JP2008069432A - Quenting device and quenting method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To stabilize a heat treatment quality even when the air quenching is performed. <P>SOLUTION: Air is fed from one side by a fan 1 to an aluminum alloy-made cylindrical workpiece W after the solution heat treatment. A hollow air flow transducer 3 is arranged on the workpiece W opposite to the fan 1. The air flow transducer 3 takes in a part of the air from the fan 1 from an air introduction port 5a by inserting an air introduction pipe 5 in the workpiece W, ejects the taken-in air from an air discharge port 7a of an air discharge pipe 7 via an air communication pipe 9 at a downstream side end, and blows the air toward the other end face Wc of the workpiece W. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a quenching apparatus and a quenching method for performing quenching by blowing a gas onto a workpiece.

  In recent years, for example, a lightweight cylinder block made of an aluminum alloy of an automobile engine is subjected to a solution treatment on an aluminum cylinder block after casting, and then subjected to artificial age hardening following quenching to increase the strength. There is an increasing demand for T6 heat treatment and T7 heat treatment.

However, since the cylinder block of the engine is a large and complex shape, when the quenching method is water quenching as described in Patent Document 1 below, for example, relatively rapid cooling is performed. Therefore, deformation and cracking occur, and when a cast iron liner is cast into the cylinder bore, problems such as peeling of the cast iron liner from the cylinder block main body are likely to occur.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-239776 (see paragraph 0006)

  For this reason, in order to eliminate the above-described problems, air quenching in which the cooling rate is slower than water quenching may be performed.

  However, since air quenching is performed by blowing air as a cooling medium onto a workpiece, a large difference in heat treatment quality (mechanical properties) tends to occur depending on conditions such as blowing direction, speed, and amount of air. Further, this difference is not only caused by the above-described conditions, but also occurs for each part within the same workpiece.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to stabilize the quality of heat treatment even when quenching using a gas is performed.

  The present invention changes the direction of the flow of a part of the sprayed gas to a direction opposite to the sprayed direction when performing quenching by blowing the gas from one end of the work with the gas blowing means. The main feature is that a gas guide member is provided that performs quenching by blowing toward the other end of the workpiece while being guided.

  According to the present invention, the gas is blown to one end portion of the work, and the other end portion is also blown by changing the flow direction of a part of the gas. Compared with the case where the gas is blown only from the heat treatment quality of the entire workpiece can be improved. At this time, in the present invention, since the gas blowing means for blowing the gas is provided only on one side of the workpiece, the amount of driving electric power is small and the configuration of the entire quenching apparatus can be simplified.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  Fig.1 (a) is a schematic diagram of the hardening apparatus concerning one Embodiment of this invention, FIG.1 (b) is AA arrow sectional drawing of Fig.1 (a). The workpiece W is a cylindrical body as a hollow member having both ends opened, and is made of an aluminum alloy casting. The workpiece W made of this casting is subjected to a solution treatment after casting, and then air quenching is performed by blowing air as a gas as shown in FIG. After air quenching, artificial age hardening is performed.

  The solution treatment is aimed at uniformly diffusing solid elements such as Mg and Cu, which contribute to precipitates due to natural solidification in casting, at a high temperature. Subsequent quenching involves freezing Mg, Cu, etc., uniformly dispersed in solution, in that state by lowering the temperature. The final artificial age hardening treatment is performed in order to complete and stabilize the precipitation while making the precipitation layer uniform.

  This quenching apparatus inserts a part of air into the work W and a fan 1 for supplying air as a gas blowing means installed on one end side on the left side of the work W in FIG. And a hollow air flow converter 3 as a gas guide member to be installed.

  The air flow conversion tool 3 is bent in communication with the air introduction pipe 5 as a gas introduction section that receives a part of the air supplied and supplied by the fan 1 and the air introduction pipe 5. 1 (a) is provided with an air discharge pipe 7 as a gas discharge portion that discharges a part of air toward the right end portion.

