Die casting machine

Abstract

A die casting machine, comprising a body, holding furnace, a collection container, a molten metal distribution device, and a contactor. The molten metal distribution device includes a tank, a collector having a collecting claw at an end thereof, and a position adjuster. The collector is configured to rotate between a collecting position for scraping off a unnecessary material floating on a liquid surface in the holding furnace with the collecting claw and a discarding position for dropping the unnecessary material that is scraped off from the collecting claw. The position adjuster is configured to rotate with the collector and rotate in contact with the contactor, during movement of the molten metal distribution device, to change a position of the collector from the collecting position to the discarding position.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2025-051217 filed on Mar. 26, 2025, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety including the specification, claims, drawings, and abstract.TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] This specification discloses a die casting machine capable of removing unnecessary materials from a molten metal stored in a holding furnace.BACKGROUND

[0003] As is well known, in a die casting machine, molten metal is poured into a cavity space between a fixed die and a moving die. In order to smoothly perform the die casting process, a holding furnace storing the molten metal at an appropriate temperature is provided in the vicinity of the die casting machine. Unnecessary materials such as oxides are generated on the surface of the molten metal stored in the holding furnace. When such unnecessary materials accumulate on the wall surface of the holding furnace, the characteristics of the holding furnace change, and the quality of the molten metal deteriorates.

[0004] Thus, conventionally, an operator has periodically scraped off unnecessary materials from the surface of the molten metal. However, such work is burdensome to the operator. Therefore, some techniques have been proposed for automatically removing unnecessary materials from the molten metal in the holding furnace. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a removal device installed in a holding furnace. The removal device includes a chain driven by a motor and a removal member attached to the chain. As the chain rotates and moves, the removal member moves in the molten metal and then moves above the liquid surface. In the course of this movement, unnecessary materials are removed from the molten metal. According to such a technique, unnecessary materials can be easily removed from the molten metal.

[0005] However, in the technique of Patent Document 1, the processing of the unnecessary material collected by the removal member has not been sufficiently studied. Therefore, in the related art such as Patent Document 1, an operation for collecting the unnecessary material recovered from the molten metal is separately required. As a result, in the related art, the burden on the operator cannot be sufficiently reduced.

[0006] Therefore, the present specification discloses a die casting machine capable of more easily removing unnecessary materials from molten metal held in a holding furnace.CITATION LIST

[0007] PATENT DOCUMENT 1: JP2001-276965 ASUMMARY

[0008] A die casting machine disclosed in this specification comprising: a body configured to perform a die casting process; a holding furnace configured to store molten metal to be supplied to the body; a collection container configured to receive unnecessary material collected from the holding furnace; a molten metal distribution device configured to supply molten metal to the holding furnace while moving; and a contactor configured to contact a part of the molten metal distribution device during movement of the molten metal distribution device, wherein the molten metal distribution device includes: a tank storing the molten metal; a collector having a collecting claw at an end thereof, the collector being configured to rotate between a collecting position for scraping off the unnecessary material floating on a liquid surface in the holding furnace with the collecting claw and a discarding position for dropping the unnecessary material that is scraped off from the collecting claw; and a position adjuster configure to rotate with the collector and rotate in contact with the contactor, during movement of the molten metal distribution device, to change a position of the collector from the collecting position to the discarding position, and wherein the contactor is disposed at a location where the contactor contacts the position adjuster when the collector passes over the collection container.

[0009] In this case, the molten metal distribution device may further include an elevating mechanism configured to move the collector up and down, and the elevating mechanism may temporarily lowers the collector to place the collecting claw slightly below the liquid surface during movement of the collector inside the holding furnace.

[0010] And at least a part of the collector including the collecting claw may be coated with release agent.

[0011] The contactor may be disposed at a location where the contactor overlaps with at least a part of the position adjuster and does not overlap the collector when viewed in a direction parallel to a movement route of the molten metal distribution device.

