JPH08207065A - Vacuum bag structure and composite material integrating molding method using the structure - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To mold parts having complicated shapes with excellent precision by a vacuum bag to be used for molding composite material members or for adhering the members by using pressure difference. CONSTITUTION: To an outer peripheral edge of a vacuum bag 1 consisting of a thin film which is previously formed so as to have a uniform thickness by conforming to shapes of parts to be molded or stuck and a rubber sheet having a high stretchability, a rubber seal 2 having an airtight seal face excellent in heat resistance and permanent deformation resistance is adhered. A composite material member 9 to be worked is wrapped in it. In its central part, a vacuum plug 3 for evacuating is arranged. Its outer peripheral edge is set in a seal groove 8 provided at molding or adhering split mold jigs 6 and 7. It is pressed by a pressure means 5 and the inside of the vacuum bag 1 is evacuated. The vacuum bag 1 is adhered to the composite material member 9 to which external pressure and heat of an autoclave is added so as set.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vacuum bag and a method of integrally molding a composite material, which are used when molding a composite material member or performing a bonding operation between the members by using a pressure difference.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 3 shows a vacuum bag structure conventionally applied to general molding of a composite material. In the figure, a concave seal adhered by an adhesive 15 to an end of a rubber sheet 12 having a thin film and high elongation. 13 and the composite material member 9 and the like assembled in the upper jig 6 and the lower jig 7 by the vacuum bag structure by the combination of the convex seal 14 adhered to the lower jig 7 with the adhesive 15. Then, the inside of the vacuum bag is evacuated by using the vacuum plug 3, and the shape of the jig upper die 6, the jig lower die 7, the composite material member 9 and the like is used for use.

[0003]

By the way, in the conventional vacuum bag structure as described above, the thin and high-elongation rubber sheet 12 cannot follow the complicated shape of the composite material member 9 or the like, and the composite material member. The pressure applied to 9 etc. becomes uneven,
In particular, since insufficient pressure is applied to the concave corners, deterioration of the shape accuracy of the composite material member 9 including the plate thickness and internal defects occur, and further, the rubber sheet 12 is torn due to extreme elongation, resulting in problems of quality and durability. There is a problem that becomes.

Further, since the convex seal 14 made of rubber and the upper jig 6 and the lower jig 7 made of metal or FRP are made of different materials, the adhesive strength is weak and there is a risk of air leakage from the bonded portion. In addition, in order to prevent air leakage from the gap of the seam between the convex seal 14 and the concave seal 13, it is necessary to clamp from the upper surface of the concave seal 13 to increase the degree of adhesion and improve the airtightness. Due to heat and clamping pressure during heat molding of the composite material member 9 or the like, the rubber of the seal is permanently deformed, which causes a problem that it cannot be repeatedly used.

Further, the vacuum bag for covering the upper jig 6 and the lower jig 7, the composite material member 9 and the like becomes larger with the increase in size of the composite material member 9 and the like, so that manufacturability and handleability are deteriorated. Although it is necessary to divide the structure into two parts, a seal structure for keeping the airtightness of the divided part has not been proposed yet.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and provides a new vacuum bag structure capable of molding a complex-shaped part with high accuracy without internal defects and a method of integrally molding a composite material using the same. It is intended to be provided.

[0007]

As a structure for achieving the above-mentioned object, the vacuum bag structure of the present invention is a thin film manufactured in a uniform plate thickness in accordance with a complicated shape of parts to be molded or adhered in advance, At the outer peripheral edge of the vacuum bag made of a rubber sheet of elongation, heat resistance, a rubber seal having an airtight sealing surface excellent in permanent set resistance is adhered, and the composite material member for processing is wrapped by these, The vacuum plug for vacuuming is connected to the central part, and the outer peripheral end of the vacuum plug can be fitted and mounted in the seal groove provided in the split jig for molding or bonding.

Further, as a method for integrally molding a composite material using the above vacuum bag structure, a vacuum bag in which laminated composite material members are completely wrapped between upper and lower mold halves for molding or bonding is set. Then, after fitting the seal part formed on the outer peripheral edge into the seal groove provided in the split jig, press it with a mechanical pressurizing mechanism through the press fitting, and then vacuum the inside of the vacuum bag. There is a manufacturing method in which the composite material member is pulled out, a vacuum bag is brought into close contact with the composite material member, and further an external pressure such as an autoclave pressure and heat are applied to cure the composite material member.

Further, as a method for preventing air leakage from the divided portion of the vacuum bag and ensuring airtightness in the above manufacturing method, a pit is provided on the bottom of the seal groove of the upper or lower split mold for molding or bonding, and the pit is made of rubber. A method in which the block is fitted, the seal is divided on the upper surface of the block, and the clamp is clamped from the upper surface of the seal via a pressing metal fitting is preferable.

[0010]

According to the present invention, the vacuum bag is molded and hardened by the vacuum bag manufacturing mold having the same shape as the jig upper mold, the jig lower mold, the composite material member, etc., so that it always has the same shape after hardening. It can be reproduced, and by vacuuming the inside of the vacuum bag, the minute gap is absorbed by the rubber expansion and completely adheres to the composite material member, etc., and external pressure such as autoclave pressure is evenly transmitted to improve shape accuracy and internal defects. Is surely prevented.

