This application claims priority of Japanese Patent Application No. 2021-097334 filed on Jun. 10, 2021, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to a mold, an apparatus, and a method for producing a metal-resin composite.
An apparatus for producing a metal-resin composite by press molding a metal member and a thermosetting resin material is known (for example, JP 2020-104411 A).
In the case of molding the metal-resin composite, it is difficult to close a gap between an upper mold and a lower mold as compared with a case of press molding only resin. As a result, a resin material may leak to an unintended location through the gap between the upper mold and the lower mold of the mold. Such leakage of the resin material leads to problems such as, for example, spot welding failure in a subsequent assembly process, metal mold fixing due to inflow of the resin material into another gap of the mold, and non-filling due to insufficient filling pressure of the resin material.
An object of the present invention is to suppress leakage of a resin material to an unintended location in a mold, an apparatus, and a method for producing a metal-resin composite.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mold for producing a metal-resin composite by press-molding a metal member and a resin material. The mold includes an upper mold and a lower mold that sandwich the metal member and the resin material. A cavity for arranging the resin material is provided by the upper mold and the lower mold, and the upper mold has a recess into which the resin material leaking from the cavity is caused to flow.
According to this configuration, even in a case where the resin material leaks from the cavity for arranging the resin material, the resin material can be collected in the recess, so that leakage of the resin material to an unintended location can be suppressed. That is, in the above configuration, the leakage of the resin material from the cavity is not completely prevented, but the resin material is allowed to flow to a previously intended location (recess). The resin material collected in the recess appears as a burr after molding. However, the appearance of the metal-resin composite as a product can be maintained by deburring.
The upper mold may be a punch on which the recess is formed. Further, the upper mold may include a holder on which the recess is formed and which presses the metal member, and a punch for molding.
According to these configurations, since the recess is formed on the punch or the holder, the recess can be easily formed without requirement of additional components.
The recess may have a shape longer in the vertical direction than in the horizontal direction.
According to this configuration, that the recess becomes long in the horizontal direction can be suppressed. if the recess becomes long in the horizontal direction, the resin material collected in the recess appears as a burr that is long in the horizontal direction after molding. Such a burr or a deburring mark obtained by removing the burr may be an obstacle in a case where the metal-resin composite is joined to another component. Further, in a case where the metal member has the flange portion, the flange portion of the metal member cannot be held. For this reason, the dimensional accuracy after molding may be deteriorated.
The recess may have a seat portion capable of supporting the resin material from below.
According to this configuration, as the resin material is supported from below by the seat portion, it is possible to suppress unintentional adhesion of the resin material to an upper surface of the metal-resin composite. Therefore, the appearance and surface quality of the metal-resin composite can be maintained.
The metal-resin composite may have, in a cross section perpendicular to a longitudinal direction, a bottom wall portion extending in the horizontal direction, a side wall portion rising from both ends of the bottom wall portion, and a flange portion extending outward in the horizontal direction from the side wall portion, the upper mold may have, in the cross section, a first molding upper surface for molding the bottom wall portion, a second molding upper surface for molding the side wall portion, and a third molding upper surface for molding the flange portion, and a step may be provided on the second molding upper surface.
According to this configuration, in order for the resin material to leak out of the cavity, the resin material needs to flow beyond the step of the upper mold. For this reason, the leakage of the resin material can be suppressed. Therefore, the filling pressure in the cavity of the resin material can be increased, and the quality can be improved.
A length of the second molding upper surface above the step may be 5 mm or more.
According to this configuration, leakage of the resin material to the flange portion can be suppressed to a certain extent. The flange portion of the metal-resin composite is often used for joining to other components, and is a portion requiring surface protection.
In a state where the upper mold and the lower mold are closed, a distance between the second molding upper surface and the second molding lower surface may be set to be at least partially equal to a thickness of the metal member.
According to this configuration, since flow of the resin material between the second molding upper surface and the second molding lower surface can be suppressed, leakage of the resin material from the cavity can be suppressed, and filling pressure of the resin material can be increased. Here, “equal” is design setting, and does not mean that leakage of the resin material from the cavity is completely prevented.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for producing a metal-resin composite by press molding a metal member and a resin material. The apparatus includes an upper mold and a lower mold that sandwich the metal member and the resin material, and a drive unit that moves at least one of the upper mold and the lower mold in a vertical direction. A cavity for arranging the resin material is provided by the upper mold and the lower mold, and the upper mold has a recess into which the resin material leaking from the cavity is caused to flow.
According to this configuration, even in a case where the resin material leaks from the cavity for arranging the resin material, the resin material can be collected in the recess, so that leakage of the resin material to an unintended location can be suppressed.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for producing a metal-resin composite by press molding a metal member and a resin material. The method includes sandwiching the metal member and the resin material between an upper mold and a lower mold on which a cavity for arranging the resin material is provided, and causing the resin material leaking from the cavity to flow toward a recess provided on the upper mold in order to collect the resin material in the recess.
According to this configuration, even in a case where the resin material leaks from the cavity for arranging the resin material, the resin material can be collected in the recess, so that leakage of the resin material to an unintended location can be suppressed.
According to the present invention, in a mold, an apparatus, and a method for producing a metal-resin composite, leakage of a resin material to an unintended location can be suppressed.
