Continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastic prepreg preparation system and preparation method

Abstract

The present invention relates to a continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastic prepreg preparation system and method. The system includes a drying device for drying the fibers; an impregnation device, which is arranged behind the drying device along the fiber feed direction and is used to impregnate the fibers with resin; two dispersing combs, which are arranged behind the impregnation device and are arranged one above the other to disperse and organize the impregnated yarn bundles; a shaping device, which is arranged behind the dispersing combs and is used to shape the impregnated fibers; and a cooling device, which is arranged behind the shaping device and is used to cool the shaped fibers. The cooling device includes two cooling rollers arranged one above the other and sandwiches the fibers. The present invention adopts a melt impregnation method, and the resin flows dynamically throughout the impregnation process, thereby avoiding degradation at high temperatures and improving the impregnation effect and efficiency.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the field of prepreg yarn preparation, in particular to a continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastic prepreg yarn preparation system and preparation method. Background Art

[0002] Fiber-reinforced thermoplastic prepreg yarn is a single bundle of fibers impregnated with thermoplastic resin. The impregnated yarn has a high strength, usually reaching over 800MPa, and the length of a single bundle of prepreg yarn can reach over a kilometer.

[0003] The powder method used in the prior art to prepare prepreg yarn has low production efficiency, the powder sprinkling results in uneven distribution of fibers and resin, and the resin content is difficult to control.

[0004] The existing technology involves impregnating fibers with resin in a resin tank, followed by curing in a heating device. This fiber impregnation method is suitable for unpolymerized PA6 monomers, with a relatively limited applicable resin system and a relatively narrow scope of application. The entire process is divided into two steps: impregnation in the resin tank and polymerization in the heating device, requiring polymerization of the resin monomer, resulting in low efficiency. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In order to improve the impregnation efficiency and the impregnation effect, the present invention provides a continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastic prepreg yarn preparation system and preparation method.

[0006] The present invention provides a continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastic prepreg preparation system and preparation method using the following technical solutions:

[0007] In one aspect, a continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastic prepreg preparation system comprises

[0008] A drying device, wherein the drying device is used to dry the fibers;

[0009] Impregnation device; the impregnation device is arranged after the drying device along the fiber feed direction, and the impregnation device is used to impregnate the fiber with resin;

[0010] Two distributing combs, which are arranged behind the impregnation device, and are arranged one above the other to distribute and arrange the impregnated wire bundles;

[0011] A shaping device, which is arranged behind the dispersing comb and is used to shape the impregnated fibers;

[0012] A cooling device is provided after the shaping device and is used to cool the shaped fiber. The cooling device comprises two cooling rollers arranged one above the other, and the two cooling rollers sandwich the fiber.

[0013] Optionally, it further comprises a wire rack, wherein the wire rack is provided with a plurality of wire rollers, and the wire rollers are provided with winding fibers, and the fibers on the plurality of wire rollers are output to the drying device.

[0014] Optionally, it further comprises a first guide wheel and a second guide wheel, wherein the first guide wheel is arranged in front of the oven, and the second guide wheel is arranged after the impregnation device and in front of the dispersion comb.

[0015] Optionally, the shaping device includes two sets of shaping rollers; each set of shaping rollers includes two shaping rollers arranged one above the other, and the two shaping rollers in each set of shaping rollers clamp the fibers.

[0016] Optionally, the cooling roller and the shaping roller are both hollow rollers, and cooling liquid is passed through the cooling roller and the shaping roller.

[0017] Optionally, the impregnation device is a closed melt impregnation mold having interlaced impregnation corrugations; the melt impregnation mold is connected to an extruder, and the extruder extrudes resin into the melt impregnation mold.

[0018] Optionally, the resin material in the extruder is one of PP, PE, PA, PET, PPS, and PEEK; the fiber is one of glass fiber, carbon fiber, aramid fiber, and basalt fiber.

[0019] Alternatively, on the other hand, a method for preparing a continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastic prepreg comprises:

[0020] The fiber is drawn from multiple rollers on the wire rack and transported to the drying device, where it is dried and preheated;

[0021] The preheated fiber enters the impregnation device, which is a melt impregnation mold. The fiber passes through the interlaced impregnation corrugations in the melt impregnation mold. At the same time, the resin in the melt impregnation mold wraps around the fiber. The fiber moves from the melt impregnation mold to the shaping device.

[0022] Before moving the shaping device, multiple fibers are divided into two rows, one above the other. Each row of fibers passes through a dispersion comb to disperse the partially adhered fibers in each row, making each row of fibers relatively independent and arranged in bundles. The fibers are then transported to the shaping device.

