JP7718278B2 - Core manufacturing equipment, core manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a core manufacturing apparatus and a core manufacturing method.

Patent Document 1 discloses a hot runner system that transports a thermoplastic melt from the injection unit of an injection molding machine to a mold. This hot runner system is equipped with multiple heaters that maintain the thermoplastic melt at a predetermined temperature as it is transported to the mold.

Patent Document 1 describes a method of dividing a mold and hot runner system into multiple regions, determining the mass of each region, and heating regions with larger masses before regions with smaller masses, thereby reducing wear on related components and minimizing material degradation.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-526979

Patent Document 1 incorporates a dedicated control system that monitors the temperatures of multiple heater regions and controls all of the heaters. When a control system constructed with multiple single-loop control modules is used, the multiple modules communicate with each other via a communication interface, thereby enabling each heater to achieve the desired start-up sequence.

As such, Patent Document 1 incorporates a dedicated control system that aggregates temperature control, which means that the number of heater systems cannot be easily changed, and there is a problem in that it is not possible to subdivide the temperature control areas of the mold and achieve detailed temperature control for each area.

The present invention was made in consideration of these problems, and its object is to provide a core manufacturing device and a core manufacturing method that make it possible to easily subdivide the temperature control areas of a core molding die.

A core manufacturing apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises a plurality of heaters arranged at a plurality of locations on a mold for core molding, a plurality of controllers provided in one-to-one correspondence with the plurality of heaters and controlling the plurality of heaters, a temperature sensor that measures the temperature of the mold, and a determination unit that determines whether to add a new heater and a new controller pair that controls the new heater based on the temperature measured by the temperature sensor.

In the core manufacturing apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, the temperature sensor is positioned corresponding to a candidate area for adding the heater.

In the core manufacturing apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention, the temperature sensor measurement value is transmitted to the new controller, and the new controller determines whether to add the new heater based on the temperature measured by the temperature sensor. If the new heater is to be added, the new heater and the new controller that controls it are added as a pair.

A core manufacturing device according to a fourth aspect of the present invention arranges multiple heaters at multiple locations on a mold for core molding, provides multiple controllers in one-to-one correspondence with the multiple heaters and controls each of the multiple heaters, measures the temperature of the mold, and determines, based on the measured temperature, whether to add a new heater and a new pair of controllers to control the new heater.

The present invention makes it possible to provide a core manufacturing device and a core manufacturing method that allow for easy subdivision of temperature control areas in a core molding die.

1 is a schematic diagram showing a part of the configuration of a core manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example in which a heater is added to the core manufacturing apparatus of FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example in which a heater is added to the core manufacturing apparatus of FIG. 1 . FIG. 1 is a flow chart illustrating a core manufacturing method according to an embodiment.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. For clarity, the following description and drawings have been omitted and simplified as appropriate. In addition, identical elements in each drawing are designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicate explanations have been omitted as necessary.

The embodiment relates to a technology for molding cores using a core-molding mold. The mixed sand that is the raw material for the core is, for example, refractory mineral sand or synthetic sand that is coated with or mixed with water glass. Examples of mineral sand or synthetic sand include alumina sand, silica sand, and zircon sand.

The core making device is equipped with a pressing device (not shown). The pressing device is a device that presses mixed sand into a mold. As a pressing device, for example, one equipped with an injection cylinder and an injection piston is used. Mixed sand is placed into the injection cylinder. The mixed sand in the injection cylinder is pushed into the mold by the injection piston, filling the cavity of the mold with mixed sand.

The mixed sand is pressed into a heated mold and baked inside the mold, which is maintained at a predetermined temperature. The mold temperature is set appropriately depending on the type of mixed sand, etc.

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing part of the configuration of a core manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment. To simplify the drawing, Figure 1 only shows the mold 10 and controllers 15A-15F (collectively referred to as controller 15). For ease of explanation, Figure 1 also shows the surfaces of the fixed mold 11 and movable mold 12 on which the recesses are formed as the front.

The mold 10 is a mold used to mold a core. As shown in FIG. 1, the mold 10 includes, for example, a fixed mold 11 and a movable mold 12. The fixed mold 11 and the movable mold 12 each have a recess of a predetermined shape formed therein. A cavity is formed inside the mold 10 by clamping the recess formed in the fixed mold 11 and the recess formed in the movable mold 12 facing each other. The cavity has a shape corresponding to the core to be molded.

By maintaining the mold 10 at a predetermined temperature for a predetermined time, the mixed sand filled in the cavity is baked and hardened. A core is molded to the shape of the cavity. The fixed mold 11 and movable mold 12 are then moved apart from each other, and the molded core is removed. The core is used as part of the mold for casting the casting product.

In this embodiment, heaters (not shown) are placed in multiple locations on the mold 10. In the example shown in Figure 1, different heaters are placed in six locations indicated by ellipses. The locations where the heaters are placed are called heater areas 13A to 13F. Specifically, the fixed mold 11 has four heater areas 13A to 13D, and the movable mold 12 has two heater areas 13E and 13F. The heaters heat the mold 10 and are placed, for example, on the outside of the mold 10.

