JP3192371B2 - Press-fitting molding apparatus and molding method for metal soap block - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for forming a block of metal soap used as a lubricant, a cleaning aid, a lubricant, etc. in office machines such as electrostatic copying machines, papermaking super calenders and other precision equipment. And a method for forming a metal soap block.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, metal salts of organic acids such as long-chain fatty acids, naphthenic acid, and rosin acid are generally referred to as "soaps". A metal salt other than metal. This metal soap (fatty acid soap) is generally called calcium soap, manganese soap, zinc soap or the like, taking the name of the bound metal.

Heretofore, the excellent properties (water repellency, lubricity, releasability, catalytic action, biological inhibitory action, and acid supplementing action) of metal soaps have been noticed. Cleaning assistants, lubricants, dispersants, water repellents, mold release agents, desiccants, catalysts, stabilizers, germicides, etc., and are expected to be used more and more in the future. Many of the commonly used metal soaps are in the form of powders, granules, and flakes.However, these shapes are inconvenient to handle and store, and difficult to feed in trace amounts. The mechanism becomes complicated and large in size, and it cannot meet the demands for downsizing and cost reduction, which are important technical issues in recent years.

[0004] In recent years, in order to solve this problem, a metallic soap is formed into a block shape, and this is shaved off with a brush or the like.
There has been proposed a compact system for supplying powder to a required location in powder form. As a method of forming the metal soap block required here, a powder pressing method or a melt solidification method can be considered, but the powder pressing method requires the addition of a binder that binds the powder, and the addition of the binder is inherently the metal soap. Is a cause of deteriorating the characteristics, and is not preferred.

[0005] In this regard, the melt-solidification method does not require a binder because the metal soap is heated and melted to solidify in a block shape. However, in the conventional general melt-solidification method, sink, shrinkage, shrinkage, and the like generated in the solidification process are not caused. Cracks occur in the metal soap molded article due to distortion (thermal shock), and it is extremely difficult to mold the metal soap molded article into a block shape. This is considered to be due to the specific solubility and recrystallization of the metal soap.

Recently, in order to solve this problem, a metal soap in a molten state is poured into a mold as shown in JP-A-7-26278, and then the metal soap in the mold is sequentially removed from the lower part to the middle part. A stepwise melting and solidification method has been proposed in which the upper part is cooled stepwise to prevent cracks.

[0007]

However, in the stepwise solidification method disclosed in the above-mentioned publication, a large number of metal soaps are gradually cooled from the lower part to the middle part and then to the upper part. It is necessary to assemble a temperature control device such as a heater device and a cooling device described above, which not only complicates the configuration of the molding device, but also complicates the temperature control method, and generally has a disadvantage that the equipment cost is considerably high. In addition, since delicate temperature control is required, in which the mold is gradually cooled in a predetermined temperature pattern while providing a temperature gradient, it is very difficult to control the temperature. Cracks and nests may be formed in the soap molded product. Therefore, this fusion-solidification method does not provide a product yield as expected, and has a disadvantage that the product cost is considerably high in combination with the above-mentioned expensive equipment cost.

[0008] The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a mold having a very simple structure that does not require a complicated temperature control device, and has a high quality without cracks and nests. It is an object of the present invention to provide a press-fitting apparatus and a metal soap block molding method for molding a metal soap block, which can efficiently form the metal soap block of the present invention and sufficiently satisfy the demand for cost reduction.

[0009]

To achieve the above object, a press-fitting apparatus for forming a metal soap block according to claim 1 of the present invention is to press-fill a metal soap melted by heating into a preheated resin mold. Then, the resin mold is allowed to cool naturally to form a metal soap block.
It is set at 2 to 3.8 kcal / m · hr · ° C.

The features of this press-fitting molding apparatus are that a resin mold is used in place of the conventional mold, and the thermal conductivity of the resin mold is 0.2 to 3.8 kcal / m · h.
r.degree. C., and natural cooling of a molten metal soap press-filled into a resin mold. These features will be described below.

The heat conductivity of the mold is so large that the metal soap in the mold dissipates heat too quickly, so that a temperature controller for adjusting the heat dissipation is required. Therefore, in the present invention, by using a resin mold having a significantly lower thermal conductivity than a mold, heat dissipation is suppressed, and a temperature controller is not required, and each part of the metal soap molded body is allowed to cool naturally. Allow for slow cooling evenly.

