Casting Unit for a Die Casting Machine

Abstract

A casting unit for a die casting machine has a casting container with a casting chamber, a casting piston, which is arranged in an axially movable manner in the casting chamber, a melt bath connection opening, a melt inlet channel from the melt bath connection opening to the casting chamber, a melt outlet channel, which leads out of the casting chamber separately from the melt inlet channel, and a shut-off control valve for the melt inlet channel. The shut-off control valve has a valve main body arranged on the casting container, a valve seat and a valve closing body. The valve main body is held on the casting container at a lateral valve assembly region of the casting container in a manner accessible from the outside and includes the melt bath connection opening, and/or the casting piston is of a spool type, and the shut-off control valve is located with its valve closing body in the melt inlet channel at a flow-technical distance from the melt bath connection opening on the one hand and from the casting chamber on the other hand.

Claims

1. A casting unit for a die casting machine, comprising: a casting container with a casting chamber; a casting piston, which is arranged in an axially movably manner in the casting chamber; a melt bath connection opening; a melt inlet channel from the melt bath connection opening to the casting chamber; a melt outlet channel, which leads out of the casting chamber separately from the melt inlet channel; and a shut-off control valve for the melt inlet channel, the shut-off control valve comprising a valve main body, which is arranged on the casting container and has a valve seat, and a valve closing body which is movable relative to the valve seat between an open position and a closed position, wherein the valve main body is held on the casting container at a lateral valve assembly region of the casting container in a manner accessible from outside and comprises the melt bath connection opening.

2. The casting unit according to claim 1, wherein the casting piston is of a spool type, and the shut-off control valve is located with its valve closing body in the melt inlet channel at a flow-technical distance behind the melt bath connection opening on the one hand and in front of the casting chamber on the other hand.

3. The casting unit according to claim 1, wherein the valve main body of the shut-off control valve is held on the casting container by a detachable connection.

4. The casting unit according to claim 1, wherein the valve assembly region of the casting container is formed by a valve receiving space with a laterally outwardly facing access side, and the valve main body of the shut-off control valve is inserted into the valve receiving space laterally from the outside via the access side.

5. The casting unit according to claim 4, wherein the valve main body is inserted into the valve receiving space with a downwardly pointing valve outlet, and the melt inlet channel continues from the valve outlet with a channel portion in the casting container which leads downwardly out of the valve receiving space.

6. The casting unit according to claim 5, wherein the valve main body is held in a clamped-in manner in the vertical direction in the valve receiving space by a detachable clamping connection and on an underside bears against a seal which seals the valve outlet.

7. The casting unit according to claim 1, wherein the shut-off control valve has a control rod, which is guided in a translatory-movable manner on the valve main body, at one end bears the valve closing body and with its other end extends out of the valve main body and out of the casting container through a rod passage opening in the casting container.

8. The casting unit according to claim 7, wherein the control rod is arranged with its rod longitudinal axis parallel to a longitudinal axis of the casting piston.

9. The casting unit according to claim 7, further comprising: a lateral control rod insertion slot in the casting container for lateral insertion of the control rod into the valve receiving space of the casting container and for lateral removal from the same.

10. The casting unit according to claim 1, wherein the melt inlet channel contains at least one transverse bore in the valve main body that forms the melt bath connection opening on an inlet side and opens out into a longitudinal bore in the valve main body on an outlet side, through which bore the control rod extends and which bore forms the valve seat on the outlet side.

11. A casting unit for a die casting machine, comprising: a casting container with a casting chamber; a casting piston, which is arranged in an axially movably manner in the casting chamber; a melt bath connection opening; a melt inlet channel from the melt bath connection opening to the casting chamber; a melt outlet channel, which leads out of the casting chamber separately from the melt inlet channel; and a shut-off control valve for the melt inlet channel, the shut-off control valve comprising a valve main body, which is arranged on the casting container and has a valve seat, and a valve closing body which is movable relative to the valve seat between an open position and a closed position, wherein the casting piston is of a spool type, and the shut-off control valve is located with its valve closing body in the melt inlet channel at a flow-technical distance behind the melt bath connection opening on the one hand and in front of the casting chamber on the other hand.

