JP2018001716A - Tow prepreg manufacturing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To control a resin impregnation amount based on the resin impregnation amount judged with high accuracy.SOLUTION: A tow prepreg manufacturing device (10) includes: application rollers (41, 42); a resin tank (80); resin reservoir parts (110, 111) for retaining a resin supplied from the resin tank and supplying it to roller faces; a first resin amount measurement part (81) for measuring a resin amount inside the resin tank; second resin amount measurement parts (120, 121) for measuring the resin amount inside the resin reservoir parts; and a control part (90). The resin reservoir parts include: blades (112, 114) disposed by opposing to the roller faces with a gap provided therebetween; and attachment suppression parts for preventing the resin inside the resin reservoir parts from being attached to both ends of the application rollers. The control part decreases the gap when a resin impregnation rate acquired based on respective fluctuation amounts of the resin amounts measured by the first and second resin amount measurement parts and a consumed amount of fiber bundles exceeds a target value, and increases the gap when the resin impregnation rate is below the target value.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to a tow prepreg manufacturing apparatus.

  As a method for producing a tow prepreg, there is a method in which a resin is supplied to a cylindrical roller surface, the resin on the roll surface is made to have a uniform thickness using a blade, and then the fiber bundle is brought into contact with the resin on the roller surface. Are known. For example, when a FRP (fiber reinforced plastic) molded body is produced using a tow prepreg, the resin impregnation amount in the tow prepreg affects physical properties such as strength, weight, and thermal expansion coefficient of the molded body. Therefore, it is important to properly manage the resin impregnation amount of the tow prepreg. As a method for managing the amount of resin impregnation during the production of tow prepreg, conventionally, the result of measuring the weight of the resin tank storing the resin for impregnation and the amount of fibers supplied to the resin tank for impregnation were measured. Based on the results, a method for determining whether or not the amount of resin impregnation into the fiber is normal has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2007-260975 A

  However, when managing the resin impregnation amount at the time of manufacturing the tow prepreg, a sufficient method for obtaining the current resin impregnation amount with high accuracy has not been studied. For example, in the method described in Patent Document 1, there is a possibility that the resin may scatter from the end near the side surface of the roller due to the resin adhering to the entire surface of the roller. When the resin scatters in this way, an error occurs between the amount of resin reduced in the resin tank and the amount of resin consumed for impregnating the fiber, and the accuracy of judgment regarding the resin impregnation amount is reduced. Arise. Therefore, there has been a demand for a technique for improving the determination accuracy of the resin impregnation amount and controlling the resin impregnation amount to be appropriate at the time of manufacturing the prepreg.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to solve at least a part of the problems described above, and the invention can be implemented as the following forms.

(1) According to one form of this invention, the manufacturing apparatus of a tow prepreg is provided. The tow prepreg manufacturing apparatus has a roller surface, an application roller that applies a liquid resin to a fiber bundle passing over the roller surface; a resin tank that stores the resin; and the resin tank that is supplied from the resin tank A resin reservoir for retaining the resin and supplying the resin to the roller surface of the application roller; a first resin amount measuring unit for measuring the amount of resin in the resin tank; and a resin amount in the resin reservoir. A second resin amount measuring unit to be measured; and a control unit. The resin reservoir is a blade that is provided so as to extend substantially parallel to the axial direction of the application roller, and is disposed to face the roller surface across the gap to which the resin is supplied. A blade configured to be displaceable so as to be changed in size; and an adhesion suppression unit that prevents the resin in the resin reservoir from adhering to both ends of the application roller. The control unit includes a variation amount of each of the resin amount in the resin tank measured by the first resin amount measurement unit and the resin amount in the resin reservoir measured by the second resin amount measurement unit, and When it is determined that the resin impregnation rate in the fiber bundle obtained based on the consumption of the fiber bundle used for coating exceeds the target value, the blade is displaced so that the gap is reduced. When it is determined that the resin impregnation rate is lower than the target value, the blade is displaced so that the gap becomes large.
According to the tow prepreg manufacturing apparatus of this embodiment, when the tow prepreg TPP is manufactured, the control of bringing the resin impregnation ratio RC close to the target value can be performed with high accuracy and stability.

  The present invention can be implemented in various forms other than the above. For example, in addition to a tow prepreg manufacturing apparatus, the present invention can be realized in the form of a resin coating apparatus for a tow prepreg, a tow prepreg manufacturing method, a resin coating method, and the like.

It is explanatory drawing which shows schematic structure of the manufacturing apparatus of a tow prepreg. It is explanatory drawing which shows a resin application part. It is explanatory drawing which shows a part of AA cross section in a resin application part. It is a flowchart showing a resin impregnation amount control processing routine. It is explanatory drawing showing the result of having manufactured the tow prepreg with the tow prepreg manufacturing apparatus of the Example. It is explanatory drawing showing the result of having manufactured the tow prepreg with the tow prepreg manufacturing apparatus of the comparative example. It is explanatory drawing which expands and shows the resin application part of a modification.

A. Configuration of tow prepreg manufacturing equipment:
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of a tow prepreg manufacturing apparatus 10. The tow prepreg manufacturing apparatus 10 includes a tow unwinding device 20, a tow opening device 30, a resin impregnation device 40, a hot air generating device 50, a tow closing device 60, a tow winding device 70, and a control unit 90. And comprising.

