U.S. patent application number 12/084751 was filed with the patent office on 2009-09-03 for tool, arrangement, and method for manufacturing a component, component.
This patent application is currently assigned to AIRBUS DEUTSCHLAND GMBH. Invention is credited to Ulrich Eberth, Martin Friedrich.
Application Number | 20090218734 12/084751 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 37814673 |
Filed Date | 2009-09-03 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090218734 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Eberth; Ulrich ; et
al. |
September 3, 2009 |
Tool, Arrangement, and Method for Manufacturing a Component,
Component
Abstract
This application describes a tool, an arrangement, and a method
of manufacturing a component. The manufacturing of the component is
achieved by a resin transfer from a storage chamber via a transfer
line into a working chamber. Before the resin transfer, taking
place, for example by a compressed air charging of the storage
chamber, the storage chamber is filled with an amount of resin
adjusted to the size of the component. furthermore, a semi-finished
product, consisting of cut-to-size reinforcement fibers, is
inserted into the working chamber that is adjusted to the form of
the component to be produced. Storage chamber, transfer line, and
working chamber are configured in a one-piece mould casing of the
tool. The application further describes a component manufactured by
the above-mentioned tool or by the above-mentioned method
respectively.
Inventors: |
Eberth; Ulrich; (Donauworth,
DE) ; Friedrich; Martin; (Harsum, DE) |
Correspondence
Address: |
LERNER, DAVID, LITTENBERG,;KRUMHOLZ & MENTLIK
600 SOUTH AVENUE WEST
WESTFIELD
NJ
07090
US
|
Assignee: |
AIRBUS DEUTSCHLAND GMBH
Hamburg
DE
DEUTSCHES ZENTRUM FUR LUFT-UND RAUMFAHRT E.V.(DLR)
Koeln
DE
|
Family ID: |
37814673 |
Appl. No.: |
12/084751 |
Filed: |
November 9, 2006 |
PCT Filed: |
November 9, 2006 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/EP2006/010763 |
371 Date: |
April 22, 2009 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
264/571 ;
425/129.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B29C 70/48 20130101;
B29C 45/14786 20130101; B29C 45/02 20130101; B29C 45/462 20130101;
B29C 70/546 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
264/571 ;
425/129.1 |
International
Class: |
B29C 43/56 20060101
B29C043/56; B29C 70/34 20060101 B29C070/34 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Nov 10, 2005 |
DE |
10 2005 053 690.5 |
Claims
1. A tool for manufacturing a fiber-reinforced composite component
by a resin-transfer-moulding process, comprising: a moulding base
element, in which are configured: a working chamber for receiving
of a semi-finished product, a storage chamber for receiving of
resin, and a transfer line, connecting the working chamber to the
storage chamber, wherein the base element is a one-piece form, and
wherein a storing bag filled with resin is insertable into the
storage chamber.
2. The tool according to claim 1, wherein the storage chamber is
dimensioned to receive an amount of resin required for the
component.
3. The tool according to claim 1, further comprising a cap, in a
closed state sealing the working chamber and the storage chamber
against the environment of the tool.
4. The tool according to claim 1, further comprising a heating
device for heating of the resin received in the storage
chamber.
5. The tool according to claim 1, further comprising a pressure
port for charging of the storage chamber with compressed air.
6. The tool according to claim 1, further comprising a vacuum port
for evacuating the working chamber.
7. The tool according to claim 1, wherein the transfer line is
designed for transferring only liquid resin with a viscosity being
lower than a certain threshold value from the storage chamber into
the working chamber.
8. The tool according to claim 7, further comprising a sieve
located in the transfer line.
9. The tool according to claim 7, wherein the transfer line has a
flow-through channel.
10. The tool according to claim 1, wherein the storage chamber is
configured such that the resin is pourable from a dosing device
into the storage chamber.
11. The tool according to claim 1, wherein the storage chamber is
configured such that resin in the form of a granulate is pourable
into the storage chamber.
12. An arrangement for manufacturing a fiber-reinforced composite
component by a resin-transfer-moulding process, comprising: a tool
manufacturing the component comprising: a moulding base element, in
which are configured: a working chamber for receiving of a
semi-finished product, a storage chamber for receiving of resin,
and a transfer line, connecting the working chamber to the storage
chamber, wherein the base element is a one-piece form, and wherein
a storing bag filled with resin is insertable into the storage
chamber; and a feeding device for feeding of resin into the storage
chamber.
