JPH08243707A - Half-solidified casting apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a half-solidified casting apparatus, in which a half-solidified billet for exclusive use is not used but the castings, etc., as defective product are melted and the half-solidified billet is produced from this molten metal to enable the reuse of the waste stock. CONSTITUTION: The half-solidified billet B is pressed into the cavity in a die and a die casting machine 1 for casting the die cast product is provided. At near the die casting machine 1, a heat-melting furnace 2 for heating and melting the waste stock, a billet case 19 for incorporating the molten metal A melted with this heat-melting furnace 2 and a half solidified billet producing device 4 for cooling and half-solidifying while giving ultrasonic vibration to this molten metal A to produce the half-solidified billet B, are provided. Further, a billet carrying-in robot 5 carrying this half-solidified billet B into the die casting machine 1 is provided.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a semi-solid casting apparatus for casting a die-cast product by press-fitting a semi-solid buret into a die of a die casting machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There is known a semi-solid casting system in which a semi-solid burette obtained by semi-solidifying a molten metal is pressed into a die of a die casting machine to cast a die cast product. This method was developed as a method for die-casting high melting point alloys, but recently it has also been applied to aluminum alloys, magnesium alloys and the like.

The semi-solid casting system includes a Rheocast method in which a molten metal is cooled while applying a shearing force to be cast in a semi-solidified state, and a burette which is completely cooled and solidified is reheated. There is a Thixocast method in which the steel is semi-solidified and then cast.

Since each method is in a semi-solidified state, it has a certain degree of fluidity, there is no gas entrainment during molding, and the crystal grains are uniform, so that the mechanical strength is high and stable. Naturally, T6 treatment and welding are possible, and since there is no segregation in terms of composition and structure, it is easy to perform anodic oxidation and chemical conversion treatment. Further, the molding cycle time is short, productivity can be improved, dimensional accuracy is high, and post-processing can be omitted.

[0005]

However, when attempting to carry out the semi-solid casting method using the above-mentioned semi-solid casting system, it is necessary to use a semi-solid burette in which the molten metal is in a semi-solid state, and its material cost is high. And the size of the semi-solidified burette limits the diameter of the plunger of the die casting machine. In addition, after the solidified buret was loaded into the die-casting machine and the cavity was filled with the plunger to mold it, the metal lump that remained in the gate etc. and solidified, or the molded product that became defective due to cavities could not be reused. I have to throw it away. In other words, the conventional semi-solid casting system can use only the semi-solid burette, which wastes the material and is uneconomical.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to produce a semi-solidified burette in which a molten metal is in a semi-solidified state, or to re-heat as necessary to semi-solidify. An economical semi-solid casting machine that manufactures burettes and carries them into a die-casting machine with a burette-carrying robot so that casting can be performed continuously and that the material can be reused without using a special semi-solid burette. To provide.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a die casting machine for casting a die casting product by press-fitting a semi-solidified buret into a cavity of a die, and a raw material. It is equipped with a heating and melting furnace for heating and melting, and a burette case for accommodating the molten metal melted by this heating and melting furnace. A solidification buret manufacturing apparatus and a buret loading robot for loading the semi-solidified buret obtained by the semi-solidified buret manufacturing apparatus into the die casting machine are provided.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a semi-solid buret is press-fitted into a cavity of a mold to cast a die-cast product, a heating and melting furnace for heating and melting raw materials, and a molten metal melted by the heating and melting furnace. A burette case for accommodating, cooling and solidifying while applying ultrasonic vibration to the molten metal, a semi-solidified buret manufacturing device for manufacturing a semi-solidified buret, and a semi-solidified buret obtained by this semi-solidified buret manufacturing device or It is characterized by further comprising: a reheating device for reheating the coagulation buret; and a buret loading robot for loading the semi-coagulation buret reheated by the reheating device into the die casting machine.

The buret case is preferably a cylindrical body having a bottom, and has a water jacket on its peripheral wall, and can be divided into a plurality of pieces in the radial direction. The reheating device is preferably a high frequency heating coil capable of surrounding a semi-solidified buret or a solidified buret taken out from a buret case.

