THREE-DIMENSIONAL LAMINATING AND SHAPING APPARATUS, CONTROL METHOD OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL LAMINATING AND SHAPING APPARATUS, AND CONTROL PROGRAM OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL LAMINATING AND SHAPING APPARATUS

Abstract

A dissimilar material joined three-dimensional laminated and shaped object is shaped using a three-dimensional laminating and shaping apparatus. The three-dimensional laminating and shaping apparatus includes a material supplier that supplies materials of a three-dimensional laminated and shaped object to a shaping surface, an irradiator that irradiates the materials with a light beam, and a controller that controls the material supplier. The three-dimensional laminated and shaped object is a joined member obtained by joining dissimilar materials. The controller controls the material supplier to form a graded composition of the materials in a boundary region between the dissimilar materials of the three-dimensional laminated and shaped object.

Claims

1. A three-dimensional laminating and shaping apparatus comprising: a material supplier that supplies materials of a three-dimensional laminated and shaped object to a shaping surface; an irradiator that irradiates the materials with a light beam; and a controller that controls said material supplier, wherein the three-dimensional laminated and shaped object is a joined member obtained by joining dissimilar materials, and said controller controls said material supplier to form a graded composition of the materials in a boundary region between the dissimilar materials of the three-dimensional laminated and shaped object.

2. The three-dimensional laminating and shaping apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the graded composition is formed in a direction perpendicular to a laminating direction of the materials.

3. The three-dimensional laminating and shaping apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the graded composition is further formed in the laminating direction.

4. The three-dimensional laminating and shaping apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the graded composition is formed in a thermal expansion direction of the three-dimensional laminated and shaped object.

5. A control method of a three-dimensional laminating and shaping apparatus including a material supplier that supplies materials of a three-dimensional laminated and shaped object to a shaping surface, an irradiator that irradiates the materials with a light beam, and a controller that controls the material supplier, wherein the three-dimensional laminated and shaped object is a joined member obtained by joining at least two kinds of materials, the method comprising: causing the controller to control the material supplier to form a graded composition of the materials in a boundary region of the three-dimensional laminated and shaped object.

6. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a control program of a three-dimensional laminating and shaping apparatus including a material supplier that supplies materials of a three-dimensional laminated and shaped object to a shaping surface, an irradiator that irradiates the materials with a light beam, and a controller that controls the material supplier, wherein the three-dimensional laminated and shaped object is a joined member obtained by joining at least two kinds of materials, the program for causing a computer to execute a method, comprising: causing the controller to control the material supplier to form a graded composition of the materials in a boundary region of the three-dimensional laminated and shaped object.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0026] FIG. 1 is a view for schematically explaining the arrangement of a three-dimensional laminating and shaping apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

[0027] FIG. 2A is a sectional view for explaining the arrangement of a dissimilar material-joined three-dimensional laminated and shaped object shaped by the three-dimensional laminating and shaping apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

[0028] FIG. 2B is a sectional view taken along a line D-D′ for explaining the arrangement of the dissimilar material-joined shaped object shaped by the three-dimensional laminating and shaping apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

[0029] FIG. 3 is a view for explaining the arrangement of the joining interface of the dissimilar material-joined shaped object shaped by the three-dimensional laminating and shaping apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

[0030] FIG. 4A is a sectional view for explaining the arrangement of a joined member manufactured by a technical premise of the three-dimensional laminating and shaping apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

[0031] FIG. 4B is a partially enlarged sectional view for explaining the arrangement of the joined member manufactured by the technical premise of the three-dimensional laminating and shaping apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

[0032] FIG. 5 is a plan view for explaining the arrangement of a dissimilar material-joined shaped object shaped by a three-dimensional laminating and shaping apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention; and

[0033] FIG. 6 is a plan view for explaining the arrangement of a dissimilar material-joined shaped object shaped by a three-dimensional laminating and shaping apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0034] Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the relative arrangement of the components, the numerical expressions and numerical values set forth in these embodiments do not limit the scope of the present invention unless it is specifically stated otherwise.

First Embodiment

[0035] A three-dimensional laminating and shaping apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4B.

Technical Premise

[0036] A joined member 420 according to a technical premise of a three-dimensional laminated and shaped object 120 shaped by the three-dimensional laminating and shaping apparatus 100 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 4A and 4B. FIG. 4A is a sectional view for explaining the arrangement of a joined member manufactured by the technical premise of the three-dimensional laminating and shaping apparatus according to this embodiment. FIG. 4B is a partially enlarged sectional view for explaining the arrangement of the joined member manufactured by the technical premise of the three-dimensional laminating and shaping apparatus according to this embodiment.

