JP2010155262A - Apparatus of manufacturing aluminum alloy casting material - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an apparatus of manufacturing an aluminum alloy casting material capable of easily obtaining a material suitable for a half-melt molding method at a low cost without using a large-scale manufacturing apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: The apparatus of manufacturing the aluminum alloy casting material includes: a circulation conveying means 1 capable of conveying and circulating a stainless container S; a pouring means 5 arranged at a first position P1 of the circulation conveying means 1 and pouring and filling an aluminum alloy melt into the stainless container S; and a taking out means 3 arranged at the second position P2 of the circulation conveying means 1 and taking out the aluminum alloy filled in the stainless container S from the stainless container S. The pouring temperature of the aluminum alloy melt into the stainless container S is set to be equal to or higher than a condensation start temperature and equal to or lower than 640°C, the temperature of the stainless container S is set to be equal to or less than 300°C, and its inner diameter is set to be equal to or less than 5 inch. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus for producing an aluminum alloy casting material that obtains a solidified material by pouring molten aluminum alloy into a stainless steel container.

  The semi-molten molding method is a method of filling a mold with a semi-molten material (for example, an aluminum alloy casting material) in which a solid phase and a liquid phase coexist, and then cooling and solidifying to obtain a product. It is roughly divided into a rheocasting method in which a liquid material is cooled and solidified to obtain a semi-molten material, and a thixocasting method in which the solidified material is reheated to obtain a semi-molten material. Since such a semi-melt molding method can be molded from the solid-liquid coexistence region, it has the effect of increasing the cooling rate and improving the mechanical properties of the product, and has been attracting attention in recent years.

  However, if the cooling rate is increased, the solidification at the time of molding is naturally increased. Therefore, molding may be difficult unless the material is filled in the mold in a short time. Therefore, the fluidity (that is, the filling property) to the mold is good, and the semi-molten material that can be filled in the mold in a short time is suitable for the semi-melt molding. It is necessary to use a semi-molten material having a granulated solid phase (primary crystal).

  In order to obtain such a semi-molten material, conventionally, the molten metal is mechanically or electromagnetically stirred, and the generated dendritic crystals (dendrites) are sheared to obtain an equiaxed primary crystal or granulation. Although it does not go, internal strain is generated by solidifying while splitting the dendrites, or internal strain is generated by plastic processing of the material, and those materials are reheated to be in a semi-molten state. In some cases, a method of granulating a solid phase using a recrystallization phenomenon due to strain has been proposed. Specifically, a billet is manufactured while electromagnetically stirring from the outside of the stainless steel container in which the molten metal is contained, or being forcedly stirred by applying electromagnetic force from the outside of the jacket portion of the continuous casting apparatus. The aluminum alloy casting material (semi-molten material) suitable for the semi-molten forming method was obtained by the method of making it into a semi-molten state by heating.

However, in such a method, since it is necessary to shear the dendritic solid phase by stirring, an apparatus for stirring (such as an electromagnetic stirring apparatus) is necessary, and the manufacturing apparatus becomes large and the manufacturing cost increases. There was a problem of becoming bulky. Therefore, the present applicant has found that when the crystal nucleus grows as it solidifies, the solid phase becomes granulated by controlling the cooling under a predetermined condition, and the aluminum alloy casting suitable for the semi-melt molding method. It came to propose the technique which manufactures a raw material more simply and at low cost (for example, refer patent document 1).
JP 2007-181874 A

  However, as for the manufacturing apparatus which performs the manufacturing method of the said conventional aluminum alloy casting raw material, it is the actual condition that the thing which can ensure mass productivity efficiently has not been proposed. That is, although it is possible to obtain a granulated primary crystal by simply filling a molten aluminum alloy into a stainless steel container under the predetermined conditions as in the above prior art, an aluminum alloy can be efficiently used while ensuring mass productivity. A manufacturing apparatus for obtaining a casting material has not been proposed yet.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and without using a large-scale manufacturing apparatus, an aluminum alloy casting material capable of obtaining a material having primary crystals granulated easily and at low cost. It is to provide a manufacturing apparatus.

