JP2002313354A - Manufacturing method and device for separator for solid polymer fuel cell - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a separator accepting a press working and applicable to a low- cost slid polymer fuel cell of high durability and also offer a manufacturing method and device for such separators. SOLUTION: The separator for the solid polymer fuel cell has a flat portion at the periphery and is furnished except periphery with projections 8 and recesses 7 to constitute gas passage, and in the manufacturing method of this separator, the material is processed as a preliminary shaping process so as to have a section shape with repeated projection and recesses continuously and further into a section shape with final repetitive projections and recesses, and also such conditions should met that the radius R of curvature < half angle start > p < half angle end > of the should part 23 having a curved surface 27 to constitute a vertical wall part 37 of the separator during preliminary shaping than the corresponding value during final shaping and that the center of the vertical wall part during the preliminary shaping is made identical to the corresponding central part when the final shaping process is made, and thereby the shoulder part is prevented from cracking or rupture in the press working process, and also it is possible to secure flat parts 20 easily on the outer surfaces of the projections and recesses.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for manufacturing a separator used in a polymer electrolyte fuel cell used for an automobile driven directly by electric power, a small-scale power generation system, and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the increasing awareness of environmental conservation, the transition from the current internal combustion engine using fossil fuels to electric drive type automobiles using solid polymer fuel cells using hydrogen and distributed cogeneration systems is on the rise. Is being considered. In order to make these new technologies widely available to the general public, it is necessary to promote technology development related to cost reduction and high reliability, including the fuel supply system. In recent years, the development of fuel cells for electric vehicles has begun to progress rapidly, triggered by the successful development of solid polymer materials.

A polymer electrolyte fuel cell differs from a conventional alkaline fuel cell, a phosphoric acid fuel cell, a molten carbonate fuel cell, a solid electrolyte fuel cell and the like in that a hydrogen ion selective permeation type organic membrane is used as an electrolyte. A fuel cell characterized by the use of pure hydrogen as well as hydrogen gas obtained by reforming alcohols, and electrochemically controlling the reaction with oxygen in the air. It is a system that extracts power. The solid polymer membrane works well even if it is thin, and the electrolyte is fixed in the membrane.
If the dew point in the battery is controlled, it will function as an electrolyte,
There is no need to use a fluid medium such as an aqueous electrolyte or a molten salt electrolyte, and the battery itself can be designed to be compact and simple. The polymer electrolyte fuel cell is a single cell with a sandwich structure consisting of a separator having a hydrogen channel, a fuel electrode, a solid polymer membrane, an air (oxygen) electrode, and a separator having an air (oxygen) channel. A stack in which the single cells are stacked is used. Therefore, both sides of the separator have independent flow paths, one side is a hydrogen path, and the other side is a flow path of air and generated water.

[0004] As a constituent material of a polymer electrolyte fuel cell that operates in a region below the boiling point of a cooling aqueous solution, the temperature is not so high, and it is possible to sufficiently exhibit corrosion resistance and durability under the environment. In addition, carbon-based materials have been used by machining, etc. to form an arbitrary flow path shape, but stainless steel has been used to reduce cost and size, that is, to make separators thinner. Technical development on the application of steel and titanium is progressing.

Conventionally, as stainless steel for fuel cells,
JP-A-4-247852, JP-A-4-358048, JP-A-7-188870, JP-A-8-165546
JP-A-8-225892 and JP-A-8-31162
As disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 0, there is a stainless steel for a fuel cell that operates in a molten carbonate environment where high corrosion resistance is required. Further, as disclosed in JP-A-6-264193, JP-A-6-293940, and JP-A-9-67672, a solid electrolyte fuel cell material operating at a high temperature of several hundred degrees has been invented. Was.

Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-228914 discloses a stainless steel (SUS) having the object of obtaining a fuel cell separator having low contact resistance with an electrode of a unit cell.
304) is press-formed to form a bulged portion formed of a large number of irregularities on the inner peripheral portion, and gold-plated to a thickness of 0.01 to 0.02 μm on the bulging tip side end surface of the bulged molded portion. Disclosed is a fuel cell separator characterized in that a layer is formed, and as a use thereof, when forming a fuel cell, a fuel cell separator is interposed between the stacked unit cells, and the electrodes of the unit cell are expanded. There is disclosed a technique in which a gold plating layer formed on an end surface of a protruding tip side of a protruding portion is provided so as to abut, and a reaction gas passage is defined between a fuel cell separator and an electrode. Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. HEI 5-29909 discloses a press-processed corrugated bipolar plate which is press-worked for processing at low cost. In addition, JP
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 000-202532 discloses a manufacturing method in which a flat plate is sandwiched between dies and the dies are compressed by a rolling roll.

However, when a polymer electrolyte fuel cell was actually manufactured on the basis of these techniques, it was found that there were the following five technical problems. a) In a polymer electrolyte fuel cell environment where long-term durability is required, SUS304, which is a general-purpose steel type, may not be sufficient as an alloy component of a stainless steel separator. Cr, Ni, Mo, etc. Need to be increased. b) In the case of stainless steel with an increased alloy composition such as Cr, Ni, and Mo, the passive oxide film of stainless steel is completely reduced during the plating process between the gold plating layer and the stainless steel substrate only by wet gold plating. However, it may remain without being generated, causing interlayer resistance between the stainless steel and the gold plating layer, which may cause power loss. As a countermeasure, it is necessary to attach a noble metal while removing the film. c) The separator is assumed to have a shape in which a bulge-formed portion composed of a number of irregularities is formed on the inner peripheral portion by press molding.
When actually trying to process the member with a flat part on the four circumferences,
Ductile cracks occur in the bulge formed by irregularities, and in particular, the corners of the irregularities have a large bending strain, and thus are easily broken. Further, since stainless steel having an increased alloy composition for improving long-term reliability has lower workability than SUS304, it is difficult to press-mold into this shape. In addition, if the cross section is corrugated, the contact area with the electrolyte membrane becomes small, and the fuel cell characteristics deteriorate. d) The method of forming fine irregularities by press molding has a problem that when the separator is increased in size, the press load increases and large-scale equipment is required. e) The manufacturing method of compressing the mold with a roll includes opening and closing the mold,
There is a problem that it is difficult to accurately apply a rolling load due to low productivity and rigidity of a mold in material handling or the like.

[0008]

The present inventors have already solved the above problems a) and b) by solving the problems described in JP-A-2000-256808 and Japanese Patent Application No. 11-1701.
No. 42, etc. Therefore, in the present invention, in view of the above-mentioned problems c), d) and e), a method and an apparatus for manufacturing a press-workable separator applicable to a low-cost and high-durability type polymer electrolyte fuel cell can be applied. And a polymer electrolyte fuel cell.

