Vacuum sintering production line and vacuum sintering method
By designing a vacuum sintering production line, the automated production of rare earth permanent magnet materials is achieved, the problems of easy oxidation of powders and low manual operation efficiency are solved, and the production efficiency and product quality are improved.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202411895647.5
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-12-23
- Publication Date
- 2025-02-07
AI Technical Summary
During the production process of existing rare earth permanent magnet materials, the powder is prone to oxidation, resulting in a degradation of performance, low manual operation efficiency and high cost, which affects product quality and production efficiency.
A vacuum sintering production line is designed, including a boxing box, a conveyor box and a vacuum sintering furnace. The magnetic field forming and vacuum sintering process are completed under automated nitrogen protection or vacuum conditions to ensure that the material is always isolated from the atmosphere.
It has achieved high-quality production of rare earth permanent magnet materials, reduced oxidation phenomenon, improved production efficiency, saved human resources, reduced production costs, and improved product quality stability.
Smart Images
Figure CN119400583A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The invention belongs to the field of advanced equipment, and in particular relates to a vacuum sintering production line and a vacuum sintering method implemented by the production line, which is used for vacuum sintering of materials such as rare earth permanent magnets. Background Art
[0002] After 2020, with the development of smart phones, new energy vehicles, robots, artificial intelligence and aerospace, the demand for rare earth permanent magnets is increasing, and rare earths have become a scarce material in the world. Rare earth is a general term for 17 elements, mixed together in the form of oxides. NdFeB rare earth permanent magnets mainly use light rare earths praseodymium and neodymium and heavy rare earths dysprosium and terbium. Praseodymium and neodymium account for about 20% of the total rare earths, and heavy rare earths dysprosium and terbium account for less than 5% of the total rare earths; light rare earth elements such as lanthanum and cerium, which account for 70% of the total rare earths, are not used, and the supply of heavy rare earth elements dysprosium and terbium is tight. The application of rare earth resources is extremely unbalanced, resulting in a huge waste of rare earth resources.
[0003] The industrial preparation of rare earth permanent magnet materials generally adopts powder metallurgy technology, which makes rare earth permanent magnet alloy into 3-5μm powder, orients it under magnetic field, takes it out, seals it, and presses it isostatically. After removing the packaging, vacuum sintering is performed to obtain rare earth permanent magnet sintered blanks, that is, rare earth permanent magnet materials. Rare earth permanent magnet alloy powder is very easy to oxidize and can burn itself in the atmosphere. It must be isolated from the atmosphere during the production process of rare earth permanent magnets. At present, the magnetic field presses and vacuum sintering furnaces used in the industry are mostly produced by different manufacturers, and there is a phenomenon of poor adaptation of the production lines. In the process of molding alloy powder into compacts and sintering blanks, most of the processes require manual participation to complete the preparation of materials, placing and packing, stacking and loading the boxes into the furnace, as well as the transportation of materials between the various processes and the removal of sintered blanks. This will bring several problems, including that the materials are easily exposed to the external environment during manual operation, resulting in different degrees of oxidation, which will affect the further improvement of the performance of rare earth permanent magnet materials; in addition, manual operation will not only reduce production efficiency, consume human resources, and increase production costs, but also affect the stability of product quality due to the uncertainty of manual operation, bringing a certain defective rate to product production. In addition, after the vacuum sintering process is completed, the stacked boxes need to be layered and laid flat so that the sintered blanks can be taken out of the boxes. The temperature of the sintered blanks when they are out of the furnace is generally 50-200℃, which brings many inconveniences to the operation of the boxes and the blanks in the boxes. Summary of the invention
[0004] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention proposes a vacuum sintering production line for manufacturing high-quality rare earth permanent magnet materials.
[0005] The vacuum sintering production line comprises a box packing box, a conveying material box and a vacuum sintering furnace; there are more than two vacuum sintering furnaces; the vacuum sintering furnace comprises a furnace shell, a first isolation valve, a material moving device and a heating chamber; the first isolation valve is connected to the front flange of the furnace shell, and the heating chamber is arranged in the furnace shell; the box packing box and the vacuum sintering furnace are arranged side by side; the conveying material box can be moved to the opposite side of the box packing box and the vacuum sintering furnace, and docked with the box packing box and the vacuum sintering furnace respectively; the material moving device drives the sintering material box in the heating chamber to move in the conveying material box and the vacuum sintering furnace; a second isolation valve is arranged at one end of the conveying material box; a third isolation valve is arranged at one end of the box packing box; after the conveying material box is docked with the box packing box, the second isolation valve and the third isolation valve are opened, the space in the conveying material box is connected with the space in the box packing box, and the sintering material box can move between the box packing box and the conveying material box; the box packing box and the conveying material box are separated Before opening, first close the second isolation valve and the third isolation valve, the box loading box and the conveying box respectively constitute independent sealed spaces to ensure that the box loading box and the conveying box are isolated from the atmosphere; after the conveying box is separated from the box loading box, it is moved to the opposite side of the vacuum sintering furnace and docked with the vacuum sintering furnace. After docking, open the first isolation valve and the second isolation valve to transfer the sintering box containing the pressed blanks in the conveying box to the vacuum sintering furnace, and then separate the conveying box from the vacuum sintering furnace; before the conveying box and the vacuum sintering furnace are separated, first close the first isolation valve and the second isolation valve to isolate the atmosphere in the conveying box and the vacuum sintering furnace from the atmosphere; after the vacuum sintering process of the vacuum sintering furnace is completed, the sintering box containing the sintered blanks is transferred to the conveying box through the docking of the conveying box and the vacuum sintering furnace, and then the conveying box and the vacuum sintering furnace are separated; a conveyor belt is arranged in the box loading box.
