JP2005036948A - Preliminary molding inserting device in thermoforming of disc brake pad - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the production efficiency of disc bake pad moldings by using a thermoforming die for forming a number of pieces at once while stabilizing the quality of the moldings. <P>SOLUTION: In this preliminary molding inserting device 1, preliminary moldings 7 is inserted as molding materials into cavities 3 of the thermoforming die having the cavities 3 for the number of disc brake pads. In a inserting device body 9, a number of preliminary molding holding parts 11 are provided for holding the preliminary moldings 7 to be inserted into the number of cavities 3 of the thermoforming die 5 at a position corresponding to the cavities 3. Each of the preliminary molding holding parts 11 has a plurality of elastic bodies 25 for thrusting the preliminary molding 7 at its side faces to be held. The inserting device body 9 is provided to be freely moved and positioned where the number of preliminary moldings 7 corresponding to the cavities 3 can be inserted in a lump. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a preform insertion device for inserting a preform into a heat shaping mold in disk brake pad thermoforming.

  Conventionally, a disc brake pad has a friction material fixed to a metal plate coated with a thermosetting adhesive by hot-pressure molding, and then the hardness is adjusted by a curing reaction by heat treatment. In general, the product is baked onto the plate.

  The above friction material is mainly made of thermosetting resin, which is metal fiber, mineral fiber and binder. In the hot pressing process, the friction material and back plate are put into a thermoforming mold heated to 140-170 ° C. After the pressurization and release for releasing water vapor and gas generated by the resin curing reaction are repeated several times, both the friction material and the back plate are fixed by pressurization and heating for about 3 to 8 minutes. As a result, the basic shape of the disc brake pad is formed.

  As described above, since the molding machine in the hot-press molding process occupies several minutes in one molding, conventionally, a molding die having a plurality of cavities provided in a molding die is used. Thus, the production efficiency is increased by increasing the number of molded products obtained in one molding.

  On the other hand, if the friction material is a powder material, due to the nature of the main raw material, the material flowability in the cavity at the time of hot-pressure molding is poor, so that it does not cause defects such as defective appearance of the molded product or insufficient material, It is necessary to fill the cavities with no gaps. Therefore, conventionally, the friction material is molded by inserting a preformed product that has been pressure-molded in advance into the shape of the cavity.

  As a technique for filling the above-mentioned friction material into the cavity of the thermoforming mold without a gap, a technique is proposed in which the friction material is granulated and directly injected and molded. For example, in a cavity created between pad back plates using a thermoforming mold, a material obtained by granulating a raw material mixture of a friction material and a material that has not been granulated are sequentially put into a hot compression molding. Since the granulated material is preliminarily compacted in this way, the adhesive layer made of this material has a low porosity and prevents moisture penetration and prevents the back plate from being rusted. Furthermore, the adhesive strength is increased, and the interstitial strength is improved due to the intrusion on the base material layer made of the raw material mixture, and a highly reliable pad can be obtained (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

In another example of the prior art, the vertical articulated robot replaces the preformed product and the back plate into the thermoforming mold, which have been performed manually for the purpose of saving labor and improving productivity. Some are.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-301265

  Incidentally, the conventional method for forming a disc brake pad using a multi-piece thermoforming mold has the following problems.

  First, the thermosetting resin contained in the raw material powder of the friction material starts a curing reaction when heated to about 140 ° C. Therefore, in molding using a multi-piece thermoforming mold heated to 140 ° C. or more, a preliminary It is necessary to stabilize the quality of the molded product by inserting the molded product into the cavity all at once in a short time. However, the method of granulating and directly feeding the friction material as described above has a problem that it is difficult to batchly feed the molding material into a large number of cavities.

  In addition, in the conventional method of introducing a preform, one by one is inserted for both manual work and vertical articulated robot work, and it is possible to insert a plurality of preforms in a short time. There was a problem that it was difficult.

  On the other hand, regarding the production efficiency, the time for the insertion work for inserting the molding material and the back plate into the thermoforming mold and the discharge work for discharging the molded product are regarded as the setup time for the molding work. There was a problem that the operating rate of the thermoforming machine was lowered due to the long time.

In order to achieve the above object, a preform insertion device for disc brake pad thermoforming according to claim 1 of the present invention provides a preform as a molding material in the cavity of a thermoforming mold having a plurality of cavities for disc brake pads. In a preform insertion device for inserting a molded product,
The insertion device main body is provided with a large number of preformed product holding parts for holding the preforms to be inserted into the numerous cavities of the thermoforming mold at positions corresponding to the cavities. A plurality of elastic bodies for pressing and holding the respective preforms from the side are provided in the product holding portion, and the plurality of preforms corresponding to the respective cavities of the thermoforming mold are collectively collected by the insertion device body. It is characterized in that it can be moved and positioned to an insertable position.

