KR20190018455A - Apparatus for manufacturing carbon fiber preform - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed is an apparatus for manufacturing fiber preform which has a simple structure, is easy for maintenance and control and has high productivity. An apparatus for manufacturing fiber preform according to an aspect of the present invention is an apparatus for manufacturing fiber preform by stacking fiber which has a surface applied with an adhesive on a workpiece surface and comprises a first robot arm, a second robot arm and a controlling unit. A first robot arm has an arrangement head which discharges a plurality of inserted fiber with fixed intervals mounted at one side, and a second robot arm has a first fixing unit which presses discharged fiber from an arrangement head to fix the same at a workpiece, and additionally, a third robot arm has a second fixing unit which presses discharged fiber from an arrangement head to fix the same at a workpiece. Moreover, a controlling unit controls operation of a first robot arm, second robot arm and third robot arm. Specifically, when fiber is withdrawn from an arrangement head by a certain length, a controlling unit makes a second robot arm press fiber at a fixed location and simultaneously moves a first robot arm to allow fiber to be continuously withdrawn. When fiber is withdrawn by a certain length again, a third robot arm is made to press fiber at a fixed location and a second robot arm and third robot arm alternately press fiber which is discharged from an arrangement head at a fixed location to fix the same at a workpiece.

Description

[0001] Apparatus for manufacturing carbon fiber preform [0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a fiber preform manufacturing apparatus, and more particularly, to an apparatus for manufacturing a fiber preform that is a fiber base used for forming a fiber reinforced plastic (FRP).

In recent years, fiber reinforced plastics (FRP) made of reinforcing fibers such as glass fiber, fiber, or nylon fiber have been widely applied in the industry. FRP parts are light and strong in strength, and are particularly attracting attention as automotive exterior products. Resins such as plastics have good hardness, but are easily broken due to weak tensile strength. The fibers have high tensile strength, but combine the two because they are literally fibers and have no bending repulsion. It is as if it is hard to break into a hard, but well broken cement, but to use a straight bent steel. Carbon is only 1/4 of the weight of iron of the same volume, and the tensile strength is ten times that of fiber.

As a method for producing such FRP, it is known that a plate-like prepreg (a reinforcing fiber impregnated with a matrix resin in advance) is laminated on a predetermined shape material, followed by heat curing. When the prepregs are manually stacked, it is possible to stack them in a free form, but it is difficult to stack large ones. Further, there is a problem that the working time is lengthened and the quality of the product is influenced by the skill of the operator.

In recent years, a lamination method for automatically performing a lamination process has been known. This is a molding method in which a plate-shaped prepreg, which is a reinforcing fiber impregnated with a resin in advance, is laminated while being pressed against the mandrel surface, and a resin impregnated by a separately provided heating device or autoclave is melted and fixed. However, there has been a problem in that a method of producing FRP by lamination of such a plate-like prepreg and then curing by heating requires a large autoclave capable of accommodating a large-size FRP panel, which is costly to manufacture a prepreg.

Due to these problems, Resin Transfer Molding (RTM), which is made of a fiber preform and impregnated with resin to produce FRP, is being spotlighted in order to shorten the molding cycle rather than the molding method using the prepreg. A fiber preform refers to a fiber-reinforced plastic in which the resin is present only in the form of unfilled fibers.

1 shows a process for manufacturing automobile parts by the RTM method.

Referring to FIG. 1, a process of manufacturing an automobile part by the RTM method will be described. First, a fiber sheet is produced. Next, after the fiber sheet is cut, the fiber sheet is laminated on a workpiece formed corresponding to the shape of the final product to produce a fiber preform made of a fiber bundle. Next, the fiber preform is placed between the molds and the resin is pressed so that the resin is impregnated between the fibers

However, there is a problem that it takes a lot of time to prepare a fiber preform using such a fiber preform. Specifically, a method of fixing a fiber to a workpiece while using an adhesive or a separate mechanism in an edge area of the workpiece is disclosed. However, such a method requires a long working time and low productivity. Further, since each of the fiber strands must be provided with a pressure-sensitive adhesive application portion, a cooling portion, a heating portion, and a cut portion, there is a problem that the configuration of the alignment head becomes complicated. Further, there is a problem in that a liquid adhesive agent is sprayed on the fibers inside the head, then cooled, and then heated again, so that the head is easily contaminated and cleaning is difficult.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-219373 (Aug. 18, 2005)