12. The casting unit according to claim 11, wherein the valve main body of the shut-off control valve is held on the casting container by a detachable connection.

13. The casting unit according to claim 11, wherein the valve assembly region of the casting container is formed by a valve receiving space with a laterally outwardly facing access side, and the valve main body of the shut-off control valve is inserted into the valve receiving space laterally from the outside via the access side.

14. The casting unit according to claim 13, wherein the valve main body is inserted into the valve receiving space with a downwardly pointing valve outlet, and the melt inlet channel continues from the valve outlet with a channel portion in the casting container which leads downwardly out of the valve receiving space.

15. The casting unit according to claim 14, wherein the valve main body is held in a clamped-in manner in the vertical direction in the valve receiving space by a detachable clamping connection and on an underside bears against a seal which seals the valve outlet.

16. The casting unit according to claim 11, wherein the shut-off control valve has a control rod, which is guided in a translatory-movable manner on the valve main body, at one end bears the valve closing body and with its other end extends out of the valve main body and out of the casting container through a rod passage opening in the casting container.

17. The casting unit according to claim 16, wherein the control rod is arranged with its rod longitudinal axis parallel to a longitudinal axis of the casting piston.

18. The casting unit according to claim 16, further comprising: a lateral control rod insertion slot in the casting container for lateral insertion of the control rod into the valve receiving space of the casting container and for lateral removal from the same.

19. The casting unit according to claim 11, wherein the melt inlet channel contains at least one transverse bore in the valve main body that forms the melt bath connection opening on an inlet side and opens out into a longitudinal bore in the valve main body on an outlet side, through which bore the control rod extends and which bore forms the valve seat on the outlet side.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0034] FIG. 1 shows a schematic longitudinal sectional view of a casting unit with a shut-off control valve in the closed position held on the casting container;

[0035] FIG. 2 shows a partial detailed view from above of the casting unit along an arrow II in FIG. 1;

[0036] FIG. 3 shows the view of FIG. 1 with the casting container in an operating position in which it is dipped in a melt bath and with an attached mouth nozzle body; and

[0037] FIG. 4 shows the view of FIG. 3 in an open position of the shut-off control valve.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0038] The casting unit shown is suitable for use in a die casting machine, in particular a die casting machine of the hot-chamber type for metal die casting, it being possible for the metal casting material to be e.g. zinc, lead, aluminium, magnesium, titanium, steel, copper or alloys of these metals. The casting unit contains a casting container 1 with a casting chamber 2 and contains a casting piston 3, which is arranged in an axially movable manner in the casting chamber 2, a melt bath connection opening 4, a melt inlet channel 5 from the melt bath connection opening 4 to the casting chamber 2, a melt outlet channel 6, which leads out of the casting chamber 2 separately from the melt inlet channel 5, and a shut-off control valve 7 for the melt inlet channel 5. The shut-off control valve 7 has a valve main body 8 which is arranged on the casting container 1 and has a valve seat 9 and a valve closing body 10 which can be moved relative to the valve seat 9 between an open position and a closed position.

[0039] In the exemplary embodiment shown, the valve closing body 10 has the form of a circular disc, and, corresponding to this, the valve seat 9 is formed on the valve main body 8 with a planar seat surface. In alternative embodiments, the valve closing body 10 may have another form, e.g. a frustoconical form, the valve seat 9 having a matching seat form such that the valve closing body 10 bears in a fluid-tight manner against the valve seat 9 in its closed position.

[0040] By using the shut-off control valve 7 it is not necessary to use the casting piston 3 as a shut-off member for the melt inlet channel 5. Expressed differently, the melt inlet channel 5 does not need to open out into the casting chamber 2 at a location that can be blocked by the casting piston 3. Since the melt outlet channel 6 leads out of the casting chamber 2 separately from the melt inlet channel 5, it has an opening out of the casting chamber 2 that is separate from the opening of the melt inlet channel 5 into the casting chamber 2.

