Background
The foam metal is an ultra-light metal material with a porous structure and a porosity of up to seventy-five to ninety-five percent. The composite structure of the foam metal has high compressive strength and good energy absorption capacity, and the physical properties of the foam metal, including hardness, electrical conductivity, heat conductivity and the like, are similar to those of the constituent metal. The porous complex structure and mechanical properties of the foam metal enable the foam metal to be applied to a plurality of fields, such as: catalyst supports, heat exchangers, high temperature filters, electromagnetic absorbers, shock absorbers, and the like. Foam metal has great potential to become a high-quality material for automobile parts due to its unique advantages of excellent weight-to-volume ratio, high sound insulation capability, high impact absorption force, etc., and has already begun to be commercially used abroad. The weight of automobile parts is reduced, the consumption of non-renewable energy during transportation can be reduced, the environment is protected, and the air pollution caused by fossil fuel is reduced.
The main preparation methods of the existing foam metal can be divided into four main categories: melt processes, metal deposition processes, casting processes and powder metallurgy processes. The foam metal prepared by the powder metallurgy method has the advantages of being applied to the field of metal part production due to the characteristics of high final forming capacity and material utilization rate of parts and the like. Referring to fig. 1 and 2, the powder metallurgy process is a flow chart of a conventional process for directly pressing a large-sized foamed metal, and fig. 2 is a schematic view of an apparatus used in the process. Firstly, a mixed material 5 of metal powder and foaming agent powder is fed into an extrusion cylinder 1 through a feeder 2, and an extrusion column 3 and an extrusion column head 4 in the extrusion cylinder 1 push the material 5 to an outlet of a forming part 6 of the extrusion cylinder 1. The materials enter the preforming mold 8, the materials are accumulated to form a material stack 9, and after a certain amount of materials is reached, the cutting part 7 cuts the materials and blocks the outlet of the forming part 6, so that the materials cannot enter the preforming mold 8 any more. The shape of the mould is the size and shape required by the final foam metal part, after the pressure is released, the thimble 10 descends, and the material which is pressed into the preset shape is taken out and is piled into the foaming mould 13 in the foaming furnace 11. After the foaming process, the mass of material forms the foamed metal part 12. In the process, a preforming mold which is the same as the foaming furnace needs to be additionally designed, the process of the preforming mold is complex, and the production cost is high.
The Chinese patent application CN108057891A of the prior application of the applicant discloses a foam metal manufacturing process and a device based on powder metallurgy and extrusion technology. Fig. 3 and 4 are a process flow chart and a schematic device diagram, which are different from the above-mentioned process in that the material does not enter the preset forming mold, but is cut into small material particles 14 by a cutter, so that a preset forming mold does not need to be made, but only a foaming mold is needed. The small bulk material 15 is formed into a complete foam metal part after the foaming process. In the patent application of the invention, a small cylindrical material block is used for replacing a large-size blank, so that the space utilization rate and the equipment utilization rate are greatly improved, and the production of preparing the foam metal by powder metallurgy becomes more efficient. However, the small cylindrical material blocks may have uneven distribution of foaming at the initial stage of heating, including irregular combination and fusion of the material blocks, and thus the foaming structure cannot be effectively formed.
Disclosure of Invention
The utility model aims to solve the technical problem that a foam metal manufacturing installation based on powder metallurgy and extrusion technique is provided, its extrusion subassembly sets up heating device, can effectively promote foam metal's quality.
In order to solve the technical problem, the utility model aims to solve the technical scheme that: the device comprises a feeding assembly, a mixing assembly, an extrusion forming assembly and a foaming and shaping assembly, wherein the extrusion forming assembly comprises an extrusion cylinder, a pressurization column, a forming part and a cutting part, the extrusion forming assembly is provided with a first heating device, and the first heating device comprises a first heater and a first heating controller.
Further, the first heater is arranged on the inner wall of the extrusion cylinder.
Further, the first heater is a ceramic heater, a far infrared heater, an electromagnetic heater, a resistance heater, a tubular heat exchanger or a local quick oil tank heater.
Further, the first heating device further comprises a temperature sensor.
