Component having an integral bond and a joining method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10183446-B2
Application number	US-201514974867-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 18, 2015
Priority date	Dec 19, 2014
Publication date	Jan 22, 2019
Grant date	Jan 22, 2019

Abstract

A welding method for producing an integral bond of fiber-reinforced plastics parts includes a welding head penetrating one of the plastics parts. The method includes reinforcing at least a first plastics part by a plurality of directional fibers. The re-inforcing fibers reorient themselves within the connection region without severing or breaking.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A welding method for producing an integral bond of a first and a second plastics part in a connection region, the method comprising:
reinforcing at least the first plastics part by a plurality of directional fibres;
providing an overlap region in which the first plastics and the second plastics part overlap;
bringing a welding head being into contact with the first plastics part in the overlap region;
softening and/or melting the plastics material in the connection region adjacent to one end of the first plastics part so that the welding head can penetrate the first plastics part and the reinforcing fibres can extend from said end into the connection region by appropriate heating.

2. The welding method according to claim 1 , wherein a softening zone is produced in the longitudinal direction of the reinforcing fibres from the connection region as far as to an end of the first plastics part, and fibres are extended out of the softening zone into the connection region during welding.

3. The welding method according to claim 1 , wherein, in at least one region of the first plastics part that is remote from the welding head by more than half the diameter of the welding head, the plastics material is heated by a heat source to a temperature between a softening point of the plastics material and a melting point of the plastics material or at least to 5% below the softening point.

4. The welding method according to claim 3 , wherein the at least one region of the first plastics part is remote from the welding head by more than the diameter of the welding head.

5. The welding method according to claim 1 , wherein energy is supplied to achieve a necessary temperature increase in the welding region, and heating is carried out to bring the first plastics part into the softening point range in the welding region, and in doing so remains below the melting point.

6. The welding method according to claim 5 , wherein the heating is carried out at a region that adjoins the weld region and is at least double the size of the welding head cross section.

7. The welding method according to claim 1 , wherein the reinforcing fibres of the first plastics part are pressed into the second plastics part at least in some portions by the welding head.

8. The welding method according to claim 1 , wherein the welding head is driven by a rotating and/or vibrating movement.

9. The welding method according to claim 1 , wherein the welding head is removed from the material of the first plastics part at least in part at repeated intervals, then moved along a weld track by at least 0.1 mm, and then lowered back into the material of the first plastics part.

10. The welding method according to claim 9 , wherein the welding head is moved along a weld track by at least 20% of the welding head diameter.

11. The welding method according to claim 1 , wherein a pressure pad is arranged around the periphery of the welding head, is in surface to surface contact with the first plastics part and is arranged in a stationary manner relative to the first plastics part.

12. The welding method according to claim 11 , wherein the pressure pad is arranged in a stationary manner relative to the first plastics part during the deformation of the reinforcing fibres.

13. A welding method for producing an integral bond of a first and a second plastics part in a connection region, the method comprising:
reinforcing at least the first plastics part by a plurality of directional fibres;
providing an overlap region in which the first plastics and the second plastics part overlap;
bringing a welding head being into contact with the first plastics part in the overlap region;
softening and/or melting the plastics material adjacent to the connection region so that the welding head can penetrate the first plastics part and the reinforcing fibres can reorient themselves outside the connection region to allow the welding head to penetrate the first plastics part without the reinforcing fibres generally breaking or severing.

14. The welding method according to claim 13 , wherein a softening zone is produced in the longitudinal direction of the reinforcing fibres from the connection region as far as to an end of the first plastics part, and fibres are extended out of the softening zone into the connection region during welding.

15. The welding method according to claim 13 , wherein, in at least one region of the first plastics part that is remote from the welding head by more than half the diameter of the welding head, the plastics material is heated by a heat source to a temperature between a softening point of the plastics material and a melting point of the plastics material or at least to 5% below the softening point.

16. The welding method according to claim 15 , wherein the at least one region of the first plastics part is remote from the welding head by more than the diameter of the welding head.

17. The welding method according to claim 13 , wherein energy is supplied to achieve a necessary temperature increase in the welding region, and heating is carried out to bring the first plastics part into the softening point range in the welding region, and in doing so remains below the melting point.

18. The welding method according to claim 17 , wherein the heating is carried out at a region that adjoins the weld region and is at least double the size of the welding head cross section.

19. The welding method according to claim 13 , wherein the reinforcing fibres of the first plastics part are pressed into the second plastics part at least in some portions by the welding head.

20. The welding method according to claim 13 , wherein the welding head is driven by a rotating and/or vibrating movement.

21. The welding method according to claim 13 , wherein the welding head is removed from the material of the first plastics part at least in part at repeated intervals, then moved along a weld track by at least 0.1 mm, and then lowered back into the material of the first plastics part.

22. The welding method according to claim 21 , wherein the welding head is moved along a weld track by at least 20% of the welding head diameter.

23. The welding method according to claim 13 , wherein a pressure pad is arranged around the periphery of the welding head, is in surface to surface contact with the first plastics part and is arranged in a stationary manner relative to the first plastics part.

24. The welding method according to claim 13 , wherein a pressure pad is arranged in a stationary manner relative to the first plastics part during the deformation of the reinforcing fibres.

Assignees

• Airbus Defence & Space Gmbh

Inventors

• Silvanus Juergen
• Meyer Meinhard
• Juergens Michael

Classifications

• B29C66/1142

  Single butt to butt joints · CPC title

• B29C66/7392

  characterised by the material of at least one of the parts being a thermoplastic · CPC title

• B29C66/91411

  of the parts to be joined, e.g. the joining process taking the temperature of the parts to be joined into account · CPC title

• B29C66/1122

  Single lap to lap joints, i.e. overlap joints (B29C66/45, B29C66/472, B29C66/52272 take precedence) · CPC title

• B29C66/91413

  the parts to be joined having different temperatures · CPC title