[0023] The shaping device cools and shapes the fibers, and after cooling and shaping, the fibers are transported to the cooling roller. After the cooling roller cools all the fibers, the fibers are wound to form finished fiber rolls.

[0024] Optionally, after the fibers are output from the cooling roller, they are pulled by a traction roller, and each fiber is independently wound up to form a finished fiber roll.

[0025] Optionally, the first guide roller guides the fibers on each wire roller to the drying device; there are two second guide rollers, and the two second guide rollers respectively transport two rows of wire bundles to the shaping roller group.

[0026] In summary, the present invention includes at least one of the following beneficial technical effects:

[0027] The unique upper and lower setting of two shaping rollers is adopted. After the fiber bundles are impregnated in the mold and are tightly arranged, they are separated into two layers of staggered fiber bundles by two upper and lower dispersing combs. The dispersing combs ensure that the fibers will not be disordered and pass through the upper and lower shaping rollers evenly and orderly. The fiber bundles after shaping are independent, which is convenient for subsequent winding.

[0028] The melt impregnation method employed allows for dynamic resin flow throughout the impregnation process, preventing degradation at high temperatures. Furthermore, the melt impregnation method can process a wide range of resins, expanding its application. The entire production process requires no auxiliary materials or tools, resulting in virtually no waste, and all raw materials are converted into finished fiber rolls. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0029] Figure 1 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a system for preparing continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastic prepreg yarn according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

[0030] Figure 2 It is a partial structural diagram of a system for preparing continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastic prepreg yarn according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0031] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of a system for preparing continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastic prepreg yarn according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[0032] Figure 4 It is a partial structural schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastic prepreg yarn preparation system according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[0033] Figure 5 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a shaping roller in a system for preparing continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastic prepreg yarn according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[0034] Figure 6 Schematic diagram of the impregnation corrugations of the melt impregnation mold of the continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastic prepreg preparation system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0035] Figure 7 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a dispersion comb in a system for preparing continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastic prepreg yarn according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[0036] Explanation of the accompanying symbols: 1. Wire rack; 2. Fiber; 3. First guide wheel; 4. Drying device; 5. Melt impregnation mold; 6. Second guide wheel; 7. Dispersion comb; 8. Shaping roller; 9. Cooling roller; 10. Pulling roller; 11. Finished fiber roll. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0038] First embodiment

[0039] The first embodiment of the present invention discloses a continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastic prepreg preparation system, comprising a drying device 4, an impregnation device, a dispersion comb 7, a shaping device, and a cooling device, which are sequentially arranged along the conveying and processing direction of the fiber 2. The drying device 4 is used to dry the fiber 2; the impregnation device is used to impregnate the dried fiber 2 with resin; the impregnation device then impregnates the fiber 2 with resin and arranges the fiber 2 in two rows, one above the other. Correspondingly, there are two dispersion combs 7, which are arranged one above the other and are used to disperse and organize the impregnated strands; the shaping device is used to shape the impregnated fiber 2; the cooling device is used to cool the shaped fiber 2, and the cooling device includes two cooling rollers 9 arranged one above the other, which sandwich the fiber 2; after the cooling device cools the fiber 2, the fiber 2 is reeled up to form a finished fiber roll 11.

[0040] More specifically, the shaping device in this embodiment includes two sets of shaping rollers; each set includes two shaping rollers 8 arranged one above the other, with the two shaping rollers 8 in each set sandwiching the fibers 2. Both the cooling roller 9 and the shaping roller 8 are hollow rollers, and cooling liquid is passed through the cooling rollers 9 and 8.

[0041] The present invention utilizes a dispersion comb 7 to separate the bonded fibers 2 into separate bundles of fibers 2, so that the plurality of prepreg fibers 2 are independently arranged in bundles and transported to the next process in an orderly manner.

[0042] In this embodiment, the drying device 4 is an oven, which heats and dries the fibers 2 while providing preheating.

[0043] The impregnation device is a closed melt impregnation mold 5, refer to Figure 6 , the melt impregnation mold 5 has mutually staggered impregnation corrugations; the melt impregnation mold 5 is connected to an extruder, and the extruder extrudes resin into the melt impregnation mold 5. The closed melt impregnation mold 5 with staggered corrugations has high impregnation efficiency and fast production speed. The production speed can reach more than 10m / min, and continuous production is possible. At the same time, the melt impregnation mold 5 can impregnate multiple fiber bundles at the same time, even up to hundreds of them, thereby improving production efficiency. Most importantly, the fibers 2 are violently intertwined when passing through the staggered impregnation corrugations, and the fibers 2 can be fully impregnated, thereby ensuring the mechanical properties of the product.

