EP0134218A1

EP0134218A1 - Arrangement comprising plastic components enclosed in a cover and method of producing the arrangement

Info

Publication number: EP0134218A1
Application number: EP84900316A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Jan Christensen
Original assignee: Rovac AB
Current assignee: Rovac AB
Priority date: 1982-12-23
Filing date: 1983-12-14
Publication date: 1985-03-20
Also published as: IT1170064B; WO1984002490A1; ES285338U; JPS60500440A; EP0131015A1; FI843318A; WO1984002491A1; FI843318A0; KR840006930A; NO842890L; ZA839492B; IT1170063B; ES285338Y; JPS60500284A; IL70501A0; IT8324380A0; OA07785A; IT8324381A0

Abstract

Un agencement (1) comprend des composants plastiques (6) qui sont contenus à l'intérieur d'une couverture en forme de feuille (5) avec un renforcement (7). Essentiellement tout l'air présent est évacué de la couverture. Pendant la fabrication les composants plastiques adoptent un état désactivé, dans lequel tout processus chimique où les composants forment un matériau plastique renforcé fini est inhibé. Grâce à des organes initiateurs, les composants plastiques peuvent également être amenés dans un état activé, dans lequel ledit processus est déclenché. Les composants plastiques et le renforcement présentent une teneur en air résiduel qui est en moyenne inférieure à 0,5 % environ en volume pour tout l'agencement. Les composants plastiques et le renforcement sont appliqués entre les parties formant la couverture dans une chambre sous vide poussé. Les composants de couverture sont scellés, de préférence sous vide, afin de former l'agencement, qui est successivement sorti de la chambre et exposé à la pression atmosphérique ambiante. L'agencement possède une teneur relativement élevée de renforcement, peut être activé de préférence à l'état plan et présente une longue durée de stockage intrinsèque à la température ambiante.An arrangement (1) comprises plastic components (6) which are contained inside a sheet-like cover (5) with a reinforcement (7). Essentially all the air present is evacuated from the cover. During manufacture the plastic components adopt a deactivated state, in which any chemical process where the components form a finished reinforced plastic material is inhibited. Thanks to initiating organs, the plastic components can also be brought into an activated state, in which said process is triggered. The plastic components and the reinforcement have a residual air content which is on average less than about 0.5% by volume for the entire arrangement. The plastic components and the reinforcement are applied between the parts forming the cover in a high vacuum chamber. The cover components are sealed, preferably under vacuum, to form the arrangement, which is successively removed from the chamber and exposed to ambient atmospheric pressure. The arrangement has a relatively high reinforcement content, can preferably be activated in the planar state and has a long intrinsic storage time at room temperature.

Description

TITLE OF THE INVENTION

Arrangement comprising plastic components enclosed in a cover and method of producing the arrangement.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an arrangement which comprises plastic components which are incorporated in a foil-shaped cover, in essentially air-evacuated conditions, together with re-inforcement which are arranged so that in the cover they adopt a de-activated state in which a chemical process which causes the components to form a finish-reinforced plastics material is inhibited, and an activated condition which is brought about by means of initiation organs, e.g. organs which emit radiation, heat and/or force, by means of which the said process is initiated.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

Previously disclosed is the process whereby to a base/point of application or a mould is supplied plastics material in the form of so-called SMC material (SMC is the abbreviated form of Sheet Moulding Compound and may, therefore, also be referred to in certain contexts as polyester mat or PREPRES) supplied as pieces in sheet form separated by plastic film in order to eliminate the risk of the pieces sticking together. From the aforementioned pieces is cut and weighed the quantity of plastics material which it is estimated will be required for the actual component or addition, said quantity then being supplied to a mould, for example, in which the component or the addition are to be formed and are to enter into a chemical association (be cured) with each other.