However, when the resin mold is formed of, for example, a heat-resistant epoxy resin, the heat conductivity of the resin mold is 0.11 to 0.1.
Since it is too small at 3 kcal / m · hr · ° C., the heat release rate is too slow, and the natural cooling time until the metal soap in the resin mold is solidified is too long, and the productivity is reduced. In consideration of this point, in the present invention, the thermal conductivity of the resin mold is set to 0.1.
By setting to 2 to 3.8 kcal / m · hr · ° C,
The natural cooling time can be set to a time that does not impair productivity while suppressing the occurrence of cracks.

However, if the metal soap is injected into the resin mold at atmospheric pressure, nests may be formed inside the metal soap molded body. In consideration of this, in the present invention, the resin mold is press-filled with metal soap to prevent nests from being formed inside the molded product of metal soap. In addition, by allowing the entire resin mold to cool naturally, each part of the metal soap molded body in the resin mold is gradually cooled evenly, and the thermal stress of each part of the metal soap molded body that causes cracks is sufficiently relaxed. While gradually cooling to prevent cracks from being formed in the metal soap molded body.

In this case, the pressure at the time of press-fitting is preferably set to ² to 7 kgf / cm ² . When the pressure is in this range, it is possible to reliably prevent nests from forming inside the molded product of the metal soap.

Further, the thermal conductivity of the resin mold is set to 0.2 to 3.8.
As a method of setting kcal / m · hr · ° C., a resin mold may be formed with a resin mixed with a good thermal conductor powder. By doing so, the thermal conductivity of the resin mold can be adjusted extremely easily by adjusting the amount of the good thermal conductor powder (for example, metal powder, carbon powder, etc.).

Furthermore, it is preferable that an air reservoir is formed in the resin mold so as to be continuous with a cavity for forming a metal soap block. By doing so, in the process of pressing the molten metal soap into the resin mold,
Gases such as air contained in the molten metal soap are pushed out of the cavity into the air reservoir, and the gas causing nests is reliably removed from the cavity.

From the above, when the metal soap block is molded, the resin mold of the present invention is preheated to a temperature near the melting point of the metal soap and then heated and melted in the resin mold. When the metal soap is press-filled and allowed to cool naturally to form a metal soap block, the resin mold has an extremely simple structure that does not require a complicated temperature control device. High quality metal soap blocks can be formed efficiently.

[0018]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, FIG. 1 (vertical front view) and FIG.
The description will be made based on (cross-sectional view). A resin mold 11 is used as a press-fitting mold. This resin mold 11 is a split mold having a simple configuration divided by parting lines PL1 to PL4. A plurality of cavities 12 for forming a metal soap block are formed inside the resin mold 11,
An air reservoir 13 is continuously formed at the lower end of each cavity 12. The cavities 12 communicate with one another via a molding material injection path 14. At the lower part of the resin mold 11, a push-up pin 21 for taking out the solidified metal soap block from each cavity 12 after the completion of molding is provided.

On the other hand, in the upper part of the resin mold 11, a press-fitting chamber 15 for containing a molding material (metal soap) and heating and melting it.
A plunger 16 that slides in a vertical direction is fitted into the press-fitting chamber 15, and the plunger 16 is moved up and down by a pressurizing device (not shown) such as a cylinder. When the plunger 16 is lowered, the molding material in the press-fitting chamber 15 is pushed out of the press-fitting port 17 at the lower end of the press-fitting chamber 15 into the molding material injection path 14 of the resin mold 11 and is pressed into each cavity 12. The press-fitting chamber 15 and the plunger 16 are respectively provided with heaters 18 for heating and melting the molding material to maintain the temperature.
19, and a band heater 20 is mounted on the outer peripheral portion of the press-fitting chamber 15.

Next, the reason why the resin mold 11 is used as the press-fitting mold will be described. Metal soaps used as molding materials (for example, zinc stearate, magnesium stearate, zinc laurate, lead stearate, sodium palmitate,
Sodium stearate, barium myristate, calcium stearate, etc.) have a unique solubility and recrystallization, and when metal soap in a molten state is solidified by natural cooling using a mold, a large number of Cracks will enter. According to the experimental results of the present invention, it has been found that even when a mold is used, cracks are reduced when the entire mold is gradually and slowly cooled over a long period of time. Further, the experiment was repeated, and the mold filled with the metal soap in the molten state was gradually cooled in a constant temperature drier for 11 hours with a temperature drop of about 10 ° C./hr, and no crack was generated. This indicates that the occurrence of cracks can be prevented by gradually cooling each part of the formed body with a gentle and gentle falling temperature gradient.

However, if it takes 11 hours to gradually cool the compact, the productivity is very poor and the product cost is very high. In addition, since the heat conductivity of the mold is too high and the heat radiation speed is too high, a temperature control device for adjusting the heat radiation is required, which also increases the cost.

