Ladles
Ladles devices used to convey molten metal from the holding furnace and pour it into the press chamber of the die casting machine.
There are various types of ladles:
1.Five-link ladles
2.Beam ladles
3.Servo die-casting ladles
4.Single-arm ladles
5.Quantitative ladles
How the ladles works
The working principle of the ladles of the die casting machine mainly involves the precise feeding of molten metal from the furnace into the injection chamber of the die casting machine for the subsequent die casting process.
The workflow typically consists of the following steps:
Soup
The ladle inserts a soup spoon into the furnace through a robotic arm or linkage mechanism to suck up the molten metal.
The tilt angle of the spoon can be adjusted to control the amount of soup to be taken.
Moving and pouring the soup
After filling the molten metal, the soup spoon will move over the barrel of the die casting machine
And pour the soup at an angle, pouring the molten metal into the injection chamber of the die casting machine.
This process can be achieved by a straight or cross-beam feeder
Where the cross-beam feeder uses a rocker mechanism to drive the spoon to swing closer to or away from the die-casting machine.
Drip & Reset
When the soup is poured, the spoon returns to a level state and then moves back to the standby position.
In some designs, a drip function is also available to eliminate oxides on the surface of the molten aluminum, further improving product quality.
Automatic control
Modern soup feeders are usually controlled by PLC and frequency converter to ensure the accuracy and stability of the action.
There are two modes of operation: manual and automatic, and you can choose the corresponding mode to operate according to your needs.
In short, the soup feeder of the die-casting machine realizes the automatic conversion from the furnace to the die-casting machine by accurately controlling the actions of taking the soup, moving, pouring the soup and resetting, and improves the production efficiency and product quality.
The composition of the ladles
The composition of the ladles usually includes the following main parts:
Soup spoon
This is the core component of the soup feeder, which is used to scoop and pour out molten metal.
In some designs, the spoon is rotated by a linkage mechanism or servo motor drive to achieve the action of scooping and pouring soup.
Ladles Ceramic soup
lads have a high melting point (1860°C±10°C) and a low coefficient of thermal expansion.
Which makes them excellent in high temperature environments.
which can effectively block oxide scale from entering the aluminum soup, thereby improving the defect rate of die castings.
In addition, ceramic spoons are maintenance-free, do not require overcoating, and have a long service life, generally 6-12 months.
However, ceramic soup spoons have a lower heat transfer efficiency and are 1/15 of those of cast iron.
Cast iron soup ladles , although they conduct heat well, require regular maintenance to prevent rust.
The service life of cast iron soup spoons is usually more than 3 months, and it is cost-effective.
However, cast iron spoons are not as resistant to thermal shock and corrosion as ceramic spoons in high-temperature environments.
Therefore, ceramic soup spoons perform best in high-temperature environments, with good thermal insulation effect and long life.
Cast iron soup spoons have good thermal conductivity, but care needs maintenance.
Main bracket
As the basic structure of the entire soup feeder, the main bracket supports other components such as the moving mechanism, the rocker arm mechanism and the soup feeding mechanism.
Moving mechanism
Arranged on the main support, it is responsible for driving the movement of the soup spoon in the horizontal and vertical directions.
Servo motor or linkage mechanism to ensure precise positioning and operation.
Rocker Arm Mechanism
Located on the moving mechanism, it is used to drive the swing of the soup spoon, so that the soup spoon can be close to or away from the die casting machine.
The rocker mechanism is usually with a connecting rod to improve the stability and accuracy of the operation.
Soup feeding mechanism
It is connected with the rocker arm mechanism and is used to drive the rotation of the soup spoon to complete the action of scooping and pouring soup.
The mechanism is likewise with connecting rods to ensure smooth and accurate operation.
Load-bearing beams
In some designs, load-bearing beams serve as the basis for moving parts and support the entire operation of the feeder.
It usually straddles the die casting machine and the furnace and moves by means of a sliding connection.
Drive mechanism
Including servo motor, reducer, gear, etc., which is used to provide power and control the movement of each component.
These drive mechanisms can be linear mobile drives or complex linkage drive systems.
Control system
PLC (programmable logic controller) is usually used for control to achieve automatic operation and precise control.
The system may also include a touchscreen interface for operators to set parameters and monitor equipment status.
Safety and auxiliary devices
Such as thermal insulation pads, safety guardrails, etc., to protect operators and equipment from hot melts.
Together, these components enable the feeder to transfer and pour the metal liquid efficiently and safely during the die casting process.
Different designs may be adapted to specific application needs, such as a five-link construction to improve soup dispensing accuracy or servo control to improve operational stability.
The drip function of the soup feeder
Function design
Realize the drip function design of the die-casting machine soup feeder, through the cooperation of the mechanical arm.
And the material spoon to ensure that the metal liquid is accurately and stably transferred from the furnace to the inlet of the press chamber of the die casting machine.
Specifically, the soup feeder comprises a soup feeding bracket that is provided with a transverse moving track on the bracket.
Drip function
The sliding base can slide along the track, because it is with a robotic arm
The end of the mechanical arm with a material spoon.
And the metal liquid is scooped out of the furnace and transferred to the vacuum box for processing by the mechanical arm.
So that it becomes a semi-solid metal slurry, and then the semi-solid metal slurry is scooped up to the inlet of the press chamber of the die-casting machine by the mechanical arm.
Design Advantages
Temperature control
By converting high-temperature metal liquid into a relatively low-temperature semi-solid metal paste
It can extend the service life of die casting moulds, and improve the metallographic structure of the product , and reduce the sand and pores.
Thereby improving the mechanical properties of the product.
Automation and precision
The design of the robotic arm and spoon can achieve more accurate and stable transfer of metal liquids, avoiding errors and instability in traditional manual operations.
For example, traditional soup feeders use the position of the soup spoon to control the amount of soup to be fed.
which is prone to errors due to wear and tear of parts, while the modern die-casting process requires accurate dosing to achieve the desired effect.
Safety and efficiency
Automated equipment reduces the labor intensity of workers and the harshness of the working environment, and at the same time reduces the risk of safety accidents caused by improper operation.
Haichen ladle case
Haichen equips the die-casting machine with high-level automatic auxiliary equipment such as automatic coating spraying device, automatic quantitative pouring device, automatic pick-up manipulator and automatic cooling water adjustment device for casting mould.
These equipment can realize the automatic control of the main processes such as uniform spraying of parting agent in the mould cavity, quantitative pouring, blank cooling and engraving, mould cooling,
And pick-up in production, ensuring the production of high-quality die castings for customers.
