Device for treating black oxide facing
By spraying black oxide fluid and heating bearing parts with induction heating equipment, the space and energy efficiency problems during the treatment of large-sized bearing parts in traditional processes are solved, and efficient black oxide finish treatment is achieved.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202411155051.1
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2023-08-29
- Filing Date
- 2024-08-22
- Publication Date
- 2025-02-28
AI Technical Summary
When dealing with large-sized bearing components, the traditional full-immersion or partially immersed black oxide process results in increased production line footprint and height, and low heating efficiency, resulting in high energy consumption.
The black oxide fluid is sprayed onto the bearing parts by spraying the spraying equipment, and the bearing parts are heated through the induction heating equipment to react with the black oxide fluid, thereby forming a black oxide layer.
This method reduces the use of black oxide fluids, saves space and energy, improves heating efficiency, and is suitable for bearing components of different sizes.
Smart Images
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Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus for black oxide finishing of a bearing component according to claim 1. The present invention also relates to a method for black oxide finishing of a bearing component according to claim 10. Background Art
[0002] In recent years, black oxide finishing or coating has become a very important coating in several technical applications, such as in wind turbine applications. The black oxide finishing can be used as corrosion protection for the surface of bearing components, such as the surface of bearing rings. Currently, when black oxide is used to finish large-sized rings below 2.5 meters, conventional full immersion or partial immersion black oxide processes can be used. In this immersion process, the ring or any other bearing component is preferably completely immersed in a black oxide fluid, such as a tank containing the black oxide fluid. During the immersion of the ring in the black oxide fluid, the ring is heated by the temperature of the black oxide fluid. For a proper chemical reaction between the black oxide fluid and the ring surface, a temperature of the corresponding surface similar to the temperature of the black oxide fluid is critical. During the chemical reaction, the surface of the ring reacts with the black oxide fluid, which results in a conversion layer, called a black oxide layer. When the surface of the ring is too cold, the black oxide fluid may not be able to react sufficiently with the surface of the ring, resulting in insufficient black oxide coating.
[0003] When the diameter of the ring is greater than 2.5 meters or even greater than 3.0 meters, due to the significant increase in size and weight, the volume of the corresponding black oxide tank and fluid needs to match the increased size of the ring, and therefore also increases significantly. This leads to an increase in the footprint and height of the entire production line. In addition, when the ring is heated by traditional heat exchange between the bath fluid and the material of the ring (such as steel), the heating of the ring is slow in terms of heating speed and low efficiency. Therefore, when a large ring needs to be coated with black oxide and because the ring needs to be heated by the black oxide fluid, this may result in a large amount of evaporation of the black oxide fluid from the tank and / or may cool the black oxide fluid, which then needs to be reheated, resulting in high energy consumption.
[0004] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved method for black oxide finishing of large bearing components. Summary of the invention
[0005] This object is solved by a device for black oxide finishing of bearing components according to claim 1 and a method for black oxide finishing of bearing components according to claim 10 .
[0006] The apparatus for black oxide finishing of bearing components, in particular bearing rings and any other components of rolling bearings or plain bearings, comprises a holding device, wherein the holding device is configured to hold the bearing component. The holding device may comprise, for example, several holding elements capable of holding the bearing component, such as brackets, clips, cramps, etc.
[0007] In order to perform a black oxide coating or finishing treatment on a bearing component without completely immersing the bearing component in a black oxide fluid, the apparatus includes a spray device, wherein the spray device is configured to spray the black oxide fluid onto the heated bearing component. The black oxide fluid may be contained in a tank or reservoir, and the spray device may be connected to the tank or reservoir, for example via a pipe or tube, for supplying the black oxide fluid from the tank to an outlet of the spray device and then to the bearing component.
[0008] Since the bearing component is in this case only insufficiently heated by the black oxide spray, the apparatus further comprises an induction heating device having at least one inductor, wherein the at least one inductor is configured to heat the bearing component. When the inductor heats the bearing component or at least one surface of the bearing component, the black oxide fluid is sprayed onto the surface having a temperature that is sufficiently heated to react with the black oxide fluid. For example, the surface can be heated to a temperature that corresponds to or is close to the temperature of the black oxide fluid. The temperature of the black oxide fluid is typically about 140°C or higher. For example, the bearing component can be heated to a temperature between 50°C and 150°C, in particular to a temperature between 110°C and 145°C.
