EP3393768A1

EP3393768A1 - Improved method for manufacturing a structural component of a motor vehicle

Info

Publication number: EP3393768A1
Application number: EP16829262.1A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Laurent Rocheblave
Original assignee: Plastic Omnium SE
Current assignee: Plastic Omnium SE
Priority date: 2015-12-21
Filing date: 2016-12-19
Publication date: 2018-10-31
Also published as: WO2017109365A1; FR3045450A1; CN106891530A; US20190070803A1; MA44151A

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for manufacturing a hybrid structure (8) of a motor vehicle, including a step of assembling a structural element formed of a sheet of shaped metal material (6) and a strip of composite material (11) that includes at least one layer of fibres impregnated or embedded in a polymer matrix, covers a portion of a surface of said structural element, and is extracted from a large rectangular sheet including an upper edge and a lower edge which are parallel to one another, the strip of composite material being obtained by extracting a portion of the large sheet according to a first cut-out line and second cut-out line, each running from the upper edge to the lower edge. Each of the cut-out lines has a point of symmetry arranged equidistantly from the upper edge and the lower edge, such that any given point of a cut-out line is symmetrical, with respect to said point of symmetry, with another point belonging to said cut-out line.

Description

PROCESS FOR THE IMPROVED PRODUCTION OF A PIECE OF STRUCTURAL STRUCTURE

MOTOR VEHICLE

[001] The subject of the invention is a process for manufacturing a hybrid structure part of a motor vehicle formed by the assembly of several different materials, such as metal elements and polymer materials, in order to confer on the piece of special mechanical characteristics.

[002] Indeed, certain structural elements of a motor vehicle are particularly stressed during an impact. They must be able to provide the rigidity and strength necessary to sustain the forces during the impact, and absorb some of the energy to maintain the integrity of the vehicle and ensure the safety of passengers. This is the case, for example, of structural parts such as the center pillar, the longitudinal outer spar, the roof cross member, the impact beam or, potentially, of any other structural element of the vehicle.

[003] These structural elements must also be sufficiently resistant to locally support various mechanical functions. This is the case, for example, of a car pillar, which is strongly stressed during a side impact and must also ensure both the maintenance of the rear door via hinges and the holding of the front door via the system. closing it.

[004] Hybrid structural parts also allow, with equal mechanical strength, to lighten the weight of the hybrid structural part while improving its shock absorbing properties.

[005] The publication EP 1 550 604 proposes a method of manufacturing a hybrid structural part in which a metal structure element previously coated with a heat-reactivatable surface coating is shaped. A thermoplastic material forming ribs is then over-molded onto the face of the metal structural member having the surface coating.

[006] The case of a hybrid structure comprising a composite material comprising a layer of fibers impregnated in a polymer matrix is also known. This fiber layer is generally formed of unidirectional fibers and optionally comprises one or more additional layers of woven fibers. The layer of composite material is shaped, preferably by hot stamping, directly into the preformed metal structural element, after the application of an interlayer layer of bonding material. The stiffening elements, in the form of ribs, are then made by overmolding a polymer material thermoplastic or thermosetting, preferably in the same mold as that used in the stamping step. The composite material covers all or part of said face of the metal structure element, and the polymeric material can then cover all or part of the composite material, and part of the spaces of the metal structure element left free by the web of composite material.

[007] To produce a composite structure part, it is necessary to take a composite material web in a generally flat web or in a plate of larger size.

This large ply may be a continuous ply in the form of a rolled ply of given width, or in the form of plates of given length and width; large dimension, being understood here by the fact that it is possible to take several strips of composite material in the same large sheet.

[009] The shape of the contours of this composite material web is determined by calculation and / or experimentally, to be able to adjust, after stamping, the raised shape of the metal structure element, while taking into account the modifications. geometric imposed on the lé composite material and involved during this stamping operation. Also, for the purpose of optimally covering a face of the metal structure, said face being generally formed by the inner face, one obtains shapes of very contorted contours requiring precise cutting.

