JPH06315762A - Method for controlling casting - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a method for controlling casting which can correspond to the production of different kind and different quality. CONSTITUTION:Various working references related to the production process of a product number, customer, casting line, pouring molten metal material, molten metal pouring quantity, cooling time, etc., are registered into a file in a personal computer by collecting each of the product to make a product number information data base (A). As the line loading quantity is decided with this product number information, a sequential plan is made while adjusting so that the loading quantity is settled within the capacity in the production line (B-F). Based on this sequential plan, the working reference is directly indicated to the automatic casting line through a network to control the line (G-H). Feedback of the information, such as production result, working rate, fault position, obtd. from each casting line, is executed to the data base improvement of the sequential plan and the working reference.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a casting control method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, most of the casting methods for aluminum products, for example, are sand molds, molds, and die casts, but the contents of management such as setup and machine adjustment are different in each production line. The problems faced at the production site are also different. Therefore, the conventional management often has to rely on the intuition of the workers on site. Therefore, conventionally, the material management and sales management, that is, the management of the entrance and exit of the factory can be accurately grasped, but the production management in the factory during that time is left to the workers on the site, and the situation is accurately I couldn't figure it out.

[0003]

However, if all of the work standards for thousands of items are relied on only by the experience and intuition of the worker, it will be difficult to consider the quality, delivery time, cost, productivity, etc. There are many problems to see. In particular, it cannot cope with variegated and variable quantity production.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and by performing process control, quality control, line operation control, etc. of an automatic casting line through a network by means of a product number information database, casting that can cope with variable and variable production The purpose is to provide a management method.

[0005]

According to the present invention, a plurality of automatic casting lines are controlled through a network according to a work standard registered in a product number information database, and information obtained from each casting line is stored in the database through the network. This is a casting management method for feedback.

[0006]

According to the present invention, a concrete work standard is instructed to each casting line through a network from a product number information database, and information such as production results, operating rates, and failure points is acquired from each casting line, and a sequence plan and work are performed. Help improve standards.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings.

FIG. 2 shows an outline of a production line network system of a casting production plant for aluminum casting, which is based on a manufacturing office 11, a sand mold line production site 12, and a gravity casting (GRAVITY DIE CASTING) method using a die. Production site 13 of continuous casting line (hereinafter referred to as GD line),
A production site 14 of a die-cast line (hereinafter referred to as a DC line), a maintenance office 15, a core production site 16 using a core molding machine, a heat treatment site 17, a finishing site 18, a machining site 19, Network terminal devices (personal computers, hereinafter abbreviated as personal computers) are installed at the product storage site 20 and at each of these site and manufacturing office.
11 are connected by a local area network (hereinafter referred to as LAN) 21. It also connects to a value added information network (VAN) 22 to capture external information.

At the manufacturing office 11, various product number information 23 relating to the production process such as product number, unit weight, casting line, pouring material, additive, customer, etc. is registered in the database by LAN terminal equipment (personal computer). To do.

This database, together with the product number information 23, order information (collects and manages orders from customers according to delivery date), production plan information (makes a production plan while observing line load based on the order information). , Line load information (casting line and core type load status are changed sequentially based on the production plan), sequence plan / production results (work in progress and product status are managed according to production results and shipping status),
Operation monitor (files information on line operation such as production line operation start / end time, person in charge, operation record, line stop reason, etc.), equipment management information (maintenance and maintenance of equipment related to production in the factory) Manage the situation).

The work standard of the product number information is directly instructed from the manufacturing office 11 to the machines at the production line sites 12, 13, 14 and the like as control conditions through the LAN. Further, a mold system sequence plan 24 or a sand system sequence plan 25 is created from the order information and the line load information, and the machines at the production line sites 12, 13, 14 etc. are operated in accordance with this sequence plan. In addition, the information from order receipt to shipment (digestion status of production lot, etc.) is visually displayed on the PC display in real time, and the production time information is managed while visually observing the progress of each site.

[0012] Automated production line sites 12, 13, 14
Etc. directly obtain the work standard from the product number information database through the network and the controller for line control, and operate according to the sequence plan. In addition, the production results and operating rates at each production line site 12, 13, 14 etc. are L
Automatically totaled and recorded by AN terminal device (personal computer). At this time, the order plan is automatically erased at the same time. In addition, for production results of manual lines and outsourced products, on-site personnel use the mouse to indicate the digested lots in the detailed planning column displayed on the computer display. By using this as a daily operation report, we eliminate paper from the site.

