Molding material connecting device and molding device

Abstract

A molding material connecting device and a molding device are provided. The molding material connecting device has: a cutting portion that cuts at least a part of a plurality of continuous fiber bundles for a molding material that is constituted by impregnating a resin material in the plurality of continuous fiber bundles, the molding material being supplied in a direction in which the continuous fiber bundles extend as a supply direction; and a joining portion that joins the resin material by heating the molding material on a downstream side of the supply direction with respect to a cut portion cut by the cutting portion and the molding material on an upstream side of the supply direction, or by heating a trailing end portion of a preceding molding material and a leading end portion of a subsequent molding material.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to a material connection device and a molding device. Background Technology

[0002] There are known three-dimensional model manufacturing apparatuses that suppress fiber bending and thus suppress the reduction of rigidity of three-dimensional parts (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-081292). Summary of the Invention

[0003] The purpose of this disclosure is to obtain a molding material connection device and a molding device capable of connecting and supplying molding materials together.

[0004] According to a first aspect of this disclosure, a molding material joining device is provided, comprising: a cutting portion for cutting at least a portion of a plurality of continuous fiber bundles for molding material, the molding material being formed by impregnating the plurality of continuous fiber bundles with resin material, the molding material being supplied with the direction of extension of the continuous fiber bundles as the supply direction; and a joining portion for joining the resin material by heating the cut portion of the molding material downstream of the supply direction and the molding material upstream of the supply direction, or by heating the end portion of a preceding molding material and the front portion of a subsequent molding material.

[0005] According to the second aspect of this disclosure, a supplementary part is provided, which supplements resin material for joining the resin material between the molding material on the downstream side of the cutting portion in the supply direction and the molding material on the upstream side of the supply direction, or supplements resin material for joining the resin material between the end portion of the preceding molding material and the front portion of the subsequent molding material.

[0006] According to the third aspect of this disclosure, the cutting portion cuts off all of the plurality of continuous fiber bundles.

[0007] According to a fourth aspect of this disclosure, a molding apparatus is provided, comprising: a first supply unit that supplies molding material, which is formed by impregnating a plurality of continuous fiber bundles with resin material, in the direction in which the continuous fiber bundles extend; a second supply unit disposed downstream of the first supply unit in the supply direction, which supplies the molding material; a heating unit that heats the molding material supplied by the second supply unit and supplies the molding material to a mounting stage; a pressurizing unit that pressurizes the molding material supplied to the mounting stage; and a molding material connecting device disposed between the first supply unit and the second supply unit, or disposed upstream of the first supply unit in the supply direction.

[0008] According to the fifth aspect of this disclosure, the shaping device has a control unit that controls the supply stop of the first supply unit and the second supply unit and the cutting action of the cutting unit, so that the shaping material can be cut at a time calculated based on the shaping data of shaping the object.

[0009] According to the sixth aspect of this disclosure, the heating unit is configured such that, under the control of the control unit, it moves relatively closer to or further away from the mounting platform. The control unit stops the supply of the first supply unit and the second supply unit at the moment when the cut portion of the shaping material is supplied to the mounting platform, and moves the heating unit relatively away from the mounting platform in such a way that the shaping material is cut from the cut portion.

[0010] According to the seventh aspect of this disclosure, the control unit stops the supply of the second supply unit when the end of the preceding shaping material reaches the cutting part, and controls the supply of the first supply unit in such a way that the front end of the subsequent shaping material reaches the cutting part.

[0011] (Effect)

[0012] According to the first solution, the shaping materials can be connected and supplied.

[0013] According to the second solution, compared to the case where only the resin material of the molding material is used for bonding, the resin material of the molding material can be easily bonded.

[0014] According to the third solution, it is possible to handle situations where the straight section needs to be shaped immediately after the twist section.

[0015] According to the fourth scheme, it is possible to create shapes using the connected and supplied shaping materials.

[0016] According to the fifth solution, compared with the case where the cutting action of the cutting part is performed without stopping the supply of the first supply unit and the second supply unit, the molding material can be joined with high precision.

[0017] According to the sixth solution, compared to the case where the heating element is moved relatively away from the mounting platform regardless of the timing when the cut portion of the molding material is supplied to the mounting platform, the generation of excess portions in the molding material can be suppressed or prevented.

[0018] According to the seventh solution, the replaced styling materials can be replenished smoothly. Attached Figure Description

[0019] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram showing the shaping device of this embodiment.

[0020] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram showing the modeling unit of the modeling device according to this embodiment.

[0021] Figure 3 This is a perspective view showing the material connection device of this embodiment.

[0022] Figure 4 This is a perspective view showing the modeling material when it is connected using the modeling material connecting device of this embodiment.

[0023] Figure 5 This is a perspective view showing a shaped object created using the sculpting device of this embodiment.

