JPH0675764B2 - Automatic pouring device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (1) Field of Industrial Application The present invention connects a first pouring position where at least one mold is arranged and a second pouring position where at least one mold is arranged. A movement path of the arm of the robot is set, a molten metal holding furnace is arranged in the middle of the movement path between the first and second pouring positions, and the molten metal holding furnace and the first and second pouring positions are connected to each other. The present invention relates to an automatic pouring device in which an arm of a robot capable of reciprocating between each of the above is tiltably supported by a ladle for pouring the molten metal from the molten metal holding furnace and pouring the molten metal into each mold.

(2) Conventional Technology Conventionally, in such an automatic pouring device, it is general that the ladle is tilted to either the left side or the right side to perform pouring into the mold.

(3) Problem to be Solved by the Invention By the way, when pouring the molten metal pumped from the molten metal holding furnace into at least one pair of the molds, it is efficient to arrange the molds on both sides of the molten metal holding furnace, respectively. , If the ladle is tilted to either the left or the right as in the conventional case, the ladle must be tilted after the robot arm has passed through the mold in either one of the molds. The movement amount of the arm increases by that much, so that the pouring operation cannot be said to be efficient, and the increase in the movement amount affects the installation space of other devices.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is an automatic pouring system capable of efficiently pouring the molds arranged on both sides of the molten metal holding furnace along the movement path of the robot arm. The purpose is to provide a device.

B. Structure of the Invention (1) Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a ladle is
The robot has a pair of pouring ports at opposite positions to enable pouring by tilting to the front or rear of the arm movement direction along the movement path.The robot has a ladle from the molten metal holding furnace at each pouring position. The arm is configured to stop at a position where the axis of the arm is in front of the spout of the mold so that the spout is poured from the distant pouring port to the spout of each mold.

(2) Action According to the above configuration, by pouring the arm of one robot along the movement path, pouring into the molds respectively arranged at the first and second pouring positions is possible. Moreover, when the arm moves from the molten metal holding furnace to the first pouring position side and when it moves from the molten metal holding furnace to the second pouring position side, the arm may be stopped before reaching the gate of the mold. Also, the working distance of the robot can be improved by shortening the moving distance of the arm between the second pouring position and the molten metal holding furnace.

(3) Embodiment One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First, in FIG. 1, the first pouring position P ₁ and the second pouring position
Signed and P _2, the movement path of the arm 7 of the robot 1 is set in an arc shape, the first pouring position P ₁ at least 1
One example, a pair of mold 4 _1, 4 ₂ are disposed, a first pouring position
At least one, for example, a pair of molds 4 ₃ and 4 ₄ is arranged at P ₂ , and a molten metal holding furnace 3 for holding a molten metal such as an aluminum alloy is arranged at an intermediate portion of the moving path.

The arm 1 of the robot 1 supports a ladle 2 which can be tilted to any of the front and rear sides along the moving direction of the arm 7 along the moving path. In order to pump up the molten metal with the ladle 2 and to pour the molten metal from the ladle 2 into the molds 41 ₁ , 4 ₂ ; 4 ₃ , 4 ₄ ,
Reciprocating operation is performed between the molten metal holding furnace 3 and the first pouring position P ₁ , and between the molten metal holding furnace 3 and the second pouring position P ₂ .

The robot 1 includes a robot main body 6 mounted on a fixed base 5 that is capable of rotating around a vertical axis and moving up and down.
The robot body 6 is provided with an arm 7 supported so as to be movable in a horizontal direction orthogonal to the vertical axis.

Referring also to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, a supporting arm 8 extending downward is fixed to the tip of the arm 7, and the lower end portion of the supporting arm 8 has an axis line parallel to the longitudinal direction of the arm 7. The ladle 2 is supported by enabling tilting movements around it. That is, at the lower end of the support arm 8, a rotary shaft 9 coaxial with the axis of the arm 7 or having an axis parallel to the axis in the vertical plane including the axis as in this embodiment is rotated around the axis. A ladle 2 made of ceramics is attached to a metal bracket 10 which is movably supported and is fixed to the end of a rotary shaft 9 on the side opposite to the robot body 6.

