Die casting furnace system with ultrasonic unit for improved molten metal quality

Abstract

A die casting furnace system includes a die casting holding furnace unit defining a cavity for holding a molten metal. A dosing unit is disposed within the cavity and defines a dosing area disposed in fluid communication with the cavity for receiving the molten material during a pressurization of the cavity. The cavity of said die casting holding furnace unit has a first storage capacity and the dosing area of said dosing unit has a second storage capacity being less than the first storage capacity. An ultrasonic unit is operably coupled with the finitely sized dosing area and is configured to introduce vibration into the received molten material for facilitating the removal of gases from the received molten material. The treatment of the finitely sized dosing area with the ultrasonic unit leads to improved metal cleanliness and accuracy that is not achievable with prior art systems.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This PCT International Patent Application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62 / 520,940 filed Jun. 16, 2017 entitled “Die Casting Dosing Furnace With Ultrasonic Degassing System For Improved Aluminum Molten Metal Quality,” the entire disclosure of the application being considered part of the disclosure of this application and hereby incorporated by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the Invention[0002]The present disclosure relates generally to a system and method for an improved quality of molten metal in a die casting holding furnace unit.2. Related Art[0003]This section provides background information related to the present disclosure that is not necessarily prior art.[0004]Traditional dosing furnaces are closed holding furnaces with a spout for direct metal (e.g., liquid or molten metal) delivery into a cold chamber die casting machine. Traditional dosing furnaces are designed so the entir...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The die casting furnace system described in this patent has a small dosing unit that allows for optimal quality of molten metal before it is introduced into a die casting machine. The system also uses ultrasonics to remove gases from the molten metal and obtain higher metal quality. The combination of these improvements results in lower hydrogen content, higher density, lower porosity number, and higher tensile properties of the treated molten metal compared to existing systems.

Problems solved by technology

A successful introduction of a rotary degassing unit inside a pressurized dosing furnace has not been achieved because this would cause issues with pressure tightness of the dosing furnace itself and introduce turbulence such as dross, oxides, etc.

Attempts have been made to use ultrasonic degassing for small holding furnaces; however, the volume of metal in conventional dosing furnaces is too large for the ultrasonic degassing vibration / wave to be effective.

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