Three-dimensional deposition device and three-dimensional deposition method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10639740-B2
Application number	US-201515300015-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 20, 2015
Priority date	Mar 31, 2014
Publication date	May 5, 2020
Grant date	May 5, 2020

Abstract

A three-dimensional deposition device and a three-dimensional deposition method used to manufacture a three-dimensional object with high accuracy are provided. A three-dimensional deposition device for forming a three-dimensional shape by depositing a formed layer on a base unit, includes: a powder supply unit which supplies a powder material by injecting the powder material toward the base unit; a light irradiation unit which irradiates the powder material feeding from the powder supply unit toward the base unit with a light beam so that the powder material is melted and the melted powder material is solidified on the base unit to thereby form the formed layer; and a control device which controls operations of the powder supply unit and the light irradiation unit.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A three-dimensional deposition device for forming a three-dimensional shape by depositing a formed layer on a base unit, comprising:
a powder supplier which supplies a powder material toward the base unit;
a light irradiator which irradiates the powder material supplied from the powder supplier toward the base unit with a light beam;
a powder introducer which includes a plurality of storages storing the powder material to be supplied to the powder supplier; and
a controller which controls operations of the powder supplier, the powder introducer, and the light irradiator so that the light beam is irradiated to the powder material, and the melted powder material is solidified on the base unit,
wherein the powder introducer includes:
a first storage storing a first powder material to be supplied to the powder supplier;
a second storage storing a second powder material to be supplied to the powder supplier;
a buffer which temporarily stores at least one of the first powder material supplied from the first storage and the second powder material supplied from the second storage;
a powder switcher which controls (i) whether the first powder material is supplied to the buffer from the first storage and (ii) whether the second powder material is supplied to the buffer from the second storage;
a distributer to which at least one of the first and second powder materials is supplied from the buffer through a powder supply tube;
a branch tube which includes a plurality of tubes and connects between the distributor and the powder supplier, to which at least one of the first and second powder materials is supplied from the distributor and from which at least one of the first and second powder materials is supplied to the powder supplier.

2. The three-dimensional deposition device according to claim 1 ,
wherein when the powder material introduced from the powder introducer to the powder supplier is switched from the first powder material to the second powder material, the controller instructs the powder introducer to:
form the formed layer by the first powder material,
thereafter start a supply of the second powder material to the powder supplier while supplying the first powder material to the powder supplier, and
thereafter change a supply ratio by increasing a supply amount of the second powder material to the powder supplier while decreasing a supply amount of the first powder material to the powder supplier.

3. The three-dimensional deposition device according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a machining device which includes a tool and performs a machining operation on the formed layer by the tool.

4. The three-dimensional deposition device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the powder supplier is concentrically disposed on an outer periphery of the light irradiator so that a powder passage causing the powder material to flow therethrough is formed between an inner tube surrounding a path of the light beam of the light irradiator and an outer tube covering the inner tube.

5. The three-dimensional deposition device according to claim 4 , further comprising:
a shield gas supplier which is disposed on an outer periphery of the powder supplier concentrically with the outer periphery of the light irradiator while surrounding an outer periphery of a powder material supplying area from outside the powder passage and supplying a shield gas toward the base unit.

6. The three-dimensional deposition device according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a focal position adjuster which adjusts a focal position of the light beam emitted from the light irradiator.

7. The three-dimensional deposition device according to claim 6 ,
wherein the focal position adjuster is mechanism that moves a position of the light irradiator.

8. The three-dimensional deposition device according to claim 6 ,
wherein the focal position adjuster is a mechanism that moves a focal distance or a focal position by adjusting a light concentrating optical system of the light irradiator.

9. The three-dimensional deposition device according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a temperature detector which detects and obtains a temperature of a surface of the formed layer,
wherein the controller controls intensity of the light beam output from the light irradiator based on a measurement result obtained by the temperature detector.

10. The three-dimensional deposition device according to claim 9 ,
wherein the controller specifies a temperature detection position based on at least one of the temperature of the surface of the formed layer obtained by the temperature detector and properties of the base unit and the formed layer.

11. The three-dimensional deposition device according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a plasma emission detector which detects and obtains a plasma emission state of a surface of the formed layer,
wherein the controller controls the intensity of the light beam output from the light irradiator based on a measurement result obtained by the plasma emission detector.

12. The three-dimensional deposition device according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a reflected light detector which detects and obtains a state of a reflected light from a surface of the formed layer,
wherein the controller controls the intensity of the light beam output from the light irradiator based on a measurement result obtained by the reflected light detector.

13. The three-dimensional deposition device according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a mover which relatively moves a position of the light irradiator and the powder supplier with respect to a position of the base unit,
wherein the controller determines a path through which the position of the light irradiator and the powder supplier pass with respect to the position of the base unit by the mover.

14. The three-dimensional deposition device according to claim 13 , further comprising:
a shape measurer which measures a surface shape of the formed layer,
wherein the controller controls operations of the powder supplier, the light irradiator, and the mover based on a measurement result obtained by the shape measurer.

15. The three-dimensional deposition device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the light irradiator is able to adjust a profile of the light beam.

16. The three-dimensional deposition device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the light irradiator is able to switch a mode of emitting the light beam in the form of pulse waves and a mode of emitting the light beam in the form of continuous waves.

17. The three-dimensional deposition device according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a powder collector which collects the powder material supplied from the powder supplier and not melted by the light beam.

18. The three-dimensional deposition device according to claim 17 , further comprising:
a separator which separates the powder material collected by the powder collector in accordance with the property of the powder material.

19. The three-dimensional deposition device according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a powder identifier which identifies the powder material stored in at least one of the first and second storages and introduces the identified powder material into the powder supplier,
wherein the controller controls the introduction of the powder material from the powder introducer to the powder supplier based on an identification result of the powder identifier.

20. The three-dimensional deposition device according to claim 19 ,
wher

Assignees

• Mitsubishi Heavy Ind Ltd

Inventors

• Yoshimura Hitoshi
• Ozawa Yoshiharu

Classifications

• B23K26/0626

  Energy control of the laser beam (B23K26/0622 takes precedence) · CPC title

• B33Y10/00

  Processes of additive manufacturing · CPC title

• B22F2207/01

  Composition gradients · CPC title

• B23K26/034

  Observing the temperature of the workpiece · CPC title

• B33Y50/02

  for controlling or regulating additive manufacturing processes · CPC title