Patent Application
20170355014
The disclosure relates generally to continuous casting and particularly to automated or partially automated continuous casting systems.
Continuous casting uses traveling endless molds (e.g., rolls, belts, and/or wheels) having zero or substantially zero relative movement between the mold and casting surfaces. Most moving molds provide a high cooling rate due to a very small air gap between the mold and casting surface.
Other continuous casting systems include without limitation single-roll casters, twin-roll casters, and rotary casters.
Periodically, components, such as blocks and back-up rolls, need to be repaired or replaced due to the effects of wear or damage. Component repair or replacement often require the caster to be shut down, with concomitant loss of cast strip production. The economic cost of lost cast strip production can be substantial depending on caster down time.
There is therefore a need to repair or replace caster components during caster operation or without interrupting caster operation.
These and other needs are addressed by the various aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations of the present disclosure. The present disclosure is directed to automated monitoring and/or adjustment of a casting system or assembly, thereby enabling repair and/or replacement of caster components during caster operation or without interrupting caster operation.
A casting system can include:
a nozzle to provide a molten metal or metal alloy;
a casting assembly to cool and mold the molten metal or metal alloy to form a cast strip;
a casting component changer to replace a first casting component by a second casting component;
a sensor to sense a position of the second casting component relative to a reference position and/or third casting component; and
a microprocessor executable control system operable to determine an adjustment amount and/or direction of the second casting system component and provide the adjustment amount and/or direction to an operator for adjustment of the second casting system component and/or command that the second casting system component be adjusted by the adjustment amount and/or direction.
The casting system can be a block caster. In that case, the first, second, and third casting system components are first, second, and third chilling blocks. The second chilling block can be adjusted by one or more adjustment points on the second chilling block. The first chilling block can be disengaged and removed from a track guide supporting chilling blocks of the casting system. The second casting component can be positioned in a position formerly occupied by the first chilling block and engaged with the track guide.
The sensors can be one or more of a laser radar detector, a mechanical displacement device, an imaging device, an optical 3d measuring system, and an ultrasound transducer.
The replacing, sensing, determining, providing, and/or commanding operations can occur while the casting system is casting a metal or metal alloy.
The molten metal or metal alloy is commonly one or more of manganese, a manganese alloy, aluminum, an aluminum alloy, copper, a copper alloy, iron, and an iron alloy.
The microprocessor executable control system can select the second casting component from among multiple possible casting components to replace the first casting component.
The casting component changer can be one or more of a robotic arm, a boom, a push arm or piston, and a pull arm or piston.
The multiple possible casting components can be positioned in multiple cartridges. The first casting component, when removed, can be positioned in a cartridge.
The replacing operation can include disengaging the first casting component from the guide track, removing the first casting component from a first position on the guide track, positioning the second casting component at the first position on the guide track, and engaging the second casting component with the guide track.
The replacing operation can include locating the second casting component adjacent to the first casting component, maintaining the second casting component adjacent to the first casting component as the first casting component moves in response to operation of the casting system, displacing, by contact with the second casting component, the first casting component from a first position on the guide track, and locating the second casting component in the first guide track position.
The casting system can further include:
a launder to receive the molten metal or metal alloy from a furnace; and
a tundish and/or headbox to receive the molten metal or metal alloy from the furnace and provide the melt to the nozzle.
The casting assembly can include one or more of a single-belt caster, twin-belt caster, single-roll caster, twin-roll caster, and rotary caster.
The casting assembly component can alternatively be one or more of a roller, belt, back-up roll, and block belt.
The microprocessor executable control system can adjust one or more of the position, orientation, application force applied to the cast strip, and pressure applied to the cast strip of or by the casting assembly component.
The present disclosure can provide a number of advantages depending on the particular aspect, embodiment, and/or configuration. The casting system can identify a casting system component requiring replacement and enable automatic or semi-automatic component replacement and adjustment of the replacement casting system component, during casting system operation, to inhibit, remove, or reduce the formation of surface defects in a next casting cycle (e.g., next revolution of a roll, block or belt caster). This can eliminate the need not only for manual block adjustment but also for shutting down the casting system to replace a casting system component and reset an improperly adjusted replacement casting system component. This has the further benefit of making less expensive continuously cast strip applicable to a broader variety of applications and markets.
These and other advantages will be apparent from the disclosure.
As used herein, “at least one”, “one or more”, and “and/or” are open-ended expressions that are both conjunctive and disjunctive in operation. For example, each of the expressions “at least one of A, B and C”, “at least one of A, B, or C”, “one or more of A, B, and C”, “one or more of A, B, or C” and “A, B, and/or C” means A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, or A, B and C together. When each one of A, B, and C in the above expressions refers to an element, such as X, Y, and Z, or class of elements, such as X1-Xn, Y1-Ym, and Z1-Zo, the phrase is intended to refer to a single element selected from X, Y, and Z, a combination of elements selected from the same class (e.g., X1 and X2) as well as a combination of elements selected from two or more classes (e.g., Y1 and Zo).
