A preheating device and preheating method for nonferrous metal ingots

Abstract

The present invention relates to a preheating device and a preheating method for nonferrous metal ingots. The preheating device comprises a stacking section, a conveying section, a preheating section and a feeding section. The stacking section comprises a placing table and a manipulator unit. The placing table is used to place a stack of metal ingots, and the manipulator unit is used to carry the metal ingots to the conveying section. The conveying section comprises a conveying trough, a conveying guide rail, a base and a pushing mechanism. The conveying trough and the conveying guide rail are arranged on the base. The pushing mechanism is arranged at the starting end of the conveying trough and is used to push the metal ingots to the preheating section. The preheating section comprises a closed box formed by an upper box and a lower box. The two ends of the box are respectively connected to the conveying section and the feeding section through a lifting door. A heating element and a heat-insulating plate are arranged in the upper box and the lower box. The heating element is installed on the heat-insulating plate and is used to heat the metal ingots in the box. The heat-insulating plate is installed on the shell of the box. One end of the feeding section is connected to the outlet end of the preheating section, and the other end is connected to the feeding port of the insulation furnace. A heat-insulating plate is arranged in the box of the feeding section.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of nonferrous metal casting, and in particular to a preheating device and a preheating method for nonferrous metal ingots. Background Art

[0002] The preheating device for non-ferrous metal ingots is a device for preheating the raw materials for melting non-ferrous metal parts casting, which can automatically perform stacking, conveying, preheating and feeding.

[0003] Nonferrous metal parts for automobiles, especially engine cylinder heads and cylinder blocks, are made by casting. Casting the aforementioned parts requires a large amount of molten aluminum, which is made by melting raw aluminum ingots. Aluminum ingots are the smallest unit of raw material blocks. Multiple multi-layer aluminum ingots are packaged into aluminum ingot stacks of specified sizes. In order to produce molten aluminum, current foundries are equipped with melting workshops, which are equipped with multiple melting furnaces. When melting, the aluminum ingot stacks are first put into the melting furnace, which uses a large amount of natural gas for combustion and heating to melt the solid aluminum ingots into molten aluminum. The molten aluminum in the melting furnace is then transferred to the casting workshop in a transfer bag and poured into the insulation furnace next to the casting machine, and then the parts are cast.

[0004] At present, the melting furnaces for melting aluminum ingots are all located in separate workshops and require separate sites. A large amount of natural gas is used to heat the aluminum ingots during melting. This process consumes a large amount of natural gas and produces very high carbon emissions. A large amount of heat and combustion products are directly discharged into the atmosphere, which also worsens the working environment. At the same time, natural gas requires separate transportation and supervision, and safety hazards such as natural gas leakage and fire have always existed.

[0005] In view of this, the deficiencies of the prior art have been studied and improved, and the present application provides a preheating device and a preheating method for non-ferrous metal ingots. Summary of the invention

[0006] Therefore, in view of the shortcomings of the prior art, the present invention provides a preheating device and a preheating method for non-ferrous metal ingots, which realize advance preheating and can simultaneously perform automatic destacking, conveying, preheating, and feeding to solve the problems of low production efficiency and environmental unfriendliness of the prior art.

[0007] In the first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention proposes a preheating device for non-ferrous metal ingots, which includes a destacking section, a conveying section, a preheating section and a feeding section. The destacking section includes a placement table and a manipulator unit, the placement table is used to place a stack of metal ingots, and the manipulator unit is used to transport the metal ingots to the conveying section; the conveying section includes a conveying trough, a conveying guide rail, a base and a pushing mechanism, the matching conveying trough and conveying guide rail are arranged on the base, the pushing mechanism is arranged at the starting end of the conveying trough, and is used to push the metal ingots in the conveying trough to the preheating section at the end of the conveying section. The preheating part comprises a closed box body formed by an upper box body and a lower box body, and the two ends of the box body are respectively connected with the conveying part and the input part through lifting doors. The upper box body and the lower box body are both provided with heating elements and heat-insulating plates. The heat-insulating plates are installed on the shell of the box body for heat insulation. The heating elements are fixed on the shell through the heat-insulating plates for heating the metal ingots in the box body; the input part is a box body structure with two ends opened, one end is connected to the outlet end of the preheating part, and the other end is connected to the feeding port of the insulation furnace. The input part is provided with a heat-insulating plate for keeping the preheated metal ingots warm.

