JPS63303002A - Metallic material capable of being easily worked by carving, cutting or other method and production of sintered product using said metallic material - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a metallic material capable of being easily worked by carving, cutting or other method by kneading powder of a metal such as Cu, Ag, Ni, Al, Zn, Sn or Fe having a specified particle size with org. binders and by molding the kneaded material to a proper shape. CONSTITUTION:92-96 wt.% powder of a metal such as Cu, Ag, Ni, Al, Zn, Sn Fe, etc., a mixture or an alloy of one or more kinds of such metals, having 5-50 mum average particle size is kneaded with 8-4 wt.% several kinds of org. binders and the kneaded material is molded to a proper shape to obtain a metallic material capable of being easily worked by carving, cutting or other method. An adhesive prepd. by kneading high density PE with an EVA copolymer is kneaded with microcrystalline wax and paraffin wax as plasticizers or further kneaded with PP, carnauba wax, stearic acid or the like as required. The kneaded material is suitable for use as the org. binders. When the resulting metallic material is worked and heat treated to carry out degreasing and sintering at <=10% rate of linear shrinkage, a sintered product having metallic characteristics is obtd.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention "Field of Industrial Application" The present invention is directed to metal processed products such as sculptures, reliefs, prints, ornaments, personal accessories, etc. using metal materials, which were previously considered difficult for amateurs. This technology relates to a technology that allows ordinary people to easily craft sintered products that have the strength, luster, and texture unique to metals by heat-treating and finishing them.

``Prior art'' Conventionally, reliefs have been made using copper plates, which are considered to be relatively soft and easy to handle, but even in such cases, special tools for metal work and the like have been used to create reliefs. It required skill and was not something that ordinary people could easily do. Moreover, it is even more difficult to create works of art and crafts by carving, cutting, and processing using various harder metal materials, and only a few experts can do this work. The current situation is that

The present inventor has improved the current situation as described above, and has developed and provided a metal material that can be easily carved, cut, etc. in the same way as materials such as wood, clay, wax, and stone. This allows the general public to enjoy creative activities such as metal works of art, crafts, and decorative items.The heat treatment technology of the present invention allows the creatively processed items to be finished as sintered products, and metal The purpose is for people to enjoy the unique luster, color, and texture of the product.

"Problems to be Solved by the Invention" The inventor has developed a technology for manufacturing precision mechanical parts by molding a mixture of fine iron-based metal powder, ceramic powder, and an organic binder, and then heat-treating the mixture, as a technology with a different application field. While researching this, we focused on the good formability and machinability of the mixed materials produced in the intermediate process stages, and created a new metal material that has good engraving and cutting workability and is suitable for the above purposes. The product has been improved so that the product after heat treatment maintains the image of the creator and has a beautiful appearance. In other words, since the technology for manufacturing precision mechanical parts mentioned above uses fine metal powder with an average particle size of 5 μm or less, linear shrinkage due to heat treatment is large at 15% to 20%, resulting in distortion of the shape and making it difficult to use as a work of art. This technique has the drawback of significantly changing the image of the creator, and is not suitable for producing sintered products by directly applying the technique to the present invention. This is because mixed materials for precision machine parts manufacture are mainly concerned with moldability, without considering engraving or cutting workability, and generally have weak shape retention and adhesive properties, and the raw materials are made with materials that place emphasis on aesthetic appearance. There are disadvantages such as not being limited. Therefore, we have made improvements to eliminate these drawbacks, creating sintered products that have good engraving and cutting workability, can be easily processed even by amateurs, and have the unique luster, color, and texture of beautiful metals through heat treatment. The purpose is to provide a method for manufacturing.

"Means for Solving the Problems" First, the first invention relates to a metal material that can be easily carved, cut, etc. They are copper, silver, nickel,
Average particle size of 5 μm made of aluminum, zinc, tin, iron, etc. alone, a mixture of two or more, or an alloy thereof
This is a metal material characterized by kneading metal powder of ~50 μm and several types of organic binders and then molding it into an appropriate shape to form a kneaded molded product.

