Method for the sound damping and/or sound insulation of components

Abstract

A description is given of a method for the sound damping and/or sound insulation of metallic parts and/or plastic parts in which thermoplastic compounds are applied to the parts as a defined profile by direct extrusion at melting temperatures of between 120 and 300? C., wherein, before the heating, the compounds are in the form of granules with a density of 1.5 to 5 g/cm.sup.3.

Claims

1. A method for sound damping and/or sound insulation of metallic parts and/or plastic parts, characterized in that thermoplastic compounds are applied to the parts as a defined profile by direct extrusion at melting temperatures between 120 and 300? C., wherein, prior to heating for the direct extrusion, the compounds are present in the form of granules having a density of 1.5 to 5 g/cm.sup.3, wherein: the thermoplastic compound granules comprise a filled thermoplastic polymer comprising polyamide or bitumen, which is highly filled with inorganic salts, coated with a hot-melt adhesive based on polyamide or polyolefins.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the parts are used for household appliances or household machines, or are a component of household appliances or household machines.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the parts are sinks, bathtubs, shower basins, or shower trays.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the parts are made of stainless steel, PVC polymers, polycarbonate polymers, polypropylene polymers, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) polymers, or glass fiber-reinforced plastics (GFRP).

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the inorganic salts are selected from barium sulfate, aluminum hydroxide, and/or iron oxides and/or the compounds have densities between 2.1 and 4.5 g/cm.sup.3 and/or the thermoplastic compounds are applied at temperatures between 180 and 250? C.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the part to be coated and an extruder head with a nozzle mounted thereon undergo a relative motion with respect to one another, wherein the part remains still and the nozzle moves, or the part and the nozzle both move, or the nozzle is stationary and the part moves.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the granules are fed to the direct extrusion by gravity or pneumatically.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the extruder is mounted on a manipulator or a robot arm.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the part to be coated is tempered to a defined temperature by laser radiation or by dynamic inductive means prior to the coating.

10. The method according to claim 7, wherein the granules are fed to the direct extrusion by gravity or pneumatically by continuous gravimetric or volumetric means.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the filled thermoplastic polymer comprises polyamide.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the filled thermoplastic polymer comprises bitumen.

Description

(1) The drawings show the following:

(2) FIG. 1 shows one possible embodiment of the direct extrusion device;

(3) FIG. 2 shows a complete structure for carrying out the method of coating parts according to the invention; and

(4) FIG. 3 shows a detail of the arrangement of the extrusion nozzle.

(5) The important parts of a direct extrusion device are illustrated in FIG. 1. The blower station 1 contains, among other things, a filter for keeping the conveying air free of suspended particles and dust. The conveying air is used for pneumatically transporting the filled granulate, which is to be extruded, from the storage tank 2 via the tube 4 and into the feed hopper 3 of the extruder 5. The granulate is conveyed in the predefined quantity from the feed hopper into the extruder by automatic control. The extruder nozzle and the device for positioning the parts to be coated are not visible in the illustration.

(6) FIG. 2 shows a coating unit in which the part as well as the nozzle move. The transport device 6 supplies the parts to be coated from the warehouse or a preparation station to the coating unit. The parts are supplied to the conveying device 8 at location 7. This may take place manually, as illustrated here, or also by machine by means of suitable known manipulators. The device 8 brings about transport of the parts in the horizontal direction to the predetermined coating station 9, which in the illustrated case is a stationary manipulator or a robot having, for example, three rotation or displacement axes. A device for heating the part is not visible. In the particular case illustrated, the robot arm supports only the extrusion nozzle, and the compound, which has already been melted in the extruder 11, is conveyed from the extruder to the extrusion nozzle at the end of the robot arm via the tube connection 10. After the coating, the parts are conveyed to station 12, and at this location are transported on a further conveyor belt to packaging or further processing. In FIG. 2, the supplying of the coated parts from the conveying device 8 to the conveyor belt 13 is likewise illustrated as a manual operation. Here as well, this may take place by means of suitable known manipulators.

(7) FIG. 3 shows a detail of the extrusion nozzle 14, which is guided, at an angle ? which is kept constant, over the substrate 16 which is coated with the compound 15. This is important so that the predetermined coating thickness and geometry may be maintained. The arrow 17 indicates the relative motion of the part 16 with respect to the nozzle 14.

(8) As already described above, the specific configuration of the conveying device and of the coating station depend on the size and geometry of the parts to be coated. If the part to be coated is, for example, a complete wash container of a washing machine or of a dishwasher, or a turret housing, the configuration of the conveying devices for supplying the parts to the coating station must be coordinated with the coating station. In addition, the manipulator or robot which carries out the coating must have a corresponding design. Devices of this type are already known from the automotive industry, for example.