Molding device capable of being flexibly manufactured and molding method

Abstract

The molding device comprises a mold opening and closing mechanism (1), mold changing rails (2) are arranged on the two sides of the mold opening and closing mechanism (1); the die changing trolley (3) can move back and forth along the die changing track (2), and a moving mechanism (4) forming a cross motion system with the die changing trolley (3) is arranged above the die changing trolley (3); the multiple air bags (5) are arranged at the top end position over the mold opening and closing mechanism (1); the sand hopper (6) is arranged at the geometric center position among the plurality of air bags (5); the moving mechanism (4) and the mold changing trolley (3) form a matrix type dispatching system, and cooperative calling of tools and full-automatic storing and taking of iron molds are achieved. The device can realize quick die change, is compatible with dies of various specifications, and improves the production efficiency and the flexible manufacturing capability.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of casting equipment, and in particular to a flexibly manufacturable molding device and a molding method. Background Art

[0002] The sand-coating molding machine is a key equipment used to make sand molds in the foundry industry. Its core function is to evenly fill the molding sand into the mold through the sand shooting process to form a high-precision sand mold.

[0003] However, traditional equipment has significant technical bottlenecks: the mold uses a bolt-fastened structure, and needs to be heated after the mold is changed. A single mold change takes 4-6 hours. In addition, the rigid manufacturing model causes the equipment to only adapt to a single product specification, making it difficult to cope with the demand for small batch orders of multiple varieties. In the context of intelligent manufacturing transformation, foundry companies are facing new challenges such as shortened product iteration cycles and increased proportion of customized orders. The industry urgently needs to build a flexible production line to achieve rapid switching of tooling and adaptive adjustment of product specifications. Summary of the invention

[0004] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a flexible molding device and molding method, which can realize rapid mold change, be compatible with molds of various specifications, and improve production efficiency and flexible manufacturing capabilities.

[0005] The technical solution of the present invention is a flexibly manufacturable molding device, comprising:

[0006] A mold opening and closing mechanism, with mold changing tracks arranged on both sides;

[0007] The mold changing trolley can move forward and backward along the mold changing track, and a moving mechanism is arranged above the mold changing trolley to form a cross motion system with the trolley;

[0008] There are multiple air bags, which are arranged at the top position just above the mold opening and closing mechanism;

[0009] A sand hopper is arranged at the geometric center position between the plurality of air bags;

[0010] The mobile mechanism and the mold-changing trolley form a matrix scheduling system to achieve coordinated calling of tooling and fully automatic storage and retrieval of iron molds.

[0011] The above-mentioned flexibly manufacturable molding device, the mold opening and closing mechanism includes a lifting platform, and the lifting platform is provided with positioning pins and a mold locking mechanism, and the mold locking mechanism is used to fix the mold on the lifting platform.

[0012] The aforementioned flexibly manufacturable molding device, the mold changing trolley includes a frame, small wheels are installed on the side of the frame, and multiple molds are integrated and installed on the frame, and a drag chain frame is provided on the side of each mold to protect the line.

[0013] The aforementioned flexible manufacturing molding device, wherein the moving mechanism includes a translation track that penetrates through multiple workstations. A sand shooting head with pulleys is installed on the translation track. The sand shooting head is connected to a servo motor and is provided with a universal sand shooting plate, and a motorized roller conveyor is arranged below the sand shooting head.

[0014] The aforementioned flexible manufacturing molding device, wherein the universal sand shooting plate includes a sleeve, a liftable cover plate, a push rod, a sand shooting nozzle, and a return spring; the cover plate is linked with the sand shooting nozzle through the push rod, a sealing ring is arranged around the sand shooting nozzle, and the return spring drives the cover plate to reset to close the sand shooting hole.

[0015] The casting method of the aforementioned flexible manufacturing molding device includes the following steps:

[0016] S1. The moving mechanism moves to the left workstation, and the iron mold enters the motorized roller conveyor.

[0017] S2. The die change trolley moves to the target position and fixes the mold through the positioning pin and the mold clamping mechanism.

[0018] S3. The mold opening and closing mechanism rises to complete mold clamping, and the sand shooting head conducts sand shooting.

