Thermoplastic composite forming machine

Abstract

The invention discloses a thermoplastic composite forming machine which comprises a workbench, a laying working area, a welding working area and a detection working area, wherein the laying working area, the welding working area and the detection working area are located above the workbench. The laying working area is used for laying and forming a thermoplastic prepreg component on the workbench, the welding working area is used for welding a to-be-welded part on the thermoplastic prepreg component, and the detection working area is used for laying detection and welding detection; the laying working area comprises a laying actuator, and the laying actuator comprises a tension unwinding mechanism and a rolling mechanism; the welding working area comprises a welding actuator, and the detection working area comprises a detection actuator; and the laying actuator, the welding actuator and the detection actuator are respectively driven by the movement system to do multi-degree-of-freedom movement. According to the thermoplastic composite forming machine, efficient and accurate work of thermoplastic laying, thermoplastic welding, online detection and online repairing can be achieved, and one-step production of thermoplastic composite forming can be truly achieved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of composite material production, and in particular to a thermoplastic composite material forming machine. Background Art

[0002] Composite materials are mainly divided into thermosetting composite materials and thermoplastic composite materials, among which thermoplastic composite materials perform well in aerospace applications. Since thermoplastic composite materials can soften or melt after heating, and re-solidify after cooling, they have repeatable processability, making them recyclable, environmentally friendly and weldable. With the increasing development and increase of aerospace vehicles, the recycling of aerospace vehicles will become more and more important. The characteristics of thermoplastic composite materials give them significant advantages in the recycling of aerospace vehicles, which can reduce the generation of waste and support sustainable development. The weldability and plasticity of thermoplastic composites simplify the manufacturing process, allow precise assembly of complex shapes, reduce costs and weight, speed up production, and can repair or reassemble recycled thermoplastic composite parts, making it easy to repair or replace damaged parts. Weldable thermoplastic composites ensure reliable performance in harsh aerospace environments.

[0003] The production process of thermoplastic composite products includes thermoplastic laying, thermoplastic welding, online detection, online repair, etc. At present, the existing technology does not have a fully integrated thermoplastic composite laying, welding, and detection molding machine, and it is impossible to achieve one-stop efficient production of thermoplastic composite molding. Summary of the invention

[0004] In order to solve the above technical problems, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a thermoplastic composite molding machine that can realize efficient and accurate work of thermoplastic laying, thermoplastic welding, online detection, and online repair, and can truly realize one-stop production of thermoplastic composite molding.

[0005] In order to achieve the above technical objectives and the above technical effects, the present invention is implemented through the following technical solutions:

[0006] A thermoplastic composite molding machine comprises a workbench and a laying work area, a welding work area and a detection work area located above the workbench; the laying work area is used to lay out and mold thermoplastic prepreg components on the workbench, the welding work area is used to weld parts to be welded to the thermoplastic prepreg components, and the detection work area is used for laying detection and welding detection;

[0007] The laying work area includes a laying actuator, and the laying actuator includes a tension unwinding mechanism and a rolling mechanism; the tension unwinding mechanism lays the thermoplastic prepreg tow according to a certain guide, and the rolling mechanism rolls and consolidates the laid thermoplastic prepreg tow;

[0008] The welding work area includes a welding actuator, and the welding actuator includes a welding drive mechanism and a welding assembly; the welding drive mechanism drives the welding assembly to perform welding on the workpiece to be welded and the thermoplastic prepreg component;

[0009] The detection working area includes a detection actuator;

[0010] The placement actuator, welding actuator and detection actuator are driven by the motion system to perform multi-degree-of-freedom motion respectively.

[0011] Furthermore, a conveying guide rail is provided below the workbench, and driven by a conveying driving mechanism, the workbench moves along the conveying guide rail to reach each work area.

[0012] Furthermore, the motion system includes a translation mechanism, and the placement actuator, welding actuator and detection actuator are respectively equipped with a group of translation mechanisms, and the translation mechanism includes a fixed platform, a moving platform, a translation guide rail, a parallelogram linkage mechanism and a translation drive mechanism. Each actuator is respectively installed on the corresponding moving platform, and the translation guide rail, parallelogram linkage mechanism and translation drive mechanism are respectively provided with at least three groups; the translation guide rail and the translation drive mechanism are respectively installed on the fixed platform, and the parallelogram linkage mechanism is formed by four linkage parts being movably connected, one side of the parallelogram linkage mechanism is slidably connected to the translation guide rail, and the other side thereof is connected to the moving platform; the translation drive mechanism drives the parallelogram linkage mechanism to move along the translation guide rail, and the parallelogram linkage mechanism links the moving platform during the movement. The translation mechanism can provide three degrees of freedom of translation to each actuator.