As a result of European Patent Application 0,017,542, the method is also known of enclosing plastics components and reinforcement in a closely-fitting cover. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

TECHNICAL PROBLEM

When using the aforementioned SMC material, for example, themanufacturing process for the object or the addition is made relatively complex by the aforementioned cutting and weighing operations. Furthermore, the transport routes for the separated material in the. mould are long, and in the case where it is proposed to manufacture a reinforced product or similar, undesired fibre orientations may easily occur, which means that the finished product will not exhibit the desired strength. In addition, the SMC method requires the use of steel moulds which are labour-intensive and expensive to produce.

The problem outlined above can be solved by means of semi-finished products containing plastics and reinforcing material packed in portions in closely-fitting covers. In this way environmental requirements can be satisfied. The content of fillers can be kept low and the orientation of the reinforcement in the plastics material is facilitated. The wastage is also minimal.

However, the problem arises of being able to achieve an effective production method which provides semi-finished products which can adopt the deactivated and activated states mentioned in the preamble and permit high-quality final products. In this connection it can be mentioned that each percentage by volume of air in a laminate reduces the strength properties by about 5%. It can also be desirable to produce products with a relatively high content of reinforcement.

SOLUTION

The object of the present invention is to propose an arrangement and a method for executing the arrangement for solving at least the major proportion of the problem outlined in the above. The feature which can be regarded as mainly characteristic of the new arrangement is that the plastics components and the reinforcement contained in the cover exhibit a residual air content which on average for the entire arrangement is 0.5 percent by volume or less. One method or producing the new arrangement can essentially be regarded as being characterised by the fact that the plastics components and reinforcement are applied between the cover portions forming the said cover in a vacuum chamber which is subjected to a marked vacuum, e.g. 10-30 kPa (0.1-0.3 bar) or less and that the cover sections are sealed, preferably under vacuum, in order to form the arrangement.

Further embodiments of the inventive concept relate, inter alia, to the construction and thickness of the foil-shaped cover. Furthermore, a portion, e.g. the upper or lower side, of the outside of the cover is arranged to be preferably of low friction.

The curing system employed in the arrangement is also specific and designed so that it can cope with a relatively long storage period and a relatively short forming period.

The reinforcement content in the arrangement is preferably made high. In a preferred embodiment the content of reinforcement, 1-10 percent by weight, e.g. about 5 percent by weight, should exceed the content of reinforcement which is obtained with corresponding conventional methods which are undertaken mainly at atmospheric pressure. A comparison can for example be made with spraying of polyester with cut glass fibres (roving) which is carried out under vacuum or at atmospheric pressure.

The unit is designed in such a way so that at least prior to activation and moulding it is essentially plane so that conditions can exist for uniform and rapid hardening, e.g. by means of IR radiation.

The external form of the unit can be determined with great accuracy in the course of the manufacture of the unit, which may be achieved by the use of a computer-controlled production process. The plastic cover may be part of or may be separated from the unit on the occasion of its activation or its transformation into a finished product.

The unit may be executed with internal walls or internal pockets and/or may be provided with an inner unit which, for the purpose of separation, encloses those ingredients which are to form part of said chemical process when the unit is activated. The unit may in certain cases be executed in such a way that it will, in its de-activated condition and for at least a pre-determined period after its activation, form what appears when viewed from the outside to be a soft and formable unit capable with great flexibility of being matched to different moulds to which it can adapt its shape or similar.

Said ingredients may, in the case of one embodiment, be enclosed inside a reinforced and preferably thin plastics laminate, which may be compressed by atmospheric pressure and possibly also by mechanical compressing organs so as to achieve a very high rate of elimination of air bubbles from the laminate.

Different units may also be allocated different ingredient compositions for the purpose of producing different characteristics in the finished plastics material in respect of its structure, for example its external structure, the level of entrapped air, its shrinkage characteristics and/or its strength, etc. In this way first units may be provided for a first application, and second units may be provided for a second application, and so on.

