JP4384935B2 - Aluminum extruded tube and method for producing the same, aluminum tube for photosensitive drum and method for producing the same - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an aluminum extruded element tube suitable for use as a photosensitive drum of an electrophotographic apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, and a facsimile machine, and a manufacturing method thereof, and an aluminum tube for a photosensitive drum and a manufacturing method thereof.

  In this specification, the term “aluminum” is used to include both aluminum and aluminum alloys.

Conventionally, an aluminum extruded material has been manufactured by extruding a billet obtained by a float casting method or the like, but the extruded material thus obtained is likely to have a relatively large surface roughness due to a die line or the like. . As a technique for reducing the surface roughness and obtaining an aluminum extruded material having a good surface accuracy, a method of extruding an aluminum alloy in which 0.02 to 0.30% of arsenic is added (see Patent Document 1) or Zn: 4.5-7.5 mass% Mg: 0.20 mass% or more and less than 0.50 mass% Ti: 0.001-0.1 mass% B: 0.0001-0.08 mass %, Fe: 0.35 mass% or less, Si: 0.30 mass% or less, Cu: 0.20 mass% or less, Mn: 0.1-0.3 mass%, Zr: 0.1 A method of extruding an aluminum alloy containing 0.3% by mass, Cr: 0.05 to 0.2% by mass or the like, the balance being Al and inevitable impurities, and then performing artificial aging treatment (See Patent Document 2).
JP 52-63110 A (Claim 1) JP 10-298691 A (Claims 1 and 3)

  By the way, a photosensitive drum used in an electrophotographic type printing apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, and a facsimile machine is used by thinly coating a photosensitive layer on its outer peripheral surface. In order to form a photosensitive layer and improve print quality, it is required to have a smooth surface with a small surface roughness. In recent years, under the circumstances in which such various printing apparatuses have become widespread, it has been strongly demanded to further improve the printing quality by forming a more uniform photosensitive layer. It is necessary that the surface roughness of the aluminum tube for the photosensitive drum is very small and the surface accuracy is excellent. Further, it is increasingly required to have excellent surface accuracy in various applications other than such photosensitive drum applications.

  However, in the above prior art, it is difficult to sufficiently reduce the surface roughness to meet such a requirement, and it has not been possible to ensure excellent surface accuracy.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a technical background, and is a method for manufacturing an aluminum extruded element tube capable of reducing the surface roughness of the extruded element tube, and an aluminum tube for a photosensitive drum excellent in surface accuracy. An object is to provide a manufacturing method.

  In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present inventor, as a result of diligent research, found that the maximum value of the solidified shell layer thickness of the outer peripheral surface of the billet and the surface roughness of the extruded raw tube obtained by extruding the billet. As a result of finding that there is a correlation and further examining this point, if a billet having a maximum value of the solidified shell layer thickness of the outer peripheral surface of 13 mm or less is used, the surface roughness of the extruded element tube is sufficiently increased. The inventors have found that it can be made smaller and have completed the present invention. That is, the present invention provides the following means.

  [1] In a method for producing an aluminum extruded tube by extruding an aluminum billet, a billet having a maximum solidified shell layer thickness of 13 mm or less on the outer peripheral surface is used as the billet. A manufacturing method of a raw tube.

  [2] The method for producing an aluminum extruded element tube as recited in the aforementioned Item 1, wherein the maximum value of the solidified shell layer thickness is 11 mm or less.

  [3] The method for producing an aluminum extruded element tube according to item 1 or 2, wherein the billet is made of an A3003 aluminum alloy.

  [4] A method for producing an aluminum billet by a float casting method, wherein the casting speed is set to 95 mm / min or less.

  [5] The billet manufacturing method according to item 4, wherein the casting speed is set to 85 to 90 mm / min.

  [6] A method for manufacturing an aluminum billet by float casting, wherein the distance from the lowermost part of the mold to the upper surface position of the molten metal is set to 40 mm or less.