[0013] Furthermore, the tension unwinding mechanism includes a material tray wound with a thermoplastic prepreg bundle, an unwinding motor, a feeding motor, a conveying wheel, and a pressing wheel that is pressed tightly with the conveying wheel. The unwinding motor drives the material tray to rotate, and the feeding motor drives the conveying wheel to rotate. After being guided and turned, the thermoplastic prepreg bundle is output under the friction drive of the conveying wheel and the pressing wheel.

[0014] Furthermore, a heater is provided on the output side of the conveying wheel, and the heater heats the output thermoplastic prepreg tow.

[0015] Furthermore, the rolling mechanism includes a rolling drive, a pressure roller, a consolidation drive and a consolidation block, the rolling drive drives the pressure roller to press the output thermoplastic prepreg bundle onto the workbench, and the consolidation drive drives the consolidation block to press down on the thermoplastic prepreg bundle on the workbench.

[0016] Furthermore, the placement actuator also includes a shearing mechanism, which includes a shearing drive and a shearing knife. The shearing drive drives the shearing knife to cut the output thermoplastic prepreg tow.

[0017] Furthermore, the material trays are provided with two and can output two bundles of thermoplastic prepreg tows simultaneously.

[0018] Furthermore, the welding actuator also includes a pre-pressing mechanism and a pressure-holding mechanism; the pre-pressing mechanism includes a pre-pressing driving member and a pre-pressing member, the pre-pressing driving member drives the pre-pressing member to move up and down, and the pre-pressing member after moving down pre-presses the parts to be welded and the thermoplastic prepreg components; the pressure-holding mechanism includes a pressure-holding driving member and a pressure-holding member, the pressure-holding driving member drives the pressure-holding member to move up and down, and the pressure-holding member after moving down pressurizes the thermoplastic composite after welding for a certain period of time.

[0019] Furthermore, the motion system also includes a rotating mechanism, and the placement actuator, welding actuator and detection actuator are respectively equipped with a group of rotating mechanisms, and the rotating mechanisms can drive the placement actuator, welding actuator and detection actuator to rotate.

[0020] The beneficial effects of the present invention are:

[0021] The thermoplastic composite molding machine of the present invention comprises a laying work area, a welding work area and a detection work area; the laying work area is used for laying and molding thermoplastic prepreg components on a workbench, the welding work area is used for welding the parts to be welded to the thermoplastic prepreg components to obtain thermoplastic composite products, and the detection work area is used for laying detection and welding detection; the present invention realizes a one-stop production of thermoplastic composite molding through the coordination of the laying work area, the welding work area and the detection work area.

[0022] The placement actuator, welding actuator and detection actuator in the present invention are respectively equipped with a motion system, which has high flexibility, high efficiency and precision. The motion system can realize the movement of multiple degrees of freedom of each actuator, thereby realizing accurate and efficient placement, welding and detection actions.

[0023] The laying actuator in the present invention includes a tension unwinding mechanism and a rolling mechanism. The tension unwinding mechanism can realize the precise laying of the thermoplastic prepreg tows according to a certain guide, and the rolling mechanism realizes the rolling consolidation of the laid thermoplastic prepreg tows, which can realize the efficient molding of thermoplastic prepreg components.

[0024] The welding actuator in the present invention can realize the welding of parts in any direction in a plane, and the welding effect is good, and the structural reliability of the product after welding is high.

[0025] The detection actuator in the present invention can accurately detect the laying effect and welding effect, so as to further perform secondary laying or secondary welding to ensure the quality of the final formed composite product. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the overall structure of a thermoplastic composite molding machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0027] Figure 2 The figure is a schematic structural diagram of a thermoplastic composite molding machine according to an embodiment of the present invention with part of the frame removed.

[0028] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the structure of the translation mechanism of an embodiment of the present invention.

