A pneumatic wafer cone pressure self-adaptive forming device and method

Abstract

This invention discloses a pneumatic wafer cone pressure adaptive molding device and method, relating to the field of mechanical industrial control. The invention first quantitatively injects material into each molding hole of an array-type lower die and obtains the material input amount and estimated equivalent layer thickness parameters. Then, it heats the lower die surface in sections, using a combination of feedforward and feedback to stabilize the temperature of each section. Subsequently, pressing is triggered when the blank enters the plastic window. Each group of independent pneumatic pressurizing units provides an initial air supply pressure according to the equivalent layer thickness, and the air supply pressure is adjusted step-by-step based on the molding depth. The initial pressure is self-learned across cycles, and the layer thickness difference between molding holes within the group is balanced by elastic floating. Finally, after ejection and demolding, the degree of baking is visually detected, and the entire line's cycle time is corrected by tracking the queue. Abnormal molding holes are isolated and restored. This invention enables the molding pressure to adapt to the blank state, resulting in a more consistent finished product wall thickness, reduced cracking and opening, and uniform baking, maintaining the continuous and stable operation of the production line.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of industrial control of machinery, and particularly relates to a pneumatic wafer cone pressure adaptive forming device and method. Background Technology

[0002] Wafer cones are a major component of wafer biscuit products. The production process typically involves first injecting a measured amount of batter into the heated lower mold's forming hole. The batter is heated on the hot mold surface, causing the moisture to vaporize and escape. Simultaneously, the reducing sugars and amino acids undergo Maillard reactions, and the starch gelatinizes. The surface of the dough gradually loses water, forming a pressure-bearing shell with a certain strength. Then, the conical pressure head of the upper mold presses the malleable dough into the forming hole to form the cone. After pressure holding, shaping, cleaning, ejection, and unmolding, the finished product is obtained. To increase production capacity, processing equipment often uses a multi-station array arrangement, allowing multiple forming holes to operate in parallel within a single cycle. A programmable controller executes the feeding, heating, pressing, and demolding cycles according to a fixed rhythm and set temperature.

[0003] However, the thickness, moisture content, and consistency of the batter vary between different forming holes and batches. Existing equipment typically applies the same fixed forming pressure to all forming holes, lacking pressure adjustment based on forming depth. Consequently, thicker blanks often lack strength due to insufficient pressing, while thinner blanks often crack or split at the opening due to over-compaction, making it difficult to maintain consistent wall thickness in the finished product. Existing equipment operates at fixed heating temperatures and rhythms, lacking feedforward compensation for the instantaneous temperature drop caused by injecting room-temperature batter into the hot mold surface. This leads to undercooked initial blanks and fluctuating mold surface temperature. Furthermore, the lack of assessment of whether the blank has reached a plastic state makes it difficult to control the pressing timing; pressing too early or too late can easily cause blank cracking or splitting at the opening. The color of the finished product in existing equipment usually relies on visual inspection, and the detection at the discharge end lags behind the feeding end, making it difficult to accurately correlate the detected baking degree with specific forming holes. Therefore, adjustments to the baking degree are often made blindly. In addition, when existing equipment malfunctions in a certain forming hole or workstation, the entire line often needs to be shut down for repair. There is a lack of proper interlocking between various actions and workstation status management, which can easily lead to malfunctions and affect the continuity and stability of production.

[0004] Therefore, it is of great significance to design the molding pressure, baking temperature, pressing timing, baking feedback, and abnormal handling to make the molding process of wafer cone products more consistent, reliable, and easy to implement continuously and automatically. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The technical solution of this invention is as follows:

[0006] A pneumatic wafer cone pressure adaptive forming method, wherein the controller executes the following steps based on the station status table and the cycle state machine:

[0007] S1. The controller controls the multi-channel quantitative feeding device to inject quantitative wafer batter blanks into each forming hole of the array-type lower mold, collects the feeding amount and estimated equivalent layer thickness parameters of each forming hole and writes them into the station status table, writes the feeding amount into the heat load data of the corresponding heating zone, and writes the estimated equivalent layer thickness parameters into the pressure level selection data of the corresponding pressurization group.

[0008] S2. The controller schedules the heating devices of the heating zone according to the heating zone. Based on the feeding amount, feeding temperature and temperature deviation of the heating zone, the controller calls the feedforward heating compensation amount from the preset heating compensation table and adds the zone temperature closed-loop feedback amount. After limiting, the data is output to the corresponding heating zone, so that the temperature of the zone mold surface stabilizes back to the target temperature range of the mold surface, and the billet enters the plastic window state.

[0009] S3. The controller controls the indexing conveyor to drive the lower die to the upper die forming station according to the current cycle. After the encoder confirms that the lower die is in place, it controls the mold closing and positioning locking mechanism to lock the lower die to the frame, limiting the displacement of the lower die relative to the frame in the indexing direction and limiting the relative offset between the upper die base and the lower die in the pressing direction through the upper die base guide mechanism.

[0010] S4. The controller starts timing from the completion of feeding in each forming hole to obtain the heating time. Based on the heating time, the temperature of the partitioned mold surface and the confirmation duration, the interlocking conditions of the plastic window are determined. When the conditions are met, a pressing trigger command is output. If the heating time reaches the first waiting threshold but is still not met, the current cycle is extended and heating continues. If the second waiting threshold, which is greater than the first waiting threshold, is still not met, feeding in that forming hole is stopped and the empty hole is marked.

[0011] S5. After the pressing is triggered, the controller controls the main cylinder to drive the upper mold base to the pre-contact position to complete the positioning. Then, it controls each group of independent pneumatic pressurization units to call the initial air supply pressure level according to the thickness level of the equivalent layer thickness representative value of the group. During the pressing process, the air supply pressure of the group is adjusted according to the forming depth and the grading rules to press the blank of each forming hole into an egg cone.

[0012] S6. The controller controls the pressure holding, pressure release and upper mold base retraction to make the conical pressure head exit the forming hole, and controls the material clearing mechanism to remove overflow material, thin edge material and baking residue.

[0013] S7. The controller controls the active mold core ejection mechanism to shape the mouth of the egg cone, eject it from the mold, and unload it to obtain the finished product. It collects the browning index of the finished product detected by the machine vision device at the discharge end and links it to the corresponding forming hole through the tracking queue. It corrects the cycle time of the entire line according to the grading rules and performs isolation, no-load control branch and recovery verification for the forming holes that are continuously abnormal.

[0014] Furthermore, S1 includes:

[0015] S11. The controller controls the metering pump of the multi-channel metering feeding device, as well as the multi-channel nozzles and independent opening and closing valves of each forming hole, to inject wafer batter blanks into each forming hole according to the set volume.

[0016] S12. The controller obtains the amount of material fed into each forming hole through the feeding metering device. The amount of material fed is directly measured by the weighing metering device, or it is calculated by converting the output volume obtained by the stroke of the quantitative pump or the flow meter according to the calibrated density of this batch.

[0017] S13, the controller calculates the following formula: One forming hole is used for estimating the equivalent layer thickness parameter for pressure level selection:

[0018] ;

[0019] In the formula, For the first Estimated equivalent layer thickness parameters for each forming hole; For the metering pump to the first The volume output by each forming hole; For the first The preset effective spreading area of ​​each forming hole; The forming hole number is used for pressure setting selection and does not represent the actual thickness of the batter.

[0020] S14. The controller writes the feeding amount into the heat load data of the corresponding heating zone and writes the estimated equivalent layer thickness parameter into the pressure level selection data of the corresponding pressurization group. The estimated equivalent layer thickness parameter can also be corrected according to the wall thickness deviation of the trial product or the pre-contact displacement of the conical indenter.

[0021] Furthermore, S2 includes:

[0022] S21. The controller divides the mold surface of the lower mold into multiple heating zones, each heating zone corresponding to one or more forming holes, and collects signals from the temperature sensors of the mold surface of the corresponding zone.

[0023] S22. The controller retrieves the feedforward heating compensation amount from the preset heating compensation table. The preset heating compensation table is determined by three types of indices: feeding amount range, feeding temperature range, and partitioned die surface temperature deviation range. It outputs pulse width modulation duty cycle compensation amount or heating power level compensation amount.

[0024] S23. The controller adds the feedforward heating compensation amount to the partition temperature closed-loop feedback amount obtained based on the deviation between the partition mold surface temperature and the target temperature range of the mold surface. After limiting and anti-integral saturation processing of the addition result, it outputs it to the partition mold surface heating device of the corresponding heating partition in pulse width modulation via a solid-state relay, so that the partition mold surface temperature stabilizes back to the target temperature range of the mold surface.

[0025] Furthermore, S3 includes:

[0026] S31. The controller controls the indexing conveyor to drive the lower mold to step along the guide rail according to the current cycle, so that the forming hole to be formed reaches the upper mold forming station.

[0027] S32. The controller detects the position of the lower die and confirms that it is in place by means of the encoder provided on the indexing conveyor mechanism, and generates an indexing completion signal;

[0028] S33. The controller controls the mold closing and positioning locking mechanism to lock the lower mold to the frame after the lower mold reaches the upper mold forming station and before pressing begins, generating a mold closing and locking signal. The locking is maintained during pressing and holding, and released after holding is completed. The release signal is used as the condition for the indexing conveyor to start the next indexing.

[0029] S34. The controller only allows the current action to transition to the next action when the indexing position signal, the mold closing and locking signal, the partition mold surface temperature satisfaction signal, the air supply pressure normal signal, and the upper mold base positioning or reset signal are all satisfied; when any of the above signals are not satisfied, the controller pauses the cycle and issues an alarm.

[0030] Furthermore, S4 includes:

[0031] S41. The controller starts timing from the time each forming hole completes feeding to obtain the heating time. , The heating time of the billet from the completion of feeding;

[0032] S42. After the lower mold is in place and locked, the controller collects the mold surface temperature of the heating zone in real time. When both conditions are met and And continue to confirm the time. When the condition for interlocking the plastic window is met, the suppression trigger command is output.

[0033] In the formula, for Temperature of the partitioned mold surface at any given time; The heating time of the billet from the completion of feeding; This is the start time of the plastic window; This is the lower limit of plasticity temperature; Confirm the duration for the plastic window;

[0034] S43. When the heating time reaches the first waiting threshold If the above conditions are still not met, the controller extends the current cycle and continues heating; when the heating time reaches the second waiting threshold... If the condition is still not met, the controller stops feeding into the forming hole and marks the forming hole as an unloaded hole, while simultaneously issuing an alarm or isolation signal. Greater than , The first waiting threshold, This is the second waiting threshold.

