Apparatus and method for manufacturing glass fiber

Abstract

To provide a glass fiber manufacturing apparatus that reduces damages of a touch bar due to friction with a glass strand and enables a long-term use of the touch bar.SOLUTION: A glass fiber manufacturing apparatus 11 includes: a gathering shoe 14 for converging a plurality of glass filaments to form a glass strand S; a traverse 20 for reciprocating the glass strand S along a direction intersecting an extension direction of the glass strand S; a touch bar 21 extending along a reciprocating direction of the traverse 20 and constantly coming into slide contact with the glass strand S; a collet 16 for winding the glass strand S that has passed through the traverse 20; and a slide contact surface changing device 23 for changing a slide contact surface to the glass strand S in the touch bar 21 by rotating the touch bar 21.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus for producing glass fibers and a method for producing glass fibers. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there has been a glass fiber manufacturing apparatus that includes a traverse that moves a glass strand back and forth in a direction intersecting the extension direction of the glass strand, and a collet that winds up the glass strand that has passed through the traverse (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In such a glass fiber manufacturing apparatus, the glass strand is wound while being intertwined around the collet, thereby producing a cake, which is a mass of glass fiber wound into a cylindrical shape.

[0003] In the above-mentioned glass fiber manufacturing device, the glass strand is swung from side to side by the reciprocating motion of the traverse. This causes the glass strand to twist and move wildly, reducing the uniformity of the length of the multiple glass filaments that make up the glass strand. In other words, the lengths of the multiple glass filaments that make up the glass strand vary. Therefore, the applicant has proposed a technology to suppress the movement of the glass strand by arranging a touch bar that extends along the reciprocating movement direction of the traverse below the traverse so that the glass strand is in constant sliding contact with the touch bar (Patent Document 2). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2015-137222 A [Patent Document 2] Patent application No. 2022-137707 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, the touch bar installed in the above-mentioned glass fiber manufacturing device is in constant sliding contact with the glass strand, and the surface is easily damaged by friction with the glass strand. When the surface of the touch bar wears out and the touch bar deforms, it is unable to perform its full function. For these reasons, there is a problem that the service life of the touch bar is short.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide a glass fiber manufacturing apparatus and a glass fiber manufacturing method that reduce damage to a touch bar due to friction with glass strands and enable the touch bar to be used for a long period of time. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] [1] The glass fiber manufacturing apparatus that solves the above problem includes a gathering shoe that gathers a plurality of glass filaments to form a glass strand, a traverse that moves the glass strand back and forth along a direction intersecting the extension direction of the glass strand, a touch bar that extends along the reciprocating movement direction of the traverse and is constantly in sliding contact with the glass strand, and a collet that winds up the glass strand that has passed through the traverse, and is characterized in that it includes a sliding surface changing device that changes the sliding surface of the touch bar with the glass strand by rotating the touch bar. By having the touch bar, the glass strand is prevented from being disturbed, and the isometricity of the glass filaments can be improved. In addition, by rotating the touch bar, the sliding surface with the glass strand can be changed, and sliding contact with only one specific surface can be suppressed. Therefore, deformation of the touch bar can be suppressed, and the touch bar can be used for a long period of time.

[0008] [2] In the glass fiber manufacturing apparatus described in [1] above, it is preferable that the touch bar is rotatably provided around a central axis along the longitudinal direction.

[0009] [3] In the glass fiber manufacturing apparatus described in [2] above, it is preferable to further include a rotation speed control section for the touch bar.

