EP2928676A1

EP2928676A1 - Method for producing a two-layer or multiple-layer web-shaped semi-finished material having at least one unidirectionally fibre-reinforced layer, and system for carrying out the method

Info

Publication number: EP2928676A1
Application number: EP13814430.8A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Peter Michel; Rick Göschel
Original assignee: Rehau AG and Co
Current assignee: Rehau Automotive SE and Co KG
Priority date: 2012-12-04
Filing date: 2013-12-04
Publication date: 2015-10-14
Also published as: DE102012111761A1; WO2014086482A1

Abstract

Method for producing a two-layer or multiple-layer web-shaped semi-finished material (54) having at least one unidirectionally fibre-reinforced layer (28), comprising steps (A) to (I). Furthermore, the application discloses a system (10) for carrying out the method.

Description

A method for producing a two-day or multi-layer sheet-like semifinished product having at least one unidirectionally fiber-reinforced layer and

System for carrying out the method

Background of the invention

The present invention relates to a method for producing a two-ply or multi-ply sheet-like semifinished product having at least one unidirectionally fiber-reinforced ply and to a system for carrying out the method.

Web-shaped semifinished products having two unidirectionally fiber-reinforced layers, in which the direction of extension of the fibers of one layer differs from the direction of extension of the fibers of the other layer, are produced in known methods using expensive devices in order to be able to realize in particular the different directions of extension. From EP 1 719 609 A2, a method is known with which such a sheet-like semi-finished material can be produced, wherein in particular this known method is only suitable for the production of a two-ply sheet-like semi-finished material.

Underlying task

It is an object of the invention to provide a comparison with the known solutions technically much less expensive process for producing a sheet-like semi-finished material with which the production of a semi-finished material with more than two unidirectional fiber reinforced layers is possible, the fiber extension directions may differ from each other, and specify a system for carrying out the method. This object is achieved by a method having the features of claim 1 and solved by a system having the features of claim 16.

- 1 -

CONFIRMATION COPY The method according to the invention for producing a two-ply or multi-ply sheet-like semifinished product or sheet-like semifinished product with at least one unidirectionally fiber-reinforced ply comprises the steps A to I for producing a two-ply or multi-ply sheet-like semifinished product, wherein advantageously also by means of the method according to the invention it is possible to produce a semifinished product having more than two unidirectionally fiber-reinforced layers whose directions of fiber extension can differ from one another, by continuing the method with step G in step F. In contrast to known solutions, in particular in contrast to FIG EP 1 719 609 A2 known solution, the method of the invention thus enables the production of a semi-finished material with any number of layers, each layer unidirectional - ie in at least one direction, or substantially only in a single R is fiber-reinforced, and wherein at least two layers have mutually different fiber directions of extension.

To form each of the layers, the pieces of material provided in step C are laid flat in the longitudinal direction of the carrier web in the direction provided in step D and / or G successively and adjacent to one another on the carrier web or the last formed layer. The laying of the pieces of material can in this case be carried out in a simple manner with a comparatively very little technical effort, without having to provide elaborate conveyor belts or the like, as in known solutions, in particular in the known from EP 1 719 609 A2 solution Case is. The hang up can be automated or manual. A producible by the process according to the invention multi-layer fiber-reinforced

Semifinished or semi-finished material is particularly advantageous as semi-finished material for the production of fiber-reinforced molded parts for motor vehicles, in particular e.g. for the production of fiber-reinforced battery housings for traction batteries, for the production of spare wheel wells, trunk wells, wheel carriers, cross members or longitudinal supports or in general in particular for the production of motor vehicle structural parts.

The method according to the invention makes it possible, by placing in accordance with step D and / or step G in conjunction with the group-specific separation angles provided in step C, to be able to advantageously provide any angles during alignment and thus advantageously also any desired number of different fiber extensions. form directions in the semifinished material. In particular, by the simply possible change in the separation angle, the fiber extension directions of the layers of the sheet-like semifinished product or of the sheet-like semifinished product can be changed without costly modifications of a corresponding system. In this way, advantageously, a semifinished product material adapted to the respective application can be produced, from which the material for a fiber-reinforced molded part can be separated, which advantageously can have a distribution of fiber directions or fiber extension directions adapted to a predetermined loading situation. In a fiber extension direction, the molded part can absorb the greatest forces or in the fiber extension direction, the component has a particular high strength, without having to provide a disadvantageous effect on the weight thickening of the material or a different type of reinforcement.