[0009]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention has been completed as a result of a detailed study of the material behavior during press molding based on the operating principle of a polymer electrolyte fuel cell. The summary is as follows. (1) In a method for producing a polymer electrolyte fuel cell separator having a flat portion in the periphery and a convex portion and a concave portion except for the peripheral portion serving as a gas flow path, the material is formed as a continuous convex portion as a preform. And a concave portion, and then a final repeated cross-sectional shape of a convex portion and a concave portion. (2) The radius of curvature of the shoulder having the curved surface forming the vertical wall at the time of the preforming is larger than the radius of curvature of the shoulder having the curved surface forming the vertical wall at the time of the final forming, and the vertical wall at the time of the preforming. The method for producing a separator for a polymer electrolyte fuel cell according to the above (1), wherein the preforming and the final molding are performed so that the center of the portion coincides with the center of the vertical wall portion at the time of the final molding. (3) An apparatus for carrying out the method for producing a separator for a polymer electrolyte fuel cell according to the above (1) or (2), wherein a repetitive cross-sectional shape of a convex portion and a concave portion of the preform material is similar to the preceding stage. A pair of upper and lower flat mold presses having a pair of upper and lower flat mold presses with upper and lower surfaces that have been subjected to unevenness processing on the surface, and a concave and convex process similar to the repeated cross-sectional shape of the convex and concave portions of the separator on the surface at the subsequent stage An apparatus for manufacturing a separator for a polymer electrolyte fuel cell, comprising: an apparatus. (4) An apparatus for carrying out the method for producing a separator for a polymer electrolyte fuel cell according to (1) or (2), wherein the repetitive cross-sectional shape of the convex and concave portions of the preform material is similar to the preceding stage. It has a pair of upper and lower pressing rolls that have a pair of upper and lower pressing rolls on the surface of which the surface has been subjected to unevenness processing, and a pair of upper and lower pressing rolls on the surface that have been subjected to unevenness processing similar to the repeated cross-sectional shape of the convex and concave portions of the separator in the subsequent stage. A polymer separator for polymer electrolyte fuel cells.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The details of the present invention will be described below. An example of a plan view of the separator 1 manufactured by the method and the apparatus of the present invention is shown in FIG. 1, and a specific laminated structure of the separator 1, the sealing plate 10, and the carbon fiber current collector 11 as an electrode at the groove end 6 is shown. One example is shown in FIGS. Here, the fuel gas containing hydrogen or oxygen (air) containing hydrogen supplied from the gas inflow holes 2 and 3 flows only through the concave surface front side 7 or only the convex rear surface 8 of the separator, respectively. Is discharged. The flow of gas on the surface side at the end of the groove is indicated by an arrow in FIG. At the end of the groove, the inclination angle of the projection and the depression is made to have a gradual difference every other line, so that the gas is prevented from being short-circuited to the downstream side. It is possible to flow gas uniformly in a one-stroke shape.
Further, since the flow rate of the gas can be increased, the water generated on the oxygen side can be easily discharged. The seal plate 10 is slightly thicker than the groove height of the separator 1 and the angle of the end face of the central hollow portion of the seal plate is made slightly larger than the above-mentioned maximum inclination angle of the groove end portion, so that the gas toward the downstream side of the gas flows toward the downstream side. Short circuits are further suppressed.

As compared with the arrangement shown in FIG. 1, the flow velocity in the parallel portion of the groove slightly decreases, but the effect of reducing the pressure loss is obtained. Needless to say, the groove arrangement providing the steep / deep difference is not limited to the two examples shown here, and should be arbitrarily selected from the capacity of the gas supply device, the power generation efficiency, and the like. Thus, by providing a gentle and sharp difference at the end of the groove, various flow path patterns can be formed. As the material of the separator, a graphite plate, a metal plate, or the like can be used from the viewpoints of electron conductivity, corrosion resistance, and airtightness. However, it is preferable that the separator be made of stainless steel or titanium that can be thin and can be pressed.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the structure of a fuel cell stack using the separator and the seal plate. Separator 1, seal plate 10, carbon fiber current collector 11 serving as an electrode
By sandwiching the solid polymer film 12 coated with the electrode catalyst on both sides in the laminated structure of the above, a single cell is formed. The fuel cell stack is formed by repeatedly stacking the cycle A in the figure. Also, in a polymer electrolyte fuel cell, there is heat generated by the reaction, and it is necessary to cool the stack in order to keep the polymer electrolyte membrane at an appropriate temperature.
The groove of the separator can be used as a cooling water passage, and the stack can be cooled by inserting a B cycle including the cooling water passage at an appropriate interval of the stack cycle. The seal plate may be made of any material that has appropriate elasticity and does not cause decomposition and plastic deformation below the boiling point of the cooling water. Silicon resin, butadiene rubber resin, fluorine resin, etc. can be used. The gas is sealed by tightening the seal plate slightly thicker than the height, and the elastic plate has appropriate elasticity, so that it is possible to follow minute deformation of the separator and the like. In the figure, the hydrogen-side and oxygen-side flow paths are opposed to each other with a solid polymer film interposed therebetween. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show an example of a detailed cross-sectional shape of a separator formed from a plate material by the manufacturing method according to the invention described in the above (1) and (2). The groove period 21 of the separator is
From the viewpoint of uniformity of gas supply and current collection efficiency, it is desirable to be smaller, and from the viewpoint of reduction of contact resistance, it is desirable that the contact area with the electrode is large. However, when the groove period 21 becomes smaller than the plate thickness, In addition, the bending strain increases, and the radius of curvature of the corner is reduced to increase the contact area, or the length of the flat portion 20 is increased. Becomes Generally, a groove cycle 21 of 2 to 3 mm and a groove depth of about 1 mm at the maximum is used as a flow path of a fuel cell separator. However, when a metal plate having a thickness of about 0.1 to 0.3 mm is formed, The groove shape was fine compared to the plate thickness, the bending distortion at the corners was large, and the corners were often broken during molding. Further, since the plate thickness is small, buckling of the vertical wall portion 37 was caused by compressive stress, and cracks were also generated. Therefore, as a result of prototypes of molds of various shapes and press molding, a continuous cross section was obtained before the final cross-sectional shape having a flat portion 20 on the outer surface of the convex portion and the concave portion in the cross section of the gas flow path. It has been found that the preform can be formed without breaking if it is preformed so as to have a repetitive cross-sectional shape of the concave portion 7 and the convex portion 8.