[0044] Among them, more importantly, the fiber bundles that are tightly arranged after mold impregnation are divided into two layers of staggered fiber bundles after passing through the upper and lower dispersion combs 7; that is, multiple fiber bundles in one row are divided into two upper and lower rows of multiple fiber bundles and the fibers 2 in the upper row and the fibers 2 in the lower row are staggered perpendicular to the direction of fiber movement.

[0045] The resin material in the extruder is selected from PP, PE, PA, PET, PPS, and PEEK; the fiber 2 is selected from glass fiber 2, carbon fiber 2, aramid fiber 2, and basalt fiber 2. The melt impregnation method employed in the present invention allows for dynamic resin flow throughout the impregnation process, preventing degradation at high temperatures. Furthermore, the melt impregnation method can process a variety of resins, offering a wider range of applications. Furthermore, the entire production process requires no auxiliary materials or tools, and the closed melt impregnation mold 5 generates virtually no waste, allowing all raw materials to be converted into finished products with high conversion efficiency.

[0046] The continuous fiber 2 reinforced thermoplastic prepreg preparation system in this embodiment also includes a wire rack 1, which is arranged in front of the drying device 4. The wire rack 1 is provided with a plurality of wire rollers, on which the winding fibers 2 are arranged, and the fibers 2 on the multiple wire rollers are output to the drying device 4.

[0047] A drawing roller 10 is provided behind the cooling roller; the drawing roller 10 clamps and draws a row of fibers, and finally the drawn fibers are rolled up into a finished fiber roll.

[0048] The continuous fiber 2 reinforced thermoplastic prepreg preparation system in this embodiment also includes a first guide wheel 3 and a second guide wheel 6. The first guide wheel 3 is arranged before the drying device 4, and the second guide wheel 6 is arranged after the impregnation device and before the dispersing comb 7.

[0049] The process flow is as follows: Fiber 2 is pulled from the wire rack 1 and passes through the first guide wheel 3 in sequence, forming a row of fibers 2 and entering the oven, where the fibers 2 are preheated by heating;

[0050] After preheating, a row of fibers 2 enters the melt impregnation mold 5 and is impregnated with the corrugated impregnation resin in the melt impregnation mold 5;

[0051] The impregnated fibers 2 emerge from the melt impregnation die 5. A row of fibers 2 passes through the second guide wheel 6 and is divided into two rows, upper and lower, and enters the corresponding shaping roller group for shaping.

[0052] After the fibers 2 are shaped, two rows of fibers 2 are combined into one row of fibers 2 and directly enter the cooling roller 9 for cooling; they are then pulled by the traction roller 10, and then each bundle of fibers 2 is individually wound to form a finished fiber roll 11.

[0053] Second embodiment

[0054] A second embodiment of the present invention discloses a method for preparing a continuous fiber 2 reinforced thermoplastic prepreg, comprising:

[0055] S1, fiber 2 is drawn from multiple rollers on the wire rack 1, and the first guide roller guides the fiber 2 on each roller to the drying device 4, where it is dried and preheated;

[0056] S2, the preheated fiber 2 enters the impregnation device, which is a melt impregnation mold 5. The fiber 2 is inserted into the interlaced impregnation corrugations in the melt impregnation mold 5. At the same time, the heating component in the melt impregnation mold 5 starts to heat up, so that the temperature in the melt impregnation mold 5 is not less than 200 degrees. At this time, the resin in the melt impregnation mold 5 is in a molten state, and the resin is more easily wrapped around the fiber 2. The fiber 2 moves from the melt impregnation mold 5 to the shaping device;

[0057] S3, before the moving shaping device, the multiple fibers 2 are divided into two rows, upper and lower, and two second guide rollers respectively convey the two rows of bundles to the shaping roller group; each row of fibers 2 passes through a dispersing comb 7, so that the partially adhered fibers 2 in each row are dispersed, so that each row of fibers 2 is relatively independent and arranged in a single bundle, and the fibers 2 are then conveyed to the shaping device;

[0058] S4, the shaping device cools and shapes the fibers 2, and the fibers 2 are then transported to the cooling roller 9 after being cooled and shaped. After the cooling roller 9 cools all the fibers 2, the fibers 2 are wound to form a finished fiber roll 11.

[0059] S5 , after the fibers 2 are output from the cooling roller 9 , they are pulled by the traction roller 10 , and each fiber 2 is independently wound to form a finished fiber roll 11 .

[0060] Third embodiment

[0061] Reference Figure 3-Figure 5 The difference between the third embodiment of the present invention and the first embodiment is that: a plurality of grooves 81 are formed on the surface of the shaping roller in this embodiment, and the distance between the adjacent side walls of two grooves 81 is equal to the width of the groove 81. Naturally, an annular protrusion 82 must be formed between two adjacent grooves 81. The groove 81 is an annular groove. The grooves 81 between the two shaping rollers in each group of two shaping rollers are staggered. The width of each groove 81 can pass the fiber. A groove 81 in the upper shaping roller and a protrusion 82 in the lower shaping roller cooperate to squeeze the fiber and enhance the shaping effect.