[0019] S4. The mold opening and closing mechanism descends to complete mold opening, and the moving mechanism transfers the formed iron mold to the next process.

[0020] In the aforementioned casting method, when temporarily storing idle iron molds, the moving mechanism jacks up the iron molds to disengage from the motorized roller conveyor and translates them to the idle workstations for temporary storage.

[0021] In the aforementioned casting method, when calling the temporarily stored iron molds, the iron molds are preheated through the mold heating system, and the moving mechanism collaborates with the mold opening and closing mechanism to complete the calling and mold clamping and sand shooting of the iron molds.

[0022] In the aforementioned casting method, the sand hopper is located at the geometric center of the equipment, and sand supply is carried out in parallel for a single sand hopper at two workstations, reducing the intensity of sand adding operations.

[0023] In the aforementioned casting method, the molds of the die change trolley and the iron molds are temporarily stored in a mold clamped state, and the iron molds are preheated synchronously through the mold heating system before calling.

[0024] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0025] 1. Through the cross - motion system formed by the die change trolley and the moving mechanism, the present invention constructs a matrix - type scheduling framework, which can realize the automatic storage, calling, and workstation switching of multiple sets of molds. The die change trolley integrates multiple pairs of molds, and with the rapid positioning and locking device of the mold opening and closing mechanism, it eliminates the cumbersome operation of traditional bolt fastening, significantly shortens the mold replacement time, enables the equipment to efficiently adapt to the production requirements of multi - variety and small - batch production, and flexibly responds to the market challenges of diverse product specifications.

[0026] 2. The general sand shooting plate of the present invention adopts a linkage structure of a spring sealing ring and a push rod. When the iron mold is lifted, the sand shooting hole is automatically opened, and it elastically resets and closes when withdrawn, which can be compatible with iron molds of different specifications without manual adjustment. This design not only avoids the downtime loss caused by the replacement of the traditional sand shooting plate, but also prevents sand leakage through the sealing structure, improves the stability and cleanliness of the sand shooting process, and reduces the subsequent equipment maintenance cost.

[0027] 3. The idle iron molds of the present invention can be pre-stored on the die-changing trolley and preheated synchronously by the mold heating system, avoiding the time-consuming problem of separate heating after traditional die-changing. The fully automatic access and call mechanism of the iron molds realizes the "ready-to-use" of the tooling. While reducing the waiting time, the iron molds are evenly heated through heat transfer, improving the curing quality of the sand mold. The integrated wiring and drag chain protection design eliminate the redundant interference of the lines and ensure the safety of the circuit and air circuit during the lifting process of the mold.

[0028] 4. The translation mechanism of the present invention is designed with a translation track that runs through multiple workstations. Combined with the high-precision closed-loop control of the servo motor, it realizes the precise positioning and rapid movement of the sand shooting head. Cooperating with the iron mold transmission function of the motorized roller table, it constructs a full-process automated operation from iron mold loading, mold closing and sand shooting to finished product offline. The sand hopper is arranged at the geometric center of the equipment, supporting parallel sand supply for a single sand hopper and two workstations, reducing the frequency of manual sand addition, lowering the labor intensity, and improving the overall efficiency of the production line.

[0029] 5. The present invention reduces the energy consumption of repeated heating by preheating the idle iron molds in advance and utilizing the waste heat of the mold; the general sand shooting plate and the integrated storage design of multiple molds avoid the problem of tooling idleness caused by the single specification of traditional equipment, improving the reuse rate of the equipment and tooling. The overall solution realizes the energy-saving, efficiency-increasing and flexible transformation of casting production through the innovation of the hardware structure and the optimization of the process scheduling. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0030] Figure 1 is the structural schematic diagram of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 2 is the structural schematic diagram of the present invention after hiding the trolley;

[0032] Figure 3 is the structural schematic diagram of another perspective of the present invention after hiding the trolley;

[0033] Figure 4 is the structural schematic diagram of the die-changing trolley of the present invention;

[0034] Figure 5 is the structural schematic diagram of the general sand shooting plate of the present invention.