13. An arrangement according to claim 12, further comprising a
compressed air generating device for the charging of compressed air
into the storage chamber.
14. An arrangement according to claim 12, further comprising a
vacuum generating device for evacuating the working chamber.
15. A resin-transfer-moulding method for the manufacturing of a
fiber-reinforced composite component, comprising: inserting a
semi-finished product into a working chamber of a tool; feeding a
resin material into a storage chamber of the tool, wherein a
storing bag filled with resin is inserted into the storing chamber;
and transferring the resin material via a transfer line into the
semi-finished product by charging of the storage chamber with
compressed air and/or by evacuating the working chamber.
16. The method according to claim 15, further comprising: sealing
the tool against its environment after the inserting of the
semi-finished product and the feeding of the resin material into
the tool.
17. The method according to claim 15, further comprising: heating
the resin material located in the storage chamber.
18. The method according to claim 15, further comprising: filtering
the resin material in the transfer line at the transfer from the
storage chamber into the working chamber.
19. The method according to claim 15, comprising: filling the resin
from a feeding device into the storage chamber.
20. The method according to claim 15, further comprising: filling
the resin in the form of a granulate into the storage chamber.
Description
[0001] This application claims the benefit of the filing date of
German Patent Application No. 10 2005 053 690.5 filed Nov. 10,
2005, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by
reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The invention relates to the manufacturing of components, in
particular to the manufacturing of fiber-reinforced composite
components by means of a resin-transfer-moulding process.
TECHNOLOGICAL BACKGROUND
[0003] In the so-called resin transfer moulding (RTM) process,
complex fiber-reinforced plastic composites with a high fiber
volume content are generated by the saturation of dry fiber
semi-finished products with resin. The RTM-process, also called
resin injection process, is a closed process, allowing close
manufacturing tolerances regarding component weight, fiber volume
content, and component dimensions.
[0004] In the procedural realisation, a dry semi-finished fiber
product, consisting of cut-to-size reinforcement fibers, is
inserted into a two-piece tool having an upper and a lower shell.
The tool is then closed and sealed. Subsequently, an external
storage container filled with resin is connected to the tool via a
first feeding line. Furthermore, a vacuum pump is pneumatically
connected to the tool via a second feeding line. When applying a
vacuum, resin is then transferred from an external storage
container, being initially under atmospheric pressure, into the
tool via the first feeding line. Thus, the fiber semi-finished
product is permeated with resin. In order to avoid a contamination
of the vacuum pump with resin, a so-called resin trap, is provided
in the second line between the tool and the vacuum pump, in which
resin residues are removed from the evacuated air. Optionally, the
storage container may be charged with compressed air, so that the
resin located there is additionally pressed into the tool. Thus, it
is possible that the finished component has only as few and also as
little pore-like air inclusions as possible.
[0005] By supplying heat by suitable heat elements to the tool and,
thus, to the component permeated with resin, the curing of resin is
effected, so that the individual fibers of the component are
interconnected. After the curing has been effected, the
manufactured composite component is removed from the tool. After a
cleaning of the upper and lower shell, the tool is available for
manufacturing new components.
[0006] Fiber-reinforced plastic composites manufactured by the
RTM-process may be used for structure components in various
sectors, such as in the automotive engineering and the aerospace
industry. Examples for fiber-reinforced plastic products are
fittings for a vertical fin of an aircraft, fairing elements of
cars, or high roofs and airflow systems of trucks.
[0007] Thus, a multitude of composite components required for
different applications may thus be manufactured by the RTM-process.
According to the layout of the tool and the material selection, a
manufacturing to finished dimensions is possible. In many cases, an
extensive and cost-intensive finishing of the components is
therefore no longer necessary.
[0008] Using known devices for manufacturing a component according
to the RTM-process causes the problem that in an automated process
the resin lines required for the RTM-process can be connected to
the tool only with difficulty. For example, seals contaminated with
resin material cause tightness problems, thus reducing the process
security. In order to obtain an acceptable process security, a
considerable cleaning effort for the external components of a
corresponding device for performing a RTM-process that are
connected to the tool is thus necessary before each component
manufacturing.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] The object of the present invention is to provide a tool, an
arrangement, and a method for manufacturing a component, allowing a
simple manufacturing of components in an automated process
sequence.