  The toe unwinding device 20 is a device for unwinding the tow CF wound around a roller (not shown). “Tow” is a reinforcing fiber formed by bundling a large number of filaments. In this embodiment, a fiber bundle of carbon fibers is used as the tow CF, but different types of fiber bundles can also be used.

  The toe opening device 30 includes a plurality of rollers 31 to 34, and the tow CF unwound from the tow unwinding device 20 sequentially passes over the plurality of rollers 31 to 34. Since the diameter of the center part of the plurality of rollers 31 to 34 is larger than the diameters of both ends, the toe opening device 30 can loosen and spread the tow CF thinly. In this way, the impregnation efficiency of the resin R in the tow CF is improved by loosening and thinly spreading the tow CF prior to the impregnation of the resin R. The tow opening device 30 can be omitted.

  The resin impregnation apparatus 40 is an apparatus for impregnating the resin R into the tow CF that has been loosened and spread in the tow opening apparatus 30. The toe CF becomes tow prepreg TPP after being impregnated by the resin impregnation apparatus 40. The resin impregnation apparatus 40 includes two resin application units 100 and 101 and a resin tank 80. The resin application unit 100 applies the resin R to the first surface of the tow CF, and the resin application unit 101 applies the resin R to the second surface that is the back surface of the first surface of the tow CF.

  The resin application unit 100 includes a resin reservoir 110 that retains an uncured liquid resin R, an application roller 41, a liquid level sensor 120 for measuring the amount of resin in the resin reservoir 110, a blade 114, . The resin application unit 101 includes a resin reservoir 111 for retaining the resin R, an application roller 42, a liquid level sensor 121 for measuring the amount of resin in the resin reservoir 111, and a blade 112. The resin application part 100 and the resin application part 101 have the same configuration. In addition, that resin is liquid means that resin has fluidity | liquidity.

  The application rollers 41 and 42 can be made of, for example, chrome-plated steel, invar, aluminum, stainless steel, ceramics, or the like. In the present embodiment, the liquid level sensors 120 and 121 are configured as laser displacement meters. Detection signals from the liquid level sensors 120 and 121 are input to the control unit 90. The liquid level sensors 120 and 121 correspond to the “second resin amount measuring unit” in [Means for Solving the Problems]. The second resin amount measuring unit only needs to be able to measure the resin amount in the resin reservoirs 110 and 111, and may adopt a configuration other than the laser displacement meter.

  The resin tank 80 stores a liquid resin R to be supplied to the resin reservoir 110 and the resin reservoir 111. The resin impregnation apparatus 40 is provided with a resin flow path 82 connected to the resin tank 80. The resin flow path 82 branches into a resin flow path 83 connected to the resin reservoir 110 and a resin flow path 84 connected to the resin reservoir 111. The resin flow path 83 is provided with a pump 85 for supplying the resin R from the resin tank 80 to the resin reservoir 110. The resin flow path 84 supplies the resin R from the resin tank 80 to the resin reservoir 111. A pump 86 for supply is provided. The resin tank 80 is provided with a weight sensor 81 for measuring the weight of the resin R stored in the resin tank 80. The pumps 85 and 86 are driven by a drive signal from the control unit 90, and the detection signal of the weight sensor 81 is input to the control unit 90. The weight sensor 81 corresponds to the “first resin amount measuring unit” in [Means for Solving the Problems]. In addition, the 1st resin amount measurement part should just be able to measure the resin amount in the resin tank 80, and may employ | adopt structures other than a weight sensor. A specific configuration related to application of the resin R in the resin application units 100 and 101 will be described later.

  The hot air generator 50 includes a heating unit (not shown), and blows air to the resin impregnation device 40 and takes in air that has passed through the resin impregnation device 40. That is, the hot air generating device 50 is a device that circulates air between the resin impregnation device 40 while heating the air prior to blowing air to the resin impregnation device 40. In this way, by supplying hot air from the hot air generator 50, the application rollers 41 and 42 are heated, and impregnation of the resin R into the tow CF in the resin impregnation device 40 is promoted.

  The toe closing device 60 includes a plurality of rollers 61 and 62, and the tow prepreg TPP carried out from the resin impregnation device 40 sequentially passes over the plurality of rollers 61 and 62. Since the diameter of the center part of the some rollers 61 and 62 is smaller than the diameter of both ends, the toe closing device 60 can narrow the width | variety of the tow prepreg TPP. In addition, the toe closing device 60 can be omitted.

  The tow take-up device 70 is a device that takes up the tow prepreg TPP carried out from the toe closing device 60 onto a bobbin (not shown). The winding of the tow winding device 70 completes the production of the tow prepreg TPP.

  The control unit 90 is configured as a computer having a ROM, a RAM, and the like in addition to a CPU that performs a logical operation, and drives and controls the entire toe prepreg manufacturing apparatus 10. That is, it receives detection signals from various sensors included in the tow prepreg manufacturing apparatus 10 and outputs drive signals to the respective units. The function of the control unit 90 may be realized by software, or may be realized by hardware based on a circuit configuration included in the control unit 90.

  FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the resin application unit 101. Since the two resin application portions 100 and 101 have the same configuration, the resin application portion 101 will be described as an example. As described above, the resin application unit 101 includes the blade 112 in addition to the resin reservoir 111 and the application roller 42. The resin reservoir 111 has a substantially hexahedral shape. The resin reservoir 111 is surrounded by two side plates 111a and 111c and a back plate 111b on three sides of the four side surfaces. And the bottom plate 111e is provided in the bottom part of the resin reservoir 111, and one side and the upper surface are open | released.