In particular, therefore, can be produced by the inventive method

Semi-finished material (or semi-finished) are used as semi-finished material (or semi-finished) for the production of fiber-reinforced moldings for motor vehicles.

By naming the steps with the letters A to I, no binding or exclusive binding to a chronological order is pursued. The letters are merely for naming or marking the steps. Thus, the steps A, B and C can be performed in any order or at the same time or substantially simultaneously. The steps D to I are preferably carried out successively, ie step E to D and step F to E, etc., and further preferably to step A and B. The step C can also be carried out during each step of the steps E to I with regard to the pieces of material which are to be used for next and subsequent lay-up operations in step D and / or G, respectively. The provision of steps A, B and / or C can in particular also take place during the execution of the method in parallel with one of the steps G to I. Preferably, each piece of material is received by at least one receiving device (or at least one gripper) of at least one transport device and then transported by the transport device to the carrier web and / or the last formed layer and placed by the receiving device on the carrier web and / or the last formed layer , The receiving device may preferably comprise a suction device for receiving or holding the piece of material by suction, with which a in a simple and practical way vornehmbares picking and storing the or the pieces of material is possible.

The transport device can be embodied particularly preferably in the form of an industrial robot which has a manipulator or robotic arm with at least one receiving device in the form of an effector or gripper. In particular, the transport device may comprise a tetrapod robot or a robot with five axes or a linear guide. The receiving device can be particularly preferably designed in the form of a system which is adapted to align the pieces of material at any angle to the longitudinal extent of the carrier web. Alternatively, a receiving device specifically designed for each desired alignment angle can be provided, the dimensioning of which can be adapted in particular to the dimensioning of the respective material piece. In a preferred embodiment of the method according to the invention is fixed after fixing the material pieces of the last or last intended fiber reinforced layer according to step (E) or (H) the arrangement of carrier web and applied pieces of material, wherein at or before consolidating the thermoplastic material of Carrier web and the thermoplastic material of each or at least a number of parts of the material pieces of the arrangement is transferred by heating up to or above the melting temperature at least partially in a plastically deformable state.

Alternatively, fixing the position of each piece of material is sufficient to be able to roll up the two-layer or multi-layered sheet-like semi-finished material (ie to produce a roll product) or to produce and palletise plate goods by means of an integrated trimming and palleting unit, and only in a later step to consolidate or immediately transform into a component and only then consolidate. The two-ply or multi-ply web-like semi-finished material need not be directly consolidated, but can be wound up and fed in a separate step of consolidation and consolidated. Various two-ply or multi-ply

Semi-finished materials can either be rewound according to the layer structure to be set and later consolidated or consolidated together and cut to a consolidated sheet and palletized. Alternatively, the two-ply or multi-ply semifinished product can not be immediately consolidated, but can be cut to size in sheet-fixed condition and palletized. This plate product is then subjected to consolidation in a separate step. In this case, the individual plate-shaped and position-fixed semifinished products, ie the plate goods, can be stacked to form a desired layer structure and then consolidated. Preferably, this plate product can be twisted to each other before or during the layer construction. Due to the fact that, for example, 0 ° layers are required above and below for a symmetrical structure, it is advantageous to be able to turn the plate product in order to be able to realize symmetrical layer structures. The end product is in any case a fully consolidated plate product.

Consolidation according to the invention is a compacting or compacting of the arrangement by juxtaposing the carrier web and the pieces of material to understand, the arrangement comprises the carrier web and all pieces of material, ie the material pieces of all layers formed.

By heating the thermoplastic material of the carrier web and the thermoplastic material of each or at least a portion of the pieces of material of the arrangement up to or above the melting temperature for at least partially transferring into a plastically deformable state, in the consolidation advantageous cohesive connections between the pieces of material or form between the pieces of material and the carrier web. By consolidating the pieces of material at least partially planar, preferably over the entire surface, are connected to each other and / or with the carrier web. Furthermore, during consolidation by compacting, not only between the pieces of material or air located between the pieces of material and the carrier web but also, in particular, air taken up in the pieces of material or the carrier web, can advantageously escape from the pieces of material or the carrier web.

By the direct consolidation in connection with the heating according to the above preferred embodiment of the method according to the invention can

Semi-finished material or a semi-finished product with a high strength or compactness geschaf- fen, which is particularly suitable for the production of moldings, which are exposed to particularly high loads in the application.