[0035] The reference signs in the drawings are

[0036] 1 - Mold opening and closing mechanism, 11 - Lifting platform, 12 - Locating pin, 13 - Mold clamping mechanism, 2 - Die change track, 3 - Die change trolley, 31 - Frame, 32 - Trolley wheel, 33 - Mold, 34 - Drag chain frame, 4 - Moving mechanism, 41 - Translation track, 42 - Sand shooting head, 43 - Servo motor, 44 - Universal sand shooting plate, 441 - Sleeve, 442 - Cover plate, 443 - Ejector rod, 444 - Sand shooting nozzle, 445 - Sealing ring, 446 - Return spring, 45 - Power-driven roller conveyor, 5 - Air bag, 6 - Sand hopper. Specific embodiments

[0037] The present invention will be further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments, but it shall not be used as a basis for limiting the present invention.

[0038] Embodiment: A molding device capable of flexible manufacturing, the composition is as Figure 1 shown, including a mold opening and closing mechanism 1. Die change tracks 2 are installed on both sides of the mold opening and closing mechanism 1. A die change trolley 3 that can move back and forth is placed on the die change tracks 2. Above the die change trolley 3, a moving mechanism 4 that forms a cross-movement system with it is arranged; at the top position corresponding to the directly above of the mold opening and closing mechanism 1, an air bag 5 is provided, and a sand hopper 6 is arranged at the geometric center position among the four air bags 5. The mold opening and closing mechanism 1 is used for mold closing and mold opening; the die change tracks 2 and the die change trolley 3 realize die change; the moving mechanism 4 and the die change trolley 3 form a matrix scheduling system to realize the collaborative call of tooling. In addition, the moving mechanism 4 and the mold opening and closing mechanism 1 cooperate to complete the evacuation and call of the iron mold from the power-driven roller conveyor 45; the sand hopper 5 is arranged at the geometric center of the equipment to realize parallel sand supply for a single sand hopper at two workstations, reducing the labor intensity of sand addition. The molding device of this embodiment takes the mold opening and closing mechanism 1 as the core. The die change trolley 3 is carried on the die change tracks 2 on both sides of it and can move back and forth along the tracks to realize the switching of the mold group. The moving mechanism 4 above the die change trolley 3 passes through four workstations (loading workstation, molding workstation, solidification workstation, unloading workstation) through the translation track 41, forms a cross-movement system with the die change trolley, and constructs a matrix scheduling space. The four air bags 5 directly above the mold opening and closing mechanism provide pneumatic power for the equipment, and the central sand hopper 6 supplies sand to the sand shooting head 42 by gravity or pneumatic sand conveying pipeline.

[0039] Preferably, the mold opening and closing mechanism 1 includes a lifting platform 11, on which a positioning pin 12 is installed; a mold clamping mechanism 13 is installed on the side of the lifting platform 11. The positioning pin 12 is used for precise positioning of the mold; the mold clamping mechanism 13 can fix the mold on the lifting platform 11. Among them, the lifting platform 11 can be driven by hydraulic pressure or a servo motor and can vertically lift to realize the mold closing and opening actions. High-precision positioning pins 12 (such as tapered pins or cylindrical pins) are arranged on the platform surface and cooperate with the positioning holes of the mold 33 on the mold-changing trolley 3 to ensure millimeter-level positioning accuracy when the mold is installed. The mold clamping mechanism 13 is preferably a pneumatically or hydraulically driven quick clamp, which is distributed on the side of the lifting platform. After the mold 33 is initially positioned by the positioning pin 12, the jaws of the mold clamping mechanism 13 automatically buckle the mold frame to provide a stable locking force (such as 5-10 tons), replacing the cumbersome operation of traditional bolt fastening, and shortening the mold-changing time from 4-6 hours to within 10 minutes.

