WO2018142383A1 - Balayage et nettoyage de moules - Google Patents

Balayage et nettoyage de moules Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2018142383A1
WO2018142383A1 PCT/IB2018/051508 IB2018051508W WO2018142383A1 WO 2018142383 A1 WO2018142383 A1 WO 2018142383A1 IB 2018051508 W IB2018051508 W IB 2018051508W WO 2018142383 A1 WO2018142383 A1 WO 2018142383A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
mould
mould surface
release layer
laser
scanner
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/IB2018/051508
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Eamonn FEARON
Original Assignee
Advanced laser technology ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Advanced laser technology ltd filed Critical Advanced laser technology ltd
Priority to GB1912367.8A priority Critical patent/GB2573256A/en
Publication of WO2018142383A1 publication Critical patent/WO2018142383A1/fr

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Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01B—MEASURING LENGTH, THICKNESS OR SIMILAR LINEAR DIMENSIONS; MEASURING ANGLES; MEASURING AREAS; MEASURING IRREGULARITIES OF SURFACES OR CONTOURS
    • G01B11/00—Measuring arrangements characterised by the use of optical techniques
    • G01B11/24—Measuring arrangements characterised by the use of optical techniques for measuring contours or curvatures
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B08—CLEANING
    • B08B—CLEANING IN GENERAL; PREVENTION OF FOULING IN GENERAL
    • B08B7/00—Cleaning by methods not provided for in a single other subclass or a single group in this subclass
    • B08B7/0035—Cleaning by methods not provided for in a single other subclass or a single group in this subclass by radiant energy, e.g. UV, laser, light beam or the like
    • B08B7/0042—Cleaning by methods not provided for in a single other subclass or a single group in this subclass by radiant energy, e.g. UV, laser, light beam or the like by laser
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B08—CLEANING
    • B08B—CLEANING IN GENERAL; PREVENTION OF FOULING IN GENERAL
    • B08B9/00—Cleaning hollow articles by methods or apparatus specially adapted thereto 
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
    • B29C—SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING
    • B29C33/00—Moulds or cores; Details thereof or accessories therefor
    • B29C33/70—Maintenance
    • B29C33/72—Cleaning

