JPH10332274A - Hotpress furnace - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent vapor or gas leaked into an inner furnace space from adhering to a heat insulation member or a side wall thus avoiding the contamination of the inside of the furnace by covering a gap defined between a die and a punch with a cover, discharging gas present in this inner space to the outside of the furnace directly, and providing means for introducing a carrier gas into the inner furnace space. SOLUTION: A material to be treated W is filled in a treatment space S1, a cover 4 and push rod 12 are set at given positions, and a furnace 1 is closed. A main gas discharge system 7 and an inner gas discharge system 5 are operated. When the degree of vacuum in an inner furnace space S3 and the treatment space S1 reaches a given degree of vacuum, a valve 72 of the main gas discharge system 7 is closed. While continuing the operation of the inner gas discharge system 5, the valve 62 of a gas introduction system is opened to introduce a carrier gas X into the inner furnace space S3 outside the cover 4. While applying a pressing force by way of a push rod 12, electricity is supplied to a heater 10 to start the heat treatment of the material W to be treated. Upon completion of the above-mentioned degassing process, the valve 62 is closed to stop the introduction of the gas, the main gas discharge system 7 is operated, and the supply amount of electricity to the heater 10 is increased to fire the material W to be treated.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a hot press furnace particularly suitably used for producing a new material such as fine ceramics with high purity.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Hot pressing is a technique for producing a high-density and high-purity material by sintering powder under high temperature and high pressure.
The general structure of a conventional hot press furnace is as follows: a die and a punch having a closed processing space inside, a heater for heating the die, a heat insulating material surrounding the heater, and a carrier gas in a furnace space outside the processing space. And an external exhaust system for evacuating the furnace space.

[0003] The work process is mainly a degassing process of removing impurities from the processed material by heating the processed material of the powder filled in the die, and baking the processed material by applying pressure at a high temperature by a press mechanism. The step of performing During the degassing process, the carrier gas is introduced into the furnace space from the gas introduction system, and heating is performed while evacuating from the external exhaust system, thereby exhausting the steam and gas generated from the processed material to the outside of the furnace. .

[0004]

However, the processing space is separated from the furnace space only by dies and punches, and since the punches are slidably mounted, many sliding gaps are formed. is there. As a result, steam, gas, and the like leak from the processing space through the gap into the furnace space, and allow the leaked steam or gas to flow back into the processing space. Further, in the flow of the conventional carrier gas, the vapor or gas leaked into the furnace space adheres to the heat insulating material and the furnace wall and contaminates the inside of the furnace. In addition, the inside of the furnace causes deterioration of each part in the furnace such as a heater and a heat insulating material.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a hot press furnace having a processing space closed by a die and a punch in a furnace. And a gas introducing means for introducing a carrier gas into the furnace space outside the cover, as well as an exhaust system for directly exhausting the space inside the cover to the outside of the furnace.

[0006] As described above, the steam and gas generated in the processing space can be directly exhausted to the outside of the furnace without passing through the furnace space together with the carrier gas entering from the gap in the processing space. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the inside of the furnace from being contaminated, to continue the process in a state where the inside of the furnace is clean, and to prevent the deterioration of the parts in the furnace.

[0007]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The hot press furnace 1 in this embodiment is used for producing a high-density and high-purity material by sintering powder under high temperature and pressure, and a processing space closed by a punch 2 and a die 3. The furnace 1 having S1, the cover 4 covering the gap between the punch 2 and the die 3, the inner exhaust system 5 communicating with the inner space S2 of the cover 4, and the carrier gas X introduced into the furnace space S3 outside the cover 4. And a main exhaust system 7 for exhausting the furnace space S3.

More specifically, the furnace 1 is provided with a die receiving stand 8 for detachably supporting the die 3 on the furnace bottom 1b, and the die 3 having the sleeve 3a inside is placed on the die receiving stand 8. In addition, a processing space S1 is formed inside. Punch 2
The lower end is inserted into the processing space S1 of the die 3 to form a lid of the processing space S1, and the upper end is connected to a push rod 12 penetrating through the cover 4 and extending to the outside, and pressed against the processing object W. Is added. The furnace 1 further includes a heater 10 for heating the processing space S1 and a heat insulating material 11 surrounding the heater 10. The processing space S1 is provided in the furnace space through a gap between the die 3 and the punch 2. A certain amount of gas flow with S3 can be allowed.

The cover 4 is attached to the upper part of the die 3 so as to cover the gap between the punch 2 and the die 3, and a processing space S1 is provided.
And a cover inner space S2 communicating with the cover. A hole 4a that allows the push rod 12 to slide is provided at a predetermined position at the upper end, and an inner exhaust pipe attachment port 4b is opened at the lower end. Some clearance is left between the cover 4 and the die 3 and between the cover 4 and the push rod 12.