[0010] According to an exemplary embodiment of the present
invention, a tool for manufacturing a component, in particular for
manufacturing a fiber-reinforced composite component by means of a
resin-transfer-moulding process, is disclosed. The tool comprises a
basic moulding element. In the base element, a working chamber
configured for receiving a semi-finished product, a storage
chamber, configured for the receiving of resin, and a transfer
line, connecting the working chamber with the storage chamber, are
configured. The base element is a one-piece form.
[0011] For preventing resin contaminations outside of the moulding
tool, the resin supply required for the component to be
manufactured may be directly charged into the tool before the
transfer operation. For this purpose, the storage chamber provided
in the tool represents a reservoir for the resin supply. From this
storage chamber, the resin may then be transferred into the
semi-finished component located in the working chamber of the tool.
The working chamber is adjusted to the form of the component to be
manufactured. The semi-finished component is a so-called
semi-finished product comprising reinforcement fibers cut to size
according to the component dimensions.
[0012] According to another exemplary embodiment, the storage
chamber is dimensioned in such a way that an amount of resin
required for the component can be received. The storage chamber
will expediently be dimensioned slightly larger than necessary for
the exact required amount of resin. A larger resin amount may thus
be received compared to the amount of resin to be transferred into
the semi-finished product, so that variations in the manufacturing
process, such as small air inclusions in the resin supply, do not
lead to defective components.
[0013] According to another exemplary embodiment, the tool
additionally comprises a cap or cover in the closed state sealing
the working chamber and the storage chamber against the environment
of the tool. The advantage is that the environment of the tool is
not contaminated with resin, since the resin remains within the
comparatively compact tool during the complete RTM-process. In
particular in an automated process, problems caused by contaminated
and therefore leaky seals and blocked compressed air lines are thus
prevented.
[0014] It should be pointed out that the cap may also be bipartite
so that, for example, the storage chamber may be sealed with the
first part of the cap and the working chamber with the second part
of the cap.
[0015] According to another exemplary embodiment, the tool
additionally comprises a heating facility for the heating of the
resin located in the storage chamber. In a clean way, the resin may
thus be fed into the chamber in the cold state and be transferred
into the working chamber in the heated state. The transfer of warm
resin has the advantage that the viscosity of the resin is reduced,
so that the resin may be transferred into the semi-finished product
with a low flow resistance and, thus, within a comparatively short
period of time. The direct heating of the resin has the advantage
that an external heat source, for example a heated press, that-does
not directly come into contact with the resin may be used. In an
automated process, a time-consuming cleaning of the heat source is
thus dispensed with. It is also possible that not only the resin to
be transferred, but additionally the complete tool is heated, so
that the heated resin does not cool down at the transfer into the
working chamber. The heating device may also be used for a curing
of the freshly manufactured components.
[0016] According to another exemplary embodiment, the tool
additionally comprises a pressure port for the charging or
pressurizing of the storage chamber with compressed air. By a
charging of the storage chamber with compressed air or another
compressed gas with a pressure of, for example, approximately 10
bar, the resin may thus be transferred into the working chamber
within in comparatively short period of time of, for example,
approximately 10 min. By a pressure charging of the storage
chamber, that also leads to an increased pressure in the working
chamber at least at the end of the component manufacturing, it may
be achieved that the finished component has only as few and also as
little pore-like air inclusions as possible. This has the advantage
that the stability of the manufactured components is particularly
high.
[0017] According to another exemplary embodiment, the tool
additionally comprises a vacuum port for evacuating the working
chamber. By an evacuating of the working chamber, having taken
place before the resin transfer, possible unwanted air inclusions
in the component may thus be prevented.
[0018] According to another exemplary embodiment, the transfer line
is configured in such a way that only liquid resin with a viscosity
being below a certain threshold value may be transferred from the
storage chamber into the working chamber. Thus, defined flow
conditions of the liquid resin may be ensured, so that, as the
result, homogeneous components of constant quality may be
manufactured.
