JPH0410913A - Method and device for manufacturing regenerated amber - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To form small pieces of amber into large blocks for reutilization by forming powder or particles of amber into a preliminarily formed article by pressing them, while gases and air generated therefrom are being discharged, heating said article under pressure to form it into one piece and thereafter cooling said article. CONSTITUTION:A cylinder 10 is heated by means of a heating means 40 and thereafter small pieces of amber Fa, as raw material, are fed into a section for receiving particles 11 of the cylinder 10. Next, a piston 20 is advanced to press the pieces Fa, while they are being subjected to the sucking forces applied by a vacuum device. When the pieces Fa are fed and pressed repeatedly, the pieces Fa are formed into a preliminarily molded article, while gases generat ed and air are being discharged. Further, when pieces Fa are fed successively and moved downward, they are held in a softening state at a temperature close to melting point, so that they are formed into one piece. And thereafter, when a molded article S having a specified length has been formed in the cylinder 10, the piston 20 is kept in an advanced state and pressure and heat are applied. After a predetermined time has passed, the means 40 is turned off to gradually cool the cylinder 10. After being cooled, the molded article S is taken out.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a manufacturing method and manufacturing apparatus for producing large chunks of recycled amber using small pieces of amber generated during the processing of amber products.

[Prior art] Amber is mainly fossilized resin of pinaceae plants, and its properties are -M, amorphous, softens at about 150 to 200°C, and softens at 250 to 300°C. , it emits gas, changes color, melts, and eventually burns. This is caused by the volatile gases contained in amber being aggravated by the air, causing the amber to change color. This amber is processed into accessories, figurines, and other ornaments depending on the size, transparency, color, etc.

-M, when amber is mined, it is covered with a matrix of black and white inorganic matter called so-called peel. When processing this amber, the skin is removed and the transparent or translucent amber inside is extracted and used.

By the way, depending on the age of the fossil, if the fossil is old, the part on the 8 side is good, but the part near the skin is brittle with cracks, cracks, etc., and easily breaks apart into shell-like pieces, and it separates into small pieces. Such small amber could hardly be made into a product and was not put to use.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, since amber is expensive and resources are limited, there is a strong desire to utilize small amber that cannot be used for the above purposes.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to make it possible to reuse amber that is too small to be used as it is by turning it into large chunks.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The technical means of the present invention for solving these problems is as follows: (1) Amber powder is contained in the gas and powder generated from the powder and granules. a preforming process in which the preform is pressurized and preformed while exhausting the air; a pressurizing and heating process in which the preform is heated while pressurizing to integrate the powder and granules; The method of producing recycled amber includes a heat removal step of removing heat from the molded body after the step.

(2) In addition, in this manufacturing method, an appropriate amount of powder or granular units is sequentially supplied to the mold, and while the supplied units are continuous, the units supplied first are sequentially processed from the above preforming step. The present invention provides a method for producing recycled amber in which the process proceeds to a pressure and heating step.

Further, the technical means of the present invention is as follows: (3) A receiving mold into which amber powder is placed, a press mold that pressurizes the powder within the receiving mold, and an exhaust section that exhausts gas and air from within the receiving mold. and a heating part that heats the regenerated amber.

(4) In addition, there is a cylindrical receiving mold that is installed on the bed and has both ends open and into which the amber powder is placed, and a cylindrical receiving mold that is installed in the bed so that it can move forward and backward, and when it advances, one end of the receiving mold is opened.
A press die that is inserted into the i-type and pressurizes the powder and granular material inside the die; an exhaust section provided in the press die that exhausts gas and air from within the die; The apparatus for producing recycled amber is provided with a support mold that is inserted into the mold and receives the granular material that is pressed by the pressing mold, and a heating section that is attached to the mold and heats the mold.

(5) In this device, it is effective that the receiving mold is removably installed on the bed.

(6) In these devices, the powder storage part of the receiving mold is
It is effective to expand toward the other end of the receiving mold.

[Operation] According to this means, in the preforming step, the amber powder is preformed while the gas generated from the amber powder and the air contained in the powder are exhausted. In the pressure and heating step, the preformed preform is softened or melted by heat and pressure, and the powder and granules are combined or fused to become integrated. In the heat removal step, the integrated molded body is heat removed and solidified into a desired shape. As a result, the amber powder is formed into large lumps.

[Example 7] Hereinafter, a method and apparatus for manufacturing recycled amber according to an example of the present invention will be described in detail based on the accompanying drawings.

1 and 2 show an apparatus for producing recycled amber according to the present invention.