Further, the feeding assembly is connected to the mixing assembly; the mixing assembly is connected to an extrusion assembly; the foaming and shaping component mainly comprises an upper die set, a lower die set and a second heating device, a die cavity is arranged between the upper die set and the lower die set, the second heating device comprises a second heater and a second heating controller,
further, the second heater is disposed on the upper module and the lower module.
Further, the second heater is characterized by being a ceramic heater, a far infrared heater, an electromagnetic heater, a resistance heater, a tubular heat exchanger or an oil tank local quick heater.
Further, the second heating device further comprises a temperature sensor.
The utility model discloses the beneficial effect that can reach is:
the utility model discloses an improve powder metallurgy's device, set up heating device in the extrusion subassembly, make the body or the material of prefoaming, foamer powder continuously emits gaseous temperature in the effective control material, and the cooperation improves and forms stable closed foam structure at the metal melting state, and heating process finishes until foaming. The utility model discloses carry out hot pressing or hot extrusion technology with specific intensification curve and make the passivation of remaining foamer powder on prefoaming body or material surface, restrain its activity, make the foaming heating in-process let the inside and outside degree of expansion of material unanimous, improve the whole degree of consistency that foams, reduce the condition of foaming failure. The utility model discloses cooperation heating device able to programme when the process with the extrusion material makes output material density improve, pins the expanded gas of material when foaming, avoids the material to form at the die cavity and fills the defect to a hole size and the more even foam metal that distributes have been obtained.
Detailed Description
In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the technical solutions of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Fig. 5 and 6 are schematic views of a process flow diagram and an apparatus for preparing a metal foam according to an embodiment of the present invention. The utility model discloses the most important difference with prior art is that 1 inner wall of extrusion jar in the extrusion forming subassembly sets up first heating device, and this first heating device includes first heater 24 and first heater controlling means. That is, the extrusion assembly is preheated to a first predetermined temperature before extrusion, and after the mixture enters the extrusion assembly, the mixture is heated and pressurized to a second predetermined temperature, which is referred to as a pre-foaming process. The first predetermined temperature is about one-half the thermal decomposition temperature of the blowing agent powder and is preheated to allow heat to be transferred throughout the extrusion assembly. The second predetermined temperature is close to and below the thermal decomposition temperature of the blowing agent powder by 20-40 c in order to try to increase the temperature of the green body without premature decomposition of the blowing agent powder. The specific overall device details refer to the CN108057891A patent application previously filed by the applicant, and includes a feeding assembly (not shown in the figure), a mixing assembly (not shown in the figure), an extrusion forming assembly and a foaming assembly, wherein the forming assembly includes an extrusion cylinder 1, a feeder 2, an extrusion column 3, a forming part 6, a cutting part 7 and a first heating device, wherein the first heating device includes a ceramic heating pipe 16 arranged on the inner wall of the extrusion cylinder 1, a thermocouple temperature sensor 17, a PID controller 18, a thyristor 19 and a power supply 20, which are electrically connected in turn. The heating means are designed in a manner known to the person skilled in the art. Wherein, the thermocouple temperature sensor 17 is connected with the ceramic heating pipe 16 and detects the real-time temperature of the heating of the materials, and then transmits the detected temperature information to the connected PID controller 18. The PID controller 18 compares the collected temperature with a second predetermined temperature, calculates a new input value, and transmits it to the thyristor 19, which controls the heating rate of the ceramic heating tube 16 by changing the current supplied to the heater 20 to change the output of the power supplier 20, so that the output temperature of the ceramic heating tube 16 is maintained at the second predetermined temperature.
The pre-foamed preform formed in the extrusion molding unit is cut into small preforms, and a plurality of the small preforms are put into the foam molding unit to be foamed in order. The foaming and setting assembly mainly comprises an upper module, a lower module and a second heating device, a mold cavity is arranged between the upper module and the lower module, the second heating device is arranged on the upper module and the lower module, and the second heating device comprises a second heater and a second heating controller. The second heater is a ceramic heating pipe and is arranged on the upper die set and the lower die set, and the second heating controller comprises a thermocouple temperature sensor 21, a controller 22 and a timer 23. The foaming process of the present application is also distinguished from the prior art in that the heating process employs a two-stage heating process, first to a lower temperature and then to a final temperature at a higher heating rate. So when it is detected that the temperature has reached the first temperature, it is maintained at that one temperature for a while, and then it is necessary to increase the output of the foaming oven so that it can quickly reach the final temperature. Then quickly cooling to form the foam metal with uniform structure.