In one embodiment of the said method preferably continuous production of semi-finished products is arranged in a vacuum chamber. Two continuous webs of foil are utilised here. Plastics components and reinforcement in different continuous and discontinuous layers are applied to a lower foil web in such a way that a build up is obtained of the plastics material and reinforcement. The upper foil web is brought into contact with the top face of the build up and the foil webs are joined together, e.g. by means of welding, gluing, etc. in order to form one or a plurality of arrangements, where in the case of a plurality of arrangements these are appropriately joined together. The said compression or air expulsion organs can be arranged for interaction with the plastics material and reinforcement via one or via both foil webs. For direct interaction between, for example, a press roll and the plastics material the press roll concerned can be employed to remove an excess of the plastics component.

ADVANTAGES The new semi-finished product enables a very high degree of freedom from air bubbles to be achieved in the finished product, which offers special advantages amongst other things in conjunction with the manufacture of components which are subsequently to be subjected to surface treatment, e.g. painting at high temperature, when air bubbles would otherwise appear and cause local porosity in the material. Furthermore, the unit may also be moulded in moulds which are much cheaper than those used, for example, for SMC materials.

The unit is particularly useful for enclosing ingredients which produce reinforced laminated products, as well as products with an extremely high level of reinforcement, for example up to 60% by weight and more of glass reinforcement. Use may be made for this purpose, for example, of a peroxide system which is extremely stable under storage and which is activated by heat and/or infra red radiation, offering many advantages in this context. It is possible, amongst other things, particularly if the semi-finished product adopts a plane state on activation, to provide an efficient and rapid hardening process in which, amongst other things, the exotherm in the laminate is kept low. The nature of the cover should preferably be specified such that it will not reflect any radiation, which means that very thin laminates can be produced which, in spite of this, exhibit extremely good resistance to stretching and bending compared with what could be achieved by earlier methods. The unit may, if so desired, be moulded so as to exhibit extremely high flexibility over the desired contour. Working with the mould is further simplified since the cover can be used as protection inside the mould so that no adhesion will occur between the laminate and the mould. There is thus no longer any need to clean, polish and wax the mould, which may be re-used directly to produce a new component once the finished component has left the mould. Thanks to the short hardening period and the minimum amount of work involved in laying-up and processing the mould, a significant reduction can be achieved in the duration of the production cycle compared with present methods.

The problem of shrinkage can also be controlled, thereby permitting the manufacture of products and coatings with small tolerances. This also means that components which previously had to be produced from sheet and metal, for example within the automobile and marine industries, can now be produced either entirely or in part from plas tics. This also means that much of the rust problem encountered, for instance, within the automobile industry can now be resolved, and that the noise level associated with the production of such compounds can be reduced. The unit permits a very wide freedom of choice as regards the choice of moulding method for forming the finished pruduct.

With the low friction on the outside of the cover, during moulding the foil can be more easily adapted to the desired mould contour, which can be rendered more intricate as a result of the low friction. The manufacturing method described permits efficient production of semi-finished products with a number of different alternative reinforcements.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred embodiments of an arrangement and a method in accordance with the invention are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 in perspective view seen from above and from the right illustrates an arrangement in the form of a semi-finished product and an identical arrangement which is joined to this and illustrated in part only.

Figure 2 illustrates in side view an arrangement in accordance with Figure 1 and organs for joining the lower and upper foils.

Figure 3 shows in vertical section the structure of and part of the manufacturing process of an arrangement in accordance with Figure 1-2, and

Figure 4 shows in diagrammatic form a production line for an arrangement as shown in Figures 1 and 2.

WORKING EMBODIMENT

Figure 1 shows two units 1 and 2 applied to a base U, said units being joined together by means of a connecting piece 3 and 4 along one edge of each unit. The units may also be separate or connected to other units. Each unit is represented as a polygon, in particular as a square or rectangular unit having a length L, a width 8 and a thickness H. The unit may, however, be tailor-made (pre-moulded) for any application and may accordingly exhibit other shapes depending on the intended application.