Preferably, to consolidate the assembly, a pressing device is used which has two closed pressing surfaces which are rotatable in opposite directions and facing each other, wherein the assembly is pulled by rotating the pressing surfaces between the pressing surfaces and thereby pressed. In particular, the pressing device may comprise a double belt press or be a double belt press or be formed in the form of a double belt press.

In order to create a particular stable or fixed position fixation, preferably in step E, each piece of material for positional fixing is adhesively bonded to the carrier web by at least partial heating of the thermoplastic material of the carrier web up to or above the melting temperature and / or by at least partial heating of the thermoplastic Plastic material of each of the pieces of material up to or above the melting temperature. Cohesive connections are formed as a result of the heating by the fact that the connection partners have contact with each other by the surface placement in step D or brought into contact with each other. In order to create a special stable or fixed position fixation, preferably in step H, each piece of material for fixing firmly bonded to at least the last formed fiber reinforced layer by at least partially heating the thermoplastic material at least the last formed fiber reinforced layer up to or above the melting temperature and / or by at least partially heating the thermoplastic material of each of the pieces of material up to or above the melting temperature. Cohesive connections are formed as a result of the heating by the fact that the connection partners have contact with each other by the surface placement in step G or brought into contact with each other. Particularly preferably, the connection partners are bonded together by laser welding, ultrasonic welding, high-temperature welding, hot gas welding or friction welding. For this purpose, the at least one receiving device above can preferably have at least one welding device for materially connecting the connection partners, which is set up, the connection partners by laser welding, ultrasonic welding, high-temperature welding, hot gas welding or Friction welding when laying on or after laying cohesively to connect together. In particular by high-temperature welding, a very rapid welding is advantageously possible. Since the welding or cohesive bonding in each case takes place with the last-formed fiber-reinforced layer, lower layers or multilayer substructures have no influence on the welding times, such that they can not adversely affect the welding times. In a particularly preferred embodiment of the method according to the invention, the carrier web is unidirectional fiber-reinforced. In a semi-finished material produced by means of this particularly preferred embodiment, all layers - the carrier web is then one of the layers - fiber-reinforced, which may be of great advantage depending on the application, eg for molded parts where fiber reinforcement in the outermost layers is required or desired ,

In a practical embodiment of the method according to the invention is at the location of the flat laying the pieces of material on the carrier web in step (D) and / or when laying flat the pieces of material on the last formed layer in step (G), the carrier web to a fixing at least partially sucked. By sucking on the fixing surface, a stable positioning of the carrier web can be provided, which is advantageous for a precise or error-free placement of the material pieces in accordance with the manner provided in step D and / or G. In a further practical embodiment of the method according to the invention, the carrier web is moved in the longitudinal direction for the continuous production of the sheet-like semi-finished material. By moving the carrier web, possible continuous production, the method according to the invention can advantageously be converted into a partially or completely automated manufacturing process, e.g. integrated into a production line. Alternatively, the carrier web can also be moved cyclically.

The carrier web may be formed from a plurality of individual carrier webs, which are unwound side by side. Preferably, the carrier web can be wound on a winding unit, and the carrier web is moved by unwinding from the winding unit in its longitudinal direction. In this case, the carrier web can be unwound from a single reel or alternatively from a plurality of small reels which are arranged next to one another in such a way that, taken together, they form the carrier web and are moved by unwinding from the reel unit in its longitudinal direction.

Particularly preferably, in step D and / or in step G, the pieces of material for laying the pieces of material are moved following the movement of the carrier sheet in such a way that the pieces of material are in a resting state relative to the carrier sheet. This has the advantage that positioning errors or positioning inaccuracies when laying the pieces of material due to existing relative movements between pieces of material and carrier web can be effectively avoided. In particular in order to be able to bring about the advantageous stationary state of the material pieces relative to the carrier web, markings spaced apart from one another on the carrier web are preferably provided for detecting the speed of the carrier web, which markings are arranged consecutively in the longitudinal direction of the carrier web. For example, by a mitbewegendes with the pieces of material or stationary camera system, the markers can be optically detected in order to determine the above dormant state, in which the marks stand still relative to the piece of material or not move. Alternatively, the pieces of material may provide corresponding markings, so that a detection of the speed of the carrier web over this is possible. The marking can be advantageously produced when separating from the web-shaped material. In a preferred embodiment of the method according to the invention, after step C, the material pieces of a group are arranged in a material piece receptacle provided for the group, and in step D and / or step G the pieces of material are removed from the material piece receptacle separated and placed on the Carrier web and / or the last formed layer moves. By providing provided for each group material piece recordings the pieces of material before placing in accordance with step D and / or step G from external influences - such. As dirt - are protected. For separated removal, a specially provided conveyor belt can be used, which works, for example, in the manner of a single-sheet feeder of a copier. By separating an adhesion of pieces of material and thus also the simultaneous recording of multiple pieces of material are advantageously avoided. The inventive system for carrying out a method according to the invention comprises at least one transport device and at least one delivery unit with at least one separating device for separating the material pieces from the web-shaped material, wherein the transport device is adapted to receive the provided material pieces and to form the at least one fiber-reinforced layer the carrier web and / or the last formed layer to transport and according to step (D) on the carrier web or according to step (G) hang on the last formed fiber reinforced layer. With the system according to the invention, the implementation of a method according to the invention is possible, along with the advantages set out above.

