JP2003021464A - Vacuum induction furnace facility and furnace body truck - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vacuum induction furnace facility in which the furnace body can be replaced quickly and conveniently. SOLUTION: The vacuum induction furnace IF is constituted by sidetracking a core truck TK provided with a vacuum door closing the side opening of a vacuum chamber VC and a core frame CF into the vacuum chamber VC. When replacement of the core frame CF is required, the core truck TK is separated from the vacuum chamber VC and retreated along a rail RL. Subsequently, another core truck TK is sidetracked into the vacuum chamber VC thus replacing the core chamber CF of the vacuum induction furnace IF.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vacuum induction furnace facility capable of quickly and easily exchanging a furnace body and a furnace body carriage used for the vacuum induction furnace facility.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a vacuum induction furnace, a coil body around which a coil is wound is placed in a vacuum chamber, and a charging material is charged into the furnace body and a high-frequency current is supplied to the coil, whereby the charging material is charged. It is a device that causes an eddy current to flow and the Joule heat to melt the charging material. With this vacuum induction furnace, high quality alloys and the like can be produced.

A refractory material is arranged on the inner peripheral wall of the furnace body, but the refractory material is deteriorated by the melting work. In addition, impurities are accumulated in the furnace body by melting. For this reason, after the melting work for a long time, it is necessary to replace the furnace body due to deterioration of the refractory and perform maintenance to remove impurities from the furnace body.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

However, maintenance and replacement of the furnace body usually take a long time of more than half a day. This is because the furnace body still emits high heat immediately after the operation of the vacuum induction furnace is stopped, and the work could not be performed unless the temperature decreased while circulating the cooling water through the furnace body. .

Further, in the conventional vacuum induction furnace equipment,
Most of the vacuum induction furnaces have a structure in which a vacuum lid is installed, and in the case of work that involves carrying out the furnace body, the furnace body must be carried out from the upper part of the vacuum tank with a machine such as a crane. did not become.

In order to solve the above problems, there is a method of arranging a plurality of furnace bodies in a vacuum chamber and reusing the furnace bodies.
This method also has a problem that the installation area of the vacuum chamber itself becomes large.

In addition, in the conventional vacuum induction furnace,
Maintenance work and replacement work of the furnace body are often performed in a limited space near the vacuum chamber, and there are problems in work efficiency and safety.

When performing the maintenance and replacement work of the furnace body, the melting process must be stopped. Therefore, the operation efficiency itself is essentially required for the maintenance and replacement work of the furnace body. There was also the problem of being inferior to the ability.

Therefore, in the present invention, the vacuum induction which enables the maintenance and replacement of the furnace body to be promptly restarted and the melting process to be restarted quickly and the maintenance and replacement work of the furnace body to be carried out safely and efficiently The purpose is to provide furnace equipment.

[0010]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in the vacuum induction furnace equipment of the present invention, a vacuum chamber having an opening on the side and a door for closing the opening of the vacuum chamber are fixed. And a furnace body movable in the horizontal direction. According to this invention, since the furnace body and the door are integrated, the furnace body and the door can be separated from the vacuum chamber. Here, it is desirable that the furnace body is installed on a carriage that moves on a rail.

Further, the vacuum induction furnace equipment includes a main rail connected to the vacuum chamber, a plurality of shelter rails connected to a plurality of shelter locations, and a rotation arranged between the main rail and the plurality of shelter rails. It is preferable to have a free turntable. With this equipment, while moving the furnace body installed on the trolley to the evacuation site for maintenance, you can put other furnace bodies in the vacuum tank and perform melting work, greatly improving work efficiency It becomes possible.

Next, the furnace truck of the present invention is used together with a vacuum tank having an opening on the side, and comprises a truck movable horizontally and the vacuum tank fixed to the truck. A door for closing the opening and a furnace body fixed to the trolley are provided. According to the present invention, since the furnace body and the door can be moved as a unit, the furnace body and the door can be separated from the vacuum chamber.

Here, an induction coil is wound around the outer periphery of the furnace body, and a through hole is formed in the door,
It is preferable to include a connection portion that is fixed to the trolley and receives electric power supply, and a connection cable that connects both ends of the induction coil and the connection portion through the through hole.