  The invention described in claim 1 is an aluminum alloy casting material manufacturing apparatus for obtaining a material suitable for semi-molten molding by pouring molten aluminum alloy into a cylindrical stainless steel container, wherein the stainless steel container is conveyed. A circulating and conveying means that can be circulated, a pouring means that is disposed at a first position in the circulating and conveying means, and that pours and fills the stainless steel container with molten aluminum alloy, and the first position in the circulating and conveying means. And a take-out means for taking out the aluminum alloy filled in the stainless steel container from the stainless steel container, and the pouring temperature of the molten aluminum alloy into the stainless steel container is The solidification start temperature in the molten aluminum alloy is 640 ° C. or less, and the temperature of the stainless steel container is 300 ° C. Under and its inner diameter is set to 5 inches following conditions, merely to fill the molten aluminum alloy to the stainless steel vessel at said pouring means and to obtain a primary crystal was granulated.

  The invention according to claim 2 is an apparatus for producing an aluminum alloy casting material which obtains a material suitable for semi-molten molding by pouring molten aluminum alloy into a cylindrical stainless steel container. A circulating and conveying means that can be circulated, a pouring means that is disposed at a first position in the circulating and conveying means, and that pours and fills the stainless steel container with molten aluminum alloy, and the first position in the circulating and conveying means. And a take-out means for taking out the aluminum alloy filled in the stainless steel container from the stainless steel container, and the pouring temperature of the molten aluminum alloy into the stainless steel container is The solidification start temperature in the molten aluminum alloy is 640 ° C. or less, and the temperature of the stainless steel container is 400 ° C. The bottom and the inner diameter are set to 6 inches and the wall thickness is set to 7 mm or more, and the molten aluminum alloy is simply filled into the stainless steel container by the pouring means to obtain a granulated primary crystal. It is characterized by that.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the apparatus for producing an aluminum alloy casting material according to the first or second aspect, the stainless steel is provided on the downstream side of the take-out means and the upstream side of the pouring means in the circulating and conveying means. A cleaning means for cleaning the container and an application means for applying a release agent in the stainless steel container cleaned by the cleaning means are provided.

  According to the present invention, the temperature of the molten aluminum alloy poured into the stainless steel container, the size (inner diameter) of the stainless steel container and the temperature thereof are set to predetermined conditions, and the molten metal is simply poured into the stainless steel container by the pouring means. Therefore, it is possible to obtain an aluminum alloy casting material having a primary crystal that is granulated easily and at a low cost without using a large-scale manufacturing apparatus. .

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.
The apparatus for producing an aluminum alloy casting material according to the present embodiment is for pouring molten aluminum alloy into a stainless steel container under a predetermined condition, and as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a holding furnace obtained by heating. In order to obtain the aluminum alloy casting material suitable for the semi-melt molding method by introducing the molten aluminum alloy in 2 into a cylindrical stainless steel container S having an inner diameter D and a wall thickness L, the circulating conveying means 1 And the pouring means 5 and the holding furnace 2, the take-out means 3, the cleaning means 7, and the coating means 8.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the circulating conveying means 1 is composed of conveying means formed in a square shape in plan view, and a roller or the like is disposed on the upper conveying surface 1a. In addition, pushers 4a to 4d are disposed at the four corners of the circulating and conveying means 1, respectively, so that the stainless steel container S can be conveyed and circulated. That is, the pushers 4a to 4d are alternately operated at a predetermined timing, whereby the stainless steel containers S on the transport surface 1a can be sequentially transported and circulated.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of pallets 6 are placed on the transport surface 1a, and a stainless steel container S is placed on each pallet 6 as shown in FIG. The stainless steel container S is formed with an annular projection Sa on its side surface, and is configured to flow in the same direction (in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1) sequentially by driving the circulation conveyance means 1. The circulating and conveying means 1 is electrically connected to the control means 9 so that its driving speed (moving speed of the stainless steel container S) and driving timing can be controlled as desired.

  The pouring means 5 (same for the holding furnace 2) is disposed at the first position P1 in the circulating and conveying means 1 and is used to pour and fill the stainless steel container S with molten aluminum alloy. Specifically, the pouring means 5 is rotatable about the axis La, and the scooping means 5a capable of pouring the molten aluminum alloy in the holding furnace 2 into the stainless steel container S at the first position P1. It is supposed to have. As the pouring means 5, for example, a general-purpose robot arm (manipulator) or the like can be used, and it can be operated in synchronization with the circulation conveyance means 1.