  Therefore, in the disc brake pad molding, the preform is inserted so that the multi-cavity preforms held in the preforms of the insertion device body are collectively supplied to the cavities of the thermoforming mold. By automatically operating the device, it is possible to save labor and to efficiently operate the molding machine. In other words, since the preparatory work for inserting a large number of preforms into the thermoforming mold is performed while the molding machine is in operation, the operating rate of the molding machine is increased and efficient molding work is possible. Furthermore, by supplying a large number of preforms to the thermoforming mold at once, the difference in the part heating time before the start of hot-pressure molding is eliminated, so hot-pressed products with stable disc brake pads are more efficient. Well provided.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a preform insertion device in the disk brake pad thermoforming according to the present invention, wherein the preform holding portion includes a plurality of elastic members. The body is suspended independently from the insertion device main body, and the lower end of each elastic body is provided so as to be fitted in each cavity of the thermoforming mold.

  Therefore, since each of the plurality of elastic bodies of the preformed product holding part is suspended independently from the insertion device main body, each preformed product is easily inserted into each cavity of the thermoforming mold. In addition, since the lower end of each elastic body is fitted into each cavity of the thermoforming mold, each preform is easily positioned in each corresponding cavity.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a preform insertion device in the disk brake pad thermoforming according to the present invention, wherein the preform holding device has a plurality of preform holding portions. The upper side of the elastic body is open so that the preform can be inserted between the plurality of elastic bodies, and the preform held by the plurality of elastic bodies can be pushed out into the cavity of the thermoforming mold. It is characterized by this.

  Therefore, since the upper side of the plurality of elastic bodies is opened, the preform can be easily inserted so as to be sandwiched between the plurality of elastic bodies, and a large number of preforms can be pressed together from the opening side. It can be easily extruded into the cavity of the thermoforming mold.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, in the disc brake pad molding, the multi-cavity preforms held in the preforms of the insertion device body are collectively supplied to the numerous cavities of the thermoforming mold. Thus, by automatically operating the preform insertion device, labor saving and efficient operation of the molding machine can be performed. In other words, since the preparatory work for inserting a large number of preforms into the thermoforming mold can be performed while the molding machine is operating, the operating rate of the molding machine can be increased and the molding work can be performed efficiently. In addition, since a large number of preforms can be supplied to the thermoforming mold at once, the difference in the part heating time before the start of hot-pressure molding is eliminated, so a hot-press molded product with a stable quality can be efficiently produced. Can be provided.

  According to the invention of claim 2, since each of the plurality of elastic bodies of the preformed product holding portion is independently suspended from the insertion device main body, each preformed product can be easily inserted into the cavity of the thermoforming mold. In addition, since the lower end of each elastic body is fitted in each cavity of the thermoforming mold, each preform can be easily positioned in each corresponding cavity.

  According to the invention of claim 3, by opening the upper side of the plurality of elastic bodies, the preform can be easily inserted so as to be sandwiched between the plurality of elastic bodies, and a large number of preforms can be inserted from the opening side. Since it can be pressed together, it can be easily extruded into the cavity of the thermoforming mold.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  In the disc brake pad according to this embodiment, after the friction material is fixed to the back plate coated with a thermosetting adhesive by hot pressing, the hardness is adjusted by a curing reaction by heat treatment, and the friction surface is polished or Baking coating is applied to the back plate to make it a product. Moreover, the disc brake pad thermoforming method according to this embodiment is a method in which a preformed product in which the friction material is press-molded in the shape of the cavity in advance is introduced.

  Referring to FIG. 1, for example, an insertion jig 1 as a preform insertion device in a disk brake pad thermoforming according to this embodiment includes a thermoforming mold 5 having a number of cavities 3 for disk brake pad molding. Is used to collectively insert the preforms 7 corresponding to the plurality of cavities 3 when the disk brake pad is thermoformed using.

  The insertion jig 1 includes, for example, a plate-shaped frame plate 9 as an insertion device main body, and positions where the preforms 7 to be inserted into the numerous cavities 3 of the thermoforming mold 5 correspond to the cavities 3. It is comprised from many preformed product holding | maintenance parts 11 arrange | positioned at the said frame board 9 so that it may be hold | maintained.