[0019] According to another exemplary embodiment, a sieve is
located in the transfer line. The sieve preferably represents a
flow resistance depending on the viscosity of the resin to be
transferred. Thus, it may be ensured in a particularly simple and
effective way that the resin may only flow through the transfer
line when the viscosity of the resin does not exceed the
predetermined value.
[0020] According to another exemplary embodiment, the transfer line
has a flow-through channel. Depending on the cross-section of the
flow-through channel, it represents a more or less large flow
resistance between storage chamber and working chamber, so that
preferably thin-fluid resin is transferred into the working
chamber. The flow-through channel may have a siphon-like form,
initially extending downwards from the bottom of the storage
chamber. This has the advantage that, except for only a very small
residual amount, virtually the complete resin supply may be
transferred into the working chamber without having to worry about
the transfer of air into the working chamber and, thus, into the
component. A transfer of air would take place when the liquid level
of the resin located in the storage chamber is below the inlet
opening of the transfer line. Hence, the siphon-like design of the
through-flow channel has the advantage that for a reliable
component manufacturing only one resin quantity at a time is
required resulting from the size of the component to be
manufactured, with addition of a certain unavoidable residual resin
amount. Thus, the loss quantity of resin arising in the component
manufacturing may be minimized and the effort of cleaning the tool
may be reduced.
[0021] According to another exemplary embodiment, the storage
chamber is designed in such a way that the resin is pourable into
the storage chamber from a dosing device. A dosing device is a
particularly simple auxiliary means to provide--starting from a
larger resin amount--just the required resin amount in the storage
chamber. The resin may therefore be filled into the tool directly
from a larger container in a simple and cost-effective way.
[0022] According to another exemplary embodiment, the storage
chamber is configured in such a way that a storing bag filled with
resin may be inserted into the storage chamber. The storing bag
thereby contains the resin amount required for the manufacturing of
a component. The bag, manufactured, for example, from a thin-walled
material, preferably has an opening provided with a sieve. As well
as the above-described sieve located in the transfer line, this
sieve represents a certain flow resistance for the resin to be
transferred. When charging the storage chamber with compressed air
or when evacuating the working chamber, only liquid resin may thus
be transferred into the working chamber, so that a high component
quality may be ensured.
[0023] According to another exemplary embodiment, the storage
chamber is designed in such a way that resin may be poured into the
storage chamber in the form of a granulate. Resin granulate may be
produced easily in large amounts by a cooling of liquid resin and a
corresponding crushing of the possibly frozen resin. The supply of
frozen resin in the form of granular grains means a particularly
clean way of the resin handling. In particular when using fine
granular grains, the resin amount provided in the storage chamber
may be adjusted to each component to be manufactured.
[0024] According to another exemplary embodiment of the present
invention, an arrangement for the manufacturing of a component, in
particular for the manufacturing of a fiber-reinforced composite
component by means of an RTM-process, is disclosed. The arrangement
comprises an above-described tool, as well as a feeding device for
the feeding of resin into the storage chamber.
[0025] It is assumed that the above-described tool may reasonably
be combined with a resin feeding device, so that a RTM-process may
be carried out in a-simple and, particularly, in a clean way by
means of the arrangement. Compared to other facilities for
RTM-processes known from the prior art, the arrangement may be
compactly constructed and comparatively inexpensively realized,
since an extensive injection plant for the feeding of tacky and
difficult-to-handle resin material is not necessary.
[0026] The arrangement according to another exemplary embodiment
additionally comprises a compressed air generating device for
charging the storage chamber with compressed air. Preferably all
chambers of the tool are thereby sealed against the ambient air by
means of a mould cap. The compressed air charging then does not
cause pneumatic losses and effects a rapid and efficient resin
transfer from the storage chamber into the working chamber, where
the semi-finished product consisting of composite fibers is
located.
[0027] The arrangement according to another exemplary embodiment
additionally comprises a vacuum generating device for evacuating
the working chamber. Thus, the resin transfer may not only take
place by the above-explained compressed air charging of the storage
chamber, but also by a rapid suction of the resin material into the
working chamber. Self-evidently, also in this case the tool is
sealed against the environment in order to avoid pneumatic losses.