[0006] The vacuum sintering production line also includes a feed box, a fourth isolation valve and a first glove box; the first glove box includes a first glove box shell and a first tray conveyor; one end of the first glove box shell is connected to a box packing box; the feed box includes a feed box shell, a second tray conveyor and a feed door; the fourth isolation valve is arranged between the first glove box shell and the feed box shell, the feed door is arranged at one end of the feed box shell, and the second tray conveyor is arranged in the feed box shell; the conveyor belt extends into the first glove box shell; gloves are arranged on the first glove box shell, and the operator uses the gloves to remove the packaging of the compacts in the feed tray on the first tray conveyor and put them on the conveyor belt, and the compacts are sent to the box packing box through the conveyor belt; open the fourth isolation valve, and the feed tray can move between the first tray conveyor and the second tray conveyor.
[0007] The vacuum sintering production line also includes a discharge mechanism; the discharge mechanism is also arranged side by side with the box loading box and the vacuum sintering furnace; the conveying box can be moved horizontally to the opposite side of the discharge mechanism, and then docked with the discharge mechanism through longitudinal movement. After docking, the second isolation valve is opened, and the sintering box in the conveying box can be conveyed to the discharge mechanism, or the sintering box on the discharge mechanism can be conveyed to the conveying box.
[0008] In one embodiment, the discharging mechanism includes a box taking device, a fixed transfer assembly, a moving roller assembly and a fixed roller assembly; the box taking device is arranged on the fixed transfer assembly, and a conveying roller is also arranged on the fixed transfer assembly; after the conveying material box is docked with the discharging mechanism, the box taking device can move back and forth between the conveying material box and the discharging mechanism; the moving roller assembly is docked with the fixed transfer assembly, or with one or more fixed roller assemblies; when working, the box taking device enters the conveying material box to take out the sintering material box and puts it on the conveying roller of the fixed transfer assembly, and the conveying roller of the fixed transfer assembly then conveys the sintering material box to the moving roller assembly; the moving moving roller assembly first docks with a group of fixed roller assemblies, and conveys the sintering material box to this group of fixed roller assemblies, and then the moving moving roller assembly docks with another group of fixed roller assemblies carrying empty sintering material boxes, and conveys the empty sintering material boxes to the moving roller assembly, and then, the empty sintering material boxes are conveyed to the conveying material box through the moving roller assembly and the box taking device.
[0009] The box packing box includes a box packing box body, a manipulator and a sintering material box conveying device; a magnetic block conveying device is arranged outside the box packing box; one end of the box packing box body is connected to the third isolation valve, and the side is connected to the magnetic block conveying device; a conveyor belt arranged in the magnetic block conveying device extends into the box packing box body; the manipulator and the sintering material box conveying device are arranged in the box packing box body; the manipulator grabs the compact conveyed into the box packing box body and puts it into the sintering material box on the sintering material box conveying device; after the box packing box and the conveying material box are docked, the sintering material box conveying device can reciprocate in the box packing box and the conveying material box. The sintering material box conveying device can move horizontally or up and down.
[0010] The conveying material box includes a conveying material box body, a material box clamping and lifting device, a longitudinal moving device and a transverse moving device; the second isolation valve is connected to the conveying material box body; the conveying material box body is installed on the guide rail of the transverse moving device, and the conveying material box body together with the second isolation valve moves longitudinally on the guide rail of the transverse moving device to achieve the docking of the conveying material box with the box loading box or the docking of the conveying material box with the vacuum sintering furnace.
[0011] After the packing box and the conveying box are docked, the process of automatically loading the compacts into the sintering boxes and automatically stacking the sintering boxes is completed through the reciprocating movement of the sintering box conveying device of the packing box and the clamping and lifting of the box clamping and lifting device in the conveying box, in coordination with the action of the robot.
[0012] The vacuum sintering furnace includes a movable bottom plate assembly; the bottom plate assembly includes a sintering material box bracket, a heat insulation screen and a bottom plate shell, rollers are arranged on the bottom plate shell, and the bottom plate assembly can be moved along the track on the inner wall of the furnace shell through the rollers; the material moving device includes a moving rod, a sealing assembly and a transmission device, the transmission device is arranged outside the furnace shell, the sealing assembly is connected to the furnace shell, and the transmission device drives the moving rod to pass through the sealing assembly and enter the interior of the furnace shell; the moving rod is connected to the bottom plate assembly to drive the bottom plate assembly to move.
[0013] The vacuum sintering furnace also includes an air-cooled heat exchange system and an air charging system; the air-cooled heat exchange system is arranged at the rear of the furnace shell, and the air inlet pipe of the air-cooled heat exchange system is connected to the furnace shell; the air-cooled heat exchange system includes a cooling fan and a heat exchanger; the air charging system includes an air charging valve; after the heating is completed, the air charging valve is opened to charge the vacuum sintering furnace with protective gas, and the cooling fan is started when the pressure in the furnace reaches the set value.
[0014] In a preferred embodiment, the vacuum sintering furnace is a horizontal structure, the furnace shell is provided with a water cooling jacket, and the vacuum sintering furnace further comprises a cooling system, and the cooling system provides cooling for the furnace shell.
[0015] The heating chamber also includes two side panel assemblies, which are respectively located on the left and right sides of the heating chamber; the air outlet pipe of the air-cooled heat exchange system is divided into two pipelines before entering the furnace shell, each pipeline is provided with a valve, and the pipeline passes through the furnace shell and is respectively connected to the two side panel assemblies of the heating chamber; the side panel assembly includes a side panel shell, a heat insulation screen and a nozzle; the nozzle is fixed on the side panel shell, and extends through the heat insulation screen of the side panel assembly to the inside of the heating chamber; the two valves are switched simultaneously or alternately. A pipeline is provided on the outside of the side panel assembly, and the pipeline is connected with the nozzle and the pipeline, and the gas flowing out of the air outlet pipe of the air-cooled heat exchange system is sprayed into the inside of the heating chamber through the nozzle.
