JP4560108B2 - Titanium or titanium alloy ingot manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for producing titanium or a titanium alloy ingot by vacuum melting (VAR) using a consumable electrode.

  One method for producing a titanium ingot is a consumable electrode type vacuum melting method. In this method, a titanium ingot is manufactured by the following procedure. As a first step, crushed titanium sponge particles are pressed into a compact called a compact in a press mold. As a second stage, a predetermined number of compacts are combined in a cylindrical shape and fixed by welding to form a consumable electrode. As a third step, the produced consumable electrode is placed in the mold, an arc is generated between the consumable electrode and the molten metal in the mold in vacuum, and the consumable electrode is sequentially melted from the bottom, so that Increase the amount of molten metal. Finally, the molten metal in the mold is solidified.

  In the titanium ingot thus produced, various amounts of oxygen are added depending on the application. Oxygen addition here is usually performed by adding titanium oxide powder to sponge titanium particles as a main raw material, and an example thereof is chute addition shown in Patent Document 1. In the addition method shown in Patent Document 1, a single sponge titanium particle is put into the weighing hopper from the storage tank. Similarly, one compact titanium oxide powder is charged from the storage tank into the weighing hopper. Then, the weighing hopper is opened and the contents are put into the press mold through the inclined chute. In the process of moving the inclined chute, the sponge titanium particles and the titanium oxide powder are stirred and mixed.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-225861

  Recently, titanium alloy ingots such as Ti-6Al-4V have also been manufactured by vacuum melting (VAR) using a consumable electrode. In this case, aluminum particles, Al-V alloy particles, electrolytic iron powder, titanium oxide powder, and the like are mixed with sponge titanium particles according to the required composition during the compact manufacturing process.

  By the way, for oxygen-containing titanium ingots, for example, in a specific field of wrought material, the required value of oxygen concentration is increasing year by year in order to increase the strength. In order to produce a titanium ingot having a high oxygen concentration, it is necessary to mix a large amount of titanium oxide powder into sponge titanium particles during the raw material supply process to the press die. However, titanium oxide powder is very fine compared to sponge titanium particles. For this reason, in the stirring and mixing using the inclined chute, the scattering amount increases as the mixing amount of the titanium oxide powder increases, and as a result, the variation in the titanium oxide amount for each compact increases. When the variation in the amount of titanium oxide for each compact becomes large, ingots manufactured by combining and melting this cause variation in the oxygen concentration distribution, particularly in the vertical direction, which is the dissolution direction.

  In other words, in the mixing by the inclined chute, only fine titanium sponge particles and titanium oxide fine particles are mixed, and the titanium oxide powder separates and floats from the sponge titanium particles during the dissolution process. Where the deviation tends to occur, variations in the amount of titanium oxide for each compact overlap, and the concentration deviation of the ingot increases.

  The oxygen concentration deviation in the titanium ingot is strictly controlled, and just because it is a high oxygen ingot does not mean that the regulations will be relaxed. That is, the ingot having a relatively low oxygen concentration of less than 1000 ppm and the ingot having a very high oxygen concentration of 3000 ppm or more are required to have the same oxygen concentration deviation of 500 ppm or less. This is a very strict requirement for a titanium ingot having a high oxygen concentration.

  On the other hand, for titanium alloy ingots such as Ti-6Al-4V, before compact molding, aluminum particles, Al-V alloy particles, electrolytic iron powder and the like are mixed with sponge titanium particles in addition to titanium oxide powder. Here, the aluminum particles, the Al-V alloy particles, and the electrolytic iron powder are the same particles as the sponge titanium particles, but the particle sizes are greatly different. In particular, Al-V alloy particles and electrolytic iron powder have a particle size of 0.5 to 3 mm, which is extremely smaller than the particle size of sponge titanium (1 to 25 mm). Due to this particle size difference, in the mixing by the inclined chute, the uneven distribution of the raw material due to the separation of the raw material at the time of flow is remarkable, and the uneven distribution of the raw material in the compact and the resulting component deviation in the ingot are also a serious problem.