  The take-out means 3 is disposed in a second position P2 that is spaced from the first position P1 in the circulating and conveying means 1 by a predetermined dimension, and the aluminum alloy filled in the stainless steel container S (the material W suitable for semi-melt molding) It is comprised so that it may take out from the stainless steel container S. For example, the take-out means 3 includes a holding means (not shown) that can hold the protruding portion Sa of the stainless steel container S. As shown in FIG. 3, the stainless steel container S is lifted upward to take out the filled aluminum alloy. To get.

  However, the take-out means 3 is disposed at a second position P2 that is a predetermined distance away from the first position P1 in the circulating conveyance means 1, and is cooled during the period from the first position P1 to the second position P2. And is completely solidified. Such a cooled and solidified material becomes a billet (solid metal lump) used for semi-melt molding. In order to obtain a desired cooling time, the control unit 9 controls the circulating and conveying means 1 in consideration of the distance between the first position P1 and the second position P2.

  The cleaning means 7 is disposed on the downstream side of the take-out means 3 and the upstream side of the pouring means 5 (holding furnace 2) in the circulating and conveying means 1, and cleans the stainless steel container S (especially the inside of the stainless steel container S). To be removed). The cleaning means 7 cleans the stainless steel container S from which the aluminum alloy has been taken out by the take-out means 3, so that the molten aluminum alloy can be poured again by the pouring means 5.

  The application unit 8 is disposed on the downstream side of the cleaning unit 7 (upstream side of the pouring unit 5) in the circulation conveyance unit 1, and applies a release agent to the stainless steel container S cleaned by the cleaning unit 7. To do. The application means 8 sequentially applies the release agent to the conveyed stainless steel container S, and then the molten aluminum alloy is poured by the pouring means 2, so that the take-out operation by the take-out means 3 is easy. And it can be assured.

  Here, the predetermined condition in the manufacturing process of the aluminum alloy casting material in the present embodiment is that when a stainless steel container S having an inner diameter D of 5 inches or less is used, the pouring temperature of the molten aluminum alloy into the stainless steel container S is the aluminum alloy. The solidification start temperature in the molten metal is set to 640 ° C. or less, and the temperature of the stainless steel container S is 300 ° C. or less. That is, assuming that the temperature of the molten aluminum alloy to be poured and the temperature and inner diameter of the stainless steel container are the above conditions, the aluminum alloy molten metal in the holding furnace 2 is simply filled into the stainless steel container S, and is equiaxed and granular. The material W having the converted primary crystal is obtained.

  When a stainless steel container S having an inner diameter D of 6 inches is used, the temperature of the molten aluminum alloy into the stainless steel container S is not less than the solidification start temperature in the molten aluminum alloy and not higher than 640 ° C., and the temperature of the stainless steel container S is 400 ° C. or less, and the thickness L of the stainless steel container S is 7 mm or more. That is, also in this case, if the temperature of the molten aluminum alloy and the temperature, inner diameter and thickness of the stainless steel container are the above conditions, the molten aluminum alloy in the holding furnace 2 is simply filled into the stainless steel container S. Thus, a material W having primary crystals granulated with equiaxed crystals can be obtained.

  According to the apparatus for producing an aluminum alloy casting material, the temperature of the molten aluminum alloy simply poured into the stainless steel container S, the size (inner diameter) of the stainless steel container S, and the temperature thereof are set to predetermined conditions, and the pouring means 5 The primary crystal granulated with equiaxed crystals can be obtained simply by pouring into the stainless steel container S. Therefore, the primary crystals granulated easily and at low cost without using a large-scale manufacturing device. The obtained aluminum alloy casting material W can be obtained. In particular, the cooling time can be set by arbitrarily setting the drive speed of the circulating and conveying means 1 by the control means 9, and the aluminum alloy casting material W having the granulated primary crystals can be obtained more easily. .

  As mentioned above, although embodiment which concerns on this invention was described, this invention is not limited to this, For example, it does not comprise the cleaning means 7 and the application | coating means 8, but is a cleaning and mold release agent by the manual labor in the said position. It is good also as what makes application | coating of. In addition to the one driven by the pushers 4a to 4d, the circulating conveying means may be a belt conveyor 1 'formed in an annular shape as shown in FIG. 4, or as shown in FIG. It may be a turntable 1 ″ formed in a shape.

