CN1166459C - Mold Manufacturing Method Combining Metal Spraying and Brush Plating - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses a mold manufacturing method combining metal spraying and electric brush plating, which can serve industries such as automobiles, aerospace, communications, household appliances, instruments and meters, and national defense industries, and adopts electric brush plating-arc spraying composite molding technology , comprehensively utilize the advantages of brush plating technology and arc spraying technology, and integrate these two manufacturing processes in the same device to realize the rapid manufacture of large molds. The mold manufacturing device consists of a computer, motion and process parameter controllers, arc spraying equipment, brush plating equipment and a five-degree-of-freedom robot. With the direct drive function of mold CAD data, it can automatically complete two operations of brush plating and arc spraying, and the process parameters of the two processes of brush plating and arc spraying can be automatically controlled on this device. Utilizing the device, combined with rapid prototyping technology and high-speed numerical control processing technology, large-scale, precise, complex and long-life molds can be rapidly manufactured at low cost and high efficiency.

Description

Mold Manufacturing Method Combining Metal Spraying and Brush Plating

1. Technical field

The invention belongs to the field of advanced manufacturing technology, relates to rapid mold making technology based on rapid prototyping technology, in particular to a mold manufacturing method combining metal spraying and electric brush plating.

2. Background technology

Rapid tooling (Rapid tooling-RT) is a mold manufacturing technology that uses rapid prototyping (rapid prototyping-RP) to produce mold prototypes or master molds. The current RT technology mainly focuses on two major research directions: one is direct rapid tooling (DRT), and the other is indirect rapid tooling (IRT).

Direct rapid molding technology does not rely on traditional mold manufacturing processes, and has been widely valued. The more typical methods are: sintering impregnation method, thin steel plate lamination method, metal deposition method, etc. Limited by forming materials and processes, the direct molding method is still basically in the laboratory research stage, and can only be used to manufacture some small test molds.

Indirect rapid molding technology has two molding methods: the first is to use the prototype made by the RP method as a model (plastic, wax, etc.), which is combined with the traditional mold manufacturing process, through which the casting method, electrode molding, metal Spraying and other methods to produce forming molds, the second is to produce casting molds (sand molds or shell molds) through RP technology, and then use these sand molds or shell molds to produce molds through casting technology. The indirect rapid molding method is more flexible and has a wide range of applications, and can manufacture molds of various materials. It is currently the main way to realize RT. According to the mold material, it is divided into three categories, namely non-metal mold, semi-metal mold and metal mold.

1) Non-metallic molds mainly include: silicone rubber molds and epoxy resin molds. This type of molds can be obtained directly from RP prototypes.

2) Metal molds are generally obtained through RP prototypes combined with sintering infiltration, casting, electrical machining and other processes.

3) Semi-metallic molds are generally obtained by electroforming or metal spraying methods to form metal thin shells, and then reinforced with non-metallic materials or composite materials. The metal spraying molding process is to use plasma spraying or arc spraying to spray a thin metal shell on the RP prototype or the transitional mold remade from the RP prototype, and then use resin and metal composite materials to reinforce it to obtain an injection mold or a sheet metal stamping mold. .

Non-metallic molds based on RP technology have low manufacturing cost and short cycle time, and can be used for new product development under some specific conditions. However, due to the limitation of material mechanical properties, its application range is limited. The manufacturing process of metal molds based on RP technology is generally complicated and the cost is high, and it is still difficult to be used in the manufacture of large molds. In contrast, semi-metal molds have the characteristics of wide application range, low cost, suitable for manufacturing large molds, etc., and have good engineering practical value.

Compared with other thermal spraying technologies such as ion spraying and flame spraying, metal arc spraying has the advantages of less equipment investment, simple process, high production efficiency, energy saving, small heat output to the substrate, and wide application range. received widespread attention. The method of metal arc spraying mold making has great advantages in terms of cycle and cost for the manufacture of large and medium-sized molds. High-melting-point metals are prone to cracking due to large cooling shrinkage, and curling is difficult to form on the surface of the prototype. Low-melting-point metals such as Zn or Zn-Al pseudo-alloys have good spraying effects and mature processes, but the hardness of the coating is too low, which seriously affects The scope of application of the spray mold.

Brush plating technology is a surface strengthening technology that applies the principle of electrochemical deposition to quickly deposit a specified thickness of coating on a selected part of the conductive workpiece surface. By preparing a layer of brush coating on the surface of the parts, the hardness, strength, wear resistance, corrosion resistance and high temperature oxidation resistance of the parts surface can be greatly improved.

Arc spraying has high deposition efficiency but low coating hardness; brush plating can obtain high-strength and high-hardness coatings, but the deposition rate is low.

