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JP-7856560-B2 - Method for manufacturing lightweight, structurally reinforced objects from thermoplastic materials

JP7856560B2JP 7856560 B2JP7856560 B2JP 7856560B2JP-7856560-B2

Inventors

  • バセル、ブラク

Assignees

  • ミツビシ ケミカル アドバンスド マテリアルズ アーゲー

Dates

Publication Date
20260511
Application Date
20200916
Priority Date
20190916

Claims (14)

  1. A method for manufacturing a lightweight, structurally reinforced object made of thermoplastic material, comprising at least one reinforcement zone, a) Providing a heatable rigid molded chamber (2) including a chamber volume (V) surrounded by chamber walls (4, 6, 8, 10) and an openable chamber lid (6); b) Providing a plurality of thermoplastic bulky bodies (12, 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d, 12e, 12f) and a plurality of thermoplastic reinforcements (14a, 14b, 14c, 14d, 14e, 14f, 16), wherein the bulky bodies and the reinforcements comprise the same or mutually compatible thermoplastic material, the reinforcements further comprise reinforcing fibers embedded in the thermoplastic material, and the bulky bodies i) a body (12) that can become bulky with heat, comprising a thermoplastic matrix and an elastically compressed aggregate of reinforcing fibers embedded therein , and/or ii) a bulky nonwoven (16) comprising an elastically compressible aggregate of reinforcing fibers and thermoplastic fibers ; b1) Providing a plurality of rigid fillers (18a, 18b, 18c); c) A step of loading a bulky body, a reinforcing body and a filler into the chamber at a base temperature below the thermoplastic softening temperature to form an arrangement corresponding to the intended object, wherein the bulky body has an initial first volume V1, the reinforcing body has an initial second volume V2, and the filler has an initial third volume V3, and the sum of the initial first, second and third volumes V0 = V1 + V2 + V3 exceeds the chamber volume V by an excess volume Ve in the range of 0.5 to 0.95 times the initial first volume of any bulky body which is a bulky nonwoven (ii), and the excess volume Ve is zero if there is no bulky body which is a bulky nonwoven (ii) ; d) A step of closing the chamber lid, thereby the bulky body taking on a first loaded volume V1', the reinforcing body taking on a second loaded volume V2', and the packing body taking on a third loaded volume V3' substantially equal to the initial third volume V3, thereby the sum of the first, second and third loaded volumes V0' = V1' + V2' + V3' being equal to the chamber volume V, and furthermore, any bulky body configured as a bulky nonwoven is elastically compressed, thereby accumulating a first amount of internal pressure; e) A step of heating the chamber to a processing temperature exceeding the thermoplastic softening temperature, thereby making the reinforcing body and the bulky body thermoplastically moldable, and further, any bulky body configured as a body that can become bulky with heat, accumulating a second amount of internal pressure; f) A method comprising the steps of cooling the chamber after a predetermined processing time so that the reinforcing body and the bulky body solidify and cool, and then removing any filler to obtain the structurally reinforced object.
  2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the thermoplastic bulky body comprises only a body that can become bulky with heat, comprising 20 to 80% by weight of the thermoplastic material, 80 to 20% by weight of reinforcing fibers having a weight-average length of 10 to 150 mm, and a void content of 35 to 65% by volume uniformly distributed in the matrix, wherein the reinforcing fibers are mechanically intertwined with each other and exist as individual filaments in a range exceeding 80%, and the excess volume Ve is zero.
  3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the initial first volume V1 of the bulky thermoplastic body loaded in step c) is 10 to 90% of the sum of the initial volumes V1 + V2 of all thermoplastic bodies loaded in step c).
  4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the bulky thermoplastic body is only a bulky nonwoven comprising at least one layer of flexible fleece mat having a surface weight of 200 to 3,000 g/ m² , and the excess volume Ve is in the range of 0.5 to 0.95.
  5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the initial first volume V1 of the thermoplastic bulky body loaded in step c) is 1 to 100 times the initial second volume V2 of the reinforcing body loaded in step c).
  6. The thermoplastic reinforcement is A. At least one nonwoven fabric layer comprising 10 to 100% by weight of thermoplastic fibers and 0 to 90% by weight of reinforcing fibers, having a surface weight of 200 to 2,000 g/ m² , B. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, comprising at least one woven fabric, non-crimped fabric or unidirectional aggregate of reinforcing fibers having a surface weight of 100 to 1,000 g/ m² , wherein layers A and B are needle-finished together.
  7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein at least one of the thermoplastic reinforcing members is loaded in a folded state having at least one folded edge (20a, 20b).
  8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein in the arrangement formed in step c), the chamber wall and the filling material are in contact with the reinforcing material.
  9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein each filler can be removed by pulling.
  10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein at least one filler is configured as an assembly of components (18a, 18b, 18c) that are releasably connected to one another.
  11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the filler is made of metal.
  12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the filling is actively heatable.
  13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the reinforcing fiber is selected from glass fiber, carbon fiber, aramid fiber, basalt fiber, natural fiber, and high-melting-point thermoplastic fiber.
  14. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the thermoplastic material is selected from PP, PEI, PES, PSU, PPSU, PPA, PPO, PEEK, PPS, PA, PAEK, PEKK, and PC.