The term “a” or “an” entity refers to one or more of that entity. As such, the terms “a” (or “an”), “one or more” and “at least one” can be used interchangeably herein. It is also to be noted that the terms “comprising”, “including”, and “having” can be used interchangeably.
“Aluminum alloys” are alloys in which aluminum (Al) is the predominant metal. The typical alloying elements are copper, magnesium, manganese, silicon, and zinc.
The term “automatic” and variations thereof, as used herein, refers to any process or operation done without material human input when the process or operation is performed. However, a process or operation can be automatic, even though performance of the process or operation uses material or immaterial human input, if the input is received before performance of the process or operation. Human input is deemed to be material if such input influences how the process or operation will be performed. Human input that consents to the performance of the process or operation is not deemed to be “material”.
The term “computer-readable medium” as used herein refers to any storage and/or transmission medium that participate in providing instructions to a processor for execution. Such a computer-readable medium is commonly tangible, non-transitory, and non-transient and can take many forms, including but not limited to, non-volatile media, volatile media, and transmission media and includes without limitation random access memory (“RAM”), read only memory (“ROM”), and the like. Non-volatile media includes, for example, NVRAM, or magnetic or optical disks. Volatile media includes dynamic memory, such as main memory. Common forms of computer-readable media include, for example, a floppy disk (including without limitation a Bernoulli cartridge, ZIP drive, and JAZ drive), a flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape or cassettes, or any other magnetic medium, magneto-optical medium, a digital video disk (such as CD-ROM), any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, any other physical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM, and EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, a solid state medium like a memory card, any other memory chip or cartridge, a carrier wave as described hereinafter, or any other medium from which a computer can read. A digital file attachment to e-mail or other self-contained information archive or set of archives is considered a distribution medium equivalent to a tangible storage medium. When the computer-readable media is configured as a database, it is to be understood that the database may be any type of database, such as relational, hierarchical, object-oriented, and/or the like. Accordingly, the disclosure is considered to include a tangible storage medium or distribution medium and prior art-recognized equivalents and successor media, in which the software implementations of the present disclosure are stored. Computer-readable storage medium commonly excludes transient storage media, particularly electrical, magnetic, electromagnetic, optical, magneto-optical signals.
The term “continuous casting” or “strand casting” refers to the process whereby molten metal is solidified into a “semifinished” billet, bloom, or slab for subsequent rolling in the finishing mills. Continuous casting is often used to cast aluminum, magnesium, and copper alloys and steel.
The terms “determine”, “calculate” and “compute,” and variations thereof, as used herein, are used interchangeably and include any type of methodology, process, mathematical operation, algorithm, or technique.
The term “means” as used herein shall be given its broadest possible interpretation in accordance with 35 U.S.C., Section 112, Paragraph 6. Accordingly, a claim incorporating the term “means” shall cover all structures, materials, or acts set forth herein, and all of the equivalents thereof. Further, the structures, materials or acts and the equivalents thereof shall include all those described in the summary, brief description of the drawings, detailed description, abstract, and claims themselves.
The term “module” as used herein refers to any known or later developed hardware, software, firmware, artificial intelligence, fuzzy logic, or combination of hardware and software that is capable of performing the functionality associated with that element.
Unless otherwise noted, all component or composition levels are in reference to the active portion of that component or composition and are exclusive of impurities, for example, residual solvents or by-products, which may be present in commercially available sources of such components or compositions.
All percentages and ratios are calculated by total composition weight, unless indicated otherwise.
Unless otherwise noted, all component or composition levels are in reference to the active portion of that component or composition and are exclusive of impurities, for example, residual solvents or by-products, which may be present in commercially available sources of such components or compositions.
All percentages and ratios are calculated by total composition weight, unless indicated otherwise.
The preceding is a simplified summary of the disclosure to provide an understanding of some aspects of the disclosure. This summary is neither an extensive nor exhaustive overview of the disclosure and its various aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations. It is intended neither to identify key or critical elements of the disclosure nor to delineate the scope of the disclosure but to present selected concepts of the disclosure in a simplified form as an introduction to the more detailed description presented below. As will be appreciated, other aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations of the disclosure are possible utilizing, alone or in combination, one or more of the features set forth above or described in detail below. Also, while the disclosure is presented in terms of exemplary embodiments, it should be appreciated that individual aspects of the disclosure can be separately claimed.