[0029] Figure 4 It is a structural schematic diagram of a parallelogram linkage mechanism in a translation mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0030] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of the equipment structure of the laying work area in the thermoplastic composite molding machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0031] Figure 6 It is a structural schematic diagram of a laying actuator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0032] Figure 7 It is a structural schematic diagram from another angle of the placement actuator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0033] Figure 8 It is a partial structural schematic diagram of a laying actuator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0034] Fig. 9 Schematic diagram of output of thermoplastic prepreg tow according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0035] Fig.10 The figure is a schematic diagram of the equipment structure of the welding working area in the thermoplastic composite molding machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0036] Fig.11 The figure is a schematic diagram of the equipment structure of the detection working area in the thermoplastic composite molding machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0037] Fig.12 Schematic diagram of the structure of a thermoplastic composite product according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0038] Fig.13 FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a thermoplastic composite molding machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0039] In the figure, 100: frame, 101: conveying rail, 102: conveying drive mechanism, 103: operating rail; 200: workbench; 300: operating table;

[0040] 400: translation mechanism, 401: fixed platform, 402: moving platform, 4021: installation port, 403: translation guide rail, 404: parallelogram linkage mechanism, 4041: long side rod 1, 4042: long side rod 2, 4043: short side rod 1, 4044: short side rod 2, 4045: rotating shaft, 405: translation drive mechanism, 406: translation slider, 407: translation screw rod;

[0041] 500: rotating mechanism, 501: rotating motor, 502: synchronous belt transmission mechanism;

[0042] 600: laying actuator, 601: support plate, 602: bearing, 603: material tray, 604: unwinding motor, 605: feeding motor, 606: conveying wheel, 607: pressing wheel, 608: unwinding frame, 609: feeding frame, 610: guide wheel, 611: steering roller, 612: tension sensor, 613: pressing plate, 614: merging block, 615: tow guide plate, 6151: slotting, 616: heater, 617: shearing drive, 618: shearing knife, 619: roller pressing drive, 620: pressing roller, 621: consolidation drive, 622: consolidation block;

[0043] 700: welding actuator, 701: welding drive mechanism, 702: welding assembly, 703: pre-pressing drive member, 704: pre-pressing member, 705: pressure-maintaining drive member, 706: pressure-maintaining member;

[0044] 800: detection actuator, 801: detection controller, 802: detection component;

[0045] 900: Thermoplastic composite products, 901: Thermoplastic prepreg components, 902: Parts to be welded;

[0046] 1000: Thermoplastic prepreg tow. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0047] The preferred embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings so that the advantages and features of the present invention can be more easily understood by those skilled in the art, thereby making a clearer and more definite definition of the protection scope of the present invention.

[0048] In the description of the present invention, it is necessary to understand that the directions or positional relationships indicated by the terms "front", "rear", "left", "right", "up", "down", etc. are based on the directions or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific direction, be constructed and operated in a specific direction, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on the present invention.

[0049] like Figures 1 to 12 The preferred embodiment of the thermoplastic composite molding machine shown in the figure comprises a frame 100, a workbench 200 mounted on the lower frame, and a placement work area, a welding work area and a detection work area installed in the upper frame and located above the workbench 200; the placement work area is used for placing and molding a thermoplastic prepreg component 901 on the workbench 200, the welding work area is used for welding a part to be welded 902 to the thermoplastic prepreg component 901, and the detection work area is used for placement detection and welding detection.

[0050] The frame 100 is provided with a horizontally extending conveying rail 101, and the workbench 200 moves along the conveying rail 101 under the drive of the conveying drive mechanism 102 to reach each work area. The conveying drive mechanism 102 can preferably be a motor, which drives the conveying screw rod assembled with the workbench 200 to rotate, and the conveying screw rod drives the workbench 200 to move along the conveying rail 101 to each work area.

[0051] The frame 100 is also provided with an operating table 300 and an operating rail 103, and the operating table 300 is slidably matched with the operating rail 103. The operating table 300 can be moved along the operating rail 103 by the operator, and can be moved outside the working area and to the laying working area, welding working area, and testing working area.

[0052] The equipment in the laying work area includes a laying actuator 600, the equipment in the welding work area includes a welding actuator 700, and the equipment in the inspection work area includes an inspection actuator 800. The laying actuator 600, the welding actuator 700, and the inspection actuator 800 are each equipped with a set of motion systems; driven by the motion system, each actuator can perform multi-degree-of-freedom motion.

[0053] The motion system includes a translation mechanism 400 and a rotation mechanism 500. The translation mechanism 400 can provide three degrees of freedom of translation to each actuator, and the rotation mechanism 500 can provide three degrees of freedom of rotation about the Z axis to each actuator.

