Titanium alloy and carbon fiber injection molding integrated anti-roll frame manufacturing method and product

Abstract

The application provides a manufacturing method of a titanium alloy and carbon fiber injection integrated anti-rolling frame, which comprises the following steps: firstly, manufacturing titanium alloy pipe spare parts and connecting structure spare parts and combining the titanium alloy pipe spare parts and the connecting structure spare parts into a force bearing framework; then, sequentially forming an injection support layer and a carbon fiber reinforced layer through integrated injection molding and die pressing processes; and finally, obtaining a final anti-rolling frame product. Compared with the prior art, the application greatly improves the product structural strength, optimizes the process, reduces the die opening cost, provides strong customization flexibility, and is beneficial to the rapid update of the anti-rolling frame design.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of vehicle safety protection component manufacturing technology, specifically relating to a method and product for manufacturing an integrally molded roll cage made of titanium alloy and carbon fiber. Background Technology

[0002] As a crucial component for achieving passive safety in vehicles, the roll cage's performance plays a decisive role in the integrity of the passenger compartment and the chances of passenger survival during a rollover. Existing roll cages are mainly divided into two categories: metal roll cages and carbon fiber roll cages. Metal roll cages are mostly manufactured using tubular components welded or bolted together, resulting in low strength and high weight, making them prone to deformation and secondary injuries during rollovers. Carbon fiber roll cages use a hollow support structure covered with carbon fiber, offering better lightweight performance, but suffer from complex manufacturing processes, insufficient joint strength, and high production costs. Furthermore, the highly customized nature of roll cage design and manufacturing limits performance improvements and cost reductions. For example, metal roll cages are mostly added to existing vehicles, making it difficult to guarantee consistent performance across different products. In contrast, carbon fiber roll cages, compared to other essential vehicle components, cannot easily offset costs through increased sales volume. Some existing technologies, such as the applicant's previous Chinese patent application CN202610135743.2, utilize hot-expansion embedded skeletons combined with carbon fiber molding processes to manufacture hybrid material roll cages with superior structural strength. However, different hot-expansion components in the embedded skeletons all require mold opening, resulting in high costs and hindering the design and updating of roll cage structures. Summary of the Invention

[0003] In view of the above, and to address the technical problems existing in this field, the present invention provides a method for manufacturing a roll cage integrally molded from titanium alloy and carbon fiber, specifically including the following steps: Step 1: Use titanium alloy tubing to manufacture individual titanium alloy tube beam components that form the main load-bearing frame, such as various horizontal beams, columns, diagonal cross beams, bases, etc. Step 2: For the connection points between different titanium alloy tube beam components in the main load-bearing frame, corresponding connection structural components are manufactured using titanium alloy material. Step 3: Assemble the titanium alloy tube beam components and connecting structural components to form a load-bearing frame, and weld and fix them at the connection points; Step 4: Place the load-bearing skeleton into the mold and perform injection molding, so that the carbon fiber reinforced composite material wraps around the outer surface of each connecting structural component and the connecting end between each pipe beam, forming the corresponding injection-molded support layer, and obtaining an integral injection-molded insert. Step 5: Place the one-piece injection molded insert into the mold and perform carbon fiber molding. Wrap the entire outer surface of the insert with a carbon fiber reinforcement layer to obtain a one-piece carbon fiber reinforced component. Step 6: Perform deburring, surface treatment and other post-processing on the integrally molded carbon fiber reinforced component to obtain the final roll cage product.

[0004] Furthermore, step 1 specifically employs processes including: irregular pipe cutting and bending forming to manufacture titanium alloy tube beam components.

[0005] Furthermore, steps 1 and 2 also include machining textures on the outer surfaces of the manufactured titanium alloy tube beam components and connecting structural components to help improve the strength of the injection-molded support layer and the carbon fiber reinforcement layer.

[0006] Furthermore, in step 1, titanium alloy tubes such as TA15, TA18, and TC4 are specifically used to manufacture titanium alloy tube beam components.

[0007] Furthermore, in step 2, specific processes such as 3D printing, stamping, high-precision laser cutting, and die casting are used to form and manufacture the connecting structural components.

[0008] Furthermore, in step 2, titanium alloy plates such as TA18 and TC4 are specifically used to manufacture connecting structural components.

[0009] Furthermore, the welding method performed in step 3 can be specifically selected as argon arc welding, laser welding, etc.

[0010] Furthermore, in step 4, reinforced PA, PC, PP and other composite materials are used as the substrate for injection molding.

