Apparatus for creating at least one metal component and method therefor

Abstract

Method and apparatus for creating at least one metal component by injecting flowable metal casting material into at least one cavity of a multi-part casting mold. Arranged successively downstream, apparatus includes a conveyor device for the flowable metal material, a distributor unit and the mold. The distributor unit includes an inlet channel connected to the conveyor device, and multiple outlet channels each having an outlet nozzle, such that casting material fed under pressure via the distributor inlet channel is injectable via the outlet nozzles into the at least one cavity of the mold to simultaneously fill the at least one cavity with casting material via the outlet nozzles. To produce the component with high process reliability in high quality, at least one of the outlet channels is connected to the mold in a sliding manner to enable relative movement between the outlet nozzle of the outlet channel and the mold.

Claims

1. An apparatus for creating at least one metal component by injecting flowable metal casting material into at least one cavity of a multi-part casting mold, comprising, arranged successively downstream, a conveyor device for the flowable metal material, a distributor unit and the multi-part casting mold, wherein the distributor unit comprises an inlet channel, which is connected to the conveyor device, and multiple outlet channels each having an outlet nozzle, such that casting material fed under pressure via the distributor inlet channel can be injected via the outlet nozzles into the at least one cavity of the casting mold in order to simultaneously fill the at least one cavity with casting material via the outlet nozzles, wherein at least one of the outlet channels is connected to the casting mold in a sliding manner in order to enable a relative movement between the outlet nozzle of the outlet channel and the casting mold, and wherein the outlet channel is connected to the casting mold in a sliding manner so that the outlet nozzle of the outlet channel can be displaced transversely to an injection direction of the outlet nozzle relative to the casting mold.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when the outlet channel is at casting temperature, an outlet opening of the outlet nozzle of the outlet channel and an injection opening of the casting mold are aligned to be essentially flush with one another by a sliding movement of the outlet nozzle relative to the casting mold in order to inject casting material into the cavity through the outlet opening via the injection opening.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the outlet channel and the casting mold are connected to one another in a sliding manner in a form fit, wherein a relative movement between the outlet nozzle of the outlet channel and the casting mold is enabled to a limited extent in a direction transverse to the injection direction of the outlet nozzle.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the outlet channel has an outer diameter that varies along its longitudinal axis in order to create the form fit between the outlet channel and the casting mold.

5. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the outlet channel comprises a form in a ring shape, in order to create the form fit between the outlet channel and the casting mold.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the form of the outlet channel runs along a circumference of the outlet channel.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the end piece of the outlet channel is inserted into an end bushing, wherein the end bushing constitutes an enlargement of an outer diameter of the outlet channel (8) in order to connect the outlet channel to the casting mold in a sliding manner.

8. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the end bushing is a detachable end bushing.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a contact surface is arranged on an end piece of the outlet channel that comprises the outlet nozzle, which contact surface rests in a sliding manner on a resting surface of the casting mold that corresponds to the contact surface in order to connect the outlet channel to the casting mold in a sliding manner.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the contact surface is flat.

11. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the casting mold comprises a receptacle embodied as a recess in the casting mold, into which receptacle the end piece is inserted for the sliding connection of the outlet channel to the casting mold.

12. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a locking apparatus is present which prevents a release of the sliding connection between the outlet channel and the casting mold.

13. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the presence of the locking apparatus prevents, reversibly, a release of the sliding connection between the outlet channel and casting mold.

14. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one temperature-control apparatus is present with which the outlet channels can be temperature controlled.

15. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the presence of the at least one temperature-control apparatus temperature controls the nozzles of the outlet channels.

16. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the outlet channels is formed with multiple longitudinal segments adjoining one another, the longitudinal axes of which are at an angle to one another.

17. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the flowable metal material is a thixotropic metal material.

18. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the distributor unit is embodied as a hot runner system.

19. A method for creating at least one metal component using an apparatus according to claim 1, wherein flowable metal casting material is guided, under pressure, from a conveyor device to a multi-part casting mold via a distributor unit to create the metal component, wherein the casting material is guided to multiple outlet channels of the distributor unit via at least one inlet channel of the distributor unit and is injected into at least one cavity of the casting mold via outlet nozzles of the outlet channels in order to simultaneously fill the at least one cavity with casting material via the outlet nozzles, wherein at least one of the outlet channels is connected to the casting mold in a sliding manner in order to enable a relative movement between the outlet nozzle of the outlet channel and the casting mold.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein the outlet channels are heated following injection of the casting material in order to prevent a total solidification of casting material located in the outlet channels.

21. The method according to claim 19, wherein a sliding movement of the outlet nozzle relative to the casting mold is carried out, so that an outlet opening of the outlet nozzle of the outlet channel and an injection opening of the casting mold are aligned to be essentially flush with one another when the outlet channel is at casting temperature, in order to inject casting material into the cavity through the outlet opening via the injection opening.

