JPH02276944A - Method and device for manufacturing multi-element powder sintered material - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate variance in quality due to human intervention and to enable efficient manufacture by automating a weighing process, a mixing preparatory process, a mixing process, a ball removing process, a drying process, and a temporary molding process. CONSTITUTION:In the weighing process, a powdery material to constitute a superconductive substance, etc., is weighed and supplied automatically into a pot which is supplied by a conveyor 102 with its lid removed. In the mixing preparatory process, a specific number of balls and volatile liquid are supplied automatically into the pot 101, which is then sealed with the lid; and a code and the contents of the material are stored while made to correspond to each other. In the mixing process, the contents are mixed by moving the pot 101. In the ball removing process, the lid of the pot 101 is opened, only the contents which are matched while the balls are removed by a basket, and the code is stored. In the drying process, the receiving container is heated to dry the contents. In the temporary molding process, a specific amount of the material which is the contents is pressed by a die into pellets and the material contents are stored corresponding to the codes.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for producing multi-component powder fired materials, typified by superconducting ceramic materials.

[Conventional technology] Conventionally, when manufacturing ceramics such as superconducting materials, an electronic binder or the like is used for each material to be mixed, and the mixture is manually mixed.The mixed material is then placed in a sample pot and placed on a pair of drive rollers. After placing the sample pot by hand and rotating it with a drive device for a predetermined period of time to mix it, a large number of steps, from firing to preparing the test piece for measurement and storing the sample, have all been carried out manually.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] The conventional production method described above relies on manual labor, so when attempting to produce a multi-powder sintered material representative of superconducting materials, as the number of samples to be produced increases, an extremely large number of samples are required. It requires many people, takes many days, and increases costs. Another disadvantage is that the quality varies widely due to differences in the proficiency of individuals. Furthermore, handling large quantities of specimens with various formulations (compositions) tends to cause serious confusion.

In view of the above-mentioned drawbacks, the present invention solves the above-mentioned problems by automatically manufacturing test specimens from multi-component powder (starting) materials of various compositions, typified by superconducting materials with little variation in quality, without requiring manual labor. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for producing a multi-component powder sintered material that can solve the problem.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The method for producing a multi-powder sintered material of the present invention is such that various powdered materials to constitute a superconducting substance, etc. are placed in a pot with a lid removed, which is sequentially supplied by a conveyor. A measuring process in which a predetermined amount of volatile liquid is automatically measured and supplied; After the measuring process is completed, a predetermined number of balls and a predetermined amount of volatile liquid are automatically supplied into the pot, and then the pot is sealed with a lid, and the lid is sealed with a lid. a mixing preparation step of reading an attached first code and storing the read first code and the content of the material supplied in the measuring step in a corresponding manner in a storage device; and after the mixing preparation step, the pot is A mixing step in which the contents of the pot are mixed by movement, and after the mixing step, the lid of the pot is opened, the balls are removed with a sieve, and only the combined contents are transferred to a receiver, and the combined contents are displayed on the receiver. a ball removal step in which the second code is read and the correspondence with the first code is memorized; a drying step in which the receiver after the ball removal step is heated to dry the contents; and a receiver after the drying step. Preferably, the method comprises a temporary forming step of press-molding a predetermined amount of the content material in a mold into pellets, and storing the material content of the pellets in correspondence with a second code. The process consists of steps in which pots with lids are removed are sequentially fed onto an electronic weighing device, and each weighing hopper, which is mounted vertically at a predetermined position on a hopper support means and holds various material powders, is sequentially moved to a weighing position. and dropping various materials from each hopper into the pot by the weight instructed by the control unit while being weighed by the electronic weighing device, and in the ball removal step, the balls are removed by a sieve. At this time, the contents of the pot are poured onto a sieve that is removably attached to the receiver, and the volatile liquid is sprayed onto the sieve while vibrating the lid while the receiver and sieve are still attached. After (spraying), open the lid and remove the sieve containing the balls.

Furthermore, in the method for producing a multi-powder sintered material of the present invention, after the preforming step of claim 1, the pellets molded and conveyed in the preforming step are automatically supplied to the sintering furnace, and a preliminary A preliminary sintering process in which the pellets are sintered after the preliminary sintering process, a crushing process in which the pellets after the preliminary sintering process are crushed using an automatic crusher, a main forming process in which the material crushed in the crushing process is press-formed in a mold, and a final forming process. The method includes a final firing step in which the pellets formed in the process are fired and transferred to a measurement step.