[0009] Spraying the black oxide fluid onto the bearing component rather than immersing the bearing component in the black oxide fluid has the following advantages: less fluid may be required, less space is required (because no large tank is required to contain the black oxide fluid), and energy may be saved (because the black oxide fluid does not need to be permanently heated and does not lose temperature and need to be reheated when immersed in a cold bearing component). In addition, the described apparatus has the following advantages: it can be easily adapted to different sizes of bearing components. For example, the holding device can be configured to hold bearing components of variable sizes. The spraying device can also be arranged to be variable, or can be adjusted to be able to spray the black oxide fluid onto bearing components of different sizes. Therefore, the device provides a variable and flexible way of applying a black oxide finish to bearing components, which is cost-effective.
[0010] According to one embodiment, the holding device comprises a rotating part, which is used to rotate the bearing component so that the bearing component passes through at least one inductor and a spraying device. Preferably, the bearing component rotates so that it can be treated (heated and sprayed) evenly. The rotation of the bearing component can be in a vertical or horizontal direction. In particular, the holding device can hold a bearing ring, which is arranged with its rotation axis perpendicular to a horizontal or vertical plane and can rotate around its rotation axis. Preferably, the holding device, the rotating part and the bearing component are placed horizontally.
[0011] Since the bearing component can rotate according to this embodiment, only one inductor and one spray device may be required as the bearing component rotates and passes through the inductor and spray device. Of course, more than one spray device and / or more than one inductor can be used, which can enhance the heating of the bearing component and the deposition of the black oxide fluid on the heated bearing component, thereby improving the black oxide finish treatment of the bearing component.
[0012] According to another embodiment, a collection basin is arranged below the spraying device for collecting excess black oxide fluid, especially after chemically reacting with the bearing component. When the black oxide fluid is sprayed onto the bearing component, excess black oxide fluid may drip from the bearing component. Excess black oxide can be directed back to the black oxide fluid tank and can then be reused. Alternatively, excess black oxide fluid can be disposed of and possibly recycled.
[0013] According to another embodiment, the holding device, the spraying device and the induction heating device are arranged above or in a container, wherein the container is configured to collect excess black oxide fluid, in particular after a chemical reaction with the bearing component. In addition to dripping black oxide fluid, such a container can also be used to collect black oxide fluid that evaporates or sputters into the environment near the bearing component and the spraying device. Such evaporated or sputtered black oxide fluid may hit the side walls of the container and may drip downward onto the bottom. At the bottom of the container, the black oxide fluid can be collected and may be reused or disposed of, similar to the collection basin described above.
[0014] According to another embodiment, the spraying device comprises at least one nozzle, wherein the nozzle is configured to provide a jet of black oxide fluid for wetting the entire bearing component and / or for wetting one surface of the bearing component. The type of nozzle can be selected to provide a large flow of black oxide fluid so that the surface of the bearing component is permanently wetted with the black oxide fluid. This has the advantage that the surface of the bearing component does not become dry or have a broken water film due to a hot bearing component (which could result in a defective black oxide layer).
[0015] Depending on the arrangement of the nozzles, and for example depending on the number of nozzles, more or less of the surface of the bearing component can be sprayed with the black oxide fluid. The nozzles can be adjusted to spray the black oxide fluid onto the surface of the bearing component in the form of a jet or a drizzle. Using a jet form can have the advantage of applying the black oxide fluid at a specific defined location of the bearing component, while using a drizzle can provide the advantage of providing the black oxide fluid to a wider area of the bearing component at one time. In a more specific embodiment, the nozzle can be configured to provide a fluid jet in the form of a waterfall, wherein the holding device is configured to move the bearing component to pass through the waterfall of the black oxide fluid. In this case, the black oxide fluid can be applied particularly uniformly to the surface of the bearing component. The spray flow rate should not be too low, because too low will lead to an excessive imbalance in the concentration and ratio of the black oxide fluid.
[0016] In addition, the spraying device and / or the nozzle can be used to clean the bearing components. For example, before applying the black oxide fluid, the bearing components can be cleaned by spraying water or a solvent onto the bearing components. After applying the black oxide fluid, water can be sprayed onto the bearing components via the spraying device and / or the nozzle to clean the bearing components and remove the black oxide fluid. In this case, the spraying device and / or the nozzle can be connected to a tank containing the black oxide fluid or to a water and / or solvent supply pipe. Such a pipe can be connected to a tank containing water and / or a solvent, etc.
