JPH03217223A - Method and device for mixing material - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To efficiently mix materials by giving a flow passage member the vibration which resonates the flow passage member while flowing >=2 kinds of materials through the flow passage member having an influent opening, a flow passage, and an effluent opening. CONSTITUTION:The mixture of materials is carried out in such a way that >=2 kinds of materials are allowed to flow into the influent opening 23 of the flow passage member 20 having the influent opening 23 of material, the flow passage 24, and the effluent opening 25, passed through the flow passage 24, and then allowed to flow out of the effluent opening 25. In this case, a vibration generating unit 30 is provided which is connected to the flow passage member 20 and gives the vibration resonating the flow passage member 20. The materials are allowed to flow to be mixed while the flow passage member 20 is resonated. As a result, the dispersion or the mixture of >=2 kinds of materials is sufficiently and efficiently carried out.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a mixing method and a mixing device for mixing two or more materials, such as organic polymer raw colorants or additives.

[Background technology]

Conventionally, when extruding organic polymer materials containing colorants and additives, increasing the extrusion speed causes the resin temperature distribution on the cross section of the resin flow path to become uneven. etc., the degree of dispersion also worsens. As a result, various problems arise, such as uneven color and poor surface gloss in molded products, and non-uniform dispersion of additives in granular form.

Therefore, in order to equalize the temperature of the molten resin and enhance the dispersion effect, auxiliary mixing devices (static mixers) suitable for each application have been put into practical use.

FIG. 5 shows a static mixer which is an example of a conventional auxiliary mixing device.

In FIG. 5, a static mixer 1 includes a cylindrical body 2, and a plurality of elements 4 are fixed within a flow path 3 formed inside the cylindrical body 2. Each of these elements 4 has a shape obtained by twisting a substantially rectangular plate material by 180 degrees, and each element 4 is arranged in series in the cylinder body 2 so that the phase of the end face differs by 90 degrees. .

In such a configuration, when two or more types of materials are flowed into the cylinder 2, the materials are given a twisting rotation of 180 degrees at each element 4, and are divided into two at the connection position of each element 4. . This causes the materials to be stirred and mixed.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, the conventional static mixer 1 only has a twisted plate-shaped element 4 built-in, and its mechanism is simple, so it has been impossible to perform strong mixing.

In particular, a device that efficiently uniformizes the resin temperature and enhances the dispersion effect at the same time has not yet been put to practical use. Moreover, the same applies to the mixture of not only resin but also other organic materials and inorganic materials.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for mixing materials that can sufficiently and efficiently disperse and mix two or more materials.

[Means to solve the problem]

In the mixing method according to the present invention, when two or more materials are distributed through a channel member having an inlet, a channel, and an outlet for the materials,
This is a method in which vibrations that cause the channel member to resonate are applied to the channel member to cause the material to flow and mix while causing the channel member to resonate.

In the mixing method of the present invention, it is preferable that the material in the flow path member is distributed in a direction perpendicular to the direction of transmission of vibrations that cause the flow path member to resonate.

The mixing device according to the present invention includes a flow path member having an inlet, a flow path, and an outlet for materials, and a vibration generator that is connected to the flow path member and applies vibrations that cause resonance to the flow path member. , the flow path of the flow path member is provided with a cross flow path that allows material to flow in a direction crossing the vibration transmission direction.

In the mixing device of the present invention, it is preferable that the cross flow path is formed at a position that substantially coincides with the resonance abdomen.

[Effect]

In the present invention, the material also vibrates due to the resonance of the channel member, and mixing is performed sufficiently and efficiently.

Moreover, if the material is made to flow in a direction that intersects with the direction of vibration transmission, the energy of the vibration is better imparted to the material, and mixing can be performed more efficiently.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings. Here, the same or equivalent components in each of the embodiments described below are given the same reference numerals, and the explanation thereof will be omitted or simplified.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a mixing apparatus for carrying out the mixing method of the present invention.

In the figure, the mixing device IO according to the present embodiment includes a flow path member 20. This channel member 20 is configured such that a rectangular shaft-shaped protrusion 22 is integrally extended in two orthogonal directions at the center of a rectangular shaft-shaped main body 2l, and a rectangular shaft-shaped protrusion 22 is integrally extended in two orthogonal directions. Along the direction, the material inlet 23, the flow path 2
4 and an outlet 25 are bored.

A cylindrical adapter 1 is provided at the inlet 23 of the circulation member 20.
A single-screw or multi-screw extruder l6 is connected through the outlet 5, while a nozzle 17 is connected to the outlet 25. The tip of this nozzle l7 is connected to a molding die, die, etc. (not shown).