A particularly effective resin transfer is achieved by an
arrangement having both a vacuum and a compressed air generating
device. Thus, after the sealing of the tool by a storage chamber
filled with resin, the working chamber may thereby be evacuated
first and the storage chamber then be charged with compressed air.
Thus, a high-quality component may be manufactured that is
homogeneously permeated with resin material and, in particular, has
no air inclusions due to the air remaining in the working
chamber.
[0028] According to another exemplary embodiment of the present
invention, a method for manufacturing a component, in particular by
means of a RTM-process for manufacturing a fiber-reinforced
composite component is disclosed. In the method, firstly a
semi-finished product is placed in a working chamber of a tool and
a resin material is placed in the storage chamber of the tool.
Subsequently, the resin material is transferred via a transfer line
into the semi-finished product by a charging of the storage chamber
with compressed air and/or by an evacuating of the working
chamber.
[0029] It is assumed that a RTM-process may be carried out in an
easy and also clean manner by a tool comprising, on the one hand,
an internal resin reservoir and, on the other hand, a working
chamber adjusted to the form of the component to be manufactured.
Hereby, the semi-finished product preferably consists of
reinforcement fibers cut to size corresponding to the component
dimensions.
[0030] In the method according to another exemplary embodiment, the
tool is sealed against its environment after the inserting of the
semi-finished product and the feeding of the resin material. Thus,
no pneumatic losses by an unwanted air escape from the tool occur
in the execution of the RTM-process, so that the resin is
transferred into the semi-finished product in an effective manner.
The sealing of the tool, carried out, for example, by a threaded
connection of the base form of the tool with the corresponding cap,
further ensures a clean resin transfer, at which no resin material
at all exits from the tool to the environment of the tool.
[0031] In the method according to a further exemplary embodiment,
the resin material present in the storage chamber is heated before
the resin transfer. In an advantageous way, the viscosity of the
resin to be transferred is thus reduced, so that the resin transfer
may take place rapidly. Preferably, the heating of the resin
present in the storage chamber is carried out in time before the
storage chamber is charged with compressed air. A particularly
rapid resin permeating of the semi-finished product is namely
achieved exactly when not only a certain pressure is required in
the storage chamber, but when additionally the viscosity of the
resin falls below a certain threshold value. Therein, this
threshold value depends on the flow resistance determined by the
specific design of the transfer line located between the storage
chamber and the working chamber.
[0032] In the method according to another exemplary embodiment of
the invention, the resin material is filtered in the transfer line
at the transfer from the storage chamber into the working chamber.
Since the transfer line acting as a filter or having a filter
element means has a certain flow resistance for the liquid resin
material, the resin material may permeat the semi-finished product
in a defined way. Thus, a high quality of the manufactured
components may be ensured. In the method according to another
exemplary embodiment, the resin is filled into the storage chamber
from a feeding device. The feeding device is a dosing device by
which the resin amount optimally adjusted to the respective
component size can be introduced into the storage chamber. The
introducing of the resin into the storage chamber by means of the
feeding device has the advantage that the resin may be taken from a
large supply amount. Thus, cost-efficiently available resin
material may be used for carrying out the RTM-process, so that the
components may be inexpensively manufactured. Since furthermore the
equipment expenses for the resin feeding by the mentioned feeding
device are clearly lower than the extensive resin injection plant
known from the prior art, not only the operation costs, but also
the investment costs for a corresponding RTM-plant are
comparatively low.
[0033] In a method according to another exemplary embodiment, a
storing bag filled with resin is inserted into the storing chamber.
The storing chamber is thus filled in a particularly clean manner
with the required amount of resin. The storing bag has an outlet
opening provided with a sieve, so that due to the flow resistance
of the sieve only liquid resin may exit the bag and be transferred
into the working chamber.
[0034] In a method according to another exemplary embodiment, the
resin is filled into the storage chamber in the form of a
granulate. The feeding of preferably frozen resin in the form of
granular grains is a especially clean manner of resin handling. In
particular when using fine granular grains, the resin amount
provided in the storage chamber may be adjusted precisely to each
component to be manufactured.
[0035] According to another exemplary embodiment of the invention,
a component, in particular a fiber-reinforced composite component,
is disclosed. The component is characterized by the fact that it is
manufactured by a method described above.
