JP2014087837A - Die quench device and die quench method of aluminum alloy material - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a die quench device of an aluminum alloy material which contributes to improvement of the moldability of the aluminum alloy material, and to provide a die quench method of the aluminum alloy material.SOLUTION: A die quench device of an aluminum alloy material includes a molding tool which concurrently molds and cools the heated aluminum alloy material; a holder mechanism which clamps the aluminum alloy material and sets the aluminum alloy material in the molding tool; and a heating mechanism which heats the holder mechanism.

Description

  The present invention relates to a die quench apparatus and a die quench method for an aluminum alloy material.

  Automotive parts are required to be lighter in terms of fuel efficiency and environmental protection. Therefore, conversion from steel materials to lightweight aluminum alloy materials is being promoted.

  Currently, automobile parts made of an aluminum alloy material are generally formed by cold pressing. However, since aluminum alloy materials have the disadvantages of lower strength and lower ductility and lower formability than steel materials, aluminum alloy materials for automobile parts are manufactured as follows.

(1) As a material (blank material), after a solution treatment of a rolled material (H material), a T4 material subjected to natural aging treatment is used;
(2) The T4 material having high strength has poor moldability. Therefore, T4 material is cold pressed in multiple stages;
(3) The cold-pressed T4 material is assembled and paint baked.

  The above-described multi-stage cold press has many man-hours, so the productivity is low and the cost is increased. In order to solve such a problem, a method of heating and forming an aluminum alloy material has been proposed.

  Patent Document 1 proposes a molding apparatus that molds a heated aluminum alloy material within less than 0.15 seconds after being carried into a cooled mold.

  Patent Document 2 discloses a molding apparatus that die quenches an aluminum alloy material with a water-cooled core mold in a state where the aluminum alloy material is sandwiched between water-cooled cavity molds.

  Patent Document 3 proposes a multistage forming method of an aluminum alloy material in which secondary die quench forming is performed after primary hot pressing.

JP 2012-510565 gazette (refer to claim 1) Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2011-63868 (see FIG. 2, paragraphs 0022 and 0023) WO2011-58332A1 (see FIG. 1)

  The following analysis is given by the present invention.

  According to the molding apparatus of Patent Document 1, molding is performed in an extremely short time. However, since the forming die has a very large heat capacity with respect to the die-quenched aluminum alloy material, the aluminum alloy material has already been cooled by the forming die at the start of forming, and the temperature has been lowered. Therefore, the moldability is not improved so much. In addition, for extremely short molding, there is a problem in equipment that a special press device that operates at high speed is required.

  Also in the forming apparatus of Patent Document 2, as in Patent Document 1, since the temperature of the aluminum alloy material has already decreased at the start of forming, there is a problem that the formability is not improved so much.

  According to the molding method of Patent Document 3, there are problems that the number of man-hours is large and two types of molding apparatuses, a hot press apparatus and a die quench molding apparatus, are required.

  The objective of this invention is providing the die quench apparatus and die quench method of an aluminum alloy material which contribute to the improvement of the moldability of an aluminum alloy material.

In a first aspect, the present invention provides a die quench apparatus for an aluminum alloy material including the following elements:
Mold that cools the heated aluminum alloy material at the same time as molding;
A holder mechanism for clamping the aluminum alloy material and setting the aluminum alloy material in the mold;
A heating mechanism for heating the holder mechanism.

In a second aspect, the present invention provides a die quenching method for an aluminum alloy material including the following steps:
Heating the aluminum alloy material;
Clamping the heated aluminum alloy material;
Heating the clamp part of the aluminum alloy material or suppressing the temperature drop of the part;
A step of die quenching the aluminum alloy material in a state where the clamp portion is heated or a temperature drop of the clamp portion is suppressed.

The present invention contributes to the following effects in the first and second viewpoints:
The heated aluminum alloy material set in the mold is further heated through a holder mechanism, so that the temperature of the aluminum alloy material is not less than a predetermined temperature, preferably a solution, even at the start of molding. Since it is maintained at a temperature equal to or higher than the heat treatment temperature, good moldability is secured. In addition, since the aluminum alloy material is die-quenched or rapidly cooled by the forming die from a set state maintained at a sufficiently high temperature by heating through the holder mechanism, a portion requiring strength in the aluminum alloy material is sufficiently quenched. .

