JPH0618736B2 - Forming method and forming apparatus for prepreg material - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for molding a prepreg material in which carbon fiber or glass fiber is impregnated with a thermosetting resin.

[Conventional technology]

There is known a technique for obtaining a molded product having a desired cross-sectional shape by heat-molding a prepreg material obtained by impregnating long fibers such as carbon fibers and glass fibers with a thermosetting resin such as epoxy resin and phenol resin.

Carbon fiber and glass fiber have high strength per unit weight,
In particular, since it has a high tensile strength, using a composite material in which these fibers are laminated so that the fiber directions are oriented in the longitudinal, lateral, and diagonal directions makes it possible to obtain products that are lightweight and have high specific strength and specific elastic modulus. Used in industrial parts.

As the material used for molding, carbon fibers or glass fibers impregnated with a thermosetting resin are arranged in parallel to form one layer, or a woven fabric of these fibers is formed into one layer, and a number of these layers are laminated. As a material, a roving of these fibers is interposed between layers to form a molding material as needed.

As a molding method and apparatus, a plurality of fiber bundle-shaped or woven fiber-reinforced materials supplied from a bobbin are passed through a resin tank and impregnated with a thermosetting resin to heat the upper mold and lower metal mold of a hot press machine. It is heated and pressed by a mold to be molded into a predetermined cross-sectional shape, and then the molded product is completely cured in a curing furnace to be a product. During this time, the movement of the molded product in the apparatus was continuously towed by a towing machine arranged at the rear of the apparatus.

However, in molding with this method and device, when a molded product is pulled out by a traction machine, a significant frictional resistance occurs, scratches such as meandering and cutting of fibers occur, and it is difficult to obtain a thin molded product because the traction force of the traction machine is strong. Therefore, the applicant of the present invention has proposed a molding method as Japanese Patent Application No. 62-158820, in which a molded product without damage can be obtained by releasing the mold pressure when the molded product is moved. Proposed.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In the molding method and molding apparatus by hot pressing of these prepreg materials described above, excess resin is impregnated when a resin-impregnated fiber bundle, woven fabric, or the like passes between molds. The prepreg material of the mold accumulates in the material insertion port and gradually hardens, the cured product damages the surface of the molded product, and the resin impregnated in the material by pressurization during pressing exudes to the material surface. The exuded resin adhered to the surface of the mold and solidified, and the resin solidified on the surface of the mold was a cause of forming a depression on the surface of the material from the next molding process.

Therefore, the present invention provides a method and apparatus for molding a prepreg material, which eliminates damage caused by pulling out a molded product and completes treatment of excess resin during molding to obtain a molded product without damage.

[Means for Solving the Problems]

In order to solve the problems described above, the method of forming a prepreg material of the present invention is a step of supplying a heat-welding release film having a width larger than the width of the prepreg material so as to sandwich the upper and lower surfaces of the prepreg material. And hot-pressing the prepreg material coated with the release film, or supplying a heat-welding release film having a width larger than the width of the prepreg material so as to sandwich the upper and lower surfaces of the prepreg material. And a step of heat-welding both edges of the release film to coat the prepreg material with the release film, and a step of hot pressing the prepreg material coated with the release film. And the forming apparatus of the prepreg material of the present invention mounts a large number of bobbins wound with a belt-shaped prepreg material and also supplies a bobbin wound with a release film that feeds the top and bottom of the prepreg material, and a laminated prepreg material. From the pre-molding device that presses the molding material sandwiched by the release film in advance to pre-mold it, the hot-press device that heats and pressurizes the molding material intermittently, and the hot-press device that presses the molded material at fixed intervals at fixed intervals. A device equipped with a pull-out device or a plurality of bobbins wound with strip-shaped prepreg material is mounted and a device for mounting and supplying a bobbin wound with a release film for supplying the top and bottom of the prepreg material and the top and bottom of the laminated prepreg material. Pre-molding device that pre-molds by pressing the molding material sandwiched by the release film, and pre-molding Heat sealing device for heating and welding the release film extending on both side edges of the formed molding material, hot press device for heating and pressurizing the molding material at fixed time intervals, and hot press device for fixed length of the molded material at fixed time intervals It is equipped with a drawer for withdrawing from.