[0012] The molten metal distribution device may further include a discharge port through which the molten metal is discharged from the tank into the holding furnace, the collector is located upstream of the discharge port in a movement route of the molten metal distribution device, and the molten metal distribution device may be configured to supply the molten metal to the holding furnace until the liquid surface of the holding furnace reaches a prescribed level, prior to scraping of the unnecessary material by the collector.

[0013] According to the technology disclosed in this specification, it is possible to easily collect and discard unnecessary materials. As a result, unnecessary materials can be more easily removed from the molten metal held in the holding furnace.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0014] Embodiment(s) of the present disclosure will be described based on the following figures, wherein:

[0015] FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing an arrangement of a die casting machine;

[0016] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the periphery of a holding furnace;

[0017] FIG. 3 is a front view of the periphery of the holding furnace;

[0018] FIG. 4 is a side view of the periphery of the holding furnace;

[0019] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the flow of the first half of the process of collecting unnecessary materials; and

[0020] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the flow of the latter half of the process of collecting unnecessary matter.DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0021] Hereinafter, a configuration of the die casting machine 10 will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing an arrangement of a die casting machine 10. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the periphery of the holding furnace 20. Further, FIG. 3 is a front view of the periphery of the holding furnace 20, and FIG. 4 is a side view of the periphery of the holding furnace 20. In the following description, a state viewed from a direction parallel to the movement route Rm of the molten metal distribution device 40 is referred to as a “front view”, and a state viewed from a direction orthogonal to the movement route Rm is referred to as a “side view”. In FIGS. 3 and 4, the holding furnace 20 and the collection container 30 are shown in a cutaway manner.

[0022] The die casting machine 10 includes a body 12, a holding furnace 20, a collection container 30, and a molten metal distribution device 40. The body 12 of the die casting machine 10 has a fixed die 14 and a moving die 16. The die casting process is carried out in this body 12. In the die casting process, the molten metal 100 is supplied to the cavity space between the fixed die 14 and the moving die 16. Then, the molten metal is cooled in the cavity space, so that a die-cast product is manufactured. Although the metal used as the material of the molten metal 100 is not particularly limited, for example, the main component of the molten metal 100 may be aluminum.

[0023] The holding furnace 20 and the collection container 30 are disposed in the vicinity of the body 12. The holding furnace 20 keeps the molten metal 100 at an appropriate temperature. The holding furnace 20 supplies the molten metal 100 to the body 12 in response to a request from the body 12. Therefore, although not shown in the drawings, a supply pipe through which the molten metal 100 flows is disposed between the holding furnace 20 and the body 12.

[0024] An opening 22 is formed in the upper surface of the holding furnace 20 to receive the supply of the molten metal 100 from the molten metal distribution device 40 described later. In the drawing, the entire upper surface of the holding furnace 20 is opened. However, the size of the opening 22 is not particularly limited. Therefore, only a part of the upper surface of the holding furnace 20 may be opened, and the remaining part may be covered with the lid member. In the drawings, the holding furnace 20 has a simple box shape, but the shape of the holding furnace 20 may be appropriately changed.

[0025] Here, as described above, the molten metal 100 is stored in the holding furnace 20. When the liquid surface of the molten metal 100 comes into contact with air, an oxide or a nitrogen compound is generated. The unnecessary material 102 (see FIG. 5) such as an oxide is recovered by the molten metal distribution device 40 described later. The collected unnecessary material 102 is discarded in the collection container 30. The collection container 30 is disposed adjacent to the holding furnace 20. An opening 32 through which the unnecessary material 102 is introduced is formed in the upper surface of the collection container 30. The shape of the collection container 30 may also be appropriately changed. The collection container 30 may be configured to be movable as necessary. For example, the collection container 30 may have wheels. In this case, if a large amount of the unnecessary material 102 is accumulated in the collection container 30, the unnecessary material 102 may be transported to a disposal place together with the collection container 30. Note that, as described later in detail, the molten metal distribution device 40 moves along the prescribed movement route Rm. The collection container 30 is disposed downstream of the holding furnace 20 in the movement route Rm.

