Magnetic suspension smelting device of multi-station water-cooling crucible

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of cold crucible smelting furnaces, in particular to a magnetic suspension smelting device of a multi-station water-cooling crucible, which comprises a furnace chamber, an induction coil and a crucible, the top of the furnace chamber is provided with a furnace cover, the side part of the furnace chamber is provided with a furnace door and a vacuum system for vacuumizing the interior of the furnace chamber, and the induction coil and the crucible are arranged in the furnace chamber. The plurality of crucibles are arranged on a crucible support together, a driving device is arranged at the bottom of the crucible support, and the driving device can drive the crucible support to ascend, descend and rotate, so that the crucibles can enter and exit from the center of the induction coil in sequence. After the interior of the furnace chamber is vacuumized, multiple smelting operations can be carried out in the atmosphere of argon filling after a single vacuumizing state, the operation steps are simple and convenient, the middle actions such as multiple vacuumizing and vacuum breaking are omitted, in addition, only one vacuumizing device and one motor driving device are adopted in the whole device, continuous and automatic smelting can be achieved, and the production efficiency is improved. The production efficiency is greatly improved; and the cost is saved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of cold crucible smelting furnaces, and in particular to a magnetic suspension smelting device for a multi-station water-cooled crucible. Background Art

[0002] Cold crucible smelting is a method of vacuum induction melting of materials using a water-cooled split copper crucible. The purpose of splitting the copper crucible is to prevent the conductive crucible from shielding the electromagnetic field; the purpose of water cooling is to keep the crucible wall temperature cold to avoid physical and chemical reactions between the molten material in the molten pool and the crucible.

[0003] Cold crucible smelting is considered to be the smelting technology of the next century. Its main features are: (1) It can melt and process materials in an environment without crucible material pollution, because during the smelting process, the melt and the crucible wall are in a non-contact state, the crucible wall temperature is in a cold state, and there is no interaction between the melt and the crucible wall; (2) This technology uses induction heating, and the melt is stirred during the heating process to obtain uniform superheat and chemical composition; (3) Since the copper crucible is always in a cold state and does not contact the melt, the crucible can coexist with high melting point or active element melts; (4) This technology can be used in vacuum or any atmosphere, so the cold crucible technology is particularly suitable for melting active metals, high purity metals, refractory alloys and radioactive materials. This technology has been widely studied and rapidly industrialized due to its advanced nature. The highest operating temperature of the cold crucible equipment is 2600℃. This technology has been successfully applied to industrial fields such as smelting, casting, powder making, injection molding and metal purification.

[0004] Traditional magnetic levitation induction melting adopts a single-chamber, single-crucible melting method. There is only one water-cooled crucible inside the furnace. After the first melting of the raw materials is completed, a second melting is required. At this time, the furnace door needs to be opened, and the ingot formed by the melting of the raw materials needs to be turned over, and then the ingot is put back into the crucible, and the furnace door is closed for vacuuming. This practice results in extremely low efficiency of magnetic levitation induction melting, and excessive energy and time costs. Summary of the invention

[0005] In order to overcome the shortcomings of the above-mentioned background technology, the present invention provides a magnetic suspension smelting device with a multi-station water-cooled crucible, which adopts a multi-crucible method for smelting, reduces time and energy consumption costs, and greatly improves smelting and work efficiency.

[0006] The technical solution of the present invention is: a magnetic suspension smelting device for a multi-station water-cooled crucible, comprising a furnace chamber, an induction coil and a crucible, wherein a furnace cover is arranged on the top of the furnace chamber, a furnace door and a vacuum system for evacuating the interior of the furnace chamber are arranged on the side, the induction coil and the crucible are arranged inside the furnace chamber, there are multiple crucibles, and they are jointly arranged on a crucible support, and a driving device is arranged at the bottom of the crucible support, and the driving device can drive the crucible support to rise and fall and rotate, so that each crucible can enter and exit the center of the induction coil in turn.