[0010] [4] A method for manufacturing glass fibers includes a winding process in which the glass strand is moved back and forth by a traverse in a direction intersecting the extension direction of the glass strand, and the glass strand that has passed through the traverse is wound up with a collet, characterized in that in the winding process, the glass strand is brought into sliding contact with a touch bar extending along the reciprocating movement direction of the traverse, and the touch bar is rotated to change the sliding contact surface of the touch bar with the glass strand. Effect of the Invention

[0011] According to the glass fiber manufacturing apparatus and glass fiber manufacturing method of the present invention, damage to the touch bar caused by friction with the glass strands is reduced, enabling the touch bar to be used for a long period of time. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic side view showing a glass fiber manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 1 is a schematic front view showing a glass fiber manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged schematic diagram of a traverse and a touch bar according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] Hereinafter, an embodiment of a glass fiber manufacturing apparatus and a glass fiber manufacturing method will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that in the drawings, for convenience of explanation, some of the configurations may be shown exaggerated or simplified. Furthermore, the dimensional ratios of each part may differ from the actual ones.

[0014] (Overall configuration of glass fiber manufacturing apparatus 11) 1 and 2, the glass fiber manufacturing apparatus 11 includes a bushing 12, an applicator 13, a gathering shoe 14, a cradle 15, a collet 16, a drive unit 17, and a control unit 18. The cradle 15 also includes a cradle body 19, a traverse 20, and a touch bar 21.

[0015] The bushing 12 is a box-shaped container having a plurality of nozzles below, into which molten glass is supplied and from which a plurality of glass filaments F are drawn downward. In addition, in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, a plurality of glass filaments F are illustrated collectively and diagrammatically. In other words, in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, only the outermost portion of the plurality of glass filaments F is illustrated, and the range through which the glass filaments F pass is illustrated. The applicator 13 has a driving roller and is a device that applies a bundling agent to the glass filaments F. The gathering shoe 14 is a device that gathers and bundles the plurality of glass filaments F to which the bundling agent is applied to form a glass strand S. The glass filaments F and the glass strand S are composed of, for example, E glass (general-purpose alkali-free glass), A glass (alkali-resistant glass), C glass (acid-resistant alkali-lime-containing glass), D glass (low dielectric constant glass), S glass (high strength, high elastic modulus glass), T glass (high strength, high elastic modulus glass), H glass (high dielectric constant glass), etc.

[0016] The traverse 20 is provided on the cradle body 19 so as to be movable along a horizontal first direction X1 (see FIG. 2), which is a direction intersecting the extension direction of the glass strand S. The traverse 20 reciprocates along the first direction X1 by the operation of a traverse drive device (not shown), thereby causing the glass strand S to reciprocate along the first direction X1.

[0017] The collet 16 rotates about an axis along the first direction X1 by the operation of a collet driving device (not shown), thereby winding up the glass strand S that has passed through the traverse 20. The glass strand S is wound while being intertwined with the collet 16, thereby becoming a cake 22.

[0018] (Detailed explanation of Cradle 15) The cradle body 19 is provided so as to be movable along a horizontal second direction X2 (see FIG. 1) that is perpendicular to the first direction X1.

[0019] As shown in Fig. 3, the traverse 20 has an engagement groove 25 through which the glass strand S passes and into which it engages. The engagement groove 25 is formed so as to open to the collet 16 side in the second direction X2. The glass strand S is reciprocated along the first direction X1 while engaging with a side portion 26 of the engagement groove 25 mainly when the traverse 20 is reversed when reciprocating along the first direction X1. Note that in Fig. 2, the traverse 20 and the glass strand S during reversal are diagrammatically illustrated by two-dot chain lines.

[0020] The touch bar 21 is disposed on the cradle body 19. The touch bar 21 is formed in a cylindrical shape. The touch bar 21 is made of, for example, brass. In general, the Mohs hardness of brass is lower than that of the glass strand S, so that damage to the glass strand S caused by the glass strand S sliding against the touch bar 21 can be suppressed. In addition, the difference between the Mohs hardness of brass and the Mohs hardness of the glass strand S is relatively small, so that deterioration over time of the touch bar 21 caused by the glass strand S sliding against the touch bar 21 can also be suppressed. The axial center of the touch bar 21 is provided along the first direction X1. That is, the touch bar 21 extends along the reciprocating movement direction of the traverse 20. The touch bar 21 is formed longer than the reciprocating movement range of the traverse 20. The touch bar 21 is provided so as to be in constant sliding contact with the glass strand S. The touch bar 21 is provided below the traverse 20. Furthermore, the touch bar 21 is disposed at a position that prevents the glass strand S from contacting the bottom 27 of the engagement groove 25. In other words, the touch bar 21 is disposed at a position that receives pressure A from the glass strand S by contacting the glass strand S before the glass strand S contacts the bottom 27 of the engagement groove 25. This allows the touch bar 21 to be in sliding contact with the glass strand S at all times.