[0024] Figure 6 This is a cross-sectional view showing the molding material connecting device and the molding material used in the molding device in this embodiment. Detailed Implementation

[0025] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Furthermore, Figure 1 and Figure 2 Arrow H in the diagram indicates the upper part (vertical direction) of the shaping device 10, and arrow W indicates the width direction (horizontal direction) of the shaping device 10. Furthermore, the direction perpendicular to arrows H and W is defined as the depth direction (horizontal direction) of the shaping device 10.

[0026] The modeling device 10 in this embodiment is a three-dimensional modeling device (3D printer) using the Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) method. It calculates multi-layered layer data (modeling data) based on three-dimensional CAD information and overlaps the layers according to this data, thereby creating a model. Figure 5 The device for shaping the object 80 shown.

[0027] like Figure 6 As shown, the molding material (hot wire) 90 used in the molding device 10 of this embodiment is formed by impregnating a resin material 94 such as polyamide synthetic resin in the gaps between the continuous fibers of a continuous fiber bundle (hereinafter referred to as "fiber bundle") 92, which is formed by bundling together multiple continuous fibers without twisting.

[0028] As an example of continuous fiber, Toray Industries' T300 carbon fiber with a diameter of 0.005 mm can be used. A molding material 90 is constructed by bundling more than 1000 strands (3000 strands for example) of this continuous fiber. Furthermore, in Figure 6The number of continuous fibers is shown only briefly. Furthermore, as an example, the cross-section of the molding material 90 (fiber bundle 92) in this embodiment is formed as a circle with a diameter of 0.4 mm.

[0029] Furthermore, the direction in which the fiber bundle 92 extends is set to the supply direction of the molding material 90. Therefore, hereafter, the upstream side of the supply direction of the molding material 90 is sometimes referred to as the "upstream side", and the downstream side of the supply direction is sometimes referred to as the "downstream side".

[0030] like Figure 1 As shown, the molding device 10 has a molding chamber 20 and a storage chamber 70. Furthermore, as... Figure 2 As shown, the styling device 10 has a styling platform 14, which serves as a platform, a styling unit 12 disposed above the styling platform 14, a moving unit 18 for moving the styling unit 12, and a control unit 16 for controlling each component within the styling chamber 20.

[0031] <Styling Studio>

[0032] [Styling stand]

[0033] like Figure 1 , Figure 2 As shown, the molding table 14 is disposed on the lower side in the molding device 10 (molding chamber 20). In addition, the molding table 14 has a molding surface 14A that faces upward and is horizontal.

[0034] [Mobile Unit]

[0035] like Figure 2 As shown, the moving unit 18 is disposed on the upper side in the modeling device 10 (modeling chamber 20) and is constructed by combining existing mechanisms. Moreover, the moving unit 18 moves the modeling unit 12 in the width direction, depth direction and vertical direction, and then rotates the modeling unit 12 with the vertical direction as the axis.

[0036] [Styling Unit]

[0037] The molding unit 12 is disposed vertically between the molding table 14 and the moving unit 18. The molding unit 12 includes: a pulley 22 on which molding material 90 is wound; a feed roller 24, which is an example of a first supply unit, for supplying molding material 90; and a cutting unit 28 for cutting at least a portion of the molding material 90.

[0038] Furthermore, the molding unit 12 has a joining portion 30, which heats the molding material 90 downstream of the cut portion cut by the cutting portion 28 and the molding material 90 upstream of the cut portion to join the resin material 94, or as... Figure 4The resin material 94 is joined by heating the end portion of the preceding molding material 90F and the front portion of the subsequent molding material 90S as shown; and the delivery roller 26, as an example of the second supply section, is arranged downstream of the joining section 30 (delivery roller 24) to supply the molding material 90.

[0039] Furthermore, the cutting portion 28 and the joining portion 30 constitute the molding material connecting device 50. In addition, the cutting portion 28 and the joining portion 30 are arranged between the feed roller 24 and the feed roller 26 in the supply direction of the molding material 90.

[0040] In addition, the modeling unit 12 includes: a first heating unit 34, which supports and heats the modeling material 90 supplied by the delivery roller 26 and supplies the modeling material 90 to the modeling surface 14A of the modeling table 14; and a pressure unit 40, which applies pressure to the modeling material 90 supplied to the modeling surface 14A of the modeling table 14.

[0041] Furthermore, the shaping unit 12 includes: a second heating section 52 that heats the shaping material 90 from a position away from the shaping material 90; a third heating section 56 that heats the pressure section 40 from a position away from the pressure section 40; and a unit support section 60 that supports the entire shaping unit 12.

