KR100450429B1 - A method for forming macro pore on the water seal - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a water seal formed with macro pores, specifically, by forming a plurality of macro pores on the surface of the water seal fastened to the ceramic cartridge inside the faucet to adjust the contact area to seal and durability of the water seal It relates to a method of manufacturing a water seal formed with macropores to improve the water sealability and at the same time increase the lubricity of the water seal.

Description

A method for forming a macro pore on the water seal

The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a water seal in which macro pores are formed. Specifically, a plurality of macro pores are formed on a surface of a water seal fastened to a ceramic cartridge inside a faucet to form upper and lower ceramics of a water seal. The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a water seal with macropores which improves the sealability and wear resistance of the water seal by adjusting the contact area ratio between the discs and at the same time increases the lubricity of the water seal.

Generally, a water seal is a type of seal that is fastened to a cartridge inside a single lever faucet (hereinafter referred to as a "faucet") to perform hot / cold water mixing, opening and closing of tap water, and leakage prevention. In addition, since it requires excellent wear resistance, it is mainly used in the form of ceramic discs, and among them, ceramic discs having alumina content of 96% are frequently used.

The water seal is connected to the cartridge inside the faucet by the upper ceramic disc and the lower ceramic disc as a set, so that the two ceramic discs are engaged with each other, the amount of water and the temperature Will be adjusted.

Such a water seal for water-receiving should have good lubricity in addition to sealability (leakage prevention) and abrasion resistance. Lubrication means a degree of low frictional torque (torque) when operating a handle of a faucet, so that the handle can be easily operated. Among the factors that determine the ease of operation are directly related to the water seal, the contact area ratio (SBA) of the water seal working surface and the flatness of the water seal sliding surface.

The present invention relates to the contact area ratio of the water seal sliding surface, wherein the contact area ratio is defined as the ratio per unit area that can contact the surface between the upper ceramic disk and the lower ceramic disk of the water seal fastened to the ceramic cartridge inside the faucet. Internationally required quality standards are 50-80%.

1 illustrates a surface structure of a water seal 11 according to the related art. In the process of lapping and polishing the surface of the water seal by lapping and polishing, water of 3-20 μm of crystal grains of alumina is dropped off. Open micro pores of about 10-30 μm are formed on the seal surface. Observed by the reflection microscope, the black-looking part is the micropores 12 and the scratch, and the bright-looking part is the contact surface 13.

At this time, as a method of adjusting the contact area ratio of the ceramic disks on both sides of the waterseal, it is possible to adjust the particle size of the diamond powder (diamond powder) used as an abrasive in the final polishing process. That is, the contact area ratio becomes small when a large diamond powder particle is used, and when a small thing is used, a contact area ratio becomes large. This is shown in Table 1.

As such, in the related art, the contact area ratio of the water seal has been adjusted only by polishing such as polishing, and by this polishing process, only 10 to 30 μm of fine pores can be formed on the surface of the water seal. Although the number of pores, which are non-contact parts of the surface, can be controlled, the size of the pores cannot be controlled, so only the contact area can be reduced to improve the lubricity of the water seal.

Figure 2 shows the characteristics of the water seal according to the surface contact area ratio of the water seal, (a) is a large contact area ratio and (b) is a small contact area ratio.

When the contact area ratio of the water seal is increased as shown in (a), the sealing and abrasion resistance is improved, but the lubricity of the water seal is inferior due to the relatively large contact area between the ceramic disks of the water seal. The disadvantage is that the handle movement is heavy.

On the other hand, when the contact area ratio of the water seal is reduced as shown in (b), the water seal's lubricity is improved because the contact area between the ceramic disks of the water seal is relatively small, but when used for a long time, Because of the large surface wear phenomenon caused by friction, wear resistance is lowered, there is a disadvantage that the fine pores are connected to each other, there is also a possibility of leakage and poor sealing.

Therefore, there is a need to develop a water seal with good sealing properties, wear resistance and lubricity.

