TW201637754A - Rotating electrode system - Google Patents

Abstract

A rotating electrode system, comprising a chamber unit, an electrode unit, and an electric arc unit. Said chamber unit includes a chamber cassette, and a maintaining apparatus. Said electrode unit includes a rotating apparatus, and a tubular electrode which is mounted on said rotating apparatus and is disposed within said chamber cassette. Said electric arc unit includes a correcting apparatus, and at least one welding torch which is mounted on said correcting apparatus and is disposed within said chamber cassette. Said correcting apparatus is configured to drive said welding torch to align with said tubular electrode. The hollow shape of said tubular electrode increases the outer diameter, which helps reducing the particle size of the final metal powder product.

Description

Rotary electrode milling system

This invention relates to a system for making metal powders, and more particularly to a rotary electrode milling system.

In recent years, due to the development of new metal laminate manufacturing, the demand for high-quality metal powder materials with a particle size of 100 μm or less has been heated in the fields of aerospace and biomedical, and the rotary electrode milling technology is the main production method for high-quality metal powder manufacturing. one.

Referring to FIG. 1, a general rotary electrode pulverizing system 1 includes a cavity 11 for controlling an internal gas state, a rotating mechanism 12 disposed outside the cavity 11, and a setting n on the rotating mechanism 12 and extending. A metal electrode rod 13 in the cavity 11 , a rail mechanism 14 disposed outside the cavity 11 , and a welding gun 15 disposed on the rail mechanism 14 and coaxial with and spaced apart from the metal electrode rod 13 . The rotating mechanism 12 can drive the metal electrode rod 13 to rotate with its axial line. The rail mechanism 14 can move the welding gun 15 along the axis line of the metal electrode rod 13 to adjust the distance from the metal electrode rod 13.

When the welding torch 15 is activated, a high temperature arc can be established on the metal electrode rod 13 toward an end surface of the welding gun 15, so that the metal electrode rod 13 is The molten metal is melted to form a molten metal on the end surface, and since the metal electrode rod 13 is rotated by the rotating mechanism 12, the molten metal is extracted into the cavity 11 by centrifugal force. After the metal liquid is scooped out, it will be a spherical metal droplet due to the surface tension, and the metal liquid droplets can be rapidly solidified in the cavity 11 by the gas environment inside the cavity 11 to form a metal powder.

However, the metal powder produced by the rotary electrode pulverizing system 1 has a problem of coarse particle size, and the relationship between the particle size of the powder and the variation of the process is Where d is the powder particle size, K is the empirical constant (which is affected by the melting rate and material properties of the metal electrode rod 13), ω is the rotational speed of the metal electrode rod 13, and D is the outer diameter of the metal electrode rod 13. Therefore, it is known that the metal powder having a fine particle size needs to be developed in the direction of increasing the rotational speed and outer diameter of the metal electrode rod 13. However, in the case where the mechanical rotation speed has its limit, it is preferable to increase the outer diameter, but the metal electrode rod 13 is a solid cylinder. Therefore, if the outer diameter is increased, the overall weight is easily increased, resulting in the metal electrode rod 13 being difficult to be used. The clamping is fixed and the speed is reduced.

Further, since the linear velocity of the center of rotation of the metal electrode rod 13 is zero, the molten metal melted there is hard to be ejected due to the centrifugal force, and the molding rate and the yield of the metal powder are lowered. Moreover, since the position of the welding gun 15 is close to the axial center of the metal electrode rod 13, the outer diameter is increased so that the position of the end surface of the metal electrode rod 13 away from the shaft center exceeds the arc action range of the welding gun 15, Therefore, it is impossible to melt into a molten metal. Therefore, it is necessary to add a swinging mechanism (not shown) for continuously reciprocating the welding gun 15 in the radial direction of the metal electrode rod 13, thereby improving the mechanism complexity. Generally in the metal electrode rod When the outer diameter of 13 exceeds 30 mm, an additional arcing mechanism is required.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a rotary electrode pulverizing system that uses a hollow electrode tube to increase the outer diameter of the electrode tube.

Thus, the rotary electrode pulverizing system of the present invention comprises a chamber unit, an electrode unit, and an arc unit.

The chamber unit includes a cavity and a maintaining mechanism that communicates with the cavity to control a gaseous environment within the cavity.

The electrode unit includes a rotating mechanism partially extending into the cavity of the chamber unit, and an electrode tube disposed on the rotating mechanism and located in the cavity and rotatable by the rotating mechanism and having a hollow tubular shape. The electrode tube extends in a first direction and has a first end surface facing the rotating mechanism and having a ring shape, and a second end surface opposite to the first end surface and having an annular shape.