[0042] Furthermore, the styling unit 12 (styling material connecting device 50) has a supplementary section 33, which supplements new resin material (the same resin material as resin material 94) for bonding resin material 94 between the styling material 90 downstream of the cut portion cut by the cutting section 28 and the styling material 90 upstream of the cut portion, or supplements new resin material (the same resin material as resin material 94) for bonding resin material 94 between the end portion of the preceding styling material 90F and the front portion of the subsequent styling material 90S. Alternatively, the supplementary section 33 is not essential and may be omitted.

[0043] (Pulley)

[0044] like Figure 2 As shown, the pulley 22 is located in the modeling unit 12 on one side of the modeling device 10 in the width direction (the part on the right side of the figure), and the rotation axis direction of the pulley 22 is set to the depth direction.

[0045] The pulley 22 has: a cylindrical pulley body 22A; a shaft portion 22B that forms the rotation axis of the pulley body 22A; and a support bracket 22C that supports the shaft portion 22B. The support brackets 22C are configured as a pair, and the pair of support brackets 22C are arranged apart from the pulley body 22A in the depth direction.

[0046] Specifically, the support bracket 22C extends in the vertical direction, and a shaft portion 22B is supported at the lower end of the support bracket 22C. In this structure, four shaping materials 90 are wound around the pulley 22 in a depth direction.

[0047] (Feed-out roller)

[0048] like Figure 2 As shown, the feed roller 24 is positioned downstream of the pulley 22. The feed roller 24 includes: a drive roller 24A; a driven roller 24B; and a support bracket 24C that supports the drive roller 24A and the driven roller 24B.

[0049] The rotation axis direction of the drive roller 24A and the rotation axis direction of the driven roller 24B are set as the depth direction. Moreover, the drive roller 24A and the driven roller 24B clamp the four pieces of molding material 90 supplied via the pulley 22 in such a way that the downstream side of the supplied molding material 90 is positioned below the upstream side.

[0050] The support brackets 24C are configured as a pair, which are arranged in the depth direction with the drive roller 24A and the driven roller 24B separated. Specifically, the support brackets 24C extend in the vertical direction and support the drive roller 24A and the driven roller 24B at their lower ends.

[0051] The feed roller 26 is positioned downstream of the feed roller 24 (joint 30). The feed roller 26 includes: a drive roller 26A; a driven roller 26B; and a support bracket 26C that supports the drive roller 26A and the driven roller 26B.

[0052] The rotation axis direction of the drive roller 26A and the rotation axis direction of the driven roller 26B are set as the depth direction. Moreover, the drive roller 26A and the driven roller 26B clamp the four pieces of molding material 90 supplied by the feed roller 24 in a manner such that the downstream side of the supplied molding material 90 is positioned below the upstream side.

[0053] The support brackets 26C are configured as a pair, which are arranged in the depth direction with the drive roller 26A and the driven roller 26B separated. Specifically, the support brackets 26C extend in the vertical direction and support the drive roller 26A and the driven roller 26B at their lower ends.

[0054] In this structure, a drive roller 24A, driven by a motor (not shown), rotates, thereby supplying four molding materials 90 to the molding surface 14A. Then, a drive roller 26A, driven by a motor (not shown), rotates at the same speed as the drive roller 24A, thereby supplying four molding materials 90 to the molding surface 14A.

[0055] Thus, the four molding materials 90 supplied via pulley 22 are fed to the molding surface 14A of the molding table 14 via feed rollers 24 and 26, with the downstream side positioned below the upstream side. In this embodiment, as an example, the feed rollers 24 and 26 rotate to supply the molding materials 90 at a speed of 30 mm / sec or more and 100 mm / sec or less.

[0056] (Cut section)

[0057] The cutting section 28 has four cutting blades 28A, which individually cut each of the four shaping materials 90. Furthermore, in this embodiment, "cutting at least a portion" includes both the case of cutting while retaining a portion of the fiber bundle 92 (the number of fibers that are easily cut when the shaping material 90 is pulled) and the case of cutting all of the fiber bundle 92.

[0058] (Joint)

[0059] like Figure 3 As shown, the joint 30 has a pair of rectangular flat clamping members 32 with the supply direction as the length direction. At the center of the inner surface of the pair of opposing clamping members 32, a recess 32A with a generally semi-circular arc shape is formed to clamp the shaping material 90 for pressure in a manner that extends along the length direction.

[0060] Furthermore, the pair of clamping members 32 are configured, via a known mechanism not shown, to be able to move in both directions of approaching (contacting) and moving away from each other. Additionally, the state in which the inner surfaces of the pair of clamping members 32 approach each other (contact) will be referred to as the "closed state," and the state in which their inner surfaces move away from each other will be referred to as the "open state."

[0061] Furthermore, when the pair of clamping members 32 are in the closed state, the inner diameter of the circular hole formed by the recess 32A is slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the molding material 90. This results in a structure where the molding material 90 is clamped and pressurized by the pair of clamping members 32.