Each unit comprises a thin (e.g. 0.02 - 0.2 mm) cover of plastics material, referred to here as a cover (5) in the form of plastic sheeting, and ingredients 6 contained inside the plastic cover and so arranged that, with the unit in its storage or transport position, they do not take part in a mutual chemical reaction for the purpose of producing a finished plastics material, and that, with the unit in an activation and utilization position initiated by means of an activation process, they take part in said chemical reaction.

When viewed from the outside, each, unit may in certain cases be executed in a soft and mouldable form and in other cases in a more or less rigid form which will depend, amongst other things, on the viscosity of the enclosed ingredients and on any reinforcement. The plastic cover 5 encloses the ingredients 6 in an essentially air-evacuated condition. The type of the plastic cover may vary depending on whether the cover is to be included as part of the finished plastics material or is to be used as a means of protection in, amongst other things, moulds which will possibly be used for the final moulding of and/or for combination with some other part of the unit. The cover which, as a general rule, will be wished to be flexible, may be selected from amongst the following groups of materials, for example: the polyolefins, the polyamides, the polyesters or the flouriπated vinyl polymers. The plastic cover is joined together (welded) around its outside edges, of which 3, 3a and 3b are shown here. The plastic sheet must be capable of being stuck or welded and must as a rule be capable or being stretched and must exhibit low permeability by liquid ingredients. The plastic cover may in a typical embodiment be executed with barrier walls and pockets for the purpose of forming various spaces inside the unit. This will enable different ingredients to be kept separate inside the various spaces. In the event of the aforementioned activation, for example in the form of activation by compression, these walls will rupture and the ingredients will be caused to mix, thereby initiating the chemical reaction. A barrier wall of this kind is indicated by means of a broken line as the reference designation 7 . The plastic cover itself may also be double, whereby the first (outer) plastic cover is given a first characteristic and the second (inner) plastic cover is given a second characteristic.

Each unit is a geometrical fit with, or can be made to fit the shape of the object or the addition to said object which the unit is to form. The edge 3a may be welded or stuck together in a previously disclosed manner using previously disclosed welding or sticking organs S. The quantity of material which the unit represents or includes is in itself sufficient to form the object or the addition. It will be necessary to waste only a small amount of material. The distribution of the ingredients inside the unit is provided (controlled) preferably at an Optimum level in the course of manufacture, which is also true of the composition of the ingredients. It is possible in this way, for example, to place reinforcements in their precise positions inside the unit, which is thus able to exhibit first parts with a first ingredient composition and second parts with a second ingredient composition. This is true in the horizontal and in the vertical plane.

Figure 3 illustrates a more detailed example of the construction and manufacture of the unit. The unit should preferably be produced inside a chamber at a pressure below atmospheric pressure, for example about 10-30 kpa or below. A lower track for the plastic sheet is indicated by the reference designation 8 and an upper track for the plastic sheet by the reference designation 9 . On the lower track are applied in a pre-determined sequence and quantity various plastic laminate components 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 . The layers 10 and 14 may thus constitute the outer layer closest to the lower and the upper track respectively. The layers 11 and 13 consist of a mixture of polyester and glass, said mixture possibly consisting of, for example,30% by weight polyester and 70% by weight glass fibre reinforcement. The layer 12 is in the form of a continuous sheet of a continuous or possibly braided glass fibre bundle (roving).

Use is made in this case of compression organs arranged inside the chamber in the form of mechanical compression rollers comprising first compression rollers 15, 15a and second compression rollers 16, 16a.

The tracks for the plastic sheet with the component parts laid upon them are assumed to move in the direction of the arrow 17 and the output from the compression organs 16, 16a takes place in the direction of the arrow 18. The upper track for the plastic sheet is fed in the direction of the arrow 19.

