Continuous carbon fiber recycled consumable and preparation method

Abstract

This invention provides a continuous carbon fiber recycled consumable and its preparation method, which can produce high-performance consumables with carbon fiber and recycle waste plastic bottles, thus contributing to environmental protection. The technical problem to be solved by this invention is achieved through the following technical means: One aspect of this invention is to propose a method for preparing continuous carbon fiber recycled consumables, which includes the following steps: taking a cylindrical bottle body portion from a plastic bottle and cutting at least one continuous strip from the bottle body portion; connecting multiple strips end-to-end to form a continuous strip-shaped substrate; taking TPU linear printing consumables and continuous carbon fiber, and winding the continuous carbon fiber onto the TPU linear printing consumables to obtain a wound matrix; placing the wound matrix centrally on the substrate with the length directions of the wound matrix and the substrate aligned; feeding the wound matrix and the substrate into the extruder of a 3D printer, and extruding the composite material consumable of the wound matrix and the substrate from the extruder. This invention relates to the technical field of 3D printing consumables.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the technical field of 3D printing consumables, and in particular to a continuous carbon fiber recycled consumable and its preparation method. Background Technology

[0002] Carbon fiber is a novel fiber material with a high carbon content (up to 95%), high modulus, and high strength. Carbon fiber materials can be used in the production of 3D printing consumables. Patent application number 2015109285468 discloses an extrusion device for producing continuous long carbon fiber reinforced composite materials for FDM 3D printers. This device melts plastic granules and extrudes them through a screw. After being split, the molten plastic flows into the gap between the die core and the die sleeve. Continuous long carbon fiber filaments are conveyed in the central hole of the die core, and the molten plastic wraps around the continuous long carbon fiber filaments, forming a continuous long carbon fiber reinforced composite filament. This type of carbon fiber composite consumable is essentially formed by straightening a single carbon fiber and wrapping it with plastic. If the carbon fiber were in a spiral shape instead of a straight line, the performance of the resulting consumable would be significantly improved. Summary of the Invention

[0003] To address the shortcomings of existing technologies, this invention provides a continuous carbon fiber recycled consumable and its preparation method, which can produce high-performance consumables with carbon fiber and recycle waste plastic bottles, thus contributing to environmental protection.

[0004] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is achieved through the following technical means: One aspect of the present invention is to propose a method for preparing continuous carbon fiber recycled consumables, which includes the following steps:

[0005] Step S1: Take the cylindrical part of the plastic bottle and cut at least one continuous strip from the bottle body.

[0006] Step S2: Connect the ends of multiple strips to form a continuous strip-shaped film;

[0007] Step S3: Take TPU linear printing filament and continuous carbon fiber, and wind the continuous carbon fiber onto the TPU linear printing filament to obtain the winding matrix.

[0008] Step S4: Place the winding substrate centered on the film with the length directions of the winding substrate and the film in the same direction;

[0009] Step S5: The winding substrate and the substrate are fed into the extruder of the 3D printer, and the composite material of the winding substrate and the substrate is extruded from the extruder. In the composite material, the substrate surrounds and wraps the winding substrate. Steps S1-S2 and step S3 can be interchanged.

[0010] In the above scheme, plastic bottles can be recycled and cut into strips. Multiple strips can be connected to form a continuous strip substrate. The plastic bottles are made of PET material, which makes the resulting substrate have excellent weather resistance. On the other hand, the winding matrix is ​​composed of TPU linear printing filament and continuous carbon fiber, which has excellent properties such as high strength and high elasticity, making it suitable as a 3D printing filament. The winding matrix and substrate are extruded by an extruder to form a composite material filament. This is both an environmentally friendly measure to recycle plastics and a way to enhance the performance of the filament by combining it with carbon fiber. Therefore, it is a 3D printing filament with excellent performance.

[0011] In one embodiment, in step S1, at least one continuous strip is cut from the bottle body using a plastic bottle cutting device.

