Efficient and energy-saving vacuum coating unit and method

Abstract

The invention discloses a high-efficiency and energy-saving vacuum coating unit and method. The vacuum coating unit comprises a vacuum coating machine, and a coil feeding device and a coil discharging device which are positioned at the inlet and outlet ends of the vacuum coating machine, the vacuum coating machine is provided with an inlet crop shear, a welding machine, a strip steel preheating chamber, a strip steel surface cleaning and activating chamber, a strip steel coating chamber, an after-plating cooling chamber and an outlet shear; the number of the coiling devices is two, the coiling devices are arranged at an inlet of the vacuum coating machine in parallel, the two coiling devices are respectively arranged in a vacuum cavity, the two vacuum cavities are respectively communicated with the vacuum coating machine through an inlet conveying pipeline, and the two inlet conveying pipelines are respectively provided with an inlet isolating valve; the number of the coil unloading devices is two, the two coil unloading devices are arranged at an outlet of the vacuum coating machine in parallel, the two coil unloading devices are respectively arranged in a vacuum cavity, the two vacuum cavities are respectively communicated with the vacuum coating machine through outlet conveying pipelines, and outlet isolating valves are respectively arranged on the two outlet conveying pipelines. According to the invention, the continuous coating of the strip steel can be realized on the premise of not breaking vacuum.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of electroplating technology, and particularly to an energy-efficient vacuum coating unit and method. Background Art

[0002] The corrosion resistance of steel plates can be improved by plating corrosion-resistant coatings on their surfaces, thereby extending their service life. The composition of the corrosion-resistant coatings varies according to the uses of the coated steel plates. For example, the coatings can be zinc, zinc-aluminum-magnesium, aluminum-silicon, etc. Different coating technologies can be used to apply the corrosion-resistant coatings, such as hot-dip plating, electroplating, and vacuum plating, etc.

[0003] For mild steel, electroplating processes have problems such as difficulty in producing thick coatings, high energy consumption, and wastewater discharge; hot-dip plating processes have problems such as difficulty in increasing the speed and poor plating performance for boron-containing steel. For ordinary high-strength steel (<780 MPa), electroplating processes have problems such as high energy consumption, difficulty in increasing the coating thickness, and wastewater discharge; hot-dip plating processes have problems such as high alloy content, poor plating performance for boron-containing steel, and limited speed. For ultra-high-strength steel (≥780 MPa), electroplating processes have problems such as severe hydrogen embrittlement and difficulty in increasing the coating thickness; hot-dip plating processes have problems such as poor plating performance, very high alloy content, difficulty in increasing the strength level, and hydrogen embrittlement.

[0004] Vacuum plating technology is a coating process that has been widely used in industries such as electronics, glass, and plastics. The advantages of vacuum plating technology include environmental protection, good film properties, and diversity of materials to be plated, etc. The characteristics of continuous vacuum plating technology for metal strips include continuous coating, high speed, and large-scale production, etc. This technology not only has high efficiency and good coating properties, but also has little environmental pollution. Therefore, since the 1980s, steel mills in Japan and Europe have started to research continuous vacuum plating technology for metal strips. Continuous vacuum plating technology for metal strips is very likely to be the future technological development trend.

[0005] In order to achieve continuous vacuum coating production of metal coils, a vacuum lock device is widely used at present. A vacuum lock is a dynamic sealing device that can enable metal coils to continuously enter the vacuum environment from the atmospheric environment and then enter the atmospheric environment from the vacuum environment.

[0006] Chinese Patent CN1795288B discloses a "sealing lock for a spraying line in a vacuum for flat products", which is a sealing lock used in a vacuum chamber for spraying, preferably on a metal, annular strip.

[0007] Chinese Patent CN102080215B discloses "a vacuum plating sealing device", which relates to the technical field of vacuum plating equipment for metal coils, and particularly to a vacuum plating sealing device.

