Aluminum ingot pretreatment production line and intelligent control method

Abstract

The invention provides an aluminum ingot pretreatment production line and an intelligent control method, and relates to the technical field of aluminum processing. The aluminum ingot pretreatment production line comprises a sawing machine, a surface milling machine, milling missing detection equipment, a code spraying and marking machine and an interruption saw which are sequentially arranged along a conveying roller way, and further comprises a saddle, an intelligent crown block, a transfer trolley, a heating furnace and a production management system, and the code spraying and marking machine is used for printing production information on aluminum ingots; the saddle is used for placing an aluminum ingot or an aluminum coil, and an RFID electronic tag is fixed on the saddle; the transfer trolley takes a saddle as a carrier and is used for transferring aluminum ingots or aluminum coils, and a reader-writer corresponding to the RFID electronic tag is arranged on the transfer trolley; and the production management system is used for controlling the operation of each device and tracking and recording the whole-process production information of the aluminum ingot. According to the system, production management, intelligent logistics and quality detection are integrated, a complete intelligent production system is formed, and the production efficiency and the production management level of the aluminum coiled materials are greatly improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention specifically relates to an aluminum ingot pretreatment production line and control method, and pertains to the field of aluminum processing technology. Background Technology

[0002] In the aluminum processing industry, the pretreatment of aluminum ingots includes processes such as sawing, milling, spot milling detection, and heating, involving several key technologies including logistics, warehousing, and production management. Currently, the automation solutions commonly used in the industry are mainly based on equipment upgrades and have not yet formed a complete intelligent production system.

[0003] In terms of production management, most factories adopt an order-based production system. Each order requires the design of different processing techniques, including production information such as aluminum ingot sawing dimensions, hot rolling parameters, cold rolling parameters, heat treatment parameters, and finished product dimensions. Existing production management systems mostly rely on manual labeling to record the production batch, status, and production information of aluminum ingots and coils, which is not only inefficient but also prone to errors.

[0004] In terms of quality inspection, the current mainstream technologies for detecting missing milling defects include two methods: contact testing and manual visual inspection. While contact testing offers high accuracy, it is slow and prone to causing secondary damage to the aluminum ingot surface. Manual visual inspection suffers from inconsistent inspection standards and a high rate of missed detections. Although machine vision-based inspection technologies have emerged in recent years, their accuracy in identifying defects on complex surface conditions still needs improvement.

[0005] In terms of logistics management, most factories still rely on traditional bridge cranes in conjunction with manual operation. Although some companies have introduced positioning technologies such as laser ranging, the positioning accuracy under complex working conditions is still difficult to meet the needs of high-speed production.

[0006] In terms of warehouse management, existing flat warehouse management models typically require a large amount of operating space, resulting in low site utilization. Although automated storage and retrieval systems (AS / RS) technology has been applied in other industries, the special physical characteristics of aluminum ingots (heavy weight and irregular shape) present numerous technical obstacles to directly applying existing solutions. Furthermore, traditional warehousing systems have poor coordination with production equipment, making it difficult to achieve precise material scheduling and real-time tracking.

[0007] The aforementioned technological bottlenecks severely restrict the aluminum processing industry's development towards intelligent and efficient operations. Therefore, developing an aluminum ingot pretreatment production line that integrates efficient production management, intelligent logistics, and quality inspection has significant industrial application value. Summary of the Invention

[0008] To overcome the shortcomings in the prior art, this invention discloses an aluminum ingot pretreatment production line and control method, the purpose of which is to establish an intelligent aluminum coil production system that integrates efficient production management, intelligent logistics and quality inspection, thereby improving production efficiency and production management level.

[0009] The present invention adopts the following technical solution: An aluminum ingot pretreatment production line includes a sawing machine, a milling machine, a missing milling detection device, an inkjet marking machine, and a break saw arranged sequentially along a conveyor roller conveyor. It also includes a saddle, an intelligent overhead crane, a transfer trolley, a heating furnace, and a production management system. The inkjet marking machine is used to print production information on the aluminum ingots. The saddle is used to hold the aluminum ingots or coils and is equipped with an RFID electronic tag. The transfer trolley uses the saddle as a carrier to transfer the aluminum ingots or coils and is equipped with a reader corresponding to the RFID electronic tag. The production management system controls the operation of each piece of equipment and tracks and records the entire production process information of the aluminum ingots.

[0010] Preferred technical improvement: A material pusher is installed downstream of the sawing machine. The material pusher is vertically installed on the conveyor rollers and is used to push the material head cut by the sawing machine out of the conveyor rollers.

[0011] Preferred technical improvement: The missing milling detection device has a CCD camera array and a multispectral illumination system, and can perform missing milling detection on the images captured by the CCD camera array through a convolutional neural network.

[0012] A preferred technical improvement is as follows: A V-shaped groove is provided in the middle of the saddle, and swing arms are hinged at both ends of the saddle. The swing arms are driven by an opening and closing mechanism. When the swing arms are flat, they are used to place aluminum ingots. When the swing arms are retracted upwards, they are used to place aluminum coils.

[0013] Preferred technical improvement: The transfer trolley has a lifting device for lifting the saddle and aluminum ingot upwards, and also has four wheels that can rotate 90° in place, with hub motors installed on the wheels.

[0014] Preferred technical improvement: The transfer trolley uses a combination of inertial navigation and QR code guidance to plan the material transfer route.

[0015] Preferred technical improvement scheme: The production management system takes an industrial switch as its core and adopts a topology that combines star and ring topologies to achieve real-time data interaction and collaborative control with each device.

[0016] A smart control method for an aluminum ingot pretreatment production line is provided. The production management system issues production material scheduling plans and warehouse allocation schemes to the intelligent overhead crane and transfer trolley through the MES manufacturing execution system and WMS warehouse management system, so that the transfer trolley always follows the rule of placing aluminum ingots on designated saddles. The entire production information of the aluminum ingot is recorded by the reader on the transfer trolley and the RFID electronic tag on the saddle.

[0017] After implementing the above technical solution, compared with the prior art, the present invention can produce the following beneficial effects: The aluminum ingot pretreatment production line of this invention integrates production management, intelligent logistics and quality inspection, forming a complete intelligent production system, which greatly improves the production efficiency of aluminum coils.

[0018] The intelligent control method of this invention can place aluminum ingots or coils on designated saddles, ensuring a unique correspondence between the aluminum ingots or coils and the production information within the RFID electronic tags. At each stage of the process, new production information is written into the RFID electronic tags via a reader, making the entire production process of aluminum coils traceable and significantly improving the production management level of aluminum coils. Attached Figure Description

[0019] Appendix Figure 1 The diagram shown is a layout of an aluminum ingot pretreatment production line.

[0020] Appendix Figure 2 The diagram shown is a structural schematic of the saddle.

[0021] Appendix Figure 3 The diagram shows a saddle on which an aluminum ingot is placed.

[0022] Appendix Figure 4 The diagram shows a saddle on which an aluminum coil is placed.

[0023] Appendix Figure 5 The diagram shown is a structural schematic of the transfer trolley.

[0024] Appendix Figure 6 The diagram shows a transfer trolley carrying a saddle and aluminum ingots.

[0025] Appendix Figure 7 The diagram shown is a flowchart of the production management system.

