US3743004A

US3743004A - Automatic molding plant operation method

Info

Publication number: US3743004A
Application number: US00272750A
Authority: US
Inventors: F Becke
Original assignee: Badische Maschinenfabrik GmbH
Current assignee: Badische Maschinenfabrik GmbH
Priority date: 1969-12-11
Filing date: 1972-07-18
Publication date: 1973-07-03
Anticipated expiration: 1990-07-03
Also published as: DE1962131B1; JPS4836807B1; GB1335400A; FR2070816A1; US3682236A; FR2070816B1

Abstract

An automatic molding plant and operational method having a plurality of traverse carts or bogies to convey box molds. The molds are transferred from a sidetrack at a loading station and are ready for casting, then to a casting station or train and from there to an unloading station by way of a cooling track comprising at least two conveying paths positioned in different horizontal planes. Liftable and/or lowerable end sections are provided at the ends of the conveying paths, and the sidetrack is connected with one conveying path through the loading and unloading stations. Transferable weighing members are placed in the box molds in front of the casting station and are conveyed from the unloading station to the loading station on the traverse carts. After part of the cooling track has been traversed, the mold packs are separated from the box molds, and the box molds are returned to the molding machine while the mold pack traverses the remaining of the cooling track in an undamaged manner.

Description

1 1 AUTOMATIC MOLDING PLANT OPERATION METHOD [75] lnventor: Friedrich B. Becke, Wolfartsweier,

Germany [73] Assignee: Badische Maschinenfabrik,

Karlsruhe, Germany [22] Filed: July 18, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 272,750

Related U.S. Application Data [62] Division of Ser. No. 97,123, Dec. 11, 1970, Pat. No.

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Dec. 11,1969 Germany P 19 62131.9

[52] US. Cl 164/18, 164/130, 164/137 [51] Int. Cl 322d 33/00 [58] Field of Search....; 164/18, 130, 137,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Burnett 164/18 Carignan 164/18 X 0 1:1 EIEIEBWBEIEEI [451 July 3, 1973 7 Primary Examiner-Robert D. Baldwin Attorney-Craig & Antonelli [57] ABSTRACT An automatic molding plant and operational method having a plurality of traverse carts or bogies to convey box molds. The molds are transferred from a sidetrack at a loading station and are ready for casting, then to a casting station or train and from there to an unloading station by way of a cooling track comprising at least two conveying paths positioned in different horizontal planes. Liftable and/or lowerable end sections are provided at the ends of the conveying paths, and the sidetrack is connected with one conveying path through the loading and unloading stations. Transferable weighing members are placed in the box molds in front of the casting station and are conveyed from the unloading station to the loading station on the traverse carts. After part of the cooling track has been traversed, the mold packs are separated from the box molds, and the box molds are returned to the molding machine while the mold pack traverses the remaining of the cooling track in an undamaged manner.

2 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PAIENIEDJUL3 I975 Q g; @N

Uonum lxl I PATENIEDJULB I975 3 743 004 SHEET 3 [IF 4 PATENTEDJULIB 197s 3.743.004

SHEEI H 0F 4 AUTOMATIC MOLDING PLANT OPERATION METHOD This is a division of application Ser. No. 97,123 filed Dec. 11, 1970, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,682,236 issued Aug. 8, 1972.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an automatic molding plant operating method wherein a plurality of traverse bogies or carts conveys the molds, which were transferred from a sidetrack at a loading station and are ready for casting, to the casting station and from there to the unloading station by way of a cooling train or track. Transposable weighting elements are placed on the molds in front of the casting station and are conveyed from the unloading station to the loading station on the traverse bogies. After part of the cooling train has been traversed, the mold boxes are separated from the sand pack, whereupon the boxes return to the molding machine, while the undamaged sand pack traverses the second part of the cooling train. The expression mold pack used in the following description means the sand and casting on a pack without a box.

Modern molding processes should have low space requirements with respect to the basic area necessary and should be readily adaptable to various cooling periods of different castings. They also should make do with as small a number of boxes or foundry flasks as possible.

A conventional molding plant is shown, for example, in

U.S. Pat. No. 3,029,482, wherein two rows of box molds are conveyed side-by-side on a horizontal rail conveyor guided in one plane, the closing and emptying of the box molds taking place at certain locations of the loop sections and the box molds traverse the path twice by transposition.

