Fiber-Reinforced Resin Sheet With Random Fiber Orientation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing methods for manufacturing fiber-reinforced resin materials, such as SMC and stampable sheets, result in directional alignment of fiber bundles, leading to uneven strength distribution and reduced productivity due to directionality and the generation of fluff during the manufacturing process.

Innovation Solution

A manufacturing device and method that utilizes rods or gas diffusion to disperse cut fiber bundles uniformly without directionality, combined with a fiber bundle group inspection device to ensure stable and continuous production of fiber-reinforced resin materials with uniform strength.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Strength

If the conveying speed of the sheet is decreased to reduce fiber bundle directionality, then the strength uniformity improves, but the productivity deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvestrength uniformityVSAvoidproductivity
Core Design Contradiction:
StrengthVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The fiber bundles are scattered on the paste before the sheet is conveyed, creating a random orientation pattern in advance. This preliminary scattering action ensures that even when the sheet moves at high speed, the fiber bundles maintain their random orientation and do not align in the conveying direction, thus preserving strength uniformity while allowing high productivity

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of relying on slow conveyance to prevent fiber alignment, the invention inverts the approach by actively scattering fibers in random directions before conveyance. The scattering mechanism creates an opposite effect to the natural alignment tendency, ensuring random orientation even at high conveying speeds

Inventive Principle:
Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

2Strength

If a rotating drum is used to disperse fiber bundles and reduce directionality, then the strength uniformity improves, but fluff generation increases and device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvestrength uniformityVSAvoidfluff generation
Core Design Contradiction:
StrengthVSObject-generated harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The harmful rotating drum mechanism is completely removed from the system. Instead of using mechanical rotation to disperse fibers, the invention extracts only the essential function of random scattering by having cut fiber bundles naturally scatter on the paste surface, eliminating fluff generation while maintaining strength uniformity

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The fiber bundles scatter themselves randomly on the paste surface without requiring external mechanical assistance. The cutting process and gravity-driven dropping create natural random orientation, eliminating the need for rotating drums and associated fluff generation while achieving the desired strength uniformity

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

Data Source

PatentEP3708325B1Fiber-reinforced resin material
Publication Date: 2025.12.31 MITSUBISHI CHEM CORP
  • EP3708325B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3708325B1 patent drawingFigure 2~3
  • EP3708325B1 patent drawingFigure 4A~4C

AI summary

The disclosure provides a fiber-reinforced resin material having minimal directionality of strength as well as excellent productivity, a method and device for manufacturing a fiber-reinforced resin material whereby a molded article is obtained, and a device for inspecting a fiber bundle group. A method for manufacturing a sheet-shaped fiber-reinforced resin material in which a paste (P1) is impregnated between cut fiber bundles (CF), the method for manufacturing a fiber-reinforced resin material including a coating step applying a coating of a paste (P1) on a first sheet (S11) conveyed in a predetermined direction, a cutting step for cutting a long fiber bundle (CF) using a cutter (113A), a scattering step for dispersing the cut fiber bundles (CF) and scattering the cut fiber bundles (CF) on the paste (P1), and an impregnation step for pressing a fiber bundle group (F1) and the paste (P1) on the first sheet (S11) and impregnating the paste (P1) between the fiber bundles (CF).