[0054] The translation mechanism 400 includes a fixed platform 401, a movable platform 402, a translation guide rail 403, a parallelogram linkage mechanism 404 and a translation drive mechanism 405; in this embodiment, the translation guide rail 403, the parallelogram linkage mechanism 404 and the translation drive mechanism 405 are respectively provided with at least three groups.

[0055] The fixed platform 401 is a triangular structure, and the translation guide rail 403 and the translation drive mechanism 405 are respectively installed at the three corners of the fixed platform 401, and the fixed platform 401 is fixed on the frame 100; in this embodiment, the translation drive mechanism 405 is preferably a motor, and the motor is connected to a translation screw 407, and each group of parallelogram linkage mechanisms 404 slides with the translation guide rail 403 through a translation slider 406, and the translation screw 407 is threadedly connected to the translation slider 406, and the translation drive mechanism 405 drives the translation screw 407 to rotate, thereby driving the parallelogram linkage mechanism 404 to move along the translation guide rail 403 through the translation slider 406.

[0056] Each parallelogram linkage mechanism 404 is composed of four linkage parts that are movably connected. Specifically, the four linkage parts are long side bar 1 4041, long side bar 2 4042, short side bar 1 4043 and short side bar 2 4044. The two ends of long side bar 1 4041 and long side bar 2 4042 are rotatably connected to the rotating shaft 4045 respectively, and the rotating shaft 4045 is vertically connected to the two ends of the two short side bars. The short side bar 1 4043 located on the upper side is rotatably connected to the connecting seat provided on the translation slider 406, and the other short side bar 2 4044 opposite to it is rotatably connected to the connecting seat provided on the moving platform 402.

[0057] The movable platform 402 is provided with a mounting opening 4021 , and each actuator is connected to the mounting opening 4021 of the movable platform 402 .

[0058] The translation drive mechanism 405 drives the parallelogram linkage mechanism 404 to move along the translation guide rail 403. The parallelogram linkage mechanism 405 links the moving platform 402 during the movement, so that the moving platform 402 can translate with three degrees of freedom while maintaining parallelism with the fixed platform 401, so that the actuators installed on the moving platform 402 can translate in the up and down directions, the left and right directions, and the front and back directions.

[0059] Since the translation mechanism 400 can only generate three translation movements and has no rotational degree of freedom, in order to realize multi-directional laying, multi-directional welding and multi-directional detection during the laying process, it is necessary to add a degree of freedom of rotation around the Z axis, which is realized by the rotating mechanism 500; the rotating mechanism 500 includes a rotating motor 501 and a synchronous belt transmission mechanism 502, and the rotating motor 501 drives each actuator to perform rotational movement around the Z axis relative to the moving platform 402 through the synchronous belt transmission mechanism 502.

[0060] The placement actuator 600 is connected to the mounting opening 4021 of the moving platform 402 through the cooperation of the support plate 601 and the bearing 602; specifically, the support plate 601 is mounted on the mounting opening 4021 of the moving platform 402, the bearing 602 is mounted in the mounting hole of the support plate 601, and the placement actuator 600 is mounted on the bearing 602. The placement actuator 600 includes a tension unwinding mechanism and a rolling mechanism; the tension unwinding mechanism outputs and lays the thermoplastic prepreg tow 1000 according to a certain guide, and the rolling mechanism rolls and consolidates the laid and heated and melted thermoplastic prepreg tow.

