JPS6183006A - Manufacture of prepreg sheet reinforced by fiber sheet-like substance oriented in one direction - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To manufacture the prepreg of high quality highly efficiently by a method wherein the prepreg sheet is taken with a predetermined speed through nip roller, tension in all of the bundles of fibers is uniformed and matrix resin is impregnated so as to be contained uniformly. CONSTITUTION:The bundle of fibers 1 is combed by comb rollers 2, 4 so as to obtain equal space between the bundles of fibers and is supplied to and adjusted feed roller 3. On the other hand, the tensions of the groups of the bundle of fibers 1 are controlled between the roller 3 and tension rollers 7 by a tension control device 6. The tension control device 6 is preferable to have a mechanism for regulating the peripheral speed of the tension rollers 7 automatically by a using a dancer roller so as to make the peripheral speed of the feed rollers 3 as well as the tensions of the group of bundle of fibers 1 constant. Parting paper, coated with resin, is integrated with the group of bundle of fibers, which has been made into the shape of a sheet, before entering into the tension rollers 7 and the resin is impregnated thereinto the make the prepreg.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to a novel method for producing prepreg sheets reinforced with unidirectionally aligned fiber sheets.

[Prior art] A fiber bundle made by thinly spreading and aligning carbon fiber, glass fiber, fully aromatic polyamide fiber, etc. is impregnated with a thermosetting resin such as niboxy resin, phenol resin, or unsaturated polyester resin. In addition, so-called unidirectionally aligned fiber-reinforced prepregs are widely used as sports and leisure goods such as fishing rods and skis, aerospace equipment, vehicle equipment, leaf springs, and other industrial materials. The biggest advantage of this unidirectionally aligned fiber-reinforced prepreg is that the fibers are aligned parallel to each other without being greatly curved like woven fabrics, so the strength and elastic modulus of the fibers can be used efficiently. The value of unidirectionally aligned fiber-reinforced prepreg as an intermediate base material is increasing, including its ease of use.

Several methods have been introduced so far for manufacturing these unidirectionally aligned fiber-reinforced prepregs, but
Currently, resin impregnation methods are divided into solution methods and solvent-free methods, and their manufacturing processes are only introduced in conceptual diagrams. (Large diameter, registered seal, Matsuda: Carbon Fiber 1983゜7.1. Kindai Editorial Co., Ltd., Carbon Fiber Association;
Carbon fiber application technology 1984.6.4. CMC)
.

For example, an overview of the method for manufacturing unidirectionally aligned fiber-reinforced prepreg using a solvent-free method is to apply a thermosetting resin such as an epoxy resin to one side of a release paper that has been subjected to a release treatment using IJ:Xy resin, etc. There is a method in which a sheet-like material consisting of a large number of fibers aligned in parallel is combined, and the fiber bundle is impregnated with resin using an impregnating device such as a heated nip roll to form a continuous unidirectionally aligned silipreg. fiber-reinforced plastic manufactured by

Resoreg has a two-layer structure of a release paper and a fiber layer impregnated with resin, and is rolled up into a roll.

In general, the performance points of unidirectionally aligned fiber prepreg are that there are no so-called openings between the fibers of the fiber sheet, a flat surface, a uniform thickness, and a uniform resin distribution on the fiber sheet. It is because it is impregnated. In order to achieve these, conventional methods have been used to expand fiber bundles (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 52-15
1362. Japanese Patent Publication No. 56-43435, % Publication No. 57-5
6220.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 58-1725) and resin impregnation method (Japanese Patent Publication No. 58-1725)
-5320, JP-A-56-56220, JP-A-58
-185216, JP-A-58-23830° JP-A-5
8-31716) has been proposed.

Furthermore, the unidirectionally aligned fiber-reinforced prepreg is lined with regular release paper to maintain its shape and improve handling, but since the performance of the release paper governs the performance of the unidirectionally aligned prepreg, its performance cannot be evaluated. I have a proposal (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 1973-
10532. Utsukai Showa 56-11914. Japanese Patent Publication No. 59-4
7277, JP-A-59-47278.4? Kaisho 59-4
8153.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 59-48155. % Kaisho 59-135121)
.

However, the quality requirements for unidirectionally aligned fiber-reinforced prepregs are becoming increasingly broader and more sophisticated. For example, very thin thickness (0.05+m or less), very thick thickness (
0.3w or more), and at the same time a reduction in resin content (3w or more).
0wt'S or less) Also, from an economical perspective, there is a demand for wider width unidirectionally aligned fiber-reinforced prepregs, and in response to these demands, the manufacturing technology for unidirectionally aligned fiber-reinforced prepregs has become more sophisticated and complex. It has become

Therefore, the conventionally proposed techniques cannot cope with the increasingly sophisticated quality of unidirectionally aligned fiber-reinforced brig legs, and no satisfactory method has yet been found.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

The present invention is a method for producing a prepreg sheet reinforced with a high-quality unidirectionally aligned fiber sheet that has uniform fiber expansion, uniform thickness, no meandering or openings, and uniform resin content. It is.

[Means and effects for solving the problem] The method for producing a prepreg sheet reinforced by the unidirectionally aligned fiber sheet material of the present invention is to The fiber bundles are aligned and continuously fed at a predetermined speed from the feeding egg row 2 to spread these fiber bundles into a fiber sheet-like material.
In the method of impregnating this fiber sheet-like material with a matrix resin and continuously pulling the obtained unidirectionally aligned fiber-reinforced prepreg sheet through a tension nip roller at a predetermined speed, the following steps are performed: a) The plurality of fibers are a step of aligning the fiber bundles in one direction while regulating the relative positions of the fiber bundles, and making the tension of all the fiber bundles uniform; b) applying tension to the aligned fiber bundles on at least two arcuate curved surfaces; C) spreading the fiber bundle by passing the fiber bundle in contact with each other, thereby forming a sheet-like article consisting of a group of unidirectionally aligned fibers; C) a matrix coated on the fiber sheet-like article and a release paper; a step of stacking the resin layer and pasting the fiber sheet material over an arcuate curved surface so that they are in contact with each other; and d) in the fiber sheet material layer in the bonded product. The method is characterized by including a step of permeating and impregnating the matrix resin.

The method of the present invention also includes the steps a), b), and c).
In addition to above and d), the following steps; e) further laminating a sheet-like release material on the fiber sheet layer of the laminated product to form a triple laminated product; and f) the above-mentioned step. The method may include the step of peeling off the sheet-like release material from the triple bonded product after the triple bonded product has passed through the tension sealer.

Furthermore, the method of the present invention includes the steps a), b), and c.
) and d) in addition to the following steps: g) a step of laminating a matrix resin layer coated on release paper on the fiber sheet layer of the laminated product to form a triple laminated product; and h) the step of peeling off one sheet of the release paper from the triple-laminated product after the triple-laminated product has passed through the tension roller.

The contents of each step will be specifically explained below with reference to the attached drawings.