[0062] Furthermore, plate-shaped heaters (not shown) are embedded inside each of the pair of clamping members 32 (heaters are built into each of the pair of clamping members 32). As an example, the heaters heat the molding material 90, which is clamped and pressurized by the pair of clamping members 32, to a temperature of 250°C to 300°C.

[0063] Therefore, the resin material 94 of the molding material 90 melts, connecting the molding material 90 downstream of the cut portion cut by the cut portion 28 to the molding material 90 upstream, or as... Figure 4As shown, the end face 90E of the end portion of the preceding shaping material 90F is connected to the front face 90T of the front portion of the subsequent shaping material 90S.

[0064] In addition, by closing the pair of clamping members 32, the temperature of the heated molding material 90 decreases. However, in order to promote the bonding of the resin material 94 in the molding material 90, a cooling section (not shown) for cooling the molding material 90 may be provided on the downstream side of the bonding section 30 and the upstream side of the delivery roller 26.

[0065] (First heating section)

[0066] The first heating section 34 is positioned downstream of the feed roller 26. The first heating section 34 includes: a tube component 35 through which the molding material 90 passes; a main body 36 that is supported in a manner surrounding the tube component 35; a plate-shaped heater (not shown); and a support bracket 38.

[0067] The tube components 35 are formed of metal material, and for example, there are four tube components 35. The four tube components 35 are arranged in the depth direction. Furthermore, when viewed from the depth direction, the tube components 35 extend obliquely in the supply direction of the molding material 90 such that the downstream end of the tube component 35 is below the upstream end of the tube component 35.

[0068] The main body 36 is a cuboid shape made of metal material, and when viewed from the depth direction, it is formed as a rectangle extending in the supply direction of the molding material 90. Moreover, a portion of the tube component 35 is surrounded by the main body 36. In addition, an opening is formed in the downstream portion of the main body 36 in the supply direction of the molding material 90, so that the four tube components 35 are exposed upwards (illustration omitted).

[0069] The heater is disposed inside the main body 36. Specifically, the heater is disposed on the upstream side of the main body 36 in the supply direction of the molding material 90. For example, the heater heats the main body 36 and the pipe component 35 to 200°C or higher and 250°C.

[0070] The support brackets 38 are configured as a pair, and the pair of support brackets 38 are arranged apart from the main body 36 in the depth direction. Specifically, the support brackets 38 extend in the vertical direction in a bent state and support the main body 36 at their lower ends.

[0071] In this structure, the first heating unit 34 heats the four molding materials 90 by means of a heater, thereby softening the resin constituting the molding materials 90. Furthermore, the softened four molding materials 90 are supplied to the molding surface 14A of the molding table 14 through the four tube components 35 provided by the first heating unit 34.

[0072] In this way, each molding material 90 passes through each tube component 35, thereby being positioned at the supply position for supply to the molding surface 14A (molding table 14). That is, the first heating unit 34 also functions as a positioning member for determining the supply position of the molding material 90. In addition, in this embodiment, as an example, at the part where the molding material 90 is discharged from the tube component 35, the spacing (center-to-center distance) between adjacent molding materials 90 is set to 1 mm.

[0073] (Pressure section)

[0074] The pressure section 40 is positioned downstream of the first heating section 34. The pressure section 40 includes a roller section 42 and a support section 48 that supports the roller section 42. The roller section 42 is configured to hold four pieces of molding material 90 discharged from the first heating section 34 between itself and the molding surface 14A of the molding table 14, with the axial direction as the depth direction.

[0075] Furthermore, the roller portion 42 has a shaft portion 46 extending in the depth direction and a main body portion 44 with a circular cross-section. In addition, the length of the main body portion 44 in the depth direction is longer than the length from the tube member 35 disposed at the foremost side to the tube member 35 disposed at the innermost side in the depth direction.

[0076] In addition, the support portion 48 has: a pair of support plates 48A, which are arranged in the depth direction across the roller portion 42; a main body portion 48B, which is connected to the upper end of the pair of support plates 48A; and a force-applying member (not shown), which applies force to the roller portion 42 toward the molding table 14.

[0077] A pair of support plates 48A extend vertically with the thickness direction as the depth direction. Furthermore, a shaft portion 46 of a roller portion 42 is mounted at the lower end of each support plate 48A. Additionally, the lower end of the main body portion 48B is mounted at the upper end of each support plate 48A, separated by a force-applying member. Moreover, a support bracket 38 for the first heating unit 34 is mounted on one support plate 48A, and another support bracket 38 for the first heating unit 34 is mounted on the other support plate 48A.

[0078] The main body 48B extends vertically, and the upper end of the support plate 48A is mounted on the lower end of the main body 48B, with a force-applying member as a buffer. In this structure, the pressure-applying part 40 applies pressure to the molding material 90 towards the molding surface 14A of the molding table 14 with a predetermined load through the force of the force-applying member. In this embodiment, as an example, the pressure-applying part 40 applies a load of 20 N / cm. 2 Above 50N / cm 2 The following pressure is applied to the molding material 90 towards the molding surface 14A.

