JPH0521066B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application This invention relates to fiber reinforced plastics having a metal coating on the surface.

Prior Art Fiber-reinforced plastics (FRP), which are made by combining resin and reinforcing fibers, are attracting attention in various fields because they have higher specific strength and specific modulus than those made only of resin.

By the way, in such FRP, the surface is often plated with metal for the purpose of giving a design effect, improving wear resistance, or imparting conductivity. However, in general, plating resin is extremely difficult and easily peels off.

On the other hand, Japanese Patent Publication No. 48-25065 describes an FRP made of a composite of resin and metal-coated reinforcing fibers. This conventional FRP has a design effect unique to coated metal because the metal-coated reinforcing fibers can be seen from the surface through the thin resin layer. However, since the surface is covered with a resin layer and the metal-coated reinforcing fibers are not exposed, although it has a design effect, it cannot be expected to improve wear resistance.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention The purpose of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks of conventional FRP, and to make the metal coating on the surface not only firm and difficult to peel off, but also to have a design effect and durability. FRP can improve mechanical properties such as abrasion resistance and provide electrical conductivity.
is to provide.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, a metal coating is formed on the surface of a base material made of a composite of resin and reinforcing fibers, and a metal coating is formed on the surface of the base material. A fiber-reinforced plastic characterized in that the reinforcing fibers are coated with metal, the metal-coated reinforcing fibers are exposed on the surface of the base material, and the exposed portions are bonded to the metal coating. is provided.

The FRP according to this invention is essentially a composite of resin and reinforcing fibers, and in this respect is no different from ordinary FRP, but it has a metal coating on its surface. It acts to give FRP a design effect, improve its wear resistance, or give it electrical conductivity. In addition, the metal-coated reinforcing fibers in the surface layer of the base material are
The part exposed on the surface of the base material is strongly bonded to the metal coating, making the metal coating very strong and difficult to peel off. That is, the metal-coated reinforcing fibers act as reinforcing fibers for the resin in the same way as normal FRP, and also have the effect of improving the bondability between the base material and the metal coating.

To explain this invention in more detail below, in FIG.
A metal coating 6 is formed on the surface of a base material 5 which is a composite of reinforcing fibers 2 and metal-coated reinforcing fibers 4 formed by applying a metal coating 3 to the reinforcing fibers 2. Therefore, the metal-coated reinforcing fibers 4 are arranged only on the surface layer of the base material 5, and other than the surface layer, so-called inner layer,
So-called bare reinforcing fibers 2 without metal coating are arranged. Further, most of the metal-coated reinforcing fibers 4 are buried in the base material 5. Therefore, it will not easily escape from the base material 5. Furthermore, the base material 5 of the metal-coated reinforcing fiber 4
The exposed surface portion is firmly bonded to the metal coating 6. Of course, resin 1 and metal coating 6
It is joined with.

In the above, the resin is a thermosetting resin commonly used as a so-called matrix resin for FRP, such as epoxy resin, unsaturated polyester resin, vinyl ester resin, phenolic resin, polyimide resin, or polyphenylene sulfide. thermoplastic resins such as resins, polysulfone resins, polyethersulfone resins, nylon resins, polycarbonate resins, ABS resins, and polybutylene terephthalate resins.

In addition, reinforcing fibers include high-strength fibers commonly used in FRP, such as carbon fibers, glass fibers, organic high-modulus fibers (e.g., polyaramid fibers), alumina fibers, alumina-silica fibers, silicon carbide fibers, and boron fibers. , is a high elastic fiber. These reinforcing fibers may be in any form such as continuous fibers, long fibers, short fibers, etc., and may be multifilament or monofilament. It is also possible to use it in fabric form such as woven fabric or matte.

The metals used for the metal coating of the reinforcing fibers include single metals such as copper, nickel, gold, silver, titanium, cobalt, aluminum, zinc, tin, chromium, and iron, or at least one of these single metals. These include alloys as components. The reinforcing fibers may be coated with such a metal by a known method such as electroplating, electroless plating, thermal spraying, vapor deposition, or ion plating. Note that the thickness of the coating may be about 0.1 to 2 μm.