[0012] In the above solution, the plastic bottle cutting device can cut plastic bottles into strips, thereby obtaining strips. Using a high-precision plastic bottle cutting device can produce strips with a high width consistency rate. The plastic bottle cutting device is an existing technology, and its main structure includes a blade, which is used to cut plastic bottles into strips, such as the strip cutter with authorized invention patent publication number CN105690436B.

[0013] In one embodiment, in step S2, the two strips are connected by a welding module. The welding module includes a base, a glue gun, and a hot press block. The base is provided with a placement groove for placing the ends of the two strips. A clearance groove is provided in the middle of the placement groove. The ends of the two strips are placed overlapping in the clearance groove of the placement groove. The glue gun is used to apply glue to the overlapping area of ​​the two strips. Then, the hot press block is used to press down on the overlapping area of ​​the two strips so that the two strips are welded at the overlapping area. The clearance groove is an overflow groove for glue during welding.

[0014] In the above solution, the strip length obtained from a single plastic bottle is limited. Therefore, multiple strips can be joined together to form a longer base sheet through hot-press welding. A glue gun is used to apply glue to the ends of the two strips that need to be joined. The hot-press block is connected to an external heating structure to maintain a high temperature. When the hot-press block is pressed down, the excess glue from the two strips enters the clearance groove.

[0015] In one embodiment, scissors are used to trim away excess glue at the overlapping area of ​​the two strips.

[0016] In the above solution, the excess glue can be removed by cutting with scissors, so that the widths of the two strips are aligned after splicing.

[0017] In one embodiment, in step S3, the TPU linear printing filament is conveyed by a conveying module, and continuous carbon fiber is wound onto the TPU linear printing filament by a toroidal winding machine. The toroidal winding machine includes a mounting frame and a vertical rotating ring mounted on the mounting frame. The TPU linear printing filament passes through the vertical rotating ring during the conveying process.

[0018] In the above solution, the toroidal winding machine is an existing technology, mostly used for winding transformer coils. However, the toroidal winding machine used in this invention can realize continuous carbon fiber winding on TPU linear printing consumables, and the TPU linear printing consumables can be transported in a straight line without rotation or pause.

[0019] In one embodiment, the delivery module includes two wire-clamping delivery wheels that engage with TPU linear printing filament.

[0020] In one embodiment, in step S5, before the winding substrate and the substrate are fed into the extruder of the 3D printer, the two sides of the front portion of the substrate are warped toward wrapping the winding substrate, or a portion of the two sides of the front portion of the substrate is cut off to make the front portion conical.

[0021] In the above scheme, the front part of the substrate is modified so that the substrate and the winding matrix can be fed into the extruder together to form a shape in which the substrate wraps around the winding matrix. The outer layer of the resulting composite material consumable is the substrate, which protects the inner winding matrix, especially the continuous carbon fiber.

[0022] In one embodiment, in step S5, the extrusion temperature of the extruder is 200 to 220 degrees Celsius. The printing temperature of the consumable on the printer can be 245 degrees Celsius.

[0023] In one embodiment, after step S5, the extruded composite material consumable is wound onto a spool by a neat winding mechanism, wherein a blower is provided between the extruder and the spool to cool the composite material consumable.

[0024] In the above scheme, the neat cable arrangement mechanism achieves the purpose of storing consumables on trays.

[0025] Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a continuous carbon fiber recycled consumable, comprising a substrate and a winding matrix, wherein the winding matrix comprises a TPU linear printing consumable and continuous carbon fiber, and the continuous carbon fiber is wound around the outside of the TPU linear printing consumable. The length direction of the substrate is in the same direction as the length direction of the winding matrix, and the substrate is bent to wrap the winding matrix inside.

[0026] In the above scheme, the substrate is made from recycled plastic bottles, and the plastic bottles are made of PET material, which makes the resulting substrate have excellent weather resistance. On the other hand, the winding matrix is ​​composed of TPU linear printing filament and continuous carbon fiber, which has excellent properties such as high strength and high elasticity, making it suitable as a 3D printing filament. The recycled filament of the present invention is an environmentally friendly measure of recycling plastics and the combination of carbon fiber enhances the performance of the filament, thus making it a 3D printing filament with excellent performance.