FIG. 7 shows a cross-sectional shape of a plate material such as stainless steel or titanium after the preforming press. As a preforming, the plate material is formed into a continuous cross-sectional shape of a continuous concave portion 7 and a convex portion 8, and the vertical wall portion 37 is formed by a preforming press in order to prevent the vertical wall portion 37 from being cracked or broken in the final press forming. the radius of curvature R _p of the shoulder portion 23 of the molded portion 27 larger than the radius of curvature R _f of the separator of the shoulder 23 as the final shape shown in FIG. If the press forming is performed once, the shoulder portion 23 of the vertical wall portion 27 is superimposed on the tensile strain and the bending strain, and the wall thickness becomes small, and cracks and breaks are likely to occur. Radius R _p of the shoulder 23 of the portion 27 where
The bending strain during molding can be reduced by increasing. In addition, since it is formed after the preforming press, it is stretched and formed, so that bending press work can be performed without adding tensile strain, so that the shoulder portion 23 of the vertical wall portion 27 does not crack or break. Further, by performing the preforming press, the flat portion 20 can be easily secured after the final molding in order to smooth the flow of the material in the mold.

It is desirable that the width of the flat portion 20 has a large contact area with the electrode from the viewpoint of reducing the contact resistance. It becomes smaller and the output of the fuel cell improves. On the other hand, in order to promote the chemical reaction to obtain a predetermined electromotive force and to uniformly supply the fuel gas to the entire electrode surface, 50%
It is preferable to set the following. Crack the flat part 20,
In order to ensure no breakage, the radius of curvature _Rf of the shoulder 23 of the vertical wall 27 of the separator, which is the final shape, is set to be 1 to 3 times the plate thickness, and the shoulder 23 of the vertical wall 27 in the preforming press is formed. the radius of curvature R _p and 2-4 times the radius of curvature R _f, the center portion 39 of the central portion 39 and the final molded vertical wall portion of the separator of the vertical wall portion of the preform material may be desirable to match. Further, the connecting portion between the flat portion 20 and the shoulder portion 23 preferably has a bent portion 26, and by having the bent portion 26, a contact area between the separator flat portion 20 and the electrode (carbon fiber aggregate) 11 is secured, It can be set to a predetermined contact resistance.

In the press forming, in both the preforming press step and the final pressing step, a pair of upper and lower flat dies whose surfaces are subjected to uneven processing substantially similar to the repetitive cross-sectional shape of the convex and concave portions of the pressed sheet material. Using the upper mold 24,
The length of the clearance 38 of the lower mold 25 is 70 to 14 of the plate thickness.
0% is desirable. Shoulder part 2 of the cross section of the separator shown in FIG.
Press molding may be performed using a flat mold in which a portion corresponding to 3 has an acute angle cross section. The pressing step is not limited to the two steps of the preforming pressing step and the final step, and two or more steps may be performed. When a material such as SUS301, which causes a large work-induced transformation as seen in austenitic stainless steel, is used, a heat treatment step is provided between the preforming press step and the final step to reduce the material to 100%.
Annealing may be performed at about 0 ° C.

FIG. 9 shows a pair of preforming pressing rolls 30a, 30b, whose surfaces are roughened, and a final forming pressing roll 31a, 31b. The example of the manufacturing apparatus which manufactures a separator continuously by rotating while transferring to a material is shown. Between the preforming pressing rolls 30a, 30b and the final forming pressing rolls 31a, 31b, the concavo-convex pattern of the preformed plate material is formed by the final forming pressing rolls 31a, 31b.
Side guide 3 with a groove of about plate thickness cut at the center of the vertical roll to position it at the position corresponding to the uneven pattern of
2a and 32b are provided.