[0026] The molten metal distribution device 40 supplies the molten metal 100 produced in a melting furnace (not shown) to the holding furnace 20. In order to enable this supply, the molten metal distribution device 40 moves along a predefined movement route Rm from the melting furnace to the holding furnace 20. The molten metal distribution device 40 includes a self-propelled unit 42, a tank 44, and a controller 66. The self-propelled unit 42 is a unit that autonomously moves the molten metal distribution device 40 along the movement route Rm. For example, the self-propelled unit 42 includes a plurality of wheels, a motor that drives the wheels, a plurality of sensors (not shown) that detect a state around the molten metal distribution device 40, and a controller (not shown) that controls driving of the motors. The controller of the self-propelled unit 42 automatically controls acceleration / deceleration and steering of the molten metal distribution device 40 according to the surrounding situation detected by the sensor. By mounting the self-propelled unit 42 in the molten metal distribution device 40, the supply of the molten metal 100 from the melting furnace to the holding furnace 20 can be automated, and the burden on the operator can be reduced. The configuration of the self-propelled unit 42 is merely an example, and may be appropriately changed. The molten metal distribution device 40 may not be able to autonomously travel as long as it can move along the movement route Rm. For example, the molten metal distribution device 40 may be boardable by an operator, and the molten metal distribution device 40 may be configured to receive an operation by the operator. Further, the molten metal distribution device 40 may be configured to be remotely operated by an operator who is located away from the molten metal distribution device 40.

[0027] The tank 44 stores the molten metal 100 supplied from the melting furnace. A discharge pipe 46 is connected to a side surface of the tank 44, that is, an end surface in a direction orthogonal to the movement route Rm. The molten metal 100 in the tank 44 is discharged from a discharge port 48 which is a terminal end of the discharge pipe 46. The controller 66 opens the discharge port 48 and supplies the molten metal 100 to the holding furnace 20 at a timing when the discharge port 48 is located directly above the opening 22 of the holding furnace 20. In order to manage the supply amount, the controller 66 may have a sensor (not shown) that detects the height of the liquid level in the holding furnace 20 (hereinafter referred to as “metal level Hm”). The sensor may be, for example, a camera that captures an image of the liquid surface or a weight sensor that detects the weight of the molten metal 100 in the holding furnace 20. In any case, the controller 66 may stop the supply of the molten metal 100 when the metal level Hm detected by the sensor reaches a prescribed reference value.

[0028] The controller 66 controls driving of the molten metal distribution device 40. The controller 66 is, for example, a computer having a processor and a memory. The controller 66 may have a communication function and may receive detection results of various sensors wirelessly or wiredly. The controller 66 controls the driving of the self-propelled unit 42 and the discharging mechanism of the tank 44. The controller 66 also controls the driving of the elevating mechanism 50, which will be described later.

[0029] The molten metal distribution device 40 of the present example further has a mechanism for collecting the unnecessary material 102 from the molten metal 100 in the holding furnace 20. That is, as described above, when the liquid surface of the molten metal 100 comes into contact with air, the molten metal and oxygen react with each other to generate an oxide. Further, the oxide reacts with air to generate a nitrogen compound. When such an unnecessary material 102 which is an oxide or a nitrogen compound accumulates on the wall surface of the holding furnace 20, the characteristics of the holding furnace 20 change, and the thermal efficiency decreases. Therefore, it is necessary to periodically remove the unnecessary material 102 from the molten metal 100. Conventionally, such removal of the unnecessary material 102 is manually performed by an operator. However, manual work is burdensome to the operator.

