JP2005118786A - Material feeding device and material feeding method in compression molding machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device and a method capable of uniformly feeding a powdery material to the whole face of a cavity recessed part in a die. <P>SOLUTION: A material 21 is fed to a hopper 17 having a plurality of feed holes 24 at the lower face. A shutter 20 having through holes 25 engaged with the feed holes 24 and selectively allowing communication and non-communication to appear is moved, and the feed holes 24 communicate with the through holes 25. The shutter 20 is moved in a state where it is abutted against a fixed die 6 in a compressive molding machine 1. The feed holes 24 communicate with the through holes 25, and the powdery material 21 is dropped to a cavity recesses part 22. Thereafter, the shutter 20 is moved once more, and the feed holes 24 do not communicate with the through holes 25. Further, the powdery material 21 in the shutter 20 is dropped to the cavity recessed part 22. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a material supply apparatus and a material supply method for supplying a powdery material to a mold of a compression molding machine.

  Patent Document 1 has the following description as a method of charging a powdery raw material into a lower die of a press machine. The powdery raw material was charged into each charging port of the charging unit, the scraping rod was moved in the direction of the arrow, and the raw material having a predetermined volume was filled into each charging port. The charging device filled with the powdery raw material was set in a lower die of a press machine. Since the engaged portion into which the engaging portion is fitted is formed in the lower mold, positioning can be performed easily and accurately. Next, the separator is pulled and moved until the separator comes into contact with the end of the base and stops. As a result, the bottoms of all the inlets are opened, so that the powdery raw material filled in the inlets falls onto the pattern of the lower mold. A large number of inlets are regularly arranged in a matrix, and each inlet is filled with the same amount of powdered raw material, so the raw material supplied on the lower mold is distributed in a certain thickness, There was almost no unevenness in the thickness of the raw material.

  However, according to Patent Document 1, since the powdery raw material falls and deposits on the lower mold in a form corresponding to the shape of the inlets arranged in a matrix, wavy irregularities remain on the deposited surface. . Therefore, when the powdery raw material in such a state is pressed, the thickness accuracy of the fuel cell separator, which is a molded product, decreases as the raw material has poor fluidity.

JP 2001-62858 A (paragraphs 0025 to 0027, FIGS. 1 to 4)

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method that can uniformly supply a powdery material to the entire cavity recess of a mold.

  According to the present invention, a powdery material is supplied to a hopper having a plurality of supply holes on the lower surface, and the supply hole is moved by moving a shutter having a through hole that engages with the supply hole and selectively appears to be connected or disconnected. And the through hole is not communicated, and the shutter is moved in a state where the shutter is in contact with the mold of the compression molding machine, and the supply hole and the through hole are communicated to drop the material into the cavity recess. The shutter is moved again so that the supply hole and the through hole are not communicated, and the material in the shutter is dropped into the cavity recess.

  Since the present invention is configured as described above, the powdery material can be supplied more uniformly over the entire cavity recess of the mold.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a front view showing a material supply apparatus of the present invention together with a compression molding machine. 2 to 5 are longitudinal sectional views showing the material supply method of the present invention together with a fixed mold in the order of steps. FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the mold showing a situation where the material supplied to the mold is compression molded.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a compression molding machine 1 includes a hydraulic cylinder 2 that is inserted into a ram 3 so as to be reciprocally movable and drives a movable platen 4 up and down, a movable platen 4 to which a movable mold 5 is attached, and a sliding platen 8. A fixed plate 10 for attaching the fixed mold 6 via the guide plate 9 and a tie bar 7 that is stretched between the fixed plate 10 and the flange portion of the hydraulic cylinder 2 to guide the movable plate 4. The movable mold 5 and the fixed mold 6 constitute a mold. The stationary platen 10 is fixed to the upper surface of the gantry 11, and the guide plate 9 fixed to the upper surface of the stationary platen 10 is provided to the outside of the compression molding machine 1 so as to have the same height as the upper surface of the stationary platen 10. 11 is extended on the top surface. The sliding plate 8 to which the fixed mold 6 is attached is located between a position where the fixed mold 6 is matched with the movable mold 5 and a predetermined position of the material supply device 12 provided outside the compression molding machine 1. Are guided and moved on the guide plate 9 so that the fixed mold 6 moves back and forth between the tie bars 7. The hydraulic cylinder 2 and the ram 3 of the compression molding machine 1 may be replaced with other driving means such as a toggle mechanism, a known servo motor and a ball screw.