A vibrating section 31 of a vibration generator 30 is connected to an end surface of one of the protrusions 22 of the circulation member 20 by a connecting member 32 such as a bolt. The vibration generator 30 includes an oscillator 3
5 are connected to each other so that vibrations of a predetermined frequency are generated by a signal from an oscillator 35.

The oscillator 35 is, for example, of an automatic frequency tracking and automatic power control type, and is capable of following changes in resonance frequency due to changes in state during mixing by the flow path member 2o. At this time, the resonance frequency of the flow path member 20 is designed and manufactured in advance to a frequency that can be tracked by the oscillator 35. Therefore, the oscillator 35 reduces the load applied to the channel member 20 until two or more materials are supplied to the channel 24 through the inlet 23, heated by a heater (not shown), and then flowed out from the outlet 25. Channel member 20 due to momentary fluctuations
The system is set to constantly track slight changes in the resonant frequency, and to supply the necessary amount of power (less than the maximum output) in accordance with the momentary changes.

The vibration applied to the flow path member 20 by the vibration generator 30 has a frequency that causes the flow path member 20 to resonate. Further, the wavelength that causes the channel member 20 to resonate is the wavelength that causes the channel member 20 to resonate.
The wavelengths are such that there are n wavelengths (nm/2, m is a positive integer) for the total length of 0, so that the channel member 20 resonates with so-called n wavelengths. Here, n is the flow path member 2
In order to suppress vibration loss at 0, it is preferable that the number is 3 or less.

In addition, the protrusion 22 to which the vibration generator 30 is connected includes:
A vibration direction conversion mechanism is provided, and vibrations are also transmitted in a direction that is converted by 90 degrees from the transmission direction of vibrations emitted from the vibrating section 3l. Therefore, the main body 21 of the flow path member 20
The transmission direction of the vibration in is transmitted in a direction converted by 90 degrees from the transmission direction of the vibration emitted from the vibrating section 31.

In this embodiment, when ultrasonic vibration is used, the vibration direction conversion mechanism is the conventional L-L
The flow path member 20 can also be provided with a converter, an L-R converter, an L-L-L converter, and the like. At this time, the vibration direction conversion mechanism is not limited to being provided on the protrusion 22 side of the flow path member 20, but may be provided at another position depending on the shape of the flow path member 20.

That is, the vibration direction conversion mechanism may be provided at a required location of the flow path member 20 as necessary depending on the connection position between the vibration generator 30 and the flow path member 20 and the required vibration transmission direction. I can do it.

FIG. 2 shows a displacement waveform W when the channel member 20 resonates at 1.5 wavelengths.

In the figure, the point where the displacement waveform W intersects is a point that is not vibrating, and is a resonant node P. This resonance node P
, a flow path member holding portion (not shown) is arranged, and the adapter 15 and nozzle 17 are fixed to the flow path member 20 with attachment means such as screws. This minimizes the transmission of vibration to the holding section and the adapter 15 and nozzle 17 sides, and also minimizes the vibration fatigue of these attachment sections.

Further, in order to further suppress vibration transmission to the adapter 15 and the nozzle I7, it is preferable to incorporate a cushioning material such as titanium alloy fiber into the connecting portion between the adapter 15 and the nozzle I7 and the channel member 20. .

Furthermore, the contact between the holding part and the circulation member 20 should be made in as small an area as possible, and line contact is preferable. There are various ways to achieve line contact, but for example, a groove may be formed in the flow member 20, the holding portion may be made of a plate material thicker than the groove, and the end portion of the plate material to be engaged with the groove may be beveled. If the end is tapered, holding can be achieved through line contact by abutting against the slope of the tapered end or the corner of the groove.

On the other hand, in order to transmit the vibrations generated by the vibration generator 30 to the channel member 20 with high efficiency and easily, the contact portion between the vibrating section 31 of the vibration generator 30 and the channel member 20 is set to a resonant state. It is preferable to match the part where the flow path member 20 vibrates with the largest amplitude, that is, the resonance abdomen Q.

Note that, as is clear from FIG. 2, the distance between the resonant node P and the abdomen Q is 1/4 wavelength.

The method of generating vibration in the vibration generator 30 is not particularly limited, but includes, for example, an ultrasonic vibration method using an ultrasonic vibrator, a mechanical method such as a cam-crank method, an unbalanced weight method, and an electrodynamic method. An electromagnetic type electric system such as a mold vibrator, an electro-hydraulic system, etc. can be used. Further, as the frequency of vibration, a range of several tens of Hz to several tens of MHz can be used. At this time, the vibration frequency is 10 KHz - 100 K because the vibration effect can be obtained in a short time and the materials can be mixed at high speed.
Hz ultrasound is preferred.