The transport device preferably has at least one receiving device, with which each piece of material or the material pieces can be received and placed on the carrier web and / or the last formed layer is / are, wherein the receiving device preferably a suction device for receiving or holding the piece of material Suction can include, with which a vornehmbares in a simple and practical way receiving and storing the material pieces or is possible.

The transport device can be embodied particularly preferably in the form of an industrial robot which has a manipulator or robotic arm with at least one receiving device, which may be e.g. may be formed in the form of an effector or gripper.

The severing device for separating the pieces of material from the web-shaped material may comprise a cutting device or a laser cutting device or an ultrasound cutting device or the separating may be e.g. be made by these devices. The separation of the pieces of material may e.g. also by an abrasive separation process, e.g. Water jet cutting done.

In a practical embodiment of the system, the system comprises a sensor system for detecting the position of each piece of material on the carrier web and / or on the last-formed fiber-reinforced ply, wherein the transport infeed preferably comprises a control device which is adapted to position data dependent on the position of the piece of material , which were detected by the sensor system, and in the case of an existing deviation of the acquired position data from predetermined position data. to control the transport means for correcting the position of the piece of material on the carrier web or the last formed fiber-reinforced layer.

The predetermined position data are position data which depend on a desired or predetermined position of the respective piece of material on the carrier web and / or the last-formed fiber-reinforced layer. The sensor system, in cooperation with the control device, advantageously enables position monitoring and position correction of the material pieces, accompanied by the provision of a faultless or virtually defect-free production process, which can comprise, in particular, an angle-accurate and gap-free or nearly gap-free placement of the material pieces in step D and / or G.

The thermoplastic plastic material of the carrier web and / or the sheet-like material may polyamide (PA), in particular polyamide 6 and polyamide 6.6, polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), POM (polyoxymethylene), polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), polyethersulfone (PES), polyetheretherketone (PEEK), polyetherimide (PEI), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), comparable engineering or high temperature plastic materials, or combinations of the aforementioned plastic materials. The fibers or reinforcing fibers of the sheet-like material (see step B of the method according to the invention) are at least partially or completely surrounded by the thermoplastic material or at least partially or entirely embedded in the thermoplastic material or in the thermoplastic matrix. The same applies accordingly to the fibers or reinforcing fibers of the pieces of material provided in step C by the successive separation.

The fibers are preferably mineral fibers, in particular glass fibers, and / or

Carbon fibers, and / or aramid fibers and / or polymeric fibers, and / or synthetic fibers and / or fibers of renewable resources. Particularly preferably, the fibers are endless fibers or formed as continuous fibers. Endless fibers are fibers which essentially completely pass through the respective piece of material or the sheet-like material in one direction. Brief description of the drawings

Embodiments of the invention will be explained in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Show it:

Fig. 1 to 5 are very schematic representations to illustrate a plurality

Exemplary embodiments of the method according to the invention and of the systems used for carrying them out,

6A to 6D very schematic representations to illustrate the position fixing by means of welding devices,

Fig. 7 to 9 are very schematic representations to illustrate other

Embodiments of the method according to the invention.

The very schematic representation shown in FIG. 1 serves to illustrate an exemplary embodiment of a method according to the invention for producing a two-ply web-shaped semifinished product having a unidirectionally fiber-reinforced layer. To carry out this method, a system 10 according to the invention is used, which comprises a transport device 12 shown very schematically and a delivery unit 14 shown very schematically.