An object of the present invention is to provide a fiber preform manufacturing apparatus having a simple structure, easy maintenance and control, and high productivity.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for producing a fiber preform by laminating a fiber on which a pressure-sensitive adhesive is applied on a surface thereof to a surface of a workpiece, , A second robot arm, and a control unit. The first robot arm is provided at one side with an array head for discharging a plurality of drawn fibers at a predetermined interval. The second robot arm is equipped with a first fixing part for pressing the fibers discharged from the array head to fix them to the workpiece. The third robot arm is equipped with a second fixing part for pressing the fibers discharged from the array head to fix them to the workpiece. The control unit controls the operation of the first robot arm, the second robot arm, and the third robot arm. Specifically, when the fibers are drawn out by a predetermined length from the array head, the controller causes the second robot arm to squeeze the fibers at a predetermined position, and at the same time, moves the first robot arm to continuously pull the fibers, The second robot arm and the third robot arm alternately press the fibers discharged from the array head at a predetermined position to be fixed to the workpiece in such a manner that the third robot arm compresses the fibers at a predetermined position .

According to another aspect of the present invention, the discharge head discharges a plurality of fiber strands, and the first fixing part and the second fixing part can be formed so as to fix each fiber strand.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the first fixing portion and the second fixing portion may further include a function of applying heat to the fibers.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the array head may further include a cut portion for cutting the fiber.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY According to the present invention, the structure of the fiber preform manufacturing apparatus is simple, so that maintenance and control are easy and productivity is improved.

Further, according to the present invention, there is an advantage that the fibers can be freely arranged. Therefore, it is possible to arrange a fiber selectively reinforcing a specific region.

Further, since the fibers are fixed at arbitrary positions on the surface of the workpiece, the fibers can be arranged in a free shape such as a curve / wave or the like rather than a straight line.

Further, since the fibers are quickly fixed after being discharged from the array head, the arrangement of the fibers can be performed quickly.

1 shows a process for manufacturing an automobile part by the RTM method.
2 is a schematic view of an apparatus for producing a fiber preform according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a view showing a fiber preform fabricated by a fiber preform manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a flowchart of a method of manufacturing a fiber preform according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 illustrates a method of manufacturing a preform using the apparatus of the prior art and the apparatus for manufacturing a preform according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The foregoing and further aspects will become apparent through the following examples. In the present specification, corresponding elements in each figure are referred to by the same numerals. In addition, the shape and size of the components can be exaggerated. In the following description, well-known functions or constructions are not described in detail since they would obscure the invention in unnecessary detail.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to various embodiments of the present invention.

2 is a schematic view of an apparatus for producing a fiber preform according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, the fiber preform manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention is an apparatus for producing a fiber preform by laminating fibers on the surface of which a pressure-sensitive adhesive is applied, on the surface of a workpiece. Therefore, since the configuration of applying the pressure-sensitive adhesive on the surface of the fiber and cooling and heating the fiber is not required to be provided in the array head, the arrangement head is simplified and maintenance and control are facilitated.

2, the apparatus for manufacturing a fiber preform according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a first robot arm 10, a second robot arm 20, a third robot arm 30, a control unit 40, .

The first robot arm 10 is mounted at one side with an array head for discharging a plurality of drawn fibers at a predetermined interval. The first robot arm 10 may include a base 11, a first joint 12, and a second joint 13 as shown in FIG. The first joint 12 may be formed so as to be vertically rotatable with respect to the base 11. The second joint 13 may be pivotally coupled to the first joint 12 to be freely rotatable. Thus, the tip portion 13A of the first robot arm 10 can freely move in the three-dimensional space. Since the coupling structure of the base 11, the first joint 12 and the second joint 13 is only one example, the tip of the first robot arm 10 can freely move through the other joint structure It is also possible to make it possible. An array head 14 having a guide portion 15 for guiding the fibers Y is mounted on the distal end portion 13 of the first robot arm 10. [ Thus, the fibers Y can be stacked on the surface of the workpiece.

On the other hand, the fibers Y may be drawn out from a bobbin B mounted on a plurality of kerels (K, creel) installed separately and arranged on the surface of the workpiece through the guide portion 15 described above. Since the pressure sensitive adhesive is previously applied to the surface of the fiber (Y), it is not necessary to apply the pressure sensitive adhesive to the fiber in the arranging head and to cool it. Therefore, the configuration of the array head can be simplified.

The second robot arm 20 is equipped with a first fixing part 24 for pressing the fibers discharged from the array head to fix them to the workpiece. The second robot arm 20 may be composed of a base 21, a first joint 22 and a second joint 23, as in the case of the first robot arm 10. The first joint 22 may be formed so as to be rotatable with respect to the base 21 in a vertical direction. The second joint 23 may be pivotally coupled to the first joint 22 to be freely rotatable. Thus, the distal end 23A of the second robot arm 20 can freely move in the three-dimensional space. Since the coupling structure of the base 21, the first joint 22, and the second joint 23 is only one example, the tip of the second robot arm 20 can freely move through the other joint structure It is also possible to make it possible. Since the distal end portion 23A of the second robot arm 20 can freely move in the three-dimensional space, the second robot arm 20 can press the fibers discharged from the array head at an arbitrary position to be fixed to the workpiece . Thus, the fibers can be arranged in a free shape such as a curve / wave, not just a straight line.

