JP2016526614A - Method for producing carbon fiber entanglement fleece, apparatus for producing carbon fiber entanglement fleece, method for producing fleece for three-dimensional member, and fiber fleece - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention is a method for producing a carbon fiber entanglement fleece from carbon fibers having a fiber length of up to 100 mm, comprising the following steps: supplying carbon fibers; opening / combing carbon fibers and air Steps of individualizing into kinetic formula, step of calming individualized carbon fiber into aerodynamic formula, and introducing sedated and individualized carbon fiber into vertically arranged air tower (1) At this time, the carbon fiber is brought into a contactless manner inside the air tower (1) by the step of introducing at the upper end (12) of the air tower (1) and the air vortex using a number of individual air flows. A step of mixing, and a step of placing carbon fibers in an aerodynamic manner on a moving mold or mounting surface (2) disposed under the air tower (1), wherein the aerodynamic formula The placement of Or a step carried out by suction action under the mounting surface (2), wherein the direction and / or strength of the air flow is changed and / or adjusted and the air flow is It is produced and varied by means of one or more rotating air nozzles (14) arranged horizontally. The present invention further relates to an apparatus for producing a carbon fiber entangled fleece, a method for producing a fleece for a three-dimensional member, and a fiber fleece.

Description

  The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for producing a carbon fiber entanglement fleece (Kohlenstofffaser-Wirrvlies) from carbon fibers having a fiber length of up to 100 mm. The invention further relates to a method of manufacturing a fleece for a three-dimensional member.

  Forms consisting of fibers with a limited length, endless fibers or cut fibers are called fleece or fleece materials, which in some form are put together in a fleece, ie a fiber layer, a fiber pile. And coupled together in any suitable form.

  Based on the prior art, a wide variety of devices are known for producing fleeces in a wide variety of configurations.

  A method for producing a multilayer woven fabric, known from EP 1774077, has at least one fleece layer produced using the airlaid method.

  In a method for producing a fiber-reinforced plastic semi-finished product known from DE-A-102011079525, the carbon fibers are produced for the production in a matrix directly via a carding device or directly from a supply device. Is charged.

  In a method for producing a thermoplastic, deformable thick, fiber-reinforced semi-finished product known from DE 101 114 553, the reinforcing fibers are in a dry state using airlaid or carding methods. Are mixed with each other to form an endless web, and the resulting fleece is reinforced by needling.

  In the method for producing a three-dimensional component known from DE 1020040513334, this component has a shape-stable fiber structure.

  Furthermore, a fiber fleece with randomly arranged fibers known from US patent application 2013/010831 is manufactured by the airlaid method.

  Furthermore, a carbon-containing multilayer flexible laminate paper known from German Patent Application No. 10052223 is produced by the airlaid method.

  Publication of "Fleece Material" by H. Fuchs, W. Albrecht published by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH (Print ISBN 978-3-527-31519-2) (2012, 2nd edition, pages 158-171) In the fleece material known from page) and the method for producing it, various devices for producing this fleece are described, in particular the airlaid method.

  For the flake feeder (Flockenspeicher), based on the publication 7-8 / 2001 (pages 567 to 570) by S. Schlichter, B. Ruebenach of Truetzschler GmbH & Co. KG Alternative examples of use are further known.

  A problem with conventionally known carbon fiber fleeces is the non-uniformity of carbon fiber distribution within the fleece. A region where the carbon fiber is clearly present and a thick portion are formed inside the manufactured fleece. Due to inhomogeneities in the fleece, parts made from the fleece do not have the necessary stability over their entire structure and therefore cannot quickly withstand the demands.

  Well known for producing fleece from a wide variety of starting fibers are in particular the wet lay method (Wetlayverfahren) and the airlay method (Airlayverfahren). In the wet lay method, the fibers are placed in a water tank, removed from the water tank and formed into a fleece, which is typically used to produce a carbon fiber fleece. The air array method is a method of processing fibers into a fleece using air and a needle device or a roller equipped with a needle, but this method cannot be used for carbon fibers. The use of the airlay method in carbon fibers causes mechanical engagement, particularly in the fibers, which ultimately damages the high performance fibers.