The provision unit 14 has a separating device 16 - which may be formed in particular in the form of a cutting machine 16 - for separating the pieces of material 18 from a provided according to step B web-like material 20. The delivery unit 14 comprises a conveyor belt 24 extending transversely to a carrier web 22, via which the web-shaped material 20 or the web-shaped semifinished product 20 - which is unidirectionally fiber-reinforced in at least one direction (compare Fiber 26, wherein for the sake of simplicity of illustration only a fiber 26 is shown) can be fed to the severing device 16 and over which severed pieces of material 18 can be moved toward the carrier web 22.

The transport device 12 is adapted to pick up provided pieces of material 18 and to transport them to form at least one fiber-reinforced layer 28 to the carrier web 22 and / or the last formed layer (if the formation of several layers is desired) and according to step (D) on the carrier web 22 or according to step (G) on the last-formed fiber-reinforced layer (if the formation of multiple layers is desired) hang up. The transport device 12 is designed in the form of an industrial robot with a receiving device 30. With or by the receiving device 30, the ma- material pieces 18 are receivable and placed on the carrier web 22 and / or the last formed layer, wherein the receiving device 30 a suction device (not illustrated here) for receiving or holding the respective piece of material 18 by suction includes, with which a simple and practical vornehmbares receiving and storing the material pieces 18 according to the manner provided in step D and / or provided in step G is possible.

The embodiment of a method according to the invention for producing the two-ply web-shaped, which is illustrated very schematically by FIG

Semi-finished material having a unidirectionally fiber-reinforced layer comprises the steps: (A) providing the carrier web 22 from a flat carrier material which consists at least partially of a thermoplastic plastic material, wherein the carrier web 22 may be formed in particular in the form of a thermoplastic film 22,

(B) providing a web-shaped material 20, wherein the material 20 is formed flat and unidirectional fiber-reinforced, and wherein the material 20, the fibers 26 (for ease of illustration only one fiber 26 shown) at least partially surrounding thermoplastic material 27 comprises .

(C) providing a group of sheet-formed and unidirectionally fiber-reinforced pieces of material 18, the pieces of material 18 of the group being provided by successively separating the sheet 20 by the separating means 16 along a rectilinear dividing line 32 which is below an intended group-specific one Separation angle 34 to the direction of the fibers 26 (for simplicity of illustration only one fiber 26 is shown),

(D) removing pieces of material 18 from the group for forming a fiber reinforced layer 28 by laying flat the pieces of material 18 on the carrier web 22, wherein the pieces of material 18 for forming the position in the longitudinal direction of the carrier web 22 consecutively and adjacent to each other of the receiving device 30 of Transport device 12 are placed flat on the carrier web 22, wherein at the Aufle- the linear cutting edges 36 formed in the separation according to step (C) - for parallel alignment of the fibers 26 (for simplicity of illustration, only one fiber 26 is shown) of the material pieces 18 of this group - at an equal angle to the longitudinal extent of the carrier web 22 or - As here - parallel to the longitudinal extent of the carrier web 22 are aligned (also symbolized by the schematic rotation arrow), by the transport device 12 and the receiving device 30 of the transport device 12,

(E) fixing each piece of material 18 with the carrier web 22, and

(F) terminate the process.

For the continuous production of the sheet-like semi-finished material, the carrier web 22 is moved in its longitudinal direction (see corresponding arrow) while the supply unit 14 remains stationary.

The illustrated in Fig. 2 embodiment of a method according to the invention differs from that shown in Fig. 1 in that here a

Semi-finished material having a plurality of fiber-reinforced layers 28 is formed with mutually differing fiber extension directions, for this in step (F), the process is not terminated, but continued with step (G), wherein the step (G), the removal of pieces of material 18 provides from a further group provided in step (C), wherein the material pieces 18 for forming a further fiber-reinforced layer 28 in the longitudinal direction of the carrier web 22 consecutively and adjacent to the last formed layer 28 - that in step (D) formed layer 28 (see above), wherein when laying the linear cutting edges 36 formed in the separation according to step (C) for parallel alignment of the fibers 26 (for ease of illustration only one fiber 26 is shown) of the pieces of material 18 are aligned parallel to the longitudinal extent of the carrier web 22. As a result of this, a fiber-reinforced layer 28 is formed as a result of the group-specific separation angle 34 provided for the further group (compare lower supply unit 14), the fiber extension direction of which extends from the fiber extension direction in FIG

Step (D) formed layer 28 is different or skewed to this aligned. In step (H), the position fixing of each piece of material 18 takes place with at least the last-formed fiber-reinforced layer 28, and in step (I), the termination of the method or optionally continuing the method with step (G) to form a further layer using a third - not shown - supply unit.

