Conductor-integrated resin component and method for manufacturing same

Abstract

The conductor-integrated resin member includes a conductive wiring material and a resin member for holding the wiring material. The wiring material and the resin member are formed by stacking a plurality of layers, and the wiring material is made of at least one of a copper alloy and a conductive resin.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a conductor integrated resin component and a manufacturing method thereof. Background Art

[0002] Patent document JP2014-135168A discloses a technology related to a conductor integrated resin component and a method for manufacturing the same. Conventionally, among automotive components, resin molded components with conductors are manufactured mainly by two methods. One method includes manufacturing a wiring harness having bundled conductive wires and protective materials attached to prevent external damage, and combining the wiring harness with a resin molded component.

[0003] Another method is to stamp a copper plate into a circuit pattern and mold a resin around it. Such a resin molded part is called a molded busbar. Patent document JP2014-135168A discloses a method for manufacturing a molded busbar, in which a busbar as a conductive plate is held in a mold and a resin molded part as an insulator is formed between the busbars. Summary of the invention

[0004] However, in the manufacturing method of the conductor integrated resin component disclosed in JP2014-135168A, each step of manufacturing wiring materials, manufacturing resin components, and integrating wiring materials with resin components requires manufacturing facilities. Therefore, product design requires a lot of time and cost, and the manufacturing process is complicated and inefficient.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of these problems of the conventional technology. An object of the present invention is to provide a conductor-integrated resin component and a manufacturing method thereof, in which a wiring material and a resin component are manufactured in the same process, thereby improving manufacturing efficiency.

[0006] According to aspects of the present invention, a conductor-integrated resin component includes: a wiring material that is conductive; and a resin component for holding the wiring material, wherein the wiring material and the resin component are formed by stacking multiple layers, and the wiring material is made of at least one of a copper alloy and a conductive resin.

[0007] According to aspects of the present invention, a method for manufacturing a conductor integrated resin component includes: a design data generating step for generating design data, wherein the design data is used to output from a 3D printer at least one of a 3D printer copper alloy and a 3D printer conductive resin constituting a wiring material and a 3D printer resin constituting a resin component; and a 3D printer output step for forming the wiring material and the resin component by stacking multiple layers by ejecting at least one of a 3D printer copper alloy and a 3D printer conductive resin constituting the wiring material and a 3D printer resin constituting the resin component from a 3D printer head based on the design data generated in the design data generating step.

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a conductor-integrated resin component and a method for manufacturing the same, in which a wiring material and a resin component are manufactured in the same process, thereby improving manufacturing efficiency. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] Figure 1 1 is a schematic diagram showing a method of manufacturing a conductor-integrated resin component according to the present invention and a process of generating design data.

[0010] Figure 2 1 is a schematic diagram showing a method of manufacturing a conductor-integrated resin component according to the present invention and a process of 3D printer output.

[0011] Figure 3 is a perspective view showing a completed state of a conductor-integrated resin component according to the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0012] Hereinafter, a conductor-integrated resin component and a method of manufacturing the same according to the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Dimensional ratios in the drawings are exaggerated for convenience of explanation and may differ from actual ratios.

[0013] like Figure 3 As shown, the conductor-integrated resin component 1 according to the present embodiment includes a conductive wiring material 3 and a resin component 5 for holding the wiring material 3. The wiring material 3 and the resin component 5 are formed by laminating a plurality of layers.

[0014] The wiring material 3 and the resin member 5 may be formed by stacking multiple layers using a 3D printer. A 3D printer is a device that forms a three-dimensional object by sequentially stacking molding materials based on three-dimensional molding data generated by a computer.

[0015] The wiring material 3 has conductivity and is made of at least one of a copper alloy or a conductive resin. The copper alloy constituting the wiring material 3 may be a copper alloy for a 3D printer, and the conductive resin constituting the wiring material 3 may be a conductive resin for a 3D printer. The resin component 5 may be made of a resin for a 3D printer. In the case where the material constituting the wiring material 3 or the resin component 5 is a material that can be used in a 3D printer, the material that can be used is not particularly limited, but varies according to the molding method of the 3D printer as described below.

[0016] As the copper alloy, for example, those specified in Japanese Industrial Standard JIS H3100 (Copper and copper alloy sheets, plates and strips) can be used. Specifically, oxygen-free copper (C1020), tough pitch copper (C1100), phosphorus deoxidized copper (C1201), tin-containing copper (C1441), zirconium-containing copper (C1510), iron-containing copper (C1921), etc. can be used.

