INTEGRALLY FORMED CARBON FIBER SPOKE AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF
20230322017 · 2023-10-12
Inventors
Cpc classification
International classification
Abstract
The present disclosure provides an integrally formed carbon fiber spoke and a manufacturing method thereof. The method includes manufacturing a carbon fiber core body and a first metal part and a second metal part at two ends; winding or wrapping the carbon fiber core body and the metal parts at the two ends with carbon fiber prepregs to form a semi-finished product; and putting the wound or wrapped semi-finished product into a forming mold for heat forming. In the present disclosure, the metal parts are wound or wrapped with the carbon fiber prepregs, such that sandwich structures are formed between the metal parts and carbon fiber materials to expand a bonding force of bonding interfaces.
Claims
1. An integrally formed carbon fiber spoke, comprising a spoke inner core made from carbon fibers, a tooth cap configured to be cooperatively connected to a rim, a cap head configured to be cooperatively connected to a hub, and a carbon fiber prepreg layer, the tooth cap and the cap head being provided with through installation holes, the through installation hole of the tooth cap and the through installation hole of the cap head being respectively fixedly sleeved at two ends of the spoke inner core, the carbon fiber prepreg layer being arranged outside the spoke inner core, part of the tooth cap and part of the cap head, the spoke inner core and the carbon fiber prepreg layer being integrally formed into a spoke body.
2. The integrally formed carbon fiber spoke according to claim 1, wherein the carbon fiber prepreg layer is formed by winding or wrapping the spoke inner core and the tooth cap and cap head with carbon fiber prepregs and heating in a mold.
3. The integrally formed carbon fiber spoke according to claim 1, wherein the spoke inner core is cylindrical, and joint parts at the two ends of the spoke inner core are connected to the through installation holes of the tooth cap and the cap head in a close-fit manner; and the joint parts of the spoke inner core are connected to the tooth cap or the cap head via adhesives.
4. The integrally formed carbon fiber spoke according to claim 2, wherein anti-falling bosses are arranged on peripheries of the part of the tooth cap and the part of the cap head wrapped with the carbon fiber prepregs to increase a bonding force of the carbon fiber prepregs in wrapping; and a thread is formed in an end of the tooth cap, the tooth cap is provided with a nut for matched assembly to be connected and fixed to the rim, and a linear clamping groove is formed in a peripheral side of the tooth cap.
5. A method for manufacturing an integrally formed carbon fiber spoke, the method being configured for manufacturing the integrally formed carbon fiber spoke according to claim 1, wherein the method comprises the following steps: S1: manufacturing a carbon fiber core body; S2: manufacturing a first metal part and a second metal part at two ends of a spoke, and axially forming through holes in centers of the first metal parts and the second metal part, the through holes being matched with the carbon fiber core body; S3: enabling the carbon fiber core body to pass through the through holes of the first metal part and the second metal part, and arranging the first metal part and the second metal part at two ends of the carbon fiber core body; S4: winding or wrapping the carbon fiber core body and the first metal part and the second metal parts at the two ends of the carbon fiber core body with carbon fiber prepregs to form a semi-finished product; S5: putting the semi-finished product into a forming mold for heat forming; and S6: after forming, opening the forming mold to take out a formed product, and then processing a screw tooth on the second metal part to obtain a final usable product.
6. The method for manufacturing an integrally formed carbon fiber spoke according to claim 5, wherein in step S1, fibers in the carbon fiber core body are continuous at 0°; in step S1, the carbon fiber core body is formed into a cylinder by means of molding or pultrusion, and a diameter of the carbon fiber core body is smaller than 1.8 mm; in step S2, peripheries of opposite ends of the first metal part and the second metal part are tapered, hole diameters of the through holes in the centers of the first metal part and the second metal parts are smaller than 1.8 mm, and a linear clamping groove is formed in a side surface of the second metal part; and in step S2, anti-falling bosses are processed on peripheral sides of the first metal part and the second metal part to increase a bonding force of the carbon fiber prepregs wrapping the first metal part and the second metal parts.
