Suction pressure casting method

• US 10,307,820 B2
• Filed: 05/22/2015
• Issued: 06/04/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 05/22/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Shiga, Hidetoshi, Tsuchiya, Shinnichi, Masuta, Tatsuya, Hayashi, Kenji
• Primary Examiner(s): Yoon, Kevin E
• Assistant Examiner(s): Yuen, Jacky
• Application Number:
  US15/570,388
• Publication Number:
  US 20180133788A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,474 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B22C 9/00 Moulds or cores uniquely adapted to particular casting processes B22D; Moulding processes
• CPC Class Codes: B22D 17/22 Dies manufacture, see the appropriate class, e.g. B23P15/24; Die plates; Die supports; Cooling equipment for dies; Accessories for loosening and ejecting castings from dies
• CPC Class Codes: B22D 18/04 Low pressure casting, i.e. making use of pressures up to a few bars to fill the mould
• CPC Class Codes: B22D 18/06 Vacuum casting, i.e. making use of vacuum to fill the mould
• CPC Class Codes: B22D 18/08 Controlling, supervising, e.g. for safety reasons controlling or regulating in general G05

Abstract

A suction pressure casting method uses a casting device that includes a holding furnace for accumulating molten metal, a metal mold and a core forming a cavity, a molten-metal pressurizing tank that supplies a pressurizing gas, and a suction and exhaust tank for sucking and exhausting the inside of the cavity. A preset decompression pattern of a casting process is compared with a measured pressure pattern of the cavity and the core that is measured during actual casting. A corrected decompression pattern is calculated based on a difference therebetween. The preset decompression pattern at the time of the next casting is then corrected by using the corrected decompression pattern.

Claims

1. A suction pressure casting method comprising

using a casting device to carry out suction pressure casting in which molten metal is pressurized and poured into a cavity of a metal mold and the cavity is suctioned and exhausted, the casting device including

a holding furnace in which molten metal is accumulated,

the metal mold that forms the cavity together with a core,

a molten-metal pressurizing device including a pressurized gas tank for supplying pressurizing gas into the holding furnace, and

a suction-exhaust device for suctioning and exhausting an interior of the cavity, the suction-exhaust device including a vacuum pump, a first exhaust pipe in communication with the cavity, a second exhaust pipe in communication with the core, a first exhaust valve provided in the first exhaust pipe, and a second exhaust valve provided in the second exhaust pipe;

setting a preset decompression pattern of the suction-exhaust device in advance according to a casting process;

comparing the preset decompression pattern to a measured pressure pattern of the cavity and the core that is measured during actual casting, the measured pressure pattern comprising a first time period from a start of pouring of the molten metal to a completion of pouring, a second time period from the completion of pouring the molten metal to when a solidified film of the molten metal is formed in a periphery of the core, and a third time period from the formation of the solidified film of the molten metal in the periphery of the core to when the suctioning and exhausting of the cavity is stopped;

calculating a corrected decompression pattern of the suction-exhaust device based on a difference between the preset decompression pattern and the measured pressure pattern;

correcting the preset decompression pattern at a time of a subsequent casting cycle by using the corrected decompression pattern, the corrected decompression pattern of the suction-exhaust device being calculated based on the difference between the preset decompression pattern and the measured pressure pattern, and at which time period the measured pressure deviates from the preset decompression pattern being displayed by a display device;

using a preset pressurizing pattern of the molten-metal pressurizing device set in advance according to the casting process; and

in the second time period, determining that an abnormality has occurred in a cast product when the measured pressure of the core exceeds the molten metal pressure of the periphery of the core determined from the preset pressurizing pattern of the molten-metal pressurizing device,

the preset decompression pattern and the corrected decompression pattern being patterns for controlling opening amounts of the first and second exhaust valves.

2. The suction pressure casting method according to claim 1, wherein

the suction-exhaust device further includes a vacuum tank connected to the first exhaust pipe and the second exhaust pipe, the first exhaust valve being disposed between the vacuum tank and the cavity and the second exhaust valve being disposed between the vacuum tank and the core.

3. The suction pressure casting method according to claim 1, wherein

the casting device further includes a decompression chassis for hermetically enclosing the metal mold, and

the suction-exhaust device further includes a third exhaust pipe in communication with an interior of the decompression chassis and a third exhaust valve provided in the third exhaust pipe,

the preset decompression pattern and the corrected decompression pattern being patterns for controlling opening amounts of the first, second, and third exhaust valves.

4. A suction pressure casting method comprising

using a casting device to carry out suction pressure casting in which molten metal is pressurized and poured into a cavity of a metal mold and the cavity is suctioned and exhausted, the casting device including

a holding furnace in which molten metal is accumulated,

the metal mold that forms the cavity together with a core,

a molten-metal pressurizing device including a pressurized gas tank for supplying pressurizing gas into the holding furnace, and

a suction-exhaust device for suctioning and exhausting an interior of the cavity, the suction-exhaust device including a vacuum pump, a first exhaust pipe in communication with the cavity, a second exhaust pipe in communication with the core, a first exhaust valve provided in the first exhaust pipe, and a second exhaust valve provided in the second exhaust pipe;

setting a preset decompression pattern of the suction-exhaust device in advance according to a casting process;

comparing the preset decompression pattern to a measured pressure pattern of the cavity and the core that is measured during actual casting, the measured pressure pattern comprising a first time period from a start of pouring of the molten metal to a completion of pouring, a second time period from the completion of pouring the molten metal to when a solidified film of the molten metal is formed in a periphery of the core, and a third time period from the formation of the solidified film of the molten metal in the periphery of the core to when the suctioning and exhausting of the cavity is stopped;

calculating a corrected decompression pattern of the suction-exhaust device based on a difference between the preset decompression pattern and the measured pressure pattern; and

correcting the preset decompression pattern at a time of a subsequent casting cycle by using the corrected decompression pattern, the corrected decompression pattern of the suction-exhaust device being calculated based on the difference between the preset decompression pattern and the measured pressure pattern, and at which time period the measured pressure deviates from the preset decompression pattern being displayed by a display device;

using a preset pressurizing pattern of the molten-metal pressurizing device set in advance according to the casting process; and

in the second time period, calculating the corrected decompression pattern such that the difference between the measured pressure of the core and the molten metal pressure of the periphery of the core determined from the preset pressurizing pattern of the molten-metal pressurizing device becomes a predetermined value or less,

the preset decompression pattern and the corrected decompression pattern being patterns for controlling opening amounts of the first and second exhaust valves.

5. The suction pressure casting method according to claim 4, wherein

the suction-exhaust device further includes a vacuum tank connected to the first exhaust pipe and the second exhaust pipe, the first exhaust valve being disposed between the vacuum tank and the cavity and the second exhaust valve being disposed between the vacuum tank and the core.