4 to 6, the ladle 2 is formed by molding a ceramic having a low thermal conductivity, for example, aluminum titanate, and has a tilting axis C in a state of being tiltably supported by the arm 7. The left and right sides are formed symmetrically with respect to the plane LL including (the axis of the rotation shaft 9). That is, the ladle 2 is die-molded so that the bottomed recess 11 defined by the side wall thereof has a substantially rhombic cross-sectional shape and becomes narrower toward the bottom, and is symmetrical left and right with respect to the plane LL. Therefore, the left and right ends of the opening end of the recess 11 are tapered so that they can serve as the pouring holes 11a and 11b, respectively. As a result, the ladle 2 faces each other so as to enable pouring by tilting to the left or right side around the tilt axis C, that is, tilting to either the front or back side of the moving direction of the arm 7 along the moving path. A pair of pouring holes 11a and 11b are provided at the positions. In addition, the outer surface and the inner surface of the ladle 2 are curved in a plurality of flat connecting portions in order to suppress local heat dissipation and prevent disturbing the flow of the molten metal held in the recess 11. Is formed. In particular,
The portions 2a and 2b of the ladle 2 corresponding to the pouring ports 11a and 11b are curved with a radius of curvature smaller than the thickness of the side wall in order to improve the drainage of the pouring work when the pouring operation is stopped midway. Molded.

A mounting portion 12 for mounting on the bracket 10 is projectingly provided on one side wall of the ladle 2 at the left and right central portions. That is, in the plane LL, the mounting portion 12 has a first flat surface 12a that is flush with the opening end surface of the recess 11, a second flat surface 12b that is orthogonal to the first flat surface 12a, and a second flat surface. The third flat surface 12c extending perpendicularly to the surface 12b is formed on the outer surface of the ladle 2 so as to project from the outer surface. Moreover, in order to reinforce the mounting portion 12, the rib 13 extending in the direction that effectively reinforces the load acting on the mounting portion 12 when mounted on the bracket 10, that is, the rib 13 extending in the vertical direction in FIG. It is projected from the side wall of the ladle 2 so as to be continuous with the flat surface 12c.

On the other hand, the bracket 10 to which the ladle 2 is attached has a flat plate shape which is long in the direction orthogonal to the axis of the rotating shaft 9 and has one end fixed to the end of the rotating shaft 9, and a supporting plate portion 10a. A first flange portion 1 fixed at a right angle to an intermediate portion of the support plate portion 10a.
0b and a second flange portion 10c formed by bending the other end of the support plate portion 10a at a right angle and formed in parallel with the first flange portion 10b. Thus, the bracket 10 includes the support plate portion 10a on the second flat surface 12b of the mounting portion 12, the first flange portion 10b on the first flat surface 12a, and the second flange portion 10c on the third flat surface.
12c are formed so that they can be opposed to each other, and in such a condition that they are opposed to each other, the bracket 12 is attached to the bracket 10 with the cushioning material 16 made of, for example, ceramic paper or the like interposed therebetween. Is installed.

The ladle 2 is attached to the bracket 10 by screwing a plurality of screw members 15 that are engaged and fixed to the bracket 10 into the ladle 2 via a heat resistant adhesive such as a furnace material. That is, the mounting portion 12 of the bracket 10 is provided with, for example, a single mounting hole 14 that opens to the first flat surface 12a and a plurality of, for example, four mounting holes 14 that open to the second flat surface 12b. , With the mounting holes 14 filled with a heat-resistant adhesive, the support plate portion 10a of the bracket 10 and the first flange portion 1
A screw member 15 such as a tapping screw inserted through 0b is screwed into each mounting hole 14 until its head is locked to the outer surfaces of the support plate portion 10a and the first flange portion 10b, and the head portion of each screw member 15 Is welded and fixed to the bracket 10.