Also, traverse tracks are known wherein the traverses are loaded with molds at the molding station, with the weighting being effected at the casting station. Then, the conveying of the molds through the cooling path until the emptying step is conducted in only one plane, whereas the return of the empty traverse carts, which are unused for the cooling of the molds, is effected in a second plane and mostly underneath the cooling train.

In case of long cooling periods, the plants known heretofore with rail conveyor result in a very large space requirement, due to the large radii of curvature of the rail tracks. Furthermore, many boxes are required because the boxes must pass through the entire cooling path. Also traverse bogies or carriages have large space requirements, since the cooling of the molds takes place only in one plane.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an aim of the present invention to overcome the problems and disadvantages encountered in the conventional molding plants.

The present invention has an object, among others, of providing an automatic molding plant which has a low requirement of basic area and offers an adaptation to various cooling periods. Besides, as few boxes as possible are required, even in case of long cooling periods, and the castings are to have the possibility of cooling off uniformly in the undestroyed or undamaged sand pack after ejection from the box. Furthermore, the construction of the plant and the devices employed therein are simplc'and safe in operation.

An essential feature of the present invention resides in that at least two conveying paths which are positioned in different horizontal planes and covered with molds are provided in a superimposed relationship. Liftable and/or lowerable end sections are provided at the ends of these conveying paths, and the sidetrack is connected with a conveying track through the unloading station and through the loading station.

The traverse bogies are provided with at least two deposit points, and at least one free storage place or area being provided for receiving the mold. At least one further storage place within a U-shaped trough is provided for receiving the ejected mold packs and for transporting the weighting elements. At two places, a device is arranged for transposing the weighting elements between the mold and the U-shaped trough of the traverse bogie, and the molds and mold packs conveyed on the traverse bogies determine vertical and parallel planes of circulation, between which the mold packs ejected from the box molds are transferred. Such a simple construction in accordance with the present invention also has, in addition to the sidetrack with the separator, the molding machine and the manipulator, a traverse track for the weighting, pouring, and cooling of the molds extending in several horizontally superimposed rail planes. Since at least two deposit points are provided on the individual traverse trains, tee mold packs are placed into the various vertically paralleldisposed track planes by transferring the same.

Starting with the basic concept of the present invention, various individual construction features result. For the design with a pivotal transfer or conveying device, the unloading station can be constructed with a triple traverser carriage disposed displaceable above the conveying path, in such a manner that a mold pack pusher, a weighting element transposer and a box mold transfer member are provided therein. A suitable design of the weighting element transposer can be such that a controllable clamp is provided in the movable triple traverser carriage and engages in a fitting carrying section or profile of the weighting element.

It is also possible to provide different solutions for the individual components other than the ones described herein without departing from the general idea of the present invention. For example, it is suggested to provide a triple traverser carriage in the unloading station, which station is connected with a mold pack transfer means. This mold pack transfer means can be designed in the shape of a swivel chute which can be pivoted between a receiving position when joined to the charging or ejector station and a discharging position in parallel the the longitudinal axis of the traverse bogies and exhibits a conventional feed drive (pivotal transfer means). Since it is desired that the swivel chute be in contact with the U-shaped trough of the traverse bogie as tightly as possible, circular-arc-shaped fittings are suitably provided between the swivel chute and the U- shaped trough of the traverse bogie.

An advantageous feature of the present invention for the unloading step, particularly the unloading of large box molds, results from another distribution of the individual operations by conducting the unloading of the mold packs and the transposition of the weighting elements in one station, whereas the transfer of the box mold onto the roller train, the ejection, and the transfer of the mold pack into the trought of the traverser carriage are conducted in a further station. A transfer device is disposed above the track of the box molds in a displaceable, as well as liftable and lowerable manner and is provided with gripper arms pivotal on both sides of the box mold and firmly grasping the box mold due to the contour thereof. A vertical transfer means for the mold pack is realized by providing, above the box mold transfer device, a stationary chute adapted to the dimension of the mold pack with an opening in the bottom above the mold pack ejector having the size of-the mold pack and with a transfer or pushing member adapted to the cross section of the chute, the operating path of which corresponds to the distance from the pusher or ejector to the plane Y of the traverse train. For the operation of a vertical transfer means, it is necessary to construct the troughs so that they can be lifted off in the upward direction and are centered in the horizontal position when placed on the traverse by means of centering devices.

