Prepreg prepressing forming tool and carbon fiber product forming equipment

Abstract

The utility model discloses a prepreg pre-pressing forming tool and carbon fiber product forming equipment. The pre-pressing forming tool comprises a vacuum bag film, a tool upper cover, a profiling mold, and a tool upper cover and a tool lower cover which can be opened and closed, the tool upper cover is provided with a frame and a hollow part located in the frame. The vacuum bag film is positioned on the upper surface of the tool upper cover and at least covers the hollow part of the tool upper cover; the profiling mold is located at the upper part of the tool lower cover, and the profiling mold is configured to bear a prepreg flat plate; the tool lower cover is provided with a vacuumizing interface, and the vacuumizing interface is configured to be connected with a vacuum pump; the tool upper cover and the tool lower cover are closed to form a closed space. Profiling paving on a forming mold is not needed, the paving time is greatly shortened, tool operation is easy, efficiency is high, the product pre-pressing procedure and the product curing procedure are carried out separately and simultaneously, and batch production is facilitated.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the field of molding tooling, in particular to a prepreg pre-pressing molding tooling and carbon fiber product molding equipment. Background Art

[0002] At present, the pre-pressing of prepregs is mainly to lay the preformed material on the final molding mold along the shape of the mold, and then use the molding mold as a pre-pressing support tooling, encapsulate the vacuum bag on the mold for sealing, and then use a vacuum pump to connect the vacuum bag through the air pipe to evacuate the vacuum bag. After 10-15 minutes, tear off the vacuum bag film, isolation film and other auxiliary materials to complete a pre-pressing process. There is no special pre-forming tooling designed for this process. At present, the pre-pressing of preformed materials generally requires complicated operations. For example, when using autoclaves, molding, vacuum bag pressing and other processes to form carbon fiber products, carbon fiber prepregs are needed. The prepregs are stacked and laid on the mold layer by layer, and then placed in an autoclave, hot press or oven equipment for heating and pressurization to cure and form. Usually before the final curing and forming, it is necessary to pre-press the multi-layer prepreg multiple times to expel the air between the prepreg layers, reduce the product porosity, prevent poor appearance such as wrinkles and pinhole defects, and improve the surface quality and performance of the product. Moreover, it is time-consuming to lay the paste on the mold before pre-pressing, especially when the shape of the mold is complex. The contour laying process, vacuum bag sealing process and pre-pressing time are relatively long, the operation is cumbersome, the efficiency is low, and it is not conducive to mass production. In addition, the occupation of the final curing and molding mold will make it impossible to separate the pre-pressing process and the curing and molding process and carry them out simultaneously, resulting in waste of resources and unreasonable arrangement.

[0003] The disclosure of the above background technology content is only used to assist in understanding the concept and technical solution of the utility model. It does not necessarily belong to the prior art of this patent application, nor does it necessarily provide technical guidance. In the absence of clear evidence that the above content has been disclosed before the filing date of this patent application, the above background technology should not be used to evaluate the novelty and creativity of the present application. Utility Model Content

[0004] The utility model aims to provide a prepreg pre-pressing molding tool.

[0005] In order to achieve the above purpose, the technical solution adopted by the utility model is as follows:

[0006] A prepreg pre-pressing tooling, comprising a vacuum bag film, a tooling upper cover, a contoured mold, and an openable tooling upper cover and a tooling lower cover;

[0007] The tooling upper cover is provided with a frame and a hollow portion located inside the frame;

[0008] The vacuum bag film is located on the upper surface of the tooling upper cover and at least covers the hollow portion of the tooling upper cover;

[0009] The profiling die is located at the upper portion of the tooling lower cover, and the profiling die is configured to carry a prepreg flat plate;

[0010] The tooling lower cover is provided with a vacuum extraction interface, and the vacuum extraction interface is configured to be connected to a vacuum pump;

[0011] The tooling upper cover and the tooling lower cover are covered to form a closed space. Further, based on any one of the above-mentioned technical solutions or a combination of multiple technical solutions, a sealant for sealing the vacuum bag film is provided on the frame of the tooling upper cover, and the sealed vacuum bag film has a surplus except for covering the hollow part of the tooling upper cover.

[0012] Further, based on any one of the technical solutions or a combination of multiple technical solutions mentioned above, the tooling further includes a hinge, and the tooling upper cover and the tooling lower cover are connected by the hinge.

[0013] Further, based on any one of the technical solutions or a combination of multiple technical solutions mentioned above, the upper surface of the tooling lower cover is also provided with one or more air guide grooves, and the air guide grooves are connected to the vacuum extraction interface.

[0014] Furthermore, based on any one of the above-mentioned technical solutions or a combination of multiple technical solutions, it also includes a sealing member that seals the sides of the tooling upper cover and the tooling lower cover after they are covered.