[0010]

[Function] The material is melted by the heating and melting furnace, the molten metal is housed in the burette case of the semi-solidifying burette manufacturing device, and then the molten metal is cooled and semi-solidified by applying ultrasonic vibration to produce the semi-solidified burette. To do. This semi-solidified buret is carried into a die casting machine by a burette loading robot to cast a die cast product.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically showing the whole of the semi-solidifying casting apparatus, and 1 is a known die casting machine for casting a molten metal from a semi-solidifying burette in a semi-solidified state. In the vicinity of the die casting machine 1, a heating and melting furnace 2 for heating and melting raw materials, a pouring machine 3 for pouring the molten metal melted by the heating and melting furnace 2 into a buret case described later, and pouring by the pouring machine 3 A semi-solidified burette manufacturing apparatus 4 for manufacturing a semi-solidified buret by cooling the molten metal while applying ultrasonic vibration to the semi-solidified buret and a semi-solidified buret obtained by the semi-solidified buret manufacturing apparatus in the die casting machine 1. A buret loading robot 5 for loading is provided.

As shown in FIG. 2, the die casting machine 1 has a fixed mold 6 and a movable mold 7. A cavity 8 is provided between the molds 6 and 7, and the cavity 8 is It communicates with the gate 9. A sleeve 10 is provided on the fixed mold 6, an induction heating coil 11 for heat retention is provided on the outer periphery of the sleeve 10, and a plunger 12 is provided inside the sleeve 10 so as to be movable back and forth in the axial direction.

The above heating and melting furnace 2 heats and melts a raw material, that is, a metal block, and maintains the molten state without solidifying the obtained molten metal. Further, the semi-solidified buret manufacturing apparatus 4 is configured as shown in FIGS. That is, 13 is a disk-shaped rotary table, and is adapted to rotate around a rotary shaft 15 rotatably supported by a bearing body 14. The drive motor 1 is provided next to the rotary shaft 15.
6 is installed, and the rotation of the drive motor 16 is transmitted to the rotary shaft 15 via a power transmission mechanism 17 such as a gear.

The plane of the rotary table 13 is radially divided into, for example, four first to fourth areas 18a to 18d, and the pouring zone a, corresponding to the first to fourth areas 18a to 18d. A semi-solidification zone b, a reheating zone c and a carry-out zone d are provided. Also, turntable 1
The buret case 19 is mounted in the first to fourth areas 18a to 18d. The buret case 19 is made of a material having excellent heat resistance such as ceramic or metal, and has a cylindrical case body 20 and the case body 2.
0 and a bottom portion 21 that closes the lower end opening of the case 0, and the case body 20 is detachably attached to the bottom portion 21.

Further, the case body 20 can be divided into two parts with a dividing surface 20a provided in the axial direction as a boundary, and the dividing surface 20a is formed with an engaging step portion which engages with each other. Further, the case body 20 divided into two parts is respectively supported by the rods 23 of the opening / closing cylinders 22, and the opening / closing cylinders 22 are supported by the rods 25 of the advancing / retreating cylinders 24 via the supporting members 23a.

Therefore, the buret case 19 is supported by the opening / closing cylinder 22 and the advancing / retreating cylinder 24, and the advancing / retreating cylinder 24 is mounted on the rotary table 1.
3 is movably supported by a guide rail 26 provided in an arc shape from the pouring zone a to the semi-solidifying zone b. That is, the opening / closing cylinder 22 and the advancing / retreating cylinder 24 that support the buret case 19 can reciprocate on the outer periphery of the rotary table 13 between the pouring zone a and the semi-solidifying zone b.

Further, the case body 20 of the buret case 19 is provided with a water jacket 27, and by circulating the cooling water 28, the molten metal A poured by the pouring machine 3 is cooled and the inside of the buret case 19 is cooled. It is configured to manufacture a cylindrical semi-solidified buret B.