Moreover, the cushioning material 16 is interposed between the ladle 2 and the bracket 10 along the axial direction of the screw members 15.
It is interposed between the first flange portion 10b of the bracket 10 and the first flat surface 12a of the mounting portion 12, and between the support plate portion 10a of the bracket 10 and the second flat surface 12b of the mounting portion 12, respectively.

A skim plate 18 having a width larger than the width of the ladle 2 is fixed to both side surfaces of the lower end of the support arm 8 orthogonal to the mounting position of the ladle 2. This skim plate 18 is used for the molten metal holding furnace 3
Immerse in the molten metal to remove the slag floating on the molten metal surface inside,
It is immersed, and is fixed to the support arm 8 so as to project downward from the lower end of the support arm 8.

A molten metal surface sensor 19 for detecting the molten metal surface in the molten metal holding furnace 3 is attached to the support arm 8 with its tip facing downward. Thus, the molten metal level sensor 19 has a tip before the supporting arm 8 comes into contact with the molten metal surface after the skim plate 18 is immersed in the molten metal when the supporting arm 8 descends above the molten metal holding furnace 3. It is attached to the support arm 8 so as to be in contact with the molten metal surface. Moreover, the tip of the molten metal level sensor 19 is formed in a truncated cone shape having a smaller diameter toward the tip so that the molten metal attached when contacting the molten metal surface can be easily dropped.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the arm 7 of the robot 1 is movable along an imaginary arc centered on the vertical rotation axis of the robot body 6 as indicated by an arrow, and is located at both ends of the movement path. Casting machines 20, 21 are arranged at the first and second pouring positions P ₁ , P ₂ , and one casting machine 20 has a pair of casting molds.
4 ₁ and 4 ₂ are arranged in parallel, and a pair of molds 4 ₃ and 4 ₄ are arranged in parallel in the other casting machine 21. These molds 4 ₁ ,
4 ₂ ; 4 ₃ and 4 ₄ are for forming pistons of engines, for example.

Further, along the movement path of the arm 7, the molten metal holding furnace 3
, And the casting machine 21, an original position is set with the distance along the moving path between the casting machines 20 and 21 equal to each other, and at this original position, ladle adhering sludge removal is performed. A device 22 is provided.

In FIG. 7, the ladle adhering slag removing device 22 is the ladle 2
A box-shaped casing 23 having an opening area in which the upper part of the casing 23 can be inserted, and a large number of flexible removal plates 24 fixed in a comb shape to the upper opening end of the casing 23. Thus, each flexible removing plate 24 is made of heat-resistant rubber such as silicone rubber, and is used when the ladle 2 is inserted into the casing 23 and when it is taken out from the casing 23. In order to bring the tips into contact with the vicinity of the pouring ports 11a, 11b, they are fixed in a comb shape on both sides of the upper end opening of the casing 23.

Regarding the robot 1, a feeder cutting machine 25 is arranged on the opposite side of the ladle adhering slag removing device 22 with the casting machines 20 and 21 on both sides being equidistant from each other. The castings cast in (1) are brought to the cutting machine 25 to cut the riser portion.

By the way, the ladle 2 is capable of tilting movement about a horizontal axis, raising and lowering movement, and reciprocating along the horizontal axis,
An original position where the ladle adhering slag removing device 22 is arranged,
The robot 1 moves along a moving path between the casting machines 20 and 21, and the robot 1 that performs these operations is controlled by a controller (not shown). Mold 4 ₁ Thus to casting machine 20,
4 ₂ and the mold 4 _3, 4 ₄ caster 21, which molds 4 ₁
The gates 30 provided on each of the four ₄ and the gates 30 ...
Are placed at the first and second pouring positions P ₁ and P ₂ , respectively, so as to be displaced from the tilt axis C of the ladle 2 located at the pouring position to the side away from the molten metal holding furnace 3 along the moving path. To be done. Thus, the ladle 2 can be tilted around the tilting axis C to any of the front and back sides along the movement path, and can be poured from one of the pouring ports 11a and 11b when tilting to either side. In response to this, the robot 1 at the first and second pouring positions P ₁ and P ₂ uses the molten metal holding furnace 3 of the pouring ports 11a and 11b of the ladle 2.
Mold 4 ₁ located at each pouring position P _1, P ₂ using the far side pouring port from 4 _2; 4 _3, 4 ₄ sprue 30 ... to to pouring of the arm 7, the axis There each template 4 _1, 4 _2; 4 _3, before i.e. the molten metal holding furnace 3, as shown 4 ₄ sprue 30 ... than the chain line of FIG. 1
It is configured to stop at a side position.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. Before the pouring work is started, the ladle 2 is in the original position, and when starting the pouring work, the robot 1 first brings the ladle 2 to a position directly above the molten metal holding furnace 3. At this time, the ladle 2 is rotated to a position where the open end of the recess 11 is directed downward so that no slag remains on the inner surface.