7. The method for manufacturing an integrally formed carbon fiber spoke according to claim 5, wherein before step S3, the first metal part, the second metal parts, and a carbon rod are roughened, and a surface of the carbon fiber core body is coated with an adhesive, such that the carbon fiber core body is connected to the first metal part and the second metal part; in step S4, winding or wrapping is performed by means of the cross-angle carbon fiber prepregs, and layer-by-layer winding starts from a position, with a slope, of the first metal part or the second metal part until a predetermined thickness is obtained; in step S5, during heat forming, a temperature is controlled to range from 150° C. to 180° C., and a time ranges from 50 min to 70 min; in step S5, the spoke is round, flat, elliptical, or rhombic section-shaped; and in step S6, a nut for matched assembly is arranged at an end of the screw tooth of the second metal part on the spoke.
8. The method for manufacturing an integrally formed carbon fiber spoke according to claim 5, wherein in step S5, during heat forming, a temperature is controlled to range from 150° C. to 180° C., and a time ranges from 20 min to 30 min.
9. The integrally formed carbon fiber spoke according to claim 1, wherein the spoke inner core comprises a first carbon rod inner core and a second carbon rod inner core, the first carbon rod inner core is butted with the second carbon rod inner core, and an outer end of the first carbon rod inner core and an outer end of the second carbon rod inner core are respectively sleeved with the cap head and the tooth cap.
10. The integrally formed carbon fiber spoke according to claim 9, wherein the carbon fiber prepreg layer is formed by winding the first carbon rod inner core, the second carbon rod inner core, the tooth cap, and the cap head with carbon fiber prepregs and heating in a mold; and the outer ends of the first carbon rod inner core and the second carbon rod inner core are of an inverted cone structure, and a maximum end diameter D of the first carbon rod inner core and the second carbon rod inner core and a minimum end diameter d of the first carbon rod inner core and the second carbon rod inner cores meet a condition that 2≥D/d≥1.3.
11. The integrally formed carbon fiber spoke according to claim 9, wherein an installation hole is formed in a center of the cap head, the installation hole comprises a tapered hole section and a straight hole section, and a maximum inner diameter of the tapered hole section is smaller than a maximum outer diameter of an inverted cone structure of the first carbon rod inner core; and a second installation hole is formed in a center of the tooth cap, the second installation hole comprises a second tapered hole section and a second straight hole section, and a maximum inner diameter of the second tapered hole section is smaller than a maximum outer diameter of an inverted cone structure of the second carbon rod inner core.
12. A method for manufacturing an integrally formed carbon fiber spoke with butted inner cores, the method being configured for manufacturing the integrally formed carbon fiber spoke according to claim 9, wherein the method comprises the following steps: S1: manufacturing carbon rod inner cores, wherein the carbon rod inner cores comprise the first carbon rod inner core and the second carbon rod inner core, one end of the first carbon rod inner core and the second carbon rod inner core are heads, a second end of the first carbon rod inner core and the second carbon rod inner core are tails, the tails extend to the heads and are formed into cylinders, and the heads are formed into expanding parts with a gradually changed diameter; S2: manufacturing a first metal part and a second metal part at two ends of a spoke, and axially forming through holes in centers of the first metal part and the second metal parts, the through holes being matched with the first carbon rod inner core and the second carbon rod inner core; S3: enabling the first metal part to be nested into the tail of the first carbon rod inner core and moving the first metal part in place, enabling the second metal part to be nested into the tail of the second carbon rod inner core and moving the second metal part in place, and enabling the tail of the first carbon rod inner core to be butted with the tail of the second carbon rod inner core, arranging the first metal part on the head of the first carbon rod inner core, and arranging the second metal part on the head of the second carbon rod inner core; S4: winding or wrapping the first carbon rod inner core, the second carbon rod inner core, the first metal part, and the second metal part with carbon fiber prepregs to form a semi-finished product; S5: putting the semi-finished product into a forming mold for heat forming; and S6: after forming, opening the forming mold to take out a formed product, and then processing a screw tooth on the second metal part to obtain a final usable product.