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A vacuum induction furnace facility SYS according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. [1. Configuration of the present embodiment] First, the vacuum induction furnace facility SYS
The configuration of will be described. Figure 1 shows the vacuum induction furnace equipment SY
It is a top view which shows the structure of S. As shown in FIG. 1, the vacuum induction furnace equipment SYS includes a vacuum induction furnace IF, a capacitor equipment CD, an electric carriage ET, and rails RL0 to RL having a width a.
4, turntable TT, pressure reducer CP, and standby yards WY1 and WY2.

First, the vacuum induction furnace IF is composed of a vacuum chamber VC and a furnace trolley TK. An opening OP is formed in a part of the side wall of the vacuum chamber VC (see FIG. 2).
On the other hand, a vacuum door VD that closes the opening OP is fixed to the furnace body truck TK (see FIG. 3). Furnace truck TK is rail R
It can move on L0 to RL4.

When carrying out the melting work, the furnace body carriage TK is pulled into the vacuum chamber VC for use. The decompressor CP is connected to the vacuum chamber VC via a pipe and is used to reduce the internal pressure of the vacuum chamber VC.

On the other hand, when performing maintenance, the furnace body carriage TK is separated from the vacuum chamber VC, and the furnace body carriage TK is drawn into the standby yards WY1 and WY2. Standby yard WY1, WY
2 is a space for performing maintenance work.

The turntable TT is equipped with a rail RL3 so that it can rotate. Therefore, by pulling out the furnace body truck TK from the vacuum chamber VC to the turntable TT and rotating it by 90 degrees, the furnace body truck TK can be pulled into the standby yards WY1, WY2.

Next, the condenser equipment CD supplies high-frequency current and cooling water to the vacuum induction furnace IF.
The condenser equipment CD is connected to the electric carriage ET via a water cooling cable CB. The water cooling cable CB is a hollow conductor whose inner and outer sides are covered with an insulating material. The condenser equipment CD supplies high-frequency current to the conductor portion of the water cooling cable CB, and supplies cooling water to the hollow portion thereof.

Next, the energizing carriage ET is connected to the furnace body carriage TK so that the water cooling cable CB can be connected via bus bar portions BB1 and BB2 (not shown).

Next, the detailed structure of the vacuum chamber VC will be described. FIG. 2 is a front view showing an external configuration of the vacuum tank VC, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a vacuum induction furnace IF in which a furnace body carriage TK is connected to the vacuum tank VC and an electric carriage ET. Vacuum tank V
C is fixed on a concrete floor or the like and has a shape of a vertical cylindrical tank. The inside of the vacuum chamber VC is hollow and has an opening OP. Further, a rail RL4 for pulling the furnace trolley TK into the vacuum chamber VC is installed below the vacuum chamber VC. This opening O
When P is sealed, the inside of the vacuum chamber is shut off from the outside air. The vacuum chamber VC is equipped with a vacuum valve VB, and the vacuum valve VB is connected to the pressure reducer CP. Therefore, with the inside of the vacuum chamber VC shut off from the outside air, the vacuum valve VB
By opening the valve and operating the pressure reducer CP, the vacuum chamber VC
The inside of the can be depressurized.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing the external structure of the furnace truck TK. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the furnace body truck T
K includes a furnace body CF, a vacuum door VD, a carriage WL, a drive unit MV1, and a bus bar unit BB1. Drive part M
V1 is composed of a motor or the like, and rotates the wheels of the carriage WL. There are various methods of supplying electric power to the drive unit MV1. For example, a method of supplying power via the rails RL0 to RL4, a method of using a part of the power supplied to the furnace body CF via the bus bar portion BB1, a method of supplying power using a dedicated cable not shown, and the like. There is. The control signal for controlling the drive unit MV1 may be transmitted from a control device (not shown) that controls the entire facility via a dedicated cable, or may be transmitted using wireless communication. . Therefore, the furnace body truck TK
Can not only supply electric power to the vacuum induction furnace IF, but also can be self-propelled.

Next, the furnace body CF is a crucible for melting metal. An induction coil IC made of a thin tube made of a conductor such as copper is wound around the outer peripheral wall of the furnace body CF.
Water cooling cables CB are respectively connected to both ends of the induction coil IC. Each water cooling cable CB is connected to the bus bar portion BB1 through a through hole formed in the vacuum door VD. Then, the high frequency current and the cooling water are supplied to the induction coil IC via the bus bar portion BB1. Therefore, a high-frequency current flows through the induction coil IC, and cooling water flows through the hollow portion of the thin tube. This allows
Eddy current is generated in the charging material housed in the furnace body CF. The charging material is melted by the Joule heat of the eddy current. The cooling water is circulated in the hollow portion of the induction coil IC in order to prevent the induction coil IC from being burnt out by conducting a large amount of current.