[0008] Furthermore, the destacking part also includes a frame, the manipulator unit includes three-dimensional movable axes in X, Y and Z directions, a rotating axis and a controller, the Y-direction movable axis is movably mounted on two parallel beams on the top of the frame along the Y direction, the X-direction movable axis is movably mounted on the Y-direction movable axis along the X direction, the Z-direction movable axis is movably mounted on the X-direction movable axis along the Z direction, and a manipulator grasping part is provided at the bottom end of the Z-direction movable axis for grasping metal ingots.

[0009] Furthermore, the destacking section also includes a visual camera, which is arranged in the middle of the Y-axis moving axis and faces the metal ingot stack. The visual camera is used to collect and calculate the horizontal and vertical position errors of the metal ingots and negatively feedback them to the controller of the robot unit.

[0010] Furthermore, the conveying part also includes a first support seat, the base is arranged on the first support seat, the pushing mechanism is movably arranged at the entry end of the top of the first support seat, the pushing mechanism includes a telescopic actuator and a push head, the push head is arranged at the end of the telescopic actuator facing the direction of placing the metal ingots in the conveying trough, and the number of the push heads is adapted to the number of the conveying troughs.

[0011] Furthermore, the preheating section also includes a second support seat, a first lifting door, a second lifting door, a first lifting cylinder and a second lifting cylinder. The lower box is arranged on the top of the second support seat. The shell of the upper box and the shell of the lower box are hinged by a rotating shaft. The upper box can be rotated to open. The first lifting door and the second lifting door are respectively inserted at the entrance end and the exit end of the preheating section box. The first lifting cylinder and the second lifting cylinder are respectively connected to and drive the first lifting door and the second lifting door to perform lifting movements, so that the two ends of the preheating section box are opened or closed.

[0012] Furthermore, the heating elements in the upper box body and the lower box body are radiation tubes, and the multiple radiation tubes in the upper and lower boxes are respectively inserted into the heat-insulating plates and fixed on the box body shell, so as to uniformly radiate infrared heat on the surface of the metal ingot as a whole. A reflector plate is also provided on the surface of the heat-insulating plate to reflect infrared rays to the metal ingot for heating. A guardrail is provided at the lower part of the radiation tube in the upper box body, and a slide rail seat and a slide rail are also provided in the lower box body. The slide rail seat is installed on the heat-insulating plate of the lower box body, and the slide rail is installed on the slide rail seat. The slide rail is used to support the metal ingot and guide it. The net distance between the radiation tubes in the upper and lower boxes and the surface of the metal ingot is 5~50mm.

[0013] Furthermore, the shapes of the upper and lower radiation tubes can be designed into straight tubes, L shapes, U shapes, W shapes, etc. according to the shape and structure of the heated metal ingot. shape, S shape or spiral shape.

[0014] Furthermore, the heating elements in the upper box and the lower box are electromagnetic induction coil disks, which include an electromagnetic induction coil, a ceramic body, a coil lifting cylinder and a guide rod. The coil lifting cylinder is arranged in the middle of one surface of the ceramic body, and is used to push the electromagnetic induction coil disk to perform lifting and lowering movements. At least two guide rods for guiding are arranged on the surface of the ceramic body on both sides of the coil lifting cylinder. The electromagnetic induction coil is arranged on the other surface of the ceramic body. The ceramic body is arranged on the inner surface side of the thermal insulation plate. The guide rod is inserted into the thermal insulation plate and the shell. The electromagnetic induction coil faces the heating area. When the electromagnetic induction coil is energized, a high-frequency or medium-frequency current is generated, so that eddy currents appear from the surface of the metal ingot to the inside, causing the metal ingot to heat up and heat up. The net distance between the surface of the electromagnetic induction coil in the upper and lower boxes and the surface of the metal ingot is 1.5~15mm.

[0015] Furthermore, it also includes a PLC control unit, which is connected to and controls the operations of the depalletizing part, the conveying part, the preheating part, and the feeding part.