It is process drawing of the die quench method suitably performed with the die quench apparatus of the aluminum alloy material which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the structure of the die quench apparatus of the aluminum alloy material which concerns on one Example of this invention. It is an operation | movement diagram of the die quench apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is an operation diagram subsequent to FIG. 3.

  The outline of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the reference numerals in the drawings are added for convenience to each element as an example for facilitating understanding, and are not intended to limit the present invention to the illustrated embodiment.

  Referring to FIG. 2, an aluminum alloy material die quenching apparatus 1 according to the present invention clamps a mold 3 for cooling a heated aluminum alloy material (material, blank material) 2 at the same time as molding, and the aluminum alloy material 2. A holder mechanism 4 for setting the aluminum alloy material 2 in the mold 3 and a heating mechanism 5 for heating the holder mechanism 4 are provided.

  Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the aluminum alloy material die quenching method according to the present invention includes steps (1) to (2) of heating the aluminum alloy material 2 and a mold formed by clamping the heated aluminum alloy material 2. The step (3a) of setting in 3, the step of heating the clamp part of the aluminum alloy material 2 or suppressing the temperature drop of the part (4a), the state of the clamp part being heated or the temperature drop of the clamp part A step (4) of die-quenching the aluminum alloy material with the forming die 3 in a suppressed state.

  According to such a die quench apparatus 1 and a die quench method, since the aluminum alloy material 2 is maintained at a sufficiently high temperature by heating via the holder mechanism 4 even at the start of the die quench, the molding is completed in a very short time. The necessity is eliminated, and quenching by die quenching is reliably performed and quality is stabilized even when a relatively low-speed general-purpose press apparatus is used.

  Moreover, the formability of the aluminum alloy material in die quenching is ensured by maintaining the aluminum alloy material 2 at a sufficiently high temperature at the start of die quenching. Since the mold 3 has a sufficiently large heat capacity compared to the aluminum alloy material 2 and the holder mechanism 4, even if the aluminum alloy material 2 is partially heated by the holder mechanism 4, The portion that requires strength is quenched by being rapidly cooled by the mold.

  In this way, according to the present invention, a high-strength product that does not cause springback and has a high degree of freedom in shape can be manufactured at low cost.

  Furthermore, each process of FIG. 1 is demonstrated in detail. Steps (1) and (2) are solution treatment steps in which the aluminum alloy material (blank material) 2 is heated in a heating furnace and maintained in the solution treatment temperature range. Thereby, various elements contained in the aluminum alloy material 2 are uniformly dissolved. Moreover, since the solution treatment is performed immediately before the die quench step, it is not necessary to use a solution-treated aluminum alloy material as a material, and a rolled material (H material) can be used.

  Step (3) is a charging step for conveying the aluminum alloy material 2 that has undergone solution treatment into the mold 3 from the heating furnace. During the conveyance, the temperature of the aluminum alloy material 2 decreases, but the aluminum alloy material 2 is heated to a temperature equivalent to the temperature in the heating furnace by the heating via the holder mechanism 4, so that the aluminum alloy material 2 is in the mold 3. The temperature of the aluminum alloy material 2 still remains within the range of the solution treatment temperature at the time of being set to 1, that is, the blank setting time (3a).

  Step (4) is a die quench step in which the aluminum alloy material 2 maintained in the solution treatment temperature range is die-quenched, that is, formed and rapidly cooled by the forming die 3. At the forming start time (4a), the temperature drop of the aluminum alloy material 2 is suppressed, and the temperature remains within the solution treatment temperature range.

  Step (5) is a dispensing step in which the mold 3 is opened and the aluminum alloy material 2 is taken out.

  Step (6) is a step of subjecting the aluminum alloy material 2 dispensed from the mold 3 to an artificial aging treatment. Step (6) may be started during the cooling of step (4) or (5).

  Further, after the step (6), preferably, a surface treatment step with heating, for example, paint baking is performed, the aluminum alloy material 2 is aged again, and the strength of the final product is further improved.

  The die quench apparatus 1 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a heat insulating portion 6 that insulates between the mold 3 and the holder mechanism 4. The heat insulation part 6 ensures sufficient quenching by the mold 3 in die quenching.