  The material supply device 12 includes a support frame 14 fixed to the upper surface of the gantry 11, a plurality of guide bars 15 suspended from the upper side of the support frame 14, an upper plate 16 that is guided by the guide bars 15 and moves up and down, and a guide A lower plate 18 guided up and down by the rod 15 to form the lower surface of the hopper 17, a cylindrical body 28 sandwiched between the upper plate 16 and the lower plate 18 and forming the hopper 17 together with the lower plate 18, and a lower surface of the lower plate 18 The shutter 20 is provided so as to be slid by the lateral drive means 19, and the vertical drive means 13 which is fixed to the upper surface of the upper plate 16 and moves the hopper 17 and the shutter 20 up and down together. The vertical drive means 13 is composed of an air cylinder or the like.

  The compression molding machine 1 performs compression molding as shown in FIG. 6, and after the molded product 29 is taken out, the movable mold 5 is separated upward from the fixed mold 6 to be in the state shown in FIG. 1. Thereafter, the stationary mold 6 is moved to a predetermined position below the material supply device 12 by the sliding disk 8. This predetermined position is when the cavity recess 22 provided on the upper surface of the fixed mold 6 faces the entire lower surface of the hopper 17, and the end surface of the sliding plate 8 is provided on the upper surface of the end portion of the guide plate 9. It is obtained by contacting the positioning member 30. The positioning member 30 is also provided on the upper surface of the other end of the guide plate 9, and a position where the fixed mold 6 can be matched with the movable mold 5 is required.

  The hopper 17 is a cylindrical container whose cross-sectional shape is substantially the same as or slightly smaller than the shape of the cavity recess 22. A plurality of supply holes 24 are provided in the lower plate 18 that forms the lower surface of the hopper 17. The supply hole 24 is formed so that the cross-sectional area gradually decreases downward. The supply hole 24 is arranged such that the gap adjacent to the movement direction of the shutter 20 at the lower surface opening of the supply hole 24 is larger than the length of the lower surface opening of the supply hole 24 in the movement direction of the shutter 20. The cross-sectional shape of the supply hole 24 is a circle, an ellipse, an ellipse, or a polygon, and the distribution is uniformly formed in the movement direction of the shutter 20 so as to be evenly spaced so as to be within the cavity recess 22. The distribution of the supply holes 24 is sparse in the outer peripheral portion of the cavity concave portion 22 or not distributed in the outer peripheral edge portion, so that the supply of the material 21 to the cavity concave portion 22 is performed at the outer peripheral portion of the cavity concave portion 22. It can be reduced, and an effect such as reducing flash in the compression process of the material 21 is produced.

  The shutter 20 slides and moves on the lower surface of the lower plate 18 by a lateral driving means 19 formed of an air cylinder or the like. The shutter 20 has a through hole 25 having the same shape as the opening on the lower surface of the lower plate 18 of the supply hole 24 at the same position as the supply hole 24 provided in the lower plate 18. That is, in the shutter 20, all the through holes 25 engage with all the supply holes 24 of the lower plate 18 so that the through holes 25 and the supply holes 24 communicate with each other. It reciprocates between positions that do not engage with all the supply holes 24 and are not in communication.

  Next, the operation and compression molding of the material supply device 12 will be described with reference to FIGS. Prior to compression molding, the material 21 is introduced into the hopper 17. If the material 21 is powdery and the molded article 29 is a fuel cell separator, the material 21 is a mixture of a conductive filler such as graphite and a thermosetting resin such as phenol resin. A thermoplastic resin may be used instead of the thermosetting resin. The amount of material 21 required for several molding cycles is stored in the hopper 17, and if insufficient, the material 21 is appropriately supplied by a separate means.

  First, the shutter 20 is positioned so that the through hole 25 is not in communication with the supply hole 24, and the slide plate 8 is conveyed outward from the compression molding machine 1 and positioned below the material supply device 12. The driving means 13 is driven to bring the shutter 20 into contact with the upper surface of the fixed mold 6 (FIG. 2).

  The shutter 20 is positioned so that the through hole 25 communicates with the supply hole 24, and the material 21 of the hopper 17 is supplied to the cavity recess 22 through the supply hole 24 and the through hole 25. This material is the first supply material 26, and is deposited on the surface of the cavity recess 22 in the shape of a slope according to the characteristics of the material 21 (FIG. 3).

  Next, the shutter 20 is positioned again so that the through hole 25 is not in communication with the supply hole 24, and the material 21 remaining in the through hole 25 is used as the second supply material 27 between the first supply materials 26. It is dropped (FIG. 4). Note that the amount of the second supply material 27 needs to be adjusted in accordance with the characteristics of the material 21 and the plate thickness of the molded product 29. For this reason, the shutter 20 can be easily replaced with various plate thicknesses. Yes.