[0016] The heating chamber also includes a front cover assembly and an upper plate assembly.
[0017] After the first isolation valve is opened, the bottom plate assembly can be moved to the outside of the vacuum sintering furnace; a movable conveying material box is arranged outside the vacuum sintering furnace; the vacuum sintering furnace can be docked with the conveying material box arranged outside the vacuum sintering furnace through the first isolation valve; after the vacuum sintering furnace is docked with the conveying material box, the bottom plate assembly moves to the conveying material box to carry the sintering material box containing the pressed blanks in the conveying material box, and then returns to the vacuum sintering furnace with the sintering material box, and then, the conveying material box and the vacuum sintering furnace are separated, and the vacuum sintering furnace performs the vacuum sintering process.
[0018] After the vacuum sintering process is completed, the vacuum sintering furnace and the conveying material box are connected, and the sintering material box containing the sintered blanks is transferred from the vacuum sintering furnace to the conveying material box through the bottom plate assembly; before and after the vacuum sintering furnace and the conveying material box are connected, the atmosphere in the conveying material box and the vacuum sintering furnace is kept isolated from the atmosphere.
[0019] In one embodiment of the present invention, the vacuum system of the vacuum sintering furnace includes a mechanical vacuum pump that directly exhausts to the atmosphere and a Roots vacuum pump that further increases the vacuum degree in the furnace.
[0020] In a more preferred embodiment of the present invention, the vacuum sintering furnace further includes a material box cover opening device and a cover opening assembly; the sintering material box is placed on the sintering material box bracket; the cover opening assemblies are distributed on both sides of the sintering material box; the material box cover opening device is located at the upper part of the vacuum furnace shell, and a guide shaft passes through the vacuum furnace shell and the heat preservation screen of the heating chamber to connect with the cover opening assembly; the material box cover opening device can drive the guide shaft to drive the cover opening assembly to move up and down. When the vacuum sintering furnace is working, the cover opening assembly drives the box covers of the sintering material boxes loaded in the vacuum sintering furnace to open or close at the same time, and there are more than 3 layers of sintering material boxes loaded in the furnace, and each layer of sintering material boxes has more than 1 box cover.
[0021] In a preferred embodiment, the magnetic block conveying device is connected to four or more automatic magnetic field presses.
[0022] The magnetic block conveyor serves as a common conveying channel for the automatic magnetic field presses, and conveys the compacts pressed by each automatic magnetic field press into the box. Even if an automatic magnetic field press is undergoing maintenance or is restored to work after maintenance, the airtightness of the magnetic block conveyor is not affected, and it can still be used as a common conveying channel to provide automatic conveying of compacts for other automatic magnetic field presses, ensuring the normal operation of the rare earth permanent magnet production line.
[0023] The present invention also provides a vacuum sintering method, which is implemented by using the above vacuum sintering production line. The vacuum sintering method comprises the following steps: (1) The conveying material box and the box are connected, and the second isolation valve and the third isolation valve are opened to connect the space in the conveying material box with the space in the box; the sintering material box conveying device set in the box is moved to the conveying material box to retrieve the sintering material box; under the protective atmosphere, the material taking mechanism grabs the compact on the conveyor belt under the guidance of the visual system and puts it into the sintering material box on the sintering material box conveying device; after the sintering material box is full, the sintering material box conveying device is moved to the conveying material box, and then a layer of sintering material boxes is retrieved, until multiple layers of sintering material boxes are loaded and sent to the conveying material box, the sintering material box conveying device is returned to the box, and the conveying material box is moved away after the second isolation valve and the third isolation valve are closed; (2) Move the conveying material box to connect with the vacuum sintering furnace, open the first isolation valve and the second isolation valve, transfer the sintering material box containing the compact in the conveying material box to the vacuum sintering furnace, close the first isolation valve and the second isolation valve, and separate the conveying material box from the vacuum sintering furnace; (3) After the vacuum sintering process of the vacuum sintering furnace is completed, the conveying material box and the vacuum sintering furnace are connected, the first isolation valve and the second isolation valve are opened, the sintering material box containing the sintered blank is conveyed into the conveying material box, the first isolation valve and the second isolation valve are closed, and the conveying material box is separated from the vacuum sintering furnace; (4) Move the conveyor box back to the opposite side of the box packing box and repeat the above steps to realize automatic continuous production of vacuum sintering.
[0024] The vacuum sintering production line also includes a discharging mechanism; the discharging mechanism includes a box taking device, a fixed transfer assembly, a moving roller assembly and a fixed roller assembly; the box taking device is arranged on the fixed transfer assembly, and a conveying roller is also arranged on the fixed transfer assembly; after the conveying material box is docked with the discharging mechanism, the box taking device can reciprocate between the conveying material box and the discharging mechanism; the moving roller assembly is docked with the fixed transfer assembly, or with one or more fixed roller assemblies; Before step (4), the method further includes: docking the mobile conveying material box with the discharging mechanism, opening the second isolation valve, allowing the box taking device to enter the conveying material box, taking out the sintering material box and placing it on the conveying roller of the fixed transfer assembly, and the conveying roller of the fixed transfer assembly then conveys the sintering material box to the mobile roller assembly; docking the mobile roller assembly with a group of fixed roller assemblies first, conveying the sintering material box to the group of fixed roller assemblies, and then docking the mobile roller assembly with another group of fixed roller assemblies carrying empty sintering material boxes, conveying the empty sintering material box to the mobile roller assembly, and then conveying the empty sintering material box to the mobile roller assembly through the mobile roller assembly and the box taking device. After the box taking device is retracted, the second isolation valve is closed and the conveying material box is removed.
