JP2008254191A - Carbon fiber composite material manufacturing apparatus, carbon fiber composite material manufacturing method and carbon fiber composite material - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a carbon fiber composite material manufacturing apparatus capable of obtaining a carbon fiber composite material excellent in appearance smoothness with high productivity, a carbon fiber composite material manufacturing method using it and the carbon fiber composite material. <P>SOLUTION: The carbon fiber composite material manufacturing apparatus 1 is mainly constituted of a bobbin 10 for sending out a carbon fiber bundle CF, a fibrillation means 20, a positioning means 30, a cutting means 40 and a resin impregnation means 50. The manufacturing method of the carbon fiber composite material includes the fibrillation process S10, the cutting process S20 and the resin impregnation process S30. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a carbon fiber composite material manufacturing apparatus, a carbon fiber composite material manufacturing method using the same, and a carbon fiber composite material.

  Conventionally, glass Class-A SMC using glass fiber as a reinforcing fiber has been used as a material used for an outer panel of an automobile fender, a door or a trunk. Glass Class-A SMC can obtain specific strength and specific elastic modulus equivalent to those of metal materials, but the glass fiber to be blended has a high density, which tends to increase the weight.

  On the other hand, in recent years, there is an increasing need for lighter vehicle bodies in order to reduce the environmental impact of automobiles, specifically to improve fuel efficiency and emissions, and to improve sharp handling.

  In response to such needs for reducing the weight of the vehicle body, an attempt has been made to apply a carbon fiber reinforced composite material using carbon fiber as a reinforced fiber as a material replacing the conventional glass class-A SMC. Carbon fiber has (1) smaller specific gravity than glass fiber, metal, etc., (2) high strength (3,000-6000 MPa), (3) high elastic modulus (200-650 GPa), (4) fatigue strength It has characteristics such as high. For this reason, since the carbon fiber composite material in which such carbon fibers are blended is lightweight and has high specific strength and specific elastic modulus, application to an outer panel is desired.

  However, since the conventional carbon fiber has a convergent cross-sectional shape having a bowl shape, the unevenness of the fiber is exposed on the surface of the molded product, and the appearance smoothness is low. For this reason, it could not be used for an outer panel requiring high merchantability. In order to improve this point, various fiber-opening techniques have been devised in which the converging shape of the carbon fiber is opened into a flat shape and the unevenness of the fiber is smoothed.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses that the aligned carbon fiber bundles are sequentially contacted and passed through at least two round bars vibrating in the axial direction by ultrasonic waves, whereby the carbon fiber bundles are squeezed and opened. A method for opening a carbon fiber bundle is described.

Further, for example, in Patent Document 2, the sizing agent for the fiber bundle is heated and softened by heating the fiber bundle that is being fed, and the fiber bundle is added while the sizing agent is in the heat-softened state. While maintaining the required overfeed amount, the air flow is allowed to pass in the crossing direction, and the constituent filaments of the fiber bundle are separated in the width direction at the air flow passage site that is tensioned like a bow, and the fiber bundle is expanded into a sheet shape. A method for producing a spread sheet, in which the sizing agent is cured by forced heat dissipation of the fiber bundle and the fiber bundle is set in a sheet-like form in which the fiber bundle is spread, and the fiber bundle is sprayed to open the fiber bundle. The chemical sheet manufacturing apparatus is described.
JP-A-01-282362 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-172562

  However, according to the conventional fiber opening apparatus or the fiber opening method as shown in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, the carbon fiber bundle is vibrated at high speed or air is blown to open the fiber. The burden on the fiber was great.

  Further, separate devices have been used for the production of carbon fiber bundles, the opening of carbon fiber bundles, and the resin impregnation of carbon fibers. For this reason, after winding the carbon fiber around the bobbin, the carbon fiber bundle is sent out from the bobbin and wound around the bobbin in a state where the carbon fiber bundle is opened, and the carbon fiber is opened again from the bobbin. Was cut out and supplied to the resin impregnation means. Due to such an increase in the number of processes, the productivity of the carbon fiber composite material is lowered, resulting in an expensive material, and it has been difficult to apply to inexpensive and general purpose uses such as automobiles.