13. The method for manufacturing an integrally formed carbon fiber spoke according to claim 12, wherein in step S1, the first carbon rod inner core and the second carbon rod inner core are carbon rod inner cores of a same specification, a carbon fiber rod body is formed by means of molding or pultrusion, and a diameter of the cylinders of the first carbon rod inner core and the second carbon rod inner core is smaller than 1.8 mm; in step S2, peripheries of opposite ends of the first metal part and the second metal part are tapered, and the through holes in the centers of the first metal part and the second metal parts comprise tapered sections to match with the expanding parts of the corresponding first carbon rod inner core and second carbon rod inner; and in step S2, concave-convex designs are processed on peripheral sides of the first metal part and the second metal part to increase a bonding force of the carbon fiber prepregs wrapping the first metal part and the second metal parts, and a linear clamping groove is formed in an outer side of the concave-convex design of the second metal part.
14. The method for manufacturing an integrally formed carbon fiber spoke according to claim 12, wherein before step S3, the first metal part and the second metal parts and the corresponding first carbon rod inner core and second carbon rod inner core are roughened, and surfaces of the heads of the first carbon rod inner core and the second carbon rod inner cores are coated with an adhesive, such that the first carbon rod inner core and the second carbon rod inner core are connected and adhered to the corresponding first metal part and second metal part; and in step S4, winding or wrapping is performed by means of cross-angle carbon fiber prepregs, and layer-by-layer winding starts from a position, with a slope, of the first metal part or the second metal part until a predetermined thickness is obtained.
15. The method for manufacturing an integrally formed carbon fiber spoke according to claim 12, wherein in step S5, during heat forming, a temperature is controlled to range from 150° C. to 180° C., and a time ranges from 50 min to 70 min; in step S5, the spoke is round, flat, elliptical, or rhombic section-shaped; and in step S6, a nut for matched assembly is arranged at an end of the screw tooth of the second metal part on the spoke, and the first metal part of the spoke has a cap head structure.
16. The method for manufacturing an integrally formed carbon fiber spoke according to claim 12, wherein in step S5, during heat forming, a temperature is controlled to range from 150° C. to 180° C., and a time ranges from 20 min to 30 min.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
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DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
[0064] The present disclosure is further illustrated below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings:
[0065] Embodiment 1: referring to
[0066] During use of the present disclosure, as shown in
[0067] As shown in
[0074] In the above step S1 and step S2, the carbon fiber core body and the two metal parts may be manufactured simultaneously, or the metal parts are manufactured first, or the carbon fiber core body is manufactured first.
[0075] For transition between bonding parts of the metal parts and the carbon fiber core body, as shown in
[0076] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, adhesion and carbon fiber prepreg wrapping are further used in cooperation to increase the bonding force. Before step S3, the two metal parts and the carbon fiber core body need to be subjected to roughening treatment. The roughening treatment here is mainly surface treatment, where the metal parts are sandblasted. A surface of a carbon rod, namely, the carbon fiber core body is coated with a high-strength and high-temperature-resistant adhesive, such that the carbon fiber core body is connected to the two metal parts for later use. The parts of the two ends of the carbon fiber core body bonded with the metal parts are mainly coated with the adhesive, or the whole carbon fiber core body is coated with the adhesive.
[0077] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, in step S4, winding or wrapping is performed by means of the cross-angle carbon fiber prepregs, and layer-by-layer winding starts from a position, with a slope, of the first metal part or the second metal part until a thickness required for design. Here, the carbon fiber core body and the metal parts are wound/wrapped with 0° carbon fiber prepregs and angled carbon fiber prepregs, and fibers in the 0° carbon fiber prepregs axially extend along the spoke. An ordinary carbon spoke is generally formed from the 0° carbon fiber prepreg. Due to parallel arrangement of fibers, the strength of the spoke is reduced when there are defects or fractures after collision during use. In the embodiment of the present disclosure, an outer layer of a spoke body is formed from the cross-angle carbon fiber prepregs, such that the spoke has stronger twisting resistance and tensile force.