[0027] In one embodiment, the width of the substrate is smaller than the outer perimeter of the winding substrate; a perforation is provided on one end of the substrate for the end of the continuous carbon fiber to pass through; the plastic bottle is made of PET material.

[0028] In the above scheme, the film is approximately 5mm wide and 0.45mm thick. The perforations on the film are used to pass through the continuous carbon fiber, so that the continuous carbon fiber and the film can maintain a defined relative position. This makes it easier and more controllable to place the winding substrate on the film, allowing the film to precisely wrap the winding substrate. Attached Figure Description

[0029] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram illustrating cutting a continuous strip from the bottle body in one embodiment;

[0030] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a welding module in one embodiment;

[0031] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a toroidal winding machine in one embodiment;

[0032] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of a structure in one embodiment where the winding substrate is placed centered on the film;

[0033] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of a structure in one embodiment where the two sides of the front portion of the film warp in the direction of wrapping the winding substrate;

[0034] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of a structure in one embodiment where the two sides of the front part of the film are cut off to make the front part conical;

[0035] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the neat wire arrangement mechanism and extruder in one embodiment. Detailed Implementation

[0036] The present invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the invention and not intended to limit it. Furthermore, it should be noted that, for ease of description, the accompanying drawings show only the parts relevant to the present invention, and not all of the structures.

[0037] like Figures 1 to 7 As shown, one aspect of the technical solution adopted by the present invention is to propose a method for preparing continuous carbon fiber recycled consumables, which includes the following steps:

[0038] Step S1: Take the cylindrical bottle body part 1 of the plastic bottle and cut at least one continuous strip 2 from the bottle body part 1.

[0039] Step S2: Connect the ends of multiple strips 2 to form a continuous strip-shaped film 3;

[0040] Step S3: Take TPU linear printing consumable 4 and continuous carbon fiber 5, and wind the continuous carbon fiber 5 onto TPU linear printing consumable 4 to obtain the winding substrate 6.

[0041] Step S4: Place the winding substrate 6 in the center on the film 3 with the length directions of the winding substrate 6 and the film 3 in the same direction;

[0042] Step S5: The winding substrate 6 and the substrate 3 are fed into the extruder 7 of the 3D printer, and the composite material slurry 8 of the winding substrate 6 and the substrate 3 is extruded from the extruder 7. In the composite material slurry 8, the substrate 3 surrounds and wraps the winding substrate 6. The order of steps S1-S2 and step S3 can be interchanged.

[0043] In the above scheme, plastic bottles can be recycled and cut into strips. Multiple strips 2 can be connected to form a continuous strip substrate 3. The plastic bottles are made of PET material, which makes the resulting substrate 3 have excellent weather resistance. On the other hand, the winding matrix 6 is composed of TPU linear printing consumable 4 and continuous carbon fiber 5, which has excellent properties such as high strength and high elasticity, making it suitable as a 3D printing consumable. The winding matrix 6 and the substrate 3 are extruded by an extruder 7 to form a composite material consumable 8. This is both an environmentally friendly measure to recycle plastics and a way to enhance the performance of the consumable by combining it with carbon fiber. Therefore, it is a 3D printing consumable with excellent performance.

[0044] In one embodiment, in step S1, the bottle body portion 1 is cut into at least one continuous strip 2 by the plastic bottle cutting device 20.

[0045] In the above solution, the plastic bottle cutting device 20 can cut the plastic bottle into strips, thereby obtaining strips 2. Using a high-precision plastic bottle cutting device 20 can produce strips 2 with a high width consistency rate. The plastic bottle cutting device 20 is a prior art, and its main structure includes a blade, which is used to cut the plastic bottle into strips, such as the strip cutter with authorized invention patent publication number CN105690436B.