  The air introduction pipe 5 has its axis aligned within the workpiece W so that the air introduction port 5a as the gas introduction port on one end side corresponding to the fan 1 side is in the vicinity of the opening Wa at one end in the workpiece W. The other end side opposite to the fan 1 is protruded to the outside from the opening Wb at the other end portion of the work W. At this time, an annular gap 11 is provided between the air introduction pipe 5 and the inner wall of the workpiece W.

  An annular air communication tube 9 as a gas communication portion bent outward is communicated from the projecting end portion of the air introduction tube 5 to the outside, and the above-described air is connected from the outer end portion of the air communication tube 9. The discharge pipe 7 is connected in communication.

  The air discharge pipe 7 is formed in an annular shape so as to be parallel to the air introduction pipe 5 and surround the periphery of the air introduction pipe 5, and the air discharge port 7 a at the tip thereof is formed on the work W outside the opening Wb of the work W. Directed to the end face Wc. That is, the annular air discharge port 7a of the air discharge tube 7 is disposed so as to face the annular end surface Wc of the workpiece W.

  The annular air communication tube 9 includes a plurality of (here, five) through-holes 9a along the circumferential direction so as to surround the periphery of the air introduction tube 5 between the air introduction tube 5 and the air discharge tube 7. Is provided. This through-hole 9a is comprised by the through-tube 13 inserted so that the air communication pipe 9 might penetrate in the left-right direction in Fig.1 (a). The through pipe 13 is positioned substantially corresponding to the gap 11 between the air introduction pipe 5 and the work W in a state where the air introduction pipe 5 is inserted into the work W as shown in FIG.

  Next, a quenching operation for the workpiece W using the quenching apparatus shown in FIG. 1 will be described. As the fan 1 rotates, air is supplied toward the workpiece W as indicated by an arrow B, and this air passes through the inside and outside of the workpiece W toward the other end opposite to the fan 1. Thus, the workpiece W is gradually cooled from one end portion on the left side to the other end portion in FIG.

  And most of the air required for cooling that has passed through the gap 11 inside the workpiece W passes through the through hole 9a provided in the air communication pipe 9 in front of the air W and is outside the air flow converter 3. Discharged.

  A part of the air supplied into the work W out of the air supplied by the fan 1 flows into the air introduction pipe 5 of the air flow converter 3 and enters the air discharge pipe 7 through the air communication pipe 9. The direction is changed so as to reach, and the air is ejected from the air discharge port 7a at the tip. The air ejected from the air discharge port 7a flows toward the end face Wc of the workpiece W, and as a result, the workpiece W is mainly cooled near the other end on the right side in FIG.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, air is blown from one end to the work W by the fan 1, and a part of the blown air is blown into the air introduction pipe 5 of the air flow converter 3 and the air. Since the flow direction is changed by the communication pipe 9 and the air discharge pipe 7 and sprayed toward the other end, even when quenching using air is performed, air is blown only from one end. In comparison, the heat treatment quality can be stabilized.

  At this time, in this embodiment, since the air blowing means such as a fan and a blower are not provided on both sides of the work W, and the fan 1 is provided only on one side, the drive power amount is small, and the entire quenching apparatus The configuration can be simplified.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, since air quenching is performed instead of water quenching, the cooling action is moderate, deformation and cracking of the workpiece W can be prevented, and the workpiece W is described later. In the case of a cylinder block in which a cast iron liner is cast into a simple cylinder bore, it is possible to prevent the cast iron liner from peeling off from the cylinder block body.

  In this embodiment, since the air inlet 5a of the air introduction pipe 5 is located near one end of the work W, the temperature of the air introduction pipe 5 is increased by the work W immediately after being sent out from the fan 1. Suppressed fresh air can be introduced, and this fresh air can be supplied to the other end of the workpiece W to enhance the cooling effect.

  In addition, since the workpiece W is a hollow member having both ends open, and the air introduction pipe 5 is disposed inside the hollow member, the air flow converter 3 can be installed by effectively using the internal space of the workpiece W. . For example, when the air introduction pipe is arranged outside the workpiece W to guide the air, not only the air flow converter itself is increased in size but also a large installation space is required for cooling. This leads to an increase in the size of the entire device.