At the heat treatment site 17, the finishing site 18, and the machining site 19, if the movement between processes is automatic, the product position is input from the line conveyor to the personal computer and automatically stored. In the case of a manual line or outsourced product, the person on-site uses the mouse to indicate on the display of the PC according to the movement status of the production lot. This is used for daily operation reports and subcontracting payment data.

At the product storage site 20 as well, the lot allocated to the product storage (also the product inventory acceptance and production completion data) and shipment in lot units is displayed in the detailed plan column displayed on the personal computer display with the mouse. Instruct using (acquisition of shipping data).

FIG. 3 shows an online network between the manufacturing office 11 and each production site. The manufacturing office 11, the sand line production site 12, the maintenance office 15, the GD line production site 13 Child production site 16 and DC line production site 14
A LAN terminal device (personal computer) 31 is installed in each of the above, and the manufacturing office 11 and each production site are connected by the LAN. 32 is a run port, 33 is a communication cable, 34 is an optical terminal, and 35 is an optical cable.

At the manufacturing office 11, the product number information database (registration, change of work standard, cycle time, etc.), order plan, etc. are created by input means such as the keyboard 36 or mouse 37 of the personal computer 31. . In addition, work progress management (management of production lot consumption status, etc.), quality control (work standard instruction, acquisition of defect information for production lot, etc.), line operation management (production record, line stop cause,
Various information relating to line failure status, calculation of operating rate, etc.) is displayed on the display 38 of the personal computer 31, and the record is output from the printer.

At the sand mold line production site 12, work standards (a pouring material, sand, a mold, a storage address of the mold plate 42 fitted to the master plate 41, designated by the LAN,
Information such as size, type, required cores, etc.) and production sequence plan is acquired, and the sand mold casting line 44 is operated by the line control controller 43. Further, the production results of the sand casting line 44 are automatically totalized by a personal computer directly connected to the controller 43, and the operating hours, the actual number of frames, the operating rate, etc. are automatically recorded. At this time, the order plan is erased at the same time.
The reason for the line stop and its waiting time are also displayed on the personal computer, so by using these production records and the line stop status as the daily operation report, it is possible to remove paper from the site. In addition, line failure conditions such as line failure location, number of times, and time are also specified, and these are monitored. The above information is provided to the network.

At this sand mold line production site 12, if there is a molding machine or a hand-in line not connected to the LAN,
A person on site designates the already-executed lot with the mouse 37 in the detailed plan column displayed on the display 38 of the personal computer 31 so that the data can be taken in without using the keyboard 36.

The maintenance office 15 performs maintenance of the equipment by searching the failure history automatically created for each production line from the failure location, the number of times and the time of the individual equipment acquired from each production line site. , Also manage spare parts.

At the GD line production site 13, information such as work standards (amount of poured molten metal, mold temperature management, tilting speed, suction time, solidification time, etc.) instructed through a network, production sequence plan, etc. is acquired, The continuous casting GD line 47 is automatically controlled via the control controller 46. Also, this G
The production results of the D line 47 are automatically recorded as described above, and the order plan is automatically deleted. Furthermore, the cause of the line stop, the location of the failure, etc. are specified, and each of these information is provided to the network.

At the core production site 16, the work standard and the production sequence plan instructed through the network are acquired by the terminal device (personal computer 31), and the core molding machine 48 is operated. In the case of manually operating the core molding machine 48 or in the case of an outsourced core, the mouse 37 is used to indicate the lots already digested at the site in the detailed planning section displayed on the display 38 of the personal computer 31.

At the DC line production site 14, 330 to 20
In case of each DC line 51 of 00t, the line control controller is operated from the personal computer 31a which has obtained the information from the network.
Work standard for each DC line 51 via 52 (injection speed, pressurization time, release material blow, die height adjustment, mold opening time,
Water cooling time, etc.) is directly indicated and each DC line 51 is automatically controlled. Then, the operating status of each DC line 51 acquired via the controller 52 is provided to the network from the personal computer 31a, and the production results are automatically acquired, the operation record is automated, the order plan is erased, the reason for the line stop is clearly indicated, and the failure point. Is clearly stated.

Further, in the case of the 2500t DC line 54 equipped with the dedicated microcomputer 53 for controlling the die cast machine, instructions to the body of the die cast machine (injection speed, boosting time, mold clamping force, casting pressure, biscuit thickness, etc.) and The status of the machine body (measurement value of mold clamping force, die height position, etc.) is performed through the dedicated microcomputer 53, and instructions to peripheral equipment (product take-out device etc.) and status of the line are checked by the controller 55 connected to the PC 31b. By.