Prior to passing through the rollers 15, 15a , air bubbles 20 are assumed to be present in this case at a pressure of about 5 kpa. Tie air bubbles are expelled gradually by the mechanical compression applied by the rollers 15, 15a and 16, 16a to the laminate, and the resulting total compression force F applied by the rollers is assumed to be of an order of magnitude to provide compression of about 100 kpa. The unit 1' compressed in this way is assumed to be fed directly from the chamber into the conditions of atmospheric pressure indicated by F' , thereby producing a compression force of about 100 kpa on the outside of the unit. The sheet is assumed to be welded, for example by hot welding, along its lateral edges; see the welds 3, 3a in Figure 1. The welding can take place preferably continuously as the manufacturing process progresses.

The atmospheric pressure causes the unit to retain the form given to it by the compressing organs inside the low-pressure chamber, and is thus prevented from increasing in thickness as a result of the stiffness of the glass fibre in the layers 11 and 13 and the layer 12 inside the unit.

The laminate inside the unit 1' is assumed in this case to have a curing system which remains highly stable during storage and which is activated by thermal radiation or infra red radiation, which may thus be utilized for the activation of the unit.

After having been fed cut of the chamber, the unit 1' in its continuous form is conveyed to a cutting station (not shown) in which the length. L , the width B and the thickness H are determined (see Figure 1). The quantity and the characteristics of the laminate may also be determined with great accuracy during manufacture.

Figure 4 illustrates a typical example of the construction of the equipment for producing the unit, for example in accordance with the Figure. The sheet feed equipment and the material application equipment is arranged at different stations. From the station 21 the sheet web 8' is fed from a drum 21a which rotates in the direction of the arrow 21b (anti-clockwise). The sheet shall, if necessary, be flexible and shall have a width which is dependent on the desired width B of the product. In the case illustrated the sheet shall be resistant to polyester products and epoxy products. The rate of feed is dependent on the production capacity.

At station 22 is applied by means of application organs, for example in the form of spray organs 22a a surface coating, for example in the form of a modified gel-coat 22b exhibiting such high viscosity as to prevent the glass fibre from penetrating downwards into the surface coating 22b . It is possible in this way to prevent fibre marks appearing on the product. In order further to counteract the latter, it is also possible to build up said surface coating with a layer of mat, for example 150 g/m² or finer, applied to the surface. The glass fibre will then float on the top of this layer. A two-component epoxy or polyurethane may be used in place of the gel-coat.

Should it prove necessary to use a gel-coat with such high viscosity that problems may arise in connection with its application by means of conventional spraying equipment, then a roller rotating with the sheet may be used in place of the spraying equipment, thereby eliminating the viscosity factor and the problem of the spray pattern. The aforementioned surface coating may also be omitted from many products, since it is often preferable to apply the paint at a late stage in the manufacturing process.

For the purpose of building up the laminate, use may be made of any desired number of previously disclosed laminating machines arranged in sequence. At the station 23 is illustrated such a laminating machine 23a with its associated cutter organ 23b. Production capacity will be dependent on the number of laminating machines, the intention being that capacity can be increased by the use of an increased number of laminating machines. If the unit is to be given a uniform shape and size to suit products of a particular design, then the pistol/cutter inside the chamber 23 may be replaced by a roller for the glass fibre mat. Additional moistening with polyester at a subsequent station 25 will then be necessary. The percentage of glass fibre added at the station 23 may be selected within a wide range, for example within the range 20-80% by weight (stretched roving).

At the station 24 is provided a continuous supply of the reinforcement bundle or the roving reinforcement 12' , the presence of said layer being extremely important in order to increase the resistance of the laminate to stretching and bending. The actual positioning of the reinfocement in the laminate is of great significance in this respect. The application of continuous roving may take place using an ordinary cutter 24a without knives. The cutter unit may describe an oscillating movement over a distance of about 15 cm. By running at the same speed in m/sec as the speed of the sheet base, it is possible to produce a roving layer having identical characteristics to those of the continuous reinforcement fibres.

At the station 25 is applied any necessary foam plastic 25a via spraying organs 25b . This station may, if necessary, be omitted.