[0025] The vacuum sintering production line includes a feed box, a fourth isolation valve and a first glove box; the first glove box includes a first glove box shell and a first tray conveyor; one end of the first glove box shell is connected to a box packing box; the feed box includes a feed box shell, a second tray conveyor and a feed door; the fourth isolation valve is arranged between the first glove box shell and the feed box shell, the feed door is arranged at one end of the feed box shell, and the second tray conveyor is arranged in the feed box shell; the conveyor belt extends into the first glove box shell; gloves are arranged on the first glove box shell; The vacuum sintering method also includes the step of placing the packaged green compacts after isostatic pressing onto a conveyor belt, which step includes: first placing the tray containing the packaged green compacts onto the second tray conveyor device of the feed box, closing the feed door and then opening the fourth isolation valve, transferring the tray containing the packaged green compacts to the first tray conveyor device, and closing the fourth isolation valve; an operator uses gloves to remove the packaging of the green compacts in the feed tray on the first tray conveyor device and places them on the conveyor belt, and the green compacts are sent to the box via the conveyor belt.
[0026] In the vacuum sintering process, before the sintering temperature is lower than 600°C, the process of opening the cover of the sintering box is also included; after the sintering temperature is higher than 900°C, the process of closing the cover of the sintering box is also included.
[0027] The vacuum sintering furnace includes a movable bottom plate assembly; The vacuum sintering method also includes moving the conveying material box to connect with the vacuum sintering, opening the first isolation valve and the second isolation valve, the material moving device of the vacuum sintering furnace drives the base plate assembly into the conveying material box, placing the multi-layer sintering material box in the conveying material box on the sintering material box bracket of the base plate assembly and bringing it back to the heating chamber of the vacuum sintering furnace, closing the first isolation valve and the second isolation valve, and the vacuum sintering furnace performs the vacuum sintering process.
[0028] In the present invention, the rare earth permanent magnet material process from alloy powder to magnetic field forming of sintered blank and vacuum sintering is automatically completed under nitrogen protection or vacuum conditions, so that the rare earth permanent magnet raw materials that are very easy to oxidize are always isolated from the atmospheric environment, which is beneficial to reducing the oxygen content in the material and further improving the performance of the rare earth permanent magnet material; in addition, the material preparation, placement and boxing, furnace loading, material transportation between various processes, and sintered blank unloading and material collection in this process are completely completed in an automated form, which not only improves production efficiency, saves human resources, and reduces production costs, but also eliminates the uncertainty of manual operation, reduces the defective rate of products, and improves the stability of product quality.
[0029] The current vacuum sintering furnaces in the industry generally use a glove box structure and adopt manual operation to achieve protected feeding. In addition, most of them use a material fork device to move the material from the glove box to the material bed of the vacuum sintering furnace. When moving the material, the material fork of the cantilever structure will have a certain degree of shaking. The inventor found that in this production line, since two isolation valves are set between the vacuum sintering furnace and the conveying material box, if this type of vacuum sintering furnace is still used, the cantilever length of the material fork will need to be lengthened due to the large moving stroke, which is easy to cause the shaking to intensify. The compacts in the sintering material box are prone to produce micro defects in the shaking, which has a certain impact on the quality of the sintered rare earth permanent magnet material. The vacuum sintering furnace in the present invention includes a movable bottom plate assembly, and a roller is arranged on the bottom plate shell. The bottom plate assembly can be moved along the track on the inner wall of the furnace shell by the roller. After the vacuum sintering furnace is docked with the conveying material box, the bottom plate assembly moves into the conveying material box to carry the sintering material box containing the compacts in the conveying material box, and then returns to the vacuum sintering furnace with the sintering material box. The structure of the movable base plate assembly has stable transmission and well overcomes the above problems.
[0030] The present invention is applicable to both technical routes of forming with or without isostatic pressing technology. For the green compacts formed with isostatic pressing technology, the entire process of vacuum sintering starting from removing the packaging of the green compacts; for the green compacts formed without isostatic pressing technology, the entire process of vacuum sintering starting from taking the green compacts out of the magnetic field press until the sintering box is laid flat on the discharge mechanism after the vacuum sintering is completed can be achieved by the present invention, thus avoiding the cumbersome boxing process in the prior art magnetic field forming. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0031] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the structural layout of an implementation mode of the vacuum sintering production line in the present invention.
[0032] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the main structure of an embodiment of the vacuum sintering furnace involved in the present invention.
[0033] Figure 3 It is a side structural schematic diagram of an embodiment of the vacuum sintering furnace involved in the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0034] like Figures 1 to 3 As shown, the vacuum sintering production line of the present invention comprises a box packing box 1, a conveying material box 2 and a vacuum sintering furnace 3; there are more than two vacuum sintering furnaces 3. The vacuum sintering furnace 3 comprises a furnace shell 4, a first isolation valve 5, a material moving device 6, a heating chamber 7 and a vacuum system 8. The first isolation valve 5 is connected to the front flange of the furnace shell, and the heating chamber 7 is arranged in the furnace shell 4; the box packing box 1 and the vacuum sintering furnace 3 are arranged side by side; the conveying material box 2 can be moved to the opposite side of the box packing box 1 and the vacuum sintering furnace 3, and dock with the box packing box 1 and the vacuum sintering furnace 3 respectively. The material moving device 6 drives the sintering material box in the heating chamber to move in the conveying material box 2 and the vacuum sintering furnace 3; a second isolation valve 9 is provided at one end of the conveying material box 2; a third isolation valve 10 is provided at one end of the box packing box 1; after the conveying material box 2 is docked with the box packing box 1, the second isolation valve 9 and the third isolation valve 10 are opened, the space in the conveying material box is connected with the space in the box packing box, and the sintering material box 11 can move between the box packing box 1 and the conveying material box 2.