  [7] The manufacturing method of the billet as described in 6 above, wherein the distance from the lowermost part of the mold to the upper surface position of the molten metal is set to 30 to 35 mm.

  [8] In the method of manufacturing an aluminum billet by the float casting method, the casting speed is set to 95 mm / min or less, and the distance from the lowermost part of the mold to the upper surface position of the molten metal is set to 40 mm or less. The billet manufacturing method.

  [9] The method for producing a billet according to any one of items 4 to 8, wherein an A3003 aluminum alloy is used as the molten metal.

  [10] A billet manufactured by the manufacturing method according to any one of items 4 to 9.

  [11] A method for producing an aluminum extruded element tube, wherein the billet produced by the production method according to any one of items 4 to 9 is extruded.

  [12] The manufacturing method according to any one of items 1, 2, 3, and 11, wherein the aluminum extruded element tube is an aluminum extruded element tube for a photosensitive drum.

  [13] An aluminum extruded element tube manufactured by the manufacturing method according to any one of items 1, 2, 3, and 11 above.

  [14] An aluminum extruded element tube for a photosensitive drum manufactured by the manufacturing method according to any one of items 1, 2, 3, and 11.

  [15] A method for producing an aluminum tube for a photosensitive drum, wherein the aluminum extruded tube produced by the production method according to any one of items 1, 2, 3, and 11 is drawn.

  [16] A method for manufacturing an aluminum tube for a photosensitive drum, wherein the aluminum extruded tube manufactured by the manufacturing method according to any one of items 1, 2, 3, and 11 is ironed.

  [17] An aluminum tube for a photosensitive drum manufactured by the manufacturing method according to 15 or 16 above.

  In the invention of [1], since the extruded raw material tube is manufactured by extruding a billet having a maximum value of the solidified shell layer thickness of the outer peripheral surface of 13 mm or less, the surface roughness of the obtained extruded raw material tube is suppressed to be small. Thus, an extruded element tube having excellent surface accuracy is provided.

  In the invention of [2], since the billet having the maximum value of the solidified shell layer thickness of 11 mm or less is used, an extruded element tube excellent in surface accuracy in which the surface roughness is further suppressed is provided.

  In the invention of [3], an aluminum extrusion tube suitable for a photosensitive drum is provided.

  In the invention of [4], a billet having a maximum value of the solidified shell layer thickness on the outer peripheral surface of 13 mm or less can be produced.

  In the invention of [5], a billet having a maximum value of the solidified shell layer thickness on the outer peripheral surface of 13 mm or less can be reliably produced.

  In the invention of [6], a billet having a maximum value of the solidified shell layer thickness on the outer peripheral surface of 13 mm or less can be produced.

  In the invention of [7], a billet having a maximum value of the solidified shell layer thickness on the outer peripheral surface of 13 mm or less can be reliably produced.

  In the invention of [8], a billet having a maximum value of the solidified shell layer thickness on the outer peripheral surface of 11 mm or less can be reliably produced.

  In the invention of [9], if this is extruded, an aluminum extruded element tube suitable for a photosensitive drum can be obtained.

  If the billet according to the invention of [10] is extruded, an aluminum extruded element tube having excellent surface accuracy can be obtained.

  In the invention of [11], the surface roughness of the obtained extruded element tube is suppressed to be small, and an extruded element tube excellent in surface accuracy is provided.

  In the invention of [12], an aluminum extruded element tube for a photosensitive drum excellent in surface accuracy is provided.

  The extruded aluminum tube according to the invention of [13] has a small surface roughness and is excellent in surface accuracy.

  The aluminum extruded element tube for a photosensitive drum according to the invention [14] has a small surface roughness and is excellent in surface accuracy.

  [15] According to the invention of [16], an aluminum tube for a photosensitive drum excellent in surface accuracy with suppressed surface roughness is provided.

  The aluminum tube for a photosensitive drum according to the invention [17] is excellent in surface accuracy.