The present inventor has sought to solve this problem.
An experiment was conducted on the moldability of metal soap using a resin mold having a significantly lower thermal conductivity than a mold. It is conceivable to manufacture a resin mold using a heat-resistant resin (for example, an epoxy resin, a phenol resin, a polyester resin, a silicone resin, or the like) that can withstand a temperature around the melting point of the metal soap (around 140 ° C.). However, heat-resistant epoxy resin has a thermal conductivity of 0.1.
Since it is too small, ie, 1 to 0.13 kcal / m · hr · ° C., the heat radiation rate is too slow, the annealing time of the metal soap in the resin mold is too long, and the productivity is poor.

Therefore, even in the case of the resin mold, it is necessary to shorten the slow cooling time, and for that purpose, it is necessary to increase the thermal conductivity of the resin mold itself to some extent. Here, in order to increase the thermal conductivity of the resin mold, the resin mold may be formed of a resin mixed with a heat conductive powder (for example, metal powder, carbon powder, etc.), and the amount of the heat conductive powder may be adjusted. so,
The thermal conductivity of the resin mold can be easily adjusted.

The present inventors have made Examples 1 to 3 shown in Table 1 below.
A resin mold was prepared from the resin having the composition No. 3 and the moldability of the metal soap was tested.

[0025]

[Table 1]

In each of Examples 1 to 3, as the main resin,
Novolak type heat and chemical resistant epoxy having a polyfunctional group: 100 parts by weight [Epicoat 154 (trade name) manufactured by Yuka Shell Epoxy Co., Ltd.], diaminodiphenyl sulfone: 34 parts by weight as a curing agent, dimethyldiphenylmethane: 8 parts by weight are used. By the combination of the main agent and the curing agent, the heat resistance temperature (heat deformation temperature): 25
0 ° C is secured.

However, since the thermal conductivity of the epoxy resin alone is too low, 0.11 to 0.13 kcal / m · hr · ° C., the epoxy resin of each of Examples 1 to 4 was used to increase the thermal conductivity of the resin. Epoxy resin includes copper powder (for example, a particle size of 4).
-8 μm), aluminum powder (for example, particle size 1.5-5 μm)
Etc. are blended. As shown in Table 1, in Example 1, 80 parts by weight of copper powder and 50 parts by weight of aluminum powder were blended, in Example 2, only 50 parts by weight of aluminum powder was blended, and in Example 3, The amount of the aluminum powder is 30 parts by weight.

In each of Examples 1 to 3, a mixture of the main agent, the curing agent, and the heat conductive powder was heated and mixed to form a resin melt in which the heat conductive powder was uniformly dispersed.
The resin was cast and cured to form a resin mold having the structure shown in FIGS. Table 2 below shows the measured values of the physical property data of the resin molds of Examples 1 to 4.

[0029]

[Table 2]

The resin molds of Examples 1 to 3 can secure sufficient strength required for a press-fitting mold by itself, so that reinforcement such as metal backup is not required. Further, even when rapid heating and cooling are repeated, there is no deformation or damage due to thermal distortion such as cracking of the resin mold or warping. If the particle size of the metal powder to be blended is selected to be 10 μm or less, the finish of the mold surface is good, and the finish of machining and polishing is also good. Furthermore, since the chemical resistance is good, there is no problem when using a release agent or a cleaning agent. In addition, it has been confirmed that under normal storage conditions, deterioration over time is extremely small and durability is good.

The procedure for press-fitting a metal soap block using this resin mold is as follows. First, while preheating the resin mold to a temperature (140 ° C.) near the melting point of the metal soap,
The metal soap is heated and melted at a temperature of melting point + 10 ° C. (140 ° C.) and press-fitted into a resin mold. The pressure during this press-fit is
Set to ² to 7 kgf / cm ² . Then, after the press-fitting, the entire resin mold 11 is allowed to naturally cool uniformly and gradually cooled from 140 ° C. to 30 ° C. The time from the start of natural cooling to the removal of the metal soap block (natural cooling time) is 90 minutes in Example 1, 150 minutes in Example 2, and 210 minutes in Example 3.

Examples 1 to 3 thus formed
Table 3 shows the results of the molding test of the metal soap block of Example 1.