[0035] Before the boxing box 1 and the conveying box 2 are separated, the second isolation valve 9 and the third isolation valve 10 are closed first, and the boxing box 1 and the conveying box 2 respectively constitute independent sealed spaces to ensure that the boxing box 1 and the conveying box 2 are isolated from the atmosphere; after the conveying box 2 is separated from the boxing box 1, it is moved to the opposite side of the vacuum sintering furnace 3 and docked with the vacuum sintering furnace 3. After docking, the first isolation valve 5 and the second isolation valve 9 are opened to transfer the sintering box 31 containing the pressed blanks in the conveying box 2 to the vacuum sintering furnace 3, and then the conveying box 2 is separated from the vacuum sintering furnace 1. Before the conveying box and the vacuum sintering furnace are separated, the first isolation valve and the second isolation valve are closed first to isolate the atmosphere in the conveying box and the vacuum sintering furnace from the atmosphere; after the vacuum sintering process of the vacuum sintering furnace is completed, the sintering box containing the sintered blanks is transferred to the conveying box through the docking of the conveying box and the vacuum sintering furnace, and then the conveying box and the vacuum sintering furnace are separated; a conveyor belt is arranged in the boxing box.
[0036] The vacuum sintering production line further includes a feed box 12 , a fourth isolation valve 13 and a first glove box 14 .
[0037] The first glove box includes a first glove box shell and a first tray conveyor; one end of the first glove box shell is connected to a box packing box; the feed box includes a feed box shell, a second tray conveyor and a feed door; the fourth isolation valve is arranged between the first glove box shell and the feed box shell, the feed door is arranged at one end of the feed box shell, and the second tray conveyor is arranged in the feed box shell; the conveyor belt extends into the first glove box shell; gloves are arranged on the first glove box shell, and the operator uses the gloves to remove the packaging of the blanks in the feed tray on the first tray conveyor and put them on the conveyor belt, and the blanks are sent to the box packing box through the conveyor belt; open the fourth isolation valve, and the feed tray can move between the first tray conveyor and the second tray conveyor.
[0038] The vacuum sintering production line further comprises a discharging mechanism 15 ; the discharging mechanism 15 , the box packing box 1 and the vacuum sintering furnace 3 are also arranged side by side.
[0039] The conveying material box can be moved horizontally to the opposite side of the discharge mechanism, and then docked with the discharge mechanism through longitudinal movement. After docking, the second isolation valve is opened, and the sintering material box in the conveying material box can be conveyed to the discharge mechanism, or the sintering material box on the discharge mechanism can be conveyed to the conveying material box.
[0040] In one embodiment, the discharging mechanism includes a box taking device, a fixed transfer assembly, a moving roller assembly and a fixed roller assembly; the box taking device is arranged on the fixed transfer assembly, and a conveying roller is also arranged on the fixed transfer assembly; after the conveying material box is docked with the discharging mechanism, the box taking device can move back and forth between the conveying material box and the discharging mechanism; the moving roller assembly is docked with the fixed transfer assembly, or with one or more fixed roller assemblies; when working, the box taking device enters the conveying material box to take out the sintering material box and puts it on the conveying roller of the fixed transfer assembly, and the conveying roller of the fixed transfer assembly then conveys the sintering material box to the moving roller assembly; the moving moving roller assembly first docks with a group of fixed roller assemblies, and conveys the sintering material box to this group of fixed roller assemblies, and then the moving moving roller assembly docks with another group of fixed roller assemblies carrying empty sintering material boxes, and conveys the empty sintering material boxes to the moving roller assembly, and then, the empty sintering material boxes are conveyed to the conveying material box through the moving roller assembly and the box taking device.
[0041] The box packing box comprises a box packing box body, a robot and a sintering material box conveying device.
[0042] A magnetic block conveying device 16 is arranged outside the box; one end of the box 1 is connected to the third isolation valve 10, and the side surface is connected to the magnetic block conveying device 16.
[0043] The conveyor belt arranged in the magnetic block conveying device extends into the box body; the manipulator and the sintering material box conveying device are arranged in the box body; the manipulator grabs the compact conveyed into the box body and puts it into the sintering material box on the sintering material box conveying device; after the box body and the conveying material box are docked, the sintering material box conveying device can reciprocate in the box body and the conveying material box. The sintering material box conveying device can move horizontally or up and down.
[0044] The conveying material box includes a conveying material box body 17, a material box clamping and lifting device 18, a longitudinal moving device 19 and a transverse moving device 20; the second isolation valve 9 is connected to the conveying material box body 17; the conveying material box body 17 is installed on the guide rail 21 of the transverse moving device, and the conveying material box body 17 together with the second isolation valve 9 moves longitudinally on the guide rail 21 of the transverse moving device to achieve the docking of the conveying material box with the box loading box or the docking of the conveying material box with the vacuum sintering furnace.
[0045] After the packing box and the conveying box are docked, the process of automatically loading the compacts into the sintering boxes and automatically stacking the sintering boxes is completed through the reciprocating movement of the sintering box conveying device of the packing box and the clamping and lifting of the box clamping and lifting device in the conveying box, in coordination with the action of the robot.