  The object of the present invention is to improve the apparatus and method for producing the fleece so that the fibers to be processed can be handled carefully during production and are in particular homogeneous and in accordance with the provisions that exist for the fleece. Then, it is providing the apparatus and method which can be mounted in a fleece type | mold.

  These problems are solved by the method according to claim 1, the device according to claim 7, the other method according to claim 13 and the fiber fleece according to claim 15.

A method for producing a carbon fiber entanglement fleece from carbon fibers having a fiber length of up to 100 mm comprises the following steps:
I. Supplying carbon fiber;
II. Individualizing the carbon fiber into an opening / combing and aerodynamic formula;
III. Sedating the individualized carbon fiber into aerodynamic formula;
IV. Introducing sedated and individualized carbon fibers into a vertically arranged air tower, wherein the introduction is performed at the upper end of the air tower;
V. Non-contact mixing of carbon fibers inside the air tower by air vortex using a number of individual air streams;
VI. A step of placing the carbon fiber in an aerodynamic manner on a moving mold or placement surface disposed under the air tower, wherein the aerodynamic placement is performed on the mold or placement surface; And a step performed by the suction action below.

  By the method described above, non-contact mixing of the carbon fibers is performed, and the carbon fiber is placed on the mounting surface or the mold so as to be gentle on the material, and the mixing is performed at this time. No mechanical engagement is possible that could damage the carbon fiber.

  Inside the air tower, after aerodynamic or contactless mixing, the fibers are driven down by gravity and fall down.

  The step II according to the present invention, that is, the step of individualizing the carbon fiber into the opening / combing and aerodynamic formula, can be realized in the same way by using the aerodynamic personalization method or the individualization apparatus. At this time, the air roller can correspondingly realize opening / combing. Alternatively, a commercially available opener can be used to dissociate, open or comb the supplied carbon fiber bundle, thereby preparing the carbon fiber bundle for subsequent processing. The conventional opener at this time has two needle rollers that rotate in opposite directions. In the case of carbon fibers, these needle rollers are preferably formed with a spherical head at the tip of the needle.

  Contactless mixing of the carbon fibers is effected by air vortices using a number of individual air streams inside a vertically arranged air tower (step V.), where the air streams are directed in the direction and The strength is changed and / or adjusted.

  The air flow can then be realized by a large number of individual nozzles, in which a turbulent, particularly undirected flow is formed inside the air tower.

  In a particular embodiment, the air flow is generated by one or more rotating air rollers arranged horizontally, in particular in one or more planes. These air rollers can also be variably adjusted. The air roller is then formed as rotating pressure tubes, and a number of nozzles are mounted on the surface around these pressure tubes. Since the air roller is rotated by being driven by a corresponding electric motor, the nozzles arranged on the air roller, which can likewise have different spray angles, distribute outflowing air into the space. As a result, the carbon fibers are mixed inside the air tower.

  The suction action (step VI.) Is such that its suction power is changed and / or adjusted, so that the density of the fleece can be adjusted or changed accordingly. Another possibility for density changes is to adjust the speed of the mold past a correspondingly provided conveyor belt or drop zone. At this time, if the speed is relatively high, the density decreases, and at the reduced speed, the density of the carbon fiber increases.

  The mold or the mounting surface is guided through an outlet or a falling zone below the air tower, and at this time, the passing guidance is performed linearly or three-dimensionally, at this time, the surface perpendicular to the mold or the mounting surface. Partially corresponds to the vertical of the air tower. This means that the falling carbon fibers always collide perpendicularly with the mold surface, where they accumulate accordingly, resulting in a fleece that exactly corresponds to the surface curve or surface shape of the mold. To do. The problem of subsequently bending the fleece produced in two dimensions to a three-dimensional surface is thereby completely avoided. This is because here, a three-dimensional fleece is generated directly in the mold. Such a three-dimensional fleece can then be further processed accordingly with plastic to form a carbon fiber plastic matrix. While the fibers are being charged, the fibers particularly preferably have heat-bonding fibers, for example polyamide fibers, in which the fiber mixture consisting of carbon fibers and heat-bonding fibers is placed on the mold. Immediately thereafter, the energy or heat source is cured so that changes in the position between the fibers are prevented or avoided during further movement of the mold. For this purpose, the heat-sealing fibers are melted on the surface of the fleece, and as a result, a jacket preceding the surface of the fleece is produced. However, at this time, the structure of the fiber is not changed at all.