  In addition, the stainless steel container S in the present embodiment has a cylindrical shape with upper and lower openings, but instead of this, as shown in FIG. 6, a bottomed stainless steel container S ″ may be used. As shown in the figure, it is preferable that the circulating and conveying means is provided with the clamping means 10 that holds the protruding portion S ″ a so as to be lifted and is conveyed while being circulated in the suspended state. .

  Circulating and conveying means that can convey and circulate the stainless steel container, a pouring means that is disposed at a first position in the circulating and conveying means and that pours and fills the stainless steel container with molten aluminum alloy, and a first in the circulating and conveying means. And a takeout means for taking out the aluminum alloy filled in the stainless steel container from the stainless steel container at a second position separated by a predetermined distance from the position, and the pouring temperature of the molten aluminum alloy into the stainless steel container is The solidification start temperature in the molten alloy is not less than 640 ° C., the temperature of the stainless steel container is not more than 300 ° C., and the inner diameter thereof is 5 inches or less, or the pouring temperature of the molten aluminum alloy into the stainless steel container is in the aluminum alloy molten metal The temperature of the solidification container is not less than 640 ° C and the temperature of the stainless steel container is Aluminum that obtains granulated primary crystals by simply filling a stainless steel container with molten aluminum alloy by pouring means under conditions of 00 ° C. or less, an inner diameter of 6 inches, and a wall thickness of 7 mm or more. If it is a manufacturing apparatus of an alloy casting raw material, it can apply also to what added other means, functions, etc.

The top view which shows the manufacturing apparatus of the aluminum alloy casting raw material which concerns on embodiment of this invention Schematic showing the stainless steel container in the same aluminum alloy casting material production equipment Schematic diagram showing a state in which an aluminum alloy (raw material W) filled in the stainless steel container and solidified is taken out from the stainless steel container. The top view which shows the circulation conveyance means which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. The top view which shows the circulation conveyance means which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. Cross-sectional schematic diagram showing a stainless steel container applied in another embodiment of the present invention

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Circulation conveyance means 2 Holding furnace 3 Extraction means 4a-4d Pusher 5 Pouring means 6 Pallet 7 Cleaning means 8 Application means 9 Control means S Stainless steel container P1 1st position P2 2nd position D Inner diameter L Thickness

Claims (3)

An apparatus for producing an aluminum alloy casting material that obtains a material suitable for semi-melt molding by pouring molten aluminum alloy into a cylindrical stainless steel container,
Circulating and conveying means capable of conveying and circulating the stainless steel container;
Pouring means disposed at a first position in the circulating and conveying means, and pouring and filling molten aluminum alloy into the stainless steel container;
A take-out means for taking out the aluminum alloy filled in the stainless steel container from the stainless steel container, which is disposed at a second position spaced apart from the first position by the circulation conveyance means;
And the temperature of pouring of the molten aluminum alloy into the stainless steel container is not less than the solidification start temperature in the molten aluminum alloy and not more than 640 ° C., the temperature of the stainless steel container is not more than 300 ° C., and the inner diameter is not more than 5 inches. An apparatus for producing an aluminum alloy casting material, characterized in that a granular primary crystal is obtained simply by setting and filling the stainless steel container with the molten aluminum alloy by the pouring means. An apparatus for producing an aluminum alloy casting material that obtains a material suitable for semi-melt molding by pouring molten aluminum alloy into a cylindrical stainless steel container,
Circulating and conveying means capable of conveying and circulating the stainless steel container;
Pouring means disposed at a first position in the circulating and conveying means, and pouring and filling molten aluminum alloy into the stainless steel container;
A take-out means for taking out the aluminum alloy filled in the stainless steel container from the stainless steel container, which is disposed at a second position spaced apart from the first position by the circulation conveyance means;
And the pouring temperature of the molten aluminum alloy into the stainless steel container is not less than the solidification start temperature in the molten aluminum alloy and not more than 640 ° C., the temperature of the stainless steel container is not more than 400 ° C., the inner diameter is 6 inches, and the Production of an aluminum alloy casting material characterized in that a granulated primary crystal is obtained simply by filling the stainless steel container with the molten aluminum alloy in the pouring means by setting the thickness to be 7 mm or more. apparatus.   A cleaning means for cleaning the stainless steel container and a mold release agent are applied to the stainless steel container cleaned by the cleaning means on the downstream side of the take-out means and the upstream side of the pouring means in the circulation conveying means. 3. An apparatus for producing an aluminum alloy casting material according to claim 1, further comprising a coating means.

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