JP3292405B2 - Resin impregnation equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a resin impregnating apparatus,
More specifically, the present invention relates to a matrix resin impregnating apparatus for manufacturing a material obtained by impregnating a fiber aggregate made of reinforcing fibers used for manufacturing a fiber reinforced plastic with a matrix resin, that is, a so-called prepreg.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention
The most common technique as an impregnating device for impregnating a matrix resin into a fiber aggregate made of sheet-shaped reinforcing fibers, for example, a towed material, woven fabric, paper, or a nonwoven fabric-like towed sheet is a roll impregnation method.

[0003] That is, this is a method in which a fiber assembly and a matrix resin are superimposed, and pressure is applied between a pair of rolls under conditions where the matrix resin is fluidized to impregnate the matrix resin into the fiber assembly.

In such a conventional roll impregnating apparatus, the matrix resin partially impregnates the fiber assembly when pressure is applied between the rolls, but most of the matrix resin flows in a direction opposite to the moving direction of the fiber assembly, so-called squeezing. Cause a phenomenon.

[0005] Therefore, in the prior art, squeezing is avoided by means of sequentially increasing the pressurizing pressure using an impregnating device having a plurality of pairs of rolls. For this reason, the production speed depends on the number of roll pairs, and there has been a problem that, when a high impregnation speed is to be obtained, an increase in equipment is inevitable.

The present invention is to provide a resin impregnating apparatus which can impregnate a fiber aggregate with a small facility and at a high impregnation rate without squeezing out the matrix resin which solves the above-mentioned problems. It is assumed that.

[0007]

Resin impregnation apparatus of the present invention SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION may, pressure on the outer periphery of the impregnation rolls, fiber aggregate and the matrix resin, and the outermost layer of which a rotating freely disposed on the same heart yen a laminate decor belt arranged, the free
The laminate is moved in the same direction as the impregnated roll group on the outer periphery of the impregnated roll group, and moved on the outer periphery with the moving speed of the impregnated roll group being greater than the moving speed of the laminate, and the matrix is formed into a fiber aggregate. The resin is impregnated.

Hereinafter, the resin impregnating apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a resin impregnating device of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a driving method of an impregnating roll in the resin impregnating device of the present invention.

The impregnating roll group 1 includes impregnating rolls 1a,.
Is composed of 1h, it is disposed on the same heart yen as shown in Figure 1. Although the relative positions of the individual impregnating rolls are gently restrained by the retainer 2 as shown in FIG. 2, they can be freely rotated at that position. Such a structure is the same as a needle roller with a retainer used as a bearing. However, in the present invention, the shape of the cage and the method of restraint are not particularly limited.

The number of impregnating rolls, the diameter of the impregnating rolls, the surface configuration, etc., depend on the required impregnation rate, fiber assembly,
Although it is determined by the properties of the matrix resin, a knurl roll provided with irregularities on the surface of the impregnation roll is particularly effective in improving the impregnation speed.

A release sheet 3 is placed on the outer periphery of the impregnated roll group as required. The release sheet 3 prevents contamination of the impregnation roll with the matrix resin and winding of the fiber, and is used as necessary. Release sheets are not a requirement of the apparatus of the present invention, but are most often used to handle fluidized resin.

Such a release sheet is made of a material which is soft and has excellent release properties, for example, an olefin-based film such as a polypropylene or polyethylene film, or fluorine having rubber elasticity, in order to make the effect of the impregnating roll effective. Silicon rubber or the like is preferred. Outside the release sheet, the fiber assembly 4 and the matrix resin 5 are disposed so as to overlap each other.

[0013] The fiber aggregate includes a tow-like material composed of high-rigidity and high-strength fibers such as carbon fiber, glass fiber, and aramid fiber, a unidirectional sheet formed by aligning the tow-like material into a sheet, a woven fabric, a nonwoven fabric, and a paper. Etc., and does not limit the type. Although the matrix resin 5 is arranged on the outer periphery of the fiber assembly in FIG. 1, the position (inside or outside of the fiber assembly) is not particularly limited.

The matrix resin used in the apparatus of the present invention can be used as long as it has a fluidity at the time of impregnation, and is generally fluidized by heating or a solvent.

A pressure belt 6 is arranged outside the fiber assembly and the matrix resin. The pressure belt is for generating a pressure between the fiber assembly and the matrix resin and the impregnating roll by applying tension to the belt, and paper, a fiber belt, a rubber belt, a metal belt, or the like is used.

With respect to the configuration of the laminate that reaches the release sheet 3, the fiber assembly 4, the matrix resin 5, and the pressure belt 6,
A necessary condition in the apparatus of the present invention is that a fiber assembly and a matrix resin are arranged on the outer periphery of the impregnated roll group, and that the pressure belt 6 is further provided on the outer periphery thereof. It does not do. For example, when a material obtained by applying a matrix resin on release paper is used, the release paper can serve as the pressure belt 6.

When the supply of the matrix resin is used in a form coated on a release paper, the release paper can simply serve as a frame of the resin.

