JP3960755B2 - Manufacturing method of junction container - Google Patents

Description

【００３３】
【表２】

【００３４】
上記表２に示すように、本発明範囲に含まれる実施例１及び２によれば、高い破断強度を得ることができた。特に、上板２１の方が厚い実施例２において、より高い破断強度が得られた。
【００３５】
一方、本発明範囲からはずれる比較例３及び４では、高い破断強度は得られず、接合時に破断が生じる場合もあった。
【００３６】
【発明の効果】
以上詳述したように、本発明によれば、摩擦撹拌接合によりフランジ部を接合するため、入熱量が小さいと共にフランジ部の表面及びフランジ部同士の接触面の性状に関係なく安定した継手性能を得ることができる。また、摩擦撹拌接合の進行方向を適切に規定しているので、高い接合強度を得ることができる。特に、乗用車、トラック及びバス等の自動車若しくは二輪車等に使用される燃料タンク、又は半導体製造装置用の真空チャンバ等の箱状の製品等に本発明を適用すると、極めて優れた気密性及び液密性等の密閉性を得ることができる。
【図面の簡単な説明】
【図１】本発明の実施例に係る接合容器の製造方法における各部材を示す斜視図である。
【図２】本発明の実施例において使用する摩擦撹拌接合（ＦＳＷ）用ツールを示す正面図である。
【図３】本発明の実施例におけるＦＳＷ用ツールと上部容器本体１ｂ及び下部容器本体２ｂとの位置関係を示す図であって、（ａ）は上面図、（ｂ）は（ａ）におけるＡ−Ａ線に沿った断面図である。
【図４】接合容器の上部容器部材１からみた上面図であって、フランジ部を示す拡大図である。
【図５】本発明の第２の実施例に係る接合容器の製造方法を示す断面図である。
【図６】引張試験における荷重部分及び荷重方向を示す模式図である。
【符号の説明】
１、２；容器部材
１ａ、２ａ；フランジ部
１ｂ、２ｂ；容器本体
２ｃ；開口部
４；溶接線
５；接合部
５ａ、５ｂ、５ｃ；リベット
１０；基部
１１；ピン部
１２；ネジ部
２０；ツール
２１；上板
２２；下板
２３；接合部[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a junction container made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy, and in particular, a junction container suitable for a fuel tank used for automobiles or motorcycles such as passenger cars, trucks and buses, or a vacuum chamber for a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus. It relates to the manufacturing method.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, fuel tanks used for automobiles such as two-wheeled vehicles, passenger cars, trucks, buses, and special vehicles are made of steel, synthetic resin, aluminum, and various clad plates. As such a fuel tank, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-323487 discloses a steel tank. The conventional steel fuel tank described in this publication (conventional example 1) has two box-shaped members formed of steel plates and having openings, and the opening peripheries of these two box-shaped members A flange portion is formed outward, the flange portions of the openings of the two box-shaped members are overlapped, and the flange portions are welded by seam welding.
[0003]
Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 5-273 discloses a fuel tank made of aluminum or aluminum alloy for storing liquid fuel such as gasoline or light oil, which is attached to a truck and an industrial machine. The fuel tank described in this publication (conventional example 2) has a cylindrical tank body made of aluminum or aluminum and two end plates that close both openings of the tank body, and an inner side is provided at the periphery of the end plate. An inward flange bent at a substantially right angle is formed. Further, a welded joint that is inclined at an inclination angle of about 15 ° toward the inner side of the tank is provided at the flange portion, and an opening end of the tank body is attached to the welded joint and is welded and fixed by inert gas arc welding. ing. The fuel tank of Conventional Example 2 configured as described above can absorb a dimensional error between the tank body and the end plate, can be easily sized, and can provide a clean weld.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the technique of Conventional Example 1, there is a problem in that the amount of heat input is large when resistance seam welding is performed by overlapping the flange portions of a steel box-shaped member. In particular, when a member having a flange portion made of aluminum or aluminum alloy rather than steel is seam-welded, the amount of heat input is large, so that the aluminum or aluminum alloy plate is distorted and the dimensional accuracy is lowered. For example, when a box-shaped member made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy is used as a fuel tank and welded by seam welding, there is a problem in that the sealing performance of gas and liquid deteriorates when the dimensional accuracy is lowered. Since the fuel tank stores liquid fuel such as gasoline, it is necessary to seal the gas component that volatilizes from the liquid fuel together with the liquid fuel, and it is extremely dangerous if the airtightness deteriorates. Also, in seam welding, if the contact surface between the flanges is not flat or an oxide film or the like is formed, the resistance becomes higher or the resistance becomes non-uniform, so the heat flow is further increased and welding is performed. There is also a problem that the heat-affected zone of the section becomes large.
[0005]
In the technique of Conventional Example 2, the main body of the fuel tank and the end plate are brought into contact with each other and welded and fixed by inert gas arc welding. It is necessary to pay attention not only to the surface part that directly receives a heat source such as a laser, but also to the surface properties of the surfaces where the members are in contact with each other. If this is neglected, defects will occur in the welded part and the penetration will not be stabilized. In addition, there is a problem that the sealing performance of gas and liquid becomes insufficient. If bubbles occur in the melted part, the welded part solidifies faster than it rises, and the bubbles remain as blowhole defects, so if there are many blowhole defects, the defective parts are connected or the defective part When mechanical stress is applied to the metal, cracks may occur and the sealing properties of gas and liquid will deteriorate. Moreover, since the heat affected zone by arc welding is relatively large, the heat affected zone of the base metal is generated in a wide range. For this reason, there is a problem that the base material in the vicinity of the joint is greatly softened, and it is difficult to obtain a necessary sealing property due to the deformation of the base material.
[0006]
The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and it is possible to obtain a high gas and liquid hermeticity with a small amount of heat input during joining and a high joining strength regardless of the surface properties of the joint. It aims at providing the manufacturing method of a container.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The method for manufacturing a bonded container according to the present invention includes an upper container member made of aluminum or aluminum alloy having a flange portion that is open to the outside and projecting to the outside over the entire periphery of the opening portion, and an opening that is open to the top. A step of superimposing the lower container member made of aluminum or aluminum alloy with a flange portion projecting to the outside over the entire periphery of the portion between the flange portions, temporarily fixing the flange portion, and forming a screw on the surface And a step of performing friction stir welding on the flange portion along the entire periphery with the tool made, the step of performing the friction stir welding is performed in a direction in which the screw enters the flange portion. When the rotation direction is the forward rotation direction, the friction stir welding is performed while the tool revolves around the main body portion of the upper container member in the forward rotation direction. It characterized by having a cormorants process.
[0008]
In the present invention, when the tool is in the forward rotation direction, that is, when the screw is a left-hand screw, the screw enters the flange portion by left-turning, so that the main body portion is always on the left side (left-turning direction). When the screw is a right-hand screw, the screw enters the flange part by rotating it to the right. Therefore, the flange parts are friction stir welded while revolving in the direction that the main body part is always on the right side (right-rotating direction). Therefore, not only the advantage of friction stir welding, but also high strength can be secured at the joint and its vicinity due to the influence of thermal diffusion and the like.
[0009]
The step of temporarily fixing the flange portion may be mechanically joined using self-drilling rivets or mechanical clinching, welded by resistance spot welding, or bent while the flange portion is overlapped. It can be a process.
[0010]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, the manufacturing method of the junction container concerning the Example of this invention is demonstrated concretely with reference to attached drawing. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing each member in a method for manufacturing a bonded container according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0011]
In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, an upper container member 1 having a lower opening and a lower container member 2 having an upper opening are bonded to manufacture a bonded container. The upper container member 1 and the lower container member 2 are both made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy. The lower container member 2 is integrally formed with a flange portion 2a that is bent by about 90 ° and protrudes outward from the lower container body 2b over the entire periphery of the opening 2c. Similarly, the upper container member 1 is integrally formed with a flange portion 1a that is bent by approximately 90 ° and protrudes outward from the upper container body 1b over the entire periphery of the opening.
[0012]
In the present embodiment, first, the flange portions of the upper container member 1 and the lower container member 2 are overlapped. Next, in order to perform the friction stir welding more reliably, both the overlapped flange portions are temporarily fixed. As a temporary fixing method to be performed before the friction stir welding is performed by superimposing both flange portions, a method of mechanical joining using a self-drilling rivet or mechanical clinching or a method of welding by resistance spot welding or the like, etc. There is. In this embodiment, a self-piercing rivet is used, and a plurality of rivets are temporarily fixed by driving a plurality of rivets around the opening.
[0013]
Thereafter, the temporarily fixed flange portion is joined by friction stir welding along its entire periphery. FIG. 2 is a front view showing a friction stir welding (FSW) tool used in the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a view showing the positional relationship between the FSW tool and the upper container body 1b and the lower container body 2b according to the embodiment of the present invention, where (a) is a top view and (b) is an A- It is sectional drawing along the A line.
[0014]
The FSW tool 20 used in this embodiment is provided with a base portion 10 and a pin portion 11 formed at the tip of the base portion 10. The diameter of the pin portion 11 is smaller than that of the base portion 10, and a screw portion 12 is formed on the surface thereof. The screw portion 12 is, for example, a left screw. Since the left screw enters the material by left rotation, in this case, forward rotation is left rotation and reverse rotation is right rotation.
[0015]
In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the FSW tool 20 is always moved with the direction in which the upper container main body 1b is present on the left side as the traveling direction, and the temporarily fixed flange portion is moved to the whole. Friction stir welding is performed along the periphery. Note that friction stir welding may be performed all around the opening along the shape of the opening of the upper container member 1 and the lower container member 2. FIG. 4 is a top view of the joining container as seen from the upper container member 1 and is an enlarged view showing the flange portion. As shown in FIG. 4, the friction stir welding is performed, for example, so as to pass over a rivet 5 a that is temporarily fixed by overlapping the flange portion 1 a of the upper container member 1 and the flange portion 2 a of the lower container member 2.
[0016]
Next, the friction stir welding will be described in more detail. As shown in FIG. 3B, first, after the flange portion 1a and the flange portion 2a are overlapped, the flange portion 2a side of the lower container member 2 among the overlapped flange portions is a backing material (surface plate). ) (Not shown). Next, the tool 20 in which the screw portion 12 of the left screw is formed on the pin portion 11 is projected to the flange portion 1a from above the overlapped flange portions 1a and 2a while rotating by, for example, right rotation (reverse rotation). . Then, the contact portion between the rotating pin portion 11 and the flange portion 1a is softened and plasticized by frictional heat between the pin portion 11 and the flange portion 1a, and press-fitted while being stirred by the pin portion 11, and the flange portions 1a and 2a are inserted. Make plastic flow. Further, in a state where the pin portion 11 is rotating, the tool 20 is "rotated counterclockwise (with respect to the flange portions 1a and 2a) while applying a certain pressure along the entire periphery of the upper container member 1 and the lower container member 2. Friction stir welding with relative movement (revolution) ". Thereby, the flange part 1a and the flange part 2a are joined, and the junction part 5 is formed, and as shown in FIG. 4, the joining line 4 is formed in the joining position of the flange parts 1a and 2a. In the present embodiment, the diameter T1 of the base 10 in the tool 20 used for friction stir welding is, for example, 10 mm, the diameter T2 of the pin portion 11 is, for example, 4 mm, and the length h of the pin portion 11 is, for example, 1.8 mm. The rotation speed of the tool 20 is, for example, 3000 rpm, and the feed speed is, for example, 400 mm / min.
[0017]
According to such a 1st Example, it is especially necessary to give special consideration for joining about the surface of the flange parts 1a and 2a in which a pin part is press-fit, and the property of the surface where flange parts contact. It ’s not a problem. Therefore, stable joint performance can be exhibited regardless of the properties of these surfaces. Further, since friction stir welding is performed, the amount of heat input is smaller than that of fusion welding such as arc welding, and the influence of distortion or the like due to heat of the joining member is small. Therefore, it is suitable for bonding of a container such as a box-shaped product such as a tank as in this embodiment, which requires sealing of gas and liquid, and obtains extremely excellent sealing of gas and liquid. Can do.
[0018]
Moreover, since the groove | channel which has the flange parts 1a and 2a is piled up and welded, the upper and lower container members 1 and 2 contact each other in a plane. Therefore, if it is not fixed properly, it may be possible that deformation of the opening and slipping on the surface of the flange portion are likely to occur during welding, but in this embodiment, temporary fixing is performed before friction stir welding. Since this is done, the upper and lower container members 1 and 2 do not slide. Further, it is possible to secure a stable joint and desired dimensional accuracy by suppressing deformation such as opening. Further, since the friction stir welding does not use a filler material, even if the friction stir welding is performed on the temporarily fixed portion as it is, without changing the components of the aluminum or aluminum alloy that is the material of the upper and lower container members 1 and 2. A stable joint can be created.