[0046] The vacuum sintering furnace 3 includes a movable bottom plate assembly 22; the bottom plate assembly 22 includes a sintering material box support 23, a heat shield 24 and a bottom plate shell 25, on which a roller 26 is arranged, and the bottom plate assembly 22 can move along a track 27 on the inner wall of the furnace shell through the roller 26; the material moving device 6 includes a moving rod 28, a sealing assembly 29 and a transmission device 30, the transmission device 30 is arranged outside the furnace shell 4, the sealing assembly 29 is connected to the furnace shell 4, and the transmission device 30 drives the moving rod 28 to pass through the sealing assembly 29 and enter the interior of the furnace shell 4; the moving rod 28 is connected to the bottom plate assembly 22, driving the bottom plate assembly 22 to move. A heater 32 is arranged in the heating chamber 7.
[0047] The vacuum sintering furnace also includes an air-cooled heat exchange system and an air charging system; the air-cooled heat exchange system is arranged at the rear of the furnace shell, and the air inlet pipe of the air-cooled heat exchange system is connected to the furnace shell; the air-cooled heat exchange system includes a cooling fan and a heat exchanger; the air charging system includes an air charging valve; after the heating is completed, the air charging valve is opened to charge the vacuum sintering furnace with protective gas, and the cooling fan is started when the pressure in the furnace reaches the set value.
[0048] In a preferred embodiment, the vacuum sintering furnace is a horizontal structure, the furnace shell is provided with a water cooling jacket, and the vacuum sintering furnace further comprises a cooling system, and the cooling system provides cooling for the furnace shell.
[0049] The heating chamber also includes two side panel assemblies, which are respectively located on the left and right sides of the heating chamber; the air outlet pipe of the air-cooled heat exchange system is divided into two pipelines before entering the furnace shell, each pipeline is provided with a valve, and the pipeline passes through the furnace shell and is respectively connected to the two side panel assemblies of the heating chamber; the side panel assembly includes a side panel shell, a heat insulation screen and a nozzle; the nozzle is fixed on the side panel shell, and extends through the heat insulation screen of the side panel assembly to the inside of the heating chamber; the two valves are switched simultaneously or alternately. A pipeline is provided on the outside of the side panel assembly, and the pipeline is connected with the nozzle and the pipeline, and the gas flowing out of the air outlet pipe of the air-cooled heat exchange system is sprayed into the inside of the heating chamber through the nozzle.
[0050] The heating chamber also includes a front cover assembly and an upper plate assembly.
[0051] After the first isolation valve is opened, the bottom plate assembly can be moved to the outside of the vacuum sintering furnace; a movable conveying material box is arranged outside the vacuum sintering furnace; the vacuum sintering furnace can be docked with the conveying material box arranged outside the vacuum sintering furnace through the first isolation valve; after the vacuum sintering furnace is docked with the conveying material box, the bottom plate assembly moves to the conveying material box to carry the sintering material box containing the pressed blanks in the conveying material box, and then returns to the vacuum sintering furnace with the sintering material box, and then, the conveying material box and the vacuum sintering furnace are separated, and the vacuum sintering furnace performs the vacuum sintering process.
[0052] After the vacuum sintering process is completed, the vacuum sintering furnace and the conveying material box are connected, and the sintering material box containing the sintered blanks is transferred from the vacuum sintering furnace to the conveying material box through the bottom plate assembly; before and after the vacuum sintering furnace and the conveying material box are connected, the atmosphere in the conveying material box and the vacuum sintering furnace is kept isolated from the atmosphere.
[0053] In one embodiment of the present invention, the vacuum system of the vacuum sintering furnace includes a mechanical vacuum pump that directly exhausts to the atmosphere and a Roots vacuum pump that further increases the vacuum degree in the furnace.
[0054] In a more preferred embodiment of the present invention, the vacuum sintering furnace also includes a material box cover opening device and a cover opening assembly; a sintering material box is placed on the sintering material box bracket; the cover opening assembly is located on the inner side of the heater and distributed on both sides of the sintering material box; the material box cover opening device is located on the upper part of the vacuum furnace shell, and a guide shaft passes through the vacuum furnace shell and the heat preservation screen of the heating chamber to connect with the cover opening assembly; the material box cover opening device can drive the guide shaft to drive the cover opening assembly to move up and down. When the vacuum sintering furnace is working, the cover opening assembly drives the box covers of the sintering material boxes loaded in the vacuum sintering furnace to open or close at the same time, and there are more than 3 layers of sintering material boxes loaded in the furnace, and each layer of sintering material boxes has more than 1 box cover.
[0055] In a preferred embodiment, the magnetic block conveying device is connected to four or more automatic magnetic field presses.
Claims
1. A vacuum sintering production line, characterized in that: It includes a box packing box, a conveying box and a vacuum sintering furnace; there are more than 2 vacuum sintering furnaces; the vacuum sintering furnace includes a furnace shell, a first isolation valve, a material moving device and a heating chamber; the first isolation valve is connected to the front flange of the furnace shell, and the heating chamber is arranged in the furnace shell; the box packing box and the vacuum sintering furnace are arranged side by side; the conveying box can be moved to the opposite side of the box packing box and the vacuum sintering furnace, and docked with the box packing box and the vacuum sintering furnace respectively; the material moving device drives the sintering box in the heating chamber to move in the conveying box and the vacuum sintering furnace; a second isolation valve is provided at one end of the conveying box; a third isolation valve is provided at one end of the box packing box; after the conveying box is docked with the box packing box, the second isolation valve and the third isolation valve are opened, the space in the conveying box is connected with the space in the box packing box, and the sintering box can move between the box packing box and the conveying box; before the box packing box and the conveying box are separated, close the second isolation valve and the third isolation valve. Close the second isolating valve and the third isolating valve, and the box loading box and the conveying box respectively constitute independent sealed spaces to ensure that the box loading box and the conveying box are isolated from the atmosphere; after the conveying box is separated from the box loading box, it is moved to the opposite side of the vacuum sintering furnace and docked with the vacuum sintering furnace. After docking, open the first isolating valve and the second isolating valve to transfer the sintering box containing the pressed blanks in the conveying box to the vacuum sintering furnace, and then separate the conveying box from the vacuum sintering furnace; before separating the conveying box from the vacuum sintering furnace, close the first isolating valve and the second isolating valve to isolate the atmosphere in the conveying box and the vacuum sintering furnace from the atmosphere; after the vacuum sintering process of the vacuum sintering furnace is completed, transfer the sintering box containing the sintered blanks to the conveying box through docking of the conveying box and the vacuum sintering furnace, and then separate the conveying box from the vacuum sintering furnace; a conveyor belt is arranged in the box loading box.
