JP-2026075992-A - Low-pressure casting apparatus
Abstract
[Problem] The present invention provides a low-pressure casting apparatus that can easily detect refrigerant leaks. [Solution] The low-pressure casting apparatus according to the present disclosure is a low-pressure casting apparatus for manufacturing a casting from molten metal, comprising: a mold 10 having a cavity C formed therein that is filled with molten metal; a die base 20 attached to the upper side of the mold 10; a cooling space R provided in the mold 10 through which a refrigerant flows to cool the molten metal in the cavity C; and one or more refrigerant flow paths, one end of which is connected to the cooling space R and the other end to a refrigerant supply device, wherein the connection between the refrigerant flow path and the supply device is located on the outside of the die base 20. [Selection Diagram] Figure 1
Inventors
- 藤澤 健久
Assignees
- トヨタ自動車株式会社
Dates
- Publication Date
- 20260511
- Application Date
- 20241023
Claims (1)
- A low-pressure casting apparatus for manufacturing castings from molten metal, A mold having a cavity formed in which the molten metal is filled, A die base attached to the upper side of the mold, The mold is provided with a cooling space through which a refrigerant flows to cool the molten metal in the cavity, One end comprises the cooling space, and the other end comprises one or more refrigerant flow paths connected to the refrigerant supply device. The connection between the refrigerant flow path and the supply device is located outside the die base. Low-pressure casting apparatus.
Description
This disclosure relates to a low-pressure casting apparatus. Patent Document 1 discloses a casting apparatus that cools the molten metal supplied to the mold cavity by supplying a refrigerant to the cooling space within the mold when manufacturing a casting from molten metal. Japanese Patent Publication No. 2018-187661 Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a low-pressure casting apparatus according to Embodiment 1.Figure 2 is a flowchart of the method for manufacturing a casting according to Embodiment 1. The following describes specific embodiments of this disclosure in detail with reference to the drawings. However, this disclosure is not limited to the following embodiments. Furthermore, for clarity, the following descriptions and drawings have been simplified as appropriate. (Embodiment 1) <Configuration of the low-pressure casting apparatus> First, with reference to Figure 1, the configuration of the low-pressure casting apparatus according to this embodiment 1 will be described. Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the low-pressure casting apparatus according to this embodiment 1. The low-pressure casting apparatus 1 is a casting apparatus that manufactures castings from molten metal such as aluminum alloy. As shown in Figure 1, the low-pressure casting apparatus 1 comprises a mold 10, a die base 20, an ejector pin 30, an ejector plate 40, an ejector plate cover 50, a refrigerant pipe 60, and a refrigerant block 70. In the following description, a two-dimensional xy orthogonal coordinate system will be used as appropriate. The mold 10 comprises an upper mold 11 and a lower mold 12. The upper mold 11 forms a cavity C together with the lower mold 12. That is, when the upper mold 11 and the lower mold 12 are closed, a cavity C is formed in the mold 10. Molten metal is filled into the cavity C. The low-pressure casting apparatus 1 manufactures a casting by cooling and solidifying the molten metal filled into the cavity C. The upper mold 11 also has one or more cooling spaces R through which a refrigerant flows to cool the molten metal in the cavity C. Note that the cooling spaces R and the cavity C are not connected. The cooling spaces R may be provided not only in the upper mold 11 but also in the lower mold 12. The die base 20 is mounted on the upper side (+y direction side) of the upper mold 11. The ejection pin 30 is a rod-shaped member that can protrude into the cavity C of the mold 10 and is used to release the casting from the mold 10. The extrusion plate 40 is a plate-shaped member that pushes the extrusion pin 30 in the direction of the cavity C (-y direction). Since the extrusion plate 40 is connected to the extrusion pin 30, when the extrusion plate 40 moves up or down, the extrusion pin 30 also moves up or down accordingly. The extrusion plate cover 50 is provided on the upper side (+y direction side) of the die base 20 and the extrusion plate 40 in order to close the gap between the die base 20 and the extrusion plate 40. The gaps between the upper mold 11 and the die base 20, the gap between the die base 20 and the extrusion plate cover 50, and the gap between the extrusion plate cover 50 and the extrusion plate 40 are each sealed with a sealing material. Therefore, a sealed space S is formed on the upper side (+y direction side) of the upper mold 11 by the upper mold 11, the die base 20, the extrusion plate 40, and the extrusion plate cover 50. Air in the sealed space S is sucked out through a suction hole T provided in the die base 20 by a suction device (not shown). This reduces the pressure in the sealed space S, improving the flow of molten metal within the cavity C of the mold 10. Therefore, the low-pressure casting apparatus 1 can manufacture thin-walled and large castings. The refrigerant pipe 60 is connected at one end to the cooling space R and at the other end to the refrigerant block 70. One end of the refrigerant block 70 is connected to the refrigerant pipe 60. The other end of the refrigerant block 70 is connected to a hose U1 extending from a refrigerant supply device by a coupler U2. The refrigerant supplied from the hose U1 of the supply device is guided to the cooling space R via the refrigerant flow path formed by the refrigerant pipe 60 and the refrigerant block 70. Multiple refrigerant flow paths may be provided in the low-pressure casting apparatus 1. These multiple refrigerant flow paths may be divided, for example, into flow paths that guide refrigerant from outside the low-pressure casting apparatus 1 to the cooling space R, and flow paths that guide refrigerant from the cooling space R to outside the low-pressure casting apparatus 1. If the connection between the refrigerant block 70 and the coupler U2 is made inside the die base 20, there is a risk of refrigerant leakage occurring within the die base 20. Because the refrigerant leakage occurs within the die base 20, the operator may not notice the leak. Furtherm