[0016] In a second aspect, a method for preheating a nonferrous metal ingot is provided, using the preheating device of the first aspect, the method comprising:

[0017] Step S110, the non-ferrous metal ingot stack is placed in the destacking unit, and the manipulator unit transports the metal ingot to the conveying trough of the conveying unit;

[0018] Step S120, the pushing mechanism pushes the metal ingot in the conveying trough to the entrance of the preheating section, and the lifting door at the entrance rises and opens. After the metal ingot enters the preheating section, the lifting doors at both ends are closed, and the metal ingot in the closed box of the preheating section is quickly heated to a predetermined temperature lower than its melting temperature by the heating element. The predetermined temperature can be set between 100°C and 500°C according to the production cycle requirements;

[0019] Step S130, after the metal ingot is preheated, the lifting door at the outlet of the preheating section rises and opens, and the preheated high-temperature metal ingot is put into the insulation furnace through the feeding section to continue to melt into a liquid state.

[0020] In summary, the preheating device and preheating method of nonferrous metal ingots proposed by the present invention can automatically perform stacking, conveying, preheating, and feeding. The device can preheat the aluminum ingots to a certain temperature in advance, and then continue to melt the preheated aluminum ingots in combination with the existing insulation furnace of the casting machine, thereby abandoning the current process of melting aluminum with an additional natural gas melting furnace, while achieving the purpose of energy saving and emission reduction, and also saving the site of the aluminum melting workshop for users. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings required for use in the embodiments of the present invention are briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work.

[0022] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of a preheating device for nonferrous metal ingots according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of an aluminum ingot stack placed in a destacking section according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0024] Figure 3 It is an axial view of a conveying part and a preheating part of a preheating device for nonferrous metal ingots according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] Figure 4 The present invention is a schematic cross-sectional view of a conveying portion of a preheating device for nonferrous metal ingots according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] Figure 5 The present invention is a schematic cross-sectional view of a preheating portion of a preheating device for nonferrous metal ingots according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0027] Figure 6Schematic diagram of the radiation tubes in the upper / lower boxes according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0028] Figure 7 It is a schematic axial view of an upper box of a preheating unit with an open body according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0029] Figure 8 yes Figure 7 Schematic diagram of the front view of the preheating part.

[0030] Fig. 9 yes Figure 7 Schematic diagram of the cross-section of the preheating section.

[0031] Fig.10 yes Figure 7 A schematic diagram of an embodiment of the shape of the induction coil.

[0032] Fig.11 yes Figure 7 A schematic diagram of another embodiment of the shape of the induction coil.

[0033] In the figure:

[0034] 10-destacking unit; 11-manipulator unit; 12-placing table; 13-frame; 14-visual camera; 15-aluminum ingot;

[0035] 20-conveying part; 21-conveying trough; 22-conveying guide rail; 23-base; 24-pushing mechanism; 241-telescopic actuator; 242-pushing head; 27-first supporting seat;

[0036] 30-preheating part; 31-upper box; 32-lower box; 33-first lifting door; 34-second lifting door; 35-first lifting cylinder; 36-second lifting cylinder; 37-second support seat; 38-heat-breaking plate; 39-reflecting plate; 311-upper radiation tube; 3111-guardrail; 312-electromagnetic induction coil disk A; 3121-coil disk lifting cylinder A; 3122-guide rod A; 321-lower radiation tube; 3211 slide rail seat; 3212 slide rail; 322-electromagnetic induction coil disk B; 3221-coil disk lifting cylinder B; 3222-guide rod B;

[0037] 40- Input department;

[0038] 50- Holding furnace. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0039] The following is a further detailed description of the embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and examples. The detailed description of the following embodiments and the accompanying drawings are used to exemplarily illustrate the principles of the present invention, but cannot be used to limit the scope of the present invention, that is, the present invention is not limited to the described embodiments, and covers any modification, replacement and improvement of parts, components and connection modes without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0040] It should be noted that, in the absence of conflict, the embodiments and features in the embodiments of the present application can be combined with each other. The present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and in combination with the embodiments.

[0041] The metal ingots in the following embodiments of the present application are described by taking aluminum ingots as an example. The device and method of the present application are not limited to preheating aluminum ingots, but can also be applied to preheating other non-ferrous metal ingots.

[0042] The casting machines in the foundry are all equipped with holding furnaces, which have a certain ability to melt aluminum ingots. If the aluminum ingots are preheated in advance, the time for the holding furnace to melt the aluminum ingots can meet the cycle of casting parts. Therefore, the present application provides a device that uses electric energy for preheating, uses infrared heat radiation to preliminarily preheat the aluminum ingots to a certain temperature, and then automatically puts them into the holding furnace to continue melting the heated aluminum ingots. A destacker is added to the front end of the device to realize automatic handling and transportation of aluminum ingots to achieve automated production.