[0019]
Further, since the process is performed on the temporarily fixed rivet 5a, the bonding wire 4 does not leave behind the temporary fixing. Furthermore, if an appropriate material is selected as the rivet material, for example, the strength of the friction stir joint can be improved by stirring the driven rivet with the pin portion 11 together with the flange portion. Thus, the material of the temporary fixing rivet or clinching for improving the strength is not particularly limited as long as it is higher in strength than the material of the flange portion, but from the viewpoint of recycling, for example, It is preferable to use a high-strength aluminum alloy such as 2000 series or 7000 series.
[0020]
Furthermore, the screw portion 12 formed on the pin portion 11 is a left-hand thread, and the direction of friction stir welding (the direction of revolution) is always the direction in which the outer wall of the upper container body 1b is on the left side. High strength can be secured around the joint 5 due to the influence of heat transfer or the like. In the first embodiment, the rotation direction of the rotation of the FSW tool 20 is right rotation (reverse rotation). However, when this rotation is left rotation (forward rotation), the plastic flow portion for FSW The upward convection associated with the rotation of the tool 20 can be suppressed, and the upward lifting of the interface between the flange portions 1a and 2a can be prevented. For this reason, the intensity | strength of the flange part 1a in the junction part 5 vicinity can be maintained higher, and it is more preferable.
[0021]
In the case where the screw portion 12 is a right-hand thread, the traveling direction of friction stir welding (the rotational direction of revolution) may always be the direction in which the outer wall of the upper container body 1b is on the right side. Also in this case, the rotation direction of the rotation of the FSW tool 20 may be either the right rotation or the left rotation, but from the viewpoint of preventing the above-described lifting of the interface, it is assumed to be the forward rotation, in this case, the right rotation. Is more preferable.
[0022]
Also, frictional stirring is performed by temporarily fixing with the rivet 5b on the end side of the flange portion 1a from the position where the joining line 4 is to be formed, or by temporarily fixing with the rivet 5c on the upper container body 1b side. You may make it the joining line 4 by joining not pass on the rivet 5b or 5c temporarily fixed. In the case of mechanical clinching or resistance spot welding, temporary fixing can be similarly performed at any position. Further, when the temporary fixing position by the rivet 5b or the like is set to the outside of the joint line 4 which is friction stir welded, the end portions of the overlapped flange portion 1a and flange portion 2a are turned up by the friction stir welding and the accuracy of the overlap is achieved. Can be prevented from decreasing. In the case of spot welding instead of mechanical joining as in the present embodiment as temporary fixing, for example, an electrode having a base diameter of 16 mm and a tip radius of 75 mm is used, and the applied pressure is 2 It is possible to perform welding at 0.7 kN and a welding current of 25 kA. In addition, friction stir welding may be directly performed after the upper and lower container members are overlapped without performing such temporary fixing. Furthermore, the temporary fixing method is not limited to the above-described method as long as the upper and lower container members can be fixed to such an extent that they do not shift during friction stir welding.
[0023]
Furthermore, in this embodiment, the friction stir welding is performed by pushing the rotating FSW tool 20 to the flange portions 1a and 2a in a state where the flange portions 1a and 2a are horizontally installed. For example, FIG. The two container members shown may be installed in such a state that their flange portions are vertical, and the flange portions may be friction stir welded together.
[0024]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the second embodiment, after the upper container member and the lower container member are overlapped, temporary fixing is performed by bending the end portion of the overlapped flange portion. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a method for manufacturing a bonded container according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
[0025]
In the second embodiment, similar to the first embodiment, after the flange portions 1a and 2a of the upper container member 1 and the lower container member 2 are overlapped, the end portions of the flange portions 1a and 2a are For example, bending is performed so as to be folded back to the upper container member 1 side so as to be in contact with the unfolded portion of the flange portion 1a. Thereafter, as in the first embodiment, friction stir welding is performed by relatively moving the pin portion along the shape of the opening of the upper container body 1b at the flange portion where there is no overlap due to folding. At this time, if the threaded portion is a left-hand thread, the rotation direction of the revolution is the left rotation, that is, the direction in which the upper container body 1b is always on the left side. On the other hand, if the threaded portion is a right-hand thread, the rotational direction of revolution is the right rotation, that is, the direction in which the upper container body 1b is always on the right side.