An ultrasonic oscillator 29 is provided above the rotary table 13 located in the semi-solidification zone b so as to face the upper opening of the buret case 19. The ultrasonic oscillator 29 includes an oscillator 31 connected to the ultrasonic oscillator circuit 30 and a horn 32 fixed to the oscillator 31.
The horn 32 is inserted into the molten metal A inside the buret case 19, and ultrasonically vibrates the molten metal A to agitate the molten metal A to atomize the molten metal A and degas it. Therefore, the vibrator 31 and the horn 32 are supported by the lifting mechanism 33 so as to be able to move up and down, and when ultrasonic vibration is applied to the molten metal A, the entire vibrator 31 and the horn 32 are lowered to immerse the horn 32 in the molten metal A. When the stirring is finished, the horn 32 is raised and the horn 32 is pulled up from the molten metal A.

Further, the case main body 20 of the buret case 19 is divided into the rotary table 13 located in the reheating zone c, and the semi-solidified buret B or the high frequency heating coil 34 surrounding the solidified buret placed on the bottom 21 is divided. The reheating device 35 provided is provided. The reheating device 35 is supported by an elevating mechanism 36 so as to be able to move up and down, and when the semi-solidified buret B is reheated, the reheating device 3
The whole of No. 5 is lowered to surround the semi-solidified buret B with the high-frequency heating coil 34, and when the reheating is completed, the semi-solidified buret B is moved up and pulled up above the semi-solidified buret B.

Further, the bullet-in robot 5 is
As shown in FIG. 1, the spindle 37 is installed in the carry-out zone d.
It has a revolving arm 38 which revolves around the center of the revolving arm 38, and a revolving arm 38 has at its tip end a grasping portion 39 for grasping the side portion of the semi-solidified buret B. Then, the semi-solidified buret B located in the fourth area 18d of the rotary table 13 is gripped and carried into the die casting machine 1.

Next, the operation of the semi-solid casting apparatus having the above structure will be described. When a material such as an aluminum alloy or a magnesium alloy is put into the heating / melting furnace 2, a molten metal A obtained by melting the material in the heating / melting furnace 2 is obtained. The molten metal A is poured into the buret case 19 on the rotary table 13 by the pouring machine 3 in the pouring zone a. When a predetermined amount of the molten metal A is stored in the buret case 19, the rotary table 13 rotates and the buret case 19 containing the molten metal A is located in the semi-solidification zone b.

Burette case 19 containing molten metal A
Is located in the semi-solidification zone b, the elevating mechanism 33 operates, the vibrator 31 and the horn 32 are entirely lowered, and the ultrasonic oscillator circuit 30 is energized and the vibrator 31 vibrates ultrasonically. The ultrasonic vibration of the vibrator 31 is transmitted to the molten metal A inside the buret case 19 via the horn 32 inserted in the molten metal A. Therefore, the molten metal A is stirred, and the molten metal A is atomized and degassed.

When ultrasonic vibration is applied to the molten metal A for a certain period of time and stirring is completed, the entire ultrasonic oscillator 29 is raised by the elevating mechanism 33 and the horn 32 is pulled up from the molten metal A.

On the other hand, the water jacket 27 provided in the case body 20 of the buret case 19 has a cooling water 2
Since the molten metal 8 in the buret case 19 is cooled, the molten metal A in the buret case 19 is cooled and gradually solidified inside the buret case 19, and a semi-solid buret B having a cylindrical shape is manufactured following the buret case 19.

When the semi-solidified burette B is manufactured inside the buret case 19, the opening / closing cylinder 22 is actuated and the rod 23 is pulled in, so that the case body 20 is divided into two parts with the dividing surface 20a as a boundary. Therefore, when the case body 20 is separated from the semi-solidified buret B, the advancing / retreating cylinder 24 is further actuated, and the rod 25 is retracted, the case body 20 is retracted from the rotary table 13.
Therefore, the semi-solidified bullet B is the bullet case 1
9 is placed on the bottom 21.

