JPH1133697A - Method and apparatus for determining heating state of metal billet - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To enable efficient and accurate determination of the solid phase ratio of a metal billet and improve productivity. A heating state determination device includes a transfer robot.
6, a thermocouple 30 for detecting the temperature of the billet 14 being conveyed by the conveyance robot 16, and whether or not the billet 14 has been heated to a predetermined solid state is determined based on the detected temperature. Determining means 32.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for judging a heating state of a metal billet for detecting a heating state of the metal billet while conveying the heated metal billet to a molding machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a metal preform (hereinafter referred to as a metal billet) is heated to a semi-solid state through a heating device, and the metal billet is maintained in the semi-solid state to form a molding device. There is known a method of forming a predetermined metal molded product by performing a forming operation according to the following.

[0003] A heating apparatus used in this type of method is, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2-7748, a mounting apparatus provided with a series of insulated stands around a rotatable table. A plurality of induction heaters are arranged above the placement device corresponding to the billet. When the billet is guided to the position of the induction heater by the rotation of the table, the induction heater is supported on the side. The enthalpy of the billet in a standing state without being raised is sequentially increased to a level at which the billet becomes a partially semi-solid state.

By the way, the billet taken out of the heating device is subjected to a predetermined molding operation by a molding device. For this reason, in order to obtain a high quality molded product via the molding device, it is necessary to maintain the billet in a predetermined heated state, that is, a predetermined solid phase ratio. In order to detect whether or not the billet after heating is maintained at a predetermined solid fraction, various operations have been conventionally performed.

[0005] For example, a billet after heating is completed is arbitrarily extracted, and the billet is cut with a knife or the like to judge the quality of the heating state (hereinafter referred to as a first method). Is inserted, and the heating condition is determined based on the temperature measurement result obtained from the thermocouple (hereinafter, referred to as a second method). (Hereinafter, referred to as a third method) is adopted.

[0006]

However, in the first method described above, since the billet is sampled and inspected, it is not possible to provide online feedback on outside air factors such as air temperature and water temperature, and to stably maintain product quality. Would be difficult to maintain. In the second method,
Since the conditions are determined before mass production, it becomes impossible to perform quantitative condition management during mass production. Furthermore, in the above-mentioned third method, the production process may be stopped in order to confirm the billet falling or deforming, and it is pointed out that the productivity is significantly impaired.

The present invention solves this kind of problem, and can easily and reliably detect the heating state of a billet, stably maintain product quality, and improve productivity. An object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for determining a heating state of a metal billet.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in a method and an apparatus for judging a heated state of a metal billet according to the present invention, the heated metal billet is held by a conveying means and is transferred to a molding machine. While being conveyed, the temperature of the metal billet is detected by temperature measuring means provided in the conveying means. Next, it is determined whether or not the metal billet has been heated to a predetermined solid state based on the detected temperature.

Therefore, it is possible to easily and reliably detect in real time whether or not each heated metal billet is heated to a predetermined solid phase ratio. Further, when the metal billet is not heated to a predetermined solid state, the heating conditions of the metal billet, for example, the output voltage and the heating time are corrected. Therefore, the heated state of the metal billet can be maintained more stably, and the occurrence of a defective rate can be effectively reduced.

Further, the temperature measuring means includes a thermocouple mounted on a grip member holding the metal billet, so that the temperature of the metal billet can be reliably detected with a simple configuration. At this time, the thermocouple is inserted into the cleaning cylinder via a spring so as to be able to advance and retreat, and when the thermocouple retreats from the metal billet, the deposits attached to the thermocouple are removed by the cleaning cylinder. To be removed. This makes it possible to always keep the thermocouple inserted into the heated metal billet clean.