[0040] Preferably, the mold-changing trolley 3 includes a vehicle frame 31, on the side of which trolley wheels 32 are installed; four sets of molds 33 are installed on the vehicle frame 31, and a drag chain frame 34 is arranged on the side of each set of molds 33. The mold-changing trolley 3 adopts an integrated wiring structure to eliminate the redundant cross-interference caused by the independent wiring of individual molds; the drag chain frame 34 is used to protect the lines when the mold 33 is lifted. Among them, the vehicle frame 31 is made of a high-strength aluminum alloy frame, and the bottom trolley wheels 32 are universal wheels or track wheels with brakes, which can be manually pushed or driven by a motor to move along the mold-changing track 2. Four sets of molds 33 are integrated on the vehicle frame, arranged in a two-row and two-column layout, and the distance between each set of molds meets the space for the manipulator or manual picking and placing. The drag chain frame 34 is located on the side of the mold 33 and is internally provided with a steel drag chain to accommodate the mold heating cable, sensor signal line and pneumatic pipeline. When the mold is lifted and lowered with the lifting platform 11, the drag chain expands and contracts in the vertical direction to avoid the lines from being pulled and broken, and at the same time, the cross-interference of the independent wiring of multiple molds is eliminated through the integrated wiring.

[0041] Preferably, the moving mechanism 4 includes a translation track 41, which runs through four workstations. A sand-shooting head 42 with a wheel is installed on the translation track 41, and a servo motor 43 is installed on the sand-shooting head 42; a universal sand-shooting plate 44 is installed on the sand-shooting head 42; and a motorized roller 45 is arranged below the sand-shooting head 42. The sand-shooting head 42 is used for sand-shooting; the servo motor 43 performs closed-loop feedback control on the sand-shooting position to achieve high-precision positioning; the universal sand-shooting plate 44 can be compatible with multiple sets of tooling; and the motorized roller 45 is used to transport iron molds. Among them, the translation track 41 spans across the top of the equipment, and adopts a linear guide or a rack and pinion structure to support the sand-shooting head 42 to quickly translate between the four workstations (the speed can be 0.5m / s). The motorized roller 45 under the track is driven by a motor roller, which is used to transmit iron molds (such as mold shells made of cast iron or cast steel). The height of the roller is flush with the top surface of the lifting platform 11 to ensure a smooth transition of the iron mold. The sand blasting head 42 is equipped with a servo motor 43 to drive the pulley system to achieve closed-loop feedback control of the sand blasting position (positioning accuracy is up to ±0.5mm).

[0042] The universal sand-shooting plate 44 includes a plurality of sleeves 441, on which a liftable cover plate 442 is arranged. The cover plate 442 is connected to a push rod 443 at the bottom, and the other side of the push rod 443 is connected to a sand-shooting nozzle 444. A sealing ring 445 is arranged on the periphery of the sand-shooting nozzle 444; a return spring 446 is arranged on the outside of the sleeve 441. The push rod assembly 443 and the cover plate 442 form a rigid linkage mechanism. When the iron mold lifting load reaches the threshold, the push rod 443 pushes the cover plate 442 to rise to open the sand-shooting hole; the return spring 446 acts as an elastic reset assembly to drive the cover plate 442 to descend to the initial sealing position to close the sand-shooting hole. Among them, the sleeves 441 are distributed in an array on the bottom surface of the sand-shooting plate, and each sleeve has a built-in cover plate 442 that can move up and down, and the cover plate is rigidly connected to the sand-shooting nozzle 444 through the push rod 443. The sealing ring 445 is arranged around the sand-shooting nozzle 444 and is made of wear-resistant silicone rubber. When the top surface of the iron mold is in contact with the sand-shooting plate, the sealing ring is compressed to form a sealed cavity to prevent the sand from leaking out during sand-shooting. The return spring 446 is sleeved on the outside of the sleeve 441 to provide a downward reset force (such as 50N). When the iron mold is evacuated, the spring drives the cover plate 442 to close the sand-shooting hole to prevent dust from entering the sand-shooting head.

[0043] The specific workflow is as follows:

[0044] 1. Modeling process:

[0045] S1. Iron mold loading: The moving mechanism 4 moves horizontally to the leftmost loading station, the motorized roller 45 stops, and the iron mold to be molded is placed on the roller manually or by a mechanical arm. The positioning boss on the top surface of the iron mold is aligned with the sleeve 441 of the sand shooting plate 44, preparing for the subsequent automatic alignment of the sand shooting holes.