[0062] The dispersing comb 7 combs the fibers 2 staggered in the upper and lower rows respectively. Each bundle of fibers 2 combed by the dispersing comb 7 enters the groove in the shaping roller 8 and is squeezed by the protrusion to achieve a better shaping effect.

[0063] Reference Figure 7In this embodiment, the teeth of the scattering comb 7 are cylindrical to reduce scratching of the fibers 2 .

[0064] The above are all preferred embodiments of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, any equivalent changes made based on the structure, shape, and principle of the present invention should be included in the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A system for preparing continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastic prepreg yarn, characterized by: include A drying device, wherein the drying device is used to dry the fibers; impregnation device; The impregnation device is arranged behind the drying device along the fiber feeding direction, and the impregnation device is used to impregnate the fiber with resin; Two distributing combs, which are arranged behind the impregnation device, and are arranged one above the other to distribute and arrange the impregnated wire bundles; A shaping device, which is arranged behind the dispersing comb and is used to shape the impregnated fibers; A cooling device is provided after the shaping device and is used to cool the shaped fiber. The cooling device comprises two cooling rollers arranged one above the other, and the two cooling rollers sandwich the fiber. The shaping device includes two groups of shaping roller groups; each group of shaping roller groups includes two shaping rollers arranged one above the other, and the two groups of shaping roller groups correspond to the two dispersion combs one by one. The two shaping rollers in each group of shaping roller groups clamp the fibers sorted by the corresponding dispersion combs. A plurality of grooves are formed on the surface of the shaping rollers, and the distance between the adjacent side walls of the two grooves is equal to the width of the grooves. An annular protrusion is formed between the two adjacent grooves, and the groove is an annular groove. The grooves between the two shaping rollers in each group of the two shaping roller groups are staggered, and the width of each groove can pass the fiber.

2. The continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastic prepreg preparation system according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a wire rack, which is provided with a plurality of wire rollers, on which winding fibers are provided, and the fibers on the plurality of wire rollers are output to the drying device; a traction roller is provided after the cooling device, and the traction roller clamps the fibers.

3. The continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastic prepreg preparation system according to claim 2, characterized in that: The invention also includes a first guide wheel and a second guide wheel, wherein the first guide wheel is arranged in front of the drying oven, and the second guide wheel is arranged after the impregnation device and in front of the dispersion comb.

4. The continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastic prepreg preparation system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The cooling roller and the shaping roller are both hollow rollers, and cooling liquid is passed through the cooling roller and the shaping roller.

5. The continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastic prepreg preparation system according to claim 4, characterized in that: The impregnation device is a closed melt impregnation die having interlaced impregnation corrugations; the melt impregnation die is connected to an extruder, and the extruder extrude resin into the melt impregnation die.

6. The system for preparing continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastic prepreg according to claim 5, wherein: The resin material in the extruder is one of PP, PE, PA, PET, PPS, and PEEK; the fiber is one of glass fiber, carbon fiber, aramid fiber, and basalt fiber.

7. A method for preparing a continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastic prepreg, characterized in that: A system for preparing continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastic prepreg yarn according to any one of claims 1 to 6, comprising: The fiber is drawn from multiple rollers on the wire rack and transported to the drying device, where it is dried and preheated; The preheated fiber enters the impregnation device, which is a melt impregnation mold. The fiber passes through the interlaced impregnation corrugations in the melt impregnation mold. At the same time, the resin in the melt impregnation mold wraps around the fiber. The fiber moves from the melt impregnation mold to the shaping device. Before moving the shaping device, multiple fibers are divided into two rows, one above the other. Each row of fibers passes through a dispersion comb to disperse the partially adhered fibers in each row, making each row of fibers relatively independent and arranged in bundles. The fibers are then transported to the shaping device. The shaping device cools and shapes the fibers, and after cooling and shaping, the fibers are transported to the cooling roller. After the cooling roller cools all the fibers, the fibers are wound to form finished fiber rolls.

8. The method for preparing a continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastic prepreg according to claim 7, characterized in that: After being output from the cooling roller, the fibers are pulled by the traction roller, and each fiber is independently wound to form a finished fiber roll.

9. The method for preparing a continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastic prepreg according to claim 8, characterized in that: The first guide roller guides the fibers on each wire roller to the drying device; there are two second guide rollers, which respectively transport two rows of wire bundles to the shaping roller group.

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