[0061] Specifically, the tension unwinding mechanism includes a material tray 603 wound with a thermoplastic prepreg tow 1000, an unwinding motor 604, a feeding motor 605 located below the material tray 603 and the unwinding motor 604, a conveying wheel 606, and a pressing wheel 607 tightly matched with the conveying wheel 606. The material tray 603 and the unwinding motor 604 are in two groups, the unwinding motor 604 is fixed on the unwinding rack 608, and the feeding motor 605 is fixed on the feeding rack 609 below the unwinding rack 608. A plurality of guide wheels 610 and a plurality of steering rollers 611 are arranged between the unwinding motor 604 and the feeding motor 605, and the output thermoplastic prepreg tow 1000 bypasses the guide wheels 610 and the steering rollers 611; a tension sensor 612 is also arranged at the guide wheel 610, and the tension sensor 612 can measure the current force acting on the thermoplastic prepreg tow 1000 in real time. The clamping wheel 607 is installed on a pressure plate 613 located on one side of the feeding rack 609. One end of the pressure plate 613 is connected to the feeding rack 609 through a connecting shaft. The pressure plate 613 can rotate around the connecting shaft. The other end of the pressure plate 613 is installed with a bolt and a spring. The spring is pressed against the pressure plate 613 by adjusting the bolt, so that the pressure wheel 607 is close to the conveying wheel 606. When installing or replacing the tow, the pressure plate 613 can be loosened to allow a large amount of space between the pressure wheel 607 and the conveying wheel 606 to facilitate the installation of the tow. The unwinding motor 604 drives the material tray 603 to rotate in the direction opposite to the winding direction of the thermoplastic prepreg tow, tightening the thermoplastic prepreg tow 1000. The feeding motor 605 drives the conveying wheel 606 to rotate, and the conveying wheel 606 and the pressure wheel 607 are pressed and matched to form tension on the thermoplastic prepreg tow 1000. In the placement actuator, a merging block 614 is further provided below the material tray 603, and a merging slot is provided in the merging block 614; two groups of material trays 603 output two bundles of thermoplastic prepreg tows 1000, which are respectively guided by the guide wheel 610 and then arranged into one tow through the merging slot of the merging block 614, and the merged tows are then successively turned by the turning roller 611 and output through the friction driving effect formed between the conveying wheel 606 and the pressing wheel 607. A tow guide plate 615 is provided on the output side of the conveying wheel 606, and the tow guide plate 615 has a through guide slot, and the thermoplastic prepreg tow 1000 output by friction driving is output to the workbench 200 through the guide slot of the tow guide plate 615. The tow guide plate 615 can make the tows close to each other when they arrive at the workbench, and can limit the tows from moving left and right to accurately reach the specified position. Slots 6151 are provided on both sides of the tow guide plate 615, and heaters 616 and shearing mechanisms are provided corresponding to the positions of the two slots. The heater 616 heats the output thermoplastic prepreg tow to soften the thermoplastic prepreg tow to a fusible degree.The shearing mechanism includes a shearing drive 617 and a shearing knife 618. In the present embodiment, the shearing drive 617 is a shearing cylinder, which can drive the shearing knife 618 to extend into the tow guide plate 615 through the slot 6151 to cut the output thermoplastic prepreg tow.

[0062] The rolling mechanism is installed on the feeding rack 609. The rolling mechanism includes a rolling drive 619, a pressure roller 620, a consolidation drive 621 and a consolidation block 622. The rolling drive 619 and the pressure roller 620 are close to the heater 616 and the tow guide plate 615. The rolling drive 619 drives the pressure roller 620 to press the thermoplastic prepreg tow onto the workbench 200. The pressure roller 620 is made of soft material, and its purpose is to increase the contact area with the tow. In addition, air is also passed through the pressure roller 620 to reduce the temperature of the pressure roller to prevent damage under long-term work. The consolidation drive 621 drives the consolidation block 622 to press down on the thermoplastic prepreg tow on the workbench, so that the pressure between the tows is maintained for a certain period of time to completely consolidate. In this embodiment, the rolling drive 619 and the consolidation drive 621 are both cylinders.

[0063] In the placement work area, the translation mechanism 400 drives the placement actuator 600 to perform translational movement with three degrees of freedom. The rotating motor 501 of the rotating mechanism 500 is fixed on the support plate 601. The rotating motor 501 drives the bearing to rotate through the synchronous belt transmission mechanism 502, so that the placement actuator 600 performs rotational movement around the Z axis relative to the moving platform 402. The rotating mechanism 500 cooperates with the translation mechanism 400 to drive the placement actuator 600 to perform multi-directional thermoplastic prepreg tow placement and molding.

