A carbon-fiber-reinforced resin composite material includes: carbon fibers including carbon fiber bundles and a thermoplastic resin, in which (1) a coefficient of variation (CV1) of a total areal weight of the carbon-fiber-reinforced resin composite material is 10% or lower, (2) a coefficient of variation (CV2) of a carbon fiber volume fraction (Vf) in the carbon-fiber-reinforced resin composite material which is defined by Expression (a) is 15% or lower, and (3) a weight average fiber length of the carbon fibers is 1 to 100 mm. Carbon Fiber Volume Fraction (Vf)=100×Volume of Carbon Fibers/(Volume of Carbon Fibers+Volume of Thermoplastic Resin) . . . Expression (a).

According to one embodiment, a system for manufacturing a fully impregnated thermoplastic prepreg includes a mechanism for moving a fabric or mat and a drying mechanism that removes residual moisture from at least one surface of the fabric or mat. The system also includes a resin application mechanism that applies a reactive resin to the fabric or mat and a press mechanism that presses the coated fabric or mat to ensure that the resin fully saturates the fabric or mat. The system further includes a curing oven through which the coated fabric or mat is moved to polymerize the resin and thereby form a thermoplastic polymer so that upon exiting the oven, the fabric or mat is fully impregnated with the thermoplastic polymer. During at least a portion of the process, humidity in the vicinity of the coated fabric or mat is maintained at substantially zero.

Provided is a useful improvement in a CF-SMC manufacturing technique comprising an SMC manufacturing method using a continuous carbon fiber bundle having a filament number of NK and partially split into n sub-bundles in advance. In the SMC manufacturing method according to the present invention, a fragmentation processing using a fragmentation processing apparatus (A) below is performed on chopped carbon fiber bundles before being deposited on a carrier film. The fragmentation processing apparatus (A) comprises a first pin roller and a second pin roller, each of which has a rotation axis parallel to a rotation axis direction of the rotary cutter. The first pin roller is rotationally driven such that its pins move downward from above on its side facing the second pin roller, and the second pin roller is rotationally driven such that its pins move downward from above on its side facing the first pin roller.

A manufacturing method of an SMC of the present invention comprises (i) forming chopped carbon fiber bundles by chopping a continuous carbon fiber bundle having a filament number of NK with a rotary cutter, (ii) fragmentation-processing the chopped carbon fiber bundles by using a fragmentation-processing apparatus comprising a rotating body, (iii) forming a carbon fiber mat by depositing the fragmentation-processed chopped carbon fiber bundles on a carrier film traveling below the rotary cutter, and (iv) impregnating the carbon fiber mat with a thermosetting resin composition, wherein N is 20 or more, and the fragmentation-processing apparatus comprises a first pin roller and a second pin roller which are disposed side by side, each having a rotation axis parallel to a rotation axis direction of the rotary cutter.

A method for forming a multi-layered structure includes forming a resin-infused fibrous material (70) by applying a liquid resin component (60) onto the fibrous material (32) being pulled through an injection box (110) such that the fibrous material is partially impregnated and surrounded by the liquid resin component to form a resin-infused fibrous material. The resin-infused fibrous material is then introduced to a first die (130) and partially cured to form a partially-cured fiber-reinforced core material (80). The core material exits the first die to an intermediate region, where a polymer layer (40) is then applied onto at least a portion of the outer profile surface of the core material. The material then enters a second die (140), where the liquid resin component is fully cured to form a fiber-reinforced thermoset core material (30) having the polymer layer adhered thereon within the second die, thus forming the multi-layered structure (20).

A process for forming a mat containing a fiber filler including providing one or more sources of extended length fiber; feeding the one or more sources of extended length fiber simultaneously to an automated cutting machine to produce chopped tow fibers; separating the chopped fiber tow into individual chopped fibers that form a fiber filler; coating the fiber filler with a binder; depositing the fiber filler on a first sheet of thermoplastic; covering the fiber filler with a second sheet of thermoplastic to form a stack; and moving the stack to a treatment chamber to form a fiber mat.

The present invention discloses a silencer for automobile. The silencer is formed by press molding. The silencer has a first molded surface and a second molded surface which are opposite to each other in a thickness direction. The silencer at least includes a first fiber layer on which the first molded surface is formed and a second fiber layer integrated with an opposite surface to the first molded surface, the opposite surface being on the first fiber layer. Fibers of the second fiber layer exist partly on the opposite surface on the first fiber layer.

Textile reinforcement that can be used for the production of composite parts by pultrusion, including a central layer made from glass fibre segments and polyester, and in which, in the central layer, the glass fibre segments are enrobed with polyester, the central layer including a central reinforcement core surrounded by the glass fibre segments enrobed with polyester, at least one fibre-web surface layer forming one of the external faces of the textile reinforcement.

A fiber-reinforced resin molding material is obtained by impregnating a chopped fiber bundle with a matrix resin, has a layered structure including three or more layers in a thickness direction thereof, and satisfies the relationships Lao>Lam and Wao>Wam, where Lao and Wao represent the number average fiber length and the number average fiber bundle width, respectively, of the chopped fiber bundle in the outermost layer thereof, and Lam and Wam represent the number average fiber length and the number average fiber bundle width, respectively, of the chopped fiber bundle in a middle layer thereof.

A method of manufacturing a moulded article from first and second moulding compounds includes attaching a first moulding component to a carrier tool, placing the carrier tool and the attached first moulding component in a mould, applying a first moulding process, removing the carrier tool, placing a second moulding component in the mould, and applying a second moulding process to shape the first and second moulding components and bond the first moulding component to the second moulding component. A moulded article is also disclosed.