JP2001321870A - Manufacturing method of aluminum-based composite material-made component - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a manufacturing method of an aluminum-based composite material component of high quality, of which the production cost can be reduced. SOLUTION: In the manufacturing method of a component having a cylindrical drawn portion 62 by press-forming with a die 50 using an aluminum-based component material, the aluminum-based composite material is pressed at the temperature >=(Ta-50) deg.C and <=Ta deg.C when the solidus temperature of an aluminum alloy is Ta deg.C to manufacture an aluminum-based composite material product 61. A heating means 56 is built in the die 50. From the viewpoint of the formability, the temperature is set to be >=(Ta-50) deg.C, and from the viewpoint of the compressibility, the temperature is set to be <=Ta deg.C. At the temperature of >=(Ta-50) deg.C, the productivity is improved and the production cost is reduced. The compressibility can be set to be large at the temperature of <=Ta deg.C. The near net shape forming accuracy is improved, the number of machining processes and the machining time are reduced, and the production cost is reduced. The material is dense, and the quality thereof is improved.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing an aluminum-based composite part.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A manufacturing method for forming a desired shape by plastic working using an aluminum-based composite material is disclosed in, for example,
JP-A-206154 discloses a method for manufacturing a cylinder. The method of manufacturing this cylinder is as shown in the lower left column, page 8, lines 17 of page 2 of the publication. These are summarized below. (A) A chip of SiC is stirred and dispersed in a molten aluminum and solidified. (B) The solidified product is drawn while being heated to about 250 ° C. to form a pipe. (C) After the pipe is cut into a sleeve and fitted into a die casting mold, an aluminum alloy (AD
The cylinder is manufactured by casting in C12).

[0003]

The above-mentioned sleeve-shaped material is a composite material in which a SiC chip is compounded in a molten aluminum, and has a high resistance to plastic deformation, and
The interface between aluminum and SiC is only in a mechanically bonded state, and therefore has low elongation and poor workability like a general composite material. As a result, it is difficult to perform plastic working such as drawing, and it is difficult to improve the quality of a molded product and reduce production costs. For example, a component made of a composite material can be produced by press molding. However, resistance to plastic deformation is large, and similarly, production cost is increased and it is difficult to improve quality.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of manufacturing a high-quality aluminum-based composite component, which can reduce production costs.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for press-forming a part having a cylindrical drawn portion into a predetermined shape by using a metal mold by using an aluminum-based composite material. The solidus temperature of aluminum alloy is T
When the temperature is a ° C., the aluminum-based composite material is press-formed while being kept at a temperature of (Ta-50) ° C. or more and Ta ° C. or less by a heating means.

When the temperature of the aluminum-based composite material is (Ta-5)
0) When the temperature is lower than 0 ° C., the resistance to plastic deformation is increased, and molding is difficult, and the molding load is increased. When the temperature of the aluminum-based composite material exceeds Ta ° C., a liquid phase is generated, and cracks are likely to occur during plastic deformation. That is, the compression ratio decreases. As a result, from the viewpoint of moldability, (Ta-50) ° C
The above is set to Ta ° C. or less from the viewpoint of the compression ratio.

In the second aspect, the aluminum-based composite material comprises:
It is manufactured by reducing a porous reinforcement made of metal oxide in a magnesium nitride atmosphere in a furnace, exposing a metal to at least a part of the reinforcement, and infiltrating a molten aluminum alloy into the porous reinforcement. By reducing the metal oxide characterized in that it is a metal, the porous surface is metallized to improve the wettability between the metal oxide and the molten aluminum alloy. The aluminum-based composite material thus obtained is an aluminum-based composite material excellent in formability, in which the interface between aluminum and the reinforcing material is firmly bonded by chemical contact. As a result, plastic working becomes easier and production costs can be reduced.

[0008] A third aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the aluminum-based composite material is formed while being kept in the above-mentioned temperature range by a heating means incorporated in a mold. Since the temperature of the aluminum-based composite material in the mold is reliably maintained at (Ta-50) ° C or more and Ta ° C or less, moldability is maintained, and press-forming of the aluminum-based composite material part is easy.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The drawings should be viewed in the direction of reference numerals. FIG. 1 is a schematic structural view of an apparatus for manufacturing an aluminum-based composite material according to the present invention. The apparatus for manufacturing an aluminum-based composite material 1 includes an atmosphere furnace 2, a heating device 3 attached to the atmosphere furnace 2, and an atmosphere furnace 2. Supply device 6 for supplying an inert gas to the furnace, and a vacuum pump 7 for reducing the pressure in the atmosphere furnace 2
Consists of 8 and 9 are crucibles (crucibles). Specifically, the heating device 3 includes, for example, a control device 11, a temperature sensor 12, and a heating coil 13;
Are a cylinder 15 of argon gas (Ar) 14, a cylinder 17 of nitrogen gas (N ₂ ) 16,
A pipe 18 for supplying the gas of 17 to the atmosphere furnace 2;
8 comprises pressure gauges 19, 19.