Next, when the rotary table 13 is rotated by 1/4, the semi-solidified buret B placed on the bottom 21 moves to the reheating zone c. When the semi-solidified buret B is located in the reheating zone c, the lifting mechanism 36 causes the reheating device 3
5, the high frequency heating coil 34 surrounds the semi-solidified bullet B. Then, when the high-frequency heating coil 34 is energized, the semi-solidified bullet B is reheated from the surroundings.

When the reheating of the semi-solidified buret B is completed, the re-heating device 35 is raised by the elevating mechanism 36 to be lifted above the semi-solidified buret B, and the rotary table 13 is again rotated 1/4 and re-heated. The semi-solidified bullet B moves to the carry-out zone d. The buret loading robot 5 is on standby in the unloading zone d, and the turning arm 3
The side portion of the semi-solidified buret B is gripped by the grip portion 39 at the tip of 8, and the swivel arm 38 swivels around the main shaft 37 to carry the semi-solidified buret B into the sleeve 10 of the die casting machine 1. After confirming that the semi-solidified buret B has been loaded, the die casting machine 1 advances the plunger 12 to press the semi-solidified buret B into the cavity 8 between the fixed mold 6 and the movable mold 7 through the gate 9. Die casting.

On the other hand, the case main body 20 retracted from the rotary table 13 in the semi-solidification zone b is returned to the pouring zone a by the opening / closing cylinder 22 and the advancing / retreating cylinder 24 which move along the guide rails 26, and here, the advancing / retreating again. The case body 20 is positioned on the side of the bottom portion 21 of the buret case 19 by the forward movement of the working cylinder 24. Next, since the rod 23 of the opening / closing cylinder 22 projects and the case body 20 is joined at the dividing surface 20a, the buret case 19 is formed by the bottom portion 21 and the case body 20. Therefore, the molten metal A melted by the heating and melting furnace 2 is poured into the buret case 19 on the rotary table 13 by the pouring machine 3 in the same manner as described above, and the same operation as described above is repeated to continuously perform die casting. Is done.

In the above embodiment, the semi-solidifying buret B is reheated by the reheating device 35 in the reheating zone c, and then the semi-solidifying buret B is moved to the carry-out zone d. If the semi-solidified buret B obtained in the zone b is proper, it is not necessary to reheat and the reheating device 35 is unnecessary.

Also, in the above-described embodiment, the vibrator 3
The ultrasonic vibration is transmitted to the molten metal A by immersing the horn 32 in the molten metal A inside the buret case 19 by lowering the entire horn 32 and the horn 32 as shown in FIG. It is also possible to bring the tip end of the above into contact with the bottom portion 21 of the buret case 19 to indirectly transmit ultrasonic vibration to the molten metal A inside the buret case 19.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the rotary table 13 is divided into four equal areas, first to fourth areas 18a to 18d, and the pouring zone is provided corresponding to the first to fourth areas 18a to 18d. Although a, a semi-solidification zone b, a reheating zone c and a carry-out zone d are provided, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the rotary table 13 is provided in the first to third areas 18a,
18c and 18d may be divided into three equal parts, and a pouring / semi-solidifying zone a, a reheating zone c and a carry-out zone d may be provided corresponding to the first to third areas 18a, 18c and 18d.

With this structure, the case body 20 divided into the pouring / semi-solidifying zone a is supported by the rod 23 of the opening / closing cylinder 22 for opening / closing, and the opening / closing cylinder 22 is supported by the support member 23a. Via the rod 25 of the forward / backward moving cylinder 24, and the open / close cylinder 2
2 and the advancing / retreating cylinder 24 can be fixedly installed in the pouring / semi-solidifying zone a.

Therefore, the case body 20 of the buret case 19 is provided with an opening / closing cylinder 22 and an advancing / retreating cylinder 24.
The case main body 20 is set to the bottom portion 21 to form the burette case 19, and the molten metal A is poured into the burette case 19 by the pouring machine 3 in the pouring / semi-solidifying zone a. .