[0046] In one embodiment, in step S2, the two strips 2 are connected by a welding module. The welding module includes a base 9, a glue gun, and a hot press block 10. The base 9 is provided with a placement groove 11 for placing the ends of the two strips 2. A clearance groove 12 is provided in the middle of the placement groove 11. The ends of the two strips 2 are placed overlappingly in the clearance groove 12 of the placement groove 11. The glue gun is used to apply glue to the overlapping part of the two strips 2. Then, the hot press block 10 is used to press down on the overlapping part of the two strips 2 so that the two strips 2 are welded at the overlapping part. The clearance groove 12 is an overflow groove for glue during welding.

[0047] In the above scheme, the length of the strip 2 obtained from a single plastic bottle is limited. Therefore, multiple strips 2 can be connected to form a longer base sheet 3 by hot pressing. A glue gun is used to apply glue to the ends of the two strips 2 that need to be joined. The hot press block 10 is connected to an external heating structure to maintain a high temperature. When the hot press block 10 is pressed down, the excess glue from the two strips 2 enters the relief groove 12.

[0048] In one embodiment, scissors are used to trim away the excess glue at the overlapping point of the two strips 2.

[0049] In the above solution, the excess glue can be removed by cutting with scissors, so that the widths of the two strips 2 are aligned after being spliced ​​together.

[0050] In one embodiment, in step S3, the TPU linear printing consumable 4 is conveyed by a conveying module, and the continuous carbon fiber 5 is wound onto the TPU linear printing consumable 4 by a toroidal winding machine. The toroidal winding machine includes a mounting frame 13 and a vertical rotating ring 14 mounted on the mounting frame 13. The TPU linear printing consumable 4 passes through the vertical rotating ring 14 during the conveying process.

[0051] In the above scheme, the toroidal winding machine is an existing technology, mostly used for winding transformer coils. However, the toroidal winding machine used in this invention can realize the continuous winding of carbon fiber 5 onto TPU linear printing consumable 4, and the TPU linear printing consumable 4 can be transported in a straight line without rotation or pause.

[0052] In one embodiment, the delivery module includes two wire-clamping delivery wheels 15 that cooperate with the TPU linear printing filament 4.

[0053] In one embodiment, in step S5, before the winding substrate 6 and the substrate 3 are fed into the extruder 7 of the 3D printer, the two sides of the front portion of the substrate 3 are warped in the direction of wrapping the winding substrate 6, or a portion of the two sides of the front portion of the substrate 3 is cut off to make the front portion conical.

[0054] In the above scheme, the front part of the substrate 3 is modified so that the substrate 3 and the winding matrix 6 can enter the extruder 7 together to form a shape in which the substrate 3 wraps around the winding matrix 6. The outer layer of the resulting composite material consumable 8 is the substrate 3, thereby protecting the inner winding matrix 6, especially the continuous carbon fiber 5.

[0055] In one embodiment, in step S5, the extrusion temperature of the extruder 7 is 200 to 220 degrees Celsius. The printing temperature of the consumable on the printer can be 245 degrees Celsius.

[0056] In one embodiment, after step S5, the extruded composite material consumable 8 is wound onto a reel 17 by a neat winding mechanism 16, wherein a blower is provided between the extruder 7 and the reel 17 to cool the composite material consumable 8.

[0057] In the above scheme, the neat wiring mechanism 16 achieves the purpose of tray storage of consumables.

[0058] Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a continuous carbon fiber recycled consumable, including a substrate 3 and a winding substrate 6. The winding substrate 6 includes a TPU linear printing consumable 4 and continuous carbon fiber 5, with the continuous carbon fiber 5 wound around the outside of the TPU linear printing consumable 4. The length direction of the substrate 3 is the same as the length direction of the winding substrate 6, and the substrate 3 is bent to wrap the winding substrate 6 inside.

[0059] In the above scheme, the substrate 3 is made from recycled plastic bottles, and the plastic bottles are made of PET material, which makes the substrate 3 have excellent weather resistance. On the other hand, the winding matrix 6 is composed of TPU linear printing consumable 4 and continuous carbon fiber 5, which has excellent properties such as high strength and high elasticity, and is suitable as a 3D printing consumable. The recycled consumable of the present invention is an environmentally friendly measure of recycling plastics and the combination of carbon fiber enhances the performance of the consumable, thus making it a 3D printing consumable with excellent performance.