The accompanying drawings are incorporated into and form a part of the specification to illustrate several examples of the present disclosure. These drawings, together with the description, explain the principles of the disclosure. The drawings simply illustrate preferred and alternative examples of how the disclosure can be made and used and are not to be construed as limiting the disclosure to only the illustrated and described examples. Further features and advantages will become apparent from the following, more detailed, description of the various aspects, embodiments, and configurations of the disclosure, as illustrated by the drawings referenced below.
Surface defects removed, inhibited, or otherwise reduced in frequency by the block casting system 300 can vary depending on the casting technology employed. Surface defects in continuously cast strip include, for example, impressions left by block joints and belt seams, streaks, drag marks, protrusions, channels, valleys, crystallites, films (such oxide films), impurities, or combinations thereof. While not wanting to be limited by theory, the defects can be caused by one or more of the rollers, belts, and blocks of the caster and can be addressed by replacing and/or adjusting one or more of the position, orientation, application force or pressure (applied to the cast strip), and the like of the roller, belt, or block.
While
Referring to
As shown in
To enable the control system 312 to address independently each adjustment point, each adjustment point is assigned a unique identifier relative to the other adjustment points. Although any type of identifier can be employed, the identifier in one embodiment has a first unique identifier “X” corresponding to an identifier of the upper or lower set of chilling blocks of which the selected chilling block 316 is a member, a second identifier “Y” (which may be non-unique relative to another chilling block in the other set of chilling blocks but is unique within the set of chilling blocks of which the selected chilling block is a member) corresponding to an identifier of the particular chilling block to be adjusted by the selected adjustment point, and a third identifier “Z” (which may be non-unique relative to another adjustment point in another chilling block in the upper or lower sets of chilling blocks 304 but is unique within the corresponding chilling block 316 on which the selected adjustment point is located) is an identifier corresponding to the selected adjustment point.
The sensors 308 can be any device able to detect surface irregularities in the cast strip-contacting surfaces of the upper and lower chilling block sets 304. Examples include a laser radar detector (which uses a laser beam 350 to determine the distance from the sensor to the block surface), mechanical displacement device (which measures the vertical variations in travel or movement of a wheel or other contact device with the block surface), imaging device (which uses image processing to identify surface irregularities and other variations in block surface topology, such as image processing based on the block surface images captured by still pictures or video images captured as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,539,561 (which is incorporated herein by this reference)), optical 3d measuring system (which uses triangulation to determine the spatial dimensions and the geometry of the block surface), and ultrasound transducer (which uses an ultrasound transducer to emit ultrasonic energy and ultrasonic time-of-flight methods to measure distance from the sensor to the chilling block surface). Laser radar, for example, can operate on the time of flight principle by sending a laser pulse in a narrow beam towards the chilling block surface to be measured and measuring the time taken by the pulse to reflect off the target chilling block surface and return to the sender. Other laser radar distance measuring technologies include multiple frequency phase-shift (which uses an intensity modulated beam to measure the phase shift of multiple frequencies on reflection of electromagnetic energy by the target chilling block surface and then solves various simultaneous equations to yield a final distance measure from the sensor to the target chilling block surface), frequency modulation (which use modulated laser beams, for example, with a repetitive linear frequency ramp by which the distance to be measured from the sensor to the target chilling block surface is translated into a frequency offset) and interferometry (which measures changes in distance between the sensor and the target chilling block surface rather than absolute distances). Due to the high temperatures of the cast strip, non-contact sensors, such as laser radar, imaging devices, optical 3d measuring systems, and ultrasound systems, are generally employed.
As in the case of the adjustment points 328, each sensor has a unique (relative to the other sensors) sensor identifier. The sensor identifier can be as simple as a combination of a generic sensor identifier (indicating that the signal originates at a sensor) and a number of the sensor (indicating that sensor 1 for example originated the signal). In another example, the sensor identifier can be a combination of a first indicator (indicating whether the sensor is located in the upper or lower set of chilling blocks (e.g., above or below the cast slab 130)) and a second identifier indicating which sensor of the corresponding set of upper or lower sensors originated the signal).
