JP2012051000A - Method of casting light alloy - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method of casting a light alloy, according to which uniform mechanical strength can be ensured for a casting product by performing the aging treatment after the hardening treatment is completed while minimizing to the best possible extent the dispersion of a solid solution amount of an additional element in the light metal, without causing an increase in the cost of equipment.SOLUTION: In a method of casting a light alloy to manufacture a casting product through casting, a light alloy composed of a light metal as a base material and an additional element is heated to be melted, and a molten coarse material (the light alloy) is coagulated through cooling. In cooling the molten coarse material (the light alloy), when the coagulated coarse material (the light alloy) is held at a predetermined temperature, the cooling of the coarse material (the light alloy) is carried out so as to shorten the time during which the coarse material remains within a precipitation temperature range, namely, a temperature range corresponding to a shortest elapsed time among the elapsed time needed for precipitation of a solid solution of the additional element, which is contained in the coarse material (light alloy).

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique of a light alloy casting method produced by adding an additive element to a light metal.

Conventionally, when casting a cast product using a light alloy such as an aluminum alloy as a rough material, the cast product is quenched to improve the mechanical strength (tensile strength, elongation, etc.) of the cast product. It is known to perform an aging treatment after the treatment.
The light alloy is produced mainly by a light metal that is a base material and an additive element that is added to the light metal. Then, after pouring the molten metal into the mold (pouring process), the coarse material is solidified while gradually cooling the entire mold (mold cooling process), and the coarse material is released from the mold (mold releasing process). ).
Thereafter, after the released coarse material is further cooled to a temperature of 100 ° C. or less (coarse material cooling step), the crude material is again heated to a predetermined temperature and maintained for a predetermined time, The rough material is subjected to an aging treatment (aging process) to improve the mechanical strength of the cast product.

In order to ensure that the cast product cast by such a casting method has uniform mechanical strength, the solid solution amount of the additive element in the coarse material with respect to the coarse material made of a supersaturated light alloy It is necessary to complete the quenching process and suppress the aging process while minimizing the variation of the above.
However, the supersaturated light alloy has a property that when it is maintained at a predetermined temperature for a predetermined time, an additive element dissolved in the inside is precipitated. The time required for the supersaturated additive element to precipitate from the light alloy (hereinafter referred to as “precipitation time”) depends on the temperature of the light alloy, although there are some differences depending on the type of light metal and additive element. It has a changing nature.
Therefore, in the process of cooling the coarse material from the mold cooling step to the coarse material cooling step, depending on the cooling time and the temperature distribution of the coarse material, many additional elements are more uneven than the light alloy. It will be precipitated.

For this reason, conventionally, in order to complete the quenching process for a coarse material made of a supersaturated light alloy while suppressing variations in the solid solution amount of additive elements in the coarse material as much as possible, It was thought that the cooling time of the rough material should be shortened as much as possible, and the cooling function was shortened by enhancing the cooling function of the mold.
However, even if the cooling function of the mold is strengthened and the cooling time is shortened, in reality, the casting product cannot be surely provided with uniform mechanical strength, and instead the mechanical strength is lowered. There was a case.

Thus, the following reasons can be considered as the reason why the mechanical strength of the cast product decreases.
That is, the crude material has a temperature range in which the additive element dissolved in the light alloy rapidly precipitates, that is, a temperature range in which the “precipitation time” is relatively short (hereinafter referred to as “precipitation temperature range”). If the cooling function of the mold is strengthened, the vicinity of the portion (surface portion) in contact with the mold of the coarse material is cooled to a temperature below the “precipitation temperature range” within a short time, and a large amount of The additive element is kept supersaturated.
On the other hand, the portion (center portion) away from the portion (surface portion) in contact with the mold of the coarse material is cooled later than the vicinity of the surface portion of the coarse material. Then, the central portion of the coarse material is gradually released while partially (non-uniformly) releasing heat to the vicinity of the surface portion of the coarse material that has already been cooled to a temperature equal to or lower than the “precipitation temperature range”. It will be cooled.
In the vicinity of the surface portion of the coarse material, the portion where heat is released from the central portion of the coarse material is heated again, but the temperature reaches the temperature within the “precipitation temperature range”. When the “precipitation time” described above elapses, many additive elements that are supersaturated in the light alloy are precipitated.
For this reason, in the vicinity of the surface portion of the coarse material, a portion where the amount of the additive element dissolved in the light alloy is remarkably small occurs, and the solid solution amount of the additive element in the coarse material varies. .
If the aging treatment is further performed on the portion where the additive element is precipitated, the mechanical strength is reduced due to the overaging phenomenon. Whatever the aging treatment is applied to the material, the part can no longer provide sufficient mechanical strength.

On the other hand, as a means for shortening the cooling time of the coarse material, in order to complete the quenching process while dissolving more additive elements in the light alloy in the supersaturated coarse material, Techniques according to “Patent Document 1” to “Patent Document 3” are disclosed.
That is, in “Patent Document 1”, after the completion of solidification of the aluminum alloy (crude material) poured into the mold (mold), the solidified aluminum alloy (crude material) is taken out from the mold (mold) immediately. A technique relating to a manufacturing method of a high-pressure cast aluminum alloy casting in which quenching is performed by immersion in water and aging treatment is performed after completion of the quenching is disclosed.