In the method of manufacturing a unidirectionally aligned fiber-reinforced prepreg sheet by aligning a plurality of fiber bundles in one direction and impregnating the fiber bundles with a resin according to the present invention, each effect in each step described below is as follows: It is a very important prerequisite that the arbitrarily set tension applied to the bundle be carried out under controlled conditions. Uniform thickness, that is, uniform expansion of the fiber bundle in step d, and uniform impregnation of resin into the aligned fiber sheet in step d are important factors for the performance of the unidirectional aligned fiber reinforced prepreg sheet. Become. Furthermore, the tension adjustment control device is preferably installed between the fiber bundle delivery nip roller and the tension nip roll of the unidirectionally aligned fiber reinforced prepreg sheet, thereby producing high quality unidirectionally aligned fibers. This means that reinforced Briglegs can be manufactured efficiently.

Step a) will be explained below.

A large number of fiber bundles pulled out (by a creel stand) are lined up and taken while being nipped with a nip roller to produce a unidirectionally aligned fiber sheet.The fiber sheet is manufactured while adjusting the tow opening tension with the nip roller. .

This will be explained in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a layout diagram of an example of an apparatus for manufacturing a unidirectionally aligned fiber sheet used in carrying out the method of the present invention.
) are combs (2) and (4) for aligning at regular intervals.
The fibers are passed through and introduced into the feed roller (3), and after traveling an appropriate length, are spread out into a sheet shape by the spreading device (5) so that the entire fiber bundle group is covered with tension. It passes through a tension adjustment device (6) such as an adjusted dancer roller and is supplied to a resin impregnation device or the like by a tension row 9-(7). Note that the resin impregnation device may be placed between the spreading device (5) and the tension roller (7), and the tension adjustment device (6) may be placed between the tension roller (7) and the delivery roller (3). However, it does not affect the effectiveness of the method of the present invention.

The method of the present invention is particularly applicable to the delivery row of the above-mentioned device. −(3
) is characterized in that the tension of each fiber bundle is made uniform by slipping the fiber bundles individually. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for understanding the mechanism. The tension applied to the group of n fiber bundles is T.

The tension applied to each fiber bundle is tl l ti
If lt3...t, the tension can always be kept constant by the tension control device built into the device, so the average value of tl * tz,, ts...tn is 4.
It is always constant, but if there is no slip of the m fibers at the nip roller (3), tl # tz J L3
...tn is not necessarily constant. For example, at the start of operation of this device, that is, when starting the nip between the tension roller (7) and the delivery roller (3), t1+t2+
It is almost impossible to nip with uniform t3...tn, and if the operation is continued with non-uniformity, the non-uniform state will continue. Also, even while driving, the feed roller (3
) The length of the fiber bundle fed out from the feed roller (3) varies slightly depending on, for example, whether the fiber bundle introduced into the feed roller (3) is rod-shaped or planar, or the length of the fiber bundle is Since it is normal that there is some degree of crimp, the length of the fiber bundle sent out from the delivery roller (3) will vary slightly depending on the degree of crimp, and the tension between the delivered fibers will be uniform. It won't be.

However, in the method of the present invention, the delivery nip roller (3
) If the fiber bundle is slipped appropriately, these uneven tensions will be made uniform.

To explain in more detail, the tension roller (7) shown in Fig. 2 takes sufficient nip pressure to prevent the fiber bundle group from slipping, and the feed roller (3) takes a small nip pressure and adjusts the nip pressure appropriately. to enable pickpocketing. In other words, the delivery roller (
3) The circumferential speed is slowed down. Of course, during this time, the tension control device (6) operates normally and maintains the full tension T. .

Furthermore, if we explain this slip for each fiber bundle, the size of the slip is proportional to the tension t applied to the fiber bundle, so fiber bundles with loose tension have fewer slips and scratches. ), the amount of fiber sent out from the fiber bundle is small, and the slack gradually decreases, until the tension becomes the same as that of the other fiber bundles.

Furthermore, a fiber bundle to which too much tension is applied has a greater degree of slip than other fiber bundles, and its tension decreases until it reaches the same tension as the other fiber bundles. In other words, fiber bundles whose average tension curve is large and tension is applied have a large degree of slip. The degree of slip decreases and eventually approaches T/n, and the fiber bundles begin to slip against each other in the direction of equalizing the tension. This action exhibits a surprising effect in equalizing the tension of a large number of aligned fiber bundles.

For example, it would be impossible to even out several hundred fiber bundles with uneven tension in reality, but when the tension roller (7) and delivery roller (3) are nipped and running starts, the initial Many of the fiber bundles are uneven, and about half of them are in a sagging state, but if a moderate amount of slip is applied at the delivery row 7-(3), they will become uniform little by little, and the tension will eventually be reduced until all the fiber bundles become flat. Uniformity progresses. Further, this slip can be arbitrarily adjusted by adjusting the total tension T and the pressure of the feed roller (3). However, in general, the full tension is often determined from the tension required for the expansion process in this device, and the slip is substantially adjusted by the nip pressure of the delivery roller (3).

As a result of detailed study by the inventors, the degree of this slip,
i.e. tension roller (7) relative to delivery roller (3).
) is preferably 1.005 times to 1.02 times,
Preferably, 1.005 times to 1.01 times is sufficient.

As described above, the method of the present invention solves the difficult problem of aligning a large number of fiber bundles with uniform tension by using (2) the combination of growlers and (2) the slip between the roller and the fiber bundles. The problem was solved economically and effectively with the device. Moreover, the unidirectionally aligned prepreg produced from the aligned fiber bundle sheet produced by this method is of high quality without meandering or disorder of the fibers.

Furthermore, in the manufacturing process of unidirectionally aligned prepreg, the operation of aligning a large number of fiber bundles in parallel at equal intervals is an extremely important step, and a comb guide is commonly used as a device for this purpose.

In the method of the present invention, the comb (
As in 4), it is preferable to use a fiber bundle alignment guide device having a →-m guide with a rotary or horizontal movement function for arbitrarily regulating the spacing and position of the fiber bundles aligned in one direction.

Figure 4 shows an example of this comb f-id.
The figure is an explanatory diagram of its functions.

That is, a comb guide with a pitch of t is pivoted around the center O and is rotatable left and right. If the rotation angle is θ, the effective comb guide spacing of ZETCH t is 2. Moreover, since θ can be changed continuously, the pitch can be selected completely arbitrarily. Also, there is an arm (
By attaching a protractor (2b) via 2a) and writing A-asθ on the protractor, any effective pitch can be set instantaneously. Furthermore, by making the entire comb guide freely displaceable left and right, that is, in a direction perpendicular to the aligned fiber bundles, it is easy to set the horizontal position of the aligned fiber bundle group, which is another function of the comb guide. I can do it.

Next, the process will be explained.

Uniform expansion of each fiber bundle is an extremely important process that determines the uniformity of fiber thickness (fabric weight), which is the most important quality of unidirectionally aligned prepreg.

