JPH03236415A - Method and device for applying carburization preventing agent at end part of metal parts - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To accurately apply carburization preventing agent without unevenness to end part of metal parts by holding the metal parts under inclining condition with a supporting member and dipping the lower end part of metal parts into the prescribed depth in the carburization preventing agent with swing of the supporting member. CONSTITUTION:To fitting face 1a arranging a magnet in the supporting member 1, the upper end part of metal parts 2 is attracted facing toward vertical direction and held. Successively, the supporting member 1 is inclined by the prescribed angle theta to clockwise direction (a) with a center shaft 3 and descended with lifting mechanism to shift the lower end part of metal parts 2 to the position just above liquid surface of the carburization preventing agent 5 in a coating vessel 4. Under this condition, by swinging the supporting member 1 to clockwise direction and making the fitting face 1a horizontal, the lower end part of metal parts 2 is dipped into the carburization preventing agent 5, and by further descending the supporting member 1, the lower end part of metal parts 2 is dipped into the carburization prevention agent by the prescribed quantity. At this time, the descended quantity of supporting member 1 is obtd. with a liquid surface sensor 6 to control the lifting mechanism. By this method, the carburization preventing agent 5 is accurately applied to the prescribed coating position on the metal member 2 without unevenness.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Field of Application in Industry A) The method and apparatus for applying an anti-carburizing agent to the ends of metal parts according to the present invention are applicable to, for example, sector shafts, worm shafts, etc. constituting an automobile steering device. In order to prevent a part of the metal part from being hardened when the surface of the metal part is hardened by carburizing heat treatment, it is used to apply a carburizing agent to this part.

(Prior art) The surfaces of the sector shaft, worm shaft, rack shaft, etc. that make up an automobile steering device are hardened by carburizing heat treatment to improve wear resistance and prevent deformation. ing.

In this way, even when the surfaces of metal parts such as sector shafts, worm shafts, and even rack shafts are hardened by carburizing heat treatment, the threads and spline parts formed at the ends of these metal parts maintain toughness. Areas that need to be hardened must be left as they are without being hardened.

For this reason, it is necessary to apply a carburizing agent to the surfaces of these threaded portions, spline portions, etc. prior to carburizing heat treatment.

For this purpose, in order to apply carburizing agent to the surfaces of threaded parts, spline parts, etc. of the metal parts, conventionally, a supporting member is provided above a coating tank in which carburizing agent is stored and is movable up and down.
After suspending the metal parts vertically from this support member with the parts that are not to be hardened, such as the threads and spline parts facing down, the support member is lowered and the lower end of the metal parts is placed in the coating tank. It was immersed in anti-charcoal agent.

The work of lowering the support member is performed by an operator while observing the immersion state of the metal parts, and after the metal parts are immersed in the carburizing agent by a predetermined amount, the support member is raised.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, when a carburizing agent is applied to a part of a metal part by the conventional method as described above, the following disadvantages arise.

That is, when a metal component is suspended vertically from a support member and the support member is lowered and the lower end of the metal component enters the carburizer, the lower end surface of the metal component is flat. If there is, air bubbles will remain on this lower end surface,
The anti-carburizing agent is no longer applied to the areas that the bubbles come into contact with.

In addition, when lowering the support member, the worker observes the immersion state of the metal parts, but since the liquid level of the carburizer in the coating tank increases as the amount of immersion of the metal parts increases, It is difficult to strictly control the quantity, and skill is required to obtain metal parts of stable quality. In particular, when applying carburizer to different types of metal parts, the relationship between the amount of descent of the support member (the amount of immersion of the metal parts) and the amount of rise of the liquid level changes, so the work can be done quickly. When trying to do this, it was difficult to regulate the amount of immersion.

The method and apparatus for applying carburizing agent to the edges of metal parts of the present invention overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages.

(Means for Solving the Problems) Among the methods and apparatus for applying a carburizing agent to the ends of metal parts according to the present invention, the method for applying carburizing agent to the ends of metal parts according to claim 1. In the invention, after a metal part is held in a tilted state with respect to the vertical direction by a support member, the lower end of the metal part supported by the support member is swung about a horizontal axis. while immersing the part in a carburizing agent in a coating tank provided below the support member,
By bringing the support member and the coating tank relatively close to each other,
The lower end of the metal part is immersed in the carburizing agent to a predetermined depth.