[0011] Then, a vacuum bag having shape reproducibility and a rubber seal excellent in heat resistance and permanent strain resistance are vulcanized and bonded to form an integrated structure, and a seal groove is formed on the jig upper mold and the jig lower mold. By providing the seal, the positioning of the seal can be facilitated and lateral collapse can be prevented. Further, by using the mechanical pressurizing mechanism, it is possible to always produce the component in a good condition.

The pressure is transmitted to the inside of the block by fitting the rubber block into the pits provided in the divided groove of the jig upper die and the jig lower die and pressurizing the block. It is possible to prevent air from leaking from the bag dividing portion and ensure airtightness.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic side sectional view of an embodiment of the vacuum bag structure of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the same vacuum bag, (a) is a plan view, (b) is a side view taken along the line BB of (a). FIG. 1C is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, a semi-cured (semi-vulcanized) rubber having a uniform plate thickness is previously attached to a complicated shape of the composite material member 9 or the like, and the rubber is attached to a vacuum bag manufacturing mold so that the corners and the like are extremely stretched. A vacuum bag 1 that has been heated (vulcanized) and cured after reinforcing (increasing the plate thickness) the part that may cause
A rubber seal 2 having an airtight sealing surface, which is excellent in heat resistance and permanent strain resistance, is adhered to the outer peripheral edge of the jig, and this is placed on the jig upper die 6 and under the jig to prevent misalignment and lateral crushing. A mechanical tool that fits into the seal groove 8 provided on the upper surface of the jig in the upper and lower split mold made of the mold 7, puts the holding metal fitting 4 with appropriate rigidity on the upper surface of the mold, and incorporates a spring for following the shape change of the seal. A pressure is applied by the pressure mechanism 5, and the seal surface is brought into close contact with the bottom surface of the seal groove to form an airtight seal structure.

Then, by operating the vacuum plug 3 arranged at the central portion of the vacuum bag 1, the vacuum bag 1
After the inside is evacuated, an external pressure (autoclave pressure) and heat are further applied to cure the composite material member 9.

FIG. 2 shows another embodiment of the present invention in which the outer circumference of a vacuum bag is divided into two parts. The divided parts of the divided vacuum bag 1 are located directly below the divided parts and on the jig upper mold 6 and the jig lower mold 7. A pit 11 is provided on the bottom surface of the division seal groove 8,
A rubber block 10 is fitted in the pit and clamped from the upper surface of the seal via a pressing metal member in the same manner as the other seals 2, whereby pressure is applied to the wall surface of the block 10 to ensure airtightness of the divided portion. There is.

As a result, it is possible to avoid an increase in the size of the vacuum bag and save labor during the assembling work.

The embodiment of the present invention has been described above.
The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention, and all of them belong to the technical scope of the present invention.

[0019]

As described above, according to the present invention, when molding a composite material component, a component having a complicated shape, which was impossible by the conventional technique, can be molded with very good accuracy without internal defects. It is possible to produce a stable product that can be reproduced easily and repeatedly reproduce the same state.

Further, by dividing the vacuum bag, compared to the conventional large-sized one-piece vacuum bag, it is possible to reduce the number of workers during the assembling work and to reduce the storage space. High airtightness can be maintained by the surface pressure on the.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side sectional view of a vacuum bag structure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2A and 2B are sectional views of the vacuum bag in which FIG. 2A is a plan view, FIG. 2B is a side view taken along the line BB in FIG. 2A, and FIG. 2C is a sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. is there.

FIG. 3 is a schematic side sectional view of a conventional vacuum bag structure.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Vacuum Bag 2 Seal 3 Vacuum Plug 4 Holding Metal 5 Mechanical Pressure Mechanism 6 Jig Upper Die 7 Jig Lower Die 8 Seal Groove 9 Composite Material 10 Block 11 Pit

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A vacuum bag comprising a thin film and a high-elongation rubber sheet, which are manufactured to have a uniform plate thickness in accordance with a complicated shape of a part to be molded or adhered in advance, on an outer peripheral end portion of the vacuum bag.
A rubber seal with an airtight sealing surface with excellent heat resistance and permanent strain resistance is adhered, and the composite material member to be processed is wrapped by these, and a vacuum plug for vacuuming is connected to the center part and its outer periphery A vacuum bag structure, characterized in that the end portion can be fitted and mounted in a seal groove provided in a split jig for molding or bonding. 2. Between the upper and lower split mold jigs for molding or bonding,
Set a vacuum bag that completely encloses the laminated composite material members, fit the seal part formed on the outer peripheral edge into the seal groove provided in the split jig, and then press this through the metal fittings to the machine. After pressurizing with a mechanical pressure mechanism, the inside of the vacuum bag was evacuated, the vacuum bag was brought into close contact with the composite material member, and the composite material member was cured by applying external pressure such as autoclave pressure and heat. A method for integrally molding a characteristic composite material. 3. A pit is provided on the bottom surface of a seal groove of an upper or lower split jig for molding or bonding, a rubber block is fitted in the pit, a seal is divided on the upper surface of the block, and a seal is attached from the upper surface of the seal via a pressing metal fitting. 3. The method for integrally molding a composite material according to claim 2, wherein the method is performed by clamping the composite material.