[0078] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, in step S5, during heat forming, a temperature is controlled to range from 150° C. to 180° C., preferably 155° C., and a heating time is controlled to range from 50 min to 70 min, preferably 60 min. The parts of the two ends of the spoke matched with the metal parts are round, as shown in
[0079] As shown in
[0080] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in
[0081] The following table shows comparison between the carbon spoke in the embodiment of the present disclosure and a lightweight metal spoke in the current market:
TABLE-US-00001 Maximum Weight Maximum breaking Length without nut breaking force deformation (mm) (g) (kgf) (mm) High-end 279 4.5 298.33 6.52 lightweight 280 4.5 298.51 6.07 metal spoke 280 4.5 302.50 6.38 avg. 4.5 299.78 6.32 Carbon spoke in 279 3.0 390.24 4.25 the embodiment 280 3.1 400.14 4.75 of the present 280 3.1 421.27 5.46 disclosure 280 3.0 410.26 4.26 avg. 3.05 405.48 4.68 Difference comparison % −32.2% 35.3% −26.0% Advantages of 1. Weight reduced by about 30% (lighter weight) carbon spoke 2. Breaking strength increased by about 30% (higher breaking strength) 3. Maximum breaking deformation reduced by about 25% (smaller deformation)
[0082] The above data is obtained by a universal material testing machine through testing, and a testing standard refers to American Society For Testing And Materials D3039 (ASTM D3039).
[0083] The integrally formed carbon fiber spoke in the present disclosure has the following characteristics: [0084] 1. The integrally formed carbon fiber spoke does not need to be subjected to later yarn fixation, adhesion, and other processes. [0085] 2. The hole diameters of the holes in the centers of the metal parts, namely, the tooth cap and the cap head are smaller than 1.8 mm, and the diameter of a carbon fiber core is smaller than 1.8 mm [0086] 3. In the present disclosure, the first metal part and the second metal part, namely, the cap head and the tooth cap are small in size and may adapt to hubs and rims with small hole diameters on the current market. Compared with the way of direct bonding between the spoke body and the metal parts in the background, a frame for matched assembly is enhanced in strength due to small hole diameter. [0087] 4. The present disclosure overcomes the deficiencies of a carbon fiber spoke in the background, especially the bonding strength of adhesion, and changes the way of bonding between the spoke body and the metal parts at the two ends. By means of the process for winding or wrapping the carbon fiber core body (that is the spoke inner core) and the metal parts with the carbon fiber prepregs or further by cooperation between the adhesion and the carbon fiber prepreg wrapping, the sandwich structures are formed between the metal parts and the carbon fiber materials to expand bonding interfaces between the spoke body and the metal parts, namely, the tooth cap and the cap head at the two ends, thereby greatly increasing the bonding force between the spoke body and the metal parts at the two ends, ensuring that slip between the spoke body and the metal parts will not be caused, enhancing the structural strength of the product, and improving the safety of riding or races.
[0088] Embodiment 2: An integrally formed carbon fiber spoke includes a spoke inner core made from carbon fibers, a tooth cap (a second metal part 24) capable of being cooperatively connected to a rim (a bicycle rim), a cap head (a first metal part 23) capable of being cooperatively connected to a hub, and a carbon fiber prepreg layer 25, where the tooth cap and the cap head are provided with through installation holes, the installation hole of the tooth cap and the installation hole of the cap head are respectively fixedly sleeved at two ends of the spoke inner core, the carbon fiber prepreg layer is arranged outside the spoke inner core and part of the metal tooth cap and cap head, and the spoke inner core and the carbon fiber prepreg layer are integrally formed into a spoke body. The spoke inner core may be of a whole structure, that is to say, it is of an integrated structure from the cap head to the tooth cap. The spoke inner core may also be of a butt-joint structure, as shown in
[0089] Referring to
[0090] In the integrally formed spoke with the butted inner cores according to the present disclosure, the tooth cap and the cap head are nested into the corresponding carbon rod inner cores, are butted with each other, are wound or wrapped with the carbon fiber prepregs, and are put into a forming mold for heat curing and forming. The carbon rod inner cores and the carbon fiber prepreg layer form a spoke body. The tooth cap and the cap head are respectively fixed to the spoke body via double-layer connection, which ensures that slip between the spoke body and the metal parts will not be caused, and improves the structural strength of the product.