[0030] Therefore, in this example, a mechanism for collecting the unnecessary material 102 is mounted on the molten metal distribution device 40, and the unnecessary material 102 is automatically collected. Hereinafter, the configuration related to the collection of the unnecessary material 102 will be described in detail. In order to collect the unnecessary material 102, the molten metal distribution device 40 includes an elevating mechanism 50, a collector 58, and a position adjuster 64. A contactor 70 that contacts the position adjuster 64 is provided in the vicinity of the collection container 30. The elevating mechanism 50 is a mechanism for changing the height of the collector 58. For example, the elevating mechanism 50 lifts and lowers the collector 58 between a first height H1 and a second height H2 lower than the first height H1. The first height H1 is a height at which the lower end of the collector 58 is higher than the upper surface of the holding furnace 20 and the upper surface of the collection container 30. The second height H2 is a height at which the lower end of the collector 58 becomes substantially the same as the metal level Hm. In the present example, the elevating mechanism 50 includes a hydraulic cylinder 52 having a piston capable of vertical reciprocation. However, the configuration of the elevating mechanism 50 may be appropriately changed. For example, the elevating mechanism 50 may be a linear motion mechanism including a ball screw and a motor that rotates the ball screw.

[0031] A support shaft 54 extending in the horizontal direction is coupled to the elevating mechanism 50. The support shaft 54 extends in a direction orthogonal to the movement route Rm, in other words, in a direction parallel to the protruding direction of the discharge pipe 46. A collector 58 and a position adjuster 64 are coupled to the support shaft 54 via a hinge 56 (see FIG. 3). The support shaft 54 and thus the collector 58 are disposed on the upstream side of the discharge port 48 in the movement route Rm.

[0032] The collector 58 collects the unnecessary material 102 from the liquid surface of the holding furnace 20. The collector 58 includes a base plate 60 and a collecting claw 62. The base plate 60 is a substantially flat plate-shaped member extending downward from the support shaft 54. The collecting claw 62 is a projection protruding from the lower end of the base plate 60 toward the downstream side in the movement direction. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the collecting claw 62 may have a substantially triangular cross section that becomes thinner toward the terminal end. The width of the collector 58 is substantially the same as the width of the opening 22 of the holding furnace 20.

[0033] The collector 58 scrapes off the unnecessary material 102 from the liquid surface of the holding furnace 20 as described in detail later. Further, the molten metal distribution device 40 causes the scraped unnecessary material 102 to fall from the collector 58 to the collection container 30. In order to easily drop the unnecessary material 102, a release agent may be applied to the collector 58. The release agent is a material applied to the surface of the mold for the purpose of preventing burning of the molten metal. As a main component of such a release agent, for example, graphite, silicone, or zircon flour is used. In addition, the release agent does not need to be applied to the entire collector 58, and may be applied only to a portion in contact with the molten metal 100. For example, the release agent may be applied only to the collecting claw 62.

[0034] The collector 58 is connected to the support shaft 54 via a hinge 56, and is rotatable with respect to the support shaft 54. When no external force is input, the collector 58 takes the collecting position Pc shown in FIGS. 2 and 4. At the collecting position Pc, the surface of the base plate 60 is substantially parallel to the gravity, and the collecting claw 62 faces substantially in the horizontal direction. As described later in detail, when the position adjuster 64 climbs over the contactor 70, the collector 58 takes the discarding position Pd shown in the upper part of FIG. 6. In the case of the discarding position Pd, the surface of the base plate 60 is substantially parallel to the horizontal direction, and the collecting claw 62 faces downward.

[0035] The position adjuster 64 is coupled to the collector 58 and rotates with the collector 58. Similarly to the base plate 60, the position adjuster 64 is a substantially flat plate-shaped member extending downward from the support shaft 54. However, the position adjuster 64 is smaller than the base plate 60. Specifically, the lower end of the position adjuster 64 is sufficiently higher than the upper end of the holding furnace 20 and the upper end of the collection container 30. Therefore, the position adjuster 64 does not interfere with the holding furnace 20 and the collection container 30 even when the collector 58 is lowered to the second height H2.