On the other hand, since the friction coefficient between the upper and lower ceramic disks of the water seal is very high, the sliding surface formed between the upper and lower ceramic disks of the water seal to reduce the friction, that is, to improve the lubricity of the water seal ( A lubricant such as silicon grease is injected into the sliding surface, and at this time, micro pores formed on the sliding surface serve as a fluid reservoir.

However, in the water seal surface structure in which the micropores are formed in the related art, as lubricating oil flows out or is washed away by water as time passes, the rotational friction force necessary for sliding as the lubricating oil existing on the water seal surface decreases. This has a disadvantage in that the lubricity decreases rapidly, and even sticking occurs that the upper and lower ceramic disks stick together and do not move.

The present invention was developed to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing a water seal in which macropores with improved lubricity and improved sealability and wear resistance of a water seal fastened inside a faucet. .

1 is a plan view showing the surface of the water seal formed with a conventional micro-pores

1A is a partial longitudinal cross-sectional view of FIG. 1.

2 is an explanatory view for explaining the concept of the surface contact area of the waterseal

3 is a plan view showing the surface of the water seal formed with macropores in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention

3A is a partial longitudinal cross-sectional view of FIG. 3.

4 is a graph showing the characteristics of the water seal according to the present invention

<Code Description of Main Parts of Drawing>

1,11 Water seal 2: Macro pore

3,13 contact surface 12 micropores

In order to achieve the above object, a method of manufacturing a water seal in which macropores are formed according to the present invention comprises the steps of preparing a raw material powder by wet pulverizing and drying the raw material for forming the macropores, followed by sieving. Mixing the raw material powder with an alumina powder, which is a base of the water seal, using a mixer; Pressing the mixed powder and then firing to form a water seal; And polishing the surface of the formed water seal, which is wet-pulverized ceramic material or organic material to form the macropores, granulated by spray drying, and then sieved to 60 to 230 mesh. After mixing 0.1 ~ 3wt% of raw material powder and 97 ~ 99.9wt% of alumina powder which is a water seal substrate, it is press-molded at a pressure of 50 ~ 300KN and calcined at a temperature of 1600 ~ 1650 ℃, followed by precise grinding. to be.

In addition, the raw material forming the macropores of the present invention is selected from a ceramic material or an organic material that is melt-diffused or extinct at a lower temperature than the alumina material, the ceramic material is siliceous, aluminum silicate, feldspar, lime, magnesia, At least one selected from serinite and bentonite, and the organic material is characterized in that at least one selected from organic compounds such as starch, flour, and prima powder for coffee.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First, in the method of manufacturing a water seal with macropores according to the present invention, a small amount of a separate powder for forming pores in the alumina base powder, which is a base of the water seal, is mixed with a small amount, and then press-molded. In the process of baking at high temperature, the microporous powder mixed in small amount disappears and a pore is formed in the water seal, and then the macropores opened on the surface of the water seal are polished by grinding the fired water seal. It is formed.

Hereinafter, the manufacturing method of the water seal with the macropores of the present invention will be described in detail according to the process as follows.

First step: raw material powder manufacturing process

First, a raw material powder for forming macropores in a water seal is prepared.

Oxide-based ceramic materials and organic materials are used as raw materials for forming the macro pores, which may be selected in a range that does not change the appropriate physical and chemical properties according to the use of the water seal.

In the case of the ceramic material, melting begins at 1200-1500 ° C., which is lower than the sintering temperature of the alumina material, which is the base of the water seal, and the melting is diffused along the alumina grain boundary, which is the base material. The position where the material existed is used to create a pore as a void is used.

Such ceramic materials are preferably siliceous, aluminum silicate, feldspar, calcareous, magnesia, sericite, bentonite, or mixtures thereof, which are melted at low temperatures for those skilled in the art. The composition to be made can be adjusted appropriately.

In the case of the organic material, the organic material is burned out and extinguished in a temperature range of 200 to 700 ° C during sintering when mixed with alumina, which is a base of the water seal.

As the organic material, organic compounds such as starch, flour, and prima powder for coffee may be used.