[0007] As a further preferred embodiment, the driving device includes a lifting component and a rotating component; the telescopic end of the lifting component is connected to the crucible support, the casing of the lifting component is sealed and movably connected to the furnace chamber; the rotating end of the rotating component is connected to the casing of the lifting component.

[0008] As a further preferred solution, four crucibles are arranged on the crucible support along the circumferential direction, namely, crucible No. 1, crucible No. 2, crucible No. 3 and crucible No. 4.

[0009] As a further preferred embodiment, the crucible is a crucible with a certain taper.

[0010] As a further preferred solution, the crucible is made entirely of copper petals, the bottom of the crucible is open, and the crucible plug is detachable.

[0011] As a further preferred embodiment, a rotating feeding platform is provided on the top of the furnace chamber, and the rotating feeding platform includes a connecting cross bar, a temperature measuring rod, a driving shaft and a feeding barrel. The lower end of the driving shaft is arranged on one side of the top of the furnace chamber, and the center of the connecting cross bar is connected to the upper end of the driving shaft. The temperature measuring rod and the feeding barrel are respectively arranged at both ends of the connecting cross bar. A vacuum baffle valve I is arranged at the bottom of the temperature measuring rod, and a vacuum baffle valve II is arranged at the bottom of the feeding barrel. A furnace chamber vacuum baffle valve III is arranged on the top of the furnace cover, and the vacuum baffle valve I and the vacuum baffle valve II correspond to the vacuum baffle valve III respectively.

[0012] The beneficial effects are as follows: 1. The four crucibles of the present invention are all fixed on the crucible support, and the crucible can follow the crucible support as a whole to perform lifting, movement, rotation and other mechanical actions. When the raw materials in the No. 1 crucible are melted, the raw materials in the No. 2 crucible 4 are melted, and the completed ingot in the No. 1 crucible begins to cool. Melting and cooling are carried out simultaneously, which improves production efficiency. After the furnace chamber is evacuated, multiple smelting operations can be carried out in an atmosphere filled with argon after a single vacuum state, and the operation steps are simple and convenient, eliminating multiple vacuum pumping and breaking actions in the middle. In addition, the device as a whole only uses one set of vacuum pumping devices and one set of motor drive devices, which can realize continuous and automatic smelting, greatly improving production efficiency and saving costs.

[0013] 2. The crucible of the present invention is made of copper petals as a whole, which is not easy to be damaged. The service life of the crucible can reach more than three years and the number of uses can reach more than 3,000 times.

[0014] 3. The bottom of the crucible of the present invention is open, and the crucible plug can be freely disassembled, which is convenient for regular maintenance of the crucible plug. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the magnetic levitation melting device with a water-cooled crucible.

[0016] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the first position state of the crucible support.

[0017] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the second position state of the crucible support.

[0018] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the first position state of the crucible support.

[0019] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of the second position state of the crucible support.

[0020] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the rotary feeding table.

[0021] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the use status of the rotary feeding table.

[0022] Figure 8 It is a schematic cross-sectional view of the cooling water circulation part of the water-cooled crucible.

