Testing mould to test micro- and nano-coatings on al and fe materials

Abstract

The invention relates to a testing mould to test micro- and nano-coatings on Al and Fe materials during product pressing, particularly in a vulcanisation mould. The testing mould comprises at least three Al-alloy testing inserts and three Al-alloy testing inserts with Fe fins having the same composition as the moulds for pressing the finished products themselves, wherein at least two Al-alloy testing inserts and at least two Al-alloy testing inserts with Fe fins are provided with coatings. The testing inserts correspond to moulds for pressing finished products selected from the groups of tyres, shoe soles, and mats.

Description

Title of Invention: Testing mould to test micro- and nano-coatings on A1 and Fe materials.Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a testing mould to test micro- and nano-coatings on A1 and Fe materials during product pressing, particularly in a vulcanisation mould.Background Art

[0002] Currently, aluminium alloys are used to manufacture metal moulds for tyre production, especially for summer tyre moulds, or a combination of aluminium alloy and stainless-steel fins, especially for winter tyre moulds. The metal mould is composed of a certain number of segments, usually ranging from 8 to 36 depending on the size of a tyre being produced. The metal mould surface is not finished with any surface treatment technology. The moulds are used to produce tyres by vulcanising a mixture of organic substances at higher temperatures, i.e., 150°C to 170°C. After a certain number of cycles, i.e., the number of tyres produced, the individual segments of the metal mould are necessary to be cleaned. The production shutdown to clean the equipment, the metal mould is an essential part of which, takes several days. The in creasing number of cleaning cycles shortens the life of the moulds, being one of the primary cost burdens in tyre production. During the cleaning cycle, a given type of tyres is not produced, affecting the productivity of the production company. Similar moulds, in terms of the material used, are also used in producing rubber soles for footwear or mats and the like.

[0003] In recent years, surface treatment operations of functional surfaces by micro- and nano-coating have been introduced into the technology of production of metal moulds made of the types of alloys mentioned above. These surface treatment operations should extend the life of the moulds, reduce the frequency of cleaning thereof required, and improve the surface quality of the resulting products. Currently, the testing of new micro- and nano-coatings is performed directly on the mould produced, during which the individual mould segments are subjected to a coating process. This testing method has several disadvantages and does not allow an uncoated mould to be tested and compared with a coated mould under the same conditions. This method is eco nomically demanding as the price of the mould ranges from CZK 0.6 to 1.2 million. Only one mould and one type of material can be tested simultaneously, e.g., with or without Fe fins, which makes the whole process more expensive and time-consuming. Virtually, there is no so-called testing mould on the market that would eliminate these disadvantages and allow multiple surfaces and material types to be tested andcompared simultaneously.

[0004] Currently, there is no known solution for testing micro- and nano-coatings on A1 and Fe materials that would allow for the operational testing of multiple new micro- and nano-coatings simultaneously. Testing and checking are carried out directly on the produced A1 mould or A1 mould with Fe fins intended for finished production. This is highly cost- ineffective as the coating has to be done on all segments, i.e., 8 to 36 pieces, and only one variant is tested. With the testing mould, 6 variants are possible to be tested simultaneously, meaning 6 times lower testing costs, especially in terms of energy and labour, and material consumption. The test price for the testing mould for 2,400 pieces of mouldings is CZK 85,000; when testing directly on finished moulds, the price is CZK 510,000, i.e., 6 times more. The price of one finished mould for production is CZK 0.7 to 1.2 million; the price of the testing mould is only CZK 292,000.Summary of Invention

[0005] The drawbacks mentioned above are eliminated by the testing mould to test micro- and nano-coatings on A1 and Fe materials during product pressing, particularly in a vulcanisation mould according to the invention. Summary of this invention consists in that the testing mould comprises at least three Al-alloy testing inserts and three Al- alloy testing inserts with Fe fins having the same composition as the moulds for pressing the finished products themselves, wherein at least two Al-alloy testing inserts and at least two Al-alloy testing inserts with Fe fins are coated, i.e., six different variants in total.

[0006] The testing inserts correspond to moulds for pressing finished products selected from the groups of tyres, shoe soles, and mats.