Next, the detailed structure of the electric carriage ET will be described. FIG. 5 is a front view showing an external configuration of the electric carriage ET. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 3, the energized carriage ET includes a bus bar portion BB2, a clamp portion CP, a drive portion MV2, and a carriage WL.

A water cooling cable CB is connected to the bus bar portion BB2, and the water cooling cable CB is connected to the condenser equipment CD. In other words, the energized cart ET
High-frequency current and cooling water are supplied from the condenser equipment CD. Further, the clamp part CP includes an upper clamper CP1 and a lower clamper CP2, which are moved in the vertical direction by air drive. Specifically, in a state in which the electric carriage ET and the furnace body carriage TK are connected and the bus bar portion BB2 and the bus bar portion BB1 face each other, the upper clamper CP1 is moved downward to the lower clamper C.
By moving P2 in the upward direction and sandwiching the bus bar portion BB2 and the bus bar portion BB1 from above and below, the clamp portion CP connects them.

Further, the electric carriage ET is provided with a drive unit MV2. The drive unit MV2 is composed of a motor or the like. The method of supplying and controlling the electric power is the same as that of the drive unit MV1 of the furnace body truck TK described above, and thus the description thereof is omitted here.

The above-mentioned furnace body truck TK and energization truck ET
Can move according to the tracks of the rails RL0 to RL4. As shown in FIG. 1, rails RL0 to RL
4 are arranged on three sides via the turntable TT. The turntable TT has a size sufficient to mount the furnace body truck TK and the energization truck ET. Therefore, the turntable TT can be rotated by mounting the furnace body truck TK and the energization truck ET.

A rail RL0 is laid parallel to the vertical center line L1 of the vacuum chamber VC with the turntable TT as one end. Since the width of the rail RL0 is a, the electric carriage ET can move along the track.
The rail RL0 is also used as a standby space for the electric carriage ET.

A rail RL1 is laid parallel to a straight line L2 which intersects the straight line L1 at a right angle with the turntable TT as one end. The width of the rail RL1 is a, on which the furnace body truck TK can travel.
A standby yard WY1 is installed at the end of the rail R1.

In the standby yard WY1, maintenance and replacement work of the furnace body CF can be performed. The standby yard WY1 has a sufficient area for safely and efficiently performing maintenance and replacement of the furnace body CF.

The rail RL2 and the standby yard WY2 are
Except that the rail RL2 is laid in the direction opposite to the rail RL1 with the turntable TT as the center,
This is the same as the rail RL1 and the standby yard WY1.

[2. Operation of this Embodiment] Next, the operation of the vacuum induction furnace IF of this embodiment when the furnace body CF is replaced will be described. Here, the vacuum induction furnace equipment SYS includes two furnace body carriages TK1 and TK2 and two electric carriage carriages ET1 and E.
Equipped with a T2 car, the current car ET1 is now a furnace car TK
It is assumed that the furnace body truck TK1 is connected to the vacuum chamber VC and the melting work is performed by connecting the furnace body truck TK1 to the vacuum chamber VC.

First, the furnace body C installed on the furnace body carriage TK1
When the maintenance of F becomes necessary, it becomes necessary to stop the operation of the vacuum induction furnace IF and remove the furnace body CF. Therefore, the high frequency current supplied from the energization cart ET1 to the furnace body CF is stopped and tapping is performed. Then, the vacuum valve VB of the vacuum chamber VC is opened, and the pressure inside the vacuum chamber VC is returned from the reduced pressure state. Then, the furnace body truck TK1 can be separated from the vacuum chamber VC. In this state, cooling water for preventing burnout is continuously circulated in the induction coil IC of the furnace body CF. Therefore, only the cooling water is supplied to the furnace body CF in a state in which the energization carriage ET1 and the furnace body carriage TK1 are connected.