[0036] The contactor 70 is a member that comes into contact with the position adjuster 64 as the molten metal distribution device 40 moves along the movement route Rm. For example, the contactor 70 may be a pillar member that stands from the floor surface and may have an L-shaped tip. In addition, the contactor 70 may be attached to the collection container 30 instead of the floor surface. In any case, the contactor 70 has a position and a shape that are in contact with the position adjuster 64 while not in contact with the collector 58 as the molten metal distribution device 40 moves along the movement route Rm. That is, when viewed from the front, the contactor 70 is located outside the collector 58 in the width direction and partially overlaps the position adjuster 64. The contactor 70 is located on the opposite side of the molten metal distribution device 40 across the collection container 30. With this arrangement, the contactor 70 does not interfere with the discharge pipe 46 and the support shaft 54.

[0037] Next, a flow of collecting the unnecessary material 102 by the molten metal distribution device 40 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6. The molten metal distribution device 40 moves to the vicinity of the holding furnace 20 along the movement route Rm. Then, the molten metal 100 is discharged from the discharge port 48 in a state where the discharge port 48 is located directly above the opening 22 of the holding furnace 20, and the molten metal 100 is supplied to the holding furnace 20. As a result, the metal level Hm becomes a predetermined reference height.

[0038] When the molten metal 100 can be supplied, the molten metal distribution device 40 advances along the movement route Rm. At this time, the collector 58 has the first height H1. Therefore, the collector 58 can move to just above the opening 32 without interfering with the wall surface of the holding furnace 20. When the collector 58 reaches the vicinity of the front end of the opening 22, the controller 66 drives the elevating mechanism 50 to lower the collector 58 to the second height H2. As a result, as shown in the upper part of FIG. 5, the collecting claw 62 enters slightly below the liquid surface of the molten metal 100. In this state, the controller 66 further advances the molten metal distribution device 40 as shown in the lower part of FIG. 5. As a result, the unnecessary material 102 floating on the liquid surface is scraped off with the collecting claw 62. When the collector 58 reaches the vicinity of the rear end of the opening 22, the controller 66 drives the elevating mechanism 50 to raise the collector 58 to the first height H1 as indicated by the broken line in the upper part of FIG. 6. At this time, the collecting claw 62 of the collector 58 holds the scraped unnecessary material 102.

[0039] Note that a passage sensor 72 that detects passage of the collector 58 may be provided in order to grasp the timing of driving the elevating mechanism 50. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the passage sensor 72 may be provided in the vicinity of the front end and the vicinity of the rear end of the holding furnace 20. The passage sensor 72 may be, for example, a contact sensor that detects passage of the collector 58 by contacting the collector 58, or a non-contact sensor that detects passage of the collector 58 in a non-contact manner using light or sound waves.

[0040] Subsequently, the controller 66 further advances the molten metal distribution device 40. Along with this forward movement, as shown in the upper part of FIG. 6, the position adjuster 64 comes into contact with the contactor 70. As a result, the position adjuster 64 and the collector 58 largely rotate around the horizontal axis. By this rotating, the collector 58 is changed from the collecting position Pc to the discarding position Pd. In the case of the discarding position Pd, since the collecting claw 62 faces downward, the unnecessary material 102 held by the collecting claw 62 falls downward. The collection container 30 receives the dropped unnecessary material 102. Thereafter, the molten metal distribution device 40 further advances, and the position adjuster 64 climbs over the contactor 70. As a result, as shown in the lower part of FIG. 6, the collector 58 automatically returns to the collecting position Pc by its own weight. Thereafter, the molten metal distribution device 40 may return to the melting furnace, or may further move to another holding furnace 20, and the supply of the molten metal 100 and the collection of the unnecessary material 102 may be performed in another holding furnace 20. When the collector 58 is vigorously swung at the time of returning to the collecting position Pc, there is a possibility that foreign matter or droplets of molten metal are scattered to the surroundings. Therefore, a damper may be incorporated in the hinge 56 in order to suppress the momentum of the rotating of the collector 58.

[0041] As is clear from the above description, according to this example, the position of the collector 58 is changed by using the movement of the molten metal distribution device 40. As a result, the unnecessary material 102 is automatically scraped off and discarded into the collection container 30 without the operator performing a special operation. As a result, the burden on the operator can be significantly reduced. In this example, the collector 58 is disposed upstream of the discharge port 48. Prior to scraping off the unnecessary material 102, the molten metal 100 is discharged to set the metal level Hm to a predetermined reference value. As a result, the metal level Hm and the second height H2 when scraping off the unnecessary material 102 can be kept substantially constant. As a result, control related to lifting and lowering of the collector 58 can be simplified.

[0042] The above description is an example, and other configurations may be changed as long as the configuration described in claim 1 is provided. For example, the shape of the collector 58 may be appropriately changed as long as it has the collecting claw 62. For example, the collector 58 may have a block shape instead of a plate shape. The position adjuster 64 may be separated from the collector 58 as long as it swings together with the collector 58. In the above description, the elevating mechanism 50 for lifting and lowering the collector 58 is provided. However, other mechanisms may be provided as long as the collector 58 can climb over the wall surface of the holding furnace 20 and the wall surface of the collection container 30. For example, an elastic body that can expand and contract in the vertical direction may be disposed at the base of the collector 58, and a gradient that converts a force in the horizontal direction into a force in the vertical direction may be provided on the wall surface of the holding furnace 20 and the wall surface of the collection container 30. In addition, prior to the collection of the unnecessary material 102, a flux treatment may be performed in which a chloride called a flux is introduced into the holding furnace 20. When the flux treatment is performed, the metal component is detached from the oxide, and is converted into a substance called slag or dross. The collector 58 may collect the slag or dross.REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

[0043] 10 die casting machine, 12 body, 14 fixed die, 16 moving die, 20 holding furnace, 22 opening, 30 collection container, 32 opening, 40 molten metal distribution device, 42 self-propelled unit, 44 tank, 46 discharge pipe, 48 discharge port, 50 elevating mechanism, 52 hydraulic cylinder, 54 support shaft, 56 hinge, 58 collector, 60 base plate, 62 collecting claw, 64 position adjuster, 66 controller, 70 contactor, 72 passage sensor, 100 molten metal, 102 unnecessary material.

Claims

1. A die casting machine, comprising:a body configured to perform a die casting process;a holding furnace configured to store molten metal to be supplied to the body;a collection container configured to receive unnecessary material collected from the holding furnace;a molten metal distribution device configured to supply molten metal to the holding furnace while moving; anda contactor configured to contact a part of the molten metal distribution device during movement of the molten metal distribution device, wherein the molten metal distribution device includes:a tank storing the molten metal;a collector having a collecting claw at an end thereof, the collector being configured to rotate between a collecting position for scraping off the unnecessary material floating on a liquid surface in the holding furnace with the collecting claw and a discarding position for dropping the unnecessary material that is scraped off from the collecting claw; anda position adjuster configure to rotate with the collector and rotate in contact with the contactor, during movement of the molten metal distribution device, to change a position of the collector from the collecting position to the discarding position, andwherein the contactor is disposed at a location where the contactor contacts the position adjuster when the collector passes over the collection container.

2. The die casting machine according to claim 1, whereinthe molten metal distribution device further includes an elevating mechanism configured to move the collector up and down, andthe elevating mechanism temporarily lowers the collector to place the collecting claw slightly below the liquid surface during movement of the collector inside the holding furnace.

3. The die casting machine according to claim 1, whereinat least a part of the collector including the collecting claw is coated with release agent.

4. The die casting machine according to claim 1, whereinthe contactor is disposed at a location where the contactor overlaps with at least a part of the position adjuster and does not overlap the collector when viewed in a direction parallel to a movement route of the molten metal distribution device.

5. The die casting machine according to claim 1, whereinthe molten metal distribution device further includes a discharge port through which the molten metal is discharged from the tank into the holding furnace,the collector is located upstream of the discharge port in a movement route of the molten metal distribution device, andthe molten metal distribution device is configured to supply the molten metal to the holding furnace until the liquid surface of the holding furnace reaches a prescribed level, prior to scraping of the unnecessary material by the collector.

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