Pressure molding apparatus and pressure molding method

Abstract

The present invention provides a pressure molding apparatus including a dimension measuring portion that is easily applied in a mold and capable of reliably measuring dimensions. One embodiment provides a pressure molding apparatus including an upper mold and a lower mold arranged in a first direction, in which the upper mold includes: a first cam portion that moves in the first direction when one of the upper mold and the lower mold moves in the first direction; the first cam portion allows a portion of the lower mold to move in a second direction different from the first direction; and a material fixing portion that fixes the material together with the material supporting portion according to a movement in the first direction, and the lower mold includes a second cam portion corresponding to the first cam portion, the material supporting portion that supports the material, and a molding portion that moves together with the second cam portion and molds the material. In addition, the pressure molding apparatus also includes a dimension measuring portion positioned at a lower portion of the molding portion and movable in the second direction.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a pressure molding apparatus and a pressure molding method, and more particularly, to a pressure molding apparatus and a pressure molding method for measuring dimensions formed in a material after pressure molding. Background Art

[0002] In the automotive industry, in order to overcome the low elongation rate due to the trend of high-strength materials, the application of bending methods instead of stretching methods is increasing. Among them, the cam method can be applied to bending of workpieces, stamping / forming of bent surfaces, re-stamping, etc.

[0003] However, in bending of a sheet, due to springback caused by complex reasons such as the elastic coefficient of the material and the stress distribution in the thickness direction, the incidence of dimensional errors is increasing. In particular, when there is a performance deviation between coils, it may be more difficult to ensure shape fixation. In such a case, even when using the same mold, the dimensions of the final product may be different, and most manufacturers therefore require a process of inspecting the dimensions after forming the final product.

[0004] The apparatus required for this process can be called a dimensional inspection device (gage), and can measure the main dimensions of a target product. When a defective product is found due to dimensional inspection of the molded product by this dimensional inspection device, the mold can be modified or post-processing can be added. Most dimensional measurement operations can be performed manually. Recently, an automatic measurement system using a vision inspection device has been introduced for large components, but its use may be very limited due to cost issues.

[0005] Meanwhile, Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration in which a laser distance measuring device is provided on a material support portion of a lower mold and measures the distance after molding. However, a problem that may exist is that the material support portion has a narrow space, making it difficult to set the distance measuring device.

[0006] (Patent Document 1) KR 10-2022-0076857A Summary of the Invention

[0007] Technical Problem

[0008] The present disclosure aims to solve the problems of the above-described prior art, and aims to provide a pressure molding apparatus including a dimensional measurement portion that is easily applicable to a mold and can reliably measure dimensions.

[0009] Technical Solution

[0010] To achieve the above object, the present disclosure provides a pressure molding apparatus and a pressure molding method as described below:

[0011] In an embodiment, the present disclosure may provide a compression molding apparatus including an upper mold and a lower mold disposed along a first direction. Among them, the upper mold includes: a first cam portion that allows a part of the lower mold to move in a second direction different from the first direction when one of the upper mold or the lower mold moves in the first direction; and a material fixing portion that fixes the material together with a material supporting portion according to the movement in the first direction. And the lower mold includes: a second cam portion corresponding to the first cam portion; a material supporting portion that supports the material; and a molding portion configured to move together with the second cam portion to mold the material. Among them, the compression molding apparatus further includes a dimension measuring portion located in a lower portion of the molding portion and configured to be movable in the second direction.

[0012] In an embodiment, the second cam portion and the molding portion may be provided on the same moving block, and the dimension measuring portion may include a contact type displacement sensor.

[0013] In an embodiment, the compression molding apparatus may further include: a pressure driving unit that moves the upper mold in the first direction; and a control unit connected to the pressure driving unit and the dimension measuring portion. Among them, the material fixing portion may be arranged such that the position of the lower end portion of the material fixing portion is lower than the position of the lower end portion of the first cam portion. And after the upper mold reaches the bottom dead center through the pressure driving unit, the control unit may measure the molding degree of the material through the dimension measuring portion.