[0033]

[Table 3]

As shown in Table 3, all Examples 1 to
In 3, the surface of the metal soap block after molding becomes smooth,
A good surface was obtained. However, in Example 1, copper powder:
80 parts by weight and aluminum powder: 50 parts by weight are mixed, and the amount of the metal powder is large, so that the thermal conductivity of the resin mold becomes large (3.8 kcal / m · hr · ° C.) and the heat radiation is slightly too fast. Tend. For this reason, the natural cooling time for the metal soap in the resin mold to gradually cool from 140 ° C. to 30 ° C. is shortened (90 minutes), and the thermal shock (thermal stress) of each part of the metal soap in the resin mold is slightly relaxed. Insufficiency was observed, and two of the tests performed during the ten tests resulted in cracks at some corners of the molded product, resulting in defective products. However, even in the first embodiment, 8
Although a yield of 0% can be ensured and profitable, the results of Example 1 show that the thermal conductivity is 3.8 kcal /
m · hr · ° C. is considered to be the limit.

In this respect, in Example 2 (thermal conductivity 1.21 kc
(al / m · hr · ° C.), the spontaneous cooling time for gradually cooling from 140 ° C. to 30 ° C. is 150 minutes, and in Example 3 (thermal conductivity 0.7 kcal / m · hr · ° C.), The cooling time is 250 minutes. In these Examples 2 and 3, the natural cooling time was secured for 150 minutes or more, and the rate of slow cooling of the metal soap in the resin mold became moderate. The part is gradually cooled while the thermal shock (thermal stress) of the part is sufficiently reduced. For this reason, cracks did not occur in the molded product, and no defective product was generated. From these test results, the preferable range of the thermal conductivity of the resin mold for causing almost no cracks in the molded product is 3.5 kcal.
/ M · hr · ° C. or less (natural cooling time of 110 minutes or more).

However, as the thermal conductivity of the resin mold becomes smaller, the natural cooling time for gradually cooling from 140 ° C. to 30 ° C. becomes longer, and accordingly, the productivity decreases. Therefore, 1
Consider natural working hours (8 hours) and allow 4 hours for natural cooling.
It is preferable to set the thermal conductivity of the resin mold to 0.2 kcal / m · hr · ° C. or more. Further, from the viewpoint of improving productivity, as in Example 3, it is preferable that the natural cooling time is set within 210 minutes (3.5 hours), and for that purpose, the thermal conductivity of the resin mold is set to 0.7 kcal. / M · hr · ° C. or more.

From the above, the range of the thermal conductivity of the usable resin mold is 0.2 to 3.8 kcal / m · hr · ° C.
(Natural cooling time: 5 hours to 90 minutes), more preferably 0.7 to 3.5 kcal / m · hr · ° C (natural cooling time: 3.5 hours to 110 minutes).

By the way, when the metal soap is injected into the resin mold under the atmospheric pressure, nests may be formed inside the molded product of the metal soap. In this regard, in each of the above Examples 1 to 3, it is possible to reliably prevent nests from being formed inside the molded product of the metal soap by press-filling and filling the metal soap into the resin mold at a pressure of ² to 7 kgf / cm ^2. Can be. Here, the pressure at the time of press-fitting is 2
If it is smaller than kgf / cm ² , the effect of press fitting is small,
Nests may be formed inside the molded body of metal soap,
If it is larger than 7 kgf / cm ² , the pressure applied to the resin mold becomes too large, and the resin mold (cavity shape) at the time of press-fitting.
May be deformed to cause liquid leakage or a deformed molded product may be produced. Therefore, the pressure at the time of press-fitting is 2 to
It is preferably 7 kgf / cm ² . The pressure source for this press-fitting may be hydraulic, pneumatic, or manual.

Further, in the resin mold 11 shown in FIG. 1, since the air reservoir 13 is formed continuously to the cavity 12, the molten metal soap is pressed into the resin mold 11 in the process of being pressed into the molten state. The gas such as air contained in the metal soap can be pushed out from the cavity 12 to the air reservoir 11, and the gas causing the nest can be reliably removed from the cavity 12.

In the embodiment described above, the resin mold whose thermal conductivity is set to 0.2 to 3.8 kcal / m · hr · ° C. (more preferably, 0.7 to 3.5 kcal / m · hr · ° C.) Using a simple process of press-filling the heated and molten metal soap into the resin mold 11 and naturally cooling it to form a metal soap block, each part of the molded body is naturally cooled naturally. As a result, it is possible to gradually cool while sufficiently reducing the thermal stress of each part of the molded body that causes cracks, and it is possible to efficiently form a high-quality metal soap block having no cracks or nests. In addition, since the resin mold 11 may be allowed to cool naturally, there is no need to incorporate a complicated temperature control device into the resin mold 11 as in the prior art. A high-quality metal soap block can be efficiently formed, thereby improving product yield, improving productivity, and reducing costs.