An advantageous operating method which can be conducted with the above-described molding plant re sides in unilaterally discharging, in the unloading station, the mold pack, which is present in a trough on the traverser carriage, onto a vibration train or track, whereas the box mold travels on the other side after the transfer of the superimposed weighting element for ejecting the mold pack into the zone of the ejector or pusher.

The empty box molds travel in the sidetrack to the molding machine and, after the molding and the production of the molds ready for casting, to the feeding or loading station. The weighting element is transposed onto the U-shaped trough of the traverser carriage at the unloading station and is conveyed thereby to the loading station. The ejected mold pack is pushed into the U-shaped trough of a traverser carriage by a mold pack transfer means, whereby the mold packs are introduced into the different, vertically parallel track planes.

In the loading station, the weighting element is transposed from the U-shaped trough onto the mold ready for casting. The traverse carriages travel along the casting train, in each case laden with weighting elements, molds with boxes and mold packs, up to an end section or terminal of the first conveying path, and are thereat transposed into a second conveying path lying in a different track plane, so as to travel along this latter path until reaching the other end section of the conveying path, and are once again transposed into the track plane of the first conveying path.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING These and further features, objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description which shows, for purposes of illustration only, several embodiments in accordance with the present invention and wherein:

FIG. I is a schematic plan view of a molding plant with a pivotal transfer means according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view similar to FIG. 1 with a vertical transfer means;

FIG. 3 is a front view of a triple traverser carriage;

FIG. 4 is a front view ofa vertical transfer means; and

FIG. 5 is a view at right angles to the conveying direction of a traverser carriage with a trough.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING Referring now to the drawing, the conveying paths within the traverse track are disposed in two vertical planes X and Y and in two horizontal planes A and B as shown in FIG. 3. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, a conveying path 1 is illustrated which is connected with a sidetrack 4 via a loading station 2 and an unloading station 3. As seen in FIG. 3, a conveying path 8 with an impact or impulse drive 6 is disposed in a lower horizontal track planeB underneath the conveying path 1 on which traverser carriages 5 or bigies, which are in contact with each other, are movable with the aid of an impact or impulse drive 7. Between these conveying paths 1, 8, the traverser carriages 5 can be vertically transposed by means of lowerable and raisable end sections 9, 10.

The traverse bogies or carriages 5 have on one side thereof a depositing or storage place 11 for storing the box mold l4 composed of a cope l2 and a drag 13 as shown in FIG. 3 and, on the other side, a further depositing place 15 within a U-shaped trough 16, which, in each case, is provided fixedly on the traverser carriages 5 as in FIG. 3 or vertically removable as in FIG. 4. The U-shaped trough serves for receiving mold packs 17 consisting of the casting surrounded by molding sand. The cross-section of the trough, in this connection, is adapted to the dimension of the mold pack, so that the sand is supported or shored on three sides as seen in FIG. 5. A weighting element 18 is placed on the box molds 14 on the traverse track or path 1, 8 and is carried on the path without box molds between stations 2 and 3, by the U-shaped trough 16.

The box molds are poured at the casting train 19. After traversing the cooling path in the plane X-X, the box molds pass into the zone of the unloading station 3, as shown in FIG. 1, with triple traverser carriage 20 shown in FIG. 3. Numeral 21 denotes a box mold cleaner, and numeral 32 a sand pack ejector. In the sidetrack 4, numeral 23 represents a separator, numeral 24 represents a singleor double-molding machine, numeral 77 is a turning means for the drags, and numeral 25 is an assembly or finishing means. The box molds are propelled through the sidetrack 4 by the push cylinder 28 with the counter cylinder 29. The transportation of the box molds through stations 2 and 3 is correspondingly effected by

push cylinder

31, 26, cooperating with the

counter cylinders

30 and 27, respectively.