[0026]
According to the second embodiment as well, similarly to the first embodiment, it is possible to obtain a stable joint and desired dimensional accuracy by suppressing side slip and opening deformation of the upper and lower container members 1 and 2. An effect such as being able to be obtained can be obtained. In the present embodiment, the folded end portions of the flange portions 1a and 2a have a four-layer structure, so that higher strength can be obtained.
[0027]
Thus, the joining container manufactured by the 1st and 2nd Example is suitable for the fuel tank for motor vehicles made from aluminum or aluminum alloy, for example.
[0028]
In addition, when the thickness of the flange part of two container members differs, it is preferable to arrange | position so that an upper flange part may become thick in performing friction stir welding.
[0029]
【Example】
Examples of the present invention will be specifically described below in comparison with comparative examples that depart from the scope of the claims.
[0030]
First, two container members were temporarily fixed, and these container members were friction stir-joined under the conditions shown in Table 1 below using a tool having a pin portion on which a threaded portion of a left screw was formed. In Examples 1 and 2, the welding line is formed while revolving the tool in a direction in which the container body of the container member is always on the left side (forward rotation). In Comparative Examples 3 and 4, the container body is always in the direction on the right side ( The weld line was formed while revolving the tool in reverse rotation. Each container member was made of JIS A5182-O aluminum alloy, and the rotation direction of the tool was the reverse rotation direction.
[0031]
Subsequently, the tensile test of the joint part formed by friction stir welding was performed. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a load portion and a load direction in a tensile test. In the tensile test, the upper plate 21 and the lower plate 22 were pulled across the joint 23 to measure the breaking position and breaking load. The results are shown in Table 2 below.
[0032]
[Table 1]

[0033]
[Table 2]

[0034]
As shown in Table 2 above, according to Examples 1 and 2 included in the scope of the present invention, high breaking strength could be obtained. In particular, in Example 2 where the upper plate 21 is thicker, higher breaking strength was obtained.
[0035]
On the other hand, in Comparative Examples 3 and 4 deviating from the scope of the present invention, high breaking strength was not obtained, and breakage sometimes occurred during joining.
[0036]
【The invention's effect】
As described above in detail, according to the present invention, since the flange portion is joined by friction stir welding, the amount of heat input is small, and stable joint performance is obtained regardless of the properties of the surface of the flange portion and the contact surface between the flange portions. Obtainable. Moreover, since the advancing direction of friction stir welding is appropriately defined, high bonding strength can be obtained. In particular, when the present invention is applied to a fuel tank used in automobiles or motorcycles such as passenger cars, trucks and buses, or box-shaped products such as vacuum chambers for semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses, etc., extremely excellent airtightness and liquid tightness are obtained. The sealing property such as the property can be obtained.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing each member in a method for manufacturing a bonded container according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a front view showing a friction stir welding (FSW) tool used in an embodiment of the present invention.
FIGS. 3A and 3B are views showing a positional relationship between the FSW tool and the upper container body 1b and the lower container body 2b in the embodiment of the present invention, where FIG. 3A is a top view and FIG. It is sectional drawing along the -A line.
FIG. 4 is a top view of the joining container as seen from the upper container member 1 and is an enlarged view showing a flange portion.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a method for manufacturing a bonded container according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a load portion and a load direction in a tensile test.
[Explanation of symbols]
1, 2; Container members 1a, 2a; Flange portions 1b, 2b; Container body 2c; Opening portion 4; Weld line 5; Joint portions 5a, 5b, 5c; Rivet 10; Tool 21; upper plate 22; lower plate 23; joint

Claims (2)

An upper container member made of aluminum or aluminum alloy in which a lower portion is opened and a flange portion is formed projecting to the outside over the entire periphery of the opening portion, and an upper portion is opened and projects to the outside over the entire periphery of the opening portion. The flange or the lower container member made of aluminum or aluminum alloy is overlapped with each other, the flange is temporarily fixed, and the flange is made around the entire periphery by a tool having a screw formed on the surface. And a step of performing friction stir welding along the friction stir welding, the step of performing friction stir welding is performed when the rotation direction of the direction in which the screw enters the flange portion is a forward rotation direction. And a step of performing the friction stir welding while revolving a tool around the body portion of the upper container member in a forward rotation direction. Method of manufacturing the container. The step of temporarily fixing the flange portion is a step of mechanically joining using self-drilling rivets or mechanical clinching, welding by resistance spot welding, or bending the flange portion while overlapping. The method for manufacturing a bonding container according to claim 1, wherein the method is provided.

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