  In “Patent Document 2”, a sand mold that forms a feeder part and a mold that is arranged apart from the feeder part to form a part of the cavity are poured into a mold that forms the cavity. After the solidification of the aluminum alloy (coarse material) is completed, only the mold is separated while leaving the sand mold, and the solidified aluminum alloy (coarse material) and the entire sand mold are placed in the water stored in the tank. A light alloy casting characterized in that the aluminum alloy (coarse material) is subjected to aging treatment by dipping and quenching treatment, and then using the heat retained in the hot water portion in a heat insulating container. Techniques relating to manufacturing methods are disclosed.

  Moreover, in "patent document 3", after performing the solution heat which hold | maintains to the processing temperature of 450 to 510 degreeC after casting for 0.5 hour or more after casting, water quenching is performed after that, and the process of 170 to 230 degreeC is performed after that. A technique related to an aluminum alloy (crude material) produced by performing an aging treatment for 1 to 24 hours at a temperature is disclosed.

JP-A-8-225903 JP 2005-169498 A JP 2008-13791 A

In the techniques disclosed in the “Patent Document 1” and the “Patent Document 2”, since the crude material is directly immersed in water, the crude material is uniformly cooled to a temperature equal to or lower than the “precipitation temperature range”. In addition, since the coarse material has already been released from the mold, the temperature in the vicinity of the surface portion of the coarse material does not rise again to the “deposition temperature range” and is maintained.
In addition, according to the technique disclosed in the “Patent Document 3”, it is possible to reliably maintain the state of the coarse material in the supersaturated state by performing solution heating and water quenching before performing the aging treatment. Become.
Therefore, according to the techniques shown in the above-mentioned “Patent Document 1” to “Patent Document 3”, the quenching treatment can be completed while suppressing the variation in the solid solution amount of the additive element in the light alloy as much as possible, and the cast product It seems to be possible to ensure uniform mechanical strength.

  However, in the technique disclosed in “Patent Document 1”, temperature management of the mold before the rough material is released from the mold is not an essential component. That is, the crude material may have already been cooled to a temperature equal to or lower than the “deposition temperature range” before being released from the mold. In such a case, even if the rough material is directly immersed in water after the mold release and then subjected to an aging treatment, as in the case of enhancing the cooling function of the mold as described above, a uniform machine for the cast product is obtained. The mechanical strength cannot be surely provided, and the mechanical strength may be lowered.

In addition, for the technique shown in the above-mentioned “Patent Document 2”, since the coarse material is immersed in water from 480 ° C. to 580 ° C., which is higher than the “deposition temperature range” of the additive element, There is no need to provide a means for controlling the temperature of the mold. However, in such a technique, the temperature of the mold is remarkably lowered every time one casting product is cast, and it is not suitable for casting the casting product continuously and in large quantities.
In addition, regarding the technique shown in the above-mentioned “Patent Document 2”, since the solidified coarse material and the entire sand mold are immersed in water, the sand mold absorbs water and becomes hard, and the disintegration property is remarkably deteriorated. Therefore, the cast product is not suitable for continuous and large-scale casting.

  Furthermore, with respect to the technique disclosed in the above-mentioned “Patent Document 3”, steps related to solution heating and water quenching are added as compared with the case of casting a cast product by heat treatment including only an aging treatment. The casting method as a whole is costly and unrealistic.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described current problems, and is a light alloy that casts a cast product using a supersaturated light alloy as a coarse material and provides mechanical strength to the cast product by aging treatment. This casting method is to ensure uniform mechanical strength in the casting product by applying the aging treatment after completing the quenching treatment while minimizing the variation in the solid solution amount of the additive element in the light alloy. It is an object of the present invention to provide a light alloy casting method that can be produced without increasing the equipment cost.

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is as described above. Next, means for solving the problem will be described.

  That is, according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a light alloy casting method in which a light alloy comprising a light metal as a base material and an additive element is heated and melted, and the molten light alloy is solidified while being cooled to cast a cast product. When the molten light alloy is cooled, it is necessary for the additive element contained in the light alloy to precipitate from the light metal when the solidified light alloy is maintained at a predetermined temperature. Of the elapsed time, the light alloy is cooled so that the time spent in the precipitation temperature range, which is the temperature range in which the elapsed time is the shortest, is shortened.

  In Claim 2, It is the casting method of the light alloy of Claim 1, Comprising: The said casting method is a mold cooling process which solidifies the molten light alloy poured into the casting_mold | template, and the said mold cooling process. A mold release step of taking out the solidified light alloy from the mold, and the mold has a cooling means, and in the mold cooling step, the light alloy is cooled by cooling the mold. Is cooled to a temperature higher than the precipitation temperature range, and the releasing step is performed before the temperature of the light alloy reaches the precipitation temperature range.

  The light alloy casting method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the light alloy is an alloy containing an aluminum-silicon alloy as the light metal and magnesium as the additive element. The precipitation temperature range is defined in the range of 300 ° C to 400 ° C.

As effects of the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.
That is, according to the light alloy casting method of the present invention, the aging treatment is performed after the quenching treatment is completed while minimizing the variation in the solid solution amount of the additive element in the light metal without increasing the equipment cost. Thus, uniform mechanical strength can be reliably provided to the cast product.

