A MARKING METHOD

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a marking method for collecting, tracking and storing data of a molten metal during melting and casting processes.

Background of the Invention

[0002] Metal materials are frequently used in both industrial applications and consumer products due to their durability and longevity. After the metal materials are obtained as a raw material, they are processed by various applications to take a desired shape and size. According to the prior art, different applications are provided for giving the desired shape to a metal raw material. These applications are basically divided into two groups as forging (cold or hot) and casting. In forging applications, the raw material takes the desired shape by delivering blows. In casting applications, on the other hand, the raw material is melted and poured into molds such that when it cools in the mold to solidify, it takes the shape of the mold. The mentioned applications can be used in accordance with the needs based on the desired product properties.

[0003] Various process parameters are used to give the desired shape to the metal. For example, if the metal is in the form of an alloy, parameters such as ratios and purity of the alloy components, or parameters such as temperature, environmental conditions or equipment of the casting or forging process, are used. Such parameters can affect different properties of the final product. For this reason, it is important to collect and store the data of said parameters.

[0004] Said data can be stored by engraving a visual code (such as a barcode, a serial number) on the metal material, especially in forging applications. However, in casting applications, since the metal material is melted, even if a code is added to the raw material, said code disappears during the melting process. Especially in high-volume production facilities, it becomes complicated to store this information in order to access the historical information of different products. For this reason, collection, tracking and storage of metals in casting processes cannot be performed to a desired extent with conventional applications.

Description of the Invention

[0005] The present invention discloses a marking method for collecting, tracking and storing data of a molten metal during melting and casting processes. Said marking method comprises the steps of: receiving at least one piece of metal to be melted; storing at least one information of the received metal ingot in a memory unit; melting said piece of metal; assigning at least one pseudo code to the melted piece of metal; storing the pseudo code assigned to the molten metal in the memory unit; molding the melted piece of metal; storing at least one data related to the molten metal and/or environmental conditions during the melting and/or molding processes in the memory unit; assigning a visual code to the final demolded product; matching the visual code assigned to the final product with the pseudo code stored in the memory unit.

[0006] Since information about the piece of metal to be melted and data of the melting/casting processes are stored in the memory unit, together with a pseudo code, in the marking method of the present invention, all data related to the production process can be stored. Following completion of the production process and assignment of a visual code to the final product, this visual code is matched with the pseudo code, so that data of the final product before and during production can be easily accessed by means of the visual code.

Object of the Invention

[0007] An object of the present invention is to provide a marking method for collecting, tracking and storing data of a molten metal during melting and casting processes.

[0008] Another object of the present invention is to provide a practical and reliable marking method.

Description of the Invention

[0009] In order to shape metal materials by casting process, one or more metals must be melted to liquify. Here, since various parameters of the shaping process will determine the properties of the final product, it is necessary to collect, track and store the data of the mentioned parameters. However, since a barcode or a serial number engraved on the metal is lost during the melting process, data storage may not be possible especially in casting processes. For this reason, the present invention provides a marking method for collecting, tracking and storing data of a molten metal during melting and casting processes.

[0010] The marking method according to the invention comprises the steps of: receiving at least one piece of metal to be melted; storing at least one information of the received metal ingot in a memory unit; melting said piece of metal; assigning at least one pseudo code to the melted piece of metal; storing the pseudo code assigned to the molten metal in the memory unit; molding the melted piece of metal; storing at least one data related to the molten metal and/or environmental conditions during the melting and/or molding processes in the memory unit; assigning a visual code (e.g. a barcode, a serial number) to the final demolded product; matching the visual code assigned to the final product with the pseudo code stored in the memory unit.