  In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the holder mechanism 4 clamps a portion of the aluminum alloy material 2 outside the product. Therefore, the clamp part 2c clamped by the holder mechanism 4 does not need to be rapidly cooled, that is, does not need to be quenched, but is easily cut.

  In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the holder mechanism 4 clamps the peripheral edge portion so that the peripheral edge portion of the aluminum alloy material 2 can be displaced in a direction orthogonal to the opening / closing direction of the mold 3 during molding. As a result, excessive strain is prevented from accumulating in the portion of the aluminum alloy material 2 where the degree of processing is large.

  In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the holder mechanism 4 clamps the aluminum alloy material 2 so that the aluminum alloy material 2 and the mold 3 do not come into contact with the aluminum alloy material 2 set in the mold 3. Thereby, the temperature drop of the aluminum alloy material 2 at the start of molding is prevented.

  In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the molding die 3 includes an upper die 3a and a lower die 3b, and the holder mechanism 4 is supported integrally with the upper die 3a so as to freely contact the upper surface of the aluminum alloy material 2. The upper holder 4a and the lower holder 4b elastically supported by the lower mold 3b and capable of abutting on the lower surface of the aluminum alloy material 2 are provided. As described above, the holder mechanism 4 can be easily applied to the molding die 3 having a general structure including the upper die 3a and the lower die 3b.

  A die quench apparatus 1 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a cooling path 3c provided in the mold 3 for cooling the mold 3, a heater 5 provided in the holder mechanism 4 for heating the holder mechanism 4, Is provided. Thereby, both rapid cooling by the mold 3 and heating by the holder mechanism 4 are reliably performed. Note that when the mold 3 is sufficiently cooled, the mold 3 may be naturally cooled.

  According to the present invention, the forming in the die quench step is started in a state in which the aluminum alloy material is maintained in the solution treatment temperature range, that is, the aluminum alloy material in the high temperature state is formed by solution treatment. Therefore, it is not necessary to reheat the aluminum alloy material for die quenching, which saves energy. The solution treatment temperature is in the range of 475 ° C. to 580 ° C., particularly 500 ° C., considering the temperature drop when the aluminum alloy material is transferred from the solution treatment step to the die quench step and the temperature drop just before forming in the die quench step. It is preferable to set in the range of ˜560 ° C.

  According to one embodiment of the present invention, it is preferable to select a material that can obtain high strength by heat treatment, such as 2000 series, 6000 series, and 7000 series, as the aluminum alloy material. Other materials can be selected depending on the required strength of the product.

In one embodiment of the present invention, recommended heat treatment conditions and guides for molding conditions are exemplified below.
(A) Solution treatment temperature range: 450-600 ° C, preferably 475 ° C-580 ° C, more preferably 500 ° C-560 ° C;
(B) Time to maintain in the solution treatment temperature range: tens of seconds to 5 minutes, 5 minutes or more may be sufficient;
(C) Rapid cooling rate in die quench: 10 ° C./s or more, preferably 50 ° C./s or more, more preferably 100 ° C./s or more;
(D) The interval between the end of the die quench step and the start of the artificial aging treatment step: 5 minutes or less;
(E) Aging temperature of artificial aging treatment: 70 to 250 ° C., preferably 200 ° C. or less, particularly 100 to 200 ° C .;
(F) Artificial aging treatment time: 5 minutes or more;
(G) Cooling during artificial aging treatment: Allowing to cool in the atmosphere.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the reference numerals in the drawings are added for convenience to each element as an example for facilitating understanding, and are not intended to limit the present invention to the illustrated embodiment.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the structure of an aluminum alloy material die quenching apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  Referring to FIG. 2, an aluminum alloy material die quench apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention clamps a mold 3 for cooling a heated aluminum alloy material 2 simultaneously with molding, and the aluminum alloy material 2. Left and right holder mechanisms 4 and 4 for setting the aluminum alloy material 2 in the mold 3 and a plurality of heating mechanisms 5 and 5 for heating the left and right holder mechanisms 4 and 4 are provided.

  The molding die 3 has an upper die 3a and a lower die 3b. A cooling path 3c through which a cooling fluid flows is formed in the upper mold 3a and the lower mold 3b, and at the time of die quenching, the aluminum alloy material 2 is rapidly cooled through the upper mold 3a and the lower mold 3b.