The diagram which showed the relationship between the temperature (unit [degreeC]) of a rough material, and elapsed time when a supersaturated additive element begins to precipitate from a light alloy. Schematic which showed the whole structure of the casting apparatus which actualizes the "light alloy casting method" of this invention. Schematic which showed the whole structure of the coarse material cooling device which actualizes the "light alloy casting method" of this invention. The process figure which showed the whole flow of the casting method of the light alloy based on one Example of this invention. The diagram which showed the change of the rough material temperature in each process with elapsed time. The diagram which showed contrast with the case where temperature control of a metal mold | die is not performed regarding the temporal change of the rough material temperature ranging from a pouring process to a rough material cooling process. The graph which showed the contrast with the case where temperature control of a metal mold | die is not performed regarding the solid solubility and hardness of the rough material after an aging treatment.

  Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[Overview]
First, an outline of the present embodiment will be described.
The casting method in the present embodiment is a method for casting a coarse material made of a light alloy, and aims to surely provide uniform mechanical strength (tensile strength, elongation, etc.) to the cast product to be cast. It is.
That is, the light alloy (hereinafter referred to as a coarse material) is mainly produced by a light metal as a base material and an additive element dissolved in the light metal, where the light metal is not necessarily a pure metal. There is no need to be, and an alloy in which two or more elements such as light metals are mixed in advance may be used.
In this example, for example, an aluminum-silicon alloy is used as a base material, and the additive element is an Al-Si-Cu system formed by dissolving magnesium in the aluminum-silicon alloy, and magnesium is used as the additive element. The aluminum alloy is used as a rough material.
Then, while adjusting the cooling temperature of the mold 2 (see FIG. 2) to be described later, the molten coarse material is solidified, and the solid material that has been solidified is cooled in a short time and subjected to quenching to supersaturate. The mechanical strength of the cast product is improved by making a solid solution and then performing an aging treatment.

  Here, the aging treatment refers to a treatment for causing a hardening phenomenon by maintaining a predetermined temperature on a coarse material made of a supersaturated solid solution.

  More specifically, when the coarse material is rapidly cooled by quenching, most of the additive elements dissolved in supersaturation in the light alloy will prevent precipitation, and the coarse material is cooled while maintaining the supersaturated state. Will be.

  Thereafter, the temperature of the crude material is raised again to a temperature slightly higher than normal temperature (for example, 100 ° C. to 160 ° C.) and maintained for a predetermined time, so that the additive element dissolved in supersaturation is GP ( A Guinier-Preston) zone is formed, and distortion occurs in the light metal crystal lattice. However, since the generated distortion becomes resistance to deformation of the coarse material, a hardening phenomenon of the coarse material appears.

  For this reason, in order to ensure uniform mechanical strength to the cast product by the aging treatment, it is necessary to complete the quenching treatment while minimizing the variation in the solid solution amount of the additive element in the crude material. is there.

  Therefore, conventionally, as a means for completing the quenching process while minimizing variation in the solid solution amount of the additive element in the light metal, a means for strengthening the cooling function of the mold 2 and shortening the cooling time of the coarse material has been used. It was. However, simply strengthening the cooling function of the mold 2 is practically difficult to ensure uniform mechanical strength in the cast product to be cast.

  On the other hand, it has the property that the excess of the additive element dissolved in saturation precipitates outside. The elapsed time required for the excess additive element to precipitate from the light metal varies depending on the temperature of the crude material.

That is, as shown in FIG. 1, the vertical axis represents the temperature of the coarse material (unit [° C.]), and the horizontal axis represents the elapsed time (unit [sec]) while the coarse material is held at that temperature. As a matter of fact, if the relationship between the two when the supersaturated additive element starts to precipitate from the light alloy is represented by a curve, the curve will draw a curve protruding leftward.
That is, the “precipitation time” decreases once as the temperature of the coarse material decreases from the high temperature side, but in a temperature range lower than a predetermined temperature (hereinafter referred to as “peak temperature (T)”), It will increase as the temperature of the material decreases.

  The “peak temperature (T)” is slightly different depending on the type of light metal or additive element, but in an Al—Si—Mg based aluminum alloy used as a coarse material in this example, It has been found that 350 ° C. is the “peak temperature (T)” of the additive element magnesium.

  Accordingly, as a result of repeating the diligent study, the present inventors have focused on the “peak temperature (T)”, and are capable of reliably providing uniform mechanical strength to the cast product to be cast. Established.

That is, in the process of cooling the melted coarse material, the present inventors start to precipitate the dissolved additive element from the inside of the light metal in a relatively short “precipitation time” compared to other temperature regions. A “deposition temperature range” was defined as the temperature range, and the “deposition temperature range” was set to a range of about 50 ° C. before and after the “peak temperature (T)”, that is, 300 ° C. to 400 ° C.
This "precipitation temperature range" is the elapsed time out of the elapsed time required for the solid solution additive element to be precipitated from the light metal, which is contained in the light alloy when the crude material is maintained at a predetermined temperature. It can be said that this is the shortest temperature range.

  Then, by controlling the temperature of the mold 2 in the “precipitation temperature range” (that is, as will be described later, in the process of cooling the molten crude material, the coarse material stays in the “precipitation temperature range”). By controlling the temperature so as to shorten the time required to perform the quenching process, it is possible to complete the quenching process while minimizing the variation in the solid solution amount of the additive element in the light metal. It came to establish.

[Casting device 1]
Next, the overall configuration of the casting apparatus 1 that embodies the “light alloy casting method” of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
For convenience, the vertical direction on the drawing is defined as indicating the vertical direction of the casting apparatus 1 and will be described below.