[0011] Further, the conveying means includes weight detecting means for detecting the weight of the metal billet held by the grip member. This makes it possible to calculate the amount of burn-through of the metal billet from the weight difference between before and after the heating of the metal billet, and to judge the quality of the solid phase ratio of the metal billet. Therefore, with the temperature of the metal billet,
From the weight difference between before and after the heating of the metal billet, it is possible to detect with higher accuracy whether or not the metal billet has been heated to a predetermined solid fraction.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a schematic structural explanatory view of a heating line 12 incorporating a metal billet heating state judging device 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

The heating line 12 includes a transfer robot (transportation means) 16 for holding and transporting a billet 14 made of metal, for example, aluminum, with a pair of heat insulating materials (for example, ceramics) 15 as grip members, and a transport robot 16 1
The apparatus includes an induction heating device (heating means) 18 for induction heating the billet 14 carried in and out via the robot 6, and a CPU 20 for driving and controlling the transfer robot 16 and the induction heating device 18.

The induction heating device 18 includes a pedestal 22 on which the billet 14 is placed in an upright position, an induction heating coil 24 that surrounds the billet 14 on the pedestal 22 and can move up and down, and an upper end of the billet 14. The coil 24 is connected to a controller 28 having a built-in power supply. The controller 28 is capable of supplying a low-frequency to high-frequency current to the coil 24.

The heating state judging device 10 includes the transfer robot 1
6, the transfer robot 1
6, a thermocouple (temperature measuring means) 30 for detecting the temperature of the billet 14 being conveyed online, and whether or not the billet 14 has been heated to a predetermined solid state based on the temperature detected by the thermocouple 30. Determining means 32 for determining whether

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.
Is buried in one heat insulating material 15 and its tip is arranged so as to protrude toward the billet 14 side. The thermocouple 30 detects the temperature of the billet 14 and sends the temperature data to the CPU 20, and the CPU 20 determines the preset optimal heating temperature, the detected temperature, Are compared to determine whether or not the solid phase ratio of the billet 14 is good.

The operation of the heating state determination apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment having the above-described configuration will be described with reference to the heating line 1.
2 will be described below based on the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, in the CPU 20, the billet 14 is set in advance.
A reference temperature range for determining the quality of the solid phase ratio of the billet 14 is stored based on the temperature at the time of the optimal heating measured using (step S1). Therefore, CPU2
The transfer robot 16 is driven via the reference numeral 0, and the transfer robot 16 places the billet 14 on the pedestal 22 constituting the induction heating device 18.

In the induction heating device 18, the coil 24 and the holding member 26 are lowered, and the billet 14 on the pedestal 22 is lowered.
Is surrounded by the coil 24, and the pressing member 26 presses and holds the billet 14 toward the pedestal 22.
In this state, the controller 28 is driven to cause a current to flow through the coil 24, so that the billet 14 is subjected to induction heating (step S2).

After the induction heating process of the billet 14 by the induction heating device 18 is completed, the coil 24 and the holding member 26 are raised, and the transfer robot 16 holds the heated billet 14 and forms a molding device (not shown). Transport to At that time, as shown in FIG.
A pair of heat insulating materials 15 constituting the billet 6 are heated billets 14.
Is held, the tip of the thermocouple 30 provided on one of the heat insulating members 15 is inserted into the billet 14 by a predetermined amount. For this reason, the temperature of the billet 14 after heating is detected via the thermocouple 30 and the temperature data is
It is sent to U20 (step S3).

In the determination means 32 of the CPU 20, the billet 1 detected by the thermocouple 30 in step S4
It is determined whether the temperature of No. 4 is within a reference temperature range stored in advance. If it is determined that the detected temperature is within the reference temperature range (YES in step S4), it is determined that billet 14 has been heated to a predetermined solid fraction, and this billet 14 is sent to a molding device (not shown).

On the other hand, if it is determined that the detected temperature is outside the reference temperature range (NO in step S4), step S5
NG processing is performed. Specifically, billet 1
The billet 14 is discarded, or the billet 14 is transferred to the heating process by the induction heating device 18 again. Further, the process proceeds to step S6, and the induction heating condition by the controller 28 is changed. Specifically, control conditions such as the output voltage of the controller 28 and the heating time are corrected.

In this case, in the first embodiment, a thermocouple 30 is attached as a temperature measuring means to one of the heat insulators 15 constituting the transfer robot 16 and holds the billet 14 after the induction heating process. When the billet 14 is conveyed to a molding device that does not have the temperature, the billet 14 is directly detected online via the thermocouple 30. Then, by comparing the temperature of the billet 14 detected by the thermocouple 30 with the reference temperature range, the quality of the solid phase ratio of the billet 14 is determined.