[Action]

According to the present invention, the resin exuded from the prepreg material during hot press molding or the surplus resin accumulated in the mold inlet portion flows down between the release film and the prepreg material, or accumulates in the gap of the heat seal portion of the release film. , Does not adhere to the surface of press molds or molded products and solidify.

〔Example〕

 Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

First, the molding method of the present invention will be described mainly with reference to FIG. 1. The prepreg material 1 used for molding is a fiber made of carbon fiber or glass fiber impregnated with a thermosetting resin such as epoxy resin or phenol resin. In this state, they are arranged parallel to each other, or a woven fabric is multilayer-polymerized, and about 10 layers are laminated depending on the purpose of use.

In the molding method of the present invention, prior to the molding of the prepreg material 1, heat-welding films 2 and 3 called release films are supplied to the upper and lower surfaces of the prepreg material 1.

The release films 2 and 3 are made of, for example, polyester resin and have an appropriate thickness. The width of the release films 2 and 3 is larger than that of the prepreg material 1, and the center lines of the release films 2 and 3 are aligned. Therefore, the side edges 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b of the release film extend outwardly from the side edges 1a, 1b of the prepreg material 1 and overlap each other.

Next, the upper and lower release films 2a, 3a and 2b, 3b which extend outside the both side edges 1a, 1b of the prepreg material 1 and overlap each other are subjected to a heat welding process as required.

In the case of a polyester film, since it is welded at about 250 ° C., it is welded by using a heat seal device using electric heat, and the upper and lower films are sealed by the seal portions 4a and 4b.
As a result, the prepreg material 1 is in a state of being covered with the release films 2 and 3 around the prepreg material 1, but some gaps 5a and 5b are formed between the both side portions 1a and 1b of the prepreg material 1 and the seal portions 4a and 4b. To be done.

After this processing is completed, the prepreg material that is still covered with the release films 2 and 3 is hot-pressed to be formed into a predetermined shape.

In the example of FIG. 1, a case of processing a V-shaped angle material is shown, but in the molding method of the present invention, an inverted V-shaped molding die having a central portion as a top is used.

In the hot press working, the resin is heated to the thermosetting temperature of the impregnated resin while being pressed. For example, an epoxy resin is heated to about 120 ° C. to 130 ° C. By this heating, the resin in the material is thermoset to bond the fibers, and excess resin is exuded to the surface of the prepreg material 1 by pressing. To do.

The exuded resin flows down into the voids 5a and 5b formed by the upper and lower release films 2 and 3, and is thermoset in the voids 5a and 5b.

Since the material of the release films 2 and 3 is selected to be welded at a temperature higher than the thermosetting temperature of the thermosetting resin of the prepreg material 1, the release films 2 and 3 are selected from the upper and lower molds of the press during hot press working. Prepreg material 1
Has no effect on.

After the hot press working is completed, the release films 2 and 3 can be removed to obtain a product.

In the molding method of the present invention, since hot pressing is performed with the upper and lower surfaces of the prepreg material covered with separate release films, the resin exuding from the prepreg material does not adhere to the surface of the press mold, The smoothness of the surface can be maintained. In addition, since both sides of the release film are heat-sealed, the exuded resin collects in the voids formed in the seal portion and does not adversely affect the surroundings.

When the present molding method is applied, it is necessary to design the shape of the press die so that the exuded resin easily flows down. In this embodiment and the drawings, both edge portions of the release films 2 and 3 are sealed to form the seal portions 4a and 4b, but the edge portions are not sealed and the release films are released even when they are simply overlapped. The synthetic resin exuded by making the film sufficiently larger than the width of the prepreg material to be molded does not come into direct contact with the mold.

FIG. 2 shows the overall structure of the molding apparatus of the present invention. However, since the apparatus is large, it is divided into three parts as shown in FIG.
It is shown in the figures (a) (b) (c).

The supply device 10 is provided with a plurality of support shafts 12 on a mounting surface 11, and a bobbin 13 in which a belt-shaped prepreg material is wound is rotatably attached to the support shafts 12. The number of bobbins 13 to be installed is selected according to the prepreg material and the number of laminated layers required for the product to be molded, but in the illustrated embodiment, a maximum of 14 bobbins 13 can be attached, and thus a maximum of 14 bobbins 13 can be installed. A layer of prepreg material can be provided.