3. Contents of the invention

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a rapid mold manufacturing method based on the combination of rapid prototyping technology, high-speed numerical control processing technology, arc spraying technology and electric brush plating technology, which can be applied to automobile manufacturing, communication, aerospace, household appliances, instruments and meters and defense fields.

Adopt the method of the present invention to manufacture mold, the acquisition of mold prototype has multiple methods, the one, utilize numerical control processing technology to manufacture (non-metallic prototype), the 2nd, utilize rapid prototyping technology to manufacture, the 3rd, directly use existing product kind etc.

The electric brush plating-arc spraying composite molding technology proposed by the present invention is a high-efficiency, low-cost method for rapidly manufacturing semi-metal molds. Using the rapid mold-making method of the present invention to manufacture molds, the processing cycle is 1/3 of traditional NC ~1/10, the cost is 1/3~1/5 or lower of traditional NC.

The invention organically combines the electric brush plating technology and the electric arc spraying technology, the two technologies are integrated in the same set of devices, and the complementary advantages of the two technologies are realized.

In order to achieve the above object, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is that the mold manufacturing method combining metal spraying and electric brush plating is composed of computer, motion and process parameter controller, arc spraying equipment, electric brush plating equipment and a five-degree-of-freedom The robot constitutes an integrated mold manufacturing device, which has five-axis and four-linkage functions, is controlled by a computer, does not need to be programmed separately for specific molds, and has the direct drive function of mold computer-aided design (CAD) data; its characteristics include the following steps :

1) Comprehensive utilization of arc spraying technology and brush plating technology

The two processes of brush plating and arc spraying are integrated on the same device above, and the process parameters of the two processes are automatically controlled by the computer, and the process parameters of brush plating and arc spraying can be automatically optimized according to the characteristics of the mold surface;

① Arc spraying technology is used to spray a dense metal coating with a certain thickness and strength on the prototype of the mold master mold to form the required mold cavity;

② After filling the backing material and demoulding, use the brush plating technology to brush and plate the strengthening coating on the working surface of the mold as needed;

③Through the conversion of the brush plating pen and spray gun on the device, under the control of the computer, the axis of the plating pen and spray gun is always perpendicular to the curved surface where the work point is located, and automatically completes the brush plating and arc spraying operations;

2) Process of mold manufacturing

①The prototype or transition model prepared by rapid prototyping technology or the non-metallic model or part sample obtained by numerical control processing is subjected to substrate treatment before spraying

The specific operation method is to polish the surface of the pattern, first apply a layer of release agent, then evenly apply a layer of release agent, and let it stand for 30 minutes;

② Metal arc spraying of the above-mentioned model or sample after substrate treatment

Spray the molding metal with an arc spray gun to form a thin metal shell with the thickness required by the design. During the working process, the axis of the spray gun is always perpendicular to the curved surface where the working point is located, and the unnecessary parts are cut off after the spraying is completed;

③ Filling backing material

Pour backing materials such as resin and filler into the pre-prepared metal mold frame, embed inserts as needed, and demould after the backing material is cured;

④Removal and brush plating treatment

Brush-plate high-strength and high-hardness coatings on the working surface of the mold. During the working process, the axis of the plating pen is always perpendicular to the curved surface where the working point is located;

⑤ Obtain a semi-metal mold.

The invention combines rapid prototype manufacturing technology and high-speed numerical control processing technology, and can quickly manufacture large-scale, precise, complex and long-life molds with low cost and high efficiency. The invention can serve industries such as automobiles, aerospace, communications, household appliances, instruments and meters, and national defense industries, and provides a new way of high-quality, low-cost, and short-cycle mold manufacturing for research and trial production of new products.

4. Description of drawings

Fig. 1 is the rapid manufacturing technology roadmap of electric brush plating-arc spraying composite molding semi-metal mold of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is the schematic diagram of electric arc spraying and electric brush plating process route of the present invention, wherein, (a) pattern surface is polished; The axis is always perpendicular to the surface where the work point is located; cut off unnecessary parts after spraying. (c) Pour backing materials such as resin and filler into the pre-prepared metal mold frame. Embedded parts, such as curved copper pipes, can be buried as required. After the backing material is cured, release the mold. (d) Brush-plate a certain thickness of high-strength and high-hardness coating on the working surface of the mold. During the working process, the axis of the plating pen is always perpendicular to the curved surface where the working point is located. (e) Schematic diagram of the fabricated half-metal mold.

5. Specific implementation

The present invention will be further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the embodiments given by the inventor according to the technical solution of the present invention.

1) The technical approach of mold manufacturing

Referring to Fig. 1, the technical approach of utilizing the present invention to carry out mold manufacturing is: 1. the non-metallic model obtained by RP prototype or transition model or numerical control processing or the part sample is subjected to substrate treatment before spraying; The model or sample is metal arc sprayed; ③ filling the backing material; ④ demoulding and brushing; ⑤ obtaining a semi-metal mold.