The preformed plate material positioning mechanism can use a method in which sprocket holes 33 are punched out at both ends of the plate material at a fixed pitch in advance and the sprocket wheels 34a and 34b are used for positioning. . FIG. 10 shows an example of a positioning mechanism using a sprocket wheel. The arrows in the figure indicate the direction in which the plate material is transported. A pair of preforming pressing rolls 30 made of a plate material such as stainless steel or titanium, the surface of which has been subjected to unevenness processing.
a, 30b and the final shaping rolls 31a, 31b,
The separator can be manufactured continuously by rolling down and rotating while transferring the uneven pattern 3 on the surface to the thin plate.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the surface shape of the final forming press roll. Roll-down roll 31 for final forming
The shapes of the irregularities a and 31b are such that the convex portions and concave portions have a repeating structure along the axial direction of the pressing roll, and the convex portions and concave portions have a repeating structure along the circumferential direction of the pressing roll (FIG. 12) In addition to the one in which the convex portion and the concave portion have a repetitive structure in which the convex portion and the concave portion are inclined at a specific angle with respect to the axial direction of the pressing roll (FIG. 13), the convex portion and the concave portion are other arbitrary shapes such as a circle, an oval, and a square. (FIG. 14) can also be used. Also, the surface shape of the preforming pressing roll is slightly different from the surface shape of the final forming pressing roll, such as a smaller groove depth, but the basic shape is the same as the final forming pressing roll. .

[0020]

EXAMPLE A concave / convex pattern as shown in FIG. 15 was formed by machining on a pair of final forming rolls each having a diameter of 200 mm and a length of 300 mm. The cross-sectional shape is shown in FIG. 11. The convex portion of the preforming press roll is a semicircle having a radius of curvature of 0.3 mm, the bottom is a smooth surface having a width of 1.0 mm, and the groove depth is 0.5 mm. It is. The clearance 38 between the upper mold and the lower mold is 0.8 mm, and the unevenness has a width of 250 mm.
mm and the length (arc length) is 150 mm. On the other hand, the convex portion of the final forming press roll has a convex shape with a radius of curvature of 0.1 mm, the bottom portion is a smooth surface with a width of 1.0 mm, and the groove depth is 0.5.
mm. The clearance 38 between the upper mold and the lower mold is 0.8 mm, the unevenness is 250 mm in width, and the length (arc length).
150 mm.

Using an apparatus as shown in FIG.
The plate is continuously supplied from a coil of austenitic stainless steel SUS316 having a thickness of 0.1 mm and a thickness of 0.1 mm, and the gap (roll gap) of the vertical pressing roll for preforming is set to 0.1.
mm, and the gap (roll gap) between the upper and lower lowering rolls for final shaping was set to 0.06 mm. The material of the rolling roll was SKD11. The material of the side guide was S45C, a pair having a diameter of 80 mm and a length of 120 mm, which was installed 250 mm before the pressing roll. The vertical rolls were provided with rotation synchronization means by a servomotor, and ball bearings of high precision grade were provided on the bearings of the rolls to prevent relative displacement in the roll axis direction.

The plate formed intermittently without cracking or breakage of the uneven shape is subjected to drilling for introducing and discharging fuel gas and cooling water, and then cut at predetermined lengths. As a result, a unit cell separator was manufactured. Further, even after cutting, no warpage or wrinkles were observed, and a good shape was obtained. After applying appropriate surface treatment,
When a fuel cell stack was constructed and subjected to a performance test, it was confirmed that gas leakage and water leakage did not occur, and that the fuel cell using the separator according to the present invention functions well as a fuel cell. The press according to the method of the invention has a width of 250 m.
Compared to the case where the same uneven shape of mx 150 mm in length is performed by a normal press, the rate of occurrence of cracks and breaks is remarkably reduced.
In the present invention, about 40
ton, and can be manufactured with an extremely inexpensive device.