  The application roller 42 has a cylindrical shape and has a roller surface 42s. The application roller 42 is disposed adjacent to the resin reservoir 111 so that the roller surface 42 s travels along the opened side surface of the resin reservoir 111. Thereby, a space where the resin R stays is formed by being surrounded by the two side plates 111a and 111c, the back plate 111b, the bottom plate 111e, and the roller surface 42s. From this space, the resin R is supplied onto the roller surface 42s, and the resin R is applied to a tow (not shown) passing over the roller surface 42s. Note that the tow passes on the roller surface 42s does not regulate the upper and lower positions of the tow and the application roller 42, but the tow passes while contacting the roller surface 42s on which the resin layer is formed. To do.

  The two side plates 111a and 111c define both sides of the resin supply range in which the resin R is supplied from the resin reservoir 111 on the roller surface 42s. In other words, the two side plates 111 a and 111 c are both arranged so as to be close to the roller surface 42 s at a position closer to the inside than both ends of the application roller 42. Therefore, these two side plates 111 a and 111 c function to prevent the resin R in the resin reservoir 111 from adhering to both ends of the application roller 42. The two side plates 111a and 111c correspond to the “adhesion suppression portion” in [Means for Solving the Problems]. The two side plates 111a and 111c prevent the resin R from adhering to both ends of the application roller 42, so that the resin R in the resin reservoir 111 does not pass through the blade gap G described later and the resin reservoir 111. Control to the outside. In addition, the adhesion suppression part should just suppress resin adhesion to the both ends of the application roller 42, and can suppress that resin flows out of the resin reservoir part 111, without passing through the blade gap G mentioned later. The side plates 111a and 111c may have different shapes.

  Note that a minute gap is provided between the two side plates 111a and 111c and the application roller 42, which is smaller than a blade gap G described later and does not hinder the rotation of the application roller 42. Here, the uncured resin has a high viscosity, and the viscosity of the resin further increases when the application roller 42 rotates. Therefore, even if a fine gap is provided between the application roller 42 as described above, the two side plates 111a and 111c suppress the adhesion of the resin to both ends of the application roller 42, and a blade gap G described later. The outflow of the resin R from the resin reservoir 111 that does not pass through can be suppressed.

  A blade 112 is disposed on the bottom plate 111e. That is, the blade 112 extends substantially parallel to the axial direction of the application roller 42 at the terminal position along the rotation direction of the application roller 42 in the opening for supplying the resin R from the side surface of the resin reservoir 111 to the roller surface 42s. Provided. At this time, the blade 112 is disposed to face the roller surface 42s of the application roller 42 with a gap (also referred to as a blade gap G) interposed therebetween. By adjusting the size of the blade gap G, the amount of resin applied to the surface of the application roller 42 can be adjusted.

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a part of the AA cross section in the resin application part 101 shown in FIG. In FIG. 3, the description of the side plate 111a, the back plate 111b, and the bottom plate 111e is omitted. In FIG. 3, the gap between the blade 112 and the application roller 42 is shown as a blade gap G. As shown in FIG. 3, the resin application unit 101 includes a motor 117 and a ball screw 116 for adjusting the blade gap G. The ball screw 116 has one end connected to the motor 117 and the other end connected to the blade 112. Then, when the motor 117 is driven to rotate, the ball screw 116 converts the rotational motion of the motor 117 into a linear motion and transmits it to the blade 112. As a result, the blade 112 is displaced (slid) so as to change the distance (blade gap G) between the blade 112 and the application roller 42 while maintaining the position in the direction of gravity. That is, the blade 112 is configured to be displaceable so that the size of the blade gap G is changed.

  When the blade gap G increases with the displacement of the blade 112, the amount of resin applied to the surface of the application roller 42 increases, and as a result, the amount of resin applied to the tow CF increases. Further, when the blade gap G decreases with the displacement of the blade 112, the amount of resin applied to the surface of the application roller 42 decreases, and as a result, the amount of resin applied to the tow CF decreases. The motor 117 is driven by a drive signal from the control unit 90.

  When adjusting the blade gap G, the size of the blade gap G may be obtained in order to ensure the adjustment accuracy. The size of the blade gap G may be measured by providing a sensor, or an estimated value may be used. The sensor used for measuring the blade gap G can be a position sensor, for example. A position sensor may directly measure the position of the blade 112. Alternatively, the blade 112 may be mounted on a position control stage, and a linear scale as a position sensor may be incorporated in the stage. As a method for estimating the size of the blade gap G, the relationship between the rotation amount of the motor 117 and the displacement amount of the blade 112 is obtained and stored in advance, the rotation amount of the motor 117 is measured, and the displacement of the blade 112 is measured. A method of deriving the blade gap G from the integrated value of the quantity can be mentioned.

  In the resin application unit 101, the resin R that has been applied on the roller surface 42 s but has not been applied to the tow CF without contacting the toe CF on the roller surface 42 s is a resin reservoir portion as the application roller 42 rotates. Return to 111. Then, again through the blade gap G, a resin layer for application to the tow CF is formed on the roller surface 42s.