[0043] The non-ferrous metal ingot preheating device of the present invention is a device for preheating before melting the raw materials for casting non-ferrous metal parts, which can automatically unstack, convey, preheat and feed. The device can preheat the aluminum ingot to a certain temperature in advance, and then continue to melt the preheated aluminum ingot in combination with the existing insulation furnace of the casting machine, thereby abandoning the current process of melting aluminum with an additional natural gas melting furnace, while achieving the purpose of energy saving and emission reduction, and also saving the site of the aluminum melting workshop for users.

[0044] The preheating device for nonferrous metal ingots is installed next to the holding furnace of the casting machine. The device includes a destacking section, a conveying section, a preheating section and an input section. First, the robot unit of the destacking section automatically transports the normal temperature aluminum ingots on the aluminum ingot stack to the conveying trough of the conveying section one by one through the movement of four axes. When the aluminum ingots in the preheating section are heated to a predetermined high temperature, the two lifting doors of the preheating section are opened, and the pushing mechanism of the conveying section pushes the normal temperature aluminum ingots in the conveying trough into the preheating section through the pushing head, and the preheating section heats the normal temperature aluminum ingots. While pushing in the normal temperature aluminum ingots, the high temperature aluminum ingots originally in the preheating section are pushed into the input section by the normal temperature aluminum ingots, and enter the holding furnace through the input section, and the holding furnace continues to melt the already high temperature aluminum ingots. For the overall axial view of the device, see the attached Figure 1 :

[0045] See attached Figure 1~Figure 3The present invention discloses a preheating device for nonferrous metal ingots, which comprises at least a destacking section 10, a conveying section 20, a preheating section 30 and an input section 40. The destacking section 10 comprises a placing table 12 and a manipulator unit 11, wherein the placing table 12 is used to place a metal ingot stack (aluminum ingot stack), and the manipulator unit 11 is used to transport the metal ingot (aluminum ingot 15) to the conveying section 20. The conveying section 20 comprises a conveying trough 21, a conveying guide rail 22, a base 23 and a pushing mechanism 24, wherein the matching conveying trough 21 and conveying guide rail 22 are arranged on the base 23, and the pushing mechanism 24 is arranged at the starting end of the conveying trough 21, and is used to push the metal ingot (aluminum ingot 15) in the conveying trough 21 to the preheating section 30 at the end of the conveying section 20. The preheating section 30 includes a closed box formed by an upper box 31 and a lower box 32. The two ends of the box are connected to the conveying section 20 and the input section 40 respectively through lifting doors (first lifting door 33, second lifting door 34). Heating elements and heat-insulating plates 38 are provided in the upper box 31 and the lower box 32. The heat-insulating plates 38 are installed on the shell of the box for heat insulation. The heating elements are installed on the shell through the heat-insulating plates 38 for heating the metal ingots (aluminum ingots 15) in the box. The input section 40 is a box structure with two ends open, one end connected to the outlet end of the preheating section 30, and the other end connected to the feeding port of the insulation furnace 50. A heat-insulating plate is provided in the box or outside the box of the input section 40 for heat-insulating the preheated metal ingots (aluminum ingots 15). It should be noted that the preheating device of the present application may also include a PLC control unit.

[0046] Specifically, the destacking section 10 also includes a frame 13, and the manipulator unit 11 includes three-dimensional moving axes in X, Y, and Z directions, a rotating axis, and a controller (the frame 13 is a supporting portion, and four moving axis mechanisms of the manipulator are installed on the upper part of the frame 13, which can realize movement in three directions: horizontal, longitudinal, and vertical, and rotation of a destacking manipulator). The Y-direction moving axis is movably mounted on two parallel beams on the top of the frame 13 along the Y direction, the X-direction moving axis is movably arranged on the Y-direction moving axis along the X direction, the Z-direction moving axis is movably arranged on the X-direction moving axis along the Z direction, and a manipulator grasping portion is provided at the bottom end of the Z-direction moving axis for grasping metal ingots (aluminum ingots 15).

