Method and device for manufacturing bus bar

Abstract

To provide a method and a device for manufacturing a bus bar capable of coating a planar conductor with an insulation resin at high adhesion by extrusion molding.SOLUTION: After matte-processing a surface of a band plate-like conductor material 1, an insulation resin formed into a fluid is supplied onto the matte-processed surface of the conductor material 1 by extrusion molding to form an insulation resin layer surrounding the surface of the conductor material 1. Thereafter, a temperature of the insulation resin is lowered to solidify. Thereby, an insulating resin film formed on the surface of the conductor material 1 strongly adheres on the surface of the conductor material 1.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for manufacturing busbars used in automotive power circuits, solar cell modules, etc., and more particularly to a method for manufacturing busbars provided with an insulating resin coating. [Background technology]

[0002] In the power supply circuit of an automobile, flat bus bars made of copper or aluminum are used to connect the battery and various electrical components. In order to prevent short circuits between the bus bars and the vehicle body or other bus bars, the bus bars are covered with insulating resin.

[0003] A busbar having such an insulating coating is manufactured, for example, by applying an insulating resin to a conductive member cut into the shape of a busbar product, and then curing the resin. Specifically, a thermosetting resin or an ultraviolet-curing resin is applied to the conductive member as the insulating resin, and the resin is cured by applying heat or irradiating ultraviolet light, respectively (Patent Document 1). In this Patent Document 1, in order to prevent the insulating coating from being insufficiently thick at the edge of the conductive member, the elongation and Young's modulus of the photocurable insulating coating after curing are specified within a predetermined range.

[0004] Patent Document 2 discloses a covered conductive member having a plate-shaped conductor, a plurality of linear conductors arranged along the plate-shaped conductor, and an insulating resin material extruded to surround the plate-shaped conductor and the linear conductor, and the plate-shaped conductor and the linear conductor are integrally formed. In Patent Document 2, the plate-shaped conductor and the linear conductors are integrally formed by extruding resin, and similar to Patent Document 1, the busbar products are individually resin-coated to produce the covered conductive member. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2016-66435 A [Patent Document 2] Patent No. 6518508 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] The resin coating method using resin extrusion coating has the advantage of higher production efficiency than the methods using heat curing of thermosetting resins and light curing of photosetting resins. However, resin-coated conductors in which the surface of a conductor is coated with resin by extrusion molding are bent or twisted into complex shapes to accommodate the contacts of electrical components in automobiles, etc. In this way, electrical components, etc. are connected by bus bars bent or twisted into various shapes.

[0007] In this case, the conventional extrusion coated busbar has low adhesion between the resin coating and the flat conductor, and when it is bent to fit the contact point for connecting to an electric component, the coating resin may peel off from the flat conductor in a layer form at the bent portion, exposing the conductor. This destroys the insulation of the conductor, and it no longer functions as wiring.

[0008] The present invention has been made in consideration of these problems, and has an object to provide a method and apparatus for manufacturing a busbar that can coat a flat conductor with insulating resin with high adhesion by extrusion molding. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The method for manufacturing a bus bar according to the present invention includes the steps of: The method is characterized in that the surface of a strip-shaped conductor is matte-finished, an insulating resin is extruded onto the surface of the conductor, and then the conductor is cut to produce a bus bar.

[0010] The bus bar manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention comprises: a supply unit that supplies a strip-shaped conductor in one direction; A surface processing unit that performs matte processing on the surface of the conductor; an extrusion molding section that supplies insulating resin to the conductor after the matte finish by extrusion molding to form an insulating resin layer surrounding the surface of the conductor; a winding section for winding the conductor on which the insulating coating layer is formed; The present invention is characterized by having the following. Effect of the Invention

[0011] According to the present invention, after the surface of the strip-shaped conductor is matte-finished, insulating resin formed into a fluid state by extrusion molding is supplied to the matte-finished surface of the conductor material, and then the insulating resin is cooled and solidified. As a result, the insulating resin coating formed on the surface of the conductor adheres firmly to the surface of the conductor, and even if the busbar is bent after being cut to a predetermined length, the insulating resin coating is prevented from peeling off from the conductor. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a configuration of an extrusion molding machine. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a busbar manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. A busbar blank 1 having a rectangular cross section is wound around a supply roller 2. This busbar blank 1 is made of copper or aluminum wire (including alloys) or other metals or alloys, and is formed into a rectangular shape in a previous process and then wound around the supply roller 2.