The casting apparatus 1 is an apparatus for casting a cast product having a target shape by gradually solidifying the molten raw material while gradually cooling it.
The casting apparatus 1 is mainly composed of a mold 2, a first cooling means 3, a first temperature detecting means 4, a first control apparatus 5, and the like.

The mold 2 is composed of a plurality of parts. For example, in this embodiment, the mold 2 is composed of a fixed mold 2A and a movable mold 2B provided above the fixed mold 2A.
The fixed die 2A is detachably fixed to the upper surface portion of the fixed frame 11 provided in the casting apparatus 1, and the movable die 2B is detachably fixed to the lower surface portion of the moving frame 12 provided above the fixed frame 11. Is done.

  Then, the moving frame 12 is lowered (moved downward) and raised (moved upward) by a driving means (not shown), so that the movable mold 2B is moved in the direction of approaching and separating from the fixed mold 2A. 2 "mold closing" and "mold opening" are performed.

  The driving means of the moving frame 12 is electrically connected to a first control device 5 to be described later, and the “mold closing” and “mold opening” of the mold 2 are controlled by the first control device 5. It is like that.

  Concave portions 2a and 2b are formed in the upper surface portion of the fixed mold 2A and the lower surface portion of the movable mold 2B, respectively. Then, when the mold 2 is “closed”, the recesses 2 a and 2 b are matched with each other, and the cavity 21 is formed.

A runner 2c is formed inside the fixed mold 2A.
The runner portion 2c is a through hole that communicates the outside of the mold 2 with the cavity 21, and the molten crude material is poured into the cavity 21 (poured) through the runner portion 2c. It is like that.

By the mold 2 having such a configuration, the molten raw material is solidified into a target shape, and a cast product is cast.
That is, the shape of the cavity 21 is formed in accordance with the shape of the casting product. After pouring a molten raw material into the cavity 21, the mold 2 is cooled by the first cooling means 3 described later. Thus, the coarse material is solidified and a cast product is cast.

  For example, when casting a cylinder head of an automobile engine or the like as a cast product by the casting apparatus 1 in the present embodiment, a core (not shown) is provided inside the mold 2 or the like.

The first cooling means 3 is a means for controlling the temperature of the coarse material poured into the cavity 21 by cooling the mold 2.
The first cooling means 3 includes a supply source 31 that supplies a cooling medium such as cooling water and circulating oil, and a plurality of communication paths disposed inside the mold 2 (more specifically, the fixed mold 2A and the movable mold 2B). .., And a piping member 33 that connects the supply source 31 and the communication paths 32, 32, and the like.
A first electromagnetic control valve 34 that controls the flow rate of the cooling medium is disposed in the middle of the piping member 33 and in the vicinity of the supply source 31.

The first electromagnetic control valve 34 is electrically connected to a first control device 5 described later.
The cooling medium supplied from the supply source 31 is guided to the communication paths 32, 32... Through the piping member 33, and the flow rate of the cooling medium is an electric signal transmitted from the first control device 5. By operating the first electromagnetic control valve 34 based on the above, it is changed to an arbitrary amount.

In this way, the temperature of the mold 2 is cooled to a predetermined temperature by controlling the flow rate of the cooling medium guided to the communication paths 32, 32.
Then, by cooling the mold 2 to a predetermined temperature, the coarse material poured into the cavity 21 is cooled, and the temperature control of the coarse material is performed.

The first temperature detection means 4 is a means for detecting the temperature of the rough material inscribed in the cavity 21 by detecting the temperature of the mold 2.
The first temperature detection means 4 is composed of a known contact temperature sensor, and is fixed to each of the fixed mold 2A and the movable mold 2B constituting the mold 2.

The first temperature detection means 4 is electrically connected to a first control device 5 described later.
Then, the measured value (temperature of the mold 2) measured by the first temperature detecting means 4 is converted into an electric signal and transmitted to the first control device 5.
That is, the temperature of the mold 2 is detected by the first temperature detecting means 4 as the temperature of the coarse material inscribed in the cavity 21 and transmitted to the first control device 5.

  The first temperature detecting means 4 can also be constituted by, for example, a known non-contact type temperature sensor. The non-contact type temperature sensor is penetrated through the fixed mold 2A and the movable mold 2B, respectively, and the cavity 21 The temperature of the coarse material inscribed therein may be directly detected.

  The first control device 5 is a device for controlling the operation of the entire casting apparatus 1 provided with a storage unit and a calculation unit. The first control device 5 receives a detection signal from the first temperature detection means 4 and moves the moving frame 12. The operation of the casting apparatus 1 as a whole is controlled by controlling the operation of the drive means, the first electromagnetic control valve 34, and the like.

[Rough material cooling device 50]
Next, the overall configuration of the coarse material cooling device 50 embodying the “light alloy casting method” of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
For convenience, the vertical direction on the drawing is defined as indicating the vertical direction of the coarse material cooling device 50 and will be described below.

The coarse material cooling device 50 is a device for cooling the coarse material 100 released from the mold 2 and subjecting the coarse material 100 to a quenching process.
The coarse material cooling device 50 has a heat retaining chamber 51 into which the coarse material 100 to be cooled is put. The heat retaining chamber 51 includes a second cooling means 52, a second temperature detecting means 53, and a second control device. 54 etc. are provided.