[0021] In this embodiment, the touch bar 21 can rotate around a central axis along the longitudinal direction, and the touch bar 21 is rotated by a sliding surface changing device 23 arranged in the glass fiber cutting device. In addition, it is preferable to have a rotation speed control unit 24, which makes it possible to rotate the touch bar 21 at an arbitrary set speed. Here, when the touch bar 21 is rotated in the spinning direction of the glass strand S, the sliding contact between the glass strand S and the touch bar 21 is suppressed, and deterioration of the touch bar 21 over time can be suppressed. In addition, the rotation speed of the touch bar 21 is preferably within a range of 0.1 times / min to 3 times / min, particularly 0.5 times / min to 2 times / min. If the rotation speed is too slow, damage to a specific surface of the touch bar 21 becomes large. On the other hand, if the rotation speed is too fast, it will deteriorate the isometricity of the glass strand S and will be an obstacle to the formation of a cake with stable quality. The touch bar 21 may be rotated continuously at a constant speed, or may be rotated intermittently, that is, the operation of rotating the touch bar 21 at a certain angle after a certain time has passed may be repeated. In this embodiment, the rotation speed of the touch bar 21 is controlled by the rotation speed control unit 24, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the rotation speed of the touch bar 21 may be freely rotated without being controlled by the rotation speed control unit 24. In this case, the touch bar 21 rotates due to friction when the glass strand S and the touch bar 21 slide against each other. That is, the spinning speed of the glass strand S and the circumferential speed of the touch bar 21 are approximately the same. As a result, the sliding surface of the touch bar 21 with the glass strand S changes continuously, and deterioration of the touch bar 21 over time due to the sliding contact between the glass strand S and the touch bar 21 is suppressed.

[0022] The diameter of the touch bar 21 is preferably within a range of 5 mm to 30 mm, particularly 10 to 20 mm. If the diameter of the touch bar 21 is too small, the pressure A applied to the glass strand S tends to be large, and wear of the glass strand S and / or the touch bar 21 tends to be large. In addition, the mechanical strength of the touch bar 21 may become insufficient, and the touch bar 21 may break during use. On the other hand, if the diameter of the touch bar 21 is too large, the device becomes unduly large.

[0023] The driving device 17 is controlled by the control unit 18 to move the cradle body 19 along the second direction X2, thereby varying the distance of the traverse 20 from the collet 16. Note that since the touch bar 21 is fixed to the cradle body 19 together with the traverse 20, the distance from the collet 16 varies together with the traverse 20. Note that the second direction X2 is horizontal in FIG. 1, but is not limited thereto. For example, the cradle body 19 may be moved in an oblique direction (diagonally upward or downward). In this case, the cradle body 19 may be moved linearly or in a circular arc.

[0024] (The manufacturing method and function of glass fibers) The glass fiber manufacturing method includes a "winding process" in which the glass strand S that has passed through the traverse 20 is wound by the collet 16. In the "winding process", the control unit 18 controls the drive device 17 to vary the distance of the traverse 20 with respect to the collet 16.

[0025] The glass fiber manufacturing method of the present embodiment is carried out by using the glass fiber manufacturing apparatus 11 described above. When the glass strand S is wound around the collet 16, the diameter of the cake 22 being produced gradually increases, but the control unit 18 controls the drive unit 17 to gradually move the cradle body 19 away from the collet 16. This allows the cake 22 to be produced while the distance of the traverse 20 from the collet 16 is kept at a suitable distance.