[0035] Furthermore, S5 includes:

[0036] S51. After receiving the pressing trigger command, the controller controls the main cylinder to drive the upper mold base to move down to the pre-contact position to complete the positioning. The main cylinder is used to drive the upper mold base to complete the approach, mold opening and return. After the main cylinder is in place, the pressurizing cylinder of each group of independent pneumatic pressurizing units applies forming pressure to the conical press head of this group.

[0037] S52. The controller takes the larger of the estimated equivalent layer thickness parameters of each forming hole in the group as the representative value of the equivalent layer thickness of the group; when the difference between the larger and smaller values ​​of the estimated equivalent layer thickness parameters of each forming hole in the group exceeds the layer thickness difference threshold, the controller performs one or more of the following: group rearrangement, reducing the feed amount of thinner forming holes, shielding abnormal forming holes, or using a conservative pressure setting.

[0038] S53. The controller calls the initial gas supply pressure level of the group from the preset pressure level table according to the thickness level of the equivalent layer thickness representative value of the group, and the proportional pressure regulating valve gives the gas supply pressure of the group.

[0039] S54. The controller detects the displacement of the independent floating pressure beam through a displacement sensor and uses it as the forming depth of this group. When the forming depth is lower than the target depth range and the air supply pressure of this group has not reached the upper limit of the air supply pressure, the air supply pressure of this group is increased step by step according to the preset pressure increment. When the forming depth enters the target depth range and the forming depth change rate is lower than the set threshold, the pressure holding phase is entered. When the forming depth does not enter the target depth range and the forming depth change rate is lower than the set threshold, or the air supply pressure of this group reaches the upper limit of the air supply pressure, the pressing time reaches the upper limit of the pressing time, or the mold closing limit is triggered, the controller determines that the pressing is blocked or the billet is abnormal and performs abnormal processing.

[0040] S55. After this pressing is completed, the controller adjusts the initial air supply pressure level of the group for the next pressing cycle by increasing, decreasing or maintaining the level based on the forming depth deviation of several consecutive cycles.

[0041] S56. Each conical pressure head in this group floats axially individually via an elastic floating component to absorb the layer thickness difference of each forming hole in the group. When the forming depth of this group does not reach the target depth range, the controller first increases the air supply pressure of this group step by step according to the preset pressure increment to the upper limit of the air supply pressure. If it still does not reach the target depth, the pressurization is extended within the upper limit of the pressing time and the forming depth is continuously detected. When the air supply pressure of this group reaches the upper limit of the air supply pressure and the increase in forming depth is lower than the set threshold, it switches to abnormal processing to obtain a preliminary formed cone with a uniform wall thickness.

[0042] Furthermore, S6 includes:

[0043] S61. After the conical press head presses the cone into place, the controller maintains the gas supply pressure of the group and holds the pressure for a preset time, so that the egg cone is shaped between the conical press head and the forming hole.

[0044] S62. After the pressure holding period ends, the controller depressurizes the air circuits of each group of independent pneumatic pressurization units and controls the main cylinder to drive the upper mold base to rise, so that each conical pressure head exits the forming hole.

[0045] S63. After the upper mold base rises and before ejection and demolding, the controller controls the cleaning mechanism to move laterally along the surface of the lower mold to remove overflow material, thin edge material and baking residue. The cleaning mechanism is selected from one or more of scraper, flexible scraper, air blowing component and negative pressure suction component to obtain clean forming holes and pre-formed egg cone after shaping.

[0046] Furthermore, S7 includes:

[0047] S71. The controller drives the movable mold core ejection mechanism to cooperate with the forming hole to shape the mouth of the initial formed egg cone, eject and demold it, and collect the material to obtain the finished product.

[0048] S72. The controller controls the machine vision device at the discharge end to acquire images of the finished product surface after white balance calibration using a white board at preset intervals under uniform light source and light shield conditions, and extracts CIEL within a preset detection area on the outer surface of the finished product. * Average brightness Background areas, damaged areas, and reflective areas are removed. When the image brightness exceeds the calibrated range, the image is re-acquired or removed. The browning index is calculated using the following formula:

[0049] ;

[0050] In the formula, For the first Each beat corresponds to the browning index of the finished product; For the first Each beat corresponds to a pre-set detection area on the outer surface of the finished product using CIEL. * Average brightness; For beat number;

[0051] S73. The controller updates the tracking queue each time feeding, indexing, pressing, and ejection occurs. The tracking queue records the forming hole number, indexing position, feeding time, and pressing time. When a finished product is detected, the source forming hole and feeding batch of the finished product are determined according to the records in the tracking queue. When a forming hole is marked as an empty hole, the image is rejected, or no corresponding finished product is detected, the controller writes an empty record in the tracking queue and maintains the subsequent queue order.

[0052] S74. The controller corrects the full-line cycle time of the indexing conveyor according to the grading rules, using the average value, median value, or statistical value after removing anomalies of the continuous effective finished product browning index as the correction basis. When the statistical value is lower than the target browning range, the full-line cycle time is extended; when it is higher than the target browning range, the full-line cycle time is shortened; when it is within the target browning range, the full-line cycle time remains unchanged. The cycle time correction amount and the upper and lower limits of the cycle time are given by the preset process parameter table.

[0053] S75, when forming hole In continuous When the browning index of the forming hole exceeds the target browning range in all effective discharge cycles, the controller determines that the forming hole... If an anomaly is detected, the feed to the forming hole is blocked, and the forming hole is marked as an empty hole. When the empty hole passes through the pressing, ejection, and vision stations, an empty safety action is performed and written into the empty record. Empty holes are not included in browning statistics. When the mold closing and locking signal or the temperature of the partitioned mold surface at the indexing station remains abnormal, the controller determines that the indexing station is abnormal, suspends the forming action corresponding to that indexing station, or issues a shutdown alarm. The number of beats for continuous judgment. This refers to the sequence number of the forming hole;

[0054] S76. When the feeding of a shielded unloaded hole is normal, the temperature of the mold surface of the heating zone is normal, and the browning index and molding depth of the trial product are within the allowable range, the controller removes the unloaded mark of the molding hole and resumes feeding.

[0055] S77. The controller establishes a station status for each forming hole in the station status table. The station status includes at least the following: waiting to feed, already fed, heating, plasticity confirmed, waiting to press, pressing, holding pressure, waiting to eject, already ejected, no load, isolation, and recovery verification. The controller updates the station status of each forming hole and the control commands of the corresponding actuator at each indexing according to the migration conditions of each station status.

[0056] The present invention also provides a pneumatic wafer cone pressure adaptive forming device, including an industrial control system and an actuator and a detection element controlled by the industrial control system:

[0057] The industrial control system includes an industrial controller, an input / output module, and a human-machine parameter setting module. The industrial controller is equipped with a workstation status table module, a cycle time status machine module, an interlock judgment module, a zone temperature control module, a pressure and stroke control module, a visual feedback module, and an anomaly isolation module.

[0058] The actuator includes a multi-channel quantitative feeding device, a partitioned mold surface heating device, an indexing conveying mechanism, a mold closing and positioning locking mechanism, a main cylinder, each group of independent pneumatic pressurization units, a material clearing mechanism, a movable mold core ejection mechanism, and an alarm device; the detection elements include partitioned mold surface temperature sensors, pressure sensors and displacement sensors of each group of independent pneumatic pressurization units, an encoder, a feeding temperature sensor, a feeding metering component, a reset detection component, and a machine vision device located at the discharge end;

[0059] The device also includes a frame and a lower mold mounted on the frame. The lower mold has an array of forming holes and is divided into multiple heating zones. The heating devices for each heating zone and the temperature sensors for each heating zone are provided. Above the lower mold is an upper mold base that is driven to rise and fall by the main cylinder. Each set of conical pressure heads is axially floated on an independent floating pressure beam via an elastic floating component and corresponds to a set of forming holes of the lower mold. The elastic floating component allows the conical pressure heads to undergo slight axial displacement after contacting the blank, limits their downward stroke, and absorbs the layer thickness difference between the forming holes in the set.

[0060] The proportional pressure regulating valve of each independent pneumatic pressurization unit is connected to the air source and the working chamber of the pressurization cylinder. The output end of the pressurization cylinder is connected to the independent floating pressurization beam. The pressure sensor detects the pressure in the working chamber of the pressurization cylinder or the air supply pipeline, and the displacement sensor detects the displacement of the independent floating pressurization beam.

[0061] The industrial control system performs sequential control, interlocking control, and closed-loop control on each of the actuators according to the signals from each of the detection elements, based on the workstation status table module and the cycle time state machine module. The displacement sensor, the pressure sensor, the proportional pressure regulating valve, and the pressurizing cylinder form a pressure and stroke closed loop under the control of the industrial controller, and the partitioned mold surface temperature sensor and the partitioned mold surface heating device form a temperature closed loop under the control of the industrial controller.

[0062] Furthermore, the mold closing and positioning locking mechanism is used to lock the lower mold to the frame after the lower mold reaches the forming station below the upper mold base and before pressing begins. During pressing and pressure holding, it restricts the relative displacement between the upper mold base and the lower mold. After pressure holding, it releases the lower mold and sends a release signal to the industrial controller as a condition for the indexing conveyor to start the next indexing operation. The multi-channel quantitative feeding device includes independent opening and closing valves for each forming hole. Each independent opening and closing valve is connected to the abnormality isolation module. When a corresponding forming hole is determined to be abnormal, the abnormality isolation module blocks the feeding of that forming hole, marks it as an empty hole, and updates the station status table module. The machine vision device includes a whiteboard and a light shield. The whiteboard and the light shield work with the industrial controller for white balance calibration and blocking ambient light. The alarm device is connected to the abnormality isolation module and is used to alarm when the forming hole or indexing station is abnormal.

