PRODUCTION OF MOLDED BODIES FROM A SILICON ALLOY BY WATER JET CUTTING OF PLATES

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for producing molded bodies from a silicon alloy, comprising the production of plates and the water jet cutting of the plates to form a plurality of molded bodies. The thus obtained molded bodies contain in particular additional inoculant additives and are used in particular as inoculant for metal casting.

Claims

1. A method for producing molded bodies, comprising the steps of: providing a plate, having a thickness in the range of 10 mm to 80 mm, comprising a silicon alloy; and cutting the plate into molded bodies by water jet cutting, utilizing an abrasive agent; wherein the silicon alloy is selected from the group consisting of: (a) a FeSi alloy, comprising from at least 10 to 50 wt % iron and from 40 to 80 wt % silicon; (b) a FeSiMg alloy, comprising 35 to 55 wt % iron, 35 to 55 wt % silicon and 3 to 30 wt % magnesium; (c) a FeSiTi alloy comprising Fe: 35 to 55 wt %, 35 to 55 wt % silicon and 3 to 15 wt % titanium; (d) a CrSi alloy comprising 20 to 45 wt % chromium, 25 to 55 wt % silicon and 10 to 35 wt % iron; and (e) a AlCaSi alloy comprising 0.1 to 7 wt % aluminum, 0.1 to 30 wt % calcium and 45 to 65 wt % silicon; wherein each of the silicon alloys comprises at least one of: calcium, manganese and aluminum; and wherein each of the silicon alloys (a) to (e) comprises a combination of metals as identified as (a) to (e) and the combination of metals makes up at least 50 wt % of each of the silicon alloys.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the silicon alloy is a FeSi alloy having Fe: 15 to 40 wt % and Si: 60-75 wt %.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein each of the combinations of metals makes up at least 80 wt % of the plate, preferably, at least 90 wt %.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the plates and, in particular, the molded bodies additionally have at least one of the following metals: barium, cerium, lanthanum, bismuth, titanium, zirconium, antimony and strontium.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the molded body is a ferrosilicon (FeSi) alloy, comprising: silicon, at 40 to 80 wt %, in particular, at 60 to 75 wt %; the following metals as inoculant additives: calcium, at 0.2 to 10 wt %, in particular, at 0.2 to 5 wt %; aluminum, at 0.2 to 10 wt %, in particular, at 0.5 to 4.5 wt %; and manganese, at 0.2 to 10 wt %, in particular, at 0.5 to 4.5 wt %; with iron as the remaining balance; and optionally, at least one of the following metals as additional inoculant additives: rare earth metals, including lanthanum, at 0.05 to 3 wt %; barium, at 1 to 15 wt %; zirconium, at 2 to 6 wt %; bismuth, at 0.05 to 3 wt %, in particular, at 0.2 to 1.2 wt %; antimony, at 0.1 to 2 wt %; and magnesium, at 3 to 16 wt %, in particular, at 6 to 12 wt %.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the plate is produced by casting, i.e., a melt is cast and solidified, or pressing, i.e., dusts or powders provided with or without binder are pressed into plate-shaped forms, or sintering, i.e., dusts or powders are baked or compacted with the aid of heat, or combinations of these methods, in particular by casting into vertical molds.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the plate is produced by casting a melt and solidifying, wherein the casting is preferably effected into molds having vertically upright cavities.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the molded body has a conical shape with a tapered end, in particular employing a bevel cut of 2° to 15°, in particular 6° to 12°, in order to form the conical shape, and also independently hereof the molded bodies preferably remain in the plate with the tapered end following the cutting.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein from 1 to 12, and in particular from 3 to 8, molded bodies are cut one after the other from the plate by the water jet cutting in a line or slightly offset from one another in a line.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein a water jet cutting machine that performs the water cutting is embodied in a flat-bed design and the plates are positioned on a portal surface thereof.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the abrasive agent has a Mohs scale of from 6 to 7.5 and is preferably a sand, in particular garnet sand or olivine sand.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the following applies: (A) the plates have at least two plane-parallel surfaces; (B) the plates have a width of 10 to 40 cm and a height of 20 to 60 cm; and (C) the plates have a thickness of 16 mm to 50 mm.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the plates define a top surface and a bottom surface of the molded bodies in each case through an upper side and a bottom side of the plate and the side face(s) of the molded bodies are formed at least partially by the water jet cutting, in particular completely.