[0017] According to another embodiment, at least one inductor is arranged before the nozzle in the direction of rotation of the bearing component in order to heat the bearing component before the black oxide fluid is sprayed onto the bearing component. This arrangement has the advantage that the portion of the bearing component to be wetted by the black oxide fluid can be heated directly before the black oxide fluid is applied. Thus, it can be ensured that the surface of the bearing component has a suitable temperature for reacting with the black oxide fluid. Furthermore, since the inductor and the nozzle are arranged very close, it can be avoided that the bearing component or the surface of the bearing component cools too much, in which case it is no longer possible to ensure a proper reaction between the bearing component and the black oxide fluid. Alternatively, the bearing component as a whole can first be heated using the induction heating device, and then the spraying device can start applying the black oxide fluid to the surface of the entire bearing component to have a chemical reaction for forming the black oxide layer.
[0018] According to another embodiment, the spraying device comprises a plurality of nozzles arranged around the bearing component for uniformly spraying the black oxide fluid onto the bearing component. As already mentioned above, the spraying device may comprise more than one nozzle. When more than one nozzle is used, the time required for the black oxide finishing of the bearing component may be reduced. In addition, the deposition of the black oxide fluid may be more uniform, thereby improving the distribution of the coating.
[0019] According to another embodiment, the inductor is adapted to the form of the bearing component. This can provide uniform heating of the bearing component, since the inductor can have the same distance to the bearing component in the region of the bearing component in which it is arranged. The inductor can be arranged, for example, around the bearing component.
[0020] According to another aspect, a method for black oxide finishing of a bearing component, particularly a bearing ring, is provided. The method includes holding the bearing component, and further includes inductively heating the bearing component and spraying a black oxide fluid onto the heated bearing component.
[0021] According to another embodiment, the bearing component may be heated before or after the black oxide layer is applied (including heating the bearing component for such application) to perform a temperature pre-treatment or post-treatment of the bearing component. This may provide the advantage that the same apparatus and method used for the black oxide finish treatment of the bearing component may also be used for other temperature treatments. In this case, no black oxide fluid may be sprayed onto the bearing component, and the bearing component may only be heated to the corresponding pre-treatment or post-treatment temperature.
[0022] Further preferred embodiments are defined in the dependent claims as well as in the description and drawings. Hence, elements described or shown in combination with other elements may exist alone or in combination with other elements without departing from the scope of protection. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0023] In the following, preferred embodiments of the present invention are described with respect to the accompanying drawings, which are merely exemplary and are not intended to limit the scope of protection. The scope of protection is defined solely by the appended claims.
[0024] The accompanying drawings show:
[0025] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an apparatus for black oxide finishing of bearing components. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0026] In the following, identical or similar functional elements are denoted by the same reference numerals.
[0027] Figure 1 A device 1 is shown for black oxide finishing of a bearing component 2. In the shown embodiment, the bearing component 2 is shown as a bearing ring, however, it should be noted that the bearing component 2 may also be any other type of bearing component, such as a sleeve that may be used as an inner ring of a rolling bearing or a sliding bearing.
[0028] The bearing component 2 is held by a holding device, which may consist of one or more holding elements 4-1 to 4-4. The holding elements 4-1 to 4-4 may have any form suitable for holding the bearing component 2, for example in the form of a bracket, a support roller, etc. In addition, the holding elements 4-1 to 4-4 may be used as a rotating device, for example, for rotating the bearing component 2 around its axis of rotation. Preferably, both the holding device and the bearing component 2 are placed horizontally. However, other orientations are also possible.
[0029] Before the bearing component 2 can be treated with a black oxide finish, the bearing component 2 needs to reach a temperature suitable for reacting with the black oxide fluid. For this purpose, the apparatus 1 includes an induction heating device that can have one or more inductors 6-1 to 6-4. The inductors 6-1 to 6-4 can be coils and can be configured to heat the bearing component 2 via inductive coupling.
[0030] In the embodiment shown, the device 1 includes four holding elements 4-1 to 4-4 and four inductors 6-1 to 6-4. However, it should be noted that the device 1 may include more or less than the four holding elements 4-1 to 4-4 and four inductors 6-1 to 6-4 shown, and the number of inductors and holding elements may also be different from each other.
[0031] When the bearing component 2 or at least a portion of the bearing component 2 is heated to a temperature suitable for a proper reaction between the material of the bearing component 2 and the black oxide fluid, the black oxide fluid may be sprayed onto the bearing component 2 via the spraying device 8 .
[0032] The spraying device 8 may include one or more nozzles 10-1-10-4, four of which are exemplarily shown, for spraying black oxide fluid onto the bearing component 2. The nozzles 10-1-10-4 may be arranged around the circumference of the bearing component 2 to provide a uniform spray of the black oxide fluid onto the bearing component.