Since the prepreg material is impregnated with a thermosetting resin and has adhesiveness, a film called a separator (not shown) is interposed on one side of the material and wound around a bobbin. Therefore, each bobbin 13 is provided with the separator winding device 14 so that the prepreg material 1 is removed from the bobbin 13.
When this is fed out, the separator 1
The prepreg material 1 is guided by the pair of pinch rollers 15 and fed out. Each bobbin 1
A brake device (not shown) using a spring is attached to 3 to feed the prepreg material while maintaining an appropriate tension.

The prepreg material sent out from each bobbin 13 of the supply device 10 is sent to a series of roller devices 20 every several layers. The roller device 20 includes, for example, three rollers 21.
Constitute a set of roller units, and the prepreg material 1 passes between the roller units,
A small pressure is applied to the laminated prepreg material to aid lamination.

However, since the prepreg material is pressed and preformed in the subsequent process, it is not always necessary to pass the roller device 20.

On the other hand, the supply device 10 is provided with two heat-welding release film supply bobbins 17 and 18, and a pair of strip-shaped release films 2 and 3 are sent out. The release films 2 and 3 are supplied in such a positional relationship as to sandwich the laminated prepreg material 1 from above and below. When the release films 2 and 3 pass above and below the roller device 20, the roller devices are provided with plate members 23 and 24 projecting upward and downward, respectively. The fold line 2C shown in FIG. 1 at the center,
Turn on 3C.

Since the release films 2 and 3 are guided by the cylindrical roller units 27 and 28 attached to the column 25 thereafter, the release films 2 and 3 are again formed into a flat belt shape and are sent to the preforming device 30 together with the prepreg material 1. When the release films 2 and 3 are superposed on the upper and lower surfaces of the prepreg material 1 inside, the center lines of the release films 2 and 3 are acted by the folds 2C and 3C left in the widthwise central portions of the release films 2 and 3. And the center line of the prepreg material 1 coincide.

FIG. 3 shows the details of the preforming apparatus 30, and the release films 2 and 3 supplied above and below the laminated prepreg material 1 are introduced into the preforming apparatus 30 in the illustrated state.

The preforming device 30 has a plurality of roller units arranged in a box-shaped frame 31 equipped with an electric heater (not shown). In the illustrated embodiment, five roller units are used. First stage roller unit 3 located on the inlet side
A cylindrical pinch roller 2 is provided in a plurality of upper and lower stages, and the upper release film 2, the prepreg material 1, and the lower release film 3 are aligned and fed.

2nd stage roller unit 34, 3rd stage roller unit 3
6. The fourth-stage roller unit 38 and the fifth-stage roller unit 40 are formed in advance by molding a molding material in which the prepreg material 1 and the release films 2, 3 are laminated together with the molding plate 42 into a shape close to the cross-sectional shape of the molded product. Configure the unit to be used.

The forming plate 42 has a planar shape in the second-stage roller unit 34, and is bent in the fifth-stage roller unit 40 into a 90 ° angle shape with the central part as the apex, and the middle thereof is continuously connected. Have. In the second stage roller unit 34, parallel rollers (not shown) corresponding to the flat plate 42 are arranged on the upper surface of the plate 42 in a pressing manner.
The third-stage roller unit 36 includes an hourglass-shaped pressing roller 37 whose central portion has a small diameter corresponding to the shape of the molding plate 42. Similarly, the fourth-stage roller unit 38 has a drum-shaped pressing roller 39 corresponding to the shape of the forming plate 42 having an obtuse apex angle.
The fifth-stage roller unit 40 is provided with a drum-shaped pressing roller 41 corresponding to the shape of the forming plate 42 having an apex angle of 90 °.

FIG. 4 shows a bearing device for a molding roller, and the bearing device 43 is provided with a lever 46 which is swung by a rod member 44 which is driven back and forth by a chain 45. The lever 46 drives the swing arm 48 via the link piece 47, and the swing arm 48 pushes down the shaft 48a penetrating the support shaft of the roller, and applies a pressing force to the roller shaft 49 via the spring 48b. With this bearing device, the rollers of each roller unit can preform the molding material with a uniform pressing force.

The chain 45 can be appropriately driven by an unillustrated pneumatic motor or the like.

Therefore, the molding material is heated to a constant temperature while passing through the preforming device 30 and is sequentially bent by each roller unit to form an angle material having an apex angle of 90 ° which approximates to the product shape. Tonatsu Preformer 30
Drawn from.