The crucible 8 is a container for holding porous alumina (Al ₂ O ₃ ) 21 and an aluminum alloy 31 which is a porous reinforcing material made of a metal oxide, and the crucible 9 is for holding magnesium (Mg) 32. Container. The aluminum alloy 31 is, for example, JIS-A6061 (hereinafter abbreviated as A6061), which is a kind of Al-Mg-Si alloy. Magnesium (Mg) 32 may be a magnesium alloy.

FIGS. 2 (a) to 2 (d) are production procedure diagrams of the aluminum-based composite material according to the present invention, and FIGS. 2 (a) to 2 (c) schematically show processes up to infiltration. (A): First, alumina (Al ₂ O ₃ ) which is a metal oxide
21 and an aluminum alloy 31 and magnesium (Mg) 32 are placed in a furnace. Specifically, alumina 21 is put in the crucible 8 and the aluminum alloy 3 is put in the alumina 21.
1 is put, and magnesium 32 is put into the crucible 9.

Next, the inside of the atmosphere furnace 2 is evacuated by a vacuum pump 7 in order to remove oxygen in the atmosphere furnace 2. When a certain degree of vacuum is reached, the vacuum pump 7 is stopped and the atmosphere furnace 2 is removed from the cylinder 15. , An argon gas (Ar) 14 is supplied as shown by an arrow, and heating of the porous alumina 21, the aluminum alloy 31, and the magnesium 32 by the heating coil 13 is started as shown by the arrow.

The temperature in the atmosphere furnace 2 is raised (automatically) while being detected by the temperature sensor 12. A predetermined temperature (for example, about 7
In the process of reaching 50 ° C. to about 900 ° C.), the aluminum alloy 31 melts. At the same time, magnesium (Mg) 32
Evaporates as indicated by the arrow. At this time, since the atmosphere furnace 2 is under the atmosphere of the argon gas (Ar) 14, the aluminum alloy 31 and the magnesium (Mg) 32 are not oxidized.

(B): Next, nitrogen gas 1
6, the alumina (Al ₂ O ₃ ) 21 is reduced by the action of the magnesium nitride 34, and the molten metal of the aluminum alloy 31 is permeated into the porosity of the alumina 21 to produce the aluminum-based composite material 35. Specifically, nitrogen gas 16 is poured in while the argon gas 14 is removed by the vacuum pump 7,
Pressurizing while supplying nitrogen gas (N ₂ ) 16 to the atmosphere furnace 2 as shown by an arrow (for example, atmospheric pressure + about 0.5 kg / cm ² )
Then, the atmosphere in the atmosphere furnace 2 is replaced with a nitrogen gas (N ₂ ) 16.

When the atmosphere in the atmosphere furnace 2 becomes an atmosphere of nitrogen gas (N ₂ ) 16, the nitrogen gas 16 becomes magnesium (Mg).
Reacts with magnesium to produce magnesium nitride (Mg ₃ N ₂ ) 34. This magnesium nitride 34 is made of alumina (Al ₂
Since O ₃ ) 21 is reduced, the alumina 21 has good wettability. As a result, the molten metal of the aluminum alloy 31 permeates into the porosity of the alumina 21. The aluminum alloy 31 solidifies and the aluminum-based composite material 35 is completed. In the infiltration process, if the inside of the atmosphere furnace 2 is placed under a pressurized atmosphere, the infiltration is accelerated, and the aluminum-based composite material 35 can be manufactured in a short time. The pressure in the atmosphere furnace 2 is reduced by the vacuum pump 7 so that the atmosphere can be permeated in a short time even under a reduced-pressure nitrogen atmosphere.

(C): The aluminum-based composite material 35 is a composite material in which the aluminum alloy 31 is infiltrated into the alumina 21 which is a metal oxide, and has excellent moldability and is easily plastically deformed. (D): Finally, the aluminum-based composite material 35 is finished to a predetermined diameter D by an NC (numerical control) lathe 36.

FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b) are first explanatory views of the forming of the aluminum-based composite part according to the present invention. (A): The finished aluminum-based composite material 35 is
1 and cut to a predetermined thickness t.
(... indicates a plurality. The same applies hereinafter.)
To form Assuming that the volume of the blank material 42 is V0, this V0 becomes V0 = (π / 4) × D ² × t. The completed blanks 42 are flowed to the next blank heating step.