[0079] (Second heating section)

[0080] The second heating element 52 is disposed on the upper side relative to the first heating element 34. The second heating element 52 includes: a housing 52A; an infrared lamp (not shown) disposed inside the housing 52A; and a support bracket 54.

[0081] The housing 52A is formed as a bottomed cylindrical shape that opens towards the first heating part 34. That is, the opening of the housing 52A faces the first heating part 34 and the roller part 42. In other words, the infrared lamp is configured to irradiate infrared light from the opening of the housing 52A toward the first heating part 34 and the roller part 42.

[0082] Furthermore, the support bracket 54 is roughly L-shaped when viewed from the depth direction. Moreover, a portion of the support bracket 54 on one side is mounted to the upper end of the housing 52A, and a portion of the support bracket 54 on the other side is mounted to the side of the main body 48B of the support portion 48.

[0083] In this structure, the second heating unit 52 uses an infrared lamp to heat the portion of the molding material 90 passing through the tube member 35 through an opening facing the main body 36 in the first heating unit 34. Furthermore, the second heating unit 52 uses an infrared lamp to heat the portion of the molding material 90 that exits from the first heating unit 34 and reaches the engagement portion N between the roller 42 and the molding surface 14A. Thus, the second heating unit 52 functions as a heating unit for heating the portion of the molding material 90 that exits from the first heating unit 34 and reaches the engagement portion N.

[0084] (Third heating section)

[0085] The third heating unit 56 is disposed on the opposite side of the first heating unit 34, across the pressure unit 40 in the width direction of the molding device 10. The third heating unit 56 includes: a housing 56A; a warm air heater (not shown), disposed inside the housing 56A; and a support bracket 58.

[0086] The housing 56A is formed as a bottomed cylindrical shape that opens towards the roller portion 42 of the pressurizing part 40. That is, the opening of the housing 56A faces the roller portion 42 of the pressurizing part 40. In other words, the warm air heater is configured to blow warm air from the opening of the housing 56A toward the roller portion 42 of the pressurizing part 40.

[0087] Furthermore, the support bracket 58 includes: a main body portion 58A, which is approximately "L"-shaped when viewed from the depth direction; and a housing support portion 58B on which a housing 56A is mounted. The housing support portion 58B extends in a generally vertical direction, and the housing 56A is mounted at the lower end of the housing support portion 58B. Additionally, the upper portion of the housing support portion 58B is mounted in a portion on one side of the main body portion 58A, and the other portion of the main body portion 58A is mounted in the side of the main body portion 48B of the support portion 48.

[0088] In this structure, the third heating unit 56 heats the roller portion 42 of the pressure unit 40 using a warm air heater. That is, the roller portion 42 is heated from one side of the molding device 10 in the width direction by the second heating unit 52, and from the other side of the molding device 10 in the width direction by the third heating unit 56. Thus, the third heating unit 56 functions as a heating unit for heating the roller portion 42 of the pressure unit 40.

[0089] (Unit support section)

[0090] The unit support 60 includes: a main body 62 disposed on the lower side of the movable unit 18, on which various components are mounted; and an intermediate part 64, the lower end of which is mounted on the main body 62 and the upper end of which is mounted on the movable unit 18.

[0091] The main body 62 is formed as a plate with the thickness direction as the vertical direction. Furthermore, the upper end of the main body 48B of the pressure part 40, the upper end of the support bracket 24C of the feed roller 24, the upper end of the support bracket 26C of the feed roller 26, and the upper end of the support bracket 22C of the pulley 22 are mounted on the lower surface 62A of the main body 62.

[0092] In this structure, the unit support 60 (shaping unit 12) moves in the width direction, depth direction, and vertical direction by means of the moving unit 18 controlled by the control unit 16. As a result, the first heating unit 34 is structured to be close to or far away from the shaping surface 14A (shaping table 14), and the shaping material 90 supplied from the pipe component 35 of the first heating unit 34 can be supplied to the corresponding part of the desired engagement part N.

[0093] [Control Department]

[0094] The control unit 16 uses layer data (modeling data) based on the three-dimensional data of the input model 80 to control the moving unit 18, the delivery rollers 24 and 26, the heater of the first heating unit 34, the infrared lamp of the second heating unit 52, the warm air heater of the third heating unit 56, the cutting unit 28, and the joining unit 30.

[0095] In particular, the control unit 16 controls the stopping of the supply of the feed rollers 24 and 26 and the cutting action of the cutting unit 28 in a manner that the cutting action is calculated based on the layer data (modeling data) of the three-dimensional data of the modeling object 80.