The holder mechanisms 4 are respectively arranged on the left and right sides of the mold 3. Since the holder mechanisms 4 and 4 and the heating mechanisms 5 and 5 on the left and right sides have symmetrical structures, the holder mechanism 4 and the heating mechanism 5 on the one side will be mainly described below. The holder mechanism 4 is integrally supported by the upper mold 3a and freely contacts the upper surface of the aluminum alloy material 2, and is elastically supported by the lower mold 3b and contacts the lower surface of the aluminum alloy material 2. And a free lower holder 4b.
The upper holder 4a and the lower holder 4b can be formed from a steel material. A heater 5 is embedded as a heating mechanism 5 in the upper holder 4a and the lower holder 4b. The upper holder 4a is basically fixedly attached to the upper holder 4a, and the lower holder 4b is elastically attached via a cushion 4c. A spring or a cylinder can be adopted as the cushion 4c.

  Further, a heat insulating plate 6a is sandwiched between the upper mold 3a and the upper holder 4a. A heat insulating plate 6b is sandwiched between the lower mold 3b and the lower holder 4b. The heat insulating plates 6 a and 6 b constitute the heat insulating portion 6. The heat insulating plates 6a and 6b can be formed from, for example, ceramics having low thermal conductivity, and the thickness may be about 5 to 20 mm.

  Then, operation | movement of the die quench apparatus 1 demonstrated above is demonstrated. FIG. 3 is an operation diagram of the die quencher shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is an operation diagram subsequent to FIG.

  Referring to steps (1) and (2) in FIG. 1, the aluminum alloy material is heated to a solution treatment temperature range in a heating furnace (not shown). Referring to step (3) in FIG. 1, the solution-treated aluminum alloy material is carried into the die quench apparatus 1 shown in FIG. At the time of carrying in, the temperature of the aluminum alloy material 2 slightly decreases, but the temperature is still within the solution treatment temperature range.

  Referring to FIG. 2, the aluminum alloy material 2 heated to the solution treatment temperature range is clamped by the right and left holder mechanisms 4 and 4 and set in the mold 3 (the set point in FIG. 1). (See 3a)). Hereinafter, portions clamped by the left and right holder mechanisms 4 and 4 are referred to as clamp portions 2c and 2c. The clamp portions 2c and 2c are in contact with the upper and lower holders 4a and 4b while receiving pressure from the compressed or reduced cushion 4c. The left and right holder mechanisms 4 are heated by a heater 5. Thereby, the temperature drop of the aluminum alloy material 2 is prevented, and the temperature of the aluminum alloy material 2 is still maintained in the solution treatment temperature range.

  Referring to FIG. 2 to FIG. 3, the die quench step (4) by the mold 3 is started from the molding start time (4a) of FIG. 1, and specifically, the upper mold 3a is lowered toward the lower mold 3b. . Along with this, the cushion 4c is further compressed. At this time, since the clamp parts 2c and 2c are heated by the heater 5 incorporated in the left and right holder mechanisms 4 and 4, the aluminum alloy material is maintained at a high temperature. In particular, in the clamp portions 2c and 2c, the intermediate portions 2b and 2b between the clamp portions 2c and 2c and the central portion 2a are maintained in a state where they are easily stretched at high temperatures.

  Referring to FIG. 3, when the upper mold 3a is further lowered and the aluminum alloy material 2 is sufficiently in contact with the cooled upper mold 3a and lower mold 3b, in particular, the aluminum alloy material 2 in contact with the lower mold 3b. The central portion 2a is rapidly cooled and hardened, and is not easily stretched. However, the heated clamp portions 2c and 2c and the intermediate portions 2b and 2b heated by heat conduction from the clamp portions 2c and 2c are still maintained at a high temperature, are easily stretched, and maintain good moldability. Is done. As a result, the clamp portions 2c and 2c of the aluminum alloy material 2 can be displaced in a direction orthogonal to the opening and closing direction of the mold 3, and excessive strain can be concentrated on the portion where the aluminum alloy material 2 has a high degree of processing. And cracking is prevented.