[0008] In the above-mentioned invention, continuous vacuum coating of strip steel can be achieved. However, the vacuum lock solution has the following problems: The strip steel continuously enters the vacuum chamber from the atmosphere, continuously bringing in gas, resulting in high energy consumption for vacuum pumping; gas continuously enters through the inlet slit and outlet slit of the vacuum lock, resulting in high energy consumption for vacuum pumping; the inlet vacuum lock and outlet vacuum lock have a certain length, resulting in a relatively long entire vacuum coating unit.

[0009] Object of the Invention

[0010] The object of the present invention is to provide an energy-efficient vacuum coating unit and method, which can achieve continuous coating of strip steel without breaking the vacuum and solve the problems existing in the existing vacuum lock.

[0011] To achieve the above object, the technical solution of the present invention is:

[0012] An energy-efficient vacuum coating unit includes a vacuum coating machine, a coil loading device, and a coil unloading device located at the inlet and outlet ends of the vacuum coating machine; the vacuum coating machine is provided with an inlet cut-off shear, a welder, a strip steel preheating chamber, a strip steel surface cleaning and activation chamber, a strip steel coating chamber, a post-plating cooling chamber, and an outlet shear; wherein,

[0013] Two coil loading devices are provided in parallel at the inlet of the vacuum coating machine. The two coil loading devices are respectively arranged in a vacuum chamber. The two vacuum chambers are respectively connected to the vacuum coating machine through an inlet conveying pipeline. Inlet isolation valves are respectively provided on the two inlet conveying pipelines;

[0014] Two coil unloading devices are provided in parallel at the outlet of the vacuum coating machine. The two coil unloading devices are respectively arranged in a vacuum chamber. The two vacuum chambers are respectively connected to the vacuum coating machine through an outlet conveying pipeline. Outlet isolation valves are respectively provided on the two outlet conveying pipelines.

[0015] The present invention also provides a method for the energy-efficient vacuum coating unit, which includes:

[0016] a) Among the two coil loading devices, the 1# coil loading device first performs coil loading; close the 1# inlet isolation valve, close the vacuum valve of the 1# coil loading device, break the vacuum of the 1# coil loading device vacuum chamber, open the vacuum chamber, and put the cold-rolled coil that has been chemically degreased and cleaned into the 1# coil loading device vacuum chamber;

[0017] b) Close the vacuum chamber of the 1# upcoiler, open the vacuum valve of the 1# upcoiler to evacuate. When the vacuum degrees at both ends of the 1# inlet isolation valve are close, open the 1# inlet isolation valve; the strip is fed into the vacuum coater by pinch rolls, sheared by the 1# inlet crop shear, and then enters the welding position, where it is welded to the tail of the previous coil; the strip runs in the vacuum chamber of the vacuum coater, successively passing through preheating, surface cleaning and activation, coating, and cooling.

[0018] c) The cooled strip enters the 1# downcoiler for winding; when the coil length reaches the standard, the strip is cut by the outlet shear and enters the 2# downcoiler for continuous winding; meanwhile, close the 1# outlet isolation valve, close the vacuum valve of the 1# downcoiler, break the vacuum of the 1# downcoiler vacuum chamber, open the 1# downcoiler vacuum chamber, and take out the coated strip; close the 1# downcoiler vacuum chamber, open the vacuum valve of the 1# downcoiler section to evacuate. When the vacuum degrees at both ends of the 1# outlet isolation valve are close, open the 1# outlet isolation valve.

[0019] When using the 2# upcoiler for upcoiling, the operation steps are the same as those when using the 1# upcoiler for upcoiling.

[0020] When using the 2# downcoiler for downcoiling, the operation steps are the same as those when using the 1# downcoiler for downcoiling.