[0096] In addition, the control unit 16 performs the following control: when the cut portion of the molding material 90 cut by the cutting unit 28 is supplied to the molding surface 14A, the supply of the delivery rollers 24 and 26 is stopped, and the first heating unit 34 is moved away from the molding surface 14A (molding table 14) in such a way that the molding material 90 is cut from the cut portion.

[0097] Furthermore, the control unit 16 stops the supply of the feed roller 26 when the end portion (end surface 90E) of the preceding molding material 90F reaches the cutting section 28, and controls the supply of the feed roller 24 in such a way that the front end portion (front surface 90T) of the subsequent molding material 90S reaches the cutting section 28.

[0098] <Storage Room>

[0099] like Figure 1 As shown, a rotatable spool 72 is provided on the upper part of the storage chamber 70, and a molding material 90 is wound on the spool 72. That is, there are 4 spools 72 arranged in the depth direction, and the molding material 90 fed from each spool 72 is supplied to the feed roller 24 via the pulley 66 provided in the molding chamber 20 and the aforementioned pulley 22.

[0100] Furthermore, a replacement spool 74 is provided at the lower part of the storage chamber 70, on which molding material 90 is wound. The number of replacement spools 74 is not particularly limited, but like spool 72, multiple spools are arranged in the depth direction. In addition, the molding material 90 fed from spool 72 is the preceding molding material 90F, and the molding material 90 fed from spool 74 is the subsequent molding material 90S.

[0101] <Artwork>

[0102] like Figure 5 As shown, the sculpted object 80 of this embodiment is a shape in which a large-diameter portion 82 and a small-diameter portion 84 with different outer and inner diameters are connected by a flat connecting portion 86. The mass of the sculpted object 80 is 2.59 kg, and its width in the length direction is 0.68 m. Therefore, when four pieces of sculpting material 90 are shaped side by side, each piece weighs 2.59 kg / 4 = 647.5 g.

[0103] Here, the amount of material 90 wound on a single spool 72 (winding length) is 1590m, and its mass is 500g. Therefore, when making a model 80 that requires 647.5g of material 90, at least one spool 72 needs to be replaced (replenished) with a replacement spool 74.

[0104] The function of the material connecting device 50 and the shaping device 10, which are formed with the structure described above, will be explained below.

[0105] As described above, when creating the sculpted object 80, four scrolls 72 are insufficient; an additional scroll 74 is required. Here, the sculpting apparatus 10 of this embodiment includes a joint 30 that serves as a sculpting material connecting device 50. Therefore, the sculpting material 90 is supplied continuously and continuously.

[0106] Specifically, when the end (end face 90E) of the molding material 90 supplied from the first reel 72 of the four reels 72 reaches the cutting section 28, the feed rollers 24 and 26 are stopped. Then, the first empty reel 72 is removed, a replacement reel 74 is installed, the molding material 90 of the reel 74 is wound around the pulley 22, and the feed roller 24 is driven until its front end (front face 90T) reaches the cutting section 28.

[0107] Thus, the front end face 90T of the subsequent shaping material 90S delivered from the reel 74 is joined to the end face 90E of the end portion of the preceding shaping material 90F (see reference). Figure 4 The molding materials 90F and 90S, in this docking state, are disposed at the joint 30. Furthermore, this configuration is controlled by the control unit 16.

[0108] That is, the control unit 16 stops the supply of the feed rollers 24 and 26 when the end portion (end surface 90E) of the preceding molding material 90F reaches the cutting section 28. Then, the supply of the feed roller 24 is controlled so that the front end portion (front surface 90T) of the subsequent molding material 90S reaches the cutting section 28. In this state, the feed rollers 24 and 26 rotate synchronously by a predetermined amount, thereby positioning the end surface 90E of the preceding molding material 90F and the front surface 90T of the subsequent molding material 90S between a pair of clamping members 32 in an open state, with the two materials in a mating state.

[0109] Then, the pair of clamping members 32 are closed to pressurize the end portion of the molding material 90F and the front portion of the molding material 90S, and heated to, for example, 270°C by a heater disposed therein. As a result, the resin material 94 in the end portion of the molding material 90F and the resin material 94 in the front portion of the molding material 90S melt and bond together. Furthermore, it is the resin material 94 that is bonded at this time, not the fiber bundle 92. That is, the fiber bundle 92 is not bonded.

[0110] However, since the resin materials 94 are bonded together, when the pair of clamping members 32 are in the open state and the molding material 90 is supplied by the feed rollers 24 and 26, even if the molding material 90S connected to the molding material 90F is stretched by the feed rollers 26, the bonding surfaces of the molding material 90F and the molding material 90S will not separate. Therefore, molding can continue using the molded material 90S supplied together.