Furthermore, the amplitude when causing the circulation member 2o of the mixing device IO to resonate is limited by the heating temperature, material, etc. of the circulation member 20, but in order to efficiently mix the materials by vibration, it is 10 μm to 2 mm. It is preferable that

Further, as the vibration mode, other than longitudinal vibration, known vibration modes such as transverse vibration, torsional vibration, radial vibration, and flexural vibration can be used.

It is also possible to incorporate a vibration transmitter for transmitting vibration between the flow path member 20 and the vibration generator 30, and if the shape of the vibration transmitter is appropriately selected, the vibration generated by the vibration generator 30 can be It becomes possible to easily increase/decrease the amplitude of. At this time, the number of vibration generators 30 coupled to the flow path member 20 or the number of vibration transmitters via them is not particularly limited, but when a plurality of them are coupled, the timing of vibration may be adjusted. , it is necessary to prevent the resonance state of the channel member 20 from being disturbed.

As the material for forming the flow path member 20, various materials such as conventionally used metal materials, ceramics, graphite, etc. can be used. However, when incorporating the mixing device IO of this embodiment into a molding device, among these materials, a material with low vibration transmission loss at the molding temperature is used.
In addition, materials that do not cause fatigue even when the amplitude of vibration is increased, such as duralumin, titanium alloy, K-monel, phosphor bronze, etc.
It is preferable to use graphite or the like.

In addition, various types of plating may be applied to the surfaces of the channel 24 of the channel member 20, etc., to improve wear resistance and corrosion resistance, or to lower the coefficient of friction with the molding material, as necessary. , coating treatment, and further treatment such as graining may be performed.

Furthermore, when heating the flow path member 20, most parts of the flow path member 20 vibrate in a resonant state, so when a conventional plate heater is installed, the wiring inside the plate heater may be damaged. It may be cut due to vibration. Therefore, for heating the channel member 20, it is preferable to use a far-infrared heater that can heat the channel member 20 without contacting it. In this case, the heater or the like is brought into contact only with the non-vibrating portion of the channel member 20 in the resonant state, that is, the resonant node P, and the channel member 20 is and a far-infrared heater.

Next, the operation of this embodiment configured as above will be explained.

When mixing a molding material as a material, the oscillator 35 is driven to generate a predetermined vibration from the vibration generator 30, and the flow path member 20 is excited at a resonant frequency, and the flow path member 20 is moved as shown in FIG. bring it to the resonance state shown. Further, the channel member 20 is heated to the melting temperature of the molding material using a heater (not shown).

In this state, the extruder 16 is operated to supply a molding material consisting of two or more materials, for example, a plastic material, a coloring agent, an additive, etc., into the channel 24 from the inlet 23 of the channel member 20. Mixing of the materials takes place in 24.

For mixing, the flow path 24, as shown in FIG.
Because of the resonance, colorants, additives, etc. are dispersed extremely uniformly within the molding material.

After mixing, the molding material is injected into a molding die (not shown) through the outlet 25 and the nozzle 17 to obtain a predetermined molded product.

According to this embodiment as described above, there are the following effects.

That is, during mixing, the vibration of the vibration generator 30 is
Since the vibration is transmitted to the channel member 20 as resonance, the vibration can be efficiently transmitted to the channel member 20. In addition, the vibrating section 31 of the vibration generator 30 and the flow path member 20
Since the abdomen Q of the resonant displacement waveform W is set to be located on the connecting surface with the resonant displacement waveform W, the vibration effect of the vibration generator 30 can be maximized and the fluidity of the molding material etc. can be improved.

Furthermore, the molding material supplied into the channel 24 of the channel member 20 can improve the dispersibility of colorants, additives, etc., which was difficult with conventional mixing techniques, and improve the properties of the molded product, for example, Can eliminate color unevenness and improve surface gloss. Furthermore, non-uniformity in the temperature of the molten resin can be eliminated, and from this point of view as well, the characteristics of the molded product can be improved.

Moreover, if the attachment position of the holding part (not shown) to the flow path member 20 and furthermore the coupling position of the flow path member 20, the adapter 15, and the nozzle 17 are set to the node P of the resonance displacement waveform W, Not only can damage caused by vibration fatigue to the coupling portion be reduced, but also the outflow of vibration to the outside can be reduced.

FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the mixing device used in the present invention, in which a part of the channel member 20 is modified.

In the flow path member 20 in the mixing device 40 of this embodiment, the flow path member 20 is divided into four partial members 20A, 20B, 2
It is divided into 0C and 20D. These partial members 20A to 20D are connected to each other by a screw structure (not shown).

Further, the second partial member 20B from the left is formed in a cross shape, and the vibrating section 31 of the vibration generator 30 is connected to the side end surface of the cross-shaped partial member 20B by a connecting member 32.

At this time, this cross-shaped partial member 20B is provided with a vibration direction changing mechanism, and the displacement waveform W due to the vibration of the vibration generator 30 is as shown in FIG. Also,
The connection surface between the vibrating part 31 and the partial member 20B is a resonant abdomen Q, and vibrations are efficiently transmitted. on the other hand,
At the resonance node P, the flow path member 20 is held and the adapter 15 and the nozzle 17 are connected, as in the previous embodiment.

Each of the partial members 20A to 20D is provided with partial flow paths 24A, 24B, 24C, and 24D along the longitudinal direction of the flow path member 20, that is, the flow direction of the material. At this time, the partial flow path 2 of the third partial member 20C from the left
4C is divided into three parallel lines.

In addition, each joint surface 27A, 2 of each partial member 20A to 20D
At or near the portions 7B and 27C, there is no flow path member 2.
0, that is, in this embodiment, each partial flow path 24A to 24A along the longitudinal direction of the flow path member 20.
Intersecting channels 28A, 28B, 28C, and 28D are provided that extend in a direction that intersects the direction in which the channel 24D is formed. These intersecting channels 28A to 28D communicate with each other or via partial channels 24A to 24D, and the intersecting channels 28A to 28D communicate with each other or via partial channels 24A to 24D.
~28D materials are allowed to flow smoothly.

Note that the flow direction of the molding material mixed by the mixing device 10 and the vibration direction to be transmitted are not limited. When dispersing or stirring the molding material by vibration strongly, the flow direction and the vibration direction may be limited. It is preferable to make it perpendicular to.

In addition, in this embodiment, the intersecting channels 28A to 28D are
The shape is not limited to the shape shown in the figure, but refers to a flow path in which the absolute value of the angle between the vibration transmission direction and the molding material flow direction is greater than 0 degrees, and the flow path is formed only of intersecting flow paths. You can leave it there. More specifically, in this embodiment, in contrast to the partial flow channels 24A to 24D formed along the vibration transmission direction, it is sufficient that the flow channels are formed in the protruding direction, and the protruding shape is rod-like, It can be of any shape such as a planar shape or a loop shape, but the molding material flows from the tip to the partial flow path 24A.
It is preferable to reflux to ~24D.

Furthermore, each partial member 20A to 20D in the channel member 20
In other words, the vibration is strongest at the resonance belly Q, that is, the farthest part of the displacement waveform ~V, so that the position of each joint surface 27A to 27C, in other words, the position of the cross flow paths 28A to 28D almost coincides. It is preferable to set the point where the As a result, the colorant, additives, etc. and the resin are sufficiently mixed in the cross channels 28A to 28D, and the dispersion of fillers such as the colorant can be made uniform and the resin temperature can be made uniform. . Moreover, in order to improve the transmission efficiency of vibration, it is preferable that the contact area of each of the joint surfaces 27A to 27C is made as wide as possible.

In this embodiment, the channel member 2o can be divided into 5 or more or 3 or less pieces, but in this case, the dividing surface is divided into two parts in order to improve the transmission of vibrations by the vibration generator 3o. It is preferable to make surface contact as much as possible or to position it as close to the resonance abdomen Q as possible. In addition, the flow path member 20
When constructed from a plurality of members, the flow path member 20 may be made of the same material or may be made of different materials.

Also in this embodiment, substantially the same functions and effects as those of the flow path member 2o in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 can be achieved.

In addition, in this embodiment, the channel member 2o is replaced by the partial member 2
'Since it is divided into OA~20D, each partial member 20A~2
Cross passages 28A to 28 are connected to the joint surfaces 27A to 27c of 0D.
D can be easily provided, and these intersecting channels 28A
~28D allows better dispersion and mixing of materials. Further, by using the partial members 20A to 20D, the length of each partial flow path 24A to 24D is shortened, and the effect of facilitating processing can be added.

