Sheet Molding Compound Production Method, Carbon Fiber Mat Deposition Apparatus, and Sheet Molding Compound Production Apparatus

A method of manufacturing a sheet molding compound, the method comprising:

• drawing out a carrier film from a roll so that the carrier film travels while a width direction of the carrier film is maintained to be horizontal;
• supplying a plurality of continuous carbon fiber bundles arranged in parallel to each other to a chopper comprising a cutter roll having a rotation axis parallel to a T direction that is a direction being horizontal and being perpendicular to a travel direction of the carrier film;
• cutting the continuous carbon fiber bundles using the chopper to produce chopped carbon fiber bundles;
• depositing a carbon fiber mat by allowing the chopped carbon fiber bundles to fall onto the carrier film, after fragmentation-processing the chopped carbon fiber bundles using a fragmentation-processing apparatus which is arranged below the chopper;
• impregnating the carbon fiber mat with a thermosetting resin composition;
• arranging a partition partitioning a space along the T direction, the space being that through which the fragmentation-processed chopped carbon fiber bundles fall,
• wherein, in at least a part of the partition, a normal line is inclined from the T direction in a horizontal plane.