DE102012007292A1 - Method and treatment section for partially refining a metal product - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method and a treatment section (10) for partially refining a metal product (1). In this case, a first section (11) of the metal product is passed through a thermal treatment station (2) in which a controlled heating of the metal product takes place to condition desired material properties. Furthermore, the first portion (11) of the metal product is passed through a surface treatment station (3) in which a surface of the metal product is tempered. At a time when the first portion (11) of the metal product is in the thermal treatment station (2), there is a second portion (12) of the metal product in the surface treatment station (3).

Description

The invention relates to a method and a treatment line, with which a metal product can be processed in sections. The finishing includes a thermal treatment and a surface treatment.

State of the art

In the heat treatment of metals (also referred to as their "thermal treatment"), certain material properties are produced by exposing the metal to certain temperatures or temperature gradients. Methods of heat treatment, for example, the annealing, curing or tempering, with which the structure of a metal, so the arrangement of the crystallites contained, can be selectively influenced. Properties such as hardness, toughness, cold workability or microstructural homogeneity of the metal can be brought about in a planned way.

With the help of direct flame heating (English "direct flame impingement", short DFI), the respective required heat energy can be supplied. In the European patent application EP 2 267 171 A1 A method of heat treatment using DFI burners is described.

In the case of direct flame heating, so-called oxy-fuel burners are advantageous, in particular because they consume relatively little fuel gas at high heat efficiency compared with the use of air as combustion gas, generate less exhaust gases and permit more precise work. These burners work with a fuel gas and a combustion gas, which has a particularly high oxygen content of over 21%.

In addition to the thermal treatment and in a separate processing step, metals are often subjected to a surface treatment. For example, the surface may be tempered by the application of a layer, such as a zinc layer.

According to the prior art, this compensation takes place after the respective metal has been thermally treated. The heated metal is first cooled and then usually transported to another plant to be further treated there. The production of metal products, in particular of metal strips, rolls or foils, which includes both a heat treatment and a surface treatment, is therefore expensive both in terms of time and in terms of energy consumption and the required logistics.

The present invention therefore has the task of simplifying and accelerating the production of metal products, in particular metal strips, rolls or foils.

Disclosure of the invention

According to the invention, a method and a treatment section according to the independent patent claims for a section-wise refinement of a metal product are proposed.

In particular, according to the present invention, a "metal product" may be any type of metal band, a metal foil, a metal tube, a metal wire, a metal cord or other metal piece with or without a three-dimensional profile. The metal may be, for example, steel, aluminum or copper or a metal alloy.

According to the method of the invention, eleven first section of a metal product is passed through a thermal treatment station. This station serves to influence sections of the metal product located at it by a controlled heating with respect to material properties. As described above, for example, desired degrees of hardness, toughness, cold workability and / or structural homogeneity of the metal product in the respective section can be achieved according to the particular need.

The method further comprises passing the first portion of the metal product through a surface treatment station. This is adapted to reimburse the surface of a portion of the metal product located thereon. The surface can be coated with metal or plastic, for example.

In the former case, the coating material may be the same metal as the metal product, but it may be another metal.

According to the method of the invention, a second portion of the metal product is at a time in the surface treatment station to which the first portion is located in the thermal processing station. The term "second" section does not refer to the order of treatment in the refining process. Rather, the second section can pass through the thermal treatment station before or after the first section.

According to the invention, the refining thus takes place in that the respective sections of the metal product pass through the two mentioned stations in succession without interrupting the processing process. The associated processing steps are integrated into a single process insofar as the metal product as a whole is not first processed in one way and then in the other, but is successively heat-treated and surface-treated in succession.

In particular, the method can be carried out in a single chamber.

Depending on the respective requirements of the target product, the first section may be passed through the surface treatment station before or after the first section is passed through the thermal treatment station. In either case, thermal energy introduced in the first pass through station may continue to be used at the following station, when the first section (and with it further, downstream of the finishing process, portions of the metal product) continue to be in a hot or at least warm condition. Thus, energy can be saved.