[0026] In the attached diagram: 1. Conveyor roller conveyor; 2. Sawing machine; 3. Material pusher; 4. Milling machine; 5. Missing milling detection equipment; 6. Inkjet marking machine; 7. Interrupt saw; 8. Transfer trolley; 8.1. Reader / writer; 8.2. Lifting device; 9. Saddle; 9.1. RFID electronic tag; 9.2. V-groove; 9.3. Swing arm; 9.4. Opening and closing mechanism; 10. Intelligent overhead crane; 11. Heating furnace; 12. Aluminum ingot; 13. Aluminum coil; 14. Raw material placement area; 15. Empty saddle placement area; 16. Aluminum ingot placement area; 17. Hot rolling production line. Detailed Implementation

[0027] Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Those skilled in the art should understand that these preferred embodiments are merely for explaining the technical principles of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention. It should be noted that in the description of the present invention, terms such as "front," "rear," "upper," "lower," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "inner," and "outer," which indicate direction or positional relationships, are based on the direction or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings. This is merely for ease of description and does not indicate or imply that the device or component must have a specific orientation and positional relationship, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation of the present invention. It should also be noted that in the description of the present invention, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installed," "connected," and "linked" should be interpreted broadly. For example, it can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, or a connection within two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in the present invention according to the specific circumstances.

[0028] An aluminum ingot pretreatment production line, relating to the field of aluminum processing technology, is mainly used to address the problem that existing aluminum processing technologies have not yet formed a complete intelligent production system. The composition and control methods of the aluminum ingot pretreatment production line are described in detail below.

[0029] See attached document Figure 1The aluminum ingot pretreatment production line of this invention has a U-shaped conveyor roller conveyor 1, along which a sawing machine 2, a feed pusher 3, a milling machine 4, a missing milling detection device 5, a coding and marking machine 6, and an interrupt saw 7 are arranged sequentially. The sawing machine 2 cuts the aluminum ingot 12 into specified lengths according to the order production process requirements. Downstream of the sawing machine 2, the feed pusher 3 is vertically positioned on the conveyor roller conveyor 1 to push the feed head cut by the sawing machine 2 out of the conveyor roller conveyor 1. The milling machine 4 removes the rough surface of the aluminum ingot 12, preparing it for rolling. The missing milling detection device 5 has a CCD camera array and a multispectral illumination system, which can perform missing milling detection on the images captured by the CCD camera array through a convolutional neural network. If any aluminum ingot still has unmilled rough surfaces, the ingot is returned to the milling machine 4 for remilling. The inkjet marking machine 6 prints production information on the aluminum ingot 12, indicating the material, order number, dimensions after sawing and milling, processing date, and other information. The interrupt saw 7 adopts a double-transverse layout. The left transverse device is located at the feed end of the interrupt saw 7 to transport aluminum ingots from the milling process, while the right transverse device is located at the discharge end of the interrupt saw 7 to transport aluminum ingots requiring rework. Both the left and right transverse devices are equipped with 90° rotatable diversion roller conveyors, allowing for bidirectional diversion of aluminum ingots and improving the flexibility of the production line.

[0030] According to the factory layout, an intelligent overhead crane 10 is installed above the sawing machine 2. Its function is to suspend the aluminum ingots 12 from the raw material area onto the conveyor roller conveyor 1. On the south side of the conveyor roller conveyor 1, there is a heating furnace 11, a transfer trolley 8, an empty saddle placement area 15, an aluminum ingot placement area 16, and a hot rolling production line 17. The heating furnace 11 is used to heat the aluminum ingots, preparing them for hot rolling. The saddles 9 in the empty saddle placement area 15 are used to hold the aluminum ingots 12. The transfer trolley 8 is used to transfer the aluminum ingots 12 initially, using the saddles 9 as carriers. After the aluminum ingots are rolled into aluminum coils, the transfer trolley 8 is used to transfer the aluminum coils.

[0031] See attached document Figure 2-4 Unlike existing saddles 9, this saddle has an RFID electronic tag 9.1 fixed to its upper side and a V-groove 9.2 in its middle. Swing arms 9.3 are hinged to both ends of the saddle. These swing arms 9.3 are driven by a screw-operated mechanism 9.4; manually cranking the screw allows the swing arms 9.3 to be lowered or retracted. When lowered, the swing arms 9.3 can be used to hold aluminum ingots 12; when retracted, they can be used to hold aluminum coils 13, serving a dual purpose.

