Patent Application
20180147631
The present disclosure relates to an alloy powder manufacturing device and method, and particularly to an alloy powder manufacturing device and method with temperature control design which are suitable for delivering and reheating a melt.
Currently, Vacuum Induction-melting Gas Atomization (VIGA) can be used to manufacture alloy powders. Referring to
However, the conventional method of manufacturing alloy powders does not utilize the design of reheating a melt, but only utilizes the melt delivery tube to be made of a material having a lower thermal conductivity, for example, Al2O3 or ZrO2, to block heat loss. Therefore, the melt passing through the melt delivery tube still continues to cool, and then the temperature of the melt after cooling will directly affect the particle size and roundness of the alloy powders (in fact, if a dropwise melt is impacted and atomized by the high-speed inert gas, the quality of solidified titanium alloy powders will be affected). Moreover, a conventional process that the melt 91 flows through the nozzle outlet 95 to be subjected to the gas to form powders may last for a period of time. As the high-speed inert gas G acts on the outlet of the melt delivery tube 93, the ambient temperature thereof may be gradually cooled, leading to a problem of blocking of the outlet of the melt delivery tube 93 by the cooled melt. More seriously, cooling of the tip end of the outlet of the melt delivery tube 93 will interrupt the whole powder spray process.
In view of this, it is necessary to provide an alloy powder manufacturing device and method with temperature control design which are suitable for delivering and reheating a melt, to solve the foregoing problems.
A main objective of the present disclosure is to provide an alloy powder manufacturing device and method with temperature control design, to enable solidified alloy powders to have a reduced particle size and better roundness (spherical).
In order to achieve the foregoing objective, the present disclosure provides an alloy powder manufacturing device with temperature control design, including: a crucible unit, for accommodating a melt; a melt delivery tube including an inlet and an outlet, wherein the inlet is in communication with a bottom of the crucible unit, for delivering the melt from the crucible unit; a temperature control unit, including: an induction coil surrounding the melt delivery tube and used for inductively heating the melt delivery tube and the melt therein, to generate an overtemperature melt; a power-adjustable main machine, electrically connected to the induction coil and providing the power of the induction coil; a first temperature sensor, for measuring a temperature of the outlet of the melt delivery tube; and a microprocessor, electrically connected to the power-adjustable main machine and the first temperature sensor, wherein the microprocessor adjusts the power of the induction coil according to the temperature of the outlet of the melt delivery tube, to control the temperature of the outlet of the melt delivery tube, enabling the temperature of the overtemperature melt leaving the melt delivery tube to reach a predetermined temperature; and a powder spray unit in communication with the outlet of the melt delivery tube, for impacting and atomizing the overtemperature melt having the predetermined temperature and then quickly solidifying the overtemperature melt to form alloy powders.
The present disclosure utilizes an induction coil to conduct overtemperature control of the melt, enabling the temperature of the overtemperature melt entering the powder spray unit to reach a predetermined temperature, which can ensure and maintain the shape of the overtemperature melt and enable solidified alloy powders to have a reduced particle size and better roundness (spherical). Moreover, the present disclosure utilizes the induction coil to continuously heat the outlet of the melt delivery tube, which can overcome the problem of blocking of the outlet of the melt delivery tube by the conventional cooled melt.
To make the foregoing and other objectives, features, and advantages of the present disclosure more evident, detailed description is made hereinafter as follows with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring to
The alloy powder manufacturing device 1 of the present disclosure includes: a crucible unit 10, a melt delivery tube (DT) 13, a temperature control unit 14, and a powder spray unit 15.
The crucible unit 10 is used for accommodating a melt 11. In this embodiment, the crucible unit 10 can be a tundish 12. A high frequency induction coil 19 (for example, 30 KW, 8 kHz) is used to inductively heat an alloy material rod (for example, a titanium alloy material rod) inside a melting furnace 18 in a vacuum environment, to melt the alloy material rod into the melt 11, and then the melt 11 is poured into the bearing crucible 12.
Referring to
The melt delivery tube 13 includes an inlet 130 and an outlet 131, the inlet 130 being in communication with a bottom 101 of the crucible unit 10, for delivering the melt 11 of the crucible unit 10.
The temperature control unit 14 includes: an induction coil 141, a power-adjustable main machine 142, a first temperature sensor 143, and a microprocessor 144. The induction coil 141 surrounds the melt delivery tube 13, and is used for inductively heating the melt delivery tube 13 and the melt 11 therein, to generate an overtemperature melt 110. The power-adjustable main machine 142 is electrically connected to the induction coil 141 and provides the power of the induction coil 141. The first temperature sensor 143 is used for measuring a temperature of the outlet of the melt delivery tube 13. The first temperature sensor 143 can be a thermocouple temperature sensor. The microprocessor 144 is electrically connected to the power-adjustable main machine 142 and the first temperature sensor 143. The microprocessor 144 adjusts the power of the induction coil 141 according to the temperature of the outlet of the melt delivery tube 13, to control the temperature of the outlet of the melt delivery tube 13, enabling the temperature of the overtemperature melt 110 leaving the melt delivery tube 13 (the temperature of the overtemperature melt 110 can be calculated from the temperature of the outlet of the melt delivery tube 13) to reach a predetermined temperature. For example, if the power of the induction coil 110 is 50 KW, the temperature of the overtemperature melt 110 reaches 2000 degrees Celsius; if the power of the induction coil 110 is 30 KW, the temperature of the overtemperature melt 110 reaches 1900 degrees Celsius; or, if the power of the induction coil 110 is 10 KW, the temperature of the overtemperature melt 110 reaches 1800 degrees Celsius. The induction coil 141 is a high frequency coil, for example, 200 kHz. The microprocessor 144 can further include a proportional integral derivative (PID) controller, for outputting the power of the induction coil 141 according to the predetermined temperature, to inductively heat the melt delivery tube 13 and the overtemperature melt 110, enabling the temperature of the overtemperature melt 110 to reach the predetermined temperature.
Referring to
Referring to
The temperature control unit 14 can further include a second temperature sensor 145, electrically connected to the microprocessor 144 and used for measuring a temperature of the nozzle outlet 151, so as to obtain a temperature distribution diagram of the overtemperature melt 110 after being impacted and atomized. The second temperature sensor 145 can be an infrared temperature sensor.
Referring to
The present disclosure utilizes an induction coil to conduct overtemperature control of the melt, enabling the temperature of the overtemperature melt entering the powder spray unit to reach a predetermined temperature, which can ensure and maintain the shape of the overtemperature melt and enable solidified alloy powder to have a reduced particle size and better roundness (spherical). Moreover, the present disclosure utilizes the induction coil to continuously heat the outlet of the melt delivery tube, which can overcome the problem of blocking of the outlet of the melt delivery tube by the conventional cooled melt.
The above merely describes implementations or embodiments of technical means employed by the present disclosure to solve the technical problems, which are not intended to limit the patent implementation scope of the present disclosure. Equivalent changes and modifications in line with the meaning of the patent scope of the present disclosure or made according to the scope of the invention patent are all encompassed in the patent scope of the present disclosure.