[0046] S2. Mould switching and positioning: the mould changing trolley 3 moves along the mould changing track 2 to the target station, such as the first mould of the trolley corresponding to the moulding station, the lifting platform 11 rises, the positioning pin 12 is inserted into the positioning hole on the bottom surface of the mould 33, the mould locking mechanism 13 automatically locks the mould, and at the same time, the iron mould moves horizontally with the moving mechanism 4 to the top of the moulding station.

[0047] S3. Mold closing and sand shooting: The lifting platform 11 continues to rise, and the mold 33 fits with the bottom surface of the iron mold to form a complete sand mold cavity. At this time, the top surface of the iron mold lifts up the sand shooting nozzle 444, and the push rod 443 drives the cover plate 442 to overcome the return spring 446 and rise, and the sand shooting hole is opened. The sand shooting head 42 uses high-pressure airflow to shoot the molding sand in the sand hopper 6 into the mold cavity. The sand shooting pressure is 0.3-0.5MPa.

[0048] S4. Curing and mold opening: After the sand shooting is completed, the lifting platform 11 is slightly lowered by about 5mm to separate the iron mold from the sand shooting plate, and the sand shooting hole is automatically closed to prevent the sand from scattering during the curing process. The waiting time for the molding sand to solidify is adjusted according to the thickness of the sand mold. Usually after 5-10 minutes, the lifting platform is lowered, the clamping mechanism is released, and the mold is separated from the iron mold; the moving mechanism 4 is translated to the rightmost unloading station, and the motorized roller 45 is started to transport the iron mold with the sand mold to the subsequent process such as the pouring line.

[0049] 2. Temporary storage and call of idle iron molds:

[0050] Temporary storage process: When a certain type of iron mold is not in use temporarily, the mobile mechanism 4 transports it to an idle workstation, the lifting platform 11 rises to lift the iron mold to make it separate from the roller, and then the mobile mechanism withdraws, the lifting platform descends, and the iron mold is stably placed in the spare area of ​​the mold changing trolley 3 in the mold closing state, realizing "immediate withdrawal and storage".

[0051] Calling process: When an idle iron mold is needed, turn on the mold heating system such as an electric heating rod or a heat transfer oil circulation device 30 minutes in advance. The heat is transferred to the iron mold through the mold to raise its temperature to the process requirements such as 150-200°C. The mold changing trolley transports the preheated iron mold to the molding station and cooperates with the mobile mechanism to complete the positioning, avoiding the long waiting time for separate heating after traditional mold changing.

[0052] 3.Sand adding and system maintenance:

[0053] Automatic sand adding: The sand shooting head 42 moves to the bottom of the sand hopper 6, and the pneumatic gate at the bottom of the sand hopper is not shown in the figure. The molding sand falls into the sand storage chamber of the sand shooting head by gravity. After the gate is closed, the sand amount is monitored by a pressure sensor (not shown in the figure) to ensure the continuity of the sand shooting process.

[0054] Quick maintenance: The sleeve 441 of the universal sandblasting plate 44 adopts a quick-release design, and a single sandblasting nozzle assembly can be replaced independently without disassembling the sandblasting plate as a whole; after the drag chain frame 34 of the mold changing trolley 3 is opened, the circuit can be directly inspected, which can shorten the maintenance time.

[0055] 4. Matrix scheduling system implementation:

[0056] The translation track of the moving mechanism 4 intersects perpendicularly with the track of the die-changing trolley 3 to form a two-dimensional motion space of the X-Y axis. Through PLC or industrial computer programming, multiple sets of die scheduling logics can be preset, such as "while die A is being shaped, die B is preheated and die C is temporarily stored". Combined with sensors such as station sensors and die-in-place switches, fully automatic switching can be achieved without manual intervention.

[0057] 5. Flexible compatibility:

[0058] The sand injection nozzle spacing of the general sand injection plate 44 can cover various iron mold specifications, such as from 500mm×500mm to 1000mm×1000mm. By adjusting the stroke of the ejector rod 443, it can adapt to the minimum height difference of iron molds with different heights of ±20mm, realizing "one plate for multiple uses".

[0059] 6. Energy efficiency optimization:

[0060] The die 33 of the die-changing trolley 3 is made of alloy steel with excellent thermal conductivity. The heating system only heats the in-use die and the corresponding iron mold, and the idle die is in a heat preservation state, reducing the overall energy consumption compared with traditional equipment.

