PU foaming process and PU foaming processing equipment
By mixing recycled foam with new raw materials and using a high-precision controlled PU foaming process, the resource waste and environmental problems in traditional processes are solved, and efficient and environmentally friendly PU foam production is achieved.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202510938332.2
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2025-07-08
- Publication Date
- 2025-09-12
AI Technical Summary
Traditional PU foaming processes rely on new raw materials, resulting in waste of resources and high energy consumption, heavy environmental burden, and lack of effective utilization of recycled materials.
Recycled foam is pre-treated and mixed with new foaming raw materials, accounting for 30%-50%. High-quality foam materials are formed through high-precision automatic infusion equipment and precisely controlled foaming temperature and time.
It improves resource utilization, reduces the use of new raw materials, reduces production costs, reduces environmental pollution, stabilizes product performance, and enhances market competitiveness.
Smart Images
Figure CN120620543A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The invention belongs to the technical field of PU foaming technology and relates to a PU foaming technology and PU foaming processing equipment. Background Art
[0002] The PU foaming process, also known as the polyurethane foaming process, utilizes a chemical reaction within polyurethane raw materials to generate gases, causing the material to expand and form a foam structure. In this process, the main raw materials are polyol (usually material A) and isocyanate (usually material B). These two materials undergo a polymerization reaction upon mixing to form a polyurethane polymer. The heat released during the reaction causes the foaming agent to decompose and produce gases. These gases form numerous tiny bubbles within the material. As the reaction proceeds, the bubbles continue to expand, ultimately forming a foam material with a specific density and structure.
[0003] PU foam products are widely used in numerous fields due to their excellent performance. In the construction sector, PU foam is often used as a thermal insulation material, where its excellent thermal insulation properties help reduce building energy consumption. In the furniture industry, it is used as a filling material in sofas and mattresses, providing comfort and support. In automotive manufacturing, it can be used as a cushioning material for seats and interior trims, as well as a soundproofing and shock-absorbing material for vehicle bodies.
[0004] However, traditional PU foaming processes typically rely on virgin raw materials for foam production. This, on the one hand, results in significant resource consumption, with many recyclable materials being left unused and wasted. On the other hand, the acquisition, production, and transportation of virgin raw materials are accompanied by high energy consumption and emissions, increasing production costs and placing a heavy burden on the environment. With growing environmental awareness and the growing popularity of sustainable development concepts, the effective utilization of recycled materials and reduced reliance on virgin raw materials have become pressing challenges for the industry. Summary of the Invention
[0005] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions:
[0006] A PU foaming process comprises the following steps:
[0007] The process includes the following steps: Recycled foam pretreatment: The recycled foam is pretreated and evenly crushed into 2mm-4mm recycled foam particles. This size range ensures uniform dispersion of the recycled foam particles during subsequent mixing and foaming, while also allowing them to fully integrate with the foaming raw materials without affecting the overall performance of the foamed product.
[0008] Raw Material Mixing: Recycled foam particles are added to the foaming process, with the recycled foam particles comprising 30%-50% of the total raw material weight of the new foam product. Mixing equipment is used to thoroughly mix the recycled foam particles with the foaming raw materials. During this process, a high-precision automatic foaming liquid infusion machine is used to ensure that the recycled foam content in the new foam product remains stable at 30%-50%. This range has been verified through extensive experimentation and significantly reduces the use of new raw materials without negatively impacting the product's physical properties, such as strength and elasticity.
[0009] Foaming Process: The mixed raw materials are injected into a mold, which is then closed and placed in a tunnel-type flow-water oven for foaming. The mold is heated in a closed tunnel-type flow-water oven at 50-60°C for 8-10 minutes to allow for self-foaming. This temperature and time ensures that the raw materials react fully, forming a uniform cell structure and ensuring the quality and stability of the foamed product.
[0010] Post-processing: After foaming, the product is removed, trimmed, and quality inspected to complete the foaming process. Strict quality inspections ensure that the product meets relevant standards and requirements.
[0011] A processing equipment for PU foaming process includes: a pouring module for pouring foaming raw materials into a foaming mold and several groups of feeding modules connected to the pouring module through pipelines, each group of feeding modules is provided with an independent feeding pump.
[0012] The present invention has the following beneficial effects: By reusing recycled foam, resource utilization is improved, environmental pollution is reduced, and sustainable development is achieved. The use of new foaming raw materials is reduced, thereby lowering production costs and improving product market competitiveness. Furthermore, through high-precision automatic infusion and precisely controlled foaming temperature and time, the quality stability of the foamed product is ensured, ensuring that product performance meets market demand. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of the automatic perfusion equipment in the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0014] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of this application to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application. Obviously, the embodiments described are only part of the embodiments of this application, not all of the embodiments. It should be understood that this application is not limited to the example embodiments disclosed herein. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative efforts are within the scope of protection of this application.
[0015] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "length", "width", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", etc., indicating the orientation or position relationship, are based on the orientation or position relationship 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 orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the present invention.