[0015] Furthermore, based on any one of the technical solutions or a combination of multiple technical solutions mentioned above, the air guide grooves are distributed horizontally and vertically on the tooling lower cover, and the ends of the air guide grooves extend to the edge of the upper surface of the tooling lower cover; a sealing strip is provided at the edge of the upper surface of the tooling lower cover, and the sealing strip surrounds the tooling lower cover or the sealing strip seals the ends of the air guide grooves.

[0016] Further, based on any one of the technical solutions or a combination of multiple technical solutions described above, the tooling lower cover is the same size as the tooling upper cover, the area of ​​the profiling mold is smaller than the area of ​​the prepreg flat plate, the area of ​​the prepreg flat plate is smaller than the area of ​​the hollow portion of the tooling upper cover, and the profiling mold, the prepreg flat plate and the hollow portion of the tooling upper cover in the covered state are arranged relatively to each other up and down.

[0017] Furthermore, based on any one of the technical solutions or a combination of multiple technical solutions mentioned above, the tooling upper cover, the tooling lower cover and the contoured mold are made of aluminum.

[0018] Further, based on any one of the technical solutions or a combination of multiple technical solutions described above, the number of the profiling molds is one or more, and the shape of the profiling mold can be one or more of a square, a circle, an ellipse, and an irregular shape.

[0019] According to another aspect of the utility model, a carbon fiber product molding device is provided, comprising a curing and molding device and the prepreg pre-pressing molding tool as described above, wherein the curing and molding device is configured to heat, pressurize and cure the carbon fiber prepreg pre-pressed by the prepreg pre-pressing molding tool.

[0020] The beneficial effects brought by the technical solution provided by the utility model are as follows:

[0021] a. The tooling is specially used for pre-pressing carbon fiber prepregs. After the upper and lower covers are sealed and vacuum adsorbed, the prepreg flat plate is tightly pressed on the profiling mold to make it the same shape as the final product. There is no need to lay the preform on the molding mold, but only to lay a flat plate of the same thickness as the product, which greatly reduces the laying time. At the same time, the tooling is suitable for pre-pressing carbon fiber products of various shapes;

[0022] b. The tooling is simple to operate and highly efficient. The product pre-pressing process and curing process are carried out separately and simultaneously, which is conducive to mass production. The vacuum bag on the tooling can be reused, and vacuuming can prevent wrinkles and pinhole defects, thereby improving the surface quality and performance of the product;

[0023] c. Add hinges to reduce the need for operators to move the tooling back and forth, reduce workload, and add air guide grooves under the tooling cover to facilitate more efficient removal of air between prepreg layers, making the prepreg tightly fitted inside. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present application or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments recorded in the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative work.

[0025] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a tooling with its upper cover opened, provided as an exemplary embodiment of the present utility model;

[0026] Figure 2 A top view of a tool cover in an open state provided for an exemplary embodiment of the utility model;

[0027] Figure 3 A top view of a tooling lower cover provided for an exemplary embodiment of the utility model;

[0028] Figure 4 A top view of a tooling lower cover and a contoured mold provided for an exemplary embodiment of the utility model;

[0029] Figure 5A top view of a tooling with its upper cover closed, provided as an exemplary embodiment of the present utility model;

[0030] Figure 6 A left side view of a tooling with its upper cover closed, provided as an exemplary embodiment of the present utility model;

[0031] Figure 7 Two schematic diagrams of profiling mold shapes are provided for an exemplary embodiment of the utility model.

[0032] In the figure: 1-vacuum bag film, 2-tooling upper cover, 3-prepreg plate, 4-tooling lower cover, 5-contact mold, 6-vacuum extraction interface, 7-hinge, 8-air guide groove, 9-sealing strip. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0033] In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the solution of the utility model, the technical solution in the embodiment of the utility model will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiment of the utility model. Obviously, the described embodiment is only a part of the embodiment of the utility model, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiment of the utility model, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work should fall within the scope of protection of the utility model.

[0034] It should be noted that the terms "first", "second", etc. in the specification and claims of the utility model and the above-mentioned drawings are used to distinguish similar objects, and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that the data used in this way can be interchanged where appropriate, so that the embodiments of the utility model described herein can be implemented in an order other than those illustrated or described herein. In addition, the terms "including" and "having" and any of their variations are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions, for example, a process, method, device, product or equipment that includes a series of steps or units is not necessarily limited to those steps or units clearly listed, but may include other steps or units that are not clearly listed or inherent to these processes, methods, products or equipment.

[0035] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "upper", "lower", "front", "back", "left", "right", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", etc., indicating directions or positional relationships, 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 should not be understood as a limitation on the present invention.