The utility model discloses a first heating control device and second heating device can adopt the well-known heater of skilled person in the art and heating control device to control heating temperature comparatively accurately reaches the optimal foaming effect.
The following preparation process of the present invention, using aluminum 6061 alloy and titanium hydride as raw materials to prepare aluminum alloy foam metal, is specifically described as an example, and comprises the following steps:
A. preparing raw materials: an aluminum 6061 alloy powder having a particle size of 200 mesh and titanium hydride having a particle size of 250 mesh were prepared, and the mass of the foaming agent powder was 5% of that of the metal powder. The titanium hydride is foaming agent powder, the thermal decomposition temperature is about 459 ℃, and the solid phase temperature of the aluminum 6061 alloy powder is about 582 ℃.
B. Mixing materials: the mixing of the materials is not different from the method of the previous patent, and the aluminum 6061 alloy powder and the titanium hydride powder respectively enter a mixing assembly (not shown in the figure) through a feeding assembly (not shown in the figure).
C. Preheating of the extrusion forming assembly: before the material enters the extrusion assembly, the extrusion cylinder is first preheated to a first predetermined temperature, in this embodiment 200 ℃, by means of a ceramic heating tube disposed on the inner wall thereof, for the purpose of transferring heat to the entire extrusion assembly.
D. Extrusion molding: and B, putting the mixed material in the step A into a preheated extrusion forming container through a feeder 2, and easily pressurizing and simultaneously raising the temperature of the extrusion forming container to a second preset temperature of 450 ℃, wherein the temperature is very close to the gas decomposition temperature of the titanium hydride, so that the temperature is raised as much as possible without causing premature decomposition of the foaming agent powder. And measuring the real-time temperature of the mixed material by using a thermocouple temperature sensor. The combination of the PID controller and the thermocouple can only be used for detecting the difference between the actual temperature and the preset temperature, and cannot be used as a feedback mechanism to adjust the output of the power supply, so that the thermocouple is required to be connected to the controlled silicon, and the controlled silicon plays a role in releasing a signal due to the difference between the real-time temperature and the preset temperature. At the beginning of heating, because the difference between the actual temperature and the set temperature is large, the controllable silicon will release the signal for enhancing the output, and the heating rate of the heater is increased. When the temperature approaches 450 ℃, the SCR will release the signal of reducing the output, so that the heating rate of the heater is reduced. Similarly, when the temperature reaches 450 ℃, the temperature changes due to the environmental influence, and in order to keep the temperature at the preset temperature, the thyristor continuously adjusts the heating output according to the temperature change.
The pressing pressure varies according to the size of the diameter of the billet. Taking a blank body with the diameter of 12mm as an example, the required pressure is 40MPa, and the blank body can be made to be in a compact structure by extruding the blank body at the pressure, so that the maximum foaming rate during foaming is improved. When the pressure is 40MPa, the foaming rate of the blank can reach 80% at most, when the pressure is 30-40MPa, the maximum foaming rate is only about 66% at most, and when the pressure is less than 30MPa, the foaming can fail due to insufficient density. When the pressure is more than 40MPa, the density of the blank can be further improved theoretically, but the loss of the component is too large at the same time, and the method is not an economical method. Generally speaking, taking a typical extrusion cylinder with a diameter of 40mm as an example, the diameter at the outlet of the extrusion cylinder is about 10 to 15mm, which enables the surface of the blank to be subjected to extrusion pressure, so that the surface has certain strength after extrusion, and a typical blank particle with a diameter of 10 to 15mm and a thickness of about 5 to 8mm can be adjusted according to the size of the foaming mold.
