A long fiber reinforced thermoplastic material mixing and linkage propulsion device

Abstract

This invention discloses a mixing and linkage pushing device for long fiber reinforced thermoplastic materials. The device comprises an upper roller cavity within an upper module and a lower roller cavity within a lower module, with a drive roller fixed inside both modules. A driven roller is located behind the drive roller. Both the drive and driven rollers have a plurality of evenly distributed arc-shaped concave and convex surfaces on their outer surfaces. A scraper is positioned between the drive and driven rollers. The drive and driven rollers rotate in opposite directions, synchronously squeezing the scraper to continuously adhere to the drive roller. Heating devices are installed on both the upper and lower modules. This invention optimizes and improves the above process, thereby maximizing the length of the long fiber material after shearing and mixing, and further improving the strength and toughness of the finished long fiber composite material parts.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of mixing and conveying equipment for long fiber reinforced thermoplastic materials, and in particular to a linkage and pushing device for mixing long fiber reinforced thermoplastic materials. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, the mixing and conveying equipment for long fiber reinforced thermoplastic materials used in China mainly adopts the compounding and extrusion method, which mainly includes two processes: the traditional two-step production process and the more advanced one-step production process. At present, the one-step production process is more widely used.

[0003] Traditional production processes for long fiber reinforced composite materials (such as injection molding) are two-step processes. First, the material manufacturer produces polymer / long fiber composite granules, and then the molding manufacturer uses compression molding and injection molding to create the final product. This traditional process results in high production, processing, transportation, and storage costs due to the intermediate step of producing semi-finished products. Furthermore, the two melting and plasticizing processes significantly reduce fiber length, with the average fiber length in the final product often less than 2mm, limiting the reinforcement and toughening effects.

[0004] Long fiber reinforced polymer composite compounding and extrusion is an advanced one-step production process that eliminates intermediate steps in the traditional two-step process, thus making parts 20% to 30% cheaper than those produced by traditional granule injection molding. At the same time, the special two-stage twin-screw extrusion process and die cutting design allow the length of long fibers in the product to reach more than 10 mm, improving the performance of parts 25% to 40% compared to those produced by traditional granule injection molding.

[0005] However, in practical applications, the one-step production process that is currently widely used still has a lot of tearing problems after the long fiber material in the melt plasticizing chamber is sheared and mixed. When the material is extruded by a twin-screw extruder, there are too many short fibers and too few long fibers in the sheared fiber material. As a result, the average fiber length in the injection molded product is difficult to meet the process requirements of composite material parts for strength and toughness. Therefore, the mixing process after shearing the fiber material has become a major obstacle to further improving the performance of composite material parts.

[0006] Therefore, summarizing the drawbacks of the existing advanced one-step production process, the urgent technical problem to be solved is to design a material mixing and pushing device for the mixing process. Its purpose is to achieve material mixing and pushing. During mixing and pushing, it is necessary to avoid the problems of long fiber breakage in the material and material sticking and solidifying with the equipment. The material can be pushed smoothly and efficiently to the subsequent process. Summary of the Invention

[0007] The purpose of this invention is to provide a long fiber mixing linkage pushing device for mixing and conveying long fiber reinforced thermoplastic materials, so as to solve the problems of mixing fracture and conveying fracture of long fiber materials after shearing in the melting and plasticizing chamber in the prior art, thereby increasing the amount of long fiber materials in composite material parts and products, and preparing for further improvement of the strength and toughness of long fiber composite material parts.

[0008] The solution disclosed in this invention is described as follows:

[0009] It includes an upper module and a lower module, as well as a transmission module and a power module; a fluid material flow channel is provided between the upper module and the lower module;

[0010] The upper module has an upper roller cavity, and the lower module has a lower roller cavity. When the two are combined, a drive roller passes through and is fixed inside them. A driven roller is provided on the rear side of the drive roller. The outer surfaces of both the drive roller and the driven roller are evenly distributed with several arc-shaped concave and convex surfaces. A scraper is provided between the drive roller and the driven roller. The drive roller and the driven roller rotate in opposite directions, and they simultaneously squeeze the scraper to continuously adhere to the drive roller. Both the upper module and the lower module are provided with heating devices.

[0011] The power module is mounted on the upper or lower module and includes a speed-regulating drive device with a drive shaft extending from it. The drive shaft is connected to a transmission module, which is equipped with a drive gear and a transmission roller. Corresponding to the drive gear, a linkage module is mounted on its rear side. The linkage module includes a driven gear and a driven roller. The drive gear and the driven gear mesh to achieve reverse driving.