[0016] Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of the technical features being referred to. Thus, a feature identified as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of the present invention, "plurality" means two or more, unless otherwise specifically defined.
[0017] In the embodiments of the present invention, unless otherwise expressly specified or limited, the terms "installed," "connected," "connected," "fixed," etc. should be understood in a broad sense. For example, they may refer to fixed connection, detachable connection, or integration; mechanical connection or electrical connection; direct connection or indirect connection through an intermediate medium; internal communication between two components or interaction between two components. Those skilled in the art will understand the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention based on specific circumstances.
[0018] In an embodiment of the present invention, a PU foaming process includes the following steps:
[0019] S1: Recycled foam pretreatment
[0020] Collect all types of recycled PU foam and clean it first to remove surface dust and impurities. Place the cleaned foam into a crusher and adjust the crusher parameters to evenly crush the foam into 2mm-4mm recycled foam particles. During the crushing process, monitor the particle size to ensure it meets the requirements.
[0021] S2: Raw material mixing
[0022] The recycled foam particles and foaming raw materials are added to the automatic infusion foaming equipment at the same time. The recycled foam particles and foaming raw materials are mixed through the equipment and injected into the mold in a precise proportion to ensure that the proportion of recycled foam in the new foamed product is stable in the range of 30%-50%.
[0023] S3: Foaming process
[0024] Close the mold after injecting the raw material and place it in a tunnel-type water-flow oven. Adjust the oven temperature to 50-60°C and set the foaming time to 8-10 minutes. During the foaming process, closely monitor the oven operation and the foaming state of the raw material in the mold.
[0025] S4: Post-processing
[0026] After the foaming is completed, remove the mold from the oven, open the mold and take out the product. Use professional trimming tools to trim the waste edges of the product to make its appearance meet the requirements.
[0027] In addition, in order to achieve the high-precision automatic infusion processing effect in the above-mentioned PU foaming process, please refer to Figure 1 The present invention also provides a processing equipment for a PU foaming process, which is used in the above-mentioned pouring process step, comprising: a pouring module 3 for pouring foaming raw materials into a foaming mold 4, and a plurality of groups of feeding modules 1 connected to the pouring module 3 via pipelines, each group of feeding modules 1 being provided with an independently working feeding pump (not shown);
[0028] In actual processing, the pouring module 3 can be a pouring gun of a pouring device, and each feeding module 1 is a barrel for placing different raw materials. The number of barrels is determined by the amount of raw materials for foaming. In the embodiment of the present application, the PU foaming process mainly includes: A material, B material and recycled foam particles;
[0029] During processing, each feeding module 1 feeds the pressed material into the infusion module 3 according to the processing ratio requirements. The infusion module 3 then mixes the components and injects them into the mold 4 (ensuring that the proportion of recycled foam in the new foamed product remains stable within the range of 30%-50%). This achieves high-precision automatic infusion, improves production efficiency, reduces manual errors and labor intensity, and is suitable for large-scale production. Furthermore, precise metering reduces raw material waste and lowers costs, making the PU foaming process more environmentally friendly and economical.
[0030] It should be noted that in the actual PU foaming process, material A is usually polyol, and material B is usually isocyanate, but it can also be other raw materials that can realize the foaming process.
[0031] It should also be noted that, in this document, relational terms such as first and second, etc., are used only to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Moreover, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or device comprising a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or elements inherent to such process, method, article, or device. In the absence of further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising a ..." does not exclude the presence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article, or device comprising the element.
[0032] The above description of the disclosed embodiments will enable one skilled in the art to implement or use the present application. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the present application. Therefore, the present application is not limited to the embodiments shown herein, but is intended to conform to the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.
Claims
1. A PU foaming process, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: The recycled foam is pre-treated and evenly crushed into 2mm-4mm recycled foam particles; the recycled foam particles are then put into the foaming process, and the recycled foam particles account for 30%-50% of the total mass of the new foam product raw materials; Use mixing equipment to fully mix the recycled foam particles with the foaming raw materials; inject the mixed raw materials into the mold, and after the mold is closed, put it into the tunnel-type flow water oven for foaming; after foaming is completed, take out the product, trim the waste edges and conduct quality inspection to complete the foaming process.
2. A PU foaming process according to claim 1, characterized in that, When the recycled foam particles are mixed and injected with the foaming raw materials, the recycled foam particles and the foaming raw materials are mixed and injected through a high-precision automatic foaming liquid infusion machine to ensure that the proportion of recycled foam in the new foaming product is stable at 30%-50%.
3. A PU foaming process according to claim 1, characterized in that, The mold is heated in a tunnel-type water-flow oven at 50-60°C for closed self-foaming, and the foaming time is 8-10 minutes.
4. A processing equipment for PU foaming process, used in the perfusion processing step of a PU foaming process according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: include: A pouring module for pouring foaming raw materials into the foaming mold and several groups of feeding modules connected to the pouring module through pipelines, each group of feeding modules is provided with an independent feeding pump.