  In addition, in the case of manufacturing an oxygen-containing titanium ingot or in the case of manufacturing a titanium alloy ingot such as Ti-6Al-4V, the use of raw material mixing by an inclined chute increases the equipment height of a compact manufacturing facility. There is also.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a titanium or titanium alloy ingot manufacturing method capable of eliminating as much as possible the uneven distribution of raw materials between compacts and within compacts and the component deviations in the ingots caused by the compact equipment.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present inventors paid attention to a forced stirring method in which other raw material powder particles such as sponge titanium particles and titanium oxide powder are mechanically mixed in advance by a mixer. Mixers called mixers and blenders agitate multiple types of powder particles by rotating them, so that a large amount of powder particles can be mixed efficiently at one time, and titanium oxide powder is a problem when stirring and mixing with an inclined chute. No scattering occurs. In addition, since the equipment height does not increase even when a large mixer is used, it is reasonable to mix raw material particles for one consumable electrode together, and then mix and press the mixture into compact units after mixing. In fact, in the forced stirring by the mixer, this large batch processing-divided press method is generally employed.

  In the case of forced stirring by a mixer, unlike the case of stirring and mixing by an inclined chute, the outer surface of sponge titanium particles having a large particle size adheres as if they were coated with titanium oxide. For this reason, component segregation due to separation and flotation in the dissolution process is essentially difficult to occur. However, in actual operation, a considerably large component concentration difference occurs. The cause is considered as follows.

  As a problem on the characteristics of the mixer, when the particle size is greatly different, such as sponge titanium particles and titanium oxide powder, the distribution of fine powder is generally fixed by the first charging operation, and kneading is sufficient. Although it is made, there is a characteristic that uniform distribution of fine powder particles does not progress. Due to this characteristic, when compacts are formed from a mixture mixed in a mixer, there is a difference in the amount of fine particles between compacts. Although not as much as in the case of stirring and mixing, component deviation occurs. In addition to this, in the case of mass batch mixing and subdivision press using a large mixer, since subdivision is repeated, fine powder is finally separated and retained, which also causes uneven distribution of raw materials among compacts.

  Under such circumstances, the present inventors have made the following conclusions as a result of comparative studies of various mixing methods.

In order to suppress scattering of fine powder such as titanium oxide powder, it is effective to forcibly agitate the sponge titanium particles and other raw material powders with a mixer prior to the introduction into the press mold. For the uneven distribution of raw materials between compacts, which is a problem with forced stirring by a large mixer, it is effective to perform the mixing operation in a compact unit with a small mixer. The compact mixer, but 1-shaft that rotates about a central axis is common, while rotating about the central axis, the direction of the two-shaft that rotates perpendicular horizontal axis to the central axis, the mixing efficiency Is much higher. If sufficient mixing is performed, for example, it takes about 15 minutes in the case of the single-shaft type, but it is shortened to about 2-3 minutes in the case of the 2-axis type, and the mixing efficiency is dramatically improved.

  Forced stirring with a mixer takes longer to mix than stirring with an inclined chute and takes longer than the pressing time of the mixed raw material. Specifically, even if a biaxial type is used, a stirring time of about 2 to 3 minutes is necessary. As a result, when forced stirring by a mixer is performed in a compact unit, the rate limiting of the work by the forced stirring becomes a problem. In actual work, the time required for charging the raw material granules into the mixing container of the mixer and the time required for discharge to the storage container are added, and the work time is considerably increased. Become prominent.

  In addition to this, when performing mechanical mixing in a compact unit, a mixing container capable of accommodating a single compact of raw material particles is required for the mixer, and the mixed raw material discharged from the mixing container A storage container for storage is required. Each time the mechanical mixing for one compact is completed, the mixed raw material is discharged from the mixing container of the mixer to a storage container such as a drum can, and uneven distribution occurs due to separation of the raw material at the time of discharging. In particular, the uneven distribution of Al-V alloy grains, electrolytic iron powder, etc. used in the production of Ti-6Al-4V ingots is remarkable.

  For the problem of work rate control and the problem of separation of raw materials when discharging mixed raw materials, it is effective to make the mixing container detachable from the mixer and to be used as a storage container. That is, the mixing container can be attached to and detached from a single mixer, and a plurality of mixing containers are prepared, and raw material particles are put in another mixing container in advance during the mixing operation or mixed. By later removing the mixing container from the mixer and storing it as it is, a compact production can be performed with high efficiency by taking the time required for mechanical mixing as one cycle. Moreover, the problem of uneven distribution of raw materials associated with discharging the mixed raw materials into the storage container after mixing is also solved.

  In other words, in the case of forced stirring by a mixer, a storage container such as a drum can is indispensable for storage of the mixed raw material, transportation to a press, etc., but if this storage container also serves as a mixing container in the mixer, This means that the problem of separation of raw materials at the time of discharge and the problem of work rate control by the mixer are solved.