(B): heating the blanks 42.
Heat at 5. Specifically, the heating means 45 is a heating furnace, and first, a blank material 42 is placed in a furnace body 46 of the heating furnace 45.
Are set, and heating conditions such as a set temperature (otherwise, a heating rate, a heating time, etc.) are set in the control panel 47, and the switch is turned on. 48 is a heating coil, and 49 is a temperature sensor. After the temperature of the blank 42 reaches a predetermined temperature, the blank 42 is taken out and transported to the next press forming step.

The set temperature for heating is not less than (Ta-50) ° C. and not more than Ta ° C. when the solidus temperature of the aluminum alloy is Ta ° C. based on the aluminum alloy. For example, when A6061 is used as an aluminum alloy, the solidus temperature Ta ° C. is 583 ° C. and (T
a-50) ° C is 533 ° C. Therefore, in the case of A6061, the set temperature is, for example, 580 ° C.

The solidus temperature refers to a solid (solid phase) → (solid phase + liquid phase) → liquid (liquid phase) process in which a substance consisting of two or more components is heated by an increase in temperature. Is the temperature at which melting (melting) begins and the solid begins to turn into a liquid (liquid phase). Alternatively, conversely, when the liquid (liquid phase) is cooled by a decrease in temperature and takes a process of liquid (liquid phase) → (liquid phase + solid phase) → solid (solid phase), solidification ends and solid (solid phase) Phase).

FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b) are second explanatory views of the molding of the aluminum-based composite part according to the present invention.
(B) is a sectional view taken along line bb of (a). (A): A mold 50 in which a blank 42 is attached to a press machine.
Set to. The mold 50 includes an upper mold 51 and a lower mold 52.
And the upper mold 51 has a mold surface 53. Also,
The lower mold 52 has a protruding rod 54 provided at the center, a mold surface 55, and a heating means 56 built in the back of the mold surface 55, and a predetermined temperature can be maintained by the heating means 56. Things. Specifically, the setting of the blank 42 is performed by the lower mold 52 that maintains a predetermined temperature by the heating unit 56.
The blank material 42 that has reached a predetermined temperature is set on the mold surface 55.

In (b), the heating means 56 forms heater holes 57 on the back of the mold surface, and fits cylindrical cartridge heaters 58... Indicated by phantom lines into the heater holes 57. It is inclusive. 59 are lead wires. Although not shown, the lead wire 59 is connected to the mold temperature controller, the temperature sensor of the lower mold 52 is connected to the mold temperature controller, and the lower mold 52 is connected to the mold temperature controller. Automatic temperature control to the set temperature. The set temperature in this case is (T
a-50) ° C. or higher and Ta ° C. or lower. For example, when A6061 is used as an aluminum alloy, the solidus temperature Ta ° C. is 583 ° C. and (Ta-5)
0) ° C is 533 ° C. Therefore, in the case of A6061,
For example, it is set to 580 ° C. Since the set blank material 42 is heated by the heating means 56 shown in the figure, the temperature of the blank material 42 does not drop below (Ta-50) ° C.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are third explanatory views of the forming of the aluminum-based composite part according to the present invention. (A): The blank material 42 is molded with a mold 50 to obtain an aluminum-based composite material part 61. Specifically, the upper mold 5
1 is controlled under predetermined molding conditions (stroke amount, speed, pressure, etc.), fitted into the lower mold 52, and the mold surface 53 of the upper mold 51 is pushed into the blank 42 while the mold is closed. Then, the aluminum-based composite material 35 is compressed in a closed mold while forming (flowing) the blank material 42 of the aluminum-based composite material 35 to form an aluminum-based composite material part 61.

In the press forming step, since the aluminum-based composite material 35 is press-formed while maintaining the temperature at (Ta-50) ° C. or more and Ta ° C. or less, the plastic deformation resistance of the aluminum-based composite material 35 is small. And press forming is easy. Therefore, production costs can be reduced. At the same time, the plastic deformation resistance of the aluminum-based composite material 35 is reduced, the forming load is not increased, and the production cost can be reduced using existing equipment.

The aluminum-based composite material 35 is
Since the press molding is performed while maintaining the temperature at -50) ° C. or more and Ta ° C. or less, the flow of the aluminum-based composite material 35 in the closed mold by one pushing of the upper mold 51 is extremely easy, It can be easily compressed and formed into a near net shape (a shape close to the finished shape). As a result, the number of machining steps such as cutting and grinding can be reduced, and the production cost can be reduced. at the same time,
By using the near net shape, the yield of materials can be improved, the machining allowance can be greatly reduced, and the production cost can be reduced.