The basic configuration of this manufacturing device is a bed 1, a cylinder 10 as a receiving mold into which the powder F produced by crushing amber is placed, and a press mold for pressurizing the powder F in the cylinder 10. It includes a piston 20, a support mold 30 that receives the powder F in the cylinder 10, and a heating section that heats the powder F in the cylinder 1o.

The bed 1 consists of a pedestal part 2, a plurality of pillars 3 (in this example, two pillars are provided at the front and back) that stand up from the pedestal part 2, and a table fixed at the center of the pillars 3. 4 and a head 5 fixed to the upper end of the support column 3.

As shown in FIG. 2, the cylinder 10 is open at both ends, and is placed on the table 4 via a support stand 12 with one end 10a facing upward. The support base 12 is formed in a cylindrical shape with an opening 13 on the front side, and is fixed to the table 4 at its lower end outward facing flange 14 . cylinder 1
0 is removably installed on this support stand 12, and its installation means is by joining an outward flange 15 formed on the outside of the other end 10b of the cylinder 10 and an upper end portion 12a of the support stand 12. The flange 15 is fixed to the upper end 12a of the support base 12 with bolts 16. Also, cylinder 1
The powder storage section 11 of No. 0 is a cylindrical cavity,
The other end 10b is formed to expand slightly toward the other end 10b of the cylinder 10 (for example, with an inclination of 1/10,
000) constitutes the tapered portion 11a. Note that the inclination is exaggerated in Figure 2.

The piston 20 is movably provided in the head 5 of the bed 1 and is moved forward and backward by a hydraulic device (not shown).
It is inserted into the powder storage section 11 of the cylinder 10 from the 0a side and pressurizes the powder F in the powder storage section 11. This piston 20 is formed with a suction passage 21 that communicates with the powder storage section 11 and serves as an exhaust section for sucking and exhausting gas and air within the powder storage section 11 .

This suction passage 21 is connected to a vacuum device (not shown) via a suction pipe 22.

The support mold 30 is made up of a combination of several rods (31 to 38) divided into appropriate dimensions, and its length can be changed by removing the appropriate rods. Several rods (31-3
5) is formed to have a diameter that allows it to be inserted into the powder storage portion 11 of the cylinder 10. Further, the rod 38 located at the bottom is placed on the table 4 and supported on the table 4 together with the upper lot so that the uppermost lot 31 receives the powder F pressurized by the piston 20. Ru.

Further, the conditioning section 40 is constituted by a band-shaped electric heating element, and is wound around the cylinder 10 .

Next, a method for manufacturing recycled amber according to an example of the present invention will be described. The manufacturing method according to this example is carried out using the manufacturing apparatus described above.

As shown in FIG. 3, the basic structure of the manufacturing method according to the embodiment is as follows: Amber powder F is heated while exhausting the gas generated from the powder F and the air contained in the powder F. A preforming step I in which the preform is pressurized and preformed, a pressurizing and heating step ■ in which the preformed body is heated while being pressurized to integrate the powder F, and a pressurizing and heating step ■ It consists of a heat removal step (2) in which heat is removed from the integrated molded body afterwards.

In the example, 311 m of unit bodies Fa obtained by dividing the powder or granular material F in the amount required for the product are sequentially supplied to the cylinder 10 as a mold, and while the supplied unit bodies Fa are continuous with each other, the unit bodies Fa are fed first. The unit bodies Fa are sequentially transferred from the preforming step (1) to the pressurizing and heating step.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 4, the temperature of the amber is below the melting point of the amber in the preforming process and the pressurizing/heating process (2), and the temperature of the amber is below the melting point of the amber, for example, 200°C, which is close to the melting point.
is set to Also, the pressing force is 3,000Kg/Cm'
The appropriate pressure is set as follows.

Next, the manufacturing method according to this embodiment will be explained along with the operation of the manufacturing apparatus to which this method is applied, according to a flowchart showing the manufacturing process shown in FIG.

For this production, amber powder F is prepared in advance. This powder F is produced through an amber crushing process, for example, using small crushed amber with cracks etc. as a raw material, sorting it by age and color, and using a well-known crusher etc. , the particle size has been refined to 1/100 mm or less.

First, the cylinder 10 is heated by the heating section 4o (5-
1). - In this state, as shown in FIG.
0 rod is placed in the cylinder 10 of a predetermined length.

In this state, the unit Fa is supplied to the powder storage part 11 of the cylinder 10 (5-2), and then the piston 20 is advanced to pressurize the unit Fa in the cylinder 10 (5-3), Suction is performed using a vacuum device.