14. A molded body produced according to the method of claim 1.

15. A method of metal casting in which at least one molded body formed according to claim 1 is an inoculant molded body for metal casting, preferably iron casting and, particularly preferably, for producing cast iron, in particular: lamellar graphite cast iron (gray cast iron), vermicular graphite cast iron, and nodular graphite cast iron, or ausferritic cast iron.

Description

[0105] The invention is further explained by the following figures, without being restricted thereto, wherein:

[0106] FIG. 1 shows a closed casting pallet in a top view,

[0107] FIG. 2 shows a folded-out casting pallet in a top view,

[0108] FIG. 3 shows the first cast basket strainer of the casting pallet according to FIGS. 1 and 2 in a top view and enlarged,

[0109] FIG. 4 shows a partition of the cast basket strainer of FIG. 3 in a side view, and

[0110] FIGS. 5 and 6 show the casting basin in a top view and in section for filling a cast basket strainer.

[0111] FIG. 1 depicts a top view of a casting pallet 1 having six cast basket strainers 2 which are arranged in a row on a traveling pallet 3. The traveling pallet 3 has brackets 4 at the end, by means of which the casting pallet 1 can be seized by a forklift or crane. Typically, 3 to 8 cast basket strainers 2 are arranged on a traveling pallet 3.

[0112] The cast basket strainers 2 are each folded-out in FIG. 2. The individually unfolded longitudinal walls 5 are each located in pairs horizontally. The longitudinal walls 5 are each hinged to the traveling pallet 3 by means of two hinges 6. The axis of rotation is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the traveling pallet. The partitions 8 and the plate walls 10 have already been extracted. In the course of this, the cast and solidified plates have also been extracted.

[0113] When the longitudinal walls 5 are erected vertically again, opposite longitudinal walls 5 are each fixed vertically by means of a quick-release connector 11. To this end, the quick-release connector 11 is folded down and engages in a snap-in hook 12 on the opposite longitudinal wall 5. The partitions 8 and the plate walls 10 can now be slid in.

[0114] The partitions 8 each bridge opposing longitudinal walls 5 of the cast basket strainer 2, are built into the cast basket strainer 2 in the transverse direction such that they can be extracted upwardly or laterally, and embody the plane-parallel side surfaces of the respective plate. The plate wall 10 defines the end of the plate on the narrow longitudinal side. The plate wall 10 runs parallel to the longitudinal axis of the traveling plate 3 in each case. A cluster 13 for producing the respective plate is embodied between two opposing partitions 8 and two opposing plate walls 10. The partitions 8 are selected to be different in terms of thickness depending on the thickness of the plates to be cast, e.g., 10 mm to 30 mm.

[0115] Each cast basket strainer 2 has two longitudinal walls 5. All of the longitudinal walls 5 are foldable. After opening one or the second longitudinal wall 5, the partition 8 can be removed. The partition 8 can be pulled laterally or upwards. The partitions 8 can be removed by hand or robot operation. To this end, eyelets 9 are provided in the partition 8, with which said partition is easier to handle. After removing the partition 8, the plate can be removed.

[0116] The casting pallets 1 can also be utilized as a store for the plates, because they are stackable. The cast pallets 1 can be conveyed by means of a forklift or a crane.

[0117] Each cast basket strainer 2 can have, e.g., 2 to 5 cavities 13. The plates each have a cast basket strainer 2 of approximately the same width (from one plate wall 10 to the opposite plate wall 10) and heights/lengths (from the upper edge of the partition 8 to the lower one), but plates of different thicknesses are preferably produced in a cast basket strainer 2 at the same time. The height resulting from the vertical alignment of the cavities 13 results in each case in a metallostatic pressure which has a positive effect during casting. The casting process is also faster as a result.

[0118] The different casting components such as the longitudinal wall 5, partition 9, plate wall 10 can each be exchanged/replaced with one another. The casting components are fabricated, e.g., from GJS. All casting components can be finished.

[0119] It is possible to pour into the cavities via casting basins 14 or directly from the casting ladle into the plate slot opening. A casting basin 14 is shown in FIG. 5 in a top view and in FIG. 6 in section. The cavities are separated by dividing plates. The distances between the cavities depend on the run-out holes 15 of the casting basins 14, which are arranged in rows, and the desired plate thickness.