The controller 15 controls the temperature of the mold 10. The controllers 15A-F are provided in one-to-one correspondence with the heaters provided in the heater regions 13A-13F of the mold 10. For ease of explanation, in Figure 1, the controllers 15A-15F are connected to the corresponding heater regions 13A-13F by lines. The controllers 15A-15F individually control the heaters in the heater regions 13A-13F, raising, lowering, or maintaining the temperature of each heater region 13A-13F of the mold 10.

A temperature sensor (not shown) is also placed near the heater. In the example shown in Figure 1, a different temperature sensor is placed at each of the six locations indicated by circles. The locations where the temperature sensors are placed are called measurement areas 14A to 14F. The temperature sensors are placed, for example, on the outside of the mold 10, in a position that does not interfere with the heater.

The temperature sensors measure the temperatures of measurement areas 14A-14F near each heater area 13A-13F of the mold 10. The temperature sensors output, for example, the temperature values of each location on the mold 10 at regular intervals. The temperature sensors are, for example, thermocouple sensors. Note that the temperature sensors may also be non-contact temperature sensors.

The temperature sensors installed in each measurement area 14A-14F are connected to controllers 15A-15F, respectively. For ease of explanation, lines connect the controllers 15A-15F to the corresponding measurement areas 14A-14F in Figure 1. The measured values of the measurement areas 14A-14F measured by the temperature sensors are sent to the controllers 15A-15F, respectively.

The controller 15 also functions as a determination unit that determines whether to add a new heater and a new controller pair that controls the new heater, depending on the temperature measured by the temperature sensor. The controller 15 is an arithmetic processing device, and may be, for example, a general-purpose computer equipped with various hardware components including a CPU (Central Processing Unit), HDD (Hard Disk Drive), SSD (Solid State Drive), RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), etc. The functions executed by the arithmetic processing device can be realized in various ways, using only hardware, only software, or a combination of these, and are not limited to any one of these.

Figures 2 and 3 are diagrams illustrating an example of adding a heater to the core manufacturing apparatus 1 of Figure 1. Figures 2 and 3 show an example of adding a new heater to candidate area 16, indicated by a dashed line on the fixed mold 11, which is a candidate area for heater placement, and adding a general-purpose controller 15G that exclusively controls the heater. The candidate area 16 is assumed to be an area where the temperature is low, for example, and where poor core firing may occur. Note that the wiring connecting the heater and controller is omitted here. Figure 4 is a flow diagram illustrating a core manufacturing method according to an embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 2, heaters and temperature sensors are pre-installed in heater regions 13A to 13D. The pre-installed heaters may be embedded in mold 10. Controllers 15A to 15D are connected to the heaters in heater regions 13A to 13D, respectively.

First, a temperature sensor is placed in the candidate area 16 to measure the temperature of the candidate area 16 of the mold 10 (step S11). This measurement value is sent to a new controller 15G, separate from the existing controllers 15A-15D. The controller 15G determines whether to add a heater to the candidate area 16 based on the temperature measured by the temperature sensor. Here, it is determined whether the measured temperature is lower than a preset value (step S12).

If the measured temperature is equal to or higher than the set value (step S12 NO), the combination of the heater and the controller that controls it is not added, and the process returns to step S11. If the measured temperature is lower than the set value (step S12 YES), a new heater is placed in candidate area 16, and as shown in Figure 3, candidate area 16 becomes a new heater area 13G. In other words, in this case, a combination of a new heater and a new controller that controls this heater is added (step S13).

As such, according to this embodiment, the number of heaters combined with one general-purpose controller can be increased or decreased per heater system depending on the mold temperature. Furthermore, the temperature of each heater area 13A-13G is measured by a separate temperature sensor. Furthermore, each heater area 13A-13G is controlled using a separate controller 15A-15G.

This allows the temperature control areas of the mold 10 to be subdivided, enabling precise temperature control for each area. Furthermore, because a general-purpose, inexpensive controller 15 can be used, it is easy to add additional control areas.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and modifications can be made as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the invention.

1 Core manufacturing device 10 Mold 11 Fixed mold 12 Movable mold 13A to 13G Heater area 14A to 14F Measurement area 15A to 15G Controller 16 Candidate area

Claims (4)

a heater disposed at a predetermined position of the mold for core molding;
a controller provided in one-to-one correspondence with each of the heaters and configured to control the heaters ;
a temperature sensor that measures the temperature of a portion of the mold near the heater ;
A plurality of combinations of
When adding a new combination including a new heater, a new controller and a new temperature sensor,
when the new heater is arranged in the candidate area, the new controller acquires a temperature of a portion in the vicinity of the candidate area from the new temperature sensor arranged in the vicinity of the candidate area, and determines whether to add the new combination based on the acquired temperature .
Core manufacturing equipment. the new controller determines whether to add the new combination when the acquired temperature is lower than a preset value.
The core manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1. a heater disposed at a predetermined position of the mold for core molding;
a controller provided in one-to-one correspondence with each of the heaters and configured to control the heaters ;
a temperature sensor that measures the temperature of a portion of the mold near the heater ;
There are multiple combinations of
When adding a new combination including a new heater, a new controller and a new temperature sensor,
When the new heater is placed in the candidate area, the new controller acquires a temperature of a portion in the vicinity of the candidate area from the new temperature sensor placed in the vicinity of the candidate area, and determines whether to add a new combination based on the acquired temperature.
Core manufacturing method. the new controller determines whether to add the new combination when the acquired temperature is lower than a preset value.
The method for manufacturing a core according to claim 3.