EP0318655B1 - Process for casting molten metal, in particular aluminium alloys and magnesium alloys, and device for its execution - Google Patents

Process for casting molten metal, in particular aluminium alloys and magnesium alloys, and device for its execution Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0318655B1
EP0318655B1 EP88115342A EP88115342A EP0318655B1 EP 0318655 B1 EP0318655 B1 EP 0318655B1 EP 88115342 A EP88115342 A EP 88115342A EP 88115342 A EP88115342 A EP 88115342A EP 0318655 B1 EP0318655 B1 EP 0318655B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
die
molding cavity
pressure
molten metal
casting
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
EP88115342A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP0318655A2 (en
EP0318655A3 (en
Inventor
Claudio Frulla
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
TVA Holding SpA
Original Assignee
TVA Holding SpA
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by TVA Holding SpA filed Critical TVA Holding SpA
Priority to AT88115342T priority Critical patent/ATE86536T1/de
Publication of EP0318655A2 publication Critical patent/EP0318655A2/en
Publication of EP0318655A3 publication Critical patent/EP0318655A3/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0318655B1 publication Critical patent/EP0318655B1/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B22—CASTING; POWDER METALLURGY
    • B22D—CASTING OF METALS; CASTING OF OTHER SUBSTANCES BY THE SAME PROCESSES OR DEVICES
    • B22D27/00—Treating the metal in the mould while it is molten or ductile ; Pressure or vacuum casting
    • B22D27/09—Treating the metal in the mould while it is molten or ductile ; Pressure or vacuum casting by using pressure
    • B22D27/11—Treating the metal in the mould while it is molten or ductile ; Pressure or vacuum casting by using pressure making use of mechanical pressing devices
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B22—CASTING; POWDER METALLURGY
    • B22D—CASTING OF METALS; CASTING OF OTHER SUBSTANCES BY THE SAME PROCESSES OR DEVICES
    • B22D18/00—Pressure casting; Vacuum casting
    • B22D18/02—Pressure casting making use of mechanical pressure devices, e.g. cast-forging
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B22—CASTING; POWDER METALLURGY
    • B22D—CASTING OF METALS; CASTING OF OTHER SUBSTANCES BY THE SAME PROCESSES OR DEVICES
    • B22D23/00—Casting processes not provided for in groups B22D1/00 - B22D21/00
    • B22D23/006—Casting by filling the mould through rotation of the mould together with a molten metal holding recipient, about a common axis