[0037] As shown in 420a and 420b of FIG. 4A, a joining interface 401 of the joined member 420a obtained by joining dissimilar materials is joining of the plane of a member made of material A and that of a member made of material B. In this case, as shown in FIG. 4B, to relax a residual stress caused by a difference in thermal expansion between materials A and B, the joined member 420b may have a structure in which an intermediate material A′ 411 and an intermediate material B′ 412 are provided in the joining interface 401. That is, the intermediate material A′ 411 and the intermediate material B′ 412 serve as adhesives. Such structure increases the adhesive force between materials A and B, thereby obtaining the joined member 420b having a stable joining strength.

[0038] However, for example, to shape such structure by the three-dimensional laminating and shaping apparatus which adopts the LMD (Laser Metal Deposition) method, a mechanism of mixing materials A and B and a mechanism of adjusting the mixing amounts of materials A and B are necessary. Since it is also necessary to precisely control a material supply position, the shaping position of the joining interface 401, and the like, a mechanism of precisely controlling the above positions becomes necessary, thereby complicating the apparatus arrangement of the three-dimensional laminating and shaping apparatus.

Technique of Embodiment

[0039] FIG. 1 is a view for schematically explaining the arrangement of the three-dimensional laminating and shaping apparatus 100 according to this embodiment. Note that in FIG. 1, to avoid the view from becoming complicated, members other than those shown in FIG. 1 are not illustrated, as needed.

[0040] The three-dimensional laminating and shaping apparatus 100 is an apparatus for shaping a three-dimensional laminated and shaped object 120 on a shaping table 130 by melting and solidifying metal powders or the like as materials of a three-dimensional laminated and shaped object by irradiating the metal powders with a laser beam, and laminating the metal powders.

[0041] As shown in FIG. 1, the three-dimensional laminating and shaping apparatus 100 includes a light source 101, a lens barrel 102, a nozzle 103, a controller 104, and a material storage 105. The light source 101 generates a laser beam. The lens barrel 102 adjusts the path of the generated laser beam, thereby guiding the laser beam to the shaping table 130. The nozzle 103 sprays a carrier gas 140 from the distal end of the nozzle 103 to supply the materials of the three-dimensional laminated and shaped object 120 onto the shaping table 130. The carrier gas 140 is an inert gas such as argon gas, nitrogen gas, or helium gas, and is a gas for conveying the metal powders or the like as the materials of the three-dimensional laminated and shaped object 120 onto the shaping table 130. The material storage 105 stores the materials of the three-dimensional laminated and shaped object 120, and supplies the materials to the nozzle 103 via a material delivery tube 151 by force feed or the like.

[0042] The controller 104 is connected to the light source 101, lens barrel 102, nozzle 103, and material storage 105. The controller 104 controls the light source 101 to adjust the output and the like of the laser beam or the like. Similarly, the controller 104 controls the lens barrel 102 to adjust the optical axis, focusing state, and the like of the laser beam or the like. Furthermore, the controller 104 controls the nozzle 103 and material storage 105 to adjust the scanning speed of the nozzle 103, the spray amount of the carrier gas 140 from the nozzle 103, and the like, thereby adjusting the supply amounts of the materials.

[0043] FIG. 2A is a sectional view for explaining the arrangement of the dissimilar material joined three-dimensional laminated and shaped object 120 shaped by the three-dimensional laminating and shaping apparatus according to this embodiment. The dissimilar material-joined three-dimensional laminated and shaped object 120 has a corrugated graded composition formed in a direction perpendicular to a laminating (multiplayer) direction in a joining interface 201 between materials A and B. Since forming the graded composition in the joining interface 201 increases the adhesion area between multiplayer materials (materials A and B) to distribute a stress generated in the joining interface 201, the joining strength between materials A and B can be ensured.

[0044] FIG. 2B is a sectional view taken along a line D-D′ for explaining the arrangement of the dissimilar material-joined shaped object shaped by the three-dimensional laminating and shaping apparatus according to this embodiment. Since the joining interface 201 has the corrugated shape, as shown in FIG. 2A, materials A and B are arranged to alternately appear in the shaping direction, as shown in FIG. 2B (the sectional view of FIG. 2A).