The titanium or titanium alloy ingot manufacturing method of the present invention has been completed on the basis of such knowledge, and can accommodate one compact sponge titanium particle and other raw material powder particles , and a mixer. A plurality of mixing containers configured to also serve as a storage container for mixed raw materials by being configured to be detachable from the container, and a single sponge titanium particle and other raw materials in the mixing container and the raw material powder particle adding step of introducing a granular, compact one portion of raw material powder particles is turned, and the raw material powder particles in the mixing vessel is rotated by the mixer loaded mixing vessel to said mixer A mixing step of separating the mixing container from the mixer, and then mounting another mixing container on the mixer to perform the next mixing operation, and the mixing container separated from the mixer Compa One minute mixing raw materials of bets, eggplant and mixed raw material introduction step of introducing directly into the press die without passing through the storage container, the mixed raw material compact one fraction is introduced into the press mold and press-molded compact It includes a compact molding process, an electrode manufacturing process in which a plurality of molded compacts are welded to form a consumable electrode, and a melting process in which the manufactured consumable electrode is melted by the VAR method.

In the titanium or titanium alloy ingot manufacturing method of the present invention, sponge titanium particles and other raw material powder particles are housed in a mixing container for one compact and are forcibly stirred by a mixer. The uneven distribution of raw materials does not occur between the compacts, which is a problem in forced mixing. Further, in the forced stirring by the mixer, the fine titanium oxide powder adheres as if coated on the surface of the sponge titanium particles, and the increase in equipment height and the separation of the raw materials, which are problems due to the stirring by the chute, are less likely to occur. Furthermore, the operation of discharging the mixed raw material from the mixing container to the storage container is omitted, and the problem of the raw material separation accompanying the discharge is solved. For these reasons, high oxygen concentration ingots and titanium alloy ingots with small component deviations are stably manufactured with small equipment.

In the titanium or titanium alloy ingot manufacturing method of the present invention, the mixing container is configured to be detachable from the mixer and also serves as a storage container, and a plurality of the mixing containers are prepared, and the raw material particles in the mixing container are prepared. After mixing the raw material with a mixer, the mixing container is separated from the mixer, while another mixing container is attached to the mixer for the next mixing operation, so the mixed raw material is discharged from the mixing container to the storage container. This eliminates the problem of the separation of the raw materials that accompanies the discharge, and also enables a method in which the raw material powders are charged in advance into a mixing container attached to the mixer.

According to this method, the working time is limited by the forced stirring by the mixer, but the forced stirring can be performed without waiting for the input of raw material particles and the discharge of the mixed raw material, and the time required for forced stirring is shortened. Therefore, the compact manufacturing efficiency increases. In accordance with this method , the plurality of mixing containers are divided into three steps of the raw material particle charging step, the mixing step, and the mixed raw material charging step, or the raw material particle charging step, the mixing step, the press waiting storage step, and the mixed raw material charging step. Recycled repeatedly in 4 steps.

  For the mixing method using a mixer, it is preferable to attach a lid to the mixing container and rotate the mixing container so that the raw material in the container touches the lid, and the mixing container is rotated around the central axis and perpendicular to the central axis. A two-axis rotation method of rotating around the axis is particularly preferable.

  The titanium or titanium alloy ingot manufacturing method of the present invention is suitable for manufacturing a high oxygen titanium ingot in which sponge titanium particles and fine titanium oxide powder are mixed, but there are many types of particle sizes. It is particularly suitable for the production of titanium alloy ingots such as Ti-6Al-4V using greatly different raw material granules.

In the titanium or titanium alloy ingot manufacturing method of the present invention, when a plurality of types of raw material powders having different particle sizes are mixed and press- molded, the raw material particles are also used as storage containers for the mixed raw materials one by one. The mixture is stored in a mixing container that can be separated from the mixer and forcibly stirred. Then, the mixed material is directly put into the press die without going through the storage container and compactly pressed to store the mixed material from the mixing container. Since the separation of the raw materials accompanying the operation of discharging into the container does not occur, it is possible to suppress the uneven distribution of the raw materials between the compacts as compared with the case where a large amount of mixed raw materials are produced with a large-sized mixer and divided into small pieces and pressed. In addition, compared to stirring with a chute, the equipment height can be reduced, and since there is no separation of raw materials due to flow during chute and separation of raw materials accompanying the operation of discharging mixed raw materials from the mixing container to the storage container, one compact unit Even when compared with each other in the case of processing each minute, the uneven distribution of raw materials in the compact can be suppressed to a small level. Therefore, a high-quality titanium ingot or titanium alloy ingot with little component deviation can be efficiently manufactured with a small facility.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a raw material mixing apparatus suitable for carrying out the ingot manufacturing method of the present invention.