The arc unit includes a calibration mechanism disposed on the cavity of the chamber unit, and at least one welding gun disposed on the calibration mechanism and located in the cavity and aligned with the second end surface of the electrode tube. The calibration mechanism can drive the welding gun to reciprocate in the first direction, and can also drive the welding gun to move along the radial direction of the electrode tube to align and be positioned on the second end surface of the electrode tube.

The effect of the invention is that the use of a hollow electrode tube can avoid the problem of zero linear velocity at the axis and improve the yield of the product. When the outer diameter of the electrode tube is increased, the added weight is smaller than that of the solid electrode rod, so that the electrode tube can easily increase the outer diameter to obtain a metal powder having a smaller particle diameter. In addition, since the welding torch is eccentrically disposed with the electrode tube, the second end of the electrode tube is aligned Therefore, as long as the second end surface is within the arc action range of the welding torch, the welding gun is not required to be oscillated continuously in the manufacturing process by the swinging mechanism.

2‧‧‧Rotary electrode milling system

3‧‧‧Cell unit

31‧‧‧ cavity

32‧‧‧Maintenance institutions

321‧‧‧Flour set

322‧‧‧Vacuum pump

323‧‧‧ gas control parts

4‧‧‧Electrode unit

41‧‧‧Changer

411‧‧‧shell

412‧‧‧rail

413‧‧‧ openings

414‧‧‧掀盖

415‧‧‧ valve

42‧‧‧Rotating mechanism

421‧‧‧ Positioning parts

422‧‧‧ drive parts

43‧‧‧Electrode tube

431‧‧‧ first end face

432‧‧‧second end face

5‧‧‧Arc unit

51‧‧‧ School institution

511‧‧‧calibrated slide rails

512‧‧‧feed rails

52‧‧‧ welding torch

53‧‧‧heat source supply

6‧‧‧System Control Unit

A‧‧‧First direction

Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the embodiments of the present invention, wherein: FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a conventional rotary electrode milling system; FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating the rotation of the present invention. The first embodiment of the electrode milling system; FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing a state in which an electrode tube is located at a milling position; FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing the electrode tube in a replacement position; FIG. The pulverizing operation flow of the first embodiment will be described; and Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing the second embodiment of the rotary electrode pulverizing system of the present invention.

Before the present invention is described in detail, it should be noted that in the following description, similar elements are denoted by the same reference numerals.

Referring to Figure 2, a first embodiment of a rotary electrode pulverizing system 2 of the present invention includes a chamber unit 3, an electrode unit 4, and an arc unit 5. Of course, it can also be used in conjunction with a system control unit 6.

The chamber unit 3 includes a cavity capable of maintaining a vacuum state 31, and a maintaining mechanism 32 for controlling the gas environment in the cavity 31 in communication with the cavity 31. The maintenance mechanism 32 has a dust collecting member 321 disposed at the bottom of the cavity 31 and communicating with the cavity 31 to collect the finished product, a vacuum pump 322 communicating with the cavity 31 and capable of drawing the cavity 31 into a vacuum state, and A gas control member 323 that communicates with the chamber 31 to introduce an inert gas into the chamber 31 and control the gas state in the chamber 31.

Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the electrode unit 4 includes a pipe changing mechanism 41 disposed on the cavity 31 of the chamber unit 3 and communicating with the cavity 31, and a rotating mechanism 42 disposed in the pipe changing mechanism 41. And an electrode tube 43 disposed on the rotating mechanism 42 and having a hollow shape. The pipe changing mechanism 41 has a casing 411 that communicates with the cavity 31 and maintains a vacuum state, a guide rail 412 disposed in the casing 411 and provided by the rotating mechanism 42, and a periphery of the casing 411. An opening 413 on the surface and communicating with the outside, a cover 414 covering the opening 413, and a valve 415 blocking the housing 411 and the cavity 31. It should be particularly noted that the vacuum pump 322 and the gas control member 323 of the maintenance mechanism 32 also communicate with the housing 411 to control the gas environment in the housing 411.