  The method for producing an extruded aluminum pipe according to the present invention is to produce an extruded blank by extruding an aluminum billet (1) having a maximum thickness (T) of the solidified shell layer (2) on the outer peripheral surface of 13 mm or less. (See FIG. 1). Since a billet having a maximum thickness of the solidified shell layer (2) of 13 mm or less is used, an extruded element tube having excellent surface accuracy with reduced surface roughness can be obtained. Therefore, if the aluminum extruded raw tube thus obtained is drawn or ironed, an aluminum tube having a small surface roughness and excellent surface quality can be produced. The aluminum tube thus obtained is suitably used for a photosensitive drum, but is not particularly limited to such an application. The cross-sectional structure of the ingot (billet) consists of the outermost chill layer, the coarse cell layer inside it, and the uniform and delicate cell layer (granular crystals) inside it. What is the “solidified shell layer”? , Means a layer combining the chill layer and the coarse cell layer, that is, a layer outside the cell layer (granular crystals). In FIG. 1, (3) is a fine cell (granular crystal) layer.

  Setting the maximum thickness of the solidified shell layer (2) to 13 mm or less is not greatly affected by the billet diameter, but it is preferable to use a billet diameter of 125 to 200 mm (5 to 8 inches). In particular, it is preferable to use a diameter of 150 to 155 mm (6 inches).

  The use of a billet with a maximum thickness of the solidified shell layer (2) of 13 mm or less provides an extruded element tube with excellent surface accuracy. The structure of the solidified shell layer is composed of coarse grains. There is a possibility that the surface accuracy of the extruded element tube may be affected by the fact that it has a feature that segregation is large and the crystallized product tends to be coarse, but the surface accuracy of the extruded element tube can be improved. The reason has not been clarified yet.

  In the manufacturing method of this invention, it is preferable to use the billet (1) having a maximum thickness (T) of the solidified shell layer (2) on the outer peripheral surface of 11 mm or less. Thereby, the extrusion element pipe by which surface roughness was further suppressed small can be manufactured.

  The composition of the aluminum billet (1) is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include an Al—Mn alloy, an Al—Mn—Si alloy, an Al—Mg alloy, and pure Al. Among these, for photosensitive drum applications, it is preferable to use A3003 aluminum alloy or A6063 aluminum alloy.

  The aluminum billet (1) having the maximum value of the solidified shell layer (2) thickness (T) of the outer peripheral surface of 13 mm or less is manufactured, for example, as follows. That is, when producing an aluminum billet by the float casting method, the billet is cast at a casting speed of 95 mm / min or less. As shown in FIG. 2, the float casting method is such that the molten aluminum (10) stored in the basket (17) is discharged downward through the float (16) and sprayed from the mold (13). The billet (11) is formed by cooling with spray water (15). At this time, by setting the speed of lowering the bottom block (12) supporting the billet (11), that is, the casting speed to 95 mm / min or less, the thickness (T) of the solidified shell layer (2) on the outer peripheral surface is set. An aluminum billet (1) having a maximum value of 13 mm or less can be produced. In addition, (14) is the cooling water stored in the mold (13).

  Especially, it is preferable to set the casting speed to 85 to 90 mm / min. If it sets to such conditions, billet (1) whose maximum value of solidification shell layer thickness (T) is 13 mm or less can be manufactured reliably, maintaining good productivity.

  Thus, if the billet (1) manufactured by the float casting method is set at a casting speed of 95 mm / min or less, an extruded element tube having excellent surface accuracy with reduced surface roughness can be obtained. it can.

  The aluminum billet (1) having a maximum thickness (T) of the solidified shell layer (2) on the outer peripheral surface of 13 mm or less can also be produced by the following method. That is, when an aluminum billet is manufactured by the float casting method, the billet is cast by setting the distance (melt surface height) (H) from the lowermost part of the mold to the upper surface position of the molten metal to 40 mm or less (see FIG. 2). . By casting under such conditions, an aluminum billet (1) having a maximum thickness (T) of the solidified shell layer (2) on the outer peripheral surface of 13 mm or less can be produced. Especially, it is preferable to set the said hot water surface height (H) to 30-35 mm.