B. Control of resin application amount:
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a resin impregnation amount control processing routine executed by the CPU of the control unit 90 of the tow prepreg manufacturing apparatus 10. This routine is repeatedly executed during the operation of the toe prepreg manufacturing apparatus 10 until it is determined that the production of the prescribed amount of the tow prepreg TPP is completed after the toe prepreg manufacturing apparatus 10 is started.

  When this routine is executed, the CPU executes processing for starting production of tow prepreg TPP. Thereby, the tow unwinding device 20, the tow opening device 30, the resin impregnation device 40, the hot air generating device 50, the tow closing device 60, and the tow winding device 70 are driven. As a result, the tow CF is unwound from the tow unwinding device 20, the resin R is supplied from the resin tank 80 to the resin reservoirs 110 and 111, and the tow CF is impregnated with the resin R, and the tow prepreg obtained is obtained. The operation of winding the TPP by the tow winding device 70 is started (step S100).

  Thereafter, the CPU calculates a resin impregnation rate RC (step S110). When starting the production of tow prepreg TPP and executing step S110 for the first time, the CPU waited for a predetermined time until the production of tow prepreg TPP has progressed to some extent and the resin impregnation rate RC can be calculated. Thereafter, step S110 may be executed.

The resin impregnation ratio RC represents the ratio of the weight of the resin impregnated in the tow prepreg TPP to the total weight of the produced tow prepreg TPP. The resin impregnation rate RC is obtained by the following equation (1). In the formula (1), R _con is the resin consumption, that is, the weight of the resin consumed by impregnating the tow CF in the resin impregnation apparatus 40. In the present embodiment, the resin consumption rate R _con is regarded as the resin amount impregnated in the tow CF, and the resin impregnation rate RC is calculated. The CF consumption represents the weight of tow CF consumed for producing the tow prepreg TPP.

RC = _Rcon / ( _Rcon + CF consumption) × 100 (1)

Hereinafter, as the resin impregnation rate RC, a method of obtaining the resin impregnation rate RC from time t to time (t + Δt) (the average value of the resin impregnation rate during the period Δt) will be described. The following parameters are used for deriving the resin impregnation rate RC.
Resin retention amount w (t): weight of the resin R staying in the resin reservoirs 110 and 111,
Residual amount change Δw: Change amount of resin amount retained in resin reservoirs 110 and 111 between time t and time (t + Δt) Resin weight W (t): Resin R stored in resin tank 80 weight,
Resin supply amount ΔW: the amount of resin supplied from the resin tank 80 to the resin reservoirs 110 and 111 between time t and time (t + Δt),
Resin consumption R _con : Weight of resin consumed for impregnating tow CF between time t and time (t + Δt),
CF consumption: Weight of tow CF consumed for the production of tow prepreg TPP between time t and time (t + Δt)

Resin retention amount w (t) is determined based on detection signals from liquid level sensors 120 and 121. As described above, the CPU determines the detection signals of the liquid level sensors 120 and 121, that is, the liquid level heights h ₁₁₀ (t) and h ₁₁₁ (t) of the resin R stored in the resin reservoirs 110 and _111. Have acquired. In addition, in order to suppress the influence of the noise of the liquid level sensor 120 and the vibration of the tow prepreg manufacturing apparatus 10, the liquid level heights h ₁₁₀ (t) and h ₁₁₁ (t) are continuously acquired, and Δt An average value in a sufficiently short time interval may be used. And the control part 90 has memorize | stored beforehand the relationship between the resin amount stored in the resin reservoirs 110 and 111 and the liquid level height of the resin R stored in the resin reservoirs 110 and 111 as a map. . For this reason, the CPU determines the weight of the resin R stored in each of the resin reservoirs 110 and 111 at predetermined time intervals based on the liquid level heights h ₁₁₀ (t) and h ₁₁₁ (t) and the map. Is derived. Resin retention amount w (t) represents the total weight of resin R stored in each of resin reservoirs 110 and 111 at time t.

  The CPU derives the resin retention amount w (t) every time Δt elapses, and obtains the change amount (variation amount) of the resin amount remaining in the resin reservoirs 110 and 111 during the period Δt. The staying amount change Δw is obtained by the following equation (2).

  Δw = w (t + Δt) −w (t) (2)

  Further, as described above, the CPU acquires the detection signal of the weight sensor 81, that is, the resin weight W (t) that is the weight of the resin R stored in the resin tank 80. As shown in the following equation (3), the resin supply amount ΔW is the difference between the detection value of the weight sensor 81 at time t and the detection value of the weight sensor 81 at time (t + Δt), that is, in the resin tank 80. It is obtained as a change amount (variation amount) of the resin amount.

  ΔW = W (t) −W (t + Δt) (3)

Resin consumption R _con , that is, the weight of resin consumed for impregnating the tow CF between time t and time (t + Δt) is expressed by the following equation (4).

R _con = ΔW−Δw (4)

  Further, the CF consumption, that is, the weight of the tow CF consumed for the production of the tow prepreg TPP from the time t to the time (t + Δt) is expressed by the following equation (5). The CF density in the equation (5) is the density (weight / length) of the tow CF used for manufacturing the tow prepreg, and is stored in the control unit 90 in advance. The production speed is the moving speed of the tow CF between the tow unwinding device 20 and the tow winding device 70 in the toe prepreg manufacturing apparatus 10, and the driving amount of the roller provided in each part of the toe prepreg manufacturing apparatus 10. It is set by adjusting. The production time is a time interval for calculating the CF consumption, and here is Δt.