[0064] The welding actuator 700 is also connected to the mounting port 4021 of the moving platform 402 through the cooperation of the support plate and the bearing; the rotating motor 501 in the rotating mechanism 500 is fixed on the support plate. The welding actuator 700 includes a welding drive mechanism 701 and a welding assembly 702; in this embodiment, the welding drive mechanism 701 is a cylinder, and the welding drive mechanism 701 drives the welding assembly 702 to move and weld the workpiece 902 to be welded and the thermoplastic prepreg component 901. Among them, the welding assembly 702 is an ultrasonic welding assembly, including an ultrasonic generator and an ultrasonic welding head. The ultrasonic welding assembly welds two thermoplastic composite parts (the workpiece 902 to be welded and the thermoplastic prepreg component 901) together by high-frequency vibration and heat generation; the ultrasonic welding head directly contacts the parts to be welded. The welding actuator 700 also includes a pre-pressing mechanism and a pressure-maintaining mechanism; the pre-pressing mechanism includes a pre-pressing driving member 703 and a pre-pressing member 704. The pre-pressing driving member 703 drives the pre-pressing member 704 to move up and down, and the pre-pressing member 704 after moving down pre-presses the to-be-welded member 902 and the thermoplastic prepreg member 901; the function of the pre-pressing mechanism is: since the ultrasonic horn needs to be pressurized during the welding process, it is easy to cause the thermoplastic composite parts (the to-be-welded member and the thermoplastic prepreg member) in front of the horn to be lifted during the welding process, so in order to ensure the tightness of the contact between the thermoplastic composite parts, it is necessary to use the pre-pressing mechanism in advance to fit the two parts to be welded together. The pressure-maintaining mechanism includes a pressure-maintaining driving member 705 and a pressure-maintaining member 706, and the pressure-maintaining driving member 705 drives the pressure-maintaining member 706 to move up and down, and the pressure-maintaining member 706 after moving down pressurizes the thermoplastic composite after welding for a certain period of time. The function of the pressure-maintaining mechanism is: since the thermoplastic composite parts are in a molten state after welding, it is necessary to pressurize them and keep them for a period of time so that the two parts can be fused together. In this embodiment, the pre-pressing driving member 703 and the pressure-maintaining driving member 705 are both cylinders.

[0065] In the welding work area, the translation mechanism 400 drives the welding actuator 700 to perform translational motion with three degrees of freedom. The rotating motor 501 drives the bearing to rotate through the synchronous belt transmission mechanism 502, so that the welding actuator 700 performs rotational motion around the Z axis relative to the moving platform 402. The rotating mechanism 500 cooperates with the translation mechanism 400 to drive the welding actuator 700 to realize parts in any direction within the welding plane.

[0066] The detection actuator 800 is also connected to the mounting port 4021 of the moving platform 402 through the cooperation of the support plate and the bearing; the rotating motor 501 in the rotating mechanism 500 is fixed on the support plate. The detection actuator 800 includes a detection controller 801 and a detection component 802. In this embodiment, the detection component 802 can be an ultrasonic detection component or a laser detection component, which is not limited in this embodiment.

[0067] In the inspection work area, the translation mechanism 400 drives the inspection actuator 800 to perform translational motion with three degrees of freedom. The rotating motor 501 drives the bearing to rotate through the synchronous belt transmission mechanism 502, so that the inspection actuator 800 performs rotational motion around the Z axis relative to the moving platform 402. The rotating mechanism 500 cooperates with the translation mechanism 400 to drive the inspection actuator 800 to inspect the laying and forming effects and the welding effects. If there are areas with poor results, the thermoplastic composite will return to the corresponding work area for secondary laying or secondary welding after the inspection feedback.

[0068] by Fig.12 The product shown in FIG. 1 is used as an example to illustrate the working principle of the thermoplastic composite molding machine, wherein the welded part 902 is Fig.12 The hat-shaped reinforcement shown, combined with Figures 1 to 13 As shown, the working principle is as follows:

[0069] Preparation work: The conveying drive mechanism 102 drives the workbench 200 to move to the leftmost end, cleans the surface of the workbench 200, and sets the process and movement parameters on the operating table 300.