[0041] In advantageous embodiments, the valve main body 8, as in the example shown, is held on the casting container at a lateral valve assembly region 11 of the casting container 1 in a manner accessible from the outside and comprises the melt bath connection opening 4. This measure makes it possible to assemble the shut-off control valve 7 with its valve main body 8 on the casting container 1 laterally from the outside. In addition, the shut-off control valve 7 assembled there remains accessible from the outside for maintenance work, without it being absolutely necessary to disassemble it from the casting container 1 for this purpose.

[0042] In advantageous embodiments, the casting piston 3 is of the spool type, as in the example shown, and the shut-off control valve 7 is located with its valve closing body 10 in the melt inlet channel 5 at a flow-technical distance behind, i.e. downstream of, the melt bath connection opening 4 on the one hand and in front, i.e. upstream, of the casting chamber 2 on the other hand. Expressed differently, the valve closing body 10 is located neither directly at the melt bath connection opening 4, which forms an inlet opening of the shut-off control valve 7 for melt material from a melt bath, nor directly at the opening of the melt inlet channel 5 into the casting chamber 2, but rather between these end points of the melt inlet channel 5 at a suitable location along the melt inlet channel 5.

[0043] In the exemplary embodiment shown, the valve main body 8 comprises a base body 8a and a guide body 8b in the form of separately manufactured components. In alternative embodiments, the valve main body 8 is produced in single-part form or is assembled from more than two components. In the example shown, the valve seat 9 is formed on the base body 8a. It is similarly the case in this example that the melt bath connection opening 4 is located on the base body 8a.

[0044] In advantageous embodiments, the valve main body 8 of the shut-off control valve 7, as in the example shown, is held on the casting container by a detachable connection 12. This allows the valve base body 8, and thus the shut-off control valve 7 as a whole, to be disassembled from the casting container 1 without problems, e.g. for the purpose of repairing or exchanging a valve component owing to wear or another loss of functionality. In the example shown, the detachable connection 12 is implemented by a screw connection; in alternative embodiments it may be implemented in a different way, e.g. by a detachable latching or snap-fit connection.

[0045] In advantageous embodiments, the valve assembly region 11 of the casting container 1, as in the example shown, is formed by a valve receiving space 13 with a laterally outwardly facing access side, and the valve main body 8 of the shut-off control valve 7 is inserted into the valve receiving space 13 laterally from the outside by way of the access side. In the example shown, this access side is formed by a rearwards-facing side of the casting container 1 in FIG. 1 and by an upwardly facing side of said casting container in FIG. 2.

[0046] In corresponding embodiments, as in the example shown, the valve receiving space 13 is formed with at least one further laterally outwardly facing access side, as e.g. a right side of the casting container 1 in FIG. 1. More specifically, in the exemplary embodiment shown, the valve receiving space 13 is formed by a lateral recess in the casting container 1 with a base surface 1a as a lower boundary of the valve receiving space 13 and an upper retaining flange 1b of the casting container 1 as an upper termination of the valve receiving space 13, the valve receiving space 13 in this example being accessible from three sides and/or being open to three sides. The shut-off control valve 7 may in this case be placed with its valve main body 8 onto the base surface 1a, which in that case functions as a valve support surface.

[0047] The access side may be used as required not only for assembling, but also for disassembling the valve main body 8 or the shut-off control valve 7 from the casting container 1. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the access side is open; in alternative embodiments, it may be covered by a detachable covering.

[0048] In advantageous embodiments, as in the example shown, the valve main body 8 is inserted with its downwardly pointing valve outlet 14 into the valve receiving space 13, and the melt inlet channel 5 continues from the valve outlet 14 to the casting container 1 with a channel portion 15 which leads downwardly out of the valve receiving space 13. In the case of the directional indication “downwardly” or “downwards”, a position of the casting container 1 is presumed which it has on the die casting machine during operation, where FIGS. 1, 3 and 4 show the casting container 1 in this operating position.