  CF consumption = CF density × production speed × production time (5)

In step S110, the resin consumption R _con determined based on the equation (4) as described above and the CF consumption determined based on the equation (5) are used to calculate the resin based on the equation (1). The impregnation rate RC is calculated.

  When the resin impregnation rate RC is obtained, the CPU next determines whether or not the absolute value of the difference between the resin impregnation rate RC and the target ratio is 0.5% or less (step S120). Here, the target ratio is a value that is predetermined as a target value of the resin impregnation rate in the tow prepreg TPP to be manufactured and stored in the control unit 90. In step S120, since it is only necessary to determine whether the resin impregnation ratio RC in the tow prepreg TPP being manufactured is a value sufficiently close to the target ratio, a value of 0.5% that is a reference value for determination is It can be changed as appropriate.

  If it is determined in step S120 that the absolute value of the difference between the resin impregnation ratio RC and the target ratio exceeds the reference value, the CPU changes the blade gap G (step S130). That is, when the difference between the resin impregnation rate RC and the target ratio is a positive value exceeding the reference value (when it is determined that the resin impregnation rate RC exceeds the target value), the resin impregnation rate RC is excessive. Therefore, the blade gap G is reduced. Further, when the difference between the resin impregnation rate RC and the target ratio is a negative value exceeding the reference value (when it is determined that the resin impregnation rate RC is lower than the target value), the resin impregnation rate RC is insufficient. Therefore, the blade gap G is increased. More specifically, in the present embodiment, when the absolute value of the difference between the resin impregnation ratio RC and the target ratio exceeds the reference value, the blade gap G is set in both of the two resin application portions 100 and 101. It is changing by equal amount. The amount of change of the blade gap G can be adjusted by the driving amount of the motor 117 provided in the resin application units 100 and 101. Note that when the manufacture of the tow prepreg TPP is started, the blade gap G is set to a predetermined value according to the set target ratio.

  After changing the blade gap G, the CPU determines whether or not the production of the specified amount of tow prepreg TPP has been completed (step S140). In step S140, for example, a determination may be made based on whether or not the resin impregnation of a predetermined length of tow CF has been completed based on the integrated value of the product of the production rate at each time and Δt.

  If it is determined in step S140 that the production of the prescribed amount of tow prepreg TPP has not been completed, the CPU returns to step S110. And the process of step S110-step S140 is performed again.

  If it is determined in step S140 that the production of the prescribed amount of tow prepreg TPP has been completed, the CPU executes a process for terminating the production of the tow prepreg TPP. Thereby, the tow unwinding device 20, the tow opening device 30, the resin impregnation device 40, the hot air generating device 50, the tow closing device 60, and the tow winding device 70 are stopped. As a result, the tow CF is unwound from the tow unwinding device 20, the resin R is supplied from the resin tank 80 to the resin reservoirs 110 and 111, and the tow CF is impregnated with the resin R, and the tow prepreg obtained is obtained. The operation of winding the TPP by the tow winding device 70 is stopped (step S170).

  If it is determined in step S120 that the absolute value of the difference between the resin impregnation ratio RC and the target ratio is less than the reference value, the CPU proceeds to step S140 to produce a prescribed amount of tow prepreg TPP. It is determined whether or not is completed.

  According to the tow prepreg manufacturing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment configured as described above, the resin impregnation rate RC is derived based on the actual measurement value related to the amount of consumed resin, and the obtained resin impregnation rate RC and the target ratio are calculated. Based on the difference, the blade gap G is adjusted. Therefore, when manufacturing the tow prepreg TPP, the control of bringing the resin impregnation ratio RC close to the target ratio can be performed with high accuracy and stability.

At that time, in the present embodiment, the change in the retention amount derived from the resin supply amount ΔW derived from the resin weight W (t) in the resin tank 80 and the resin retention amount w (t) in the resin reservoirs 110 and 111. Based on the minute Δw, the resin consumption R _con used for impregnation of the tow CF is calculated. Therefore, the accuracy of obtaining the resin impregnation rate RC can be increased as compared with the case where the decrease amount of the resin R in the resin tank 80 is simply set as the resin consumption amount R _con . Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the resin reservoirs 110 and 111 include two side plates 111a and 111c that are adhesion suppression units that prevent the resin R from adhering to both ends of the roller. As a result, since the resin in the resin reservoirs 110 and 111 is prevented from flowing out of the resin reservoirs 110 and 111 without passing through the blade gap G, the accuracy of the calculated resin consumption R _con is calculated. Can be increased. Since the blade gap G is adjusted using the highly accurate resin consumption R _con , the accuracy of the operation for bringing the resin impregnation rate RC closer to the target ratio can be further increased. That is, since the resin impregnation rate RC is derived based on the actually measured values related to the resin supply amount ΔW and the residence amount change Δw, even if the resin impregnation rate RC varies for some unexpected reason, Variations in the resin impregnation rate RC can be suppressed.