  The raw material mixing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is used for manufacturing a titanium alloy ingot for extension by a consumable electrode type vacuum melting method, and more specifically, a compact for manufacturing a Ti-6Al-4V alloy ingot. It is a raw material mixing apparatus used for production.

  This raw material mixing apparatus rotates a raw material charging unit 20 for charging a plurality of types of raw material particles into a mixing container 10 at a predetermined ratio and a mixing container 10 into which raw material particles are charged to mix the raw material particles in the container And a gas replacement unit 40 that evacuates the mixing container 10 that has been mixed and encloses Ar gas.

  The mixing container 10 is a so-called drum can made of stainless steel having a strength that can withstand vacuuming, and a plurality of containers having the same shape are prepared. Each mixing container 10 has a capacity capable of accommodating raw material particles for one compact, and an opening thereof is hermetically closed by a lid 11 made of the same material. Here, there are five types of raw material powder particles: sponge titanium particles, Al particles, Al-V particles, electrolytic iron powder, and titanium oxide powder because of the production of Ti-6Al-4V alloy ingots.

  The raw material charging unit 20 includes a first hopper 21a that stores sponge titanium particles, a second hopper 22a that stores Al particles, a third hopper 23a that stores Al-V particles, a fourth hopper 24a that stores electrolytic iron powder, It has the 5th hopper 25a which accommodates titanium oxide powder. The respective powder particles accommodated in the hoppers 21a to 25a are weighed by a predetermined amount by the measuring devices 21b to 25b corresponding to the respective hoppers, and are fed into the mixing container 10 from the opening via the conveyor 26. The mixing container 10 charged with the raw material particles at a predetermined ratio is conveyed to the next mixing unit 30 by the conveying line 27 with the opening opened.

  The mixing unit 30 is a two-shaft rotating mixer. The mixer includes a first support part 31 that supports and fixes the mixing container 10 in which raw material particles are accommodated in a detachable manner, and a first support part 31 that is supported by the center part of the mixing container 10 supported by the support part. A second support portion 32 that rotatably supports a coaxial vertical axis; and a third support portion 33 that supports the second support portion 32 rotatably about a horizontal horizontal axis perpendicular to the vertical axis. The third support portion 33 is fixed to a fixed frame (not shown).

  The first support portion 31 that supports the mixing container 10 is equipped with a mechanically driven lid 31 a that opens and closes the opening of the mixing container 10 attached to the first support portion 31. The lid 31a closes the opening with a sealing property that prevents the raw material particles in the mixing container 10 from flowing out during mixing. The second support portion 32 is equipped with a motor 32a that drives the first support portion 31 to rotate about a vertical axis that is coaxial with the center line of the mixing container 10 attached to the support portion. The third support portion 33 supports the second support portion 32 by a horizontal axis that intersects the midpoint of the center line of the mixing container 10 attached to the first support portion 31, and the second support portion 32 is supported by the motor 33a. Driven around the horizontal axis.

  The mixing container 10 that has finished mixing the raw material particles in the mixing unit 30 is sent to the next gas replacement unit 40. In the gas replacement unit 40, the lid 11 is attached to the opening of the mixing container 10 that stores the mixed raw material. In this state, the inside of the mixing container 10 is evacuated, and Ar gas is injected instead. Thereby, the mixed raw material in the mixing container 10 can endure long-term storage.

  In the ingot manufacturing method of the present embodiment, in the raw material charging unit 20, sponge titanium particles, Al particles, Al-V particles, electrolytic iron powder, and titanium oxide powder for one compact are charged into the mixing container 10 as raw material powder particles. Is done. The mixing container 10 charged with the raw material particles is sent to the mixing unit 30 and attached to the first support unit 31 of the mixer. Then, the opening of the mixing container 10 is closed by the lid 31a, and the first support part 31 and the second support part 32 rotate in this state, so that the mixing container 10 rotates about the vertical axis while the horizontal axis Rotate around. Thereby, the raw material granular material in the mixing container 10 is stirred and mixed.