Then, this feeding pressurization of the unit body Fa is sequentially repeated until the entire amount of the powder or granular material F is supplied (5-2, 5-3
, 5-4), in this case, once the pressurized upper surface of the granular material F is located at a predetermined position at the upper end of the cylinder 10, the supporting mold 3
This is done while securing a storage space for the unit Fa by removing an appropriate rod of o.

In this manufacturing process, as shown in FIG.
The unit bodies Fa supplied first are sequentially transferred from the preforming process to the pressure heating process (2) while continuing each other.

That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the unit body Fa is pressurized and preliminary molded while the gas generated therefrom and the air contained therein are exhausted. In this case, since the cylinder 10 is heated, the inserted unit Fa comes into contact with the cylinder 1o and is softened, so that it becomes more compatible with the cylinder 10 and becomes easier to fall. The pressure makes it easier for the powder and granular materials F to bond together, and furthermore,
Since it is easy to join, the gas and air in the powder F are pushed out well, and the suction efficiency is increased. As a result, compared to the case where the powder F is supplied without heating the cylinder 10, generation of air bubbles and discoloration in the product are prevented. Furthermore,
By venting the air every time you supply unitary Fa, -
Compared to the case where the air is removed at once, the air can be removed more reliably and the generation of air bubbles can be reliably prevented.

Furthermore, as the next unit Fa is sequentially supplied and pressurized and moves to a lower position, the powder F is heated to a temperature close to its melting point, and the softening state progresses. As they are pressurized, they bond with each other and become almost fused and integrated.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 6, either the temperature of the unit Fa increases until it reaches a constant temperature, or the amount of the unit Fa is relatively small and is inserted into the cylinder 10 or the tip. Heat from the unit body Fa is easily transferred. Therefore,
The entire temperature of the unit body Fa increases uniformly, the structural unevenness disappears, and the powder and granular materials in the unit body Fa and the unit bodies Fa uniformly integrate with each other.

Next, as shown in FIG.
When a predetermined amount of is supplied and a molded body S of a predetermined length is formed (5-4), the piston 20 is held in the advanced state and the pressurized and heated state is maintained for a predetermined period of time, for example, several hours (5-5) ).

As a result, the upper particulate material F is also heated to a temperature close to its melting point, progressing to a softening state, and is pressurized in this state, bonding to each other and becoming integrated. Since the molded body S is maintained uniformly, the entire molded body S becomes uniform, and therefore, recycled amber with high fidelity without discoloration or the like with respect to the raw material can be obtained.

After a predetermined period of time has elapsed (5-6), the heating unit 40 is turned off to stop heating, and by forced or natural cooling,
Cool the cylinder 1o (5-7). As a result, the heat removal step (3) is entered, and the molded body S is heat removed. Next, after the heat has been removed for a predetermined time (5-8), the lot of support mold 30 is pulled out from the cylinder 10, and the bolts 16 are removed to remove the cylinder 10 from the support base 12 of the table 4.
9) Heat removal is performed at another location (5-10). In this case, the cylinder 10 can be removed and heat removed, so during this time another cylinder 10 is installed on the bed l and the next product is prepared. The manufacturing efficiency can be greatly improved.

If the product is light for a predetermined time (5-11), the product is taken out (5-12). In this case, for example, the molded body S is pushed from one end 10a side of the cylinder 10 and taken out from the other end 10b side. In this case, since the powder storage section 11 of the cylinder 10 has the tapered section 11a that widens toward the other end 10b, it can be easily removed from the cylinder 10 without getting caught and becoming difficult to remove. It will be done. Therefore, damage to the product or the cylinder 10 is prevented.

The product manufactured in this manner is, for example, formed into a cylindrical rod shape, as shown in FIG. The product is manufactured to be bubble-free and non-tarnishing, resulting in a large piece of recycled amber that is transparent or translucent, uniform, and non-brittle.

The product is not limited to the above-mentioned shape, and may be made into any suitable shape such as a rod shape or a plate shape.In addition, in the above examples, the heating temperature is not limited to the above-mentioned temperature, and the melting point It may be heated at the above temperature to melt and integrate the powder or granular material F, which may be changed as appropriate, and the pressure may be set to an appropriate pressure. Furthermore, in the above-mentioned example, the support type 3o is configured to change the insertion length by a combination of a plurality of irons, or is not necessarily limited to this, for example, with a screw or a hydraulic lifting jack. It may be configured to adjust the length, and may be changed as appropriate. Furthermore, in the Example of Evidence 1, the unit bodies were sequentially fed into the mold for molding, but the invention is not necessarily limited to this, and the entire amount of powder and granular material was molded at once. Also good. Further, the preliminary molding step and the pressurizing and heating step may be performed in separate molds, and may be changed as appropriate.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the amber production method and production apparatus of the present invention, amber that is too small to be used as it is can be made into large chunks with high fidelity to the raw material. This has the effect of making effective use of amber without wasting it.