[0023] In the accompanying drawings: 1-rotating feeding table, a-connecting cross bar, b-temperature measuring rod, c-vacuum baffle valve Id-driving shaft, e-feeding cylinder, f-metal granular material, g-vacuum baffle valve II, 2-furnace cover, h-vacuum baffle valve III, 3-furnace chamber, 4-No. 2 crucible, 5-No. 1 crucible, 6-furnace door, 7-crucible support, 8-driving device, 9-induction coil, 10-vacuum system, 11-water inlet bin, 12-copper flap water inlet II, 13-crucible plug water outlet, 14-crucible plug water inlet, 15-water outlet bin, 16-copper flap water outlet II, 17-copper flap water inlet, 19-copper flap water inlet I, 20-copper flap water outlet I, 21-copper flap support, 22-water-cooled crucible plug, 23-copper flap water outlet, 24-water-cooled copper flap, DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] The technical solution of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the embodiments. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0025] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "first" and "second" are only used for descriptive purposes, and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Therefore, the features defined as "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of the present invention, "multiple" means two or more, unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined. In addition, the terms "installed", "connected", and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be directly connected, or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, or it can be the internal communication of two components. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0026] like Figure 1-5 The magnetic suspension melting device for a multi-station water-cooled crucible shown comprises a furnace chamber 3, an induction coil 9 and a crucible. A furnace cover 2 is arranged on the top of the furnace chamber 3, an opening is arranged on the top of the furnace cover 2, and a vacuum baffle valve IIIh is installed at the opening. A furnace door 6 and a vacuum system 10 for evacuating the interior of the furnace chamber 3 are arranged on the side of the furnace chamber 3. The induction coil 9 and the crucible are arranged inside the furnace chamber 3. There are multiple crucibles, which are arranged together on a crucible support 7. A driving device 8 is arranged at the bottom of the crucible support 7. The driving device 8 can drive the crucible support 7 to rise and fall and rotate, so that each crucible can sequentially enter and exit the center of the induction coil 9. More specifically, the driving device 8 comprises a lifting component and a rotating component. The telescopic end of the lifting component (a cylinder or an electric cylinder can be used) is connected to the crucible support 7, the housing of the lifting component is sealed and movably connected to the furnace chamber 3, and the rotating end of the rotating component (a motor can be used) is connected to the housing of the lifting component. In this embodiment, the crucible support 7 adopts a cross structure, and a crucible is arranged at each end of the cross, and a total of 4 crucibles are arranged, namely, crucible No. 1 5, crucible No. 2 4, crucible No. 3 and crucible No. 4. For details, please refer to Figure 4 and Figure 5 .

[0027] Before smelting, the vacuum system 10 is used to evacuate the interior of the furnace to achieve the vacuum oxygen content environment required for refining materials. Smelting in a vacuum reduces the pollution of the atmosphere to the material itself. The driving device 8 drives the four crucibles to rotate and rise, so that each crucible enters and exits the center of the induction coil 9 in turn to achieve continuous smelting.

[0028] The specific conversion steps are as follows: after the material in the No. 1 crucible 5 is melted, the crucible support 7 device can be moved downward as a whole to completely remove the No. 1 crucible 5 from the induction coil 9; after the No. 1 crucible 5 is completely removed from the induction coil 9, the crucible support 7 is rotated as a whole, and when the No. 2 crucible 4 is rotated to just below the induction coil 9, the crucible support 7 is raised as a whole to completely place the No. 2 crucible 4 inside the coil 9; then the No. 2 crucible 4 is melted, and the above steps can be repeated to melt the four crucibles in sequence.

[0029] When the crucible support 7 is rotated or lifted as a whole, the vacuum in the furnace chamber does not need to be broken, and all mechanism actions are performed in an argon-filled state, thereby preventing the smelted material and the unsmelted material from contacting with the air, causing pollution to the material and the completed ingot, and causing oxidation, etc.

[0030] It should be noted that the crucible used in the device is preferably a tapered water-cooled copper crucible, which makes it easier to discharge the material and reduces the material loss rate.

[0031] In this embodiment, the four crucibles of the device are all fixed on the crucible support 7, and the crucible can follow the crucible support 7 to perform lifting, movement, rotation and other mechanical actions as a whole, and after the furnace chamber 3 is evacuated, multiple smelting operations can be performed in an atmosphere filled with argon after a single vacuumization. Since the device as a whole only uses one set of vacuuming devices and one set of motor driving devices, continuous and automatic smelting can be achieved, eliminating multiple vacuuming and breaking actions in the middle, greatly improving production efficiency and saving costs; on the other hand, after the raw materials in the No. 1 crucible 5 are melted, when the raw materials in the No. 2 crucible 4 are melted, the completed ingot in the No. 1 crucible 5 begins to cool, and melting and cooling are carried out simultaneously without waiting, thereby improving production efficiency.