[0049] In advantageous embodiments, the valve main body 8 is held in a clamped-in manner in the vertical direction in the valve receiving space 13, as in the example shown, by a detachable clamping connection 16 and on the underside bears against a seal 17 which seals the valve outlet 14. Specifically, in the example shown, the base body 8a and the guide body 8b of the valve main body 8 are arranged one on top of the other, and the valve outlet 14 is located on the underside of the base body 8a, while the clamping device 16 presses the guide body 8b from above against the base body 8a, which in turn presses with its underside surface against the seal 17, which bears against the base surface 1a of the valve receiving space 13 and surrounds in an annularly closed manner the valve outlet 14 or the inlet of the continuing channel portion 15 that is in line with said valve outlet.

[0050] In the exemplary embodiment shown, the detachable clamping connection 16 is implemented by a screw connection which, as shown, contains two or alternatively only one or more than two screw bolts and associated bores in the retaining flange 1b of the casting container 1 and at the same time forms the detachable connection 12, which holds the valve main body 8 on the casting container 1. In alternative embodiments, the detachable connection 12 on the one hand and the detachable clamping connection 16 on the other hand may be formed by two separate detachable connection units.

[0051] In the assembled state of the shut-off control valve 7, the clamping connection 16 pretensions the valve main body 8 reliably in a sealing manner against the seal 17 and at the same time holds the valve main body 8 fixedly on the casting container 1. The fixed hold of the valve main body 8 on the casting container 1 is loosened by detaching the clamping connection 16 or the detachable connection 12, with the result that the shut-off control valve 7 can be disassembled as required from the casting container 1.

[0052] In advantageous embodiments, the shut-off control valve 7, as in the example shown, has a control rod 18, which is guided in a translatory-movable manner on the valve main body 8, at one end bears the valve closing body 10 and with its other end extends out of the valve main body 8, and extends out of the casting container 1 through a rod passage opening 19 in the casting container 1.

[0053] In the casting container position according to FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, the valve closing body 10 is located at the bottom end of the control rod 18. At the top end, which is not of further interest here and therefore is not shown, the control rod 18 has a suitable actuation interface, by way of which it can be made to perform the desired translatory valve actuation movement parallel to its longitudinal axis, as desired and depending on the usage situation, manually by a user or automatically by means of a control unit. FIGS. 1 and 3 show the control rod 18 in its closed position, in which the valve closing body 10 in its closed position lies against the valve seat 9 in a fluid-tight manner and shuts off the melt inlet channel 5. FIG. 4 shows the control rod 18 in its open position, in which the valve closing body 10 is located in its open position which is raised or remote from the valve seat 9 and, as a result, opens up the melt inlet channel 5 for the throughflow of melt material.

[0054] In corresponding embodiments, the control rod 18, as in the example shown, is arranged with its rod longitudinal axis parallel to a longitudinal axis 20 of the casting piston 3. This allows a control actuation of the control rod 18 at that side of the casting container 1 on which the control actuation of the casting piston 3 preferably also takes place or on which a corresponding control unit or actuating unit is arranged. This may be favourable e.g. in terms of a compact structure of the casting unit and/or in terms of the actuation of the casting piston 3 and the shut-off control valve 7.

[0055] In advantageous embodiments, as in the example shown, the casting unit comprises a lateral control rod insertion slot 21 in the casting container 1 for the lateral insertion of the control rod 18 into the valve receiving space 13 of the casting container 1 and for lateral removal from the same. As a result, the control rod 18 may be introduced into the casting container 1 during the assembly of the shut-off control valve 7 on the casting container 1 via the control rod insertion slot 21, the control rod insertion slot 21 leading to the rod passage opening 19. The control rod 18 thus does not need to be inserted axially into the rod passage opening 19, and it also does not need to be attached to the casting container 1 or to the valve main body 8 subsequently after the assembly of the valve main body 8, but rather can be assembled on the casting container 1 together with the valve main body 8 in a manner preassembled on said valve main body. In the same way, when the intention is to take the shut-off control valve 7 off of the casting container 1, the control rod 18 can be guided out of the casting container 1 via the control rod insertion slot 21 and, as a result, may remain on the valve main body 8 during this disassembly and also does not have to be taken out axially via the rod passage opening 19 of the casting container 1.