The third robot arm 30 is mounted with a second fixing portion 34 for pressing the fibers discharged from the array head to fix them to the workpiece. The third robot arm 30 may be composed of the base 31, the first joint 32, and the second joint 33 in the same manner as the second robot arm 20. The first joint part 32 may be formed to be rotatable with respect to the base 31 in the vertical direction. The second joint 33 may be pivotally coupled to the first joint 32 to be freely rotatable. Thus, the distal end portion 33A of the third robot arm 30 can freely move in the three-dimensional space. Since the coupling structure of the base 31, the first joint 32, and the second joint 33 is only one example, the tip of the third robot arm 30 can freely move through the other joint structure It is also possible to make it possible. Since the distal end portion 33A of the third robot arm 30 can freely move in the three-dimensional space as described above, the third robot arm 30 presses the fibers discharged from the array head at an arbitrary position to be fixed to the workpiece . Thus, the fibers can be arranged in a free shape such as a curve / wave, not just a straight line.

The control unit 40 controls the operation of the first robot arm 10, the second robot arm 20, and the third robot arm 30. [ Specifically, when the fibers are drawn out by a predetermined length from the array head, the controller 40 causes the second robot arm 20 to squeeze the fibers at a predetermined position, and at the same time, moves the first robot arm 10, The second robot arm 20 and the third robot arm 30 are alternately arranged in such a manner that the third robot arm 30 presses the fibers at a predetermined position when the fibers are again drawn out by a predetermined length The fibers discharged from the array head at a predetermined position are pressed and fixed to the workpiece.

Since the control unit 40 controls the operations of the first robot arm 10, the second robot arm 20 and the third robot arm 30 as described above, the arrangement of the fibers can be continuously performed without interruption, The operation can be minimized. In addition, since the first robot arm 10 moves while drawing the fibers while the second robot arm 20 and the third robot arm 30 alternately fix the fibers, the operation can be performed quickly. This can increase productivity. As described above, the first robot arm 10, the second robot arm 20, and the third robot arm 30 laminate and squeeze the fibers while moving freely in the three-dimensional space, so that the fibers can be curved / Wave or the like. Therefore, it is possible to arrange a fiber selectively reinforcing a specific region.

FIG. 3 illustrates a fiber preform manufactured by the apparatus for manufacturing a fiber preform according to an embodiment of the present invention.

On the other hand, the discharge head 14 discharges a plurality of fiber strands, and the first fixing portion 24 and the second fixing portion 34 can be formed so as to fix each fiber strand. For example, the discharge head 14 may be configured to discharge twelve strands of fibers. If the discharge head 14 discharges a large number of fiber strands, the operation can be done quickly. A plurality of fingers (not shown) are attached to the first fixing part 24 and the second fixing part 34 so that the first fixing part 24 and the second fixing part 34 can fix each fiber strand, May be provided. In this case, each fiber strand can be fixed in accordance with the shape of the workpiece. Thus minimizing the discarded fibers. The finger part can be operated by a spring or a cylinder.

Further, the first fixing portion 24 and the second fixing portion 34 may further have a function of applying heat to the fibers. To this end, the first fixing part 24 and the second fixing part 34 may be provided with heating parts 25 and 35 provided with a hot wire or the like. When the first fixing portion 24 and the second fixing portion 34 further have a function of applying heat to the fibers, the fibers are rapidly fixed after being discharged from the discharge head, so that the arrangement of the fibers can be performed quickly. Thus, productivity can be increased.

The array head 14 may further include a cut portion (not shown) for cutting the fibers. Thus, when the fiber is inevitably cut, the cut portion can cut the fiber. This will minimize the fiber discarded.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method for producing a fiber preform by laminating a fiber on which a pressure-sensitive adhesive is applied on a surface thereof to the surface of a workpiece using the apparatus for producing a fiber preform formed as described above.

Referring to FIG. 4, a method of manufacturing a fiber preform according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

First, an adhesive is applied to the surface of the fiber. An adhesive can be applied to the surface of the fiber by spraying an adhesive on the surface of the fiber. In the case where the step of applying the pressure-sensitive adhesive to the surface of the fiber is separately constituted as described above, there is no need to provide a configuration in which the adhesive is applied to the surface of the fiber, and cooling and heating is performed on the surface of the fiber. .