  The carbon fiber is cut using a horizontal cutting machine at the time of supply. In particular, carbon fibers from the recycling process are used for the production of fleece, where such carbon fibers are first cut into a predetermined length using a transverse cutter, so that, for example, as a whole, for example, Only fibers with a maximum length of 60 mm will be present.

  The carbon fibers are supplemented with heat-sealing fibers at the time of supply. The heat-sealable fiber is melted by energy input after placing a mixture of carbon fiber and heat-sealable fiber on a mold or a placement surface.

An apparatus for producing a carbon fiber entanglement fleece from a carbon fiber having a fiber length of up to 100 mm, particularly a fiber length of up to 60 mm, which carries out the production method according to the present invention,
A supply device for carbon fibers and, if necessary, a supply device for heat-sealing fibers;
A fiber opening / combing device or fiber opener for combing, individualizing, relaxing, dissociating and / or opening carbon fibers;
An air tower that is arranged vertically and in which carbon fibers are charged at the upper end and discharged at the lower end;
A conveying and individualizing device for individualizing and conveying the opened carbon fiber from the opening / combing device or fiber opener to the air tower,
・ Pipeline system,
・ Attachment area of the pipeline system to the fiber opening / combing device or fiber opener;
A transport ventilator inside the pipeline system that transports carbon fiber to the air tower;
A sedative tube portion disposed downstream of the transport ventilator and formed as a perforated tube;
An introduction part for introducing carbon fiber into the air tower;
A conveying and individualizing device having
A mounting surface arranged at the lower end of the air tower and perforated, in particular a three-dimensional mold covered by a conveyor belt or a fleece-shaped carbon fiber;
A suction part provided under the mold or the mounting surface;
An aerodynamic mixing system located in the air tower that mixes the carbon fibers;
have.

  Using the apparatus described above, on the one hand, it has already been mentioned that the contactless mixing of carbon fibers without mechanical engagement takes place in the region of the drop zone, ie inside the air tower. It is possible to implement a method or method part.

  An aerodynamic mixing system has a number of air nozzles that generate a number of air streams, the direction and / or strength of the air stream being variable and / or adjustable. For this purpose, the air nozzle can be conical or straight and can have different arrangements, in particular with regard to its orientation or injection direction. Further, the ejection width between the nozzles is variable. In a particularly preferred manner, the air vortex or air flow inside the air tower does indeed prevent the fibers from falling down, although the air vortex or air flow inside the air tower does indeed mix very well.

  For an aerodynamic mixing system, a number of in order to generate an optimal vortex inside the air tower, thereby allowing the fibers to mix optimally and drop downwards uniformly, especially with a uniform density There are possible spray forms. The fibers are blown and swirled from different sides by an aerodynamic mixing system.

  The mounting surface is formed by perforation. At this time, a suction device, for example, a transport ventilator, is provided below the mounting surface, and the transport ventilator is made up of the individualized carbon fibers that fall. Suck onto the mounting surface. Of course, fiber suction is only performed on a defined area under the drop zone.

  The air nozzle rotates and / or pivots about one or more axes and / or has a different configuration at its nozzle outlet.

  The air nozzle is arranged on a rotating roller arranged horizontally. The air nozzles are arranged in particular on rotating rollers and form air rollers according to the invention, which are rotated by means of motors, in particular electric motors, arranged outside the air tower. .

  In a special configuration of the air roller, the air nozzle can simply be sprayed towards the upper region, and in such a configuration, for example, a metal formed in a semi-circular shape inside a rotating roller, i.e. a hollow tube. Sheet metal is arranged, and these metal sheets prevent air flow to the nozzle arranged on the rotating roller when the air roller rotates, so that the metal sheet serves as a flow passage to the arranged nozzle. It is designed to close. By configuring in this way, the generated air flow only flows out towards the upper part of the air tower. Thus, under the air roller, unimpeded dropping of the fiber onto the mold or mounting surface or conveyor belt is possible.