At the station 25' is provided a spray pistol 25a' for the spray-application of. polyester 25b' in order to provide moistening of the roving layer. The station 26 has a similar function and is of similar construction to the station 23 . The station 27 has an identical function and is of identical design to the station 22 , and the station 28 is of similar design to the station 21 , whereby the upper sheet web 9' is fed from the latter station 28 . At the station 29 any superfluous sheet is cut away at the same time as the units themselves are cut to size and sealed by welding by means of symbolically represented organs 29a . At the compression station 30 compression takes place with the help of transverse rollers 30a which are forced against the units at a uniform loading. The speed of the rollers is synchronized with the rate of advance of the sheet. The number of rollers in use will depend on the percentage of glass fibre reinforcement and the viscosity of the polyester/epoxy material. When they emerge into the atmosphere the units are sealed and are ready for packing and despatch into store or to the customer.

Hardening and moulding of semi-finished products produced in this way can take place in a known manner, inter alia see the said European Patent Specification. Thus for example hardening can occur by means of infra-red radiation which can penetrate the laminate without being reflected at the foil surface. Complete hardening can then be achieved with extremely thin laminates, e.g. laminates which provide finished products with a material thickness of 1-5 mm, which is advantageous inter alia in the automobile industry. The arrangement is activated preferably in the plane condition. It is also possible to employ organs which emit heat and/or force.

During manufacture in accordance with Figure 4, the laminate combinations can be programmed in a computer system 46 for production puiposes. The links to the respective station are denoted by 47 and 48. In Figure 3, which illustrates the equipment inside the vacuum chamber U, air compression organs 15', 15" can be empbyed in a position which is located in front of the point where the foil 9 is brought into contact with the top side of the laminate 11, 12, 13. The organ 15' interacts directly with the laminate layer 13 and the organ 15" with the lower side of the foil 8. In this way the organs 15', 15" can be employed to remove any excess of plastics material. With the mechanical rolls illustrated it is possible for an increased content of reinforcement to be provided in the manufactured semifinished product. Furthermore, the air content is further reduced. The vacuum chamber can be of a known type provided with air evacuation equipment and an output lock for discharge of the final semi-finished product. The sealing of the foil occurs preferably under vacuum, e.g. the same vacuum (0.1 -0.3 bar) under which application of the material takes place. If output locks are employed, sealing can alternatively take place under reduced vacuum, e.g. about 0.5 bar. It is also feasible to undertake sealing at atmospheric pressure.

Hence sealing can take place in or outside the chamber, or alternatively in the lock appertaining thereto.

The arrangement produced in accordance with the above has an extremely low residual air content. Values of about 0.2-0.3 percent by volume can on average be obtained for the entire arrangement.

Contents of reinforcements which exceed by 1-15 percent by weight, e.g. about 5 percent by weight, the reinforcement content obtained with conventional methods can be achieved. The process described above for production of semi-finished products thus results in a content of reinforcement higher than that obtained with corresponding processes at atmospheric pressure.

The frictional properties of the entire exterior or part of the exterior of the cover can be reduced by means of lubricants or by the choice of foil having a low coefficent of friction. In accordance with the invention it is also suggested that a curing system be employed in the plastics material for curing this, which on the one hand will permit a storage time for the semi-finished product of at least one month, and secondly a moulding period of not more than 30 minutes. In the following details are given of such a curing system. wt %

Unsaturated polyester in styrene 24

Low profile additive, thermoplastics 10

Catalyst, t-Butylperbenzoate 0,3

Filler, calcium carbonate 33,7 Glass fibers 32

With conventional industrial spraying under atmospheric pressure of for example polyester and but glass fibre, it is possible to achieve about 35 percent by weight glass fibre reinforcement, whilst at the same time the air content of the laminate is between 5-10 percent by volume. By means of the invention, in a corresponding case it is easily possible to achieve higher contents of reinforcement and a considerably lower air content, see above. Even when making a comparison with SMC materials having for example 30 percent by weight glass fibre the invention permits considerably higher contents of reinforcement.