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a process for casting molten metal, in particular aluminum alloys and magnesium alloys, and to the device for its execution.
  • squeeze casting which consists of filling part of the die with a certain amount of liquid aluminum and of subsequently introducing the male element of the die in the die itself.
  • the aluminum or magnesium alloy tends to include a certain percentage of air/gas, due to the high injection speed which does not allow all the air contained in the die to evacuate, with the result of creating fragile regions in the finished part since the structure remains under tension due to microparticles of gas embedded in the molten metal.
  • gravity casting provides a material free from internal tensions, but has a low productivity and provides casting with lower structural compactness, with consequent microporosity of the structure; the low productivity is due to the long cooling time of the aluminum or magnesium alloy inside the die, while the non-compactness of the structure and its microporosity are essentially due to the fact that during the step of solidification of the material the same is fed by risers which normally cannot have considerable dimensions due to the costs of casting and therefore the feed created by small-size risers does not give a correct casting feed.
  • a method and apparatus for casting molten metal are disclosed by the document EP-A-0 029 511.
  • the molten metal is first poured in a metering chamber and only afterwards in the molding cavity where is subjected to a multiple, time consuming, combined pneumatic-mechanical pressure feeding process supposing also a high energy consumption.
  • a further method and apparatus for casting molten metal are described in the document BE-A- 887 135.
  • the molten metal is poured first in a metering chamber situated below the molding cavity and subsequently fed into said molding cavity where mechanical pressure feeding is provided substantially in the central region of the die.
  • the aim of the present invention is to provide a casting process for aluminum alloys and magnesium alloys and a device for its execution, capable of providing a casting with mechanical characteristics superior to those obtained with other systems currently known on the market, together with an increase in the productivity of said system.
  • an object of the invention is to provide a system wherein the die can be used for a much greater hourly production than conventional systems, with obvious advantages in terms of costs and production times.
  • Another object of the invention is to provide a device for the execution of the system which is constructively simpler and therefore more economical than the corresponding known machines, this in relation to the hourly production rate provided, though it provides parts with superior mechanical characteristics.
  • the process according to the invention substantially consists of pouring molten metal, in particular aluminum alloys or magnesium alloys, into a die 6 through a runner 10, preferably tilting the die 6 initially and slowly returning it upright during its filling.
  • the die 6 is connected to a lower chamber 12 which is also filled with molten metal and in which there slides a pressure feed element which is actuated immediately after the filling step or before the same is completed.
  • the pressure feed element 11 compresses the molten metal inside the molding cavity, filling it completely with a relatively high pressure and at the same time with a sufficiently slow motion of the pressure feed element so that the gas contained in the molten metal can escape through appropriate vents arranged above the molding cavity.
  • the part is subject to further pressure by means of an upper pressure element 23, 21.
  • This pressing action is performed with a relatively high speed by the upper pressure element.
  • a device for the execution of the process according to the invention it is possible to use a device, generally indicated by the reference numeral 1, comprising: a lower die-holder structure 2, only partially illustrated, an upper die-holder structure 3, a lower hydraulic cylinder 4, a die base 5 on which the die 6 rests; the die 6 is in turn constituted by the base 6a, by two half-shells 7 and by a male element 8, the two half-shells 7 are actuated by two cylinders 26 and 26a, the upper die-holder structure is actuated by a cylinder 27 or by other systems such as e.g. gripping toggles, rack screws, etc.
  • the die illustrated in the figures is used to manufacture wheels for cars, but it may be any other die depending on the part to be obtained.
  • the male element 8 is associated with the upper die-holder structure 3 with which there are associated the wedge-like elements 9, which prevent the opening of the die during the pressure feed and compression step of the two half-shells 7, this occurring when the cylinder 27 is actuated at high pressure as will be described hereinafter.
  • molten metal is poured in a runner 10 provided in the half-shells 7 which are actuated by the cylinders 26 and 26a; advantageously the machine may be rotatable, in a known and not illustrated manner, about a horizontal axis, preferably passing through the inlet of the runner 10, so as to avoid changing the filling point of the die as described hereinafter.
  • the pressure feed element slideable vertically with respect to the die base 5 and controlled by the lower cylinder 4.
  • the pressure feed element is, in this case, advantageously constituted by a plurality of pistons slideable in an axial direction within related lower chambers provided at the die base 6a and connected to the molding cavity 13.
  • the pressure element may also have other configurations depending on the type of part to be manufactured, e.g. it may be constituted by a series of cylinders arranged in generally perimetral regions of the die and actuated with systems different from the cylinder 4, e.g. rack screws, gripping toggles, etc.
  • the pressure feed element 11 is connected to the lower cylinder 4 by means of rods 14 which pass through the die base 5 and connect the pressure feed element 11 to a plate 15 fixed to the upper part of the cylinder 4.
  • the pressure feed element also comprises a lower piston 16 arranged along the central axis of the lower cylinder and also associated with the plate 15.
  • the piston 16 slides within a lower cylindrical chamber 17 arranged below the molding cavity 13.
  • the upper die-holder structure 3 controlled by the cylinder 27 comprises a movable support 18 which is slideable with respect to said structure and is controlled by a hydraulic device 19 by means of the rods 25; the movable support 18 downwardly supports the male element 8 and delimits its closure stroke by means of a mechanical stop on the two half-shells 7; this is obtained with the cylinder 27 actuated at low pressure.
  • This system allows to obtain: the extraction of the male element 8 from the casting and a compression on the metal with the cylinder 27 at high pressure by means of the rods 24 and the central piston 20 during the solidification step.