Furthermore, by repeating the winding and sending of the carbon fiber to the bobbin in a plurality of steps, the burden on the carbon fiber increases, and as a result, the carbon fiber may be damaged and opened. When the carbon fiber bundle was impregnated with the resin, the carbon fiber sometimes fuzzed or broken.
The carbon fiber composite material thus obtained had irregularities on the surface due to the fluffing or breaking of the carbon fibers, and was still difficult to apply to the outer panel.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and a carbon fiber composite material manufacturing apparatus capable of obtaining a carbon fiber composite material having high productivity and excellent appearance smoothness, and a carbon fiber composite material using the carbon fiber composite material It is an object to provide a manufacturing method and a carbon fiber composite material.

  The carbon fiber composite material manufacturing apparatus of the present invention that has solved the above problems includes a bobbin that continuously feeds a wound carbon fiber bundle by rotation, and the carbon fiber bundle sent from the bobbin is flattened in the width direction. An opening means for opening the fiber, a cutting means for cutting the opened carbon fiber bundle, a continuous arrangement of the cutting means, and impregnating the cut carbon fiber bundle with a resin And a resin impregnation means.

  According to the present invention, the carbon fiber bundle is sent to the fiber opening means by the bobbin, the carbon fiber bundle is flattened in the width direction by the fiber opening means, and the fiber is opened by the cutting means. By cutting the carbon fiber bundle and impregnating the cut carbon fiber bundle with the resin by the resin impregnation means, the manufacturing process of the carbon fiber composite material can be rationalized.

That is, the carbon fiber bundle is cut and the carbon fiber bundle just before impregnation with the resin by continuously performing from the opening of the carbon fiber bundle to the resin impregnation of the opened carbon fiber bundle with a single device. Since the bundle is opened, the occurrence of fluffing and breaking of the carbon fiber can be prevented.
Moreover, since a carbon fiber composite material can be obtained directly from a carbon fiber bundle, the number of manufacturing steps of the carbon fiber composite material can be reduced, and an inexpensive carbon fiber composite material can be obtained.

  Moreover, in the carbon fiber composite material manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, the fiber opening means has a spherical fiber opening portion with which the carbon fiber bundle contacts, and the curvature R of the fiber opening portion is 10.0. It is desirable to be set to ˜20.0 mm.

  According to this, the fiber opening means presses the carbon fiber bundle with the spherical opening portion to open the carbon fiber bundle, so that the carbon fiber bundle can be vibrated at high speed, Compared with the method of blowing air, the burden on the carbon fiber bundle can be reduced. Moreover, a carbon fiber bundle can be opened more favorably by setting the curvature R to 10.0 to 20.0 mm.

  Further, a positioning means for aligning the carbon fiber bundle and sending it to the opening means may be further provided between the bobbin and the opening means.

  According to this, since the positioning means is sent to the fiber opening means in a state where the carbon fiber bundles are aligned, the center portion of the carbon fiber bundle passes through the fiber opening portion of the fiber opening means. Can be positioned. Thereby, the carbon fiber bundle can be more appropriately opened.

  Moreover, the carbon fiber composite material manufacturing method of this invention is a carbon fiber composite material manufacturing method using the carbon fiber composite material manufacturing apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1-3, Comprising: A process, a cutting process, and a resin impregnation process.

  According to such a procedure, in the fiber opening step, the carbon fiber bundle is sent out from the bobbin, the carbon fiber bundle is opened by the fiber opening means, and the fiber opened in the cutting step. The carbon fiber bundle is cut, and in the resin impregnation step, the cut carbon fiber bundle is impregnated with resin.

  That is, fiber fluffing and breakage can be prevented by opening and cutting just before impregnating the carbon fiber bundle with resin. In addition, by continuously performing from the opening of the carbon fiber bundle to the resin impregnation of the opened carbon fiber bundle with a single device, the number of manufacturing steps of the carbon fiber composite material can be reduced, A carbon fiber composite material can be manufactured at low cost.

  Moreover, this invention was comprised as a carbon fiber composite material manufactured by the carbon fiber composite material manufacturing method of Claim 5.

  According to the carbon fiber composite material of the present invention, since it was produced by opening and cutting just before impregnating the resin into the carbon fiber bundle, it was possible to prevent fluffing and breakage of the fiber, so that the appearance smoothness Excellent.

  According to the carbon fiber composite material manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, the process from the opening of the carbon fiber bundle to the resin impregnation of the opened carbon fiber bundle is continuously performed by a single apparatus, and the carbon fiber bundle is cut. By opening the fiber just before impregnating the resin, the burden on the carbon fiber bundle can be reduced, and the fluffing and breakage of the carbon fiber can be prevented. Thereby, the carbon fiber composite material excellent in appearance smoothness can be manufactured.