As shown in FIG. 1, the molding material preformed in the preforming device 30 into a 90 ° angle material shape with the bent portion at the top is in a state in which the upper and lower sides of the prepreg material 1 are covered with release films 2 and 3. And sent to the heat seal device 50. At this time, both side edges 2 of the release films 2 and 3
a, 2b, 3a and 3b extend outward from the side edge portion of the prepreg material 1 and are in a state of being polymerized with each other.

The structure of the heat seal device 50 is shown in FIG. 5 to FIG. 7. An angle-shaped substrate 51 having face plates 51a and 51b with a central portion as a top and an angle-shaped holding plate 52 placed on the top of the substrate 51. Equipped with. Bolts 5 are provided on the upper surfaces of the face plates 51a and 51b facing each other with the top of the substrate 51 as a boundary.
3a is planted, and a spring 55a is stretched between it and a bolt 54a which is planted on the outside of the facing surface of the pressing plate 52. Therefore, the laminated prepreg material among the molding materials is given a pressing force by the spring 55a when passing between the substrate 51 and the pressing plate 52, and stable movement can be achieved.

Heat seal units are attached to the respective surfaces of the substrate 51. The elements constituting these heat seal units are symmetrical with respect to the top line of the substrate 51. The parts are indicated by reference characters a and b, and only one of them will be described except for the main part.

An angle member 57a is planted on the substrate 51 by welding or the like, and another angle member 58a is attached to the angle member 57a with a screw 59a, and the upper surface of the angle member 58a is parallel to the substrate 51. This angle material 58a
Two bolts 61a are inserted in the front and rear of the shaft, and are fixed by nuts 62a. There is a nut 6 under the bolt 61a.
A spring 64a positioned by 3a is arranged to press the heat-sealing pressing plate 65a against the substrate 51 side. The pressing plate 65a is provided with two angle plates 57a, 5 at the front and rear.
It is attached to 8a with bolts 66a,
At this time, the angle plates 57a, 5 through which the bolts 66a penetrate
The hole on the 8a side is enlarged, and the pressing plate 65a is vertically
mm Configure so that it can swing.

On the other hand, an L-shaped support plate 75a is erected on the angle member 58a and the upper surface by screws 76a, and a reel 77a is attached to the top of this support plate 75a. Pressing plate 65 at one end
a wire 78a fixed to a bolt 66a fixed to a
Is guided by this reel 77a and connected to the preforming device, and the wire 78a moves in conjunction with the forming process of the preforming device, and the pressing plate 65a of the heat seal device 50 is moved.
Swing in the direction of arrow X ₁ .

As clearly shown in FIG. 7, a support 60a is erected on the upper surface of the angle member 58a. The pillar 60a is made of an insulating material such as Bakelite, and has a screw 67.
a is screwed in. One end of a spring 68a is attached to the screw 67a, and the other end of the spring 68a suspends a terminal 72a of the electric heater. Terminal 72a
The lead wire 73a of the electric heater, which is connected to, is introduced into the lower surface of the pressing plate 65a, and the other end is connected to the terminal 74a provided at the front end of the pressing plate 65a. The terminals 72a and 74a are connected to the electric wires 71a and 79, respectively.
a is connected, and the electric wires 71a and 79a are connected to an AC power source. Therefore, by supplying electric power from the AC power source, the electric heater attached to the lower surface of the pressing plate 65a can be heated to obtain the welding temperature of the release film.
Further, the face plate 51 of the substrate 51 facing the pressing plate 65a.
A floor plate 56a is arranged on a.

Next, the operation of heat-sealing the side edges 2a, 3a and 2b, 3b of the release films 2, 3 by the heat-sealing device 50 will be described. Double-sided plates 51a, 5 of the substrate 51
The heat sealing device is provided symmetrically corresponding to 1b, but here, the heat sealing action with one side edge side will be described, and the description of the other side edge side will be omitted. The pressing plate 65a is pulled up against the force of the spring 64a by the wire 78a which is interlocked with the preforming device 30, and the entire molding material is step fed, so that the side portions 2a and 3a of the release film are connected to the pressing plate 65a. It is drawn into the gap of the floor plate 56a. After that, the wire 78a is loosened, and the pressing plate 65a is pressed by the spring 64a. As a result, the side portions 2a and 3a of the release film are sandwiched by the pressing plate 65a and the floor plate 56a, and the heat-welded portion 4a is formed.