Therefore, the quality of each solid phase ratio can be accurately and easily detected in real time for each billet 14, and the molding operation performed using the billet 14 can be performed with high quality. An effect is obtained that it is possible to effectively suppress variations in product quality. Moreover, there is no need to stop the operation of the heating line 12, the billet 14 having a desired solid phase ratio can be efficiently sent out, and the productivity can be greatly improved.

Further, if the billet 14 after heating does not have a predetermined solid fraction, the CPU 20
Heating conditions can be changed online, and product quality can be stabilized. At this time, when the heating temperature of the billet 14 sequentially detected by the thermocouple 30 tends to decrease, or when the heating temperature of the billet 14 tends to increase, the CPU 20 controls the output voltage of the controller 28 and the heating temperature. Time and the like can be corrected. Thereby, the billet 14 can be brought close to the temperature at the time of the optimal heating,
The billet 14 having a predetermined solid fraction can be efficiently and stably obtained.

FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view of a metal billet heating state judging device 40 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Note that the heating state determination device 1 according to the first embodiment
The same components as those of 0 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The heating state judging device 40 comprises a temperature measuring means 4
2 and the temperature measuring means 42 is provided on one of the heat insulating materials 15.
, A thermocouple 46 disposed in the cylinder 44 so as to be able to advance and retreat, and a spring for urging the thermocouple 46 away from the billet 14 (in the direction of arrow A). 48.

The heating state judging device 4 constructed as described above
In the case of 0, the billet 14 after being heated is gripped by the pair of heat insulating materials 15 constituting the transfer robot 16 and transferred to a molding apparatus (not shown).
Is urged in the direction of arrow B by external pressing means (not shown). Therefore, the thermocouple 46 moves in the direction of arrow B against the resilience of the spring 48, and its tip is inserted into the heated billet 14 by a predetermined length to detect the temperature of the billet 14. I do.

The temperature data detected by the thermocouple 46 is CP
The temperature is sent to U20, and the detected temperature is compared with a reference temperature range stored in the CPU 20 in advance. Thus, it is determined whether or not the billet 14 after heating is in a predetermined solid state.

Next, when the urging force on the thermocouple 46 is released, the thermocouple 46 moves in the direction of arrow A through the elastic force of the spring 48. At that time, the tip of the thermocouple 46, that is, the temperature measuring unit, is cleaned by entering into the cylindrical body 44. Accordingly, the molten portion of the billet 14 attached to the thermocouple 46 is automatically and reliably removed, and the effect of continuously and accurately performing the temperature detection work on a large number of billets 14 is obtained. In addition, since the cleaning process is automatically performed by the thermocouple 46 moving back and forth in the cylindrical body 44, the cleaning operation itself is simplified at a stroke.

FIG. 5 is a schematic structural explanatory view of a metal billet heating state judging device 60 according to a third embodiment of the present invention. Note that the same components as those of the heating state determination devices 10 and 40 according to the first and second embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The heating state determination device 60 includes the transfer robot 1
6 and a weight measuring device (weight detecting means) 62 for detecting the weight of the billet 14 held by the heat insulating material 15 before and after induction heating.

The heating state judging device 6 constructed as described above
0, first, the billet 14 before heating is transferred to the transfer robot 1
6 and an induction heating device (not shown) gripped by the heat insulating material 15
When the billet 14 is transferred to the side, the weight measuring device 62 mounted on the transfer robot 16 detects the weight of the billet 14 before the heating. Next, after the billet 14 is induction-heated, the transfer robot 16 grasps the heated billet 14 and transfers it to a molding device (not shown). Billet 1
4 is weighed.

The CPU 20 determines whether or not the billet 14 has been heated to a predetermined solid state on the basis of temperature data of the heated billet 14 input from the thermocouple 30, and also receives an input from the weight measuring device 62. Based on the obtained weight data, the quality of the solid state of the billet 14 after the heating is determined again.