The operation of drawing molten metal in the molten metal holding furnace 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9. At the upper position of the molten metal holding furnace 3, the inverted molten metal preparation posture with the opening end facing downward above the molten metal surface. The support arm 8 for supporting the ladle 2 in
As shown in FIG. 8 (a), the skim plate 18 is immersed in and immersed in the molten metal until the molten metal level sensor 19 detects the molten metal level. Then, as shown in FIG. 8 (b), the support arm 8 is slightly raised by a certain distance in order to separate the molten metal level sensor 19 from the molten metal level. At this time, most of the skim plate 18 remains immersed in and immersed in the molten metal, and as the robot 1 operates so as to contract its arm 7, as shown by the arrow in FIG. 8 (c). Thus, the skim plate 18 operates in the slag scraping operation direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 8 (c) to push away the slag floating on the molten metal surface. Since the skim plate 18 is attached to the support arm 8 on the front side of the ladle 2 along the slag scraping operation direction, the arm 7 is stopped after the slag scraping operation, and as shown in FIG. 8 (d). As shown, by rotating the ladle 2 180 degrees to bring it into the pouring position, the molten metal is pumped into the ladle 2 at the portion where the surface of the ladle is clean. The operation of drawing the molten metal from the molten metal holding furnace 3 is completed by raising the temperature.

In this way, by rotating the ladle 2 after horizontally moving the arm 7 for a certain distance, clean molten metal can be pumped up, and the working efficiency of the robot 1 can be improved.

When the molten metal is pumped from the molten metal holding furnace 3, the molten metal surface sensor 19 is immediately raised when the molten metal surface is detected, so that the immersion time in the molten metal can be minimized and the durability can be improved. Moreover, since the rising distance of the molten metal level sensor 19 is constant, the distance from the rotation axis of the ladle 2 standing by in the pouring hot water preparation position to pump up the molten metal to the molten metal surface is always constant, and the molten metal by the ladle 2 is kept constant. The pumping volume can be kept almost constant.

By the way, when the ladle 2 is rotated 180 degrees from the upper inverted position shown in FIG. 8 (c), the ladle is tapped from one of the pouring ports 11a and 11b on the left and right sides of the ladle 2. The molten metal is pumped into 2 and the other does not enter the molten metal. Moreover, after the operation of drawing the molten metal, while moving the ladle 2 to each of the molds 41 ₁ , 4 ₂ ; 4 ₃ , 4 ₄ , the one of the both pouring ports 11a, 11b that is immersed in the molten metal is oxidized by the molten metal. Since the thin film oxide is apt to adhere, when the molten metal is poured from the pouring port which is immersed in the molten metal, the above oxide may get into each of the molds 4 ₁ , 4 ₂ ; 4 ₃ , 4 ₄ . Therefore, the turning direction of the ladle 2 at the time of drawing pouring should be such that the pouring spout which is not used at the time of pouring is immersed in the molten metal depending on which of the pouring spouts 11a and 11b is used at the time of the next pouring operation. Stipulated in. That mold 4 _1, 4 at the time of pouring into _2, since the pouring port 11a is farther from the molten metal holding furnace 3 is used mold 4 _1, 4 pouring port ₂ when汲湯order to teeming
11b is defined the direction of rotation of the ladle 2 to retracted into the molten metal, the mold 4 _3, 4 farther from the molten metal holding furnace 3 at the time of the ₄ pouring sprue 11b is mold 4 ₃ so used, 4 when汲湯order to melt onto ₄ pouring port 11a is rotating direction of the ladle 2 is defined to retracted into the molten metal.