[0045] FIG. 3 is a view for explaining the arrangement of the joining interface of the dissimilar material-joined shaped object shaped by the three-dimensional laminating and shaping apparatus according to this embodiment. As shown in 201a, 201b and 201c of FIG. 3, the joining interface 201a, 201b and 201c may have various shapes such as a sinusoidal shape and saw-tooth shape. The present invention, however, is not limited to them. For example, in addition to the shapes shown in FIG. 3, the joining interface 201a, 201b and 201c may have a rectangular wave shape, a trapezoidal wave shape, a triangular wave shape, a staircase shape, and the like.

[0046] Note that the above description assumes a method of forming a molten pool by irradiation with the laser beam or the like and ejecting the materials to the molten pool, like the LMD (Laser Metal Deposition) method. However, the present invention is applicable to a method of spreading a material on a shaping surface first, and irradiating the spread material with a laser beam or the like, like a powder bed method. An example in which a graded composition is formed in one layer has been described above. For example, however, such laminating method is applicable to the case of a plurality of layers.

[0047] According to this embodiment, since it is not necessary to provide an intermediate material such as an adhesive, it is possible to readily shape the dissimilar material-joined three-dimensional laminated and shaped object using the three-dimensional laminating and shaping apparatus. Furthermore, since the structure including no intermediate material is adopted, it is possible to use the dissimilar material-joined three-dimensional laminated and shaped object without any damage even if a temperature history from a very low temperature to a high temperature is repeatedly provided. A dissimilar material joined three-dimensional laminated and shaped object is obtained by joining dissimilar materials by a method other than explosive welding and the like, that is, laminating and shaping.

Second Embodiment

[0048] A dissimilar material-joined three-dimensional laminated and shaped object shaped by a three-dimensional laminating and shaping apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 5. FIG. 5 is a plan view for explaining the arrangement of the dissimilar material-joined shaped object shaped by the three-dimensional laminating and shaping apparatus according to this embodiment. That is, FIG. 5 is a sectional view cut by a plane parallel to a joining interface 201.

[0049] A patterned graded composition is formed in a direction (a direction perpendicular to a multilayer direction) parallel to the joining boundary (joining interface 201). That is, every time a layer is laminated, the ratio of materials gradually changes. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, a graded composition may be formed such that every time the materials are laminated from the lower layer to the upper layer (501c to 501a of FIG. 5), an area occupied by material A in each layer decreases, that is, an area occupied by material B increases.

[0050] According to this embodiment, a joined member is obtained by joining dissimilar metals by a method other than explosive welding and the like, that is, laminating and shaping. In addition, even if a temperature history from a very low temperature to a high temperature is repeatedly provided, a joined member which can be used without any damage is obtained.

Third Embodiment

[0051] A dissimilar material-joined three-dimensional laminated and shaped object shaped by a three-dimensional laminating and shaping apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 6. FIG. 6 is a plan view for explaining the arrangement of the dissimilar material-joined shaped object shaped by the three-dimensional laminating and shaping apparatus according to this embodiment. That is, FIG. 6 is a sectional view cut by a plane parallel to a joining interface 201.

[0052] A graded composition may be formed in a direction parallel to the joining boundary (joining interface 201) in accordance with the thermal expansion amount and thermal expansion direction of the dissimilar material joined three-dimensional laminated and shaped object. At this time, by forming many regions each having a graded composition in the thermal expansion direction of the shaped object, it is possible to efficiently relax a stress in the joining interface. That is, in consideration of the thermal expansion direction from the center of thermal expansion shown in 601d of FIG. 6, areas respectively occupied by materials A and B in each layer may be changed every time a layer is laminated (601c to 601a of FIG. 6).

[0053] According to this embodiment, since a pattern is formed in the direction parallel to the joining interface in accordance with the thermal expansion direction of a member, many graded composition regions are formed in the thermal expansion direction, and it is possible to efficiently relax the stress.

OTHER EMBODIMENTS

[0054] While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.

[0055] The present invention is applicable to a system including a plurality of devices or a single apparatus. The present invention is also applicable even when an information processing program for implementing the functions of the embodiments is supplied to the system or apparatus directly or from a remote site.

[0056] Hence, the present invention also incorporates the program installed in a computer to implement the functions of the present invention by the computer, a medium storing the program, and a WWW (World Wide Web) server that causes a user to download the program. Especially, the present invention incorporates at least a non-transitory computer readable medium storing a program that causes a computer to execute processing steps included in the above-described embodiments.