Patent Publication Number: US-2021170463-A1

Title: Extrusion forming apparatus, method using the same, and product therefrom

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims priority to Taiwanese Invention Patent Application No. 108144901, filed on Dec. 9, 2019. 
     FIELD 
     The disclosure relates to a forming apparatus, and more particularly to an extrusion forming apparatus, a method using the same and the product manufactured therefrom. 
     BACKGROUND 
     A linear slide is typically a sliding type conveying component used for a machine tool or semiconductor equipment. Except some large size linear slides made of aluminum alloy to reduce weight, most of linear slides are made from steel. Because steel is a hardly formable material, it is usually processed by rolling, drawing, annealing, followed by a small amount of machining to form a linear slide. Such a multi-step manufacturing process is complicated and inefficient. An alternative process utilizes a large amount of machining to machine and form a metal ingot into a linear slide. This manufacturing process produces a large amount of scrap, decreases material usage rate, and increases manufacturing costs. 
     SUMMARY 
     Therefore, one object of the disclosure is to provide an extrusion forming apparatus capable of extrusion forming a hardly formable metal. 
     According to the disclosure, an extrusion forming apparatus includes a housing, a mold, an extruding rod, a holding seat, and a vibrating source. 
     The housing has an extruding channel. 
     The mold is disposed in the extruding channel and located at a front open end of the extruding channel. 
     The extruding rod is movably disposed in the extruding channel. A front end of the extruding rod is disposed in a rearward of the mold. 
     The holding seat is disposed in front of the housing. The holding seat has a rear end partially extending into the extruding channel and abuts against the mold. 
     The vibrating source is controllable to apply an ultrasonic wave energy to the mold through the holding seat. 
     Another object of this disclosure is to provide an extrusion forming method by using the extrusion forming apparatus. 
     Accordingly an extrusion forming method of the disclosure includes: preheating an ingot; activating the vibrating source of the extrusion forming apparatus; placing the ingot in the extruding channel of the housing; and operating the extruding rod to press forwardly the ingot so that the ingot is extruded through and shaped by the mold wherein an ultrasonic wave energy of the vibrating source is applied to the ingot through the mold. 
     Still another object of this disclosure is to provide an extruded product made by the method using the extrusion forming apparatus. 
     Accordingly, an extruded product of the disclosure comprises a U-shaped channel made of steel, which includes a longitudinal base wall and two longitudinal left and right walls extending upwardly from two opposite ends of the longitudinal base wall and spaced apart from each other. The longitudinal left and right walls and the longitudinal base wall define a longitudinal groove. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Other features and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent in the following detailed description of the embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: 
         FIG. 1  is a sectional view illustrating an extrusion forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the disclosure; 
         FIGS. 2 to 5  illustrate consecutive steps carried out in an extrusion forming method using the extrusion forming apparatus for extruding an ingot; 
         FIG. 6  illustrates the ingot pressed and shaped through a mold of the extrusion forming apparatus by the extrusion forming method; 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view illustrates an extruded product made by the method using the extrusion forming apparatus; and 
         FIG. 8  is a front view illustrate the mold of the extrusion forming apparatus. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  illustrates an extrusion forming apparatus  1  according to an embodiment of the disclosure for extruding and shaping an ingot  2 . The ingot  2  is made of a hardly formable material. The hardly formable material may be a high strength, high hardness steel or other similar metallic material. The extrusion forming apparatus  1  includes a housing  11 , a mold  12 , an extruding rod  13 , a pressing plate  14 , a holding seat  15 , and a vibrating source  16 . 
     The housing  11  has an extruding channel  111 . 
     The mold  12  is disposed in the extruding channel  111  and at a front open end of the extruding channel  111 . As shown in  FIG. 8 , the mold  12  has a shaping hole  121  that is defined by a flat bottom boundary surface  122 , two spaced-apart flat left and right boundary surfaces  124  extending upwardly from the flat bottom boundary surface  122 , and a U-shaped boundary surface  123  that connects between the flat left and right boundary surfaces  124  oppositely of the flat bottom boundary surface  122 . The mold  12  allows passage of the ingot  2  such that the ingot  2  is shaped by the shaping hole  121 . 
     The extruding rod  13  is movably disposed in the extruding channel  111 . A front end of the extruding rod  13  is disposed in a rearward of the mold  12 . The extruding rod  13  is driven by an actuator (not shown, e.g., a hydraulic cylinder) to move forwardly to the mold  12 . Because moving the extruding rod  13  with the actuator is generally known in the art, further detail will not be provided herein. 