  Therefore, if the billet (1) manufactured by the float casting method is set with the molten metal surface height (H) set to 40 mm or less, an extruded element tube with excellent surface accuracy with reduced surface roughness can be obtained. Obtainable.

  More preferred is a method of casting a billet by setting the casting speed to 95 mm / min or less and the molten metal surface height (H) to 40 mm or less when producing an aluminum billet by the float casting method. Among them, the most preferable method is to cast a billet by setting the casting speed to 80 to 90 mm / min and setting the molten metal surface height (H) to 30 to 35 mm. In this case, a billet having a maximum thickness (T) of the solidified shell layer (2) on the outer peripheral surface of 11 mm or less can be reliably produced. Thus, if the obtained billet (1) is extruded, it is possible to obtain an extruded element tube that is particularly excellent in surface accuracy with a very small surface roughness.

  If the aluminum extruded element tube obtained as described above is drawn or ironed, an aluminum tube having a small surface roughness and excellent surface quality can be produced. The aluminum tube thus obtained is suitably used for a photosensitive drum, but is not particularly limited to such an application.

  The extruded aluminum tube obtained by the production method of the present invention is preferably used for producing an aluminum tube for a photosensitive drum, but is not particularly limited to such applications. It can also be used as a material that requires excellent surface accuracy in various fields such as transportation, education, medical care, and entertainment.

  Next, specific examples of the present invention will be described.

<Example 1>
A billet (diameter 155.5 mm × length 5700 mm) was manufactured by a float casting method using A3003 aluminum alloy as the molten metal, setting the casting speed to 93 mm / min, and setting the molten metal surface height (H) to 45 mm. In the obtained billet, the maximum value of the thickness of the solidified shell layer on the outer peripheral surface was 13 mm.

Next, this billet was extruded under the following extrusion conditions to obtain an aluminum extruded element tube (outer diameter 32 mm × thickness 1.5 mm).
(Extrusion conditions)
Extrusion temperature: 450 ° C
Extrusion speed: 30 mm / min The obtained aluminum extruded element tube was drawn to obtain an aluminum tube for a photosensitive drum.

<Example 2>
An aluminum extruded element tube was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the casting speed was set to 90 mm / min. The maximum value of the solidified shell layer thickness on the outer peripheral surface of the billet was 11 mm. The obtained aluminum extruded element tube was ironed to obtain an aluminum tube for a photosensitive drum.

<Example 3>
An aluminum extruded element tube was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the casting speed was set to 85 mm / min. The maximum value of the solidified shell layer thickness on the outer peripheral surface of the billet was 8.3 mm. The obtained aluminum extruded element tube was drawn to obtain an aluminum tube for a photosensitive drum.

<Example 4>
A billet (diameter 155.5 mm × length 5700 mm) was manufactured by a float casting method using A3003 aluminum alloy as the molten metal, setting the casting speed to 130 mm / min, and setting the molten metal surface height (H) to 35 mm. In the obtained billet, the maximum value of the thickness of the solidified shell layer on the outer peripheral surface was 4.8 mm.

  Next, this billet was extruded under the same extrusion conditions as in Example 1 to obtain an aluminum extruded element tube (outer diameter 32 mm × wall thickness 1.5 mm). The obtained aluminum extruded element tube was ironed to obtain an aluminum tube for a photosensitive drum.

<Example 5>
An extruded aluminum tube was obtained in the same manner as in Example 4 except that the molten metal surface height (H) was set to 30 mm. The maximum value of the solidified shell layer thickness on the outer peripheral surface of the billet was 4.4 mm. The obtained aluminum extruded element tube was drawn to obtain an aluminum tube for a photosensitive drum.

<Example 6>
An aluminum extruded element tube was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the casting speed was set to 90 mm / min and the molten metal surface height (H) was set to 35 mm. The maximum value of the solidified shell layer thickness on the outer peripheral surface of the billet was 4.2 mm. The obtained aluminum extruded element tube was ironed to obtain an aluminum tube for a photosensitive drum.

