JPH056496B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Application of the Invention] This invention relates to continuous fiber-reinforced plastic rims, so-called
The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing FRP rims.

[Conventional technology and its problems]

Most wheel rims of automobiles and motorcycles are made of metals such as steel, aluminum, aluminum alloys, and magnesium alloys. but,
In order to reduce fuel consumption, it is necessary to reduce the weight of the rim, and in order to meet this demand, various proposals regarding FRP rims have been made.

There are two types of FRP rims: those using short fibers and those using long fibers, but while the former rims are easier to form, they have lower strength and elastic modulus than those using long fibers. Therefore, in order to compensate for this drawback, it is necessary to increase the thickness, which increases the weight and has the disadvantage that the lightweight characteristics of FRP are lost.

On the other hand, a rim using long fibers has high strength and elastic modulus, and can be formed thinly, so it is highly effective in reducing weight. However, it is not easy to make the long fibers conform to the rim shape, and molding is extremely difficult. For example, Fig. 3 shows a typical rim consisting of a flange part 1, a bead seat part 2, a drop center part 3, and a plate attachment projection part 4. After the layer is provided on the inner mold, the outer mold or mold made of an elastic body is divided into a plurality of parts in the circumferential direction, and the whole is simultaneously pressurized by the outer mold to which an external pressure applying means is attached to each divided mold. Because the method used was to heat and harden the resin under conditions, it was difficult for the fibers to conform to the mold, and their orientation was also likely to be disordered.Furthermore, the fibers could get caught between the split molds.
It had the disadvantage that it could not be molded into an accurate shape, and there were also variations in wall thickness and rigidity distribution.

This invention is a method for manufacturing FRP rims proposed with the aim of eliminating such drawbacks.

[Means for solving problems]

The method of the present invention, which eliminates the above-mentioned drawbacks, consists of a plurality of annular elastic tubes separated in the direction of the rotational axis of the rim, and an outer mold that pressurizes the resin-impregnated fiber layer on the inner mold, and arranged around the outer periphery of each tube. It consists of a holding ring, a partitioning jig that is supported by this ring and inserted between the tubes, and a pair of end plates that support the tubes at both ends from the outside.After attaching this outer mold to the outer periphery of the fiber layer, It is characterized in that a pressurized fluid is injected into the elastic tube to sequentially pressurize the drop center portion, bead seat portion, and flange portion of the rim, and the resin is heated and hardened while the entire portion is pressurized.

According to this method, the fiber layer is sequentially pressurized from the drop center part with a time difference, so the fibers are not stretched or disordered at the step part of the inner mold.
It follows the surface of the mold well.

Furthermore, since the pressurizing body of the outer mold is an elastic tube, there is no possibility of fibers getting caught in the joints of the mold.

〔Example〕

An example of the method of the present invention is shown in the attached FIGS. 1 and 2.

Reference numeral 5 in FIG. 1 denotes an inner mold that can be divided into left and right parts from the center, 6 a resin-impregnated continuous fiber layer formed on the inner mold, and 7 an elastic body divided into a plurality of parts in the direction of the axis of rotation of the rim. A tube 8, a partition jig 9 between adjacent elastic tubes that can be divided into a plurality of pieces in the circumferential direction, a presser ring 10 that supports the outer periphery of the jig, and a pair of ends that support the outer parts of the elastic tubes at both ends. Board 11
and 12, 13, and 14 indicate injection ports for supplying pressurized fluid, such as gas or liquid, into each elastic tube.

Now, the procedure of the method of this invention is as shown in FIG. 2. First, as shown in FIG.
form. This layer 6 is made by impregnating continuous fibers with resin and winding the fibers around the inner mold using the filament winding method, or by wrapping and laminating prepregs that have been pre-impregnated with resin and in a semi-cured state. Ensure thickness. The fibers forming the layer are preferably glass fibers, carbon fibers, and aromatic polyamide fibers, and the resins to be impregnated with the fibers include thermosetting resins such as epoxy and polyester, polyether sulfon, and polysulfon. Thermoplastic resins such as are suitable.

Next, once the layer 6 is formed, as shown in FIG. An end plate 11 for fixing is attached, and the whole is assembled into a mold.

Thereafter, the whole is preheated, and pressurized fluid is first injected into the central elastic tube 8 through the injection port 12, and the expanded tube applies pressurizing force to the drop center portion of the rim. After that, pressurized fluid is injected into the elastic tubes on both sides equipped with the injection ports 13 to pressurize the bead seat portion of the rim, and then the injection ports 1
Pressure is applied to the flange portion of the rim using the tubes at both ends equipped with 4. Once pressure is applied to the entire body in this way, the resin is heated and cured while maintaining this state, and the mold is removed to obtain the desired FPR rim.

The gap between the partitioning jig 9 and the continuous fiber layer 6 is desirably made as small as possible to prevent the elastic tube from protruding into other partitioned spaces.

〔effect〕

According to the method of the present invention described above, the effects listed below can be obtained.

(1) Since the fiber layer is pressurized at a different timing from the drop center, the fibers do not stretch or concentrate locally, and smoothly follow the mold.

(2) Furthermore, since there is little disturbance of the fibers and the fibers and resin are uniformly dispersed, products with high precision in terms of wall thickness and shape can be obtained.

(3) Since an elastic tube is used as the pressurizing body, there is no need to worry about fibers being caught between the joint surfaces of the outer mold.

(4) Even if long fibers are used to reinforce the rim, molding will not be difficult, so it is possible to obtain a lightweight, high-strength, and highly elastic rim using the long fibers.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 and 2 are views showing a method for manufacturing an FRP rim according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing an example of a rim manufactured by the method of the present invention. 1...Flange part, 2...Bead seat part, 3
... Drop center part, 4 ... Plate attachment protrusion, 5 ... Inner mold, 6 ... Resin-impregnated fiber layer, 7
... Outer mold, 8 ... Elastic body tube, 9 ... Partition jig, 10 ... Holding ring, 11 ... End plate, 12,
13, 14... Inlet for pressurized fluid.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a method for manufacturing a fiber-reinforced plastic rim, in which a layer of resin-impregnated continuous fibers formed on an inner mold is heated and hardened while being pressed by an outer mold, the outer mold is divided into a plurality of layers separated in the direction of the rotational axis of the rim. Consisting of an annular elastic tube, a presser ring disposed around the outer periphery of each tube, a partition jig supported by the ring and inserted between the tubes, and a pair of end plates supporting the tubes at both ends from the outside, After attaching this outer mold to the outer periphery of the fiber layer, pressurized fluid is injected into the elastic tube to sequentially pressurize the drop center portion, bead seat portion, and flange portion of the rim.
A method for manufacturing a fiber-reinforced plastic rim, characterized by heating and curing the resin under pressurized conditions.