  Further, in the present embodiment, most of the air sent from the fan 1 and required for cooling passes through the inside of the work W, and passes through the through hole 9a provided in the air communication pipe 9 in front of the work W. Since the air flow is discharged to the outside of the air flow converter 3, the flow of air that has risen in temperature for cooling can be prevented from flowing toward the other end of the work W, and the turbulence of the air discharged from the air discharge port 7a can be prevented. And the cooling efficiency for the other end of the workpiece W can be increased.

  FIG. 2A shows a state in which the above-described workpiece W is used as an engine cylinder block 15 and air quenching is performed on the cylinder block 15 using a hollow air flow converter 17 as a gas guide member. It is a schematic diagram of the hardening apparatus which shows. FIG.2 (b) is CC sectional view taken on the line of Fig.2 (a).

  Similarly to the workpiece W described above, the cylinder block 15 is also installed on the crankcase 15a side of the cylinder block 15 as shown in FIG. The air quenching performed by blowing air as a gas from the fan 1 is performed, and after the air quenching, an artificial age hardening treatment is performed. It is assumed that the cylinder block 15 has a cast iron liner cast into the cylinder bore 15b during casting.

  The cylinder block 15 is an in-line four-cylinder engine in which four cylinder bores 15b are arranged along the direction orthogonal to the paper surface in FIG. 2A. Four air introduction pipes 21 are provided.

  The four air introduction pipes 21 are connected to the cylinder bore from the cylinder head mounting surface 15c side so that an air introduction port 21a as a gas introduction port on one end side corresponding to the fan 1 side is located at a substantially central position in the axial direction in the cylinder bore 15b. 15b is inserted with its axis aligned. The inserted air introduction tube 21 projects the other end side from the opening of the other end portion of the cylinder bore 15b on the cylinder head mounting surface 15c side to the outside. At this time, an annular gap 23 is provided between the air introduction pipe 21 and the inner wall of the cylinder bore 15b.

  The base end portion corresponding to the other end side of the four air introduction pipes 21 communicates with an air communication pipe 25 as a rectangular parallelepiped-shaped gas communication pipe, as shown in FIG. In the air communication pipe 25, the outer contour line of the surface facing the cylinder block 15 is substantially aligned with the outer contour line of the cylinder block 15 with the air introduction pipe 21 inserted into the cylinder bore 15b as shown in FIG. is doing. An air discharge pipe 27 as a gas discharge portion having a flat rectangular parallelepiped shape is connected to the inside of the outer contour line of the air communication pipe 25, and an air discharge port 27a at the tip thereof is attached to the cylinder head of the cylinder block 15. It arrange | positions so that it may face in the surface 15c.

  As shown in FIG. 2B, the air discharge pipes 27 are provided on both sides of the four air introduction pipes 21, and both ends of the longitudinal direction of the air communication pipe 25 (left and right direction in FIG. 2B). There are 10 in total. The air discharge ports 27 a at the tips of the ten air discharge pipes 27 are directed to the cylinder head mounting surface 15 c of the cylinder block 15.

  The air communication pipe 25 is provided with a plurality of (here, five) through holes 25a along the circumferential direction so as to surround the periphery of the air introduction pipe 21. The through hole 25a is constituted by a through pipe 29 inserted so as to penetrate the air communication pipe 25 in the left-right direction in FIG. The through pipe 29 is positioned substantially corresponding to the gap 23 between the air introduction pipe 21 and the cylinder bore 15b in a state where the air introduction pipe 21 is inserted into the cylinder bore 15b as shown in FIG.

  Next, the quenching operation for the cylinder block 15 using the quenching apparatus shown in FIG. 2 will be described. As the fan 1 rotates, air is supplied toward the cylinder block 15 as indicated by an arrow D. This air passes through the inside and outside of the cylinder block 15 extending from the crankcase 15a to the cylinder bore 15b, and is opposed to the fan 1. Flows along the inner and outer walls of the cylinder block 15 toward the other end on the side, whereby the cylinder block 15 gradually moves from one end on the left side toward the other end in FIG. To be cooled.

