DE102021107531A1 - Process and device for producing a print product - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed is a device set up to:- in particular controlled, to provide a plurality of starting materials, each of which has a cross section;- to heat the provided starting materials and to shape them into a printed material with a specified cross-section;- to shape the starting materials in such a way that the specified cross-section is independent of a or more cross sections of the provided starting materials.

Description

The present disclosure relates to devices for producing printed matter, for example for structural components and/or wound products, and methods for producing printed matter.

According to the state of the art, fiber-reinforced structural components or specifically specified fiber-reinforced materials for further processing are produced from base materials, which are arranged, for example, in a creel on a spool and are provided in the form of strands. In a printing plant, the starting materials are heated to assume a malleable state. In this state, they are then reshaped to a specified target cross-section. The target cross-sections that can be achieved depend on the cross-sections of the starting materials arranged on the coils. In order to achieve a different cross-section, the number of strands of starting material fed in must be changed. This requires stopping the entire system in order to reconfigure the system accordingly. Improvements in this area are desirable.

One object is to improve the manufacture of fiber-enclosed components.

This object is solved by the disclosed technology, which is defined by the subject matter of the independent claims. The dependent claims relate to corresponding developments. Various aspects and embodiments of these aspects are disclosed below that provide additional features and advantages.

Some embodiments solve the specific problem of being able to efficiently manufacture a hydrogen tank for a vehicle. For this purpose, thin thermoplastic profiles are provided as rolled goods with a cross section of 2 mm ² . The profiles have carbon reinforcement fibers. The carbon-reinforced profiles are further processed in a pultrusion rod printer. They are heated to a specified temperature in order to be malleable. In the pultrusion bar printer, the profiles are converted into a coiled product, which has a cross section of up to 100 mm ² . The hot material to be wound is then drawn into a winding device and wound on a positive core of the winding device. The heated layers combine to form a solid form. The hydrogen tank shall be manufactured in such a way that the outer plies forming the wall of the tank are thinner than the lower plies. In addition, the outer layers should comprise a different type of fiber than the inner layers. For this purpose, a winding material with a thicker cross-section is printed for the first layers. This is achieved by feeding 24 strands of starting material. After the first layers have been wound, the creel is controlled in such a way that only 15 layers are made available to the printer's dancer. The dancer correspondingly interlaces fewer strands of stock material and feeds them to the heater of the pultrusion rod printer. The winding material thus provided has a smaller cross section than the winding material for the lower layers. To provide the layers with different fibers, the 24 strands used for the bottom layers include 10 strands of bamboo fibers and 14 strands of plastic. For the upper layers, the controller specifies 5 strands of carbon fiber and 10 strands of plastic. Advantageously, the thickness of a winding material and the composition of a winding material can be specified during the production of a wound product. The system does not have to be stopped for this.

Further aspects and embodiments of these aspects are disclosed below.

• - insbesondere gesteuert, mehrere Ausgangsmaterialien bereitzustellen, die jeweils einen Querschnitt aufweisen;
• - die bereitgestellten Ausgangsmaterialien zu erhitzen und zu einem Druckgut mit einem vorgegebenen Querschnitt umzuformen;
• - die Ausgangsmaterialien so umzuformen, dass der vorgegebene Querschnitt unabhängig eines oder mehrerer Querschnitte der bereitgestellten Ausgangsmaterialien ist.

A first aspect relates to a device set up to:

• - particularly controlled to provide a plurality of starting materials each having a cross-section;
• - to heat the provided starting materials and to form them into a printed material with a specified cross-section;
• - to reshape the starting materials in such a way that the specified cross-section is independent of one or more cross-sections of the starting materials provided.

A starting material can in particular be a thermoplastic material which becomes deformable when heated. Such a material can also include fiber-reinforced materials, for example CFRP rods (thin, thermoplastic CFRP profiles that are wound onto rolls) or CFRP rovings powdered with thermoplastic powder. Additionally or alternatively, a thermoplastic wrapping material may also contain other fibers, such as metal fibers.

The starting materials can be converted into a print product with a printer. A printer can include any device that is designed to provide a print product in a predetermined cross section that is independent of one or more cross sections of the provided starting material.