This procedure has the disadvantage of generating falls of composite material during the collection of les in the large web.

The invention aims to reduce to virtually zero the amount of falls of composite material generated during the implementation of the method described above.

Contrary to popular belief, it has been demonstrated that it was not necessary for the composite material web to cover the entire surface of the inner face of the metal structure element to obtain the desired mechanical effects, as long as the fibers are present on the most stressed parts of the surface. This observation has opened the way to the simplification of the shape of the composite material strips.

The method according to the invention relates to the manufacture of a hybrid structure of a motor vehicle comprising a step of assembling a preformed metal structure element and a composite material web comprising at least one layer fibers impregnated or embedded in a polymer matrix, covering a portion of at least one face of said metal structure member. This web of composite material is taken from a rectangular ply of large size comprising an upper edge and a lower edge parallel to each other, the web of composite material being obtained by removing a portion of the ply of large dimension in a first and a second cutting line each going from the upper edge to the lower edge.

This method is characterized in that, one adjusts the shape of the composite material web by calculation and / or by successive experimental approaches so that, for each of the cutting lines, there is a point of symmetry arranged at equidistance of the upper edge and the lower edge, so that any point of a cutting line is symmetrical, with respect to said point of symmetry, of another point belonging to said cutting line.

These arrangements make it possible to take strips of composite material whose contours have identical geometries, and which are therefore perfectly superimposable, while limiting the falls to only those parts of the sheet of large size located at the two longitudinal ends of said sheet. . As will be seen later, this procedure can be optimized so that the latter falls are reduced to zero.

And, despite the limitations mentioned above, the variety of geometric shapes that can be achieved by implementing the method according to the invention, is sufficient to cover most practical cases of realization of a hybrid structure of a motor vehicle.

After the sampling step, the composite material lé thus obtained is assembled with the metal structure element, preferably by hot stamping.

The method according to the invention may also comprise in isolation, or in combination, the following characteristics:

the adjacent strips are removed by successively making a cut along the first cutting line and a cut along the second cutting line.

the centers of symmetry of the cut lines are arranged equidistant from one another.

at least one of the cuts is rectilinear and forms a right angle with the upper and lower edges.

the lines formed by the first and second cuts intersect in one point on the first or second edge.

the first cutting line and the second cutting line overlap partially.

the strips of composite material are superposable between them.

the web of composite material comprises a layer of unidirectional fibers impregnated or embedded in a matrix of polymeric material.

the web of composite material is formed by the superposition of several identical composite material webs taken from a large web. the composite material web is assembled with the metal structural element by hot stamping said web of composite material under conditions of temperature and pressure to obtain the shaping of the composite material web to the shape of the face of the metal structure element. at the end of the step of assembling the metallic structure element and the composite material web, all or part of the composite material web and the face of the structural element are covered, preferably by molding. metal of a polymeric material having stiffening ribs.

the polymeric material covers the web of composite material on a surface of between 10% and 50%, and preferably on an area of between 15% and 40%, of the total surface area of the face of the hybrid structural part.

The invention will be better understood on reading the appended figures, which are provided by way of examples and are in no way limiting, in which:

FIG. 1 represents a ply of large dimension made of a composite material, in which the strips according to the invention are taken.

Figure 2 shows two adjacent composite material strips.

FIG. 3 represents a large-sized sheet of composite material in which strips of trapezoidal composite material are taken.

FIG. 4 represents a first variant embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 represents a second variant embodiment of the invention.

Figure 6 shows a composite material web obtained by the superposition of two identical shapes and surfaces.

Figure 7 shows the metal structure of a foot and the lé composite material before assembly.

Figure 8 shows the center post after stamping the composite material web in the metal structure. FIG. 9 represents the center post after injection of the reinforcement ribs made of polymeric material.