[0014] In an embodiment, the present disclosure may provide a compression molding apparatus including a molding operation of molding a material through the compression molding apparatus; and a dimension measuring operation of measuring the dimensions of the molded material. Among them, the molding operation may include a material fixing operation of pressing and fixing the material disposed on the material supporting portion in the first direction as the up-and-down direction through the material fixing portion; and a bending and molding operation of pressing the material positioned on the side surface of the material supporting portion in a second direction different from the first direction and bending the material. And the dimension measuring operation may be performed in a state where the bending and molding operation is completed but the material is kept fixed, and by moving the dimension measuring portion in the second direction to contact the molded material and then measuring the moving distance of the dimension measuring portion.

[0015] Advantageous Effects

[0016] The present disclosure may provide a compression molding apparatus and a compression molding method, and the compression molding apparatus includes a dimension measuring portion that is easy to apply in a mold and can reliably measure dimensions. Description of the Drawings

[0017] Figure 1 is a schematic view of a compression molding apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0018] Figure 2 is Figure 1 a schematic perspective view of the moving block of

[0019] Figure 3 is Figure 1 a schematic view of the dimensional measurement section of

[0020] Figures 4 to 9 is a schematic view illustrating the moving operation of a compression molding apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0021] Figure 10 is a flowchart of a compression molding method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0022] *Reference Numerals*

[0023] 1: Compression molding apparatus 100: Upper mold

[0024] 110: Material fixing portion 120: First cam portion

[0025] 200: Lower mold 210: Material supporting portion

[0026] 220: Second cam portion 230: Molding portion

[0027] 231: Molding surface 240: Groove

[0028] 250: Moving block 260: Dimensional measurement section

[0029] 261: Main body 262: Rod

[0030] 263: Connection portion 265: Sensor

[0031] 270: Elastic member Detailed Description of the Embodiments

[0032] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art can easily implement the present disclosure. However, when describing the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure in detail, if it is determined that the specific description of related known functions or configurations may unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present disclosure, the detailed description thereof will be omitted. In addition, in all the drawings, the same reference numerals may be used for components having similar functions and actions. In addition, in this specification, terms such as "above", "upper", "upper part", "upper surface", "below", "lower part", "lower surface", "side surface", etc. may be based on the drawings and may actually vary depending on the direction in which the element or component is arranged.

[0033] In addition, throughout the specification, when a part may be referred to as being "connected" to another part, this includes not only the case of "direct connection" but also the case of "indirect connection" through another element therebetween. In addition, unless otherwise specifically stated, "including" or "comprising" a component means that it does not exclude other components, but may further include other components.

[0034] Figure 1 is a schematic view of a compression molding device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, Figure 2 is Figure 1 a schematic perspective view of the moving block of Figure 3 is Figure 1 a schematic view of the dimensional measurement part of

[0035] The compression molding device 1 may include an upper mold 100 and a lower mold 200. The upper mold 100 may be positioned in the up-down direction as a first direction 11, and the upper mold 100 may be connected to a pressure driving unit (not shown) so as to perform molding while moving downward toward the lower mold 200 according to the operation of the pressure driving unit.

[0036] The upper mold 100 may include: a first cam part 120 having an inclined surface 121 formed thereon such that when the upper mold 100 moves in the first direction 11, the lower mold 100 moves in Figure 1 the left-right direction, that is, a second direction 12 perpendicular to the first direction 11 and the direction toward the material P; and a material fixing part 110 that presses and fixes the material P provided on the material supporting part 210 when the upper mold 100 moves in the first direction.

[0037] The material fixing portion 110 may be a gas spring, and the lower end portion of the material fixing portion 110 may be positioned lower than the lower end portion of the first cam portion 120 to fix the material P before the moving block 250 moves, and even after the forming is completed, the material P may be fixed for as long as possible so that the dimension measuring portion 260 measures the dimension of the material P in a state where the material P is fixed.

[0038] The lower die 200 may include: a moving block 250 having a second cam portion 220 and a molding portion 230, the second cam portion 220 having an inclined surface 221 corresponding to the inclined surface 121 of the first cam portion 120 so that the molding portion 230 moves along the second direction 12 in cooperation with the first cam portion 120 when the upper die 100 moves along the first direction 11, and the molding portion 230 is configured to move together with the second cam portion 220 and includes a molding surface 231 in contact with the material P and is disposed closer to the material P than the second cam portion 220 to bend the material P; a material supporting portion 210 disposed below the material fixing portion 110, and the material P is seated on the material supporting portion 210; a dimension measuring portion 260 disposed in a groove 240 formed in a lower portion of the molding portion 230 in the moving block 250; and a control unit 300 connected to the upper die 100 and the dimension measuring portion 260.