  Further, in the present embodiment, since the resin impregnation amount is controlled based on the resin impregnation rate RC accurately obtained as described above, even when the width of the tow CF subjected to resin impregnation varies, The resin impregnation rate RC can be brought close to the target ratio with high accuracy. Here, in the tow prepreg manufacturing apparatus 10, the width of the tow CF impregnated with the resin is, for example, the type and amount of the sizing agent applied to the tow CF prior to resin impregnation, the temperature of the application rollers 41 and 42, and the like. May vary. Therefore, for example, when the thickness of the resin applied to the application rollers 41 and 42 is controlled to be constant, the resin impregnation ratio RC may also change according to the change in the width of the tow CF. In the present embodiment, even when the width of the tow CF varies, the influence on the resin impregnation rate RC can be suppressed.

  Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, even when the resin is impregnated with a relatively high viscosity and difficult to control the resin supply rate (for example, epoxy resin), the accuracy of deriving the resin impregnation ratio RC as described above is improved. Since it is high, the control to bring the resin impregnation ratio RC close to the target ratio can be performed with high accuracy and stability.

In the present embodiment, the resin impregnation rate RC is derived from the equation (1) by obtaining the resin consumption amount R _con and the CF consumption amount, but may have different configurations. For example, in the tow CF, when the CF density, the production speed, and the production time are sufficiently constant, the calculation of the CF consumption amount based on the equation (5) is not performed, and the production time corresponding to the specific CF consumption amount Each time elapses, a resin consumption amount R _con based on the equation (4) may be derived, and this resin consumption amount R _con may be used as the resin impregnation rate RC.

  FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a result of manufacturing a tow prepreg using the tow prepreg manufacturing apparatus 10 of the example. Moreover, FIG. 6 is explanatory drawing showing the result of having manufactured the tow prepreg using the tow prepreg manufacturing apparatus of the comparative example.

The conditions of Examples and Comparative Examples are shown below.
-Resin type: epoxy resin-Resin viscosity during impregnation: 2-3 Pa · s
・ Type of tow: 36K carbon fiber (carbon fiber with 36,000 filaments)
-Allowable range of resin impregnation rate RC: 22-26% (target ratio x = 24%)
-Diameter of application rollers 41 and 42: 70 mm
-Material of application rollers 41 and 42: Steel material plated with chromium-Processing temperature (temperature of hot air from hot air generator 50 and temperature of application rollers 41 and 42): 40 ° C
・ Tow processing speed: 200m / min

  In the example, the measurement of the amount of resin in the resin tank 80 by the weight sensor 81 and the measurement of the amount of resin in the resin reservoir 110 by the liquid level sensor 120 were performed at a sampling rate of 0.1 seconds or less. As the liquid level sensor 120, a laser sensor IL-100 (manufactured by Keyence Corporation) was used. The resin impregnation ratio RC was obtained every 100 m as the length of the tow CF (section RC shown on the vertical axis in FIG. 5). Therefore, the time interval (Δt) for deriving the resin impregnation rate RC, that is, the length of the period for obtaining the average value of the resin impregnation rate is 30 seconds.

  In FIG. 5, a graph showing a change in the value of the resin impregnation ratio RC derived while manufacturing the tow prepreg TPP based on the detection values of the weight sensor 81 and the liquid level sensor 120 is “RC calculated during production”. Show. Moreover, in the Example, after completion | finish of manufacture of the tow prepreg TPP, the tow prepreg TPP was pulled out from the bobbin which wound up the tow prepreg TPP, it cut out every 100 m, and resin impregnation rate RC was measured. In FIG. 5, the result of actually measuring the resin impregnation ratio RC after the production of the tow prepreg TPP is shown as “RC at the time of cutting measurement”. When actually measuring the resin impregnation ratio RC, the weight of the produced tow prepreg TPP was measured, and the weight of the tow CF obtained by dissolving the resin in the tow prepreg TPP with a solvent was measured. The difference between the measured value of the weight of the tow prepreg TPP and the measured value of the tow CF was taken as the amount of impregnated resin. The ratio of the obtained impregnated resin amount to the actually measured value of the weight of the tow prepreg TPP was defined as the resin impregnation rate RC.

  As shown in FIG. 5, in the example, the derived resin impregnation ratio RC increased during the production due to some factor. In this example, when the value of the resin impregnation rate RC becomes 2% larger than the target ratio x (24%), the size of the blade gap G is reduced by 8 μm. Specifically, the blade gap G was reduced by 4 μm at each of the two resin application portions 100 and 101. As a result, the resin impregnation ratio RC was lowered, and the absolute value of the difference from the target ratio could be controlled to be 1% or less. Note that, as shown in FIG. 5, the value of the resin impregnation rate RC derived during the manufacture almost coincided with the resin impregnation rate RC measured after the end of the manufacture.

  In Comparative Example 1 and Comparative Example 2 shown in FIG. 6, the blade gap G is set as a blade gap corresponding to the target ratio without setting the target ratio similar to the embodiment and without controlling the blade gap G. The tow prepreg TPP was produced with the fixed value. Then, after the production, the resin impregnation ratio RC was measured in the same manner as in “RC during cutting measurement” in the examples.

  As shown in FIG. 6, in Comparative Example 1, the absolute value of the difference between the resin impregnation rate RC and the target ratio was within 2% without significant change in the resin impregnation rate RC. On the other hand, in Comparative Example 2, the resin impregnation ratio RC began to decrease during the production due to some factor. As a result, the resin impregnation rate RC became smaller than 2% compared to the target ratio.

