JP5281785B2 - Apparatus and method for shaping reinforcing fiber base material for FRP molding - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for shaping a reinforcing fiber base material for FRP (fiber reinforced plastic) molding, and more specifically, an apparatus capable of automatically shaping a reinforcing fiber base material into a preform having a desired shape. And a method.

  In recent years, materials used in the field of manufacturing transportation equipment such as automobiles, railway vehicles, ships, aircraft, etc., or construction are expected to be lightweight and contribute to energy saving such as carbon dioxide reduction from the viewpoint of environmental issues. Rarely, its development is progressing. One such material is FRP using a reinforcing fiber substrate. An example of a technique for forming a FRP product having a predetermined shape using a reinforcing fiber base will be described. First, a plurality of reinforcing fiber bases are laminated on a shaping mold and preshaped to form a preform. Thereafter, the preform is put in a mold and impregnated with a resin (matrix resin) and cured. At this time, regarding the shaping of the reinforcing fiber base material, the base material is often laid up manually into a predetermined shape, which causes a problem of low productivity and high cost.

Therefore, in view of the above problems, a shaping method has been proposed that improves productivity and reduces costs (for example, Patent Document 1). An example of the shaping method described in Patent Document 1 will be described. As shown in FIG. 11, the reinforcing fiber base 132 is disposed on the shaping mold 131, and the pressers 133 a and 133 b are directly pressed on the base 132 to preliminarily follow the shaping mold 131. Shape. Thereafter, the shaping mold 131 is surrounded by seals 134a and 134b, and a sheet 135 is placed thereon. A preform formed into a predetermined shape while holding the base material 132 with the pushers 133a and 133b by evacuating (depressurizing) the space surrounded by the sheet 135 and the shaping die 131 by the vacuum pump 136. To do. Reference numerals 137a and 137b denote heating sources and cooling sources arranged as necessary.
JP 2006-123404 A

  However, in the shaping method as shown in FIG. 11, wrinkles may occur on the surface of the base material 132 when the space surrounded by the sheet 135 and the shaping mold 131 is evacuated. The occurrence of wrinkles weakens the strength of the molded product or impairs the aesthetic appearance, so that such a molded product cannot be used as a product, leading to a decrease in yield.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and provides a shaping apparatus and a shaping method capable of automatically obtaining a high-quality FRP-molding reinforcing fiber base preform having no wrinkles on the surface. The purpose is to provide.

In order to achieve the above object, an apparatus for shaping a reinforcing fiber base material for FRP molding according to the present invention according to claim 1 is a lower die having an outer shape corresponding to a target shaping shape of the reinforcing fiber base material for FRP molding ( 2) and an upper mold (5) provided so as to be opposed to the lower mold (2) and pressed against the lower mold (2), and set in the lower mold (2) This is a shaping apparatus (10) for a reinforcing fiber base material for FRP molding, which is configured to obtain a preform (F) by pressing and shaping the shaped base material (K) with an upper mold (5). The upper mold (5) includes a central mold (5C) opposed to the central part (Kc) of the shaped substrate (K) and a plurality of disposed around the central mold (5C). The shaping apparatus (10) has a split configuration with the horizontal mold (5S), and includes a central mold driving means (7) for driving the central mold (5C) in the vertical direction and a central mold ( Each horizontal die (5S) is pressed against the shaped substrate (K) pressed by C) while stretching the peripheral portion (Ks) at the center of the shaped substrate (K). It possesses Yokokin type and Yokokin type driving means for driving the (5S) (8), the said lateral mold drive means (8) can be driven in the vertical direction each lateral mold the (5S) independently It can be driven in the lateral direction and can be driven to rotate around the horizontal support shaft .

  In the shaping apparatus which concerns on Claim 2, it has the positioning means (22,51) which positions a to-be-shaped base material (K) in the predetermined position of a lower mold | die (2), and in an upper mold | die (5) The to-be-shaped base material pressing surface is made into the substantially planar shape.