[0063] The beneficial effects of this invention are as follows:

[0064] This invention uses the equivalent layer thickness of the forming hole blank to select the initial air supply pressure level. During the pressing process, the air supply pressure is adjusted step by step based on the forming depth represented by the displacement of an independent floating pressure beam. This ensures that the forming depth of each forming hole steadily approaches the target depth range along a defined direction, maintaining a consistent wall thickness in the finished product without fluctuations due to batter layer thickness. This invention uses the larger of the equivalent layer thicknesses of each forming hole in the group as the pressure base, and the elastic floating component absorbs the layer thickness differences between forming holes in the same group. Thicker blanks are not under-pressurized, and thinner blanks are not over-pressurized, avoiding insufficient strength due to under-pressurization and cracking and mouth cracking due to over-pressurization. Pressurization stops when the forming depth reaches the target range, the air supply pressure reaches the upper limit, or the pressing time reaches the upper limit. The pressing process has clear safety boundaries to prevent impact on the blank and equipment. Furthermore, based on the forming depth deviation of several consecutive cycles, the initial air supply pressure level of the next cycle is automatically upgraded or downgraded, so that the initial air supply pressure gradually approaches the required value, reducing the number of step-by-step pressurizations within each cycle and speeding up the achievement of the standard, thereby improving work efficiency.

[0065] This invention heats the lower mold surface in zones, and calls forward compensation from a preset compensation table based on the amount of material fed into the heating zone, the feeding temperature, and the temperature deviation within each zone. This is then superimposed with zone temperature feedback, pre-compensating for the temperature drop on the mold surface caused by the injection of room-temperature batter into the heated mold surface, allowing for rapid stabilization. This reduces undercooking of the first batch of blanks and ensures uniform heating of each forming hole within the same area. Furthermore, this invention uses the heating time of the blank and the mold surface temperature of its respective zone to determine whether it has entered the plastic window. Pressing is only triggered after these conditions are continuously confirmed, ensuring that pressing occurs when a pressure-bearing shell has formed on the surface of the blank while the entire blank still retains plasticity. This reduces cracking when pressing the blank too early and mouth cracking when pressing too late, improving the success rate of molding and the regularity of the finished product's shape.

[0066] This invention allows the transition from the current action to the next action only when signals such as indexing accuracy, mold locking, zone temperature, air supply pressure, and upper mold base position are all satisfied. Before pressing begins, the lower mold is positioned and locked to withstand the pressing reaction force, ensuring orderly and coordinated actions of each actuator. This avoids accidental pressurization when the mold is not in position or locked, and guarantees stable molding dimensions. Furthermore, this invention uses uniform lighting at the discharge end while blocking ambient light. After white balance calibration, it acquires images of the finished product surface and extracts color features representing the degree of baking. By using a tracking queue that records the molding hole, indexing position, and the timing of each action, the baking degree detected lagging relative to the feeding stage is accurately mapped to its source molding hole. The statistical values ​​of the baking degree of multiple valid finished products are used to perform graded corrections to extend, shorten, or maintain the cycle time across the entire line, making the color detection results repeatable and ensuring that the baking degree of each finished product is consistent.

[0067] This invention identifies and blocks feeding into forming holes that consistently deviate from the baking degree, marking them as unloaded holes. These holes then undergo a safety unload operation during pressing, ejection, and inspection, preventing feeding, pressurization, and statistical inclusion. Once inspected and restored to normal, they are re-entered into production. Furthermore, for indexing stations with persistently abnormal locking signals or temperatures, the forming operation is suspended or a shutdown alarm is triggered. This ensures that an abnormality in a single forming hole or station does not interrupt the entire production line, maintaining production continuity. The invention also establishes a station status for each forming hole in a station status table and advances the status according to a cycle time state machine. The industrial control system provides unified sequential control, interlocking control, and closed-loop control for feeding, heating, indexing, locking, pressurizing, cleaning, ejection, and inspection actions. This ensures that multiple stations operate in parallel without conflict, maintaining the orderly and stable operation of the production line even with fluctuations in batter and operating conditions, or abnormalities in individual forming holes. Attached Figure Description

[0068] Figure 1The graphs show the convergence of molding depth and air supply pressure in Example 1 and Comparative Examples 1 and 3. (a) is the convergence curve of molding depth with sampling number, and (b) is the curve of air supply pressure with sampling number.

[0069] Figure 2 This is a scatter plot comparing the finished product wall thickness of Example 1 and Comparative Example 1 with the equivalent batter layer thickness.

[0070] Figure 3 This is a box plot comparing the finished product wall thickness distribution of Examples 1, 2, and 3 with Comparative Examples 1, 2, and 3.

[0071] Figure 4 The chart shows a comparison of the comprehensive beneficial effects of all embodiments and comparative examples. (a) is a bar chart of wall thickness compliance rate, fracture rate and mouth cracking rate, and (b) is a comparison chart of wall thickness standard deviation and average number of pressurization cycles.

[0072] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the composition and structure of the pneumatic wafer cone pressure adaptive forming device of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0073] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and beneficial effects of this invention clearer, the specific embodiments of this invention are described in detail below. This embodiment provides a pneumatic wafer cone pressure adaptive forming apparatus and a pneumatic wafer cone pressure adaptive forming method implemented by the apparatus.

[0074] The pneumatic wafer cone pressure adaptive forming device provided in this embodiment is based on an industrial control system and includes actuators and detection elements controlled by the industrial control system. For example... Figure 5 As shown, the entire device uses the frame as the supporting base, and the other structures are directly or indirectly installed on the frame, so that the moving parts maintain a stable relative position relationship, which facilitates continuous operation in multiple stations.

[0075] The frame houses a lower mold with an array of forming holes, each forming a cavity for a single cone. The lower mold is divided into multiple heating zones along its indexing direction, each zone corresponding to one or more forming holes. Each heating zone is equipped with a zone-specific mold surface heating device and a zone-specific mold surface temperature sensor. The heating device provides heat to the corresponding area of ​​the mold surface, while the temperature sensor collects the temperature of the corresponding area and transmits the signal to the industrial control system. This zoned arrangement ensures independent heating for different areas of the lower mold and uniform heating of the forming holes within the same area, providing conditions for each forming hole to achieve a similar baking state.

[0076] An upper die holder is located above the lower die. Driven by a main cylinder, the upper die holder moves vertically up and down. The main cylinder drives the upper die holder to complete three types of displacements: approach, opening, and return, allowing the upper die holder to quickly approach or retract relative to the lower die. The upper die holder is connected to the frame via an upper die holder guide mechanism. This guide mechanism constrains the movement trajectory of the upper die holder in the pressing direction, limiting the relative offset between the upper and lower dies in the pressing direction, and ensuring the conical pressure head remains aligned with the forming hole. The conical pressure heads are distributed in groups, with each group corresponding to a set of forming holes in the lower die. Each group is individually supported axially on an independent floating pressure beam via an elastic floating component. The elastic floating component causes each conical pressure head to produce a slight axial displacement after contacting the blank and limits its downward pressing stroke, absorbing the layer thickness differences between forming holes within the same group, thus subjecting each forming hole in the same group to a mutually approaching forming pressure.

[0077] Each set of conical pressure heads is equipped with an independent pneumatic pressurizing unit. Each independent pneumatic pressurizing unit includes a proportional pressure regulating valve, a pressurizing cylinder, a pressure sensor, and a displacement sensor. The inlet of the proportional pressure regulating valve is connected to the air source, and its outlet is connected to the working chamber of the pressurizing cylinder, used to regulate the air pressure entering the working chamber of the pressurizing cylinder according to the instructions of the industrial control system. The output end of the pressurizing cylinder is drivenly connected to the corresponding independent floating pressurizing beam, used to drive the set of conical pressure heads to apply forming pressure. The pressure sensor is used to detect the pressure in the working chamber of the pressurizing cylinder or the air supply pipeline and feed it back to the industrial control system. The displacement sensor is used to detect the displacement of the independent floating pressurizing beam and feed it back to the industrial control system. Under the unified calculation of the industrial controller, the displacement sensor, pressure sensor, proportional pressure regulating valve, and pressurizing cylinder form a pressure and stroke closed loop, so that the forming pressure of each component is adjusted in real time according to the detected displacement and pressure, achieving pressure self-adaptation for each group. Each group operates independently, allowing different groups to apply matching molding pressures based on their respective blank conditions, thus avoiding insufficient or excessive pressing of blanks within the same group due to differences in layer thickness.

[0078] The device is equipped with a multi-channel quantitative feeding system, which includes a metering pump, multiple nozzles, independent on / off valves for each orifice, a feed temperature sensor, and a feed metering element. The metering pump supplies batter to the multiple nozzles, which correspond one-to-one with each forming orifice, injecting batter into the corresponding orifice. The independent on / off valve for each orifice is located on the feed path of the corresponding nozzle, used to independently connect or disconnect the feed to that orifice. The feed temperature sensor collects the temperature of the fed batter, and the feed metering element obtains the amount of batter fed into each forming orifice. The independent on / off valves for each orifice are controlled by the industrial control system, allowing the feed to a single forming orifice to be cut off individually, providing a basis for isolating abnormal forming orifices.

[0079] The frame is equipped with an indexing conveyor mechanism, which drives the lower die to advance step-by-step along the indexing direction, allowing each forming hole to sequentially pass through the feeding, heating, pressing, cleaning, ejection, and inspection stations. The indexing conveyor mechanism is equipped with an encoder to detect the position of the lower die and feed back a positioning signal to the industrial control system. The lower die also has a mold closing and locking mechanism, which locks the lower die to the frame before pressing, ensuring the pressing reaction force is borne by the locking mechanism. A cleaning mechanism is located above the lower die surface to remove excess material around the forming holes after the conical press head retracts. A movable mold core ejection mechanism is located below the forming holes to shape the opening of the formed cone and eject it from the mold. A reset detection component is used to detect the reset status of each moving part. The discharge end is equipped with a machine vision device, which includes a camera, a uniform light source, a light shield, and a white board. The camera is used to capture images of the finished product surface, the uniform light source provides stable illumination, the light shield blocks ambient light, and the white board is used to calibrate the camera's white balance, ensuring consistent and stable color detection results. The device also includes an alarm system that provides audible and visual alerts in case of abnormalities.

