JP2005153428A - Method for producing preform - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for producing a preform which can mold an FRP preform product kept in an appropriate shape while labor is saved eminently. <P>SOLUTION: The method for producing the preform by an FRP organization in which plaited threads 4 having a plait angle to the axis of ±θ° and central threads 5 having an angle to the axis of 0° are combined to make an organization includes a braiding process in which a combination fiber bundle 13 with a thermoplastic fibrous material 12 combined in advance with a fibrous material 11 for FRP such as carbon fibers or glass fibers is set in a braider apparatus, and a tubular FRP organization is produced around a mandrel by braiding and a thermal fusion-bonding process in which the tubular FRP organizations are joined together in the radial direction and deformed, and the joined parts are heated to be fusion-bonded to keep the shape. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

The present invention relates to the manufacture of a structure made of fiber reinforced plastics (hereinafter referred to as FRP) obtained by braiding a fiber material for FRP such as carbon fiber or glass fiber using a braider device. In particular, the present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a preform for forming a preform with the FRP structure.

As is well known, FRP is a composite material formed by bending a fiber material such as carbon fiber or glass fiber with a matrix of various plastics, and is a lightweight and high strength FRP composition structural material. It has been developed and used in many industrial fields. This FRP composition is manufactured as a tube-shaped tissue body around a mandrel by setting a fiber material such as carbon fiber or glass fiber in a braider device and performing a braiding process. Conventionally, when a preform is formed with the FRP structure manufactured in this tube shape, the manufactured tube FRP structure is extracted from the mandrel, and, for example, the tube-shaped FRP structure is closely adhered in the radial direction and stitched. The shape was held by processing, or the shape was held by heating and pressing after impregnating or adhering thermoplastic powder to the FRP tissue.

However, according to the conventional method described above, after the braiding process, a very complicated shape holding process such as a stitching process or impregnation or application of thermoplastic powder and a heating and pressing process thereof is required. , Which had many problems.

Furthermore, conventionally, a tubular body continuous forming system described in Patent Document 1 is known regarding a manufacturing method for forming an FRP preform. In the system described in Patent Document 1, the braid is impregnated with a matrix resin, and the braid formed around the mandrel is heated to melt the matrix resin of the yarn constituting the braid and to have a predetermined cross-sectional shape. The tubular body is continuously formed by being molded and cured. According to the description of Patent Document 1, it is necessary to prepare a mandrel having a shape that matches the shape of the preform to be molded, and exclusively molding only a tubular preform corresponding to the prepared mandrel shape. It's just what you do.

JP-A-7-9597 (Summary, FIG. 9)

Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and a particularly important element is that the FRP preform product made of the FRP structure is molded in a state where it is appropriately held in shape. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for manufacturing a preform that can be manufactured in an extremely labor-saving manner.

In order to achieve the above-described object, the present invention specifically provides a structure by selectively combining a braid having an angle of assembly of ± θ ° with respect to the axis and a central yarn having an angle of 0 ° with respect to the axis. A method for manufacturing a preform using an FRP structure, in which a fiber bundle for a fiber material for FRP such as carbon fiber or glass fiber is preliminarily combined with a thermoplastic fiber material and set in a braider device. A braiding process for manufacturing a tube-shaped FRP structure around the mandrel, and the tube-shaped FRP structure is deformed by closely contacting in the radial direction, and heat is applied to the contacted portion to fuse it. Thus, a preform manufacturing method comprising a heat fusion process for maintaining the shape is configured.

Further, in this invention, the invention according to claim 2 is the preform manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the thermoplastic fiber material is aligned with the FRP fiber material such as carbon fiber or glass fiber. Thus, a bundle of combined yarn fibers is obtained.

Furthermore, in this invention, the invention according to claim 3 is the preform manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein a thermoplastic fiber material is used for the FRP fiber material such as carbon fiber or glass fiber. It is characterized in that it is wound into a bundle of combined yarn fibers.

According to the preform manufacturing method of the present invention, thermoplastic fibers are preliminarily combined with a fiber material for FRP such as carbon fiber or glass fiber to be subjected to a braiding process, and the combined yarn After manufacturing the tube-shaped FRP structure around the mandrel and removing it from the mandrel, the tube-shaped FRP structure is deformed by close contact in the radial direction, and heat is applied to the contacted part. It has the effect of being able to manufacture a preform product with FRP having an appropriate shape, with a simple operation and extremely labor-saving, because it includes a heat-sealing process for fusing and maintaining the shape. It is.

Hereinafter, the preform manufacturing method according to the present invention will be described in detail based on specific examples shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing the form of an FRP structure obtained by a braiding process in the preform manufacturing method according to the present invention. FIG. 2 shows an example of a synthetic fiber bundle used in the method for producing a preform according to the present invention. FIG. 2A shows a heat treatment for a fiber material for FRP such as carbon fiber or glass fiber. FIG. 2B is a schematic perspective view showing an example in which a plastic fiber material is used to form a bundle of composite yarns. FIG. 2B is a composite yarn obtained by winding a thermoplastic fiber material around an FRP fiber material such as carbon fiber or glass fiber. It is a schematic perspective view which shows the example made into the fiber bundle.

On the other hand, FIG. 3 illustrates a manufacturing process in the preform manufacturing method according to the present invention, and FIG. 3A is a schematic perspective view showing the form of a tube-shaped FRP structure extracted from a mandrel. 3B is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the state of the heat-sealing process for the tubular FRP structure, and FIGS. 3C and 3D are different preforms manufactured in the preform manufacturing method according to the present invention. It is a schematic cross-sectional view which shows a form. Furthermore, FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional side view showing an example of a basic configuration of a multiple braider device for manufacturing an FRP structure in the preform manufacturing method according to the present invention.

In the present invention, the most important factor is that a yarn bundle 13 in which a thermoplastic fiber material 12 is combined with a fiber material 11 for FRP such as carbon fiber or glass fiber in advance as a yarn used in the braiding process. It is in the point to apply. As shown in FIG. 2A, is the synthetic fiber bundle 13 prepared as a fiber material 11 for FRP such as carbon fiber or glass fiber along with at least one thermoplastic fiber material 12? Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 2B, at least one thermoplastic fiber material 12 is prepared around a fiber material 11 for FRP such as carbon fiber or glass fiber.

The thermoplastic fiber material 12 is a fiber material having a property of being heat-sealed by heating in the heat-sealing step described later after the braiding step, such as nylon fiber, polyester fiber, polyethylene fiber, and polypropylene fiber. These are constituted by multifilament yarns or spun yarns.

In the present invention, the above-described combined yarn bundle 13 constitutes the braided yarns Y and Y (4, 4) having an angle of ± θ ° with respect to the axis and the central yarn y (5) having an angle of 0 ° with respect to the axis Each is set in a braider device to produce a tubular FRP tissue around the mandrel by braiding.

A configuration example of a multiple braider device used for manufacturing the FRP tissue body according to the present invention will be described. In FIG. 4, the multiple braider device includes a mandrel automatic supply device (not shown), a plurality of vertical braider units BR, a shake prevention device Os, and an automatic preform take-out device Pu. Are arranged in series. As shown in FIG. 4, the braider unit BR feeds the braided yarn Y (4, 4) and the central yarn y (5) for forming the braided tissue layer 2 around the mandrel M.

The braider unit BR includes a vertical raceway surface 21 having a center hole 21a through which the mandrel M passes and two ridges of a corrugated annular raceway (not shown) formed outside the center hole 21a, and these annular raceways. Two groups of bobbin carriers 22 that are guided in the opposite directions and run in opposite directions, a bobbin stand that is erected from the raceway surface 21, and a plurality of erections that are erected from the center of the raceway surface 21 surrounded by the annular raceway. And a cylindrical body 23 for supplying a central yarn.

The bobbin carrier 22 feeds out the yarns Y and Y (4, 4) obliquely intersecting on the surface of the mandrel M at a yarn angle ± θ °, and the yarn bobbin B around which the yarn Y is wound is set. Is done. The bobbin stand is for feeding the central yarn y (5) along the longitudinal direction of the mandrel M on the surface of the mandrel M, and the central yarn bobbin b around which the central yarn y is wound is set.

In FIG. 4, the mandrel M is wound at a constant speed by a chuck (not shown) on the right side so that a plurality of braided yarns Y, Y are wound around the surface, and the central yarn y is combined therewith. A braided tissue layer 2 is formed.

The anti-vibration tool Os includes two sets of anti-vibration rollers 27 and 27 that are pressed toward each other. This shake prevention tool Os prevents the mandrel M from meandering with the rollers 27 and 27 of each set. The preform automatic take-out device Pu is provided with a chuck 28 for pulling the mandrel M forward while holding the tip of the mandrel M that has come out of the shake prevention tool Os.

