MOLD PART

Abstract

A mold part of a modular concrete block mold has an additively manufactured region or is an additively manufactured mold part. The additively manufactured region may be a 3D metal printing region or the additively manufactured mold part may be a 3D metal printing mold part. The mold part may have a milled or cast region and the additively manufactured region.

Claims

1. A mold part (7, 9, 10, 11, 31, 32, 35) of a modular concrete block mold, which mold part has an additively manufactured region (17, 19, 21) or an additively manufactured mold part (7, 9, 10, 11, 31, 32, 35).

2. The mold part (7, 9, 10, 11, 31, 32, 35) according to claim 1, wherein the additively manufactured region (17, 19, 21) is a 3D metal printing region or the additively manufactured mold part (7, 9, 10, 11, 31, 32, 35) is a 3D metal printing mold part.

3. The mold part (7, 9, 10, 11, 31, 32, 35) according to claim 1, which mold part has a milled or cast region (19) and the additively manufactured region (17).

4. The mold part (7, 9, 10, 11, 31, 32, 35) according to claim 1, which mold part has a first region (17) made of a first material and a second region (19) made of a second material, wherein at least the first region (17) is additively manufactured.

5. The mold part (7, 9, 10, 11, 31, 32, 35) according to claim 4, wherein the first material is a material from the group consisting of wrapping material, filling material, and support material, and the second material is another material from the group consisting of wrapping material, filling material, and support material.

6. The mold part (7, 9, 10, 11, 31, 32, 35) according to claim 1, wherein the additively manufactured region (17, 19, 21) or the additively manufactured mold part (7, 9, 10, 11, 31, 32, 35) is non-stick at least in some regions.

7. The mold part (7, 9, 10, 11, 31, 32, 35) according to claim 1, which mold part has an undercut (29).

8. The mold part (7, 9, 10, 11, 31, 32, 35) according to claim 1, which mold part has a cavity.

9. The mold part (7, 9, 10, 11, 31, 32, 35) according to claim 1, which mold part is heatable.

10. The mold part (7, 9, 10, 11, 31, 32, 35) according to claim 1, wherein the additively manufactured region (17, 19, 21) is an edge region of the mold part (7, 9, 10, 11, 31, 32, 35).

11. The mold part (7, 9, 10, 11, 31, 32, 35) according to claim 1, wherein the first region (17) is an edge region of the mold part.

12. The mold part (9, 35) according to claim 1, which mold part is a pressure plate (9) or a blade (35).

13. The mold part (9, 35) according to claim 12, wherein the additively manufactured region (17, 19) forms a pressure plate surface (27) or a chamfer (15, 16) or a blade surface (27) or a blade tip (37).

14. The mold part (9, 35) according to claim 12, wherein the additively manufactured region (17, 19) forms a pressure plate surface (27) or a chamfer (15, 16) or a blade surface (27) or a blade tip (37).

Description

[0019] Some embodiments are explained in more detail below with reference to the drawings.

[0020] FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a modular concrete block mold in an exploded representation.

[0021] FIGS. 2A, 2B and 2C show an embodiment of a mold part in a three-dimensional representation, in a side view and in a detailed representation of the side view.

[0022] FIG. 3 shows a further embodiment of a mold part in a three-dimensional representation.

[0023] FIG. 4 shows a section through a further embodiment of a mold part.

[0024] FIG. 5 shows a further embodiment of a mold part in a side view.

[0025] In the drawings, the same or functionally equivalent components are provided with the same reference signs.

[0026] FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a modular concrete block mold in an exploded representation. The concrete block mold comprises a lower mold part and an upper mold part. For the sake of clarity, the lower mold part and only parts of the upper mold part that come into contact with the concrete mixture when the concrete block is being manufactured are shown. With the concrete block mold shown, a plurality of hollow blocks can be formed at the same time.

[0027] The lower mold part has a frame 1 consisting of a plurality of mold parts 10. The frame 1 surrounds an insert 3 which is composed of a plurality of mold parts 31, 32. The insert 3 has a plurality of recesses 5, which are designed as mold cavities, also referred to as block cavities. In this embodiment, the concrete block mold has twelve cavities in two rows. The mold parts 31, 32 of the insert 3 comprise longitudinal walls 32 which extend along the length of the insert. Transverse walls 31 are inserted between the longitudinal walls 32. Cores 7 in the recesses 5 are used to form the hollow spaces in the hollow blocks to be manufactured. In this embodiment, two cores 7 are provided for a recess 5 in each case. The cores 7 are fastened in rows to a core holding strip 11 which in turn is fastened to the frame 1. The cores 7 and the core holding strips 11 are also mold parts. The mold parts 7, 11, 10, 31, 32 can be connected to one another, for example by tongue and groove connections and/or plug connections and/or screw connections, in order to form the lower mold part of the modular concrete block mold.