FIG. 1 illustrates a ply of large dimension 1 of length L and width I in which a plurality of ply portions 10a, 10b forming strips of composite material 10 are taken. The ply of large size 1 comprises a selvedge lower 3 and an upper edge 4, parallel to each other.

The composite material forming the web generally comprises a layer of fibers impregnated or embedded in a thermoplastic or thermosetting polymer matrix. This layer of fibers may be formed by a layer of unidirectional fibers, or a layer of woven fibers, or by the assembly of unidirectional fibers and woven fibers. The unidirectional fibers are arranged parallel to each other at a determined pitch. They can be oriented in the direction of the length and more generally in the direction of the width of the large ply.

The industrial manufacture of unidirectional fiber plies is usually done by producing strips wound on themselves in which the fibers are arranged in the direction of the course of the strip. Also, when it is desired to obtain strips of composite material comprising fibers oriented in the direction of the slenderness of the metallic structure element, it is appropriate to take these strips in large plies in which the fibers are oriented. in the direction of the width.

To obtain said large ply, the strip is unrolled, and a strip portion of a length equal to the width of said large ply is cut along a cutting line perpendicular to the direction of the fibers of the strip. reinforcement of the band.

To detach a portion of web 10a, and obtain a composite material web, is made a cut along a first cutting line 101, and a second cut along a second cutting line 102. Each of these cuts extends in the width of the large sheet from the lower edge 3 to the upper edge 4.

The first cutting line comprises a center of symmetry Ωι arranged equidistant from the edges 3 and 4, the second cutting line 102 comprises a center of symmetry Ω2, also located equidistant from the edges 3 and 4. These centers of symmetry are therefore placed on a fictitious line xx 'parallel to the edges, and equidistant from the latter. The first cutting line 101 is defined so that any point of this cutting line is symmetrical with respect to the point Ωι of another point belonging to the same cutting line 101. And any point of the second cutting line 102 is symmetrical with respect to the point Ω2 of another point of said second cutting line 102.

The following cuts are made by alternately making a cut along the first cutting line 101 and a cut along the second cutting line 102. It is also ensured that the distance separating two centers of symmetry (Ω1, Ω2, Ω3, Ω4) is constant.

By matching the lower edge 103a of the web 10a with the upper edge 104b of the web 10b, and the upper web 104a of the web 10a with the lower web 103b of the web 10b, laminated webs 10 are obtained. this is illustrated in Figure 2.

However, it is observed that portions 9 of the ply of large dimension 1 disposed at the two longitudinal ends of the latter correspond to falls. In order to reduce these drops, it is then possible to arrange for the length L of the large-sized sheet to correspond to an integer number of strips 10 as illustrated in FIG.

To reduce again the amount of falls generated by this industrial operation, it is proposed to extract portions of the web by making at least one rectilinear cut 111 perpendicular to the lower and upper edges 3 and 4 as shown in FIG. figure 3.

The shape of the second cutting line 112 may be any as long as it meets the symmetry criterion mentioned above. It is observed that the assembly of two consecutive strips has the shape of a rectangle.

Also, to reduce the falls to zero, we will choose a large ply whose length L is equal to an integer multiple of the width of the rectangle formed by the juxtaposition of two identical strips, and in this case the sum of the length a of the lower edge 114 and the length b of the upper edge 113.

[0033] Figure 4 illustrates a first alternative embodiment in which the first cutting line and the second cutting line intersect at a point A disposed on one of the two selvedges. Several possible forms of cutting lines.

[0034] Thus, the first cutting line of the portion 13 is perpendicular to the edges. This arrangement makes it possible, as explained above, to reduce the falls to zero. The shape of the second blank 132 may be any, within the limits defined by the invention. When the second cut is rectilinear, the lee obtained in the shape of a right triangle.

The portions of webs, forming the strips 14 and 15, the first and second cuts are not perpendicular to the edges generate falls 9 at the beginning and end of the sheet.

