U.S. patent application number 10/692228 was filed with the patent office on 2004-06-24 for apparatus for the surface working of a workpiece as well as the use of the apparatus for the blasting of bore walls.
This patent application is currently assigned to Sulzer Metco AG. Invention is credited to Herber, Ralph, Koenig, Peter.
Application Number | 20040121703 10/692228 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 32524087 |
Filed Date | 2004-06-24 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040121703 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Herber, Ralph ; et
al. |
June 24, 2004 |
Apparatus for the surface working of a workpiece as well as the use
of the apparatus for the blasting of bore walls
Abstract
In accordance with the invention, an apparatus is provided for
the surface working of a workpiece (2) by blasting with an abrasive
blasting material (3), including a storage container (4) for the
blasting material (3), a metering device (5) and a device for
blasting (6). The device for blasting (6) has a blasting material
feed (7) with an inlet (8) and an outlet (9) for the blasting
material (3), the blasting material (3) being able to be fed to a
jet region (10) through the blasting material feed (7) and the
outlet (9). The device for blasting (6) furthermore includes a
pressure supply (11) for the deflection of a blasting material flow
(12) emerging from the outlet (9) by means of a pressure medium
(13), with control means (14) for the introduction of the blasting
material flow (12) being provided at the inlet of the blasting
material feed (7).
Inventors: |
Herber, Ralph; (Bad
Saeckingen, DE) ; Koenig, Peter; (Sarmenstorf,
CH) |
Correspondence
Address: |
TOWNSEND AND TOWNSEND AND CREW, LLP
TWO EMBARCADERO CENTER
EIGHTH FLOOR
SAN FRANCISCO
CA
94111-3834
US
|
Assignee: |
Sulzer Metco AG
Wohlen
CH
|
Family ID: |
32524087 |
Appl. No.: |
10/692228 |
Filed: |
October 22, 2003 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
451/2 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B24C 7/0053 20130101;
B24C 5/04 20130101; B24C 7/0092 20130101; B24C 3/325 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
451/002 |
International
Class: |
B24C 003/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Dec 19, 2002 |
EP |
02102835.2 |
Claims
1. An apparatus for the surface working of a workpiece (2) by
blasting with an abrasive blasting material (3), including a
storage container (4) for the blasting material (3), a metering
device (5) and a device for blasting (6), with the device for
blasting (6) having a blasting material feed (7) with an inlet (8)
and an outlet (9) for the blasting material (3), and the blasting
material (3) being able to be fed to a jet region (10) through the
blasting material feed (7) and the outlet (9), as well as with a
pressure supply (11) for the deflection of a blasting material flow
(12) emerging from the outlet (9) by means of a pressure medium
(13), characterised in that control means (14) for the introduction
of the blasting material flow (12) are provided at the inlet of the
blasting material feed (7).
2. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein the control
means (14) include the metering device (5).
3. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the
control means (14) include an injector nozzle (141).
4. An apparatus in accordance with any one of the preceding claims,
wherein the metering device (5) is arranged at the storage
container (4).
5. An apparatus in accordance with any one of the preceding claims,
wherein the metering device (5) is connected to the blasting
material feed (7) by means of a connection line (16).
6. An apparatus in accordance with any one of the preceding claims,
wherein a flowmeter (15) is provided for the measurement of a mass
flow of the blasting material (3).
7. An apparatus in accordance with any one of the preceding claims,
wherein the pressure supply (11) has, in the jet region (10), an
endpiece (71) which deflects the pressure medium (13) and has an
opening (72) and the pressure supply (11) is rotatably arranged
about a longitudinal axis (L) of the blasting material feed (7),
with the opening (72) of the endpiece (71) of the pressure supply
(11) being arranged and alignable such that the blasting material
flow (12) emerging from the outlet (9) of the blasting material
feed (7) can be deflected.
8. An apparatus in accordance with claim 7, wherein the pressure
supply (11) is rotatable by a rotary drive (17) about the
longitudinal axis (L) of the blasting material feed (7).
9. An apparatus in accordance with any one of the preceding claims,
wherein a freely programmable control unit is provided for the
control and/or regulation of the metering device (5) and/or of the
control means (14) for the introduction of the blasting material
flow (12) and/or of the rotary drive (17).
10. Use of the apparatus (1) in accordance with any one of the
preceding claims for the blasting of bore walls or tube walls, in
particular of cylinders of reciprocating combustion engines.
Description
[0001] The invention relates to an apparatus for the surface
working of a workpiece by blasting with an abrasive blasting
material as well as to the use of the apparatus for the blasting of
bore walls in accordance with the preamble of the independent claim
of the respective category.