FIG. 1 shows a production management system of a foundry.

First, as shown in Table 1 below, it relates to production processes such as product number, customer, manufacturing plant, casting line, unit weight, pouring material, additive, pouring amount, solidification time, cooling time, etc. Various information (work standard) is collected for each item and collectively registered in a file on a personal computer to create an item number information database (A).

[0026]

[Table 1] Next, collecting individual product number information, sand mold lines 44, G
Since the load on each production line such as D line 47, core molding machine 48, DC lines 51, 54, etc. is determined, the load is grasped and adjusted so that the load falls within the capacity of each production line. Meanwhile, (B), a large schedule plan for 10 days to 1 month is created (C), a detailed order plan is created by the method described later (D), and then a production lot is selected from the plan menu to work. Arrangements such as instructing a person in charge of work with a belt are performed (E). By this setup, the lot to be produced at the current time is determined from the various types of products on the corresponding production line,
Specific conditions can be set for each product number (F).

When the product number is specified in this way, the pouring amount, solidification (mold opening) time, product cooling time, deburring method, mold cooling time table determination, pouring material and mold storage address in the sand mold line 44. Various control conditions (work standard) such as tilting speed and suction time in the GD line 47, injection speed and boosting time in the DC line 51, etc. directly to each production line through the LAN according to the detailed sequence plan. Instruct (G) to control the operation of each production line (H).

Then, the line operation information is acquired from the controller for controlling each production line (I). For example, the computer directly connected to the line control controller automatically calculates the production results and calculates the operating rate. If the production line is stopped, the cause of the line stop (waiting for hot water, waiting for setup, waiting for cooling) , Waiting for cores, production line failure, etc.), and acquiring and displaying the location of the failure with limit switches, various sensors, etc. installed in the production equipment, and acquiring the mold temperature with a radiation thermometer, etc. And display it.

The mold temperature detected during the operation of the line is fed back to instruct the cooling equipment of the production line about water cooling and air cooling conditions corresponding to the mold temperature (J).

The personal computer on the LAN counts the production results and simultaneously erases the detailed order plan created in D for each lot (K). Therefore, by looking at the display of the personal computer, it is possible to monitor the progress status of the production line (production lot consumption status) with respect to the detailed order plan in real time.

At the site, the product is checked for defects automatically or manually, and defect information for the lot is input (L).

Operation records such as the production line operation daily report automatically recorded after the operation information and the product check (production record,
The line operation rate, line stop cause, line failure point, product defect rate, etc.) are output (M), and are used for reviewing and examining information regarding work standards, sequence plans, etc. (N). For example,
Based on the defect information obtained from the product check, defect countermeasures are taken, and the defect countermeasures are fed back to the product number information database to improve the work standard of the database. This changed work standard (control condition) is directly instructed to the production line at G.

FIG. 4 shows an outline of the GD line (continuous casting line) 47. The tilting machine 61 is centered on the die opening / closing machine 62 and the automatic pouring machine.
63, die transfer devices 64, 65, etc. are arranged.

The molds (upper mold and lower mold) are conveyed from part a to part b by a traverser (carriage) not shown,
It is separated by the mold opening / closing device 62. Only the lower die is moved to the c section by the traverser and the core is set, while b
Part, the product in the upper mold is dropped to the take-out device 66 and carried out to the product cooling conveyor 67.

The mold matched in the section b is the mold feeder 68.
The molten metal pumped from the holding furnace 69 by the automatic pouring machine 63 is poured into the mold clamped at the d part of the tilting machine 61 by the molten metal attached to the mold.
At this time, the mold is rotated 90 ° by the tilting machine 61, and the molten metal is cast into the mold while the air in the mold is sucked and exhausted to the outside.

After the effect of the feeder is completed, the mold is unclamped and carried out to the part e of the mold conveying device 64, conveyed to the part f by the mold conveying device 64, and further moved to the mold by the mold feeder 70. The mold is conveyed to the g portion of the conveying device 65, where the mold is cooled by the mold cooling means such as the water injection means 71, the air-cooling fan 72 and the sprinkling nozzle 73, and then carried out to the a portion.