  Another special configuration of the air roller can be a complete rotation of the air roller, in which air is injected in all directions over the complete rotation region of the air roller. In such a configuration, air can flow out of the nozzle at a low speed, despite the optimal vortex generated based on the large number of nozzles arranged.

  The attachment region and / or the conduit region have grooves and / or guide plates in the inner region that cause the carbon fiber to circulate. By appropriate arrangement of the attachment area of the pipeline system to the opener or the fiber opening / combing device, that is, by discharging the opened fibers from the lateral direction from the fiber opening / combing device to the pipeline system, Based on this, the fibers are transported more freely, that is, suspended in the air. This is done in particular by a rotating flow realized by grooves provided in the inner wall of the tube.

  Since the fibers are sedated behind the conveying ventilator, that is, further on the downstream side of the sedating tube, the kinetic energy of the fibers is greatly reduced. The sedation tube portion is formed as a covered tube with a hole, and is open at the introduction portion. The introduction portion extends from a conveyance tube having a circular cross section, for example, to a square opening inside the air tower. The sedated fiber is introduced into the air tower.

  Due to the corresponding aerodynamic mixing inside the air tower, the fibers can freely fall downward in the lower part of the air tower.

  An air roller unit arranged in the lower part may be provided inside the air tower, and for this purpose, two or more air rollers are arranged in parallel to each other. In a special embodiment, five air rollers are arranged side by side.

  In another aspect, a second and / or third air roller unit may be provided in a separate plane above the first air roller unit located near the lower portion of the air tower, Sometimes at least one or more air rollers are provided or arranged parallel to each other. The former stage serves for premixing of the fibers.

  Furthermore, guide plates can be arranged inside the air tower, by means of which these fibers are first concentrated in a specific area and then the fibers are better distributed by the arranged air rollers.

  In yet another aspect, rotating or stationary nozzles with equal or preferably differently configured jetting characteristics may be arranged on the inner wall of the air tower, and when configured in this way, Mixing can be further optimized without mechanical action.

  In order to move the mold under the air tower, a robot arm device is provided, which allows the three-dimensional movement of the mold under the air tower.

  The heat source is arrange | positioned at the lower end part of the air tower, and can heat a heat-fusion fiber after mounting to a type | mold or a mounting surface by this. Thus, the surface of the fleece can be cured. Such a heat source may be, for example, an infrared radiator or a microwave radiator.

  In another aspect, the carbon fiber and the heat-sealable fiber can be provided on the mounting surface separately from each other, where the carbon fiber is first cured in the conveyor belt transport direction and then the heat-sealable fiber is cured. . At this time, it is also possible to homogenize the heat-fusible fiber in the air tower using a general-purpose needle roller and drop it on the surface of the mounting surface.

  Another special configuration according to the present invention is a method of manufacturing a fleece for a three-dimensional member, wherein the method relates to the mold of the three-dimensional member to be manufactured, in particular at the fiber outlet. With such a device, it has a method step of guiding the passage, in which the fibers are brought in the direction of the surface normal from the fiber discharge at the point of impact of the mold. Such a method ensures that: That is, in the method according to the present invention, the falling fiber forms a fleece on the surface of the mold, and this fleece accurately follows the mold in accordance with the shape imparting, for example, bending the fleece normally manufactured in two dimensions. The fiber stress generated by bending, bending or similar shape change that occurs when placed on the mold is not generated. Usually, the corresponding mold formed in three dimensions is covered by a two-dimensional manufactured fleece and then treated with plastic to form a fiber plastic matrix. Such a member may be, for example, a car floor or a luggage compartment flap on an airplane, and such an example is merely an example. In this way, a substantially stress free member is produced, as the fiber can be accurately fitted to the mold while it is placed and formed into a fleece.

  The speed of movement of the mold and / or the suction effect under the mold is varied. This allows the density of the fleece to be adjusted. The relatively high suction action increases the density of the fleece because the fiber material flow in the drop zone increases. When moving a relatively fast mold, the density is locally reduced because relatively few fibers per unit time can fall on the mold.

  Similarly, it is possible to inhale only a special part of the mold during the passage of the mold under the drop zone in order to fix the fibers at a defined location of the mold. Furthermore, it is also possible to inhale several individual parts of the mold in order to provide relatively high density carbon fibers in the fleece spot.