[0014] The material 1 unwound from the supply roller 2 passes through a matte finisher 3, a resin extrusion molding machine 4, and a water tank 5, and is once taken over by a take-off machine 6. The material 1 drawn out and driven by the take-off machine 6 is subjected to matte finish on its surface by the matte finisher 3. This matte finish is a method of mechanically or chemically roughening the surface of the material 1. The surface state after matte finish can be gloss matte, semi-gloss matte, or non-gloss matte, and the processing methods include shot blasting, sand blasting, wire brushing, and dispersion plating. In this embodiment, it is preferable to perform matte finish by shot blasting. In this shot blasting method, there are an air blasting method in which fine abrasives are carried by compressed air and sprayed onto the surface of the material 1, and an impeller blasting method in which fine abrasives are sprayed onto the surface of the material 1 by the wind force of the rotation of an impeller. In addition, fine iron particles can be used as the abrasive, but it is preferable to use fine alumina particles to prevent them from adhering to the surface of the material as rust. In this matte finish, it is preferable to form irregularities having a depth of 30 to 50 μm on the surface of the raw material 1. Furthermore, the surface of the raw material 1 is scraped off by the collision of the abrasive, and uniform, fine, complexly shaped irregularities having no directional property are formed on the surface of the raw material 1.

[0015] Next, the material 1 is coated with resin by supplying resin to its surface in a resin extrusion molding machine 4. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of the resin extrusion molding machine 4. The material 1 moves horizontally and passes through a resin molding die 11 of the resin extrusion molding machine 4. A resin in a flowing state is supplied to the resin molding die 11 from a resin supplying section 12, and the resin is applied to the periphery of the material 1 in the resin molding die 11. In the resin supplying section 12, a screw 13 is installed horizontally with its axial direction facing the resin molding die 11. A hopper 15 is installed above the rear end of the screw 13, and resin pellets stored in the hopper 15 are supplied from the lower end of the hopper 15 to the rear end of the screw 13. The screw 13 is stored in a housing 14, and the end of the housing 14 on the resin molding die 11 side is connected to the resin molding die 11 by a resin flow path 16. The temperature inside the housing 14 is adjusted to about 230 to 250°C, and the resin pellets supplied from the hopper 15 to the screw 13 melt inside the housing. The molten resin is pushed out toward the resin molding die 11 by the rotation of the screw 13, and is supplied to the resin molding die 11 with an appropriate pressure, where it is coated on the surface of the rectangular blank 1.

[0016] The resin material is preferably one that has high adhesiveness to the base material 1, such as copper or aluminum (including alloys thereof), high insulation properties, and high abrasion resistance, and polyamide, for example, can be used.

[0017] The coating material 11, in which the surface of the material 1 is coated with the resin in a fluid state, is then passed through a water tank 5 and water-cooled. This cools the coating resin and causes it to adhere to the surface of the coating material 11. The resin-coated coating material 11 is then drawn by a take-up machine 6 and temporarily stored in an accumulator 7. The coating material 11 is then supplied to a measuring unit 8, where the thickness of the insulating resin-coated material 11 is measured and the presence or absence of defects such as pinholes is inspected, and the material is then wound up by a winder 9. The coil of the coating material 11 wound up by the winder 9 is transferred to the next process and cut to a predetermined size. The cut insulating resin-coated material 11 is then used as a bus bar for wiring circuits in automobiles, etc.