The unit is produced in substantially air evacuated condition. Then, the atmospheric pressure will contribute on the produced unit to an increased friction i.a. between the fibres in the unit. In such a way, the viscosity inside the unite will (apart from the reinforcement fibres) be kept to values below 10 Ns/m², preferably below 9 Ns/m².

The invention is not restricted to the embodiments described above by way of example but can also be subjected to modifications within the framework of the following patent claims and inventive concept.

Claims

PATENT CLAIMS

1. Arrangement (1) which comprises plastics components (6) included in a foil-shaped cover (5), in essentially air-evacuated condition, together with reinforcement, which are arranged so that in the cover they adopt a deactivated condition in which a chemical process whereby the components form finish-reinforced plastics material is inhibited, and an activated state brought about by means of initiation organs, e.g. organs which emit radiation, heat and/or force, by which the said process is initiated, characterised in that the plastics components and reinforcement enclosed in the cover exhibit a residual air content which on average is about 0.5 percent by volume or less for the entire arrangement.

2. Arrangement in accordance with patent claim 1, characterised in that the foil-shaped cover (5) appertains to some of the material groups, polyolefines, polyamides, polyester and/or fluorinated vinyl polymers, and exhibits a thickness of 0.02-0.2 mm, where at least a portion of the outside of the cover is preferably of low friction.

3. Arrangement in accordance with patent claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the said plastics components (6) include a hardening system which permits a storage time for the arrangement of at least about one month and a moulding time of not more than 30 minutes.

4. Arrangement in accordance with patent claim 1, 2 or 3 characterised in that it exhibits a relatively high content of reinforcement, preferably a reinforcement content which exceeds by 1-15 percent by weight, e.g. about 5 percent by weight, the reinforcement content obtained with conventional methods, e.g. spray method under atmospheric pressure with polyester and cut glass fibre (roving).

5. Arrangement as in patent claim 1 or 2 characterised in that at least in conjunction with and prior to moulding it is given or can be given a plane shape, that this exhibits a negligible thickness, e.g. a thickness which facilitates a finished product of 1-5 mm material thickness after moulding.

6. Method of producing the arrangement (1) specified in claim 1, which includes plastics components incorporated together with reinforcement in a foil-shaped cover (5), in essentially air-evacuated condition, which are arranged so that in the cover they adopt a deactivated condition in which a chemical process where the components form finish-reinforced plastics material is inhibited, and an activated state brought about by means of initiation organs, e.g. organs which emit radiation, heat and/or force, in which the said process is initiated, characterised in that the plastics components (6) and the reinforcement are applied between cover portions (8,9) which form the said cover in a vacuum chamber (U) which is subjected to marked vacuum, e.g. 10-30 kPa (0.1-0.3 bar) or less, and that the cover portions are sealed, preferably under vacuum, to form the arrangement.

7. Procedure in accordance with patent claim 6, characterised in that the plastics components and the reinforcement are made in the vacuum chamber to traverse mechanical air expulsion organs (15, 15a and 16, 16a), e.g. mechanical press rolls before, during and/or after insertion between the cover portions.

8. Method in accordance with patent claim 1 or 2, characterised in that plastics components and reinforcement are applied to a lower foil web (8) in different continuous or intermittent layers in order to form a laminate structure, that an upper foil web is made to proceed over the said laminate structure and in contact with the top face of the laminate structure, and the said foil webs are joined together, possibly after cutting, in order to form one or a plurality of suitable connected arrangements.

9. Method in accordance with patent claim 1, 2 or 3, characterised in that stations (21-30) which are located one after the other in the chamber for feeding out the foil, application of the plastics components and reinforcement, and pressing out the air bubbles, are controlled jointly by means of common control organs (46).

10. Method in accordance with patent claim 7, characterised in that the excess of plastics components is removed by means of the said air expulsion organs (15,15").