[0002] For the pre-treatment of workpieces, in particular for the
pre-treatment with thermal coating, surfaces of components are
frequently activated by blasting, for example with aluminium
materials. This ensures, among other things, a sufficient gripping
engagement of a coating material with the substrate. However,
blasting, is also frequently used as a suitable method for the
roughening and even for the compacting of surface layers
(introduction of internal stress by peening) of surfaces, such as,
for example, with classical sandblasting, with--in addition to
conventional sand--also other materials such as ceramic powders,
special metallic powders or other powders or fine dusts being used
as the blasting material. The method of blasting is, among other
things, widespread and particularly suitable for the working of
bore walls and tube walls, since the surfaces of such internal
walls can often only be worked with difficulty using other
methods.
[0003] For this reason, a whole series of apparatuses and methods
are well-known in the prior art for the working of surfaces of
workpieces by blasting. For instance, an apparatus known as a
RotaBlast and a corresponding method are described in EP 0 727 282
B1, for example, in which a blasting material is stored in a
storage container of sufficient size and is supplied from there to
a suitable metering device which is arranged directly beneath the
storage container. After having been metered by the metering
device, the blasting material is then transported with the help of
an injector with compressed air into a blasting means transport
hose flanged directly to the injector and also known as a blasting
means pressure hose. The blasting material is transported by the
blasting means transport hose, which is made up of special rubber
material, possibly with an India rubber liner, to the RotaBlast
apparatus for the blasting of a workpiece.
[0004] Currently, high wear phenomena occur at the blasting means
transport hoses. The hoses, which are mostly made, as already
mentioned, from a plastic or rubber, wear out in particular at a
spacing of approximately 100 mm to 150 mm from the outlet of the
blasting material from the injector. Strong flow turbulence occurs
in this region which wears the hose material abrasively even more
from the inside in this region due to the blasting means
transported in the airflow. This results in the hoses being so
heavily worn even after a very short operating time that the
operation of the plant has to be stopped and the worn blasting
means transport hoses have to be replaced. A further disadvantage
of the overpressure principle briefly described above consists of
the fact that the transport of the blasting material requires
compressed air which is especially prepared with the aid of the
injector and which has to be made available by the user. This
requires appropriate additional plants with the corresponding
financial and labour effort.
[0005] It is therefore the object of the invention to provide an
improved apparatus for the surface treatment of a workpiece by
blasting with an abrasive blasting material which avoids the
disadvantages of known apparatuses from the prior art.
[0006] The subject matters of the invention satisfying these
objects are characterized by the features of the independent claim
of the respective category.
[0007] The dependent claims relate to especially advantageous
embodiments of the invention.
[0008] In accordance with the invention, an apparatus for the
surface working of a workpiece by blasting with an abrasive
blasting material is thus proposed including a storage container
for the blasting material, a metering device and a device for
blasting. The device for blasting has a blasting material feed with
an inlet and an outlet for the blasting material, with the blasting
material being able to be fed to a jet region through the blasting
material feed and the outlet. The device for blasting furthermore
includes a pressure supply for the deflection by means of a
pressure medium of a blasting material flow emerging from the
outlet, with control means being provided at the inlet of the
blasting means feed for the introduction of the blasting material
flow.
[0009] Since, in the apparatus in accordance with the invention for
the blasting with an abrasive blasting material, the control
means--which can in particular include, as will be explained in
more detail further below, a metering device or an injector
nozzle--are arranged directly at the inlet of the blasting means
feed of the device for blasting, the blasting material is no longer
fed to the blasting material feed, as is known from the prior art,
by means of overpressure through a blasting means pressure hose,
whereby the known problems with premature wear phenomena of the
blasting means pressure hoses are avoided.
[0010] The device for the blasting of the apparatus in accordance
with the invention is known per se from the prior art and
substantially includes a blasting material feed, for example in the
form of a tube, which has an inlet and an outlet, with an
abrasively acting blasting material being able to be fed to the
inlet which can be discharged again through the outlet of the
blasting material feed in the form of a blasting material flow in a
jet region. The blasting material feed is preferably, but not
necessarily, arranged vertically, that is parallel, to the action
of gravity such that the blasting material can reach the outlet of
the blasting material feed in a blasting material flow from the
inlet solely by the action of gravity.
[0011] The blasting material flow emerging from the outlet is
deflected by means of a pressure medium, which can be fed to the
jet region via a pressure supply, onto a surface of a workpiece to
be worked, whereby the surface of the workpiece is worked. The
pressure medium for the deflection of the blasting material flow
can include, for example, a fluid such as compressed air, or also a
suitable liquid or another suitable medium.