[0026] Next, the effects of the above embodiment will be described below. (1) By providing the touch bar 21 in the glass fiber manufacturing device 11, the uniformity of the length of the glass filaments can be improved. Furthermore, by rotating the touch bar 21, damage to a specific surface can be suppressed. Therefore, the touch bar 21 can be used for a long period of time.

[0027] (2) Since the touch bar 21 rotates around a central axis along the longitudinal direction, sliding contact between the glass strand S and the touch bar 21 is suppressed, and deterioration of the touch bar 21 over time can be suppressed.

[0028] (3) If a rotation speed control section for the touch bar 21 is provided, the touch bar 21 can be rotated at any desired rotation speed, thereby preventing damage to the touch bar 21 and enabling the production of cakes of consistent quality.

[0029] This embodiment can be modified as follows: This embodiment and the following modifications can be combined with each other to the extent that there is no technical contradiction. In the above embodiment, the traverse 20 has the engagement groove 25, and the touch bar 21 is disposed at a position that prevents the glass strand S from contacting the bottom 27 of the engagement groove 25, but this is not limited thereto and may be changed to another configuration. For example, the touch bar 21 may be disposed at a position that contacts the glass strand S downstream of the portion where the glass strand S contacts the bottom 27 of the engagement groove 25.

[0030] In the above embodiment, the touch bar 21 is formed in a cylindrical shape, but is not limited to this and may have other shapes. It is preferable that the part of the touch bar 21 that comes into sliding contact with the glass strand S is a curved surface. In this way, damage to the glass strand S caused by the glass strand S coming into sliding contact with the touch bar 21 can be suppressed.

[0031] In the above embodiment, the touch bar 21 is made of brass, but is not limited to this and may be made of other materials. In this case, from the viewpoint of suppressing damage to the glass strand S caused by the glass strand S sliding against the touch bar 21, it is preferable that the hardness of the material constituting the touch bar 21 is lower than the hardness of the glass strand S. Also, from the viewpoint of suppressing deterioration over time of the touch bar 21 caused by the glass strand S sliding against the touch bar 21, it is preferable that the difference between the Mohs hardness of the material constituting the touch bar 21 and the Mohs hardness of the glass strand S is small. Specifically, the difference between the Mohs hardness of the material constituting the touch bar 21 and the glass strand S is preferably 3 or less, more preferably 2 or less, and even more preferably 1 or less. The Mohs hardness of the material constituting the touch bar 21 is preferably 3 to 5, and more preferably 3 to 4. [Explanation of symbols]

[0032] 11. Glass fiber manufacturing equipment 12 Bushing 13 Applicator 14 Gathering Shoes 15 Cradle 16 Colette 17 Drive unit 18 Control Unit 19 Cradle body 20 Traverse 21 Touch Bar 22 Cake 23. Contact surface change device 24 Rotational speed control section 25 Engagement groove 26 Side 27 Bottom

Claims

1. a gathering shoe for gathering a plurality of glass filaments to form a glass strand; a traverse that reciprocates the glass strand along a direction intersecting an extension direction of the glass strand; a touch bar extending along the reciprocating direction of the traverse and constantly in sliding contact with the glass strand; a collet for winding the glass strand that has passed through the traverse; A glass fiber manufacturing apparatus comprising: A glass fiber manufacturing apparatus comprising a sliding surface changing device that changes the sliding surface of the touch bar with the glass strand by rotating the touch bar.

2. The glass fiber manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the touch bar is rotatably mounted around a central axis along a longitudinal direction.

3. The glass fiber manufacturing device according to claim 2 , further comprising a rotation speed control unit that controls the rotation speed of the touch bar.

4. A method for producing glass fibers, comprising a winding step of reciprocating the glass strand along a traverse in a direction intersecting an extension direction of the glass strand, and winding the glass strand that has passed through the traverse with a collet, In the winding process, the glass strand is brought into sliding contact with a touch bar extending along the reciprocating movement direction of the traverse while the touch bar is rotated, thereby changing the sliding surface of the touch bar with the glass strand.

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