[0036] It is assumed that by a RTM-process carried out as described
above fiber-reinforced composite components having furthermore a
high mechanical strength may be cleanly and, furthermore,
inexpensively manufactured.
BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF DRAWINGS
[0037] Further advantages and features of the present invention
will be apparent from the following exemplary description of
presently preferred embodiments. In the drawings, in schematic
representations
[0038] FIG. 1 shows an arrangement for manufacturing a
fiber-reinforced composite component with a dosing device and a
tool into which a resin supply is introduced by means of the dosing
device,
[0039] FIG. 2 shows an arrangement for manufacturing a
fiber-reinforced composite component with a heating device and a
tool into which a resin supply packaged in a storing bag is
inserted, and
[0040] FIG. 3 shows an arrangement for manufacturing a
fiber-reinforced composite component with a tool and a resin
feeding device filling a resin supply in the form of a frozen
granulate into the tool.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ADVANTAGEOUS EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS
[0041] Let it be noted here that in the drawings the reference
numerals of same or corresponding components only differ in their
first number.
[0042] FIG. 1 shows a tool 100 for manufacturing a fiber-reinforced
composite component by means of a RTM-process. The tool 100
comprises a one-piece mould casing (Formwanne) 110, in which a
storage chamber 120, a transfer line 130, and a working chamber 140
are configured. The working chamber 140 is dimensioned in such a
way that a semi-finished product 145, consisting of cut-to-size
reinforcement fibers, may be precisely inserted into the working
chamber 140 in a manner taking into account predetermined
tolerances. The storage chamber 120 is dimensioned in such a way
that a resin supply 125 adjusted to the size of the component may
be inserted into the tool 100.
[0043] For the filling of the storage chamber 120 with resin 125, a
dosing device 170 is provided, having a preferably cylindrical
storage container 171, in which a larger amount of resin 175 is
available. For the selective dosing of the resin amount to be fed,
a piston or male mould 172 is provided that may be pressed down by
a driving mechanism (not illustrated), so that the liquid resin
drops into the storage chamber. The driving mechanism for the
piston 172 operates so precise that an exactly predeterminable
movement of the piston 172 is generated and, thus, the exactly
required resin amount is respectively injected into the storage
chamber 120.
[0044] Furthermore, a transfer line 130 is provided in the tool
110, connecting the storage chamber 120 with the working chamber
140. In the transfer line 130 runs a bridge (Steg) 111, so that the
transfer line 130 actually forms a siphon-like flow-through channel
131, running slightly below the floor areas of the storage chamber
120 and the working chamber 140. Thus, except for only a very small
residual amount, virtually the complete resin supply may be
transferred into the working chamber without having to worry about
the transfer of air into the working chamber and, thus, also into
the component. A transfer of air would have to be feared when the
liquid level of the resin located in the storage chamber is below
the inlet opening of the transfer line.
[0045] The bridge 111 is preferably part of the one-piece mould
casing 110.
[0046] The tool 100 furthermore comprises a mould cap 150 having
seals (not illustrated), so that all chambers of the tool 100 may
be sealed. In order to provide a stable sealing, the mould cap 150
and the mould casing 110 are designed in such a way that the mould
cap 150 may be fixed to the mould casing 110 by means of a threaded
connection, likewise not illustrated.
[0047] The tool is furthermore provided with two pneumatic ports, a
pressure port 160 and a vacuum port 165. The pressure port 160 is
connected to a compressor 161 via a compressed air line 162, the
vacuum port 165 is connected to a vacuum pump 166 via an evacuating
line 167.
[0048] In the following, a RTM-process is described effecting a
resin transfer from the storage chamber 120 into the working
chamber 140. Self-evidently, the resin transfer may only take place
after a) the storage chamber 120 has been filled with the
corresponding resin amount, b) the semi-finished product has been
inserted into the working chamber 140, and c) the mould cap has
been closed.
[0049] Firstly, the vacuum pump 166 is activated so that all
chambers of the tool 100 and, in particular, the working chamber
140 are evacuated. Furthermore, the resin supply 125 located in the
storage chamber 120 is heated by means of a heating device (not
illustrated in FIG. 1), so that the viscosity of the resin 125
decreases. Subsequently, the charging of the storage chamber 120
with compressed air supplied via the compressed air connection 160
takes place. Afterwards, the resin 125, whose viscosity is now so
low that the flow resistance determined by the cross-section of the
flow-through channel 131 may be overcome, is transferred into the
working chamber 140 and, thus, into the semi-finished product 145.