On the other hand, the multi-powder sintered material manufacturing apparatus of the present invention automatically measures and supplies predetermined amounts of various powdered materials constituting a superconducting substance etc. into pots with lids removed, which are sequentially supplied by a conveyor. and a measuring means for automatically supplying a predetermined number of balls and a predetermined amount of volatile liquid into the pot after the measuring process is completed, and then sealing the pot with a lid and applying a first code attached to the lid. mixing preparation means for reading and storing in a storage device the read first code and the content of the material supplied in the measuring step in correspondence; and after the mixing preparation step, moving the pot to store the contents of the pot; a mixing means for mixing the mixture; and after the mixing step, the lid of the pot is opened, the balls are removed with a sieve and only the combined contents are transferred to a receiver, and a second code displayed on the receiver is read. , a ball removing means for storing the correspondence with the first code; a drying means for heating the receiver after the ball removing step and drying the contents; and a drying means for drying the contents from the receiver after the drying step. Preferably, the measuring means is configured to press-form a fixed amount into pellets using a mold and to store the material content of the pellets in accordance with a second code. means for sequentially feeding uncapped pots, and vertically mounted in position on the hopper support means;
The weighing hoppers holding various material powders are sequentially moved to the weighing position, and the various materials are dropped from each hopper into the pot by the weight instructed by the control section while being weighed by the electronic weighing device. and the ball removing means, when removing the balls with a sieve in the ball removing step by this means, pouring the contents of the pot onto a sieve removably assembled on the receiver;
The device has a means for spraying a volatile liquid onto the sieve while vibrating the lid while the receiver and sieve are assembled, and then opening the lid and removing the sieve containing the balls.

Further, the multi-powder sintered material manufacturing apparatus of the present invention automatically supplies the pellets molded and conveyed in this step to the sintering furnace after the step by the temporary molding means according to claim 5, A temporary sintering means for preliminary sintering, a crushing means for crushing the pellets after the preliminary sintering process with an automatic crusher, a main forming means for press-forming the material crushed in the crushing process with a mold, It has main firing means for main firing the pellets formed in the molding step and transporting them to the measurement step.

[Operations] A variety of powdered materials are weighed in predetermined amounts in a measuring process, each of the weighed compositions is mixed, and the mixture is pre-formed into pellets in a pre-forming process to achieve the highest quality. Automatically perform processes that require a lot of man-hours. Further, the pre-formed pellets are automatically supplied to a sintering (firing) furnace, and after being preliminarily sintered, they are crushed, molded again, and fired to produce finished pellets.

[Example] Next, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the entire system of the first embodiment to which the method for producing a multi-component powder sintered material of the present invention is applied and the arrangement of its equipment will be understood. Each part of the system will be explained in sequence with reference to the drawings from FIG. 3 onwards.

The weighing section 10 and the mixing preparation section 11 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 3, 4, and 5.

First, the weighing section 10 will be explained. A sample pot 101 (cylindrical can-shaped container) with the lid removed is prepared (step 531), and is supplied to a weighing device for multi-component powder by the pot supply conveyor 102 (step 532), and various types of previously prepared Each material is weighed from the containers containing the elemental materials into the respective weighing hoppers 1091, 1092.
~, 109s (steps S33, 534), and then the weighing section 10, which is a weighing hopper that stores each material.
set on the turntable 108. When these preparations are completed, each material is weighed (step 536).
When the weighing is completed, the pot 101 is transferred to the mixing preparation section 11 (step 537).

The weighing process (step 836) will be explained in more detail.

A sample pot 101 with an open top and no lid is conveyed to a pot supply conveyor 102 and stopped by a stopper 103. An electronic weighing device 105 is disposed at the first specified position. If there is nothing on the electronic weighing device 105, the two-stage feed cylinder 104 releases the stopper 103 and transfers one sample pot 101 to the electronic weighing device according to an instruction from a control unit (not shown). When the sample pot 101 is set on the electronic weighing device 105 and a notification of successful weighing is received from the control unit, the sample pot 101 is placed on the electronic weighing device 105.
It is extruded onto a main conveyor 123 having two parallel belts. If you receive a notification that the weighing has failed, remove cylinder 1.
07 pushes the sample pot on the electronic weighing device 105 onto the defective product conveyor 106 and transfers it to a defective product storage area (not shown).
be transported to The turntable 108 is preferably provided with weighing hoppers 109+, 109z at predetermined positions on the circumference at a predetermined radius from the center, preferably at equal angular intervals.

~, 109s are set vertically. Each metering hopper drops the material it holds in proportion to the rotation of the solid shaft. There are different sizes of measuring hoppers depending on the raw material, but each predetermined position on the turntable is designed so that a hopper of any size can be placed. The turntable rotation device 110 moves each weighing hopper to the first specified position, which is the electronic weighing device 10, under instructions from the control unit.
5 and stopped for a predetermined period of time. Hopper drive device 1
11 is center ball 111+ and center ball 11
It has an arm 1llt fixed to 1+ and a drive part 111 fixed to the tip of arm 111 1111 is lowered, and the drive unit 1113 is lowered.
The central axis of each weighing hopper, preferably in the shape of a brush or screw feeder, is moved, preferably by rotation by a predetermined angle or vibration by a predetermined amount. The material stored in each weighing hopper (material for manufacturing multi-component powder sintering material containing superconducting material raw material) falls from each weighing hopper at the first predetermined position according to the amount driven by rotation or the like. , stored in a sample bot on the electronic weighing device 5. Each time the stored amount is stored, it is weighed by the electronic weighing device 5, and checked by the control unit to see if it matches the specified amount, and if all the materials from each weighing hopper match the specified amount within the allowable range. If the weighing pass notifications do not match, the control unit issues a weighing fail notification.