[0012] The blasting material can be fed to the control means
provided at the inlet of the blasting material feed of the device
for blasting from a storage container for the blasting material,
with the control means being suitable for the introduction of the
blasting material flow into the inlet of the blasting material
supply. For the controlled feed of blasting material from the
storage container to the blasting material feed, the apparatus in
accordance with the invention includes a metering device known per
se
[0013] In a preferred embodiment of an apparatus in accordance with
the invention, the control means for the introduction of the
blasting material flow includes the metering device. This means
that the metering device is arranged directly at the inlet of the
blasting material feed. The storage container for the blasting
material can be arranged in a first embodiment directly at the
metering device such that no feed line is provided for the feed of
blasting material from the storage container to the metering
device. Alternatively, in a second embodiment, the control device
designed as a metering device can be connected to the storage
container via a feed line. Auxiliary means can be provided which
support the feed of the blasting material from the storage
container to the control means. In particular, the blasting
material can be fed from the storage container to the control means
by means of a transport medium, for example by air. It is naturally
also possible that blasting material is supplied from a storage
container to a plurality of devices for blasting.
[0014] In another important embodiment for practice, the control
means for the injection of the blasting material flow include an
injector nozzle known per se, with the injector nozzle being
connected to the metering device via a connection line such that
blasting material can be fed from the storage container to the
injector nozzle via the metering device and the connection line.
The metering device can in particular be arranged directly at the
storage container. The blasting material is introduced by the
injector nozzle via the inlet of the blasting material feed
directly into the blasting material feed under a pre-settable
pressure as a blasting material flow. The injector nozzle known per
se, which can be operated with compressed air, produces an
underpressure in the connection line, whereby the blasting material
is sucked to the injector nozzle. Hardly any turbulence is hereby
created in an inlet region of the connection line, which is
preferably made of a plastic, for example rubber, so that the
connection line is not exposed to any excessive abrasive wear like
the blasting means pressure hoses known from the prior art.
[0015] The connection line and/or the feed line is/are lined at
its/their inner wall, preferably with boron carbide. Boron carbide
is a known and suitable material for the reduction of wear, in
particular on the use of abrasively acting materials, and is
therefore also preferably used for the injector nozzle.
[0016] In a variant important for practice, the injector nozzle is
preferably made up of boron carbide and is exchangeably connected
to the blasting material feed and/or to the connection line. In
particular the transition to the connection line and/or to the
blasting material feed is designed by the use of a transition
nozzle such that, where possible, no turbulence occurs in the flow
of the blasting material, whereby the wear of the components
involved can be substantially reduced.
[0017] In a particularly preferred embodiment, the pressure supply
includes an endpiece which deflects the pressure medium in the jet
region and has an opening from which the pressure medium is
discharged into the jet region. The pressure supply is rotatably
arranged about a longitudinal axis of the blast material feed, with
the opening of the endpiece of the pressure supply being arranged
and alignable such that the blasting material flow emerging from
the outlet of the blasting material feed can be deflected onto a
workpiece to be blasted. The pressure supply can be rotatable by a
rotary drive about the blasting material feed. An electric motor, a
pneumatic or a hydraulic drive, or another suitable drive can be
used, for example, as the rotary drive.
[0018] The apparatus in accordance with the invention preferably
includes a flowmeter for the monitoring and measurement of a mass
flow of the blasting material. The flowmeter can, for example, be
provided in the connection line or in the feed line or at any other
suitable position at the apparatus in accordance with the
invention.
[0019] The apparatus in accordance with the invention can in
particular include a freely programmable control unit for the
control and/or regulation of the metering device and/or of the
control means for the introduction of the blasting material flow
and/or of the rotary drive. In a variant important for practice,
regulation means can be provided, for example in the form of
suitable valves, with which the mass flow can be controlled and/or
regulated by the control unit in dependence on pre-settable
operating parameters. The flowmeter is preferably connected by
signal to the control unit for the transfer of actual data of the
mass flow so that, for example, the actual mass flow can be used
for the control and/or regulation.
[0020] In accordance with the invention, the use of the apparatus
is furthermore used for the surface working of a workpiece by
blasting with an abrasive blasting material, for the blasting of
bore walls or tube walls, in particular of cylinders of
reciprocating internal combustion engines.
[0021] The invention will be described in more detail in the
following with reference to the schematic drawing. There are
shown:
[0022] FIG. 1 an apparatus in accordance with the invention with a
storage container, a metering device and a device for blasting;
[0023] FIG. 2 a further embodiment of an apparatus in accordance
with the invention.
[0024] FIG. 1 shows, in a schematic representation, an apparatus in
accordance with the invention for the surface working of a
workpiece by blasting with an abrasive blasting material, which
apparatus is designated as a whole by the reference numeral 1 in
the following.