After the resin transfer into the semi-finished product has taken
place and after a possible thermal curing of the manufactured
component, the mould cap 150 is opened, so that the manufactured
component may be taken out. After a short cleansing of the tool 100
of possibly adhering residues of resin, the tool 100 may be re-used
for the manufacturing of a new component.
[0050] FIG. 2 shows an arrangement for manufacturing a
fiber-reinforced composite component, the arrangement of which has
a tool 200 and a radiant heater 280. The tool 200 is designed in
such a way that a resin supply 227, enclosed by a bag 226, may be
inserted into a storage chamber 220.
[0051] The tool 200 differs from the tool 100 illustrated in FIG. 1
only in the fact that the storage chamber 220 is specifically
designed for receiving the bag 226 and that a transfer line 230 is
present having a sieve 232 instead of a flow-through channel that
serves for filtering the solid resin parts or the impurities from
the resin 227 to be transferred. The tool 200 includes in an
analogous way to the tool 100 a one-piece mould casing 210, in
which the storage chamber 220, the transfer line 230, and a working
chamber 240 are configured. A semi-finished product 245, consisting
of cut-to-size reinforcement fibers, is located in the working
chamber 240. The tool 200 further comprises a mould cap 250, as
well as two pneumatic ports, a pressure port 260 and a vacuum port
265.
[0052] For the heating of the resin 227 located in the storage
chamber, the radiant heater 280 is positioned above the tool in a
suitable manner. By turning on the heating lamps 281, a radiant
heating 285 is generated, effecting the tool and, in particular,
the resin supply 227 present in the storage chamber 220. In order
to achieve an efficient heating, the heating operation may already
start before the closing of the mould cap 250. The radiant heater
280 may also be positioned in such a way that not only the resin
supply 227 but also the complete mould casing 210 is heated so that
at a resin transfer into the working chamber 240 the transferred
resin does not or only insignificantly cool down and, thus, the
complete transfer takes place at a most constant viscosity of the
resin 227. The heating operation may also be continued some time
after the closing of the mould cap 250 so that the heated mould cap
250 contributes to a constant temperature of the resin 227 during
the transfer. A heated tool 200 may furthermore cause an intended
curing of the component after the resin transfer has taken
place.
[0053] It should be pointed out that instead of a radiant heater
also other types of heating systems for heating the resin supply
227 and/or the tool 210 may be used. For example, a heater blower
may be utilized, blowing hot air in the direction of the tool 200.
Likewise, an electric heating with corresponding heating wires may
be provided in the mould casing 210 and/or the mould cap 250.
Alternatively, an external induction heating would be possible that
generates eddy currents in the mould casing 210 and/or in the mould
cap 250, resulting in the heating of the tool 200. A precondition
for this is that the mould casing 210 and/or the mould cap has a
magnetic material.
[0054] According to the present state of knowledge, a particularly
suitable type of heating is a combined clamping and heating device,
pressing, on the one hand, the mould cap 250 firmly onto the mould
casing 210 via hot clamping legs, and causing, on the other hand, a
heating of the tool by a good thermal contact between the first hot
clamping leg and the mould casing 210, as well as between the
second hot clamping leg and the mould cap 250.
[0055] The resin transfer from the storage chamber 220 into the
working chamber 240 takes place by the RTM-process, described above
by means of FIG. 1 and is not described again in more detail here.
However, it should be pointed out that the complete execution of
the RTM-process, including the filling of the storage chamber 220,
may be achieved in a particularly clean manner due to the resin
amount 227 being pre-dosed in the storing bag 226. By the use of
the storing bag 226, it may be prevented that tacky resin
contaminates the environment of the tool 200.
[0056] FIG. 3 illustrates a detail of a tool being identical with
the tool illustrated in FIG. 1 and now marked by the reference
numeral 300. In addition to a mould cap (not illustrated), the tool
comprises a one-piece mould casing 310, in which a working chamber
320, a transfer line 330, and a working chamber 340 are configured.