[0033] The nozzles 10-1-10-4 may be coupled to a tank 14 via a pipe or tube 12. The tank 4 includes a black oxide fluid. Below the bearing component 2, i.e., below the nozzles 10-1-10-4, a basin 18 may be arranged for collecting excess black oxide fluid dripping from the bearing component 2. The basin 18 may be connected to the tank 14 via a pipe 16 for reusing the black oxide fluid. Alternatively, the collected black oxide fluid may be disposed of.
[0034] Basin 18 can be connected to sidewall 20 to form a container for collecting excess black oxide fluid. Black oxide fluid sprayed onto bearing component 2 can impinge on sidewall 20, can drip on sidewall 20, and can then be collected in basin 18 or can be disposed of.
[0035] The device 1 shown can be scaled to any size and form of bearing component 2. As can be easily seen, the elements of the device 1 can be adapted according to the size of the bearing component 2, for example, the retaining elements 4-1 to 4-4 can be pulled apart or can be pushed together to accommodate a bearing component 2 of larger or smaller size.
[0036] In summary, the described apparatus provides the advantages of black oxide finishing of bearing components, particularly bearing components having a large diameter of more than 1.5 m, without the need for several large tanks containing black oxide fluid. Furthermore, since there is no need to heat the black oxide fluid to compensate for the temperature drop caused by heating the bearing component via the black oxide fluid, the apparatus can improve efficiency and save energy compared to conventional black oxide finishing equipment.
[0037] Reference numerals list
[0038] 1 Device
[0039] 2 Bearing components
[0040] 4-1-4-4 Retaining Equipment / Components
[0041] 6-1-6-4 Sensor / induction heating equipment
[0042] 8 Spraying equipment
[0043] 10-1-10-4 Nozzle
[0044] 12 Tubes
[0045] 14 cans
[0046] 16 tubes
[0047] 18 basins
[0048] 20 Sidewall
Claims
1. A device (1) for black oxide finishing of a bearing component (2), in particular a bearing ring, wherein the device (1) comprises a holding device (4-1-4-4), wherein the holding device (4-1-4-4) is configured to hold the bearing component (2), It is characterized in that The apparatus (1) further comprises an induction heating device (6-1-6-4), which has at least one inductor and a spraying device (8), wherein the at least one inductor is configured to heat the bearing component (2), and wherein the spraying device (8) is configured to spray a black oxide fluid onto the heated bearing component (2).
2. The device according to claim 1, wherein: The holding device (4-1-4-4) comprises a rotating component for rotating the bearing component (2) so that the bearing component (2) passes through the at least one inductor and the spraying device (8).
3. A device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: A collection basin (18) is arranged below the spraying device (8) for collecting excess black oxide fluid.
4. A device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The holding device (4-1-4-4), the spraying device (8) and the induction heating device (6-1-6-4) are arranged above or inside a container (18, 20), wherein the container (18, 20) is configured to collect excess black oxide fluid.
5. A device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The spraying device (8) comprises at least one nozzle (10-1-10-4), wherein the nozzle (10-1-10-4) is configured to provide a jet of black oxide fluid for wetting the entire bearing component (2) and / or for wetting a surface of the bearing component (2).
6. The device according to claim 5, wherein: The nozzle (10-1-10-4) is configured to provide a fluid jet in the form of a waterfall, wherein the holding device (4-1-4-4) is configured to move the bearing component (2) to pass through the waterfall of black oxide fluid.
7. The device according to claim 5 or 6, wherein: The at least one inductor is arranged before the nozzle (10-1-10-4) along the rotation direction of the bearing component (2) so as to heat the bearing component (2) before spraying the black oxide fluid onto the bearing component (2).
8. The device according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein: The spraying device (8) comprises a plurality of nozzles (10-1-10-4) arranged around the bearing component (2) and is used for uniformly spraying the black oxide fluid onto the bearing component (2).
9. The device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The inductor is adapted to the form of the bearing component (2).
10. A method for black oxide finishing of a bearing component (2), in particular a bearing ring, wherein the method comprises holding the bearing component (2), characterized in that The method also includes inductively heating the bearing component (2) and spraying a black oxide fluid onto the heated bearing component (2).
11. The method according to claim 10, wherein: Heating the bearing component (2) includes heating the bearing component (2) to perform temperature pretreatment and / or posttreatment on the bearing component (2).