A predetermined amount of molten metal A is placed in the buret case 19.
When the table 31 is housed, the lifting mechanism 33 supported by the fixed table 13a at the center of the rotary table 13 is actuated, and the vibrator 31
The horn 32 is entirely lowered, and the ultrasonic oscillator circuit 30 is energized to vibrate the oscillator 31 ultrasonically. The ultrasonic vibration of the vibrator 31 is transmitted to the molten metal A inside the buret case 19 via the horn 32 inserted in the molten metal A. Therefore, in the pouring / semi-solidifying zone a, the pouring and the molten metal A are agitated, and the molten metal A is atomized and degassed.

Further, when ultrasonic vibration is applied to the molten metal A for a certain period of time and stirring is finished, the vibrator 3 is moved by the elevating mechanism 33.
1 and the horn 32 are pulled up from the molten metal A. On the other hand, since the cooling water 28 flows through the water jacket 27 provided in the case body 20 of the buret case 19, the molten metal A in the buret case 19 is cooled,
The columnar semi-solidified buret B is manufactured by gradually solidifying inside the buret case 19 and following the buret case 19.

[0036]

As described above, a semi-solidified burette obtained by semi-solidifying a molten metal is produced, or a semi-solidified buret is produced by reheating as required, and the semi-solidified buret is produced by a burette carrying robot into a die casting machine. By carrying in, casting can be performed continuously, and without using a dedicated semi-solidified buret, cast products that have become defective due to the formation of solid metal lumps and cavities left in the gate of the mold etc. Since it can be melted in a heating and melting furnace and a semi-solid burette can be produced from the molten metal, the material can be reused,
It has the effect of being economical.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of an entire semi-solid casting apparatus showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a part of the die casting machine of the same embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the semi-solidifying buret manufacturing apparatus of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a plan view and a vertical cross-sectional side view showing the buret case support structure of the embodiment, with the buret case closed.

FIG. 5 is a plan view and a vertical cross-sectional side view showing the burette case support structure of the embodiment, with the burette case opened.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the ultrasonic oscillator according to the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a side view of the reheating device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a side view of an ultrasonic wave oscillating device showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a side view of an ultrasonic wave oscillating device showing still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of the semi-solidifying buret manufacturing apparatus of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Die casting machine, 2 ... Heating / melting furnace, 4 ... Semi-solidifying buret manufacturing device, 5 ... Buret loading robot, 19
... Burette case, 20 ... Case body, 21 ... Bottom part.

Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Office reference number FI Technical display area C22F 3/02 C22F 3/02

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A die casting machine for press-fitting a semi-solidified buret into a cavity of a mold to cast a die cast product, a heating and melting furnace for heating and melting raw materials, and a burette for containing molten metal melted by the heating and melting furnace. The case is equipped with a semi-solidified buret manufacturing device that cools the molten metal while applying ultrasonic vibration to semi-solidify it to manufacture a semi-solidified buret, and the semi-solid buret obtained by this semi-solidified buret manufacturing device is die cast. A semi-solidification casting apparatus comprising a buret loading robot for loading into a machine. 2. A die-casting machine for press-fitting a semi-solidified buret into a cavity of a mold to cast a die-cast product, a heating and melting furnace for heating and melting raw materials, and a burette for containing molten metal melted by the heating and melting furnace. A semi-solidified buret manufacturing device that is equipped with a case, cools and solidifies the molten metal while applying ultrasonic vibration, and manufactures a semi-solidified burette, and a semi-solidified buret or solidified buret obtained by this semi-solidified buret manufacturing device. A semi-solid casting apparatus comprising: a re-heating device for re-heating and a burette loading robot for loading the semi-solid burette reheated by the re-heating device into the die casting machine. 3. The semi-solid casting according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the buret case is a cylindrical body having a bottom portion, has a water jacket on its peripheral wall, and can be divided into a plurality in the radial direction. apparatus. 4. The semi-solid casting apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the reheating device is a semi-solidified buret taken out from the buret case or a high-frequency heating coil capable of surrounding the solidified buret.