The transfer line 330 comprises a bridge 311 that, together with
the floor of the mould casing, forms a flow-through channel 330. In
the working chamber 340, a semi-finished product 345, consisting of
cut-to-size reinforcement fibers, is located. The tool further has
a pressure port 360 and a vacuum port (not illustrated).
[0057] The filling of the storage chamber 320 with resin 328 is
achieved by a dosing device 370, having a cylindrical storage
container 371 filled with a resin granulate material 378. By
suitably controlling of the dosing device 370, individual granule
grains consisting of a frozen resin material, are released from the
dosing device 370 and fall into the storage chamber 320. In
particular the resin amount required for the manufacturing of a
component may thus be provided in a clean way, too.
[0058] After closing the tool 300 with a mould cap (not
illustrated), the resin 328 and/or the complete tool 300 is heated,
so that the resin granulate transforms into liquid resin material.
The resin transfer from the storage chamber 320 into the working
chamber 340 and, thus, into the semi-finished product 345 is
achieved by the RTM-process process that was described above by
means of FIG. 1 and is not described again in more detail here.
[0059] It should be pointed out that, irrespective of the type of
resin introduced into the storage chamber, the transfer line may be
provided with a flow-through channel, a sieve and/or other
elements. It is merely appropriate that the transfer line
represents a certain flow resistance. Thus, a defined transfer of
liquid resin may be ensured wherein the resin is permitted to have
at maximum a certain predetermined viscosity.
[0060] Let it additionally be noted that the term "having" or
"comprising" does not preclude any other elements or steps and
"one" or "a" do not preclude a plurality. Furthermore, let it be
noted that features or steps that were described with reference to
one of the above exemplary embodiments may also be used in
combination with other features or steps in other exemplary
embodiments described above. Reference numerals in the claims are
not to be regarded as limiting.
[0061] In summarizing, the following can be noted: The application
describes a tool, an arrangement, and a method for manufacturing a
component. The component manufacturing is achieved by a resin
transfer from a storage chamber into a working chamber via a
transfer line. Before the transfer, taking place, for example, by a
compressed air charging of the storage chamber, the storage chamber
is filled with a resin amount adjusted to the size of the
component. Furthermore, a semi-finished product, consisting of
cut-to-size reinforcement fibers, is inserted into the working
chamber that is preferably adjusted to the form of the component to
be produced. Storage chamber, transfer line, and working chamber
are configured in a one-piece mould casing of the tool. The
application further discloses a component manufactured by the
above-mentioned tool respectively by the above-mentioned
method.
LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS
[0062] 100 tool
[0063] 110 mould casing
[0064] 111 bridge
[0065] 120 storage chamber
[0066] 125 resin
[0067] 130 transfer line
[0068] 131 flow-through channel
[0069] 140 working chamber
[0070] 145 semi-finished product consisting of cut-to-size
reinforcement fibers
[0071] 150 mould cap
[0072] 160 pressure connection
[0073] 161 compressor
[0074] 162 pressure air line
[0075] 165 vacuum connection
[0076] 166 vacuum pump
[0077] 167 evacuating line
[0078] 170 dosing device
[0079] 171 cylindrical storage container
[0080] 172 piston
[0081] 175 resin
[0082] 200 tool
[0083] 210 mould casing
[0084] 220 storage chamber
[0085] 226 bag
[0086] 227 resin
[0087] 230 transfer line
[0088] 232 sieve
[0089] 240 working chamber
[0090] 245 semi-finished product consisting of cut-to-size
reinforcement fibers
[0091] 250 mould cap
[0092] 260 pressure connection
[0093] 265 vacuum connection
[0094] 280 radiant heater
[0095] 281 heating lamp
[0096] 285 radiant heating
[0097] 300 tool
[0098] 310 mould casing
[0099] 311 bridge
[0100] 320 storage chamber
[0101] 328 resin granulate
[0102] 330 transfer line
[0103] 331 flow-through channel
[0104] 340 working chamber
[0105] 345 semi-finished product consisting of cut-to-size
reinforcement fibers
[0106] 360 pressure connection
[0107] 370 dosing device
[0108] 371 cylindrical storage container
[0109] 378 resin granulate
* * * * *