This patent application claims the benefit and priority of Chinese Patent Application No. 2023110960302 filed with the China National Intellectual Property Administration on Aug. 25, 2023, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety as part of the present application.
The present disclosure relates to the technical field of aluminum alloy forming, and in particular to an aluminum alloy pre-strengthening hot and forming production line.
Aluminum alloy is a type of light alloy, among which 7xxx series aluminum alloy has high specific strength, low cost, and good corrosion resistance, and is an ideal material for aviation, transportation and machinery industries. Aluminum alloy forging process is a method for producing forgings with certain shape, size, and mechanical properties by applying pressure to metal blanks by forging machinery to make the metal blanks plastically deform. Forging not only can eliminate as-cast defects and improve microstructure, but also can maintain the integrity of metal streamline. Therefore, the mechanical properties of forgings are generally better than those of castings made of the same material.
Hot deformation process of aluminum alloy involves a variety of microstructure mechanisms, and changes in deformation temperature and strain rate will cause corresponding changes in the internal structure of the material. Firstly, the hot deformation can be divided into two microstructure mechanisms: work hardening and dynamic softening. In order to ensure the service performance of the alloy after forming, subsequent artificial aging steps are usually required to improve the strength of the alloy. In a traditional hot forming process, a blank is usually subjected to solid solution treatment, then the temperature is lowered to a set temperature for forming, after the forming is completed, the blank is quenched, and finally the strength of the blank is improved by aging treatment. On this basis, Lin Jianguo, a professor from Imperial College, UK, first put forward Solution Heat Treatment, Forming, and Cold-die Quenching (HFQ). In this process, cold die hot forming and hot blank quenching are used. In the HFQ process, heat treatment and hot forming are integrated into one operation, a higher strain is achieved, meanwhile, post-forming performance is guaranteed.
As the traditional hot forming process involves numerous procedures, and the parts are heated unevenly during quenching, it is easy to cause hot deformation, and the forming accuracy is affected. The microstructure of the parts formed by HFQ process is unstable, so artificial aging or pre-aging treatment must be carried out immediately. Meanwhile, the material should be subjected to solid solution treatment before forming, and has to go through a long period of artificial aging to reach the target strength, which is not in harmony with the production rhythm of vehicle body parts.
In view of this, a purpose of the present disclosure is to provide an aluminum alloy pre-strengthening and hot forming production line to solve the technical problems that the traditional aluminum alloy die forging process has a long production cycle, and large energy consumption due to multiple times of heating.
In order to achieve the purpose above, the present disclosure provides an aluminum alloy pre-strengthening and hot forming production line, including a pre-strengthening heat treatment mechanism, a forging mechanism, and a trim press.
The pre-strengthening heat treatment mechanism includes a roll forging machine, a solid solution furnace, a quenching water tank, an aging furnace, and a heat preservation furnace. The roll forging machine is configured for roll forging an aluminum alloy bar-shaped blank, the solid solution furnace is configured for solid solution treating a roll forged aluminum alloy bar-shaped blank, the quenching water tank is configured for quenching a solid solution treated aluminum alloy bar-shaped blank, the aging furnace is configured for aging a quenched aluminum alloy bar-shaped blank, and the heat preservation furnace is configured for heat preserving of an aged aluminum alloy bar-shaped blank.
The forging mechanism includes an upsetting press machine, and a forging press machine. The upsetting press machine is configured for blanking a heat preserved aluminum alloy bar-shaped blank, and the forging press machine is configured for forging and forming a blanked aluminum alloy bar-shaped blank.
The trim press is configured for trimming a forged and formed aluminum alloy rod-shaped blank, so as to obtain an aluminum alloy member meeting requirements.
In some embodiments, the pre-strengthening heat treatment mechanism further includes a first manipulator, a second manipulator, and a third manipulator. The first manipulator is arranged between the roll forging machine and the solid solution furnace, and configured for transferring the roll forged aluminum alloy bar-shaped blank into the solid solution furnace. The second manipulator is arranged between the solid solution furnace and the aging furnace, and configured for transferring the solid solution treated aluminum alloy bar-shaped blank into the aging furnace. The third manipulator is arranged between the aging furnace and the heat preservation furnace, and configured for transferring the aged aluminum alloy bar-shaped blank into the heat preservation furnace.