In addition, an appropriate amount of powder and granular units are sequentially supplied to the mold, and while the supplied units are continuous, the first supplied unit is transferred from the preforming process to the pressure heating process. , the gas and air are exhausted in stages, making it possible to fully remove the gas and air without leaving any residue behind, thereby reliably preventing the formation of bubbles and discoloration of the product. Ru. Furthermore, as the powder and granules are heated and softened, they become more compatible with the mold and fall more easily, and the powder and granules are more easily bonded to each other by pressure.
Moreover, gas and air are extruded efficiently, and in this respect as well, there is an effect that a Σ product with good integrity and no bubbles can be obtained. Furthermore, since the unit body is small compared to the whole, heat is easily transferred during the process of pressurizing gas and air being pushed out.
Therefore, the temperature increases uniformly, there is no structural unevenness, and the powder and granules can be uniformly integrated with each other.

In addition, if the manufacturing equipment is configured such that the receiving mold is open at both ends and the pressing mold and supporting mold are inserted through each end, the supporting mold can be taken in and out, and the units can be sequentially fed into the mold. By implementing the above-mentioned preforming process and pressurizing/heating process in which pressure is applied each time, it is possible to reliably prevent the formation of air bubbles and discoloration in the product.

Furthermore, if the manufacturing apparatus is made to be able to attach and detach the mold, another mold can be used to manufacture the next product while the mold is being removed, thereby greatly increasing manufacturing efficiency.

Furthermore, by expanding the powder storage part of the mold toward the other end, the product can be easily taken out from the mold, thereby preventing damage to the mold or the product. I'll come.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an overall view showing an apparatus for manufacturing recycled amber according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. The figure is a flowchart showing the basic steps of the method for manufacturing recycled amber according to the example of the present invention, Figure 4 is a graph showing the temperature state of amber in each step, and Figure 5 is the process of manufacturing recycled amber according to the example. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of main parts showing the state of powder in the recycled amber manufacturing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the recycled amber manufacturing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing the operation, and a perspective view showing an example of the product. 12... Support stand 16... Bolt 20... Piston (= press mold) 21... Suction passage (= exhaust part) 30... Support mold 4o... Heating part ■ ...Preforming process ■... Pressure heating process ■ ... Heat removal process

Claims (6)

[Claims] (1) A preforming process in which amber powder is pressurized and preformed while exhausting the gas generated from the powder and air contained in the powder, and the preforming after this preforming. A method of producing recycled amber characterized by comprising a pressure heating step in which the body is heated while being pressurized to integrate the powder and granular material, and a heat removal step in which heat is removed from the molded body after the pressure heating step. Production method. (2) A preforming process in which amber powder is pressurized and preformed while exhausting the gas generated from the powder and air contained in the powder, and the preforming after this preforming. A method for producing recycled amber, comprising: a pressurizing/heating step in which the body is heated while being pressurized to integrate the granular material; and a heat removal step in which heat is removed from the compact after the pressurizing/heating step. , an appropriate amount of units of powder or granular material are sequentially supplied to the mold, and while the supplied units are continuous with each other, the units supplied first are sequentially transferred from the preforming process to the pressure heating process. A method for producing recycled amber, characterized by: (3) A mold into which the amber powder is placed, a press mold which pressurizes the powder in the mold, an exhaust part which exhausts gas and air from the mold, and a heating part which heats the mold. Recycled amber production equipment equipped with (4) A cylindrical receiving mold that is installed on the bed and has both ends open and into which the amber powder is placed, and a cylindrical receiving mold that is installed in the bed so that it can move forward and backward, and when it advances, it is inserted into the receiving mold from one end side of the receiving mold. a press die which pressurizes the granular material in the receiving mold; an exhaust part provided on the press mold to exhaust gas and air from within the receiving mold; 1. An apparatus for producing recycled amber, comprising: a support mold for receiving powder and granular material pressed by the pressing mold; and a heating section attached to the mold and heating the mold. (5) The apparatus for producing recycled amber according to claim 4, wherein the receiving mold is installed in a removable manner with respect to the bed. (6) The apparatus for producing recycled amber according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the powder storage portion of the mold is expanded toward the other end of the mold.