Next, the furnace body truck TK1 is separated from the vacuum chamber VC and guided along the track of the rail RL0 together with the current carrying truck ET1 onto the turntable TT. Furnace truck T
After K1 and the electric carriage ET1 are placed on the turntable TT, the turntable TT is rotated to move the furnace body carriage TK1 in the direction of the standby yard WY where the furnace body CF should be maintained.
And turn the electrified carriage ET1. Here, the furnace truck T
Maintenance of K1 shall be performed in the standby yard WY1. Therefore, the turntable TT is rotated so that the furnace body truck TK1 and the current carrying truck ET1 are placed on the track of the rail RL1 and guided to the standby yard WY1. Then, while circulating the cooling water, it waits for the temperature of the furnace body CF to drop to a maintainable level.

On the other hand, as soon as the furnace body carriage TK1 is separated from the vacuum tank VC, the furnace body carriage TK2 is mounted on the vacuum tank VC from the standby yard WY2 along the track of the rail RL2, along with the turntable TT. Being directed towards. Immediately after the furnace body carriage TK1 passes through the turntable TT, the furnace body carriage TK2 is placed on the turntable TT, aligned with the rail RL4, and guided toward the vacuum chamber VC.

When the furnace trolley TK2 is pulled into the vacuum chamber VC, the vacuum valve VB provided in the vacuum chamber VC is opened. Then, when the decompressor CP is operated, the inside of the vacuum chamber VC is decompressed, and the vacuum door VD provided in the furnace trolley TK strongly closes the opening OP of the vacuum chamber VC. Then, the inside of the vacuum chamber VC is gradually depressurized and approaches a vacuum. As a result, the furnace CF provided in the furnace trolley TK1 provides an environment for melting metal.

Here, in order to melt the charging material housed in the furnace body CF, a high-frequency current must be supplied to the induction coil IC, and the induction coil IC is prevented from being burned during melting of the metal. In addition to high frequency current, cooling water,
Must be supplied to the induction coil IC. Therefore, high-frequency current and cooling water are supplied from the condenser equipment CD. For that purpose, first, the electric carriage ET is put on the track of the rail RL4 via the turntable TT. At that time, the busbar portion BB1 of the electric carriage ET is made to face the busbar portion BB2 provided in the furnace body carriage TK1.

The bus bar portion BB1 of the electric carriage ET
However, when it comes close to a distance where it can be joined to the bus bar portion BB2 of the furnace trolley TK1, the clamp portion CP operates and sandwiches the bus bar portion BB1 and the bus bar portion BB2. as a result,
The high frequency current and the cooling water are supplied to the bus bar portion BB2 via the bus bar portion BB1. That is, the high frequency current and the cooling water are supplied to the furnace body CF provided in the furnace body carriage TK1 via the electric carriage ET2. Then, the melting of the metal contained in the furnace body CF is started. The operation of the vacuum induction furnace IF is now restarted.

Here, in the case of a conventional vacuum induction furnace,
In the long case, it had to wait about 16 hours until the temperature of the furnace body dropped. Of course, during that time, the metal melting process was interrupted and the operating efficiency decreased. However, in the vacuum induction furnace IF of the present embodiment, it is not necessary to wait until the temperature of the furnace body CF of the furnace body carriage TK1 is lowered, and another furnace body carriage TK2 is immediately attached to the vacuum chamber VC and metal melting is performed. Work can be resumed.

Further, in the conventional vacuum induction furnace, the lid of the upper part of the vacuum chamber is opened, and the furnace body is carried out from there by means such as a crane. However, according to the vacuum induction furnace IF of the present embodiment, it is not necessary to carry out the furnace body from the upper portion of the vacuum chamber, and the furnace body carriage TK is connected to the main rail RL0.
It is only necessary to move it according to the orbit of (4) and separate it from the vacuum chamber VC. That is, the work of unloading the furnace body CF can be completed in an extremely short time as compared with the conventional vacuum induction furnace.

On the other hand, the maintenance of the furnace body CF provided in the previously separated furnace body carriage TK1 is not required to be performed promptly. Since the melting process has already been restarted, the maintenance of the furnace body CF provided in the furnace body carriage TK1 can be carried out for a sufficient time. In addition, in the vacuum induction furnace equipment SYS of the present embodiment,
Since the furnace body CF can be maintained and replaced in the standby yard WY which is sufficiently separated from the vacuum chamber VC, a sufficient working space can be secured. Therefore, the work efficiency and safety are greatly improved.