  Referring also to FIG. 2, each preformed product holding portion 11 has a flat and rectangular plate shape, and each corner portion at four corners is provided with a protrusion portion 15 having a through hole 13. . Further, the frame plate 9 is provided with through-hole portions 17 at positions substantially corresponding to the respective cavities 3, and each preformed product holding portion 11 is projected at four corners at an upper position corresponding to the through-hole portion 17. It is configured to be constantly urged downward through a bolt 19 inserted through the through hole 13 of the portion 15 and a holding spring 21 wound around the bolt 19, and is flexible with respect to an upward force. Is attached. Each of the preformed product holding portions 11 is provided with a notch window portion 23 at a position corresponding to each of the cavities 3, and the notched window portion 23 has a side surface of the preformed product 7. For example, leaf springs 25 are provided as a plurality of elastic bodies that are pressed and held.

  In this embodiment, six leaf springs 25 are arranged on the inner periphery of the notch window portion 23 approximately equally and at appropriate intervals, and each leaf spring 25 holds the preform 7 by inserting it. In FIG. 2, the lower ends of the leaf springs 25 are bent from the center of the cutout window 23 toward the opposite outer side in order to facilitate the thermoforming die 5. These cavities 3 are provided so as to be fitted.

  With the above-described configuration, the insertion jig 1 corresponds to the number of cavities 3 of the thermoforming mold 5 in which a large number of preformed product holding portions 11 have a large number of pieces, and is provided in each preformed product holding portion 11. The plurality of leaf springs 25 serve to hold the preform 7 and to position the insertion jig 1 on the thermoforming die 5, and the frame plate 9 serves as each cavity of the thermoforming die 5. 3 is configured to be moved and positioned to an upper position of the thermoforming mold 5 into which the plurality of preforms 7 corresponding to 3 can be collectively inserted.

  Next, details of each component of the insertion jig 1 and a method of using the same will be described.

  Referring to FIG. 4, an embodiment of a thermoforming automation device 27 using the insertion jig 1 is shown. The thermoforming automation device 27 includes the insertion jig 1 described above, a storage conveyor 29 for storing the preform 7 and transporting it forward (in a diagonally downward direction in FIG. 4), and a preliminary transfer from the storage conveyor 29. A cutout portion 31 for separating the molded product 7, a supply conveyor 35 for conveying the backplate 33 formed integrally with the preformed product 7, and a cutout transfer for separating and moving the backplate 33 of the supply conveyor 35. The mounting portion 37 and an alignment jig 39 for aligning and holding the back plate 33 at a predetermined position corresponding to the arrangement of the cavities 3 of the thermoforming mold 5 are configured.

  Further, the thermoforming automation device 27 includes a slide mechanism 41 for moving the insertion jig 1 to a position above the thermoforming mold 5 and fitting it, a Cartesian coordinate robot 45 having a robot hand 43, A discharge stocker 47 that stores a molded product (finished product) discharged by the robot 45 is configured. The robot hand 43 supplies the preform 7 to the insertion jig 1, supplies the back plate 33 to the alignment jig 39, and batches the preform 7 from the insertion jig 1 to the cavity 3. It has a function to insert or batch insert into the thermoforming mold 5 from the alignment jig 39 of the back plate 33, and discharge the molded product in a lump after completion of thermoforming.

  First, the storage conveyor 29 and the cutout unit 31 will be described in more detail.

  Referring also to FIG. 5, a large number of preforms 7 are sorted into two rows according to their weight and then stored on the storage conveyor 29. A large number of preforms 7 on the storage conveyor 29 are blocked by raising a stopper 49 having a vertical movement mechanism at the outlet of the storage conveyor 29. The stoppers 49 are provided at two locations so that the two rows of the preforms 7 are independently damped. A full sensor 51 is provided in the middle of the storage conveyor 29, and the full sensor 51 confirms that the number of preforms 7 satisfying the thermoforming mold 5 as a multi-cavity molding mold has been accumulated. The stoppers 49 in the second row are lowered and the cutting is started. In FIG. 5, the stoppers 49 in the right column are lowered.

  When it is detected by the seating sensor 53 that the preform 7 has been conveyed and has reached the cutout section 31, the rotation of the storage conveyor 29 is stopped, and the cutout section 31 moves in the conveyor feed direction (diagonally downward to the right in FIG. 5). And one of the leading preforms 7 is separated from the storage conveyor 29. Thereafter, the storage conveyor 29 raises the stopper 49 and resumes rotation.

