Method and apparatus for automatically loading powder material into a mold

Abstract

The present invention is a method of loading a desired amount of powder material into a mold which comprises a tubular body having a bore extending therethrough to define a mold cavity. The method comprises the steps of: providing the mold with a lower press core fitted in the lower end of the bore; bringing the mold with said lower press core fitted therein to a powder filling position; displacing the lower press core relative to the mold so as to determine the depth of the top surface of the lower press core from the top surface of the mold; filling an amount of powder material into the mold and strickling off any excessive amount of powder material to the level of the top surface of the mold; pressing at a desired pressure the amount of powder material in the mold to form a powder compact; and displacing the powder compact with the lower press core relative to the mold so as to bring the powder compact to a desired position in the mold.

1 . A method of automatically loading a desired amount of powder material into a tubular mold having a bore extending therethrough, said method comprising the steps of: 
 providing said mold with a lower press core fitted in a lower end of said bore;    bringing said mold with said lower press core fitted therein to a powder filling position;    filling an amount of powder material into said mold and strickling off any excessive amount of powder material to the level of a top surface of said mold; and    pressing at a desired pressure the amount of powder material in said mold to form a powder compact.    
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein said mold comprises a sintering mold and said lower press core has a top surface, and wherein the method further comprises the steps of: 
 determining the depth of said top surface of said lower press core from said top surface of said sintering mold;    displacing said powder compact with said lower press core relative to said sintering mold so as to bring said powder compact to a desired position in said sintering mold; and    fitting an upper press core into said bore of said sintering mold above said powder compact.    
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein said mold comprises a powder-compact-forming mold and said lower press core has a top surface, and wherein the method further comprises the step of: 
 determining the depth of said top surface of said lower press core from said top surface of said powder-compact-forming mold; and    displacing said powder compact with said lower press core relative to said powder-compact-forming mold so as to remove said powder compact and said lower press core from said powder-compact-forming mold.    
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising the steps of: 
 repeating said filling/strickling step a number of times so as to form in said mold a multi-layered powder compact comprising layers of different powder materials, which differ from one another in at least one of properties including component(s) of powder material, percentages of components, particle size and particle shape; and    repeating said pressing step subsequent to every repetition of said filling/strickling step.    
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising the steps of: 
 repeating said filling/strickling step a number of times so as to form in said mold a multi-layered powder compact comprising layers of different powder materials, which differ from one another in at least one of properties including component(s) of powder material, percentages of components, particle size and particle shape; and    repeating said pressing step subsequent to every two or more repetitions of said filling/strickling step.    
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 4 , wherein said different powder materials are stored in individual hoppers, wherein said powder filling position is defined at a single position common to all of said hoppers, and wherein said method further comprises the step of: 
 bringing said hoppers sequentially to said single powder filling position.    
     
     
         7 . The method according to  claim 5 , wherein said different powder materials are stored in individual hoppers, wherein said powder filling position is defined at a single position common to all of said hoppers, and wherein said method further comprises the step of: 
 bringing said hoppers sequentially to said single powder filling position.    
     
     
         8 . The method according to  claim 4 , wherein said different powder materials are stored in individual hoppers, wherein said powder filling position is defined at a number of positions one for each of said hoppers, and wherein said method further comprises the step of: 
 bringing said mold sequentially to said number of powder filling positions in the order appropriate for forming said plurality of layers in said mold.    
     
     
         9 . The method according to  claim 5 , wherein said different powder materials are stored in individual hoppers, wherein said powder filling position is defined at a number of positions one for each of said hoppers, and wherein said method further comprises the step of: 
 bringing said mold sequentially to said number of powder filling positions in the order appropriate for forming said plurality of layers in said mold.    
     
     
         10 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising the step of measuring the weight of the amount of powder material filled into said mold after said filling/strickling step is performed.  
     
     
         11 - 22 . (canceled)