Definitions

  • This invention relates to scanning and cleaning of moulds.
  • a GRP or carbon fibre mould has a mould surface to which is applied, prior to use, a release layer, which is typically a thin layer of wax.
  • the release layer enables an adhesive substance, such as gel coat or epoxy resin, to be applied to the mould during a manufacturing process (e.g. a CFRP or GRP lay-up), whilst allowing the manufactured part to be subsequently separated from the mould, after setting, by rupturing the release layer. If the release layer were not present between the mould surface and he manufactured part, then the manufactured part would simply bond to the mould, making it impossible to separate the part from the mould, and thereby ruining the mould.
  • moulds of the aforementioned type need to be cleaned periodically, and ideally between each moulding operation - to remove epoxy residues and residues of the wax release layer. If the wax release layer is not completely removed, then the manufactured part may have "high” or “low” spots in certain places, thereby potentially taking the manufactured part outside of its allowable tolerances. Furthermore, where there are imperfections in the wax release layer (thin regions), there is a possibility that epoxy resin may bond to the mould, rather than being separated therefrom by the release layer. Upon removal of a manufactured part from the mould, micro-adhesion may occur, resulting in small shards of epoxy being left behind on the mould surface, which, if not removed, will cause imperfections in subsequently manufactured parts.
  • moulds are cleaned between uses by hand. Typically, this involves rubbing the surface with a solvent that dissolves the release layer. However, if shards of epoxy are present in the release layer, then this rubbing operation can scratch the mould surface, which tends to degrade the mould.
  • the known procedure is simply for a person to run their fingertips over the mould surface to "feel" for rough spots, and then to use fine abrasives to rub-down the rough spots until the mould surface is clean again. Obviously, this method is highly subjective, and leads to inconsistency in mould cleaning efficacy.
  • epoxy shards are present on the mould surface, they can cut the user's skin. If the user wears protective gloves to avoid cutting his/her skin, the it is more difficult for the user to detect the imperfections in the mould surface.
  • UV excimer lasers In an attempt to address these problems, it has been proposed to use UV excimer lasers to perform mould-cleaning operations.
  • the use of UV excimer lasers enables the laser beam to be tuned to certain frequencies, pulse durations and repetition rates that selectively target certain materials.
  • UV excimer lasers are extremely expensive to purchase and run, and require extensive on-going maintenance to ensure that the process runs efficiently.
  • the target material to be removed i.e. the epoxy shards
  • the mould surface i.e. carbon fibre in an epoxy matrix
  • the release agent layer may, in certain cases, be transparent to UV wavelengths, there is no way to be able to easily detect and remove it - at least not with the accuracy/precision that is required.
  • the term "mould cleaning process” is to be construed as comprising any one or more of the group comprising: a mould scanning operation; a release layer removal operation; and a shard/residue removal operation. Whilst these operations are described and claimed separately herein, any one or more may be combined in a sequential or concurrent process.
  • a first aspect of the invention provides a method of scanning a mould, the mould comprising a mould surface having a release layer thereon, the method comprising the steps of: performing a first scan of the mould, using a first three-dimensional scanner, to determine its topography and recording the topography in a three-dimensional model; using the three-dimensional model, moving a second scanner emitting a light beam such that the light beam is maintained substantially perpendicular to the mould surface and at a substantially constant distance therefrom, the second scanner emitting a beam of light having a red wavelength, the red light beam thereby passing through the release layer and yielding a second topography of the mould surface underneath the release layer; using the three- dimensional model, moving a third scanner emitting a light beam such that the light beam is maintained at a substantially constant angle to the mould surface and at a substantially constant distance therefrom, the third scanner emitting a beam of light having a blue wavelength, the blue light beam thereby reflecting off a top surface of the release layer and yielding a third topography of the upper surface
  • the second topography can be subtracted from the third topography to yield a three- dimensional model of the release layer.
  • the first aspect of the invention therefore enables a detailed scan of the mould surface to be carried out, which yields the topography of both the mould surface itself, as well as the topography of the release layer upon it.
  • the second and third scans can be carried out by moving the respective scanners at a substantially constant distance from, and angle to, the mould surface.
  • the first scan is a coarse topographic scan, which enables the second and third scans to be carried out with greater precision.
  • the release layer is typically a thin wax layer, which is usually transparent to red wavelengths of light.
  • the release layer is typically a thin wax layer, which is usually transparent to red wavelengths of light.
  • the red light beam suitably has a wavelength of between about 620nm and 750nm.
  • the release layer is typically a thin wax layer, which can reflect blue wavelengths of light at certain incident angles.
  • the substantially constant angle of the third scanner may be between about 20 and 21 degrees to the mould surface, and most suitably, the angle is substantially 20.5 degrees.
  • the blue light beam suitably has a wavelength of between about 450nm and 495nm.
  • the invention thus yields several topographies: a coarse overview of the gross features of the mould surface; a fine scan of the mould surface underneath the release layer; and a fine scan of the upper surface of the release layer. Further, by subtracting the second topography from the third topography, the invention can yield a plot of the thickness of the release layer.
  • a method of removing a release layer from a mould surface comprising the steps of: illuminating a portion of a mould surface at least partially covered with a release layer using laser radiation, the parameters of the laser radiation being selected such that the laser radiation passes through the release layer, but so as to interact with, and heat, the mould surface to a temperature that does not damage the mould surface, wherein heating of the mould surface causes the release layer to heat and be removed.
  • Removal of the release layer can be via evaporation, ablation, or dissociation.
  • the laser is an Nd-YAG laser emitting substantially 1070nm wavelength light, with a pulse duration of substantially 20ns and a certain repetition rate ("rep rate"). It has been found that a substantially 20ns pulse duration is optimal: longer pulse durations tending to over-heat, and hence damage the mould surface (especially where it comprises epoxy); and shorter durations tending to machine the mould surface.
  • Another aspect of the invention provides a method of removing debris from the surface of a mould, the method comprising the steps of: scanning a surface of the mould to determine the profile of the mould surface, identifying the location of debris on the mould surface, the debris being localised regions of increased height relative to the surrounding mould surface, determining the highest point of the debris and mapping a contour of the debris having a certain height above the surface of the surrounding mould surface, using a laser, selectively illuminating only portions of the mould surface lying within the contour or contours to remove a layer of the debris; and repeating the process until the area within the contour reduces to substantially zero, or until the detected height of the debris is substantially the same as that of the surrounding mould surface.