  As described above, according to the tow prepreg manufacturing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, even if the resin impregnation ratio RC tends to gradually deviate from the target ratio due to some factor during the manufacture of the tow prepreg, the blade gap G It was confirmed that the resin impregnation ratio RC can be brought close to the target ratio and can be maintained within the allowable range by adjusting.

C. Variations:
・ Modification 1:
In the above embodiment, when the blade gap G is changed in step S130, the blade gap G is changed by a certain value, but a different configuration may be used. For example, in step S120, the amount by which the blade gap G is changed may be determined according to the absolute value of the difference between the calculated resin impregnation rate RC and the target ratio. For example, when the absolute value of the difference between the calculated resin impregnation ratio RC and the target ratio is 0.5%, the magnitude is determined so as to correspond to 0.5% (for example, the resin application unit 100). , 101 is 1 μm, 2 μm in total, and the amount of change of the blade gap G may be set. When the absolute value of the difference between the calculated resin impregnation ratio RC and the target ratio is 1.0%, the magnitude is determined so as to correspond to 1.0% (for example, the resin application unit 100). , 101, 2 μm each, for a total of 4 μm), the amount of change of the blade gap G may be set.

  At this time, the change amount of the blade gap G does not have to be the same in each of the resin application portions 100 and 101. Alternatively, only the blade gap G of any one of the resin application portions 100 and 101 may be changed. For example, when the absolute value of the difference between the calculated resin impregnation ratio RC and the target ratio is 0.5%, the amount of change of the blade gap G is set to a size that corresponds to 0.5%. (For example, 2 μm), it may be changed only in one of the resin application portions 100 and 101. However, if the amount of change in the blade gap G is the same in both the resin application portions 100 and 101, it is possible to suppress the uneven consumption of the resin R in any of the resin reservoir portions 110 and 111. As a result, a shortage of the amount of resin staying in any of the resin reservoirs can be suppressed, and a problem that the resin supply from the resin tank 80 to the resin reservoir cannot be suppressed is desirable.

Modification 2
In the above embodiment, the resin impregnation apparatus 40 includes the two resin application units 100 and 101, but may have different configurations. For example, it is good also as having only a single resin application part. In this case, the blade gap G in a single resin application part may be adjusted in the same manner as in the embodiment. However, if two resin coating portions are provided, the resin can be impregnated from both the front and back surfaces of the tow CF, thereby reducing the diffusion distance of the resin required to uniformly impregnate the resin R up to the inside of the tow CF surface. be able to. Therefore, it is desirable that the production of tow prepreg TPP can be easily accelerated. If two resin application portions are provided, the increase in the size of the application roller for securing the time for impregnating the resin R with the tow CF is suppressed, and the resin viscosity is lowered so that the resin R is easily impregnated. Therefore, the degree of increasing the impregnation temperature (treatment temperature) can be suppressed.

  In addition, the resin impregnation apparatus 40 is good also as having three or more resin application parts. Even in such a case, the effect similar to that of the embodiment can be obtained by adjusting at least one blade gap G.

・ Modification 3:
In the above embodiment, the resin impregnation ratio RC is provided by providing the two side plates 111a and 111c as an adhesion suppressing part that prevents the resin R in the resin reservoirs 110 and 111 from adhering to both ends of the application rollers 41 and 42. The calculation accuracy is improved. In addition to such a configuration that prevents the resin R from flowing out of the resin reservoirs 110 and 111 without going through the blade gap G, the resin R that has flowed out through the blade gap G further In addition, a configuration may be provided that suppresses scattering from the resin application portions 100 and 101 without being impregnated with the tow CF. Thereby, the calculation accuracy of the resin impregnation rate RC can be further increased. Such a modification will be described below.

  FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing, in an enlarged manner, a resin application unit 101 according to a modification. FIG. 7A is a plan view, FIG. 7B is a side view, and FIG. 7C shows a CC cross section of FIG. 7B. In FIGS. 7A to 7C, for the sake of convenience, the structures of the characteristic portions are exaggerated for the sake of convenience, and the dimensions and angles do not necessarily match the actual ones. In FIG. 7, the same reference numerals are assigned to portions common to the embodiment, and detailed description is omitted. The resin application unit 100 may have the same configuration.

  The application roller 42 includes chamfered portions 42c at both ends. The chamfered portion 42c is a portion formed by making the corner of the application roller 42 into a slope (more precisely, a conical surface). In the cross-sectional view of FIG. 7C, an angle θ42c (acute angle) formed by the surface of the chamfered portion 42c and the axial direction of the application roller 42 (hereinafter also simply referred to as the axial direction) is 30 ° or more and 60 ° or less. More preferably, it is 40 ° or more and 50 ° or less, and most preferably about 45 °. As used herein, “about” means a range of ± 5%. The length L42c measured in the axial direction of the chamfered portion 42c is preferably not less than 0.5 mm and not more than 4 mm, more preferably not less than 0.5 mm and not more than 2 mm.

  The blade 112 has a tapered blade taper portion 112t at both ends, that is, a portion facing the chamfered portion 42c of the application roller 42. In the axial direction of the application roller 42, when the length of the application roller 42 is L1, the length L2 of the blade 112 is L1 or more. Further, when the length of each end of the blade 112 protruding in the axial direction of the application roller 42 with respect to the both ends of the application roller 42 is ΔL, ΔL is preferably greater than 0 mm and less than or equal to 5 mm, more preferably , 0.5 mm or more and 2 mm or less.