[0091] During use of the present disclosure, as shown in
[0092] A method for manufacturing an integrally formed carbon fiber spoke with butted inner cores includes the following steps: [0093] S1 manufacturing carbon rod inner cores, where [0094] the carbon rod inner cores include a first carbon rod inner core 21 and a second carbon rod inner core 22, one ends of the two carbon rod inner cores are heads, the other ends of the two carbon rod inner cores are tails, the tails extend to the heads and are formed into cylinders, and the heads are formed into expanding parts with a gradually changed diameter, namely, inverted cone structures; [0095] S2: manufacturing a first metal part 23 and a second metal part 24 at two ends of a spoke, and axially forming through holes in the centers of the two metal parts, the through holes being matched with the first carbon rod inner core and the second carbon rod inner core; [0096] S3: enabling the first metal part 23 to be nested into the tail of the first carbon rod inner core 21 and moving the first metal part in place, [0097] enabling the second metal part 24 to be nested into the tail of the second carbon rod inner core 22 and moving the second metal part in place, and [0098] enabling the tail of the first carbon rod inner core 21 to be butted with the tail of the second carbon rod inner core 22, arranging the first metal part 23 on the head of the first carbon rod inner core, and arranging the second metal part 24 on the head of the second carbon rod inner core; [0099] S4: winding or wrapping the first carbon rod inner core, the second carbon rod inner core, the first metal part, and the second metal part with carbon fiber prepregs to form a semi-finished product; [0100] S5: putting the wound semi-finished product into a forming mold for heat forming, the carbon fiber prepregs forming an outer layer 5; and [0101] S6: after forming, opening the mold to take out a formed product, carrying out refitting, and then processing a screw tooth on the second metal part 24 to obtain a final usable product.
[0102] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the first carbon rod inner core 21 and the second carbon rod inner core 22 may be individuals with different lengths, as shown in
[0103] For transition between bonding parts of the metal parts and the carbon fiber core body, in step S2, peripheral sides of the first metal part 23 and the second metal part 24 are tapered. The through holes in the centers of the two metal parts include tapered sections and straight sections respectively matched with the inverted cone structures and the cylinders of the carbon rod inner cores. In step S2, concave-convex designs are processed on the peripheral sides of the first metal part 23 and the second metal part 24 to increase a bonding force of the carbon fiber prepregs wrapping the metal parts. A linear clamping groove 244 is formed in an outer side of the concave-convex design of the second metal part 24, such that a fixing effect may be achieved when a nut is tightened later, thereby preventing twist.
[0104] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, adhesion and carbon fiber prepreg wrapping are further used in cooperation to increase the bonding force. Before step S3, the two metal parts and the carbon rod inner cores need to be subjected to roughening treatment. The roughening treatment here is mainly surface treatment, where the metal parts are sandblasted. The surfaces of the carbon rod inner cores are coated with a high-strength and high-temperature-resistant adhesive, such that the carbon rod inner cores are connected to the two metal parts. The parts of the two ends of the carbon fiber core body bonded with the metal parts are mainly coated with the adhesive, or the whole carbon rod is coated with the adhesive.