  • the movable support 18 and the male element 8 have a cylindrical seat at the central axis within which the piston 20 is slideably arranged and is rigidly associated with the upper structure 3.
  • the piston 20 has an end 21, shaped according to the part to be obtained, which completes the male element 8 in the central region and is movable with respect to said male element.
  • one or more upper chambers 22 are provided and are occupied by related pistons 23, slideable along the vertical axis, within the chamber 22 and rigidly associated, by means of the rods 24, with the upper structure 3.
  • the pistons 23 may be replaced with an element having a different configuration according to the shape of the die and be arranged in a different form.
  • the casting process is performed as follows: initially the device ready for casting has the two lateral half-shells 7 closed, the upper structure 3 actuated by the cylinder 27 lowered at low pressure, the male element 8 which closes the die 6 in the lower position relatively to the cylinder 19 and the lower cylinder 4 also in the lower position as illustrated in figure 1; naturally the molding cavity 13 and the chambers 12, as well as the chambers 22, are empty.
  • the device may be rotated to be arranged along a more suitable angle to perform the correct filling of the die (figure 2); at this point the molten metal is poured into the molding cavity through the runner 10 in the required amount.
  • the machine rotates back to a vertical position; this rotation of the device is preferably performed simultaneously with the operation of pouring molten metal and for this purpose, advantageously, the horizontal axis of rotation coincides with the inlet of the runner which determines the stop of the amount of aluminum to be poured into the die.
  • the lower cylinder 4 is actuated and, with a slow adjustable motion, pushes upwards the pistons 11 and the lower piston 16 which push the molten metal, respectively present in the chambers 12 and in the lower chamber 17, into the molding cavity, completing its filling, if required, and simultaneously performing the compression of the liquid aluminum inside the casting, as illustrated in figure 3.
  • This feed step provides the filling of the molding cavity at a relatively high pressure but at the same time with a movement of the lower cylinder which is slow enough to allow the feed of the casting in the solidification step to compensate any shrinkage; appropriate vents, arranged on the upper part of the die, are furthermore provided for the escape of gases within the molding cavity.
  • the feeding step may be performed simultaneously with the casting step, e.g. the upward movement of the lower cylinder 4 can begin simultaneously with the pouring of the molten metal and with the machine's rotation.
  • the pressure feed may also begin, always by means of the cylinder 4, a few seconds before the machine has completely rotated back to its vertical position.
  • the part is subject to a further compression pressure with the piston 27 at high pressure by means of the pistons 23 and the end 21 of the upper piston 20, as illustrated in figure 4.
  • the compression is performed by actuating the piston 27 of the upper cylinder as described above at high pressure, causing the downward motion of the assemby of the pistons 23 and of the piston 20, while the male element 8 which is slideable relatively to the piston 20 and to the upper support 3 is kept motionless.
  • first step separation of the male element 8 from the casting by actuating the cylinder 19 upwards
  • second step spacing of the upper structure 3 which bears the male element 8, the piston 20 and the movable support 18, by actuating the piston 27 of the upper cylinder
  • third step opening of the two half-shells 7 by means of the two cylinders 26 and 26a.
  • the extraction of the part from the base of the die is performed by the pistons 11 and 16; in fact the lower cylinder 4 is again actuated to raise the pistons 11 and the piston 16 which push upwards the finished part, which can be gripped in a known manner and expelled from the device.
  • the process according to the invention allows to obtain parts, in particular in aluminum alloy and magnesium alloy, with superior mechanical characteristics and with high productivity with respect to known systems and is therefore more economical; the method furthermore provides a much more compact casting and almost entirely free from microporosity.
  • the step of feeding through a lower pressurized chamber allows to obtain: a correct filling of the die, a greater compactness of the casting, as well as a greater resistance of the casting itself and a shorter cooling time, this as a consequence of the pressure exerted on the metal, which reduces the intermolecular distance of the structure of the casting.
  • blowholes inside the cavity 13 are avoided since the filling of the die occurs slowly, and microporosities and blowholes due to the solidification step are avoided as the casting is fed, in this step, by pressurized liquid aluminum arriving from the chambers created by the pistons 11 and 16.
  • the reduced cooling time leads to an increase in the number of parts produced per time unit due to the reduced permanence time of the casting in the die.
  • Another advantage is due to the fact that the extraction of the part is performed avoiding the installation of further extractors, using the lower pistons 11 and 16 which furthermore exert a distributed action along the entire perimeter of the part, eliminating the danger of deformation thereof due to the action of localized forces.
  • the device according to the invention furthermore has considerable versatility in use, as the number of elements to be replaced to adapt it to different die shapes is limited.
  • Another important advantage is finally due to the fact that the device has a relatively low cost, combined with high productivity, by virtue of its constructive simplicity.
  • Another important advantage of the system resides in that it allows to use a single furnace to feed a plurality of machines.
  • the materials employed, as well as the dimensions, may be any according to the requirements and to the state of the art.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Molds, Cores, And Manufacturing Methods Thereof (AREA)
  • Forging (AREA)
  • Cylinder Crankcases Of Internal Combustion Engines (AREA)
  • Refinement Of Pig-Iron, Manufacture Of Cast Iron, And Steel Manufacture Other Than In Revolving Furnaces (AREA)
  • Manufacture Of Alloys Or Alloy Compounds (AREA)
EP88115342A 1987-10-05 1988-09-19 Process for casting molten metal, in particular aluminium alloys and magnesium alloys, and device for its execution Expired - Lifetime EP0318655B1 (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AT88115342T ATE86536T1 (de) 1987-10-05 1988-09-19 Verfahren zum giessen fluessigen metalles, insbesondere aluminiumlegierungen und magnesiumlegierungen und vorrichtung zu dessen durchfuehrung.