Description

(1) Additional features, advantages, and effects follow from the exemplary embodiments described below. In the drawings which are thereby referenced:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a schematic illustration of an apparatus for producing a metal component with a thixomolding method;

(3) FIG. 2 shows a schematic spatial illustration of a distributor unit;

(4) FIG. 3 shows a schematic illustration of a distributor unit in a longitudinal section through the distributor unit;

(5) FIG. 4 shows a schematic illustration of an end piece of an outlet channel with an end bushing;

(6) FIG. 5 shows a schematic illustration of a casting mold with a receptacle corresponding to the end piece from FIG. 4, into which receptacle the end piece can be inserted to form a slip joint;

(7) FIG. 6 shows a schematic illustration of the end piece from FIG. 4 in an inserted state in the receptacle from FIG. 5.

(8) FIG. 1 shows a schematic illustration of a typical apparatus 1 for producing a metal component 2 by injecting flowable, in particular thixotropic, metal casting material into a cavity 4 of a multi-part casting mold 3. An apparatus 1 of this type typically comprises a filling chamber, also referred to as a barrel, a conveying unit, often embodied as a screw conveyor, a distributor arranged downstream after the filling Chamber, via which distributor unit casting material is conveyed from the conveying device 5, formed with the filling chamber and conveying unit, to the casting mold 3 under pressure in order to inject the casting material into the cavity 4 of the casting mold 3, and the casting mold 3 arranged after the distributor unit 6. The distributor unit 6 comprises at least one inlet channel 7, which is connected to the conveying device, and multiple outlet channels 8, which are connected to the casting mold 3, in order to fill the cavity 4 of the casting mold 3 with casting material in a chronologically parallel manner via the outlet channels 8. For this purpose, each outlet channel 8 comprises one outlet nozzle 9 with which casting material can be injected into the cavity 4 via one injection opening 10 of the form 3 each that corresponds to the respective outlet nozzle 9. A distributor unit of this type is, for example, schematically illustrated in FIG. 2 or FIG. 3.

(9) As can be seen in FIG. 1, the multi-part casting mold 3 is normally formed with an immovable first plate and a second plate that is movable relative to the first plate. Surfaces of the first plate and/or second plate have a negative shape of the component 2 that is to be created. By placing the first plate and second plate together, the mold is closed and a cavity 4 corresponding to the component 2 is formed. The outlet nozzles 9 typically connect to the first plate, so that casting material can be injected into the cavity 4 via an outlet nozzle opening of the respective outlet nozzle 9. In the case of a processing of thixotropic casting material, the filling chamber normally comprises a heater with which the casting material is brought into a thixotropic state, typically with simultaneous shearing of the casting material using the screw conveyor. A subsequent injection of the material into the cavity 4 of the casting mold 3 via the outlet nozzles 9 normally occurs through an axial forward movement of the screw conveyor in the direction of the distributor unit 6 or outlet nozzles 9.

(10) FIG. 1 shows a method state after a solidifying of the component 2 in the casting mold 3. Particularly in a processing of casting material in a thixotropic state, plugs of solidified casting material are thereby normally formed in the outlet nozzles 9, in order to hinder a flowable casting material positioned downstream before the plug from leaking out of the outlet nozzles 9. In FIG. 1, the casting mold 3 is open, wherein the created component 2 is removed from the casting mold 3 using a robot arm. In a next production cycle, during an injection of casting material into the mold to produce a next component 2, a respective plug of this type is typically also pressed into the cavity 4 or ejected.

(11) FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 show schematic illustrations of a distributor unit 6, as it can be used, for example, in an apparatus 1 from FIG. 1. The distributor unit 6 comprises an inlet channel 7 and two outlet channels 8 in order to feed casting material fed via the inlet channel 7 to the casting mold 3 via the outlet channels 8. The outlet channels 8 each comprise one outlet nozzle 9 via which casting material can be injected into the cavity 4. The outlet channels 8 are formed with pipes that are connected to the inlet channel 7 such that they conduct casting material. Different outlet channels 8 are thereby normally spaced apart from one another in a direction transverse to a longitudinal axis of the outlet channels 8, in order to minimize a reciprocal interference, for example due to occurring mechanical forces and/or thermal expansions. To achieve a high robustness, the distributor unit 6 can be formed with a distributor body 11, comprising an inlet channel section and two outlet channel sections, in order to apportion to the outlet channel sections casting material fed via the inlet channel section. The inlet channel section and the outlet channel sections are typically connected to one another at a shared junction such that they conduct casting material. Outlet channel parts formed with pipes typically connect to the outlet channel sections in order to further conduct casting material to the casting mold 3. Expediently, the distributor body 11 can comprise one or more heating devices 24.