Description

The present invention relates to a novel method for manufacturing a lightweight, structurally reinforced object made of a thermoplastic material, comprising at least one reinforcing zone. The present invention also relates to such an object. Composite components made from fiber-reinforced thermoplastics are widely used in many technological fields. For example, (Patent Document 1) discloses a composite component including a foam core having a first and second skin layer, the first and second skin layers being bonded to the foam core at a first and second surface, respectively. Similarly, (Patent Document 2) discloses a flexurally rigid composite sheet including one or two skin layers 0.5 to 5 mm thick, made from glass fiber reinforced polypropylene having a glass content of 20 to 60% by weight and a void content of less than 5% by volume, and a core layer 2 to 40 mm thick, made from glass fiber reinforced polypropylene having a glass content of 35 to 80% by weight and a void content of 20 to 80% by volume. Such porous core sheets can be formed by dry blending polypropylene fibers and glass fibers, needle processing of the blended nonwoven fabric, and hot pressing, as described in detail in (Patent Document 3). On the other hand, various types of fiber-reinforced thermoplastic materials useful as skin layers or other reinforcing zones are known. In particular, Patent Document 4 discloses a thermoplastically processable sheet-like composite material comprising (A) at least one nonwoven fabric layer containing 10 to 100% by weight of thermoplastic fibers and (B) a woven fabric of at least one reinforcing fiber, wherein the two layers A and B are needle-processed together. (Patent Document 5) discloses a process for manufacturing fiber-reinforced plastic molded articles. This process involves preheating a sheet of glass fiber-reinforced thermoplastic material, introducing the preheated sheet into a mold, and applying pressure to the material. International Publication No. 2015/117799International Publication No. 2006/133586International Publication No. 2006/105682International Publication No. 2006/111037European Patent Application Publication No. 0148763 The main steps of the manufacturing process according to the first embodiment are shown in a schematic perspective view.The main steps of the manufacturing process according to the first embodiment are shown in a schematic perspective view.The main steps of the manufacturing process according to the first embodiment are shown in a schematic perspective view.The main steps of the manufacturing process according to the second embodiment are shown in a schematic perspective view.The main steps of the manufacturing process according to the second embodiment are shown in a schematic perspective view.The main steps of the manufacturing process according to the second embodiment are shown in a schematic perspective view.A cross-sectional view shows a chamber loaded with a bulky thermoplastic body, a thermoplastic reinforcement, and a rigid filler.A perspective view shows a portion of the disassembled frame-like packing assembly.A cross-sectional view shows an example of a lightweight, structurally reinforced object made of thermoplastic material, configured as an H-shape.A cross-sectional view shows an example of a lightweight, structurally reinforced object made of thermoplastic material, constructed as a multi-layer tube.A lightweight, structurally reinforced object with a complex shape made of thermoplastic material is shown as a photographic representation from the first side.A lightweight, structurally reinforced object with a complex shape made of thermoplastic material is shown as a photographic representation from a second, opposite side. It should be understood that the figures are not necessarily drawn to a consistent scale. In some cases, relative dimensions are substantially distorted for the sake of easier visualization. Identical or corresponding features in various figures are generally given the same reference number. The basic principle of the present invention is shown in Figures 1 and 2, illustrating two embodiments, particularly a simple case ("A-B-A sandwich structure"). For simplicity of explanation, the principle of bulkiness is considered not in terms of volume V, but in terms of a single horizontal thickness dimension D. For illustrative purposes only, thermoplastic bulky body materials are shown with a diagonally lined texture at low temperatures and with a fully reddish texture at high temperatures exceeding their thermoplastic softening temperature. The rigid molding chamber, generally indicated by reference numeral 2, is defined by its chamber walls, of which the bottom wall 4, top wall 6, left wall 8, and right wall 10 are shown. Two further chamber walls, namely the front and rear walls, are not shown. At least one of these walls, for example, the top wall 6, is configured as an openable chamber lid. The molding chamber is shown disassem