  The shaping apparatus according to claim 3 includes a lower mold heating means (21) for heating the lower mold (2). The shaping apparatus according to claim 4 includes an upper mold heating means for heating the upper mold (5). The shaping apparatus according to claim 5 includes a lower mold cooling means for cooling the lower mold (2).

  The shaping apparatus according to claim 6 is based on the control data when the most difficult to make wrinkles when trial molding is performed a plurality of times in advance by the central mold (5C) and the horizontal mold (5S). Control means (9) for controlling the operation of the mold (5C) and the horizontal mold (5S) is provided.

The shaping method of the reinforcing fiber base material for FRP molding of the present invention according to claim 7 is a shaping method using the shaping device as described above, and the shaped substrate is applied to the lower mold (2). The step of setting (K) and the substrate to be shaped (K) by driving the central mold (5C) downward toward the substrate to be shaped (K) set in the lower die (2) Each of the horizontal molds (5S) of the shaped substrate (K) is pressed against the shaped substrate (K) pressed by the central mold (5C). Driving each horizontal mold (5S) obliquely downward so as to press the peripheral part (Ks) of the central part while stretching and rotating the horizontal mold about the horizontal support shaft. It consists of a characteristic method.

  According to the present invention, with respect to the shaped base material (K) pressed by the central mold (5C), each horizontal mold (5S) is a peripheral portion of the central portion of the shaped base material (K). It is driven to press while stretching (Ks). Thereby, the peripheral part (Ks) of the base material (K) is in a state stretched in the direction of an arrow Q in FIG. 9 described later, for example, and then the horizontal mold (5S) is fitted into the lower mold (2). To descend. Thereby, since the peripheral part (Ks) of the center part of the base material (K) is slightly stretched and shaped in a more stretched state, it can be shaped without wrinkles.

  In particular, with the configuration according to claim 2, after the substrate to be shaped (K) is positioned at a predetermined position of the lower mold (2), the pressing surface has a substantially planar shape, that is, an upper metal with few uneven portions. Since the center (Kc) of the shaped substrate (K) can be pressed by the mold (5), a preform (F) having a desirable shape with very little deviation from the target shape can be obtained.

  Moreover, since the temperature of the lower mold 2 and the upper mold 5 can be rapidly raised or lowered by adopting the configuration of the third to fifth aspects, the tact time of the shaping operation can be shortened. Can do.

  In addition, by adopting the structure of claim 6, it becomes possible to automatically perform almost the same leveling operation as a skilled worker leveles the shaped base material (K) by hand, which is very good quality. A preform (F) is obtained.

  In addition, the code | symbol of the parentheses attached | subjected to each component in each column of the means for solving a claim and a subject shows the correspondence with the specific means as described in embodiment mentioned later.

  According to the shaping apparatus and shaping method for reinforcing fiber base material for FRP molding of the present invention, a high-quality preform having no wrinkles on the surface can be obtained automatically. Thereby, productivity can be improved and costs can be reduced, and yield can be improved.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 is an external perspective view of a shaping apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional front view of the shaping apparatus 10 of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is an upper mold 5 of the shaping apparatus 10. It is a schematic plan view which shows the peripheral part. In each figure, the three axes of the orthogonal coordinate system are X, Y, and Z, the XY plane indicates the horizontal plane, and the Z-axis direction indicates the vertical direction (vertical direction).

  As shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, the shaping apparatus 10 includes a base 1, a lower mold 2, a mount 3, an intermediate plate 4, an upper mold 5, an intermediate plate drive unit 6, a central mold drive unit (center A mold driving means) 7, a horizontal mold driving section (horizontal mold driving means) 8, and a control device 9 are provided. The base 1 is a part where the lower mold 2 is installed, and is installed on the floor of the production site.