[0017] The copper alloy may also include metals and compounds other than copper alloys. The metals and compounds other than copper and copper alloys include, for example, one or more elements selected from the group consisting of Ni, Co, Fe, Pt, Au, Al, Si, Cr, Mg, Mn, Mo, Rh, Ta, Ti, W, U, V and Zr, or compounds containing the one or more elements.

[0018] The conductive resin may contain at least one of metal or carbon. In addition, a resin that contains at least one of metal and carbon in the resin constituting the resin member 5 may be used.

[0019] The metal used for the conductive resin is composed of, for example, one or more elements selected from the group consisting of Cu, Ni, Co, Fe, Pt, Au, Al, Si, Cr, Mg, Mn, Mo, Rh, Ta, Ti, W, U, V and Zr, or a compound containing the one or more elements.

[0020] The carbon used for the conductive resin includes, for example, at least one material selected from the group consisting of carbon black, carbon fiber, CNT (carbon nanotube), and diamond.

[0021] If the resin constituting the resin member 5 is a 3D printer resin, the usable material varies depending on the molding method of the 3D printer as described below. Therefore, thermoplastic resins, photocurable resins, etc. suitable for various 3D printer molding methods can be used.

[0022] Examples of the molding method of the 3D printer include, for example, fused deposition modeling (FDM), a material jetting method, a binder jetting method, a powder bed fusion method (SLS method, SLM method, EBM method), stereolithography (SLA method and DLP method), and the like.

[0023] Fused deposition modeling is a method of ejecting a high-temperature molten thermoplastic resin from a 3D printer head and stacking it layer by layer. Therefore, the 3D printer resin constituting the resin component 5 may include a known thermoplastic resin, and at least one selected from the group consisting of: polyacetal resin, polyethylene resin, polypropylene resin, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resin, polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) resin, polyamide resin, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer (ABS) resin, polycarbonate (PC) resin, PC / ABS resin and polylactic acid (PLA) resin. The material used in fused deposition modeling may be a synthetic material obtained by mixing other materials with a thermoplastic resin. Therefore, it is also possible to make a 3D printer conductive resin constituting the wiring material 3 by mixing a conductive material such as metal or carbon with a thermoplastic resin.

[0024] In the material jetting method, liquid photocurable resin or the like is jetted from a 3D printer head, and then cured by ultraviolet light irradiation and stacked layer by layer. Therefore, the 3D printer resin constituting the resin member 5 may include a known photocurable resin, and at least one of an acrylic resin or an epoxy resin may be used. It is also possible to make the 3D printer conductive resin constituting the wiring material 3 by mixing a conductive material such as metal or carbon with the photocurable resin as a material used in the material jetting method.

[0025] In the binder jetting method, resin and metal powder are jetted from a 3D printer head, a photocurable resin is further jetted from the 3D printer head as a binder, and the powder is cured and stacked layer by layer. Therefore, the 3D printer resin constituting the resin component 5 may include a known photocurable resin, and at least one of an acrylic resin or an epoxy resin may be used. In the binder jetting method, a photocurable resin can be jetted as a binder onto a conductive material such as metal or carbon, and a 3D printer copper alloy or a 3D printer conductive resin constituting the wiring material 3 can also be produced.

[0026] In the powder bed fusion method, the powdered material ejected from the 3D printer head is irradiated with a laser beam or an electron beam to sinter or melt it, and stack it. In addition, the powder bed fusion method is divided into an SLS method for sintering with a laser beam, an SLM method for melting with a laser beam, and an EBM method for melting with an electron beam. Therefore, the 3D printer resin constituting the resin component 5 includes the powdered resin used in the SLS method, and at least one selected from the group consisting of nylon resin, polypropylene resin, polystyrene resin and thermoplastic elastomer can be used. In the powder bed fusion method, the SLM method or the EBM method can also be used as a molding method for melting and solidifying metal, and the 3D printer copper alloy constituting the wiring material 3 can also be produced by these methods.

[0027] Stereolithography is a method of curing a liquid photocurable resin and stacking it layer by layer. Stereolithography is further divided into SLA, DLP method, etc. In SLA, the resin is cured while being irradiated with an ultraviolet laser, and in DLP method, the resin is cured while being irradiated with an LED light beam. The 3D printer resin constituting the resin part 5 may include a known photocurable resin, and at least one of an acrylic resin or an epoxy resin may be used. It is also possible to make a 3D printer conductive resin constituting the wiring material 3 by mixing a conductive material such as metal or carbon with the photocurable resin used in stereolithography.