[0032] Specifically in this embodiment, the crucible is made of copper petals as a whole, which is not easy to be damaged. The service life of the crucible can reach more than three years and the number of uses can reach more than 3000 times. The bottom of the crucible is open, and the water-cooled crucible plug 22 can be freely disassembled, which is convenient for regular maintenance of the water-cooled crucible plug 22. The cooling water jacket of the water-cooled crucible of the device is divided into a water inlet bin 11 and a water outlet bin 15, which forms a complete water circuit with the pipeline in each copper petal, which is convenient for controlling the crucible temperature; the specific cooling water cycle can be referred to Figure 8, wherein, when the water-cooled crucible is working, as shown in the figure, firstly install the water-cooled crucible plug 22 to the designated position of the crucible, so that a cavity with a fully closed bottom is formed in the crucible. At this time, the cooling water inlet pipeline is introduced into the copper flap water inlet Ⅰ19 and the copper flap water inlet Ⅱ12 at the same time, and then the copper flap water outlet Ⅰ20 and the copper flap water outlet Ⅱ16 are introduced into the cooling water outlet pipeline at the same time. After ensuring that the pipeline connection is correct, open the cooling water valve, and the cooling water flows through the copper flap water inlet Ⅰ19 and the copper flap water inlet Port Ⅱ12 enters the water inlet bin 11, and after entering the water inlet bin 11, it enters each water-cooled copper petal 24 through the copper petal water inlet path 17. After the cooling water enters the water-cooled copper petal 24, it passes through the copper petal water outlet path 23 again, flows into the water outlet bin 15, and then flows out through the copper petal water outlet Ⅰ20 and the copper petal water outlet Ⅱ16. At this point, a complete water circuit circulation is formed in the water-cooled copper petal 1 of the water-cooled crucible, and the copper petal support 21 is the supporting structure of each water-cooled copper petal 1.

[0033] The working principle of the water-cooled crucible plug 22 is similar to that of the water-cooled crucible. After the water-cooled crucible plug 22 is installed to the specified position, the cooling water inlet pipeline is connected to the crucible plug water inlet 14, and the cooling water outlet pipeline is connected to the crucible plug water outlet 13, so that the water circulation inside the water-cooled crucible plug 22 is completed.

[0034] When the water-cooled crucible is working, the induction coil 9 is energized, and the metal material in the crucible generates eddy currents under the action of a strong magnetic field, starts to heat up, and then becomes a molten metal material. After the molten metal material is completely cooled in the water-cooled crucible, the cooling water inlet valve is turned off, and the water circulation in the water-cooled crucible stops, and a complete working cycle is completed. The water-cooled crucible takes away heat through a complete circulating water circuit, which can quickly cool and crystallize the material smelted in the crucible, and can melt active metals, refractory metals and alloys, solving the problem of temperature limitation of traditional crucible smelting.

[0035] refer to Figure 1 and Figure 6-7When the device is working, the metal raw materials to be smelted are first added into the crucibles (1#, 2#, 3#, 4#) respectively. After the raw materials in the crucibles (1#, 2#, 3#, 4#) are added, if it is necessary to continue to add raw materials during the smelting process, the remaining raw materials can be added to the feeding device in the rotating feeding table 1. After all the raw materials are arranged in layers, the crucible support 7 is moved to the specified position as a whole through the driving device 8, and the No. 1 crucible 5 is placed inside the induction coil 9 as a whole, and then the furnace cover 2 and the furnace door 6 are closed, and then the furnace chamber 3 is fully closed, and the interior of the furnace chamber 3 is evacuated to eliminate the pollution of the atmosphere or oxygen to the raw materials. After the vacuum degree in the furnace chamber 3 is measured by the detection device to reach After the requirements of the smelting raw materials are met, the power supply is turned on, the induction coil 9 is energized, and the raw materials in the No. 1 water-cooled copper crucible 5 are heated by electromagnetic induction until they are melted into molten metal liquid. After the raw materials are completely melted, the smelting of the raw materials in the No. 1 crucible 5 is completed. At this time, the power supply of the device is turned off, and the crucible support 7 is moved downward as a whole by the crucible driving device 8. After it reaches the specified position, the crucible support 7 is rotated as a whole by the crucible driving device 8. After the crucible support 7 is rotated as a whole by 90°, the No. 2 crucible 4 is rotated to the bottom of the induction coil. At this time, the crucible support 7 is moved upward as a whole by the crucible driving device 8, and the No. 2 crucible 4 is moved upward into the induction coil 9. After the No. 2 crucible 4 is completely placed inside the induction coil 9, the power supply is turned on, the induction coil 9 is energized, and the raw materials in the No. 2 water-cooled copper crucible 4 are heated by electromagnetic induction until they are melted into molten metal liquid. At this time, two working cycles are completed. Next, the above actions are completed in sequence to melt the raw materials in the No. 3 crucible and the No. 4 crucible. After the smelting is completed and the raw materials in the four crucibles are all cooled to room temperature, the furnace door 6 is opened to take out the smelted materials in the crucibles, and a working cycle is completed.