That is, the raw materials may be copper, silver, nickel, aluminum, zinc, tin, iron, etc. alone, a mixture of two or more of these metals, or an alloy of these metals.
They need to be mainly composed of metal powder with an average particle size of 5 μm to 50 μm. The average particle size of the main metal powder is 5
If it is smaller than μm, moldability is good, but engraving and cutting workability are poor, and the linear shrinkage rate becomes large, so distortion of the shape during heat treatment and finishing becomes large and the image is lost. In addition, the average particle size of the metal powder that is the main material is 50LLm.
If it exceeds the above range, not only the moldability deteriorates, but also the cut surface becomes rough in terms of engraving and cutting workability, resulting in an unattractive appearance. In the present invention, it goes without saying that a small amount of metal powder having an average particle size of 5 μm or less may be consciously or unconsciously kneaded.

Further, the organic binder is made by mixing at least high-density polyethylene and ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer, which have a high adhesive effect, and kneading microcrystalline wax and paraffin wax as plasticizers. These are binders with relatively strong adhesive properties, and are used as metal materials for kneaded compacts to ensure adequate shape retention to prevent accidental cracking or chipping during engraving or cutting. is necessary. Furthermore, if necessary,
Polypropylene that gives appropriate fluidity to the mixed material,
Of course, carnauba wax and stearic acid as a lubricant may be kneaded.

Next is the mixing ratio of metal powder and organic binder.
The main material is metal powder with an average particle size of 5 μm to 50 LLm.
% to 96% (weight ratio), and when several types of organic binders are kneaded with 8% to 4% (weight ratio), the kneaded molded product has a hardness that is just right for manual engraving and cutting workability. Becomes a metal material.

The second invention is a method of manufacturing a processed product using the metal material into a sintered product.

First of all, copper, silver, nickel, aluminum, zinc,
A metal powder having an average particle size of 5 μm to 50 gm made of tin, iron, etc. alone or a mixture of two or more thereof, or an alloy thereof, and several kinds of organic binders are prepared.

Next, the metal powder and an organic binder are kneaded in a predetermined ratio and then molded into an appropriate shape to form a kneaded molded product, which is then used as a metal material that can be easily carved, cut, etc. Eggplant.

This metal material is subjected to arbitrary engravings, cutting, etc. to create reliefs, sculptures, crafts, ornaments, personal ornaments, etc.

This method of manufacturing a sintered product is characterized in that the product is then finished by heat treatment of degreasing and sintering while suppressing linear shrinkage to within 10%.

The heat treatment for degreasing and sintering varies depending on the specific raw material and type of organic binder, but in general, degreasing is performed by heat treatment in the air at about 230'C to 300C for 4 to 6 hours. In addition, the sintering process is
This is carried out by heat treatment at a high temperature of 700° C. to 100° C. for 2 to 3 hours.

"Example"<Example1> Spherical copper powder with an average particle diameter of 37 μm or less and an organic binder consisting of high-density polyethylene, ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer, microcrystalline wax, paraffin wax, etc. were mixed at a weight ratio of 95 μm. The mixture was mixed at a ratio of
m, and molded into a medal shape with a thickness of 5 mm to obtain a kneaded molded product.

This kneaded molded product is very easy to cut and can be easily engraved with a common chisel or knife, and its cut surface is also very beautiful, allowing for exquisite workmanship.

Moreover, the kneaded molded product could be easily drilled with a drill press, and no problems such as breakage occurred during this process. Next, after degreasing the medal with relief, which has been decorated with engravings, cutting, etc., at about 250°C for 5 hours in the atmosphere,
Sintering was performed at 1000° C. for 2 hours in a hydrogen stream. The linear shrinkage at that time was about 4%. After sintering, the medal had sufficient strength close to that of ordinary metal, and by simple polishing with abrasive paper, it was possible to produce a medal with reliefs that had the metallic luster of copper.

<Example 2> Spherical copper powder with an average particle size of 37 μm or less and an average particle size of 5 μm
The metal powder is made by mixing the following nickel powder at a weight ratio of 9:1, and the organic binder having the same composition as above is mixed at a weight ratio of 95:5.
After kneading for 2 hours at 0°C, the product was 40 mm in diameter and 5 mm thick.
The mixture is kneaded and molded into a medal shape of mm. This kneaded compact was also very easy to cut, as in the first example, and could be easily engraved manually using an ordinary chisel or knife. The resulting cut surface is extremely beautiful, and even an amateur can easily create exquisite workmanship.