The geometry of the block casting system 300 can be important. Referring to
Each of the upper and lower sets of chilling blocks has separate adjustment and measurement zones 392 and 396 controlled by separate or a common adjustment control system 312. Referring to
Prior to discussing the chilling block replacement operation of the block casting system 300, it is important to understand the operation of the block casting system 300 in manufacturing cast strip 130. As can be seen from
Each of the upper and lower sets of chilling blocks has a corresponding block changer 604 (
To facilitate block exchange, a cartridge system can be employed. The replaced block can be slid out of disengaged operating position into an empty receiving cartridge (not shown). The now occupied receiving cartridge is then moved away from the upper or lower set of chilling blocks and a new empty receiving cartridge moved into alignment with the next selected one of the set of upper or lower chilling blocks 708 to be replaced. Likewise, the new block can be moved out of a receiving cartridge (not shown) and into the disengaged operating position followed by movement of the now empty receiving cartridge away from the upper or lower set of chilling blocks. Receiving cartridges assist in positioning and aligning the new blocks with the selected one of the set of upper or lower chilling blocks 708 to be replaced and removing the replaced block. The next cartridge containing a new block is moved into alignment with the next selected one of the set of upper or lower chilling blocks 708 to be replaced and the process repeated. In one configuration, the cartridges are on a common carrier positioned on a common side of the set of upper or lower chilling blocks. With both old and new blocks on the common side, the block changer moves new blocks and empties cartridges and moves replaced blocks into the now emptied cartridges.
As will be appreciated, the two block cartridges (i.e., empty cartridge to receive the replaced block and cartridge containing the new block) each need to be aligned simultaneously with the chilling block to be replaced and move synchronously with (e.g., move at the same speed as) the chilling block to be replaced to enable continuous and uninterrupted caster operation. This can be effected by connecting or engaging the cartridges with the track guide. An example of this type of system is shown in
In another configuration, one or more robotic arms is/are employed. A first robotic arm engages the selected one of the set of upper and lower chilling blocks to be replaced and follows the selected block as the caster is moving. A second robotic arm pulls a new block from a rack, the selected block is disengaged from the track guide, the first robotic arm moves the selected block from the disengaged operating position to a rack, while the second robotic arm places the new block into the disengaged operating position. Then, the new block is engaged with the track guide.
The engagement and disengagement of the selected block with and from the track guide can be by any suitable mechanism. Referring to
The operation of the adjustment control system will now be discussed with reference to
In step 1000, the adjustment control system 312 selects a chilling block in one of the sets of upper and lower chilling blocks to be replaced. The selection can be based on user input and/or parameters sensed by one or more sensors. For example, consistently sensing a surface defect in a portion of a cast strip contacted by a given block indicates that the block is damaged or worn and requires replacement. The sensing can be based on a vision or dimension defect on the cast strip. When such a defect is sensed, the responsible chilling block (in the set of upper and lower set of chilling blocks casting the defect-containing upper or lower cast strip surface) is identified, such as by determining a rate of advance of the cast strip and/or rate of rotation of the chilling blocks and, based on the distance traversed by the cast strip during the time interval since the defect was first or last contacted with a chilling block and ending when the defect was sensed, determining the chilling block located at that distance along the face of the block caster. The defect can be sensed by any of the sensors identified above. The sensors can be the same as or in addition to the sensors providing feedback to control chilling block adjustment.
In step 1004, the adjustment control system 312 determines the selected chilling block's dimensions. This can be done by any technique, including user input or a look up table mapping the identity of the selected block against one or more dimensions (e.g., length, width, and/or thickness) of the block. A robotic arm can measure one or more dimensions of the selected block. As will be appreciated, a non-contact device can remain stationary and timely measure the dimensions.
In step 1008, the adjustment control system 312 selects a new or replacement chilling block having one or more similar dimension(s). This can be done by any technique, including user input or a look up table mapping the positions of the replacement blocks against one or more dimensions (e.g., length, width, and/or height) of the block. A robotic arm can measure one or more selected dimensions of each of the replacement blocks and select that replacement block having the closest selected dimension(s).
In step 1012, the adjustment control system 312 aligns the selected replacement block with the selected block to be replaced and replaces the selected block. A look up table can be updated to reflect one or more dimension(s) of the replacement block for the block dimensions of the corresponding block operating position in the set of upper or lower chilling blocks. Optionally, the adjustment control system 312 can, based on the difference between the thicknesses of the replaced block and the replacement block, effect rough adjustments to form a substantially planar surface with adjacent chilling blocks. The system should be able to handle the entire range of block dimensions. It is possible, however, to design a block casting system in which all of the blocks are relatively close in dimension (particularly when the expansion and contraction of thermal heating and cooling events occurs).