Since each section can be processed immediately after passing through a station, for example, not after cooling or after further sections of the metal product have been treated at the same station, also the time and the logistical effort in the refining can be reduced. Thus, the previously required for a transport cooling process between two processing steps can be omitted. If, for example, the metal product is unwound from a roll, it is not only necessary for the entire metal product to undergo a first finishing step and to be rolled up again before a second finishing step can be carried out.

Preferred embodiments are disclosed in the subclaims and the description.

The controlled heating in the thermal treatment station as needed and depending on the metal to temperatures between about 100 ° C and about 1000 ° C, in particular between about 200 ° C and 500 ° C, more preferably at 250 to 300 ° C, is preferably carried out by direct flame heating (DFI). This allows a very precise adjustment of the heating conditions. Since the energy input by means of DFI using oxyfuel burner has a particularly high efficiency, the use of one or more such oxyfuel burner is particularly advantageous.

For the same reason, it is advantageous to use one or more oxy-fuel burners when annealing the surface by thermal spraying. If both the thermal treatment and the surface treatment using oxyfuel, there is the additional advantage that at least partially a common gas supply can be provided, thus simplifying the system structure and the maintenance can be reduced.

Other possibilities of surface coating are thermal spraying, such as blowing the coating material into one or more plasma flame (s), high-speed flame (s) or laser beam (s). Alternatively, coating material can be applied by vapor deposition. If a plastic coating is to be produced, it is advantageous if the first section of the metal product passes first through the thermal treatment station and then through the surface treatment station. Then cold plastic material, for example in the form of chips, powder or granules, may be applied (eg inflated) to the surface of the first section still heated by the thermal treatment.

It is advantageous if the coating material is applied laterally, ie, for example, in the horizontal direction. Excess powder or the like then simply drops off. If the metal product is a metal strip or a metal foil, lateral application of the coating may be accompanied by vertical guidance of the surface of the metal product to be coated by the thermal treatment station and the surface treatment station. This also has the advantage that even dust from the metal product falls down. If the tape or the film is unwound from a roll, in this case the axis of rotation of the roll is therefore preferably vertical.

In an advantageous embodiment, a section is led through at least one further thermal treatment station and / or at least one further surface treatment station. Preferably, the section thereby passes through the respective further station, while at the same time another section passes through another station. In this way, time and energy can be saved when various kinds of heat treatment, such as quenching and tempering, are successively performed on one section when simultaneously treating another section at another station.

Furthermore, a portion of the metal product can be cooled. At the same time, this cooling is preferably carried out at the same time that another section of the metal product is passed through the thermal treatment station or through the surface treatment station. Alternatively or additionally, the method may include a step of separating a portion of the metal product, optionally followed by packaging the severed portion. In this way, the metal product heat-treated and surface-treated in sections, optionally cooled, separated and packaged. It only needs to be refined as much of the metal product, as is currently required, for example, for a packaging unit of a predetermined number of separated sections.

In an advantageous embodiment, the metal product is a metal strip, a metal roll or a metal foil, which is led directly from the rolling process or from a roll for refining on a treatment line.

The method may include a step of changing the arrangement of the stations. Thus, a portion of the metal product may be refined to obtain the first desired properties, then, for example, the order of the thermal treatment station and the surface treatment station interchanged and then refining another portion of the metal product to achieve second desired properties.

The invention further relates to a treatment line for carrying out one or more of the methods described above. The respective treatment stations are set in modules. With the modules so the treatment order can be relatively easily replaced according to the desired product properties.

The invention is schematically illustrated by means of embodiments in the drawings:

1 shows by way of example a refinement according to the invention of a metal strip along a treatment section;

2 shows a typical surface treatment station;

3 shows a part of an exemplary treatment course according to the invention;

4 shows an exemplary treatment course according to the invention, and

5 shows another exemplary treatment path according to the invention.

According to the in the 1 The finish shown becomes a metal band 1 from a roll 9 unwound and a treatment section 10 guided along. The order of the stations shown is exemplary. In particular, the treatment path can be set up so that the arrangement is variable, so that the respective stations, in particular the thermal treatment station and the surface treatment station, can be interchanged.