- If an excess of raw ingredients is put into the bot, the ingredients weighed after the excess will be increased by an amount corresponding to this excess, and the amount including the increased amount will be weighed and added before the excess ingredient. The control unit issues a command to re-weigh and add an increased amount corresponding to the excess amount of the components that have been weighed, thereby preventing unnecessary rejection notifications and increasing raw material loss.

Next, the mixing preparation section 11 will be explained.

As shown in FIG. 4, reference ethanol is prepared and supplied in advance to the tank 15 (step 541), and mixing balls are supplied to the ball hopper 116 (step 543). A barcode is attached to the lid by a barcode ticketing machine in step 846, and the lid is stored in the lid stocker 1204 (FIG. 5) in step S47.

When the sample bot 101 is successfully weighed in the weighing section 10, a predetermined amount of material is stored, and both ends of the bottom are supported by the two belts of the main conveyor 23, the sample bot 101 is conveyed. is stopped at the specified position, and step S4
2 starts. In step S42, the sample bot 10
The position sensor 117. The dispenser 114, which has received an instruction from the control unit detected by the above, lightly sprays alcohol, typically ethanol, in the tank 115 into the sample bot 101, and sprays it again when the next instruction is received. When the ball stopper 118 is informed by the control unit that the first dispensing of the dispenser 114 has been completed, step S44 is started, and the ball stopper 118 starts the step S44.
18 drops the balls stored in the pole hopper 116 into the sample bot 101, and upon receiving an instruction from the control unit which detects that a predetermined number of balls have fallen via the sensor 117□, stops the balls from falling. Stop. When the stopper 119 is notified by the control device that the second alcohol spraying of the dispenser 114 after supplying the balls has been completed, the stopper 119 releases the stoppage of the sample bot 101 . By moistening the raw material powder by the first alcohol spraying, scattering of the powder and alcohol when the ball is thrown is prevented. Therefore, for the first spraying, it is preferable to use an appropriate spray or the like so that the powder is uniformly spread over the raw material powder. The sample bot 101 transported by the main conveyor 123 from the second specified position is stopped by the lever 1211 of the positioning and fixing device 121 at the third specified position.

When the control device detects that the sample bot 101 has been stopped at the third specified position via the position sensor 1173, the lever 1212, which had not been on the sample pot transport path,
is driven and cooperates with the lever 1211 to move the sample bot 1.
01 and fix it. When the control device detects that the fixing is completed, an instruction to start the lid tightening process in step 848 is issued, and the lid tightening robot 120 is started. The lid tightening robot 120 includes a center ball 12o1, an arm 120□ fixed to the center ball, a lid tightening section 1203 attached to the tip of the arm, and a lid stocker 1204 that supplies the lid to the lid tightening section. have

The lid tightening robot 120 instructs the lid stocker 1204 to supply lids one by one immediately below the lid tightening section 1203. When the lid is supplied, the lid tightening robot moves the center ball 12o
1, hold the lid with the three fingers at the bottom of the lid tightening part 1203, rotate the center ball 1201, position the lid tightening part 1203 directly above the third specified position, and then 1201 is further lowered, the lid is rotated by the lid tightening part 1203, and the lid is fixed to the upper part of the sample pot 101.
Release the three fingers to raise and rotate the center ball 120I to return the lid tightening part 1203 to its original position. When the lid tightening is completed, the lever 121 of the positioning and fixing device 121 is
．． ．． 121□ is a sample pot 10 with an open and tightened lid.
1 is further conveyed by the main conveyor 123, and after passing the sample pot 101, the lever 1211 is returned onto the main conveyor 123.

The controller detects via the position sensor 1174 that the lidded sample bot 101 has reached the fourth specified position, and issues an instruction to start step S49.Based on the instruction, the rotating device 122 A sample bot 101 with a lid is lifted by a shaft that ascends between two belts of the main conveyor 123, floated from the main conveyor 123 and rotated, and a sample bot 101 is read by a signal reading means such as a barcode reader 124. After reading the identification signal or display means such as a bar code on the lid of the bot 101, the sample bot 101 with the lid is again placed on the main conveyor 123 and transported to the subsequent process. During the above-mentioned reading, the correspondence of the content composition with each barcode etc. is returned to the control unit and stored therein.

The opening of the pot has an outside diameter smaller than the outside diameter of the main part of the pot, and if you use a so-called shoulder structure, which tapers from the main part of the pot to the opening, you can rotate the pot while it is lying horizontally. When mixing the contents, there is little oozing of the contents, which is preferable.

In addition, if the inner surfaces of the hopper, pot, lid, and outer surface of the bowl are made of resin such as polyethylene, polypropylene, fluororesin, polyimide resin, etc., raw material powder such as various minerals is abraded powder from these surfaces, and these surfaces are made of resin. It is preferable because it is less likely to be contaminated than metal or ceramic, which is not covered with a transparent material. Even if organic resin material powder is mixed in, it will eventually be dissipated during the subsequent preliminary firing and main firing, so contamination is unlikely to occur.