FIG. 6, (@) is a schematic diagram for explaining the principle of spreading the fiber bundle according to the method of the present invention. In Figure 6 (4),
(1) indicates the fiber bundle running under tension T, (8) indicates the arcuate curved substrate, and in FIG. 5(B), R is the radius of curvature of the arcuate curved substrate, and ΔR is the fiber bundle. Indicates thickness. If the amount of supply of each single fiber in the fiber bundle running on this arc-shaped curved substrate is the same, then when running on the curved surface, the outermost single fiber running on the curved surface is pressed inward by a force ΔR. Here, Ef indicates the elastic modulus of the fiber. Due to this principle, the outer fibers within the fiber bundle receive a force that presses them inward. At this time, if the frictional resistance between each single fiber is low to some extent, the outer single fibers will sink inward, resulting in a thinner fiber bundle and a force that will force it to spread in the width direction. Since the fiber bundle is in a running state in this case, it is pushed out one after another, and as a result, continuous pushing and spreading of the fiber bundle is achieved.

As is clear from the above explanation, the smaller the radius of curvature of an arcuate curved surface, the greater the effect will be.However, since the fiber bundle is pressed against the curved surface by a force called π, If it is too small, there is a risk of damaging not only the Makoto fiber bundle but also the base itself.

Furthermore, FIG. 7(B) shows a schematic diagram of the fiber bundle expanding device according to the present invention and an example of the traveling state of the fiber bundle. Figure 7 Prisoner (
58, 5b, 5ct5dt in B) indicate fiber bundle expanding rollers forming a base having an arcuate curved surface;
θ1, θ3 in Figure (4). θ1.

θ and θ indicate the entrance/exit angle of the fiber bundle to each roller, and T in FIG. 7(B) indicates the tension applied to the fiber bundle.

In addition, the entrance and exit angle θ of the fiber bundle in Fig. 7 to the expanding row 2-,
~θ. After careful consideration, these angles of entry and exit are 3.
It is appropriate that the angle be within the range of 0 to 160°. In other words, if the angle is less than 30 degrees, the tension load will be excessive, and if the expanding base is a roller, it will cause the die to crack, and the fiber bundle will be damaged, causing a lot of fuzz, making it impractical. Also, 160'
If it exceeds this, the effect of expanding the fiber bundle will be small and it will be unsuitable for producing the desired thin prepreg.

In addition, when the arc-shaped curved surface is a part of the circumferential surface of the row 2-,
The appropriate number is two or more.

Furthermore, with the diversification of the uses of unidirectionally aligned grip pregs, there is a demand for improved uniformity in thickness distribution, and there is also a considerably higher demand for thinner (lower basis weight) unidirectionally aligned grip pregs. In order to meet this need, the present inventors have succeeded in manufacturing a thin and homogeneous unidirectionally aligned grip preg by continuing to improve the above-mentioned fiber bundle expansion method.

That is, in the method of the present invention, at least one of the rollers is moved at a speed relative to the running speed of the running fiber bundle in a method of spreading the fiber bundle by running the fiber bundle under tension on the surface of one or more lawns. The fiber bundle is expanded by rotating slowly to reduce the circumferential speed.

The expansion process will be specifically explained below.

FIG. 8 shows a fiber bundle spreading experimental apparatus equipped with a driving device consisting of a variable speed motor for spreading rollers and a gear box. (1) in Fig. 8 is a fiber bundle.

(9) is a fiber bundle bobbin unwinding device having a band brake (9a), and (3) is a comb guide.

(sa・)t(sb) and (sc) are expansion rollers.

(7) is a fiber bundle winding device, and (10) is a drive device consisting of a variable speed motor and a dryer.

Using this device, we conducted a fiber bundle expansion experiment.

Table 1 shows the results of a fiber bundle expansion experiment conducted with this device. The fiber bundles used were each made of 3000 flt carbon fiber, their weight was 200 mQ/m, the running conditions were 1 m/ml, the np tension was 50
It was 0f.

According to the experimental results shown in Table 1 below, the expansion effect is greatest when the expansion roller of case 6 is fixed.
In this case, the roller will cause fluff and grooves. In addition, when the expanding roller in case 2 rotates freely, there is no generation of fluff or fluff grooves, and even though it is not based on the results of this experiment, it is expected that damage to the fiber bundle is least likely to occur. The effect is small. On the other hand, when rotating the spreading roller at a peripheral speed lower than the fiber bundle running speed, as in Cases 3 and 4,
Even under conditions where fluff does not occur or fluff occurs, fluff does not occur, and a considerable expansion effect can be obtained even if the expansion effect is not as great as that of case 6.

If the peripheral speed of the spreading roller is made faster than the traveling speed of the fiber bundle in case 1, the spreading effect will be the smallest, and although this was not observed in this experiment, it is expected that the fiber bundle may be damaged in some cases. be done.

According to the experimental results shown in Table 1, Case 4 is the most preferable condition for obtaining a Gripreg with few appearance defects due to openings and fuzz. However, if a thin prepreg with no openings is to be obtained even if some fuzz is allowed, Case 5 or Case 6 can also be selected. Moreover, if there is no need for expansion so much, Case 2 can be selected.

In other words, according to the present invention, depending on the required performance of the prepreg, especially the thickness of the fiber, the conditions of free rotation, low speed rotation (travel speed relative to the fiber), and fixed are used, and by using the spreading roller, it is possible to achieve various fiber thicknesses. Gripreg can be manufactured.

Various materials were also studied for the arcuate curved surface for expanding fiber bundles of the present invention, and it was found that a substrate having a matte surface (finally subjected to a matte finish) is suitable.

The surface should be smooth, promote the expansion of fiber bundles, and suppress the generation of fluff. Therefore, Teflon coated materials are preferable, but they also have the disadvantage that they are difficult to withstand long-term use. From various viewpoints, a matte surface, particularly a matte surface coated with chrome, is most preferable.

Further, the radius of curvature of the arcuate curved surface is comprehensively considered in terms of expansion effect, strength, fiber damage, etc., and is preferably in the order of 3 to 30, preferably 5 to 15a.

Steps C and d will be explained below.

Normally, unidirectionally aligned grip pregs are bonded to a double-sided silicone resin-treated release paper that can be peeled off in order to maintain their shape and improve handling.

The properties of this release paper include adhesion and peelability with the unidirectionally aligned Gripreg, dimensional stability due to moisture absorption and desorption, strength and elongation of the paper, and thickness and stiffness suitable for maintaining the shape of the unidirectionally aligned Gripreg. There are various required performances such as strength and heat resistance, and all of these must be satisfied, but even if all of these are within a satisfactory range, the manufacturing process of unidirectionally aligned grip preg If its properties are not properly utilized, the quality of Gripreg will be compromised.

That is, in order to prevent meandering or wrinkles during the introduction process until the release paper is combined into the aligned fiber sheet, tension is applied in the vertical direction and the paper is combined in an elongated state. Gripreg manufactured in this way is
The release paper, which is stretched when pulled out from the roll during the molding process and cut, elastically recovers to its original size and causes contraction. Then, the aligned fiber sheet forming a two-layer structure with the release paper is compressed in the warp direction, causing meandering in the warp direction (Fig. 9a), and in severe cases, the fiber sheet The material layer peels off from the release paper (Figures 9 to 10). Note that (11) in Figures 9 and 10 is the Gripreg layer, (1
2) indicates release paper.