Hereinafter, a mold, an apparatus, and a method for producing a metal-resin composite will be described as an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring to
The metal-resin composite 1 includes a bottom wall portion 2 extending in the horizontal direction, a side wall portion 3 rising from both ends of the bottom wall portion 2, and a flange portion 4 extending outward in the horizontal direction from the side wall portion 3. The bottom wall portion 2 includes the metal plate 10 and the resin material 20, the side wall portion 3 includes the metal plate 10 and the resin material 20, and the flange portion 4 includes only the metal plate 10. The side wall portion 3 is provided with a step portion 3a in which the thickness of the resin material 20 decreases from the bottom wall portion 2 toward the flange portion 4.
A mold 100, an apparatus 50, and a method for producing the metal-resin composite 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to
In the present embodiment, press molding is performed twice while first to sixth processes illustrated in
The apparatus 50 for producing the metal-resin composite 1 in the present embodiment includes the mold 100, a drive unit 130 that drives the mold 100, and a heating unit 140 that heats the mold. Note that, as the drive unit 130 and the heating unit 140, publicly-known units capable of executing press molding can be used, and details are not illustrated and a conceptual diagram is illustrated only in
The mold 100 is for press molding the metal plate 10 and the resin material 20 to produce the metal-resin composite 1. The mold 100 includes an upper mold 110 and a lower mold 120 that sandwich the metal plate 10 and the resin material 20. In the present embodiment, the upper mold 110 is configured as a punch, and the lower mold 120 is configured as a die. The upper mold 110 is movable in the vertical direction by the drive unit 130, that is, is configured to be capable of approaching and separating from the lower mold 120. However, a driving mode of the mold 100 by the drive unit 130 is not particularly limited, and the drive unit 130 can move at least one of the upper mold 110 and the lower mold 120 in the vertical direction.
The upper mold 110 has a first molding upper surface 111 for molding the bottom wall portion 2 (see
In the present embodiment, a step 112a is provided on the second molding upper surface 112. The step 112a is provided so as to rise one step from the first molding upper surface 111 toward the third molding upper surface 113.
In the present embodiment, a recess 113a for collecting the resin material 20 is formed on the upper mold (punch) 110. The recess 113a is formed to open downward on the third molding upper surface 113. The recess 113a has a rectangular shape in the illustrated cross section.
In first to second processes illustrated in
The lower mold 120 has a first molding lower surface 121 for molding the bottom wall portion 2 (see
Preferably, the second molding upper surface 112 and the second molding lower surface 122 are inclined by 3 to 10 degrees from the vertical direction. This makes it possible to reduce a gap between the upper mold 110 and the lower mold 120 while allowing the resin material 20 to leak out of a cavity C. Therefore, the filling pressure of the resin material 20 in the cavity C can be increased, and adhesion of the resin material 20 to the flange portion 4 can be suppressed.
In the first process illustrated in
In the second process illustrated in
In the third process illustrated in
In a fourth process illustrated in
In the fifth process illustrated in
In a sixth process illustrated in
According to the present embodiment, even in a case where the resin material 20 leaks out of the cavity C, since the resin material 20 can be collected in the recess 113a, it is possible to suppress the resin material 20 from leaking out to an unintended place such as the flange portion 4. That is, in the present embodiment, the leakage of the resin material 20 from the cavity C is not completely prevented, but the resin material 20 is allowed to flow to a previously intended location (recess 113a). Here, the resin material 20 collected in the recess 113a appears as a burr after molding. However, the appearance of the metal-resin composite 1 as a product can be maintained by deburring.
Further, since the recess 113a is formed on the upper mold (punch) 110, the recess 113a can be easily formed without requirement of additional components.
Further, since the resin material 20 needs to flow beyond the step 112a of the upper mold 110 in order to leak out of the cavity C, it is possible to suppress the leakage of the resin material 20. Therefore, the filling pressure of the resin material 20 in the cavity C can be increased, and the quality can be improved.
Further, referring to
Further, referring to
Further, referring to
The mold 100, the apparatus 50, and the method for producing the metal-resin composite 1 according to a second embodiment will be described with reference to
In the present embodiment illustrated in
In the present embodiment, the upper mold 110 includes the holder 110b for pressing the metal plate 10 and the punch 110a for molding. The holder 110b and the punch 110a are independently movable in the vertical direction by the drive unit 130 (see
In the present embodiment, press molding is performed twice while the first to eighth processes illustrated in
In the first press of the first to fourth processes illustrated in
Also in the second pressing in the fourth to seventh processes illustrated in
The deburring of the eighth process illustrated in
According to the present embodiment, since the recess 113a is formed on the holder 110b, the recess 113a can be easily formed without requirement of additional components.
Although specific embodiments of the present invention and variations of the embodiments are described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the present invention. For example, an embodiment of the present invention may be obtained by appropriately combining the content of individual embodiments and variations.
Further, as the resin material 20, a thermoplastic resin impregnated with a glass fiber or a carbon fiber may be used. In this case, the resin material 20 is put into the mold 100 in a state of being heated and softened. Then, the resin material 20 is cooled and cured on the metal plate 10 in the mold 100 so that the metal-resin composite 1 is produced.
Further, referring to
Further, referring to
In the metal-resin composite 1, an adhesive layer may be provided between the metal plate 10 and the resin material 20. In this case, by providing the adhesive layer, the metal member 10 and the resin material 20 can be firmly integrally molded.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2021-097334 | Jun 2021 | JP | national |