JPH1088229A - Quenching and tempering method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To execute the tempering needing two times to the quenching in high efficiency. SOLUTION: A work is carried to a single quenching zone Z1 arranged in a single apparatus and the carried one or plural pieces of works are quenched in the single quenching zone Z1. In the cycle time having the integral times of one cycle time in the quenching zone Z1, the integral times of works completing the quenchings are simultaneously from the quenching zone to a single tempering zone Z2 through a carrying means 52 having plural receiving parts under condition of setting to the receiving parts 60. In the single tempering zone Z2, the integral times of works are simultaneously tempered in the cycle time having the integral times of one cycle time in the quenching zone Z1, and the works completing the tempering are delivered from the single apparatus.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a quenching and tempering method for imparting predetermined hardness and rigidity to a work such as a gear.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Iron-based parts such as gears for vehicles are subjected to quenching and tempering in order to obtain predetermined hardness and rigidity before they become final products. When such iron-based components are continuously manufactured in large quantities, quenching and tempering are performed in the middle of the production line, but the time required for tempering is about twice as long as the time required for quenching. For this reason, conventionally, quenching and tempering are separately performed, and as described above, the quenching time is about twice as long as the quenching time. On the other hand, two tempering devices are provided, or a workpiece after quenching is stocked, and thereafter tempering is performed. Therefore,
It requires a tempering device that is a multiple of the quenching device, is disadvantageous in terms of equipment, and requires a space for stock for tempering the work after quenching. A separate transporting device is required, and there are inconveniences such as an increase in the size of the device and equipment.

The technologies disclosed as the prior art relating to the heat treatment include the technology described in Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei 1-15565, the technology described in Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei 5-87565, the technology described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 63-9003, and 6-33
No. 145, a technology described in JP-A-4-110414, a technology described in JP-A-5-247523, and a technology described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 5-77245.

[0004] The above discloses a technique in which a quenching zone and a tempering zone are simply provided on a transport line.
Discloses a technique in which a station for quenching a journal portion of a crankshaft and a station for tempering are simply provided in the same apparatus. Disclosure of a technique for coping with a case where tact times are different by a method for efficiently operating a member that takes twice the time, and discloses a quenching apparatus in which a plurality of cooling stations are provided for a single heating station. doing.

[0005] In the above-described method and apparatus for induction hardening of a crankshaft, in order to reduce the tact time in the quenching process, while quenching an unquenched work, the quenched work is unloaded, and There is disclosed a technique for moving an unquenched work from a preceding idling station to a quenching standby position. In this technique, a technique relating to shortening the cycle time of a quenching process is performed during shaft cooling, which is about twice as large as other parts. A technique for carrying out a work by a transfer loader and performing a heating process on a new work has been disclosed.
And a high-frequency heating coil, which is a batch processing of a workpiece in a high-frequency heating method, and is a similar technique, although the type is different.

"High frequency heating method and high frequency heating coil"

In the above prior art, as described above, attention is paid to the fact that the quenching takes twice as much time as the quenching by simply arranging the quenching zone and the tempering zone. The quenching and the tempering are performed separately, and the technology related to the tact time is also a technology for coping with the cooling time that is twice as long as the quenching time. It is not possible to solve the disadvantages of providing two apparatuses or stocking a workpiece after quenching, and then performing tempering. Therefore, there are problems that the number of apparatuses themselves increases, the processing efficiency of the work is inferior, and restrictions are imposed when assembling a production line.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, according to the present invention, a step of loading a work into a single quenching zone provided in a single apparatus, The step of quenching one or a plurality of works carried in the zone, and the quenching is terminated by a tact time that is an integral multiple of the tact time in the quenching zone via a transfer means having a plurality of work receiving portions. A step of simultaneously transferring from the quenching zone to a single tempering zone in a state where the work of the integral multiple is set in the work receiving portion, and a takt time of an integral multiple of the takt time in the quenching zone in the single tempering zone. Thus, there is provided a quenching and tempering method comprising a step of simultaneously tempering works of the integral multiple and a step of paying out the completed work from the apparatus.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the work is made of a gear material, and the quenching zone is provided with a rotary table that rotates sequentially along a receiving position, a quenching position, and a dispensing position of the gear material. Was provided with an elevating and lowering rotating device for simultaneously raising and lowering and rotating a plurality of gear materials.

[0009]

The work which has been quenched in the quenching zone is sent to a tempering zone by a transfer device, and if a work of an integral multiple of the quenching accumulates in the tempering zone, the predetermined number of works are tempered simultaneously. Discharge the tempered work.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Here, FIG. 1 is an overall process diagram of a gear manufacturing apparatus incorporating a quenching and tempering apparatus according to the present invention. The gear manufacturing apparatus prepares a raw material powder in which several kinds of elements are mixed with iron which is a main component in a mixer 1, sends the raw material powder to a press forming device 2 by a fixed amount, and forms the gear shape at a high pressure.