[0039] The moving block 250 and the dimension measuring portion 260 may each be connected to elastic members 235 and 270, and the elastic member 235 may provide a restoring force for moving away from the material P in a state where the moving block 250 is not pressed by the upper die, and the elastic member 270 may provide a restoring force for positioning in the original position in a state where the dimension measuring portion 250 does not measure the dimension.

[0040] The portion of the moving block 250 adjacent to the material P may be referred to as the molding portion 230, and the portion of the moving block 250 positioned below the first cam portion 120 may be referred to as the second cam portion 220. In this embodiment, the molding portion 230 and the second cam portion 220 may be formed in the moving block 250, but may be implemented in such a way that they are each composed of different blocks and are connected to each other.

[0041] The first cam portion 120 and the second cam portion 220 may have corresponding inclined surfaces 121 and 221, and the molding portion 230 that moves together with the second cam portion 220 may move along the second direction 12 rather than the first direction 11 due to the inclined surfaces 121 and 221, thereby bending the material p.

[0042] The molding part 230 may include a molding surface 231, and may be configured such that only a part of it protrudes as in this embodiment and presses a part of the material P using the protruding part, but the molding surface 231 may also be formed into a desired shape corresponding to the desired shape of the material, and may be formed into a desired shape together with the material support part 210.

[0043] The moving block 250 may be provided with an LM guide in the lower part so that the moving block 250 moves only along the second direction 12, and when the first cam part 120 descends past the second cam part 220 of the moving block 250, the moving block 250 may move in the direction of the material P, and when the first cam part 120 ascends, the moving block 250 may return to the initial position through the elastic member 235.

[0044] The groove 240 may be formed in the lower part of the molding part 230 in the moving block 250. The groove 240 may be configured to extend in the second direction 12 to have a size through which the dimension measuring part 260 can pass, such that the operation of the moving block 250 and the operation of the dimension measuring part 260 do not affect each other. At least a part of the dimension measuring part 260 may be provided in the groove 240. The groove 240 may include a first part 241 that is larger in cross-section than the dimension measuring part 260 and a second part 242 that extends to the lower surface, thereby forming a configuration that is arranged to guide the movement of the dimension measuring part 260 in the second direction 12. Therefore, the groove 240 may be configured to extend to the lower surface of the moving block 250 while connecting one surface and the other surface of the moving block 250 in the second direction 12.

[0045] The dimension measuring part 260 may be a contact type displacement sensor, and will be described with reference to Figure 3 the configuration of the dimension measuring part 260. Figure 3 The structure of is merely illustrative, and may be applied to the dimension measuring part 260 in cases where different configurations can accurately measure the distance from a set reference position to a point on the material P.

[0046] As Figure 3 shown in, the dimension measuring part 260 may include: a cylindrical body 261, the cylindrical body 261 including a connection part 263 connected to an air pressure source; a rod 262; and a sensor 265 that measures the movement distance of the rod 262 in the second direction. When air pressure is supplied through the connection part 263, the dimension measuring part 260 may move as a whole in the second direction 12, and thus, the rod 262, which is the tip of the dimension measuring part 260, may contact the material P.

[0047] The distance d moved by air pressure may always be constant. When moving in the second direction 12, the rod 262 may come into contact with the material P and may be blocked by the material P from moving, so the rod 262 moves a shorter distance than it would move without the material. This means that the length l1 by which the rod 262 protrudes from the main body 261 before movement is shorter than the length l2 by which the rod 262 protrudes from the main body 262 after movement, so the rod 262 moves this amount in the backward direction. The sensor 265 can measure the distance by which the rod 262 moves backward and measure the degree of shaping of the material P based on the measurement value of the sensor 265.

[0048] As the air pressure is released, the rod 262 can return to the initial position through an elastic member (not shown) provided in the main body 261, and the main body 261 can also return to the initial position through the elastic member 270.

[0049] In addition to this method, it is also possible to use a method in which the rod 262 advances by air pressure and comes into contact with the material P, and a method in which the distance of movement of the rod 262 is measured by the sensor 265.