[0011] In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, a piece of metal (for example, a metal ingot) to be shaped by casting is obtained, and various information about this piece of metal is stored in a memory unit. Here, information of the piece of metal may include at least one of the information such as the type of the piece of metal (such as aluminum, iron, copper, chromium), total weight thereof, a temperature or a humidity value of the environment where the piece of metal is present. The metal obtained is then melted. During said melting process, various data regarding the melting process, such as melting temperature, melting period, properties of a melting furnace, are also stored in the memory unit. Here, a pseudo code is assigned to the molten metal, such that said pseudo code is stored in the memory unit together with other data. Thus, for example, when different melting and casting processes are carried out at the same time in a facility, data of different metals can be stored in the memory without interfering with each other. After the melting process, casting (for example, a low-pressure casting) process is carried out to produce a desired part. Here, different process parameters for the casting process are stored in the memory, as well as in the melting process. Parameters in the casting process may include temperature of a chamber, temperature of a die system, temperature of the molten metal in the chamber, temperature of a coolant (e.g. air/liquid temperature in air/liquid cooled cooler), pressure of the coolant (e.g. air/liquid pressure in air/liquid cooled cooler), flow rate of the coolant, ambient temperature, ambient humidity, ground vibration, tooling vibration, etc. A visual code assigned to the product is matched with the pseudo code in order to determine features of the part obtained by this production. In this way, it is easy to access the information regarding production conditions of said part, and even, preservation conditions before the production.

[0012] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, said marking method comprises the step of detecting at least one data of a melting and/or casting process by at least one sensor during the related process. Therefore, in the step of storing at least one data of the molten metal and/or environmental conditions during the melting and/or molding processes, data to be stored in the memory unit is obtained in a practical and reliable manner.

[0013] In another preferred embodiment of the invention, in the step of assigning a visual code to the demolded final product, said marking method comprises the step of engraving the visual code assigned to the final product on the product. Here, said engraving step can be performed, for example, by printing a shape (such as a QR code or barcode in bar form) and/or an alpha-numeric inscription on a surface of the product. In an alternative embodiment, in the step of assigning a visual code to the demolded final product, the marking method comprises the step of gluing the visual code assigned to the final product on the product.

[0014] In a further preferred embodiment of the invention, said marking method comprises the step of sending the data stored in the memory (information on the piece of metal, data on the melting/casting process, visual code matched with the pseudo code) to a remote server. Here, said remote server is preferably a cloud server. In this embodiment, for example, even when the final product is completed and sold to an end user, the end user can access the information about the production of the product by inputting the visual code information into the cloud server.

[0015] Since information about the piece of metal to be melted and data of the melting/casting processes are stored in the memory unit, together with a pseudo code, in the marking method of the present invention, all data related to the production process can be stored. Following completion of the production process and assignment of a visual code to the final product, this visual code is matched with the pseudo code, so that data of the final product before and during production can be easily accessed by means of the visual code.

Claims

1. A marking method for collecting, tracking and storing data of a molten metal during melting and casting processes, characterized by comprising the steps of:

- receiving at least one piece of metal to be melted;

- storing at least one information of the received metal ingot in a memory unit;

- melting said piece of metal;

- assigning at least one pseudo code to the melted piece of metal;

- storing the pseudo code assigned to the molten metal in the memory unit;

- molding the melted piece of metal; storing at least one data related to the molten metal and/or environmental conditions during the melting and/or molding processes in the memory unit;

- assigning a visual code to the final demolded product; matching the visual code assigned to the final product with the pseudo code stored in the memory unit.

2. A marking method according to claim 1, characterized in that in the step of storing at least one information of the received metal ingot in a memory unit, information of the piece of metal comprises at least one of the information such as the type of the piece of metal, total weight thereof, a temperature or a humidity value of the environment where the piece of metal is present.

3. A marking method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that at least one data of a melting and/or casting process is detected by at least one sensor during the related process.

4. A marking method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that in the step of assigning a visual code to the demolded final product, the method comprises the step of engraving the visual code assigned to the final product on the product.

5. A marking method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that in the step of assigning a visual code to the demolded final product, the method comprises the step of gluing the visual code assigned to the final product on the product.

6. A marking method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the method comprises the step of sending the data stored in the memory (information on the piece of metal, data on the melting/casting process, visual code matched with the pseudo code) to a remote server.