JPH0343198A - Cutting device for prepreg sheet - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To carry out a cut sheet piece quickly and surely by fitting a carry-out mechanism for carrying out the body to be cut in the direction orthogonal with a cutting direction at the downstream side position of a cutting mechanism for a support table. CONSTITUTION:A prepreg sheet S carried in horizontally onto the horizontal guide face of a support table 11 is cut by a cutting mechanism 13. This cut sheet piece S1 is then carried out to the downstream side by a carry-out mechanism 20. In this case, the support table 11 is revolved at the specific angle together with the cutting mechanism 13 to perform the cutting work, in case of cutting at the specific angle for the fiber direction of the prepreg S. Even in this case the sheet S1 is carried out in a short time at the shortest carry-out distance.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to an apparatus for cutting prepreg sheets, and more particularly to a prepreg sheet cutting apparatus capable of high-speed cutting at arbitrary lengths and angles.

(Prior art) A prepreg made by impregnating a reinforcing material such as glass fiber or carbon fiber with a thermosetting resin, drying it and semi-curing it is formed into a sheet shape, and this is further rolled into a roll shape to make a prepreg sheet. The original fabric is formed. Then, a prepreg sheet is drawn out from the raw material of such a prepreg sheet, cut into appropriate shapes and dimensions, and used for manufacturing various products.

When cutting a prepreg sheet, the fiber direction of the prepreg must be considered. That is, prepreg has one fiber direction, and by changing the cutting angle with respect to that fiber direction, prepreg sheets with various properties can be obtained.

Previously, prepreg sheets were cut manually using a ruler and a knife. Furthermore, for prepreg sheets of relatively small size, a simple cutting device equipped with a cutting blade has been used.

This simple cutting device includes a prepreg supporting tilt table made of an inclined plane, and a cutting mechanism disposed above the tilt table.

The prepreg sheet fed onto the inclined table is cut into predetermined dimensions by a cutting mechanism, and the cut prepreg sheet pieces slide down the inclined table, and the receiver installed at the end of the inclined table is placed inside the building. It falls and is stored.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) The conventional simple cutting device as described above is used for cutting prepreg sheets of relatively small size, and is not suitable for cutting wide and large prepreg sheets. This caused various problems and was practically unusable.

This is because a tilting table is used as a table to support the prepreg sheet, so when cutting a large prepreg sheet, the distance between the cutting position and the lower edge of the sheet increases, resulting in the length of the tilting table. The length becomes longer. Also, since a stand is installed to receive the falling sheet pieces, the height of the lower end of the tilting table must be greater than the height of the stand.
As the tilting table becomes longer, the cutting mechanism is disposed higher. This is inconvenient when the cutting operation is performed visually.

Furthermore, when the cut prepreg sheet pieces slide down the inclined table, the frictional resistance increases as the size of the sheet pieces increases. Therefore, unless the tilt angle of the tilt table is made even larger, it will not be possible to drop the table reliably. If the inclination angle of the tilting table is increased, the difference in height between the lower end of the tilting table and the position where the cutting mechanism is disposed becomes even larger, and the above-mentioned problem becomes even more serious.

Furthermore, even when the cutting angle is changed in consideration of the fiber direction of the prepreg, a problem arises in that the distance for carrying out the prepreg sheet piece becomes longer and the time required for carrying out becomes longer. This method uses a method in which the cut pieces of the prepreg sheet are always slid down and transported in a fixed direction on an inclined table, so if the cutting operation is performed at an inclined angle to the supply direction of the prepreg sheet, the This is because the carrying distance is longer than when the cutting operation is performed at an angle perpendicular to the other.

The present invention has been made in consideration of these points,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a prepreg sheet cutting device that can efficiently cut and transport relatively large-sized prepreg sheets.

[Structure of the invention]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention includes a support table equipped with a horizontal guide surface that is arranged to be rotatable in a horizontal plane;
A cutting mechanism disposed above a support table; and a carry-out mechanism attached to a position downstream of the cutting mechanism with respect to the support table and carrying out a workpiece to be cut in a direction perpendicular to the cutting direction. The present invention provides a prepreg sheet cutting device.

(Function) The prepreg sheet carried horizontally onto the horizontal guide surface of the support table is cut by the cutting mechanism, and the cut sheet pieces are quickly and reliably carried out by the carrying-out mechanism.