Further, the fact that the maintenance and replacement of the furnace body CF are performed in the standby yard WY which is a place different from the vacuum chamber VC means that the inside of the vacuum chamber VC is
This means that it is always necessary to accommodate only one furnace body. That is, in the vacuum induction furnace equipment SYS of the present embodiment, the installation area of the vacuum chamber can be kept small compared to the conventional method of using multiple furnaces. Therefore, the installation layout of the vacuum chamber VC and the standby yard WY is flexible, and a flexible equipment layout can be achieved for safer and more efficient operation.

In addition, the furnace body carriage TK can be provided with various furnace bodies CF in terms of material and capacity. That is, according to the vacuum induction furnace IF of the present embodiment, the furnace body carriage TK
Since it is possible to easily change to various furnace bodies CF by exchanging, it is possible to easily cope with changes in production volume such as small-lot melting, in addition to changing the metal to be melted. become. Therefore, according to the vacuum induction furnace IF of the present embodiment, it is possible to flexibly respond to changes in the type and amount of metal to be produced.

<Modifications> The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and various modifications may be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. Various modifications described in can be made.

(1) In the above embodiment, the vacuum induction furnace I
F has been described in an aspect including two furnace body trucks TK and standby yard WY, but may include an aspect including three furnace body trucks TK and standby yard WY. Needless to say, the furnace body truck TK and the standby yard WY may be provided in four or more.

(2) In the above embodiment, the vacuum induction furnace I
Although the melting step with F has been described as being performed in a vacuum, the melting step may be performed in an atmosphere of an inert gas or the like. In this case, a gas injection tube may be installed in the vacuum chamber VC, the vacuum induction furnace IF may be decompressed, and then a desired gas may be injected.

[0047]

As described above, in the vacuum induction furnace of the present invention, another furnace body carriage can be mounted on the vacuum tank immediately after the furnace body carriage is separated from the vacuum tank. From a progress point of view, the maintenance and replacement work of the furnace body is substantially shortened to the length of the replacement time of the furnace body truck.
Therefore, it becomes possible to increase the production amount in the process, and at the same time, it becomes possible to quickly cope with a situation in which the furnace body must be replaced urgently, such as a crack.

In addition, in the vacuum induction furnace of the present invention, the maintenance and replacement work of the furnace body is performed in the standby yard away from the vacuum chamber, so the maintenance and replacement work of the furnace body can be performed safely and efficiently. Can be carried out in a targeted manner. INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The vacuum induction furnace of the present invention can not only increase the production amount but also further improve the work safety.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the configuration of a vacuum induction furnace facility SYS.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing an external configuration of a vacuum chamber VC.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a vacuum induction furnace IF in which a furnace body carriage TK is connected to a vacuum chamber VC and an electric carriage ET.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing an external configuration of a furnace trolley TK.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing an external configuration of an electric carriage ET.

[Explanation of symbols]

SYS ... vacuum induction furnace equipment, IF ... vacuum induction furnace, VC ... vacuum tank, TK ... furnace body carriage, CF ... furnace body, IC ... induction coil, VD ... vacuum door, OP ... opening, CB ... water cooling cable, BB1 ~ BB2 ... Bus bar section, RL0-RL4 ... Rail, TT ... Turntable, WY1-WY2 ... Standby yard.

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    F term (reference) 3K059 AA10 AB16 AD01 AD40 CD52                       CD79                 4K046 AA01 BA00 CA03 CC01 CD02                       CD12 DA07                 4K063 AA04 AA12 BA02 BA03 CA06                       FA34 FA36 FA37 FA43 FA46

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A vacuum induction furnace facility comprising a vacuum chamber having an opening at a side thereof, and a furnace body having a door for closing the opening of the vacuum chamber fixed and movable in a horizontal direction. 2. The vacuum induction furnace equipment according to claim 1, wherein the furnace body is installed on a carriage that moves on a rail. 3. A main rail connected to the vacuum chamber, a plurality of shelter rails connected to a plurality of shelter locations, and a rotatable turntable arranged between the main rail and the plurality of shelter rails. The vacuum induction furnace facility according to claim 2, further comprising: 4. A furnace body trolley used together with a vacuum chamber having an opening on its side, the trolley being movable in a horizontal direction, and a door fixed to the trolley for closing the opening of the vacuum chamber. A furnace body carriage comprising a furnace body fixed to the carriage. 5. An induction coil is wound around an outer periphery of the furnace body, a through hole is formed in the door, a connection part fixed to the trolley and supplied with electric current, and the through hole. The furnace body truck according to claim 4, further comprising a connection cable that connects both ends of the induction coil and the connection portion through a hole.