[0061] In summary, through the design of rapid die change and general sand injection plate, based on the matrix scheduling system, and using tooling collaborative call, the present invention finally realizes flexible manufacturing; designs the integrated storage function of iron molds, stores the idle iron molds in the closed-die state on the trolley and quickly removes them from the production line. At the same time, before the tooling needs to be called, the die heating system can preheat the iron mold synchronously. Through the full-automatic storage, heating and call of the iron mold, the energy efficiency and production efficiency are significantly improved.

[0062] The above are only the preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, and improvements made within the spirit and principle of the present invention shall be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A flexibly manufacturable molding device, characterized in that: include: A mold opening and closing mechanism (1) is provided with mold changing tracks (2) on both sides thereof; A mold changing trolley (3) is movable forward and backward along the mold changing track (2), and a moving mechanism (4) is arranged above the mold changing trolley (3) to form a cross motion system with the trolley; A plurality of air bags (5) are arranged at the top position just above the mold opening and closing mechanism (1); A sand hopper (6) is arranged at a geometric center position between the plurality of air bags (5); The moving mechanism (4) and the mold changing trolley (3) form a matrix scheduling system to achieve coordinated calling of tooling and fully automatic storage and retrieval of iron molds.

2. The flexibly manufacturable molding device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The mold opening and closing mechanism (1) comprises a lifting platform (11), on which a positioning pin (12) and a mold locking mechanism (13) are provided, and the mold locking mechanism (13) is used to fix the mold on the lifting platform (11).

3. The flexibly manufacturable molding device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The mold changing trolley (3) comprises a frame (31), a small wheel (32) is mounted on the side of the frame (31), and a plurality of molds (33) are integrated and mounted on the frame (31), and a drag chain frame (34) is arranged on the side of each mold (33) for protecting the circuit.

4. The flexibly manufacturable molding device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The moving mechanism (4) comprises a translation track (41), the translation track (41) runs through a plurality of workstations, a sandblasting head (42) with a wheel is mounted on the translation track (41), the sandblasting head (42) is connected to a servo motor (43) and is provided with a universal sandblasting plate (44), and a motorized roller conveyor (45) is arranged below the sandblasting head (42).

5. The flexibly manufacturable molding device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The universal sand-shooting plate (44) comprises a sleeve (441), a liftable cover plate (442), a push rod (443), a sand-shooting nozzle (444) and a return spring (446); the cover plate (442) is linked to the sand-shooting nozzle (444) via the push rod (443); a sealing ring (445) is provided on the periphery of the sand-shooting nozzle (444); and the return spring (446) drives the cover plate (442) to return to its original position to close the sand-shooting hole.

6. The casting method of the flexibly manufacturable molding device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: S1. The mobile mechanism (4) moves to the left station, and the iron mold enters the motorized roller conveyor (45); S2. The mold changing trolley (3) moves to the target position and fixes the mold by the positioning pin (12) and the mold locking mechanism (13); S3. The mold opening and closing mechanism (1) rises to complete the mold closing, and the sand shooting head (42) performs sand shooting; S4. The mold opening and closing mechanism (1) descends to complete the mold opening, and the moving mechanism (4) transfers the formed iron mold to the next process.

7. The casting method according to claim 6, characterized in that: When temporarily storing idle iron molds, the moving mechanism (4) lifts the iron molds off the motorized roller conveyor (45) and moves them horizontally to an idle workstation for temporary storage.

8. The casting method according to claim 6, characterized in that: When calling the temporarily stored iron mold, the iron mold is preheated by the mold heating system, and the moving mechanism (4) cooperates with the mold opening and closing mechanism (1) to complete the iron mold calling and mold closing and sand shooting.

9. The flexibly manufacturable molding device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The sand hopper (6) is located at the geometric center of the equipment, and the sand is supplied in parallel by a single sand hopper and two working positions, thereby reducing the intensity of sand adding operation.

10. The flexibly manufacturable molding device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The mold (33) and the iron mold of the mold changing trolley (3) are temporarily stored in a mold-closed state, and the iron mold is synchronously preheated by the mold heating system before being called.

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