Method for identifying a cast part

Abstract

A method for the production of castings which are permanently provided with readable information. An identification element, which has an information surface, provided with information, and a casting surface which is assigned to the casting and also provided with information, is arranged on a casting mould surface assigned to a mould cavity of a casting mould so that the information surface is covered, while the casting surface is exposed in the mould cavity. A metal melt is poured into the mould, so that, during casting or solidification of the metal melt, a firmly bonded, form-fit or force-fit connection of the identification element to the casting is produced. The information on the casting surface is reproduced in the manner of a stamp on surface of the casting. The casting is then removed from the mould and fettled.

Claims

1. A method for producing a casting provided with readable information, comprising the following production steps: a) providing an identification element, which on one side has an information surface provided with information and on another side has a casting surface which is assigned to the casting and on which information is also present; b) arranging the identification element in a casting mould which defines a mould cavity shaping the casting to be cast, wherein the identification element is arranged in such a way on a casting mould surface assigned to the mould cavity that the information surface is covered with respect to the mould cavity, while the casting surface of the identification element is assigned to the mould cavity such that it is exposed; c) pouring a metal melt into the casting mould wetting the casting surface of the identification element with metal melt; d) solidifying the metal melt to form the casting, wherein during casting or solidification a firmly bonded, form-fit or force-fit connection of the identification element to the casting is produced and the information present on the casting surface is reproduced in the manner of a stamp on an assigned surface of the casting during casting or solidification of the metal melt; e) removing the casting from the casting mould; and f) fettling the casting.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the identification element is removed in the course of a subsequent treatment of the casting.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the casting undergoes a heat treatment.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the casting undergoes a subsequent mechanical treatment, in which the casting is acted upon mechanically.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the identification element is a sheet metal strip.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the information on the information surface is arranged opposite the information on the casting surface of the identification element.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the information on the information surface and on the casting surface of the identification element are arranged offset in relation to one another.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the identification element is a sheet metal angle.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the identification element has the casting surface on one leg and has the information surface on another leg.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the items of information provided on the identification element is machine-readable.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the machine-readable information consists of data, by means of which the date the casting was produced or the casting production parameters thereof can be determined.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein data stored in a database is assigned to the machine-readable information reproduced on the casting.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein with each process step which the casting undergoes further readable data is assigned to data assigned in the database to the items of machine-readable information reproduced on the casting.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein the casting mould is at least partly formed by cores consisting of a moulding material.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the identification element is inserted flush with adjacent areas into a surface of one of the cores.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The invention is explained in more detail below with the aid of the figures illustrating an exemplary embodiment.

(2) FIG. 1 schematically shows a casting mould in a lateral view;

(3) FIG. 2 schematically shows the casting mould according to FIG. 1 in the open state in a partly broken open plan view;

(4) FIG. 3 schematically shows an angular first identification element in a perspective view;

(5) FIG. 4 schematically shows a front side wall core of the casting mould according to FIG. 1 with the identification element illustrated in FIG. 3 in a frontal view of its side assigned to the mould cavity of the casting mould;

(6) FIG. 5 schematically shows a section of the casting cast in the casting mould according to FIG. 1 provided with the front side wall core formed according to FIG. 4, before fettling, in a perspective view;

(7) FIG. 6 schematically shows the section according to FIG. 5 after fettling;

(8) FIG. 7 schematically shows a strip-shaped second identification element in a frontal view of its one surface;

(9) FIG. 8 schematically shows the identification element according to FIG. 7 in a frontal view of its other surface;

(10) FIG. 9 schematically shows the front side wall core of the casting mould according to FIG. 4 with the identification element illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8 in a frontal view of its side assigned to the mould cavity of the casting mould;

(11) FIG. 10 schematically shows a section of the casting cast in the casting mould according to FIG. 1 provided with the front side wall core formed according to FIG. 9, before fettling, in a perspective view;

(12) FIG. 11 schematically shows the section according to FIG. 10 after fettling.

(13) The casting mould 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 for casting a casting G1, G2, in which here the casting G1, G2 is a crankcase for an internal combustion engine, is formed in a conventional way as a core package having a bottom core 2, a top core 3, longitudinal side wall cores 4a, 4b and front side wall cores 5, 6. The cores 2-6 each illustrated here as a component can, of course, on the other hand, be composed of two or more single cores in a way which is known per se.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(14) Additionally, risers, inlets, gates and suchlike, which for the sake of clarity are not illustrated here, are formed on the cores 2-6 of the casting mould 1, via which a mould cavity 7 enclosed by the casting mould 1 can be filled with metal melt. Here, the metal melt is a conventional aluminium casting alloy, for example.