In contrast to the method illustrated in FIG. 1, the system 10 used in FIG. 2 has two supply units 14 and two transport devices, wherein the two transport devices, which may be identical in construction to the transport device illustrated in FIG. 1, in FIG. 2 are not shown. The upper supply unit 14 is provided for forming the lower layer 28, and the lower supply unit 14 is provided for forming the upper layer 28.

By the method according to the invention, e.g. a sheet-shaped semi-finished material can be produced, in the fiber extension directions of the layers according to the sequence 0 +45

-457 + 657-65790 ° ... are provided. Each delivery unit can thereby supply one or more angles, this being e.g. can also be selected continuously from 20 ° to 90 ° or even from 1 ° to 90 °.

The exemplary embodiment of a method according to the invention illustrated in FIG. 3 differs from that shown in FIG. 1 in that the delivery unit 14 or the conveyor belt 24 extends parallel to the carrier web 22, which may be more advantageous depending on the room situation or requirement profile. The transport device used here (not shown in Fig. 3) may be identical to the transport device shown in FIG. 1.

4 and 5 serve to illustrate exemplary embodiments of the method according to the invention, in which, after step C, the material pieces 18 of a group are arranged in a material piece receptacle 38 or magazine 38 provided for the group, and in step D and / or step G, the material pieces 18 are removed from the material piece receptacle 38 or magazine 38 separated (see Fig. 5) and placed on the carrier web 22 for laying on the carrier web 22 and / or laying on the last formed layer 28 are moved to the last formed layer 28.

FIGS. 6A to 6D serve to illustrate exemplary embodiments of the method according to the invention in which a position fixing takes place by means of welding devices (to simplify the representation, no fibers are shown here). A piece of material 18 (see Fig. 6A) which has already been cut off by step C is removed from four Receiving devices 30 of a gripper system 40 of a transport device (not shown in detail) received at four spaced apart areas (see Fig. 6B) and then transported by the transport device to the carrier web 22 and / or the last formed layer 28 and from the receiving devices 30 and the gripper system 40 according to step D and / or step G on the carrier web 22 and / or the last formed layer 28 laid (see Fig. 6C).

In order to fix the position according to step E and / or step H, each of the receiving devices 30 has a welding device (not illustrated) in order to be able to fix the position by materially connecting the connection partners, ie by integrally joining pieces of material 18 of different layers and / or by cohesive bonding of pieces of material 18 with the carrier web 22. Each of the welding devices is set up to connect the connection partners by laser welding when hanging up or after placing cohesively together.

Alternatively or additionally, each of the welding devices can be set up to join the connection partners together by ultrasonic welding, high-temperature welding, hot gas welding or friction welding when laying on or after laying. FIG. 6D illustrates the state after laying on, and shows that a material piece 18 for fixing the position via four spot welds 42 is adhesively bonded to the carrier web 22 or at least to the layer 28 formed last.

7 shows a very schematic representation to illustrate an exemplary embodiment of the method according to the invention in which the carrier web 22 is moved in the longitudinal direction thereof for continuous production of the web-shaped semifinished product in that the carrier web 22 is unwound from a winding unit 44. In this embodiment, the material pieces on the carrier web 22 in step D and / or in the flat laying of the material pieces on the last formed layer 28 in step G - or at the location of the flat laying the pieces of material on the Last formed layer 28 in step G - the carrier web 22 at a fixing surface 48 of a support device 50 at least partially fixed in place by, for example, a suction of the carrier web 22nd

For unwinding, an automatic changing system (not shown) may be provided, which may in particular be designed to accommodate new and old carrier webs. the connect to allow a quasi-endless process. In order to avoid a stoppage of the system, a subsequent unwinding or unwinding memory can be provided. Changing systems and storage may be provided in any of the systems shown in Figs. 7-9.

The carrier web 22 can also lie on a moving conveyor belt (not illustrated here) for the purpose of moving at least in sections, wherein the carrier web 22 can be sucked onto the conveyor belt at least in regions for fixing to it, accompanied by a strong and uniform adhesion to the conveyor belt. derband, wherein the conveyor belt for sucking holes or openings or a partial air permeability or a partial lattice structure.

For unwinding from the winding unit 44 or for moving the carrier web 22, a pulling device 52 is provided and the finished web-shaped semifinished material 54 is wound onto a receiving roller 56 or a reeling station 56.