In the embodiment of FIG. 1, a pivotal transfer means 42 is provided between the ejection or discharge station 32 and the traverser carriages 5. This pivotal transfer means 42 consists of a swivel chute 39 into which can be ejected, one mold pack 17 with the aid of the impact drive 22. Thereafter, the swivel chute 39 pivots through a right angle and pushes, with the aid of an ejection device 40 installed therein, the mold pack 17 into the U-shaped trough 16 of the position 34. For transposing the weighting elements 18, the clamp 35 with lifting cylinder 43 is provided. A vibrating conveyor 38 takes over the sand packs with the casting transferred by the pack pusher 44. By means of the hoisting drive 45, the pusher 44 can be raised to such an extent that it moves past the transposed weighting I element during the return of the triple traverser carriage 20. A second pusher with hoisting drive 37 is lowered, after the advancement of the carriage 20, into the range of the molding boxes and pushes the boxes during their return ride onto the roller conveyor 36. The ejection station 32, according to FIG. 3, operates in such a manner that the mold pack remains at its level on the stationary plate or platform 47, whereas the drive 48 with the yoke 49 strips the box off in the downward direction. During this procedure, the box remains stationary on the roller conveyor section 78 which is lowered against the force of the hoisting drive 79.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, a mold pack is pushed onto the vibrating track 38 in a station 33 with a double traverser carriage which is provided with the same devices as the triple traverser carriage for transposing the weights and transferring the mold packs. A weighting element is transposed from the box mold in the conveying plane X to a trough in the conveying plane Y. In the subsequent station 41, which is shown in FIG. 4, the box mold 46 is transferred from the traverser carriage 5 onto the roller conveyor 50, and the trough 51 is lifted by means of the gripper 52 with drive 53 to the level of the U-shaped chute 54. Upon the lowering thereof, the trough is centered with respect to its position to the traverser carriage by means of pins 55 which fit into corresponding bores 56. A box mold transfer means 57 has runners or small rollers 58 traveling in rails 59 on both sides of the U-shaped chute 54. By means of the drive 60 via rod 61 and lever 62, the transfer means can be lifted with cranks 63 in order to be able to freely transfer especially heavy box molds. In this connection, the box molds are seized at the trunnions or pins 65 by the gripper arms 66 pivotable by means of the drive 67. The forward movement of all box molds on the roller conveyor 50 and in the gripper 66 is effected by the drive 64.

At the ejection point 32, the mold pack is ejected from the box 81 by the butt plate 68 by'means of the drive 69 in the upward direction through the box holder 70 and the bottom opening 71 into the U-shaped chute 54. Then, the mold pack is transferred by the butt plate 72 attached to the carriage 73, with the aid of the rack and pinion drive 74 and the motor 75, through the U-shaped chute 54 into the trough 51 which had been raised to the same level. The empty boxes 76 then return to the molding machine 24 by way of the sidetrack 4.

The

chutes

39, 54 as well as the troughs 16 are adapted to the breadth of the molding sand pack 17 with respect to their breadth, whereas the weighting element 18 is adapted, to the width of the trough 16 with respect to its length as shown in FIG. 5.

The mode of operation of the automatic molding plant will now be explained hereinbelow with reference to a plant as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. The starting point is a traverser carriage 5 present in the unloading station 3 wherein, on the deposit point within the U-shaped trough 16, a mold pack 17 is disposed, while on the storage place 11 there is initially deposited a poured mold l4 composed of a cope l2 and a drag 13 with a weighting element 18 placed thereon. With the aid of the triple traverser carriage 20, the weighting element 18 is first gripped by the clamping device 35 and lifted with the aid ofa hoisting device 43, while a pack pusher 44 is placed into its lowermost position by its associated lifting device 45. The box pusher or ejector 80 is in its upper position. At this point, the triple traverser carriage is first moved to the right. During this step, the mold pack 17 is pushed out of the U-shaped trough 16 toward the vibrating train 38, and the weighting element 18 is placed on the U-shaped trough l6. Thereafter, the pack pusher 44 is placed into its highest position, and the box pusher is moved into its lowermost position by the drive 37. At this point, the triple traverser carriage 20 moves toward the left, and the box mold 14 relinquishes the deposit point 11 whileall molds 14 disposed in front thereof are advanced by one step or stage.