[0111] Thus, according to this embodiment, in the molding apparatus 10, the replaced subsequent molding material 90S is smoothly supplied to the preceding molding material 90F. Therefore, the decrease in layer formation efficiency during molding can be suppressed, and the generation of defective parts such as parting lines can be suppressed. In addition, it is preferable to control the supply portion by the control unit 16 so that it reaches the portion of the molded object 80 that does not affect its strength.

[0112] Furthermore, the subsequent shaping material 90S is supplied in a state of engagement with the preceding shaping material 90F. Therefore, compared to a structure in which the subsequent shaping material 90S is supplied in a state of non-engagement with the preceding shaping material 90F, even if the subsequent shaping material 90S is softened at the outlet of the pipe component 35, the undesirable situation of the shaping material 90S being blocked at the outlet of the pipe component 35 will not occur.

[0113] Alternatively, resin material can be added from the supplementary part 33 when joining the end face 90E of the molding material 90F to the front face 90T of the molding material 90S. Therefore, compared to the case where only the resin material 94 of the molding material 90 is used for joining, the resin material 94 in the end face 90E of the molding material 90F can be easily joined to the resin material 94 in the front face 90T of the molding material 90S.

[0114] Furthermore, sometimes the delivery roller 26 in the molding device 10 is configured to rotate axially about the supply direction of the molding material 90. That is, sometimes the molding material 90 is supplied to the molding surface 14A in a twisted state to bend the object, and then the object is shaped. Moreover, in this case, sometimes the molding material 90 is supplied to the molding surface 14A in a normal, non-twisted state from the middle and the object is shaped.

[0115] In this case, this embodiment is feasible. That is, in the molding material 90, the boundary between the twisted portion in the twisted state and the straight portion in the untwisted state is cut off using the cutting part 28. In this case, the cutting means cutting off the entire fiber bundle 92. Furthermore, when cutting using the cutting part 28, the rotation of the feed roller 24 and the feed roller 26 is stopped.

[0116] Then, the feed rollers 24 and 26 are rotated synchronously, and the cut portion cut by the cut section 28 is placed in the joining section 30. That is, the cut portion is clamped (pressurized) and heated by a pair of clamping members 32 to join (at this time, resin material can also be replenished from the replenishment section 33). As a result, the portion downstream of the cut portion is a twisted shaping material 90 (becoming the twisted portion), and the portion upstream of the cut portion is an untwisted, normal shaping material 90 (becoming the straight portion).

[0117] Thus, in this embodiment, it is possible to handle situations where the straight section needs to be shaped immediately after the twisting section (the twisting section and the straight section can be supplied together). Furthermore, the stopping of the supply of the feed rollers 24 and 26 and the cutting operation of the cutting section 28 are controlled by the control unit 16. Therefore, compared to the case where the cutting operation of the cutting section 28 is performed without stopping the supply of the feed rollers 24 and 26, the shaping material 90 can be joined with high precision.

[0118] Furthermore, in the molding apparatus 10, sometimes when molding the Nth layer (N is a natural number) and then molding the (N+1)th layer, the molding material 90 is cut at the end of the Nth layer. Therefore, in existing molding apparatuses (not shown), a cutting section (not shown) is provided downstream of the first heating section 34 to address this.

[0119] However, in this case, due to limitations in the location of the cutting section, a portion of the shaping material 90 remains in an excess state at the end of the Nth layer. Furthermore, if the shaping material 90 is not cut at the end of the Nth layer, it is necessary to prepare a shaping material 90 of a length corresponding to the Nth layer.

[0120] According to this embodiment, the problem can also be solved. First, the control unit 16 detects the end portion of the Nth layer based on the layer data (shape data) of the three-dimensional data of the shaped object 80. Then, based on the detection result, the control unit 16 calculates the remaining necessary amount (length) of the shaped material 90 up to the end portion of the Nth layer, and cuts the shaped material 90 by the cutting unit 28 to the corresponding length.

[0121] In this case, either the entire fiber bundle 92 can be cut off, or only a portion of the fiber bundle 92 can be cut off, leaving only a few fibers. However, the number of fibers left uncut is the number that would be easily cut off as the first heating section 34 moves away from the shaping surface 14A.

[0122] Next, the cut molding material 90 (the molding material 90 downstream of the cut portion and the molding material 90 upstream of the cut portion) is sent to the joining portion 30, and pressure and heat are applied as described above, so that the resin material 94 melts and joins (at this time, resin material can also be added from the replenishment portion 33). After joining, heating and pressure are stopped, and the molding material 90 is supplied to the molding surface 14A through the delivery rollers 24 and 26 to shape the Nth layer.

[0123] Therefore, at the end of the Nth layer of molding, the process ends at the cut portion of the molding material 90. Thus, when the drive of the conveyor rollers 24 and 26 is stopped at this moment and the first heating unit 34 is moved away from the molding surface 14A (molding table 14), the molding material 90 is bonded only by the resin material 94 (or only by the resin material 94 and a few fibers), and can therefore be easily broken (cut) from the cut portion by stretching alone.