[0032] See attached document Figure 5-6Unlike existing AGVs, the transfer trolley 8 has a lifting device 8.2 that lifts the saddle 9 and aluminum ingot 12 upwards, and four wheels that can rotate 90° in place, with hub motors installed on the wheels. This allows the transfer trolley 8 to make right-angle turns, making it particularly suitable for movement in confined areas. A dedicated QR code guidance channel is planned on the factory floor, and the transfer trolley 8 uses a combination of inertial navigation and QR code guidance to plan the material transfer route. Furthermore, the transfer trolley 8 is equipped with a reader 8.1 corresponding to the RFID electronic tag 9.1. The reader 8.1 can read the information from the RFID electronic tag 9.1 and record new information into the RFID electronic tag 9.1.

[0033] This invention also includes a production management system, which controls the operation of various equipment and tracks and records the entire production process information of aluminum ingots. Specifically, the production management system includes a Manufacturing Execution System (MES), a Warehouse Management System (WMS), an automated central control system, and an industrial switch. The production management system uses the industrial switch as its core and adopts a combined star and ring topology to achieve real-time data interaction and collaborative control with equipment such as the intelligent overhead crane 10, the transfer trolley 8, and robots. Furthermore, the production management system communicates with various equipment through a hybrid network of 100Mbps wired and wireless networks, and achieves vertical integration from the management layer to the device layer through OPCUA and PROFINET industrial protocols, providing high-speed and stable network support for data acquisition, equipment monitoring, and task scheduling.

[0034] See attached document Figure 7 To further illustrate the production management system, this invention also discloses an intelligent control method for an aluminum ingot pretreatment production line. During operation, the production management system issues production tasks to the warehouse management system (WMS) via the manufacturing execution system (MES), and then issues production material scheduling plans and storage location allocation schemes to the automated central control system (ACS). The ACS performs a secondary decomposition of the production material scheduling plans and storage location allocation schemes, and finally assigns scheduling instructions to each intelligent overhead crane 10 and transfer trolley 8. According to the principles stipulated by the production management system, the operation of the transfer trolley 8 always follows these rules: aluminum ingots 12 are placed on designated saddles 9, and the entire production information of the aluminum ingot is recorded by the reader 8.1 on the transfer trolley 8 and the RFID electronic tag 9.1 on the saddle 9.

[0035] Control process: Refer to the appendix again. Figure 1The MES (Manufacturing Execution System) issues production tasks to the WMS (Warehouse Management System) based on orders. Then, the WMS issues production material scheduling plans and warehouse location allocation schemes to the automated central control system. The automated central control system further decomposes the production material scheduling plans and warehouse location allocation schemes, controls the intelligent overhead crane 10 to lift aluminum ingots from the raw material placement area 14 onto the conveyor roller 1, and then controls the sawing machine 2, the material pusher 3, the milling machine 4, the missing milling detection equipment 5, the inkjet marking machine 6, and the interrupt saw 7 to pre-process the aluminum ingots.

[0036] After the aluminum ingot pretreatment, the automated central control system controls an idle transfer trolley 8 to carry saddle 9 in the empty saddle placement area 15. Then, using saddle 9 as a carrier, the pretreated aluminum ingot is carried at the diversion roller conveyor, and saddle 9 and aluminum ingot 12 are placed together in the aluminum ingot placement area 16. The production information of the aluminum ingot is then written into the RFID electronic tag 9.1 on the saddle 9 by a reader / writer 8.1. Although the inkjet marking machine also prints production information on the aluminum ingot, this inkjet-printed information will disappear during subsequent processing of the aluminum ingot, and therefore only serves as a temporary identifier for easy viewing by staff.