The second cooling means 52 is a means for cooling the coarse material 100 put into the heat insulating cabinet 51 and subjecting the coarse material 100 to a quenching process.
The second cooling means 52 includes a supply source 55 for supplying a cooling medium, a plurality of nozzles 56, 56,... For ejecting the cooling medium to the coarse material 100, and these supply source 55 and nozzles 56, 56. And so on.
A second electromagnetic control valve 58 that controls the flow rate of the cooling medium is disposed in the middle of the piping member 57 and in the vicinity of the supply source 55.

The second electromagnetic control valve 58 is electrically connected to a second control device 54 described later.
Then, the cooling medium supplied from the supply source 55 is guided to the nozzles 56, 56... Through the piping member 57, and the flow rate of the cooling medium is converted into an electric signal transmitted from the second control device 54. Based on the operation of the second electromagnetic control valve 58, the amount is changed to an arbitrary amount.

  In this way, by controlling the flow rate of the cooling medium guided to the nozzles 56, 56... By the second control device 54, the temperature of the coarse material 100 is cooled to a predetermined temperature and quenched into the coarse material 100. Processing is performed.

  The kind of the cooling medium is not particularly limited, and may be any liquid such as cooling water or lubricating oil, or a gas such as cold air.

The second temperature detection means 53 is a means for detecting the temperature of the coarse material 100 put into the heat insulation box 51.
The second temperature detection means 53 includes a known non-contact temperature sensor, and is disposed so as to protrude toward the coarse material 100 inside the heat insulation chamber 51.

The second temperature detection means 53 is electrically connected to a second control device 54 described later.
Then, the measured value (temperature of the coarse material 100) measured by the second temperature detecting means 53 is converted into an electric signal and transmitted to the second control device 54.
Note that the second temperature detection means 53 can be configured by, for example, a known contact temperature sensor.

  The second control device 54 is a device for controlling the overall operation of the coarse material cooling device 50, which includes a storage unit and a calculation unit, and receives a detection signal from the second temperature detection means 53, The operation of the entire coarse material cooling device 50 is controlled by controlling the operation of the two electromagnetic control valve 58 and the like.

  In the present embodiment, separate first control device 5 and second control device 54 are provided for casting device 1 and coarse material cooling device 50, respectively. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. A common control device may be provided for the casting device 1 and the material cooling device 50, and the operations of the casting device 1 and the coarse material cooling device 50 may be controlled intensively.

[Raw material casting method]
Next, a crude material casting method embodying the “light alloy casting method” of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the casting method of the coarse material in the present embodiment mainly includes a pouring step (step S101), a mold cooling step (step S102), a mold release step (step S103), and a coarse material cooling. It has a process (step S104), a post-processing process (step S105), and an aging treatment process (step S106).

The pouring process (step S101) is a process for pouring molten metal in the cavity 21 of the mold 2 (see FIG. 2) obtained by heating and melting the light alloy in the previous process. .
That is, in the casting apparatus 1, the mold 2 is in a “mold closed” state, and the molten molten material is poured into the cavity 21 through the runner 2 c.
And the hot metal pouring process (step S101) is complete | finished by filling the coarse material in a molten metal state in the cavity 21. FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 5, in the pouring step (step S <b> 101), the temperature of the coarse material filled in the cavity 21 decreases as heat moves to the mold 2, and the coarse material starts to solidify. .

When the pouring process (step S101) is completed, the mold cooling process (step S102) is started.
The mold cooling process (step S102) is a process in which the temperature of the mold 2 is cooled to a predetermined “mold cooling temperature (T1)” to solidify the molten crude material.

Here, the “mold cooling temperature (T1)” is set to a temperature exceeding the “precipitation temperature range” described above and lower than the eutectic temperature of the coarse material.
That is, as shown in FIG. 5, in this example, the eutectic temperature of the Al—Si—Mg based alloy used as the coarse material is about 570 ° C., which is defined as the “precipitation temperature range”. It is known that the temperature is higher than that in the temperature range of ° C to 400 ° C.

Therefore, the “mold cooling temperature (T1)” is set to an arbitrary temperature within a range of 400 ° C. to 570 ° C., and information on the “mold cooling temperature (T1)” is stored in the first control device 5 (FIG. 2) in advance.
When the molten material is filled in the cavity 21 of the mold 2, the first control device 5 controls the first electromagnetic control valve 34 based on the measurement value measured by the first temperature detection means 4. The flow rate of the cooling medium supplied to the communication paths 32, 32... Is adjusted by the first electromagnetic control valve 34. Thereby, the mold 2 is gradually cooled until it reaches the “mold cooling temperature (T1)”.

  In this way, the molten crude material reaches the “mold cooling temperature (T1)”, which is higher than the “deposition temperature range”, and solidifies.

  If the temperature of the mold 2 measured by the first temperature detecting means 4 becomes equal to the “mold cooling temperature (T1)”, the first controller 5 also sets the temperature of the coarse material to the “mold cooling temperature ( T1) ”, the first electromagnetic control valve 34 is controlled to stop the supply of the cooling medium to the communication paths 32, 32..., And the mold cooling step (step S102) is completed. .

When the mold cooling process (step S102) is completed, the mold release process (step S103) is started.
The mold release step (step S103) is a step of taking out the solidified coarse material from the mold 2 and releasing the coarse material from the mold 2.