The rotating mechanism 42 has a positioning member 421 for clamping and fixing the electrode tube 43, and a driving member 422 for driving the positioning member 421 to rotate to drive the electrode tube 43 to pivot. The electrode tube 43 extends in a first direction A and has a first end surface 431 facing the rotating mechanism 42 and having a ring shape, and a second end surface 432 opposite to the first end surface 431 and having an annular shape. In the first embodiment, the outer diameter of the electrode tube 43 is greater than 30 mm, and may be made of a high-activity material such as a titanium-based alloy or a nickel-titanium alloy as needed. Or it can be made of high-melting-point materials such as tungsten alloy, molybdenum alloy, zirconium alloy, vanadium alloy, niobium alloy, etc., or it can be made of high-definition net materials such as stainless steel or cobalt-chromium-molybdenum alloy.

Referring to FIG. 2, FIG. 3, and FIG. 4, the guide rail 412 of the pipe changing mechanism 41 can drive the rotating mechanism 42 to reciprocate along the first direction A, so that the electrode tube 43 of the electrode unit 4 can be opposite to the housing. 411 moves along the first direction A between a milling position as shown in FIG. 3 and a replacement position as shown in FIG. In the milling position, the valve 415 of the tube changing mechanism 41 is in an open state to communicate the housing 411 and the cavity 31 of the chamber unit 3, and the electrode tube 43 is extended into the chamber via the valve 415. Within body 31. In the replacement position, the valve 415 is in a closed state to block the housing 411 and the cavity 31, and the electrode tube 43 is located in the housing 411 and aligned with the opening 413.

Referring to FIG. 2, the arc unit 5 includes a calibration mechanism 51 disposed on the cavity 31 of the chamber unit 3, and is disposed on the alignment mechanism 51 and located in the cavity 31 and aligned with the electrode. A welding torch 52 of the second end surface 432 of the tube 43, and a heat source supply member 53 electrically connected to the welding torch 52 and located outside the cavity 31. The calibration mechanism 51 has a calibration slide 511 disposed on the cavity 31 for the welding gun 52, and a feed rail 512 for the calibration slide 511. In the first embodiment, the heat source supply member 53 is a plasma cutting type power source to increase the output power of the welding torch 52.

It should be noted that the calibration mechanism 51 can also set the feed rail 512 on the cavity 31, and the welding gun 52 is disposed on the feed rail 512, and the calibration slide 511 is provided. Is for the feed rail 512 settings.

Referring to FIG. 2, FIG. 3, and FIG. 5, the flow of the milling operation of the rotary electrode pulverizing system 2 is as follows: the guide rail 412 of the pipe changing mechanism 41 drives the rotating mechanism 42 to position the electrode tube 43 of the electrode unit 4 at the pulverizing position. At this time, the valve 415 is in an open state, so that the cavity 31 of the chamber unit 3 and the housing 411 of the pipe changing mechanism 41 communicate with each other, and the electrode tube 43 is extended to the cavity 31 via the valve 415. Inside. The vacuum pump 322 of the maintaining mechanism 32 draws a vacuum inside the cavity 31 of the chamber unit 3 and the casing 411 of the pipe changing mechanism 41 that communicates with the cavity 31, and then the gas control member 323 of the maintaining mechanism 32 applies an inert gas. The inside of the cavity 31 and the casing 411 is input to a positive pressure, so that the oxygen content in the cavity 31 and the casing 411 is extremely low.

The welding torch 52 of the arc unit 5 is moved along the radial direction of the electrode tube 43 of the electrode unit 4 through the calibration rail 511 of the calibration mechanism 51, so that the welding gun 52 can be aligned and positioned on the electrode tube 43. The second end surface 432 is driven by the feeding rail 512 of the aligning mechanism 51 to reciprocate the calibration rail 511 and the welding torch 52 along the first direction A, so that the welding torch 52 and the electrode tube 43 are second. The end face 432 can maintain an appropriate distance through the calibration slide 511 and the feed slide 512 to maintain the torch 52 in proper position during the milling process.

Then, the driving member 422 of the rotating mechanism 42 is activated and increased to a set speed to drive the electrode tube 43 to pivot, and the heat source supply member 53 of the arc unit 5 is activated to make the welding torch 52 at the electrode tube 43 An arc is formed on the second end surface 432, and the second end surface 432 of the electrode tube 43 is melted by an arc at a high temperature to form a molten metal, and the molten metal receives the electric current. The centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the pole tube 43 is released from the second end surface 432 and is emitted outward at a high speed. Due to the influence of surface tension, the metal droplets are spherical during the flying process. Under the cooling action of the inert gas contained in the cavity 31, the metal droplets solidify into metal powder and fall to the bottom of the cavity 31 to be collected by the dust collecting member 321 of the maintaining mechanism 32 to complete the milling operation.