  The lower mold 2 is a male mold exhibiting a three-dimensional shape obtained by reducing the outer shape according to the shape of the target preform, that is, the three-dimensional shape of the target molded body with a slight similarity ratio. The material is aluminum, for example. In addition, in order to improve the detachability from the substrate K, the surface is preferably non-adhesive. In addition to aluminum, it can be made of a material having good thermal conductivity such as stainless steel. The lower mold 2 includes a heater 21 as a heating means inside, and the surface of the lower mold 2 can be heated to about 90 ° C. to 120 ° C. by turning on the heater 21. Moreover, it is preferable to provide a cooling means (not shown) for cooling the lower mold 2. Examples of the cooling means include a refrigerant circulation mechanism in which a refrigerant circulates inside the lower mold 2 and a cooling gas injection mechanism that injects a cooling gas such as low-temperature nitrogen gas toward the lower mold 2. Two positioning pins 22 projecting upward in the Z direction are provided at diagonal positions on the central surface of the lower mold 2. The positioning pin 22 is made of metal, synthetic resin, or the like, and its tip is thin and sharp.

  The gantry 3 is provided above the base 1 so as to straddle it. As shown in FIG. 2, the intermediate plate 4 is attached to the gantry 3 so as to be vertically movable via an intermediate plate driving unit 6. The intermediate plate 4 includes a holding rod hole 41 and a guide hole 42. The holding rod holes 41 are through holes formed at two locations on the intermediate plate 4 so that two holding rods 51 (described later) can pass therethrough. The guide holes 42 are through holes formed at two locations on the intermediate plate 4 so that two guide rods 52 (described later) can pass therethrough.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the upper die 5 has a shape obtained by dividing the lower die 2 and a pair of female dies into a plurality of pieces, and has a central die 5C and a plurality of horizontal dies disposed around the central die 5C. 5S. The upper mold 5 may be provided with a heating unit and a cooling unit in the same manner as the lower mold 2.

  The central mold 5C has a configuration in which the pressing surface (bottom portion) has a substantially planar shape, that is, a shape with few uneven portions, and two pressing rods 51 and two guide rods 52 are attached. The holding rod 51 includes a cylindrical body that is extendable in the vertical direction and into which the positioning pin 22 can be inserted. And it is provided in the planar view position (XY position) corresponding to the positioning pin 22 in the lower mold 2, and penetrates the pressing rod hole 41 in the intermediate plate 4. The guide rod 52 is a rod-like body provided so as to penetrate the guide hole 42. The central mold 5C is attached to the intermediate plate 4 via a central mold drive unit 7 so as to be movable up and down.

  The central mold drive unit 7 can be constituted by a hydraulic cylinder, a pneumatic cylinder, a servo motor, or the like, and the central mold 5C is arranged according to the shape of the center part of the base material K set in the lower mold 2. The central mold 5C can be driven in the Z-axis direction so as to be pressed with an arbitrary force.

Each horizontal mold 5S is a female mold having a shape corresponding to the peripheral portion of the lower mold 2 with the respective molds adjacent to each other around the central mold 5C. In this embodiment, ten horizontal molds 5S ₁ , 5S ₂ , 5S ₃ ... 5S ₁₀ are provided. These Yokokin type 5S ₁ ~5S ₁₀ are respectively through Yokokin type drive unit 8S ₁ ~8S ₁₀ attached to the vertical drive freely intermediate plate 4. In the present specification, when there is no need to consider each horizontal die separately, the horizontal die is abbreviated as a subscript at the end and simply described as “5S”. In the case similar to the above, the reference numeral of the horizontal mold driving unit is simply described as “8S”.

  Each horizontal mold drive unit 8S can be constituted by a hydraulic cylinder, a pneumatic cylinder, a servo motor, or the like, and each horizontal mold 5S can be driven independently in the vertical direction and also in the horizontal direction. . Further, it can be rotated around the horizontal support shaft J1. Here, the lateral direction is more specifically a horizontal direction (XY direction) toward the center of the base material K set in the lower mold 2. Further, with respect to the driving in the vertical direction, more specifically, each horizontal mold 5S can freely select the peripheral portion of the base material K set in the lower mold 2 according to the shaped object (the shaped base material). Each horizontal die 5S can be driven so as to be pressed with the force of. In FIG. 9, as the horizontal mold driving unit 8, cylinders SH <b> 1 and SH <b> 2 that can expand and contract in the horizontal direction and a cylinder SV <b> 1 that can expand and contract in the vertical direction are illustrated.