2) Arc spraying and brush plating process routes

See Figure 2.

①Surface polishing

First apply a layer of release agent, then apply a layer of release agent evenly, and let it stand for 30 minutes.

②Spray the molding metal with an arc spray gun to form a thin metal shell with a certain thickness. During the working process, the axis of the spray gun is always perpendicular to the curved surface where the working point is located. Cut off unnecessary parts after spraying.

③ Pour backing materials such as resin and filler into the pre-prepared metal mold frame. Embedded parts, such as curved copper pipes, can be buried as required. After the backing material is cured, release the mold.

④ Brush-plate a certain thickness of high-strength and high-hardness coating on the working surface of the mold. During the working process, the axis of the plating pen is always perpendicular to the curved surface where the working point is located.

⑤The finished semi-metal mold.

What Fig. 3 shows is that the device composition block diagram that is made by intelligent electric arc spraying of the present invention and electric brush plating integrated mold manufacturing method, comprises a computer, the motion and parameter controller that link to each other with computer, motion and parameter controller are respectively connected with The arc spraying equipment, electric brush plating equipment, and five-degree-of-freedom robot are connected, and the arc spraying equipment and electric brush-plating equipment are also connected with the five-degree-of-freedom robot. The five-degree-of-freedom robot completes the operation of the spray gun or brush plating pen.

What Fig. 4 shows is the structural diagram of the mechanical body part of the five-degree-of-freedom robot used in the present invention, including 1: X direction; 2: Y direction; 3: Z direction; 4, 5: R and P two rotational degrees of freedom. The five-degree-of-freedom robot completes the operation of the spray gun or the brush plating pen according to the computer and the motion and parameter controller connected to the computer.

Fig. 5 is the control block diagram of the integrated device of intelligent arc spraying and electric brush plating made according to the technical scheme of the present invention, and its control method is, the three-dimensional CAD model of mold is converted into the standard STL file of mold surface, then STL file is converted into Contains the slice file of the normal vector of the mold surface; and optimizes the trajectory of spraying and brush plating in mold making and the process parameters of arc spraying and brush plating; implements the control of the five-degree-of-freedom robot and the process parameters of arc spraying and brush plating; The arc spraying and brush plating process parameters are sent to the arc spraying equipment and the electric brush plating equipment, and then the arc spraying equipment, the electric brush plating equipment and the five-degree-of-freedom robot jointly control the work of the brush plating pen and the arc spraying spray gun.

Claims (1)

1. A mold manufacturing method combining metal spraying and electric brush plating, consisting of a computer, motion and process parameter controller, arc spraying equipment, electric brush plating equipment and a five-degree-of-freedom robot to form an integrated mold manufacturing device, the The device has a five-axis four-linkage function, is controlled by a computer, does not need to be programmed separately for a specific mold, and has a direct drive function of the data of the computer-aided design of the mold; it is characterized in that it includes the following steps: 1) Comprehensive utilization of arc spraying technology and brush plating technology The two processes of brush plating and arc spraying are integrated on the same device above, and the process parameters of the two processes are automatically controlled by the computer, and the process parameters of brush plating and arc spraying can be automatically optimized according to the characteristics of the mold surface; ① Arc spraying technology is used to spray a dense metal coating with a certain thickness and strength on the prototype of the mold master mold to form the required mold cavity; ② After filling the backing material and demoulding, use the brush plating technology to brush and plate the strengthening coating on the working surface of the mold as needed; ③Through the conversion of the brush plating pen and spray gun on the device, under the control of the computer, the axis of the plating pen and spray gun is always perpendicular to the curved surface where the work point is located, and automatically completes the brush plating and arc spraying operations; 2) Process of mold manufacturing ①The prototype or transition model prepared by rapid prototyping technology or the non-metallic model or part sample obtained by numerical control processing is subjected to substrate treatment before spraying Polish the surface of the pattern, first apply a layer of release agent, then evenly apply a layer of release agent, and let it stand for 30 minutes; ② Metal arc spraying of the above-mentioned model or sample after substrate treatment Spray the molding metal with an arc spray gun to form a thin metal shell with the thickness required by the design. During the working process, the axis of the spray gun is always perpendicular to the curved surface where the working point is located, and the unnecessary parts are cut off after the spraying is completed; ③ Filling backing material Pour backing materials such as resin and filler into the pre-prepared metal mold frame, embed inserts as needed, and demould after the backing material is cured; ④Removal and brush plating treatment Brush-plate high-strength and high-hardness coatings on the working surface of the mold. During the working process, the axis of the plating pen is always perpendicular to the curved surface where the working point is located; ⑤ Obtain a semi-metal mold.

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