In the illustrated arrangement, each section of the metal strip passes through 1 after its unwinding from the roll 9 first a thermal treatment station 2 , This station includes a device 6 for direct flame heating. As stated above, this may in particular be an oxyfuel heating.

Subsequently, each section is passed through a surface treatment station 3 led, which is a device 7 for thermal spraying.

Thereafter, a portion of the metal strip passes through a cooling station 4 and a station 5 at which the corresponding section (in the case shown section 13 ) is separated from the metal strip. The severed section will be at a packing station 16 packed in a box and can finally be removed.

The thermal treatment station 2 and the surface treatment station 3 are arranged so that a section 12 at one time in the surface treatment station 3 is located while a section 11 the same metal band 1 in the thermal treatment station 2 located. In the course of unwinding is thus the section 12 first through the thermal treatment station 2 been done before its surface in the 1 represented moment at the surface treatment station 3 is refined. In this way, the still of passing through the thermal treatment station 2 Existing heat at the surface treatment station 3 be exploited.

The metal band 1 gets off the role 9 unwound. The roller is arranged so that its axis A is vertically aligned. The treated surface of the metal strip 1 runs thereby also vertically. In particular, the coating material becomes at the surface treatment station 3 applied in a horizontal direction. As stated above, this arrangement has the advantage that excess coating material as well as any dust from the metal strip 1 drops.

The 2 shows a typical device 7 for thermal spraying, which can be used at a surface treatment station. The metal band 1 is transported in the direction of the arrow, the section 12 is treated by thermal spraying at the time shown. This is a flame 21 directed to the section that distributes the flow evenly. The flame is created by the combustion of laterally supplied oxygen and methane.

In the illustrated surface treatment, particles are added during combustion 23 on the metal product 1 melted. So the layer is created 22 , The particles can be supplied, for example, in the form of zinc powder or granules. Depending on the positioning of the spray burner shown, the particles can be spun in a horizontal or vertical direction.

In the 3 is an exemplary arrangement in a treatment course 10 for refining a metal product 1 shown. The metal product is from a roll 9 unwound and treated on both sides at the different treatment stations. The treatment section shown here comprises two thermal treatment stations and two surface treatment stations.

Each section of the metal product passes through it after its unwinding from the roll 9 first the thermal treatment station 2A , then the surface treatment station 3A , then the thermal treatment station 2 B and finally the surface treatment station 3B ,

In this way, residual heat remaining from a previous treatment can be used in each case. At the same time, the respectively desired material properties can be achieved through the various treatment steps.

The 4 and 5 each show schematically a treatment section 10 by which one of a roll 9 uncoiled metal product 1 to be led. Both treatment lines each comprise a thermal treatment station 2 , a surface treatment station 3 , a cooling station 4 as well as stations 5 and 16 for cutting or packaging. The individual stations are constructed here as modules. The cooling at the station 4 can be achieved in each case by conduction, spraying or use of a heat sink. The two treatment routes 10 of the 4 and 5 differ in the order of the modules: According to the treatment course of the 4 goes through a section of the metal product 1 first a thermal treatment station 2 and then a surface treatment station 3 whereas a section of the metal product 1 according to the treatment course of 5 first passes through a surface treatment station and thereafter a thermal treatment station. Which arrangement is suitable in each case depends on the desired material properties to be achieved.

The respective treatment stations are set in modules whose order can be easily reversed. Also material from a single roll 9 may be the first part of the treatment course of the 4 and a second part of the treatment section of the 5 go through, with in between the module order has been changed. The partial treatment of the material of the roll allows the refinement of smaller amounts of the metal product according to the respective finishing requirements, because not the material of the entire roll must be treated in each case.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

1

metal band

2, 2A, 2B

thermal treatment station

3, 3A, 3B

Surface treatment station

4

cooling station

5

Station for cutting

6

DFI device

7

thermal spray device

9

role

10

treatment section

11

section

12

section

16

packing station

21

flame

22

layer

23

particle

A

roller axis

QUOTES INCLUDE IN THE DESCRIPTION

This list of the documents listed by the applicant has been generated automatically and is included solely for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions.