The most important aspects of the present invention are summarized as follows:
The careful handling of the fibers inside the fall zone and the homogeneous mixing achieved simultaneously;
・ Avoiding fiber breakage,
・ Manufacture of homogeneous isotropic entanglement fleeces.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a first embodiment of an apparatus according to the present invention for producing a two-dimensional fleece. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a second embodiment of the apparatus according to the invention for producing a two-dimensional fleece. It is a side view which shows one embodiment of an air tower in detail. It is a front view which shows the air tower by embodiment shown in FIG. It is a top view which shows the air tower by embodiment shown in FIG.3 and FIG.4. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a third embodiment of an apparatus according to the present invention for producing a two-dimensional fleece. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating one embodiment of an apparatus according to the present invention for producing a three-dimensional fleece.

  FIG. 1 schematically shows a first embodiment of the device according to the invention for producing a two-dimensional fleece 5. At this time, the fleece has the heat-fusion fiber 51 melted on the surface.

  The apparatus has an air tower 1 with a lower end 11 and an upper end 12. An air roller 14 having an air nozzle is provided inside the air tower 1, and these air rollers 14 rotate in the direction of arrow R. The rotation of the air roller 14 is performed by an electric motor (not shown) arranged outside the air tower 1. In the upper end of the air tower 1, an inflow section swirl nozzle type distributor 121 is provided in the region of the inflow section 43, and this inflow section swirl nozzle type distributor 121 has better inflow to the air tower 1 and Useful for better guidance. On the side wall of the air tower 1, tower swirl nozzle distributors 122 are provided, which likewise produce better fiber distribution by means of compressed air. At this time, the swivel nozzle type distributors 121 and 122 are arranged so as to swivel automatically.

  Furthermore, the heat source 15 is provided in the lower end part 11 of the air tower 1, and this heat source 15 may be formed as an infrared radiator, a microwave radiator, or the like.

  A mounting surface 2 is formed as a mounting conveyor belt 21 below the air tower 1 which serves to drop the individualized fibers, ie carbon fibers, which are the main components, at this time. The conveyor belt 21 has a perforated configuration and has a suction portion for sucking air or sucking fibers onto the loading conveyor belt 21 formed by perforation.

  A fleece carry-out conveyor belt 22 is provided in connection with the placing conveyor belt 21.

  The device further comprises an opener 3, which is shown here as a conventional opener with two needle rollers rotating in opposite directions. The opener 3 is supplied with a carbon fiber made of a recycled / short carbon fiber from the storage unit 31 therefor. At this time, the carbon fiber is conveyed to the opener 3 by the conveying device 312. Further, a storage unit 32 for heat-sealing fibers, for example, polyamide fibers, which are conveyed to the opener 3 via the conveying device 322 in parallel with the conveying device 312 are provided.

  The apparatus further includes a pipeline system 4, and the opened fiber is conveyed from the opener 3 to the air tower 1 using this pipeline system 4. In addition to the conveyance pipe formed as a winding grooved pipe (Wickelfalzrohr), the pipe line system 4 includes a conveyance ventilator 41, a sedation pipe portion 42 formed as a plate with a hole having a suction peripheral wall, and an introduction portion 43. In this case, the introduction portion 43 forms a transition portion from the circular tube to the polygonal introduction region in the upper end portion 12 of the air tower 1.

  Next, the fleece manufacturing process will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

First, the heat-sealing fiber and the carbon fiber are conveyed from the storage units 31 and 32 to the opener 3 via the conveying devices 312 and 322 in accordance with the conveying directions X _TF and X _CF. In the opener 3, the fiber is opened by a needle roller that rotates in the opposite direction in the form of the prior art. In a special configuration, the needle roller has a circular or semi-circular head region.

After opening, the fibers are neatly introduced laterally into the pipeline system 4, where the fibers are parallel to the opener 3 through the pipeline system 4 in the transport direction X _O (in the drawing plane). The fibers which are conveyed while being circulated in the air and thereby individualized or opened can be further moved freely.

Of fibers having a circular component in the interior of the conduit system 4, for conveying in a conveying direction X _F, the transport ventilator 41 is provided.