  The interval between the supply hole 24 and the through hole 25 is equal in each of the moving direction of the shutter 20 and the direction orthogonal thereto, but the interval in the direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the shutter 20 is the same as the moving direction of the shutter 20. Narrower than the interval. Further, if the supply hole 24 and the through hole 25 are one long hole whose longitudinal direction is an ellipse or rectangle whose orthogonal direction is perpendicular to the moving direction of the shutter 20, the second supply is made in a streak shape in the moving direction of the shutter 20. Since the portion where the material is not supplied is reduced or does not occur, a more uniform material supply is performed. As described above, the first supply material 26 and the second supply material 27 are uniformly deposited on the portions other than the outer peripheral portion of the cavity recess 22 with the heights of the respective peaks being substantially the same.

  The vertical drive means 13 is driven upward to separate the shutter 20 from the upper surface of the fixed mold 6. This distance is about 5 mm, and is set to the minimum distance at which the fixed mold 6 can move without hindrance. Then, the fixed mold 6 is conveyed into the compression molding machine 1 by the sliding plate 8 (FIG. 5). As described above, when the fixed mold 6 no longer exists below the material supply device 12, fine powder of the material 21 falls from the material supply device 12 onto the guide plate 9 and slides on the sliding plate 8. It may be an obstacle to movement. In order to avoid such a situation, a scraper 23 for removing the fine powder and the like by the movement of the sliding plate 8 is provided on the end surface of the sliding plate 8 in the moving direction.

  The fixed mold 6 conveyed to the compression molding machine 1 is positioned at a position where the movable mold 5 can be matched with the mold. The movable platen 4 is lowered, the convex part of the movable mold 5 is inserted into the cavity concave part 22 of the fixed mold 6, and the first supply material 26 and the second supply material 27 in the cavity concave part 22 are compressed to form a molded product 29. Is formed (FIG. 6).

  In addition, this invention includes what can be implemented in the aspect which added various change, correction, improvement, etc. based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art. Further, it goes without saying that any of the embodiments to which the above-mentioned changes are added is included in the scope of the present invention without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, the material supply device may not be arranged outside the compression molding machine, and the material supply device may be inserted between the molds opened in the compression molding machine.

It is a front view which shows the material supply apparatus of this invention with a compression molding machine. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the process by which the material supply from the hopper was stopped with the shutter among the material supply methods of this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the process which moved the shutter to the material supply state among the material supply methods of this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the process in which the material supply from a hopper was stopped again with the shutter, and the material in a shutter fell among the material supply methods of this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the process which material supply to the cavity recessed part was complete | finished among the material supply methods of this invention, and the hopper and the shutter separated from the metal mold | die. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a metal mold | die which shows the condition which compresses and molds the powder material supplied to the metal mold | die.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Compression molding machine 2 Hydraulic cylinder 3 Ram 4 Movable board 5 Movable mold 6 Fixed mold 7 Tie bar 8 Sliding board 9 Guide plate 10 Fixed board 11 Base 12 Material supply device 13 Vertical drive means 14 Support frame 15 Guide rod 16 On Plate 17 Hopper 18 Lower plate 19 Horizontal driving means 20 Shutter 21 Material 22 Cavity recess 23 Scraper 24 Supply hole 25 Through hole 26 First supply material 27 Second supply material 28 Cylindrical body 29 Molded product 30 Positioning member

Claims (3)

A material supply device for supplying powdered material to a mold of a compression molding machine,
A hopper having a plurality of supply holes on the lower surface, and a shutter that has a through hole that engages with the supply hole and selectively appears in communication and non-communication, and slides and moves on the lower surface of the hopper by lateral drive means; A material supply apparatus comprising: a vertical drive unit that moves the hopper and the shutter together to move up and down.   2. The material supply device according to claim 1, wherein the supply hole and the through hole have the same shape as the engaging surface, and the shape of the supply hole is a long hole whose longitudinal direction is perpendicular to the moving direction of the shutter.   Powder material is put into a hopper having a plurality of supply holes on the lower surface, and the supply hole and the through hole are moved by moving a shutter having a through hole that engages with the supply hole and selectively appears to be connected or disconnected. The shutter is moved in a state where the shutter is in contact with the mold of the compression molding machine, the supply hole and the through hole are communicated to drop the material into the cavity recess, and then the shutter is moved. The material supply method, wherein the material is moved again to make the supply hole and the through hole out of communication and the material in the shutter is dropped into the cavity recess.

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