Referring to Figures 2, 4, and 5, the electrode tube 43 of the electrode unit 4 is gradually reduced in consumption during the milling operation. When the electrode tube 43 is reduced to a predetermined length, the powdering operation is stopped and the pipe changing operation is performed. The pipe changing operation flow is as follows: firstly, the guide rail 412 of the pipe changing mechanism 41 drives the rotating mechanism 42 to move along the first direction A, so that the electrode tube 43 is moved from the milling position as shown in FIG. The replacement position is such that the valve 415 is in a closed state to block the housing 411 and the cavity 31, and the electrode tube 43 is located in the housing 411 and aligned with the opening 413. The space inside the casing 411 is then released, and then the lid 414 is opened and the electrode tube 43 is taken out from the opening 413. The replacement electrode tube 43 is disposed on the positioning member 421 of the rotating mechanism 42 , and then closes the cover 414 and re-vacuates the housing 411 and fills the inert gas to a positive pressure. Finally, the guide rail 412 drives the rotating mechanism 42 . The electrode tube 43 is moved from the replacement position to the powder making position to complete the replacement operation and continue the milling operation.

The hollow electrode tube 43 can facilitate the increase of the outer diameter of the tube body and effectively reduce the increased weight. For example, the electrode tube 43 having a tube diameter of 100 mm and a tube wall thickness of 10 mm is equivalent to a weight of 60 mm per unit length. Solid electrode rod. Formula It can be seen that, under the same rotational speed and unit weight, the particle size of the powder prepared by the electrode tube 43 will be smaller than the particle size of the powder prepared by the general solid electrode rod.

In the above formula, d is the particle size of the powder, K is the empirical constant (which is affected by the melting rate and material properties of the electrode tube 43 and the electrode rod), ω is the rotational speed of the electrode tube 43 and the electrode rod, and D is the electrode tube. 43 and the outer diameter of the electrode rod.

The rotating electrode pulverizing system 2 can be hollowed out to facilitate the increase of the outer diameter to reduce the particle size of the powder produced. Therefore, stainless steel or cobalt chrome molybdenum alloy can be used as the material of the electrode tube 43 to produce quality. A metal powder that meets the standards and can be used in high-definition net materials in the biomedical field. The tube changing mechanism 41 of the electrode unit 4 can replace the electrode tube 43 without re-vacuating the chamber 31 and filling the inert gas, thereby saving manpower. The calibration mechanism 51 of the arc unit 5 can make the welding gun 52 The second end face 432 of the electrode tube 43 can be surely aligned and maintain an appropriate arcing distance. The plasma cutting type power source is selected as the heat source supply member 53 to satisfy the high heat source requirement of the hollow electrode tube 43 having a large diameter and a large thickness at a high rotation speed.

Referring to Figure 6, a second embodiment of the rotary electrode pulverizing system 2 of the present invention is substantially similar to the first embodiment, except that the number of welding torches 52 of the arc unit 5 is as shown in Fig. 6. The plurality of welding guns 52 are circumferentially spaced apart from each other and are respectively aligned with the second end surface 432 of the electrode tube 43. In the second embodiment, the arcs acting on the second end surface 432 can be increased by the plurality of welding torches 52 to improve the melting efficiency, and the number and arrangement can be adjusted according to requirements. Increase versatility.

In summary, the use of the hollow electrode tube 43 can avoid the problem that the linear velocity at the center of the shaft is zero, and improve the yield of the product. When the outer diameter of the electrode tube 43 is increased, the added weight is smaller than that of the solid electrode rod. Therefore, the electrode tube 43 can easily increase the outer diameter to obtain a metal powder having a smaller particle diameter. In addition, since the welding torch 52 is eccentrically disposed with the electrode tube 43 and aligned with the second end surface 432 of the electrode tube 43, as long as the second end surface 432 is within the arcing range of the welding torch 52, the pendulum does not need to be placed. The arc mechanism oscillates the welding torch 52 in the process, so that the object of the present invention can be achieved.

However, the above is only the embodiment of the present invention, and the scope of the invention is not limited thereto, and all the equivalent equivalent changes and modifications according to the scope of the patent application and the patent specification of the present invention are still The scope of the invention is covered.

