CASTING APPARATUS

Abstract

The casting apparatus includes a mold, an ejecting device, a spraying device, and a control unit, and the processor of the control unit is configured to eject the die-cast product from the movable mold in a substantially horizontal direction by the ejecting device, hold the die-cast product in the movable mold, and spray coolant to the die-cast product by the spraying device to cool the die-cast product.

Claims

1. A casting apparatus that performs casting of a die-cast product, the casting apparatus comprising: a mold into which molten metal is injected; an ejecting device for ejecting the die-cast product from the mold in a substantially horizontal direction, a spraying device for spraying the die-cast product with a coolant; and a control unit for adjusting operations of the ejecting device and the spraying device, wherein the control unit includes a processor for performing information processing, and the processor is configured to eject the die-cast product from the mold in the substantially horizontal direction by the ejecting device, with the die-cast product being held in the mold, and spray the die-cast product with coolant by the spraying device, such that the die-cast product is cooled.

2. The casting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to eject the die-cast product from the mold by the ejecting device in the substantially horizontal direction, such that an amount of ejecting of the die-cast product from the mold is shorter than a length in a mold removal direction of a portion at which the die-cast product and the mold overlap in an up-down direction.

3. The casting apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the processor is configured to cause the ejecting device to eject the die-cast product from the mold in the substantially horizontal direction such that the amount of ejecting of the die-cast product from the mold is less than 5 mm.

4. The casting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: the mold is made up of a fixed mold and a movable mold that moves in a horizontal direction with respect to the fixed mold, the ejecting device ejects the die-cast product from the movable mold in the substantially horizontal direction, such that the die-cast product is held by the movable mold; and the spraying device advances a coolant injection nozzle to between the fixed mold and the movable mold, and sprays the die-cast product that is held by the movable mold with the coolant.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] Features, advantages, and technical and industrial significance of exemplary embodiments of the disclosure will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like signs denote like elements, and wherein:

[0027] FIG. 1 is a system diagram illustrating a configuration of a casting apparatus according to an embodiment;

[0028] FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating the operation of the casting apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

[0029] FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a situation where a mold release agent is sprayed onto a movable mold;

[0030] FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing a state of spraying coolant while the die-cast product is ejected and held in a movable mold; and

[0031] FIG. 5 is a detailed view of part A of FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0032] Hereinafter, the casting apparatus 100 of the embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the casting apparatus 100 includes a mold 10, a mold clamping device 40, an ejecting device 50, an injection device 61, an exhaust pipe 62, a spraying device 70, and a control unit 80. In the drawings, reference numerals FR, LH, UP denote the front, left, and upper sides of the casting apparatus 100, respectively. The opposing orientations of FR, LH, UP are rearward, rightward, and downward, respectively. Further, the front and left are directions in the horizontal plane, and the upper and lower are directions in the vertical plane.

[0033] The mold 10 includes a fixed mold 20 and a movable mold 30. The fixed mold 20 includes a main mold 21 and an insert 22. The movable mold 30 includes a main mold 31 and an insert 32. Here, the inserts 22 and 32 are portions of the fixed mold 20. movable mold 30 that are replaced according to the die-cast product 90 to be molded. The main molds 21 and 31 are portions commonly used for the die-cast product 90 to be molded. Further, the main molds 21 and 31 are portions fixed to the fixed platen 41 and the movable platen 42 of the mold clamping device 40 described later.

[0034] The mold clamping device 40 includes a fixed platen 41, a movable platen 42, a tie bar 43, and a driving unit 45. The fixing platen 41 is fixed to a distal end portion of a tie bar 43 which is a rod member. The movable platen 42 is disposed so as to face the fixed platen 41, and moves forward along the tie bar 43 by the driving unit 45.

[0035] A fixed mold 20 is attached to the fixed platen 41, and a movable mold 30 is attached to the movable platen 42. The mold clamping device 40 opens and closes the mold 10 by horizontally moving the movable mold 30 in the front-rear direction together with the movable platen 42. Then, the movable mold 30 is moved forward and pressed against the fixed mold 20, whereby the mold clamping of the mold 10 is performed. FIG. 1 shows a mold 10 in a clamped state by a mold clamping device 40. When the mold 10 is clamped, a cavity 12 is formed between the fixed mold 20 and the movable mold 30. The cavity 12 is a portion of the internal space of the mold 10 having a shape corresponding to the shape of the die-cast product 90 (see FIG. 4). Here, the die-cast product 90 may be, for example, a vehicle body structural member.