In this embodiment, the turntable 108 is used as the hopper support means.
It is clear that a straight type may also be used.

Next, Figures 6 and 7 (a), FC), (d)
The mixing section 20 will be explained with reference to FIG.

First, the structure of the mixing device used in the mixing section 20 will be explained.

The roller-equipped shaft 207 has a large number of rollers 204 having rubber surfaces fitted into the shaft 206, preferably at approximately equal intervals, and the shaft 206 is supported by bearings at both ends and is fixed to a frame 211. Two shafts with rollers 207 are fixed as a set, and the rollers 204 are arranged to face each other at a substantially constant interval. Horizontal right angle two-axis transport device 20
1 transports a vertical movement device 202 to which a robot hand 203 is attached in X-axis and Y-axis directions that intersect at right angles on a shaft 207 with rollers attached to a frame 211. When the sample bot 101 is placed and rotated by the robot hand 203 on the opposing pair of rollers 204, the presser clamper 205 rotates and descends to prevent the sample bot 101 from jumping out of its normal position. The two presser rollers 2051 are placed on top of the sample bot 101. Preferably, the presser roller 2051 does not touch the pot in the normal presser position, but contacts the bot 101 only when the pot jumps up, etc., to reduce drive power loss and the like.

One of the pair of shafts with rollers 207 is a drive device 212
The other is preferably driven through an idle gear 209 provided between rollers 204 or between shafts 206 to rotate the sample bot on the rollers 204 and rotate the sample bot in the sample bot. Mix various materials. The drive device 212 has a built-in motor and a continuously variable transmission, and its rotational speed can be adjusted from the outside using a speed adjustment handle 214. The control unit 219 controls the horizontal orthogonal two-axis transfer robot 201 and the like according to a program.

In this embodiment, four sets of shafts with rolls 207 are attached, and each set of shafts with rollers 207 can rotate five sample pots 101. This is because the sample pots 110 are arranged in a substantially square shape to minimize the amount of movement of the robot hand 203.

Since the mixing unit 2o uses the above-mentioned mixing device, it operates as follows.

The bot 101 is conveyed from the mixing preparation section 11 to the main conveyor 123, and the stopper 22 indicates that the bot 101 has reached the stopper 202.
When the control unit 219 detects this using the position sensor installed at It also comes onto a predetermined opposing roller 204 that is not in use.

(Step 551 in FIG. 8) The rotation of the shaft 207 with a roller to which the corresponding roller 204 is attached is stopped, the sample pot 101 is placed on the opposing roller 204, and the robot hand 203 is raised and returned. Note that between the time the robot hand 203 grabs the bot and the time it places it on top of the pair of rollers, the hand rotates the bot 101 by 90 degrees so that the axis of the bot 101 changes from vertical to horizontal parallel to the axis of rotation of the rollers. After placing the bot 101 on the pair of rollers and before grabbing the bot placed on the next pair of rollers, the hand is returned to the position where it can grip the vertical bot on the main compare 123 again. After the robot hand 203 is raised, the presser clamper 205 is rotated downward so that the presser roller 205I is positioned above the sample pot to prevent the sample pot from flying out. The drive device 212 is started to rotate the roller-equipped shaft 207 to mix the contents of the bot 101 with the help of the balls. When each sample pot 101 is rotated by the roller 204 for a preset cumulative time, the drive device 212 is stopped, the presser clamper 2°5 is rotated upward, and the sample pot 101 is released from being held ( Step 552). Place the robot hand 203 on the sample bot 1 by almost reversing the loading procedure.
01, and the sample pot 101 is moved to the discharge conveyor 221 (step 553).

The presser clamper 205 includes, for example, a guide pin 205P attached to a clamper shaft 205A inserted through a support tube 205T as shown in FIG. The clamper vertically and horizontally rotates under the action of the clamper vertical means.

Next, regarding the separation preparation section 21 and the ball separation section 22,
This will be explained with reference to FIGS. 9, 10, 11, and 12.

Bot 10 from mixing section 20 by discharge conveyor 221
1 is conveyed (step 561 in FIG. 9), the bot 101 is detected by the sensor 301, the robot 302 grabs the bot 101, and sets it in the cap opening machine 303 of the separation preparation section 21. At this time, the barcode on the lid of the bot 101 is read by the barcode reader 304 (step 562). The read barcode is temporarily stored in a control storage unit (not shown), and its correspondence with the barcode of the ball separation unit receiver, which will be described later, is recorded. In step S63, the bot 1 is detected by the position sensor in the opening section 303.
01, and the bot fixing device fixes the bot 101 according to instructions from the control section. In response to instructions from the control unit, the finger portion of the automatic cap opening machine descends, chucks the lid, rotates in reverse to open the lid, and in step S63, the finger portion holding the lid rises.
The finger part of the rotating lid opens at the top of the collection container 306, and the product is dropped into the collection container 307 and sent to the disposal process in step S64.

