Sandwich Structures with Flowable Cores for Continuous Rib Reinforcement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for forming sandwich structures with upright parts, such as ribs, in electronic equipment face challenges in achieving high strength and rigidity while maintaining a desirable shape, often resulting in incomplete reinforcement and surface defects due to limitations in material fluidity and boundary interfaces during press working.
Innovation Solution
A sandwich structure comprising a skin layer with a metal layer and fiber reinforced resin layers, combined with a fluid core layer that easily fluidizes, featuring penetration parts to allow the core layer to project out-of-plane, enabling the formation of complex shapes with continuous reinforcement and improved mechanical properties.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If conventional press working methods are used to form ribs by filling rib-forming parts with base material, then the process is relatively simple, but the reinforcing fibers cannot achieve sufficient reinforcement due to breaks and interfaces at boundary parts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the formation of the plane-forming part and upright part into a single integrated press working process. The base material containing reinforcing fibers is pressed in one operation to form both the flat panel and the vertical ribs simultaneously, eliminating boundary interfaces and fiber breaks that would occur with separate forming operations. This integration ensures continuous fiber reinforcement throughout the entire structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs preliminary action by pre-heating the base material to enhance its fluidity before press working. This pre-heating step allows the material to flow more easily into the rib-forming parts during pressing, ensuring complete filling and proper fiber distribution without requiring complex multi-step processes. The material's improved fluidity enables it to conform to the mold cavities for both the plane and upright portions.
2Manufacturing precision
If the base material is pressed to form complex rib shapes, then the fluidity of the material must be sufficient to fill the rib-forming part completely, but this is difficult to achieve without generating resin-rich parts or incomplete filling
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the temperature parameter of the base material to optimize its fluidity. By controlling the heating temperature within a specific range, the material achieves optimal flow characteristics that enable complete filling of complex rib geometries without becoming too fluid to control. This parameter optimization prevents both incomplete filling and resin-rich areas, achieving precise manufacturing results.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial action by selectively heating and pressing specific regions of the base material. The press working process applies pressure primarily to the rib-forming areas while maintaining appropriate pressure distribution across the entire material surface. This controlled partial action ensures complete filling of the rib cavities without causing excessive material flow that would lead to resin-rich regions.
3Weight of moving object
If sheet thinning is performed to reduce weight, then the housing becomes lighter, but the rigidity and strength decrease making it prone to bending under external loads
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs composite materials consisting of thermoplastic base material reinforced with continuous or discontinuous fibers. This composite structure provides high strength-to-weight ratio, enabling the housing to remain lightweight while achieving the necessary bending resistance. The fiber reinforcement significantly enhances the mechanical properties of the thin-walled structure without adding substantial weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds vertical dimension by forming upright ribs that extend perpendicular to the plane of the housing panel. These three-dimensional structural elements significantly increase the moment of inertia and bending stiffness of the thin-walled structure. The ribs transform the flat two-dimensional panel into a three-dimensional structure with enhanced rigidity while maintaining thin wall thickness for weight reduction.
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
This solution enables the production of lightweight, high-strength, and high-rigidity shaped products with complex shapes, such as ribs, by allowing the fluid core layer to flow through penetration parts, ensuring complete filling and continuous reinforcement, thus overcoming previous limitations in material fluidity and surface defects.
Implementation Method 1
a fluid core layer which easily fluidizes by heating or pressuring
Implementation Method 2
integrating the sandwich precursor to prepare a sandwich structure
Implementation Method 3
integrating the sandwich precursor to prepare a sandwich structure
Data Source
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AI summary
A sandwich structure which is configured of skin layers each comprising at least one layer selected from among a metal layer, a fiber-reinforced resin layer (X) that comprises continuous fibers and a matrix resin (A), and a fiber-reinforced resin layer (Y) that comprises discontinuous fibers and a heat-curable matrix resin (B) and of a core layer comprising a flowable core layer that comprises discontinuous fibers and a matrix resin (C), wherein the skin layers are constituted of a material which has a flexural modulus higher than that of the core layer, and a through part has been formed in a region that lies in at least some of the skin layers. In the sandwich structure, an upright part which projects in an out-of-plane direction of skin layer and which has high strength and a complicated shape such as a rib is obtained by an easy method. The sandwich structure is lightweight, has high strength and high rigidity, and warps little. A shaped product and processes for producing the sandwich structure and the shaped product are also provided.