Process of manufacturing aluminum alloy workpiece

Abstract

A process of manufacturing an aluminum alloy workpiece includes a preparation step, in which an aluminum alloy sheet, a forming die, and a handling device are prepared; an aging and forming step including a heating substep for heating the aluminum alloy sheet to a first temperature, a transferring substep for transferring the aluminum alloy sheet to the die at a second temperature, and a forming and cooling substep for forming the aluminum alloy sheet into a target shape; and an aging out of forming die step, in which the formed aluminum alloy sheet is removed from the die, is heated to a third temperature, and undergoes another aging treatment to manufacture the aluminum alloy workpiece.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A process of manufacturing an aluminum alloy workpiece, comprising:
 a preparation step, in which an aluminum alloy sheet, a forming die, and a handling device are prepared, the handling device including a transfer mechanism for at least one degree of freedom movement, and a dismountable temperature control module detachably connected to the transfer mechanism, said dismountable temperature control module having a second temperature;   an aging and forming step including
 a heating substep, in which the aluminum alloy sheet is heated to a first temperature lower than a solid solution temperature but higher than a solid solution temperature of a Guinier-Preston Zone (G-P zone), and is then transferred to the temperature control module, 
 a transferring substep, in which the transfer mechanism is used for transferring the aluminum alloy sheet contained in the temperature control module into the forming die, the aluminum alloy sheet being maintained at the second temperature through the temperature control module, the second temperature being lower than the solid solution temperature but higher than the solid solution temperature of the G-P zone, and 
 a forming and cooling substep, in which the aluminum alloy sheet is formed into a target shape while cooling in the forming die; and 
   an aging out of forming die step, in which the formed aluminum sheet is removed from the forming die, is heated to a third temperature that is lower than the solid solution temperature but higher than the solid solution temperature of the G-P zone, and then undergoes another aging treatment to manufacture the aluminum alloy workpiece.   
     
     
         2 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein, in the preparation step, the aluminum alloy sheet has undergone a pre-aging treatment. 
     
     
         3 . The process of  claim 2 , wherein, in the heating substep, the aluminum alloy sheet is heated to the first temperature at a rate of more than 10° C. per second. 
     
     
         4 . The process of  claim 3 , wherein:
 in the heating substep, the first temperature is held for a period of time;   in the transferring substep, the aluminum alloy sheet contained in the temperature control module is transferred into the forming die within a transport time; and   the sum of the holding time of the first temperature and the transport time is 5 to 300 seconds.   
     
     
         5 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the preparation step includes a pre-processing substep, in which the aluminum alloy sheet is heated to the solid solution temperature for a period of time, followed by quenching. 
     
     
         6 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein, in the heating substep, the aluminum alloy sheet is heated to the first temperature within a period of 10 to 30 minutes. 
     
     
         7 . The process of  claim 6 , wherein:
 in the heating substep, the first temperature is held for a period of time;   in the transferring substep, the aluminum alloy sheet contained in the temperature control module is transferred into the forming die within a transport time; and   the sum of the holding time of the first temperature and the transport time is 5 to 20 minutes.   
     
     
         8 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein, in the heating substep, the first temperature is 130 to 270° C. 
     
     
         9 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein, in the aging out of forming die step, the third temperature is 170 to 190° C. 
     
     
         10 . The process of  claim 5 , wherein the heating substep is conducted within 30 minutes after the pre-processing substep.