  When the rotation of the mixing container 10 is finished, the lid 31 a is removed from the mixing container 10, and the mixing container 10 is further detached from the first support portion 31. Then, the mixing container 10 is sent to the gas replacement unit 40.

  As described above, the raw material granules for one compact are sealed in the mixing container 10 one after another in a sufficiently mixed and storable state. The mixing container 10 that has finished sealing the mixed raw material is conveyed to a pressing device (not shown). In the press apparatus, the lid 11 of the mixing container 10 is removed, and the mixed raw material inside is put into a press mold and pressed compactly.

  The compact thus manufactured is combined into a rod shape corresponding to the consumable electrode, and is connected and fixed by welding to form a consumable electrode. The manufactured consumable electrode is subjected to vacuum melting (VAR) to be a titanium alloy ingot.

  The features of the ingot manufacturing method of the present embodiment described above are as follows.

  Since raw material granules are weighed and mixed one by one, there is very little uneven distribution of raw materials between compacts. Since a biaxial rotating mixer is used for mixing raw material particles, a plurality of types of raw material particles having different particle sizes are uniformly mixed in a short time. In other words, the biaxial rotating mixer rotates the mixing container 10 about the vertical axis while rotating the mixing container 10 about the horizontal horizontal axis perpendicular to the vertical axis. Can be uniformly mixed in a short time. Incidentally, the uniformity is improved by mixing for 2 minutes by biaxial rotation rather than mixing for 15 minutes by uniaxial rotation of only the vertical axis.

The raw material container 10 containing the raw material powder is mounted on the mixer and separated from the mixer after mixing, whereby the raw material powder after mixing in the mixer, that is, the mixed raw material is a separate raw material container from the mixer. The operation of discharging to the storage container is omitted . When the mixing container is integrated with the mixer, it is necessary to perform a discharge operation to transfer the mixed raw material to a storage container, which is another raw material container. However, if the raw material container 10 containing the mixed raw material can be separated from the mixer, the uneven distribution of the raw material during the discharge operation does not occur, and a decrease in uniformity is avoided.

  As a result, the flow of the mixed raw material in the raw material container 10 is performed only once for discharging into the press die at the time of compact molding, and the uneven distribution of raw materials in the compact is alleviated.

  Further, since the mixing container 10 can be detached from the mixer, the raw material powder particles can be put into another mixing container 10 during the stirring operation by the mixer. Moreover, argon substitution in the mixing container 10 which accommodates a mixing raw material can be performed. Agitation by a mixer is particularly effective when rate limiting a series of operations.

  The compact thus manufactured is combined into a rod shape corresponding to the consumable electrode, and is connected and fixed by welding to form a consumable electrode. The manufactured consumable electrode is subjected to vacuum melting (VAR) to be a titanium ingot. Since the raw materials are mixed for each compact, the uneven distribution of the raw materials between the compacts is small, and in addition, the mixing of the raw materials involves forced stirring by the mixer, so the uneven distribution of the raw materials in the compact is also small. Therefore, the component deviation of the consumable electrode is reduced, and as a result, the ingot component uniformity is improved.

  Next, examples of the present invention will be shown for component uniformity in the mixed raw materials, and the effects of the present invention will be clarified by comparing with comparative examples.

  In producing a compact for Ti-6Al-4V ingot (weight 100 kg), the influence of the mixing method on the uniformity of the mixed raw material for one compact was investigated. As common conditions, the same blend and weight of raw material granules were used for each compact and mixed. The breakdown of the raw material powder for one compact is shown in Table 1. The target oxygen concentration of the Ti-6Al-4V ingot was 2000 ppm and the target iron concentration was 2000 ppm. In order to secure these, electrolytic iron powder and titanium iron oxide powder were used.

As Comparative Example 1 , the raw material particles shown in Table 1 were mixed by the inclined chute method shown in Patent Document 1. The mixed raw material was directly put into a drum-type storage container installed under the chute.

As Comparative Example 2 , the raw material granules shown in Table 1 were mixed by a single-shaft rotating mixer. Although it is a uniaxial rotation method, it can be tilted around the horizontal axis in order to put the mixed raw material into the storage container. The mixed raw material was put into another storage container from a mixing container attached to the mixer. As Comparative Example 3 , the raw material granules shown in Table 1 were mixed by a biaxial rotating mixer. Since the mixing container was fixed to the mixer, the mixing raw material was put into another storage container by tilting the mixing container. As an example of the present invention, the raw material granules shown in Table 1 were mixed by a biaxial rotating type mixer. Since the mixing container was removable from the mixer, it was separated from the mixer after mixing and used as a storage container.