Next, after removing burrs on the surface of the molded body formed into a gear shape by the simple deburring device 3, the molded bodies are placed one by one on a ceramic tray and fired while being placed on the ceramic tray. It is passed through the furnace 4 to complete the sintering of the compact.

The sintered body carried out of the sintering furnace 4 is turned on the transfer device 5 and transferred onto the transfer device 6, and is conveyed to the vicinity of the end of the transfer device 6 while being naturally cooled by air. After being separated from the tray, the ceramic tray is inspected for cracks by a crack inspection device 7, the normal ceramic tray is transported again to near the entrance of the sintering furnace 4, and the sintered body is deburred from the stock station 8 by a deburring device. After passing through the sizing device 11 via the sizing device 11 and the sizing device 11, the sintered body is recompressed to remove the thermal strain, and the dimensions are determined.

Thereafter, the rolling device 12 determines the tooth surface accuracy of the sintered body, and the dispensing device 13 takes into account the difference in quenching distortion due to the surface shape, and either one of the front and back surfaces of the sintered body is subjected to the upper surface. After the quenching and tempering device 14 that carries out the present invention, the sintered body is continuously quenched and tempered by the quenching and tempering device 14,
5 and a magnetic flaw detection station 16 to take out the product.

Next, the details of the quenching and tempering apparatus 14 for carrying out the present invention and the method of the present invention will be described.
This will be described with reference to FIGS. Here, FIG. 2 is a front view of the quenching and tempering device, FIG. 3 is a plan view of the quenching and tempering device, FIG. 4 is a side view as viewed from the direction A in FIG. 2, and FIG. 5 is as viewed from the direction B in FIG. FIG. 6 is a side view, FIG. 6 is a plan view of an induction hardening device, FIG.
FIG. 8 is a plan view of the low-frequency tempering device, and FIG. 9 is a view in the direction of arrow D in FIG.

The method according to the invention is carried out in a quenching and tempering device 14 arranged between the dispensing device 13 and the cleaning device 15 in FIG. The quenching and tempering method according to the present invention includes a step of carrying the work W by the transfer device 51 into a single quenching zone Z1 provided in the quenching and tempering device 14 shown in FIGS. The quenching zone Z
In step 1, the step of quenching one or a plurality of works W carried in and the transfer means 52 having a plurality of work receiving parts 60 are performed with a tact time that is an integral multiple of the tact time in the quenching zone Z1. , Work W of integer multiples after quenching
Simultaneously with the quenching zone Z1 to the single tempering zone Z2 in a state of being set in the work receiving portion 60, and in the single tempering zone Z2, the tact time which is an integral multiple of the tact time in the quenching zone Z1. Thus, a process of simultaneously tempering works W of an integral multiple and a process of paying out the work that has been tempered from the apparatus by the transfer device 53 are provided.

The quenching and tempering device 14 defines the inside of the box-shaped case 20 by a partition 21 into a quenching zone Z1 and a tempering zone Z2. The quenching zone Z1 and the tempering zone Z2 are separated by a partition provided between them. The openings 21 communicate with each other.

A rotary table 23 is arranged in the quenching zone Z1. The rotary table 23 is provided with work receiving portions 24 at equal intervals in the circumferential direction.
Reference numeral 4 denotes a structure for supporting the outer periphery of the work around the through hole. The rotary table 23 is configured such that each of the work receiving portions 24
The motor 25 intermittently rotates so as to stop for a predetermined time at the work receiving position at the left position, the hardening position at the intermediate position, and the payout position at the right position in FIG.

Below the quenching position, an elevating rotating mechanism 2 is provided.
The lifting / lowering rotating mechanism 26 includes a motor 27 for rotating the workpiece W and a cylinder unit 28 for lifting and lowering the motor 27 (see FIG. 4). The workpiece held by the workpiece receiving portion 24 of the rotary table 23 is provided. W
By raising the motor 27 by the cylinder unit 28, the work W is lifted up to the position of the induction hardening device 30 and rotated by the holding unit attached to the rotation shaft of the motor 27.

In the induction hardening apparatus 30, an annular member 32 (see FIG. 7) is disposed on a base plate 31 (see FIG. 4), and this annular member 32 forms a cooling water passage 32a therein and has an inner periphery. A hole 32b for ejecting cooling water toward the outer peripheral surface of the work W is formed on the surface. A high-frequency induction heating coil 34 connected to a transformer 33 is disposed along the annular member 32.