[0080] The industrial control system includes an industrial controller, input / output modules, and a human-machine parameter setting module. The industrial controller, via the input / output modules, is connected to the zoned mold surface temperature sensors, pressure and displacement sensors, encoders, feed temperature sensors, feed metering devices, reset detection devices, and machine vision devices. It is also connected to the zoned mold surface heating devices, proportional pressure regulating valves, main cylinders, pressurizing cylinders, independent opening and closing valves for each orifice, indexing conveyor mechanism, mold closing and positioning locking mechanism, material clearing mechanism, movable mold core ejection mechanism, and alarm device. The human-machine parameter setting module receives process parameter settings and displays the operating status. The industrial controller includes a station status table module, a cycle time status machine module, an interlock judgment module, a zoned temperature control module, a pressure and stroke control module, a visual feedback module, and an anomaly isolation module. The station status table module records the operating status of each forming hole according to the forming hole; the cycle time state machine module promotes the action sequence of each actuator according to the cycle time; the interlock judgment module releases the next action only when all preconditions are met; the zone temperature control module maintains the temperature of each heating zone; the pressure and stroke control module calculates and outputs the air supply pressure of each group; the visual feedback module processes the finished product image and extracts color features; and the anomaly isolation module manages the isolation and recovery of abnormal forming holes. The zone mold surface temperature sensor and the zone mold surface heating device form a temperature closed loop under the control of the industrial controller, maintaining the mold surface temperature of each heating zone within the set range. This arrangement, with the industrial control system at its core, ensures that the actions of feeding, heating, indexing, locking, pressurizing, cleaning, ejection, and detection operate in a unified sequence and with interlocking relationships, maintaining stable and continuous operation of the entire production line under multi-station parallel operation.

[0081] The following describes the specific implementation process of the pneumatic wafer cone pressure adaptive forming method in conjunction with the above-mentioned device. The method of the present invention is executed by an industrial controller, hereinafter referred to as the controller. The method is based on the workstation state table and the cycle state machine, and includes steps S1 to S7.

[0082] In step S1, the controller controls the multi-channel quantitative feeding device to inject quantitative wafer batter blanks into each forming hole of the array-type lower mold, collects the feeding amount and estimated equivalent layer thickness parameters of each forming hole, writes the feeding amount into the heat load data of the corresponding heating zone, and writes the estimated equivalent layer thickness parameters into the pressure level selection data of the corresponding pressurization group. Step S1 further includes steps S11 to S14.

[0083] In step S11, the controller controls the metering pump of the multi-channel metering feeding device, as well as the multi-channel nozzles corresponding to each forming hole and the independent opening and closing valves of each hole, to inject wafer batter blanks into each forming hole according to a set volume. Injecting batter according to the set volume ensures that each forming hole obtains a similar amount of batter, providing a basis for consistent forming of each hole in the subsequent process.

[0084] In step S12, the controller obtains the amount of material fed into each forming hole through the feeding metering device. The amount of material fed is directly measured by the weighing metering device, or calculated by converting the output volume obtained from the stroke of the quantitative pump or the flow meter according to the calibrated density of this batch. When converting to the calibrated density of the batch, the density used is preferably the density of the same batch of batter when it tends to stabilize after stirring and standing, so as to reduce the deviation caused by the fluctuation of bubble content.

[0085] In step S13, the controller calculates the first... Each forming orifice is used to estimate the equivalent layer thickness parameter for pressure setting selection. Since the batter injected into the forming orifice spreads at an average thickness over the effective spreading area, its volume is equal to the product of the average thickness and the effective spreading area. Divide both sides of the expression by This yields the estimated equivalent layer thickness parameters:

[0086] ;

[0087] In the formula, For the first Estimated equivalent layer thickness parameters (mm) for each forming hole; For metering pump to the first Volume (mm) output from each forming hole 3 ); For the first The preset effective spreading area (mm²) of each forming hole 2 ); The forming hole number is a dimensionless quantity. The estimated equivalent layer thickness parameter is only used for pressure setting selection and does not represent the actual layer thickness of the batter within the forming hole. Using the equivalent layer thickness parameter instead of the actual layer thickness avoids adhesion and contamination caused by directly measuring the thickness of the convective dynamic batter, making the pressure setting an easily obtainable and stable input.

[0088] In step S14, the controller writes the material feeding amount into the heat load data of the corresponding heating zone and the estimated equivalent layer thickness parameter into the pressure level selection data of the corresponding pressurization group. The estimated equivalent layer thickness parameter can also be corrected based on the wall thickness deviation of the trial product or the pre-contact displacement of the conical indenter, so that the equivalent layer thickness parameter gradually matches the actual molding result, improving the accuracy of pressure level selection. The pre-contact displacement is the displacement change detected when the conical indenter lightly touches the surface of the billet before formal pressurization, reflecting the initial height of the billet.

[0089] In step S2, the controller schedules the heating devices for each heating zone according to the heating zone. Based on the feeding amount, feeding temperature, and temperature deviation of the heating zone, it retrieves the feedforward heating compensation amount from the preset heating compensation table and superimposes it with the zone temperature closed-loop feedback amount. After limiting, the result is output to the corresponding heating zone, stabilizing the zone temperature back to the target temperature range and bringing the billet into the plastic window state. When the wafer batter is heated, the moisture in it vaporizes and escapes. Simultaneously, the reducing sugars and amino acids undergo Maillard reactions, and the starch gelatinizes. The surface of the billet gradually loses water and forms a pressure-bearing shell with a certain strength. The plastic window state is when the surface of the billet has formed a pressure-bearing shell while the whole remains plastic and can be extended into a conical shape by the conical indenter. Step S2 further includes steps S21 to S23.

[0090] In step S21, the controller divides the lower mold surface into multiple heating zones, each corresponding to one or more forming holes, and collects signals from the temperature sensors of the corresponding zone mold surface. Zone control ensures that the forming holes at different operating stages receive mutually matched heating.

[0091] In step S22, the controller retrieves the feedforward heating compensation amount from a preset heating compensation table. This preset heating compensation table is determined by three types of indices: feeding amount range, feeding temperature range, and zoned mold surface temperature deviation range. It outputs either pulse width modulation duty cycle compensation or heating power level compensation. When room temperature batter is injected into the hot mold surface, it absorbs heat from the mold surface, causing the mold surface temperature to drop. The feedforward compensation amount is pre-applied according to the feeding amount and temperature difference to compensate for this instantaneous heat loss, ensuring that the first batch of blanks is not undercooked. The preset heating compensation table is preferably obtained by calibrating and organizing mold surface temperature drop data under different feeding amounts and feeding temperatures.

[0092] In step S23, the controller adds the feedforward heating compensation amount to the closed-loop feedback amount of the partitioned die surface temperature obtained based on the deviation between the partitioned die surface temperature and the target die surface temperature range. After limiting and anti-integral saturation processing of the addition result, it outputs it to the partitioned die surface heating device of the corresponding heating partition via a solid-state relay in pulse width modulation mode, so that the partitioned die surface temperature stabilizes back to the target die surface temperature range. The limiting is used to constrain the output within the allowable range of the heating device, and the anti-integral saturation is used to prevent the integral term from accumulating excessively and causing overshoot when the temperature deviation exists for a long time. The combination of feedforward and feedback allows the die surface temperature to stabilize quickly under material feeding disturbance, providing a stable temperature basis for subsequent plasticity window judgment. The target die surface temperature range is preferably selected as the temperature range that allows the Maillard reaction to proceed fully without causing surface coking.

[0093] In step S3, the controller controls the indexing conveyor to drive the lower die to the upper die forming station according to the current cycle. After the encoder confirms that the lower die is in place, it controls the die closing and locking mechanism to lock the lower die to the frame, limiting the displacement of the lower die relative to the frame in the indexing direction. The upper die holder guide mechanism also limits the relative offset between the upper die holder and the lower die in the pressing direction. Step S3 further includes steps S31 to S34.

[0094] In step S31, the controller controls the indexing conveyor mechanism to drive the lower mold to step along the guide rail according to the current cycle, so that the forming hole to be formed reaches the forming station of the upper mold. The cycle is the time occupied by the indexing conveyor mechanism to complete one station advance.

[0095] In step S32, the controller detects the position of the lower die and confirms its positioning by using an encoder located on the indexing conveyor mechanism, generating an indexing positioning signal. The encoder provides position feedback, ensuring the lower die stops precisely at the forming station in each cycle, guaranteeing alignment between the conical pressure head and the forming hole.

[0096] In step S33, the controller controls the mold closing and positioning locking mechanism to lock the lower mold to the frame after the lower mold arrives at the forming station and before pressing begins, generating a mold closing and locking signal. This locking is maintained during pressing and pressure holding, and released after pressure holding ends. The release signal serves as the condition for the indexing conveyor mechanism to start the next indexing cycle. Locking before pressing ensures that the pressing reaction force is borne by the locking mechanism, preventing the lower mold from shifting in the indexing direction under forming pressure and affecting the forming dimensions.

[0097] In step S34, the controller only allows the current action to proceed to the next action when the indexing completion signal, mold closing and locking signal, partition mold surface temperature satisfaction signal, normal air supply pressure signal, and upper mold base positioning or reset signal are all satisfied. If any signal is not satisfied, the controller pauses the cycle and issues an alarm. Interlocking judgment constrains the sequence of actions, preventing accidental pressure application that could damage the mold or blank before positioning or locking, thus ensuring the reliability of sequential operations.

[0098] In step S4, the controller starts timing from the completion of feeding into each molding hole to obtain the heating time. Based on the heating time, the temperature of the partitioned mold surface, and the confirmation duration, it determines the interlocking conditions of the plastic window. If the conditions are met, it outputs a pressing trigger command; if not, it extends the cycle time according to the waiting threshold or stops feeding into that hole. Step S4 further includes steps S41 to S43.

[0099] In step S41, the controller starts timing from the time each forming hole finishes feeding to obtain the heating time. , This is the heating time (in seconds) of the billet from the completion of feeding. The heating time reflects the accumulated heating process of the billet.

[0100] In step S42, after the lower mold is in place and locked, the controller collects the mold surface temperature of the corresponding heating zone in real time. When both conditions are met and And continue to confirm the time. When the condition for interlocking the plastic window is met, a suppression trigger command is output, where, for Temperature of the partition mold surface at any given time (°C); The heating time (s) of the billet from the completion of feeding; The start time of the plastic window (s); Lower limit of plasticity temperature (°C); The duration (in seconds) of the plasticity window is determined. This is based on a combination of heating time and die surface temperature, aiming to ensure pressing occurs during the period when a pressure-bearing shell has formed on the surface of the billet while the entire billet remains plastic. This reduces the risk of cracking due to premature pressing and mouth cracking due to excessively late pressing. The required duration of the conditional confirmation is as follows. This is used to filter out false triggers caused by instantaneous temperature fluctuations. The plastic window start time... Preferably, the shorter time required for the formation of a pressure-bearing shell layer on the surface of the blank is taken, wherein the lower limit temperature of plasticity is... The preferred temperature is the lower limit at which the Maillard reaction can proceed stably.