FIG. 5 illustrates another alternative embodiment, in which the first and second blanks are superimposed over part of their length. Given the imposed symmetry, this superposition is performed on the two parts of the cutout located at the right of each selvedge.

The strips 16 are obtained by a first cutout 161 and a second cutout 162. This second cutout 162 is rectilinear and perpendicular to the selvedges.

The strips 17 are obtained by cutting along the lines 171 and 172.

As a rule, the direction of the unidirectional fibers is chosen parallel to the largest dimension of the piece of composite material to be made and acting as the main direction XX ', also with reference to FIG. 7. Unidirectional fibers will be oriented in the width direction of the large ply as shown in Figure 1.

When the web of composite material 1 has several layers of unidirectional fibers, these are preferably all aligned in the same main direction XX '.

It is usefully superimposed two strips taken in separate large sheets or in the same large sheet as shown in Figure 6, to form a single piece of composite material. The polymer matrices of each of the two strips, which have been selected to be compatible with each other, are then intimately welded under the effect of pressure and temperature during the hot stamping step.

The fibers may be identical or different in nature, and are chosen from fibers such as glass fibers, carbon fibers, basalt fibers, metal fibers, aramid fibers.

The polymer matrix coating the fibers may be of the thermoplastic type and usefully be chosen from aliphatic polyamides (PA), polyphthalamides (PPA), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polycarbonates (PC), or even polypropylene, and mixtures thereof. For example, polyamide 66 (PA66), polyamide 6 (PA6) can be used. The polymer matrix may also be of the thermosetting type. Preferably, a polyester, vinylester, epoxy or polyurethane resin or a mixture thereof will be chosen.

The composite material web may have a thickness of 3 to 6 mm, preferably 3 to 5 mm, preferably 4 to 5 mm.

FIG. 7 illustrates a metal structure element 6 shaped and intended to form the central pillar 8 of a motor vehicle, and the composite material lug 11 associated with it and which has the shape of a trapezium. rectangle. This metal structure element, generally obtained by stamping a sheet of metal, has an inner face 61 of generally concave shape, and an outer face 62 opposite to the inner face 61.

The unidirectional fibers 5 of the composite material web are oriented in a main direction XX ', corresponding to the direction of greater slenderness of the metal structure element.

A layer of bonding material is interposed between the metal structure and the composite material web, prior to the hot stamping operation.

FIG. 8 illustrates the structure obtained after the hot stamping operation, during which the web of composite material is molded on the internal face 61 of the metal structure element.

It is observed that the fibers 5 have been displaced transversely and that the regular pitch between the fibers observed on the web before stamping (see FIG. 7) experiences strong local disturbances. These movements make it possible to marry at best the surface of the metal structure element.

Also, the dimensioning of the composite material web is done by calculation and / or by successive experimental approaches, seeking to ensure a substantially regular overlap of the inner face 61 of the metal structure member. The final shape of the lé corresponds to that which generates a minimal drop rate and corresponds to the characteristics described above.

During the development of the process, it will then particularly monitor the stamping step during which the composite material web may have overflows outside the limits of the surface to be covered. These excesses of matter, if they were to reproduce, would require the intervention of an operator to eliminate excessive material and would also cause an unwanted fall. We then adjust the dimensions of the le to eliminate these excess material.

Once the hot stamping operation performed, the injection molding of the polymer material is carried out by performing the reinforcing ribs 7 which cover all or part of the composite material web 11, and all or part of the metal structure element 6. It is ensured that the polymeric material covers the composite material web on a surface comprised between 10% and 50%, and preferably on an area of between 15% and 40%, of the total surface area of the composite. face of the hybrid structure piece.

This gives a piece of hybrid structure 8, as illustrated in Figure 9, having all the mechanical qualities and expected impact resistance.

NOMENCLATURE

1 Large rectangular tablecloth.

10, 10a, 10b, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 L1 of composite material.