  The preform 7 separated as described above is taken into the thermoforming automation device 27 by the lateral feed mechanism 55. That is, when the preform 7 of the cut-out part 31 is transferred to the alignment conveyor 57 by the lateral feed mechanism 55 and then conveyed to a predetermined position by the alignment conveyor 57, it is detected by the arrival confirmation sensor 59 and the alignment conveyor 57 stops. To do.

  Next, the embodiment of the supply conveyor 35 and the cut-out transfer unit 37 of the back plate 33 described above will be described in more detail.

  Referring also to FIG. 6, a large number of back plates 33 are stored on the supply conveyor 35 so as to overlap each other in the feeding direction (upwardly in the right direction in FIG. 6). At the outlet of the supply conveyor 35, the electromagnetic holder 61 for cutting out the back plate also serves as a stopper for the back plate 33. When the seating confirmation sensor 63 confirms that the back plate 33 has arrived at a predetermined position, the supply conveyor 35 stops. . After the pressing mechanism 65 is lowered and the second and subsequent back plates 33 are held, the first back plate 33 is attracted by the electromagnetic holder 61 and then taken into the thermoforming automation device 27.

  Next, an embodiment of the alignment operation of the robot 45 and the preformed product 7 for conveying the preformed product 7 and the molded product G will be described in more detail.

  Referring also to FIG. 7, the robot hand 43 mounted on the robot 45 includes an electromagnetic chuck 67 for gripping and conveying the back plate 33 taken into the apparatus by the electromagnetic holder 61 to the alignment jig 39 one by one. A mechanical hand 69 for gripping and conveying the preforms 7 one by one from the alignment conveyor 57 to the insertion jig 1, a magnet hand 71 having the same arrangement as the multiple cavities 3 of the thermoforming mold 5, and thermoforming It comprises a spray gun (not shown) for applying a release agent to the mold 5 and an air blow nozzle (not shown) for removing excess material powder on the mold.

  The alignment jig 39 holds the back plate 33 taken into the thermoforming automation device 27 by the electromagnetic holder 61 in the same arrangement as the cavity 3 of the thermoforming mold 5.

  At the same time as the thermoforming of the thermoforming mold 5 set previously is started, the robot 45 uses the robot hand 43 to attach the back plate 33 and the preform 7 as a setup operation for the next thermoforming. One by one, gripping and conveyance to the alignment jig 39 and the insertion jig 1 are started. That is, the preformed product 7 of the alignment conveyor 57 is gripped by the mechanical hand 69 and then conveyed to the insertion jig 1, and the preformed product 7 is viewed from above the cutout window 23 as shown in FIG. It is lowered so as to be sandwiched between the six leaf springs 25 of the preformed product holding part 11. The back plate 33 of the electromagnetic holder 61 is gripped by the electromagnetic chuck 67 and then conveyed to the alignment jig 39 for alignment.

  The alignment operation of the preform 7 and the back plate 33 by the robot 45 is completed within the thermoforming time, and the robot hand 43 is placed in a standby position in order to take out the completed product G from the thermoforming die 5 in a batch. Moved.

  When thermoforming in the thermoforming mold 5 is completed and the thermoforming mold 5 on which the molding completion product G is placed is moved / positioned to a predetermined position, the robot 45 collectively puts the molding completion product G by the magnet hand 71. After gripping, conveying and discharging to the discharge stocker 47, a mold insertion operation is started in which the preforms 7 aligned in the insertion jig 1 are collectively inserted into the thermoforming mold 5.

  Next, a detailed description will be given of a mold insertion work procedure for collectively inserting the preform 7 into the thermoforming mold 5.

  Referring to FIG. 4 again, first, the robot 45 applies an appropriate amount of a release agent to the cavity 3 of the thermoforming mold 5 using a spray gun mounted on the robot hand 43, and then the insertion jig 1 is thermoformed. It is moved and positioned on the mold 5.

  Here, a method for positioning the thermoforming mold 5 and the insertion jig 1 will be described.

  Referring to FIG. 2, the side surfaces of the preforms 7 are sandwiched and held by a plurality of leaf springs 25. The lower end of the leaf spring 25 has a shape that fits into a holding metal fitting 73 that positions the back plate 33 inside the thermoforming mold 5, and the insertion jig 1 extends vertically from above the thermoforming mold 5. By descending, the preform 7 can be positioned at a relative position where it can be smoothly inserted into the cavity 3. With this structure, even if the relative position between the cavities 3 is shifted due to thermal expansion of the thermoforming mold 5 or replacement of the thermoforming mold 5, the positioning of the preform 7 and the cavity 3 is always stable. It becomes possible.

