Apparatus of manufacturing molding material and method of manufacturing resin gear

An apparatus of manufacturing a molding material for use to form a ring-shaped molding material including a metal bushing and an aggregate of short fibers compressed on an outer side of an outer peripheral portion of the metal bushing by pouring slurry containing a dispersion medium and the short fibers, or a dispersion medium, the short fibers, and a powdery resin, and continuously subjecting the slurry to filtration, dehydration, and compression, the apparatus of manufacturing a molding material comprising:

• a cylindrical die configured to prevent the aggregate of the short fibers or the short fibers and the powdery resin from spreading radially outwardly of the metal bushing during the compression;
• a pair of bushing support dies disposed inside the cylindrical die to sandwich a portion of the metal bushing located on an inner side of the outer peripheral portion in an axial direction and to prevent the aggregate of the short fibers or the short fibers and the powdery resin from spreading radially inwardly of the metal bushing during the compression;
• and
• an upper compression mold and a lower compression mold located between the cylindrical die and the pair of bushing support dies to sandwich the aggregate of the short fibers or the short fibers and the powdery resin in the axial direction to compress the aggregate during the compression, wherein:
• a plurality of drain passages configured to discharge the dispersion medium are formed in the lower compression mold;
• a bottom member having a filtration function is disposed on the plurality of drain passages formed in the lower compression mold;
• the bottom member is constituted of two or more layers of wire meshes including a dutch-woven wire mesh and a plain-woven wire mesh, the two or more layers of wire meshes being secured to each other by sintering;
• a support plate is disposed between the bottom member and the lower compression mold, the support plate having a plurality of through holes formed therein and configured to support the bottom member;
• the support plate is dotted with the plurality of through holes so as to have an opening rate of 35% or more and 55% or less;
• and
• the dutch-woven wire mesh has a filtration grain size of 150 μm or more, and the plain-woven wire mesh has a hole opening rate of 35% or more and 55% or less.