KR20140094519A - System and method for manufacturing a honeycomb body - Google Patents

Abstract

A system and method for making a honeycomb body are provided. The system comprises a forming die (1) having a plurality of sub-dies movable to be opened and closed; A tightening metal mold (6) for tightening the forming metal mold (1); (2) inserted into the inner volume of the forming die (1) and capable of being withdrawn therefrom and capable of rotating about a rotation axis; The tightening metal mold 6 has a shape cooperating with the shape of the forming metal mold 1 so that the operation of the tightening metal mold 6 causes the molding metal mold 1 to be tightened.

Description

[0001] SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING A HONEYCOMB BODY [0002]

The present invention relates to systems and methods for manufacturing honeycomb bodies, and more particularly to systems and methods for manufacturing S-type metal honeycomb bodies.

Honeycomb bodies are commonly used in many fields such as filters, catalyst substrates, etc. in engine exhaust purification systems. Honeycomb bodies have a wide channel surface area, low back pressure, excellent mechanical performance and catalytic engineering specificity. In recent years, S-type metal honeycomb bodies are of particular interest.

Metal honeycomb bodies are usually made of metal foil. The honeycomb structure needs to be continuously tightened to form an internal channel. The precision of honeycomb body fabrication will affect its lifetime and other properties.

Apparatus and methods for making honeycomb bodies are known in the art. For example, WO 97/10135 describes a honeycomb body making apparatus and method. The apparatus includes a fork rolling mechanism that rotates about an axis and maintains a foil stack, and an arc mold segment that can be closed to form a mold. The model consists of at least two mold segments each of which can rotate about its axis. The rotational axes are respectively parallel to the rolling axes. CN 101251036A also discloses an apparatus and a method for manufacturing a honeycomb body. The apparatus includes a fixed post and two sets of mold segments that can be closed to form the mold. These devices are complex and difficult to manufacture and lack accuracy.

US 7,318,276 B2 discloses a honeycomb body finishing method in which a honeycomb structure is wound to meet required performance and then machined by a micro-machining tool.

Some of the technical solutions in this field result in inadequate performance of the honeycomb body due to the inaccuracy of the honeycomb body geometry and even result in scrap. Other solutions result in high complexity of the structure, difficulty of precise control, and / or high costs in the manufacturing process, despite improvements in manufacturing precision.

Summary of the Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide a simple structure system capable of manufacturing a honeycomb body having excellent stability and long life, as a system for automatically manufacturing a honeycomb body.

According to the present invention, the system comprises: a forming mold having a plurality of sub-molds movable to be opened and closed; A tightening mold for tightening the molding die, i.e. closing the sub-die; (S) that can be inserted into and withdrawn from the inner volume of the forming die and rotated about the axis of rotation. According to the present invention, the tightening metal mold has a shape cooperating with the shape of the molding die so that the operation of the tightening metal mold causes the tightening of the molding metal mold.

With this system, the honeycomb structure can be manufactured with high accuracy without using a complicated tightening system as in the prior art.

According to a preferred embodiment, the forming mold has an outer surface cooperating with the conical inner surface of the clamping mold, and the clamping mold is displaced in the axial direction during operation. This solution is desirable because the fastening die can be easily and precisely controlled. Therefore, not only the tightening metal itself but also the drive train thereof can be constructed simply and can be manufactured at low cost. The tightening tool can be easily driven by an electric motor, for example, through a gear-rack transmission, a worm transmission, or the like.

Other solutions are also possible for providing a cooperating structure, such as a threaded structure with threads or grooves, to the forming mold and the clamping mold.

The forming mold preferably includes four sub-molds. However, molding molds having only two, six or more sub-molds may be considered, leading to a simpler solution. More sub-molds result in more uniformly distributed forces on the honeycomb body, but result in greater complexity in the structure.

Preferably, the sub-mold can be closed to form a cylindrical, circumferential closed inner volume. This solution has the advantage that the final size of the honeycomb structure is precisely controlled only by the geometry of the sub-mold. Thus, a high-accuracy manufacturing system can be easily provided.

According to a preferred embodiment, the manufacturing system further comprises an axially moveable ejecting part for pushing the rolled-up honeycomb structure into the housing. Thus, a highly automated system is achieved.