[0050] The control unit 300 can be connected to the upper die 100, more precisely, to the pressure driving unit and the dimension measuring section 260, and can perform control of the movement of the upper die 100 in the first direction, control of the movement of the dimension measuring section 260 in the second direction, collection of the measurement results of the dimension measuring section 260, judgment of reprocessing / alarm based on the measurement results, etc. This will be described in detail by the operations during the processing of Figure 4 and Figure 9 and the operations during Figure 10 the pressure molding method of

[0051] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the groove 240 may be formed in the lower portion of the moving block 250 provided with the molding portion 230, and the dimension measuring section 260 may be configured to advance and retract through the groove 240, so that after the material P is formed by the molding portion 230, the dimension measuring section 260 can approach the material P through the groove 240 to measure the molding degree of the material P. Therefore, since the dimension measuring section 260 does not have to be provided in a limited space, such as the material support portion 210, the dimension measuring section 260 can be not affected by its size and can use a relatively large but inexpensive and accurate contact type displacement sensor. In such a physical contact type sensor, since the accuracy is higher than that of a laser or vision, the dimension measurement itself can also be accurately performed.

[0052] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, since the dimension measurement part 260 can move separately from the molding part 230, the movement of the dimension measurement part 260 can be unaffected by the movement of the upper mold 100, and thus this can be advantageous for measurement timing or molding control.

[0053] Referring Figures 4 to 9 , how the compression molding device 1 determines the dimensions of the molded material P can be provided in more detail. Figures 4 to 9 The movement of the lower mold 200 based on the movement of the upper mold 100 in the first direction 11 is illustrated.

[0054] As Figure 4 shown, after the material P is seated, the pressure driving unit can lower the upper mold 100. In this case, since the material fixing part 110 is lower than the first cam part 120, the material P can be fixed before the first cam part 120 contacts the second cam part 220.

[0055] As Figure 5 shown, when the upper mold 100 descends, the first cam part 120 can contact the second cam part 220, and the downward movement of the upper mold 100 can be converted into a second-direction movement of the moving block 250 including the second cam part 220 through the inclined surface 121 of the first cam part and the inclined surface 221 of the second cam part.

[0056] As Figure 6 shown, when the upper mold 100 reaches the bottom dead center, the material P can be molded by the molding part 230 of the moving block 250. Generally, considering the springback of the material P, the material P can be molded to exceed the desired shape, but is not limited thereto. Until the upper mold 100 reaches the bottom dead center, the dimension measurement part 260 remains in place without moving.

[0057] As Figure 7 shown, the upper mold 100 can rise through the bottom dead center, and as the upper mold 100 rises, the moving block 250 can return to the initial position through the elastic member 235, and since the molding is completed, the control unit 300 can supply air pressure to the dimension measurement part 260, and the dimension measurement part 260 can move forward in the direction of the material P along the groove 240 of the moving block 250, thereby measuring the dimensions of the molded material P. The dimension measurement method has been described with reference to Figure 3 .

[0058] As Figure 8As shown, when the upper mold 100 ascends, the control unit 300 can measure the dimensions of the molded material P multiple times through the dimension measurement section 260, thereby improving the measurement accuracy. In this case, since the material fixing part 110 extends to be lower than the first cam part 120, dimension measurement can be performed even after the moving block 250 returns to the initial position.

[0059] As Figure 9 shown, when the upper mold 100 ascends and the material fixing part 110 separates from the material P, the dimension measurement section 260 can also end the dimension measurement and return to the original position. When the measurement is completed, the control unit 300 can decide whether to perform remolding, remove the molded product, and whether to send a notification to the user based on the dimension measurement results and the like.

[0060] Figure 10 The figure illustrates a flowchart of a compression molding method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0061] The compression molding method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include a molding operation (S100) of molding a material through a compression molding device; and a dimension measurement operation (S200) of measuring the dimensions of the molded material.

[0062] In Figure 10 the compression molding method, the molding is illustrated as being performed through the compression molding device 1 described by referring to Figure 1 , but the compression molding device 1 is not limited to Figure 1 .