According to the above principle, the ceramic material or organic material for macropore formation is wet-pulverized for 5 to 20 hours by a ball mill or the like, and then spray-dried by spray dryer to make spherical granules to pressurize powder. Make this possible.

Subsequently, the granules are sifted into 60 to 230 mesh to classify them to a size suitable for the required properties.

At this time, the size and size uniformity of the macropores formed on the surface of the water seal is controlled through the sieve separation process, which can be given the necessary size by varying the classification according to the needs of consumers, product characteristics, and specifications. It is.

Second step: mixing process

Next, the macropore-forming raw material powder obtained in the first step and the alumina powder for water seal substrate are mixed.

Alumina is mainly used as the water seal substrate, and alumina powder is prepared by spray-drying wet alumina having a crystal size of 1 to 3 μm for 5 to 20 hours.

To 97 to 99.9 wt% of the alumina powder, 0.1 to 3 wt% of a macropore-forming raw material powder was added, followed by mixing for 2 to 10 minutes to prepare a mixed powder.

The mixer used for the mixing is preferably a V type mixer or a cone type mixer.

In this case, the mixing ratio of the macropore-forming raw material powder to the alumina powder is not limited to the above, but the number and concentration of the surface macropores (number of macropores per unit area) of the finished water seal and the material properties of the finished product It is directly related to (specific gravity, alumina content, hardness), which makes it possible to give the necessary properties by varying the mixing ratio according to the design of the surface / material property of the finished water seal.

In addition, as the mixing ratio of the raw material powder for forming macropores increases, the number of macropores formed on the surface of the waterseal, which is a finished product, increases, and the pores formed inside the waterseal increase, so that the specific gravity decreases as a whole. When the mixing ratio of the raw material powder is more than 3wt%, the number of macropores formed on the surface of the waterseal and inside the waterseal is too high, so that the pores may be connected to each other, thereby increasing the risk of leakage.

On the other hand, when the mixing ratio of the macropore-forming raw material powder is less than 0.1wt%, the lubricity of the waterseal is deteriorated because the number of macropores formed on the waterseal surface and the waterseal is too small.

Third step: plastic working process

The mixed powder obtained in the second step is put into a water seal-shaped mold, press-molded by applying a pressure of 50 to 300 KN, and then fired at a high temperature of 1600 to 1650 ° C. to prepare a water seal.

At this time, since the macropore-forming raw material powder contained in the mixed powder is extinguished as it is burned and melted and diffused during the firing process, the macropore of 50 to 150㎛ has a void as much as the space occupied by the macropore-forming raw material powder in the water seal. Many are formed.

4th step: grinding process

The water seal formed with a plurality of macropores obtained in the third step is polished to impart sealing property.

The water seal fired at a high temperature is first polished with an abrasive made of silicon carbide or diamond by a double-side lapping machine, followed by ultra-precision polishing with a fine diamond abrasive of 1 to 6 μm by a polishing machine. do.

In other words, by precisely polishing the surface of the water seal, water leakage is prevented from occurring when the upper and lower ceramic disks of the water seal come into contact with each other.

At this time, the closed macro pores (closed macro pores) that are present on the water seal by the polishing process is opened (open) is to produce a water seal formed with macro pores according to the present invention.

Figure 3 shows the surface structure of the water seal 1 according to the present invention, the large and black part is a macro pore (macro pore) and the bright part is a contact surface (3), the part where the macro pore (2) is formed The contact surface of the surface of the water seal is increased, except that the sealability and durability of the water seal are improved, and the overall contact surface of the water seal is reduced by the macropores of about 50 to 150 μm formed on the surface of the water seal, thereby improving lubricity.

That is, the macropores of 50 ~ 150㎛ formed on the surface of the water seal according to the present invention as shown in Figure 3a is larger than the micropores of 10 ~ 30㎛ formed in accordance with the conventional method because the space for storing the grease is increased to the macro The grease stored in the pores continues to work, so that even if the water seal is used for a long time, the grease may be maintained for a long time, and the contact area between the ceramic disks on both sides of the water seal is controlled by the macro pores to improve the lubricity.