101, 111, 121, 131, 141, 151, 161, 171 First cutting line.

102, 112, 122, 132, 142, 152, 162, 172 Second cutting line.

3 Lower edge of the large sheet.

4 Upper edge of the large sheet.

103a, 103b, 113 Upper edge of the composite material web.

104a, 104b, 114 lower edge of the lé of composite material.

Fibers for reinforcing the composite material.

6 Metal structure element of a middle pillar.

61 Internal face the metal structure element.

62 External face of the steel structure element.

7 stiffening ribs of polymer material.

8 Hybrid structural part forming a motor vehicle center stand.

9 Falls.

L Length of the large sheet.

I Width of the large tablecloth,

a Length of the large trapezoid base,

b Length of the small base of the trapezium.

c Length of the lower selvedge of the composite material of rectangular triangular shape.

Ωι, Ω2, Ω3, Ω ₄ Center of symmetry of a cutting line.

Claims

1. A method of manufacturing a hybrid structural component (8) of a motor vehicle comprising a step of assembling a preformed metal structure element (6) and a composite material web (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 17) comprising at least one layer of fibers (5) impregnated or embedded in a polymer matrix, covering a portion of at least one face (61) of said structural steel structure member (6), and removed in a rectangular ply of large size (1) comprising an upper edge (4) and a lower edge (3), parallel to each other, the web of composite material being obtained by removing a portion of the ply of large dimension according to a first (101, 111, 121, 131, 141, 151, 161, 171) and a second (102, 112, 122, 132, 142, 152, 162, 172) cutting line each of the upper edge (4 ) at the lower edge (3), characterized in that the shape of the web of composite material by calculation and / or by successive experimental approaches so that for each of the cutting lines, there is a point of symmetry (Ω) arranged equidistant from the upper edge and the lower edge, so that any point a cutting line is symmetrical, with respect to said point of symmetry (Ω), of another point belonging to said cutting line.

2. The manufacturing method according to claim 1 wherein the removal of the adjacent les is done by successively cutting along the first cutting line (101, 111, 121, 131, 141, 151, 161, 171), then a cut along the second cutting line (102, 112, 122, 132, 142, 152, 162, 172).

3. The manufacturing method according to claim 2, wherein the centers of symmetry (Ω) of the cut lines of the strips are arranged equidistant from each other.

4. The manufacturing method according to one of claims 1 to 3, wherein at least one of the cutouts (111, 131, 162) is rectilinear and forms a right angle with the upper (4) and lower edges (3).

5. Manufacturing process according to one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the lines formed by the first (131) and the second cut (132) intersect at a point (A) located on the upper edge (4) or on the lower edge (3).

6. Manufacturing method according to one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first cutting line (161, 171) and the second cutting line (162, 172) overlap partially.

7. The manufacturing method according to one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the strips of composite materials are stackable between them.

8. Manufacturing method according to one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the composite material web (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17) comprises a layer of impregnated unidirectional fibers (5). or embedded in a matrix of polymeric material.

9. Manufacturing method according to claim 1 to 8, wherein the composite material web (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17) is formed by the superposition of several identical composite material webs, taken in the large sheet (1).

The manufacturing method according to one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the composite material web (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17) is assembled with the metal structural member (6). ) by hot stamping the web of composite material under conditions of temperature and pressure to obtain the shaping of the composite material web to the shape of the face (61) of the metal structure member.

1 1. Manufacturing method according to one of claims 1 to 10, wherein, at the end of the assembly step of the metal structural member and the composite material web, is covered, preferably by molding, all or part of the composite material web and the face (61) of the metal structural element of a polymeric material having stiffening ribs (7).

12. The manufacturing method according to claim 11, wherein the polymeric material covers the composite material web on a surface of between 10% and 50%, and preferably on an area of between 15% and 40%, of the total area of the face of the hybrid structural part.