  The control device 9 includes an input / output device such as a touch panel, appropriate hardware mainly including a memory chip and a microprocessor, a hard disk device incorporating a computer program for operating the hardware, and data communication with each component. It consists of an appropriate interface circuit that performs That is, it is a computer for controlling each component of the shaping apparatus 10 so that the shaping apparatus 10 performs a series of shaping operations.

  The hard disk device of the control device 9 includes, for example, the magnitude of the pressing force of the central mold 5C, the order of driving the horizontal molds 5S, the horizontal speed when driving the horizontal molds 5S in the horizontal direction, Each data such as the magnitude of the pressing force of the mold 5S is stored. Each of these data is obtained by applying (adopting), for example, a combination that is most difficult to wrinkle by performing some trial shaping in advance. Control of the central mold drive unit 7 and each horizontal mold drive unit 8 is performed based on these data.

  Next, the shaping operation of the shaping apparatus 10 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 is a flowchart showing an outline of the shaping operation by the shaping apparatus 10, FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the peripheral portion pressing operation, FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the setting procedure of the substrate K, and FIG. 7 is the shaping by the shaping apparatus 10 FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the flow of the shaping operation by the shaping device 10 (continuation of FIG. 7), FIG. 9 is a diagram specifically showing the peripheral portion pressing operation, and FIG. 2 is a front sectional view of a preform F. FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the shaping operation of the shaping apparatus 10 includes a base material setting step S1, a pressing preparation step S2, a central portion pressing step S3, a peripheral portion pressing step S4, a pressing end step S5, and a removal step S6. . Here, it is assumed that the shaping apparatus 10 is in the following initial state. The intermediate plate 4 is disposed at the uppermost position P1, which is a standby position. The central mold 5C and the horizontal molds 5S are both arranged at the uppermost position P2, which is a standby position. The heater 21 of the lower mold 2 is on.

[Substrate setting step S1]
The operator sets the base material K in the lower mold 2 [FIG. 7 (A)]. As shown in FIG. 6, the reinforcing fiber base K has a plurality of sheet-like reinforcing fiber materials K1 to Km (m is an arbitrary integer of 2 or more) so that the fiber orientation directions are different between adjacent upper and lower sides. It is the laminated body laminated | stacked on. A thermoplastic adhesive is coated on the back side of each of the sheet-like reinforcing fiber materials K2 to Km. The substrate K is set as follows. In a state in which a total of m sheet-like reinforcing fiber materials K1 to Km are stacked, two predetermined positions on the base material K are pierced into the positioning pins 22. Thereafter, the base material K is lowered toward the lower mold 2 along the positioning pins 22. As a result, the central portion of the base material K overlaps the surface of the central portion of the lower mold 2.

[Pressing preparation step S2]
When the intermediate plate driving unit 6 lowers the intermediate plate 4, the central mold 5C and the horizontal mold 5S are arranged at the intermediate position P1 [FIG. 7B]. Subsequently, the holding rod 41 extends and descends. At this time, the two positioning pins 22 enter the hollow portion of the pressing rod 41, and the lower end surface of the pressing rod 41 presses the base material K, so that the base material K is fixedly held at the center of the lower mold 2. [FIG. 7C].

[Center part pressing step S3]
The intermediate plate driving unit 6 further lowers the intermediate plate 4 with the presser rod 41 fixedly holding the base material K, thereby placing the central mold 5C and the horizontal mold 5S at the lower position P2. At the lower position P2, the lower surface of the central mold 5C is close to the surface of the base material K (FIG. 7D). Subsequently, the central mold drive unit 7 lowers the central mold 5C. At this time, the central mold 5C drives the central mold 5C so as to press the base material K set on the lower mold 2 with an arbitrary force according to the shaped object (FIG. 8E).