2‧‧‧Rotary electrode milling system

3‧‧‧Cell unit

31‧‧‧ cavity

32‧‧‧Maintenance institutions

321‧‧‧Flour set

322‧‧‧Vacuum pump

323‧‧‧ gas control parts

4‧‧‧Electrode unit

41‧‧‧Changer

411‧‧‧shell

412‧‧‧rail

413‧‧‧ openings

414‧‧‧掀盖

415‧‧‧ valve

42‧‧‧Rotating mechanism

421‧‧‧ Positioning parts

422‧‧‧ drive parts

43‧‧‧Electrode tube

431‧‧‧ first end face

432‧‧‧second end face

5‧‧‧Arc unit

51‧‧‧ School institution

511‧‧‧calibrated slide rails

512‧‧‧feed rails

52‧‧‧ welding torch

53‧‧‧heat source supply

6‧‧‧System Control Unit

A‧‧‧First direction

Claims (10)

A rotary electrode pulverizing system comprising: a chamber unit including a cavity, and a maintaining mechanism that communicates with the cavity to control a gas environment in the cavity; an electrode unit including a portion extending into the chamber a rotating mechanism in the cavity of the unit, and an electrode tube disposed on the rotating mechanism and located in the cavity and rotatable by the rotating mechanism and having a hollow tubular shape, the electrode tube extending in a first direction and having a first end face facing the rotating mechanism and having a ring-shaped second end face opposite to the first end face; and an arc unit including a cavity disposed on the cavity of the chamber unit a positioning mechanism, and at least one welding gun disposed on the positioning mechanism and located in the cavity and aligned with the second end surface of the electrode tube, the positioning mechanism can drive the welding gun to reciprocate along the first direction, and The torch is moved along the radial direction of the electrode tube to be aligned and positioned on the second end surface of the electrode tube. The rotary electrode pulverizing system of claim 1, wherein the aligning mechanism of the arc unit has a calibration rail disposed on a cavity of the chamber unit and provided for the welding gun, and a calibration rail setting a feeding slide rail, the calibration rail can drive the radial movement of the welding gun along the electrode tube of the electrode unit, the feeding rail can drive the calibration rail and the welding gun reciprocates along the first direction to change The distance between the welding gun and the second end surface of the electrode tube. A rotary electrode pulverizing system according to claim 1, wherein the arc unit The calibration mechanism has a feed slide disposed on the cavity and provided for the welding gun, and a calibration slide provided for the feed slide and the welding gun, the feed slide can drive the torch edge The first direction moves to change the distance between the welding gun and the second end surface of the electrode tube, and the calibration slide can drive the feeding slide rail and the radial movement of the welding gun along the electrode tube of the electrode unit. The rotary electrode pulverizing system of claim 2 or 3, wherein the electrode unit further comprises a tube changing mechanism disposed on the cavity of the chamber unit and outside the cavity, and provided by the rotating mechanism, the replacing The pipe mechanism has a casing that communicates with the cavity, a guide rail disposed in the casing and provided by the rotating mechanism, an opening that is opened on the casing and communicates with the outside, and a casing that is disposed on the opening a cover, and a valve for blocking the housing and the cavity, the guide rail can drive the rotating mechanism, so that the electrode tube of the electrode unit is in a first direction with respect to the housing between a milling position and a replacement position Moving, in the milling position, the valve is in an open state to communicate the housing and the cavity, and the electrode tube is extended into the cavity via the valve, and in the replacement position, the valve is closed The housing and the cavity are blocked, and the electrode tube is located within the housing and aligned with the opening. The rotary electrode pulverizing system according to claim 1, wherein an outer diameter of the electrode tube of the electrode unit is greater than 30 mm. The rotary electrode pulverizing system of claim 1, wherein the arc unit further comprises a heat source supply member electrically connected to the welding torch and outside the cavity of the chamber unit. The rotary electrode pulverizing system according to claim 6, wherein the heat source supply member of the arc unit is a plasma cutting type power source. The rotary electrode milling system according to claim 1, wherein the electrode tube material of the electrode unit is selected from the group consisting of stainless steel and cobalt chromium molybdenum alloy. The rotary electrode pulverizing system of claim 1, wherein the maintaining mechanism of the chamber unit has a dust collecting member disposed at a bottom of the cavity and communicating with the cavity, communicating with the cavity and forming the cavity a vacuum pump in a vacuum state, and a gas control member that communicates with the chamber to introduce an inert gas into the chamber and control the state of the gas in the chamber. The rotary electrode pulverizing system of claim 1, wherein the number of welding torches of the arc unit is plural, and the welding guns are circumferentially spaced apart from each other on the aligning mechanism, and are respectively aligned with the electrode tube Two end faces.