Further, due to the nature of the paper material, the release paper used expands and contracts when it dries or absorbs moisture, and especially when it is dried, the shrinkage causes the same phenomenon as the shrinkage due to elastic recovery described above. Laminated plates or cylindrical molded products formed using prepregs that have meandered or peeled off from the release paper may suffer from laminates or cylindrical molded products that are severely damaged in appearance due to the meandering of the fibers and disorder of the fibers at the peeled portions. Otherwise, it is difficult to obtain the desired strength and elastic modulus.

The present inventors have found that the fibers do not meander or become disordered due to the elastic recovery of the release paper or shrinkage due to drying as described above.
In order to obtain Gripreg, favorable conditions were found when combining a unidirectionally aligned fiber sheet with a release paper having a matrix resin layer. In other words, when a unidirectionally aligned fiber sheet and a release paper coated with matrix resin are laminated continuously on a curved substrate surface, the distance is 0.05% of paper pattern
The above-mentioned problem can be solved by supplying the water while overfeeding it by 1.5 inches.

The base body having an arcuate curved surface used in step C may be roller-shaped, a part of a cylinder, or a part of an elliptical cylinder. Furthermore, it is acceptable even if the roller-shaped one is rotating.

This step C will be explained in more detail below.

First, FIG. 11 shows an example of the apparatus used to carry out this process, in which the aligned fiber sheet-like material (1) is placed under tension in a laminating apparatus (20) having a curved surface. will be introduced in Release paper coated with matrix resin (13
) is brought into contact with the fiber sheet-like material on the curved surface of the laminating device 20 and introduced into the impregnating device (14) as one, impregnated with resin and turned into a prepreg, which is wound up on the tensile sheet roller (7).

Here, the release paper (13) may be coated with a matrix resin in the same process, or may be coated with a matrix resin in advance in a separate process.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory view of the combined portion on the curved substrate surface, which is the key point of this process. That is, the aligned fiber sheet material (1) with a thickness of t has a radius of curvature r of the laminating device (20).
It is introduced onto a curved surface with an appropriate contact area. At the same time, the release paper (13) coated with matrix resin comes into contact with the fiber bundle on the base surface P1, and the two are integrated at P1.
It is separated from the curved surface and introduced into the impregnating device. At this time, the release paper on the outside of the curved surface is supplied with an overfeed of t/r to the fiber sheet-like material located on the inside. Furthermore, by freely selecting the radius of curvature of the base, an arbitrary overfeed rate can be set. Further, the contact length of P to P is a factor not directly related to the overfeed rate, but as a result of various studies, it is preferable that it is equal to or longer than the radius of curvature of the substrate.

In addition, it is necessary to apply tension to prevent wrinkles and meandering when introducing the release paper at this combined part, but this tension may eliminate the geobar feed and prevent the expected effect from being obtained. Fortunately, in many cases, the matrix resin applied to the release paper has moderate tackiness at room temperature, and it adheres to the fiber sheet with slight pressure, eliminating overfeeding. However, if the IJ Fuchs resin has almost no tackiness at room temperature, the tackiness can be increased by heating the curved base surface moderately or preheating the resin. It can be solved by letting

Furthermore, if the viscosity of the matrix resin is too low,
Alternatively, if the viscosity is moderately reduced due to excessive heating, the resin may act as a lubricant and elongate by the amount of overfeed. In this case, the matrix resin needs to be cooled. As a result of various studies, the viscosity of the resin on a curved surface is preferably 106/poise to 10 poise.

Since the release paper of the aligned prepreg produced by the method described above is supplied in excess of the fiber sheet material,
It is completely released from the strain caused by the tension applied until it is combined with the fiber sheet, and no shrinkage occurs due to elastic recovery.

In addition, when the obtained prepreg with release paper is cut and left in a low-humidity atmosphere, the release paper will shrink due to drying, but since it is originally supplied in excess, it will hardly affect the entire Gripreg. Never.

As a result, it is possible to produce a prepreg in which there is no disturbance of the aligned fiber group due to the above-mentioned elastic recovery of the release paper and shrinkage of the release paper due to drying, and there is no meandering as a whole.

Next, the present inventors conducted a detailed study on setting an appropriate overfeed rate for release paper using the method described above.

Theoretically, the O4 feed rate is determined by the expansion/contraction rate of the release paper in the vertical direction due to environmental changes that the prepreg with release paper undergoes during storage, transportation, or molding operations after manufacturing, especially changes in humidity, and the rate of expansion and contraction of the release paper in the vertical direction. It is determined by the sum of the elongation rates due to tension in the process until it is combined with the sheet-like material. Generally, the environmental humidity in which prepreg with release paper is handled is approximately 25% to 85% RH), and the expansion/contraction rate of the release paper in the vertical direction during this range varies depending on the performance of the release paper, but in most cases it is 0.2%. ~0.5 inch.

In addition, the lengthwise O extension that the release paper undergoes before it is combined with the aligned fiber sheet material varies depending on the performance of the release paper, the temperature and tension when applying the matrix resin, and the tension during the process of introducing it to the combined part. is about 0.1%-1%. Therefore, the overfeed rate of release paper is 1
．． 5- or less is sufficient.

The present inventors investigated release papers of various performances, the tension applied to the release paper during the process, and the appropriate overfeed rate for each cage, and found that the overfeed rate was between 0.05% and 1.0%.
It has been confirmed that 5% is sufficient, and in many cases, 0.1-0.8% is sufficient to exhibit the effect.

Furthermore, the present inventors conducted detailed studies on substrates having curved surfaces. The substrate with a curved surface is roller-shaped,
The effect of the method of the present invention can be obtained even with a part having a circular arc or an elliptical shape, but since the curved surface directly contacts the aligned fiber bundle, a fixed curved surface may cause the fibers to This is undesirable because it causes fuzz or turbulence when cut, and it is desirable to use a roller-like device that rotates together with the fiber bundle. Furthermore, since this roller comes into contact with the adhesive resin applied to the release paper, it is preferable that the roller be subjected to mold release treatment with tear-on resin, silicone resin, or the like.

Next, step d will be explained.

This step is a step in which the expanded fiber sheet material is impregnated with the matrix resin applied to the release paper.

Generally, the method of impregnating a fiber sheet-like object with resin applied to release paper is to apply pressure with one or more heated nip rollers after combining with the fiber sheet-like object, and move the resin to impregnate it. ing.

However, when impregnating the resin only by applying pressure using a nip roller, the inventors have found that in order to easily and sufficiently impregnate the resin, the first step is to raise the temperature of the nip roller and lower the melt viscosity of the resin. In addition to this, it is also necessary to increase the nip pressure, but in such cases, in order to prevent the upper roller of the nip roller from being contaminated by resin, a new layer of release paper, etc. is added to the upper surface of the combined product. Clothing must be introduced continuously. When pressure impregnation is performed using these two nip rows 2-, the molten resin flows out in the width direction of the fiber sheet material, which not only stains the rows 2-, but also impairs the smoothness of the Gripreg and the uniformity of the resin distribution. This results in significant deterioration and only prepregs with many defects are obtained.