In addition, in order to provide a highly automated system, an automatic feeder for feeding a foil stack to be rolled to the forming die is provided.

A method for manufacturing a honeycomb body using the system is also presented. The method includes the steps of:

Opening a forming mold;

Introducing a foil stack into the space between the rolling pins;

Rotating the rolling pin until the foil stack is completely wrapped in the forming die;

Actuating the clamping mold while rotating the rolling pin, wherein operation of the clamping mold reduces the internal volume of the forming mold to a first value;

Withdrawing the rolling pin from the structure formed by the foil stack; And

Pushing the rolled-up honeycomb structure into the housing by means of an injection part.

According to this method, the honeycomb body can be automatically manufactured with high accuracy. The manufactured honeycomb body has excellent behavior and long life due to this precise control process that is tightened while the honeycomb structure is rolled up.

Advantageously, an additional step is provided between the step of withdrawing the rolling pin and the step of pushing the wound honeycomb structure into the housing, wherein the tightening metal further serves to reduce the internal volume of the forming mold to a second value do.

1 is a schematic diagram of a system according to the present invention.
2 is a cross-sectional view of the manufacturing system with the foil stack being introduced.
3 is an illustration of a system according to the present invention as viewed in the direction of arrow D in Fig.
Fig. 4 is a view corresponding to Fig. 2, in which the foil stack is already wound and the tightening metal mold is already crossed at a certain distance.
Fig. 5 is a view corresponding to Fig. 3, in which the foil stack is already wound and the tightening metal mold is already crossed at a certain distance.
6 is a block diagram showing a honeycomb body manufacturing process.

details

1 is an illustration of a system for manufacturing a honeycomb according to the present invention. The system includes a forming mold 1 and a tightening mold 6 for winding a frame, a drive train, a honeycomb-type volume.

2 and 3 are sectional views of a honeycomb manufacturing system according to the present invention. The forming mold 1 is composed of four sub-molds independent of each other (see FIG. 3), and these four sub-molds can be opened and closed. For example, four sub-molds are supported on a frame such as a jaw of a four-jaw chuck. The sub-molds are preferably each radially movable in their respective slide rails. The sub-mold is biased in the opening direction by a spring. The four sub-molds can of course be arranged in other known means.

3, there is a gap between the four sub-molds A in its open state, and the foil stack 3 to be wound can be introduced into the forming die 1 through this gap. The foil stack 3 is created by alternating layers of wave metal foil and flat metal foil.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the four sub-molds of the molding die 1 are held in the tightening die 6. The forming die 1 has a conical outer surface which engages the conical inner surface of the tightening die 6 so that the forming die 1 continues to contract by the axial movement of the tightening die 6 . As a result, the honeycomb laid in the molding die 1 is tightened (see Figs. 4 and 5). In one embodiment, the four sub-molds can be retracted to form a closed cylindrical cavity.

The molding die 1 and the tightening die 6 are preferably joined to each other by a matching conical surface thereof. However, coupling with other matching shapes can also be considered.

The system shown in Fig. 1 comprises a rolling pin 2 which can be inserted into the internal volume of a forming mold 1. Fig. In the illustrated embodiment, two rolling pins 2 are provided for manufacturing a double S-shaped honeycomb structure. Other conventional arrangements of rolling pins for manufacturing a corresponding honeycomb structure are also possible.

One end of the rolling pin 2 is supported by a pin drive shaft 7. The pin drive shaft 7 can rotate about its longitudinal axis. The rolling pin is driven to rotate about an axis X parallel to both of the rolling pins 2 by the pin drive shaft 7. [ The axis X of the rolling pin is located at the center of the forming die 1 and equally spaced from the rolling pin 2. [ The foil stack 3 is wound by the rotation of the rolling pin 2 to form an S-shaped honeycomb structure. The pin drive shaft 7 can be axially moved from a first position in which the rolling pin 2 is inserted into the volume of the forming die 1 and a second position in which the rolling pin 2 is drawn out of the volume.

The system 10 also includes an injection section 5 that is slidable on the pin drive shaft 7 to push the wound honeycomb structure into the housing 8. In this way, a honeycomb is produced. In Fig. 5, the central portion of the foil stack 3 wound as a honeycomb structure is enclosed by the injection portion 5.