[0036] The injection device 61 pumps the molten metal, which is the material of the die-cast product 90, into the cavity 12 of the mold 10 as indicated by the white arrow in FIG. 1. Further, the air in the cavity 12 is exhausted from the exhaust pipe 62 by a vacuum device (not shown) (see an arrow in FIG. 1). The ejecting device 50 includes an ejecting pin 51, an ejecting plate 52, and an ejecting drive unit 55. The ejecting device 50 releases the die-cast product 90 from the movable mold 30 in a substantially horizontal direction by causing the ejecting pins 51 to project horizontally toward the front when the mold 10 is separated. Here, the substantially horizontal direction includes not only a strict horizontal direction but also a direction slightly inclined from the horizontal direction. For example, the substantially horizontal direction includes a direction inclined by about 2 to 3 from the strict horizontal direction.

[0037] A spraying device 70 is disposed above the mold 10. The spraying device 70 includes a main body 71, a telescopic arm 72, a release agent injection nozzle 73, and a coolant injection nozzle 74. The main body 71 is attached to a frame (not shown) and moves in the front-rear-left-right direction. The telescopic arm 72 is attached to the main body 71 and expands and contracts in the up-down direction. A release agent injection nozzle 73 and a coolant injection nozzle 74 are attached to the distal end of the telescopic arm 72. The release agent injection nozzle 73 sprays the release agent toward the movable mold 30. The coolant injection nozzle 74 sprays the coolant onto the die-cast product 90 after casting. The release agent injection nozzle 73 and the coolant injection nozzle 74 are movable in the front, rear, left, right, up and down directions by the main body 71 and the telescopic arm 72.

[0038] The control unit 80 is a computer including a CPU 81 that is a processor that performs information processing therein, and a memory 82 that stores control programs and control data. The driving unit 45 of the mold clamping device 40, the ejecting drive unit 55 of the ejecting device 50, the injection device 61, and the spraying device 70 are connected to the control unit 80, and operate according to an instruction from the control unit 80.

[0039] Next, with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5, the operation of the casting apparatus 100 will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, a fixed mold 20 and a movable mold 30 are set 25 in the casting apparatus 100. The fixed mold 20 and the movable mold 30 are separated from each other by the mold clamping device 40, and a space is provided between the fixed mold 20 and the movable mold 30.

[0040] As shown in step 101 of FIG. 2, CPU 81 of the control unit 80 extends the telescopic arm 72 of the spraying device 70 downward to advance the release agent injection nozzle 73 between the fixed mold 20 and the movable mold 30. Then, CPU 81 sprays the release agent onto the movable mold 30 as shown in FIG. 3 while scanning the release agent injection nozzle 73 vertically and horizontally with respect to the movable mold 30 by the main body 71 and the telescopic arm 72.

[0041] When the spraying of the release agent is completed, CPU 81 of the control unit 80 operates the driving unit 45 of the mold clamping device 40 to move the movable mold 30 forward together with the movable platen 42, as shown in step 102 of FIG. 2. Then, CPU 81 presses the movable mold 30 against the fixed mold 20 to clamp the mold 10 (see FIG. 1). Then, CPU 81 of the control unit 80 operates the injection device 61 in step 103 of FIG. 2, as shown in FIG. 1, injecting molten metal into the cavity 12 of the mold 10.

[0042] CPU 81 remains clamped for a predetermined period of time at step 104 of FIG. 2. Thereafter, in step 105 of FIG. 2, CPU 81 operates the driving unit 45 of the mold clamping device 40 to move the movable mold 30 backward together with the movable platen 42, as shown in FIG. 4, and separates the mold 10 into the fixed mold 20 and the movable mold 30. When the mold 10 is separated after casting, a die-cast product 90 is formed in the region of the cavity 12 shown in FIG. 1.

[0043] Next, in step 106 of FIG. 2, CPU 81 operates the ejecting drive unit 55 of the ejecting device 50 to move the ejecting pin 51 forward, and releases the die-cast product 90 forward from the movable mold 30, as shown in FIG. 4.

[0044] As shown in FIG. 5, the insert 32 of the movable mold 30 includes an upper portion 33, a lower portion 34, and a central portion 35. The central portion 35 protrudes forward from the upper portion 33 and the lower portion 34 to form a convex portion 93 of the die-cast product 90. The central portion 35 has a height H. The central portion 35 has a tapered cross section in which the length of the upper and lower portions decreases toward the front. The upper surface 36 of the central portion 35 is inclined downward toward the front, and the lower surface 37 is inclined upward toward the front. Incidentally, the inclination angle of the upper surface 36 and the lower surface 37 may be any angle as long as it is a die-cutting gradient for releasing the die-cast product 90 from the movable mold 30, and may be, for example, about 1 to 2. In FIG. 5, the inclination angle is displayed larger than the actual inclination angle.