The mixed raw material in the storage container was discharged from the container into a circular shape with a diameter of about 1000 mm on a horizontal plane, and divided into eight equal parts by eight diameter lines passing through the center. The Fe value and O value of the mixed raw materials sampled from 8 locations were investigated by ICP analysis, and the respective deviations (maximum value-minimum value) were obtained. The deviation of the Fe value and the deviation of the O value in each example are shown in Table 2 as Comparative Example 1 being 100. The time required for mixing the raw materials is also shown in Table 2 with the case of Comparative Example 2 (uniaxial rotating mixing) being 100.

As can be seen from Table 2, in Comparative Example 1 in which mixing by the inclined chute method was performed, the time required for mixing was very short, but the component deviation in the mixed raw material was remarkable. Moreover, although not shown in Table 2, the installation height of a mixing part becomes high only for a chute | shoot. On the other hand, in Comparative Examples 2 and 3 and the example of the present invention, the component deviation in the mixed raw material is drastically reduced. In Comparative Example 3 and Example in which mixing is performed by the biaxial rotation method, the time required for mixing is also short. And further, in the example was removable mixing container relative to a mixer, mixed material is directly charged into the press die from the mixing vessel, sorting from the mixing vessel to the storage vessel is omitted Runode, this was transferred The separation of the raw material accompanying the flow at the time of replacement is avoided, and the component deviation in the mixed raw material is particularly small.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the movable lid 31a that opens and closes the opening of the mixing container 10 is provided in the mixer, but the independent lid 11 that is combined with the mixing container 10 is installed before mixing. May be. If it does so, the effort which mounts | wears with the cover body 11 after a mixing is abbreviate | omitted. Although Ar substitution was performed after mixing, it may be before mixing. The purpose of this Ar substitution is to suppress an increase in the oxygen concentration of the raw material particles due to water vapor in the air. Since nitrogen gas and dry air also have less water vapor than the atmosphere, they may be used instead of Ar gas. In short, the gas to be replaced may be any gas having a lower water vapor concentration than the atmosphere.

It is a block diagram of the raw material mixing apparatus suitable for implementation of the ingot manufacturing method of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Mixing container 11 Lid 20 Raw material input part 21a-25a Hopper 21b-25b Meter 30 Mixing part 31 1st support part 32 2nd support part 33 3rd support part 31a Cover body 32a, 33a Motor 40 Gas replacement part

Claims (5)

A compact mixing container that can accommodate a single sponge titanium particle and other raw material powder particles and is configured to be detachable from the mixing machine, thereby also serving as a storage container for the mixed raw material. A plurality of steps,
And the raw material powder particle adding step of introducing a compact one portion of the sponge titanium particles and other raw material powder particles to the mixing vessel,
Compact 1 pieces of the raw material powder particle is turned, and the raw material powder particle mixed raw material and without its loaded mixing vessel to the mixer the mixing vessel is rotated by the mixer, the mixer mixing vessel and thereafter A mixing step in which another mixing container is attached to the mixer and the next mixing operation is performed ,
A mixed raw material charging step in which the mixed raw material for one compact in the mixing container separated from the mixer is directly input to the press mold without going through the storage container ;
A compact molding process that compacts the mixed raw material for one compact put into the press die,
An electrode manufacturing process in which a plurality of molded compacts are welded to form a consumable electrode;
A titanium or titanium alloy ingot manufacturing method including a melting step of melting the manufactured consumable electrode by a VAR method. In the titanium or titanium alloy ingot manufacturing method according to claim 1 ,
A method for producing titanium or titanium alloy ingots, in which raw material granules are charged in advance into a mixing container mounted on a mixer. The titanium or titanium alloy ingot manufacturing method according to claim 2 , wherein a plurality of mixing containers are repeatedly circulated and used in three steps of a raw material particle charging step, a mixing step, and a mixed raw material charging step. In the titanium or titanium alloy ingot manufacturing method according to claim 1,
A method for producing titanium or a titanium alloy ingot, wherein a lid can be attached to the mixing container, and in the mixing step, the lid is attached to the mixing container, and the mixing container is rotated so that the raw material in the container touches the lid. 5. The titanium or titanium alloy ingot manufacturing method according to claim 4 , wherein the mixer rotates the mixing container about a central axis and about an axis perpendicular to the central axis.

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