Shaped article manufacturing apparatus and manufacturing method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2017225228-A1
Application number	US-201715427387-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Feb 8, 2017
Priority date	Feb 9, 2016
Publication date	Aug 10, 2017
Grant date	—

Abstract

A manufacturing apparatus additively shapes an article by sintering or melting and then solidifying a metal powder through irradiation of a shaping optical beam. The manufacturing apparatus includes: a chamber; a metal powder feeding device that feeds the metal powder to an irradiation area; a shaping optical beam irradiation device that applies the shaping optical beam to the metal powder in the irradiation area; an absorptance enhancement assisting unit that performs a predetermined absorptance enhancement assisting treatment on the metal powder; and a shaping unit that, following implementation of the absorptance enhancement assisting treatment, performs a shaping treatment of additively shaping the article by applying the shaping optical beam and thus heating the metal powder to sinter or melt and then solidify.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A shaped article manufacturing apparatus that additively shapes an article by sintering or melting and then solidifying a metal powder through irradiation of a shaping optical beam, the shaped article manufacturing apparatus comprising:
a chamber that is configured to isolate inside air from outside air; a metal powder feeding device that is provided inside the chamber and feeds the metal powder to an irradiation area of the shaping optical beam; a shaping optical beam irradiation device that applies the shaping optical beam to the metal powder inside the chamber fed to the irradiation area; an absorptance enhancement assisting unit that performs a predetermined absorptance enhancement assisting treatment on the metal powder to enhance an absorptance of the shaping optical beam in the metal powder to be irradiated with the shaping optical beam; and a shaping unit that, following implementation of the absorptance enhancement assisting treatment, performs a shaping treatment of additively shaping the article by applying the shaping optical beam to the metal powder fed to the irradiation area and thus heating the metal powder to sinter or melt and then solidify.

2 . The shaped article manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising an assisting optical beam irradiation device that applies an assisting optical beam having a wavelength different from a wavelength of the shaping optical beam to the metal powder, wherein
the absorptance enhancement assisting unit implements the absorptance enhancement assisting treatment using at least the assisting optical beam, and the shaping unit implements the shaping treatment using at least the shaping optical beam.

3 . The shaped article manufacturing apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the shaping unit implements the shaping treatment using the shaping optical beam and the assisting optical beam.

4 . The shaped article manufacturing apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the absorptance enhancement assisting unit implements the absorptance enhancement assisting treatment using the shaping optical beam and the assisting optical beam.

5 . The shaped article manufacturing apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein
the absorptance enhancement assisting unit implements the absorptance enhancement assisting treatment using the assisting optical beam, without using the shaping optical beam, and the shaping unit implements the shaping treatment using the shaping optical beam, without using the assisting optical beam.

6 . The shaped article manufacturing apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein
the absorptance enhancement assisting treatment is a treatment of forming an oxide film on a surface of the metal powder, the absorptance enhancement assisting unit forms the oxide film by applying the assisting optical beam with a first spot diameter at a first irradiation position inside the irradiation area of the metal powder, and at the same time applying the shaping optical beam with the first spot diameter at the first irradiation position so as to overlap the assisting optical beam, and the shaping unit implements the shaping treatment by applying at least the shaping optical beam with the first spot diameter at the first irradiation position that is a formation position of the oxide film.

7 . The shaped article manufacturing apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein
the absorptance enhancement assisting treatment is a treatment of forming an oxide film on a surface of the metal powder, the absorptance enhancement assisting unit forms the oxide film by applying the assisting optical beam with a second spot diameter at a second irradiation position inside the irradiation area of the metal powder, and the shaping unit implements the shaping treatment by applying the shaping optical beam with the second spot diameter at the second irradiation position that is a formation position of the oxide film.

8 . The shaped article manufacturing apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein
the absorptance enhancement assisting treatment is a treatment of forming an oxide film on a surface of the metal powder, the absorptance enhancement assisting unit forms the oxide film by applying the assisting optical beam with a third spot diameter at a third irradiation position inside the irradiation area of the metal powder, and at the same time applying the shaping optical beam with a fourth spot diameter, smaller than the third spot diameter, so as to overlap the assisting optical beam, and the shaping unit implements the shaping treatment by applying at least the shaping optical beam with the fourth spot diameter at a formation position of the oxide film.

9 . The shaped article manufacturing apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein
the absorptance enhancement assisting treatment is a treatment of preheating the metal powder and forming an oxide film on a surface of the preheated metal powder, the absorptance enhancement assisting unit implements a preheating treatment by applying at least the assisting optical beam with a fifth spot diameter at a fifth irradiation position inside the irradiation area of the metal powder before applying the shaping optical beam, the absorptance enhancement assisting unit forms the oxide film by applying the assisting optical beam with the fifth spot diameter at the fifth irradiation position inside the irradiation area of the metal powder, and at the same time applying the shaping optical beam with a sixth spot diameter, smaller than the fifth spot diameter, so as to overlap the assisting optical beam, and the shaping unit implements the shaping treatment by applying at least the shaping optical beam with the sixth spot diameter at a formation position of the oxide film.

10 . The shaped article manufacturing apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the absorptance enhancement assisting unit implements the preheating treatment using the assisting optical beam, without using the shaping optical beam.

11 . The shaped article manufacturing apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein
the absorptance enhancement assisting unit includes:
a film thickness estimation section that estimates a film thickness of the oxide film formed on the surface of the metal powder by the absorptance enhancement assisting treatment; and
a treatment switching determination section that determines whether the estimated film thickness of the oxide film has reached a predetermined film thickness, and, upon determining that the predetermined film thickness has been reached, switches the absorptance enhancement assisting treatment to the shaping treatment by the shaping unit, and
the film thickness estimation section includes:
a surface temperature measurement part that measures a temperature of the surface of the metal powder on which the oxide film is formed;
an irradiation time measurement part that measures an irradiation time for which the assisting optical beam or both the assisting optical beam and the shaping optical beam are applied to the surface of the metal powder to form the oxide film; and
an oxide film thickness calculation part that calculates an estimated film thickness of the oxide film based on the measured surface temperature and the measured irradiation time.

12 . The shaped article manufacturing apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein
in relation to the film thickness of the oxide film, the absorptance of the shaping optical beam in the metal powder has a periodicity of a maximum value and a minimum value appearing alternately as the film thickness changes in a plus direction, and has such a characteristic that the absorptance becomes lowest when th

Assignees

• Jtekt Corp

Inventors

• Nagahama Takaya

Classifications

• B22F12/49

  Scanners · CPC title

• B23K26/034 Primary

  Observing the temperature of the workpiece · CPC title

• B22F12/90

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

• B22F1/14

  Treatment of metallic powder (mixing with lubricating or binding agents or with organic material B22F1/10) · CPC title

• B22F12/13

  to preheat the material · CPC title