[0036] like Figure 2 As shown, the smelting of the raw materials in the first crucible 5 is completed, and the power supply of the device is turned off. The crucible support 7 is moved downward to a specified position as a whole through the crucible driving device 8.

[0037] like Figure 3 As shown, after the No. 2 crucible 4 is rotated to the position directly below the induction coil, the crucible support 7 is moved upward as a whole by the crucible driving device 8 to move the No. 2 crucible 4 upward into the induction coil 9 .

[0038] like Figure 4As shown, the smelting of raw materials in the No. 1 crucible 5 is completed, and the power of the device is turned off. The crucible support 7 is moved downward as a whole through the crucible driving device 8. After it reaches the specified position, the crucible support 7 is rotated as a whole through the crucible driving device 8. After the crucible support 7 is rotated as a whole by 90°, the No. 2 crucible 4 is rotated to be directly below the induction coil.

[0039] like Figure 5 As shown, crucible No. 2 4 rotates to the position directly below the induction coil. At this time, the crucible support 7 is moved upward as a whole by the crucible driving device 8, and crucible No. 2 4 is moved upward to the induction coil 9. After crucible No. 2 4 is completely placed inside the induction coil 9, the power is turned on, the induction coil 9 is energized, and the raw materials in crucible No. 2 4 are heated by electromagnetic induction until they are melted into molten metal liquid. At this time, two working cycles are completed. Next, the above actions are completed at one time to melt the raw materials in crucibles 3# and 4#. After the raw materials in all the crucibles are melted, they are cooled until the materials in the crucibles cool to room temperature. Cooling inside the vacuum furnace chamber 3 can avoid the influence of oxidation and other impurities in the atmosphere on the formed metal.

[0040] refer to Figure 6 and Figure 7 In a specific embodiment, a rotary feeding platform 1 is provided on the top of the furnace chamber 3, and the rotary feeding platform 1 includes a connecting cross bar a, a temperature measuring rod b, a driving shaft d and a feeding barrel e. The lower end of the driving shaft d is arranged on one side of the top of the furnace chamber 3, and the center of the connecting cross bar a is connected to the upper end of the driving shaft d. The temperature measuring rod b and the feeding barrel e are respectively arranged at both ends of the connecting cross bar a. A vacuum baffle valve Ⅰc is arranged at the bottom of the temperature measuring rod b, and a vacuum baffle valve Ⅱg is arranged at the bottom of the feeding barrel e. A furnace chamber vacuum baffle valve Ⅲh is arranged on the top of the furnace cover 2, and the vacuum baffle valve Ⅰc and the vacuum baffle valve Ⅱg correspond to the vacuum baffle valve Ⅲh respectively. Among them, the rotating feeding platform 1 is supported by the driving shaft d and connected by the connecting cross bar a, and the temperature measuring rod b is connected to the feeding tube e. When the rotating feeding platform 1 is working, if the temperature needs to be measured, the vacuum baffle valve Ic below the temperature measuring rod b is connected to the vacuum baffle valve IIIh of the furnace chamber, and then the two vacuum baffle valves are opened, and the temperature measuring rod b is extended into the furnace chamber to measure the temperature in the crucible molten pool. When it is necessary to add materials, the driving shaft d is rotated 180°, and then the vacuum baffle valve IIg below the feeding tube e is connected to the vacuum baffle valve IIIh of the furnace chamber, and then the two vacuum baffle valves are opened, and the metal particle material f is added to the crucible in the furnace chamber, and finally the vacuum baffle valves are closed to maintain the vacuum state inside the furnace chamber. It should be noted that the driving shaft d is similar in structure to the driving device 8, and both include a lifting component and a rotating component, wherein the lifting component can use a cylinder or an electric cylinder, and the rotating component can use a motor.