(15) Further foundry cores 8 and inserts 9 are arranged in the mould cavity 7, which form cylinders, oil channels and water channels etc. in the casting G1, G2, in a way which is also known per se.

(16) The bottom core 2 of the casting mould 1 can be produced from a metal material and be reusable. On the other hand, the other foundry cores 3-6, 8 of the casting mould 1 are produced from moulding material known for this purpose and are destroyed when the casting G1, G2 is removed from the mould.

(17) An identification element 11 formed like an angle piece, which was bent from a sheet steel strip, is arranged on a surface 10 of the front side wall 5 assigned to the mould cavity 7.

(18) The identification element 11 has two legs 12, 13 which are arranged at right angles to one another and which each have a flat outer surface on their side facing away from the angle p enclosed between them. The outer surface of the leg 12 in question forms a casting surface 14 assigned to the mould cavity 7 and hence to the casting G1, G2 to be cast in each case, whereas the outer surface of the second leg 13 arranged at right angles to it forms an information surface 15. Information I1, I2 in each case coded as DMC is represented both on the casting surface 14 and on the information surface 15. The information I1, I2 is in each case represented by spherical cap-shaped depressions V1, V2 of approximately 1 mm in diameter impressed into the respective surface and arranged corresponding to the DMC coding.

(19) Before the casting G1 is cast, the leg 13 of the identification element 11, which has the information surface 15 with the information I2, is embedded in a slot 16 formed into the surface 10 of the front side wall core 5. The leg 13 fits so perfectly into the slot 16 that no metal melt gets into the slot during casting and in particular the information surface 15 is not wetted with metal melt in the area where the information I2 is arranged there. At the same time, the leg 13 is pushed far enough into the slot 16 such that the other leg 12 of the identification element 11 abuts as tightly as possible with its surface 17 facing away from the casting surface 14 on the surface 10 of the front side wall core 5.

(20) The metal melt flows around the leg 12 of the identification element 11 when the metal melt is poured into the mould cavity 7 of the casting mould 1, so that, on the one hand, the depressions V1 formed into the casting surface 14 as information I1 are filled with metal melt and, on the other hand, the metal melt encompasses the edges of the leg 12.

(21) The metal melt filled into the casting mould 1 starts to solidify at the latest at the end of casting.

(22) Before the casting G1 has completely solidified, the casting mould 1 can already, in a way which is known per se, be conveyed into a heat treatment furnace, in which the heat supply promotes the disintegration of the casting mould 1 and, at the same time, the casting G1 is heat treated. Of course, the casting G1 can also solidify in any other way and be subsequently removed from the mould.

(23) After the casting G1 has solidified and has been removed from the mould, the identification element 11 sits tightly on the surface 18 of the casting G1, which is formed by the surface 10 of the front side wall core 5 on the casting G1. An at least form-fit hold of the identification element 11 is, at the same time, secured by solidified metal melt M which during casting has flowed around the edges of the leg 12 and has partly run behind the leg 12 and in this way has embraced the leg 12. In contrast, the leg 13 carrying the information I1 on its information surface 15 has remained unwetted by the metal melt. Correspondingly, the information I1 can now be easily captured by a corresponding reading device, which is not shown here, and all process data required for quality assurance and for tracing errors can be assigned to the casting G1 in a database by means of the information I1.

(24) Afterwards, the casting G1 undergoes a subsequent mechanical treatment (fettling), in which, in a way which is known per se, the remains of the casting mould adhering to it, the mould parts required for casting, but not necessary for the function of the casting, as well as unavoidable seams at joint locations of foundry cores, and suchlike, are removed from the casting G1. The casting G1 is subjected to a subsequent sand blasting treatment, in which the identification element 11 is also separated from the casting G1 and the surface section 19 of the casting G1 lying underneath it, which until then had been covered by the leg 12 with its casting surface 14 abutting on the casting G1, is exposed.

(25) The information I1 previously represented on the casting surface 14 by the depressions V1 impressed there is now permanently reproduced in a corresponding pattern of dot-like elevations E1 on the surface section 19. The information IG1 formed in this way on the casting G1 can at any time be re-read, so that even after a long service life of the casting G1, it can still be precisely determined how the casting G1 was produced and which process parameters were set in the course of this.