In step 1016, the adjustment control system 312 selects a sensor corresponding to a selected adjustment point in the measurement zone. The control system can identify a set of adjustment points for the replacement chilling block and/or inter-block joint entering the adjustment zone in many ways. In one technique, a position of a selected chilling block and/or inter-block joint is synchronized in computer readable memory with movement of one or both of the upper and lower sets of chilling blocks 304a and 304b (or the upper and lower track guides in the case of a belt caster). Based on this monitored location, the locations of the other chilling block and/or inter-block joints are readily determined (as the chilling blocks have known widths and/or are in a predictable constant sequence as the supporting track guide moves through each revolution). The control system 312 selects a sensor set corresponding to one or more selected adjustment point(s) (such as adjacent and opposing adjustment point(s) on either side of a selected inter-block joint (or other casting component) entering, departing, or currently in the adjustment zone 392). The sensor set, for example, when the selected adjustment point(s) is/are adjustment point 328a and 328b (or other casting component) is sensor 308a.
In step 1020, the control system 312 receives measurements from the selected sensor and determines a distance to the replacement block surface. The control system 312, as will be appreciated, can query the selected sensor for a set of readings or receive multiple sets of sensor readings from all sensors and select the appropriate set of readings, based on the identities of the source sensor. The selected set of sensor readings can enable the control system 312 to determine the distance at the point of measurement.
In step 1024, the control system 312 compares the measured distance to a predetermined or reference distance and/or a distance measured to a portion of the block surface of an adjacent block and, in decision diamond 1028, determines whether or not to adjust the selected adjustment point(s). When an absolute value of a difference in the measured distance from the predetermined or reference distance is at least a predetermined threshold, the control system 312 proceeds to step 1032. Alternatively, the control system 312 can determine a difference of the measured distance from a distance measured by a prior set of sensor readings from the selected sensor for an adjustment point (or a portion of the block surface of an adjacent block) in the same plane and/or a distance measured by one or more adjacent sensor(s) in one or more adjacent plane(s). When an absolute value of a delta between the determined difference and a predetermined difference is at least a predetermined threshold, the control system 312 proceeds to step 1032.
In step 1032, the control system 312 determines an adjustment amount and direction (e.g., up or down and either commands the selected adjustment point(s) to be adjusted (by a control signal addressed to the unique identifier of the adjustment point) to the determined adjustment amount and direction or recommends to a human user the adjustment amount and direction for manual adjustment of the adjustment point by the user (such as by the user pressing an actuator to cause movement up or down of the block in response to adjustment point activation). When automatic adjustment is performed, one or both of the opposing adjustment points on either side of the inter-block joint can be adjusted in a manner to maintain the step height over the inter-block joint 320 at or less than a predetermined magnitude. The target adjustment amount may be equivalent to the difference between the measured distance on either side of the inter-block joint 320 or a fraction or percentage thereof. The adjustment points can thus be adjusted in the same direction and by the same amount or by different amounts that sum up to the desired adjustment amount. Alternatively, the distance on either side of the inter-block joint can be measured and each adjustment point on either side of the joint adjusted to produce a substantially identical distance at its respective location.
After step 1032 or when no adjustment is required, the control system, in decision diamond 1036 determines whether there is an adjustment point or set of adjustment points in the adjustment zone. For example, when an inter-block joint is in the adjustment zone the preceding step must be repeated for each adjustment point adjacent to the inter-block joint.
When a further adjustment point(s) for the inter-block joint remains to be considered for adjustment, the control system returns to step 1016.
When no further adjustment points for the inter-block joint remain to be considered for adjustment, the control system returns to step 1000.
The disclosure can apply to detection of and/or continuous casting component replacement and adjustment and inhibit surface defects other than impressions left by block joints. For example, the disclosure can apply to any of the surface defects discussed above.
The disclosure can apply to automatic replacement and adjustment of components in other continuous casting techniques, such as twin-belt casters, single-roll casters, twin-roll casters, and rotary casters. In belt casters, for instance, the casting component to be replaced and adjusted can be the back-up rolls 212 so as to maintain a substantially planar surface of the belt contacting the cast strip 130. In a belt caster, there can be dimension defects on any of the back-up rolls behind the belt. Flat spots can occur when the caster is stopped with molten metal in it, the back-up rolls can be machined out of round or eccentricities can exist between the rolling center and the surface of the roll against which the belt rests. In these cases, the back-up roll can be replaced by a robotic arm or other suitable automated technique followed by adjustment of the replacement back-up roll, which commonly has dimensional adjustments at the bearings. The same can be true of a roll caster, with eccentricities, flat spots, and coating thickness variations. The roll can be replaced by a robotic arm or other suitable automated technique followed by adjustment of the replacement roll, which commonly has a point of adjustment or adjustment point at the bearing points. There are commonly sensors that are made up of a series of rings that measure tight spots in the cast strip, slab, or sheet. A roll can be made using actuators in place of sensors to make changes in the geometry of the mold of a roll caster. The roll can include a series of rings on the center shaft with adjustments from the shaft access to accommodate thickness variations across the face of the cast surface due to a variation in roll geometry or even metal temperature variations causing dimensional variation in the slab thickness.