[0011] Furthermore, step 4 also includes forming a texture on the outer surface of the injection-molded support layer to help improve the strength of the carbon fiber reinforcement layer.

[0012] Accordingly, the present invention also provides a roll cage product made of titanium alloy and carbon fiber injection molding integrally manufactured by the above method, the structure of which consists of a titanium alloy load-bearing frame, an injection molding support layer and a carbon fiber reinforcement layer from the inside out. The titanium alloy load-bearing frame includes several titanium alloy tube beam components that make up the main body of the load-bearing frame, as well as connecting structural components for connecting different titanium alloy tube beam components. The injection-molded support layer is formed on the outer surface of the connecting ends of each connecting structural component and each pipe beam through an integral injection molding process, and together with the titanium alloy load-bearing frame, it forms an integral injection-molded embedded component. The carbon fiber reinforcement layer is wrapped around the outer surface of the integral injection-molded insert through a molding process.

[0013] The method for manufacturing a roll cage made of titanium alloy and carbon fiber through injection molding provided by the present invention first manufactures titanium alloy tube components and connecting structural components and assembles them into a load-bearing frame. Then, the injection support layer and the carbon fiber reinforcement layer are formed sequentially through integrated injection molding and compression molding processes to obtain the final roll cage product. Compared with the prior art, this application significantly improves the structural strength of the product while optimizing the process, reducing mold opening costs, and providing strong customization flexibility, which is conducive to the rapid updating of roll cage design. Attached Figure Description

[0014] Figure 1 This is a flowchart illustrating the method provided by the present invention; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of an optional structure for the titanium alloy load-bearing frame based on the present invention; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of an optional structure for an integrally injection-molded insert based on the present invention; Figure 4 A schematic diagram of an optional structure for a molded, integrally formed component with a carbon fiber reinforcement layer; Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of an optional structure for a roll cage product based on the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0015] The technical solution of the present invention will now be clearly and completely described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some, not all, of the embodiments of the present invention. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0016] This invention provides a method for manufacturing a roll cage made of titanium alloy and carbon fiber through injection molding, such as... Figure 1-5 As shown, the specific steps include: Step 1: Use titanium alloy tubing to manufacture titanium alloy tube beam components that form the main load-bearing frame, such as each horizontal beam 1, column 2, diagonal cross beam 3, base 4, etc. Step 2: For the connection points between different titanium alloy tube beam components in the main load-bearing frame, use titanium alloy material to form and manufacture corresponding connection structure components 5; Step 3: Assemble the titanium alloy tube beam components and connecting structural components to form a load-bearing frame, and weld and fix them at the connection points; Step 4: Place the load-bearing frame into the mold and perform injection molding, so that the carbon fiber reinforced composite material wraps around the outer surface of each connecting structural component and the connecting end of each pipe beam, forming the corresponding injection-molded support layer 6, and obtaining an integral injection-molded insert; the injection-molded support layer can further strengthen the connection on the basis of welding, and cooperate with the connecting structural components and pipe beam connection end to achieve better structural support, effectively overcoming the shortcomings of poor reliability of existing carbon fiber roll cage joints; Step 5: Place the integral injection-molded insert into the mold and perform carbon fiber molding. Wrap the carbon fiber reinforcement layer 7 on the outer surface of the insert to obtain an integral carbon fiber reinforced component. Step 6: Perform deburring, surface treatment and other post-processing on the integrally molded carbon fiber reinforced component to obtain the final roll cage product.

[0017] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, step 1 specifically employs processes including: pipe end irregular cutting, bending and forming, etc., to manufacture titanium alloy tube beam components.

[0018] When implementing this invention, a combination of multiple titanium alloy tube beam components and different connecting structural components can be used to achieve diverse structural forms of load-bearing skeletons, providing greater design flexibility while ensuring strength. Compared with the embedded skeleton manufacturing method based on thermal expansion process, it has a significant cost advantage.

[0019] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, steps 1 and 2 further include performing processes such as knurling on the outer surface of the manufactured titanium alloy tube beam components and connecting structural components to process serrated or concave-convex textures, in order to help improve the strength of the injection-molded support layer and the carbon fiber reinforcement layer.

[0020] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, step 1 specifically uses titanium alloy tubing such as TA15, TA18, and TC4 to manufacture titanium alloy tube beam components. The tube diameter can be selected from 20-50mm, and the thickness can be selected from 1-3.5mm. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, step 2 specifically employs processes such as 3D printing, stamping, high-precision laser cutting, and die casting to manufacture the connecting structural components. In particular, the use of 3D printing and high-precision laser cutting completely eliminates the need for mold making; design and modeling can be completed solely on a software platform, thus offering significant design flexibility and manufacturing cost advantages.