[0124] In this way, the molding material 90 is pre-cut and supplied in such a way that it is only used to shape the Nth layer (supplied in a state where only the resin material 94 is bonded), so the problem of the molding material 90 being left in excess when it is cut off at the end of the shaping of the Nth layer is improved.

[0125] In other words, compared to the case where the control unit 16 moves the first heating unit 34 relatively away from the modeling table 14 regardless of the timing of supplying the cut portion of the modeling material 90 to the modeling surface 14A of the modeling table 14, the generation of excess portions in the modeling material 90 can be suppressed or prevented.

[0126] Furthermore, the molding material 90 can be easily cut from the cutting portion simply by moving the first heating section 34 away from the molding surface 14A of the molding table 14. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide the cutting portion for cutting the molding material 90 downstream of the first heating section 34. Thus, it is also possible to suppress or prevent the occurrence of poor cut surface shape when the material is cut by the cutting portion.

[0127] The above description of the molding material connecting device 50 and molding device 10 of this embodiment has been based on the accompanying drawings. However, the molding material connecting device 50 and molding device 10 of this embodiment are not limited to the contents shown in the drawings, and appropriate design changes can be made without departing from the spirit of this disclosure.

[0128] For example, the cutting section 28 can be used to cut off the middle of the shaping material 90 fed from one of the four spools 72, and the spool 72 can be replaced with a replacement spool 74. The shaping material 90 is fed from the spool 74 and the shaping material 90S fed from the spool 74 is joined with the previous shaping material 90F fed from the spool 72.

[0129] Therefore, it can handle situations where the shaping material 90 with a different number of fiber bundles 92 is used from the middle of the process (for example, changing from 3000 to 5000), or situations where the material of the shaping material 90 is to be changed (for example, changing to a shaping material with fiber bundles that are not carbon fiber or a shaping material with resin that is not polyamide synthetic resin).

[0130] In addition, such as Figure 1 As shown by the imaginary line, the joining part 30 (including the cutting part 28 and the supplementary part 33) can also be provided on the downstream side of the pulley 66 and the upstream side of the pulley 22. That is, the joining part 30 (including the cutting part 28 and the supplementary part 33) can also be provided at a position upstream of the feed roller 24.

Claims

1. A molding material connecting device, disposed between a first supply unit and a second supply unit, or disposed upstream of the first supply unit in the supply direction, wherein the first supply unit supplies molding material, formed by impregnating a plurality of continuous fiber bundles with resin material, in the direction in which the continuous fiber bundles extend, and the second supply unit is disposed downstream of the first supply unit in the supply direction to supply the molding material, wherein... The molding material connecting device has: A cutting section, which cuts at least a portion of the plurality of continuous fiber bundles in relation to the shaping material; as well as The resin material is joined by heating the cut portion cut by the cutting portion on the downstream side of the supply direction and the cutting portion on the upstream side of the supply direction, or by heating the end portion of the preceding cutting material and the front portion of the subsequent cutting material.

2. The molding material connecting device according to claim 1, wherein, The molding material connecting device has a replenishment section that replenishes resin material for bonding the resin material between the molding material downstream of the cut portion in the supply direction and the molding material upstream of the supply direction, or replenishes resin material for bonding the resin material between the end portion of the preceding molding material and the front portion of the subsequent molding material.

3. The molding material connecting device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, The cutting section cuts all of the plurality of continuous fiber bundles.

4. A modeling device, comprising: The first supply unit supplies a molding material made by impregnating resin material in multiple continuous fiber bundles in the direction of extension of the continuous fiber bundles. The second supply unit is located downstream of the first supply unit in the supply direction and supplies the shaping material. A heating unit heats the molding material supplied by the second supply unit and supplies it to the mounting platform; A pressurizing unit that pressurizes the molding material supplied to the mounting platform; as well as The molding material connecting device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 is disposed between the first supply part and the second supply part, or disposed at a position upstream of the first supply part in the supply direction.

5. The shaping device according to claim 4, wherein, The shaping device has a control unit that controls the supply stop of the first supply unit and the second supply unit and the cutting action of the cutting unit, so that the shaping material can be cut at a time calculated based on the shaping data of the shaped object.

6. The shaping device according to claim 5, wherein, The heating element is configured to move closer to or further away from the mounting platform relative to the control unit. The control unit stops the supply of the first and second supply units when the cut portion of the shaping material is supplied to the platform, and moves the heating unit away from the platform in such a way that the shaping material is cut from the cut portion.

7. The shaping device according to claim 5 or 6, wherein, The control unit stops the supply of the second supply unit when the end of the preceding shaping material reaches the cutting part, and controls the supply of the first supply unit in such a way that the front end of the subsequent shaping material reaches the cutting part.

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