Further, the aluminum-based composite material 35 is replaced with (T
a-50) Since the press molding is performed while maintaining the temperature at a temperature of not lower than Ta and not higher than Ta ° C., the flow of the aluminum-based composite material 35 in the closed mold is extremely easy. As a result, the internal defects of the aluminum-based composite material 35 can be removed and densified, the quality can be improved, and the inspection step can be omitted and the production cost can be reduced.

After the molding is completed, first, the upper mold 51 is raised, and then the protruding rod 54 is protruded to release the aluminum-based composite material part 61 from the mold surface 55. Is removed from the mold 50, and the production of the aluminum-based composite component is completed.

(B) is a part 61 made of an aluminum-based composite material.
Shows an example of a part made of an aluminum-based composite material. The aluminum-based composite component 61 is a component having a cylindrical drawn portion 62 at the center. Here, the volume of the aluminum-based composite material part 61 is V1, and the volume of the blank material is V1.
0 and the compression ratio is C, the compression ratio C (%) = ((V
The compression ratio C is defined by the equation of 0−V1) / V0) × 100. That is, the compression ratio C indicates the rate of change of the volume.

FIG. 6 is a graph showing the relationship between the temperature of the blank and the compressibility according to the present invention. The horizontal axis represents the temperature T of the blank and the vertical axis represents the compressibility C. In this test, as a material of the blank material, an aluminum base composite material obtained by combining an aluminum alloy (base material) of A6061 and alumina (Al ₂ O ₃ ) was used. The presence or absence of cracks was checked. ●
The mark indicates "no cracking", and the "x" indicates "cracking occurred".
Is shown.

When the temperature T of the blank material is about 540 ° C.,
Cracking is less likely to occur in proportion to the blank material temperature T,
The compression ratio C can be set large. When the temperature T of the blank material is about 550 ° C. or higher, cracks tend to occur in proportion to the temperature T of the blank material, and the compression ratio C decreases.

When the temperature T of the blank material is increased, the formability is improved, but when the temperature exceeds the solidus temperature of 583 ° C.,
Due to the generation of the liquid phase component, cracks are likely to occur, and the compression ratio C is significantly reduced. The compression ratio C is desirably high, and it is possible to improve the molding accuracy of the near net shape and the quality (densification) of the aluminum-based composite material.

As a result, in the aluminum alloy A6061 (base material), the lower limit of the temperature T was set at 5 from the viewpoint of formability.
33 ° C. (583 ° C.-50), and the upper limit of the temperature T is 583 ° C. from the viewpoint of the compressibility C. That is, when the solidus temperature of the aluminum alloy is Ta ° C, the temperature of the aluminum-based composite material is kept at (Ta-50) ° C or more and Ta ° C or less.

Incidentally, in the molding shown in the embodiment of the present invention,
Depending on the conditions (forming accuracy, production cost), A6061
It is also possible to further limit the temperature range of the aluminum alloy (base material). For example, in the case where the temperature control is simplified and the variation in temperature is allowed, and the large compression ratio C is maintained, 523 ° C. to 548 ° C. ((Ta−60) ° C.)
The center temperature is set to 535 ° C. so as to fall within the range of (Ta−35) ° C. or less. The production cost of temperature control can be reduced. In addition, in order to further reduce the production cost by emphasizing only the moldability, the range is narrowed to the high temperature side, and the temperature range is from 563 ° C. to 583 ° C.
It is desirable to set the temperature in the range of Ta ° C. or less. When only the compression ratio C is emphasized and the molding accuracy is further improved, the temperature is set in the range of 543 ° C. to 550 ° C. (not less than (Ta−40) ° C. and not more than (Ta−33) ° C.). Is desirable.

The magnesium nitride (Mg) shown in FIG.
_{In the} method for producing ( ₃ N ₂ ) 34, magnesium (Mg) was placed in the crucible 9, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the porous molded body may contain magnesium in advance to generate magnesium nitride.

Although the cartridge heater 58 is incorporated in the lower mold 52 of the mold 50 shown in FIG. 4, the invention is not limited to the cartridge heater, and another heater may be used. Although the upper mold 51 is not provided with a heating means such as a heater, the upper mold 51 may be provided with a heating means to control the temperature to a predetermined temperature.