  Further, according to the method for producing a carbon fiber composite material of the present invention, the production process is streamlined by continuously performing from the opening of the carbon fiber bundle to the resin impregnation of the opened carbon fiber bundle in the same process. can do. Further, by cutting the carbon fiber bundle and opening the fiber just before impregnating with the resin, the burden on the carbon fiber can be reduced, and the fluffing and breaking of the carbon fiber can be prevented. Thereby, the carbon fiber composite material excellent in appearance smoothness can be manufactured.

  Moreover, the carbon fiber composite material of the present invention is excellent in appearance smoothness.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described. In the drawings to be referred to, FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a carbon fiber composite material manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2A is an enlarged view of a fiber opening means portion shown in FIG. The figure which shows a mode that fiber opening is performed, (b) is a figure which is another embodiment of the fiber opening means, and shows a mode that a carbon fiber bundle is opened.

  The carbon fiber composite material manufacturing apparatus 1 mainly includes a bobbin 10 that sends out a carbon fiber bundle CF, a fiber opening means 20A, a positioning means 30, a cutting means 40, and a resin impregnation means 50. Has been. In the following description, the bobbin 10 side is the upstream side.

  The bobbin 10 is for continuously sending the carbon fiber bundle CF to the fiber opening means 20A. The bobbin 10 is upstream of the carbon fiber composite material manufacturing apparatus 1 with the carbon fiber bundle CF wound in advance. It is detachably attached to the side. The bobbin 10 can be rotated by a driving device (not shown).

  Here, the carbon fiber used for the carbon fiber bundle CF is a general carbon fiber, for example, a PAN (polyacrylonitrile) -based carbon fiber, and the application amount of the sizing agent is about 1%, epoxy-based, It is desirable to apply a sizing agent such as urethane. Further, the number of convergence is preferably in the range of 3000 to 24000 (3 to 24K), but is not limited thereto.

  As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 (a), the fiber opening means 20A is for expanding the width of the carbon fiber bundle CF continuously fed from the bobbin 10 to open the fiber. And is formed adjacent to the passage of the carbon fiber bundle CF. As the opening means 20A, for example, a spherical member as shown in FIG. 2A can be used.

  It is desirable that the opening portion 21 has a curvature R, and the curvature R is 10.0 to 20.0 mm. This is because if the curvature R is smaller than 10.0 mm, the carbon fiber bundle CF is torn in the width direction and cannot be opened, and if the curvature R is larger than 20.0 mm, the curvature R becomes insufficient. This is because the fiber bundle CF cannot be opened.

  The surface roughness Ra (μm) of the opening portion 21 is desirably 0.3 or less, and in order to reduce the contact resistance with the carbon fiber bundle CF, DLC (Diamond Like Carbon) or Teflon (registered trademark) It is more desirable to perform a treatment for improving the surface smoothness by covering the surface with a fluororesin such as). This is because if the surface roughness Ra (μm) is larger than 0.3, the contact resistance becomes too large, and the fluffing and breakage are likely to occur due to the abrasion of the carbon fiber bundle CF.

  The material of the opening means 20A is not particularly limited, and can be appropriately selected from iron, aluminum, a resin material, and the like.

  As shown in FIG. 2 (a), the fiber opening means 20A configured as described above presses the substantially central portion of the carbon fiber bundle CF flowing toward the downstream side at the fiber opening portion 21, and the carbon fibers As the bundle CF is unwound in the width direction, for example, as shown on the right side of FIG. Hereinafter, the carbon fiber bundle CF opened by the fiber opening means 20A will be described as a carbon fiber sheet CFS.

  In addition, it is good also as a metal elongate member which has not only the opening means 20A but the spherical opening part 21b like the opening means 20B shown in FIG.2 (b), for example. The curvature R of the opening portion 21b is defined in a direction substantially perpendicular to the delivery direction.

The positioning means 30 is for aligning the carbon fiber bundles CF and sending them to the fiber opening means 20A. For example, the positioning means 30 is a hollow cylindrical member, and is disposed upstream and coaxially with respect to the fiber opening means 20A. Has been.
By inserting the carbon fiber bundle CF through such positioning means 30, it is possible to prevent the carbon fiber bundle CF from shaking in the width direction, and to guide the carbon fiber bundle CF to the opening position.