On the other hand, on the shelf 305 of the ball separating section 22, the upper part is a screen 306o, and the lower part is a receptor 3o6 with a heat-resistant barcode.
, and an assembled receiver 306 that is assembled in a vertically separable manner is prepared in advance by a transfer robot (not shown). Also, a robot 30 is placed on the vibration table 310.
One assembled receiver 306, which was moved from the shelf 305 by No. 2, is set. When set, the barcode on the receptor 306□ is read by the barcode reader 314 (step 565).

When the lid opening of the lid opening machine 303 is completed, the robot 302 takes the bot 101 without a lid from the lid opening machine 303 and moves it to the ball separating section 22 (step 866). The bot 101 is inverted on the assembled receiver 306 already set on the vibration table 310 and the contents are emptied (step 56
7). Bot 10 held by the robot in an inverted state
The cleaning nozzle 312 of the cleaning machine 311 enters the mouth of the bot 101 from below, sprays cleaning the inside of the bot 101 with alcohol from the tank 313, and then the nozzle 312 retreats, and the cleaned bot 101 is placed in the bot recovery container 315. It is dropped (step 570). Next, step 36B
At , the upper lid of the sieve is lowered onto the assembled receiver 306, and
The lid is closed and the vibration table starts vibrating, and at the same time, alcohol is sprayed from above the lid onto the screen of the assembled receiver for a set period of time from a spray nozzle (not shown) at the top of the lid. After vibration and spray stop, lower receiver 3
061 is fixed by a fixing device. The robot 302 removes the screen 306o on the top of the assembled receiver 306, throws the balls inside into the ball collection container 316, and returns the screen 306o to its original position on the shelf 305 (step 571). The receiver 306 of the assembled receiver 306 is released from the fixing device and transferred onto a conveyor by the robot 302 to be transported to a subsequent process (step 572).

Next, a part of Fig. 11, Fig. 12, Fig. 13 (a), (
The drying section 23 will be explained with reference to b).

Receptor 30 from robot 302 by conveyor 320
6. is moved to a predetermined position P and positioned by the positioning device (step 573), the positioned receptor 3
061 is moved by the robot 401 to the entrance/exit 402 in the dryer shown in FIG. 13 and set in a hole at a predetermined position of the turntable 410 (step 574). The alcohol mixed in the mixing preparation section 11 and the ball separation section 21 in the dryer is evaporated within a predetermined time by heating, reducing pressure, etc. as will be explained in detail in sequence (step 575). A turntable 410 that rotates at a constant angle in accordance with a command signal is disposed within the drying chamber 400 surrounded by a heat insulating material. The turntable 410 has receivers 306 . placed at a certain angle on the same circumference. A hole is provided in which the is set.

A circular heater 420 is attached to each air cylinder directly below the specified position of this hole, and these heaters 42
0 can be turned on and off independently. Also, on the turntable 410, facing the heater 420, there is an air nozzle 43 that blows out hot air.
3 is placed. Air heated by an air heater 430 is sent to this air nozzle 433 from an air intake port 435 via a duct 432 by a nozzle blower 431 . Hot air is further sent from the air heater 430 to the bottom of the turntable 410 via a duct 434. When the receiver 306 is taken in or taken out from the entrance/exit 402, a door 442 separating the entrance/exit 401 from the drying chamber 400 is opened and closed by an air cylinder 441.

Whether or not the contents of the receiver 3061 have been dried is determined by using a temperature sensor provided on the turntable to detect a sudden rise in the bottom temperature of the receiver 3061 after completion of evaporation. After the alcohol has evaporated, the robot 401 passes through the entrance/exit 402 to the receiver 306 after drying. is taken out (step 876), placed on the conveyor 320 and transported to the next process (step 577).

On conveyor 320, a bar code is read for verification (step 577). Although this reading is not essential, if the flow of the receiver 306□ in the dryer is a rotary type, it is better to perform this reading to prevent errors. Also, the progress state in the dryer 23, especially the receiver 3o.
61 acceptability status is fed back to the mixing section to prompt the mixing section 20 to proceed.

The temporary molding preparation section 30 will be explained with reference to FIG.

The dried container 3061 is conveyed by the conveyor 320 (step 581). A new scraping blade is set in advance on the sample powder scraper (step 582).
), the transported receiver 3061 is positioned and fixed on the conveyor 320, and the receiver 306. The inner surface is entirely scraped with a scraping blade (step 583). That is, the adhesion of the powder to the inner wall of the receptor 306+ is released.

The used blades are replaced again with new blades by a device equipped with an automatic exchange type feeder.

The temporary molding section 31 will be explained by referring to FIG. 15.

