This application claims priority to Taiwanese Patent Application No. 110103505, filed on Jan. 29, 2021.
The disclosure relates to an atomization device, more particularly to an atomization powder making device.
Referring to
The conventional alloy powder making device 1 is designed to heat the molten metal twice so as to prevent the molten metal from being easily solidified and blocking the outlet of the conveying tube 12. However, for alloys with high vapor pressures, such as magnesium and zinc, it is easy to generate a large amount of vapor and volatilize during heating, which will affect the subsequent yield. Further, use of the heating element 13 will lead to high cost, and the outlet of the conveying tube 12 is blocked by the disposition of the powder spraying unit 14 and cannot be installed with the heating element 13. That is, the molten metal located in the outlet of the conveying tube 12 cannot be heated, so that the temperature thereof drops rapidly, and may even solidify at the outlet of the conveying tube 12, so that the problem of blockage cannot be solved. An improvement of the conventional alloy powder making device 1 is desired.
Therefore, an object of the present disclosure is to provide an atomization powder making device that is capable of alleviating at least one of the drawbacks of the prior art.
Accordingly, an atomization powder making device of this disclosure is suitable for atomizing molten metal to produce powder, and includes a housing defining an atomizing chamber, a vessel mounted inside the housing and located on a top portion thereof, a flow guide unit, a push unit, and a gas supply unit. The vessel has an axis extending in an up-down direction, and defines a receiving space for receiving the molten metal. The flow guide unit extends from the bottom of the vessel along the axis, and has at least one liquid flow channel communicating with the receiving space and the atomizing chamber for conveying the molten metal from the receiving space to the atomizing chamber. The push unit is disposed in the receiving space and is configured to generate a driving force for pushing the molten metal to flow through the at least one liquid flow channel. The gas supply unit is configured to supply an atomizing gas to the atomizing chamber for atomizing the molten metal flowing out of the liquid flow channel.
Other features and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent in the following detailed description of the embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:
Before the present disclosure is described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying embodiments, it should be noted herein that like elements are denoted by the same reference numerals throughout the disclosure.
Referring to
The vessel 2 is mounted inside the housing 60 and is located on a top portion thereof. The vessel 2 has a certain degree of mechanical strength and high heat resistance, has a cylindrical shape with an axis (L) extending in an up-down direction, and includes a bottom wall 21, and a surrounding wall 22 extending upwardly from an outer periphery of the bottom wall 21 and cooperating with the bottom wall 21 to define a receiving space 20 for receiving the molten metal (M).
The flow guide unit 3 can be adjusted according to the requirements, and has four alternative forms.
A first alternative form of the flow guide unit 3 is shown in
A second alternative form of the flow guide unit 3 is shown in
A third alternative form of the flow guide unit 3 is shown in
A fourth alternative form of the flow guide unit 3 is shown in
With reference to
The gas supply unit 5 includes a gas supply 51 disposed below the flow guide tube 31 for supplying an atomizing gas (G2) to the atomizing chamber 61, a blower 52 disposed externally of the housing 60 and fluidly connected to a bottom portion thereof for suctioning the atomizing gas (G2), a gas storage container 53 disposed upstream of and fluidly connected to the blower 52 for storing the atomizing gas (G2) sucked by the blower 52, and a compressor 54 fluidly connected to the gas storage container 53 and the gas supply 51 for compressing the atomizing gas (G2). The atomizing gas (G2) is used for atomizing the molten metal (M) flowing out of the liquid flow channel 30 to produce metal powder and to drive movement of the metal powder. The atomizing gas (G2) is similar to the carrier gas (G1), which is an inert gas, and can be recycled.