  Referring again to FIG. 4 again, the insertion jig 1 on which a large number of preforms 7 are held as described above is placed on the slide mechanism 41, and the thermoforming mold is held with the preforms 7 held. After the horizontal movement onto the mold 5, it is lowered vertically as described above to complete the positioning.

  Next, the robot 45 moves onto the insertion jig 1, the magnet hand 71 shown in FIG. 7 is lowered, and the preforms 7 held in the insertion jig 1 are extruded all at once, and the thermoforming metal It is inserted into the cavity 3 of the mold 5.

  After the insertion of the preform 7 is completed, the empty insertion jig 1 is returned to the supply alignment position of the preform 7 by the slide mechanism 41. On the other hand, the robot 45 moves onto the alignment jig 39 of the back plate 33, moves down onto the thermoforming mold 5 after the magnet hand 71 descends and grips the back plate 33 held in alignment. As shown in FIG. 3, a large number of back plates 33 are collectively inserted into the holding metal fitting 73 of the thermoforming mold 5, thereby shortening the mold insertion work of the preform 7 and the back plate 33. It will be completed in time.

  Finally, excess material powder on the thermoforming mold 5 is removed by the air blow nozzle mounted on the robot 45, and the molding operation is started.

  As described above, a large number of preforms 7 are collectively supplied to a large number of cavities 3 of the thermoforming mold 5 so that the difference in the part heating time before the start of hot pressing is eliminated. The quality of the finished product G is stabilized. Furthermore, since the preparatory work for putting the preform 7 into the thermoforming mold 5 is performed while the molding machine is in operation, the operating rate of the molding machine is increased and efficient molding work is possible.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above, It can implement in another aspect by making an appropriate change.

1, showing an embodiment of the present invention, is a perspective view of an insertion jig as a preformed product insertion device in disk brake pad thermoforming. FIG. It is a rough explanatory sectional view showing a positioning state of a thermoforming die and an insertion jig of an embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic explanatory sectional view showing a state where a preform and a back plate are mounted on a thermoforming mold. 1, showing an embodiment of the present invention, is a perspective view of a thermoforming automation device using a disc brake pad forming part insertion jig. FIG. It is the perspective view to which the storage conveyor and alignment conveyor of FIG. 4 were expanded. It is the perspective view which expanded the supply conveyor of FIG. It is the perspective view which expanded the robot provided with the robot hand.

Explanation of symbols

1 Insertion jig (Preliminary product insertion device)
3 Cavity 5 Thermoforming mold 7 Preliminary product 9 Frame plate (insertion device body)
11 Pre-formed product holding part 21 Presser spring 25 Leaf spring (elastic body)
27 Thermoforming Automation Device 29 Storage Conveyor 33 Back Plate 35 Supply Conveyor 37 Cutout Transfer Unit 39 Alignment Jig 41 Slide Mechanism 43 Robot Hand 45 Robot 49 Stopper 55 Transverse Feeder Mechanism 57 Alignment Conveyor 61 Electromagnetic Holder 65 Pressing Mechanism 67 Electromagnetic Chuck

Claims (3)

In a preform insertion device for inserting a preform as a molding material into the cavity of a thermoforming mold having a plurality of cavities for disc brake pads,
The insertion device main body is provided with a large number of preformed product holding parts for holding the preforms to be inserted into the numerous cavities of the thermoforming mold at positions corresponding to the cavities. A plurality of elastic bodies for pressing and holding the respective preforms from the side are provided in the product holding portion, and the plurality of preforms corresponding to the respective cavities of the thermoforming mold are collectively collected by the insertion device body. A preform insertion device for thermoforming a disc brake pad, wherein the device is provided so as to be movable to an insertable position. The preformed product holding portion is provided such that a plurality of elastic bodies are independently suspended from the insertion device main body and the lower end of each elastic body is fitted in each cavity of a thermoforming mold. 2. A preform insertion device for disc brake pad thermoforming according to claim 1. The preformed product holding portion is configured such that the upper side of the plurality of elastic bodies can be inserted so that the preformed product is sandwiched between the plurality of elastic bodies, and the preformed product held by the plurality of elastic bodies is a thermoforming mold. 3. A preform insertion device for thermoforming a disc brake pad according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the preform is opened to the cavity of the disc brake pad.

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