Fig. 8 illustrates an embodiment wherein the finished semifinished material 54 rolled up onto the receiving roll 56 (see Fig. 7) is pulled therethrough for subsequent consolidation in a consolidation system 58. The consolidation system 58 comprises a press apparatus in the form of a double belt press (not illustrated here) and a heating zone 60 and a cooling zone 62. For cutting off desired material sections, that is to say to create plate goods, a cutting device 64 for vertical cutting and an edge cutting device 66 are provided. Alternatively, even after consolidation by means of the consolidation system 58, rolling up of the semifinished product material 54 onto a further receiving roller 68 may be provided, in which case no vertical cutting is undertaken. In order to make this possible error-free, two drawbars 52 may be provided. The cutting device 64 may comprise a knife cutting device, a laser cutting device or an ultrasonic cutting device. The cutting of the pieces of material can, for example, also be effected by an abrasive separation process, such as, for example, water jet cutting. In order to make possible the production of the sheet-like semifinished material 54 illustrated in FIG. 7 with the consolidation thereof in one installation, the installation shown in FIG. 9 can be provided, in which the installations of FIGS. 7 and 8 are combined. The system shown in FIG. 9 additionally has at least one unwinding unit 70, from which at least one additional cover layer 72 can be unrolled by being drawn into the double belt press of the consolidation system 58 for surface bonding to the fiber-reinforced semifinished material 54. The cover layer 72 may be a two-ply or multi-ply web-shaped article already produced by the process according to the invention

Semi-finished material 54 and / or a thermoplastic cover sheet and / or another unidirectional fiber-reinforced sheet material having a thermoplastic at least partially surrounding the thermoplastic material.

At the consolidation level it is also possible to have several rolled up

Unroll semi-finished materials 54 in order to enable very complex layer constructions. It is also conceivable to introduce core material in order to obtain a semi-finished sandwich product after consolidation.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

10 system

12 transport device

14 deployment unit

16 separating device

18 piece of material

20 web-shaped material

22 carrier web

24 conveyor belt

26 fiber

27 thermoplastic plastic material

28 fiber reinforced layer

30 recording device

32 dividing line

34 group-specific angle

36 cutting edge

38 material piece holder

40 gripper system

42 spot weld

44 winding unit

46 Place of incorporation

48 fixing surface

50 support device

52 Drawbar

54 Semi-finished material

56 receiving role

58 Consolidation system

60 heating zone

62 cooling zone

64 cutting device

66 edge cut device

68 more absorbing role

70 unwinding unit

72 top layer

Claims

claims

Method for producing a two-ply or multi-ply web-like

Semi-finished material (54) having at least one unidirectionally fiber-reinforced layer (28) comprising the following steps:

(A) providing a carrier web (22) made of a flat carrier material which consists at least partially of a thermoplastic material,

(B) providing at least one web-shaped material (20), wherein the material (20) is formed flat and unidirectionally fiber-reinforced, and wherein the material (20) comprises a thermoplastic material (27) at least partially surrounding the fibers (26),

(C) providing at least one set of areal and unidirectional fiber reinforced pieces of material (18), the pieces of material (18) of a group being provided by successive severing from the sheet material (20) along a rectilinear dividing line (32) is provided at an intended, group-specific separation angle (34) to the direction of the fibers (26), and to provide further groups for the further groups a separation angle (34) is provided which differs from the separation angles (34) of other groups,

(D) removing pieces of material (18) from a group to form a fiber reinforced layer (28) by laying flat the pieces of material (18) on the carrier web (22), wherein the pieces of material (18) for forming the layer (28) in the longitudinal direction the carrier web (22) successively and adjacent to each other on the carrier web (22) are laid flat, wherein when laying the rectilinear cutting edges (36) formed during the separation according to step (C) for parallel alignment of the fibers (26) of the pieces of material (8 ) of this group are aligned at an equal angle, preferably parallel, to the longitudinal extent of the carrier web (22), (E) fixing the position of each piece of material (18) with the carrier web (22),

(F) terminating the process or continuing the process with step (G),

(G) removing pieces of material (18) from a group from which material pieces (18) have already been removed for sheet formation, or removing pieces of material (18) from one of the further groups, wherein the pieces of material (18) for forming a further fiber reinforced layer (28) in the longitudinal direction of the carrier web (22) successively and adjacent to each other on the last formed layer (28) are placed flat, wherein when placing the cut-off according to step (C) formed straight cutting edges (36) for mutually parallel alignment of the fibers (26) the material pieces (18) of the group are aligned at an equal angle, preferably parallel, to the longitudinal extent of the carrier web (22),

(H) fixing each piece of material (18) with at least the last-formed fiber-reinforced layer (28),

(I) terminating the process or continuing the process with step (G).