[0047] As an optional embodiment, the destacking unit 10 also includes a visual camera 14, which is arranged in the middle of the Y-axis moving axis and facing the metal ingot stack. The visual camera 14 is used to collect and accurately calculate the horizontal and vertical position errors of the metal ingots and negatively feedback to the controller of the manipulator unit 11. Alternatively, since the aluminum ingots 15 are of standard size, the aluminum ingot stack can also be detected without a camera, and the aluminum ingots can be fed and moved one by one according to the size of the aluminum ingots. The placement table 12 in this device is installed under the frame 13 and on the side of the conveying unit 20. The aluminum ingot stack is temporarily placed on the placement table 12. The placement table has a bearing and positioning function. 1 to 3 aluminum stacks and placement tables can be set according to needs. During operation, the motion axis controls the manipulator to move to the aluminum ingot to be grasped, and the manipulator grasping unit grasps the aluminum ingot, and the aluminum ingot is transported to the V-shaped conveying trough of the conveying unit through the movement of the motion axis.

[0048] Note: Aluminum ingot stack is a standard raw material package formed by stacking multiple aluminum ingots placed horizontally or vertically in each layer. Figure 2 Schematic diagram of a stack of aluminum ingots.

[0049] See also Figure 3 , Figure 4 As shown, the conveying part 20 also includes a first support seat 27 as a support, the base 23 is arranged on the first support seat 27, and the push mechanism 24 is movably arranged at the entrance end of the top of the first support seat 27. The push mechanism 24 includes a telescopic actuator 241 and a push head 242. The push head 242 is arranged at the end of the telescopic actuator 241 facing the direction of placing the metal ingot (aluminum ingot 15) in the conveying trough 21. The number of push heads 242 is adapted to the number of conveying troughs 21. The conveying trough 21 is used to stably store the aluminum ingot 15 and play a role in moving and guiding. It is generally V-shaped. The number of aluminum ingots 15 stored in the conveying trough 21 can be designed to be 1 to 3 as needed; the push head 242 cooperates with the guide rail to achieve sliding, and the guide rail plays a guiding and positioning role. The telescopic actuator 241 is installed on the first support seat 27. The telescopic actuator 241 drives the push head 242 to extend forward by a specified length so as to push the aluminum ingot 15 in the conveying trough 21 into the preheating part 30 through the lifting door (first lifting door 33), and then retracts to the initial position. The extended length of the telescopic actuator 241 is detected by a position sensor, and a commonly used one is a photoelectric sensor.

[0050] See also Figure 3 , Figure 5The preheating section 30 also includes a second support seat 37, a first lifting door 33, a second lifting door 34, a first lifting cylinder 35 and a second lifting cylinder 36. The lower box body 32 is arranged on the top of the second support seat 37. The shell of the upper box body 31 and the shell of the lower box body 32 are hinged by a rotating shaft. The upper box body 31 can be rotated to open for easy maintenance. The first lifting door 33 and the second lifting door 34 are respectively inserted at the entrance end and the exit end of the box body of the preheating section 30. The first lifting cylinder 35 and the second lifting cylinder 36 are respectively connected to and drive the first lifting door 33 and the second lifting door 34 to perform lifting movements, so that the two ends of the box body of the preheating section 30 are opened or closed.

[0051] See also Figure 5~Figure 6 As a preferred embodiment, the heating elements in the upper box 34 and the lower box 32 are radiation tubes (upper radiation tube 311 and lower radiation tube 321). The multiple radiation tubes (upper radiation tube 311 and lower radiation tube 321) in the upper and lower boxes are respectively inserted into corresponding heat-insulating plates 38 and fixed on the box shell. The surface of the metal ingot (aluminum ingot 15) is uniformly heated by infrared radiation. The heat-insulating plates 38 are installed inside the upper and lower box shells to play a heat-insulating role. The shell is made of stainless steel. A reflecting plate 39 is also provided on the surface of the thermal insulation plate 38 for reflecting infrared rays to heat the metal ingot (aluminum ingot 15). A guardrail 3111 is installed at the lower part of the upper radiation tube 311 in the upper box body to protect the upper radiation tube 311. The guardrail is made of high-temperature resistant stainless steel (preferably 310s). A slide rail seat 3211 and a slide rail 3212 are also installed in the lower box body 32. The slide rail seat 3211 is installed on the thermal insulation plate of the lower box body 32, and the slide rail 3212 is installed on the slide rail seat 3211. The slide rail 3212 is used to support the metal ingot and play a guiding role. The slide rail 3212 and the slide rail seat 3211 are both made of high-temperature resistant material. The net distance between the radiation tubes (upper radiation tube 311, lower radiation tube 321) in the upper and lower boxes and the surface of the metal ingot (aluminum ingot 15) is 5~50mm.