The ladle 2 from which the molten metal has been pumped up is then cast in the casting machine 20.
4 is brought to the _first upper position. At this time, the arm 7 of the robot 1, the axis of the arm 7 has stopped as the position of the template 4 ₁ sprue 30 before i.e. the molten metal holding furnace 3 side, the pouring port 11a of the ladle 2 requirements of pouring into the mold 4 ₁ is performed by tilting so that pouring from.
Then the arm 7, the molten metal holding furnace 3 than sprue 30 of the mold 4 ₂
Moves to a position shifted to the side, the required amount of pouring into the mold 4 ₂ is performed by tilting to pouring ladle 2 from the sprue 11a in this state.

At the time of pouring, in addition to pumping the molten metal from the clean molten metal surface by the function of the skim plate 18 as described above,
Since no oxide is attached to the pouring port 11a, foreign matter is
_1, 4 never penetrates into the _2, it becomes possible to obtain a good quality casting.

Mold 4 _1, 4 after pouring operation completion to _2, the robot 1 is brought to the ladle deposition slag removal device 22 with the ladle 2 to the original position. Then, as shown in FIG. 7 (a), when the supporting arm 8 descends so as to insert the ladle 2 into the casing 23, the pouring spouts 11a, 11b.
The oxides attached to the outer surface of the ladle 2 in the vicinity are stripped off by a large number of removal plates 24. Moreover, ladle 2 is a plate for removing them.
When each removal plate 24 elastically restores when passing 24,
The oxide adhered to each removal plate 24 will be removed.

The ladle 2 inserted in the casing 23 is inverted as shown in FIG. 7 (b), and further raised as shown in FIG. 7 (c). The ladle 2 also passes through a large number of removal plates 24 during this ascent, and the removal plates 24 efficiently remove the oxides adhering to the vicinity of the pouring ports 11a and 11b. .

While such a series of operation for pouring into the mold 4 _1, 4 ₂ is finished, subsequently, the operation for pouring is initiated into the mold 4 _3, 4 ₄ caster 21. Thus, the operation for pouring the molten metal into the molds 4 ₃ and 4 ₄ depends on the rotation direction of the ladle 2 when pumping the molten metal from the molten metal holding furnace 3 and the operation when pouring the molten metal into the molds 4 ₃ and 4 ₄ . Pot 2
Tilting direction in bamboo that during pouring into the mold 4 _1, 4 ₂ are opposite, the other operating are basically the same operation as for pouring into the mold 4 _1, 4 ₂ of the above .

In such a pouring device, the ladle 2 has a pair of pouring spouts 11a, 11 at opposite positions so that pouring can be performed by tilting the arm 7 along the movement path to any of the front and rear sides in the moving direction.
Since it is formed symmetrically to the left and right with respect to the plane LL that includes b and includes the tilting axis C, the tilting angle at the time of pouring is the same when pouring into the molds 4 ₁ and 4 ₂ and from the molds 4 ₃ and 4 ₄ . This is the same as when pouring the water, and the control of the robot 1 can be further simplified.

Further, in the robot 1, when moving from the molten metal holding furnace 3 to the first and the respective pouring positions P ₁ and P ₂ side, the ladle 2 has its pouring ports 11a and 11a.
From the pouring port on the side far from the molten metal holding furnace 3 in b
4 _1, 4 _2; 4 _3, 4 ₄ its axis the arm 7 to pouring sprue 30 ... to the mold 4 _1, 4 _2; 4 _3, 4 stops at the sprue 30 ... front a position of the ₄ Therefore, the movement distance of the arm 7, that is, the ladle 2 can be shortened to perform the pouring work efficiently.