[Peripheral part pressing step S4]
The horizontal mold driving unit 8 presses the base material K by sequentially lowering the horizontal molds 5S one by one. At that time, for example, in the horizontal mold 5S ₁ , each of the horizontal molds 5S extends the peripheral portion Ks at the center of the molded base material K with respect to the shaped base material K pressed by the central mold 5C. It is driven so as to press while pressing (FIG. 8F, see FIGS. 9 and 5 for details).

More specifically, as shown in FIGS. 9A to 9B, the horizontal mold 5S ₁ disposed above the base material K is an outer portion (peripheral portion) at the center of the base material K. It descends while rubbing Ks against the lower mold 2 from the left side. This operation is performed by extending the cylinder SV1 while the cylinder SH1 is extended. As a result, the central outer portion Ks of the base material K is in a state of being stretched in the direction of arrow Q in the figure because the central portion of the base material K is pressed by the central mold 5C. Thereafter, as shown in FIGS. 9B to 9C, the horizontal mold 5S ₁ is fitted into the lower mold 2 by turning the horizontal mold 5S ₁ about the horizontal support shaft J1. Descend. This operation is performed by extending the cylinder SV1 while extending the cylinder SH2 and contracting the cylinder SH1. In this way, the horizontal mold 5S ₁ is driven and drawn in from the position slightly higher than the pressing position toward the diagonally downward direction. At that time, the horizontal mold 5S is configured to drag the base material K by a predetermined distance. As a result, the central outer portion Ks of the base material K is shaped in a slightly stretched state while being slightly stretched, so that it can be shaped without wrinkles. Further, since the horizontal mold 5S ₁ moves along the surface of the substrate K while leveling it, there is no gap between the substrate K and the lower mold 2. And the base material K is just folded in in the boundary part B of a bending, A wrinkle and a slack do not generate | occur | produce, but a flat surface is formed uniformly. By performing such driving sequentially for all the remaining horizontal dies 5S _{2 to} 5S ₁₀ (for example, by repeating steps S41 to S43 shown in FIG. 5 a predetermined number of times), the substrate K is free from wrinkles on the surface. It can be automatically shaped into a good quality preform.

[Pressing end step S5]
The lower mold 2 and the upper mold 5 are cooled by the cooling means. Thereafter, the central mold driving unit 7 raises the central mold 5C. At the same time, the horizontal mold driving unit 8 raises all the horizontal molds 5S simultaneously. Thereafter, the intermediate plate driving unit 6 raises the intermediate plate 4 to the upper position P0. As for the timing of raising the central mold 5C and the horizontal mold 5S, the thermoplastic adhesives (resins) of the respective sheet-like reinforcing fiber materials K2 to Km are cured by cooling by the cooling means, and the respective sheet-like reinforcing fiber materials K1 to K1 are cured. It is after the time when Km is bonded. By cooling the upper mold 5 and the lower mold 2 by the cooling means, the temperatures of the lower mold 2 and the upper mold 5 can be quickly lowered, so that the tact time of the shaping operation can be shortened. it can.

[Removal step S6]
The preform F shaped into a predetermined shape is removed from the lower mold 2 and taken out.

  Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the above-described embodiment is merely an example, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

  The present invention can be applied to any FRP molding reinforcing fiber base material formed using a lower mold and an upper mold.