[0007] The present invention introduces a so-called testing mould into the process of micro- and nano-coating; this mould is made of segments of the same composition as the moulds produced for the technology of manufacturing the finished products themselves, i.e., tyres, shoe soles, mats, etc. The advantage of the testing mould consists in those three different coatings on the inserts or two inserts with coating and one insert without coating are possible to be tested at the same time for comparison purposes, and this can be done in combination on the A1 mould only or the A1 mould with Fe fins. The complete assembled testing mould usually comprises three Al-alloy testing inserts and three Al-alloy testing inserts with Fe fins. Therefore, the mould allows six different combinations to be tested at the same time within a single process, effectively reducing the financial cost of testing and examining multiple micro- and nano-coatings at the same time and comparing them to each other but also testing under the same conditions and shortening the overall process time.

[0008] In addition to the already mentioned economic advantage, i.e., 6 times lower costs of testing itself and low cost of the testing equipment compared to the form used in production, the testing equipment's low maintenance and cleaning requirements are also a great advantage. The ability to test and compare six variants simultaneously under exactly the same technical conditions also represents a great benefit. Also, the cost of the produced testing mould is 3 to 7 times lower compared to the production of one mould for the finished production, wherein testing directly on the production mould is moreover impractical in terms of the exclusion thereof from the production process for a certain period, generating losses in production.Brief Description of Drawings

[0009] The testing mould to test micro- and nano-coatings on A1 and Fe materials during product pressing, in particular in the vulcanisation mould, according to the present invention will be described in more detail in a particular exemplary embodiment referring to the accompanying drawings. [Fig.l] is an outline of the complete testing mould consisting of six testing inserts ready to test. [Fig.2] is an outline of one of the testing inserts after coating. [Fig.3] is an outline of moulding from the test of the testing mould. [Fig.4a] shows the mould in elevation and Fig. 4b in the side elevation.

[0010] All drawing documentation is included in the appendices. Two images are also included in the appendix, showing the produced testing mould without testing tread pattern inserts and the complete testing mould with 6 testing tread inserts that can be changed to fit the changing tread pattern shape.Examples of the Invention Embodiments

[0011] An exemplary testing mould to test micro- and nano-coatings on A1 and Fe materials during product pressing in a vulcanisation mould comprises three Al-alloy testing inserts and three Al-alloy testing inserts with Fe fins, which have the same composition as the moulds for pressing the finished products themselves, wherein two Al-alloy testing inserts and two Al-alloy testing inserts with Fe fins are provided with nano coatings. The testing inserts correspond to moulds used for pressing the fini hed products, i.e., tyres.

[0012] The overall description and procedure of the vulcanisation mould production technology, including the materials used for testing the micro- and nano-coatings, are specified in Table 1. The base plate for fitting the individual inserts is made by AlSilOMg material casting, followed by machining of the functional surfaces, par ticularly milling, turning, and drilling, to achieve the required surface quality and di mensional accuracy. The inserts, six pieces in total, were produced by the low-pressure casting of AlMg4.5Mn material, subjected to heat treatment by hardening and me chanically machined by blasting before coating. The fin material is made of an alloybased on 1.4301, and the handles on the base plate are made of steel of grade 11.

[0013] The testing mould assembled in such a way was successfully tested in producing specific rubber-compound semifinished products for the needs of individual moulds by pressing and the final product, i.e., the moulding, shown in [Fig.3]. The products produced in such a way can be compared with each other and subjected to further qualitative examination.

[0014] Table 1. Overall description of the technology for the vulcanisation mould production to test the micro- and nano-coatings

[0015] An example mould size is 400 x 380 x 54 mm, and the insert size is 90 x 100 mm.Industrial Applicability

[0016] The testing mould to test micro- and nano-coatings on A1 and Fe materials during product pressing, in particular in a vulcanisation mould, according to the present invention, will find the application mainly in the automotive and textile industries to test the moulds which have been coated during the manufacture of products made of vulcanisation compound, such as tyres, shoe soles, mats, etc.

Claims

Claims

1. A testing mould to test micro- and nano-coatings on A1 and Fe materials during product pressing, in particular in a vulcanisation mould, characterised in that the testing mould comprises at least three Al-alloy testing inserts and three Al-alloy testing inserts with Fe fins, which have the same composition as the moulds for pressing the finished products themselves, wherein at least two Al-alloy testing inserts and at least two Al-alloy testing inserts with Fe fins are provided with coatings.

2. The testing mould according to claim 1, characterised in that the testing inserts correspond to moulds for pressing finished products selected from the group consisting of tyres, shoe soles, and mats.

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