[0037] Before hot rolling, aluminum ingots need to be heated. At this time, the automated central control system controls an idle transfer trolley 8 to carry the aluminum ingot 12 with saddle 9 in the aluminum ingot placement area 16. The RFID electronic tag 9.1 is read by a reader 8.1 to determine the production status and information of the aluminum ingot. Then, the aluminum ingot is transferred to the heating furnace 11. After heating, the transfer trolley 8 with saddle 9 carries the heated aluminum ingot 12. The new production information is written into the RFID electronic tag 9.1 by the reader 8.1. Then, the aluminum ingot is sequentially transferred to the hot rolling production line 17, the cold rolling production line, the annealing furnace, the slitting and packaging line, and finally into the finished product warehouse.

[0038] After being rolled, aluminum ingots become aluminum coils. Whether ingots or coils, the transfer trolley always adheres to the following principles during transport: 1. Place the aluminum ingots or coils on designated saddles, ensuring a unique correspondence between the ingot / coil and the production information in the RFID tag. 2. For each process, a reader writes new production information into the RFID tag, making the entire aluminum coil production process traceable. In this way, the reader on the transfer trolley and the RFID tags on the saddles record the entire production information of the aluminum ingots, significantly improving the production efficiency and management level of aluminum coils.

[0039] It is worth noting that the content not described in detail in the above embodiments is prior art. It is also worth noting that any additions, subtractions, substitutions, and improvements made by those skilled in the art based on the structure and principles of this invention should be included within the scope of protection of this invention.

Claims

1. An aluminum ingot pretreatment production line, characterized in that: The system includes a sawing machine, a milling machine, a missing milling detection device, an inkjet marking machine, and a break saw arranged sequentially along the conveyor rollers. It also includes a saddle, an intelligent overhead crane, a transfer trolley, a heating furnace, and a production management system. The inkjet marking machine is used to print production information on aluminum ingots. The saddle is used to hold aluminum ingots or aluminum coils and is equipped with RFID electronic tags. The transfer trolley uses the saddle as a carrier to transfer aluminum ingots or aluminum coils and is equipped with a reader corresponding to the RFID electronic tags. The production management system is used to control the operation of each piece of equipment and track and record the entire production information of the aluminum ingots.

2. The aluminum ingot pretreatment production line as described in claim 1, characterized in that: Downstream of the sawing machine is a material pusher, which is vertically mounted on the conveyor rollers and is used to push the material head cut by the sawing machine out of the conveyor rollers.

3. The aluminum ingot pretreatment production line as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The missing milling detection device has a CCD camera array and a multispectral illumination system, and can perform missing milling detection on images captured by the CCD camera array through a convolutional neural network.

4. The aluminum ingot pretreatment production line as described in claim 1, characterized in that: A V-groove is provided in the middle of the saddle, and swing arms are hinged at both ends of the saddle. The swing arms are driven by an opening and closing mechanism. When the swing arms are flat, they are used to place aluminum ingots. When the swing arms are retracted upwards, they are used to place aluminum coils.

5. The aluminum ingot pretreatment production line as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The transfer trolley has a lifting device that lifts the saddle and aluminum ingot upwards, and also has four wheels that can rotate 90° in place, with hub motors installed on the wheels.

6. The aluminum ingot pretreatment production line as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The transfer trolley uses a combination of inertial navigation and QR code guidance to plan the material transfer route.

7. The aluminum ingot pretreatment production line as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The production management system is based on an industrial switch and adopts a combination of star and ring topologies to achieve real-time data interaction and collaborative control with each device.

8. An intelligent control method based on the aluminum ingot pretreatment production line as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The production management system issues production material scheduling plans and warehouse allocation schemes to intelligent overhead cranes and transfer trolleys through the MES manufacturing execution system and WMS warehouse management system, so that the transfer trolleys always follow the rule of placing aluminum ingots on designated saddles. The entire production information of the aluminum ingot is recorded by the reader on the transfer trolley and the RFID electronic tag on the saddle.

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