     The pressing plate  14  is disposed between the extruding rod  13  and the mold  12  in the extruding channel  111 . A pressing space  17  is formed between the pressing plate  14  and the mold  12 . 
     The holding seat  15  is disposed in front of the front open end of the extruding channel  111 . The holding seat  15  has a rear end partially extending into the extruding channel  111  and abuts against the mold  12 . 
     The vibrating source  16  is fixed to a front end of the housing  11  and abuts against the holding seat  15 . The vibrating source  16  is controllable to apply an ultrasonic wave energy to the mold  12  through the holding seat  15 . 
     In order for extruding the ingot  2 , an extrusion forming method using the extrusion forming apparatus  1  is described below. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the extrusion forming apparatus  1  is in a preliminary state, where the ingot  2  and the housing  11  are preheated. Before being preheated, the ingot  2  is polished and sandblasted, and is coated with a high temperature lubricant. In this preliminary state, only the housing  11 , the holding seat  15 , and the vibrating source  16  are assembled together. 
     Referred to  FIG. 3 , the mold  12  impregnated with a water glass is placed in the extruding channel  111  and abuts against the holding seat  15 . When the vibrating source  16  is activated to vibrate, the vibrating source  16  applies an ultrasonic wave energy to the holding seat  15 . The vibration frequency of the vibrating source  16  ranges between 20 and 32 KHz. The holding seat  15  transmits the vibration to the mold  12  through a contact interface therebetween. Due to the vibration, the water glass is evenly spread on the mold  12  to increase lubricity. In this embodiment, the ingot  2  is made of a medium carbon steel, e.g., S45C. However, the ingot  2  may be made of other carbon steels, or titanium or nickel-based alloys. 
     The ingot  2  is coated with glass sand before being placed in the extruding channel  111 . Afterwards, as shown in  FIG. 4 , the ingot  2  is placed in the extruding channel  111 . Subsequently, as shown in  FIG. 5 , the pressing plate  14  is disposed in the extruding channel  111 ; the ingot  2  is disposed in the pressing space  17  between the pressing plate  14  and the mold  12 . The ultrasonic vibration generated from the vibrating source  16  is transmitted through the mold  12  to the ingot  2 . As such , the glass sand is evenly spread on the ingot  2  to increase lubricity. 
     As shown in  FIG. 6 , the extruding rod  13  is placed in the extruding channel  111  and operated to push forward the pressing plate  14 . The pressing space  17  is therefore reduced, and the ingot  2  is pressed and extruded through the mold  12  and shaped by the mold  12 , thereby forming a raw extruded linear slide. 
     During the extrusion of the ingot  2  through the mold  12 , the ultrasonic vibration generated from the vibrating source  16  can reduce the yield stress of the ingot  2 , increase formability, and reduce surface oxidation and decarburization of the ingot  2 . In addition, the ultrasonic vibration can reduce friction and deformation resistance. By virtue of the vibrating source  16 , the extrusion forming method of the disclosure can overcome prior art problems in extrusion-forming hardly formable steels having high deformation resistance. 
       FIG. 7  illustrates an extruded product  3  made by the extrusion forming method using the extrusion forming apparatus  1 . The extruded product  3  in this embodiment is a linear slide, and comprises a U-shaped channel made of steel. The extruded product  3  includes a longitudinal base wall  31  and two longitudinal left and right walls  32  extending upwardly from two opposite ends of the longitudinal base wall  31  and spaced apart from each other. The longitudinal left and right walls  32  and the longitudinal base wall  31  define a longitudinal groove  321 . The longitudinal base wall  31  and the longitudinal left and right walls  32  have outer surfaces that are flat, and inner surfaces that cooperate to form a contoured surface of U-shape. In other embodiments, the extruded product  3  may be provided with a complicated contoured surface, such as a dentate surface, or a multi-curved surface. Therefore, hardly formable steel products may have a wide range of shapes. 
     In the description above, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details have been set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiment. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that one or more other embodiments maybe practiced without some of these specific details. It should also be appreciated that reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” an embodiment with an indication of an ordinal number and so forth means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic may be included in the practice of the disclosure. It should be further appreciated that in the description, various features are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of various inventive aspects, and that one or more features or specific details from one embodiment may be practiced together with one or more features or specific details from another embodiment, where appropriate, in the practice of the disclosure. 
     While the disclosure has been described in connection with what is considered the exemplary embodiment, it is understood that this disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.