By interlocking the energization control of the electric heater with the pressing process of the pressing plate 65a, it is possible to weld only the required portions of the release films 2 and 3 and prevent excessive melting and welding.

The melting and welding temperatures of the release films 2 and 3 differ depending on the material of the film, but when using a polyester film, for example, they are welded at about 250 ° C. If both sides of the release film are not heat-sealed while the both edges are still polymerized, this heat-sealing device is deleted.

The molding material in which both sides of the release film are heat-sealed is sent to the hot press machine 100 shown in FIG.

This hot press machine comprises a press frame 110 mounted on a substrate 101 fixed on the main frame of the molding machine.
And a die set 120 for molding provided in the press frame 110 and a hydraulic cylinder device 130 for pressurizing the die set 120.

The press frame 110 includes a lower plate 111 placed on the substrate 101, columns 113 and columns 1 standing upright from the lower plate 111.
The upper plate 112 supported by 13. The die set 120 is fixed on the lower plate 111 by a clamp 115. The die set 120 is composed of a lower die 122 and an upper die 126 facing the lower die 122. The lower die 122 is formed with a mountain-shaped portion having a 90 ° angled shape with the corners being the apex along the axis. . Grooves 1 are formed on both sides of the lower mold 122.
The groove 23 is provided to secure an escape portion when the resin exuded from the prepreg material is accumulated in the release film when the prepreg material is thermally cured in the heat-sealed release film.

The upper die 126 facing the lower die 122 is formed with a valley portion that fits into the mountain portion of the lower die 122. The upper die 126 and the lower die 122 are equipped with an electric heater (not shown), and the upper die 12
6 and the lower mold 122 are held at the thermosetting temperature of the prepreg material 1. The thermosetting temperature varies depending on the resin, but is approximately 120 ° C-2
It is 00 ° C. A guide pin 124 is erected around the die set 121, penetrates the push hole 127 of the die upper die 125, and slides and guides the upper die 126. A spring 128 is fitted around the outer circumference of the guide pin 124 to constantly urge the die set 125 to the upper die.

A hydraulic cylinder device 130 is installed on the upper plate 112 of the press frame.
Comprises a cylinder member 131 and a ram 132 which connects to a piston within the cylinder member. Pipe lines 135 and 136 communicating with the hydraulic pressure source are connected to the upper and lower ends of the cylinder member 131. The lower end of the ram 132 is connected to the die plate 133 via the fixture 134, and the downward pressing force of the ram 132 is transmitted to the upper die 126 via the die plate 133 to heat the molding material with the lower die 122. Harden and mold.
The operation of the molding process will be described later.

The molding material pressure-molded and thermoset into a predetermined shape by the hot press machine 100 has already been completed as a final molded product, but in order to achieve further thermosetting,
It is sent to the heat curing device 150. The thermosetting device 150 is a so-called constant temperature bath in which a molded product guide device (not shown) is arranged in an outer box 151, and an electric heater (not shown) is provided around the guide device. Heat curing temperature (12
0 to 200 ° C). A heat-sensitive sensor or the like is arranged in the outer box 151 and controlled to a constant temperature. Even in the preforming apparatus and the hot press, the temperature is controlled to a constant temperature, but the description thereof is omitted because both are known control methods.

Since the heating temperature in the hot press device 100 and the heat curing device 150 is 120 ° C. to 200 ° C., which is lower than 250 ° C. which is the melting temperature of the release films 2 and 3, only the prepreg material 1 is heat cured and the surroundings thereof are The parcel release films 2 and 3 are not affected.

On the outlet side of the thermosetting device 150, a drawing device 1 for the molded product is provided.
70 is arranged. The drawer device 170 includes a base 171 placed on a frame, and columns 172 are provided upright at the front and rear ends of the base 171. A guide shaft 174 is horizontally installed between the columns 172, and a gripping device 175 is slidably supported on the guide shaft 174 via a slide bearing 176.

A hydraulic cylinder 178 is mounted on the molded product inlet side of the base 171 to drive the gripping member in the pull-out direction of the molded product. The gripping device 175 is a so-called gripper feed device that grips a molded product by opening and closing a vertically divided gripping member by a cylinder and forcibly driving the product in the axial direction.