It is an external appearance perspective view of the shaping apparatus which concerns on one embodiment of this invention. It is a partial cross section display front view of the shaping apparatus of FIG. It is a schematic plan view which shows the upper metal mold | die and its peripheral part of the shaping apparatus of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the outline | summary of the shaping operation by the shaping apparatus of FIG. It is a flowchart of the peripheral part pressing operation by the shaping apparatus of FIG. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the setting procedure of the base material in the shaping apparatus of FIG. It is a figure which shows the flow of the shaping operation | movement by the shaping apparatus of FIG. It is a figure which shows the flow of the shaping operation | movement by the shaping apparatus of FIG. 1 (continuation of FIG. 7). It is a figure which shows concretely the peripheral part pressing operation by the shaping apparatus of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows an example of the preform shape | molded by the target shape. It is a schematic sectional drawing of the shaping apparatus which shows an example of the conventional shaping method.

Explanation of symbols

2 Lower mold 5 Upper mold 5C Central mold 5S Horizontal mold 7 Central mold drive unit (Central mold drive means)
8 Horizontal mold drive unit (Horizontal mold drive means)
9 Control device (control means)
10 Shaping device 22 Positioning pin (Positioning means)
51 Holding rod (positioning means)
F Preform K Base material (Substrate to be shaped)
Kc Central part Ks Peripheral part of central part S1 Substrate setting step S3 Central part pressing step S4 Peripheral part pressing step

Claims (7)

The lower die (2) of the outer shape corresponding to the target shaping shape of the reinforcing fiber base material for FRP molding is provided so as to be opposed to the lower die (2) and to be pressed toward the lower die (2). The preform (F) is obtained by pressing and shaping the shaped substrate (K) set in the lower mold (2) with the upper mold (5). An apparatus for shaping a reinforcing fiber base material for FRP molding configured as described above (10),
The upper mold (5) includes a central mold (5C) facing the central part (Kc) of the shaped substrate (K) and a plurality of horizontal molds arranged around the central mold (5C). Having a split configuration with the mold (5S),
The shaping device (10)
A central mold driving means (7) for driving the central mold (5C) in the vertical direction;
With respect to the shaped substrate (K) pressed by the central mold (5C), each horizontal mold (5S) stretches the peripheral portion (Ks) at the center of the shaped substrate (K). Horizontal mold driving means (8) for driving each horizontal mold (5S) so as to press,
I have a,
The horizontal mold driving means (8) can drive each horizontal mold (5S) independently in the vertical direction and can also be driven in the horizontal direction, and is rotated around a horizontal support shaft. An apparatus for shaping a reinforcing fiber base material for FRP molding, which is possible.   It has positioning means (22, 51) for positioning the shaped substrate (K) at a predetermined position of the lower mold (2), and the shaped substrate pressing surface of the upper mold (5) is substantially flat. The shaping apparatus for reinforcing fiber base material for FRP molding according to claim 1, wherein the shaping device is shaped.   The shaping apparatus for reinforcing fiber base material for FRP molding according to claim 1 or 2, comprising a lower mold heating means (21) for heating the lower mold (2).   The shaping apparatus of the reinforcing fiber base material for FRP shaping | molding in any one of Claims 1-3 provided with the upper die heating means which heats an upper die (5).   The shaping apparatus for reinforcing fiber base material for FRP molding according to claim 3 or 4, further comprising a lower mold cooling means (21) for cooling the lower mold (2).   Based on the control data at the time of the most difficult to make a wrinkle when trial molding was performed several times in advance by the central mold (5C) and the horizontal mold (5S), the central mold (5C) and the horizontal mold (5S The apparatus for shaping a reinforcing fiber base material for FRP molding according to any one of claims 1 to 5, comprising a control means (9) for controlling the operation of the FRP molding. A shaping method using the shaping apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
Setting the shaped substrate (K) in the lower mold (2);
The step of pressing the central portion (Kc) of the shaped substrate (K) by driving the central die (5C) downward toward the shaped substrate (K) set in the lower mold (2) When,
With respect to the shaped substrate (K) pressed by the central mold (5C), each horizontal mold (5S) stretches the peripheral portion (Ks) at the center of the shaped substrate (K). Driving each horizontal mold (5S) obliquely downward so as to press and turning the horizontal mold about a horizontal support shaft ;
A method for shaping a reinforcing fiber base material for FRP molding, comprising:

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