The cutting means 40 is for cutting the carbon fiber sheet CFS into a predetermined length, and is disposed between the cutting means 40 and the resin impregnation means 50.
The cutting means 40 includes, for example, rolls 41 and 41 arranged facing left and right, and a plurality of cutters 42, 42... Attached to the outer peripheral surfaces of the rolls 41 and 41 at predetermined intervals, respectively. Configured. The carbon fiber sheet CFS can be cut into a predetermined length by the cutters 42, 42... While the rolls 41, 41 of the cutting means 40 are rotated inward to pass the carbon fiber sheet CFS.

  In addition, although the bobbin 10, the fiber opening means 20A, the positioning means 30, and the cutting means 40 are not illustrated, for example, a plurality of the bobbin 10, the plurality of carbon fiber composite material manufacturing apparatuses 1 are arranged in the back side of the drawing. The carbon fiber bundles CF can be simultaneously opened to cut the carbon fiber sheet CFS.

In the carbon fiber composite material manufacturing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, a guide reel GR for adjusting the tension of the running carbon fiber bundle CF and the carbon fiber sheet CFS is appropriately installed between the members. .
A predetermined tension is applied to the carbon fiber bundle CF by passing the carbon fiber bundle CF in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the guide reel GR. The tension is preferably in the range of 500N to 2000N, for example. This is because if the tension of the carbon fiber bundle CF is less than 500 N, the carbon fiber bundle CF is bent and cannot be sufficiently opened, and if the tension of the carbon fiber bundle CF is greater than 2000 N, the carbon fiber bundle CF. This is because the frictional force between the fiber opening portion 21 and the fiber opening portion 21 becomes excessively large, and the carbon fiber bundle CF is likely to fluff or break.

  The resin impregnation means 50 is for impregnating the carbon fiber sheet CFS cut by the cutting means 40 with resin, and includes a base material 51 and a base material 52 disposed at a position facing the base material 51. The feeding reels 53a and 53b for feeding the base materials 51 and 52, the pressing means 54, and the take-up reel 55 are mainly included.

  The base material 51 is disposed substantially horizontally below the cutting means 40 and is fed from the feed reel 53a and travels substantially horizontally. The substrate 51 sequentially places the cut carbon fiber sheets CFS during traveling.

  A resin paste P1 and a blade 56 adjacent to the resin paste P1 are disposed in the vicinity of the delivery reel 53a of the base 51. When the base 51 is run, the blade 56 causes the resin paste P1 to adhere to the base 51. The resin is applied to the surface of the substrate 51 by being thinly spread on the surface.

  The base material 52 is disposed above the downstream side of the base material 51, travels in a direction in which it is fed back by the feed reel 53 b and flows backward with the base material 51, and is turned back by the folding reel 53 c to change the direction. Along the same direction.

  A resin paste P2 and a blade 56 adjacent to the resin paste P2 are disposed in the vicinity of the delivery reel 53b of the base material 52. When the base material 52 is run, the blade 56 causes the resin paste P2 to be transferred to the surface of the base material 52. As a result, the resin is applied to the surface of the substrate 52.

According to this, the resin is applied to the surfaces of the base materials 51 and 52, and the carbon fiber sheet CFS that has been cut and lowered by the cutting means 40 during the travel is placed on the surface of the base material 51. Further, the carbon fiber sheet CFS is sandwiched between the base material 51 and the base material 52 that travels along the base material 51.
As such base materials 51 and 52, a film of an olefin resin material can be used.

  The pressing means 53 is for impregnating the carbon fiber sheet CFS with a resin, and is arranged up and down so as to sandwich the base materials 51 and 22, for example, and can be moved up and down by a driving means (not shown), for example. Is a rolled member.

  For example, the pressing unit 53 presses the base material 51 and the base material 52 in a state of sandwiching the carbon fiber sheet CFS in a direction close to each other, and is applied to the surfaces of the base materials 51 and 52 on the carbon fiber sheet CFS. Impregnate with resin.

  As the resin pastes P1 and P2 impregnated in the carbon fiber sheet CFS, for example, unsaturated polyester resins, epoxy resins, vinyl ester resins, and modified products thereof are preferably used.

  Further, in order to improve the impregnation property of the resin into the carbon fiber sheet CFS, it is desirable that the viscosity at the time of impregnation of the resin pastes P1 and P2 is in a range of 1000 to 40000 mPa · s. Further, in order to improve the appearance smoothness of the carbon fiber composite material 60, a filler (for example, calcium carbonate) and a low shrinkage component (for example, a styrene butadiene elastomer, a vinyl acetate elastomer, etc.) may be appropriately added. desirable.

  The take-up reel 55 is for winding and collecting the carbon fiber composite material 60 obtained by the pressing means 54, and is an extension of the joined base materials 51 and 52 on the downstream side of the pressing means 54. It is arranged on the line.

  A carbon fiber composite material manufacturing method by the carbon fiber composite material manufacturing apparatus 1 configured as described above will be described below. In the drawings to be referred to, FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a carbon fiber composite material manufacturing procedure according to the carbon fiber composite material manufacturing method of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, the carbon fiber composite material manufacturing method includes a fiber opening step S10, a cutting step S20, and a resin impregnation step S30.

[Opening process]
In the fiber opening step S10, the bobbin 10 is rotated by a driving means (not shown), the carbon fiber bundle CF wound around the bobbin 10 is sent to the fiber opening means 20A, and the spherical opening of the fiber opening means 20A is performed. The surface of the carbon fiber bundle CF is pressed by the forming unit 21 and the carbon fiber bundle CF is flattened in the width direction to be opened to form a carbon fiber sheet CFS, which is sent to the cutting means 40.
[Cutting process]
In the cutting step S <b> 20, the carbon fiber sheet CFS produced in the fiber opening step S <b> 10 is cut into a predetermined length by the cutting means 40 and sent to the resin impregnation means 50.
[Resin impregnation process]
In the resin impregnation step S30, the resin impregnating means 50 impregnates the carbon fiber sheet CFS cut in the cutting step S20. For example, first, the base materials 51 and 52 of the resin impregnation means 50 are run, and the resin pastes P1 and P2 are spread on the surface thereof. Then, the carbon fiber sheet CFS cut by the cutting means 40 in the cutting step S20 is sequentially placed on the traveling base material 51. Next, the carbon fiber sheet CFS is sandwiched between the base materials 51 and 52, and in this state, the base materials 51 and 52 are pressed in a direction to approach each other by the pressing means 54, and the base material 51, The carbon fiber composite material 60 is manufactured by impregnating the resin applied to the surface of 52. The produced carbon fiber composite material 60 is taken up and collected on the take-up reel 55.

According to the carbon fiber composite material manufacturing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, the opening of the carbon fiber bundle CF, the cutting of the opened carbon fiber bundle CF (carbon fiber sheet CFS), and the carbon fiber sheet CFS. Since the resin impregnation is performed in a series of operations, the fiber opening sheet 20A is cut immediately before the carbon fiber sheet CFS is cut and impregnated with the resin, that is, without repeatedly winding and feeding the carbon fiber bundle CF. Thus, the carbon fiber bundle CF can be opened. For this reason, the burden on the carbon fiber bundle CF can be reduced, and damage to the carbon fiber bundle CF can be prevented. Thereby, fluffing and breakage of the opened carbon fiber sheet CFS can be prevented, and the carbon fiber composite material 60 excellent in appearance smoothness can be manufactured.
Further, since the fiber opening means 20A is for opening the carbon fiber bundle CF by contacting the carbon fiber bundle CF with the spherical fiber opening section 21, the carbon fiber bundle CF and the fiber opening section are opened. The friction with 21 can be reduced, and the burden on the carbon fiber bundle CF can be further reduced.

  Moreover, according to the carbon fiber composite material manufacturing method which concerns on this embodiment, since it comprises fiber opening process S10, cutting process S20, and resin impregnation process S30, carbon fiber bundle CF is made into fiber opening process S10. Immediately after the fiber is opened, the cutting can be performed in the cutting step S20, and the resin can be impregnated in the resin impregnation step S30. For this reason, the burden on the carbon fiber bundle CF can be reduced, and damage to the carbon fiber bundle CF can be prevented. Thereby, fluffing and breakage of the opened carbon fiber sheet CFS can be prevented, and the carbon fiber composite material 60 excellent in appearance smoothness can be obtained.