In addition, in the molten resin, the spread fiber sheet-like material may be refocused due to the surface tension of the molten resin, and become a sheet-like material with many openings. -Therefore, the present inventors
In addition to the above-mentioned drawbacks, we have developed a method for efficiently producing unidirectionally aligned prepregs, and have also conducted various studies on working noise, and have developed a method to efficiently produce unidirectionally aligned prepregs, using fiber sheets that are unidirectionally aligned and expanded, and release paper coated with matrix resin. In the pre-process C, the release paper is laminated continuously on a circular arc-shaped curved surface while overfeeding the fiber sheet, and then on a rotating or fixed circular arc-shaped curved surface near the melting temperature of the matrix resin. In addition to efficiently impregnating the matrix resin into the fiber sheet-like material by passing it under tension, we also succeeded in simultaneously preventing the opening of the fiber sheet-like material that sometimes occurs during impregnation. This made it possible to obtain prepreg with good quality.

By further passing the next step before or after this impregnation step d, the impregnation rate can be increased and productivity can be improved. That is, before the main impregnation step, 40 to 160
After the main impregnation process, a release paper material such as release paper or polyolefin film for protecting the roller was applied to the fiber sheet side of the prepreg. Either pass one or more heated nip rollers at a temperature that does not cause the resin to flow out in the width direction, or after the main impregnation process, the other side is again coated with a release paper coated with matrix resin. The resin is then impregnated from the other side with the pressure of the laminating nip roller.

The addition of this process is particularly important for thick materials with a thickness of 0.20 (
It is particularly effective in terms of productivity for Gripreg of 60 MaoL% or higher.

An example of a schematic diagram of a method for manufacturing a unidirectionally aligned prepreg by the method of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 13 and 14. 13th
The method shown in the figure is an example in which a plate heater is used to melt the resin applied on the release paper, and a roller is used as an arcuate curved surface. , (3) is an alignment comb, (13) is a release paper evenly coated with thermosetting resin, (15) is a temperature-controllable grate heater, (14&) and (14).
b) shows a roller for impregnation, (16) shows a sheet-like release material, and (7) shows a driving Nizzo roller for taking off. The sheet-like release material (16) covers the surface of the Gripreg in order to prevent the rollers from being contaminated by the resin, and usually release paper, polyolefin film, etc. can be used.

In Figure 14, the aligned fiber bundle and release paper coated with thermosetting resin are combined and passed over a heated plate heater to melt the resin, and the impregnating roller (14 m)
In (14b), resin impregnation is performed into the fiber bundle. The prisoners in Figure 14 and (B) are respectively shown in Figure 13 (
14m) and (14b) are schematic diagrams for explaining the function of the impregnating row 2-. In the figure, (17) shows the surface of the row 2, (13m) shows the release paper, (13b) shows the molten resin layer, (1) shows the reinforcing fiber sheet, and (16) shows the molten resin layer.
indicates a sheet-like release material for roller eel preservation.

If the fiber sheet-like material in (4) in Fig. 14 and the release paper in Fig. 14 (B) are bent with a radius of curvature R due to the tension T, they will move toward the roller with a force approximately equal to π. Being pushed. Furthermore, assuming that there is no misalignment between the release paper and the fiber sheet-like material, the difference in circumferential distance causes the fiber bundles on the outside of the roller curved surface as shown in FIG.
In B), the release paper is subjected to tension according to its elastic modulus, and if the tension is ΔT, each paper is pressed toward the roller side with approximately the same force. In reality, these forces are weakened by the tension bed of each fiber sheet or by the misalignment between the fiber bundle and the release paper, but if the conditions are selected,
In case 8), resin impregnation is carried out so that the fiber sheet-like material is buried in the molten resin, and in case (B) in Fig. 14',
When pressed using release paper, the force causes the molten resin to penetrate into the fibrous sheet material, resulting in impregnation. In FIG. 13, it is effective to use heated rollers 2- as the impregnating rollers (14m) and (14b) because it can prevent the viscosity of the molten resin from decreasing due to a decrease in temperature. Also, impregnation roller (14b)
By changing the position of the impregnating rollers (14&) and (14b), the bending angle of the Bripreg sheet can be made smaller.
) When pressing the prepreg sheet onto the sheet, the longer the force is applied, the better the impregnation will be. However, the smaller the bending angle, the greater the load on the roller shaft, so it is desirable to select an appropriate bending angle in consideration of the roller diameter, material, etc.

FIG. 15 shows an example in which a curved body having one end of a grate heater rounded is used as a substitute for the impregnating roller. The rounded part of the plate heater (18) in the figure shows the same effect as the impregnation roller (14m) in the 13th factor,
The fiber sheet-like material can be impregnated with resin.

When using this rounded plate heater for impregnation, it can be used not only as a heating grate heater, but also because the radius of curvature R can be kept relatively small, so the force required to sink the fiber sheet into the resin can be increased. , it is generally more advantageous to use rollers. As a result of various studies, we found that if the radius of curvature R is 301+1I11 or more, hardly any impregnating effect can be expected. When using Row 2-, a diameter of less than 10 m1 is inappropriate due to problems such as mechanical strength. 1st
Even when using a great heater with a radius as shown in Figure 5, if the radius is less than 0.2, the surface of the release paper will be damaged. Therefore, the radius of curvature of the arcuate curved surface in this case is suitably 0.2 to 30ffil+. In the figure, (16) indicates a sheet-like release material for roller protection.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, since the individual fiber bundles are pressed against the arcuate curved surface via the resin with reduced viscosity, the expansion is performed smoothly and the fiber sheet-like reinforcement is excellent in uniformity without openings. You can get Pregregs.

The details of steps a% to d have been explained above, and FIG. 1 shows an arrangement diagram of the most preferable apparatus summarizing them. In the figure (19) is a creel stand, (1) is a fiber bundle, (3
) is the feeding nip roller, (2) and (3) are the comb guide, (5) is the spreading device, (13) is the release paper with matrix resin, (20) is the laminating device, and (2) is the preheating device. a heater, (22) an impregnating device having a rounded part;
(23) is a nip roller, (16) is a release machine or matrix resin coated release paper), (24) is a tension control device,
(7) is a take-up nip roll, (25) is a pre-predator sheet with release paper, and (26) is a peeled release material or release paper with matrix resin.

In the present invention, which describes each process in detail, the fibers used as unidirectionally aligned fibers include carbon fibers, glass fibers, metal fibers, inorganic fibers such as GACON fibers, and organic fibers such as wholly aromatic polyamide and I-lyamide-imide fibers. or a combination of these. The appropriate thickness of the fiber is 0.02 to Q.5 tan (converted to 60% fiber volume), and there are no restrictions on the length, number, etc. of the continuous filaments.

The matrix resin impregnated into the unidirectionally aligned fibers used in the present invention is a thermosetting resin such as an epoxy resin, a phenol resin, or an unsaturated polyester resin. The resin content of the unidirectionally aligned prepreg is preferably 10 to 60 vt%, and 30 to 60 vt%.
More preferably, it is within the range of 45 wt%.