The molded product drawn out by the drawing device 170 is slidably guided on the support member 180, cut into a predetermined length by a cutting machine (not shown), and the processing is completed.

On the main frame of the molding apparatus, in addition to the above-described mechanisms, the sequence control device 200, the switch panel 205, the air pressure adjusting device 210, the control valve 215, and the air pressure-
Various devices such as the hydraulic pressure converters 220, 222, 272, 276 and the pressure booster 230 are arranged.

In addition to electricity, air pressure,
Although hydraulic pressure or the like can be used, in this embodiment, an operating circuit using air pressure as a power source will be described.

FIG. 9 shows an operation circuit of the hot press device 100. Compressed air introduced from the compressed air source 209 is adjusted to a predetermined pressure by the pressure adjusting device 210 and then sent to the control valve 215. The control valve 215 is operated by a signal from the sequence control device 200, but when the hot press device is operating, compressed air is sent to the pneumatic-hydraulic pressure converting device 220 through the line 218, and the converted hydraulic pressure is supplied to the line 224. And is supplied to the pressure booster 230 via. The hydraulic pressure increased by the pressure increasing device 230 is sent to the cylinder 131 via the line 226, and the ram 132 is pressed down to perform hot press molding.

A proximity switch is arranged at the stroke end of the cylinder 131, detects the stroke end of the piston, and feeds a signal to the sequence controller 200.

FIG. 10 shows an operating circuit of the drawer 170.
The compressed air introduced from the compressed air source 249 is regulated to a predetermined pressure by the pressure regulator 250, and then the pair of control valves 26.
0 to 270. One of the control valves 260 controls the driving of the gripping members divided into the upper and lower parts of the gripping device 175, and the pneumatic cylinders 2 arranged above and below the gripping device 175.
The rams 263 and 267 of 62 and 266 are connected to the upper and lower divided gripping members, respectively. In the illustrated state, the compressed air is supplied to the pneumatic cylinders 262, 26 via the control valve 260.
6 is sent to the ram side to contract the rams 263 and 267. Compressed air is supplied to each pneumatic cylinder 26 in the direction in which the control valve 260 is switched to extend the rams 263, 267.
By sending the molded product from the upper and lower sides, the gripping members attached to the tips of the rams 263 and 267 grip the molded product from above and below. Proximity switches are provided at the stroke ends of the pneumatic cylinders 262 and 266 to detect the stroke end of the piston and feed back a signal to the sequence controller 200.

The other control valve 270 controls the operation of the drive hydraulic cylinder 178 of the drawing device 170, and the compressed air switched by the control valve 270 is a pair of pneumatic liquid pressure-conversion device 2.
It is selectively supplied to either one of 72 and 276. In the state shown in the figure, the compressed air is one of the pneumatic-hydraulic pressure conversion devices 2
The hydraulic pressure supplied to 72 and converted is introduced into the ram 179 side of the hydraulic cylinder 178 through the line 273, and the ram 179 is contracted. Since the ram 179 is connected to the gripping device 175, the gripping device 175 is attached to the thermosetting device 150.
Move in the direction returned to the side.

Next, the switching valve 270 is switched so that the compressed air is compressed to the other pneumatic pressure.
When sent to the hydraulic pressure conversion device 276, the converted hydraulic pressure is introduced to the opposite side of the ram 179 of the hydraulic cylinder 178 through the line 277, and the ram 179 is extended. The extension of the ram 179 moves the gripping device 175 in the direction of withdrawing the molded product from the thermosetting device 150.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing the steps of the molding cycle of the present molding apparatus, in which the vertical axis represents the name and code of the driven device and the horizontal axis represents the step (time), and the area surrounded by the diagonal lines Indicates that each device is operating.

In step 1, the hydraulic cylinder 131 of the hot press machine is pressed against the molding material, the pressurization at the prescribed pressure is completed in step 2, and this completely pressurized state continues until the beginning of step 5. During this time, the heat seal device 50 operates from step 2 to the end of step 3 to heat seal both side edges of the release film.

In step 5, the reduction of the hydraulic cylinder 131 of the hot press machine is released and the initial state is restored. When the hot press device is completely released from the molding material, in step 6, the pneumatic cylinders 262 and 266 of the gripping device are activated to grip the molded product. When the gripping is completed, the pressurization of the hydraulic cylinder 178 of the drawing device is started in step 7, and the product of a predetermined length is drawn in step 8.