[0028] The wiring material 3 has electrical conductivity and is made of at least one of a copper alloy or a conductive resin. As described above, the copper alloy or the conductive resin constituting the wiring material 3 can be made by mixing a conductive material such as metal or carbon with a thermoplastic resin or a photocurable resin, or by directly melting the metal. That is, the wiring material 3 can be formed by solidifying a metal-containing material having fluidity.

[0029] As described above, the wiring material and the resin component for the conductor integrated resin component in the present embodiment can be manufactured in the same process by using a 3D printer in the same workplace of one manufacturing facility. That is, the wiring material and the resin component can be manufactured in the same process, thereby providing the conductor integrated resin component with improved manufacturing efficiency.

[0030] The method of manufacturing the conductive resin member in this embodiment includes Figure 1 The design data generation process shown and Figure 2 The 3D printer output process shown.

[0031] The design data generation process is a process of generating design data 11 for outputting at least one of the 3D printer copper alloy and the 3D printer conductive resin constituting the wiring material 3 and the 3D printer resin constituting the resin member 5 from the 3D printer 13. More specifically, the design data 11 is first generated, and then the design data sliced ​​for 3D printer output is generated.

[0032] The 3D printer output process is a process of forming the wiring material 3 and the resin component 5 by ejecting the above-mentioned material constituting the wiring material 3 and the above-mentioned material constituting the resin component 5 from the 3D printer head based on the design data 11 generated in the design data generation process, and forming the wiring material 3 and the resin component 5 by multi-layer lamination. Specifically, Figure 2 As shown, a 3D printer head is provided for each material of the wiring material 3 and the resin component 5, and the material loaded into the 3D printer head is ejected, output layer by layer, and stacked in the workplace.

[0033] Finally, if Figure 3As shown, the conductor-integrated resin component 1 is completed. The use of the conductor-integrated resin component 1 is not particularly limited, but it can be used as a resin molded component having a conductor in an automobile member. Figure 3 As shown, the conductor integrated resin component 1 may include a terminal 7 connected to a mating terminal (not shown). In this way, a method for manufacturing a conductor integrated resin component can be provided, in which a wiring material and a resin component are manufactured in the same process by using a 3D printer to improve manufacturing efficiency.

[0034] In the conventional method for manufacturing a conductor-integrated resin component, manufacturing facilities are required for manufacturing wiring materials, manufacturing resin components, and integrating wiring materials and resin components. Therefore, product design requires a lot of time and cost, and the manufacturing process is complicated and inefficient. In particular, there is a problem with small-batch products, that is, if they are manufactured using the same manufacturing method as mass production, the depreciation cost of the manufacturing facilities will be high, and the cost of the final product will also rise. In the future automotive industry, it is assumed that the order for additional new equipment or optional equipment from the manufacturer after the purchase of the vehicle will expand, and the number of products manufactured in small quantities such as several units per month is expected to increase. In the method for manufacturing the conductor-integrated resin component of the present embodiment, the wiring material and the resin component are manufactured in the same process, so that the preparation time for design and development and the design of the production line can be shortened, and the increase in product cost can be suppressed even in small-batch production.

[0035] Although the present invention has been described above with reference to the embodiments, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the configuration of components can be replaced with any configuration having the same function as long as it is within the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A conductor integrated resin component, comprising: a wiring material, the wiring material being electrically conductive; as well as a resin member for holding the wiring material, in, The wiring material and the resin member are formed by laminating a plurality of layers, and The wiring material is made of at least one of a copper alloy and a conductive resin.

2. The conductor-integrated resin component according to claim 1, wherein The copper alloy is a copper alloy for a 3D printer and the conductive resin is a conductive resin for a 3D printer, and The resin component is made of resin for a 3D printer.

3. The conductor-integrated resin component according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The conductive resin contains at least one of metal and carbon.

4. A method for manufacturing a conductor-integrated resin component according to claim 2, comprising: A design data generating step for generating design data for outputting at least one of the 3D printer copper alloy and the 3D printer conductive resin constituting the wiring material and the 3D printer resin constituting the resin member from a 3D printer; as well as A 3D printer output process is used to form the wiring material and the resin part by ejecting at least one of the 3D printer copper alloy and the 3D printer conductive resin constituting the wiring material and the 3D printer resin constituting the resin part from a 3D printer head based on the design data generated in the design data generation process, and by stacking multiple layers.

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