[0101] In step S43, when the heating time reaches the first waiting threshold... If the above conditions are still not met, the controller extends the current cycle and continues heating; when the heating time reaches the second waiting threshold... If the condition is still not met, the controller stops feeding into the forming hole and marks it as an unloaded hole, while simultaneously issuing an alarm or isolation signal. Greater than , The first waiting threshold (s) is used. The second waiting threshold (s) is set. Two waiting thresholds are set so that occasional low temperatures are compensated for by delayed heating, and the corresponding forming hole is isolated only in the event of a continuous abnormality, thus balancing yield and continuous operation.

[0102] In step S5, after the pressing is triggered, the controller controls the main cylinder to drive the upper mold base downward to the pre-contact position to complete the positioning. Then, it controls each group of independent pneumatic pressurization units to call the initial air supply pressure level according to the thickness level of the equivalent layer thickness representative value of the group. During the pressing process, the air supply pressure of the group is adjusted according to the forming depth and the grading rules to press the blank of each forming hole into an egg cone. Step S5 further includes steps S51 to S56.

[0103] In step S51, after receiving the pressing trigger command, the controller controls the main cylinder to drive the upper mold base downwards to the pre-contact position to complete the positioning. The main cylinder is used to drive the upper mold base to complete the approach, mold opening, and return stroke. After the main cylinder is in position, the pressurizing cylinders of each group of independent pneumatic pressurizing units apply forming pressure to the conical press head of their respective groups. The main cylinder is responsible for rapid approach and positioning, while the pressurizing cylinders are responsible for fine pressurization. The division of labor between the two ensures that the stroke positioning and pressure application do not interfere with each other.

[0104] In step S52, the controller uses the larger of the estimated equivalent layer thickness parameters of each forming hole in the group as the representative value of the equivalent layer thickness of the group. When the difference between the larger and smaller values ​​of the estimated equivalent layer thickness parameters of each forming hole in the group exceeds the layer thickness difference threshold, the controller performs one or more of the following actions: group rearrangement, reducing the feed rate of thinner forming holes, shielding abnormal forming holes, or using a conservative pressure setting. Using the larger value as the representative value ensures that the thicker blanks in the group are sufficiently pressed. When the layer thickness difference within the group exceeds the absorbable range of the elastic floating component, the above processing prevents the thinner blanks from being overpressed. The layer thickness difference threshold is preferably the upper limit of the layer thickness difference that the elastic floating component can absorb.

[0105] In step S53, the controller retrieves the initial air supply pressure level for the current group from the preset pressure level table based on the thickness level of the equivalent layer thickness representative value, and the proportional pressure regulating valve provides the air supply pressure for the current group. By assigning pressure levels to thickness levels, thicker blanks receive higher initial pressures, and thinner blanks receive lower initial pressures. The preset pressure level table is preferably obtained through pressure testing and calibration based on the pressure required to achieve the required wall thickness under different equivalent layer thicknesses.

[0106] In step S54, the controller detects the displacement of the independent floating pressure beam using a displacement sensor and uses it as the forming depth of this unit. When the forming depth is lower than the target depth range and the air supply pressure of this unit has not reached the upper limit of the air supply pressure, the air supply pressure of this unit is gradually increased according to the preset pressure increment. When the forming depth enters the target depth range and the rate of change of forming depth is lower than the set threshold, pressure holding is initiated. When the forming depth does not enter the target depth range and the rate of change of forming depth is lower than the set threshold, or when the air supply pressure of this unit reaches the upper limit of the air supply pressure, the pressing time reaches the upper limit of the pressing time, or the mold closing limit is triggered, the controller determines that the pressing is obstructed or the blank is abnormal and performs abnormal handling. The displacement of the pressure beam represents the forming depth of this unit, and the gradual increase in pressure makes the forming depth steadily approach the target depth range, avoiding overshoot due to air path response lag. Setting the upper limit of pressure, the upper limit of pressing time, and the mold closing limit and other stopping conditions prevents the blank from cracking or the equipment from being impacted by continuous pressure increase. The target depth range is preferably set according to the specifications and wall thickness requirements of the cone.

[0107] In step S55, after the current pressing is completed, the controller adjusts the initial air supply pressure level for the next pressing cycle by increasing, decreasing, or maintaining the pressure level based on the forming depth deviation over several consecutive cycles. This gradual adjustment of the initial pressure level across cycles, based on the depth deviation, ensures that the initial pressure gradually matches the current batter and operating conditions, reducing the number of pressure increments per pressing cycle and resulting in more stable pressing within each cycle.

[0108] In step S56, each conical pressure head in this group floats axially individually via an elastic floating component, absorbing the layer thickness difference between the forming holes within the group. When the forming depth of this group does not reach the target depth range, the controller first increases the air supply pressure of this group step by step according to the preset pressure increment to the upper limit of the air supply pressure. If it still does not reach the target depth, the pressure is maintained for an extended period within the upper limit of the pressing time, and the forming depth is continuously monitored. When the air supply pressure of this group reaches the upper limit of the air supply pressure and the increase in forming depth is lower than the set threshold, an anomaly is detected, resulting in a pre-formed cone with a more uniform wall thickness. The fixed sequence of first increasing pressure, then delaying time, and then judging anomalies ensures that various compensation measures are executed according to a defined logic, avoiding uncertainty in the control strategy. The elastic floating component further balances the pressure of each hole in the same group based on the group-level pressure, making the wall thickness of the cones in the same group more uniform.

[0109] In step S6, the controller controls the pressure holding, pressure release, and upper mold base retraction to cause the conical pressure head to exit the forming hole, and controls the material clearing mechanism to remove excess material. Step S6 further includes steps S61 to S63.

[0110] In step S61, after the conical pressure head presses the cone into place, the controller maintains the air supply pressure for a preset time, allowing the cone to solidify between the conical pressure head and the forming hole. Holding the pressure fixes the formed shell in shape under pressure, reducing springback. The preset pressure holding time is preferably a shorter duration required for the cone shell to solidify.

[0111] In step S62, after the pressure holding period ends, the controller depressurizes the air circuits of each group of independent pneumatic pressurization units and controls the main cylinder to drive the upper mold base to rise, causing each conical pressure head to exit the forming hole. Depressurizing before rising avoids the conical pressure heads carrying material or damaging the forming surface.

[0112] In step S63, after the upper mold base rises but before ejection, the controller controls the cleaning mechanism to move laterally along the lower mold surface to remove overflow material, thin edge material, and baking residue. The cleaning mechanism is selected from one or more of a scraper, flexible scraper, air-blowing assembly, and negative pressure suction assembly, resulting in clean forming holes and a pre-formed cone. Cleaning after rise and before ejection prevents residual material from mixing into the finished product or affecting the next batch of material.

[0113] In step S7, the controller controls the active mold core ejection mechanism to shape the opening of the egg carton, eject it from the mold, and unload it to obtain the finished product. The browning index of the finished product detected by the machine vision device at the discharge end is collected and linked to the corresponding forming hole via a tracking queue. The entire production line cycle time is corrected according to the grading rules, and isolation, no-load control branching, and recovery verification are performed on forming holes with persistent abnormalities. Step S7 further includes steps S71 to S77.

[0114] In step S71, the controller drives the movable mold core ejection mechanism to cooperate with the forming hole to shape the opening of the pre-formed egg cone, eject it from the mold, and collect the material for unloading, thus obtaining the finished product. The movable mold core shapes the opening during ejection, ensuring a regular opening for the egg cone.

[0115] In step S72, the controller controls the machine vision device at the discharge end to collect images of the finished product surface after white balance calibration using a white board at preset intervals under uniform light source and light shield conditions, and extracts CIEL within a preset detection area on the outer surface of the finished product. * The average brightness is measured, and background, damaged, and reflective areas are removed. If the image brightness exceeds the calibrated range, it is re-acquired or removed. The browning index is calculated, which is equal to 100 minus the average brightness.

[0116] ;

[0117] In the formula, For the first Each beat corresponds to the browning index of the finished product, which is a dimensionless quantity; For the first Each beat corresponds to a pre-set detection area on the outer surface of the finished product using CIEL. * The average brightness is a dimensionless quantity. L is the beat number and is a dimensionless quantity. * For the International Commission on Illumination (CIEL) * a * b *The lightness component in a color space ranges from 0 to 100, with higher values ​​closer to white and lower values ​​closer to black. During baking, the surface color of the wafer blank gradually darkens due to caramelization, and its lightness decreases accordingly. Therefore, a browning index is constructed by subtracting the average lightness value from 100, so that the browning index increases with the degree of baking, allowing for a single numerical representation of the finished product's baking degree. White balance calibration and shading / rejection processes are used to eliminate interference from ambient light and reflections on color detection, ensuring the repeatability of the browning index. The preset detection area is preferably a region on the outer surface of the finished product with a uniform color that is unaffected by highlights on the rim.

[0118] In step S73, the controller updates the tracking queue at each feeding, indexing, pressing, and ejection. The tracking queue records the forming hole number, indexing position, feeding time, and pressing time. When a finished product is detected, the source forming hole and feeding batch of the finished product are determined according to the records in the tracking queue. When a forming hole is marked as an empty hole, the image is rejected, or no corresponding finished product is detected, the controller writes an empty record in the tracking queue and maintains the subsequent queue order. Since the billet spans multiple cycles from feeding to discharge, the finished product detected at the discharge end is not the product of the current feeding hole. By using the tracking queue, the browning index detected later is accurately mapped to its source forming hole, so that subsequent corrections and isolation are targeted at the correct object.

[0119] In step S74, the controller corrects the cycle time of the indexing conveyor according to a grading rule. The correction is based on the average, median, or statistical value of the browning index of continuously effective finished products, or after removing anomalies. When the statistical value is lower than the target browning range, the cycle time is extended; when the statistical value is higher than the target browning range, the cycle time is shortened; and when the statistical value is within the target browning range, the cycle time remains unchanged. The cycle time correction amount and the upper and lower limits of the cycle time are given by a preset process parameter table. The cycle time refers to the cycle time of the entire indexing conveyor, therefore it is based on the statistical values ​​of multiple effective finished products rather than a single product, avoiding cycle time oscillations caused by individual fluctuations. A low browning index indicates insufficient baking, so the cycle time is extended to prolong heating; a high browning index indicates overbaking, so the cycle time is shortened to reduce heating. The finished product color serves as feedback to ensure that the baking degree of each finished product is consistent. The target browning range is preferably the range of browning indices where the finished product has a uniform golden-yellow color.

[0120] In step S75, when the forming hole In continuous When the browning index of the forming hole exceeds the target browning range in all effective discharge cycles, the controller determines that the forming hole... An anomaly occurs when the feed to the forming hole is blocked and it is marked as an empty hole. When this empty hole passes through the pressing, ejection, and vision stations, an empty safety action is performed and written into the empty record. Empty holes are not included in browning statistics. In the formula, The number of beats in a continuous judgment is a dimensionless quantity. This refers to the forming hole sequence number, which is a dimensionless quantity. When the mold closing and locking signal or the temperature of the partition mold surface at the indexing station is continuously abnormal, the controller determines that the indexing station is abnormal and suspends the forming action corresponding to that indexing station or issues a shutdown alarm. Single-hole abnormalities are determined only by the continuous deviation of multiple consecutive valid finished products to avoid misjudgments caused by occasional fluctuations; the no-load safety action ensures that the isolated hole does not feed material, is not pneumatically compressed, and is not included in the statistics when passing through each station, avoiding misalignment between the pneumatic compression of the conical pressure head and the statistics.

[0121] In step S76, when the unloaded hole is properly fed, the temperature of the mold surface in its heating zone is normal, and the browning index and molding depth of the prototype are within the allowable range, the controller removes the unloaded mark from the molding hole and resumes feeding. This process is repeated only after the abnormality is confirmed to have been eliminated through trial production testing, avoiding repeated isolation and recovery.

[0122] In step S77, the controller establishes a station status for each forming hole in the station status table. The station status includes at least: waiting to feed, already fed, heating, plasticity confirmed, waiting to press, pressing, holding pressure, waiting to eject, already ejected, no load, isolation, and recovery verification. Based on the migration conditions of each station status, the controller updates the station status of each forming hole and the corresponding control commands for the actuators at each indexing interval. By migrating the station status recorded by hole and advancing the status according to the cycle time, the feeding, heating, pressing, ejection, and detection actions of each forming hole in multi-station parallel operation do not conflict with each other. This ensures that the entire production line maintains orderly, continuous, and stable operation even when operating conditions fluctuate or individual forming holes malfunction, and that the baking degree and wall thickness of each finished product tend to be consistent.

[0123] Example 1: This example uses the continuous molding of a small-diameter, thin-walled wafer cone as an example. The target temperature range for the mold surface is 165 to 175°C, the feed batter temperature is 25°C, the equivalent batter layer thickness is 1.8 mm, the cycle time is approximately 90 seconds, the gas supply pressure range is 0.42 to 0.50 MPa, the target molding depth range is 11.6 to 12.0 mm, and the target wall thickness range is 1.85 to 2.15 mm. According to step S1, the controller quantitatively feeds material into each molding hole via a multi-channel quantitative feeding device, and collects the feeding amount and equivalent layer thickness parameters according to steps S11 to S14. The corresponding data is written; steps S2 and S21 to S23 are used to heat the mold surface in sections and feedforward combined with feedback to stabilize the temperature of the sections back to the target temperature range of the mold surface; steps S3 and S31 to S34 are used to complete indexing, mold closing and locking and sequential interlocking; steps S4 and S41 to S43 are used to determine the plastic window based on the heating time and mold surface temperature and output the pressing trigger command; steps S5 and S51 to S56 are used to position the main cylinder, each group of independent pneumatic pressurizing units is given the initial air supply pressure according to the thickness level, the pressure is increased step by step in a closed loop with the displacement stroke of the pressurizing beam, the initial level is learned across the cycle and the thickness difference of the inner layer is balanced by the elastic floating component; steps S6 and S61 to S63 are used to hold pressure, release pressure, rise and clean material; steps S7 and S71 to S77 are used to eject and demold, visual inspection of browning and correction of the entire line cycle through the tracking queue, isolation and restoration of abnormal forming holes, and obtaining a wafer cone product with a uniform wall thickness.

[0124] Example 2 is the same as Example 1, except that the target temperature range of the mold surface is 155 to 165°C, the equivalent paste layer thickness is 2.2 mm, the cycle time is 120 s, and the air supply pressure range of this group is 0.45 to 0.55 MPa. Other details will not be repeated.

[0125] Example 3 is the same as Example 1, except that the target temperature range of the mold surface is 175 to 185°C, the equivalent paste layer thickness is about 2.8 mm, the cycle time is about 75 s, and the air supply pressure range of this group is 0.50 to 0.60 MPa.

[0126] Comparative Example 1 is the same as Example 1, except that the thickness grading and initial air supply pressure level in steps S52 and S53, the stroke closed-loop stepwise pressurization in step S54, the cross-cycle self-learning in step S55, and the independent pressurization of each group are not used. Instead, a fixed air supply pressure of 0.42MPa is applied to the entire group of conical pressure heads and the conical pressure heads are rigidly installed.

[0127] Comparative Example 2 is the same as Example 1, except that the initial pressure of thickness gradation in step S53 is retained, but the stroke closed-loop stepwise pressure increase in step S54 and the elastic floating balance in step S56 are removed. The conical pressure head is rigidly installed and pressure is maintained after one pressure is applied.

[0128] Comparative Example 3 is the same as Example 1, except that the step-by-step division in step S53, the stroke closed loop in step S54, and the floating balance in step S56 are retained, but the cross-cycle self-learning in step S55 is removed, and each cycle increases the pressure step by step from the lowest gas supply pressure level.

[0129] Each experimental example was run on the same equipment according to the methods of the corresponding embodiments and comparative examples. The molding depth and air supply pressure were collected online by the equipment's displacement sensor and pressure sensor. The wall thickness of the finished product was measured using a digital micrometer. Sampling and finished product quality judgment were carried out in accordance with relevant standards. The cracking rate and mouth cracking rate were expressed as the proportion of visual counts of the finished products in the same batch.

[0130] Experimental Example 1, using the methods of Example 1, Comparative Example 1, and Comparative Example 3, online data was collected on the molding depth and gas supply pressure within a single cycle. The results are as follows: Figure 1 As shown, the relevant data is shown in Table 1. Figure 1 In (a), the horizontal axis represents the sampling number of the pressing process, the vertical axis represents the forming depth, and the shaded area represents the target forming depth range of 11.6 to 12.0 mm. Figure 1 In (b), the horizontal axis represents the sampling sequence number of the compression process, and the vertical axis represents the gas supply pressure. Figure 1 It can be seen that in Example 1, the gas supply pressure was increased to 0.50 MPa twice, and the molding depth entered the target range and stabilized at about 11.85 mm in the fourth sampling. In Comparative Example 3, the gas supply pressure was increased to 0.50 MPa five times from 0.30 MPa, and the molding depth entered the target range in the sixth sampling. In Comparative Example 1, the gas supply pressure was fixed at 0.42 MPa, and the molding depth stopped at about 10.90 mm, which was always lower than the target range.

[0131] Example 1 achieves the first stable molding depth within the target range with the fewest pressurization cycles. Comparative Example 1 fails to reach the target depth, while Comparative Example 3 achieves the target depth but takes longer and requires more pressurization. In step S54 of this invention, the molding depth of the unit is characterized by the displacement of the independent floating pressure beam. When the molding depth is lower than the target range and the air supply pressure has not reached the upper limit, the air supply pressure is gradually increased in preset increments to make the molding depth smoothly approach the target range in a defined direction. Pressurization is stopped based on conditions such as the upper limit of pressure to avoid overpressure, thus the molding depth is controllable and convergent. In step S55, the initial air supply pressure level of the next cycle is increased or decreased based on the molding depth deviation of several consecutive cycles to make the initial pressure close to the required pressure, reducing the number of pressurization cycles within a cycle and accelerating the achievement of the target. Comparative Example 3 does not use self-learning and pressurizes from the lowest level in each cycle, resulting in more pressurization cycles and slower achievement of the target. Comparative Example 1 has a fixed air supply pressure and no stroke closed loop, so it cannot compensate for under-pressurized blanks, resulting in insufficient molding depth.

[0132] Table 1. Convergence index of molding depth in Experiment Example 1:

[0133]

[0134] In Experiment 2, multiple molding holes with different equivalent batter layer thicknesses were pressed and molded using the methods of Example 1 and Comparative Example 1, respectively. The wall thickness of the finished products was measured, and the results are as follows: Figure 2As shown, the relevant data is shown in Table 2. Figure 2 The horizontal axis represents the equivalent paste layer thickness, the vertical axis represents the finished product wall thickness, and the dashed line represents the target wall thickness range of 1.85 to 2.15 mm. Figure 2 It can be seen that the finished product wall thickness of Example 1 remains approximately 2.0 mm and falls within the target range when the equivalent layer thickness varies from 1.6 to 3.0 mm; the finished product wall thickness of Comparative Example 1 increases from 1.80 mm to 2.58 mm as the equivalent layer thickness increases, exceeding the target range at both the smaller and larger ends of the equivalent layer thickness. Therefore, Example 1 ensures that the finished product wall thickness does not change with the equivalent batter layer thickness, while the finished product wall thickness of Comparative Example 1 drifts significantly with the equivalent layer thickness.

[0135] Step S53 calls the initial air supply pressure setting according to the thickness setting of the equivalent layer thickness representative value, so that thicker billets receive higher pressure and thinner billets receive lower pressure, thus the air supply pressure adapts with the layer thickness; Step S52 takes the larger of the equivalent layer thickness of each forming hole in this group as the representative value to avoid underpressure of thicker billets in this group; Step S56 the elastic floating component absorbs the layer thickness difference of each forming hole in the same group, so that thinner billets are not overpressurized; Comparative Example 1 applies a fixed air supply pressure to all forming holes, the thicker billets are not compacted enough and the wall thickness is too large, and the thinner billets are over-compacted and the wall thickness is too small, so the wall thickness drifts with the layer thickness.

[0136] Table 2, data on wall thickness as a function of equivalent layer thickness in Experimental Example 2:

[0137]

[0138] Experimental Example 3: Using the methods of Examples 1, 2, and 3, and Comparative Examples 1, 2, and 3, the wall thickness of each batch of finished products was measured, and the results are as follows. Figure 3 As shown, the relevant summary data is shown in Table 3. Figure 3 The vertical axis represents the finished wall thickness, the box represents the interquartile range, the horizontal line inside the box represents the median, and the dashed line represents the target wall thickness range.

[0139] Depend on Figure 3 It can be seen that the wall thickness boxes of Examples 1, 2, and 3 are narrow, have few outliers, and have a median close to 2.0 mm. The box of Comparative Example 1 is the widest and has a relatively high median. The box of Comparative Example 2 is in the middle. The wall thickness of Examples 1 and Comparative Example 3 is consistent. Comparative Example 1 is the worst and Comparative Example 2 is in the middle.

[0140] The stroke closed loop in step S54 causes the molding depth of each component to converge to the target depth range, and the elastic floating in step S56 balances the molding pressure of each molding hole in the same group. Both of these factors cause the finished product wall thickness to be concentrated near the target value. Comparative Example 2 lacks stroke closed loop and floating, and the thickness difference within the group is directly manifested as the wall thickness difference, so the distribution is wider. Comparative Example 1 has neither grading nor closed loop and floating, so the distribution is the widest. Comparative Example 3 retains the above mechanism, and its wall thickness consistency is comparable to that of the embodiment.

[0141] Table 3, Summary of wall thickness distribution in Experiment Example 3:

[0142]

[0143] Experimental Example 4, using the methods of all examples and comparative examples, statistically analyzed the standard deviation of finished product wall thickness, fracture rate, mouth cracking rate, wall thickness compliance rate, and average number of pressurization cycles per cycle. The results are as follows: Figure 4 As shown, the relevant data is shown in Table 4. Figure 4 The vertical axis of (a) represents percentages, and the wall thickness compliance rate, fracture rate, and mouth cracking rate of each method are given respectively; Figure 4 In Figure (b), the left ordinate represents the standard deviation of wall thickness, and the right ordinate represents the average number of pressurization cycles per cycle. In each embodiment, the wall thickness compliance rate was approximately 98%, the fracture rate and mouth crack rate were both below 1%, the wall thickness standard deviation was approximately 0.06 mm, and the average number of pressurization cycles was approximately 2.1 to 2.5. Comparative Example 1 had a compliance rate of approximately 53%, a fracture rate of 6.5%, and a wall thickness standard deviation of 0.20 mm. Comparative Example 2 was in the middle. Comparative Example 3 had a wall thickness compliance rate and standard deviation comparable to the embodiments, but the average number of pressurization cycles was approximately 5.8.

[0144] Table 4, Comprehensive index data for Experiment Example 4:

[0145]

[0146] The embodiment has advantages in wall thickness consistency, defect rate and cycle time efficiency. The consistency is mainly different from Comparative Example 1 and Comparative Example 2, and the cycle time efficiency is mainly different from Comparative Example 3.

[0147] Steps S52 to S54, with their graded pressure application and stroke closed-loop control, and step S56, with its elastic floating mechanism, ensure that each forming hole receives a matching forming pressure. This avoids insufficient strength due to underpressure and cracking and mouth opening due to overpressure, resulting in a high pass rate and a low defect rate. Step S55, with its cross-cycle self-learning, ensures that the initial air supply pressure is close to the required pressure, reducing the number of step-by-step pressure increases. Therefore, the average number of pressure increases is low. Comparative Example 3, lacking step S55, has a significantly increased number of pressure increases. Comparative Examples 1 and 2, lacking stroke closed-loop control and floating mechanism, exhibit poor consistency and a high defect rate.

[0148] Although embodiments of this application have been shown and described above, it is understood that the above embodiments are exemplary and should not be construed as limiting this application. Those skilled in the art can make changes, modifications, substitutions and variations to the above embodiments within the scope of this application.

Claims

1. A method for pressure-adaptive molding of pneumatic wafer cones, characterized in that, The controller executes the following steps based on the workstation status table and the cycle state machine: S1. The controller controls the multi-channel quantitative feeding device to inject quantitative wafer batter blanks into each forming hole of the array-type lower mold, collects the feeding amount and estimated equivalent layer thickness parameters of each forming hole and writes them into the station status table, writes the feeding amount into the heat load data of the corresponding heating zone, and writes the estimated equivalent layer thickness parameters into the pressure level selection data of the corresponding pressurization group. S2. The controller schedules the heating devices of the heating zone according to the heating zone. Based on the feeding amount, feeding temperature and temperature deviation of the heating zone, the controller calls the feedforward heating compensation amount from the preset heating compensation table and adds the zone temperature closed-loop feedback amount. After limiting, the data is output to the corresponding heating zone, so that the temperature of the zone mold surface stabilizes back to the target temperature range of the mold surface, and the billet enters the plastic window state. S3. The controller controls the indexing conveyor to drive the lower die to the upper die forming station according to the current cycle. After the encoder confirms that the lower die is in place, it controls the mold closing and positioning locking mechanism to lock the lower die to the frame, limiting the displacement of the lower die relative to the frame in the indexing direction and limiting the relative offset between the upper die base and the lower die in the pressing direction through the upper die base guide mechanism. S4. The controller starts timing from the completion of feeding in each forming hole to obtain the heating time. Based on the heating time, the temperature of the partitioned mold surface and the confirmation duration, the interlocking conditions of the plastic window are determined. When the conditions are met, a pressing trigger command is output. If the heating time reaches the first waiting threshold but is still not met, the current cycle is extended and heating continues. If the second waiting threshold, which is greater than the first waiting threshold, is still not met, feeding in that forming hole is stopped and the empty hole is marked. S5. After the pressing is triggered, the controller controls the main cylinder to drive the upper mold base to the pre-contact position to complete the positioning. Then, it controls each group of independent pneumatic pressurization units to call the initial air supply pressure level according to the thickness level of the equivalent layer thickness representative value of the group. During the pressing process, the air supply pressure of the group is adjusted according to the forming depth and the grading rules to press the blank of each forming hole into an egg cone. S6. The controller controls the pressure holding, pressure release and upper mold base retraction to make the conical pressure head exit the forming hole, and controls the material clearing mechanism to remove overflow material, thin edge material and baking residue. S7. The controller controls the active mold core ejection mechanism to shape the mouth of the egg cone, eject it from the mold, and unload it to obtain the finished product. It collects the browning index of the finished product detected by the machine vision device at the discharge end and links it to the corresponding forming hole through the tracking queue. It corrects the cycle time of the entire line according to the grading rules and performs isolation, no-load control branch and recovery verification for the forming holes that are continuously abnormal.

2. The pneumatic wafer cone pressure adaptive forming method according to claim 1, characterized in that, S1 includes: S11. The controller controls the metering pump of the multi-channel metering feeding device, as well as the multi-channel nozzles and independent opening and closing valves of each forming hole, to inject wafer batter blanks into each forming hole according to the set volume. S12. The controller obtains the amount of material fed into each forming hole through the feeding metering device. The amount of material fed is directly measured by the weighing metering device, or it is calculated by converting the output volume obtained by the stroke of the quantitative pump or the flow meter according to the calibrated density of this batch. S13, the controller calculates the following formula: One forming hole is used for estimating the equivalent layer thickness parameter for pressure level selection: ； In the formula, For the first Estimated equivalent layer thickness parameters for each forming hole; For the metering pump to the first The volume output by each forming hole; For the first The preset effective spreading area of ​​each forming hole; The forming hole number is used for pressure setting selection and does not represent the actual thickness of the batter. S14. The controller writes the feeding amount into the heat load data of the corresponding heating zone and writes the estimated equivalent layer thickness parameter into the pressure level selection data of the corresponding pressurization group. The estimated equivalent layer thickness parameter can also be corrected according to the wall thickness deviation of the trial product or the pre-contact displacement of the conical indenter.

3. The pneumatic wafer cone pressure adaptive forming method according to claim 1, characterized in that, S2 includes: S21. The controller divides the mold surface of the lower mold into multiple heating zones, each heating zone corresponding to one or more forming holes, and collects signals from the temperature sensors of the mold surface of the corresponding zone. S22. The controller retrieves the feedforward heating compensation amount from the preset heating compensation table. The preset heating compensation table is determined by three types of indices: feeding amount range, feeding temperature range, and partitioned die surface temperature deviation range. It outputs pulse width modulation duty cycle compensation amount or heating power level compensation amount. S23. The controller adds the feedforward heating compensation amount to the partition temperature closed-loop feedback amount obtained based on the deviation between the partition mold surface temperature and the target temperature range of the mold surface. After limiting and anti-integral saturation processing of the addition result, it outputs it to the partition mold surface heating device of the corresponding heating partition in pulse width modulation via a solid-state relay, so that the partition mold surface temperature stabilizes back to the target temperature range of the mold surface.

4. The pneumatic wafer cone pressure adaptive forming method according to claim 1, characterized in that, S3 includes: S31. The controller controls the indexing conveyor to drive the lower mold to step along the guide rail according to the current cycle, so that the forming hole to be formed reaches the upper mold forming station. S32. The controller detects the position of the lower die and confirms that it is in place by means of the encoder provided on the indexing conveyor mechanism, and generates an indexing completion signal; S33. The controller controls the mold closing and positioning locking mechanism to lock the lower mold to the frame after the lower mold reaches the upper mold forming station and before pressing begins, generating a mold closing and locking signal. The locking is maintained during pressing and holding, and released after holding is completed. The release signal is used as the condition for the indexing conveyor to start the next indexing. S34. The controller only allows the current action to transition to the next action when the indexing position signal, the mold closing and locking signal, the partition mold surface temperature satisfaction signal, the air supply pressure normal signal, and the upper mold base positioning or reset signal are all satisfied; when any of the above signals are not satisfied, the controller pauses the cycle and issues an alarm.