[0105] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, in step S4, winding or wrapping is performed by means of the cross-angle carbon fiber prepregs, and layer-by-layer winding starts from a position, with a slope, of the first metal part or the second metal part until a thickness required for design. Here, a carbon fiber core and the metal parts are wound/wrapped with 0° carbon fiber prepregs or angled carbon fiber prepregs.
[0106] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, in step S5, during heat forming, a temperature is controlled to range from 150° C. to 180° C., preferably 155° C., and a heating time is controlled to range from 50 min to 70 min, preferably 60 min; and the spoke is round, flat, elliptical, or similarly rhombic section-shaped. In a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, in step S5, to improve the efficiency, during heat forming, the temperature is controlled to range from 150° C. to 180° C., preferably 155° C., and the heating time is controlled to range from 20 min to 30 min, preferably 25 min.
[0107] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first metal part 23 is referred to as the cap head, and the second metal part 24 is referred to as the tooth cap; a nut for matched 10 assembly is arranged at an end of the screw tooth of the second metal part on the spoke, such that the second metal part is connected to a bicycle rim; and the first metal part of the spoke has a cap head structure to be connected and fixed to a hub.
[0108] Difference comparison between the carbon spoke in the embodiment of the present disclosure and a current metal spoke:
TABLE-US-00002 Maximum Weight Maximum breaking Length without nut breaking force deformation (mm) (g) (kgf) (mm) High-end 279 4.5 299.31 6.42 lightweight 280 4.5 302.50 6.17 metal spoke 280 4.5 316.40 6.45 avg. 4.5 306.07 6.35 Carbon spoke in 279 3.1 386.20 4.65 the embodiment 280 3.2 402.24 4.85 of the present 280 3.2 410.35 5.36 disclosure avg. 3.17 399.60 4.95 Difference comparison % −29.6% 30.6% −22.0% Advantages of 1. Weight reduced by about 30% (lighter weight) carbon spoke 2. Breaking strength increased by about 30% (higher breaking strength) 3. Maximum breaking deformation reduced by about 20% (smaller deformation)
[0109] The above data is obtained by a universal material testing machine through testing.
[0110] The integrally formed carbon fiber spoke in the present disclosure has the following characteristics: [0111] 1. In the method for manufacturing the integrally formed spoke with the butted inner cores, later yarn fixation, adhesion, and other processes are not needed. [0112] 2. The hole diameters of smaller parts of the holes in the centers of the metal parts, namely, the tooth cap and the cap head are smaller than 1.8 mm, and the diameter of the cylinders of a carbon rod is smaller than 1.8 mm. The two metal parts respectively penetrate into a smaller end of the carbon rod, and the metal parts are more firmly bonded at a larger end of the carbon rod under the action of a tension. [0113] 3 In the present disclosure, the first metal part and the second metal part, namely, the cap head and the tooth cap are small in size and may adapt to hubs and bicycle rims with small hole diameters on the current market. A frame for matched assembly is enhanced in strength due to small hole diameter. [0114] 4. The present disclosure overcomes the deficiency of low bonding strength of the carbon fiber spoke during adhesion, changes the way of bonding between the spoke body and the metal parts at the two ends, and adopts double-layer connection or even three-layer connection. Specifically, by means of the process for wrapping the carbon rod and the metal parts with the carbon fiber prepregs or further by cooperation between the adhesion and the carbon fiber prepreg wrapping, sandwich structures are formed between the metal parts and carbon fiber materials to expand bonding interfaces between the spoke body and the metal parts, namely, the tooth cap and the cap head at the two ends, thereby greatly increasing the bonding force between the spoke body and the metal parts at the two ends; and meanwhile, the spoke inner core is bonded with the metal parts via the inverted cone structures, which ensures that slip between the spoke body and the metal parts will not be caused, enhances the structural strength of the product, and improves the safety of riding or races.
[0115] The above records are only the embodiments using the technical content of the present disclosure. Any modifications or changes made by those skilled in the art by using the present disclosure fall within the scope of patent of the present disclosure, and are not limited to those revealed by the embodiments.