On the other hand, a lifting / lowering rotation mechanism 40 is provided below the tempering zone Z2. The lifting / lowering rotation mechanism 40 is a pair of motors 41, 41 for rotating two works W simultaneously.
And a cylinder unit 42 for raising and lowering these motors 41, 41. Above each motor 41, 41, sensors 43, 43 for detecting a work W are arranged and provided.

By raising the motors 41, 41 by the cylinder unit 42, the motors 41, 41
The two workpieces W are lifted to the positions of the low-frequency tempering devices 44 and 44 by the holding portions attached to the rotating shafts and rotated.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the low-frequency tempering device 44 holds an annular low-frequency induction heating coil 46 connected to a transformer 49 (see FIG. 5) on a base plate 45 as a coil presser 47. Prepared through. The inside of the low-frequency induction heating coil 46 is a concave portion 48 facing the work W. The low-frequency tempering device 44 includes a pair of low-frequency induction heating coils 46, and these low-frequency induction heating coils 46 move forward and backward by the operation of the cylinder unit 50.

On the other hand, the quenching and tempering device 14 includes a first transfer device 51, a second transfer device 52, and a third transfer device 5.
3 is provided.

First transfer device 51 (see FIGS. 2 and 4)
Is a device for transporting the work W from the dispensing device 13 to the work receiving position of the rotary table 23 in the quenching zone Z1 of the quenching and tempering device 14. In the first transfer device 51, a traveling body 55 is engaged with a rail member 54 extending in the horizontal direction, and an arm 56 that can move up and down is provided on the traveling body 55. Further, the work W is placed on the tip of the arm 56 from above. This is a structure in which a holding chuck 57 is attached.

The second transfer device 52 is a device for transferring the quenched work W from the work discharge position of the rotary table 23 to the tempering zone Z2. In the second transfer device 52, two transfer plates 59 reciprocally moved by a cylinder unit 58 (see FIG. 2) are arranged between the work discharge position of the rotary table 23 and the tempering zone Z2, with the left and right transfer plates 59 being separated. Prepare. Each of the transport plates 59 is provided with two work receiving portions 60 having a structure for supporting the outer periphery of the work around the hole, and two works W are simultaneously tempered.

Further, the third transfer device 53 is a device for paying out and transferring the work W after the tempering to the cleaning device 15 which is the next step. As is apparent from FIG. 3, the third transport device 53 engages the traveling body 62 with a rail member 61 laid in the horizontal direction similarly to the first transport device 51,
The traveling body 62 is provided with a vertically movable arm 63, and chucks 64, 64 for holding the work W from above are attached to both ends of the arm 63.

In the above, first, the first transfer device 51
Work W carried into the quenching and tempering device 14 by the
Is set on the work receiving portion 24 at the work receiving position of the turntable 23 in the quenching zone Z1. The set position is a shown in FIG. Next, the rotary table 23
Is rotated by 120 ° clockwise in FIG.
The workpiece W set above is brought to a position shown in FIG. 3B which is a quenching position.

Thereafter, the work W is held down by the cylinder unit 28 of the elevating and lowering rotation mechanism 26 and held by the holding portion attached to the rotating shaft of the motor 27, and the work W is moved downward into the annular member 32 of the induction hardening device 30. To come from. Thereafter, high frequency is applied to the coil 34 to heat the outer peripheral surface of the work W, and then quenching is performed by jetting cooling water from the hole 32b to the outer peripheral surface of the work W. The tact time for performing this quenching is 8.5 seconds.

When the above-mentioned hardening is completed, the rotary table 23 is again rotated clockwise in FIG. 3 by 120 °, and the hardened work W set on the work receiving portion 24 is brought to the payout position. The payout position is shown by c in FIG. At this time, the workpiece W to be quenched next faces the quenching position.

The work W which has been rotated to the payout position of the turntable 23 is set by the second transfer device 52 on one of the two work receiving portions 60 formed on the transfer plate 59. The setting position is indicated by d in FIG. In the same manner, one more work W after quenching is set in the remaining work receiving portion 60. In this way, the quenching is performed one by one, and the work W quenched one by one is
A transfer plate 59 having two receiving portions 60
One, that is, an integer multiple of workpieces is set for quenching.

Two works W are placed on one transfer plate 59.
Is set, the transport plate 59 is sent to the tempering zone Z2 by the operation of the cylinder unit 58. Then, when the transport plate 59 on which the two works W are set is sent to the tempering zone Z2, the cylinder unit 42 of the elevating / lowering rotating mechanism 40 is extended, and the work is held by the holding portions attached to the rotating shafts of the motors 41, 41, respectively. While holding W, the work W is lifted to a position detected by the sensor 43.