  That is, when the mold cooling process (step S102) is completed, the first controller 5 controls the driving means of the moving frame 12 (see FIG. 2) to raise the moving frame 12, ”State. Then, the coarse material is taken out from the mold 2 in the “mold open” state, and the mold release step (step S103) is completed.

  As shown in FIG. 5, in the mold release step (step S <b> 103), the temperature of the released crude material is slightly cooled by touching the outside air, and the temperature (T <b> 2) within the “precipitation temperature range”. Will be reached.

When the releasing step (step S103) is completed, the coarse material cooling step (step S104) is started.
The coarse material cooling step (step S104) is a step in which the temperature of the released coarse material is rapidly cooled to a predetermined “quenching temperature (T3)” and the coarse material is subjected to a quenching process. is there.

Here, the “quenching temperature (T3)” is usually set to a temperature of 100 ° C. or lower.
That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the “quenching temperature (T3)” is set to a temperature much lower than the “deposition temperature range” described above.
The “quenching temperature (T3)” is set in the second controller 54 (see FIG. 3) and stored in advance in the storage unit of the second controller 54.

When the coarse material cooling step (step S <b> 104) is started, the released coarse material is conveyed to the coarse material cooling device 50 and is put into the heat insulating chamber 51.
When the coarse material is put into the heat insulating chamber 51, the second control device 54 controls the second electromagnetic control valve 58 based on the measured value measured by the second temperature detecting means 53, and the second electromagnetic type. The flow rate of the cooling medium supplied to the nozzles 56, 56... Is adjusted by the control valve 58. The coarse material is rapidly cooled until the “quenching temperature (T3)” is reached.

  Thus, the released rough material is rapidly cooled to the “quenching temperature (T3)” which is much lower than the “precipitation temperature range”, and is thus quenched while maintaining the supersaturated state. It is.

  If the temperature of the coarse material measured by the second temperature detecting means 53 is equivalent to the “quenching temperature (T3)”, the first control device 5 determines that the quenching process is completed, The second electromagnetic control valve 58 is controlled to stop the supply of the cooling medium to the nozzles 56, 56... Thereby ending the coarse material cooling step (step S104).

When the coarse material cooling step (step S104) is completed, a post-processing step (step S105) is started.
In the post-processing step (step S105), for example, removal of a core or cleaning of the surface portion of the rough material is performed on the rough material that has been quenched by the rough material cooling step (step S104). This is a process for preparing for the aging treatment process (step S106).

  As shown in FIG. 5, in the post-processing step (step S105), although the temperature of the coarse material is slightly cooled (or raised) by touching the outside air, the “quenching temperature (T3)” is used. ”And the temperature of the outside air are small, so that the temperature is maintained at a predetermined temperature.

When the post-processing step (step S105) is completed, the aging treatment step (step S106) is started.
In the aging treatment step (step S106), the rough material subjected to the quenching treatment in the coarse material cooling step (step S104) is subjected to an aging treatment, and the cast product to be cast has a uniform mechanical strength. It is a process that brings about.

That is, when the post-processing step (step S105) is completed, the crude material is put into a heat treatment furnace (aging furnace) (not shown).
As shown in FIG. 5, the coarse material put into the heat treatment furnace (aging furnace) is rapidly heated to a predetermined “aging temperature (T4)”, and then the temperature of the coarse material is the “aging temperature”. "Temperature (T4)" is maintained for a "predetermined time".
And after the elapse of the “predetermined time”, the temperature of the coarse material is rapidly cooled again to the “quenching temperature (T3)” (that is, the temperature of the coarse material before the aging treatment), The rough material is subjected to an aging treatment, and the aging treatment step (step S106) is completed.

  When the aging treatment step (step S106) is finished, the crude material is taken out from the heat treatment furnace (aging furnace), and the casting of the crude material in this embodiment is finished.

[Verification data]
Next, the demonstration data obtained by the present inventors in the method for casting a rough material in this example will be described with reference to FIGS.
First, FIG. 6 is a diagram in which the temperature change of the coarse material is recorded from the pouring step (step S101) to the coarse material cooling step (step S104). It represents the temperature (unit [° C.]) and the elapsed time (unit [sec]) on the horizontal axis, and relates to the casting method (denoted by a solid line) in this example and the conventional casting method (denoted by a broken line). The relationship between the two is represented by curves.

Note that, as described above, the casting method in this example sets a “mold cooling temperature (T1)” that is higher than the “deposition temperature range” in the mold cooling step (step S102), and the “mold cooling temperature”. The cooling function of the mold 2 (more specifically, the first cooling means 3) is controlled so that the temperature of the coarse material is gradually cooled toward (T1) ".
On the other hand, in the conventional casting method, in the mold cooling step (step S102), the cooling function of the mold 2 is strengthened, and the temperature of the rough material becomes low (for example, temperature t shown in FIG. 6) in as short a time as possible. Is to control.

  As shown in FIG. 6, in the elapsed time from the start of the pouring process (step S101) until the temperature of the crude material reaches the vicinity of the eutectic temperature in the mold cooling process (step S102), this example There is no difference in the change over time with respect to the temperature of the coarse material between the casting method of No. 1 and the conventional casting method.