2. The vacuum sintering production line according to claim 1, characterized in that: The vacuum sintering production line also includes a feed box, a fourth isolation valve and a first glove box; the first glove box includes a first glove box shell and a first tray conveyor; one end of the first glove box shell is connected to a box packing box; the feed box includes a feed box shell, a second tray conveyor and a feed door; the fourth isolation valve is arranged between the first glove box shell and the feed box shell, the feed door is arranged at one end of the feed box shell, and the second tray conveyor is arranged in the feed box shell; the conveyor belt extends into the first glove box shell; gloves are arranged on the first glove box shell, and the operator uses the gloves to remove the packaging of the compacts in the feed tray on the first tray conveyor and put them on the conveyor belt, and the compacts are sent to the box packing box through the conveyor belt; open the fourth isolation valve, and the feed tray can move between the first tray conveyor and the second tray conveyor.
3. The vacuum sintering production line according to claim 1, characterized in that: The vacuum sintering production line also includes a discharge mechanism; the discharge mechanism is also arranged side by side with the box loading box and the vacuum sintering furnace; the conveying box can be moved horizontally to the opposite side of the discharge mechanism, and then docked with the discharge mechanism through longitudinal movement. After docking, the second isolation valve is opened, and the sintering box in the conveying box can be conveyed to the discharge mechanism, or the sintering box on the discharge mechanism can be conveyed to the conveying box.
4. The vacuum sintering production line according to claim 1, characterized in that: The vacuum sintering production line also includes a discharge mechanism; the discharge mechanism includes a box taking device, a fixed transfer assembly, a moving roller assembly and a fixed roller assembly; the box taking device is arranged on the fixed transfer assembly, and a conveying roller is also arranged on the fixed transfer assembly; after the conveying material box is docked with the discharge mechanism, the box taking device can move back and forth between the conveying material box and the discharge mechanism; the moving roller assembly is docked with the fixed transfer assembly, or with one or more fixed roller assemblies; when working, the box taking device enters the conveying material box to take out the sintering material box and puts it on the conveying roller of the fixed transfer assembly, and the conveying roller of the fixed transfer assembly then conveys the sintering material box to the moving roller assembly; the moving moving roller assembly first docks with a group of fixed roller assemblies, and conveys the sintering material box to this group of fixed roller assemblies, and then the moving moving roller assembly docks with another group of fixed roller assemblies carrying empty sintering material boxes, and conveys the empty sintering material boxes to the moving roller assembly, and then the empty sintering material boxes are conveyed to the conveying material box through the moving roller assembly and the box taking device.
5. The vacuum sintering production line according to claim 1, characterized in that: The box loading box includes a box loading box body, a manipulator and a sintering material box conveying device; a magnetic block conveying device is arranged on the outside of the box loading box; one end of the box loading box body is connected to the third isolation valve, and the side is connected to the magnetic block conveying device; the conveyor belt arranged in the magnetic block conveying device extends into the box loading box body; the manipulator and the sintering material box conveying device are arranged in the box loading box body; the manipulator grabs the compact conveyed into the box loading box body and puts it into the sintering material box on the sintering material box conveying device; after the box loading box and the conveying material box are docked, the sintering material box conveying device can move back and forth in the box loading box and the conveying material box.
6. The vacuum sintering production line according to claim 5, characterized in that: The sintering material box conveying device can move horizontally or vertically.
7. The vacuum sintering production line according to claim 1, characterized in that: The conveying material box includes a conveying material box body, a material box clamping and lifting device, a longitudinal moving device and a transverse moving device; the second isolation valve is connected to the conveying material box body; the conveying material box body is installed on the guide rail of the transverse moving device, and the conveying material box body together with the second isolation valve moves longitudinally on the guide rail of the transverse moving device to achieve the docking of the conveying material box with the box loading box or the docking of the conveying material box with the vacuum sintering furnace.
8. The vacuum sintering production line according to claim 5, characterized in that: The conveying material box includes a material box clamping and lifting device; after the box loading box and the conveying material box are docked, the reciprocating movement of the sintering material box conveying device of the box loading box and the clamping and lifting of the material box clamping and lifting device in the conveying material box, combined with the action of the robot, complete the process of automatically loading the compacts into the sintering material boxes and automatically stacking the sintering material boxes.
9. The vacuum sintering production line according to claim 1, characterized in that: The vacuum sintering furnace includes a movable bottom plate assembly; the bottom plate assembly includes a sintering material box bracket, a heat insulation screen and a bottom plate shell, rollers are arranged on the bottom plate shell, and the bottom plate assembly can be moved along the track on the inner wall of the furnace shell through the rollers; the material moving device includes a moving rod, a sealing assembly and a transmission device, the transmission device is arranged outside the furnace shell, the sealing assembly is connected to the furnace shell, and the transmission device drives the moving rod to pass through the sealing assembly and enter the interior of the furnace shell; the moving rod is connected to the bottom plate assembly to drive the bottom plate assembly to move.
