JP7659792B2 - Manufacturing equipment for fiber bodies for three-dimensional modeling equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a manufacturing device for a resin-containing fibrous body used in forming a three-dimensional object, and a three-dimensional forming device using the fibrous body.

Traditionally, when mass production is required for resin products, molds are made in advance and resin is poured into the molds to mass-produce the resin products, but when small quantities are required, they are often produced one by one using three-dimensional modeling equipment.

At this time, when manufacturing products using a three-dimensional modeling device, the resin is melted and layered on the stage while the head is scanned according to a program.

By the way, manufacturing products using only resin in this way is fine when the emphasis is on shape, such as in the case of sample products, but when strength is required, such as in industrial products that will actually be used, resin alone will not be able to provide the strength.

In response to this, a three-dimensional modeling device has been proposed that uses resin and carbon fiber to provide strength.

This three-dimensional modeling device is equipped with resin filaments such as PLA resin, ABS resin, nylon resin, and PET resin, and fiber filaments such as carbon fiber, which are fed into a heating unit, where the molten resin is impregnated into the carbon fiber, and the resin-containing carbon fiber filaments are layered based on data preset by a control device.

International Publication No. 2015/182675

However, this type of structure has the following problems:

In other words, the above-mentioned device requires the use of resin filaments that have already been wound into a web, and so cannot use pellet-shaped resin, etc.

In addition, in the above-mentioned device, the resin filament and the carbon fiber filament are drawn into a heating device, and the resin filament is melted and impregnated into the carbon fiber filament. However, with this method, only the part where the resin filament is in contact with the carbon fiber filament can be impregnated with the resin, and the entire fiber filament cannot be impregnated with the resin in a short time. This means that the resin and carbon fiber must be in contact with each other for a long time to be impregnated, which creates the problem of taking a long time to create a three-dimensional object.

Furthermore, when using a flat fiber filament in the above-mentioned device, a flat resin filament must be used to adhere to the fiber filament and impregnate it with resin, which creates the problem of having to prepare a resin filament that corresponds to the diameter, width, etc. of the fiber filament.

The present invention aims to provide a three-dimensional object forming device that can completely impregnate a fiber body with resin and can impregnate the fiber body with resin without having to deal with the diameter or width of the fiber body.

In other words, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a manufacturing device for a fibrous body for a three-dimensional modeling device, the manufacturing device comprising: a storage section for storing molten resin; a fibrous body dispensing device for discharging a fibrous body and immersing it in the storage section; a discharge outlet for discharging the resin-soaked fibrous body from the storage section and having a certain opening width corresponding to the cross-sectional shape of the fibrous body; a cooling device for cooling the fibrous body discharged from the discharge outlet; and an opening having the same shape as the discharge outlet and for discharging the fibrous body cooled by the cooling device from the cooling device, the storage section and the cooling device are arranged above and below, the fibrous body discharged from the discharge outlet of the storage section is fed into the cooling device while maintained in a straight line, and the fibrous body is discharged from the opening provided below the cooling device while maintained in a straight line.

According to the present invention, resin can be applied to the entire surface of the fibrous body, the resin can be impregnated deep into the fibrous body, and unevenness in the thickness of the resin due to dripping of the resin is eliminated.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a manufacturing device for a fibrous body for a three-dimensional modeling device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 shows the fiber body and the outlet of the storage unit in the same embodiment. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a three-dimensional modeling apparatus to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied; FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a three-dimensional modeling apparatus according to another embodiment;

Below, one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the manufacturing device 1 for a fiber body for a three-dimensional modeling device in this embodiment includes a fiber body feeding device 2 for feeding a fiber body 10, a resin discharge device 3 for discharging resin, and a storage section 4 for storing the resin discharged from the resin discharge device 3 in a molten state. The fiber body 10 is immersed in the molten resin in the storage section 4, and then discharged from the discharge port 42 (see FIG. 2) of the storage section 4, cooled by a cooling device 6, dried by a drying section 7, and wound up in a web shape using a winding device 8. The fiber body 10 thus impregnated with resin is then used to form a three-dimensional object using a three-dimensional modeling device 1a (see FIGS. 3 and 4). The manufacturing device 1 for a fiber body 10 for a three-dimensional modeling device in this embodiment will be described in detail below.

First, the fiber material manipulating device 2 provided in the manufacturing device 1 for fiber materials for three-dimensional modeling devices is capable of unwinding the fiber material 10 wound in a web shape, and is configured to unwind the fiber material 10 while controlling the unwinding speed with a motor (not shown). The fiber material 10 can have a variety of cross-sectional shapes, such as linear or flat, and the material used is strong, such as glass fiber, carbon fiber, or cellulose nanofiber.