That is, in the CPU 20, the billet 14
Of this billet 14 based on the weight difference before and after heating
Is calculated, and this burn-through amount is compared with a previously measured and calculated optimum reference weight range at the time of optimal heating. Then, it is determined whether or not the detected weight difference is within the reference weight range. If it is determined that the detected weight difference is within the reference weight range, it is determined that the billet 14 has been heated to a predetermined solid fraction. .

As described above, in the third embodiment, the detected temperature of the billet 14 after heating is compared with a reference temperature range stored in advance for optimal heating, and the weight difference of the billet 14 before and after heating is calculated. Is compared with a reference weight range stored at the time of optimal heating stored in advance. Accordingly, an effect is obtained that the determination as to whether or not the billet 14 has been heated to the predetermined solid phase ratio is performed with higher accuracy and reliability.

[0037]

As described above, according to the method and the apparatus for judging the heated state of the metal billet according to the present invention, while the heated metal billet is held by the transfer means and transferred to the molding machine, the transfer means The temperature of the billet after the heating is detected via a temperature measuring means provided in the above. Then, based on the detected temperature, it is determined whether or not the metal billet has been heated to a predetermined solid state. For this reason, it is possible to easily and reliably determine in real time whether or not each metal billet has a predetermined solid fraction,
It is possible to efficiently and easily obtain a high quality product without causing variation in product quality. In addition, when the solid phase ratio of the metal billet is determined, the line is not stopped, and the productivity can be further improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration explanatory view of a heating line incorporating a device for determining a heating state of a metal billet according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan explanatory view of a heating state determination device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method for determining a heating state of a metal billet according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view illustrating a heating state determination device for a metal billet according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration explanatory view of a device for determining a heating state of a metal billet according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

10, 40, 60: Heating state judging device 12: Heating line 15: Heat insulation material 16: Transfer robot 18: Induction heating device 20: CPU 30, 46: Thermocouple 32: Judging means 42: Temperature measuring means 44: Cylindrical body 48 ... spring 62 ... weight measuring device

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Takashi Ide 1-10-1 Shinsayama, Sayama City, Saitama Prefecture Honda Engineering Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Kiyonobu Mizogami 1-10-1 Shinsayama, Sayama City, Saitama Prefecture Inside Honda Engineering Co., Ltd.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A step of heating a metal billet, a step of holding the heated metal billet by a transfer means and transferring it to a molding machine, and detecting a temperature of the metal billet during the transfer. Determining whether or not the metal billet has been heated to a predetermined solid state based on the detected temperature; and a method for determining a heated state of the metal billet. 2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of changing a heating condition of the metal billet when it is determined that the metal billet is not heated to a predetermined solid state. A method for judging a heated state of a metal billet, characterized in that: 3. A metal billet is carried into and out of a heating means via a conveying means, and after the metal billet is heated by the heating means, the metal billet is heated to a predetermined solid state. A device for determining a heating state of a metal billet, which determines whether or not the temperature of the metal billet is being transported by the transporting unit, and a temperature measuring unit that detects a temperature of the metal billet being transported by the transporting unit; Determining means for determining whether or not the metal billet has been heated to a predetermined solid phase state based on a temperature; and a device for determining a heated state of a metal billet. 4. A heating state judging device according to claim 3, wherein said temperature measuring means includes a thermocouple mounted on a grip member constituting said transport means and holding said metal billet. A device for determining the heating state of metal billets. 5. A heating state judging device according to claim 4, wherein said temperature measuring means inserts said thermocouple movably into and out of said grip member and removes an adhering substance attached to a tip of said thermocouple. A device for determining a heating state of a metal billet, comprising: a cleaning cylinder; and a spring for moving the thermocouple in and out of the cleaning cylinder. 6. The heating state judging device according to claim 3, wherein the transporting means includes weight detecting means for detecting a weight of the metal billet held by the grip member, and the determining means comprises: A device for determining a heating state of a metal billet, comprising a function of determining whether or not the metal billet has been heated to a predetermined solid state based on a weight difference between the metal billet before and after heating.