[0056] In advantageous embodiments, as in the example shown, the melt inlet channel 5 contains at least one transverse bore 22 in the valve main body 8 that forms the melt bath connection opening 4 on the inlet side and opens out into a longitudinal bore 23, through which the control rod 18 extends and which forms the valve seat 9 on the outlet side, in the valve main body 8 on the outlet side. In the example shown, a plurality of transverse bores 22 are provided spaced angularly equidistantly apart from one another, e.g. two transverse bores which are situated diametrally 180° opposite one another or four transverse bores offset by respectively 90° in a cross shape, the radially outer openings of the transverse bores 22 together forming the melt bath connection opening 4. In the example shown, in the operating position of the casting container 1, the at least one transverse bore 22 runs horizontally; in alternative implementations, it runs inclined to the vertical. In the example shown, in the operating position of the casting container 1, the longitudinal bore 23 runs vertically; in alternative embodiments, it runs inclined to the vertical. In the example shown, the at least one transverse bore 22 and the longitudinal bore 23 together with the valve seat 9 are formed in the base body 8a of the valve main body 8.

[0057] Specifically, in the example shown, the control rod insertion slot 21 is located in the retaining flange 1b of the casting container 1, the control rod insertion slot 21 extending from that access side from which the shut-off control valve 7 or its valve main body 8 is assembled on the casting container 1, i.e. from a rearwards side in FIG. 1 and from an upper side in FIG. 2, to the rod passage opening 19. Expressed differently, in this exemplary embodiment, a closed slot end region of the control rod insertion slot 21 forms the rod passage opening 19 of the casting container 1.

[0058] FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate the casting unit in its operationally ready state for use in a corresponding die casting machine. For this purpose, the casting container 1 is dipped in a manner which is customary per se into a melt bath 24, which is stored in a melt container 25. In this respect, the casting container 1 is dipped into the melt bath 24 at least deep enough that the melt bath connection opening 4 of the shut-off control valve 7 assembled on the casting container 1 lies below an associated melt bath level 24a. In a likewise customary manner, the melt outlet channel 6 forms a riser channel 6a, which opens out of the casting container 1 with a mouth nozzle piece 6b, on which is pushed a mouth nozzle body 26 with an associated end-side connection region 26a. In a likewise customary manner which is not of further interest here, the mouth nozzle body 26 leads with an outlet-side end region 26b to a sprue mouth opening or gate opening of a casting mould of the die casting machine.

[0059] During operation, to carry out a respective casting operation, the casting piston 3 in the casting chamber 2 may be moved forwards out of a start position, i.e. downwards in FIGS. 3 and 4, in order to press melt material out of the casting chamber 2 via the melt outlet channel 6 and the nozzle body 26 into the casting mould, the shut-off control valve 7 being located in its closed position, shown in FIG. 3. Merely for illustration purposes, in FIGS. 3 and 4 the melt material is shown as prevailing as far as the outlet-side end region 26b of the nozzle body 26. After the melt material has solidified in the casting mould, which casting mould is not illustrated, to form a corresponding cast part, the casting piston 3 in the casting chamber 2 is moved back again to its start position, i.e. upwards in FIGS. 3 and 4. In the process, the shut-off control valve 7 is brought into its open position, illustrated in FIG. 4, with the result that melt material passes out of the melt bath 24 via the melt inlet channel 5 into the casting chamber 2. Subsequently, after the shut-off control valve 7 is closed, a new casting operation can be carried out.

[0060] As is made clear by the exemplary embodiments shown and the further exemplary embodiments mentioned above, the invention in a very advantageous manner provides a casting unit for a die casting machine, in which the shut-off control valve for the melt inlet channel is attached comparatively simply and flexibly to the casting container in such a way that it is readily accessible, the shut-off control valve being held on the casting container preferably in a detachable manner.