[0021] Compared with the prior art, the advantages of the present invention are as follows:

[0022] (1) The existing vacuum lock adopts the method of continuously bringing the strip from the atmospheric environment into the vacuum environment and then from the vacuum environment into the atmospheric environment to achieve continuous coating. This method will cause the strip to continuously bring gas into the vacuum chamber. To ensure a proper vacuum degree, the vacuum pump needs to continuously extract gas, resulting in relatively high energy consumption of the vacuum pump. The present invention designs the up / downcoiler. By switching the chamber method, it can prevent the strip from continuously bringing gas without affecting the continuous production of the strip, thereby reducing the energy consumption of the vacuum pump. The existing inlet vacuum lock and outlet vacuum lock respectively need to be equipped with 6 - 8 groups of vacuum pumps for evacuation; the upcoiler and downcoiler of the present invention respectively only need to be equipped with 2 groups of vacuum pumps for evacuation.

[0023] (2) The existing vacuum lock adopts the method of step - by - step evacuation. One end of the inlet / outlet vacuum lock is in the atmosphere and the other end is in the vacuum, resulting in the continuous entry of gas in the atmosphere into the vacuum. To maintain a proper coating vacuum degree, the vacuum pump is used for step - by - step evacuation, which consumes a large amount of electric energy, has a low evacuation efficiency, and affects the production efficiency. The up / downcoiler adopted by the present invention makes the coating chamber sealed from the atmospheric environment, preventing continuous gas entry, thereby reducing the energy consumption of the vacuum pump, improving the evacuation efficiency, and improving the production efficiency.

[0024] (3) The existing vacuum locks use the method of gradually evacuating the air. The inlet / outlet vacuum locks require multiple sections of cavities to be arranged, and the unilateral length can reach 10 - 20 meters, occupying a large amount of floor space. The loading / unloading coil device adopted in the present invention has only two cavities arranged vertically and intersecting with each other on one side, and the unilateral length is about 7 meters, thus greatly reducing the floor area. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0025] Figure 1 It is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Embodiment

[0026] Refer to Figure 1 , the high-efficiency and energy-saving vacuum coating unit of the present invention includes a vacuum coating machine 1 and a coil loading device 2 and a coil unloading device 3 located at the inlet and outlet ends of the vacuum coating machine; the vacuum coating machine 1 is provided with an inlet trimming shear 11, a welder 12, a strip preheating chamber 13, a strip surface cleaning and activation chamber 14, a strip coating chamber 15, a post-coating cooling chamber 16, and an outlet shear 17; wherein,

[0027] Two coil loading devices are provided, namely a No. 1 coil loading device 21 and a No. 2 coil loading device 22, which are arranged in parallel at the inlet of the vacuum coating machine 1. The two coil loading devices 21 and 22 are respectively arranged in a vacuum cavity. The two vacuum cavities are respectively connected to the vacuum coating machine through an inlet conveying pipeline. Inlet isolation valves F1 and F2 are respectively provided on the two inlet conveying pipelines;

[0028] Two coil unloading devices are provided, namely a No. 1 coil unloading device 31 and a No. 2 coil unloading device 32, which are arranged in parallel at the outlet of the vacuum coating machine 1. The two coil unloading devices 31 and 32 are respectively arranged in a vacuum cavity. The two vacuum cavities are respectively connected to the vacuum coating machine 1 through an outlet conveying pipeline. Outlet isolation valves F3 and F4 are respectively provided on the two outlet conveying pipelines.

[0029] Embodiment

[0030] The strip thickness is 0.65 mm, the running speed is 180 m / min, and the strip is vacuum galvanized.

[0031] Close the No. 1 inlet isolation valve F1, close the vacuum valve of the No. 1 coil loading device, break the vacuum of the vacuum cavity of the No. 1 coil loading device, open the vacuum cavity of the No. 1 coil loading device, and put the cold-rolled coil that has been chemically degreased and cleaned into the vacuum cavity of the No. 1 coil loading device;