[0025] The apparatus 1 in accordance with the invention includes a
storage container 4 for a blasting material 3, a metering device 5
and a device for blasting 6. The device for blasting 6 has a
blasting material feed 7 with an inlet 8 and an outlet 9 for the
blasting material 3, with the blasting material 3 being able to be
fed to a jet region 10 through the blasting material feed 7 and the
outlet 9. The device for blasting 6 furthermore includes a pressure
supply 11 for the deflection of a blasting material flow 12
emerging from the outlet 9 by means of a pressure medium (13), with
control means 14 being provided at the inlet 8 of the blasting
material feed 7 for the introduction of the blasting material flow
12.
[0026] The device for blasting 6 shown in FIG. 1 is known per se
from the prior art, as is the metering device. The blasting
material feed 7 is designed in the form of a straight tube 7 which
is arranged in accordance with the representation in the embodiment
shown in FIG. 1 in a perpendicular manner, that is with its
longitudinal axis L parallel to the effective direction of gravity.
The control means 14 for the introduction of the blasting material
flow 12 are here designed as a metering device 5. This means that
the metering device 5 is arranged directly at the inlet 8 of the
blasting material feed 7. The storage container 4 for the blasting
material 3 in the embodiment shown here is arranged directly at the
metering device 5 such that no feed line to the feed of the
blasting material 3 is provided from the storage container 4 to the
metering device 5. The transport of the blasting material 3 into
the blasting material feed 7 takes place solely by gravity.
[0027] The same applies to the transport of the blasting material 3
in the from of the blasting material flow 12 from the inlet 8 to
the outlet 9 of the blasting material feed 7.
[0028] The blasting material flow 12 emerging from the outlet 9 can
be deflected by means of the pressure medium (13), which can be
supplied to the jet region 10 via the pressure supply 11, onto a
surface of a workpiece 2 to be worked, whereby the surface of the
workpiece 2, for example the inner wall of a cylinder of a
reciprocating combustion engine, is worked. The pressure medium
(13) for the deflection of the blasting material flow 12 can
include, for example a fluid (13) such as compressed air, or also a
suitable liquid (13) or another suitable medium (13).
[0029] The pressure supply 11 includes, in the jet region 10, an
endpiece 71 which deflects the pressure medium (13) and has an
opening 72 from which the pressure medium (13) is discharged into
the jet region 10. The pressure supply 11 is rotatably arranged and
is alignable about the longitudinal axis L of the blasting material
feed 7, with the opening 72 of the endpiece 71 of the pressure
supply 11 being arranged and alignable such that the blasting
material flow 12 emerging from the outlet 9 of the blasting
material feed 7 can be deflected onto the workpiece 2 to be
blasted. In the variant shown here, the pressure supply 11 can be
rotated about the blasting material feed 7 by a rotary drive 17,
with the rotary drive preferably being designed as an electric
motor or as a pneumatic drive or as a hydraulic drive.
[0030] The apparatus 1 in accordance with the invention can in
particular have a sensor not shown in FIG. 1, in particular a
flowmeter (15) for the measurement of a mass flow of the blasting
material, which is provided with a freely programmable control
unit, likewise not shown, for the control and/or regulation of the
metering device 5 and/or of the control means 14 for the
introduction of the blasting material flow 12 and/or of the rotary
drive 17.
[0031] In FIG. 2, a further embodiment of an apparatus in
accordance with the invention is shown schematically. In this
embodiment, which is important for practice, the control means 14
for the introduction of the blasting material flow 12 include an
injector nozzle 141 known per se, with the injector nozzle 141
being connected to the metering device 5 via a connection line 16
such that blasting material 3 can be fed from the storage container
4 to the injector nozzle 141 via the metering unit 5 and the
connection line 16. The connection line 16 includes a flowmeter 15
for the measurement of a mass flow of the blasting material 3 which
is connected by signal to a control unit (not shown). The metering
device 5 is in particular arranged directly at the storage
container 4. The blasting material 3 is introduced directly into
the blasting material feed 7 by the injector nozzle 141 as a
blasting material flow 12 via the inlet 8 of the blasting material
feed 7 at a pre-settable pressure. The injector nozzle 141 known
per se, which can be operated with compressed air, produces an
underpressure in the connection line 16, whereby the blasting
material 3 is sucked to the injector nozzle 141. Hardly any
turbulence hereby occurs in an inlet region of the connection line
16, which is preferably made up of a plastic, for example rubber,
such that the connection line 19 is not exposed to any excessive
abrasive wear like the blasting means pressure hoses known from the
prior art.
* * * * *