  3 to 4, when the upper die 3a is further lowered, the peripheral portion (outer peripheral portion) of the aluminum alloy material 2 is displaced toward the center, and the clamp portions 2c and 2c are clamped by the holder mechanisms 4 and 4. Is released, and the entire region of the aluminum alloy material 2 including the intermediate portions 2b and 2b and the clamp portions 2c and 2c is formed and cooled. As described above, the displacement of the aluminum alloy material 2 is allowed, so that the concentration of strain is prevented.

  After completion of the molding, the upper mold 3a is raised, the aluminum alloy material 2 is discharged (see step (5) in FIG. 1), and the clamp portions 2c and 2c which are parts outside the product are cut. Thereafter, an artificial aging treatment step (6) in FIG. 1 and a surface treatment step with a further aging treatment such as paint baking are performed.

  Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described one embodiment and the like, and further modifications and modifications are possible without departing from the basic technical idea of the present invention. Replacement and adjustment can be added.

  It should be noted that the disclosures of the above patent documents are incorporated herein by reference. Within the scope of the entire disclosure (including claims) of the present invention, the embodiments and examples can be changed and adjusted based on the basic technical concept. Further, various combinations or selections of various disclosed elements (including each element of each claim, each element of each embodiment or example, each element of each drawing, etc.) within the scope of the claims of the present invention. Is possible. That is, the present invention of course includes various variations and modifications that could be made by those skilled in the art according to the entire disclosure including the claims and the technical idea.

  The aluminum alloy material obtained by the present invention can be suitably used as a vehicle body panel, pillar, or beam.

1 Die quench device 2 Aluminum alloy material (material, blank material)
2a Central part 2b, 2b Intermediate part 2c, 2c Clamp part 3 Mold 3a Upper mold 3b Lower mold 3c Cooling path 4 Holder mechanism 4a Upper holder 4b Lower holder 4c Cushion 5 Heating mechanism, heater 6 Heat insulation part 6a, 6b Heat insulation material process (1) and (2) Solution treatment step Step (3) Input step Time point (3a) Blank setting time point (4a) Molding start step (4) Die quench step Step (5) Dispensing step Step (6) Artificial aging treatment Process (Preliminary aging treatment process)

Claims (9)

A mold for cooling the heated aluminum alloy material simultaneously with the molding;
A holder mechanism for clamping the aluminum alloy material and setting the aluminum alloy material in the mold;
A heating mechanism for heating the holder mechanism;
A die quench apparatus for an aluminum alloy material, comprising:   The die-quenching apparatus for an aluminum alloy material according to claim 1, further comprising a heat insulating part that insulates between the mold and the holder mechanism.   The die-quenching apparatus for an aluminum alloy material according to claim 1, wherein the holder mechanism clamps a portion of the aluminum alloy material outside the product.   2. The aluminum alloy material according to claim 1, wherein the holder mechanism clamps the peripheral edge portion so that the peripheral edge portion of the aluminum alloy material can be displaced in a direction orthogonal to an opening / closing direction of the mold during forming. 3. Die quench device.   The said holder mechanism clamps the said aluminum alloy material so that the said aluminum alloy material and the said shaping | molding die may not contact in the state in which the said aluminum alloy material was set in the said shaping | molding die. Die-quenching equipment for aluminum alloy materials. The mold has an upper mold and a lower mold,
The holder mechanism is integrally supported by the upper mold and can be brought into contact with the upper surface of the aluminum alloy material, and is elastically supported by the lower mold and can be brought into contact with the lower surface of the aluminum alloy material. A lower holder,
The die quench apparatus for an aluminum alloy material according to claim 1. A cooling path provided in the mold and for cooling the mold;
A heater provided in the holder mechanism for heating the holder mechanism;
The die-quenching apparatus for an aluminum alloy material according to claim 1, comprising: Heating the aluminum alloy material;
Clamping the heated aluminum alloy material;
Heating the clamp part of the aluminum alloy material or suppressing the temperature drop of the part; and
Die quenching the aluminum alloy material in a state where the clamp part is heated or a temperature drop of the clamp part is suppressed;
A die quench method for an aluminum alloy material, comprising:   9. The die quench method for an aluminum alloy material according to claim 8, wherein the die quench is started in a state where at least the temperature of the clamp portion is within a solution treatment temperature range in the aluminum alloy material.

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