Figure 4 (a) and (b) is to compare the characteristics of the water seal with micro-pores formed by the conventional method of the water seal formed with macropores prepared according to the present invention.

According to this, in the case of the water seal according to the conventional method, as the number of times of use increases, the grease dissipates rapidly to increase the rotational friction force and the contact area, but in the case of the water seal according to the present invention, the grease is increased as the number of times of use increases. It disappeared very slowly, so the rotational friction and the contact area did not increase much.

For this reason, it can be seen that the lubricity of the water seal according to the present invention is improved compared to the water seal according to the conventional method.

Hereinafter, the production method and operation of the present invention through the examples will be described in more detail. However, the following examples are only examples to help understanding of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited thereto.

Example 1

As a material for forming macropores, feldspar, a ceramic material, was wet milled for 20 hours using a ball mill, followed by spray drying with a spray dryer to prepare spherical granules, and then a sieve of 120 mesh in a classifier. 1.2wt% of feldspar granule powder and 98.8wt% of alumina granule powder with alumina content of 96% after mixing through a sieve and mix for 5 minutes with a V-type mixer and press using a water seal mold Press-molded at 150 KN at and then fired at a temperature of 1620 ° C., this was wrapped and finally polished using a diamond abrasive of 3 μm.

Reflective microscope was used to identify the pores formed in the polished surface.

Example 2

As a material for forming the macropores, a mixture of sericite and bentonite, which are different ceramic materials, was mixed at a weight of 50:50, and the same procedure as in Example 1 was performed.

Example 3

As a material for forming macropores, an organic material such as Prima powder for coffee, which is readily available on the market, was used. The prima powder was sieved through a 120 mesh sieve, and then 0.7 wt% of the filtered powder and 99.3 wt% of the alumina powder having an alumina content of 96% were mixed, and the same procedure as in Example 1 was carried out.

Looking at the results of Examples 1, 2 and 3 it was confirmed that all showed the degree of distribution and size of the macropore almost the same degree. This is shown in Table 2.

As described above, the method of manufacturing a water seal with macropores according to the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments and the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited by the embodiments and the drawings disclosed herein and is within the technical scope of the invention. Of course, various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art.

As described above, according to the manufacturing method of the water seal with the macropores of the present invention, after mixing the powder of ceramic material or organic material with the water seal base powder, firing and polishing process 50 ~ By forming a macro pore of 150㎛, it improves the lubricity along with the sealability and wear resistance of the water seal, so that even if repeated use of the faucet to which the water seal of the present invention is fastened for a long time does not easily leak and wear easily In addition, it is possible to adjust the contact area ratio by the macropores and at the same time increase the ability to store the lubricating oil to facilitate the handle operation of the faucet, ultimately extending the life of the faucet.

Claims (5)

Preparing a raw material powder by wet pulverizing for 5 to 20 hours by selecting from ceramic material or organic material, granulating by spray drying, and then separating the sieve with 60 to 230 mesh to form macro pores; Mixing 0.1 to 3 wt% of the raw material powder and 97 to 99.9 wt% of the alumina powder for 2 to 10 minutes; Pressing the mixed powder to 50 ~ 300KN to form a water seal, and then firing the water seal at a temperature of 1,600 to 1,650 ° C. to form macropores of 50 to 150 μm; And The method of claim 1, wherein the surface of the water seal is first wrapped with hydrocarbon or diamond and then polished with diamond of 1 to 6 µm. delete The method of claim 1, The ceramic material or the organic material is a method of producing a water-sealed macroseal, characterized in that the melt diffusion or disappear at a lower temperature than the alumina material. The method of claim 3, wherein The ceramic material is a method for producing a macroporous water seal, characterized in that at least one selected from siliceous, aluminum silicate, feldspar, calcite, magnesia, cerinite, bentonite. The method of claim 3, wherein The organic material is a method of producing a water seal with macropores, characterized in that at least one selected from starch, wheat flour, coffee prima powder.