In one embodiment, a printer can be a pultrusion printer, in which fiber-reinforced plastic profiles or rods are produced as print material. For this purpose, one or more starting materials are selected with regard to their type and/or their quantity and heated in the pultrusion printer until they can be deformed. After that, the print product with a predetermined cross-section is produced from the starting material by a molding tool located in the pultrusion printer.

The print product can be printed in the form of a strand, in particular in an endless strand-like configuration. In particular, the print material can be 2 to 10 mm thick and/or 20 mm to 30 mm wide. Other cross-section configurations are also possible.)

With embodiments of the present disclosure, shorter process times and/or a high yield, e.g. of structured products and/or wound products, are advantageously possible.

An embodiment of the first aspect relates to a device, wherein the device comprises a pultrusion bar printer which is set up to produce the print product from the starting materials.

A pultrusion rod printer provides a rod-shaped material from a starting material, which comprises fibers, e.g. CFRP fibers. A pultrusion bar printer can advantageously provide a fiber-reinforced product as the print product, which can be a structural component, for example, or as a wound product, which is further processed by a rotary device to form a wound product.

• - Glasfaser,
• - Bambusfaser,
• - Metallfaser,
• - Kohlefaser;
• - Kunststoff.

An embodiment of the first aspect relates to a device set up to process starting materials which comprise at least one or more of the following materials:

• - Glass fiber,
• - bamboo fiber,
• - metal fiber,
• - carbon fiber;
• - Plastic.

Such materials can in particular be plastics provided with fibers. In this way, fibers for a specific section of an end product or intermediate product can advantageously be made available and processed in a targeted manner during printing. In particular, the device can include a creel that provides all the materials on appropriate spools. The desired fiber can then be fed into the printer via a controller and processed by it. For example, a creel can include 50 spools, which can include, for example: ten spools of fiberglass-based strands, ten spools of bamboo-fiber-based strands, ten spools of steel-fiber-based strands, ten spools of carbon-fiber-based strands and ten spools of plastic-fiber-based strands.

One embodiment of the first aspect relates to a device that is set up to specify the quantity of the multiple starting materials that are formed into the printed material in a controlled manner.

This can be achieved in particular by the number of strands of starting material fed into the printer. Additionally or alternatively, this may be achieved by a drawing or stretching process applied to one or more base materials before they are converted into the print material by the printer.

An embodiment of the first aspect relates to a device set up to specify the cross section of the printed material in a varying manner.

A varying cross-section can be specified in particular by a different number of strands of starting material, which are automatically processed by the device in accordance with the specifications. This can be done, for example, by feeding starting material from a creel with a plurality of bobbins into a bar printer as required. Different coils can in particular provide different materials.

Additionally or alternatively, this can be done by an actively controlled dancer device on a bar printer, so that a starting material is initially drawn more or less flat, depending on the control. Advantageously, a printed material cross-section can be adjusted in a targeted manner, in particular as a function of different sections of a wound product that are to be wound. Additionally or alternatively, the speed at which the starting materials are provided can be controlled, in particular in such a way that one or more coils provide starting material more slowly if the cross section of a print product currently to be printed is to be smaller, or in such a way that one or more coils provide starting material more quickly if a cross-section of the section of the print material currently to be printed should be larger.

The printed material can in particular be a structural component. For example, a structural building part relate to a transverse reinforcement component of a vehicle which is thinner at the ends than in the middle. Because in the middle, the transverse reinforcement component should be able to absorb a greater force. Accordingly, a quantity of material and/or a cross section can also be controlled as a function of the cavities in which the printed material is to be introduced.

In addition or as an alternative, a printed product can represent a winding product that is to assume different thicknesses, depending on the layer of a winding product to be wound that is to be produced from the winding product. For this purpose, the thickness of the winding material must follow a predetermined sequence, so that the winding material can be produced in a single winding process.

An embodiment of the first aspect relates to a device set up to specify a composition of the printed material in a varying manner.

In particular, a speed at which the starting materials are provided can be controlled, in particular so that one or more coils provide starting material more slowly if less of this starting material is required than less of this starting material is to occur in the section of the printed material currently to be printed. Correspondingly, one or more coils with one or more starting materials can provide starting material more quickly if this starting material is to occur more frequently in the current section of the printed material.