Receiver 30 whose entire interior has been scraped off from the temporary molding preparation section 30
61 is supplied, the receptor 306 . is moved by a reversing device directly above the hopper positioned on the conveyor (step 587) (step 585). receptor 3061
is inverted, its contents are transferred into a hopper, and then recovered at a predetermined position. Empty hoppers are typically manually primed in advance in a hopper feeder (step 58).
6). The filled hopper is transferred to the preforming machine and positioned (step 588). The weighing feeder automatically weighs and cuts out the sample (step 589). Once the prescribed cutting starts, it is usually A predetermined number of temporary molds are performed by repeating cutting into a mold of a certain molding machine, molding, taking out a molded sample, receiving it on a tray of an orthogonal robot, and cleaning the take-out part with a vacuum device (step 590). A tray to which a barcode etc. have been given in advance is normally manually prepared on the robot table in advance (step 591). After molding, the filling tray that has received a predetermined number of molded bodies of the same composition is automatically transferred from the robot table, and the barcode etc. are read on the conveyor (step 592).Then, the tray is divided into 1) storage trays, and 2) sorted into trays for disposal and 3) trays for temporary sintering. One or a predetermined small number of initial molding shots are placed in the waste tray to prevent contamination due to the previous molding composition, and the necessary number is placed in the temporary sintering tray to account for loss. Alumina powder or the like is spread in advance as an anti-seizure material on the inner bottom surface of the pre-sintering or other tray to prevent the compact from seizing on the tray during pre-sintering.

When transferring the pre-sintering tray or storage/disposal tray containing molded pieces of the same composition to the pre-sintering process, for example, as shown in Fig. 16(a) and (b), It is efficient to place and move a large tray in bulk (the former tray is called a small tray as opposed to a large tray). Normally, no anti-seize material is used between the large tray and the small tray, but the use of anti-seize material and the large tray is
The process for the main sintered part 35, which will be described later, is carried out in the same manner as for the preliminary sintered part 32.

17. Regarding the case where the temporarily formed superconducting ceramic material etc. is transferred from the temporary forming section 31 to the sample storage section 40.
This will be explained with reference to the figures.

The tray conveyed from the temporary forming section 31 is stored in the sample storage section 4.
0 conveyor (step 5100)
. During this time, the barcode of the tray is read by a barcode reader or the like on the conveyor, and the correspondence between the composition and the tray is recorded. After that, the tray is transported to the take-out instruction device, where the sample is taken out (step 5 lot).
), and is inserted into a storage container with a barcode and stored (step 5102). In the various processes described below, all barcodes on trays, containers, etc. are processed in the same way as described above in order to match the composition of the samples they are loaded with or contained, and the barcodes on trays, containers, etc. are processed in the same way as described above, and ) is used to automatically perform recording to the central control/recording/instruction unit, collation of correspondence between barcodes based on the records, and instructions to each unit.

Next, a case in which the temporarily formed superconducting material is transferred from the temporarily formed part 31 to the temporarily sintered part 32 will be described with reference to FIG. 18.

When the tray is conveyed to the temporary sintering section 32 by the conveyor, the tray transferred to the conveyor of the temporary forming section 31 is conveyed to the preliminary sintering section. It is transferred to the upper surface of the furnace bottom of the pre-sintering parts A and B (step 5ilo). When the tray is placed in the furnace, the door of the pre-sintering section is automatically opened and closed. When the firing is completed in the pre-sintering section (step 5ill), the door of the pre-sintering section automatically opens and closes to place the tray in the furnace, the door automatically opens and closes again, and the tray is taken out from the furnace by the robot and placed in the subsequent process. It is moved onto the conveyor (step 5112). When conveyed on the conveyor, barcodes and the like are read (step 5113).

The crushing section 33 will be explained with reference to FIG. 19.

The tray transferred onto the conveyor of the pre-sintering section 32 is
When the trays are transported to the crushing section 33, the trays are aligned by an alignment robot in the crushing section (step 5121),
The take-out robot takes out the small tray and transfers it to the container (step 5L22). When transferring, it may be necessary to remove alumina powder, etc. from the compact taken out from the small tray by air suction or air blowing, and then transfer it to a container. The anti-seize powder remaining on the small tray is collected by a robot rotating the small tray, vacuum suction, etc., and collected in a collection container (
Step 5123), the empty small trays and large trays are collected and recovered by a recovery means (not shown). The sample is filled into an automatic crusher from the container placed in step 5122 and crushed (step 5125).

The pulverized sample is transferred to a storage container using a hopper (step 5L26). The hopper is
After the barcode or the like is read and recorded by a barcode league or the like, it is moved and conveyed by a conveyor to the subsequent process (step 5127).

The main molding section 34 will be explained with reference to FIG.

The hopper transferred onto the conveyor of the crushing section 33 is
When transported to the main molding section 34, the hopper is transferred to the main molding machine by the transfer mechanism in the main molding section (step 5130). The weighing and cutting of the sample is automatically controlled by the weighing feeder (step 5131). Cutting into the mold of the molding machine, molding step 5132), taking out the sample by the taking out robot step 5
133), receiving into a tray by an orthogonal robot (step 5134), and cleaning the take-out part by a vacuum device are repeated in the same manner as the preliminary molding described above, thereby performing a predetermined number of moldings. The tray is manually prepared on the robot table in advance. After molding, the filling trays are automatically transferred from the robot table (step 5135), bar codes, etc. are read on the conveyor, and the trays are sorted into storage trays, disposal trays, and main sintering trays. The sorting, use of anti-seizure material, use of large and small trays, etc. are the same as in the above-mentioned temporary forming. The main sintering tray is transported to the next process (step 5136).