[0032] Close the cavity, open the vacuum valve of the 1# upper coiling device section to evacuate the air. When the vacuum degrees at both ends of the 1# inlet isolation valve F1 are close, open the 1# inlet isolation valve F1; the strip steel is fed into the vacuum coating machine by pinch rolls, and after being sheared by the 1# inlet trimming shear, it enters the welding position and is welded to the tail of the previous coil; the strip steel runs in the vacuum cavity and passes through preheating, plasma cleaning, vacuum coating, and cooling by the cooling roll in sequence; the strip steel enters the 1# uncoiling device for coiling. When the coiling length reaches 2000 m, cut the strip steel by the outlet shear, and the strip steel enters the 2# uncoiling device for continuous coiling; close the 1# outlet isolation valve F3, close the vacuum valve of the 1# uncoiling device section, break the vacuum of the 1# uncoiling device vacuum cavity, open the 1# uncoiling device vacuum cavity, and take out the coiled steel strip with coating; close the 1# uncoiling device vacuum cavity, open the vacuum valve of the 1# uncoiling device to evacuate the air. When the vacuum degrees at both ends of the 1# outlet isolation valve F3 are close, open the 1# outlet isolation valve F3.

[0033] The present invention is mainly applied to the vacuum coating of metal strip materials, and is used to realize the continuous vacuum coating of metal strip materials, improve the vacuum pumping efficiency, reduce the energy consumption, and shorten the unit length.

Claims

1. An efficient and energy-saving vacuum coating unit, comprising a vacuum coating machine and a coiling device and a coiling device located at the inlet and outlet ends of the vacuum coating machine; the vacuum coating machine is provided with an inlet cropping shear, a welding machine, a strip preheating chamber, a strip surface cleaning and activation chamber, a strip coating chamber, a post-coating cooling chamber, and an outlet shear; It is characterized in that The two roll-up devices are provided in parallel at the inlet of the vacuum coating machine. The two roll-up devices are respectively provided in a vacuum chamber. The two vacuum chambers are respectively connected to the vacuum coating machine through an inlet conveying pipeline. The two inlet conveying pipelines are respectively provided with an inlet isolation valve. There are two unloading devices, which are arranged in parallel at the outlet of the vacuum coating machine. The two unloading devices are respectively arranged in a vacuum chamber. The two vacuum chambers are connected to the vacuum coating machine through an outlet conveying pipe respectively. The two outlet conveying pipes are respectively provided with outlet isolation valves.

2. A method for the energy-efficient vacuum coating unit as claimed in claim 1, Its characteristics are: include: a) Of the two coiling devices, the 1# coiling device is coiled first; the 1# inlet isolation valve is closed, the vacuum valve of the 1# coiling device is closed, the vacuum chamber of the 1# coiling device is broken, the vacuum chamber is opened, and the cold-rolled coil that has been chemically degreased and cleaned is placed into the vacuum chamber of the 1# coiling device; b) Close the vacuum chamber of the 1# coiling device, open the vacuum valve of the 1# coiling device to evacuate, and when the vacuum degree at both ends of the 1# inlet isolation valve is close, open the 1# inlet isolation valve; the strip is clamped by the pinch rollers and enters the vacuum coating machine, and after being sheared by the 1# inlet cropping shear, it enters the welding machine position and is welded with the tail of the previous roll; the strip runs in the vacuum chamber of the vacuum coating machine, and is preheated, surface cleaned and activated, coated, and cooled in sequence; c) The cooled strip enters the 1# unloading device for winding; when the coil reaches the standard length, the strip is cut by the outlet shear, and the strip enters the 2# unloading device for further winding; at the same time, the 1# outlet isolation valve is closed, the vacuum valve of the 1# unloading device is closed, the vacuum chamber of the 1# unloading device is broken, the vacuum chamber of the 1# unloading device is opened, and the coated strip is taken out; the vacuum chamber of the 1# unloading device is closed, the vacuum valve of the 1# unloading device section is opened for vacuuming, and when the vacuum degree at both ends of the 1# outlet isolation valve is close, the 1# outlet isolation valve is opened; When using the 2# coiling device for coiling, the operating steps are the same as when using the 1# coiling device for coiling; When the 2# unloading device is used for unloading, the operation steps are the same as when the 1# unloading device is used for unloading.

Images