After the temperature of the coarse material has passed the eutectic temperature, in the casting method of the present embodiment, the operation of the first cooling means 3 is controlled by the first control device 5 (see FIG. 2). The temperature of the material decreases slowly.
At the end of the mold cooling step (step S102), the temperature of the crude material reaches the “mold cooling temperature (T1)” higher than the “deposition temperature range”.

On the other hand, in the conventional casting method, the mold continues to be rapidly cooled even after the temperature of the coarse material has passed the eutectic temperature.
The temperature of the coarse material has already reached the “precipitation temperature range” in the middle of the execution of the mold cooling step (step S102). As a result, at the end of the mold cooling step (step S102), The temperature reaches a temperature t within the “deposition temperature range”.

After the mold cooling process (step S102) is finished, in the casting method of this embodiment, the temperature of the coarse material gradually decreases due to the rough material coming into contact with the outside air in the mold release process (step S103). It reaches the “temperature range”.
In other words, in the course of cooling the coarse material, the mold release step (step S103) is performed before the temperature of the coarse material reaches the “precipitation temperature range”, and the mold release step (step S103) is being executed. Furthermore, the temperature of the coarse material reaches the “deposition temperature range”. Therefore, in the casting method of this example, it takes longer for the temperature of the coarse material to reach the “precipitation temperature range” than in the conventional casting method.

  And after completion | finish of a mold release process (step S103), a coarse material cooling process (step S104) is started immediately, and the temperature of a coarse material passes through "precipitation temperature range" within a short time, and also cools rapidly. Is done.

On the other hand, after the mold cooling step (step S102), in the conventional casting method, when the mold release step (step S103) is started, the temperature of the raw material is already the raw material in the casting method of this embodiment. The temperature is substantially the same as the temperature of the crude material immediately after the start of the cooling process (step S104) (the temperature within the “deposition temperature range”).
Therefore, there is little change in the temperature of the coarse material at the time of the release process (step S103), and after the completion of the release process (step S103), the coarse material cooling process (step S104) is started as soon as possible. Passes through the “precipitation temperature range” within a short time, and is further rapidly cooled.

Thus, in the casting method of the present embodiment, from the middle of execution of the mold release step (step S103) to the initial stage of the coarse material cooling step (step S104) (region indicated by arrow X1 shown in FIG. 6), The temperature of the coarse material will stay within the “deposition temperature range”.
On the other hand, in the conventional casting method, from the middle of the mold cooling process (step S102) to the initial stage of the coarse material cooling process (step S104) (region indicated by the arrow X2 in FIG. 6), the temperature of the coarse material. Will stay within the “deposition temperature range”.
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, according to the casting method of the present embodiment, for example, without taking measures such as changing (shortening) the time required for each step, compared to the conventional casting method, It can be seen that the time during which the temperature of the coarse material stays in the “precipitation temperature range” can be reliably shortened.

Next, a comparison of the mechanical strength of the cast product cast by the casting method of the present embodiment and the cast product cast by the conventional casting method will be described with reference to FIG.
In order to quantitatively grasp the mechanical strength of the casting product, FIG. 7 selects two items, solid solubility (amount of additive element dissolved in light metal) and Vickers hardness. It is the figure showing the measured value which each measured the casting product cast by the casting method of a present Example, and the casting product cast by the conventional casting method.
That is, FIG. 7 represents solid solubility (unit [mass% Mg]) on the left vertical axis as viewed on the paper surface, and Vickers hardness (unit [Hv]) on the right vertical axis as viewed on the paper surface. The measured values for each item are shown separately in the casting method of this example (described as “this example” in FIG. 7) and the conventional casting method (described as “conventional” in FIG. 7). In the figure, the solid solubility is indicated by a bar graph and the Vickers hardness is indicated by a black dot.

Note that, as described above, the casting method in this example sets a “mold cooling temperature (T1)” that is higher than the “deposition temperature range” in the mold cooling step (step S102), and the “mold cooling temperature”. The cooling function of the mold 2 (more specifically, the first cooling means 3) is controlled so that the temperature of the coarse material is gradually cooled toward (T1) ".
On the other hand, in the conventional casting method, in the mold cooling step (step S102), the cooling function of the mold 2 is strengthened, and the temperature of the rough material becomes low (for example, temperature t shown in FIG. 6) in as short a time as possible. Is to control.

  As shown in FIG. 7, in terms of solid solubility, in the case of a cast product cast by a conventional casting method, it is a1 [mass% Mg], but in the case of a cast product cast by the casting method of this embodiment. , A2 [mass% Mg] (where a1 <a2), and it can be seen that the amount of the additive element dissolved in the light metal is surely increased by casting the cast product by the casting method of this example. .

  The Vickers hardness is b1 [Hv] in the case of a cast product cast by a conventional casting method, but b2 [Hv] (however, in the case of a cast product cast by the casting method of this embodiment, B1 <b2), and by casting the cast product by the casting method of the present embodiment, it becomes possible to dissolve a larger amount of the additive element in the light metal, thereby improving the Vickers hardness. I understand.

  As described above, the method of casting the coarse material in the present example heats and melts the coarse material (light alloy) composed of the light metal as the base material and the additive element, and cools the molten coarse material (light alloy). A method of casting a crude material (light alloy) that is solidified to cast a cast product, and when the molten light alloy is cooled, the solidified crude material (light alloy) is maintained at a predetermined temperature. Temperature range in which the elapsed time is the shortest of the elapsed time required for the additive element dissolved in saturation to be precipitated from the crude material (light alloy), contained in the crude material (light alloy). The coarse material (light alloy) is cooled so that the time for staying in the precipitation temperature range is shortened.