The case where the sample is transferred from the main molding section 34 to the sample storage section 41 will be explained with reference to FIG. 21.

The tray conveyed from the main forming section 34 is placed on the conveyor at a predetermined position. The barcode etc. are read by a barcode league etc. on the conveyor, and the tray with the correspondence of the composition of the molded product recorded with the tray is conveyed to the takeout instruction position (step 5149), where the sample is taken out ( Step 5141), the container is inserted into a storage container with a barcode (Step 5142), and the barcode is read (Step 5143).

The case where the material is transferred from the main forming section 34 to the main sintering section 35 will be explained with reference to FIG. 22.

The tray transferred to the conveyor of the main molding section 34 is transported to the main sintering section 35. Next, the autoloader transfers the tray to the main sintering furnace J, which is typically a tubular furnace, and onto the fork in front of ~,N (step 5144). The door of this main sintering furnace opens and closes automatically, and the tray on the fork is placed into the furnace core tube by an automatic insertion and withdrawal device for main firing (step 5145). After the main firing, the door opens and closes automatically again, and the tray is taken out of the furnace by the automatic insertion and withdrawal device and transferred to the conveyor for the subsequent process by an autoloader (step 5146).The barcode etc. are read on the conveyor. It is transported to the next process (step 5147).

The measurement preparation section 36 will be explained with reference to FIG.

The tray transferred onto the conveyor of the main sintering section 35 is conveyed to the measurement preparation section 36. After stopping at a predetermined position (step 5150), the sample is conveyed for measurement and sample storage. Barcodes, etc. are printed, labeled, read, recorded, etc. at required points along the way to trays containing samples that are transported for measurement.

Note that the step 5151 is to take out the sample to be saved.
), alumina, large and small trays are collected, alumina is removed from the sample, etc. in the same manner as explained in the crushing section of FIG. 19.

A second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 24.

In this embodiment, a temporary forming part 31, a temporary sintering part 32, and a crushing part 33
After the process is repeated, the process moves to the main molding section 34 and subsequent steps.

Further, in the third embodiment, the temporary forming section 31, the temporary sintering section 32, and the crushing section 33 are omitted (bypassed), and the temporary forming preparation section is used as a forming preparation section and directly transferred to the main forming section 34. Good too. Note that even if the parts indicated by dotted line arrows and double line arrows in the block diagram showing the embodiment are performed manually instead of automatically, the extent to which the problems of the prior art can be reduced or eliminated will not be hindered.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, the present invention automatically performs the process of preparing various powdered materials and pre-forming the mixed material into pellets in the pre-forming process, which is the process that is most likely to cause variations in quality and requires a large number of man-hours. By doing this, it is possible to efficiently manufacture many types and large quantities of pellets by eliminating quality variations caused by manual labor.Furthermore, the process from the temporary forming process to the main firing process is automated, making it possible to produce finished pellets with stable quality. This has the effect of enabling efficient manufacturing and, in turn, the ability to accurately perform characteristic tests on superconducting materials and the like in a short period of time.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the entire system and apparatus of a first embodiment to which the method for producing a multi-component fired material of the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a layout diagram showing the overall arrangement of the system and apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing each step of the weighing section 10. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing each step of the mixing preparation section 11. FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram showing a manufacturing apparatus used in the weighing section 10 and the mixing preparation section 11. FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram showing a manufacturing device (ball mill type) used in the mixing section 20. 7(a), (c), and (d) are a plan view, an elevation view, and a side view, respectively, of the manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 6. FIG. 7(b) is a partially enlarged view of the manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 6. FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the operation of the robot in the mixing section 20. FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing each step of the separation preparation section 21. FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing each step of the ball separating section 22. FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram showing a device used in the separation preparation section 21 and the ball separation section 22 (FIG. 11(a) is a plan view, and FIG. 11(b) is a front view). FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing each step of the drying section 23. FIG. 13 is a configuration diagram showing a device used in the drying section 23 (FIG. 13(a) is a plan view, and FIG. 13(b) is a front view). FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing each step of the temporary molding preparation section 30. FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing each step of the temporary forming section 31. FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a tray used in the temporary forming section (FIG. 16(a) is a plan view, and FIG. 16(b) is a sectional view taken along line CC in FIG. 16(a)). FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing each step of the sample storage section 4o. FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing each step of the pre-sintering section 32. FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing each step of the crushing section 33. FIG. 20 is a block diagram showing each step of the main molding section 34. FIG. 21 is a block diagram showing each step of the sample storage section 41. FIG. 22 is a block diagram showing each step of the main sintering section 35. FIG. 23 is a block diagram showing each step of the measurement preparation section 36 and sample storage section 42. FIG. 24 is a block diagram showing the second embodiment. 0...Weighing section, 1...Mixing section, O...Mixing section, l...Separation preparation section, 2...Ball separation section, 3...Drying section, O...Temporary forming Preparation part, 1... Temporary forming part, 2... Preliminary sintering part, 3... Crushing part, 4... Main forming part, 5... Main sintering part, 6... Measurement preparation Part, 0.41.42... Sample storage part, 01... Sample pot, 05... Electronic weighing device, 111... Hopper drive device, 116... Pole hopper 120... Lid tightening Robot, 201... Horizontal right angle two-axis transfer device, 202... Vertical movement device, 302.401... Robot, 306... Assembly receiver, 400... Drying room, 410... Turntable , 420...Heater, 430...Air heating machine, 431.435...Blower. Patent applicant: Toyo Engineering Co., Ltd. International Superconductivity Industrial Technology Research Center