(1) Evaluation of the fiber opening state Hereinafter, the evaluation experiment result of the fiber opening state by the fiber opening means 20A of the carbon fiber composite material manufacturing apparatus 1 according to the present invention will be described.
In this experiment, the curvature R of the opening portion 21 of the opening means was increased from 5 mm to 25 mm in units of 5 mm, and the opening state of the carbon fiber bundle was evaluated for each.
Specifically, condition no. No. 1 has a curvature of the opening portion of 25 mm, and condition No. 1 No. 2 has a curvature of 20 mm for the opening portion, and condition No. No. 3 has a curvature of the fiber opening portion of 15 mm, and condition No. No. 4 has a curvature of the opening portion of 10 mm, and condition No. No. 5 was opened at a curvature of 5 mm.
As the carbon fiber bundle CF, (1) HTA-3K-E30 manufactured by Toho Tenax, (2) HTA-12K-E30, and (3) STS-24K-F301 were used. Condition No. 1-No. The list of 5 is shown in Table 1 below.

  In this experiment, the aspect ratio was used as an evaluation index for the opened state. Here, the aspect ratio indicates the ratio of the length of the carbon fiber bundle CF to the diameter. If the aspect ratio is 0.01 or less, it can be evaluated that the fiber is in a good open state.

As shown in Table 1, condition no. 1, in each of the carbon fiber bundles (1) to (3), the aspect ratio was 0.01 or more, and an inappropriate fiber opening state was obtained. Condition No. 2 to Condition No. In No. 4, in each of the carbon fiber bundles (1) to (3), the aspect ratio was 0.01 or less, and the fiber was in a favorable open state. Condition No. In No. 5, the carbon fiber bundle CF was torn in the width direction (rip NG), and the fiber opening failed.
As described above, condition no. 2 to Condition No. 4 gave good results.

(2) Confirmation of surface state in the case of forming a molded product Using the carbon fiber composite material 60 manufactured by the carbon fiber composite material manufacturing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, a prototype of the carbon fiber composite material is manufactured and the state of the molded product is checked. evaluated. Moreover, it compared with the carbon fiber composite material molded article made as an experiment using the carbon fiber composite material manufactured by the other method which does not satisfy the requirements of the present invention.

Example 1 uses the carbon fiber composite material manufacturing apparatus 1 of the present invention, and the above-mentioned conditions No. Using the carbon fiber sheet opened in 3, a carbon fiber composite material was produced. As the resin to be impregnated, 90 phr (per hundred resin) of calcium carbonate was used for general highly reactive polyester, and 6 phr of a styrene butadiene elastomer was added as a low shrinkage material.
The molding conditions were a Kawasaki Oil Works 200t press, a carbon fiber composite material cut to 160mm for a mold cavity dimension of 300mm, placed on the center of the mold, the mold temperature was 140 ° C, and the mold clamping pressure As a result, it was maintained for 180 seconds with 10 MPa applied and cured.

In Comparative Example 1, HTA-12K-E30 manufactured by Toho Tenax was used as the carbon fiber, and the resin was impregnated using a SMC (sheet molding compound) impregnator manufactured by Tsukishima Kikai to produce a carbon fiber composite material. As the resin to be impregnated, 90 phr (per hundred resin) of calcium carbonate was used for general highly reactive polyester, and 6 phr of a styrene butadiene elastomer was added as a low shrinkage material. In Comparative Example 1, the carbon fiber bundle was not opened.
The molding conditions are the same as in Example 1.

Comparative Example 2 uses HTA-12K-E30 manufactured by Toho Tenax as carbon fiber, using an opening sheet manufacturing apparatus disclosed in JP-A-11-172562, air pressure 0.5 MPa, blow span 50 mm The fiber was opened at a fiber delivery speed of 1 m / min. The carbon fiber sheet thus opened had a convergence width of 15 mm and a convergence thickness of 0.06 mm.
Next, the resin was impregnated using an SMC (sheet molding compound) impregnation machine manufactured by Tsukishima Kikai Co., Ltd. to produce a carbon fiber composite material. As the impregnating resin, 90 phr (per hundred resin) of calcium carbonate was used for general highly reactive polyester, and 6 phr of styrene butadiene elastomer was added as a low shrinkage material.
The molding conditions are the same as in Example 1.

In Comparative Example 3, glass Class-A SMC was used as the glass fiber, and the fiber was opened using Nittobo RS480PK650. Next, the resin was impregnated using an SMC (sheet molding compound) impregnation machine manufactured by Tsukishima Kikai Co., Ltd. to produce a carbon fiber composite material. As the resin to be impregnated, 90 phr (per hundred resin) of calcium carbonate was used for general highly reactive polyester, and 6 phr of a styrene butadiene elastomer was added as a low shrinkage material.
The molding conditions are the same as in Example 1.