Thus, a new mold 14 passes into the zone of the ejector drive 48, which releases the mold packs 17 by pressing the box downwardly on the roller conveyor 78 via the yoke 49 against the holding force of the drive 79. The mold pack comes to a standstill on the fixed plate 47 and is moved by the pusher 22 toward the pivotal transfer means 39. The presently empty boxes travel into the box cleaning device 21, then are separated in the separator 23, and fed to the molding machine 24 which molds the copes and drags. Only the drags are turned in the turning unit 77, and then the cores are inserted. In the closing or finisher device 25, the finished molds are then produced which are deposited in the loading station 2 by the drive 26 onto the depositing point 11 of a traverser carriage. The weighting element 18 positioned on a trough 16 in the unloading station 3 is placed on the box mold on the storage point 11 by means of similar devices shown in FIG. 3. Thereafter, the molds 14 travel through the casting train 19 for the casting operation. At the end of the conveying path in plane A, the traverser carriages 5 are lowered at station 9 to the conveying path in plane B and, at the end thereof, are again lifted at station 10, to the conveying path in plane A.' The traverser carriage 5 leaves the unloading station 3 with empty depositing points 11, 15 with the weighting element 18 being placed on the U- shaped trough 16. Now, the empty traverser carriage 5 arrives in the zone of the pivotal transfer means 39 which has received the mold pack 17 from the ejector 32 and pushes the pack into the U-shaped trough 16 of the traverser carriage 5 at position 34. Thereafter, the traverser carriage 5 travels with unoccupied depositing points 11 along the conveying path of planes X-A to the loading station 2. On this conveying path, the mold packs 17 are disposed within the U-shaped troughs 16 carrying the weighting elements 18.

On the conveying path in plane B, the traverser carriages 5 have both depositing points occupied as shown in FIG. 3. In case longer cooling periods are prescribed, the troughs l6 and traverser carriages 5 can be lengthened for receiving two or more mold packs. By the fact that the width of the

chutes

39, 54 and the troughs 16 is adapted to the dimensions of the mold packs, the mold packs cannot disintegrate, and the casting remain covered with sand along the entire conveying path and cool off uniformly.

While I have shown and described several embodiments in accordance with the present invention, it is to be clearly understood that the same is susceptible of numerous changes and modifications as will be apparent to one skilled in the art. I, therefore, do not wish to be limited to the details shown and described herein, but intend to cover all such changes and modifications as are encompassed by the scope of the present invention.

I claim:

1. Automatic molding plant operation method, comprising:

discharging a mold pack located in a U-shaped' trough on a traverse carriage at an unloading station unilaterally toward a vibrating conveyor;

transferring a weighting member disposed on a filled box mold on the other side of the traverse carriage upon the U-shaped trough;

passing the filled box mold into the zone of a mold pack ejector;

ejecting the mold pack from the filled box mold by means of the mold pack ejector;

pushing the ejected mold pack into the weighted U- shaped trough;

conveying the now-empty box on a sidetrack to a molding machine for producing the molds;

moving the box molds to a loading station;

conveying the ejected mold pack and weighting member on the U-shaped trough to the loading station;

pushing the ejected mold pack into the U-shaped trough; and

transposing the weighting member at the loading station from the U-shaped trough to the box mold ready for casting;

conveying the weighted box mold through a pouring station to the transferring area; and

conveying the ejected mold pack in the U-shaped trough to said unloading station.

2. Automatic molding plant operation method according to claim 1, further including conveying the traverse carriage carrying the box molds, the weighting members and mold packs along a casting train up to a first end section of a first conveying path in a first conveying plane;

conveying the traverse carriage along the second conveying until arrival at a second end station; and

transposing the traverse carriage into a second conveying path in a second conveying plane; and

again transposing the traverse carriage into the first conveying plane of the first conveying path.

Claims

1. Automatic molding plant operation method, comprising: discharging a mold pack located in a U-shaped trough on a traverse carriage at an unloading station unilaterally toward a vibrating conveyor; transferring a weighting member disposed on a filled box mold on the other side of the traverse carriage upon the U-shaped trough; passing the filled box mold into the zone of a mold pack ejector; ejecting the mold pack from the filled box mold by means of the mold pack ejector; pushing the ejected mold pack into the weighted U-shaped trough; conveying the now-empty box on a sidetrack to a molding machine for producing the molds; moving the box molds to a loading station; conveying the ejected mold pack and weighting member on the Ushaped trough to the loading station; pushing the ejected mold pack into the U-shaped trough; and transposing the weighting member at the loading station from the U-shaped trough to the box mold ready for casting; conveying the weighted box mold through a pouring station to the transferring area; and conveying the ejected mold pack in the U-shaped trough to said unloading station.

2. Automatic molding plant operation method according to claim 1, further including conveying the traverse carriage carrying the box molds, the weighting members and mold packs along a casting train up to a first end section of a first conveying path in a first conveying plane; conveying the traverse carriage along the second conveying path until arrival at a second end station; and transposing the traverse carriage into a second conveying path in a second conveying plane; and again transposing the traverse carriage into the first conveying plane of the first conveying path.