  And most of the air required for cooling that has passed through the gap 23 inside the cylinder block 15 passes through the through hole 25a provided in the air communication pipe 25 in front of the air, and is outside the air flow converter 17. To be discharged.

  A part of the air supplied into the cylinder block 15 out of the air supplied by the fan 1 flows into the air introduction pipe 21 of the air flow converter 17, passes through the air communication pipe 25, and the air discharge pipe 27. It is guided to change its direction so as to reach, and is ejected from the air discharge port 27a at its tip. The air ejected from the air discharge port 27a flows toward the cylinder head mounting surface 15c of the cylinder block 15, whereby the cylinder block 15 is mainly cooled near the other end on the right side in FIG. The

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, air is blown from one end to the cylinder block 15 by the fan 1, and a part of the blown air is blown to the air introduction pipe 21 of the air flow converter 17, Since the flow direction is changed by the air communication pipe 23 and the air discharge pipe 27 and the air is blown toward the cylinder head mounting surface 15c corresponding to the other end, air is applied to the cylinder block 15 having a large and complicated shape. Even when quenching is performed, the quality of the heat treatment can be stabilized as compared with the case where air is blown only from one end.

  At this time, in this embodiment, the air blowing means such as a fan or a blower is not provided on both sides of the cylinder block 15, and the fan 1 is provided only on one side, so that the amount of driving power can be reduced, and the quenching device The overall configuration can also be simplified.

  In addition, also in the present embodiment, the air flow converter 17 can be installed by effectively using the internal space of the cylinder block 15 by disposing the air introduction pipe 21 inside the cylinder bore 5b of the cylinder block 15 that is a hollow member. For example, the same effects as those of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 can be obtained.

  FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the overall configuration of the heat treatment equipment including the quenching apparatus 31 using the air flow converter 17 shown in FIG. In FIG. 3, a hardening furnace 33 is provided on the right side of the quenching device 31 for performing a solution treatment on the cylinder block 15 after casting, and on the left side of the cylinder block 15 after quenching by the quenching device 31. An aging furnace 35 for performing artificial age hardening is installed.

  Here, three cylinder blocks 15 are placed on a transport tray 37, and the transport tray 37 is placed on a roller conveyor 39 as a work transport means, from the solution furnace 33 corresponding to the previous process. Then, it is sequentially conveyed to the aging furnace 35 through the quenching device 31 corresponding to the air quenching process.

  In FIG. 3, the cylinder block 15 is placed on the transport tray 37 in a positional relationship in which the longitudinal direction (cylinder row direction) is orthogonal to the paper surface, but the cylinder block 15 is a roller conveyor 39. If it is unstable at the time of transport, it may be placed in a laid state.

  The quenching device 31 includes an air quenching booth 41 that accommodates the entire cylinder block 15 that is being transported together with the transport tray 37, and projects from the roller conveyor 39 of the air quenching booth 41 to the side corresponding to the lower side in FIG. A plurality (two in this case) of fans 1 are installed in the fan housing space 41a as necessary. The fan housing space 41a communicates with the outside via a large number of small holes 41b on the side opposite to the roller conveyor 39. The cylinder block 15 is mounted on the transport tray 37 so that the crankcase 15a side is located on the fan accommodating space 41a side and the cylinder head mounting surface 15c is located near the upper edge of the roller conveyor 39 in FIG. Put.

  On the side corresponding to the upper side in FIG. 3 from the roller conveyor 39 of the air quenching booth 41, a converter housing space 41c in which the air flow converter 17 is installed is formed so as to protrude. Drive cylinders 43 as drive means are respectively attached to the outside of the converter housing space 41c corresponding to the three cylinder blocks 15, and the piston rod 43a of the drive cylinder 43 is movably inserted into the converter housing space 41c. And the front-end | tip is connected with the center of the end surface of the air communication pipe | tube 25 in the air flow converter 17. FIG.

