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EP-4137298-B1 - PROCESSING APPARATUS FOR COMPOSITE MATERIAL AND PROCESSING METHOD FOR COMPOSITE MATERIAL

EP4137298B1EP 4137298 B1EP4137298 B1EP 4137298B1EP-4137298-B1

Inventors

  • KANI, Yuki

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20220816

Claims (3)

  1. A processing apparatus for a composite material (1) in which fibers and a thermoplastic resin are compounded, the processing apparatus comprising: a pair of pallets (20) configured to clamp the composite material (1); a heating die (30) configured to press and heat the composite material (1) via the pair of pallets (20); a cooling die (40) configured to press and cool the composite material (1) via the pair of pallets (20); and a temperature adjustment unit (45) configured to adjust a temperature of the cooling die (40); a conveyance unit (50) configured to convey the pair of pallets (20) clamping the composite material (1) from the heating die (30) to the cooling die (40); wherein the cooling die (40) includes a first contact part (R1) with which a first region of the composite material comes into contact via the pallet and a second contact part (R2, R3, R4) with which a second region of the composite material comes into contact via the pallet (20), and wherein the temperature adjustment unit (45) is configured to adjust temperatures of the first contact part (R1) and the second contact part (R2, R3, R4) in accordance with the thickness or positions of the first and second regions of the composite material (1) with which the first and second contact parts (R1, R2, R3, R4) come into contact, respectively, so as to make the solidification progress even over respective regions.
  2. The processing apparatus for the composite material according to claim 1 further comprising a restriction part (24) configured to restrict relative movement between the pair of pallets (20).
  3. A processing method for a composite material in which fibers and a thermoplastic resin are compounded, the processing method comprising: pressing and heating the composite material (1) by a heating die (30) via a pair of pallets (20) clamping the composite material (1); pressing and cooling the composite material (1) by a cooling die (40) having a temperature adjustment unit (45) via the pair of pallets (20); and conveying the pair of pallets (20) clamping the composite material (1) from the heating die (30) to the cooling die (40); wherein the cooling die (40) includes a first contact part (R1) with which a first region of the composite material comes into contact via the pallet and a second contact part (R2, R3, R4) with which a second region of the composite material comes into contact via the pallet (20), and wherein the temperature adjustment unit (45) adjusts temperatures of the first contact part (R1) and the second contact part (R2, R3, R4) in accordance with the thickness or positions of the first and second regions of the composite material (1) with which the first and second contact parts (R1, R2, R3, R4) come into contact, respectively, so as to make the solidification progress even over respective regions.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present disclosure relates to a processing apparatus for a composite material and a processing method for a composite material. 2. DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART Composite materials, for example, a thermoplastic carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) may be used for aircraft components such as a fuselage and a main wing of an aircraft. One known method for processing such a thermoplastic composite material into a desired shape is to press the composite material by using a die or the like to deform the composite material and then gradually reduce the temperature of the die or the like while maintaining the pressing state to solidify the composite material (for example, JP 5826243 B2). JP 5826243 B2 discloses a press molding die used for press-molding a composite material made by a combination of reinforcing material fibers such as carbon fiber fabrics and a resin material such as a thermoplastic resin or a thermosetting resin. Such a press molding die has a movable die that moves vertically, a fixed die, and an inter-die piece arranged between the movable die and the fixed die. Further, the fixed die and the movable die are provided with a cooling passage through which a cooling medium flows. Further, the inter-die piece is provided with an electric heater. US 2012/270030 A1 discloses a processing apparatus and method in which fibers and a thermoplastic resin are compounded. Further related art is exemplified in DE 10 2012 010 469 A1 and US 2008/261046 A1. BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION However, the apparatus disclosed in JP 5826243 B2 performs heating and cooling of a component being molded (composite material) by using a single set of dies (the fixed die and the movable die). Accordingly, in a cooling step after a heating step, the die at a high temperature is cooled by a cooling medium flowing through a cooling passage, and the temperature will thus be unevenly distributed in the die due to the arrangement of the cooling passage or the like. In detail, for example, the temperature of a part near the cooling passage easily falls and is lower than that of the remaining region, while the temperature of a part distant from the cooling passage does not easily fall and is higher than that of the remaining region. If the temperature becomes unevenly distributed in the die, the temperature of the composite material to which the temperature of the die is transferred will also be unevenly distributed. Accordingly, the progress of solidification of the composite material is uneven in different places, which results in occurrence of a solidified part and a part which has not yet been solidified (hereafter, referred to as "unsolidified part") in the composite material. If a solidified part occurs in a part of the composite material, the solidified part will support the die, and will inhibit application of a pressure to the unsolidified part. This may cause insufficient pressurization or a contact failure between the composite material and the die in the unsolidified part. Such insufficient pressurization and a contact failure between the composite material and the die may cause a void or the like and deteriorate the quality of a molded component after processed. The present disclosure has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present disclosure is to provide a processing apparatus for a composite material and a processing method for a composite material that can improve the quality of a molded component after processed. This object is solved by a processing apparatus with the features of claim 1 and a processing method with the features of claim 3. A preferred embodiment follows from claim 2. According to the present disclosure, it is possible to improve the quality of a molded component after processed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.Fig. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a molded component according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.Fig. 3 is a sectional view illustrating a heating die according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, which is a sectional view taken along the arrow A-A of Fig. 1.Fig. 4 is a sectional view illustrating a heating die according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, which is a sectional view taken along the arrow B-B of Fig. 1.Fig. 5 is a sectional view illustrating the heating die according to the embodiment of the present disclosure and illustrates a state where pallets and a composite material are pressed.Fig. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view illustrating a state in a conveyance step of the pallets and the composite material according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.Fig. 7 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view illustrating a cooling die according to the embodiment of the present disclosure and illustrates a state where the p