[0052] It should be noted that when the preheating section 30 is working, the upper box body 31 and the lower box body 32 are always in a closed state, and the first lifting door 33 and the second lifting door 34 are in an open state for a short time when the metal ingot (aluminum ingot 15) is pushed in. At other times, they are lowered and closed. At this time, the preheating section 30 is a closed cavity, and the upper radiation tube 311 and the lower radiation tube 321 heat the upper and lower surfaces of the aluminum ingot 15 respectively at the same time, thereby achieving the purpose of quickly heating the aluminum ingot.

[0053] The shapes of the upper radiation tube 311 and the lower radiation tube 321 can be designed into straight tube, L shape, U shape, W shape, etc. according to the shape and structure of the heated metal ingot. shape, S shape or spiral shape, etc.

[0054] See also Figure 7~Figure 11As another preferred embodiment, the heating elements in the upper box 31 and the lower box 32 are electromagnetic induction coil disks (electromagnetic induction coil disk A312, electromagnetic induction coil disk B322), and the electromagnetic induction coil disks include electromagnetic induction coils, ceramic bodies, coil lifting cylinders and guide rods. The coil lifting cylinders (coil disk lifting cylinders A3121, coil disk lifting cylinders 3221) are arranged in the middle of a surface of the ceramic body and are used to push the electromagnetic induction coil disks (electromagnetic induction coil disks A312, electromagnetic induction coil disks B322) to perform lifting movements. At least two guiding guide rods (guide rods A3122, guide rods B3222) are arranged on the ceramic body surface on both sides of the coil lifting cylinders. The electromagnetic induction coil is arranged on the other surface of the ceramic body, the ceramic body is arranged on the inner surface side of the thermal insulation plate, the guide rod is inserted into the thermal insulation plate and the shell, the electromagnetic induction coil faces the heating area, the electromagnetic induction coil is energized to generate high-frequency or medium-frequency current, so that eddy currents appear from the surface to the inside of the metal ingot, causing the metal ingot to heat up. When heating, the coil lifting cylinders A and B (3121 and 3221) push the electromagnetic induction coil disks A and B (312 and 322) close to the surface of the aluminum ingot 15. After the heating is completed, the coil lifting cylinders A and B retract and pull the electromagnetic induction coil disks A and B away from the surface of the aluminum ingot. The net distance between the surface of the electromagnetic induction coil in the upper and lower boxes and the surface of the metal ingot is 1.5~15mm.

[0055] See also Fig.10 , Fig.11 As shown, the winding shape of the electromagnetic induction coil can be designed into different shapes according to the surface shape of the heated body and the structure of the preheating part.

[0056] Similarly, the first lifting door 33 and the second lifting door 34 are in an open state except for a short period of time when the aluminum ingot 15 is pushed in. At other times, they are lowered and closed. At this time, the preheating section 30 is a closed cavity, and the electromagnetic induction coil disk A312 and the electromagnetic induction coil disk B322 are respectively pushed by the coil disk lifting cylinder A3121 and the coil disk lifting cylinder B3221 to approach the surface of the aluminum ingot 15, and heat the upper and lower surfaces of the aluminum ingot respectively at the same time, thereby achieving the purpose of quickly heating the aluminum ingot.

[0057] See also Figure 3 As shown, the input part 40 includes a shell and an insulation board. One end of the input part 40 is connected to the outlet of the preheating part 30 (the side of the second lifting door 34), and the other end is connected to the feeding port of the insulation furnace 50. When the preheating part 30 heats the aluminum ingot 15 to a specified high temperature, the lifting doors (the first lifting door 33 and the second lifting door 34) of the preheating part 30 are opened, and the telescopic actuator 241 of the conveying part 20 extends to push the normal temperature aluminum ingot 15 in the conveying trough 21 into the preheating part 30. The high temperature aluminum ingot in the preheating part 30 is pushed into the input part by the normal temperature aluminum ingot, and then slides into the insulation furnace 50 to continue the subsequent melting process.