Further, the matrix resin may be applied to the back surface of the release sheet 3 (inside the fiber assembly) and supplied.

In FIG. 1, while the release sheet 3, the fiber assembly 4, the matrix resin 5, and the pressure belt 6 are stopped, the impregnated rolls are driven by the drive cylinder 9 shown in FIG.
The impregnating roll rolls on the release sheet while rotating in the direction of the arrow when the rotation in the direction of the arrow 7 is given.

The mechanism for causing the impregnating roll to roll is, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, when the drive cylinder 9 inscribed in the impregnating roll group is rotated in the direction of arrow 10.
The impregnating roll has an arrow 1 between the drive cylinder and the release sheet.
Rolling movement can be caused in one direction.
With this driving method, the diameter of the impregnating roll can be reduced because the impregnating roll is backed up by a cylinder, which is effective for increasing the number of impregnating rolls and increasing the impregnating pressure, and is effective for improving the impregnation speed. It is also possible to produce the same effect by directly rotating the retainer 2, and the method of driving the impregnating roll in the apparatus of the present invention is not particularly limited.

When the impregnating roll rolls as described above, the fiber assembly and the matrix resin can be repeatedly subjected to a pressing action between the pressure belt and the impregnating roll. In the operation of the apparatus of the present invention, a laminate of the release sheet 3, the fiber assembly 4, and the pressure belt 6 obtained by polymerizing the matrix resin 5 is arranged on the outer periphery of the impregnation roll group, and is in the same direction as the moving direction of the impregnation roll group. By making the moving speed of the impregnating roll group higher than the former moving speed, it is possible to apply a large number of pressurizing actions to the impregnated material, which cannot be obtained by the prior art.

For example, the driving cylinder diameter is 370 mm, the impregnating roll diameter is 30 mm, the number of impregnating rolls is 20, the number of contacting impregnating rolls (effective number) is 17, the moving speed of the fiber assembly is 30 m / min, and the driving cylinder rotates 120 times. / Min, the fiber assembly will be subjected to approximately 70 pressing operations, which is equivalent to a facility having 70 roll pairs in a conventional roll impregnating apparatus, and extremely high in the apparatus of the present invention. Pressing action can be obtained repeatedly with a small device.

In the apparatus of the present invention, since the moving direction of the fiber assembly and the group of the impregnation rolls are the same, there is a characteristic that the resin squeezing phenomenon which occurs in the conventional roll impregnation apparatus does not occur at all.

In the apparatus of the present invention, in order to make the impregnation of the matrix resin more effective, the fiber aggregate 4
As shown in FIG. 1, it is preferable that the pressure belt 6 comes into direct contact with the guide roll 12 and the fiber aggregate is located outside the pressure belt 6. That is, when the fiber aggregate 4 is supplied in such a state, the fiber aggregate 4 is supplied to the resin impregnated area (on the impregnation roll) at a peripheral speed higher than that of the pressure belt 6.
Is in a relaxed state in the resin impregnated region, and the impregnation rate of the matrix resin can be improved. After passing through the impregnation area, the fiber aggregate 45 impregnated with the matrix resin, which has been returned to the tensioned state on the guide roll 13 again, can be obtained. Is maintained. For this purpose, it is preferable that the guide roll 13 is a cooling roll.

Such an effect is particularly effective for impregnation of a tow-like fiber aggregate. In the apparatus of the present invention, a heating source (FIGS. 1 and 14) may be provided outside the pressure belt, if necessary, and the driving cylinder may be heated, and the impregnation roll contacting the heating cylinder may be heated to promote the impregnation. I can do it.

[0026]

By using the apparatus of the present invention having the above-described structure, the impregnated material can be impregnated in a relaxed state. A high impregnation rate can be obtained without squeezing.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of an impregnation device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing an example of a method of driving an impregnating roll in the impregnating apparatus of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Impregnation roll group 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e, 1f, 1g, 1h Impregnation roll 2 Impregnation roll retainer 3 Release sheet 4 Fiber aggregate 5 Matrix resin 6 Pressure belt 7 Rotation direction of impregnation roll group 8 Impregnation Rotation direction of roll 9 Driving cylinder of impregnating roll 10 Rotation direction of driving cylinder of impregnating roll 11 Moving direction of impregnating roll group 12 Guide roll 13 Guide roll 14 Heat source 45 Fiber aggregate impregnated with matrix resin

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B29B 15/18-15/14 B05C 1/06 B29C 70/06

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A on the outer periphery of the impregnation rolls rotating freely disposed on the same heart yen, fiber aggregate and the matrix resin,
And placing a laminate decor pressure belt in the outermost layer thereof, the moving speed of said laminate on the outer circumference of the impregnating rolls in the same direction as the impregnation rolls, and impregnated rolls on the outer periphery Move faster than the moving speed of the laminate,
A resin impregnating device, wherein a fiber assembly is impregnated with a matrix resin. To 2. A center of the impregnated rolls are arranged on the same heart yen, the hydrated cylinder provided inscribed in immersion rolls, characterized in that to perform the movement and the rotation of the impregnation rolls by the rotation of the cylinder The resin impregnating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein