JPH04178238A - Temperature controller for casting mold for casting of copper anode - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To maintain casting mold temps. at specified temps. and to prolong the life of the casting molds by providing a contactless type thermometer which measures the surface temps. of the casting molds, control valves which are provided on a cooling water spray piping, and an arithmetic unit which controls the opening and closing of the control valves in accordance with the measured values of the above-mentioned thermometer. CONSTITUTION:The temps. of the respective individual casting molds 2 are measured by the contactless type thermometer 13 and the time to spray the cooling water to these casting molds is determined by the arithmetic unit. The control valves 8 are so opened and closed to spray the cooling water to these casting molds only for the calculated time. Then, the casting mold temps. are so controlled that all the casting molds are cooled to the specified temp. The welding of anodes and the casting molds and the degradation of the anode shapes by the insufficient drying of mold parting agents are prevented in this way. The various troubles encountered at the time of casting are decreased and the life of the casting molds is prolonged. Further, the manpower for the operations for controlling the cooling water is lessened.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Industrial Field of Application) The present invention relates to a mold for casting blister copper produced in a copper smelting process in a copper anode casting apparatus which is supplied as an anode to the next electrolytic refining process. (Prior art) A copper anode casting device has a plurality of molds 2 on a turntable 1, as shown in FIG. i! The structure is such that casting, cooling, and stripping are performed in sequence while the molded material is placed and rotated in the direction of arrow A. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 3 denotes a measuring gutter, and by this measuring gutter 83, molten refined blister copper is poured into the mold 2 in fixed amounts. A refining furnace 4 performs deoxidation and other refining processes on the blister copper produced from the converter, and is arranged so as to supply the refined blister copper to the metering Im3 via the connecting gutter 5. 6 is a cooling hood, and this cooling hood 6
Inside, cooling water is sprayed from the cooling water spray pipe 7 to cool the cast anode and mold. 8 is a control valve provided in the cooling water distribution pipe. In addition, in approximately the first half of this cooling hood 6, cooling water is mainly sprayed onto the cast anode to cool the anode, but in approximately the second half, the anode is partially pushed into the shoulder by a push-up pin provided in the mold 2. Since the side of the mold 20 is pushed up, cooling water is sprayed onto the surface of the mold 20 below it. 9
This is a defective anode stripping machine, and is a device for removing defective anodes that occur when molten metal does not spread properly to a part of the shoulder. Reference numeral 10 denotes a stripping machine, in which a part of the shoulder of the cast anode is caught and stripped from the mold 2. Reference numeral 11 denotes a clay water spraying section, where clay water is sprayed onto the surface of the mold 2 as a mold release agent for the next casting. 12 is the operation and control of the entire copper anode casting equipment;
This is the driver's cabin for monitoring.

In casting copper anodes using the copper anode casting apparatus as described above, it is important to properly cool the mold. In other words, if the mold is not sufficiently cooled and the next casting is performed while the mold temperature is too high, welding of the molten blister copper to the mold is likely to occur, which may cause problems when removing the anode, or damage the welded anode. Forcibly removing the anode may cause deformation of the anode, which is undesirable. In addition, if the mold is cooled too much, the moisture in the mold cooling water and mold release agent will not evaporate properly, and the moisture remaining on the mold during pouring of molten blister copper will evaporate, causing unevenness on the anode surface or causing a small explosion. This may cause a work hazard.

Usually, casting a copper anode takes several hours or more continuously, but the temperature of the mold changes between the beginning and the end of casting, and the temperature of the mold also changes depending on the temperature of the molten blister copper being cast. Conventionally, the mold temperature under such conditions has been controlled by an operator making a visual judgment and manually adjusting the amount of cooling water sprayed. However, in this conventional method, the temperature of the mold was not sufficiently controlled.

(Problems to be Solved by the Present Invention) The present invention automatically controls the mold temperature, which has the above-mentioned importance, so that the shape of the copper anode can be maintained well, and the amount of cooling water sprayed can be reduced. The goal is to automate the adjustment of the system and save labor.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a copper anode in which a plurality of molds are placed on a turntable, and casting, cooling, and stripping are performed while rotating the turntable. In the casting apparatus, a non-contact thermometer that measures the surface temperature of the mold, a control valve provided in a cooling water distribution pipe, and opening and closing of the control valve are controlled based on the measured values of the non-contact thermometer. There is provided a copper anode casting mold temperature control device characterized by comprising a calculation device.

(Function) In the copper anode casting mold temperature control device of the present invention,
A non-contact thermometer measures the temperature of each mold, and based on that, a computing device determines the time at which the mold should be sprayed with cooling water.

Then, the control valve is opened and closed to spray cooling water onto the mold for the calculated time. Therefore, the mold temperature can be controlled so that all molds are cooled to a constant temperature.