  • the invention differs from known laser cleaning processes insofar as only the areas of the mould that have debris on them are illuminated by the laser. Such a methodology avoids adversely affecting areas of the mould surface surrounding the debris, and enables the speed of the laser cleaning process to be increased since only contaminated areas are illuminated, rather than the entire mould surface.
  • Existing laser cleaning operations rely on the selectivity of the laser to do work on the debris as opposed to the substrate (mould surface); however, where the debris and mould surface comprise the same material (e.g. epoxy) such selectivity is largely ineffective.
  • the laser beam is focused and has a small "depth of field".
  • the debris is selectively removed due to the decreased interaction of the laser in its de-focussed zone (in from of, or behind the focal point).
  • this selectivity can be largely ineffective.
  • the invention does not rely on the selectivity of laser, but rather only illuminates areas of the mould surface that need to be cleaned. In effect, this represents a radical change of methodology, compared to known laser cleaning processes.
  • the surface of mould, and hence the locations of the debris are mapped in a three-dimensional CAD model.
  • the regions to be laser-cleaned i.e. the regions inside the contours, are put into a bitmap or raster file, which the laser effectively "marks" using, for example, a salvo scanning head or the like.
  • This enables the laser cleaning procedure to be carried out using relatively inexpensive "marking" lasers, e.g. Nd-YAG marking lasers fitted with a galvo-scanning head, as opposed to more expensive excimer lasers or the like.
  • Figures 1A to 1C are a schematic sequence showing a mould scanning operation in accordance with the invention
  • Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing the removal of a release layer from a mould in accordance with the invention
  • FIGS 3 and 3A are a schematic representation of a debris removing operation in accordance with the invention.
  • a mould 10 has a three-dimensional mould surface 12, which defines the shape of a part 16 to be moulded therefrom.
  • a thin layer of wax release agent 14 covers the mould surface 12 and separates the mould 10 from a part 16 to be removed 18 from the mould 10 subsequent to manufacturing. Once the part 16 has been removed 18 from the mould 10 (as shown in Figure IB), a small amount of release layer 14 is left behind.
  • the height 20, 22 of the release layer 14 varies at different points on the mould surface 12. Before the mould 10 can be re-used, the release layer 14 needs to be removed and then reapplied.
  • Embedded within the release layer 14 are often small shards of epoxy resin 24, which are broken away from the part 16 that was manufactured in the previous moulding operation. These shards 24 also need to be removed before the mould 10 can be re-used.
  • the mould 10 is first scanned using a coarse surface scanner 40.
  • the coarse surface scanner 40 emits a beam of light 42, which is reflected off the surface 12 of the mould 10 towards a detector 46.
  • the scanner 40 and detector 46 are well-known to the skilled reader and enable the topography of the mould surface 12 to be mapped in three dimensions, e.g. by triangulation.
  • the scanner 40 and detector 46 are connected to a computer 48, which creates a three-dimensional topography map 50 of the mould surface 12.
  • a second scanner 60 can be moved across the surface along a locus 62, which locus is configured to maintain the scanner at a substantially 90-degree angle of incidence 64 to the mould surface; whilst also maintaining the separation 66 between the scanner 60 and the surface 12 substantially constant.
  • the scanner 60 emits a beam of light having a red wavelength 68, which reflects normally off the mould surface 12 and enables the scanner 60 to map the surface of the mould more finely than the first scanner 40 due to its closer proximity to the surface 12. Because the red light beam 68 is normally incident on the release layer 14, the release layer 14 is substantially transparent to the red light beam and does not affect the reading.
  • the scanner 60 can therefore produce a detailed topography map 52 of the mould surface 12.
  • the scanner 60 (or a further scanner, not shown) emits a second beam 70 having a blue light wavelength, which is incident on the surface at approximately 20.5 degrees.
  • This incident beam 70 is reflected off the upper surface of the release layer 14 towards 72 another detector 74. Because the blue light beam reflects off the upper surface of the release layer 14, the scanner 60 is thus able to map 80 the topography of the upper surface of the release layer 14.
  • the system therefore provides a coarse scanning device, which maps the gross contours of the mould surface 12 and produces a gross contour map 50 therefrom.
  • the invention also has a second scanner, which emits a red light beam at substantially 90 degrees to the mould surface 12, and obtains therefrom a fine topography map/model of the mould surface 12. Meanwhile, the second, of a further scanner 60, emits a blue light beam at an acute angle to the surface, thereby mapping the upper surface of the release layer as well.
  • the system therefore provides two further three-dimensional scans, namely the fine three- dimensional scan 52 of the mould surface; and the fine three-dimensional scan 80 of the upper surface of the release layer 14.
  • the mould 10 has a release layer 14 deposited on its mould surface 12, and the release layer 14 also has debris inclusions 24 in it.
  • the mould surface 12 is illuminated by an Nd-YAG laser beam (1070 nanometres, 20 nanosecond pulses) 90, which passes through the release layer 14 and heats, slightly, the surface 12 of the mould 10. This creates a small heated zone 92 just below the surface 12 of the mould 10.
  • the slight heating of the mould 10 causes the release layer 14 to heat up slightly in a zone 94 adjacent to the heated zone 92 of the mould.
  • the heating of the zone 94 of the release layer can be sufficient to cause the release layer 14 to evaporate 96 due to direct heating.
  • a mould 10 is shown in perspective, schematically, and has a mould surface 12.
  • the mould surface 12 is contaminated slightly by remnants/shards of epoxy 24, which have been left behind from a previous moulding operation.
  • the scan described previously is used to map out the locations of the debris 24 and to measure their heights at various positions on the mould surface 12.
  • Figure 3A is a schematic cross-section of the mould surface through a pair of hypothetical debris particles.
  • the left-hand debris particle 24 is substantially spherical, whereas the right-hand remnant 24 is substantially tetrahedral.
  • the scanning method described previously can be used to contour-map the surface and to produce a set of bitmap images in which the contour lines 100, 102, 104, 106 correspond to different regions of equal height above the mould surface 12.
  • the contour lines 100, 102, 104, 106 can be fed into a marking-type laser (e.g. an Nd-YAG marking laser), which can be used to scan the surface selectively within the contour lines 100, 102, 104, 106 only to selectively remove a layer of each debris particle 24.
  • the surface, and modified shards 24 can then be re-scanned and a new set of contour lines produced, and the Nd-YAG laser used again to remove a further slice of each remnant 24. This process can be repeated until the height 110 is substantially equal to, or flush with, the surrounding mould surface 12.