10. The vacuum sintering production line according to claim 1, characterized in that: The vacuum sintering furnace also includes a material box cover opening device and a cover opening assembly; a sintering material box is placed on a sintering material box bracket; the cover opening assemblies are distributed on both sides of the sintering material box; the material box cover opening device is located at the upper part of the vacuum furnace shell, and a guide shaft passes through the vacuum furnace shell and the insulation screen of the heating chamber to connect with the cover opening assembly; the material box cover opening device can drive the guide shaft to drive the cover opening assembly to move up and down.
11. A vacuum sintering method, characterized in that: The vacuum sintering method is implemented by the vacuum sintering production line according to any one of claims 1 to 10, and comprises the following steps: (1) The conveying material box and the box are connected, and the second isolation valve and the third isolation valve are opened to connect the space in the conveying material box with the space in the box; the sintering material box conveying device set in the box is moved to the conveying material box to retrieve the sintering material box; under the protective atmosphere, the material taking mechanism grabs the compact on the conveyor belt under the guidance of the visual system and puts it into the sintering material box on the sintering material box conveying device; after the sintering material box is full, the sintering material box conveying device is moved to the conveying material box, and then a layer of sintering material boxes is retrieved, until multiple layers of sintering material boxes are loaded and sent to the conveying material box, the sintering material box conveying device is returned to the box, and the conveying material box is moved away after the second isolation valve and the third isolation valve are closed; (2) Move the conveying material box to connect with the vacuum sintering furnace, open the first isolation valve and the second isolation valve, transfer the sintering material box containing the compact in the conveying material box to the vacuum sintering furnace, close the first isolation valve and the second isolation valve, and separate the conveying material box from the vacuum sintering furnace; (3) After the vacuum sintering process of the vacuum sintering furnace is completed, the conveying material box and the vacuum sintering furnace are connected, the first isolation valve and the second isolation valve are opened, the sintering material box containing the sintered blank is conveyed into the conveying material box, the first isolation valve and the second isolation valve are closed, and the conveying material box is separated from the vacuum sintering furnace; (4) Move the conveyor box back to the opposite side of the box packing box and repeat the above steps to realize automatic continuous production of vacuum sintering.
12. The vacuum sintering method according to claim 11, characterized in that: The vacuum sintering production line also includes a discharging mechanism; the discharging mechanism includes a box taking device, a fixed transfer assembly, a moving roller assembly and a fixed roller assembly; the box taking device is arranged on the fixed transfer assembly, and a conveying roller is also arranged on the fixed transfer assembly; after the conveying material box is docked with the discharging mechanism, the box taking device can reciprocate between the conveying material box and the discharging mechanism; the moving roller assembly is docked with the fixed transfer assembly, or with one or more fixed roller assemblies; Before step (4), the method further includes: docking the mobile conveying material box with the discharging mechanism, opening the second isolation valve, allowing the box taking device to enter the conveying material box, taking out the sintering material box and placing it on the conveying roller of the fixed transfer assembly, and the conveying roller of the fixed transfer assembly then conveys the sintering material box to the mobile roller assembly; docking the mobile roller assembly with a group of fixed roller assemblies first, conveying the sintering material box to the group of fixed roller assemblies, and then docking the mobile roller assembly with another group of fixed roller assemblies carrying empty sintering material boxes, conveying the empty sintering material box to the mobile roller assembly, and then conveying the empty sintering material box to the mobile roller assembly through the mobile roller assembly and the box taking device. After the box taking device is retracted, the second isolation valve is closed and the conveying material box is removed.
13. The vacuum sintering method according to claim 11, characterized in that: The vacuum sintering production line includes a feed box, a fourth isolation valve and a first glove box; the first glove box includes a first glove box shell and a first tray conveyor; one end of the first glove box shell is connected to a box packing box; the feed box includes a feed box shell, a second tray conveyor and a feed door; the fourth isolation valve is arranged between the first glove box shell and the feed box shell, the feed door is arranged at one end of the feed box shell, and the second tray conveyor is arranged in the feed box shell; the conveyor belt extends into the first glove box shell; Gloves are arranged on the first glove box housing; The vacuum sintering method also includes the step of placing the packaged green compacts after isostatic pressing onto a conveyor belt, which step includes: first placing the tray containing the packaged green compacts onto the second tray conveyor device of the feed box, closing the feed door and then opening the fourth isolation valve, transferring the tray containing the packaged green compacts to the first tray conveyor device, and closing the fourth isolation valve; an operator uses gloves to remove the packaging of the green compacts in the feed tray on the first tray conveyor device and places them on the conveyor belt, and the green compacts are sent to the box via the conveyor belt.
14. The vacuum sintering method according to claim 11, characterized in that: In the vacuum sintering process, before the sintering temperature is lower than 600°C, the process of opening the cover of the sintering box is also included; after the sintering temperature is higher than 900°C, the process of closing the cover of the sintering box is also included.
15. The vacuum sintering method according to claim 11, characterized in that: The vacuum sintering furnace includes a movable base plate assembly; the vacuum sintering method also includes moving the conveying material box to connect with the vacuum sintering, opening the first isolation valve and the second isolation valve, the material moving device of the vacuum sintering furnace drives the base plate assembly into the conveying material box, placing the multi-layer sintering material box in the conveying material box on the sintering material box bracket of the base plate assembly and bringing it back to the heating chamber of the vacuum sintering furnace, closing the first isolation valve and the second isolation valve, and the vacuum sintering furnace performs the vacuum sintering process.