[0021] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, step 2 specifically uses titanium alloy plates such as TA18 and TC4 to manufacture the connecting structural components.

[0022] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the welding method performed in step 3 is specifically selected from argon arc welding, laser welding, etc.

[0023] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, step 4 specifically uses reinforced PA, PC, PP and other composite materials as the substrate for injection molding.

[0024] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, step 4 further includes forming a texture on the outer surface of the injection-molded support layer to help improve the strength of the carbon fiber reinforcement layer.

[0025] Accordingly, the present invention also provides a roll cage product made of titanium alloy and carbon fiber injection molding integrally manufactured by the above method, the structure of which consists of a titanium alloy load-bearing frame, an injection molding support layer and a carbon fiber reinforcement layer from the inside out. The titanium alloy load-bearing frame includes several titanium alloy tube beam components that make up the main body of the load-bearing frame, as well as connecting structural components for connecting different titanium alloy tube beam components. The injection-molded support layer is formed on the outer surface of the connecting ends of each connecting structural component and each pipe beam through an integral injection molding process, and together with the titanium alloy load-bearing frame, it forms an integral injection-molded embedded component. The carbon fiber reinforcement layer is wrapped around the outer surface of the integral injection-molded insert through a molding process.

[0026] It should be understood that the sequence number of each step in the embodiments of the present invention does not imply the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present invention.

[0027] Although embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing a roll cage integrally molded from titanium alloy and carbon fiber, characterized in that: Specifically, the following steps are included: Step 1: Use titanium alloy tubular materials to manufacture titanium alloy tube beam components that will form the main load-bearing frame. Step 2: For the connection points between different titanium alloy tube beam components in the main load-bearing frame, corresponding connection structural components are manufactured using titanium alloy material. Step 3: Assemble the titanium alloy tube beam components and connecting structural components to form a load-bearing frame, and weld and fix them at the connection points; Step 4: Place the load-bearing skeleton into the mold and perform injection molding, so that the carbon fiber reinforced composite material wraps around the outer surface of each connecting structural component and the connecting end between each pipe beam, forming the corresponding injection-molded support layer, and obtaining an integral injection-molded insert. Step 5: Place the one-piece injection molded insert into the mold and perform carbon fiber molding. Wrap the entire outer surface of the insert with a carbon fiber reinforcement layer to obtain a one-piece molded carbon fiber reinforced component. Step 6: Perform post-processing on the integrally molded carbon fiber reinforced component to obtain the final roll cage product.

2. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that: Step 1 specifically employs processes including: irregular pipe cutting and bending to manufacture titanium alloy tube beam components.

3. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that: Steps 1 and 2 also include machining textures on the outer surfaces of the manufactured titanium alloy tube beam components and connecting structural components to help improve the strength of the injection-molded support layer and the carbon fiber reinforcement layer.

4. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that: In step 1, TA15, TA18, and TC4 titanium alloy tubing are used to manufacture titanium alloy tube beam components.

5. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that: In step 2, 3D printing, stamping, high-precision laser cutting and die casting processes are specifically used to form and manufacture connecting structural parts.

6. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that: In step 2, TA18 and TC4 titanium alloy plates are used to manufacture the connecting structural components.

7. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that: In step 3, the welding method to be performed is either argon arc welding or laser welding.

8. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that: In step 4, injection molding is performed using reinforced PA, PC, and PP composite materials as the substrate.

9. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that: Step 4 also includes forming a texture on the outer surface of the injection-molded support layer to help improve the strength of the carbon fiber reinforcement layer.

10. A roll cage product made of titanium alloy and carbon fiber through injection molding, characterized in that: The roll cage is manufactured by performing the method described in any one of claims 1-9; the roll cage product structure consists of, from the inside out, a titanium alloy load-bearing frame, an injection-molded support layer, and a carbon fiber reinforcement layer. The titanium alloy load-bearing frame includes several titanium alloy tube beam components that make up the main body of the load-bearing frame, as well as connecting structural components for connecting different titanium alloy tube beam components. The injection-molded support layer is formed on the outer surface of the connecting ends of each connecting structural component and each pipe beam through an integral injection molding process, and together with the titanium alloy load-bearing frame, it forms an integral injection-molded embedded component. The carbon fiber reinforcement layer is wrapped around the outer surface of the integral injection-molded insert through a molding process.

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