[0018] Next, the operation of the busbar manufacturing apparatus configured as described above will be described. A busbar material 1 made of copper or the like having a rectangular cross section is wound into a coil and attached to supply rollers 2. Then, material 1 unwound from this material coil is taken up by a take-up machine 6 and supplied from supply rollers 2 to texture processing device 3. Then, texture processing is applied to the surface of material 1 made of copper or the like by a method such as shot blasting. As a result of this texture processing, as described above, unevenness having a depth of, for example, about 30 to 50 μm is formed on the surface of material 1.

[0019] The material 1, whose surface is formed with fine irregularities by this matte finish, is then fed to a resin extrusion molding machine 4. In this resin extrusion molding machine 4, molten resin such as polyamide is applied to the surface of the material 1. That is, polyamide resin pellets stored in a hopper 15 are fed from the hopper 15 to the rear end of the screw 13, the resin pellets are heated and melted in the housing 14, and are extruded toward the resin molding die 11 by the rotation of the screw 13. Then, when the material 1 passes through the resin molding die 11, the molten resin is fed to the surface of the material 1 in the resin molding die 11, and the molten resin is applied to the surface of the material 1 so as to surround the periphery of the material 1.

[0020] This resin-coated coated material 10 is taken up by a take-up machine 6 and passed through a water tank 5, where it is cooled, causing the resin on the surface of the material 10 to solidify.

[0021] The resin-coated coating material 10 is then supplied from the take-up machine 6 to an accumulator 7, where the moving speed is adjusted and the material is sent to a measuring unit 8, where the thickness of the coating material 10 is measured and the material is inspected for defects. The coating material 10 is then wound into a coil by a winding machine 9. This coiled coating material 10 is then transported to another line and cut to a predetermined length to become a busbar product.

[0022] In order to wire circuits in an automobile, the busbar is bent, twisted, and deformed to fit the circuit terminals and connect the circuit terminals. In this embodiment, the resin is applied to the surface of the material 1 that has been roughened to a matte finish and then solidified, so that the resin adheres closely to the surface of the material 1, and even if the busbar product is bent or twisted, the resin portion is prevented from peeling off from the surface of the material 1.

[0023] In addition, in this embodiment, the material 1 after the blasting process is transferred to a resin extrusion molding process without heating. Usually, when the surface of a material is to be coated with resin, the material is heated and preheated to improve the adhesion of the coating resin, and then the resin is extruded on the surface. However, in this case, when the bus bar after cutting the resin-coated material 10 is used for wiring, when the coating resin at both ends of the bus bar is peeled off to form contacts, the peelability of the resin at both ends is poor, making it difficult to form contacts. For this reason, the material 1 after the blasting process is extruded without preheating. However, in this embodiment, the resin is extruded after the surface of the material 1 is matte-finished, so that the resin adheres firmly to the surface of the material 1, and the resin can be easily peeled off when peeling off the coating resin at both ends of the bus bar. [Industrial Applicability]

[0024] According to the present invention, a busbar is manufactured by subjecting the surface of a strip-shaped conductor to a matte finish and then extruding an insulating resin onto the surface of the conductor, so that even if the busbar is bent or twisted to fit a wiring location, peeling of the coating resin and breakdown of the insulation of the busbar can be prevented, which improves the ease of application of the busbar to an electric circuit and is beneficial for improving the efficiency of wiring work using the busbar. [Explanation of symbols]

[0025] 1:Material 2: Supply roller 3: Satin finish processing device 4: Resin extrusion molding machine 5: Aquarium 10: Covering material 11: Extrusion die 13: Screw 15: Hopper

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing a busbar, comprising the steps of: subjecting a surface of a strip-shaped conductor to a matte finish; extruding an insulating resin onto the surface of the conductor; and cutting the conductor to produce a busbar.

2. a supply unit that supplies a strip-shaped conductor in one direction; A surface processing unit that performs matte processing on the surface of the conductor; an extrusion molding section that supplies insulating resin to the conductor after the matte finish by extrusion molding to form an insulating resin layer surrounding the surface of the conductor; a winding section for winding the conductor on which the insulating coating layer is formed; A bus bar manufacturing apparatus comprising:

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