[0012] The drive gears are arranged in two positions, which are respectively arranged on the left and right sides of the transmission roller. There are also two driven gears, which mesh with the two drive gears respectively. Each driven gear is provided with a driven roller.

[0013] The upper module has a feeding heating chamber at its top, and a heating pipe is installed inside the feeding heating chamber to supply heat to the interior of the feeding heating chamber. The feeding heating chamber is located directly above the fluid material flow channel and the upper roller cavity.

[0014] The lower module is equipped with several bottom heaters, which are used to heat the entire lower module.

[0015] The upper or lower module is provided with a feeding heating zone at the material inlet, which heats the material at the material inlet.

[0016] The upper or lower module is provided with a guide groove, and the scraper is provided with a guide protrusion. The guide protrusion and the guide are matched and set, and the horizontal movement of the scraper is achieved through the cooperation of the two.

[0017] The upper module is equipped with a hook on its top surface, which is used to lift the long fiber reinforced thermoplastic material mixing and linkage propulsion device.

[0018] Both the upper and lower modules are equipped with temperature detection ports, which measure temperature data to control the operation of the heating device.

[0019] The present invention provides a long fiber mixing and linkage driving device for long fiber reinforced thermoplastic materials, which has the following advantages compared with the prior art:

[0020] By adding a long fiber mixing linkage pushing device to the long fiber reinforced thermoplastic material mixing and conveying equipment, the problem of the long fiber material being torn and shortened after shearing and mixing in the molten plasticizing chamber due to the material not being able to move forward in time can be effectively solved. Since the strength and toughness of the composite material product are closely related to the length of the long fiber material, replacing the stirring and mixing process after shearing the long fiber material in the existing production process can further improve the performance of the long fiber reinforced composite material product.

[0021] This invention features an upper roller cavity within an upper module and a lower roller cavity within a lower module. When combined, these two modules house a fixed transmission roller. A driven roller is positioned behind the transmission roller. Both the transmission and driven rollers have evenly distributed arc-shaped concave and convex surfaces on their outer surfaces. A scraping body is positioned between the transmission and driven rollers. The transmission and driven rollers rotate in opposite directions, synchronously pressing the scraping body to continuously adhere to the transmission roller. Heating devices are installed on both the upper and lower modules. This invention optimizes and improves the above processes, thereby maximizing the length of the long fiber material after shearing and mixing, and further improving the strength and toughness of the finished long fiber composite material parts. Attached Figure Description

[0022] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the top three-dimensional structure of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the feeding heating chamber of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 3 This is a side view cross-sectional structural diagram of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the main cross-sectional structure of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 5 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the present invention after the upper module has been removed;

[0027] Figure 6 for Figure 5 Schematic diagram of the cross-sectional structure of region A in the middle;

[0028] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the bottom three-dimensional structure of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the heater's three-dimensional structure;

[0030] In the diagram, 1. Upper module; 11. Upper module body; 12. Fluid material flow channel; 13. Heating pipe; 14. Top cover of the feeding heating chamber; 15. Feeding heating zone; 16. Hook; 17. Upper roller cavity; 18. Feeding heating chamber; 19. Temperature detection point of upper module; 2. Lower module; 21. Lower module body; 22. Temperature detection point of lower module; 23. Guide groove; 24. Moving area; 25. Lower roller cavity; 3. Transmission module; 31. Transmission roller; 32. Drive shaft; 33. Fixed. Bolt, 34. Outer drive gear, 35. Inner drive gear, 4. Linkage module, 41. Outer driven roller, 42. Inner driven roller, 43. Bushing fixing seat, 44. Outer driven gear, 45. Inner driven gear; 5. Scraper body, 51. Transmission roller scraper, 52. Side scraper, 53. Guide protrusion, 6. Power module, 61. Drive motor, 62. Gearbox, 7. Heater, 71. Spiral heating body, 72. Heater fixing seat, 73. Heater external connection end, 8. Bottom heater. Detailed Implementation

[0031] The following specific embodiments illustrate the implementation of the present invention.

[0032] This invention is described in detail through a specific implementation structure, which is as follows: As shown in the accompanying drawings, this long fiber reinforced thermoplastic material mixing and linkage pushing device consists of multiple structural parts, including an upper module 1, a lower module 2, a transmission module 3, and a power module 6. After the upper module 1 and the lower module 2 are connected vertically, a sealing device is provided between them to achieve a seal. An upper groove is provided between the upper module 1 and the lower module 2, forming a fluid material flow channel 12. On the front side of the fluid material flow channel 12, the upper module 1 has an upper roller cavity 17, and the lower module 2 has a lower roller cavity 25. After they are combined, the transmission roller 31 in the transmission module 3 passes through and is fixed inside them. A driven roller is provided on the rear side of the transmission roller 31, and there are two driven rollers, which are spaced apart from each other.