[0028] The upper mold part (not shown in its entirety), which comprises a plurality of pressure plates 9, is arranged opposite the recesses 5. The dimensions and shape of the pressure plates 9 correspond to the area between the recess contour and the core contour and can be lowered into the recess 5 so that they move past the core upper face. The pressure plates 9, as components of the upper mold part, are connected to form a unit (not shown) via plungers and a plate. The pressure plates 9 are, like the other parts, e.g. the plungers and plate, which are mounted to form the upper mold part of the concrete block mold, also mold parts.

[0029] A concrete mixture is poured into the recesses 5 when the block is being manufactured. The concrete mixture is compacted by shaking, during which the fill level of the concrete mixture is reduced and the pressure plates 9 press on the concrete mixture and are thus further lowered. The region between the mixture fill level in insert 3 before and after compaction is also referred to as the main compaction region. The main compaction region is in the upper region of the lower mold part. Due to the combination of shaking and lowering the pressure plates 9 during compaction, the mechanical load of the mold parts 31, 32 of the insert 3 in the main compaction region is particularly high. This also applies to the upper region of the cores 7.

[0030] The concrete block mold has mold parts 7, 9, 10, 11, 31, 32 which have been additively manufactured at least in some regions. The corresponding mold parts 7, 9, 10, 11, 31, 32 can be additively manufactured entirely or only in some regions. In addition, the concrete block mold can also have mold parts 7, 9, 10, 11, 31, 32 that are manufactured entirely conventionally.

[0031] Due to the modular design of the concrete block mold, it is possible to replace a mold part 7, 9, 10, 11, 31, 32, even if it is manufactured entirely conventionally, with an additively manufactured mold part 7, 9, 10, 11, 31, 32. In this way, a replacement mold part can be manufactured in a simple manner using 3D metal printing. Of course, the replacement mold part can also be additively manufactured only in some regions. If there is only local wear of a mold part 7, 9, 10, 11, 31, 32, the affected mold part 7, 9, 10, 11, 31, 32 can be adapted, i.e. it is refurbished and reused. During the adaptation, the shape of the mold part in the non-worn state, i.e. the original shape of the mold part, is restored by additive manufacturing using 3D metal printing. In the case of a mold part 7, 9, 10, 11, 31, 32 of which the additively manufactured region is worn, the adaptation can be made by replacing the additively manufactured region.

[0032] In general, in the case of the concrete block mold, the upper regions of the mold parts 7, 10, 11, 31, 32 in the lower mold part and the lower face, which is also referred to as the surface, and side regions of the pressure plates 9 wear out. This is because the plunging pressure plate 9 strikes the top region of the insert 3. A concrete block mold has a specific mold height, for example 88 mm, to produce a desired block height; following the example above this would be 80 mm. When the block is being manufactured, the entire concrete block mold is filled with concrete up to the mold height of 88 mm. The pressure plates 9 then begin to plunge into the recesses 5 under pressure and to compress the mixture. At the same time, there is strong shaking from below, which is also known as shock vibration. The concrete mixture only reaches its necessary strength when the pressure plates 9 have reached the block height of 80 mm. This means that the upper region of the concrete block mold between the mold height and the block height, which is 8 mm wide and is also known as the main compaction region, is subjected to the most load and consequently wears out the fastest. FIG. 2A, 2B, 2C and 3 show mold parts 31, 7 from the concrete block mold, in which precisely these regions are armored against the loads described above by additively manufactured regions.

[0033] FIGS. 2A, 2B and 2C show an embodiment of a mold part 31, which has additively manufactured regions, in a three-dimensional representation, in a side view and as a detailed representation of the upper region of the side view. The mold part 31 is a transverse wall of the insert 3 of the concrete block mold.

[0034] The metal mold part 31 designed as a transverse wall has a rectangular base surface having laterally extending fastening means 13 for engaging in the adjacent, transverse longitudinal walls 32. On an upper region of the mold part 31, which faces the upper mold part of the concrete block mold in the assembled state, the mold part 31 has chamfers 15 as obliquely extending upper edges at the front and rear.