Further, the invention of the apparatus for applying carburizing agent to the end of a metal component, as set forth in claim 2, includes a support member that can freely hold a metal component and is swingable about a horizontal axis, and a support member that can freely swing around a horizontal axis. A coating tank provided below the member and storing a carburizing agent inside;
a detection means for detecting the liquid level position of the carburizer in the coating tank; a lifting mechanism for reducing the distance between the support member and the coating tank; and a detection means for detecting the liquid level position of the carburizer detected by the detection means The displacement amount of the lifting mechanism required to immerse the lower end of the metal component to a predetermined depth in the carburizing agent is determined from the volume of the lower end of the metal component, and the lifting mechanism is controlled. It is composed of calculation control means.

(Function) In the case of the apparatus for applying carburizing agent to the end of a metal part of the present invention configured as described above, the lower end of the metal part swings into the carburizing agent in an oblique direction. Since the carburizing agent enters from the bottom, even if the lower end surface of the metal component is flat, no air bubbles remain on the lower end surface, and the anti-carburizing agent is evenly applied to the lower end of the metal component.

In addition, since the arithmetic control means determines the amount of displacement of the elevating mechanism and the elevating mechanism is displaced in response to a signal from the arithmetic control means, the amount of immersion of the lower end of the metal part in the carburizing agent is strictly regulated. I can do things.

(Example) Next, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings.

Figures 1 to 3 show the main parts of the apparatus for applying a carburizing agent to the ends of metal parts according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a partially schematic front view showing the state of being immersed in the agent in the order of steps.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a support member capable of holding a metal part 2. This support member 1 is swingable about a horizontal axis 3 in the direction of arrow a in FIG. It is free.

That is, by providing a magnet (permanent magnet or electromagnet) with a sufficiently large magnetic force on the mounting surface 1a of the support member 1, it is possible to freely attract and hold the metal component 2 made of a magnetic material.
By making the support member 1 swingable by 90 degrees (with respect to or together with the horizontal shaft 3), the mounting surface 1a can be
It is arranged to be displaced between the vertical position shown in FIG. 1 and the horizontal position shown by the solid line in FIG.

Furthermore, by supporting the horizontal shaft 3 on an elevating mechanism (not shown), the height position of the support member 1 can be freely adjusted, and the distance between the support member 1 and a coating tank 4, which will be described below, can be brought closer. I'm doing it like that.

On the other hand, a coating tank 4 is provided below the support member 1, and a (liquid) carburizing agent 5 is stored inside the coating tank 4.

A part of the coating tank 4 is provided with a liquid level sensor 6 as a detection means to detect the liquid level position of the carburizing agent 5 in the coating tank 4. A signal representing the liquid level position of the agent 5 is sent to arithmetic control means (not shown) containing a microcomputer.

Then, this arithmetic control means adjusts the lower end of the metal part 2 to The amount of displacement of the elevating mechanism required for immersion in the carburizer 5 to a predetermined depth is determined, and the elevating mechanism is further controlled.

When the anti-carburizing agent 5 is applied to the lower end of the metal component 2 using the apparatus for applying an anti-carburizing agent to the end of the metal component 2 of the present invention, which is constructed as described above, the process is as follows.

When performing coating work, first, with the mounting surface 1a of the support member 1 facing vertically as shown in FIG. refers to the direction in which the metal part 2 is immersed in the carburizing agent 5), and the metal part 2 is held on the support member 1.