(Example) An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the entire copper anode casting apparatus in which the present invention is implemented. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing how mold temperature is measured by a radiation thermometer, which is a non-contact type thermometer according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a mold temperature pattern. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the cooling water distribution pipe, the control valve (electromagnetic valve in this embodiment), and the mold. FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the device of the present invention, and FIGS. 6(a) and (b)
is a flowchart showing the operation of the apparatus of the present invention.

In the figure, 13 is a radiation thermometer, which is arranged to measure the temperature of the surface of the mold 2 from above after the anode 14 in the mold 2 has been peeled off by the stripping machine 10 of the copper anode casting device. has been done. Reference numeral 15 denotes a drum switch, which is arranged to rotate together with the turntable l, and the drum switch 15 includes a limit switch 16 for detecting when each mold 2 has come to a position where the temperature is measured, and a limit switch 16 for each mold 2. A mint switch 17 is incorporated to detect when the cooling water is sprayed. 18
is a computer, which is an arithmetic device in the present invention, and is placed in the driver's cab 12. The computer 18 is electrically connected to the limit switch 16 and the radiation thermometer 13 so as to process temperature information output from the radiation thermometer 13 when the limit switch 16 is activated.

Further, when the limit switch 17 is activated, the computer 18 outputs a control signal to the solenoid valve 8 to open the solenoid valve 8 for the cooling water spraying time calculated by processing the temperature information from the radiation thermometer 13 described above. The limit switch 17 and the solenoid valve 8 are connected to each other.

Next, the operation of the copper anode casting mold temperature control device of the present invention configured as described above will be explained. First, when a certain mold 2 on the turntable 1 reaches a position where the temperature is measured by the radiation thermometer 13, the limit switch 16 is activated.

The computer 18 then reads the mold number and processes the temperature information input from the radiation thermometer 13. (See FIG. 6(a)) At that time, since the mold temperature changes as shown in FIG. 3, the computer 18 performs processing to calculate the maximum value or average value. Next, the temperature measurement is ended when the limit switch 16 is turned off or when a certain period of time (the time during which the mold 2 passes under the radiation thermometer 13) has elapsed since the limit switch 16 was activated. Next, the computer 18 stores the data of the maximum value or average value described above in correspondence with the mold number, and also calculates the current cooling water spray time based on the previous maximum value or average value of the temperature of the mold and the cooling water spray time. Calculate and store the value.

Temperature measurement is then in a standby state until the limit switch 16 is activated next time.

Next, when the mold 2 reaches a certain position of the cooling water distribution pipe, the limit switch 17 is activated.

The computer 18 then reads the mold number and selects the cooling water spray time for that mold. (See FIG. 6(b)) Then, the solenoid valve 8 is opened or turned on, and cooling water is sprayed onto the mold 2 for the above-mentioned cooling water spraying time.

Next, when the cooling water spraying time described above is reached, the solenoid valve 8 is closed or turned off, and the cooling water spraying is completed. The cooling water spraying is then in a standby state until the limit switch 17 is activated next time.

As described above, in the apparatus of the present invention, the temperature of each mold 2 is measured and arithmetic processed to determine and control the cooling water spraying time corresponding to each mold 2. Therefore, each mold 2 is all cooled to the same temperature.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained in detail above, according to the copper anode casting mold temperature control device of the present invention, the mold temperature can always be kept constant regardless of the initial stage of casting, the final stage, or changes in casting conditions. It is possible to prevent deterioration of the anode shape due to welding of the anode and the mold or insufficient drying of the mold release agent. Furthermore, various troubles during casting can be reduced and the life of the mold can be extended. Furthermore, the labor required to adjust the cooling water is reduced.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the entire copper anode casting apparatus in which the present invention is implemented. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing how mold temperature is measured by a radiation thermometer, which is a non-contact type temperature needle in the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a pattern of mold temperature. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the cooling water distribution pipe, the control valve (electromagnetic valve), and the mold. FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the apparatus of the present invention, and FIGS. 6(a) and 6(b) are flowcharts showing the operation of the apparatus of the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Turntable, 2... Mold, 3... Measuring box, 7... Cooling water distribution pipe, 8... Control valve (electromagnetic valve), 10... Stripper, 11... ...Clay water spraying section, 13
...Radiation thermometer, 15...Drum switch, 16.
...Limit switch, 17...Limit switch,
18... Computer. Patent applicant: Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd. Figure 2 Figure 5 (a) Figure 6

Claims (1)

[Claims] A non-contact thermometer that measures the surface temperature of the molds and cooling water spraying are used in copper anode casting equipment that places multiple molds on a turntable and performs casting, cooling, and stripping while rotating the turntable. A copper anode casting mold temperature control device comprising: a control valve provided in a pipe; and a calculation device that controls opening and closing of the control valve based on the measured value of the non-contact thermometer.