[0058] In a second aspect, the present invention further provides a method for preheating nonferrous metal ingots, using the preheating device described in the first aspect, and the preheating method comprises at least the following steps S110 to S130:

[0059] Step S110, the non-ferrous metal ingot stack is placed in the destacking unit, and the manipulator unit transports the metal ingot to the conveying trough of the conveying unit;

[0060] Step S120, the pushing mechanism pushes the metal ingot in the conveying trough to the entrance of the preheating section, and the lifting door at the entrance rises and opens. After the metal ingot enters the preheating section, the lifting doors at both ends are closed, and the metal ingot in the closed box of the preheating section is quickly heated to a predetermined temperature lower than its melting temperature by the heating element. The predetermined temperature can be set between 100°C and 500°C according to the production cycle requirements;

[0061] Step S130, after the metal ingot is preheated, the lifting door at the outlet of the preheating section rises and opens, and the preheated high-temperature metal ingot is put into the insulation furnace through the feeding section to continue to melt into a liquid state.

[0062] In the above method, the operations of the depalletizing section, the conveying section, the preheating section, and the feeding section are connected and controlled by a PLC control unit. For specific operation control of each section, please refer to the following Table 1.

[0063]

[0064] A non-ferrous metal low-pressure casting machine is generally equipped with a holding furnace one-to-one. The capacity of the holding furnace ranges from several hundred kilograms to two tons. The heating power of the holding furnace is set with a large surplus power. If this part of the heating capacity is used to melt the aluminum ingots, the purpose of preheating + holding furnace heating can be achieved to melt the aluminum ingots. On this basis, the inventor has made improvements and innovations to the existing technology and invented the preheating device and preheating method of the non-ferrous metal ingots of this application, which realizes the change from natural gas to electric aluminum melting, and has significant energy-saving and carbon-reduction benefits. Under the existing casting rhythm, the existing holding furnace and surrounding sites are effectively utilized to complete the automated handling, preheating, and aluminum melting. At the same time, it also saves the site of the aluminum melting workshop for users to use for other purposes.

[0065] In summary, each embodiment in this specification is described in a progressive manner, and the same or similar parts between the embodiments can be referred to each other, and each embodiment focuses on the differences from other embodiments. For the embodiment of the method, the relevant parts can refer to the partial description of the device embodiment. The present invention is not limited to the specific steps and structures described above and shown in the figures. In addition, for the sake of brevity, a detailed description of known method technologies is omitted here.

[0066] The above is only an embodiment of the present application and is not limited to the present application. For those skilled in the art, the present application may have various changes and variations without departing from the scope of the present invention. Any modification, equivalent substitution, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present application should be included in the scope of the claims of the present application.

Claims

1. A preheating device for nonferrous metal ingots, characterized in that: include: A destacking section, the destacking section comprising a placement table and a manipulator unit, the placement table is used to place a stack of metal ingots, and the manipulator unit is used to transport the metal ingots to the conveying section; The conveying part includes a conveying trough, a conveying guide rail, a base and a pushing mechanism, wherein the matching conveying trough and conveying guide rail are arranged on the base, and the pushing mechanism is arranged at the starting end of the conveying trough, and is used to push the metal ingots in the conveying trough to the preheating part at the end of the conveying part; the conveying part also includes a first support seat, the base is arranged on the first support seat, and the pushing mechanism is movably arranged at the entry end of the top of the first support seat, and the pushing mechanism includes a telescopic actuator and a pushing head, and the pushing head is arranged at the end of the telescopic actuator facing the direction of placing the metal ingots in the conveying trough, and the number of the pushing heads is adapted to the number of conveying troughs; The preheating part comprises a closed box formed by an upper box and a lower box, and the two ends of the box are respectively connected with the conveying part and the input part through lifting doors, and the upper box and the lower box are both provided with heating elements and heat-insulating plates, and the heat-insulating plates are installed on the shell of the box for heat insulation, and the heating elements are fixed to the shell through the heat-insulating plates for heating the metal ingots in the box; the preheating part also comprises a second support seat, a first lifting door, a second lifting door, a first lifting cylinder and a second lifting cylinder, the lower box is arranged on the top of the second support seat, the shell of the upper box and the shell of the lower box are hinged by a rotating shaft, and the upper box can be rotatably opened, the first lifting door and the second lifting door are respectively inserted into the entrance end and the exit end of the preheating box, and the first lifting cylinder and the second lifting cylinder are respectively connected and drive the first lifting door and the second lifting door to do lifting movement, so that the two ends of the preheating box are opened or closed; The input part is a box structure with two ends opened, one end of which is connected to the outlet of the preheating part and the other end is connected to the feeding port of the holding furnace. The input part is provided with a heat preservation plate for keeping the preheated metal ingots warm; It also includes a PLC control unit, which is connected to and controls the operations of the depalletizing part, the conveying part, the preheating part, and the feeding part.