The gas supply 51 is configured as an atomizing disc having a central hole surrounding an outlet of the flow guide tube 31. The atomizing gas (G2) produces a gas flow in the atomizing chamber 61 for driving the metal powder to move down rapidly. The pressure of the gas storage container 53 is less than 6 kg/cm2, but is not limited thereto. The atomizing gas (G2) can be collected by means of pressure difference. The compressor 54 may be an air compressor, a household pump, a gas supercharger, or a booster valve, but is not limited thereto. As long as the atomizing gas (G2) in the gas storage container 53 can be guided to the gas supply 51 for completing a gas cycle, any type of the compressor 54 is acceptable. In this embodiment, a collection trough (E) is provided at the bottom of the atomizing chamber 61 for collecting the metal powder. It should be noted herein that the sizes and dimensions of the various components of the gas supply unit 5 shown in
Referring back to
Next, the gas supply 51 is operated to continuously inject the atomizing gas (G2) toward the molten metal (M) flowing out of the liquid flow channel 30 to atomize the molten metal (M) and produce powder as the gas flow moves in the atomizing chamber 61. The powder falls down and is collected in the collection trough (E). Finally, the atomizing gas (G2) is collected in the gas storage container 53 through the blower 52, and is sent back to the gas supply 51 after being compressed by the compressor 54, thereby completing a gas cycle, and the atomizing gas (G2) can be reused.
It should be noted herein that the carrier gas (G1) is introduced into the receiving space 20 through the gas flow channel 40 to mix with the molten metal (M), and the pressure difference formed in the receiving space 20 can force the molten metal (M) to stably flow and increase the speed thereof through the liquid flow channel 30, thereby further preventing the solidification of the molten metal (M) at the outlet of the flow guide tube 31.
Therefore, in the first embodiment, by using the push unit 4 to drive the molten metal (M), not only the amount of the molten metal (M) can be adjusted, but the molten metal (M) can also be made to flow stably and quickly, so that the flow guide tube 31 with a small diameter can be used, thereby refining the molten metal (M). The refined molten metal (M) can produce powder with a small particle size, and only a small amount of the atomizing gas (G2) is necessary to atomize the molten metal (M) and produce powder. Hence, the amount of using the atomizing gas (G2) can be saved, thereby significantly reducing the processing cost. Further, the introduction of the carrier gas (G1) into the receiving space 20 can increase the moving speed of the molten metal (M) through the liquid flow channel 30. The molten metal (M) atomized by the atomizing gas (G2) after flowing out of the liquid flow channel 30 can produce powder having small particle sizes, high uniformity and high quality. It should be noted herein that the total consumption of the carrier gas (G1) and the atomizing gas (G2) is about 20% of the gas consumption required by the traditional atomization powder making device.
Additionally, with reference to
Referring to
In the second embodiment, through the rapid rotation of the push unit 4, a thrust to drive the flow of the molten metal (M) can be generated in order to overcome the surface tension of the molten metal (M) in the flow guide tube 31, so that the molten metal (M) can stably flow through the liquid flow channel 30 having a small inner diameter to achieve refinement. As such, the refined molten metal (M) can produce powder with high uniformity and a small particle size, and only a small amount of the atomizing gas (G2) is used to atomize the molten metal (M) and produce powder. Hence, the amount of using the atomizing gas (G2) can be saved, thereby significantly reducing the processing cost. Further, the carrier gas (G1) is also stirred by the push unit 4 to evenly dispersed in the receiving space 20, and is mixed with the molten metal (M), so that the carrier gas (G1) and the molten metal (M) can flow through the liquid flow channel 30 at a high speed to avoid the problem of the molten metal (M) staying in the flow guide tube 31 for too long which will result in its solidification.
Referring to
The third embodiment not only can achieve the effects of refining the molten metal (M), but also can continuously rotate and agitate the molten metal (M) through the screw propeller 43. Through this, the molten metal (M) can be broken to maintain the fluid properties thereof, thereby further preventing the solidification of the molten metal (M) in the liquid flow channel 30.
In the description above, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details have been set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiment. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that one or more other embodiments may be practiced without some of these specific details. It should also be appreciated that reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” an embodiment with an indication of an ordinal number and so forth means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic may be included in the practice of the disclosure. It should be further appreciated that in the description, various features are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of various inventive aspects, and that one or more features or specific details from one embodiment may be practiced together with one or more features or specific details from another embodiment, where appropriate, in the practice of the disclosure.
While the disclosure has been described in connection with what are considered the exemplary embodiments, it is understood that this disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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110103505 | Jan 2021 | TW | national |