The evaluation items are the state of the carbon fiber sheet CFS when the carbon fiber sheet CFS is supplied to the resin impregnation means 50, the Vf (%) of the molded product, the density (g / cm ³ ) of the molded product, and the It is visual appearance determination about surface roughness Ra (micrometer), surface waviness (micrometer) of a molded article, and the external appearance smoothness of a molded article. The carbon fiber sheet CFS was visually observed, and pass / fail was determined by the presence or absence of breakage. The evaluation method of Vf (%) of a molded product is based on the dissolution method using sulfuric acid defined by JIS. The density (g / cm ³ ) of the molded product was measured using SD-120L manufactured by MIRAGE. The surface roughness Ra (μm) of the molded product was calculated using Mitutoyo SV3000 CNC. The surface waviness of the molded product is measured 50 mm at an arbitrary position on the surface of the molded product, and the absolute value of the difference between the maximum value (convex part) and the minimum value (concave part) of the waveform is calculated. did.

  About Example 1 and Comparative Examples 1-3 which were manufactured as mentioned above, it evaluated about each evaluation item. Table 2 below shows a list of evaluation items and evaluation results.

Since Example 1 satisfies the requirements of the present invention, the acceptance criteria were satisfied for each evaluation item, and good results were obtained.
Since Comparative Examples 1-3 did not satisfy the requirements of the present invention, the acceptance criteria were not satisfied for any of the evaluation items.
Specifically, in Comparative Example 1, since the carbon fiber bundle was not opened, the appearance of the molded product was visually judged to be uneven and the surface was rejected. In Comparative Example 2, since the carbon fiber bundle was air-opened, the carbon fiber was broken when the carbon fiber sheet was supplied to the impregnation machine. Moreover, for this reason, some unevenness | corrugations were seen on the surface and it failed. In Comparative Example 3, since glass fiber was used as the reinforcing fiber, the density (g / cm ³ ) of the molded product exceeded the acceptance standard value and was rejected.

  As described above, according to the carbon fiber composite material manufacturing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, a good carbon fiber composite material 60 can be obtained. For this reason, it can be widely used for an outer panel of an automobile.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment.

It is a whole block diagram of the carbon fiber composite material manufacturing apparatus of this invention. FIG. 2 (a) is an enlarged view of the fiber opening means part shown in FIG. 1, and shows a state of opening the carbon fiber bundle, and FIG. 2 (b) is another embodiment of the fiber opening means. And it is a figure which shows a mode that a carbon fiber bundle is opened. It is a flowchart which shows the carbon fiber composite material manufacturing procedure by the carbon fiber composite material manufacturing method of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Carbon fiber composite material manufacturing apparatus 10 Bobbin 20 Fiber opening means 30 Positioning means 40 Cutting means 50 Resin impregnation means 60 Carbon fiber composite material CF Carbon fiber bundle CFS Carbon fiber sheet S10 Fiber opening process S20 Cutting process S30 Resin impregnation process

Claims (5)

A bobbin that continuously feeds the wound carbon fiber bundle by rotation;
A fiber opening means for flattening the carbon fiber bundle delivered from the bobbin in the width direction for opening;
A cutting means for cutting the opened carbon fiber bundle;
A carbon fiber composite material manufacturing apparatus, comprising: a resin impregnation unit that is disposed continuously with the cutting unit and impregnates the cut carbon fiber bundle with a resin.   The fiber opening means has a spherical fiber opening portion with which the carbon fiber bundle abuts, and a curvature R of the fiber opening portion is set to 10.0 to 20.0 mm. The carbon fiber composite material manufacturing apparatus according to 1. The positioning apparatus for aligning the carbon fiber bundle between the bobbin and the fiber opening means and feeding the fiber bundle to the fiber opening means is further provided. Carbon fiber composite material manufacturing equipment. A carbon fiber composite material manufacturing method using the carbon fiber composite material manufacturing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The carbon fiber bundle is sent from the bobbin to the fiber opening means, and the fiber opening step is performed to open the carbon fiber bundle with the fiber opening means.
A cutting step of cutting the opened carbon fiber bundle;
A resin impregnation step of impregnating the cut carbon fiber bundle with resin;
A method for producing a carbon fiber composite material, comprising:   A carbon fiber composite material manufactured by the carbon fiber composite material manufacturing method according to claim 4.

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