One Japanese company has developed a composite material with the same strength as cast iron and as light as aluminum. These features are achieved through the molten metal forging method of high-pressure casting technology. This new type of composite material can be used in electric vehicles (EV), semiconductor manufacturing equipment, home appliances, heavy appliances, industrial robots, and other components to achieve lightweight products.
This new type of composite material has special ceramic and aluminum alloy material characteristics. The tensile strength is 290 trillion (M) Pascal (Pa), the bending strength is 350 MPa, the elastic modulus is 120 G (G) Pa, and it has the same mechanical properties as cast iron (FC 250). The thermal expansion rate is the intermediate degree of ceramics and aluminum alloys. The density is about one-third of that of cast iron, which is equivalent to 2.8 grams per cubic centimeter of aluminum alloy. The specific heat and heat capacity are the same as aluminum alloy, but the thermal conductivity is about one-third of that of aluminum alloy, and the thermal deformation is less. In addition, it also has the advantages of wire electrical discharge machining, easy cutting, no solder, and excellent damping characteristics.
The basic technology to achieve this feature is the molten metal forging method. Put the molten metal in the mold, apply high pressure to make it solidify, and cast the composite metal. Due to the solidification of the melt in a relatively short period of time, the alloy structure is dense and the casting nest (casting nest: tiny voids generated in the metal) is few, so high-strength castings can be stably manufactured. It can achieve the same level of quality and uniformity as the repeated forging method to eliminate defects.
If you replace the parts made of cast iron so far, you can greatly reduce the weight. If it is used instead of aluminum alloy, the life of product components can be extended, and the product can be produced at low cost, low energy consumption and high efficiency.
Related research
Composite materials began to show their talents in the process of automobile lightweight
Lightweight is one of the important ways to save energy and reduce emissions in the automotive industry, and it is also a research hotspot in the automotive industry in recent years. Correspondingly, high-strength steel, aluminum alloys, magnesium alloys and other metal materials, engineering plastics, composite materials and other non-metallic materials, In the material itself and application development have achieved rapid development.
The ensuing problem is that the structure of the mixed material brings difficulties in connection technology. In the past, the industry has been able to connect metal materials with ease, such as the connection between steel materials, steel-aluminum connections, welding, riveting, adhesive bonding, mechanical connection and other processes have been very mature. However, when non-metallic materials such as composite materials are added, most of these processes cannot meet the requirements. Only the bonding is a relatively reliable connection method, but because the curing of the adhesive takes a long time, the mass production line is stuck in the body workshop After the neck, the entire beat of the car production will be affected.
The connection of lightweight body has very high comprehensive requirements on strength, stiffness, durability, reliability, corrosion resistance, manufacturability and economy. Therefore, only through continuous innovation in automotive lightweight connection process can we meet new requirements. The requirements of the times.
Composite materials have a large number of innovative applications in auto parts products, the most striking of which is a very breakthrough lightweight body process-frequency conversion microwave curing technology.
For a lightweight vehicle body (including non-metallic + non-metallic, non-metallic + metallic) that uses carbon fiber-reinforced composite materials and other non-metallic materials, this frequency conversion microwave curing technology can quickly cure the adhesive joints within 3-20 s The beat of the entire production line can therefore be increased to more than 60JPH, enough to subvert the efficiency and cost of current carbon fiber body manufacturing!
At present, to cater to the development trend of the automotive industry, we should focus more on related engineering solutions for lightweight body manufacturing. The newly introduced frequency conversion microwave curing technology for lightweight bodywork is a major innovation in this field. It can greatly improve the production cycle and significantly reduce production costs in lightweight bodybuilding!
In fact, the initial research and development of variable frequency microwave curing technology took 24 years. Before that, it has been widely used in the semiconductor field, and now it is gradually used in the lightweight body manufacturing of the automotive industry.
Using frequency conversion microwave curing technology, the curing time of a glue joint is usually only 3-20 s, depending on the size of the workpiece being connected, the type and thickness of the two materials, the type of curing glue, the number of connection points, the robot The quantity and process technical requirements, etc., but the longest will not exceed 1 min, which means that the production cycle of the body workshop can easily reach more than 60JPH, fully meeting the requirements of mass production lines! In contrast, if you use traditional technology, the curing time of different technical means needs 6-90 min, and the most common technology also requires more than 20 min. The baking is particularly hot, the surface of the workpiece may be deformed, and the worker's hand cannot directly touch the workpiece.
During the implementation of this process, some key adhesive points are usually selected for rapid curing to ensure that the main structural position of the body remains unchanged, and the subsequent process can be continued, while other adhesive points are naturally cured. In this way, the efficiency of the entire production line will be further improved.
The reason why the variable frequency microwave is used is because there are many chemical substances with different compositions in the glue. The fixed frequency microwave can only heat a certain kind of substance, and the variable frequency microwave can make these substances heat up, thereby curing quickly.
Different results of frequency conversion microwave and fixed frequency microwave on curing of glue
As the core variable frequency microwave controller and its control algorithm, it can accurately control the microwave frequency and waveform for different glue components, and provide the best fast curing solution for different glues.
This process only heats the glue joints at a small point, and the design of the front end allows the direction of the microwave to be controlled precisely, only heating the place where heating is needed, and the other surrounding areas are not affected. In addition, the microwave is very directional and has little external radiation, so it will not affect personnel health and the work of other equipment.