[0035] In the upper region, the mold part 31 has strip-shaped, additively manufactured first regions 17 on the front face and the rear face. The additively manufactured first regions 17 are 3D metal printing regions and also form the chamfers 15. The strip-shaped first regions 17 extend over the entire length of the transverse wall and at least along the main compaction region in which the mold part 31 is exposed to particular loads. The second region 19 of the mold part 31 beyond the first regions 17 can be conventionally manufactured, for example milled or cast. In an alternative embodiment, the second region 19 is also an additively manufactured 3D metal printing region of which the material, however, differs from that of the first region 17. The connection between the regions 17, 19 can be made by any suitable means, for example welded joints, adhesively bonded joints, fastening means such as screws or, preferably, by one of the regions 17, 19 having been printed on top of the other.

[0036] The additive manufacturing of the mold part 31 at least in some regions allows different materials to be used for the different regions 17, 19 of the mold part 31, the materials being optimized with regard to the different requirement aspects of the regions 17, 19. The abrasively loaded first regions 17 are made of a more resistant, more stable material than the second region 19.

[0037] When the first regions 17 wear out, it is not necessary to replace the entire mold part 31, but it is sufficient to merely adapt the mold part 31 by only the additively manufactured first regions 17 being replaced with new additively manufactured regions and/or being rebuilt by means of 3D metal printing.

[0038] FIG. 3 is a three-dimensional representation of an embodiment of a mold part 7 which has regions that are additively manufactured. The mold part is a core 7 of the concrete block mold. On its upper face is a gap 21 in which the core holding strip 11 engages. The edges of the core upper face facing away from the gap 21 are rounded in order to facilitate the lowering of the pressure plate 9 along the core 7 and to prevent the pressure plates 9 from striking. On both faces of the gap 21, the core upper face has first regions 13 that are additively manufactured and extend beyond the rounded edges.

[0039] The upper face of the core 7 is exposed to large loads due to the pressure plates 9 lowering over said core and possibly striking it, in combination with the shaking. The additively manufactured first regions 17 are made of a harder material than the second region 19, which forms the core body. The second region 19 can be manufactured conventionally or additively, and different materials can be combined for the body and upper face, as has already been described in connection with the previous embodiment.

[0040] When the first regions 17 wear out, it is not necessary to replace the entire mold part 7, but it is sufficient to merely adapt the mold part 7 by only the additively manufactured first regions 17 being replaced with additively manufactured regions and/or being rebuilt.

[0041] FIG. 4 shows a section through an embodiment of a pressure plate 9 having a rectangular base surface, such as can be used for printing paving blocks.

[0042] The pressure plate 9 has a negative chamfer 16 at the edge, which is designed as a protruding region having a triangular contour in order to form a chamfered edge of the block. The chamfer 16 is an additively manufactured first region 17 on a second region 19 that extends over the entire mirror 27. The first region 17 is made of a harder material than the second region 19. The material of the second region 19 is a non-stick wrapping material. On the face of the second region 19 facing away from the first region 13, an additively manufactured third region 21, which has a planar recess 23, is applied. A component for an additional function, for example a planar heating element 25, can be introduced into the recess, so that the pressure plate 9 can be heated. The third region 21 has an undercut 29 which can engage in another mold part. The heating element 25 supports the non-stick properties of the pressure mirror 27, since the concrete mixture, which has dried slightly on the surface as a result, is more easily detached.

[0043] FIG. 5 shows a further embodiment of a mold part, which is designed as a blade 35, in a side view. The blade 35 is a distinctively shaped pressure plate that has an edge portion which, when the blade is lowered into the cavity, extends along the mold cavity wall in a tapered manner to form a block having an oblique face, for example a curb. The surface 27 of the blade 29 faces the mold cavity. An additively manufactured first region 13 forms the blade tip 37, which is made of a harder, more stable material than the second region 19, which forms the blade body with the surface 27. The first region is a replaceable wear volume.

[0044] The features indicated above and in the claims, as well as the features which can be seen in the figures, may be advantageously implemented both individually as well as in various combinations. The invention is not limited to the embodiments described, but may be modified in many ways within the scope of expert knowledge.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

[0045] 1 Frame [0046] 3 Insert [0047] 5 Recess [0048] 7 Core [0049] 9 Pressure plate [0050] 10 Mold part [0051] 11 Core holding strip [0052] 13 Fastening means [0053] 15 Chamfer [0054] 17 First region [0055] 19 Second region [0056] 21 Third region [0057] 23 Recess [0058] 25 Heating element [0059] 27 Surface [0060] 29 Undercut [0061] 31 Mold part [0062] 32 Mold part [0063] 35 Blade [0064] 37 Tip