Manufacturing of ammunition belt pin using a cold forming method

Abstract

The invention relates to a novel manufacturing method comprising a cold forming process step for manufacturing an ammunition belt pin.

Description

[0001] DESCRIPTION

[0002] MANUFACTURING OF AMMUNITION BEET PIN USING A COED FORMING METHOD

[0003] Technical Field

[0004] The invention relates to a novel manufacturing method comprising a cold forming process step for manufacturing an ammunition belt pin.

[0005] State of the Art

[0006] Currently, the ammunition belt pins are manufactured using two different methods in the technical field. One method is carried out by compressing and shaping metal powders in a die under certain conditions. The other is manufacturing using a cold forming method. Both methods are still used in the manufacturing of the part in the present technique. However, both methods have certain disadvantages.

[0007] In the first method, the ammunition belt pin is in the desired form. However, the final product is manufactured weaker in terms of strength, the manufacturing speed is lower and the manufacturing cost is higher.

[0008] In the second manufacturing method, which uses the cold forming method, the form that the manufacturer can make, rather than the form desired by the user, is compulsorily accepted. In order to transfer the product between the dies, an additional form is formed, which was not foreseen in the first place. This additional form causes the use of additional raw materials, and since it forms a small protrusion, it is evaluated that it may restrict the movements of the ammunition belt chain under certain movement conditions and may cause snags and / or strains. The initial investment and operation costs are high due to the characteristics of the machinery and die equipment required. Consequently, due to the above-mentioned drawbacks and the inadequacy of the existing solutions related thereto, it has become necessary to develop an improvement in the related technical field.

[0009] Brief Description of the Invention

[0010] The present invention relates to the manufacturing of an ammunition belt pin by a cold forming method, which meets the above-mentioned requirements, eliminates all of the disadvantages, and brings some additional advantages.

[0011] The invention is made inspired by the present state and aims to solve the above-mentioned disadvantages.

[0012] The main object of the invention is to develop a novel ammunition belt pin manufacturing method that eliminates some disadvantages caused by the manufacturing methods in the known state of the art. The manufacturing process and die structuring set forth by the present invention is a method that fully meets user needs and the desired product, has a higher strength than the method used in the known state of the art, and has lower manufacturing and raw material costs.

[0013] Within the scope of the invention; the method developed for the manufacturing of the ammunition belt pin comprises the use of original die designs made in a certain order with the operations of cold forging, which are known but have never been used in the manufacturing of this part.

[0014] The ammunition belt pin is a part that can be manufactured by very few companies throughout the world and is not being manufactured by any manufacturing method in Turkey. The manufacturing method and die designs applied within the scope of the invention have been successful in the manufacturing of the part in full compliance with the desired form by the cold forging method together with its alternatives. Considering the known state of the art, the present invention has the feature of being unique in the desired form by the cold forging method.

[0015] Although the cold forging method is known in the technical field, the part used in the manufacturing of the final product takes a different form and takes its final form at the final stage. The part used is obtained by geometric forms, the die suitable for this purpose, simulations and calculations carried out within the scope of the invention. In different embodiments of the invention, the process steps constituting the manufacturing method can be increased or decreased in accordance with specific purposes.

[0016] Within the scope of the invention, two different methods were determined for R&D purposes in order to manufacture the product by cold forging method.

[0017] First alternative: Using a spider (segmented / moving) die and cutting the product to the desired final stage at a single station.

[0018] Second alternative: Finishing in two stages as press and open press. Again in the press stage mentioned in this process;

[0019] • Forming the rectangular head part by using trimming and the cutting method directly inside the die by means of the cutting pin, which is called female and male,

[0020] • The rectangular head form can be made by upsetting without using the cutting method at all.

[0021] Since the number of processes is low and it is aimed to achieve the result in a single machine, the first alternative was considered in the first place. Three-dimensional design (CAD) and Finite Element Analysis (FEA) of this design showed that the die life of the product was low and the cylindrical shape of the product under the head could not be obtained at the desired level and tolerances, and could not be manufactured at the desired quality and efficiency.

[0022] In the design and analysis studies carried out for the second alternative, it was seen that even if the number of processes was increased to two, manufacturing could be made at the speeds targeted in the first alternative and with higher stability. In the press section of this method, it was first aimed to make the head part in the desired dimensions by using the upsetting method instead of trimming in order to reduce material consumption, and it has been achieved successfully. However, due to the head height of the product being thin, the forming by upsetting method requires the use of much more machine power and energy than the trimming method. Since it is foreseen that this machine spare parts consumption will cause an increase in energy consumption and a decrease in machine efficiency, as well as since it is easier and more stable to obtain the desired shape exactly in the trimming method, it has been decided that the head shape should not be given by upsetting. Until this stage, it was decided to use the second alternative and trimming method. Again, in order to increase the strength of the product and to manufacture a more robust product above the desired rupture values, the raw materials having a low diameter were not used, and the process was started with the extrusion (diameter reduction) method with the raw materials having a high diameter. Then, in the open press section, the final product was obtained by using two more stations after the 4 stations used in the first stage.