Margin below 〔Example〕 The present invention will be specifically explained below using Examples.

Implementation area 1 Example related to step (a)> Using the apparatus shown in Figure 2, 312 carbon fiber bundles consisting of 6000 filaments were combed with a width of 1000 filaments so that the fiber bundles were spaced at equal intervals. The materials were aligned and supplied to a delivery roller whose circumferential speed was adjusted to 100 m/Hr. On the other hand, the tension control device was adjusted so that the tension of the fiber bundle group between the delivery roller and the tension roller was 150 kg. First, when the feed roller was run with a linear pressure of 0.77 kg/an and a tension roller nip pressure of 3.2 kyz-, the tension of the fiber bundle was uneven immediately after the start of running, and the tension between the feed roller and the tension roller was 3.2 kyz-. Approximately half of the fiber bundles were slack between the control devices, but the slack disappeared 6 minutes after the start of running, and the fibers passed through the tension rollers as a neat, flat, aligned sheet.

When the peripheral speeds of the delivery roller and tension roller were measured 20 minutes after the start of running in this state, the peripheral speed of the tension roller was 1.007 times that of the delivery roller. The tension control device used in this example uses a dancer roller to keep the peripheral speed of the delivery roller constant and the tension of the fiber bundle group, and automatically adjusts the peripheral speed of the tension roller. It belongs to the organization.

In addition, in this example, a release paper coated with epoxy resin with a thickness of 70 μm was combined into a sheet-like fiber bundle group before entering the tension roller, and then impregnated with resin using a heated nip roller installed on the tension roller. Then, it was made into prepreg. This prepreg has no meandering or disorder of fiber groups due to sagging.
It was extremely beautiful.

Next, as a comparative example, the nip pressure of the delivery roller was set to 2.8 kg/cm in linear pressure, and all other conditions were the same as in the above example. The fiber bundles that were sagging immediately after the start of running did not have uniform tension even after running for more than one hour, and many fiber bundles were still sagging. The prepreg produced in this way had significant meandering and disorder of the fiber group, and could not be used as a product. Also, the circumferential speed of the tension roller in this state is 1.002 times the circumferential speed of the delivery roller.
Met.

Furthermore, as a comparative example, when running with the nip pressure of the delivery roller set to 0.50 kg/an in linear pressure, shortly after the start of running, the loose fiber group disappeared and a flat, aligned sheet was formed. The fiber group was damaged by the shedding roller and fluffed significantly, and the prepreg manufactured in this state had an untidy appearance due to the fluff, although no meandering of the R fibers was observed.

The circumferential speed of the tension roller at this time was 1.003 times the circumferential speed of the feed roller.

Example 2 Example related to step a〉 The comb guide of the equipment +t(2) and (4) shown in FIG. Pitch 4. with a protractor ranging from 00 to 45° to the perpendicular direction of the fiber bundle.
A comb guide with 320 combs was installed at 3m.

Using this device, the width is 1000+a+ and the carbon fiber basis weight is 55. FΔ is the relationship among the type and number of carbon fiber bundles used in manufacturing the unidirectionally aligned carbon fiber prepreg of 100F squared 1125b square 2, the pitch between the fiber bundles, and the angle of the protractor of the comb of the present invention. Table 2: Conventionally, when manufacturing the above three types of prepreg, three types of comb guides are required: 3.6 comb pitch, 4.0 fin, and 3.2 wg. However, the comb guide had to be replaced every time it was manufactured, which required a lot of effort.If the comb of this embodiment uses an ID, the angle can be set instantly by simply matching the angle with the protractor attached to the comb guide. The width of the fiber bundle sheet changes slightly depending on the tension during running and the state of expansion, but in this example, by freely adjusting the angle of the protractor, l' [1000 m] can be adjusted with high accuracy. Furthermore, by using the left and right movement mechanism, which is another feature of the comb guide of this example, the widthwise position of the running fiber bundle sheet can be set and adjusted instantly without stopping the device. done.

Example 3 A group of spreading rollers as shown in FIG. 7 is used as the spreading device (5) of a prepreg manufacturing apparatus as shown in FIG. θ2. θ,.

It is assembled so that θ4=90°, and each roller has a drive motor and a clutch installed so that it can rotate freely.
It was designed to be force driven and fixed.

Table 3 shows the mesh size and fluff condition of the fiber bundle sheet immediately after the spreading roller unit when prepreg was manufactured by attaching a 25-diameter spreading roller with a covered surface to this device. .

The prepreg was manufactured by aligning 150 carbon fibers (12,000 fibers) and using a 1,080 m wide release paper coated with epoxy resin in the center at a width of 1,000 m with a tension of approximately 200 kg and a running speed of 2 VmI n at a width of 1,000 m. This is what I did.

Example 4 An expanding roller with a 25 mm diameter chrome-plated matte surface was incorporated into the prepreg manufacturing equipment used in Example 3, and the expanding roller was free-rotating, low-speed forced drive,
Tables 4.5 and 6 show the fluff and opening state of the fiber sheet immediately after the spreading roller unit when prepregs were manufactured under various fixed conditions.

1 Resoreg in Table 4 uses 1080 mm release paper coated with epoxy resin in the center in a 1020 m width of 220 carbon fibers (3000 fibers) at a width of 11000 W with a tension of approximately 200 kg/width and a running speed. The prepregs in Table 6 are made of carbon fibers (12,000 pieces) 240*, and the prepregs in Table 6 are made of 120 carbon fibers (3,000 pieces) with the same tension and running. It was manufactured at high speed.

Below is a blank example 5. Expanding rollers with chromium-plated matte surfaces of various diameters were incorporated into the prepreg manufacturing equipment used in Example 3, and the influence of the diameter of the expansion roller was investigated using carbon fibers (1
2000 pieces) 180 pieces and 1 piece of epoxy resin
Using 02011III+ width 1080cm release paper applied to the center, prepare a 1000cm wide prepreg with a tension of about 150cm.
To! 9/width and 2 Q Okg/width, running speed 2 m/
Table 7 shows the results of the investigation when manufacturing at min. All expansion rollers were allowed to rotate freely.

Example 6: The prepreg manufacturing equipment used in Example 3 was equipped with an expanding roller 22 and 2 whose fiber bundle entry and exit angles were varied in various ways as shown in Fig. 7, and the influence of the fiber bundle entry and exit angles was investigated. Arrange 180 carbon fibers (12,000 fibers) and apply epoxy resin to the center with a width of 1020 cm. Next, using release paper with a width of 1080 W, prepreg with a width of 1000 cm is applied at a tension of approximately 15 Qkg.
Table 8 shows the results of an investigation conducted when manufacturing at a two-gate 'win' running speed. The expanding roller used was one with a diameter of 25 fi and a chrome finish with a matte finish, and all of the rollers were allowed to rotate freely.