[0033] Both the drive roller 31 and the driven roller have several evenly distributed arc-shaped concave and convex surfaces on their outer surfaces. A scraper 5 is disposed between the drive roller and the driven roller. When the drive roller 31 and the driven roller rotate simultaneously, while the drive roller 31 pushes the material backward, the arc-shaped concave and convex surfaces on the outer driven roller 41 and the inner driven roller 42 synchronously squeeze and adhere the scraper to the drive roller 31, removing the material that has been heated and adhered to the drive roller 31 and preventing it from sticking to the drive roller 31. Heating devices are installed on both the upper module 1 and the lower module 2 of this device to provide the operating temperature for the entire equipment.

[0034] With the above structure set up, this device can realize the synchronous reverse rotation of the transmission roller 31 and the driven roller under the drive of the power module 6, thereby realizing the same-direction drive of the material and the removal of the material on the transmission roller 31.

[0035] This technical solution provides a simpler driving method that enables synchronous reverse rotation of the transmission roller 31 and the driven roller under the drive of a single power module. The specific driving principle is as follows: The power module 6 is mounted on the lower module 2 and includes a speed-regulating drive device. This device consists of a drive motor 61 and a gearbox 62. A drive shaft 32 extends from the gearbox 62 and is connected to the transmission module 3. Figure 5 , 6 As shown, the transmission module 3 is equipped with an outer drive gear 34 and an inner drive gear 35, with a transmission roller 31 positioned between them. The transmission roller 31 is located between the upper roller cavity 17 and the lower roller cavity 25. The outer drive gear 34 and the inner drive gear 35 are fixed to the left and right sides of the lower module 2.

[0036] Corresponding to the outer drive gear 34 and the inner drive gear 35, two linkage modules 4 are provided on their rear sides. These linkage modules 4 are symmetrically fixed to the lower module 2 via bushing fixing seats 43. Each linkage module 4 is equipped with a driven roller and a driven gear, namely an outer driven roller 41, an inner driven roller 42, an outer driven gear 44, and an inner driven gear 45. The outer driven gear 44 and the inner driven gear 45 mesh with the outer drive gear 34 and the inner drive gear 35 respectively to achieve drive. It should be noted that the meshing of the drive gear and the driven gear here is a non-standard gear meshing, requiring reverse drive to achieve rotation of the outer driven roller 41 and the inner driven roller 42 in the opposite direction to the transmission roller 31. To ensure the horizontal stability of the scraper body 5 during driving, the lower module 2 is provided with a guide groove 23, and the scraper body 5 is provided with a transmission roller scraper 51 and a guide protrusion 53. The guide protrusion 53 is matched with the guide groove 23, and the horizontal movement of the transmission roller scraper 51 is guided by the cooperation of the two. Figure 6 As shown, the scraping body 5 includes a drive roller scraper 51 and side scrapers 52 on both sides. A guide protrusion 53 is located on the rear side of the side scrapers 52. The side scrapers 52 are pressed against the outer driven roller 41 and the inner driven roller 42 respectively, while the drive roller scraper 51 is in contact with the drive roller 31. An active area 24 is also provided on the top surface of the lower module 2, within which the entire scraping body 5 moves horizontally.

[0037] Through the above driving structure, the outer driven roller 41, the inner driven roller 42, and the transmission roller 31 can be synchronously rotated simultaneously under the same driving source. Furthermore, the rotation directions of the outer driven roller 41 and the inner driven roller 42 are opposite to the rotation direction of the transmission roller 31, achieving a unidirectional force drive on the material. When this device is controlled by the power module 6, the drive motor 61 and the gearbox 62 can be frequency-controlled according to the conveying rate of the long fiber melt mixture.

[0038] In a further technical improvement, the device has a feeding heating zone 15 at the feed inlet where the upper module 1 and the lower module 2 meet. A heater 7 is installed in the feeding heating zone 15 to achieve the first step of heating.

[0039] The upper module 1 has a feeding heating chamber 18 at its top, and several heating tubes 13 are installed inside the feeding heating chamber 18 to supply heat to the inside of the feeding heating chamber 18. The feeding heating chamber 18 is located directly above the fluid material flow channel 12 and the upper roller cavity 17, and it provides temperature assurance during material flow.