The metal soap block manufactured in this manner is used as a lubricant, a cleaning aid, a lubricant, etc. for office machines such as an electrostatic copying machine, a facsimile, a color printer, a super calender of a paper mill, and other precision equipment. Effectively used as

For example, when used in an electrostatic copying machine,
As shown in FIG.
The metal soap block 24 is mounted on the block mounting portion 29 of the holder 28 with an adhesive or the like. The tip of the metal soap block 24
The surface of the photoreceptor drum 26 is evenly applied while contacting the rotating brush 25 and scraping a small amount of metal soap powder from the tip of the metal soap block 24 with the rotating brush 25. Also, the blade mounting portion 3 of the holder 24
The toner adhered to the surface of the photosensitive drum 26 is scraped off by the cleaning blade 27 attached to the photosensitive drum 26. At this time, the metallic soap powder applied to the surface of the photosensitive drum 26 by the rotating brush 25 acts to reduce the adhesion of the toner to the surface of the photosensitive drum 26 and facilitates the scraping of the toner by the cleaning blade 27. And greatly help to improve copy quality.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the configuration of each of the above-described embodiments, and the resin mold 11 may be formed of a heat-resistant resin other than epoxy, for example, a phenol resin, a polyester resin, a silicone resin, or the like. Further, the heat conductive powder to be mixed with the resin is not limited to the metal powder, such as carbon powder,
A good thermal conductor powder other than metal may be used.

In addition, it goes without saying that the present invention can be carried out by variously changing the shape of the resin mold 11 and the shape of the metal soap block to be molded within a range not departing from the gist of the present invention. .

[0045]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the press-fitting apparatus for forming a metal soap block of the first aspect of the present invention, a resin mold is used as the press-fitting mold, and the thermal conductivity of the resin mold is used. Is set to 0.2 to 3.8 kcal / m · hr · ° C., so that a high-quality metal soap block free of cracks and nests can be efficiently produced by a resin mold having an extremely simple structure that does not require a complicated temperature controller. Can be molded well,
In addition, the pressure at the time of press-fitting is set to ² to 7 kgf / cm ² , so that it is possible to satisfy the demands for improving product yield, improving productivity, and reducing costs. A nest can be reliably prevented, and an excessive pressure can be prevented from being applied to the resin mold.

Further, in the third aspect, since the resin mold is formed of the resin containing the heat conductive powder, the heat conductivity of the resin mold can be extremely adjusted by adjusting the amount of the heat conductive powder. It can be easily performed, and the productivity of the resin mold can be improved.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the air reservoir is formed continuously in the cavity of the resin mold, a gas such as air in the metal soap, which causes nests when the metal soap is pressed, is collected from the cavity. Part can be reliably pushed out,
Helps improve product quality.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the resin mold of the present invention is preheated to a temperature near the melting point of the metal soap, and then the heated and melted metal soap is press-filled into the resin mold and allowed to cool naturally. Since the metal soap block is formed, it is possible to efficiently form a high-quality metal soap block having no cracks or nests by natural cooling, thereby reducing the product cost.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional front view of a resin mold showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a resin mold.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a state where a metal soap block is mounted in the electrostatic copying machine.

[Explanation of symbols]

11: resin mold, 12: cavity, 13: air reservoir,
14 ... molding material injection path, 15 ... press-in chamber, 16 ... plunger, 17 ... press-in port, 18, 19 ... heater, 20 ...
Band heater, 21 push-up pin, 24 metal soap block, 25 rotating brush, 26 photosensitive drum, 27
Cleaning blade, PL1 to PL4 ... parting line.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) C11D 13/16

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A press-fit molding device for press-filling a heated and melted metal soap into a preheated resin mold and naturally cooling the metal soap to form a metal soap block. 0.2 to 3.8 kcal / m ·
A press-in molding apparatus for molding a metallic soap block, wherein the apparatus is set to hr · ° C. 2. The press-fitting apparatus for forming a metal soap block according to claim 1, wherein the pressure at the time of press-fitting is set to ² to 7 kgf / cm ² . 3. The press-fitting molding apparatus for molding a metal soap block according to claim 1, wherein the resin mold is formed of a resin mixed with a good conductor powder. 4. The metal soap block according to claim 1, wherein an air reservoir is formed in the resin mold so as to be continuous with a cavity for molding the metal soap block. Press-fitting molding equipment. 5. A method for molding a metal soap block using the press-fitting molding apparatus for molding a metal soap block according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the resin mold is formed near the melting point of the metal soap. A method for molding a metal soap block, comprising: preheating to a temperature, press-fitting and filling a molten metal soap into the resin mold, and allowing it to cool naturally to form a metal soap block.