In addition, in the present invention, moldable molding materials include:
Examples include organic materials such as plastics, rubber, and elastomer pitch, inorganic materials such as inorganic polymers, ceramics, metals, and glass, other foods, and mixed materials thereof. In addition, the state of the material when it flows into the mixing device IO is not limited to a liquid state such as molten resin.
It may be in a solid state such as a powder state, as long as it is in a fluid state, or it may be in a gas state.

Further, the devices and locations to which the mixing device 10.40 of the present invention is applied include: between the nozzle of the injection molding machine and the mold in an injection molding machine, between the extruder and the die in various extruders, and between the extruder and the die in various extruders. It can be provided anywhere where the molding material passes, such as between the molding machine and the extruder, or between the molding machine and a hopper that supplies material to those molding machines.

(Experimental Example 1) Hereinafter, the results of an experiment conducted to confirm the effects of the above-mentioned example will be explained while comparing with a comparative example.

Experimental Example 1 Molding materials were mixed using the mixing device IO shown in FIG.

The oscillator 35 has a fundamental frequency of 19. 15KHz ultrasonic oscillator (SONOPET manufactured by Seidensha Electronics Co., Ltd.)
1200-8), the second
It resonated at the displacement wavelength W of vibration shown in the figure, that is, to become a 1.5 wavelength resonator, and its amplitude was set to 55 μm.

The molding material is iron oxide red (SICOTRANS RED K2819 manufactured by BASF) as a coloring agent and polycarbonate (PC. A-27 manufactured by Idemitsu Petrochemical Co., Ltd.).
00) to which 5 wt% was added was used.

The molding conditions were a flow path member temperature of 275° C. and a molding material supply rate of 1.8 kg/hr. In addition, the vibration mode was longitudinal vibration.

Mixing was performed under the above-mentioned conditions while causing the channel member 20 to resonate using ultrasonic waves, and the appearance of a molded product obtained by press-molding the effluent was evaluated.

Experimental Example 2 An experiment was conducted under the same conditions as Experimental Example 1, except that the mixing device 40 shown in FIG. 3 was used.

The results of Experimental Examples 1 and 2 are shown in Table-■.

Comparative Example 1 An experiment was conducted using the conventional static mixer shown in FIG. 5 under the same conditions as in Experimental Example 1, including the molding material, the molding material supply rate, and the static mixer temperature.

Mixing was performed under the above-mentioned conditions, and the appearance of a molded product obtained by press-molding the effluent was evaluated in the same manner as in Experimental Example 1.

The results of Comparative Example 1 are shown in Table 1.

(The following is a blank space) Table I According to Experimental Examples 1 and 2, when resonance vibration is applied to the flow path member 20, the color of the molded product is lower than in Comparative Example 1 using a conventional device that does not apply vibration. It can be seen that no unevenness occurs at all, and the gloss level is also significantly improved. This is because the colorant was uniformly dispersed due to the resonance of the channel member 20.

Moreover, according to Experimental Example 2, it can be seen that the glossiness is improved by providing the cross channels 28A to 28D.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, when two or more types of materials are mixed, the materials also vibrate due to the resonance of the channel member, and the material components can be dispersed well, and as a result, This has the effect of improving the properties of products using the mixed materials.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a schematic configuration of an embodiment of a mixing device for carrying out the method of the present invention, with main parts cut away, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional front view of the main part showing a schematic configuration of another embodiment of a mixing device for carrying out the method of the present invention, and FIG. An explanatory diagram showing waveforms and wavelengths, and FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a conventional device. 10... Mixing device, 20... Channel member, 20A-2
0D... partial member, 23... inlet, 24... channel, 24A-24D... partial channel, 25... outlet, 28A-28D... cross channel, 30. ... Vibration generator, 35... Oscillator, 40... Mixing device, W...
・Displacement waveform, P... node, Q... abdomen.

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) Two or more materials are allowed to flow in from the inlet of a channel member having a material inlet, a channel, and an outlet, pass through the channel, and then flow out from the outlet to mix the materials. A method for mixing materials, characterized in that the material is mixed by flowing the material while causing the flow path member to resonate. (2) A method for mixing materials according to claim 1, characterized in that the material in the flow path member is caused to flow in a direction intersecting a direction of transmission of vibrations that cause the flow path member to resonate. (3) A flow path member having a material inlet, a flow path, and an outlet; and a vibration generator connected to the flow path member and applying vibrations that cause resonance to the flow path member; A material mixing device characterized in that the flow path of the path member is provided with a cross flow path that allows the material to flow in a direction crossing the vibration transmission direction. (4) In claim 3, the formation position of the crossing flow path is
A material mixing device characterized in that the material mixing device is located at a position that substantially corresponds to the abdomen of resonance.