Glass Chopped Strand Mat Wrinkle Removal via Pressing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for manufacturing lightweight glass chopped strand mats struggle to reliably remove wrinkles without damaging the material, leading to defects in molded products and increased equipment costs due to the use of high-cost components like expander rolls.
Innovation Solution
A glass chopped strand mat manufacturing apparatus and method that incorporates a pressing means to smooth out wrinkles before winding, eliminating the need for expensive sliding members and reducing damage to the mat, with a pressing force of 0.5 to 3 g/cm² and a width of 70% to 100% of the mat's full width, ensuring wrinkle-free production.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If an expander roll is used to smooth out wrinkles on the glass chopped strand mat, then wrinkles are removed, but the thermoplastic resin is melted due to frictional heat causing product quality degradation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical friction-based expander roll system with a pressing means that applies pressure perpendicular to the mat surface. This substitution eliminates the sliding friction that generates harmful heat while maintaining the wrinkle removal function through controlled pressing force (0.5 to 3 g/cm²).
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the fundamental parameter of wrinkle removal from friction-based mechanical action to pressure-based action. By controlling the pressing force within a specific range (0.5 to 3 g/cm²), the system achieves wrinkle removal without exceeding the thermal threshold that would melt the thermoplastic resin binder.
2Manufacturing precision
If an expander roll is used for lightweight glass chopped strand mat, then wrinkles are smoothed out, but the entire mat is excessively heated by friction causing damage or gum-up
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the friction-based expander roll with a pressing means that applies normal force rather than sliding force. This mechanical substitution eliminates the generation of frictional heat that would excessively heat the entire lightweight mat, preventing both material damage and gum-up on the expander roll surface.
3Manufacturing precision
If a sliding member such as expander roll is used to remove wrinkles, then wrinkles are smoothed out, but the equipment cost increases and apparatus configuration becomes complicated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential function of wrinkle removal from the complex expander roll system and implements it through a simpler pressing means. This extraction eliminates the need for expensive sliding members while maintaining the core functionality of smoothing wrinkles on the glass chopped strand mat.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces expensive, complex expander rolls with a simpler, more cost-effective pressing means. The pressing means can be implemented with basic mechanical components that are cheaper and easier to maintain, reducing both equipment cost and operational complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution effectively removes wrinkles without damaging the glass chopped strand mat, preventing molding defects and delamination, while simplifying equipment configuration and reducing costs by eliminating the need for high-cost components like expander rolls.
Implementation Method 1
a pressing means for pressing the glass chopped strand mat
Data Source
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AI summary
A glass chopped strand mat manufacturing apparatus and method capable of manufacturing a lightweight glass chopped strand mat for which there has in recent years been an increasing demand, are provided which can manufacture a high-quality (i.e., wrinkle-free) product at low cost. The apparatus is an apparatus for manufacturing a glass chopped strand mat M having a weight of 300 g/m2 or less from glass chopped strands S, including wrinkle preventing means 80 for smoothing out wrinkles occurring on the glass chopped strand mat M, and winding means 90 for winding, into a roll, the glass chopped strand mat M on which the wrinkles have been smoothed out.