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Optics & Photonics (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Cleaning In General (AREA)

Abstract

L'invention concerne un nouveau procédé et un nouvel appareil permettant de balayer et de nettoyer des moules (10). Le procédé de balayage consiste, à l'aide d'un scanner 3D grossier (40) à obtenir une représentation 3D de la surface du moule et à utiliser ladite représentation 3D, à déplacer des deuxième et troisième scanners (60) sur la surface (12) à des distances (62) sensiblement fixes et des angles d'incidence à partir de la surface (12). Les deuxième et troisième scanners (60) émettent une lumière rouge (68) normale vers, et une lumière bleue (70) selon un angle par rapport à la surface du moule (12), respectivement, afin de balayer la topographie de moule fine et la topographie d'une couche de cire (14) déposée sur la surface de moule (12), respectivement. L'invention concerne également un procédé de nettoyage, qui utilise les topographies précédemment déterminées de la surface de moule (12) et de la couche de cire (14) afin de déposer par couches et/ou d'éliminer sélectivement des débris (24) de la surface de moule (12). L'opération de nettoyage peut être effectuée, par exemple, par un faisceau laser de marquage Nd-YAG (90).
PCT/IB2018/051508 2017-01-31 2018-03-08 Balayage et nettoyage de moules WO2018142383A1 (fr)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB1912367.8A GB2573256A (en) 2017-01-31 2018-03-08 Scanning and cleaning of moulds