[0036] In one embodiment of the present invention, see the attached Figure 1-6, provides a prepreg pre-pressing tooling, including a vacuum bag film 1, a tooling upper cover 2, a profiling mold 5, and a tooling upper cover 2 and a tooling lower cover 4 that can be opened and closed; the tooling upper cover 2 is provided with a frame and a hollow part located inside the frame; the vacuum bag film 1 is located on the upper surface of the tooling upper cover 2 and at least covers the hollow part of the tooling upper cover 2; the profiling mold 5 is located on the upper part of the tooling lower cover 4, and the profiling mold 5 is configured to carry a prepreg flat plate 3; the tooling lower cover 4 is provided with a vacuum extraction interface 6, and the vacuum extraction interface 6 is configured to connect a vacuum pump; the tooling upper cover 2 and the tooling lower cover 4 are covered to form a closed space.

[0037] Attached Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the tooling with the tooling cover open. Figure 2 This is a top view of the tooling cover when it is open.

[0038] It is worth noting that the pre-pressing molding tool, through the sealing of the upper tool cover and the lower tool cover, vacuum adsorption, presses the prepreg flat plate tightly on the contouring mold to make it the same shape as the final product, and does not need to be contoured on the molding mold, only the flat plate needs to be laid, which greatly reduces the laying time. The tool operation is simple and efficient. The product pre-pressing process and the curing process are carried out separately and simultaneously, which is conducive to mass production. The vacuum bag film can be reused, and vacuuming prevents wrinkles and pinhole defects, thereby improving the surface quality and performance of the product. In one embodiment of the utility model, a sealant for encapsulating the vacuum bag film 1 is provided on the frame of the tool cover 2, and the encapsulated vacuum bag film 1 has a surplus except for covering the hollow part of the tool cover 2, so that the vacuum bag film 1 and the tool cover 2 are tightly combined by the sealant.

[0039] In one embodiment of the present invention, see the attached Figure 3 , 5 -6, the tooling also includes a hinge 7, the tooling upper cover 2 and the tooling lower cover 4 are connected by the hinge 7, the hinge 7 includes a part set on the tooling upper cover 2 and a part set on the tooling lower cover 4, and the tooling upper cover 2 can be controlled to be in an open or closed state through the hinge 7. The setting of the hinge can reduce the operator's need to move the tooling back and forth, reducing the workload. Exemplarily, the two hinges are set on the same side of the tooling upper cover 2 and the tooling lower cover 4 to control the opening and closing of the tooling upper cover 2.

[0040] In one embodiment of the utility model, the upper surface of the tooling lower cover 4 is further provided with one or more air guide grooves 8, and the air guide grooves 8 are connected to the vacuum interface 6. Exemplarily, the air guide grooves 8 are a connecting structure that is staggered horizontally and vertically, and the air guide grooves 8 are connected to the vacuum interface 6, so it is beneficial to more efficiently remove the air between the prepreg layers and make the prepreg tightly fitted inside.

[0041] In one embodiment of the utility model, the tooling further comprises a sealing member for sealing the sides after the tooling upper cover 2 and the tooling lower cover 4 are covered together, so that a sealing structure is formed after the tooling upper cover 2 and the tooling lower cover 4 are covered together, and a vacuum environment is achieved inside through a vacuum operation.

[0042] In one embodiment of the utility model, the air guide grooves 8 are distributed horizontally and vertically on the tooling lower cover 4, and the ends of the air guide grooves 8 extend to the edge of the upper surface of the tooling lower cover 4; a sealing strip 9 is provided at the edge of the upper surface of the tooling lower cover 4, and the sealing strip 9 surrounds the tooling lower cover 4 or the sealing strip blocks the ends of the air guide grooves 8.

[0043] Exemplarily, black sealant is provided around the tooling upper cover 2 , and a white sealing strip is provided at the edge of the upper surface of the tooling lower cover 4 .

[0044] In one embodiment of the present invention, see the attached Figure 1 , 5 -6 The tooling lower cover 4 is the same size as the tooling upper cover 2. After the tooling upper cover 2 and the tooling lower cover 4 are closed, a sealing space is formed by cooperating with a sealing strip. The area of ​​the profiling mold 5 is smaller than the area of ​​the prepreg plate 3. The area of ​​the prepreg plate 3 is smaller than the area of ​​the hollow part of the tooling upper cover 2. The profiling mold 5, the prepreg plate 3 and the hollow part of the tooling upper cover 2 in the covered state are arranged opposite to each other in the upper and lower directions.

[0045] In one embodiment of the present invention, the tooling upper cover 2 , the tooling lower cover 4 and the contoured mold 5 may be made of a variety of materials suitable for forming the above tooling structure, such as aluminum.

[0046] In one embodiment of the present invention, the number of the profiling molds 5 is one or more, and the shape of the profiling molds can be one or more of a square, a circle, an ellipse, an irregular shape, etc., which can be selected and used as needed. The tooling is suitable for pre-pressing carbon fiber products of various shapes. For example, the shape can also be seen in the attached Figure 7 .