In some embodiments, the forging mechanism further includes a fourth manipulator, a fifth manipulator, and a sixth manipulator. The fourth manipulator is arranged between the heat preservation furnace and the upsetting press machine, and configured for transferring the heat preserved aluminum alloy bar-shaped blank into the upsetting press machine. The fifth manipulator is arranged between the upsetting press machine and the forging press machine, and configured for transferring the blanked aluminum alloy bar-shaped blank into the forging press machine for forging and forming. The sixth manipulator is arranged between the forging press machine and the trim press, and configured for transferring the forged and formed aluminum alloy bar-shaped blank into the trim press.
In some embodiments, the forging mechanism further includes a first spraying robot. The first spraying robot is arranged relative to the upsetting press machine, and configured for spraying a first release agent into the upsetting press machine.
In some embodiments, the forging mechanism further includes a second spraying robot. The second spraying robot is arranged relative to the forging press machine, and configured for spraying a second release agent into the forging press machine.
In some embodiments, the aluminum alloy pre-strengthening and hot forming production line further includes a detection mechanism. The detection mechanism includes a weighing platform, a detection box, a rotating assembly, a camera, a temperature detector, and a seventh manipulator. The detection box is fixed at a weighing end of the weighing platform. The rotating assembly includes a first roller, a second roller, and two rotating driving parts. The first roller and the second roller are parallel to each other and both rotatably arranged in the detection box, the formed aluminum alloy member is placed between the first roller and the second roller, the two rotating driving parts are respectively connected to the first roller and the second roller, and configured for driving the first roller and the second roller to rotate, respectively. The camera is arranged above the first roller and the second roller and configured for photographing the aluminum alloy member between the first roller and the second roller. The temperature detector is configured for detecting temperature of the aluminum alloy member. The seventh manipulator is arranged between the trim press and the weighing platform, and configured for transferring a trimmed aluminum alloy member into the detection box.
In some embodiments, the detection mechanism further includes a first fixing block, and a second fixing block. The first fixing block is fixed within the detection box, and the first roller is rotatably arranged on the first fixing block. The second fixing block is mounted within the detection box, and the second roller is rotatably arranged on the second fixing block.
In some embodiments, the second fixing block is slidably arranged within the detection box. The detection mechanism further includes a distance adjusting cylinder, a cylinder body of the distance adjusting cylinder is fixed within the detection box, and an output shaft of the distance adjusting cylinder is fixedly connected to the second fixing block.
In some embodiments, the detection mechanism further includes a transparent cover plate, and the transparent cover plate is configured for covering the detection box.
In some embodiments, the detection mechanism further includes an open-close cylinder, an output shaft of the open-close cylinder is connected to the transparent cover plate, and configured for driving the transparent cover plate to translate.
Compared with the prior art, the technical solutions provided by the present disclosure achieve the beneficial effects that a technical route including heat preservation treatment before forging, deformation by forging, and trimming is used. The heating is reduced from three times in the prior art to one time, such that the machining time of the aluminum alloy is significantly shortened, and the production cycle and the production cost are significantly reduced on the premise of fully meeting the product performance requirements.
In the drawings: 1 strengthening heat treatment mechanism; 11 roll forging machine; 12 solid solution furnace; 13 aging furnace; 14 heat preservation furnace; 15 first manipulator; 16 second manipulator; 17 third manipulator; 2 forging mechanism; 21 upsetting press machine; 22 forging press machine; 23 fourth manipulator; 24 fifth manipulator; 25 sixth manipulator; 26 first spraying robot; 27 second spraying robot; 3 trim press; 4 detection mechanism; 41 weighing platform; 42 detection box; 43 rotating assembly; 431 first roller; 432 second roller; 433 first fixing block; 434 second fixing block; 44 camera; 45 temperature detector; 46 transparent cover plate; 47 open-close cylinder; 5 aluminum alloy member.
The preferred embodiments of the present disclosure are specifically described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The accompany drawings constitute a part of the present disclosure, are used to illustrate the principle of the present disclosure together with embodiments of the present disclosure, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
Please referring to
The pre-strengthening heat treatment mechanism 1 includes a roll forging machine 11, a solid solution furnace 12, a quenching water tank, an aging furnace 13, and a heat preservation furnace 14. The roll forging machine 11 is configured for roll forging an aluminum alloy bar-shaped blank, the solid solution furnace 12 is configured for solid solution treating a roll forged aluminum alloy bar-shaped blank, the quenching water tank is configured for quenching quenching a solid solution treated aluminum alloy bar-shaped blank, the aging furnace 13 is configured for aging a quenched aluminum alloy bar-shaped blank, and the heat preservation furnace 14 is configured for heat preservation an aged aluminum alloy bar-shaped blank. The roll forging machine 11 can be replaced according to different forming process requirements. That is, according to different forming processes used, corresponding blanking devices can be installed to meet different forming process requirements.