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A measuring step of automatically measuring and supplying a predetermined amount of various powdered materials constituting a superconducting substance, etc. into pots with lids removed, which are sequentially supplied by a conveyor; After the measuring process is completed, a predetermined number of balls and a predetermined amount of volatile liquid are automatically supplied into the pot, the pot is sealed with a lid, and a first code written on the lid is read. a mixing preparation step in which the code of step 1 and the content of the material supplied in the measuring step are stored in a storage device in correspondence; and a mixing step in which, after the mixing preparation step, the pot is moved to mix the contents of the pot. Then, after the mixing process, the lid of the pot is opened, the balls are removed with a sieve, and only the mixed contents are transferred to the receiver, the second code displayed on the receiver is read, and the first code is read. A ball removal process that memorizes the correspondence between the balls, a drying process that heats the receiver after the ball removal process and dries the contents, and a mold that dispenses a predetermined amount of the material from the receiver after the drying process. A method for producing a multi-component powder fired material, which comprises press molding into pellets and a temporary molding step of storing the material content of the pellets in correspondence with a second code. 2. The weighing process includes the step of sequentially feeding the pots with their lids removed onto the electronic weighing device, and sequentially moving each weighing hopper, which is attached to a hopper support means and holding various material powders, to the weighing position. The manufacturing method according to claim 1, comprising the step of moving and dropping various materials from each hopper into the pot by the weight instructed by the control unit while being weighed by the electronic weighing device. 3. When removing the balls with a sieve in the ball removal step, pour the contents of the pot onto the sieve that is removably assembled on the receiver, put a sieve lid on the receiver, sieve, and sieve. 2. The method for producing a multi-powder sintered material according to claim 1, wherein the volatile liquid is sprinkled onto the sieve while vibrating with the lid attached, and then the lid is opened and the sieve containing the balls is removed. 4. After the preliminary forming step of claim 1, a preliminary sintering step of automatically supplying the pellets molded and conveyed in the temporary forming step to a sintering furnace and preliminarily sintering them; A crushing process in which the pellets after the preliminary sintering process are crushed using an automatic crusher, a main forming process in which the material crushed in the crushing process is press-molded in a mold, and the pellets formed in the main forming process are finally fired and measured. A method for producing a multi-component powder fired material, which comprises a main firing step in which the material is transferred to a final firing process. 5. Measuring means that automatically measures and supplies a predetermined amount of various powdered materials that constitute a superconducting substance, etc. into the pot with the lid removed, which is sequentially supplied by a conveyor, and the pot after the measuring process is completed. After automatically supplying a predetermined number of balls and a predetermined amount of volatile liquid into the pot, the pot is sealed with a lid, a first code written on the lid is read, and the read first code and the measuring process are performed. mixing preparation means for storing in a storage device the contents of the materials supplied in correspondence with the contents of the materials supplied in the mixing preparation step; mixing means for moving the pot to mix the contents of the pot after the mixing preparation step; Open the lid of the pot, remove the bowl with a sieve and transfer only the mixed contents to the receiver, read the second code displayed on the receiver, and memorize the correspondence with the first code. a ball removing means; a drying means for heating the receiver after the ball removing step and drying the contents; and a temporary forming means for storing the material content of the pellet in correspondence with a second code. 6. The weighing means includes a means for sequentially feeding pots with lids removed onto an electronic weighing device, and a means for sequentially moving each weighing hopper, which is attached to a hopper support means and holding various material powders, to a weighing position. 6. The manufacturing apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising means for dropping various materials from each hopper into the pot by the weight instructed by the control unit while being weighed by the electronic weighing device. 7. When removing the balls with a sieve in the process using this means, the ball removing means pours the contents of the pot onto a sieve that is removably assembled on the receiver, applies a sieve lid, and then removes the balls with a sieve. Claim 5, further comprising means for spraying a volatile liquid onto the sieve while vibrating the container, the sieve, and the sieve lid assembled together, and then opening the lid and removing the sieve containing the balls. Manufacturing equipment for multi-component powder fired materials. 8. Preliminary sintering means for automatically supplying the pellets molded and conveyed in the preforming step to a sintering furnace after the preforming step according to claim 5, and preliminarily sintering the pellets; A crushing means for crushing the pellets after the preliminary sintering process using an automatic crusher, a main forming means for press-molding the material crushed in the crushing process using a mold, and a final firing and measurement of the pellets formed in the main forming process. An apparatus for producing a multi-powder sintered material, comprising a main sintering means for transporting it to a process.