Next, the fibers to which the pressure-sensitive adhesive is applied on the surface are led into the array head 14. A plurality of bobbins B may be provided so that the fibers can be drawn into the array head 14 while maintaining the tension.

Next, the first robot arm 10 takes out the fibers by a predetermined length (S10). The first robot arm 10 moves and arranges the fibers on the surface of the workpiece through the array head 14. [ At this time, the array head 14 can discharge a plurality of fiber strands. For example, the discharge head 14 may be configured to discharge twelve strands of fibers. If the discharge head 14 discharges a large number of fiber strands, the operation can be done quickly.

Next, the second robot arm 20 presses the fibers at a predetermined position (S20). Since the second robot arm 20 is provided with the first fixing portion 24, the fibers are squeezed through the first fixing portion 24. When the first fixing portion 24 presses the fiber, the fiber is attached to the surface of the workpiece. On the other hand, the first fixing portion 24 may further have a function of applying heat to the fibers. The first fixing part 24 may be provided with a heating part 25 provided with a heating wire or the like inside the first fixing part 24. When the first fixing part 24 further has a function of applying heat to the fiber, So that the arrangement of the fibers can be performed quickly, and thus the productivity can be increased.

Next, while the second robot arm 20 presses the fibers, the first robot arm 10 moves and draws the fibers again by a predetermined length (S30). The first robot arm 10 moves and arranges the fibers on the surface of the workpiece through the array head.

Next, while the second robot arm 20 continues to squeeze the fibers, the third robot arm 30 squeezes the fibers at a predetermined position (S40). Since the third robot arm 30 is provided with the second fixing portion 34, the fibers are squeezed through the second fixing portion 34. When the second fixing portion 34 presses the fiber, the fiber is attached to the surface of the workpiece. On the other hand, the second fixing portion 34 may further have a function of applying heat to the fibers. To this end, the second fixing part 34 may be provided with a heating part 35 having a heating wire or the like inside thereof. When the second fixing portion 24 further has a function of applying heat to the fibers, the fibers are rapidly fixed after being discharged from the discharge head, so that the arrangement of the fibers can be performed quickly. Thus, productivity can be increased.

Then, the above steps S10 to S40 are repeated to laminate the fibers on the workpiece surface.

When the fiber preform is produced by the method as described above, the fibers can be arranged continuously without interruption, and the fibers can be arranged in a free form rather than a straight line, so that the cutting operation of the fiber is minimized, As shown in FIG. FIG. 5 illustrates the advantages of the method of manufacturing a preform using the apparatus for manufacturing a fiber preform according to an embodiment of the present invention, in contrast to the prior art. When the fibers are arranged diagonally in this way, 5 to 40% of the fibers can be saved.

In addition, since the first robot arm 10 moves while the second robot arm 20 and the third robot arm 30 alternately fix the fibers, the fibers can be drawn out, and the operation can be performed quickly. This can increase productivity.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. There will be. Accordingly, the true scope of protection of the present invention should be determined only by the appended claims.

B: Bobbin
K: Krill
Y: Fiber
1: Workpiece
2: Preform
10: First robot arm
11, 21, 31: Base
12, 22, 32: first joint
13, 23, 33: second joint
14: array head
15: guide portion
25, 35: heating part
20: Second robot arm
30: Third robot arm
40:

Claims (4)

An apparatus for producing a fiber preform by laminating a fiber on which a pressure-sensitive adhesive is applied on a surface thereof to a surface of a workpiece,
A first robot arm on one side of which an array head for discharging a plurality of drawn fibers at predetermined intervals is mounted;
A second robot arm having a first fixing part for pressing the fibers discharged from the array head to be fixed to the workpiece;
A third robot arm having a second fixing part for pressing the fibers discharged from the array head to be fixed to the workpiece; And
A controller for controlling operations of the first robot arm, the second robot arm, and the third robot arm;
, ≪ / RTI &
The control unit causes the second robot arm to squeeze the fibers at a predetermined position when the fibers are drawn out by a predetermined length, and at the same time, moves the first robot arm so that the fibers are continuously pulled out, The second robot arm and the third robot arm alternately press the fibers discharged from the array head at a predetermined position to be fixed to the workpiece in such a manner that the third robot arm compresses the fibers at a predetermined position Wherein the direct fiber preform manufacturing apparatus comprises:
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the discharge head discharges a plurality of fiber strands, and the first fixing part and the second fixing part are formed to fix each fiber strand.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the first fixing part and the second fixing part further have a function of applying heat to the fibers.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the array head further comprises a cut-out portion for cutting the fibers.

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