In one embodiment, a support shaft 4 for supporting the rolling pin 2 is provided on the other side of the rolling pin 2. The housing 8 is pushed on the support shaft 4. The support shaft 4 is movable in the axial direction so as to leave the housing 8 when the honeycomb structure is pushed by the injection part 5.

The structure of the manufacturing system, that is, the manufacturing method is described below.

First, the foil stack 3 is prepared. Usually the foil stack 3 is formed by simply laminating a certain number of wave foils and a flat foil. Thereafter, a housing 8 for the honeycomb is disposed in the manufacturing system. In the case of metal honeycomb molds, the housing is usually a steel sleeve.

In step S01, the forming die 1 is opened.

In step S02, the foil stack 3 is introduced into the space between the two rolling pins 2 through a gap between the two sub-molds (see FIGS. 2 and 3).

In step S03, the rolling pin drive shaft 7 is rotated by the drive train. The rolling pin 2 is rotated by the rolling pin drive shaft 7 so that the foil stack 3 is wound into the forming die 1. [

In step S04, the tightening metal mold 6 moves in the axial direction, so that the inner volume of the forming metal mold 1 gradually decreases to the first value after the foil stack 3 is completely wound into the molding metal mold 1. [ Meanwhile, the rolling pin 2 continues to rotate. In this embodiment, the tightening metal mold 6 linearly moves in the direction D during its tightening operation. The sub-mold of the molding die 1 is displaced radially inward by the axial movement of the tightening metal mold 6 due to the combination of the conical inner surface of the tightening metal mold 6 and the conical outer surface of the molding metal mold 1. [ Thereby tightening the honeycomb structure formed by the foil stack 3 (see FIGS. 4 and 5).

In step S05, the rolling pin 2 is drawn out after step S04, the tightening metal mold 6 is further moved, and thus the inner volume of the forming metal mold 1 is further reduced to the second value.

In step S06, after reaching the second value, the injection part 5 pushes the rolled-up honeycomb structure into the housing, thus forming the honeycomb having the housing and the rolled-up honeycomb structure. In particular, the second value corresponds to the internal size of the forming die 1 in a state where the four sub-dies are completely closed.

1: Molding mold
2: Rolling pin
3: Foil stack
4: Rolling pin drive shaft
5:
6: Fastening tool
7: Support shaft
8: Housing

Claims (9)

A forming die (1) having a plurality of sub-dies movable so as to be opened and closed;
A tightening metal mold (6) for tightening the forming metal mold (1); And
(2) that can be inserted into and withdrawn from the inner volume of the forming die (1) and rotated about a rotation axis,
Characterized in that the tightening metal mold (6) has a shape cooperating with the shape of the forming metal mold (1) so that the operation of the tightening metal mold (6) causes the tightening of the molding metal mold A system for manufacturing a honeycomb body. A system according to claim 1, characterized in that the clamping mold (6) has a conical inner surface cooperating with the conical outer surface of the forming mold (1) and the clamping mold (6) is displaceable in the axial direction. 3. A system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the forming die (1) comprises four sub-dies. 3. The system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the sub-mold can be closed to form a cylindrical, circumferentially closed inner volume. 3. The system according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising an axially movable ejecting part (5) for pushing the rolled-up honeycomb structure into the housing (8). 3. The apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 further comprising a rolling pin drive shaft (7) for supporting one end of the rolling pin (2), said injection part (5) sliding on a rolling pin drive shaft Said shaft being arranged on said shaft. 3. The system according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising an automatic feeder for feeding the foil stack (3) to be rolled to the forming die (1). 9. A system as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7,
Opening the forming die (S01);
Introducing a foil stack into the space between the rolling pins (S02);
Rotating the rolling pin (S03) until the foil stack is completely wound into the forming die;
Operating the tightening metal while rotating the rolling pin, wherein operation of the tightening metal reduces the inner volume of the forming mold to a first value (S04);
Withdrawing the rolling pin from the structure formed by the foil stack (S05); And
(S07) of pushing the rolled-up honeycomb structure into the housing by the injection part,
≪ / RTI > 9. The method of claim 8, further comprising: between a step of withdrawing the rolling pin and a step of pushing the rolled honeycomb structure into the housing, wherein the tightening metal further functions to reduce the internal volume of the forming mold to a second value RTI ID = 0.0 > (S06). ≪ / RTI >

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