The disclosure can apply to a wide variety of alloys, such as aluminum, aluminum alloys, magnesium, magnesium alloys, copper, copper alloys, and steel. Aluminum alloys, for example, include AA 1XXX, 2XXX, 3XXX, 4XXX, 5XXX, 6XXX, and 7XXX.
A 1000 series-based aluminum alloy typically has the following composition:
(i) from about 0.05 to about 0.20% by weight magnesium;
(ii) from about 0.01 to about 0.20% by weight manganese;
(iii) from about 0.01 to about 0.25% by weight copper;
(iv) from about 0.001 to about 0.08% by weight iron;
(v) from about 0.001 to about 0.02% by weight silicon;
(vi) from about 0.001 to about 0.095% by weight chromium;
(vii) from about 0.01 to about 0.45% by weight zinc;
(viii) from about 0.001 to about 0.045% by weight nickel;
(ix) from about 0.01 to about 0.175% by weight titanium; and
(x) no more than about 0.05 wt. % other impurities.
A 2000 series-based aluminum alloy typically has the following composition:
(i) from about 0.02 to about 1.8% by weight magnesium;
(ii) from about 0.1 to about 1.2% by weight manganese;
(iii) from about 1.8 to about 6.8% by weight copper;
(iv) from about 0.07 to about 1.0% by weight iron;
(v) from about 0.05 to about 0.5% by weight silicon;
(vi) from about 0.05 to about 0.8% by weight chromium;
(vii) from about 0.05 to about 1.4% by weight zinc;
(viii) from about 0.01 to about 0.2% by weight nickel;
(ix) from about 0.01 to about 0.175% by weight titanium; and
(x) no more than about 0.05 wt. % other impurities.
A 3000 series-based aluminum alloy typically has the following composition:
(i) from about 0.01 to about 1.3% by weight magnesium;
(ii) from about 0.01 to about 1.3% by weight manganese;
(iii) from about 0.01 to about 0.3% by weight copper;
(iv) from about 0.1 to about 0.7% by weight iron;
(v) from about 0.10 to about 1.7% by weight silicon;
(vi) from about 0.01 to about 0.35% by weight chromium;
(vii) from about 0.001 to about 0.09% by weight zinc;
(viii) from about 0.001 to about 0.09% by weight nickel;
(ix) from about 0.001 to about 0.09% by weight titanium; and
(x) no more than about 0.15 wt. % other impurities.
A 4000 series-based aluminum alloy typically has the following composition:
(i) from about 0.05 to about 2.0% by weight magnesium;
(ii) from about 0.05 to about 1.5% by weight manganese;
(iii) from about 0.05 to about 5.0% by weight copper;
(iv) from about 0.09 to about 1.0% by weight iron;
(v) from about 0.6 to about 13.5% by weight silicon;
(vi) from about 0.05 to about 0.25% by weight chromium;
(vii) from about 0.05 to about 1.3% by weight zinc;
(viii) from about 0 to about 2.2% by weight nickel;
(ix) from about 0.5 to about 0.3% by weight titanium; and
(x) no more than about 0.05 wt. % other impurities.
A 5000 series-based aluminum alloy useful for producing tab or end stock has the following composition:
(i) from about 2.0 to about 5.0% by weight magnesium;
(ii) from about 0.10 to about 1.25% by weight manganese;
(iii) from about 0.001 to about 0.45% by weight copper;
(iv) from about 0.1 to about 0.85% by weight iron;
(v) from about 0.1 to about 1.3% by weight silicon;
(vi) from about 0.01 to about 0.3% by weight chromium;
(vii) from about 0.75 to about 2.7% by weight zinc;
(viii) from about 0.001 to about 0.045% by weight nickel;
(ix) from about 0.01 to about 0.175% by weight titanium; and
(x) no more than about 0.15 wt. % other impurities.
A 6000 series-based aluminum alloy typically has the following composition:
(i) from about 0.2 to about 3.0% by weight magnesium;
(ii) from about 0.05 to about 1.0% by weight manganese;
(iii) from about 0.05 to about 0.9% by weight copper;
(iv) from about 0.1 to about 0.8% by weight iron;
(v) from about 0.3 to about 1.5% by weight silicon;
(vi) from about 0.03 to about 0.35% by weight chromium;
(vii) from about 0.05 to about 1.0% by weight zinc;
(viii) from about 0 to about 0.2% by weight nickel;
(ix) from about 0 to about 0.2% by weight titanium; and
(x) no more than about 0.05 wt. % other impurities.