[0047] In one embodiment of the present invention, a carbon fiber product molding device is provided, comprising a curing and molding device and the prepreg pre-pressing molding tool as described above, wherein the curing and molding device is configured to heat, pressurize and cure the carbon fiber prepreg pre-pressed by the prepreg pre-pressing molding tool.

[0048] For example, the working process of the tooling is described as follows, taking the carbon fiber pre-pressing process as an example:

[0049] Step 1, closing the tooling upper cover 2 and the tooling lower cover 4 by hinges;

[0050] Step 2, connect the vacuum pump to the vacuum interface 6, turn on the vacuum pump, and perform vacuum operation for 3-5 minutes to make the prepreg plate 3 fit closely with the contour mold 5, and remove the air between the prepreg layers;

[0051] Step 3, after the vacuuming time is over, turn off the vacuum pump, open the tooling cover 2, and take out the prepreg flat plate 3 from the profiling mold 5. At this time, after the prepreg flat plate 3 is vacuum pre-pressed, it changes from the initial flat plate shape to the same shape as the final product;

[0052] According to the above steps, the pre-pressing molding process of several carbon fiber prepregs can be completed. The prepregs after the pre-pressing process are placed in the final molding mold, heated and pressurized for curing and molding, and the carbon fiber finished products are produced.

[0053] It should be noted that, in this article, relational terms such as first and second, etc. are only used 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 "include", "comprise" or any other variants thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or device including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. In the absence of further restrictions, the elements defined by the sentence "comprise a ..." do not exclude the existence of other identical elements in the process, method, article or device including the elements.

[0054] The above is only a specific implementation of the present application. It should be pointed out that for ordinary technicians in this technical field, several improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the principles of the present application. These improvements and modifications should also be regarded as the scope of protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A prepreg pre-pressing tool, characterized in that: include: Vacuum bag film, tooling cover, contoured mold, and tooling cover and lower cover that can be opened and closed; The tooling upper cover is provided with a frame and a hollow portion located inside the frame; The vacuum bag film is located on the upper surface of the tooling upper cover and at least covers the hollow portion of the tooling upper cover; The profiling die is located at the upper portion of the tooling lower cover, and the profiling die is configured to carry a prepreg flat plate; The tooling lower cover is provided with a vacuum extraction interface, and the vacuum extraction interface is configured to be connected to a vacuum pump; The tooling upper cover and the tooling lower cover are covered together to form a closed space.

2. The prepreg pre-pressing tooling according to claim 1, characterized in that: The frame of the tooling upper cover is provided with a sealant for sealing the vacuum bag film, and the sealed vacuum bag film has a surplus except for covering the hollow part of the tooling upper cover.

3. The prepreg pre-pressing tooling according to claim 1, characterized in that: The tooling also includes a hinge, and the tooling upper cover and the tooling lower cover are connected via the hinge.

4. The prepreg pre-pressing tooling according to claim 1, characterized in that: The upper surface of the tooling lower cover is also provided with one or more air guide grooves, and the air guide grooves are communicated with the vacuum extraction interface.

5. The prepreg pre-pressing tooling according to claim 4, characterized in that: It also includes a sealing member for sealing the sides of the tooling upper cover and the tooling lower cover after they are covered.

6. The prepreg pre-pressing tooling according to claim 5, characterized in that: The air guide grooves are distributed in a staggered manner on the tooling lower cover in a horizontal and vertical manner, and the ends of the air guide grooves extend to the edge of the upper surface of the tooling lower cover; A sealing strip is provided at the edge of the upper surface of the tooling lower cover, and the sealing strip surrounds the tooling lower cover or the sealing strip seals the end of the air guide groove.

7. The prepreg pre-pressing tooling according to claim 1, characterized in that: The tooling lower cover is the same size as the tooling upper cover, the area of ​​the profiling mold is smaller than the area of ​​the prepreg flat plate, the area of ​​the prepreg flat plate is smaller than the area of ​​the hollow portion of the tooling upper cover, and the profiling mold, the prepreg flat plate and the hollow portion of the tooling upper cover in the covered state are arranged relatively to each other up and down.

8. The prepreg pre-pressing tooling according to claim 1, characterized in that: The tooling upper cover, the tooling lower cover and the contoured mold are made of aluminum.

9. The prepreg pre-pressing tooling according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The number of the profiling molds is one or more, and the shape of the profiling mold is one or more of a square, a circle, and an ellipse.

10. A carbon fiber product molding device, characterized in that: It comprises a curing and molding device and a prepreg pre-pressing molding tool as described in any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the curing and molding device is configured to heat, pressurize and cure the carbon fiber prepreg pre-pressed by the prepreg pre-pressing molding tool.

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