The metal coating on the surface of the base material is also comprised of the same metal used in the metal coated reinforcing fibers. In short, the type of metal may be selected depending on the requirements, such as whether it is desired to have a design effect, to improve wear resistance, or to impart or improve conductivity. The formation of a film also
The same method as for metal-coated reinforcing fibers can be used. The thickness of the coating may be arbitrary, but is usually about 5 μm to 2 mm.

In the above, we have explained the case where metal-coated reinforcing fibers are used only in the surface layer of the base material, and reinforcing fibers without metal coating are used in the other inner layers, but metal-coated reinforcement is applied to all parts. It is also possible to use fibers. However, metal-coated reinforcing fibers have a higher specific gravity than those without metal coating, so it is preferable to use them only in the surface layer so that the specific strength and specific modulus of FRP do not decrease.

The FRP of the present invention is manufactured, for example, as follows.

That is, first, as shown in FIG. 2, an FRP of resin 1, reinforcing fibers 2 without metal coating and metal-coated reinforcing fibers 4 is obtained by a well-known prepreg lamination method or the like. At this time, the metal-coated reinforcing fibers 4 are placed on the surface layer of the FRP.
For example, when using prepreg lamination method,
Finally, a prepreg of metal-coated reinforcing fibers may be laminated. In this state, the surface is still covered with the layer of resin 1. Therefore, the metal-coated reinforcing fibers 4 are entirely buried in the resin 1.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3, the surface of the FRP is polished or ground until the metal-coated reinforcing fibers 4 are partially exposed, thereby obtaining a base material 5.

Next, a metal coating is applied to the ground or polished surface of the base material 5. Then, the FRP of the present invention as shown in FIG. 1 is obtained.

Example A first unidirectional prepreg made by aligning Torayka T-300 carbon fibers manufactured by Toray Industries, Inc. in a sheet shape parallel to each other in one direction and impregnating them with epoxy resin, and electrically applying copper to the carbon fibers. Plated and thick
A second unidirectional prepreg was prepared by aligning copper-coated carbon fibers having a copper coating of 0.3 μm in parallel to each other in one direction in a sheet shape and impregnating them with an epoxy resin in the same manner.

Next, the first prepreg is wound around the tapered mandrel in two layers so that the direction of the carbon fibers is in the circumferential direction of the mandrel, and the second prepreg is further wrapped on top of the metal-coated carbon fibers. Three layers were wound so that the direction was the longitudinal direction of the mandrel, and a heat-shrinkable wrapping tape was further wound thereon.

Next, the prepreg wrapped body was placed in an oven and preheated at 120°C for 3 minutes, then heated at 120°C for 1 hour to harden the epoxy resin, and then heated at 130°C for 2 hours.
After curing for a time, it was taken out and the mandrel was pulled out to obtain a tubular FRP.

Next, the surface of the FRP was polished to partially expose the metal-coated carbon fibers, and then a copper coating with a thickness of about 10 μm was formed on the polished surface by electroless plating. In this way, an FRP according to the present invention was obtained.

The above-mentioned FRP exhibited a shiny copper color due to the plating film, and had a high design effect. Also,
I tried tapping it lightly and subjecting it to 10 heat cycles between -30°C and 100°C, but the plating film did not come off.

Effects of the Invention In the FRP according to the present invention, metal-coated carbon fibers that have excellent bonding properties with metal coatings are exposed on the surface of the base material, and this is strongly bonded to the metal coating, so that the metal coating is strong. Not easy to peel off. That is,
The metal-coated reinforcing fiber improves the poor bond between the resin and the metal coating. In addition, by selecting the type of metal that forms the metal coating, it is possible to express a design effect unique to that metal, improve mechanical properties such as wear resistance, or impart or improve conductivity. You can do something like this.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional model diagram showing the fiber-reinforced plastic according to the present invention, and FIGS.
The figures are schematic vertical cross-sectional model views showing step by step the method for manufacturing fiber-reinforced plastics according to the present invention. 1: Resin, 2: Reinforcing fiber, 3: Metal coating, 4:
Metal-coated reinforcing fiber, 5: Base material, 6: Metal coating.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 A metal coating is formed on the surface of a base material made of a composite of resin and reinforcing fibers, the reinforcing fibers in the surface layer of the base material are coated with metal, and the metal-coated reinforcing fibers are coated with metal. A fiber-reinforced plastic characterized by being exposed on the surface of the material and having the exposed portion bonded to the metal coating.