[0045] The die-cast product 90 includes an upper side portion 91, a lower side portion 92, a central convex portion 93, an upper plate 94, and a lower plate 95. The convex portion 93, the upper plate 94, and the lower plate 95 are formed by the upper surface 36 and the lower surface 37 of the central portion 35 of the insert 32. The inclination angle of the inner surface of the upper plate 94 is the same as the inclination angle of the upper surface 36. The inclination angle of the inner surface of the lower plate 95 is the same as the inclination angle of the lower surface 37. These inclination angles may be about 1 to 2, similar to the inclination angles of the upper surface 36 and the lower surface 37.

[0046] In step 106 of FIG. 2, CPU 81 causes the ejecting device 50 to push the upper side portion 91, the lower side portion 92, and the convex portion 93 of the die-cast product 90 out of the upper portion 33, the lower portion 34, and the central portion 35 of the insert 32 by the ejecting amount D, as shown in FIG. 5. As a result, a gap of the ejecting amount D is formed between the upper side portion 91 and the upper portion 33, between the lower side portion 92 and the lower portion 34, and between the convex portion 93 and the central portion 35. A gap is also formed between the inner surface of the lower plate 95 and the lower surface 37 of the insert 32.

[0047] On the other hand, a part of the inner surface of the upper plate 94 and a part of the upper surface 36 of the insert 32 are in contact with each other in the vertical direction. As described above, the inclination angle of the upper surface 36 is about 1 to 2. Thus, when CPU 81 pushes the die-cast product 90 forward with the ejecting device 50, the die-cast product 90 is pushed forward obliquely down 1 to 2 along the draft angle provided on the upper surface 36 of the insert 32. In this way, the die-cast product 90 is ejected in a substantially horizontal direction along the draft angle. Since the inclination angle of the upper surface 36 is about 1 to 2, the load of the die-cast product 90 is supported by the upper surface 36 of the insert 32 at a portion (B portion in FIG. 5) where the upper plate 94 and the upper surface 36 overlap in the up-down direction. Accordingly, the die-cast product 90 is held by the movable mold 30.

[0048] Before the die-cast product 90 is ejected, the front portion of the inner surface of the upper plate 94 and the entire upper surface 36 of the insert 32 overlap in the vertical direction. Here, since the height of the central portion 35 of the insert 32 is H, the length in the die-cutting direction of the portion where the die-cast product 90 and the movable mold 30 overlap in the vertical direction is H. Therefore, CPU 81 pushes the die-cast product 90 substantially horizontally such that the ejecting amount D is shorter than the height H. As a result, the die-cast product 90 can be held by the movable mold 30. Here, the ejecting amount D can be freely set as long as it is shorter than the height H, but may be, for example, less than 5 mm.

[0049] As shown in FIG. 5, after the die-cast product 90 is ejected from the movable mold 30, CPU 81 proceeds to step 107 of FIG. 2 to spray the coolant to the die-cast product 90.

[0050] As shown in FIG. 4, CPU 81 extends the telescopic arm 72 of the spraying device 70 downward to advance the coolant injection nozzle 74 between the fixed mold 20 and the movable mold 30. Then, as shown in FIG. 4, CPU 81 sprays the coolant onto the surface of the die-cast product 90 held by the movable mold 30 while scanning the coolant injection nozzle 74 in the vertical and horizontal directions with respect to the movable mold 30 by the main body 71 and the telescopic arm 72.

[0051] Then, when the temperature of the die-cast product 90 decreases, CPU 81 grasps the die-cast product 90 with a robotic arm (not shown) and removes it from the movable mold 30, as shown in step 108 of FIG. 2.

[0052] As described above, in the casting apparatus 100, since the coolant is sprayed in a state where the die-cast product 90 is held by the movable mold 30, deformation of the die-cast product 90 at the time of cooling can be suppressed by the movable mold 30, and distortion of the die-cast product 90 can be reduced. Further, since the die-cast product 90 is released from the movable mold 30 by the ejecting device 50 and then the coolant is sprayed, it is possible to prevent the die-cast product 90 from being fixed to the movable mold 30 and cannot be punched out when the coolant is sprayed.

[0053] In the above description, the die-cast product 90 is ejected from the movable mold 30 by the ejecting device 50, and the die-cast product 90 is held by the movable mold 30 to spray coolant, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the ejecting device 50 may be disposed on the side of the fixed mold 20, and the ejecting device 50 may be configured to eject the die-cast product 90 from the fixed mold 20, hold the die-cast product 90 in the fixed mold 20, and spray the coolant.