An embodiment of the first aspect relates to a device set up to provide the printed material at a predetermined temperature.

The output of the printer can include a heating element in order to be able to heat up the material to be printed in a predetermined manner. The heating element can be set up to reheat a printed material leaving the printer in the direction of a winding device. The material to be printed may have cooled down in the mold. Adhesion of the layers of winding material to one another can advantageously be improved as a result. Heating can take place in particular via a laser, via an IR emitter and/or via energizing the printed material (if this is electrically conductive). The heating can in particular take place locally, ie at a predetermined point.

An embodiment of the first aspect relates to a device, the device comprising a pultrusion rod printer which is movably mounted.

For this purpose, the printer can be arranged on an active positioner, e.g. The winding can advantageously be influenced in a targeted manner as a result.

In particular, the rotation device can be mounted in addition to the movement options of the winding material printer. In particular, the rotation device can be movably mounted by a robot or other positioning device, e.g. a lifting platform. Advantageously, more complicated shapes or more complicated winding tracks can be wound by a movable arrangement of the rotation device.

An embodiment of the first aspect relates to a device, the device being set up to produce a structural component or a winding material as a printed material.

A winding product is a printed product that is processed further in a subsequent winding machine, which does not have to be part of the device.

An embodiment of the first aspect relates to a device set up to wind up and/or braid the printed material to form a wound product.

A wound product can be a rotationally symmetrical component, e.g. a container, a pipe and/or a shaft. Depending on the configuration of the rotation device, more complicated shapes, in particular curved shapes, can also be produced. In particular, it can be a tank, e.g. a hydrogen tank. Furthermore, a winding product can also be a reinforcement profile.

A rotation device comprises at least one winding element which is set up to wind up the winding material. The winding element can be removed from the wound product after the finished product or remain a part of the wound product.

With these embodiments, shorter process times and/or a high winding yield are advantageously possible. Because by forming the starting material into a winding product, a winding product that is matched to the winding product can be wound by the rotation device. In particular, a winding material with a greater thickness than the starting material or as a standard winding material can be provided. As a result, fewer windings are required in order to produce a corresponding wall thickness of the wound product.

• - Bereitstellen mehrerer Ausgangsmaterialien;
• - Umformen der Ausgangsmaterialien in ein, insbesondere strangförmiges, Druckgut mit einer gesteuert vorgegebenen Breite und/oder einem gesteuert vorgegebenen Querschnitt, wobei der gesteuert vorgegebene Parameter unabhängig eines korrespondierenden Parameters eines oder mehrerer Ausgangsmaterialien ist.

A second aspect relates to a method comprising the following steps:

• - Providing several starting materials;
• - Forming the starting materials into a print material, in particular in the form of a strand, with a controlled, predetermined width and/or a controlled, predetermined cross-section, the controlled, predetermined parameter being independent of a corresponding parameter of one or more starting materials.

• - vorgegebenes Auswählen eines oder mehrerer Ausgangsmaterialien;
• - verarbeiten der ausgewählten Ausgangsmaterialien.

An embodiment of the second aspect relates to a method comprising the steps:

• - predetermined selection of one or more starting materials;
• - processing of the selected starting materials.

A third aspect relates to control, where the control is implemented in hardware with or without software.

• 1 eine Vorrichtung nach einer Ausführungsform der vorliegenden Offenbarung;
• 2 eine Vorrichtung nach einer Ausführungsform der vorliegenden Offenbarung.

Further advantages and features emerge from the following embodiments, which relate to the figures. The figures do not show the embodiments to scale. The dimensions of the various features may be increased or decreased accordingly, particularly for the sake of clarity of description. This shows, partially schematized:

• 1 an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
• 2 an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

In the following description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and is shown by way of illustration of specific aspects in which the present disclosure may be understood. In the following descriptions, identical reference symbols refer to identical or at least functionally or structurally similar features.