A 7000 series-based aluminum alloy typically has the following composition:
(i) from about 0.1 to about 3.3% by weight magnesium;
(ii) from about 0.04 to about 0.8% by weight manganese;
(iii) from about 0.1 to about 2.8% by weight copper;
(iv) from about 0 to about 0.5% by weight iron;
(v) from about 0.05 to about 0.4% by weight silicon;
(vi) from about 0.04 to about 0.28% by weight chromium;
(vii) from about 0.8 to about 12% by weight zinc;
(viii) from about 0 to about 0.03% by weight nickel;
(ix) from about 0.03 to about 0.2% by weight titanium; and
(x) no more than about 0.05 wt. % other impurities.
More specifically, the cast strip can be comprise an aluminum alloy selected from the group of consisting of aluminum alloys 1050, 1060, 1100, 1199, 2014, 2024, 2219, 303, 3004, 3102, 4041, 5005, 5052, 5083, 5086, 5154, 5182, 5356, 5454, 5456, 5754, 6005, 6005A, 6014, 6022, 6060, 6061, 6063, 6066, 6070, 6082, 6105, 6111, 6016, 6162, 6262, 6351, 6463, 7005, 7022, 7050, 7068, 7072, 7075, 7079, 7116, 7129, and 7178. In some embodiments, the cast strip can be comprise an aluminum alloy suitable for aircraft or aerospace structures selected from the group of consisting of aluminum alloys 2024, 5052, 6061, 6063, 7050, 7068, and 7075. In some embodiments, the cast strip can be comprise an aluminum alloy suitable for marine structures selected from the group of consisting of aluminum alloys 5052, 5059, 5083, 5086, 6061, and 6063. In some embodiments, the cast strip can be comprise an aluminum alloy suitable for automotive structures selected from the group of consisting of aluminum alloys 2008, 2036, 5083, 5456, 5754, 6016, and 6111.
Examples of the processors as described herein may include, but are not limited to, at least one of Qualcomm® Snapdragon® 800 and 801, Qualcomm® Snapdragon® 610 and 615 with 4G LTE Integration and 64-bit computing, Apple® A7 processor with 64-bit architecture, Apple® M7 motion coprocessors, Samsung® Exynos® series, the Intel® Core™ family of processors, the Intel® Xeon® family of processors, the Intel® Atom™ family of processors, the Intel Itanium® family of processors, Intel® Core® i5-4670K and i7-4770K 22 nm Haswell, Intel® Core® i5-3570K 22 nm Ivy Bridge, the AMD® FX™ family of processors, AMD® FX-4300, FX-6300, and FX-8350 32 nm Vishera, AMD® Kaveri processors, Texas Instruments® Jacinto C6000™ automotive infotainment processors, Texas Instruments® OMAP™ automotive-grade mobile processors, ARM® Cortex™-M processors, ARM® Cortex-A and ARM926EJ-S™ processors, other industry-equivalent processors, and may perform computational functions using any known or future-developed standard, instruction set, libraries, and/or architecture.
The exemplary systems and methods of this disclosure have been described in relation to a block casting system. However, to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present disclosure, the preceding description omits a number of known structures and devices. This omission is not to be construed as a limitation of the scopes of the claims. Specific details are set forth to provide an understanding of the present disclosure. It should however be appreciated that the present disclosure may be practiced in a variety of ways beyond the specific detail set forth herein.
Furthermore, while the exemplary aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations illustrated herein show the various components of the system collocated, certain components of the system can be located remotely, at distant portions of a distributed network, such as a LAN and/or the Internet, or within a dedicated system. Thus, it should be appreciated, that the components of the system can be combined in to one or more devices or collocated on a particular node of a distributed network, such as an analog and/or digital telecommunications network, a packet-switch network, or a circuit-switched network. It will be appreciated from the preceding description, and for reasons of computational efficiency, that the components of the system can be arranged at any location within a distributed network of components without affecting the operation of the system. Similarly, one or more functional portions of the system could be distributed between multiple device(s).
Furthermore, it should be appreciated that the various links connecting the elements can be wired or wireless links, or any combination thereof, or any other known or later developed element(s) that is capable of supplying and/or communicating data to and from the connected elements. These wired or wireless links can also be secure links and may be capable of communicating encrypted information. Transmission media used as links, for example, can be any suitable carrier for electrical signals, including coaxial cables, copper wire and fiber optics, and may take the form of acoustic or light waves, such as those generated during radio-wave and infra-red data communications.
Also, while the flowcharts have been discussed and illustrated in relation to a particular sequence of events, it should be appreciated that changes, additions, and omissions to this sequence can occur without materially affecting the operation of the disclosed embodiments, configuration, and aspects.
A number of variations and modifications of the disclosure can be used. It would be possible to provide for some features of the disclosure without providing others.