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GBGB1701607.2A GB201701607D0 (en) 2017-01-31 2017-01-31 Scanning and cleaning of moulds
GB1701607.2 2017-01-31

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2018142383A1 true WO2018142383A1 (fr) 2018-08-09

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WO (1) WO2018142383A1 (fr)

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
BE1026814B1 (nl) * 2018-11-29 2020-06-30 Netalux Nv Lasergebaseerde behandeling van oppervlakken
WO2020159388A1 (fr) * 2019-01-31 2020-08-06 Rma Spółka Z Ograniczoną Odpowiedzialnością Système et procédé automatisés de nettoyage de moules, de moules de soufflage et d'accessoires utilisés dans la production d'emballage en verre
CN113863404A (zh) * 2021-10-20 2021-12-31 江苏徐工工程机械研究院有限公司 一种挖掘机除尘脱粘控制系统、控制方法及挖掘机

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN112718710B (zh) * 2020-12-30 2023-04-18 南开大学 一种基于红绿蓝三色数值分析实施铜基底污染物激光清洗的方法

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WO1999030845A1 (fr) * 1997-12-18 1999-06-24 Advanced Systems Automation Limited Procede permettant d'eliminer les contaminants de surface de moules utilises sur des outils d'encapsulation de semiconducteurs
US20030094185A1 (en) * 2001-11-16 2003-05-22 Towa Corporation Apparatus and method for evaluating degree of adhesion of adherents to mold surface, apparatus and method for surface treatment of mold surface and method and apparatus for cleaning mold used for molding resin

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Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5281798A (en) * 1991-12-24 1994-01-25 Maxwell Laboratories, Inc. Method and system for selective removal of material coating from a substrate using a flashlamp
WO1999030845A1 (fr) * 1997-12-18 1999-06-24 Advanced Systems Automation Limited Procede permettant d'eliminer les contaminants de surface de moules utilises sur des outils d'encapsulation de semiconducteurs
US20030094185A1 (en) * 2001-11-16 2003-05-22 Towa Corporation Apparatus and method for evaluating degree of adhesion of adherents to mold surface, apparatus and method for surface treatment of mold surface and method and apparatus for cleaning mold used for molding resin

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RUPRECHT A K ET AL: "CHROMATIC CONFOCAL DETECTION FOR HIGH-SPEED MICROTOPOGRAPHY MEASUREMENTS", VISUAL COMMUNICATIONS AND IMAGE PROCESSING; 20-1-2004 - 20-1-2004; SAN JOSE,, vol. 5302, no. 1, 1 January 2003 (2003-01-01), pages 53 - 60, XP009084987, ISBN: 978-1-62841-730-2, DOI: 10.1117/12.525658 *

Cited By (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
BE1026814B1 (nl) * 2018-11-29 2020-06-30 Netalux Nv Lasergebaseerde behandeling van oppervlakken
WO2020159388A1 (fr) * 2019-01-31 2020-08-06 Rma Spółka Z Ograniczoną Odpowiedzialnością Système et procédé automatisés de nettoyage de moules, de moules de soufflage et d'accessoires utilisés dans la production d'emballage en verre
CN113863404A (zh) * 2021-10-20 2021-12-31 江苏徐工工程机械研究院有限公司 一种挖掘机除尘脱粘控制系统、控制方法及挖掘机
CN113863404B (zh) * 2021-10-20 2023-03-10 江苏徐工工程机械研究院有限公司 一种挖掘机除尘脱粘控制系统、控制方法及挖掘机

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Publication number Publication date
GB201701607D0 (en) 2017-03-15
GB201912367D0 (en) 2019-10-09
GB2573256A (en) 2019-10-30

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