In general, disclosure of a described method also applies to a corresponding device for carrying out or producing the method, or for a corresponding system which comprises one or more devices, and vice versa. For example, if a particular method step is described, a corresponding device may include a feature to perform the method step described, even if that feature is not explicitly described or illustrated. On the other hand, if, for example, a specific device is described on the basis of functional units and/or structural features, a corresponding method can include a step that performs the described functionality or can be used to produce a corresponding structure, even if such steps are not explicitly described or illustrated are. A system can also be provided with corresponding device features or with features in order to carry out a specific method step. Features of the various aspects and embodiments described above or below can be combined with one another, unless explicitly stated otherwise.

1 10 shows an apparatus 100 for producing printed material 300 of an embodiment of the present disclosure. The device 100 is set up to produce a structural component 300 . The structural component 300 is made from a fiber-reinforced plastic. It also has a varying cross section 302 along its longitudinal direction. This varying cross section 302 is realized by controlling the starting materials 103a, 103b that are supplied and processed to form the structural component 300. Furthermore, the structural component 300 has a different fiber material at the ends than in the middle. This is implemented by an automatic, software-controlled selection of starting materials 103a, 103b during the manufacture of the structural component 300, that is to say without having to interrupt the operation of the device 300. For this purpose, the device 100 has a creel 101 . The creel 101 provides a plurality of bobbins 102a, 102b (50 in this case). The coils are each wound with a starting material as a strand-like material. Different coils sometimes have different materials. The creel 101 provides plastic, steel fibers and carbon fibers as starting material. In 1 only the feeding of strands with the starting material 103a, 103b from the first row of bobbins of the creel 101 is shown. Of course, the starting materials of the rear coils can also provide starting material. The stock material is provided from the creel to a bar printer 200 which is part of the apparatus 100 . The rod printer 200 includes a dancer 201, which receives the starting material from the chair gate 101 and possibly further processes it, e.g. B. by a targeted arrangement, in particular an interweaving, the various starting materials. A heating device 202 is arranged after the dancer 201 . The heating device 202 is set up to heat one or more of the starting materials to such an extent that they assume an adhesive state. As a result, a print product is produced from the various starting materials 103a, 103b. After this After heating, the starting materials are fed into the mold 203 of the rod printer 200 and processed there in accordance with a predetermined, varying cross-section that the printed material 300 should have. After the shaping tool 203, the print material 300 runs through an output unit 204. In this output unit, the print material is finally processed and, in particular, prepared for further processing. This can include, for example, further heating of the printed material that has cooled in the mold, so that the printed material is still in a correspondingly adhesive state when it exits the bar printer, or painting. Due to the variable structure and the supply of a total of 50 strand-like starting materials, which include different materials, it is possible to select and/or deselect individual strands of the bobbin hanger for processing. The selection or deselection can depend in particular on a quantity of the starting material to be processed. For example, a quantity of the starting material to be processed can be increased if a larger cross-section is desired for a current section of a print product. Additionally or alternatively, the amount of starting material can be reduced if a smaller cross-section of the current section of the printed material is desired. Additionally and alternatively, the composition of the material to be processed for a current section of the printed material can be specified in a targeted manner by selecting or deselecting one or more strands of starting material. As a result, as already described above, the printed material can have a carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic at its ends. The printed material 300 can have a steel-fibre-reinforced plastic in the middle. Furthermore, fibers can also be included in the creel 101 that relate to functions other than a stabilizing one. In particular, these can be processed in sections in the printed matter. Such fibers can be, for example, electrical conductor tracks or optical fibers.

A PA6 CF fiber reinforcement of 25mm ² is used as the basic design. Ie a UD rod of 5mm x 5mm corresponds to 6 x PA6 CF rods as a semi-finished product. In order to impress locally different properties on the print product, rods, in particular with different materials, can be automatically selected and deselected in the device for processing, ie included in the creation of the print product or excluded from it. This can be done via the dancer control. This can send a signal to the drive motors of the spools of the spool creel or to a feed device, which transports the rods to the printer.

2 10 shows an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The embodiment includes a material dispenser 100. The material dispenser 100 provides two starting materials on two rolls 102a and 102b. In a variant of the embodiment, the feedstock dispenser 100 may be a braiding wheel which, from feedstocks on a plurality of rolls 102a, 102b, provides a composite (interlaced) feedstock. In another variant of the embodiment, the starting material dispenser can be a creel which can accommodate a large number of bobbins, for example 26 bobbins. The rolls 102a, 102b provide two different starting materials more or less than one endless strand 103a, 103b respectively.