The die setup device 74 provided outside the continuous casting machine is for efficiently exchanging the die.
After waiting the prepared die at the h position and carrying out the die from the e portion in the continuous casting line to the i position, this setup device
The mold moved by moving 74 to the i position is carried into the e section.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram for controlling the GD line 47, in which the input means (keyboard) is connected to the continuous casting line.
36, mouse 37, etc., display means (CRT display 38
Etc.), calculation / storage means (CPU, memory, etc.) of electromagnetic information equipment, information transmission means (communication cable 33, cable between PC and controller, etc.), control means (controller 4)
6), mold temperature detecting means (radiation thermometer, temperature sensor, etc.), pouring means (automatic pouring machine 63), mold cooling means (pouring means 71, air cooling fan 72, sprinkling nozzle 73, etc.) are provided. ing.

FIG. 6 shows an outline of the DC line, which is a mold 80.
Centering on the die cast machine main body 81 equipped with
82, a holding furnace 83 and an automatic water heater 84, a product take-out device 85, a product transfer conveyor 86, a product cooling device 87, a deburring device 88, etc. are arranged.

FIG. 7 shows a block diagram for controlling the DC line, in which the input means (keyboard, mouse, etc.), display means (CRT, etc.), electromagnetic information equipment calculation / operation for the DC line is performed.
Storage means (CPU, memory, etc.), information transmission means (optical cable 35, cable between PC and controller, etc.), control means (controllers 52, 55, dedicated microcomputer 53, etc.), mold temperature detection means (radiation thermometer, temperature sensor) Etc.), mold cooling means (water injection means, water spray nozzle, etc.), hot water supply means (holding furnace 8
3, automatic water heater 84), product take-out means (product take-out device 8)
5), conveying means (product conveying conveyor 86, etc.), product cooling means (product cooling device 87), deburring means (deburring device 8)
8) is provided.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing a method for creating a detailed order plan in a production line. First of all, when collecting the individual product number information stored in the database,
Since the load amount of each production line such as the sand mold line 44, the GD line 47, the core molding machine 48, the DC lines 51, 54, etc. is determined, the load amount is grasped so that the load is not concentrated on a specific production facility. , Leveling ranges are set for each casting line, each melting furnace, and each core line (step 1).

Next, the leveling of each casting line (sand mold casting line, GD line, DC line) is performed by taking into consideration the casting capacity and load amount of each casting line (step 2). In this case, it is determined whether the load amount is within the line casting capacity (step 3), and the sequence plan is adjusted so that the load amount is within the casting capacity.

Next, in the melting furnace, since the melting amount differs depending on the pouring material, leveling is carried out for each material in consideration of the melting capacity and load amount for each material (step 4). In this case, it is judged whether or not the load amount is within the melting capacity of the melting furnace (step 5), and the sequence plan is adjusted so that the load amount is within the melting capacity.

Next, leveling is performed for each core production line while taking into consideration the core production capacity and load amount of the core production line (step 6). In this case, it is judged whether the load amount is within the core supply capacity of the core production line (step 7),
Adjust the order plan so that the load is within the core production capacity.

As described above, while adjusting the sequence plan so that the load amount falls within the capacity of each production line, the sequence plan for each casting line is prepared (step 8), and the sequence plan for the amount of molten metal to be poured is prepared. Then, a sequence plan for each core line is created (step 9) (step 10).

[0046]

According to the present invention, the work standard is directly instructed from the product number information database to each casting line through the network, and the information obtained from each casting line is fed back to the database through the network to review the work standard. Therefore, the quality of each product can be stabilized and improved, and each casting line can be efficiently operated to improve the productivity. In addition, the work standard can be directly instructed to each casting line through the network, and the progress status of the sequence plan can be fed back for centralized real-time management, facilitating process management. Furthermore, since the production performance, operating rate, cause of line stoppage, etc. of each casting line can be grasped through the network, it is possible to easily manage the line operation, eliminating the production of daily operation reports on the site, and the aggregation of production results. Reduce the burden and paperless. Then, small lot production is possible by managing the production time point information through the network, and it is possible to cope with variable quantity and variable volume production.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an embodiment of a casting control method of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a local area network of the above casting management method.

FIG. 3 is a specific configuration example of the same network.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a layout of a GD line for carrying out the casting control method of the above.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram for controlling the GD line of the above.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a layout of a DC line for implementing the casting control method.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram for controlling a DC line of the same as above.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of creating a detailed order plan in the casting management method.

[Explanation of symbols]

 12, 13, 14 Automatic casting line 21 Network

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A casting characterized by controlling a plurality of automatic casting lines through a network according to a work standard registered in a product number information database, and feeding back information obtained from each casting line to the database through the network. Management method.