(12) In order to avoid mechanical stresses up to deformations or buckling of the outlet channels 8, the outlet channels 8 are respectively connected to the casting mold 3 in a sliding manner by a slip joint in order to enable a relative movement between the respective outlet nozzle 9 and the casting mold 3 in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis of the outlet channels 8 or injection direction of the outlet nozzle 9. In this manner, mechanical stresses caused by thermal expansion can be eliminated in the form of a relative movement between the outlet nozzles 9 or outlet channels 8.

(13) FIG. 4 shows an end piece 13 of an outlet channel 8, comprising an outlet nozzle 9. Expediently, the outlet channels 8 from FIG. 1 through FIG. 3 can be embodied in this manner. The end piece 13 comprises a temperature-control apparatus which is preferably embodied as an induction heater 14, in order to temperature-control, in particular to heat, casting material located in the outlet nozzle 9. The end piece 13 of the outlet channel 8 is inserted into an end bushing 15 which envelops a circumference of the outlet channel 8 in a form fit with a first end bushing section 16 and grips a side of the outlet channel 8 facing the casting mold 3 with a second end bushing section 17. The first end bushing section 16 effects an enlargement of an outer diameter of the end piece 13 in order to connect the end piece 13 to the casting mold 3 in a form fit. The second end bushing section 17 forms a contact surface 18 in order to set said surface, in a sliding manner, on a resting surface 19 corresponding to the contact surface 18. The end bushing 15 can expediently be embodied with a shape of a cup, wherein a cup bottom of the cup comprises a passage into which the outlet nozzle 9 opens, or through which the outlet nozzle 9 is at least partially guided. As can be seen in FIG. 4, it is beneficial if the end hushing 15 is cooled with a cooling apparatus, for example cooling channels 12.

(14) FIG. 5 shows a schematic illustration of a segment of a casting mold 3, for example a casting mold 3 according to FIG. 1. The casting mold 3 comprises a receptacle 20 corresponding to the end piece 13 from FIG. 4, into which receptacle 20 the end piece 13 or the end bushing 15 can be inserted to form a slip joint. The receptacle 20 is typically embodied as a recess in the casting mold 3, wherein an injection opening 10 of the casting mold 3, via which injection opening 10 casting material can be injected into the cavity 4 using the outlet nozzle 9, is arranged in a base surface of the receptacle 20. The casting mold 3, or the receptacle 20 thereof, comprises a locking apparatus 21 with which the receptacle 20 can be locked such that an end bushing 15 inserted into the receptacle 20 is enclosed in the receptacle 20 in a form fit, so that a sliding movement of the end bushing 15 in the receptacle 20 is enabled transversely, in particularly orthogonally, to the injection direction of the outlet nozzle 9 of the end piece 13. The locking apparatus 21 can expediently be releasably connected to a part of the casting mold 3 by a screw connection. Further visible in FIG. 5 is a plug receptacle 22, which is embodied as part of the cavity 4 opposite of the injection opening 10, in order to receive a plug ejected from the outlet nozzle 9 during an injection of casting material into the casting mold 3. Typically, the casting mold 3 comprises an ejector unit 23 with which a component 2 solidified in the cavity 4 can be pushed out of the cavity 4 by displacement of the ejector unit 23. The casting mold 3 normally comprises one or more cooling apparatuses, usually in the form of cooling channels 12, in order to cool the casting mold 3. Preferably, the casting mold 3 and the end bushing 15 comprise cooling channels 12 that can be controlled separately from one another, or each comprise their own cooling apparatus.

(15) FIG. 6 shows a schematic illustration of the end piece 13 of the outlet channel 8 from FIG. 4, which outlet channel 8 is inserted into the receptacles 20 from FIG. 5 in a form fit, so that a sliding movement of the end piece 13 is enabled in one or more movement directions G transverse to the injection direction of the outlet nozzle 9 of the end piece 13. An outlet opening of the outlet nozzle 9 is thereby aligned such that it is centered with the injection opening 10 of the casting mold 3 in order to inject casting material into the cavity 4 via the outlet nozzle 9.

(16) Preferably, the casting mold 3 comprises multiple receptacles 20 of this type, in order to respectively insert an end piece 13 or an end bushing 15 of one of the outlet channels 8 thereinto in a form fit, so that the respective end piece 13 can be moved in a sliding manner in a direction transverse to the injection direction of the respective outlet nozzle 9. Preferably, each of the outlet channels 8 is connected thusly to the casting mold 3 in a sliding manner.

(17) Because at least one of the outlet channels 8, typically all outlet channels 3, are connected to the casting mold 3 in a sliding manner so that the respective outlet nozzle 9 can be moved relative to the casting mold 3 in a direction transverse to the injection direction of the nozzle, thermal expansions of the distributor unit 6 or the outlet channels 8 occurring during operation can be compensated. Impairments of an injection operation can thus be minimized or prevented, whereby a metal component 2 can be produced with high process reliability and with high quality.