[0070] Laying work: The conveying drive mechanism 102 drives the workbench 200 to move to the laying work area, and installs two trays 603 wound with thermoplastic prepreg tows 1000 on the unwinding rack 608 of the laying actuator 600, and sets the laying parameters on the operating table 300. The thermoplastic prepreg tows 1000 on the two trays 603 are passed downward around the guide wheel 610, through the merging block 614, to form a side-by-side tow, and then passed around the steering roller 611, changed direction, passed between the conveying wheel 606 and the clamping wheel 607, and the spring was pressed against the pressing plate 613 by adjusting the bolts, so that the clamping wheel 607 installed on the pressing plate 613 is close to the conveying wheel 606. The unwinding motor 604 drives the material tray 603 to rotate in the opposite direction to the winding direction of the thermoplastic prepreg tow, tightening the thermoplastic prepreg tow 1000. The feeding motor 609 drives the conveying wheel 606 to rotate, and the conveying wheel 606 and the pressing wheel 607 are pressed and matched to form tension on the thermoplastic prepreg tow 1000. The feeding motor 605 continuously drives the conveying wheel 606 to rotate, and the combined tow is output through the friction driving effect formed between the conveying wheel 606 and the pressing wheel 607. The output tow enters the tow guide plate 615, and the heater 616 heats the tow to soften the thermoplastic prepreg tow to a fusible degree. The heated thermoplastic prepreg tow is guided to the workbench 200 through the tow guide plate 615, the roller drive 619 drives the pressure roller 620 to press the thermoplastic prepreg tow onto the workbench 200, and the consolidation drive 621 drives the consolidation block 622 to press down on the thermoplastic prepreg tow on the workbench, and maintains the pressure for a certain period of time to completely consolidate the laid tow. After completing a laying action, such as laying a row or a column of tows, the shearing drive 617 drives the shearing knife 618 to extend into the tow guide plate 615 through the slot 6151 to cut the output thermoplastic prepreg tow. During shearing, since the shearing knife 618 is a distance away from the contact point between the pressure roller 620 and the workbench 200, the tow is cut in advance before each laying is completed, so that the tow can reach the predetermined laying position, that is, the shearing point is sheared when it reaches a certain distance from the predetermined laying end (the distance is the distance between the shearing point and the roller pressure point). The translation drive mechanism 405 in the translation mechanism 400 drives the parallelogram linkage mechanism 404 to move along the translation guide rail 403. The parallelogram linkage mechanism 405 links the moving platform 402 during the movement, so that the moving platform 402 can perform three-degree-of-freedom translation while maintaining parallelism with the fixed platform 401, thereby enabling the placement actuator 600 installed on the moving platform 402 to perform translation in the up-and-down direction, the left-and-right direction, and the front-and-back direction; the rotating motor 501 in the rotating mechanism 500 drives the placement actuator 600 to perform rotational motion around the Z-axis relative to the moving platform 402 through the synchronous belt transmission mechanism 502.In this way, driven by the motion system, the placement actuator 600 performs multi-degree-of-freedom spatial motion, and performs multi-directional continuous placement of the thermoplastic prepreg tows 1000 according to the above-mentioned tow placement and molding process, and finally obtains the thermoplastic prepreg component 901.

[0071] Laying inspection: the workbench 200 drives the thermoplastic prepreg component 901 after laying and forming to move to the inspection work area for laying effect inspection. If it is detected that the laying effect of some laying areas is not ideal, the workbench moves to the laying area for secondary laying.

[0072] Welding work: The conveying drive mechanism 102 drives the workbench 200 to move to the leftmost end, fixes the part to be welded (hat-shaped stiffener) 902 on the laid thermoplastic prepreg component 901, and sets the welding parameters on the operating table 300. The pre-pressing drive 703 in the welding actuator 700 drives the pre-pressing part 704 to move downward, and the pre-pressing part 704 after moving downward pre-presses the hat-shaped stiffener and the thermoplastic prepreg component; the welding drive mechanism 701 drives the welding assembly 702 to move, and welds the hat-shaped stiffener and the thermoplastic prepreg component; the pressure-maintaining drive 705 drives the pressure-maintaining part 706 to move downward, and the pressure-maintaining part 706 after moving downward presses the thermoplastic composite 900 after welding for a certain period of time, so that the hat-shaped stiffener and the thermoplastic prepreg component can be firmly fused together. Driven by the motion system, the welding actuator 700 performs multi-degree-of-freedom spatial movement, and performs multi-directional continuous welding according to the above welding process, and finally obtains the thermoplastic composite.

[0073] Welding inspection: The workbench 200 carries the welded thermoplastic composite material 900 and moves to the inspection work area for inspection. If a poor weld or a cold weld area is detected, the workbench moves back to the welding area for secondary welding.

[0074] Manufacturing completed: the workbench 200 carrying the thermoplastic composite workpiece that has passed the laying and welding moves to the far right end of the equipment, and the operator takes the qualified workpiece.

[0075] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to the details of the exemplary embodiments described above and that the invention can be implemented in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential features of the invention. Therefore, the embodiments should be considered exemplary and non-limiting in all respects, and the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description, and it is intended that all variations falling within the meaning and scope of the equivalent elements of the claims be included in the invention. Any reference numeral in a claim should not be considered as limiting the claim to which it relates.