In the present molding apparatus, the material and product are fed by the operation of this drawing apparatus.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, when forming a prepreg material having adhesiveness by being impregnated with a thermosetting resin, hot pressing is performed by sandwiching the upper and lower sides of the laminated prepreg material with a release film, and then pressing. As a result, the resin that exudes can be prevented from adhering to the surface of the press die and solidifying, and good press molding can be secured. Also, if the width of the release film is made larger than that of the prepreg material, and the edges of the release film are heat-sealed to form voids, excess resin accumulates in these voids and heat cure Does not adversely affect.

Further, in the molding apparatus, since the release film is sent out at the same time as the supply of the belt-shaped prepreg material, even when the prepreg material is preliminarily heated and pressed by the preforming apparatus, the prepreg material is covered by the release film. It is possible to prevent excess resin from adhering to the device.

The strip-shaped prepreg material and the release film are gripped and transferred by the drawing device arranged in the most downstream part, so that the processing cycle can be easily adjusted.
Since the hot pressing process, the gripping process and the drawing process are performed in stages, there is no friction on the fibers when the molded product is moved, so damage to the molded product can be prevented and thin molded products can be obtained. it can.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 is a sectional view of a molding material according to the present invention, FIGS. 2A, 2B and 2C are front views of the molding apparatus of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a preforming apparatus, and FIG. 4 is a roll. 5 is a perspective view showing the bearing device of FIG. 5, FIG. 5 is a front view of the heat seal device, FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the heat seal device, and FIG.
FIG. 8 is a view from the direction of the arrow Y, FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the hot press device, FIG. 9 is a control circuit diagram of the hot press device, FIG. 10 is a control circuit diagram of the drawer device, and FIG. 11 is an operation process of the molding device. FIG. 1 ... prepreg material, 2, 3 ... release film, 10 ... supply device, 20 ... roller device, 30 ... preforming device, 50 ... heat sealing device, 100 ... hot press device, 150 ... heat Curing device, 170 ... Drawer device, 200 ... Sequence control device.

Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification code Office reference number FI technical display area B29L 9:00 4F

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A method of forming a product by hot pressing a prepreg material in which carbon fiber or glass fiber is impregnated with a thermosetting resin, wherein the width of the prepreg material is larger than the width of the prepreg material so as to sandwich the upper and lower surfaces of the prepreg material. And a step of hot pressing a prepreg material whose upper and lower surfaces are covered with the release film, and a step of hot-pressing the prepreg material. 2. A method of forming a product by hot pressing a prepreg material in which carbon fiber or glass fiber is impregnated with a thermosetting resin, wherein the width of the prepreg material is larger than the width of the prepreg material so as to sandwich the upper and lower surfaces of the prepreg material. Of a heat-fusible release film having a certain width, a process of heat-welding both edges of the release film to coat the prepreg material with the release film, and a hot press to the prepreg material whose upper and lower surfaces are coated with the release film. A method of forming a prepreg material, which comprises a step of applying a process. 3. A molding apparatus for prepreg material in which carbon fibers or glass fibers are impregnated with a thermosetting resin, wherein a plurality of bobbins wound with a belt-shaped prepreg material are mounted, and a release film is provided above and below the prepreg material. A device for mounting and supplying a wound bobbin, a preforming device for pressurizing and preforming the molding material sandwiched by release films above and below the laminated prepreg material, and a hot press for intermittently heating and pressing the molding material. An apparatus for forming a prepreg material, comprising: an apparatus and a drawing apparatus for drawing a formed material from a hot press apparatus at a constant length for a predetermined length. 4. A molding apparatus for prepreg material in which carbon fiber or glass fiber is impregnated with a thermosetting resin, wherein a large number of bobbins wound with a belt-shaped prepreg material are mounted, and a release film is provided above and below the prepreg material. A device that mounts and feeds a wound bobbin, a preforming device that presses the molding material sandwiched by the release film above and below the laminated prepreg material and preforms it, and the side edges of the preformed molding material. It is characterized by a heat-sealing device that heat-welds an extended release film, a hot-press device that heats and pressurizes the molding material intermittently, and a pull-out device that pulls out the molded material from the hot-press device for a fixed length at fixed intervals. Equipment for forming prepreg materials.