Cited patent literature

• EP 2267171 A1 [0003]

Claims (14)

Method for sectioning a metal product ( 1 of steel, aluminum or copper, for example, the method comprising the following steps: performing a first section ( 11 ) of the metal product through a thermal treatment station ( 2 ), in which a controlled heating of the metal product to condition desired material properties takes place, and a carrying out of the first section ( 11 ) of the metal product through a surface treatment station ( 3 ), in which a tempering of a surface of the metal product takes place; characterized in that a second section ( 12 ) of the metal product is at a time in the surface treatment station to which the first portion of the metal product is located in the thermal processing station. The method of claim 1, wherein the metal product is heated in the thermal treatment station to temperatures between 100 ° C and 1000 ° C, in particular between 200 ° C and 500 ° C, more particularly between 250 ° C and 300 ° C. Method according to one of claims 1 or 2, wherein the controlled heating in the thermal treatment station ( 11 ) takes place by means of direct flame heating, in which preferably one or more oxyfuel burners is / are used. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the tempering of the surface of the metal product in the surface treatment station comprises a coating of the surface with a coating material, such as metal and / or plastic, of which preferably particles ( 23 ) are removed from a wire or rod or applied as a powder, wherein in each case the particles are melted, for example, melted or softened. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the annealing of the surface of the metal product comprises one or more of the following steps: thermal spraying, wherein preferably one or more oxy-fuel flame (s), one or more plasma flame (s), one or more high velocity flame (s) or several laser beam (s) serve to melt or melt coating material; Vapor deposition of coating material; Applying cold coating material to the surface of the metal product; wherein in each case the coating material is preferably in the horizontal direction, in particular perpendicular to a vertically oriented to be coated surface of the metal product ( 1 ) is applied. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the first portion of the metal product is first passed through the thermal treatment station ( 2 ) and then still hot to the surface treatment station (3) is performed. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the metal product ( 1 ) is a metal band, a metal roller, a metal tube or a metal foil, and / or wherein the metal product has a profile. Method according to one of the preceding claims, further comprising a step of passing the first section of the metal product through a further thermal treatment station ( 2 B ), and / or passing the first section of the metal product through another station ( 3B ) for surface treatment. Method according to one of the preceding claims, additionally comprising a step of cooling the first portion of the metal product in a cooling station ( 4 ), wherein the cooling is effected in particular by convection, by a heat sink in the cooling station or by a sprayed on cooling fluid. Method according to one of the preceding claims, additionally comprising a step of separating the first portion of the metal product from the metal product, and preferably a step of packaging the separated first portion ( 13 ). Treatment course ( 10 ) for refining a metal product ( 1 ), for example made of steel, aluminum or copper, wherein the treatment section comprises the following modules: a thermal treatment station ( 2 . 2A . 2 B ), in which a controlled heating of a section located at the thermal treatment station ( 11 ) of the metal product to effect desired material properties; and a surface treatment station ( 3 ), in which a tempering of a surface of a section located at the surface treatment station ( 12 ) of the metal product takes place; characterized in that the thermal treatment station and the surface treatment station are arranged to each other so that a first section ( 11 ) of the metal product at the thermal treatment station, while at the same time a second section ( 12 ) of the metal product is at the surface treatment station. Treatment line according to claim 11, wherein the thermal treatment station comprises a device ( 6 ) for direct flame heating, preferably with one or more oxyfuel burners / n; and / or wherein the surface treatment station comprises a device ( 7 ) for thermal spraying, preferably with one or more oxyfuel burner (s). A treatment line according to claim 11 or 12, arranged such that the first section is the surface treatment station (10). 3 . 3A . 3B ) after passing through the thermal treatment station ( 2 . 2A . 2 B ) has passed through and as long as he is still heated by this. A treatment line according to any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein the metal product ( 1 ) is a metal strip that is separated from a roll ( 9 ), then the thermal treatment station ( 2 . 2A . 2 B ) and the surface treatment station ( 3 . 3A . 3B ), wherein the roller preferably has a vertically arranged axis of rotation (A).

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