For example in one alternative embodiment, the control system is embodied as an artificially intelligent algorithm able to modify its behavior based on repeated observations, such as using fuzzy logic, expert systems, neural networks, and robotics. Artificial intelligence can observe the effects of casting component wear on casting performance and cast strip surface properties/defects and adjusting adjustment points over time and modify when the component is replaced and to what degree and how adjustments are made to adapt to changes in behavior of the casting system. For example, blocks wear, thermal conditions change, alloy compositions change, and the like.
In yet another embodiment, the systems and methods of this disclosure can be implemented in conjunction with a special purpose computer, a programmed microprocessor or microcontroller and peripheral integrated circuit element(s), an ASIC or other integrated circuit, a digital signal processor, a hard-wired electronic or logic circuit such as discrete element circuit, a programmable logic device or gate array such as PLD, PLA, FPGA, PAL, special purpose computer, any comparable means, or the like. In general, any device(s) or means capable of implementing the methodology illustrated herein can be used to implement the various aspects of this disclosure. Exemplary hardware that can be used for the disclosed embodiments, configurations and aspects includes computers, handheld devices, telephones (e.g., cellular, Internet enabled, digital, analog, hybrids, and others), and other hardware known in the art. Some of these devices include processors (e.g., a single or multiple microprocessors), memory, nonvolatile storage, input devices, and output devices. Furthermore, alternative software implementations including, but not limited to, distributed processing or component/object distributed processing, parallel processing, or virtual machine processing can also be constructed to implement the methods described herein.
In yet another embodiment, the disclosed methods may be readily implemented in conjunction with software using object or object-oriented software development environments that provide portable source code that can be used on a variety of computer or workstation platforms. Alternatively, the disclosed system may be implemented partially or fully in hardware using standard logic circuits or VLSI design. Whether software or hardware is used to implement the systems in accordance with this disclosure is dependent on the speed and/or efficiency requirements of the system, the particular function, and the particular software or hardware systems or microprocessor or microcomputer systems being utilized.
In yet another embodiment, the disclosed methods may be partially implemented in software that can be stored on a storage medium, executed on programmed general-purpose computer with the cooperation of a controller and memory, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, or the like. In these instances, the systems and methods of this disclosure can be implemented as program embedded on personal computer such as an applet, JAVA® or CGI script, as a resource residing on a server or computer workstation, as a routine embedded in a dedicated measurement system, system component, or the like. The system can also be implemented by physically incorporating the system and/or method into a software and/or hardware system.
Although the present disclosure describes components and functions implemented in the aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations with reference to particular standards and protocols, the aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations are not limited to such standards and protocols. Other similar standards and protocols not mentioned herein are in existence and are considered to be included in the present disclosure. Moreover, the standards and protocols mentioned herein and other similar standards and protocols not mentioned herein are periodically superseded by faster or more effective equivalents having essentially the same functions. Such replacement standards and protocols having the same functions are considered equivalents included in the present disclosure.
The present disclosure, in various aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations, includes components, methods, processes, systems and/or apparatus substantially as depicted and described herein, including various aspects, embodiments, configurations embodiments, sub combinations, and/or subsets thereof. Those of skill in the art will understand how to make and use the disclosed aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations after understanding the present disclosure. The present disclosure, in various aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations, includes providing devices and processes in the absence of items not depicted and/or described herein or in various aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations hereof, including in the absence of such items as may have been used in previous devices or processes, e.g., for improving performance, achieving ease and\or reducing cost of implementation.
The foregoing discussion has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. The foregoing is not intended to limit the disclosure to the form or forms disclosed herein. In the foregoing Detailed Description for example, various features of the disclosure are grouped together in one or more aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. The features of the aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations of the disclosure may be combined in alternate aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations other than those discussed above. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claims require more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a single foregoing disclosed aspect, embodiment, and/or configuration. Thus, the following claims are hereby incorporated into this Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate preferred embodiment of the disclosure.
Moreover, though the description has included description of one or more aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations and certain variations and modifications, other variations, combinations, and modifications are within the scope of the disclosure, e.g., as may be within the skill and knowledge of those in the art, after understanding the present disclosure. It is intended to obtain rights which include alternative aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations to the extent permitted, including alternate, interchangeable and/or equivalent structures, functions, ranges or steps to those claimed, whether or not such alternate, interchangeable and/or equivalent structures, functions, ranges or steps are disclosed herein, and without intending to publicly dedicate any patentable subject matter.
The present application claims the benefits of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/349,463, filed Jun. 13, 2016, of the same title, which is incorporated herein by this reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62349463 | Jun 2016 | US |