[0060] In one embodiment, the width of the substrate 3 is smaller than the outer perimeter of the winding substrate 6; a perforation 18 is provided on one side of the end of the substrate 3 for the end of the continuous carbon fiber 5 to pass through; the plastic bottle is made of PET material.

[0061] In the above scheme, the width of the substrate 3 is about 5mm and the thickness is about 0.45mm. The perforation 18 on the substrate 3 is used to pass through the continuous carbon fiber 5, so that the continuous carbon fiber 5 and the substrate 3 can maintain a defined relative position. This makes it more convenient and the position more controllable when the winding substrate 6 is placed on the substrate 3, so that the substrate 3 can accurately wrap the winding substrate 6.

Claims

1. A method for preparing continuous carbon fiber recycled consumables, characterized in that, It includes the following steps: Step S1: Take the cylindrical bottle body part (1) of the plastic bottle and cut at least one continuous strip (2) from the bottle body part (1). Step S2: Connect the ends of multiple strips (2) to form a continuous strip-shaped film (3). Step S3: Take TPU linear printing consumable (4) and continuous carbon fiber (5), and wind the continuous carbon fiber (5) onto TPU linear printing consumable (4) to obtain the winding matrix (6). Step S4: Place the winding substrate (6) in the center on the film (3) with the winding substrate (6) and the film (3) having the same length direction; In step S5, the winding substrate (6) and the substrate (3) are fed into the extruder (7) of the 3D printer, and a composite material consumable (8) of the winding substrate (6) and the substrate (3) is extruded from the extruder (7), wherein the substrate (3) surrounds and wraps the winding substrate (6) in the composite material consumable (8), wherein steps S1-S2 and step S3 can be interchanged.

2. The method for preparing continuous carbon fiber recycled consumables according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step S1, at least one continuous strip (2) is cut from the bottle body (1) by the plastic bottle cutting device (20).

3. The method for preparing continuous carbon fiber recycled consumables according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step S2, the two strips (2) are connected by a welding module. The welding module includes a base (9), a glue gun and a hot press block (10). The base (9) is provided with a placement groove (11) for placing the ends of the two strips (2). A clearance groove (12) is provided in the middle of the placement groove (11). The ends of the two strips (2) are placed overlapping in the clearance groove (12) of the placement groove (11). The glue gun is used to apply glue to the overlapping part of the two strips (2). Then the hot press block (10) is used to press down on the overlapping part of the two strips (2) so that the two strips (2) are welded at the overlapping part. The clearance groove (12) is the glue overflow groove during welding.

4. The method for preparing continuous carbon fiber recycled consumables according to claim 3, characterized in that: Use scissors to trim away the excess glue at the overlapping part of the two strips (2).

5. The method for preparing continuous carbon fiber recycled consumables according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step S3, the TPU linear printing consumable (4) is conveyed by the conveying module, and the continuous carbon fiber (5) is wound onto the TPU linear printing consumable (4) by a toroidal winding machine. The toroidal winding machine includes a mounting frame (13) and a vertical rotating ring (14) mounted on the mounting frame (13). The TPU linear printing consumable (4) passes through the vertical rotating ring (14) during the conveying process.

6. The method for preparing continuous carbon fiber recycled consumables according to claim 5, characterized in that: The delivery module includes two wire-clamping delivery wheels (15) that cooperate with the TPU linear printing filament (4).

7. The method for preparing continuous carbon fiber recycled consumables according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step S5, before the winding substrate (6) and the substrate (3) are fed into the extruder (7) of the 3D printer, the two sides of the front part of the substrate (3) are warped toward wrapping the winding substrate (6), or a portion of the two sides of the front part of the substrate (3) is cut off to make the front part conical.

8. The method for preparing continuous carbon fiber recycled consumables according to claim 1, characterized in that: After step S5, the extruded composite material consumable (8) is wound onto a spool (17) by a neat winding mechanism (16), wherein a blower is provided between the extruder (7) and the spool (17) to cool the composite material consumable (8).

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