Next, the basic structure of the braided tissue body according to the present invention will be described in detail based on the basic configuration example shown in FIG. A basic structure 1 shown in FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram in which a cylindrical (pipe-like) composition is formed into one assembly layer 2 in order to characterize the basic configuration of the present invention. The braided tissue body 10 is composed by organizing a physical layer into a plurality of layers.

In the basic configuration example shown in FIG. 1, the braid layer 2 is composed of braids 4 and 4 having a braid angle of ± θ ° with respect to the axis and a central yarn 5 having an angle of 0 ° with respect to the axis. is there. As shown in FIG. 4, these braiding yarns 4, 4 and the central yarn 5 are selectively combined around a mandrel M (a mandrel is not used in the case of a solid body), and a braid structure along the mandrel M Manufactured as a body 10. In the present invention, the braided yarns 4, 4 and the central yarn 5 are constituted by a combined yarn bundle 13 in which a thermoplastic fiber material 12 is combined with a fiber material 11 for FRP such as carbon fiber or glass fiber in advance. It is what has been.

The manufacturing method of the FRP preform according to the present invention is such that a fiber bundle 13 in which a thermoplastic fiber material 12 is preliminarily combined with a fiber material 11 for FRP such as carbon fiber or glass fiber is set in a braider device BR. The braiding step of manufacturing the braided tissue structure 10 by braiding and the FRP structure manufactured in the tube shape are deformed by closely contacting in the radial direction, and heat is applied to the contacted portion to form the shape. It consists of a heat fusion process to hold.

Based on FIG. 3, the heat sealing | fusion process is demonstrated. The braided tissue body 10 manufactured in the braiding step is extracted from the mandrel M and formed as a tube-shaped FRP tissue body. This tubular FRP structure is closely deformed in the radial direction by the heat source means HM, and the thermoplastic fiber 12 is melted and held in a desired shape by the heat applied to the closely contacted portion. FIG. 3C or FIG. 3D A preform PF1 or PF2 having a desired shape as illustrated in FIG.

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing the form of an FRP structure obtained by a braiding process in the preform manufacturing method according to the present invention. FIG. 2 shows an example of a synthetic fiber bundle used in the method for producing a preform according to the present invention. FIG. 2A shows a heat treatment for a fiber material for FRP such as carbon fiber or glass fiber. FIG. 2B is a schematic perspective view showing an example in which a plastic fiber material is used to form a bundle of composite yarns. FIG. 2B is a composite yarn obtained by winding a thermoplastic fiber material around an FRP fiber material such as carbon fiber or glass fiber. It is a schematic perspective view which shows the example made into the fiber bundle. FIG. 3 illustrates a manufacturing process in the method for manufacturing a preform according to the present invention. FIG. 3A is a schematic perspective view showing the form of a tubular FRP tissue body extracted from a mandrel, and FIG. FIG. 3C and FIG. 3D are schematic cross-sectional views showing the state of the heat fusion process for this tubular FRP tissue body, and FIG. 3C and FIG. 3D show different forms of preforms manufactured in the preform manufacturing method according to the present invention. It is a schematic cross-sectional view shown. FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional side view showing an example of a basic configuration of a multiple braider device for manufacturing an FRP structure in the preform manufacturing method according to the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Basic organization body 2 Assembly layer 4, 4 Braiding yarn whose angle with respect to axis is ± θ ° 5 Central yarn 10 ° with respect to axis 10 Braid organization 11 FRP fiber material 12 Thermoplastic fiber material 13 Synthetic fiber Bundle BR Braider unit RA Wrapping device Y Braid y Center yarn B Bobbin for braid b Bobbin for center yarn M Mandrel PF1, PF2 Preformed

Claims (3)

A method for manufacturing a preform using an FRP structure in which a braid having an angle of ± θ ° with respect to an axis and a center yarn having an angle of 0 ° with respect to an axis is selectively combined, the carbon fiber or glass A braiding process in which a fiber bundle for which a thermoplastic fiber material is combined in advance with a fiber material for FRP such as fiber is set in a braider device, and a tubular FRP structure is produced around the mandrel by braiding. And a heat sealing step in which the FRP structure manufactured in the tube shape is closely contacted and deformed in the radial direction, and heat is applied to the contacted portion to melt and maintain the shape. Preform manufacturing method. The preform manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein a thermoplastic fiber material is combined with a fiber material for FRP such as carbon fiber or glass fiber to form a combined fiber bundle. The preform manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein a thermoplastic fiber material is wound around the FRP fiber material such as carbon fiber or glass fiber to form a combined fiber bundle.

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