Thereafter, the cylinder unit 50 is operated by a signal from the sensor 43, and the pair of low-frequency induction heating coils 46 of the low-frequency tempering device 44 is moved forward, and the concave portions 48 of the low-frequency induction heating coil 46 are moved. In this state, while the work W is rotated by the motor 41, a low frequency is applied to the coil 46 to perform tempering. The tempering tact time is 17 seconds, which is twice the quenching tact time.

As described above, the work is carried into the single quenching zone by the transfer device 51 to Z1, and the quenching zone Z
1 quenching of one or a plurality of workpieces through the transfer means 52 having a plurality of workpiece receiving portions 60, 60, the quenching of the integer time which is an integral multiple of the takt time in the quenching zone Z1. With the double work W set in the receiving portion, the work W is simultaneously conveyed from the quenching zone Z1 to a single tempering zone Z2. In the single tempering zone Z2, the takt time is an integral multiple of the takt time in the quenching zone Z1. Then, the workpiece W of the integral multiple is tempered at the same time.
The work whose tempering has been completed is discharged from the apparatus 14 by the transfer apparatus 53.

In the embodiment, the tempering tact is twice as long as the quenching tact, but may be an integral multiple such as three times or four times. In this case, quenching and tempering can be efficiently performed by simultaneously tempering the workpieces W of an integral multiple.

[0035]

According to the present invention as described above,
According to the first aspect, a step of carrying a work into a single quenching zone provided in a single apparatus, and a step of quenching one or a plurality of works carried in a single quenching zone. Via a transfer means having a plurality of workpiece receiving portions, with the takt time being an integral multiple of the tact time in the quenching zone, and setting the workpieces of an integer multiple of quenching completed in the workpiece receiving portion, simultaneously with the quenching zone. From a single tempering zone, and in the single tempering zone, a step of simultaneously tempering the integral multiple of the workpiece with a takt time that is an integral multiple of the takt time in the quenching zone, and a workpiece that has been tempered. And the process of dispensing from the apparatus, so that the tact time of the quenching zone and the tempering zone can be kept as it is, and the quenching and tempering can be continuously performed on the workpiece. , The degree of freedom when partnering the production line is improved by a large margin.

Therefore, according to the method of the present invention, each quenching and tempering can be performed while keeping the tact time of quenching and tempering as it is, and in carrying out the method of the present invention, a single quenching zone is used. In contrast, a single tempering zone is prepared, and a single quenching and tempering device can be configured by arranging the conveying means therebetween, and the above-described quenching, a device capable of performing a continuous process of tempering with high efficiency, It is possible to obtain a practicable quenching and tempering method that can be obtained with a compact configuration without increasing the size of the equipment.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the work is made of a gear material,
In the quenching zone, a rotary table is provided that rotates sequentially along the gear material receiving position, quenching position, and payout position,
In addition, since the tempering zone is equipped with a lifting / lowering rotating device that raises / lowers and rotates a plurality of gear materials at the same time, it is possible to carry the gears into the quenching zone and set the gears to the quenching position with one device with high efficiency. Also, in the tempering in the tempering zone, a plurality of gears are raised and lowered simultaneously and rotated, so that the tempering can be performed with high efficiency. Also, since a rotary table is provided in the quenching zone to move the workpiece sequentially along the work receiving position, the quenching position and the payout position, and a raising and lowering rotating device is provided in the tempering zone, a plurality of workpieces are raised and lowered simultaneously and rotated. It is also possible to simplify the structure of the quenching and tempering device itself including the transport means.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall process diagram of a gear manufacturing apparatus incorporating a quenching and tempering apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the quenching and tempering apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the quenching and tempering apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a side view seen from a direction A in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a side view as viewed from a direction B in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of an induction hardening device.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line CC of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a low-frequency tempering device.

9 is a view in the direction of arrow D in FIG. 8;

[Explanation of symbols]

14: quenching and tempering device, 23: rotary table,
40 ... elevating / rotating device, 51, 52, 53 ... conveying means,
W: Workpiece, Z1: Hardened zone, Z2: Tempered zone.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A step of loading a work into a single quenching zone provided in a single apparatus, and a step of quenching one or a plurality of loaded works in the single quenching zone. And, via a transfer means having a plurality of work receiving portions, with the takt time being an integral multiple of the tact time in the quenching zone, while setting the work of an integral multiple that has been hardened to the work receiving portion, simultaneously Conveying from the quenching zone to a single tempering zone; simultaneously tempering the workpiece of the integral multiple with a takt time that is an integral multiple of the takt time in the quenching zone in the single tempering zone; And a step of discharging the completed workpiece from the apparatus, and a method of quenching and tempering. 2. The work is a gear material, and the quenching zone is provided with a rotary table that sequentially rotates along a gear material receiving position, a quenching position, and a dispensing position. 2. The quenching and tempering method according to claim 1, further comprising an elevating and rotating device for simultaneously elevating and rotating a plurality of gear materials.