the two working surfaces (22) is user-defined and movable relative to the other working surface (22), such that a user-defined adjustable gap exists between them. (28) is adjustable, wherein at least one end of the gap (28) a suction device (34) of the device (10) is provided, so that respective metal powder particles (12), which can be transferred from the supply unit (14) to the treatment unit (16) according to the principle of gravity, can be moved between the two mechanically acting surfaces (22) in the direction of at least one end.
  2. Device (10) according to Claim 1 , wherein the extraction device (34) is arranged at least partially in a collection container (36) of the device (10) designed to collect treated metal powder particles (12).
  3. Device (10) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one movable working surface (22) is movable in a substantially circular manner around a center point of this working surface (22) and/or wherein the transfer of respective metal powder particles (12) from the supply unit (14) to the treatment unit (16) can be supported by means of a vibration unit of the supply unit (14) for user-defined provision of an excitation frequency to the supply unit (14).
  4. Device (10) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein both working surfaces (22) are movable in a circular motion relative to each other working surface (22) about a respective center point of the respective working surface (22), wherein a respective opposite rotational movement of the working surfaces (22) is provided or a respective rotational movement in the same direction relative to each other working surface (22) is provided and/or wherein a substantially synchronous rotational movement relative to each other working surface (22) is provided or wherein a substantially asynchronous rotational movement relative to each other working surface (22) is provided.
  5. Device (10) for treating metal powder particles (12) for 3D printing, comprising a supply unit (14) for receiving metal powder particles (12) to be treated and a treatment unit (16) that can be coupled to the supply unit (14) for user-defined treatment of the supplied metal powder particles (12), characterized in that the treatment unit (16) comprises working surfaces (22) which are designed for mechanical interaction with the metal powder particles (12) to be treated, wherein each metal powder particle (12) is subjected to at least two different forces acting on it relative to the working surfaces (22) are accelerating so that a change in the geometry of the respective metal powder particles (12) to be treated can be effected, wherein the at least one movable working surface (22) essentially performs a user-defined eccentric movement.
  6. Device (10) for treating metal powder particles (12) for 3D printing, comprising a supply unit (14) for receiving metal powder particles (12) to be treated and a treatment unit (16) connectable to the supply unit (14) for user-defined treatment of the supplied metal powder particles (12), characterized in that the treatment unit (16) comprises working surfaces (22) which are designed for mechanical interaction with the metal powder particles (12) to be treated, wherein the respective metal powder particles (12) can be accelerated relative to the working surfaces (22) by at least two different forces acting on them, such that a change in the geometry of the respective metal powder particles (12) to be treated can be effected, wherein the supply unit (14) comprises an acceleration unit (52) for user-defined acceleration of the metal powder particles (12) in the direction of the treatment unit (16) and the working surfaces provided on the treatment unit (16) (22) relative to an exit direction of the metal powder particles (12) exiting from the acceleration unit (52) are user-defined movable, so that a change in geometry of the respective metal powder particles (12) to be treated can be effected during a respective impact of the metal powder particles (12) on at least a partial area of the effective surfaces (22).
  7. Device (10) according to Claim 6 , wherein the treatment unit (16) is arranged above the collection container (36) of the device (10) and the collection container (36) can be coupled to the supply unit (14) by means of a return unit (60) of the device (10).
  8. Filling device (62) for use with a device (10) according to one of the Claims 1 until 7 comprising a mixing container (64) for receiving metal powder particles (12), characterized in that the filling device (62) comprises a coupling unit by means of which the filling device (62) can be coupled to a dispensing unit (14) of the device (10), wherein the mixing container (64) can be moved by means of the coupling unit about at least one rotation axis of the mixing container (64) in a user-defined manner, so that at least a partial change in the geometry of the respective metal powder particles (12) to be treated can be effected.

Description

The invention relates to a device for treating metal powder particles for 3D printing. In powder-based manufacturing processes, such as 3D printing, predominantly spherical powder particles are used. Spherical powder particles offer the advantage of reliably providing the desired optimal flowability. This desired flowability is beneficial for a stable production process, for example, because it allows successive layers in a 3D printing process to be applied in a uniform and consistent manner. The objects produced in this way consequently exhibit a correspondingly consistent quality, thus preventing defects. A pretreatment of manufacturing powder, which mainly consists of polymer, is presented below. From the printed text DE 10 2018 206 236 A1 A process for producing a powder for use in an additive manufacturing process for a three-dimensional object is known, wherein the powder comprises at least one polymer. Furthermore, such a powder, produced by this process, is described in more detail. The process comprises the following steps: First, the step of mechanically treating the powder in a mixer with at least one rotating mixing blade, whereby the powder is exposed to a temperature T<sub> B </sub>. T <sub>B </sub> is at least 30 °C and is below the melting point T <sub>m</sub> of the polymer (determined according to DIN EN ISO 11357) if the polymer is a semi-crystalline polymer. Or, T<sub> B </sub> is at least 30 °C and at most 50 °C above the glass transition temperature T <sub>g</sub> of the polymer (determined according to DIN EN ISO 11357) if the polymer is a melt-amorphous polymer. In comparison to a point in time before the start of treatment, it can be achieved that after treatment the bulk density of the powder is increased by at least 10% and the BET surface area of the powder is reduced by at least 10%. EP 3 643 429 A1 , CN 113231639 A , CN 212651913 U , CN 212917620 U and CN 111347053 A describe grinding devices. Metal powders used in powder-based manufacturing processes require specific conditions to ensure efficient processing. Furthermore, specialized equipment is needed for the separate conditioning of such metal powders, which must be used before the actual processing stage. The invention is based on the objective of providing a device by means of which cost-effective and efficient conditioning of metal powder particles for use in a 3D printing process can be ensured. According to the invention, a device for treating metal powder particles for 3D printing is provided. Such a device comprises a staging unit for receiving the metal powder particles to be treated and a treatment unit that can be coupled to the staging unit for user-defined treatment of the staging metal powder particles. The treatment unit also includes working surfaces designed for mechanical interaction with the metal powder particles to be treated. The respective metal powder particles can be accelerated relative to the working surfaces by at least two different forces acting upon them, such that a change in the geometry of the respective metal powder particles to be treated can be effected. In this way, it is possible to provide a device that ensures cost-effective and efficient conditioning of metal powder particles for use in a 3D printing process. The device is designed in a surprisingly simple way to shape previously irregularly shaped metal powder particles into spherical particles. A purely mechanical treatment is used, which is considered sufficient to achieve a result. Due to user-defined settings within the device during the conditioning of the metal powder particles, such as the selection of contact surfaces or the combination of acting forces to generate a desired resultant force, it is also possible to achieve individual conditioning of the particles. With its surprisingly efficient design, the device offers a cost-effective solution for conditioning predominantly irregularly shaped metal powder particles in such a way that a change in geometry, in particular a change in the geometry towards a spherical shape, can be achieved in the respective metal powder particles being treated. The use of the presented device is particularly worthwhile because it This makes it possible for a manufacturing company to purchase more cost-effective, sharply shaped metal powder particles and then condition them as desired with manageable effort using the device presented. The active surfaces are designed such that a desired change in particle geometry can be achieved during the mechanical interaction. In the context of the presented device, active surfaces are therefore, in particular, surfaces that induce a mechanical interaction that goes beyond mere contact. This is intended, for example, to provide a grinding property or similar characteristics. In this respect, the intended active surfaces differ technically, due to their described properties, from simple mixing blades, which are designed only for the localized displacement of