[0040] Several bottom heaters 8 are horizontally fixed on the lower module 2, achieving overall heating of the lower module 2 through the bottom heaters 8. To facilitate the normal operation of the heating device, an upper module temperature detection point 19 is provided on the upper module 1, and a lower module temperature detection point 22 is provided on the lower module 2. The overall temperature is simultaneously detected through the upper module temperature detection point 19 and the lower module temperature detection point 22, thereby enabling flexible control of the heating of the feeding heating zone 15, the feeding heating chamber 18, and the bottom heaters 8. The feeding heating zone 15, the feeding heating chamber 18, and the bottom heaters 8 are also used to initiate the heating program and heat to the preset temperature. It should be noted that the so-called "preset temperature" can be flexibly adjusted according to actual needs; here, no specific limitation is made on the "preset temperature."

[0041] The heater 7 and the bottom heater 8 described above have the same structure, such as Figure 8 As shown, it has a long rod-shaped structure, including a rod-shaped spiral heating body 71. A heater fixing seat 72 is connected to the spiral heating body 71, and a heater external connection end 73 is provided on the heater fixing seat 72. An annular protrusion is provided on the outer diameter of the spiral heating body 71, and the interior can be connected to an external heating wire or an external heat transfer oil for heating the spiral heating body 71. The annular protrusion can effectively improve the heating efficiency.

[0042] The device has a hook 16 on the top surface of the upper module 1, which enables the hoisting and transportation of the long fiber reinforced thermoplastic material mixing and linkage propulsion equipment.

[0043] Because this invention adds a long fiber mixing linkage pushing device to the long fiber reinforced thermoplastic material mixing and conveying equipment, after the long fiber material is cut by the die head of the twin screw equipment, the long fiber material can be mixed and conveyed by the long fiber mixing linkage pushing device, which can effectively reduce the problem of long fiber material breaking, and ultimately improve the strength and toughness of the long fiber composite material product, thereby enhancing the added value and market competitiveness of the product.

Claims

1. A linkage and driving device for mixing long fiber reinforced thermoplastic materials, characterized in that: It includes an upper module and a lower module, as well as a transmission module and a power module; a fluid material flow channel is provided between the upper module and the lower module; the upper module has an upper roller cavity, and the lower module has a lower roller cavity, which together form a transmission roller that is fixed inside; a driven roller is provided on the rear side of the transmission roller; both the transmission roller and the driven roller have several arc-shaped concave and convex surfaces evenly distributed on their outer surfaces; a scraper is provided between the transmission roller and the driven roller; the transmission roller and the driven roller rotate in opposite directions, and they synchronously squeeze the scraper to continuously adhere to the transmission roller; both the upper module and the lower module are equipped with heating devices; The power module is mounted on the upper or lower module and includes a speed-regulating drive device with a drive shaft extending from it. The drive shaft is connected to a transmission module, which is equipped with a drive gear and a transmission roller. Corresponding to the drive gear, a linkage module is mounted on its rear side. The linkage module includes a driven gear and a driven roller. The drive gear and the driven gear mesh to achieve reverse drive. The upper or lower module is provided with a guide groove, and the scraper is provided with a guide protrusion, which is matched with the guide.

2. The long fiber reinforced thermoplastic material mixing and linkage propulsion device according to claim 1, characterized in that: There are two drive gears, which are respectively located on the left and right sides of the transmission roller. There are also two driven gears, which mesh with the two drive gears respectively. Each driven gear is provided with a corresponding driven roller.

3. The long fiber reinforced thermoplastic material mixing and linkage propulsion device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The upper module is equipped with a feeding heating chamber at the top, and a heating pipe is installed inside the feeding heating chamber to supply heat to the inside of the feeding heating chamber.

4. The long fiber reinforced thermoplastic material mixing and linkage propulsion device according to claim 1, characterized in that: Several bottom heaters are fixed on the lower module.

5. The long fiber reinforced thermoplastic material mixing and linkage propulsion device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The upper or lower module is provided with a feeding heating zone at the material inlet.

6. The long fiber reinforced thermoplastic material mixing and linkage propulsion device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The upper module is provided with a hook on its top surface.

7. The long fiber reinforced thermoplastic material mixing and linkage propulsion device according to claim 1, characterized in that: Temperature detection ports are provided on both the upper and lower modules.

8. The long fiber reinforced thermoplastic material mixing and linkage propulsion device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The feeding heating chamber is located directly above the fluid material flow channel and the upper roller cavity.

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