[0063] The molding operation (S100) may include: a material fixing operation (S110) of pressing and fixing the material P disposed on the material support part 210 through the material fixing part 110 along the first direction 11 as the vertical direction; and a bending and molding operation (S120) of pressing the material P positioned on the side surface of the material support part 210 along a second direction 12 different from the first direction 11 through the molding part 230 and bending the material P.

[0064] The dimension measurement operation (S200) can be performed in a state where the bending and molding operation (S120) is completed but the material P is still fixed, and can be performed by moving the dimension measurement section 260 along the second direction to contact the molded material and then measuring the moving distance of the dimension measurement section 260.

[0065] The dimension measurement operation (S200) can be performed multiple times between the time point when the moving block 200 retracts along the second direction 12 and the time point when the material fixing part 110 ends pressing the material P when the upper mold 100 passes the bottom dead center and ascends.

[0066] Although the present disclosure has been described with reference to embodiments, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and many other modifications based on the present disclosure within the technical scope as described above will be possible for those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A pressure molding device, comprising: an upper mold and a lower mold, the upper mold and the lower mold being arranged in a first direction, wherein the upper mold includes a first cam portion and a material fixing portion. When one of the upper mold or the lower mold moves in the first direction, the first cam portion allows a part of the lower mold to move in a second direction different from the first direction, and the material fixing portion fixes the material together with a material supporting portion according to the movement in the first direction, and the lower mold includes a second cam portion corresponding to the first cam portion, the material supporting portion for supporting the material, and a molding portion configured to move together with the second cam portion to mold the material, wherein the pressure molding device further includes a dimension measuring portion located in a lower portion of the molding portion and configured to be movable in the second direction.

2. The pressure molding device according to claim 1, wherein, The second cam portion and the molding portion are provided on the same moving block, and the dimension measuring portion includes a contact type displacement sensor.

3. The pressure molding device according to claim 2, wherein, A groove extending in the second direction is formed in a lower portion of the moving block, and the dimension measuring portion is arranged such that at least a part of the dimension measuring portion is located in the groove, and the dimension measuring portion includes a main body, a rod extending in the second direction from an inner portion of the main body, and a sensor for measuring a moving distance of the rod in the main body.

4. The pressure molding device according to claim 3, further comprising: a pressure driving unit that moves the upper mold in the first direction; and a control unit connected to the pressure driving unit and the dimension measuring portion, wherein the material fixing portion is arranged such that a position of a lower end portion of the material fixing portion is lower than a position of a lower end portion of the first cam portion, and after the upper mold reaches a bottom dead center through the pressure driving unit, the control unit measures a molding degree of the material through the dimension measuring portion.

5. The pressure molding device according to claim 4, wherein, In the upper mold, the first cam portion is arranged on both sides with respect to the material fixing portion, and in the lower mold, the moving block and the dimension measuring portion are arranged on both sides with respect to the material supporting portion.

6. A pressure molding method, comprising: a molding operation of molding a material through a pressure molding device; and a dimension measuring operation of measuring a dimension of the molded material, wherein the molding operation includes: a material fixing operation of pressing and fixing the material provided on the material supporting portion in a first direction as an up-down direction through the material fixing portion; and a bending and molding operation of pressing the material positioned on a side surface of the material supporting portion in a second direction different from the first direction and bending the material by the molding portion; and The dimension measurement operation is performed while the bending and molding operations are completed but the material is kept fixed, and is performed by moving a dimension measurement portion in the second direction to contact the molded material and then measuring the moving distance of the dimension measurement portion.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein, The pressure molding device includes an upper mold and a lower mold. The upper mold includes a first cam portion and the material fixing portion. When one of the upper mold or the lower mold moves in the first direction, the first cam portion allows a part of the lower mold to move in a second direction different from the first direction. The lower mold includes a second cam portion corresponding to the first cam portion, a moving block having the second cam portion and a molding portion for molding the material, and a material support portion on which the material is seated. The molding operation is performed by lowering the upper mold, and the dimension measurement operation is performed after the upper mold reaches the bottom dead center.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein, The dimension measurement operation is performed multiple times between the time point when the moving block retracts in the second direction and the time point when the material fixing portion ends pressing the material.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein, During the dimension measurement operation, the upper mold rises, the moving block moves away from the material in the second direction, and the dimension measurement portion moves in the second direction by air pressure.

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