The forging mechanism 2 includes an upsetting press machine 21, and a forging press machine 22. The upsetting press machine 21 is configured for blanking a heat preserved aluminum alloy bar-shaped blank, and the forging press machine 22 is configured for forging and forming a blanked aluminum alloy bar-shaped blank.
The trim press 3 is configured for trimming a forged and formed aluminum alloy rod-shaped blank, so as to obtain an aluminum alloy member meeting requirements.
During use, the aluminum alloy bar-shaped blank is fed into the roll forging machine 11 which is configured for roll forging the aluminum alloy bar-shaped blank. Then, the roll forged aluminum alloy bar-shaped blank is transferred into the solid solution furnace 12 for solid solution treatment. After that, the solid solution treated aluminum alloy bar-shaped blank is transferred into the quenching water tank filled with cooling water for quenching treatment. Then the quenched aluminum alloy bar-shaped blank is transferred into the aging furnace 13 for aging. The aged aluminum alloy bar-shaped blank is transferred into the heat preservation furnace 14 for heat preservation. The heat preserved aluminum alloy bar-shaped blank is then transferred into the upsetting press machine 21 for blanking. The blanked aluminum alloy bar-shaped blank is then transferred into the forging press machine 22 for forging and forming. And finally, the forged and formed aluminum alloy bar-shaped blank is transferred to the trim press 3 for trimming, thus obtaining the aluminum alloy member meeting the requirements.
According to the aluminum alloy pre-strengthening and hot forming production line provided by the present disclosure, a technical route including heat preservation treatment before forging, deformation by forging, and trimming is used. The heating is reduced from three times in the prior art to one time, such that the machining time of the aluminum alloy is significantly shortened, and the production cycle and the production cost are significantly reduced on the premise of fully meeting the product performance requirements.
In order to achieve the transfer of the aluminum alloy bar-shaped blank conveniently, please referring to
In order to achieve the transfer of the aluminum alloy bar-shaped blank conveniently, please referring to
In order to facilitate the demolding of the aluminum alloy bar-shaped blank in the upsetting press machine 21, please referring to
In order to facilitate the demolding of the aluminum alloy bar-shaped blank in the forging press machine 22, please referring to
In order to conveniently detect whether the formed aluminum alloy member is qualified or not, please referring to
In order to achieve rotatable connections between the first roller 431 as well as the second roller 432 and the detection box 42 specifically, please referring to
In order to detect the aluminum alloy members 5 with different diameters conveniently, please referring to
In order to prevent a situation that the accuracy of the detection result is reduced due to rapid temperature drop of the aluminum alloy member 5, please referring to
In order to control the open or close of the transparent cover plate 46 conveniently, please referring to
In order to understand the present disclosure better, an operation process of the aluminum alloy pre-strengthening and hot forming production line provided by the present disclosure is described in detail below in conjunction with
According to the aluminum alloy pre-strengthening and hot forming production line provided by the present disclosure, a technical route including heat preservation treatment before forging, deformation of forging and trimming is used. The heating is reduced from three times in the prior art to one time, such that the machining time of the aluminum alloy is significantly shortened, and the production cycle and the production cost are significantly reduced on the premise of fully meeting the product performance requirements.
A detection mechanism 4 for the aluminum alloy member is further provided by the present disclosure, which can screen out unqualified aluminum alloy members according to the image and temperature information of the surface of the aluminum alloy members, thus improving the qualification rate of the product.
It should be understood that the layout of the production line can be arranged in a linear arrangement as shown in
The foregoing is only the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure, but the scope of protection of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily thought of by those skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed by the present disclosure should fall within the scope of protection of the present disclosure.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 202311096030.2 | Aug 2023 | CN | national |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20120073347 | Luckey | Mar 2012 | A1 |
| 20180023173 | Nuno | Jan 2018 | A1 |
| 20190368021 | Ilinich | Dec 2019 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 112496218 | Mar 2021 | CN |
| 113976789 | Jan 2022 | CN |
| 2011240411 | Dec 2011 | JP |
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| Yang, Yongbiao, et al. “Processing maps for hot deformation of the extruded 7075 aluminum alloy bar: Anisotropy of hot workability.” Materials Science and Engineering: A 615 (2014): 183-190. (Year: 2014). |