<Example 7>
An aluminum extruded element tube was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the casting speed was set to 85 mm / min and the molten metal surface height (H) was set to 30 mm. The maximum value of the solidified shell layer thickness on the outer peripheral surface of the billet was 4.1 mm. The obtained aluminum extruded element tube was drawn to obtain an aluminum tube for a photosensitive drum.

<Comparative Example 1>
An aluminum extruded element tube was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the casting speed was set to 105 mm / min and the molten metal surface height (H) was set to 50 mm. The maximum value of the thickness of the solidified shell layer on the outer peripheral surface of the billet was 17 mm. The obtained aluminum extruded element tube was drawn to obtain an aluminum tube for a photosensitive drum.

<Comparative example 2>
An aluminum extruded element tube was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the casting speed was set to 110 mm / min and the molten metal surface height (H) was set to 45 mm. The maximum value of the thickness of the solidified shell layer on the outer peripheral surface of the billet was 16 mm. The obtained aluminum extruded element tube was drawn to obtain an aluminum tube for a photosensitive drum.

  The surface roughness of each extruded tube obtained as described above was measured in accordance with JIS B0601-1994 (the maximum height Ry was defined as the surface roughness). By touching the outer peripheral surface of the extruded element tube in the circumferential direction, three points that were considered rough due to the tactile sensation were selected, the surface roughness of these points was measured, and the maximum value was defined as the surface roughness. Measurement was performed at a location 1 m from the end of extrusion of the extruded element tube.

  In the evaluation of the surface accuracy, the case where the surface roughness exceeded 7 μm was set as “X”, and the case where the surface roughness was 7 μm or less was set as “◯” (pass).

  The maximum value of the solidified shell layer thickness on the outer peripheral surface of the billet was measured as follows. That is, the thickness of the solidified shell layer is measured at 8 points in order while shifting in the circumferential direction by 45 degrees (center angle) from the position considered to be the thickest in the solidified shell layer (2). Adopted (see FIG. 1). Measurement was performed at the center of each billet in the length direction. These results are shown in Table 1.

  As is apparent from Table 1, the surface roughness of the extruded aluminum tubes of Examples 1 to 7 obtained by the production method of the present invention was suppressed to be small, and the surface accuracy was excellent. In contrast, the aluminum extruded element tubes of Comparative Examples 1 and 2 had a large surface roughness and poor surface accuracy.

  Further, the aluminum pipes for photosensitive drums of Examples 1 to 7 obtained by the production method of the present invention had excellent specularity. On the other hand, the aluminum pipes for photosensitive drums of Comparative Examples 1 and 2 were insufficient in specularity.

  According to the invention of [1], an aluminum extruded element tube having a small surface roughness and excellent surface accuracy can be produced.

  According to the invention of [2], it is possible to produce an aluminum extruded element tube that is superior in surface accuracy.

  According to the invention of [3], an aluminum extruded element tube suitable for a photosensitive drum can be produced.

  According to the invention of [4], a billet having a maximum value of the solidified shell layer thickness on the outer peripheral surface of 13 mm or less can be produced. Therefore, if this billet is extruded, an aluminum extruded element tube having excellent surface accuracy can be obtained.

  According to the invention of [5], a billet having a maximum value of the solidified shell layer thickness of the outer peripheral surface of 13 mm or less can be reliably produced. Therefore, if this billet is extruded, an aluminum extruded element tube having excellent surface accuracy can be obtained.

  According to the invention of [6], a billet having a maximum value of the solidified shell layer thickness on the outer peripheral surface of 13 mm or less can be produced. Therefore, if this billet is extruded, an aluminum extruded element tube having excellent surface accuracy can be obtained.

  According to the invention of [7], a billet having a maximum value of the solidified shell layer thickness of the outer peripheral surface of 13 mm or less can be reliably produced. Therefore, if this billet is extruded, an aluminum extruded element tube having excellent surface accuracy can be obtained.