  By using such a crude material casting method, the aging treatment is performed after the quenching process is completed while minimizing variation in the solid solution amount of the additive element in the light metal without increasing the equipment cost. Thus, uniform mechanical strength can be reliably provided to the cast product.

That is, as shown in FIG. 6, in the method of casting a rough material in the present embodiment, a mold cooling process (step S102) is performed without adding a process such as solution heating, which causes an increase in equipment cost. In the process of cooling the coarse material over the coarse material cooling step (step S104), the time during which the temperature of the coarse material stays within the “precipitation temperature range” is shortened as compared with the conventional casting method.
As a result, the amount of the additive element precipitated from the light metal is reduced, and the quenching process can be completed while suppressing variations in the solid solution amount of the additive element in the light metal as much as possible.
And the cast product which has uniform mechanical strength is cast by giving an aging treatment to the rough material by which the dispersion | variation in the solid solution amount of such an additive element was suppressed as much as possible.

  Moreover, in the casting method of the coarse material in the present embodiment, the casting method includes a mold cooling step (step S102) for solidifying the molten coarse material (light alloy) poured into the mold 2 and the mold cooling step. A mold release step (Step S103) for taking out the crude material (light alloy) solidified by (Step S102) from the mold 2, and the mold 2 has a first cooling means 3, and the mold cooling step. In (Step S102), by cooling the mold 2 by the first cooling means 3, the crude material (light alloy) is cooled to a mold cooling temperature (T1) higher than the “precipitation temperature range”, The mold release step (step S103) is performed before the temperature of the coarse material (light alloy) reaches the “precipitation temperature range”.

As described above, in the method of casting the coarse material in the present embodiment, the mold release step (step S103) is performed before the temperature of the coarse material reaches the “deposition temperature range”, and the mold release step (step S103) On the way, the temperature of the coarse material reaches the “deposition temperature range”.
Therefore, according to the casting method of the coarse material in the present embodiment, the temperature of the coarse material is “deposition temperature” in the process of cooling the coarse material from the mold cooling step (step S102) to the coarse material cooling step (step S104). The time taken to reach the “range” is longer than that in the conventional casting method, and the time during which the temperature of the coarse material stays in the “precipitation temperature range” can be shortened compared to the conventional casting method.
Therefore, as described above, the amount of the additive element precipitated from the light metal is reduced, and the quenching process can be completed while minimizing variation in the solid solution amount of the additive element in the light metal.
And the cast product which has uniform mechanical strength is cast by giving an aging treatment to the rough material by which the dispersion | variation in the solid solution amount of such an additive element was suppressed as much as possible.

  Further, in the method of casting a coarse material in this example, the coarse material (light alloy) is an alloy in which an aluminum-silicon alloy is used as the light metal and magnesium is the additive element, and the precipitation temperature range is 300. It is supposed to be specified in the range of ° C to 400 ° C.

That is, as described above, the coarse material made of the supersaturated light alloy has a property that when the element is maintained at a predetermined temperature for a predetermined time, an additive element dissolved in the light metal is precipitated outside. In addition, the elapsed time (precipitation time) required for the solid additive element to precipitate from the light metal varies depending on the temperature of the coarse material, although there are some differences depending on the type of light metal and additive element. Have.
In other words, in the temperature range of the crude material, there is a temperature (peak temperature (T)) at which the “deposition time” is the shortest, and the “peak” related to an alloy in which an aluminum-silicon alloy is a light metal and magnesium is added. “Temperature (T)” is known to be approximately 350 ° C.
Therefore, a region of about 50 ° C. before and after the “peak temperature (T)”, that is, a region of 300 ° C. to 400 ° C. is set as the “precipitation temperature range”, and the temperature of the coarse material stays in the “precipitation temperature range”. By shortening the time to do, it becomes possible to suppress the variation of the solid solution amount of the additive element in the coarse material made of the aluminum alloy as much as possible.

2 Mold 3 First cooling means T1 Mold cooling temperature S102 Mold cooling process S103 Mold release process

Claims (3)

A light alloy casting method in which a light alloy comprising a light metal as a base material and an additive element is heated and melted, and the molten light alloy is solidified while being cooled, thereby casting a cast product,
When cooling the molten light alloy,
When the solidified light alloy is maintained at a predetermined temperature, the elapsed time required for the solid solution additive element contained in the light alloy to precipitate from the light metal is the temperature range where the elapsed time is the shortest. The light alloy is cooled so that the time for staying in the precipitation temperature range is shortened.
A light alloy casting method characterized by the above. The casting method is:
A mold cooling step for solidifying the molten light alloy poured into the mold;
A mold release step of taking out the light alloy solidified by the mold cooling step from the mold;
With
The mold has cooling means;
In the mold cooling step,
By cooling the mold by the cooling means, the light alloy is cooled to a temperature higher than the precipitation temperature range,
The mold release step
Performed before the temperature of the light alloy reaches the precipitation temperature range,
The light alloy casting method according to claim 1, wherein: The light alloy is
Aluminum-silicon alloy as the light metal,
An alloy containing magnesium as the additive element,
The precipitation temperature range is defined as 300 ° C to 400 ° C.
The light alloy casting method according to claim 1, wherein the light alloy is cast.

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