  In the blade 112, an angle θ112t (acute angle) formed by the blade tapered portion 112t and the edge 112e extending in the axial direction is preferably 1 ° or more and 5 ° or less, and more preferably 2 ° or more and 4 ° or less. Preferably about 3 ° is most preferred. Further, the length L112t of the blade taper portion 112t measured in the axial direction is preferably 1 mm or more and 5 mm or less, more preferably 2 mm or more and 4 mm or less. Further, the points P1 and P2 at both ends of the straight cylinder portion excluding the chamfered portion 42c of the application roller 42 are more than the points P3 and P4 at both ends of the linear blade portion excluding the blade tapered portion 112t of the blade 112, Preferably it is on the outside. In general, it is preferable that the blade 112 and the application roller 42 have a bilaterally symmetric shape about a symmetry plane Ps perpendicular to the axial direction.

  When the application roller 42 rotates, the resin is applied to a thickness corresponding to the blade gap G on the roller surface 42s. Here, the surplus resin receives the axial force F1 by the application roller 42 and the blade 112, moves to the outside in the axial direction of the application roller 42, and accumulates in the chamfered portion 42c. Here, since the blade 112 has the blade taper portion 112t, the space between the surface of the coating roller 42 and the blade 112 in the chamfered portion 42c can be widened, and the resin accumulated in the chamfered portion 42c can be increased. You can increase the amount. When the application roller 42 rotates, the resin collected in the chamfered portion 42c receives a centrifugal force. The resin accumulated in the chamfered portion 42 c receives a force F <b> 2 in the direction along the chamfered portion 42 c due to centrifugal force and moves in the center direction of the application roller 42. Since this force F2 suppresses the movement of the resin in the axial direction by the force F1, it is possible to prevent the resin from being excessively accumulated in the chamfered portion 42c.

  As described above, in this modification, the chamfered portions 42 c at both ends of the application roller 42 and the blade tapered portions 112 t at both ends of the blade 112 are provided, and both ends of the blade 112 are more than both ends of the application roller 42. The portion has a structure that protrudes outward in the axial direction. Thereby, while ensuring the space which can accumulate more resin on the chamfering part 42c, the excessive retention of resin on the chamfering part 42c can be suppressed. Therefore, the above structure functions as a scattering suppression unit that suppresses the resin flowing out from the resin reservoir 111 via the blade gap G from scattering at the end of the application roller 42. As a result, since the resin in the resin reservoirs 110 and 111 is suppressed from being reduced without being impregnated in the tow CF, the calculation accuracy of the resin impregnation ratio RC can be improved.

-Modification 4:
In the above embodiment, the manufactured tow prepreg TPP is wound around the bobbin in the tow winding device 70, but may have a different configuration. For example, the tow prepreg manufacturing apparatus may be configured as a part of the filament winding apparatus, and the tow prepreg TPP may be used for winding without temporarily winding the tow prepreg TPP.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, examples, and modifications, and can be realized with various configurations without departing from the spirit thereof. For example, the technical features in the embodiments, examples, and modifications corresponding to the technical features in each embodiment described in the summary section of the invention are to solve some or all of the above-described problems, or In order to achieve part or all of the above effects, replacement or combination can be performed as appropriate. Further, if the technical feature is not described as essential in the present specification, it can be deleted as appropriate.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Tow prepreg manufacturing apparatus 20 ... Tow unwinding apparatus 30 ... Tow opening apparatus 31-34 ... Roller 40 ... Resin impregnation apparatus 41, 42 ... Coating roller 42c ... Chamfering part 42s ... Roller surface 50 ... Hot-air generator 60 ... Tow closing device 61, 62 ... Roller 70 ... Tow take-up device 80 ... Resin tank 81 ... Weight sensor 82-84 ... Resin flow path 85, 86 ... Pump 90 ... Control unit 100, 101 ... Resin coating unit 110, 111 ... Resin reservoir portion 111a, 111c ... side plate 111b ... back plate 111e ... bottom plate 112, 114 ... blade 112e ... edge 112t ... blade taper portion 116 ... ball screw 117 ... motor 120, 121 ... liquid level sensor

Claims (1)

A tow prepreg manufacturing apparatus,
An application roller having a roller surface and applying a liquid resin to a fiber bundle passing over the roller surface;
A resin tank for storing the resin;
A resin reservoir for retaining the resin supplied from the resin tank and supplying the resin to the roller surface of the application roller;
A first resin amount measuring unit for measuring the resin amount in the resin tank;
A second resin amount measuring unit for measuring the resin amount in the resin reservoir,
A control unit;
With
The resin reservoir is
A blade provided so as to extend substantially parallel to the axial direction of the application roller, and disposed to face the roller surface across the gap to which the resin is supplied, and the size of the gap is changed. A blade configured to be displaceable,
An adhesion suppressor that prevents the resin in the resin reservoir from adhering to both ends of the application roller;
With
The control unit includes a variation amount of each of the resin amount in the resin tank measured by the first resin amount measurement unit and the resin amount in the resin reservoir measured by the second resin amount measurement unit, and When it is determined that the resin impregnation rate in the fiber bundle obtained based on the consumption of the fiber bundle used for coating exceeds the target value, the blade is displaced so that the gap is reduced. When the resin impregnation rate is determined to be below the target value, the toe prepreg manufacturing apparatus displaces the blade so that the gap becomes large.

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