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
IT2214887 1987-10-05
IT22148/87A IT1222827B (it) 1987-10-05 1987-10-05 Procedimento di colata di metallo fuso,in particolare di leghe di alluminio e leghe di magnesio e dispositivo per la sua esecuzione

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0318655A2 EP0318655A2 (en) 1989-06-07
EP0318655A3 EP0318655A3 (en) 1989-10-25
EP0318655B1 true EP0318655B1 (en) 1993-03-10

Family

ID=11192211

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP88115342A Expired - Lifetime EP0318655B1 (en) 1987-10-05 1988-09-19 Process for casting molten metal, in particular aluminium alloys and magnesium alloys, and device for its execution

Country Status (6)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0318655B1 (it)
AT (1) ATE86536T1 (it)
DE (1) DE3879119T2 (it)
ES (1) ES2038728T3 (it)
GR (1) GR3007299T3 (it)
IT (1) IT1222827B (it)

Families Citing this family (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
IT1231211B (it) * 1989-08-24 1991-11-23 Tva Holding Procedimento per la colata a pressione controllata di metalli fusi, particolarmente leghe leggere di alluminio e di magnesio, e apparecchiatura per la sua esecuzione
WO1999029454A1 (es) * 1997-12-09 1999-06-17 Vitromatic Comercial, S.A. De C.V. Proceso para fabricar valvulas de aluminio para quemadores de estufas domesticas de gas
JP2000164225A (ja) * 1998-11-25 2000-06-16 Toshiba Corp 固体高分子電解質型燃料電池のセパレータおよびその製造方法
US8496258B2 (en) 2003-10-20 2013-07-30 Magna International Inc. Hybrid component
US8899624B2 (en) 2005-05-19 2014-12-02 Magna International Inc. Controlled pressure casting
KR101379977B1 (ko) 2005-05-19 2014-04-01 마그나 인터내셔널 인코포레이티드 제어된 압력 주조
CN103056337B (zh) * 2013-01-25 2014-12-31 北京交通大学 一种分离机转鼓毛坯的液态模锻模具及其液态模锻方法
JP6747938B2 (ja) * 2016-07-12 2020-08-26 リョービ株式会社 傾動式重力鋳造装置および傾動式重力鋳造法
CN110947927B (zh) * 2018-09-26 2022-05-06 重庆波热智慧科技有限公司 空腔传导热式耐高温金属压铸模具

Family Cites Families (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB348398A (en) * 1930-05-19 1931-05-14 Andreas Johansson Improved device for pouring molten metal into a mould
IT1124969B (it) * 1979-11-13 1986-05-14 Tva Srl Dispositivo di colata in conchiglia di metallo fuso in genere e di lega leggera in particolare
JPS56102365A (en) * 1980-01-21 1981-08-15 Honda Motor Co Ltd Method of filling molten metal in vertical type die casting machine
JPS60102261A (ja) * 1983-11-09 1985-06-06 Honda Motor Co Ltd 繊維強化複合部材の品質検査方法
JPS6186060A (ja) * 1984-10-03 1986-05-01 Taiho Kogyo Co Ltd 加圧鋳造装置

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GR3007299T3 (it) 1993-07-30
DE3879119D1 (de) 1993-04-15
IT8722148A0 (it) 1987-10-05
EP0318655A2 (en) 1989-06-07
EP0318655A3 (en) 1989-10-25
DE3879119T2 (de) 1993-06-17
ES2038728T3 (es) 1993-08-01
ATE86536T1 (de) 1993-03-15
IT1222827B (it) 1990-09-12

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