Below is a margin example 7 <Example related to step d> A carbon fiber sheet-like material with a width of 1000 mm and a thickness of 0.1 ttan and a uniform thickness of 0.1 ttan and a width of 1080 m
Then apply epoxy resin to the center part over a width of 1020 mm.
Release paper coated to a thickness of 0μ is applied at a Ittl rate radius of 75I.
IIl++, Teflon coated, freely rotating rollers with a contact length of 4'Or+1IIIKC while running and coalescing. Combine both at 70'C
[A carbon fiber sheet material was impregnated with epoxy resin while being pressed with a heated nip roller for impregnation, and continuously rolled up into a roll (Case (end)) 1° On the other hand, as a comparative example, the same carbon fiber as in the example was used. The sheet material and the release paper were not combined on a curved surface, but were directly combined using the same impregnation roller as in the example, impregnated with resin, and continuously rolled up into a roll (Case 00).

In both the above Examples and Comparative Examples, when introducing the release paper, a tension of 60 kg was required to prevent meandering.

Furthermore, it was confirmed by a tensile tester that the elongation of the release paper under a tension of 60 kg was 0.12%.

Cut the products in cases (G) and (G) into two pieces each to a length of 1 m, and place one piece of each piece in an atmosphere with a RH of 65%, and place each piece in an atmosphere with a RH of 65%.
The sheets were left in an RI (25%) atmosphere.The product in case (B) showed no disturbance or meandering of the carbon fibers under both conditions, but the product in case (g) had an RH6
When left at 5%, meandering of carbon fibers occurred over the entire surface of Gripreg. In addition, when the sample was left at RH 25%, the above-mentioned meandering became more frequent, and the carbon fiber groups were partially lifted from the release paper. Table 9 shows the results of measuring the properties of these Gripregs by molding them into flat plates using a conventional press molding method.

In this way, the molded product obtained from the prepreg in this example has less variation in measured values compared to that in the comparative example.
Good characteristics were obtained.

The following margins are shown in Example 8. An impregnating device (22) with various rounded edges on one end using a plate heater as shown in FIG. 15 was incorporated into the prepreg manufacturing equipment used in Example 3 as shown in FIG. ) and the heated nip roll (23) were not used, and Table 10 shows the resin impregnation state and mesh opening state of the prepreg during fiC.

The prepreg is made of 126 carbon fibers (12,000 pieces) and 571 pieces of epoxy resin! /m2 basis weight, 10
Using a release paper of X080 width coated in the center with a width of 20m, the tension is 200! F/width, traveling speed 2 m/zi n
.

It was manufactured with a width of 1000m+.

The expanding rollers were all 25 mm in diameter and had a chrome-plated matte surface, and were driven at a deceleration rate of 50% relative to the traveling speed of the fiber sheet material.Example 9 Example 3 In the prepreg manufacturing apparatus used in Figure 1, a roller with a diameter of 25 degrees was incorporated as the impregnating device 22, and the temperatures of the preheating heater (30 degrees long) (21) and heating roller (23) were varied. Table 11 shows the state of resin impregnation when prepreg was manufactured.

A 30 μm polyderobylene film was used as a sheet-like release material for protecting the roller (FIG. 1 (16)).

The prepreg is made by aligning 280 carbon fibers (12,000 fibers) and epoxy resin with a basis weight of 1251 An" and 1020 fibers.
Using a 1080 mm wide release paper coated in the center, the tension was 200 kg/width and the running speed was 1.5 mm n.

It was manufactured with a width of 1000m. Note that the spreading roller was the same as in Example 8.

The following margin Example 10 When manufacturing prepreg using the same T-reg manufacturing apparatus as shown in FIG. Using a release paper with a width of 1080ffi coated with epoxy resin with a fabric weight of 3Q and p/m in the center on the surface in contact with the prepreg, 390 carbon fibers (12,000 fibers) were lined up and the epoxy resin was applied with a fabric weight of 143,117m. At 1020
Using 10108O + width release paper coated in the center with +m width, tension 250kg/width, running speed 1-0771/mln.
Table 12 shows the impregnated state of the prepreg when manufactured with a width of 1000 res.

Margin Example 11 Below, in the Brigreg manufacturing apparatus as shown in Fig. 1, the linear pressure of the delivery 2 and defooler (3) was 0-77 k&/cm.

The linear pressure of the tension nip roller (7) is 3.2 kg/1y.
rc, the diameter of the laminating roller (20) of the fiber sheet-like material L and the matrix resin-coated release paper (13) is 150, and the impregnation device is a 10 cm long preheating heater (21).
A heating heater plate (15cWL length) (22) with a 5-snow radius on one end, and a heating nip roller (23) are further arranged, and a sheet-like mold release material (16) is used.
A 30μ polypropylene film was used as the tension control device (24), and a dancer roller was used as the tension control device (24). 1080fl coated with epoxy resin in the center with a width of 1020+m
Table 13 shows examples of prepregs manufactured using II11@release paper and various carbon fibers.

The expanding device (5) shown in FIG. 1 is a unit as shown in FIG. 7 (4), which is equipped with five expanding rollers each having a 15-diameter chrome-plated matte surface. .

θ,=113°, θ, θ3. θ4=45°,
For each roller, we used rollers that could independently rotate freely, be driven at low speed, or be fixed. The results are shown in Table 13.