[0041] By using the device, the water-cooled crucible can be used to eliminate the contamination of the crucible material to the molten pool, and high-purity and high-melting-point materials, as well as materials with very uniform and accurate composition, can be prepared.

[0042] The above-mentioned embodiments only express the preferred implementation modes of the present invention, and the descriptions thereof are relatively specific and detailed, but they cannot be understood as limiting the scope of the present invention. It should be pointed out that, for a person skilled in the art, several modifications, improvements and substitutions can be made without departing from the concept of the present invention, and these all belong to the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention patent shall be subject to the attached claims.

Claims

1. A magnetic suspension melting device for a multi-station water-cooled crucible, comprising a furnace chamber (3), an induction coil (9) and a crucible, wherein a furnace cover (2) is arranged on the top of the furnace chamber (3), a furnace door (6) and a vacuum system (10) for evacuating the interior of the furnace chamber (3) are arranged on the side, and the device is characterized in that: The induction coil (9) and the crucible are arranged inside the furnace chamber (3). There are a plurality of crucibles, which are arranged together on a crucible support (7). A driving device (8) is provided at the bottom of the crucible support (7). The driving device (8) can drive the crucible support (7) to rise and fall and rotate, so that each crucible can enter and exit the center of the induction coil (9) in sequence.

2. The magnetic suspension smelting device with a multi-station water-cooled crucible according to claim 1, characterized in that: The driving device (8) comprises a lifting component and a rotating component; The telescopic end of the lifting component is connected to the crucible support (7), and the casing of the lifting component is movably connected to the furnace chamber (3) in a sealed manner; The rotating end of the rotating component is connected to the casing of the lifting component.

3. The magnetic suspension melting device of the multi-station water-cooled crucible according to claim 2, characterized in that: Four crucibles are arranged on the crucible support (7) along the circumferential direction, namely a No. 1 crucible (5), a No. 2 crucible (4), a No. 3 crucible and a No. 4 crucible.

4. The magnetic suspension melting device of the multi-station water-cooled crucible according to claim 3, characterized in that: The crucible is a crucible with a certain taper.

5. The magnetic suspension melting device of the multi-station water-cooled crucible according to claim 4, characterized in that: The crucible is made of copper petals as a whole, the bottom of the crucible is open, and the crucible plug is detachable.

6. The magnetic suspension melting device of the multi-station water-cooled crucible according to claim 5, characterized in that: A rotating charging platform (1) is arranged on the top of the furnace chamber (3), and the rotating charging platform (1) comprises a connecting cross bar (a), a temperature measuring rod (b), a driving shaft (d) and a charging cylinder (e). The lower end of the driving shaft (d) is arranged on one side of the top of the furnace chamber (3), and the center of the connecting cross bar (a) is connected to the upper end of the driving shaft (d). The temperature measuring rod (b) and the charging cylinder (e) are respectively arranged at the two ends of the connecting cross bar (a). A vacuum baffle valve I (c) is arranged at the bottom of the temperature measuring rod (b), and a vacuum baffle valve II (g) is arranged at the bottom of the charging cylinder (e). A furnace chamber vacuum baffle valve III (h) is arranged on the top of the furnace cover (2), and the vacuum baffle valve I (c) and the vacuum baffle valve II (g) correspond to the vacuum baffle valve III (h) respectively.

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