A method according to claim 1, characterized in that after fixing the pieces of material (18) of the very last intended fiber reinforced layer according to step (E) or (H) the arrangement of carrier web (22) and applied pieces of material (18) is consolidated, wherein at or before consolidating the thermoplastic material of the carrier web (22) and the thermoplastic material (27) of each or at least a part number of the pieces of material (18) of the arrangement is converted by heating up to or above the melting temperature at least partially in a plastically deformable state.

A method according to claim 2, characterized in that for consolidating the arrangement, a pressing device is used which has two closed pressing surfaces, which are rotatable in opposite directions and facing each other, wherein the assembly is pulled by rotating the pressing surfaces between the pressing surfaces and thereby pressed. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that in step (E) each piece of material (18) for fixing position is materially connected to the carrier web (22) by at least partially heating the thermoplastic material of the carrier web (22) up to or above the melting temperature and / or by at least partially heating the thermoplastic material (27) of each of the pieces of material (18) up to or above the melting temperature. 5. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that in step (H) each piece of material (18) for fixing material is at least connected to the last formed fiber reinforced layer by at least partially heating the thermoplastic material at least the last formed fiber reinforced layer up to or above the melting temperature and / or by at least partially heating the thermoplastic plastic material (27) of each of the pieces of material (18) up to or above the melting temperature.

A method according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the connection partners are connected by laser welding, ultrasonic welding, high-temperature welding, hot gas welding or friction welding cohesively.

Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that also the carrier web (22) is unidirectionally fiber-reinforced.

Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at the location (46) of the flat laying of the pieces of material (18) on the carrier web (22) in step (D) and / or the flat laying of the pieces of material (18) on the last formed layer in step (G), the carrier web (22) is sucked to a fixing surface (48) at least partially.

Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the carrier web (22) for the continuous production of the web-shaped

Semi-finished material (54) is moved in its longitudinal direction.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that the carrier web (22) on a winding unit (44) can be wound, and that the carrier web (22) by unwinding of the winding unit (44) is moved in its longitudinal direction. 11. The method according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that in step (D)

and / or in step (G), the pieces of material (18) for laying the pieces of material (18), the movement of the carrier web (22) are moved following, that the pieces of material (18) relative to the carrier web (22) in a dormant state. 12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that for detecting the speed of the carrier web (22) relative to the pieces of material (18) on the carrier web (22) spaced apart markings are provided, which are arranged in the longitudinal direction of the carrier web (22) successively , 13. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that after step (C) the pieces of material (18) of a group in a group provided for the material piece receptacle (38) are arranged, and that in step (D) and / or Step (G), the material pieces (18) separated from the material piece receptacle (38) removed and moved to be placed on the carrier web (22) and / or the last-formed layer (28).

14. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that each piece of material (18) received by at least one receiving device (30) at least one transport device (12) and then from the transport device (12) to the carrier web (22) and / / or the last formed layer (28) and transported by the receiving device (30) on the carrier web (22) and / or the last formed layer (28) is placed.

15. The method according to claim 6 and 14, characterized in that the Aufnahmevor- direction (30) at least one welding device for materially connecting the

Having connecting partner, which is adapted to connect the connection partners by laser welding, ultrasonic welding, high temperature welding, hot gas welding or friction welding when hanging up or after laying cohesively together.

16. System (10) for performing a method according to any one of claims 1 to 15, comprising at least one transport device (12) and at least one supply unit (14) with at least one separating device (16) for separating the pieces of material (18) from the web-shaped material (20), wherein the transport means (12) is adapted to receive the provided pieces of material (18) and to transport the at least one fiber reinforced sheet (28) to the carrier sheet (22) and / or the last formed sheet (28) according to step (D) on the carrier web (22) or according to step (G) on the last formed fiber reinforced layer (28) hang up.

17. System (10) according to claim 16, characterized in that the system (10) comprises a sensor system for detecting the position of each piece of material (18) on the carrier web (22) and / or on the last-formed fiber-reinforced layer (28). 18. System (10) according to claim 17, characterized in that the transporting device (12) has a control device which is set up to receive position data dependent on the position of the material piece (18) and which have been detected by the sensor system in the case of an existing deviation of the detected position data from predetermined position data, the transport device (12) for correcting the position of the material piece (18) on the carrier web (22) or the last-formed fiber-reinforced layer (28).