When cutting the prepreg at a predetermined angle with respect to the fiber direction, the horizontal table is rotated at a predetermined angle together with the cutting mechanism to perform the cutting operation. In this case as well, the sheet pieces are carried out in a short time over the shortest carrying distance.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

1 and 2 are a front view and a top plan view showing an embodiment of a prepreg sheet cutting device according to the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 11 denotes a support table, and this support table 11 is provided with a horizontal guide surface 11a for guiding the prepreg sheet S. The support table 11 is supported horizontally on a support stand 12 vertically disposed on the floor surface F, and is rotatable on the support stand 12 within a horizontal plane.

A cutting mechanism 13 having a cutting blade is disposed above the support table 11. As an example of the cutting mechanism 13 is shown in FIG. 3, a support block 15 formed with a penetrating female thread is screwed into a screw shaft 14 disposed across the support table 11. The cutting blade 16 is attached to the support block 15 and is supported by the support block 15.

This cutting blade 16 is disposed toward the support table 11, and its lower end is a recess formed in the guide surface 11a of the support table 11. It is said that it is possible to invade and move inside the llb. A screw shaft driving motor 17 is provided at one end of the screw shaft 14.
is attached, and by rotating the motor 17, the screw shaft 14 is rotationally driven, so that the cutting blade 16 can reciprocate on the support table 11 together with the support block 15.

A carry-out mechanism 20 for carrying out cut prepreg sheets (hereinafter referred to as "sheet pieces") Sl is provided at a position downstream of the cutting mechanism 13 of the support table 11 (on the left side in FIGS. 1 and 2). There is.

The unloading mechanism 20 has a screw shaft 14 with respect to the support table 11.
A plurality of rollers 21 rotatably arranged parallel to the
and a plurality of conveyor belts 22 wound around the roller 21 so as to be movable in a direction orthogonal to the screw shaft 14. This conveyor belt 22 is attached to a belt drive pulley (not shown) like a general belt drive mechanism,
The conveyor belt 22 is movable by rotationally driving the pulley. Further, the upper surface of the conveyor belt 22 is substantially the same surface as the horizontal guide surface 11a of the support table 11.

A pair of prepreg sheet feed rollers 23a and 23b are disposed one above the other at a position adjacent to the upstream end (the right side in FIGS. 1 and 2) of the support table 11, and one of the feed rollers, for example, the lower feed roller, The roller 23b can be rotationally driven.

This prepreg sheet feeding roller 23a.

A prepreg sheet S feeding mechanism 25 is further disposed at an upstream position of 23b. This feeding mechanism 25
is for rotatably supporting the original fabric of the prepreg sheet wound into a roll and feeding out the prepreg sheet S to the support table 11 side.

Further, a prepreg holder 26 for receiving and storing the sheet piece S1 is provided at a position adjacent to the downstream end of the support table 11. The prepreg pedestal 26 has a box shape with an upward opening, and the upper opening is connected to the support table 11.
It is arranged so as to be located slightly below the guide surface 11a.

Next, the operation of this embodiment having such a configuration will be explained.

The feeding action of the feeding mechanism 25 and the feeding roller 23a,
By the rotation of 23b, the prepreg sheet S rolled into a roll is transferred to the feed roller 23a.

The guide surface 1 of the support table 11 is held between the guide surfaces 1 and 23b.
It is conveyed horizontally onto 1a. After moving a predetermined distance below the cutting mechanism 13 and being placed on the conveyor belt 22, conveyance of the prepreg sheet S is stopped, the motor 17 is driven, and the screw shaft 14 is rotated. The cutting blade 16 moves along the screw shaft 14 and cuts the prepreg sheet S carried onto the support table 11.

When the cutting work of the prepreg sheet S is completed, the conveyor belt 22 is moved, and the sheet piece S1 placed on the conveyor belt 22 is moved in the moving direction of the belt 22 (that is, perpendicular to the cutting direction of the prepreg sheet S). direction).

The sheet pieces S1 carried out from above the support table 11 by the carry-out mechanism 20 are sequentially dropped and stored in the pedestal 26.

The above-mentioned device works when the fiber direction of the prepreg and the conveyance direction of the prepreg sheet match,
The case where the prepreg is cut at a cutting angle of 90'' with respect to the fiber direction is shown. According to this embodiment, the prepreg can be cut at any cutting angle with respect to the fiber direction.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show cutting at cutting angles of +0 degrees and 1 θ degrees with respect to the fiber direction, respectively.