Once the metal part 2 is held on the mounting surface 1a of the support member 1, the support member 1 is then swung clockwise from the state shown in FIG. Hold it in a tilted position. At this time, the angle θ between the center line of the metal part 2 and the vertical direction is determined by design consideration depending on the shape of the metal part 2, etc., but in the case of parts for a steering device, for example, it is about 15 degrees. It is appropriate to

As described above, once the metal part 2 is held in an inclined state, the support member 1 is lowered by the elevating mechanism, and the lower end of the metal part 2 is coated with the carburizing agent 5, as shown in FIG. Move it to a position directly above the liquid level. At this time, the arithmetic controller calculates the amount of descent of the support member 1 from the liquid level position detected by the liquid level sensor 6 and the shape (particularly the length dimension) of the metal part 2 which has been manually manually set in advance, and Control the mechanism.

From this state, the support member 1 is further swung clockwise,
As shown by the solid line in FIG. 3, the mounting surface 1a of this support member 1
is held horizontally, and the metal component 2 held by suction on this mounting surface 1a is positioned in the vertical direction. As a result, the lower end of the metal component 2 is immersed in the carburizer 5. At this time, the lower end of the metal component 2 enters the carburizer 5 from an oblique direction without swinging, so even if the lower end surface of the metal component 2 is flat, air bubbles may form on this lower end surface. The carburizing agent 5 is evenly applied to the lower end of the metal part 2 without leaving any residue.

As described above, at the same time as or after the support member 1 is swung clockwise, the lifting mechanism further lowers the support member 1, and the lower end of the metal component 2 is immersed in the carburizer 5. , soak only the specified amount.

At this time, the integration control means uses the skin surface position of the carburizing agent 5 detected by the surface sensor 6, the shape of the metal part 2 (particularly the volume based on the thickness) manually determined in advance, and the metal part 2's Charcoal agent 5
Determine the amount of descent of the support member 1 from the length to which it should be applied,
The elevating mechanism is controlled.

For this reason, the amount of immersion of the lower end of the metal part 2 in the carburizer 5 can be strictly regulated while the coating work is proceeding quickly without the operator paying particular attention.

Note that in order to immerse the lower end of the metal part 2 in the carburizing agent 5 to a predetermined depth, the work of lowering the support member 1 may be performed simultaneously with the swinging of the support member 1, or may be performed simultaneously with the swinging of the support member 1. You can do it later. Alternatively, instead of lowering the support member 1, or at the same time, raising the coating tank 4, the support member 1 can be lowered.
It is also possible to bring the coating tank 4 closer to each other.

(Effects of the Invention) The method and apparatus for applying carburizing agent to the ends of metal parts of the present invention are constructed and operated as described above, so that the carburizing agent can be applied unevenly to the ends of metal parts. Moreover, it is possible to precisely control the coating position, and it is possible to improve the quality of metal parts such as parts for steering devices where only a part of the surface is subjected to carburizing heat treatment.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figures 1 to 3 show the main parts of the apparatus for applying a carburizing agent to the ends of metal parts according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a partially schematic front view illustrating a state of immersion in a liquid according to steps. 1: Supporting member, 1a: Mounting surface, 2: Metal parts, 3: Horizontal axis, 4: Coating tank, 5: Carburizing agent, 6: Liquid level sensor.

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) After holding the metal part in an inclined state with respect to the vertical direction by a support member, by swinging the support member around a horizontal axis, the lower end of the metal part supported by the support member is immersed in a carburizing agent in a coating tank provided below the supporting member, and by bringing the supporting member and the coating tank relatively close to each other, the lower end of the metal part is immersed in the carburizing agent. A method of applying carburizing agent to the edges of metal parts that are immersed in water to a specified depth. (2) A support member capable of holding metal parts and swinging around a horizontal axis, a coating tank provided below the support member and storing a carburizing agent inside, and a coating tank in which a carburizing agent is stored. a detection means for detecting the liquid level position of the carburizing agent; an elevating mechanism for reducing the distance between the support member and the coating tank; and a liquid level position of the carburizing agent detected by the sensing means and the lower end of the metal component. calculation control means for controlling the lifting mechanism by determining the amount of displacement of the lifting mechanism required to immerse the lower end of the metal component to a predetermined depth in the carburizing agent from the volume of the metal part. A device that applies carburizing agent to the edges of metal parts. (3) The device for applying an anti-carburizing agent to the end of a metal component according to claim 2, wherein the support member is provided with a magnet for attracting and holding the metal component.