Meanwhile, the resin discharge device 3 puts the pellet-shaped resin put into the hopper 31 into the injection cylinder 32, rotates the screw 33 with the motor 35, and discharges the resin while melting it. It is configured so that the injection pressure and speed can be controlled by the motor 35 to discharge the resin. The molten resin discharged from this resin discharge device 3 is discharged from the tip 34 and discharged in a molten state into the storage section 4 without coming into contact with the outside air.

The storage section 4 is configured to store the molten resin inside, and is configured in a box shape that does not come into contact with the outside air, and is configured so that the resin can be stored in a molten state at all times by a heating device 43. The storage section 4 is provided with an insertion port 41 for inserting the fiber body 10, and a slit-shaped or circular outlet 42 (see FIG. 2) corresponding to the shape of the fiber body 10 is provided on the bottom surface. At this time, if the fiber body 10 immersed in the storage section 4 is led out so as to be lifted up from the molten resin without providing the outlet 42, there is a problem that the molten resin attached to the fiber body 10 drips and the thickness becomes uneven. Therefore, here, as shown in FIG. 2, an outlet 42 such as a slit-shaped outlet corresponding to the shape of the fiber body 10 is provided, so that the thickness can be determined by the opening shape of the outlet 42. At this time, for example, the discharge outlet 42 may be formed to have a width of about 1 mm to 3 mm relative to the width and thickness of the fibrous body 10, and the fibrous body 10 may be pulled by rollers 5 provided above and below so that it is positioned in the center of the discharge outlet 42. Here, the case where the flat fibrous body 10 is immersed in resin has been described, but when a linear fibrous body 10 is immersed in resin, the shape of the discharge outlet 42 is made circular. In addition, the fibrous body 10 is positioned in the center of the discharge outlet 42, and the gap width on both the left and right sides and the gap width on the front and back in the thickness direction are made constant, but if there is no problem if the fibrous body 10 is shifted to one side of the discharge outlet 42, the fibrous body 10 may be discharged without restricting its position.

The resin of the fibrous body 10 discharged in this manner is solidified by a cooling device 6 provided below the fibrous body 10. As the cooling device 6, there are a method of blowing cooled gas onto the fibrous body 10, a method of immersing the fibrous body 10 in cooling water, and the like, but here, a method of immersing the fibrous body 10 in cooling water is used. When immersing the fibrous body 10 in cooling water, cooling water is poured into a water tank with an opening on the top, and the fibrous body 10 is discharged from a slit 61 provided below. At this time, when the fibrous body 10 is cooled, if the fibrous body 10 is cooled in a bent state, the resin attached to the fibrous body 10 is solidified in a bent state, and therefore, when the fibrous body 10 is unwound from the three-dimensional modeling device, it is unwound in a bent state. Therefore, here, the fibrous body 10 is cooled while maintaining its straight state. In this case, when cooling with cooling water, if a slit-shaped opening is provided in the bottom surface, the water will overflow from there, so a slit 61 having the same opening dimensions as the outlet 42 of the storage section 4 is provided, thereby eliminating the gap width between the fibrous body 10 to which the resin is attached and the slit 61 of the water tank, thereby preventing the water from overflowing.

The fibrous body 10 thus cooled by the cooling device 6 is unwound while being pulled by the rollers 5, and after the moisture is removed in the drying section 7, it is wound into a web by the winding device 8.

On the other hand, the fibrous body 10 wound into a web in this manner, and the fibrous body 10 before being wound into a web by the winding device 8, are used in a three-dimensional modeling device 1a (see Figure 3), and a three-dimensional object is formed using the fibrous body 10.

When a three-dimensional object is to be formed using the resin-coated fiber body 10 wound into a web, the three-dimensional object is formed using a three-dimensional modeling device having a structure as shown in FIG. 3.

In Figure 3, components with the same reference numerals as those in Figure 1 have the same configuration and will not be described.

This dispensing device 2a unwinds the fibrous body 10 at a speed predetermined by the control device, and unwinds it to the head 9.

The head 9 is mounted so that it can slide along two rails 101 that are perpendicular to each other in a plane, and is moved to a predetermined position by a control device according to a predefined program, from which the fiber body 10 can be unwound onto a stage 102 that moves vertically.

Inside the head 9, a cutting device 91 is provided so that the fibrous body 10 can be cut when the layered modeling of the object is completed, and downstream of this, a heating device 92 is provided for melting the fibrous body 10. This heating device 92 heats the fibrous body 10 to a temperature at which the resin that has permeated the fibrous body 10 melts.

On the other hand, a tip portion 93 is provided at the end of the head 9 for depositing the molten fibrous body 10 onto the model, and the fibrous body 10 is discharged from this tip portion 34.