The heating time during pressurization affects the agglomeration effect on the powder surface. In this example, heating was continued for half an hour at 450 ℃ under 40MPa for 10 minutes and no pressure. This results in a more cohesive surface of the powder, a stronger bond between the powder and the foam, and a more uniform porosity in the foamed part. Under such conditions, the surface of the powder agglomerates and the bond between the powder and the powder is stronger, in this example up to a maximum of 60% porosity, with the size of the porosity being approximately 1-8 mm.
E. Shaping and cutting: and D, cutting the material in the step C into small foaming precursors.
F. Foaming: and E, filling the small foaming precursor in the step E into a foaming mold. According to the characteristics of metal, the utility model adopts the foaming heating curve as shown in figure 7. The X-axis of the graph shows the foaming time, and the Y-axis shows the foaming temperature. The foaming mode of the utility model requires that the thermal decomposition temperature Tdec of the foaming agent powder must be lower than the solid phase temperature Tsol of the metal powder, because in the heating process, when the foaming agent powder decomposes gas, the metal powder needs to be in a state of still being solid, so that the foaming reaction can not occur too early; heating the furnace to the solid phase temperature of the metal powder, and then increasing the heating rate to reduce the time for converting the powder from solid to liquid as much as possible until the temperature reaches the liquidus temperature Tliq of the metal powder; maintaining the temperature at Tliq while the powder is in a liquid state, the gas decomposed by the blowing agent powder forming bubbles in the liquid; the time for temperature maintenance is about one minute, and the time actually required varies depending on the material used; after the heat preservation is finished, rapidly cooling the foamed metal; the reason why the foamed metal needs to be quenched is to prevent the structure of the foamed metal from collapsing and to maintain the foamed metal in a foamed state by quenching.
In the foaming and heating process, a foaming furnace thermocouple temperature sensor 21 is connected with the foaming furnace, detects the real-time temperature during heating, and transmits the real-time temperature to a controller 22 for outputting the foaming furnace and a timer 23 of the foaming furnace. Unlike the conventional foaming heating method, the foaming heating process is described with an aluminum 6061 alloy and titanium hydride as examples. After the extruded green body particles are put into a foaming furnace, the extruded green body particles are heated at a speed of 5 ℃ per minute to 452 ℃, which is the gas decomposition temperature of the titanium hydride, and after the temperature, the titanium hydride starts to decompose, so that the heating rate needs to be increased, the metal powder enters a semi-liquid state, the decomposed gas expands, then the extruded green body particles are heated at a speed of 10 ℃ per minute to 582 ℃, which is the solid phase temperature of the aluminum 6061 alloy, and the metal powder starts to melt and reacts with the decomposed gas to generate the foaming phenomenon. Followed by heating at a rate of 20 c per minute to 652 c, the liquidus temperature of the aluminum 6061 alloy, at which the metal powder will be completely liquid, and at which time the maximum foaming reaction will be reached, and after holding at this temperature for a period of about 1 minute, rapid cooling of the foamed metal may be required, either by immediately turning off the power to the foaming furnace, or by removing the foamed metal from the furnace. The reason for this rapid cooling is to prevent the structure of the foamed metal from collapsing at the end of the foaming reaction, and rapid cooling is to stop the foaming reaction and keep the foamed metal in the foamed structure.
The distribution of the metal foam prepared by the traditional method is uneven, larger holes appear in the center of the materials, and the combination between the materials is not ideal. This is because the gas in the metal outer layer foam is released too early when the temperature of the foaming rises, so that the metal outer layer foam shrinks faster and only a central hole is formed. The distribution and size of the pores of the foamed metal part prepared by the method of the present invention are more uniform than those of the foamed metal part prepared by the conventional method, and the heat treatment process added in the extrusion process can passivate the surface layer of the material and inhibit the activity of the material, thereby effectively controlling the degree of foaming expansion, forming more stable bubbles and obtaining the foamed metal part with more uniform pores.
The above-mentioned embodiments are merely preferred embodiments for fully illustrating the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. Equivalent substitutes or changes made by the technical personnel in the technical field on the basis of the utility model are all within the protection scope of the utility model. The protection scope of the present invention is subject to the claims.