(26) In contrast to the above mentioned production of the casting G1, in the case of the production of the casting G2 a strip-shaped identification element 20, which was also produced from sheet metal material, was used.

(27) The one surface of the identification element 20 serves as the casting surface 21, whereas the surface present on the opposite side of the identification element 20 serves as the information surface 22. The information surface 22 and the casting surface 21 are divided into two longitudinal halves L1, L2 in relation to the longitudinal extension L of the identification element 20. The information surface 22 carries the information I1 assigned to it in its longitudinal half L1, whereas the casting surface 21 carries the information I2 assigned to it in its longitudinal half L2. In relation to the longitudinal extension L, the items of information I1, I2 of information surface 22 and casting surface 21 are therefore offset in relation to one another. As with the identification element 11, the items of information I1, I2 are represented by depressions V1, V2 formed into the respective surface 21, 22.

(28) The identification element 20 is also arranged on the surface 10 of the front side wall core 5. To that end, in this case a slot 23 is formed into the surface 10 there, the shape and dimensions of which are adapted to the identification element 20 such that the identification element 20 sits tightly on the flat base surface of the slot 23 and the edges of the identification element 20 can be penetrated easily by the melt flowing against the identification element 20 during casting.

(29) After casting and solidification of the metal melt to form the casting G2, the solidified cast metal embraces the edges of the identification element 20, so that it is also at least by means of a form-fit held securely and tightly on the cast part G2 after removal from the mould. The information I2 present on the casting surface 21 of the identification element 20 now sitting tightly on the casting G2 has, as with the casting G1, been stamped into the surface section 24 of the casting G2 covered by the identification element 20, whereas the information I1 provided on the now uncovered information surface 22 of the identification element 20 is exposed and can be captured by a reading device.

(30) During subsequent fettling of the casting G2, the identification element 20 is also removed and, as a result, the surface section 24 of the casting G2 previously covered by it is exposed with the information IG2 reproduced on it and represented by elevations E2.

(31) Therefore, using the invention, a method is available, by means of which castings G1, G2 can be produced which are permanently provided with readable information IG1, IG2. For this purpose, an identification element 11, 20, which on one side has an information surface 15, 22 provided with information I1, I2 and on another side has a casting surface 14, 21 which is assigned to the casting G1, G2 and is also provided with information I1, I2, is arranged on a casting mould surface 10 assigned to a mould cavity 7 of a casting mould 1 in such a way that the information surface 15, 22 is covered, while the casting surface 14, 21 of the identification element 11, 20 is exposed in the mould cavity 7. Then, a metal melt M is poured into the casting mould 1 wetting the casting surface 14, 21, so that during casting or solidification of the metal melt M a firmly bonded, form-fit or force-fit connection of the identification element 11, 20 to the casting G1, G2 is produced and the information I1, I2 present on the casting surface 14, 21 is reproduced in the manner of a stamp on the assigned surface 18 of the casting G1, G2. Finally, the casting G1, G2 is removed from the casting mould 1 and fettled in the conventional way.

REFERENCE SYMBOLS

(32) 1 Casting mould for casting a casting G1, G2 2 Bottom core of the casting mould 1 3 Top core of the casting mould 1 4a, 4b Longitudinal side wall cores of the casting mould 1 5, 6 Front side wall cores of the casting mould 1 7 Mould cavity of the casting mould 1 8 Foundry cores of the casting mould 1 9 Inserts of the casting mould 1 10 Surface of the front side wall 5 assigned to the mould cavity 7 11 Identification element 12, 13 Legs of the identification element 11 14 Casting surface of the identification element 11 15 Information surface of the identification element 11 16 Slot in the surface 10 17 Surface of the leg 12 facing away from the casting surface 14 18 Surface formed by the surface 10 of the front side wall core 5 on the casting G1 19 Surface section of the casting G1 covered by the leg 12 with its casting surface 14 abutting on the casting G1 Angle between the legs 12, 13 E1 Elevations representing the information IG1 G1 Casting I1, I2 Information IG1 Information on the casting G1 M Solidified metal melt V1, V2 Depressions 20 Identification element 21 Casting surface of the identification element 20 22 Information surface of the identification element 20 23 Slot 24 Surface section of the casting G2 covered by the identification element 20 E2 Elevations representing the information IG2 G2 Casting IG2 Information of the casting G2 L Longitudinal extension of the identification element 20 L1, L2 Longitudinal halves of the identification element 20.