On the other hand, instead of forming a three-dimensional object from the fibrous body 10 wound into a web in this manner, a three-dimensional object forming device 1b may be used to form a three-dimensional object immediately after impregnating the fibrous body 10 with resin, as shown in FIG. 4.

As for such a three-dimensional object forming device 1b, similar to the configuration in FIG. 1, a fiber material manipulating device 2, a resin discharge device 3, a storage section 4, etc. are provided for the fiber material 10. The fiber material manipulating device 2, the resin discharge device 3, the storage section 4, etc. have the same configuration as the configuration in FIG. 1, so a description thereof will be omitted.

With this configuration, a head 9 is provided downstream of the storage section 4 for discharging the fibrous body 10 discharged from the storage section 4. This head 9 has the same configuration as the three-dimensional object forming device 1a in FIG. 3, is provided so as to be movable along rails 101 that are perpendicular to each other in a plane, and is configured so as to be able to discharge the fibrous body 10 in layers onto a three-dimensional object on a stage 102 that moves in the vertical direction.

When discharging the fibrous body 10 in this manner, the resin that has been heated and melted in the storage section 4 is passed directly through the head 9, which has the advantage of lowering the reheating temperature in the head 9.

On the other hand, if the distance between the storage section 4 and the head 9 is long, there is a possibility that the fibrous body 10 will come into contact with other parts and the resin will be scraped off. In such a case, it is advisable to cool and solidify the fibrous body 10 once discharged from the storage section 4 in the cooling device 6, dry it in the drying section 7, and then guide it to the head 9 for reheating. This configuration has the advantage that there is no need to worry about the fibrous body 10 coming into contact with other parts and the resin being scraped off, and the distance between the head 9 and the storage section 4 etc. can be long, and only the head 9 can be attached to the rail 101 and moved.

As described above, according to the embodiment, the manufacturing apparatus 1 for a fibrous body for a three-dimensional modeling apparatus includes the storage section 4 for storing molten resin, the fibrous body unwinding device 2 for unwinding the fibrous body 10 and immersing it in the storage section 4 , the discharge port 42 for discharging the fibrous body 10 soaked in resin from the storage section 4 and having a certain opening width corresponding to the cross-sectional shape of the fibrous body 10, the cooling device 6 for cooling the fibrous body 10 discharged from the discharge port 42, and the slit 61 having the same shape as the discharge port 42 and for discharging the fibrous body 10 cooled by the cooling device 6 from the cooling device 6. In addition, the storage section 4 and the cooling device 6 are arranged one above the other, and the fibrous body 10 discharged from the discharge outlet 42 of the storage section 4 is fed into the cooling device 6 while maintained in a straight line, and is then discharged from a slit 61 provided below the cooling device 6 while maintained in a straight line. Therefore , regardless of the shape of the fibrous body 10, resin can be attached to the entire surface of the fibrous body 10, the resin can be impregnated deep into the fibrous body 10 , and the thickness of the resin in the fibrous body 10 does not become uneven due to dripping.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be embodied in various forms.

In addition , in the above embodiment, the discharge outlet 42 provided in the storage section 4 is made to a specified size so that excess resin can be scraped off, but it is also possible to provide a section in front of the discharge outlet 42 for scraping off the resin before discharging it.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the molten resin discharged from the injection cylinder 32 is stored, but resin that has been heated and melted in advance in another device may be placed in the storage section 4.

Reference Signs List 1, 1a, 1b... Manufacturing apparatus 2, 2a... Fiber body ejection device 3... Resin ejection device 31... Hopper 32... Injection cylinder 33... Screw 34... Tip 35... Motor 4... Storage section 41... Insertion port 42... Discharge port 43... Heating device 5... Roller 6... Cooling device 61... Slit 7... Drying section 8... Winding device 9... Head 91... Cutting device 92... Heating device 10... Fiber body 101... Rail 102... Stage

Claims (1)

a storage section for storing molten resin;
a fibrous body unwinding device that unwinds the fibrous body and immerses it in the reservoir;
a discharge port for discharging the resin-soaked fibrous body from the storage portion and having a constant opening width corresponding to a cross-sectional shape of the fibrous body ;
A cooling device that cools the fibrous body discharged from the discharge port;
an opening having the same shape as the discharge port and for discharging the fibrous body cooled by the cooling device from the cooling device;
A manufacturing apparatus for a fiber body for a three-dimensional modeling apparatus , comprising:
The storage section and the cooling device are arranged one above the other, and the fiber body discharged from the discharge outlet of the storage section is fed into the cooling device while being maintained in a straight line, and the fiber body is discharged from an opening provided below the cooling device while being maintained in a straight line.

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