The strands are then brought together in a bar printer 200 and further processed. For this purpose, the bar printer 200 can have a dancer control 201, which connects the various strands, which are present in thin form, to one another, for example by twisting or otherwise braiding them if this has not already happened beforehand. The bar printer 200 also has a heating section 202 in which the strand of starting material is guided. The heating section is set up to heat the strand to a predetermined temperature. At this temperature, the starting material becomes malleable.

After the strand has been appropriately heated by the heating section, it is guided into the forming tool 203 . The forming tool is part of the bar printer 200. The forming tool is set up to impress a predetermined cross-section on the formable strand. In particular, a winding material can be produced from the starting strands, which have a small thickness, which in sections has a significantly greater thickness. In an example, the starting materials 103a, 103b can have a thickness of 2 mm and a thickness of the formed winding material 300 can have a thickness of 10 mm. In another section of the winding material, this can have the same cross section as one of the two strands of starting material. This can be done in particular by only processing one of the two strands of starting material in this section.

After the assembled strand has been given a predetermined cross section by the forming tool, the resultant winding material 300 is guided through a winding eye 204 to a rotation device 400 . In addition to a guiding function, the winding eye also includes a heat radiator to heat up the winding material locally before it is rolled up. Additionally or alternatively, the heat radiator can be wound on the last layer on the rotary device to heat it up locally before it is wrapped by the next layer just coming out of the printer.

A particularly advantageous feature of this device is the possibility of being able to feed a predetermined shaped winding material 300 with a variable cross-section compared to the starting material and in a variable composition into the rotation device. This allows a wound product to be manufactured faster, more efficiently and with more functions.

Reference List

100

Device for creating a printed matter

101

creel

102a, 102b

Spool of feedstock

103a, 103b

feedstock fed from spool

200

printer, pultrusion printer

201

dancer control

202

heating section

203

molding tool

204

wrap eye

300

Printed goods, winding goods

302

Cross-section of a printed material

301

coiled goods

400

rotation device

401

Storage of the rotation device

402

rotation element

Claims (13)

Device for producing a print product (100), set up for this purpose: - controlled in particular to provide a plurality of starting materials (103a, 103b) each having a cross-section; - To heat the provided starting materials and to form them into a printed material (300) with a predetermined cross-section (302); - to reshape the starting materials in such a way that the specified cross-section is independent of one or more cross-sections of the starting materials provided. The device according to the preceding claim, wherein the device comprises a pultrusion rod printer (200) which is set up to produce the printed product (300) from the starting materials (103a, 103b). The device according to any one of the preceding claims, set up to process starting materials (103a, 103b) which comprise at least one or more of the following materials: - Glass fiber, - bamboo fiber, - metal fiber, - carbon fiber; - Plastic. The device according to one of the preceding claims, set up to specify the quantity of the plurality of starting materials (103a, 103b) which are formed into the printed material (300) in a controlled manner. The device according to one of the preceding claims, set up to vary the cross section (302) of the printed material (300). The device according to one of the preceding claims, set up to specify a composition of the printed material (300) in a varying manner. The device according to one of the preceding claims, set up to provide the printed material (300) at a predetermined temperature. The device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the device comprises a pultrusion rod printer (200) which is movably mounted. The device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the device is set up to produce a structural component or a winding material as a printed material (300). The device according to one of the preceding claims, set up to wind and/or braid the printed material (300) to form a wound product (301). A method for producing a print product (300), comprising the following steps: - providing a plurality of starting materials (103a, 103b); - Forming of the starting materials (103a, 103b) into a, in particular strand-shaped, printed material (300) with a controlled, predetermined width and/or a controlled, predetermined cross-section, the controlled, predetermined parameter being independent of a corresponding parameter of one or more starting materials. The method according to the preceding claim, comprising the steps of: - predetermined selection of one or more starting materials; - processing of the selected starting materials. A controller for controlling a method according to any of the foregoing Claims 11 or 12 and/or a device according to any of the foregoing Claims 1 - 10 , where the controller is implemented as hardware with or without software.

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