5. The pneumatic wafer cone pressure adaptive forming method according to claim 1, characterized in that, S4 includes: S41. The controller starts timing from the time each forming hole completes feeding to obtain the heating time. , The heating time of the billet from the completion of feeding; S42. After the lower mold is in place and locked, the controller collects the mold surface temperature of the heating zone in real time. When both conditions are met and And continue to confirm the time. When the condition for interlocking the plastic window is met, the suppression trigger command is output. In the formula, for Temperature of the partitioned mold surface at any given time; The heating time of the billet from the completion of feeding; This is the start time of the plastic window; This is the lower limit of plasticity temperature; Confirm the duration for the plastic window; S43. When the heating time reaches the first waiting threshold If the above conditions are still not met, the controller extends the current cycle and continues heating; when the heating time reaches the second waiting threshold... If the condition is still not met, the controller stops feeding into the forming hole and marks the forming hole as an unloaded hole, while simultaneously issuing an alarm or isolation signal. Greater than , The first waiting threshold, This is the second waiting threshold.

6. The pneumatic wafer cone pressure adaptive forming method according to claim 1, characterized in that, S5 includes: S51. After receiving the pressing trigger command, the controller controls the main cylinder to drive the upper mold base to move down to the pre-contact position to complete the positioning. The main cylinder is used to drive the upper mold base to complete the approach, mold opening and return. After the main cylinder is in place, the pressurizing cylinder of each group of independent pneumatic pressurizing units applies forming pressure to the conical press head of this group. S52. The controller takes the larger of the estimated equivalent layer thickness parameters of each forming hole in the group as the representative value of the equivalent layer thickness of the group; when the difference between the larger and smaller values ​​of the estimated equivalent layer thickness parameters of each forming hole in the group exceeds the layer thickness difference threshold, the controller performs one or more of the following: group rearrangement, reducing the feed amount of thinner forming holes, shielding abnormal forming holes, or using a conservative pressure setting. S53. The controller calls the initial gas supply pressure level of the group from the preset pressure level table according to the thickness level of the equivalent layer thickness representative value of the group, and the proportional pressure regulating valve gives the gas supply pressure of the group. S54. The controller detects the displacement of the independent floating pressure beam through a displacement sensor and uses it as the forming depth of this group. When the forming depth is lower than the target depth range and the air supply pressure of this group has not reached the upper limit of the air supply pressure, the air supply pressure of this group is increased step by step according to the preset pressure increment. When the forming depth enters the target depth range and the forming depth change rate is lower than the set threshold, the pressure holding phase is entered. When the forming depth does not enter the target depth range and the forming depth change rate is lower than the set threshold, or the air supply pressure of this group reaches the upper limit of the air supply pressure, the pressing time reaches the upper limit of the pressing time, or the mold closing limit is triggered, the controller determines that the pressing is blocked or the billet is abnormal and performs abnormal processing. S55. After this pressing is completed, the controller adjusts the initial air supply pressure level of the group for the next pressing cycle by increasing, decreasing or maintaining the level based on the forming depth deviation of several consecutive cycles. S56. Each conical pressure head in this group floats axially individually via an elastic floating component to absorb the layer thickness difference of each forming hole in the group. When the forming depth of this group does not reach the target depth range, the controller first increases the air supply pressure of this group step by step according to the preset pressure increment to the upper limit of the air supply pressure. If it still does not reach the target depth, the pressurization is extended within the upper limit of the pressing time and the forming depth is continuously detected. When the air supply pressure of this group reaches the upper limit of the air supply pressure and the increase in forming depth is lower than the set threshold, it switches to abnormal processing to obtain a preliminary formed cone with a uniform wall thickness.

7. The pneumatic wafer cone pressure adaptive forming method according to claim 1, characterized in that, S6 includes: S61. After the conical press head presses the cone into place, the controller maintains the gas supply pressure of the group and holds the pressure for a preset time, so that the egg cone is shaped between the conical press head and the forming hole. S62. After the pressure holding period ends, the controller depressurizes the air circuits of each group of independent pneumatic pressurization units and controls the main cylinder to drive the upper mold base to rise, so that each conical pressure head exits the forming hole. S63. After the upper mold base rises and before ejection and demolding, the controller controls the cleaning mechanism to move laterally along the surface of the lower mold to remove overflow material, thin edge material and baking residue. The cleaning mechanism is selected from one or more of scraper, flexible scraper, air blowing component and negative pressure suction component to obtain clean forming holes and pre-formed egg cone after shaping.

8. The pneumatic wafer cone pressure adaptive forming method according to claim 1, characterized in that, S7 includes: S71. The controller drives the movable mold core ejection mechanism to cooperate with the forming hole to shape the mouth of the initial formed egg cone, eject and demold it, and collect the material to obtain the finished product. S72. The controller controls the machine vision device at the discharge end to acquire images of the finished product surface after white balance calibration using a white board at preset intervals under uniform light source and light shield conditions, and extracts CIEL within a preset detection area on the outer surface of the finished product. * Average brightness Background areas, damaged areas, and reflective areas are removed. When the image brightness exceeds the calibrated range, the image is re-acquired or removed. The browning index is calculated using the following formula: ； In the formula, For the first Each beat corresponds to the browning index of the finished product; For the first Each beat corresponds to a pre-set detection area on the outer surface of the finished product using CIEL. * Average brightness; For beat number; S73. The controller updates the tracking queue each time feeding, indexing, pressing, and ejection occurs. The tracking queue records the forming hole number, indexing position, feeding time, and pressing time. When a finished product is detected, the source forming hole and feeding batch of the finished product are determined according to the records in the tracking queue. When a forming hole is marked as an empty hole, the image is rejected, or no corresponding finished product is detected, the controller writes an empty record in the tracking queue and maintains the subsequent queue order. S74. The controller corrects the cycle time of the indexing conveyor according to the classification rules, using the average value, median value or statistical value after removing anomalies of the continuous effective finished product browning index as the basis for correction. When the statistical value is lower than the target browning range, the cycle time is extended; when it is higher than the target browning range, the cycle time is shortened; when it is within the target browning range, the cycle time remains unchanged. The cycle time correction amount and the upper and lower limits of the cycle time are given by the preset process parameter table. S75, when forming hole In continuous When the browning index of the forming hole exceeds the target browning range in all effective discharge cycles, the controller determines that the forming hole... If an anomaly is detected, the feed to the forming hole is blocked, and the forming hole is marked as an empty hole. When the empty hole passes through the pressing, ejection, and vision stations, an empty safety action is performed and written into the empty record. Empty holes are not included in browning statistics. When the mold closing and locking signal or the temperature of the partitioned mold surface at the indexing station remains abnormal, the controller determines that the indexing station is abnormal, suspends the forming action corresponding to that indexing station, or issues a shutdown alarm. The number of beats for continuous judgment. This refers to the sequence number of the forming hole; S76. When the feeding of a shielded unloaded hole is normal, the temperature of the mold surface of the heating zone is normal, and the browning index and molding depth of the trial product are within the allowable range, the controller removes the unloaded mark of the molding hole and resumes feeding. S77. The controller establishes a station status for each forming hole in the station status table. The station status includes at least the following: waiting to feed, already fed, heating, plasticity confirmed, waiting to press, pressing, holding pressure, waiting to eject, already ejected, no load, isolation, and recovery verification. The controller updates the station status of each forming hole and the control commands of the corresponding actuator at each indexing according to the migration conditions of each station status.

9. A pneumatic wafer cone pressure adaptive forming apparatus for implementing the method of any one of claims 1-8, characterized in that, This includes an industrial control system and actuators and sensing elements controlled by the industrial control system: The industrial control system includes an industrial controller, input / output modules, and human-machine parameter setting modules. The industrial controller is equipped with a workstation status table module, cycle time state machine module, interlock judgment module, zone temperature control module, pressure and stroke control module, visual feedback module, and abnormal isolation module. The actuators include a multi-channel quantitative feeding device, a zoned mold surface heating device, an indexing conveying mechanism, a mold closing and positioning locking mechanism, a main cylinder, each group of independent pneumatic pressurization units, a material clearing mechanism, a movable mold core ejection mechanism, and an alarm device; the detection elements include zoned mold surface temperature sensors, pressure sensors and displacement sensors of each group of independent pneumatic pressurization units, an encoder, a feeding temperature sensor, a feeding metering component, a reset detection component, and a machine vision device located at the discharge end; The device also includes a frame and a lower mold mounted on the frame. The lower mold has an array of forming holes and is divided into multiple heating zones. Heating devices and temperature sensors for each heating zone are set up for each zone. An upper mold base is provided above the lower mold and is driven to rise and fall by a main cylinder. Each set of conical pressure heads is axially floated on an independent floating pressure beam via an elastic floating component and corresponds to a set of forming holes in the lower mold. The elastic floating component causes the conical pressure heads to undergo slight axial displacement after contacting the blank, limits their downward stroke, and absorbs the layer thickness difference between the forming holes in the set. The proportional pressure regulating valve of each independent pneumatic pressurization unit is connected to the air source and the working chamber of the pressurization cylinder. The output end of the pressurization cylinder is connected to the independent floating pressurization beam. The pressure sensor detects the pressure in the working chamber of the pressurization cylinder or the air supply line, and the displacement sensor detects the displacement of the independent floating pressurization beam. The industrial control system performs sequential control, interlocking control, and closed-loop control on each actuator according to the signals from each detection element, based on the workstation status table module and the cycle time state machine module. The displacement sensor, pressure sensor, proportional pressure regulating valve, and pressurizing cylinder form a pressure and stroke closed loop under the control of the industrial controller, while the partition mold surface temperature sensor and partition mold surface heating device form a temperature closed loop under the control of the industrial controller.

10. The pneumatic wafer cone pressure adaptive forming device according to claim 9, characterized in that: The mold closing and positioning locking mechanism is used to lock the lower mold to the frame after the lower mold reaches the forming station below the upper mold base and before pressing begins. During pressing and holding, it restricts the relative displacement between the upper mold base and the lower mold. After holding, it releases and sends a release signal to the industrial controller as a condition for the indexing conveyor to start the next indexing. The multi-channel quantitative feeding device includes an independent on / off valve for each forming hole. Each independent on / off valve is connected to the abnormal isolation module. When the corresponding forming hole is determined to be abnormal, the abnormal isolation module blocks the feeding of the forming hole, marks the forming hole as an empty hole, and updates the station status table module. The machine vision device includes a whiteboard and a light shield. The whiteboard and light shield work with the industrial controller for white balance calibration and blocking ambient light. The alarm device is connected to the abnormal isolation module and is used to alarm when the forming hole or indexing station is abnormal.

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