  In order to calm the fibers, a sedative tube portion 42 is further provided, at which time air flows out through the holes in the perforated plate tube. At this time, the air may also be sucked in supplementarily via another closed tube element surrounding the perforated plate tube.

  After the fibers have been sedated, the fibers are introduced into the air tower 1 via the introduction part 43.

  Inside the air tower 1, the fibers fall downward due to gravity and the suction action under the loading conveyor belt 21. At this time, the fibers are mixed in a contact-free manner using an aerodynamic air mixing system, that is, using a device comprising five air rollers 14 arranged in the lower region of the air tower 1.

  After the aerodynamic contactless mixing of the fibers, the fibers pass through the air roller 14 and then fall onto the loading conveyor belt 21, and this dropping action causes a corresponding suction under the loading conveyor belt 21. Strengthened by action.

  Since the placing conveyor belt 21 continues to move, the fleece 5 is first generated. The fleece 5 having carbon fibers and heat-bonding fibers, here homogeneously mixed, passes through a heat source 15 where the fleece is hardened by melting of the heat-bonding fibers 51.

  Next, the fleece 51 is delivered to the fleece carry-out conveyor belt 22.

  In the following, the same reference numerals are used for the same members, and the functions of these members are referred to the embodiments described above.

  FIG. 2 schematically shows a second embodiment of the device according to the invention for producing a two-dimensional fleece 5 consisting exclusively of carbon fibres.

  In the present embodiment, only carbon fibers are supplied to the opener 3 and introduced into the air tower 1 accordingly.

  In the present embodiment, the air tower 1 has air rollers 14 and 16 positioned in two planes, and these air rollers 14 and 16 or the two planes are respectively disposed horizontally in the air tower 1. ing. The upper air roller plane 16 first premixes the fibers that have been sedated in the air tower 1, so that the fibers are already relatively homogeneous and fed to the lower air roller device 14.

  The important thing applicable to all the embodiments of the present application is that the carbon fibers are handled in a non-contact manner inside the air tower 1 using the air rollers 14, 16, 19 or the air nozzles 121, 122. . In the drawing, the air rollers 14, 16, 19 are shown as rotating air rollers themselves and outflowing air flows, and these airflows flow out from nozzles arranged on the rotating air rollers. To do.

After dropping of the carbon fibers to the loading conveyor belt 21 above, is promoted to the suction action, the homogeneous fleece 5 which is caused, is moved in the conveying direction X _V, it is delivered to the fleece out conveyor belt 22.

  In FIG. 3, one embodiment of the air tower 1 is shown in detail in a side view.

  The air tower 1 newly has air rollers 14 and 16 positioned in two planes. At this time, in this embodiment, three horizontally arranged air rollers are arranged side by side. The action of these air rollers 14 and 16 is additionally facilitated by the air guide plate 17 at the edge of the air tower 1, thereby causing the carbon fibers to fall more intensively.

  FIG. 4 shows the details of the air tower 1 according to the embodiment corresponding to FIG. 3 in a schematic front view.

  In FIG. 4, differently configured nozzles in the air rollers 14 and 16 can be recognized. The nozzles in the air rollers 14 and 16 are simply located near the upper side as an example, however, in the preferred embodiment, the nozzles are located all around the surface of the air rollers 14 and 16 so that the air Mixing in the entire column 1 can be performed.

  FIG. 5 schematically shows a view of the air tower 1 according to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 in a plan view seen from above.

  FIG. 6 schematically shows a third embodiment of the device according to the invention for producing a two-dimensional fleece 5.

  In the present embodiment, the carbon fiber is dropped onto the loading conveyor belt 21 as in FIG. 2 using the apparatus according to the present invention. At this time, the mixing inside the air tower 1 is carried out using the air roller 14 or a nozzle arranged accordingly.

  The heat-sealing fiber is supplied via a separate air tower following the placement of the carbon fiber. At this time, the heat-sealing fiber is supplied to the air tower through a needle roller known in the prior art. And mixed.

  The coated fibers, i.e., the lower region carbon fibers and the heat fusion fibers thereon, are then fed to a heat source 15 which melts the heat fusion fibers so that the carbon fleece 5 is melted. It is formed with a substantially fixed surface made of the heat-sealing fiber 51 thus formed.

