Three-dimensional deposition device and three-dimensional deposition method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10898971-B2
Application number	US-201515129923-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 20, 2015
Priority date	Mar 31, 2014
Publication date	Jan 26, 2021
Grant date	Jan 26, 2021

Abstract

A three-dimensional deposition device and a three-dimensional deposition method used to highly accurately manufacture a three-dimensional object 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; a light irradiation unit which irradiates the powder material with a light beam so that at least a part of the powder material irradiated with the light beam is sintered or melted and solidified to form the formed layer; a heating unit which selectively heats an area having passed through a position irradiated with the light beam in the base unit or the formed layer or an area not having passed through the position irradiated with the light beam; and a control device which controls operations of the powder supply unit, the light irradiation unit, and the heating unit.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A three-dimensional deposition device for forming a three-dimensional shape, the three-dimensional deposition device, comprising:
a base unit;
a deposition head including a main body and a nozzle, the deposition head supplying a powder material from the nozzle in a direction of the base unit such that the powder material is injected from the nozzle towards a focal position of the powder material within a space between the base unit and the deposition head, the main body including an outer tube and an inner tube provided concentrically with respect to the outer tube, the outer tube and the inner tube defining a cylindrical powder passage that receives the powder material to be supplied to the nozzle;
a cylindrical flow straightener, straightening a flow of the powder material inside the cylindrical powder passage, provided inside the cylindrical passage;
a light irradiator which irradiates the powder material with a light beam in the space between the base unit and the deposition head, forms a molten body with droplet state by sintering or melting at least a part of the powder material irradiated with the light beam in the space, and forms the formed layer by solidifying the molten body dropped from the space to the base unit;
a heater which selectively heats an area having passed through a position irradiated with the light beam in the base unit or the formed layer or an area not having passed through the position irradiated with the light beam; and
a focal position adjustor provided in the deposition head and concentrates the light beam toward a focal point of the light beam, the focal position adjustor variably moves in a vertical direction within the deposition head to move the focal point of the light beam in a vertical direction with respect to the focal position of the powder material within the space between the base unit and the deposition head to sinter or melt the at least a part of the powder material at the focal point of the light beam.

2. The three-dimensional deposition device according to claim 1 , wherein the light irradiator irradiates the powder material being fed from the deposition head toward the base unit with the 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.

3. The three-dimensional deposition device according to claim 2 , wherein the deposition head is concentrically disposed on an outer periphery of the light irradiator the light beam of the light irradiator passes through the inner tube.

4. The three-dimensional deposition device according to claim 2 , further comprising:
a deposition chamber that accommodates the light irradiator, and the deposition head, and the base unit, therein; and
a movement mechanism attached to the deposition chamber to relatively move the light irradiator and the deposition head with respect to the base unit; and
a controller that determines a path through which the light irradiator and the deposition head pass with respect to the base unit by the movement mechanism.

5. The three-dimensional deposition device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the heater includes a light source which outputs a second light beam, and
a heating operation by the heater is performed by irradiation with the second light beam output from the light source.

6. The three-dimensional deposition device according to claim 5 ,
wherein the second light beam is a laser beam.

7. The three-dimensional deposition device according to claim 5 ,
wherein the heater includes an irradiation position adjustment mechanism including a mirror which reflects the second light beam output from the light source and an angle adjustor connected to the mirror to adjust an angle of the mirror.

8. The three-dimensional deposition device according to claim 5 ,
wherein the light source includes a semiconductor laser which outputs the second laser beam, a light concentrator which concentrates the second laser beam output from the semiconductor laser, and an optical fiber to which the second laser beam concentrated by the light concentrating unit is incident.

9. The three-dimensional deposition device according to claim 8 ,
wherein the light source includes a plurality of the semiconductor lasers and a plurality of the light concentrators, and
the second laser beams which are output from the semiconductor lasers and are concentrated by the light concentrators are incident to one optical fiber.

10. The three-dimensional deposition device according to claim 8 ,
wherein the semiconductor laser is a vertical emission type semiconductor laser.

11. The three-dimensional deposition device according to claim 10 ,
wherein the plurality of semiconductor lasers is provided, and
the light concentrator includes a collimating lens which is disposed at each of the plurality of semiconductor lasers and a multiplexer which multiplexes second laser beams collimated by the plurality of collimating lenses and causes the second laser beam to be incident to the optical fiber.

12. The three-dimensional deposition device according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a temperature detector which detects a temperature and a temperature distribution of a surface of the formed layer; and
a controller that controls a heating operation of the heater in response to a measurement result of the temperature of the surface of the formed layer obtained by the temperature detector.

13. The three-dimensional deposition device according to claim 12 ,
wherein the controller controls the heating operation of the heater based on the measurement result of the temperature of the surface of the formed layer obtained by the temperature detector and characteristics of the base unit and the formed layer.

14. The three-dimensional deposition device according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a plasma emission detector which detects a plasma emission state of the surface of the formed layer; and
a controller that controls the heating operation of the heater in response to a measurement result obtained by the plasma emission detector.

15. The three-dimensional deposition device according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a reflected light detector which detects reflected light from the surface of the formed layer; and
a controller that controls the heating operation of the heater in response to a measurement result obtained by the reflected light detector.

16. The three-dimensional deposition device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the heater heats the area having passed through the position irradiated with the light beam.

17. The three-dimensional deposition device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the heater heats the area not having passed through the position irradiated with the light beam.

18. The three-dimensional deposition device according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a switcher which switches relative positions of the light irradiator and the heater; and
a controller that controls the relative positions of the light irradiator and the heater by the switcher in response to relative movement directions of the light irradiator, the heater, and the base unit and information whether an area to be heated by the heater is the area having passed through the position irradiated with the light beam in the base unit or the formed layer or the area not having passed through the position irradiated with the light beam.

19. The three-dimensional deposition device according to claim 1 , wherein a diameter at an end of the outer tube

Assignees

• Mitsubishi Heavy Ind Ltd

Inventors

• Yoshimura Hitoshi

Classifications

• B22F12/90

  Means for process control, e.g. cameras or sensors · CPC title

• B22F12/53

  Nozzles · CPC title

• B22F12/45

  Two or more · CPC title

• B22F12/44

  characterised by the configuration of the radiation means · CPC title

• B22F12/37

  Rotatable · CPC title