[0023]

Industrial Applicability The present invention enables press forming of high corrosion resistant stainless steel or titanium as a separator for a polymer electrolyte fuel cell, and is extremely useful as a technology for realizing a low cost polymer electrolyte fuel cell. It is valid.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an example of a plan view of a separator manufactured according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing an example of a laminated structure using a separator manufactured according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view of a groove end of a separator manufactured according to the present invention, and a cross-sectional view of a laminated structure using the separator of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing an example of constructing a polymer electrolyte fuel cell stack using the separator manufactured according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a detailed cross-sectional shape of a separator manufactured according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a detailed cross-sectional shape of another separator manufactured according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a cross-sectional shape of a sheet material after a preforming press according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a flat mold according to the present invention for forming a separator.

FIG. 9 is an example of an apparatus for producing a separator by a rolling roll according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic view showing an example of a plate material positioning mechanism using a sprocket wheel.

FIG. 11 is a schematic view showing an example of the surface shape of a final forming press roll according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating another example of the surface shape of a pressing roll according to the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a schematic view showing another example of the surface shape of the pressing roll of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram illustrating another example of the surface shape of a pressing roll according to the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a schematic view showing another example of the surface shape of the final press-down roll according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1: separator 2: fuel gas inflow hole 3: oxygen (air) inflow hole 4: fuel gas outflow hole 5: oxygen (air) outflow hole 6: groove end 7: concave portion (fuel gas flow path) 8: convex portion (oxygen (Air channel) 9: Four-round flat portion of separator 10: Seal plate 11: Electrode (carbon fiber current collector) 12: Solid polymer film 13: Fuel gas inlet 14: Oxygen (air) inlet 15: Fuel gas Outlet 16: Oxygen (air) and generated water outlet 17: Cooling water inlet 18: Cooling water outlet 19: Gas flow 20: Flat portion 21: Groove cycle 22: Groove depth 23: Shoulder portion 24: Top Mold 25: Lower mold 26: Bending part 27: Part for forming vertical wall part 30a, 30b: Roll preforming reduction roll 31a, 31b: Final molding reduction roll 32a, 32b: Side guide 33: Sprocket hole 34a, 34b : Sproke Wheel 35: uneven portion 36: linear bottom 37: vertical wall 38: clearance 39: center of vertical wall

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Claims (4)

[Claims] In a method for manufacturing a polymer electrolyte fuel cell separator having a flat portion in the periphery and a convex portion and a concave portion in a portion excluding the periphery as a gas flow path, the material is continuously formed as a preform. Molded into a repeated cross-sectional shape of convex and concave parts,
Thereafter, a method for producing a separator for a polymer electrolyte fuel cell, comprising forming a final cross-sectional shape of a convex portion and a concave portion repeatedly. 2. A curvature radius of a shoulder having a curved surface forming a vertical wall portion at the time of preforming is larger than a radius of curvature of a shoulder portion having a curved surface forming a vertical wall portion at the time of final molding. 2. The method for producing a separator for a polymer electrolyte fuel cell according to claim 1, wherein the preforming and the final molding are performed so that the center of the vertical wall portion and the center of the vertical wall portion at the time of the final molding coincide. 3. An apparatus for carrying out the method for producing a separator for a polymer electrolyte fuel cell according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a repetitive cross-sectional shape of a convex portion and a concave portion of a pre-formed material is similar to a pre-formed material. A pair of upper and lower flat mold presses having a pair of upper and lower flat mold presses with upper and lower surfaces that have been subjected to unevenness processing on the surface, and a concave and convex process similar to the repeated cross-sectional shape of the convex and concave portions of the separator on the surface at the subsequent stage An apparatus for manufacturing a separator for a polymer electrolyte fuel cell, comprising: an apparatus. 4. An apparatus for carrying out the method for producing a separator for a polymer electrolyte fuel cell according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a repetitive cross-sectional shape of a convex portion and a concave portion of a preform material is similar to a pre-formed material. It has a pair of upper and lower pressing rolls that have a pair of upper and lower pressing rolls on the surface that have been subjected to uneven processing on the surface, and a pair of upper and lower pressing rolls on the surface that have been subjected to uneven processing similar to the repeated cross-sectional shape of the convex and concave portions of the separator at the subsequent stage. For manufacturing a separator for a polymer electrolyte fuel cell.