  FIG. 7 schematically shows one embodiment of an apparatus according to the invention for producing a three-dimensional fleece.

  In this embodiment, the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is accepted as a whole. At this time, the carbon fiber and the heat-sealing fiber are homogenized and mixed together in the air tower 1 to be placed on the mounting surface 2. Dropped on top.

  In this embodiment, three air roller planes 14, 16, and 19 having different configurations are provided inside the air tower 1. Each of these air roller planes 14, 16, 19 provides improved individualization and mixing of the fibers, and the individualized and mixed fibers are finally covered by the three-dimensional mold 23 covered by the fibers. Fall on the top.

  Since the three-dimensional mold 23 to be covered is arranged on the multi-axis robot arm 24, the mold starts on one side and is guided by the drop zone of the air tower 1. At this time, the mold 23 is guided by passage using, for example, a robot arm 24 controlled by a corresponding software-programmable control device, and the falling fibers fall on the respective portions of the three-dimensional mold 23. .

  In order to prevent the falling fibers from slipping or dropping further during the further movement of the mold 23 using the robot arm 24, the heat source 15 is used to melt the surface of the heat-bonded fibers, thereby fleece. 51 is obtained in the three-dimensional mold 23.

  All the manufactured fleeces 5, 51 can be further processed by corresponding further processing methods, so that, for example, carbon fiber reinforced plastic parts are produced.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Air tower 11 Lower end part 12 Upper end part 121 Inflow part turning nozzle type distribution device 122 Tower turning nozzle type distribution apparatus 13 Overpressure outflow part 14 Air roller / air nozzle provided with air nozzle 15 Heat source / infrared radiator / microwave radiation Vessel 16 Second row of air rollers with air nozzles 17 Air guide plate 18 Air tower with needle rollers 19 Third row of air rollers with air nozzles 2 Placement surface 21 Mount with suction section Stationary conveyor belt 22 Fleece carry-out conveyor belt 23 Coated type 24 Robot arm 3 Opener 31 Carbon fiber storage / recycled / short carbon fiber 312 Carbon fiber transport device 32 Heat-bonded fiber storage / polyamide fiber 322 Thermal fusion Conveying device for attached fibers 4 Pipe line system 41 Conveying ventilator 42 Sedating pipe part / Plate with hole 3 introduction 5 conveying direction X _TF storage of the carbon fibers from the transport direction X _CF reservoir in the rotational direction X _B sedated fiber fleece R air roller having a molten thermally fused fiber fleece 51 surface to the opener conveying direction of the fibers in the downstream side in the transport direction X _O opener carbon fibers from part to opener (and parallel to the opener circular motion)
X _F fiber transport direction (with circular motion part)
X Conveying direction of the conveyor belt on which the _V fleece is placed X _L Main conveying direction of carbon fiber / heat-bonded fiber inside the air tower

Claims (15)