Moreover, between the ladle 2 made of ceramics and the bracket 10 made of metal, a screw member for connecting those 2, 10
Since the cushioning material 16 is interposed along the axis of 15, even if the thermal expansion coefficients of the ladle 2 and the bracket 10 are different from each other, excessive stress is generated in the screwed portion of the screw member 15 into the ladle 2. This can be avoided and rattling and damage at the joint can be prevented.

In the above embodiments, the case where the movement path of the arm of the robot 1 is set on a virtual arc has been described, but the present invention is applicable regardless of the shape of the movement path, and for example, the movement path is It may be linear. Further, the number of molds arranged at each of the first and second pouring positions P ₁ and P ₂ is not limited to two as in the above-mentioned embodiment, but may be one at a time or a plurality of three or more. It may be one by one.

C. Effects of the Invention As described above, according to the present invention, the ladle is provided with a pair of pouring spouts at opposite positions so that pouring can be performed by tilting the arm along the movement path to the front or rear side in the moving direction. At each pouring position, the robot stops the arm at a position where its axis is in front of the pouring gate of the mold so that the ladle pours from the pouring port on the side far from the molten metal holding furnace to the pouring gate of each mold. Since it is configured as described above, the first and second robots can be operated by one robot.
Pouring into the mold at the pouring position is possible, and further, the movement distance of the robot arm can be shortened to improve work efficiency, and the first and second pouring can be performed along the movement direction of the movement path. It does not adversely affect the installation space of the device installed outside the position.

[Brief description of drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is an overall plan view, FIG. 2 is an enlarged view taken along the line II of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a view taken along the line III of FIG. 4 to 6 show the joint structure of the bracket and the ladle. Fig. 4 is a plan view, Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line VV of Fig. 4, and Fig. 6 is a view taken along the arrow VI of Fig. 4. Figures 7 (a) to 7 (c) are views showing the operating process of the ladle in the ladle adhering slag removing device, and Figs. FIG. 9 and FIG. 9 are views taken in the direction of arrow IX in FIG. 1 ...... robot, 2 ...... ladle, 3 ...... molten metal holding furnace, 4 _1,
4 ₂ ； 4 ₃ 、 4 ₄ …… Mold, 7 …… Arm, 11 a, 11 b …… Pouring spout, 30 …… Spout, C …… Tilt axis, P ₁ …… First pouring position, P ₂ …… Second pouring position

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A first pouring position (P ₁ ) in which at least one mold (4 ₁ , 4 ₂ ) is arranged, and at least one mold (4 ₃ , 4 ₄ ).
Is connected to the second pouring position (P ₂ ), the movement path of the arm (7) of the robot (1) is set, and the position between the first and second pouring positions (P ₁ , P ₂ ) is set. A molten metal holding furnace (3) is arranged in the middle of the moving path, and the molten metal holding furnace (3) and the first
The arm (7) of the robot (1) capable of reciprocating between the _first and second pouring positions (P ₁ , P ₂ ) is provided with the molten metal from the molten metal holding furnace (3) and the molds. The ladle (2) for pouring (4 ₁ , 4 ₂ ; 4 ₃ , 4, ₄ ) is coaxial with the axis of the arm (7) or within the vertical plane containing the axis of the arm (7). An automatic pouring device supported so as to be tiltable around a tilt axis (C) parallel to the axis, wherein the ladle (2) tilts to either the front or rear side of the movement direction of the arm (7) along the movement path. The robot (1) is equipped with a pair of pouring ports (11a, 11b) at opposite positions so that pouring can be performed by each robot.
In (P ₁ , P ₂ ), the ladle (2) is located at the pouring spout (11 a, 11 b) on the side far from the molten metal holding furnace (3) (4 ₁ , 4 ₂ ; 4 ₃ , 4, ₄ ) The axis of the arm (7) is the mold so that it can be poured into 30)
(4 ₁ , 4 ₂ ; 4 ₃ , 4, ₄ ) An automatic pouring device characterized in that it is configured to stop at a position in front of the spout (30).