2. The preheating device for nonferrous metal ingots according to claim 1, characterized in that: The destacking part also includes a frame, and the manipulator unit includes three-dimensional movable axes in X, Y and Z directions, a rotating axis and a controller. The Y-direction movable axis is movably mounted on two parallel beams on the top of the frame along the Y direction, the X-direction movable axis is movably mounted on the Y-direction movable axis along the X direction, and the Z-direction movable axis is movably mounted on the X-direction movable axis along the Z direction. A manipulator grasping part is provided at the bottom end of the Z-direction movable axis for grasping metal ingots.

3. The preheating device for nonferrous metal ingots according to claim 2, characterized in that: The destacking section also includes a visual camera, which is arranged in the middle of the Y-axis moving axis and faces the metal ingot stack. The visual camera is used to collect and calculate the horizontal and vertical position errors of the metal ingots and provide negative feedback to the controller of the robot unit.

4. The preheating device for nonferrous metal ingots according to claim 1, characterized in that: The heating elements in the upper box and the lower box are radiation tubes. The multiple radiation tubes in the upper and lower boxes are respectively inserted into the heat-insulating plates and fixed on the box shell, so as to uniformly radiate infrared heat on the surface of the metal ingot. A reflector is also provided on the surface of the heat-insulating plate to reflect infrared rays to the metal ingot for heating. A guardrail is provided at the lower part of the radiation tube in the upper box, and a slide rail seat and a slide rail are also provided in the lower box. The slide rail seat is installed on the heat-insulating plate of the lower box, and the slide rail is installed on the slide rail seat. The slide rail is used to support the metal ingot and guide it. The net distance between the radiation tubes in the upper and lower boxes and the surface of the metal ingot is 5~50mm.

5. The preheating device for nonferrous metal ingots according to claim 4, characterized in that: The shapes of the upper and lower radiant tubes are designed to be straight, L-shaped, U-shaped, W-shaped, shape, S shape or spiral shape.

6. The preheating device for nonferrous metal ingots according to claim 1, characterized in that: The heating elements in the upper box and the lower box are electromagnetic induction coil disks, which include an electromagnetic induction coil, a ceramic body, a coil lifting cylinder and a guide rod. The coil lifting cylinder is arranged in the middle of one surface of the ceramic body, and is used to push the electromagnetic induction coil disk to perform lifting and lowering movements. At least two guide rods for guiding are arranged on the surface of the ceramic body on both sides of the coil lifting cylinder. The electromagnetic induction coil is arranged on the other surface of the ceramic body. The ceramic body is arranged on the inner surface side of the thermal insulation plate. The guide rod is inserted into the thermal insulation plate and the shell. The electromagnetic induction coil faces the heating area. When the electromagnetic induction coil is energized, a high-frequency or medium-frequency current is generated, so that eddy currents appear from the surface of the metal ingot to the inside, causing the metal ingot to heat up and heat up. The net distance between the surface of the electromagnetic induction coil in the upper and lower boxes and the surface of the metal ingot is 1.5~15mm.

7. A method for preheating nonferrous metal ingots, characterized in that: Using the preheating device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, the preheating method comprises: Step S110, the non-ferrous metal ingot stack is placed in the destacking unit, and the manipulator unit transports the metal ingot to the conveying trough of the conveying unit; Step S120, the pushing mechanism pushes the metal ingot in the conveying trough to the entrance of the preheating section, and the lifting door at the entrance rises and opens. After the metal ingot enters the preheating section, the lifting doors at both ends are closed, and the metal ingot in the closed box of the preheating section is quickly heated to a predetermined temperature lower than its melting temperature by the heating element. The predetermined temperature is set between 100°C and 500°C according to the production cycle requirements; Step S130, after the metal ingot is preheated, the lifting door at the outlet of the preheating section rises and opens, and the preheated high-temperature metal ingot is put into the insulation furnace through the feeding section to continue to melt into a liquid state.

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