A method for producing a carbon fiber entanglement fleece from carbon fibers having a fiber length of up to 100 mm, comprising the following steps:
I. Supplying carbon fiber;
II. Individualizing the carbon fibers into opening / combing and aerodynamic formulas;
III. Sedating the individualized carbon fibers in an aerodynamic manner;
IV. Introducing the sedated and individualized carbon fibers into a vertically arranged air tower (1), wherein the introduction is performed at the upper end (12) of the air tower (1);
V. Non-contact mixing of the carbon fibers inside the air tower (1) by air vortex using a number of individual air streams;
VI. A step of placing the carbon fiber in an aerodynamic manner on a moving mold or placement surface (2) arranged under the air tower (1), wherein the aerodynamic placement is carried out at this time; Is performed by a suction action under the mold or the mounting surface (2) described above, and
At this time, the direction and / or strength of the air flow is changed and / or adjusted,
A method for producing a carbon fiber entangled fleece, characterized in that the air flow is generated and varied by means of one or more rotating air nozzles (14) arranged horizontally.   The method for producing a carbon fiber entangled fleece according to claim 1, wherein a suction output of the suction action (step VI) is changed and / or adjusted.   The mold or the mounting surface (2) is guided to pass through the lower outlet (11) of the air tower (1), and at this time, the passage guidance is performed linearly or three-dimensionally. Or the method of manufacturing the carbon fiber entanglement fleece of Claim 1 or 2 which makes the surface normal of the said mounting surface (2) correspond partially to the normal of the said air tower (1).   The method for producing a carbon fiber entangled fleece according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the carbon fiber is cut using a horizontal cutting machine at the time of supply.   The method for producing a carbon fiber entangled fleece according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the carbon fiber is replenished with a heat-sealing fiber at the time of supply.   6. The carbon fiber according to claim 5, wherein after the mixture of carbon fiber and heat-bonding fiber is placed on the mold or the mounting surface (2), the heat-bonding fiber is melted by energy input. A method of manufacturing a confounding fleece. An apparatus for producing a carbon fiber entangled fleece from carbon fibers having a fiber length of up to 100 mm, which implements the method of producing a carbon fiber entangled fleece according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
A supply device for carbon fibers and, if necessary, a supply device for heat-sealing fibers;
A fiber opening / combing device or fiber opener for combing, individualizing, relaxing, dissociating and / or opening carbon fibers;
An air tower (1) which is arranged vertically and into which the carbon fibers are charged at the upper end (12) and where the carbon fibers are discharged at the lower end (11);
A conveying and individualizing device for individually conveying the opened carbon fibers from the opening and combing device or the fiber opener to the air tower (1),
・ Pipeline system (4),
An attachment region of the pipeline system (4) to the opening and combing device or the fiber opener;
A transport ventilator (41) inside the conduit system (4) for transporting the carbon fiber to the air tower (1);
A sedative tube portion (42) disposed downstream of the transport ventilator (41) and formed as a perforated tube;
An introduction part (43) for introducing the carbon fiber into the air tower (1);
A conveying and individualizing device having
A mounting surface (2) arranged and perforated at the lower end (1) of the air tower (1), in particular a three-dimensional mold covered by the carbon fiber in the form of a conveyor belt or fleece;
A suction part (21) provided under the mold or mounting surface (2);
An aerodynamic mixing system arranged in the air tower (1) for mixing the carbon fibers;
Have
The aerodynamic mixing system has a number of air nozzles (14) that generate a number of air flows, the direction and / or strength of the air flow being variable and / or adjustable. An apparatus for producing a carbon fiber entangled fleece, characterized in that it is.   Carbon fiber according to claim 7, wherein the air nozzle (14) rotates and / or pivots about one or more axes and / or has a different configuration at its nozzle outlet. A device that produces confounding fleeces.   The apparatus for producing a carbon fiber entangled fleece according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the air nozzle (14) is arranged on a horizontally rotating roller.   The carbon according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein the attachment region and / or the conduit region has a groove and / or a guide plate for causing a circulation movement of the carbon fiber in an inner region. Equipment for producing fiber entanglement fleece.   A robot arm device is provided for moving the mold under the air tower (1), and the robot arm device is capable of three-dimensional movement of the mold under the air tower (1). The apparatus which manufactures the carbon fiber entanglement fleece of any one of Claim 7-10.   A heat source (15) is disposed at the lower end (11) of the air tower (1), whereby the heat-fusible fiber is heated after placement on the mold or the placement surface (2). The apparatus which manufactures the carbon fiber entanglement fleece of any one of Claim 7-11 which can do. A method for producing a fleece for a three-dimensional member using an apparatus for producing a carbon fiber entangled fleece according to any one of claims 7 to 12,
A three-dimensional member to be produced, which guides the mold of the three-dimensional member through the fiber outlet, so that the fibers are brought in the direction of the surface normal from the fiber outlet at the point of impact of the mold. A method of manufacturing a fleece for a member.   14. A method according to claim 13, wherein the speed of movement of the mold and / or the suction action under the mold is varied.   15. Manufactured by a method for producing a carbon fiber entangled fleece according to any one of claims 1 to 6, produced by a method for producing a fleece for a three-dimensional member according to claim 13 or 14, and / or Or the fiber fleece manufactured by the apparatus which manufactures the carbon fiber entanglement fleece of any one of Claim 7-12.

Images