  According to the invention of [8], a billet having a maximum value of the solidified shell layer thickness of the outer peripheral surface of 11 mm or less can be reliably produced. Therefore, if this billet is extruded, an aluminum extruded element tube with particularly excellent surface accuracy can be obtained.

  According to the invention of [9], if this is extruded, an aluminum extruded element tube suitable for a photosensitive drum can be obtained.

  If the billet according to the invention of [10] is extruded, an aluminum extruded element tube having excellent surface accuracy can be obtained.

  According to the invention of [11], an aluminum extruded element tube having a small surface roughness and excellent surface accuracy can be produced.

  According to the invention of [12], an aluminum extruded element tube for a photosensitive drum excellent in surface accuracy is provided.

  The extruded aluminum tube according to the invention of [13] has a small surface roughness and is excellent in surface accuracy.

  The aluminum extruded element tube for a photosensitive drum according to the invention [14] has a small surface roughness and is excellent in surface accuracy.

  [15] According to the invention of [16], an aluminum tube for a photosensitive drum having a small surface roughness and excellent surface quality can be produced. In this photosensitive drum aluminum tube, a uniform photosensitive layer can be formed to improve the printing quality.

  The aluminum tube for a photosensitive drum according to the invention [17] is excellent in surface accuracy.

It is a cross-sectional view of a billet. It is explanatory drawing of the float casting method.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Billet 2 ... Solidified shell layer 10 ... Molten metal 11 ... Billet 12 ... Bottom block T ... Solidified shell layer thickness H ... Hot water surface height

Claims (16)

In a method for producing an aluminum extruded element tube by extruding an aluminum billet,
A method for producing an aluminum extruded element tube, wherein the billet is made of an A3003 aluminum alloy and has a maximum solidified shell layer thickness of 13 mm or less on the outer peripheral surface.   The method for producing an extruded aluminum tube according to claim 1, wherein the maximum thickness of the solidified shell layer is 11 mm or less. A method for producing an aluminum billet by a float casting method, wherein an A3003 aluminum alloy is used as a molten metal, and a casting speed is set to 95 mm / min or less. The billet manufacturing method according to claim 3 , wherein the casting speed is set to 85 to 90 mm / min.   In the method for producing an aluminum billet by the float casting method, the billet producing method is characterized in that the distance from the lowermost part of the mold to the upper surface position of the molten metal is set to 40 mm or less. The manufacturing method of the billet of Claim 5 which sets the distance from the mold lowest part to the upper surface position of a molten metal to 30-35 mm. In the method of manufacturing an aluminum billet by the float casting method,
A billet manufacturing method, wherein the casting speed is set to 95 mm / min or less, and the distance from the lowermost part of the mold to the upper surface position of the molten metal is set to 40 mm or less. The billet manufacturing method according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein an A3003 aluminum alloy is used as the molten metal. The billet manufactured with the manufacturing method of any one of Claims 3-8 . The manufacturing method of the aluminum extrusion element | tube characterized by extruding the billet manufactured with the manufacturing method of any one of Claims 3-8 . Claim 1 aluminum extruded raw pipe is aluminum extruded raw pipe for photoconductor drum, the manufacturing method according to any one of 10. An aluminum extruded element tube manufactured by the manufacturing method according to any one of claims 1, 2, and 10 . An aluminum extruded element tube for a photosensitive drum manufactured by the manufacturing method according to any one of claims 1, 2, and 10 . According to claim 1, 10 manufacturing method of the photosensitive drum aluminum tube to an aluminum extruded raw pipe produced by the production method according to any one characterized by drawing the. According to claim 1, 10 manufacturing method of the photosensitive drum aluminum tube, characterized in that the ironing an aluminum extruded raw pipe produced by the production method according to any one of. An aluminum tube for a photosensitive drum manufactured by the manufacturing method according to claim 14 or 15 .

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