The internal exhaust system 5 has one end penetrating through the furnace body 1a and the heat insulating material 11, is connected to the cover inner space S2 through the internal exhaust pipe mounting port 4b, and has a floating washer 5a attached to the upper end of the internal exhaust pipe 5b. Sealed with.
The other end is connected to a suction side of a mechanical booster pump 71 constituting the main exhaust system 7 via a trap 51 and a valve 52. The setting in the furnace 1 is performed by inserting the lower end of the inner exhaust pipe 5b into the inner exhaust pipe receiving part 5c provided in the furnace bottom 1b. The displacement at the time of attachment is eliminated within the allowable range of the movement of the floating washer 5a with respect to the cover 4. Further, by making the insertion portion a spherical seat, it is possible to mount the device more closely.

The gas introduction system 6 has one end connected to the furnace space S3 outside the cover through the furnace body 1a and the heat insulating material 11, and the other end connected to a gas supply source 61 via a valve 62. The gas supply source 61 includes N2 and Ar
And the like. The main exhaust system 7 is
One end is connected to the furnace space S3 through the furnace 1, and the other end is attached to a rotary pump P via a mechanical booster pump 71 via a valve 72.

With the above configuration, a method of using the present embodiment will be described. First, the processing space W is filled with the processing object W, the cover 4 and the push rod 12 are set at predetermined positions, and the furnace 1 is closed. The main exhaust system 7 and the internal exhaust system 5 are operated, and when the furnace space S3 and the processing space S1 reach a predetermined degree of vacuum, the valve 72 of the main exhaust system 7 is closed, and the internal exhaust system 5 is operated. In this state, the valve 62 of the gas introduction system 6 is opened, and the carrier gas X is introduced into the furnace space S3 outside the cover 4. In addition, while applying pressure through the push rod 12, the heater 10 is energized to start the heat treatment on the workpiece W. As a result, the carrier gas X introduced into the furnace space S3 outside the cover passes through the gap between the die 3 and the cover 4 and the gap between the cover 4 and the push rod 12, as indicated by arrows in the drawing. Processing space S
1 and the cover inner space S2, and a flow of the carrier gas X is formed, which is further discharged to the outside of the furnace 1 through the internal exhaust system 5. Therefore, the steam and gas generated from the processing object W are sequentially discharged directly out of the furnace 1 along with the flow of the carrier gas X. And these gases are trap 5
After the harmful substances are captured in step 1, the rotary pump P
Released through.

Next, after the above-described degassing step, the valve 62 of the gas introduction system 6 is closed to stop gas introduction, the main exhaust system 7 is operated, and the inside of the furnace 1 is evacuated. At the same time, the inside of the furnace 1 is heated to a high temperature by increasing the amount of electricity to the heater 10, and firing is performed while pressing the workpiece W with the push rod 12. As described above, since impurities such as steam and gas generated from the processing object W do not diffuse into the furnace 1, the inside of the furnace 1 is not contaminated. As a result, while maintaining the clean furnace atmosphere without causing the deterioration of each part in the furnace 1 and the like,
Processing can be performed. Also, the attachment and detachment of the cover 4 is easy, and
Since the inside of the furnace 1 is not contaminated, it can be easily used for other purposes such as joining.

The specific configuration of each section is not limited to the illustrated embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, it is also possible to provide the internal introduction system 9 and the valve 91, and to introduce the processing gas Y from the outside of the furnace 1 directly into the processing space S1 through the internal exhaust system 5. Thereby, the introduced gas Y easily comes into contact with the processing object W and acts to promote a reaction to the processing object W, and thereafter is discharged by the external exhaust system 7. At this time, it is more effective to introduce the gas Y in a pulse form. For controlling the pressing, a hydraulic hand pump can be driven using a motor with a speed reducer and a cam mechanism, or a hydraulic pump and a pressure control valve can be used.

[0015]

The present invention is embodied in the form described above and has the following effects. That is, in the hot press furnace of the present invention, in a hot press furnace having a processing space closed by a punch and a die in the furnace, a gap between the punch and the die is covered with a cover, and a gas in a furnace space outside the cover is provided. The carrier gas is introduced from the introduction means and exhausted from the internal exhaust system communicating with the inside space of the cover, so that steam and gas can be directly exhausted from the processing space to the outside of the furnace without passing through the furnace internal space.

Therefore, contamination in the furnace can be prevented, thereby making it possible to purify a high-purity processed product, without causing deterioration of each part in the furnace, and also for other uses of the hot press furnace. Excellent effects, such as facilitating the operation, are achieved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Hot press furnace 2 ... Punch 3 ... Die 4 ... Cover 5 ... Internal exhaust system 6 ... Gas introduction means (gas introduction system) S1 ... Processing space S2 ... Cover inner space S3 ... Furnace space X ... Carrier gas

Claims (1)

[Claims] In a hot press furnace having a processing space closed by a die and a punch in a furnace, an inner exhaust in which a gap between the die and a punch is covered with a cover and an inner space of the cover is directly discharged to the outside of the furnace. A hot press furnace characterized by comprising gas introduction means for introducing a carrier gas into the furnace space outside the cover together with the system.