  That is, the air flow converter 17 is located in the converter housing space 41c and separated from the cylinder block 15 by driving the drive cylinder 43, and the air introduction pipe 21 is shown in FIG. As described above, it can be moved between the cylinder bore 15b and the set state.

  In the air quenching apparatus shown in FIG. 3, the cylinder block 15 that has been melted at a predetermined temperature and time in the solution furnace 33 is placed in the quenching booth 41 as shown in FIG. In this state, the drive cylinder 43 is driven, the air flow converter 17 located in the converter accommodating space 41c is moved forward, and the air introduction pipe 21 is shown in FIG. 2 (a). In the same manner, it is inserted into the cylinder bore 15b.

  Then, by driving the fan 1 in the above state, air is supplied toward the cylinder block 15, and thereafter, in the same manner as described with reference to FIG. In addition, air quenching can be efficiently performed by blowing air also from the cylinder head mounting surface 15c side.

  In this case, for a work that does not require the use of the air flow converter 17, the air flow converter 17 may be retracted and retracted into the converter housing space 41 c, so that it is versatile as a heat treatment facility. Can be secured.

  In the above-described embodiment, air quenching using air as a gas has been described. However, other gases may be cooled as a refrigerant.

(A) is a schematic diagram of the hardening apparatus concerning one Embodiment of this invention, (b) is AA arrow sectional drawing of (a). (A) is a schematic diagram of the hardening apparatus which shows the state which is implementing air quenching with respect to a cylinder block using an air flow converter, (b) is CC sectional view taken on the line of (a). . It is a top view which shows the whole structure of the heat processing equipment containing the hardening apparatus using the air flow converter of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

W Work 1 Fan (gas blowing means)
3,17 Air flow converter (gas guide member)
5,21 Air introduction pipe (gas introduction part)
5a, 21a Air inlet (gas inlet)
7,27 Air release pipe (gas release part)
9,25 Air communication pipe (gas communication pipe)
9a, 25a Air communication pipe through-hole 15 Cylinder block 15a Cylinder block crankcase 15c Cylinder block cylinder head mounting surface 39 Roller conveyor (work conveying means)
43 Drive cylinder (drive means)

Claims (8)

  When performing quenching by blowing a gas from one end of the work with a gas blowing means, the direction of the flow of a part of the blown gas is guided in a direction opposite to the blowing direction. A quenching apparatus comprising a gas guide member that blows and quenches toward the other end of the workpiece.   The gas guide member receives a part of the gas flowing from one end portion of the workpiece, bends with respect to the gas introduction portion, and moves toward the other end portion of the workpiece. The quenching apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a gas discharge unit that discharges a part of the gas.   The quenching apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the gas introduction port has a gas introduction port located in the vicinity of one end of the workpiece.   The quenching apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the workpiece is a hollow member having both ends opened, and the gas introduction portion is disposed inside the hollow member.   The workpiece made of the hollow member is a cylinder block of an engine, the gas blowing means blows air from an end portion of the cylinder block on the crankcase side, and the gas guide member is a part of the flow of the air. The quenching apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the quenching apparatus guides while changing the direction and discharges the gas toward a cylinder head mounting surface of the cylinder block.   The gas guide member includes a gas communication portion that communicates the gas introduction portion and the gas discharge portion with each other, and is formed into a hollow shape as a whole. The gas that flows from one end side of the workpiece in the gas communication portion The quenching apparatus according to claim 4 or 5, wherein a through hole is provided in an opposing part.   For the air quenching process using the gas guide member, the work is provided with a work transport means for carrying in from the previous process, and the work is transported to the air quenching process by the work transport means and positioned. Drive means for moving the gas guide member forward and backward so as to be movable between a state away from the work and a state of setting the work on the work and guiding the gas from the gas blowing means is provided. The quenching apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the quenching apparatus is characterized.   The workpiece is quenched by blowing a gas from one end thereof, and the direction of the flow of a part of the blown gas is changed to the direction opposite to the blowing direction toward the other end of the workpiece. A quenching method characterized by performing quenching by spraying.

Images