[0036]

According to the present invention, the following effects are exhibited by the above configuration. According to the first aspect, when the aluminum alloy composite is press-formed into a predetermined shape by a mold, when the solidus temperature of the aluminum alloy is Ta ° C, the aluminum matrix composite is heated to (Ta-50) ° C or more. And press-forming while maintaining the temperature at Ta ° C. or lower. If the temperature of the aluminum-based composite material is lower than (Ta-50) ° C., the resistance to plastic deformation increases, and it is difficult to mold. As a result, moldability decreases,
Poor production efficiency, increasing production cost. If the temperature of the aluminum-based composite material is lower than (Ta-50) ° C., the resistance to plastic deformation increases, and the forming load increases. As a result, it becomes difficult to use existing equipment such as a press machine, new equipment is required, and production costs increase.

On the other hand, when the temperature of the aluminum-based composite material is Ta
If the temperature exceeds ℃, a liquid phase is generated, so that cracks are likely to occur in the aluminum-based composite material during plastic deformation, and the compressibility cannot be increased. As described above, the temperature is set to (Ta-50) ° C or higher from the viewpoint of moldability, and set to the temperature of Ta ° C or lower from the viewpoint of compressibility. By raising the temperature of the aluminum-based composite to (Ta-50) ° C. or higher, productivity can be improved and production cost can be reduced.

Further, by setting the temperature to be equal to or lower than Ta ° C., the compression ratio can be set large. As a result, it is possible to increase the compression ratio, improve the molding accuracy of the near net shape, and reduce the number of machining steps and machining time in the post-process. Therefore, production costs can be reduced. At the same time, the compression ratio can be increased to remove and densify the internal defects of the aluminum-based composite, thereby improving the quality and eliminating the inspection process and reducing the production cost.

According to the second aspect, the metal oxide is reduced in a magnesium nitride atmosphere in a furnace, the metal is exposed to a part of the porous material, the wettability is improved, and the molten aluminum alloy is penetrated into the porous material. Since the aluminum-based composite material was manufactured by the method described above, the aluminum-based composite material is an aluminum-based composite material excellent in formability, in which the interface between the aluminum and the reinforcing material is firmly bonded by a chemical contact. As a result, plastic working becomes easier and the production cost can be further reduced.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the aluminum-based composite is maintained at a temperature in the range of (Ta-50) ° C. or more and Ta ° C. or less by the heating means incorporated in the mold. , And press-forming the aluminum-based composite material is easy. Therefore, the production cost can be reduced and the quality can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural view of an apparatus for manufacturing an aluminum-based composite material according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a manufacturing procedure diagram of the aluminum-based composite material according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a first explanatory view of forming an aluminum-based composite part according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a second explanatory view of forming the aluminum-based composite part according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a third explanatory view of forming the aluminum-based composite part according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a graph showing the relationship between the temperature and the compressibility of the blank material according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Aluminum base composite material manufacturing apparatus, 2 ... furnace (atmosphere furnace), 21 ... Reinforcement material (alumina), 31 ... Aluminum alloy, 32 ... Magnesium, 34 ... Magnesium nitride
35 ... aluminum-based composite material, 45 ... heating means (heating furnace), 50 ... mold, 56 ... built-in heating means, 61 ... parts made of aluminum-based composite material, 62 ... drawn part.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing from the front page (72) Inventor Sugaya advantageous 1-10-1 Shinsayama, Sayama City, Saitama Prefecture Inside Honda Engineering Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Takashi Kato 1-10-1, Shinsayama, Sayama City, Saitama Prefecture Hong Within Da Engineering Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Ryuji Echigo 1-10-1 Shinsayama, Sayama City, Saitama Prefecture Honda Engineering Co., Ltd. F term (reference) 4E087 AA10 BA04 CA13 CB01 CB04 EC02

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A manufacturing method for press-forming a part having a cylindrical drawing portion into a predetermined shape by using a die using an aluminum-based composite material, wherein a solidus temperature of the aluminum alloy is Ta ° C.
The aluminum-based composite material was heated (Ta-5
0) A method for producing a part made of an aluminum-based composite material, the method comprising press-forming while maintaining the temperature at a temperature of not lower than Ta and not higher than Ta ° C. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the aluminum-based composite material reduces a porous reinforcing material made of a metal oxide in a magnesium nitride atmosphere in a furnace to expose a metal to at least a part of the reinforcing material. 2. The method for manufacturing an aluminum-based composite component according to claim 1, wherein the component is manufactured by infiltrating a molten aluminum alloy into a material. 3. The method of manufacturing an aluminum-based composite part according to claim 1, wherein said aluminum-based composite material is formed by heating means incorporated in said mold while keeping said aluminum-based composite material in said temperature range.