In this case, the support table 11 is rotated at a predetermined angle on the support stand 12, and the cutting direction of the cutting mechanism 13 is inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the conveyance direction of the prepreg sheet S.

When the cutting mechanism 13 is operated with the support table 11 rotated in this manner, the Bripleglucite S is cut at an angle of +0 degrees or 1θ degree with respect to the fiber direction, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. Parallelogram or rhombus seed pieces 32°S3 are obtained. This sheet piece S2. S
3 is carried out by the carrying-out mechanism 20 in a direction perpendicular to the cutting direction of the sheet S. In this case, the sheet piece 52°S3
The conveyance distance p1 is 90 degrees with respect to the fiber direction shown in FIG.
This is the same as when cutting at a cutting angle of '', and it remains the same even if the cutting angle changes.

In FIG. 4, the symbol g2 indicates the conveyance distance of the sheet piece s2 when the support table 11 is tilted as in the conventional apparatus and the prepreg sheet S is conveyed in the conveyance direction. As is clear from the figure, 1<f12, and the conveyance distance is shorter when conveyed in a direction perpendicular to the cutting direction as in this embodiment. Therefore, in this embodiment, compared to the conventional apparatus, the time required to carry out the sheet pieces can be shortened.

As described above, according to this embodiment, by arranging the support table 11 horizontally and arranging the carry-out mechanism 20, the cutting workability is improved and the sheet piece can be carried out reliably to the pedestal side in a short time. be able to.

In addition, the support table 11 can be rotated in a horizontal plane, and the cut sheet pieces can be carried out in a direction perpendicular to the cutting direction, so that the prepreg can be easily cut at any angle with respect to the fiber direction. In addition, the conveyance distance of the sheet piece is short, and the conveyance time can be shortened. Furthermore, by shortening the conveyance distance, the entire cutting device can be downsized, and the installation space of the device can be saved.

In this embodiment, an example is shown in which a conveyor belt is used as the conveyance mechanism, but in addition to this, as shown in FIG. 6, air can be used to produce the conveyance action. That is, a large number of sheet feeding nozzles 31 are disposed on the support table 11 so as to be oriented in the conveying direction of the sheet S, and a large number of lifting air nozzles 32 are disposed facing upward. be.

According to this embodiment, the cut sheet piece S1 is floated by air ejected from the lift air nozzle 32, and is also moved in the conveyance direction by air from the sheet piece feeding nozzle 31.

According to this embodiment, the sheet piece S1 can be quickly carried out without being damaged.

Further, in this embodiment, the cutting blade 16 is connected to the support table 11.
Although an example in which the prepreg sheet is moved across the top has been shown, various methods can be used to cut the prepreg sheet. For example, a method of using a laser beam instead of a cutting blade, a method of simultaneously cutting the entire width of the prepreg sheet using a cutting blade larger than the width of the prepreg sheet, etc. can be considered.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, cut sheet pieces can be quickly and reliably transported. Moreover, the prepreg sheet can be cut at any cutting angle, and even if the cutting angle changes, the sheet piece can always be carried out in a short time.

The present invention is particularly effective as a cutting device for wide prepreg sheets having a width of approximately 1000 mm.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an embodiment of a cutting device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view thereof, FIG. 3 is a side sectional view showing an example of a cutting mechanism, and FIGS. 4 and 5 are respectively Cutting angle is +
FIG. 6 is a plan view showing cutting states at 0 degree and -θ degree, and an external perspective view showing another embodiment of the unloading mechanism. 11...Support table, 11a...Horizontal guide surface, 1
3... Cutting mechanism, 16... Cutting blade, 20... Carrying out mechanism, 22... Conveyor belt, 25... Feeding mechanism, 26... Receiver, S... Prepreg sheet, Sl,
S2゜S3...Sheet piece.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A support table equipped with a horizontal guide surface that is arranged to be able to rotate in a horizontal plane; a cutting mechanism that is arranged above the support table; and a downstream of the cutting mechanism with respect to the support table. A prepreg sheet cutting device comprising: a carry-out mechanism that is attached to a side position and carries out an object to be cut in a direction perpendicular to the cutting direction;