[0023] The structural and characteristic features and all advantages of the invention will be more clearly understood through the figures given below and the detailed description written with references to these figures, therefore, the evaluation should be made by considering these figures and detailed description.

[0024] Figures to Facilitate the Understanding of the Invention

[0025] In order to understand the structure and advantages of the present invention in the best way, it should be evaluated together with the figures described below.

[0026] Figure 1 shows the general diagram of the method subject to invention.

[0027] Figure 2 shows the stages the rivet goes through in the cold forging stage until it becomes a semi-finished product. The numbers 1-5 in the figure indicate the general view of the 5- station press line die design used until the semi-finished product stage.

[0028] Figure 3 shows the views of the semi-finished product that passes through the five-stage process at these stages. The numbers 1-5 in the figure indicate the different forms of the part.

[0029] Figure 4 shows the general view of the feeding system and die design in a 2-station open die system wherein the semi-finished product is transformed into the final product. The part shown with 1 in the figure indicates the feeding station and the parts shown with 2-5 indicate the die design. Figure 5 shows the stages of the material manufactured in the open die line cold forging process. The numbers 5-7 in the figure indicate the different forms of the part.

[0030] Reference Numbers

[0031] 10 R&D activity stage

[0032] 20 Raw material supplying stage

[0033] 30 First cold forging

[0034] 40 Deburring

[0035] 50 Second cold forging

[0036] 60 Deburring and washing

[0037] Detailed Description of the Invention

[0038] In this detailed description, preferred embodiments of the invention are described only for a better understanding of the subject matter.

[0039] The invention relates to a novel manufacturing method comprising a cold forming process step for manufacturing an ammunition belt pin. Figure 1 shows a general diagram of the method subject to invention.

[0040] In the studies carried out within the scope of the invention, firstly, feasibility analyses, making die designs, simulations and performing die manufacturing in accordance with the verified designs are carried out as R&D activities. Accordingly, raw materials are selected and supplied in order to provide the desired strength values. R&D activities are the step where the manufacturing method is developed and the designs are tested virtually with an advanced simulation program. In said step, die designs are completed and put into manufacturing. After the manufacturing of the die sets put into manufacturing is completed, they are connected to the press in accordance with the machine type, size, power and number of stations determined according to the design criteria at the design stage. It is important that the raw materials supplied have a quality that will provide the desired strength values and that they are connected to the press in the appropriate diameter. The stages that the rivet goes through with the operation of the press are given in Figure 2. In this process, which preferably consists of 5 stages (cold forging press line), the rivet takes the semi-finished form by means of the transfer system. This is a process step that is known from the state of the art.

[0041] After the 5-stage cold forging stage, the semi-finished product must be free of possible burrs in order to move easily in the feeding systems. For this purpose, it is subjected to a deburring process. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, in this process step, the semi-finished product is specially rotated in vibration tanks with or without abrasive stones in order to remove cutting burrs.

[0042] In the next process step, open die cold forging, which is a relatively less known / less used form of cold forging, is applied. This process step plays a key role for the part to be manufactured. Thanks to the invention, it is used for the first time in the manufacturing of this part. As a result, the unwanted resultant form is avoided, and the desired form is obtained directly. In addition, the use of this method eliminates the transfer problem experienced in the known state of the art, allowing both the saving of raw materials in the least, and the manufacturing of parts in the exact desired form. The semi-finished product obtained in the cold forging process described above is used as input and is transformed into the final product with the feeding system in the open die system shown in Figure 4. Figure 5 shows the stages of the material manufactured in the open die line cold forging process. In this way, the final product is in the desired form.

[0043] The final product coming out of said cold forging process step is subjected to deburring and washing process in order to remove the marks and burrs caused by the die technique used thereon. At this stage, the product is rotated in vibration tanks with abrasive stones. After this step, the product is manufactured within the desired tolerances and in accordance with the customer’s drawing.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A manufacturing method for manufacturing an ammunition belt pin, characterized in that it comprises the following process steps:• Connecting the rivet made of raw materials that provide the desired material requirement to the press in accordance with the determined machine type, size, power and number of stations in order to obtain the targeted and simulated final product,• Obtaining semi-finished products by giving the rivet connected to the press different geometric forms in the cold forging process step,• Deburring of the semi-finished product,• Cold forging in an open die system in order to prevent the unwanted resultant form and to obtain the desired form directly,• Deburring and washing of the product obtained.

2. The manufacturing method according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises the process step of passing the rivet through five different geometric form stages on the press line.

3. The manufacturing method according to claim 1, characterized in that the raw materials supplied have a structure to provide the desired strength values.

4. The manufacturing method according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises the process step of rotating the semi-finished product in vibration tanks with or without abrasive stones in the deburring process.

5. The manufacturing method according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises the process step of rotating in vibration tanks with abrasive stones in accordance with the purpose of deburring after the open die cold forging process.

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