The following margins [Effects] By the method of the present invention, a uniform fiber sheet-like material aligned in one direction is formed, and a release paper with a matrix or a resin layer is attached to this fiber sheet-like material without creating openings. This makes it possible to uniformly impregnate the matrix resin with high-quality prepreg sheets of various thicknesses reinforced with unidirectionally aligned fiber sheets without meandering or wrinkling. , can be manufactured with high efficiency.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the arrangement of a device suitable for carrying out the present invention, Fig. 2 is an example of the arrangement of a device for manufacturing a unidirectionally aligned fiber sheet, and Fig. 3 shows the tension applied to a group of fiber bundles. Schematic diagram, Figure 4 is an example of the comb guide, Figure @5 is its explanatory diagram, Figure 6 is a schematic diagram explaining the principle of spreading the fiber bundle, Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the fiber bundle expanding device, Figure 8 shows an experimental setup in which a drive device is attached to the fiber bundle expanding roller, Figure 9 shows an example of meandering fibers in a unidirectionally aligned prepreg, and Figure 10 shows the separation of fibers in a unidirectionally aligned prepreg. An example of the state of peeling from the paper pattern is shown, Figure 811 is an example of the equipment for this process, Figure 12 is an explanatory diagram of the laminated body on a curved base surface, and Figure 13 is an illustration of the resin coated on the release paper. An example in which a plate heater is used for melting and a roller is used as an arcuate curved surface. Figure 14 is a schematic diagram explaining the principle of resin impregnation into fiber bundles. Figure 15 is an arc-shaped curved surface for resin impregnation into fiber bundles. This is an example of a plate having a curved surface. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Fiber bundle group, 2, 4... Comb, 3... Delivery roller, 5... Expanding device, 5m, 5b, 5c,
5d. 5e... Expansion roller, 6... Tension adjustment device, 7
... Tension crawler - 18 ... Arc-shaped curved surface base for expansion, 9 ... Fiber bundle unwinding device, 9a ... Band brake, 11 ... Gripreg layer, 12 ... Release paper, 1
3.13m...Ma) IJ wax-greased release paper, 14
．． 14a, 14b... Impregnation device, 15... Plate heater, 16... Mold release material, 13b... Matrix resin, 17... Impregnation roller surface, 18... Rounded part of plate heater, 19 ... Creel stand, 20... Lamination device, 21... Preheater,
22... Impregnation device having a rounded part, 23...
2. Prowler, 24... tension control device, 25...
Prepreg sheet with release paper, 26...Peeled release material or release paper.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A method in which a plurality of fiber bundles made of a plurality of fibers are aligned in one direction and continuously fed at a predetermined speed from a delivery nip roller, and these fiber bundles are formed into a fiber sheet. This fiber sheet-like material is impregnated with matrix resin,
In the method of continuously pulling the obtained unidirectionally aligned fiber reinforced prepreg sheet through a tension nip roller at a predetermined speed, the following steps are performed: a) unidirectionally aligned while regulating the relative positions of the plurality of fiber bundles; b) Expanding the fiber bundle by making the fiber bundle so aligned that it passes over at least two arcuate curved surfaces in contact with each other under tension. c) stacking the fiber sheet and the matrix resin layer coated on the release paper, and forming a sheet on the arcuate curved surface; , a step of pasting the fibrous sheet-like material so that they are in contact with each other to bond them together; and d) a step of permeating and impregnating the matrix resin into the fibrous sheet material layer in the bonded material. A method for producing a prepreg sheet reinforced with a unidirectionally aligned fiber sheet material, characterized by the following. 2. The manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the tension of the fiber bundle is made uniform through a tension control mechanism provided between the delivery nip roll and the tension nip roll. 3. The tension of the fiber bundle is made uniform by adjusting the nip pressure of the delivery nip roller.
A manufacturing method according to claim 1. 4. To equalize the tension of the fiber bundle, the take-up speed of the tension nip roller is made higher than the supply speed of the delivery nip roller, and the nip pressure of the delivery nip roller is adjusted to improve the delivery nip of the fiber bundle. A method according to claim 1, which is carried out by allowing slippage in rollers. 5. The take-up speed of the tension nip roller is 1.005 times the supply speed of the delivery nip roller to 1.
．． The manufacturing method according to claim 1, which is within the range of up to 0.02 times. 6. The manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein in step a), the relative position of each fiber bundle is controlled using a rotatable or displaceable comb guide. 7. In the step b), the arcuate curved surface for fiber bundle expansion has a matte surface.
Manufacturing method described in section. 8. The manufacturing method according to claim 7, wherein the matte surface is chrome plated. 9. The manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein in step b), the arcuate curved surface has a radius of curvature of 3 mm to 30 mm. 10. The manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein in step b), the entrance/exit angle of the fiber bundle with respect to the arcuate curved surface is 30 to 160 degrees. 11. In the step b), as the arcuate curved surface,
The manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein a part of the circumferential surface of a cylindrical roller is used. 12. The manufacturing method according to claim 11, wherein the cylindrical roller rotates at a peripheral speed lower than the traveling speed of the fiber bundle. 13. The manufacturing method according to claim 11, wherein the cylindrical roller does not rotate. 14. The manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein in step c), the release paper with matrix resin is over-fed to the fiber sheet-like material. 15. The manufacturing method according to claim 14, wherein the overfeed ratio of the release paper with matrix resin to the fiber sheet-like material is within the range of 0.05% to 1.5%. 16. In the step d), the bonded material is passed under tension over at least one arcuate curved surface, thereby impregnating the matrix resin into the fiber sheet material layer, and The manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the fibers in the fiber sheet are subjected to an expanding action. 17. The manufacturing method according to claim 1 or 16, wherein in step d), the temperature of the matrix resin in the bonded product is adjusted to around its melting temperature. 18. The arcuate curved surface for impregnation is 0.2 mm to 30 m.
17. The method of claim 16, having a radius of curvature in the range up to m. 19. The manufacturing method according to claim 1 or 16, wherein in step d), the temperature of the matrix resin in the bonded product is adjusted within the range of 40°C to 160°C. 20. The manufacturing method according to claim 16 or 17, wherein the bonded material that has passed in contact with the arcuate curved surface is pressed or heated with at least one nip roll. 21. A plurality of fiber bundles made up of a plurality of fibers are arranged in one direction and continuously fed at a predetermined speed from a delivery nip roller, and these fiber bundles are expanded into a fiber sheet-like material, In the method of impregnating this fiber sheet-like material with a matrix resin and continuously pulling the obtained unidirectionally aligned fiber-reinforced prepreg sheet through a tension nip roller at a predetermined speed, the following steps are performed: a) The plurality of fibers are A step of aligning the fiber bundles in one direction while regulating the relative positions of the fiber bundles, and making the tension of all the fiber bundles uniform; b) Applying tension to the aligned fiber bundles on at least two arcuate curved surfaces. spreading the fiber bundles by passing them in contact with each other, thereby forming a sheet-like article consisting of unidirectionally aligned fiber groups; c) the fiber sheet-like article and a matrix coated on a release paper; a step of stacking the resin layer and pasting the fiber sheet material over an arcuate curved surface so as to contact them; d) in the fiber sheet material layer of the bonded product; a step of permeating and impregnating the matrix resin; e) a step of further laminating a sheet-like release material on the fiber sheet layer of the laminated product to form a triple laminated product; and f) a step of forming a triple laminated product. A method for producing a prepreg sheet reinforced with a unidirectionally aligned fiber sheet, comprising the step of peeling off the sheet-like release material from the triple-laminated material after the material has passed through the tension nip roller. . 22. A plurality of fiber bundles made up of a plurality of fibers are arranged in one direction and continuously fed at a predetermined speed from a delivery nip roller, and these fiber bundles are expanded into a fiber sheet-like material, In the method of impregnating this fiber sheet-like material with a matrix resin and continuously pulling the obtained unidirectionally aligned fiber-reinforced prepreg sheet through a tension nip roller at a predetermined speed, the following steps are performed: a) The plurality of fibers are A step of aligning the fiber bundles in one direction while regulating the relative positions of the fiber bundles, and making the tension of all the fiber bundles uniform; b) Applying tension to the aligned fiber bundles on at least two arcuate curved surfaces. spreading the fiber bundles by passing them in contact with each other, thereby forming a sheet consisting of unidirectionally aligned fiber groups: c) the fiber sheet and a matrix coated on a release paper; a step of stacking the resin layer and pasting the fiber sheet material over an arcuate curved surface so as to contact them; d) in the fiber sheet material layer of the bonded product; a step of permeating and impregnating the matrix resin; g) a step of laminating a matrix resin layer coated on release paper on the fiber sheet layer of the laminated product to form a triple laminated product; and h) Reinforced by a unidirectionally aligned fiber sheet material, comprising the step of peeling off one sheet of the release paper from the triple laminate after the triple laminate passes through the tension nip roller. manufacturing method of prepreg sheet.