[0076] In addition, it should be understood that although the present specification is described according to implementation modes, not every implementation mode contains only one independent technical solution. This description of the specification is only for the sake of clarity. Those skilled in the art should regard the specification as a whole. The technical solutions in each embodiment may also be appropriately combined to form other implementation modes that can be understood by those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A thermoplastic composite molding machine, characterized in that: It comprises a workbench and a laying work area, a welding work area and a testing work area located above the workbench; the laying work area is used to lay out the formed thermoplastic prepreg component on the workbench, the welding work area is used to weld the parts to be welded to the thermoplastic prepreg component, and the testing work area is used for laying detection and welding detection; The laying work area includes a laying actuator, and the laying actuator includes a tension unwinding mechanism and a rolling mechanism; the tension unwinding mechanism outputs and lays the thermoplastic prepreg tow according to a certain guide, and the rolling mechanism rolls and consolidates the laid thermoplastic prepreg tow; The welding work area includes a welding actuator, and the welding actuator includes a welding drive mechanism and a welding assembly; the welding drive mechanism drives the welding assembly to perform welding on the workpiece to be welded and the thermoplastic prepreg component; The detection working area includes a detection actuator; The placement actuator, welding actuator and detection actuator are driven by the motion system to perform multi-degree-of-freedom motion respectively.

2. A thermoplastic composite molding machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: A conveying guide rail is provided below the workbench, and the workbench moves along the conveying guide rail under the drive of the conveying driving mechanism.

3. A thermoplastic composite molding machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: The motion system includes a translation mechanism, and the laying actuator, welding actuator and detection actuator are respectively equipped with a group of translation mechanisms. The translation mechanism includes a fixed platform, a moving platform, a translation guide rail, a parallelogram linkage mechanism and a translation drive mechanism. Each actuator is respectively installed on the corresponding moving platform. The translation guide rail, the parallelogram linkage mechanism and the translation drive mechanism are respectively provided with at least three groups; the translation guide rail and the translation drive mechanism are respectively installed on the fixed platform, and the parallelogram linkage mechanism is formed by four linkage parts being movably connected, one side of the parallelogram linkage mechanism is slidably connected to the translation guide rail, and the other side opposite to the moving platform is connected; the translation drive mechanism drives the parallelogram linkage mechanism to move along the translation guide rail, and the parallelogram linkage mechanism links the moving platform during the movement.

4. A thermoplastic composite molding machine according to claim 1 or 3, characterized in that: The tension unwinding mechanism includes a material tray wound with a thermoplastic prepreg tow, an unwinding motor, a feeding motor, a conveying wheel, and a pressing wheel tightly matched with the conveying wheel. The unwinding motor drives the material tray to rotate, and the feeding motor drives the conveying wheel to rotate. After being guided and turned, the thermoplastic prepreg tow is output under the friction drive of the conveying wheel and the pressing wheel.

5. A thermoplastic composite molding machine according to claim 4, characterized in that: A heater is provided on the output side of the conveying wheel, and the heater heats the output thermoplastic prepreg tow.

6. A thermoplastic composite molding machine according to claim 1 or 3, characterized in that: The rolling mechanism includes a rolling drive, a pressure roller, a consolidation drive and a consolidation block. The rolling drive drives the pressure roller to press the output thermoplastic prepreg bundle onto the workbench, and the consolidation drive drives the consolidation block to press down the thermoplastic prepreg bundle on the workbench.

7. A thermoplastic composite molding machine according to claim 1 or 3, characterized in that: The placement actuator also includes a shearing mechanism, which includes a shearing drive and a shearing knife. The shearing drive drives the shearing knife to cut the output thermoplastic prepreg tow.

8. A thermoplastic composite molding machine according to claim 4, characterized in that: The material trays are provided with two and can output two bundles of thermoplastic prepreg tows at the same time.

9. A thermoplastic composite molding machine according to claim 1 or 3, characterized in that: The welding actuator also includes a pre-pressing mechanism and a pressure-holding mechanism; the pre-pressing mechanism includes a pre-pressing driving member and a pre-pressing member, the pre-pressing driving member drives the pre-pressing member to move up and down, and the pre-pressing member after moving down pre-presses the parts to be welded and the thermoplastic prepreg components; the pressure-holding mechanism includes a pressure-holding driving member and a pressure-holding member, the pressure-holding driving member drives the pressure-holding member to move up and down, and the pressure-holding member after moving down pressurizes the thermoplastic composite after welding for a certain period of time.

10. The thermoplastic composite molding machine according to claim 3, characterized in that: The motion system also includes a rotating mechanism. The placement actuator, welding actuator and detection actuator are respectively equipped with a group of rotating mechanisms. The rotating mechanism can drive the placement actuator, welding actuator and detection actuator to rotate.

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