The relief medals that have been carved, cut, etc. in this way are degreased in the air at approximately 250°C for 5 hours, and then
Sintering was carried out at 1000° C. for 2 hours in a hydrogen stream, followed by simple polishing with abrasive paper, etc., and a medal with a relief with a beautiful golden metallic luster and a linear shrinkage of about 4% was produced.

<Example 3> A mixture of spherical copper powder with a particle size of 37 μm or less and nickel powder with an average particle size of 5 μm in a weight ratio of 8=2 was used as metal powder.
Cutting of a kneaded molded body made by varying the amount of an organic binder such as high-density polyethylene, ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer, Microcrystalline wax, paraffin wax, etc. to be kneaded with this in a range of 3 to 10% by weight. Table 1 shows the results of examining the properties, degreasing properties, sintering properties, etc. when heat treated under the same conditions.

As a result of studying this example, the following was found. The appropriate amount of organic binder to be kneaded is determined to be desirably 5% to 7%, but if the mixing ratio of finer nickel powder is increased, the amount of organic binder that represents the appropriate amount increases accordingly, and conversely, the amount of organic binder that represents the appropriate amount increases. Decreasing the mixing ratio tends to reduce the amount of organic binder required. Therefore, the amount of organic binder to be kneaded, which is suitable for producing the metal material that can be easily carved, cut, etc. according to the present invention, is within the permissible range of 4% to 8% (weight ratio).

"Effects" The present invention is based on metal powder with an average particle size of 5 μm to 50 μm made of a specified metal suitable for art decorations, kneaded with several types of organic binders, and then shaped into an appropriate shape. The present invention provides a metal material that can be molded into a kneaded compact and easily processed by engraving, cutting, etc. In this new metal material, metal powder only has appropriate hardness and shape-retaining ability through an organic binder. For this reason,
The metal material has the characteristic that it can be easily carved, cut, etc. while maintaining its molded shape. As a result, it has become possible for amateurs to perform sculpting and cutting work on metal materials, which had previously been considered difficult, just as easily by hand as when using materials such as wood, clay, wax, and stone. Ta.

Moreover, if this is later degreased and sintered, it can easily become a sintered product, allowing you to enjoy handmade sculptures, designs, and works of art with the luster, texture, and color unique to metal.

As described above, the metal material according to the present invention has excellent contrast formation and cutting properties, so it can be easily carved, cut, etc., and anyone can easily make it into a creative work. The work can be easily finished into sintered products through heat treatment, making it possible to create metal reliefs, sculptures, and crafts that were previously thought to be possible only for experts with specialized tools and equipment. , ornaments, personal items, etc., can now be easily enjoyed even by amateurs.

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) The main material is metal powder with an average particle size of 5 μm to 50 μm made of copper, silver, nickel, aluminum, zinc, tin, iron, etc. alone, a mixture of two or more, or an alloy thereof, and several other metal powders. A metal material that can be easily carved, cut, etc., characterized by kneading an organic binder and forming it into an appropriate shape to form a kneaded molded product. (2) The organic binder is made by kneading at least high-density polyethylene and ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer as an adhesive, microcrystalline wax and paraffin wax as a plasticizer, and if necessary, polypropylene , carnauba wax,
A metal material that can be easily worked by engraving, cutting, etc. as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that stearic acid or the like is kneaded therein. (3) Metal powder with an average particle size of 5 μm to 50 μm, 92% to 96%
% (weight ratio) and several types of organic binders from 8% to 4% (weight ratio), and then molded into an appropriate shape to form a kneaded molded product. The metal material described in item 1 or 2 that can be easily worked by engraving, cutting, etc. (4) Metal powder with an average particle size of 5 μm to 50 μm made of copper, silver, nickel, aluminum, zinc, tin, iron, etc. alone, a mixture of two or more, or an alloy thereof, and several types of organic binders. A metal material that can be easily carved, cut, etc. is prepared by kneading it and then molding it into an appropriate shape to form a kneaded molded body. A method for manufacturing a sintered product using the metal material described above, characterized in that the product is finished by heat treatment of degreasing and sintering while suppressing linear shrinkage to within 10%.