CN110565143A

CN110565143A - Aluminum panel

Info

Publication number: CN110565143A
Application number: CN201910958174.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 陆潇
Original assignee: Xuzhou Baitong Aluminum Co Ltd
Current assignee: Xuzhou Baitong Aluminum Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-10-10
Filing date: 2019-10-10
Publication date: 2019-12-13

Abstract

An aluminum panel includes an upper surface and a lower surface and the upper surface includes at least one recessed region. The panel has a reduced thickness in at least one recessed area. The upper surface of the panel and the at least one recessed area are each provided with an alumina coating, and the alumina coating of the at least one recessed area comprises at least one coloured dye. A method of manufacturing an aluminum panel is also provided.

Description

Aluminum panel

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a plate made of anodized aluminum and a method for manufacturing the same, and more particularly to a plate having a recessed design.

Background

Aluminum signs or nameplates are typically made from anodized aluminum plates.

anodization is an electrochemical process that provides a metal surface, such as aluminum, with an oxide coating. The anodized coating is porous and can absorb dyes to provide a colored layer for the panel. The anodized coating must then be sealed using a sealing coating that seals the pores in the coating. The anodic oxidation increases the corrosion and wear resistance of the panel and the anodic oxide coating is non-conductive.

Sulfuric acid is commonly used to prepare anodized aluminum, producing coatings of moderate thickness, for example, 1.8 μm to 25 μm in thickness.

Different sealing methods are commonly used, including hot water sealing where the panel is immersed in boiling deionized water for a certain period of time, and cold sealing methods where the panel is immersed in a nickel salt solution, such as nickel fluoride, for example.

Pre-anodized aluminum sheets are commonly used for making signage. The design may be engraved or etched on the anodized plate and a coating may be added to the etched or engraved areas. However, since the coating is applied to the metal surface, it is less durable than dyes encapsulated in the anode layer and is susceptible to abrasion, damage and degradation by solvents, contaminants or the environment.

Around aluminum is another known method of printing a mark on an aluminum plate. This process involves printing on a freshly anodized, unsealed porous surface, with dye impregnated into the surface. After the color is applied, the anodized coating is sealed to trap the dye within the anodized surface layer. In this process, there is no etching and/or engraving, so the surface of the tag is smooth, and it may be difficult to read when the smooth surface is contaminated with dust or soot. For this type of sign, there is also no option to make the surface of the sign tactile, and it may be difficult to read such a sign from certain angles or under certain lighting conditions, since the reflection from the surface is uniformly smooth. Further, if the printed image is whitened by exposure to heat or light, the intensity of the image may be reduced or completely disappear. This type of sign is also not suitable for use on floors, since a smooth surface may run the risk of slipping, especially when wet.

Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an improved aluminum panel.

Disclosure of Invention

According to an aspect of the present disclosure there is provided an aluminium or aluminium alloy panel comprising an upper surface and a lower surface, the upper surface comprising at least one recessed area, the panel having a reduced thickness in the at least one recessed area. A recessed region, wherein both the upper surface of the panel and at least one recessed region are provided with an alumina coating, and wherein the alumina coating of at least one recessed region comprises at least one colored dye.

The depth of the recessed area should be sufficient to be discernable by sight or touch, preferably at least 0.1mm relative to the upper surface of the panel.

Preferably, the alumina coating is obtained by an electrolytic anodization process. More preferably, the electrolytic anodization process is a sulfuric acid electrolytic anodization process.

The alumina coating of the at least one recessed area may be unsealed. Alternatively, the alumina coating of the at least one recessed region may be sealed. The anodized aluminum coating is preferably sealed using a standard sealing process selected from the group consisting of: hot water sealing, steam sealing, nickel salt cold sealing, chromate sealing and dichromate sealing processes.

The alumina coating of the recessed areas may include more than one dye. The alumina coating of the upper surface of the panel may include at least one dye. The alumina coating of the upper surface of the panel and the alumina coating of the recessed area may each include at least one dye. The dye included in the alumina coating of the upper surface of the panel may be a different color than the dye included in the alumina coating of the recessed area.

The aluminum plate may be selected from the group consisting of: labels, nameplates, logos, badges and floors.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method for manufacturing an aluminum panel, the method comprising the steps of:

Providing an aluminum plate, the plate comprising an upper surface and a lower surface, the upper surface having an anodized coating, and removing a portion of the anodized coating and a proportion of the underlying aluminum to form a recessed region in the plate; and

the faceplate is connected to a power source and the exposed aluminum portion of the recessed area of the faceplate is anodized to provide the recessed area with an aluminum oxide coating.

The method may comprise the final steps of:

(c) an anodized coating sealing the recessed region.

Preferably, the alumina coating on the panel in step (a) is obtained by an electrolytic anodization process. More preferably, the electrolytic anodization process is a sulfuric acid electrolytic anodization process.

The method may comprise the additional step of applying at least one coloured dye to the plate after step (b) and before step (c).

Preferably, the recessed region produced in step (a) has a depth of at least 0.1mm relative to the upper surface of the panel.

step (a) may be a two-step process and comprises the steps of: the anodized coating is removed first, followed by the underlying aluminum. Each of the two-step processes may use a different deletion process.

In step (a), the anodized coating may be removed by a method selected from the group consisting of chemical etching, engraving, laser engraving and sand blasting.

In step (a), the following aluminum may be removed by a method selected from the group consisting of: chemical etching, engraving, laser engraving and sand blasting.

Preferably, in step (c), the anodized coating is sealed using a standard sealing process selected from the group consisting of: hot water sealing, steam sealing, nickel salt cold sealing, chromate sealing and dichromate sealing processes. In case the sealing process is a hot water sealing process and the anodized coating is sealed by immersing the anodized coating in hot water, preferably at a temperature between 96 and 100 ℃ in water for a period of at least 20 minutes.

The aluminum plate used in the method may be selected from the group consisting of: labels, nameplates, logos, badges and floors.

the term aluminium plate includes plates made of aluminium or aluminium alloys.

Drawings

FIG. 1a is a perspective view of an aluminum panel with an etching stencil;

FIG. 1b is a perspective view of an aluminum panel with an etching stencil;

FIG. 2 is a cross-section of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-section of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 shows a cross-section of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a view of the panel after immersion in a dye solution;

FIG. 6a shows a cross-section through a panel after removal of an etching stencil;

Fig. 6b shows a perspective view of the panel of fig. 5.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 shows an anodized aluminum plate 1. A cutting vinyl etching stencil 3 has been applied to the anodised surface coating leaving a region 4 of the surface exposed.

Figure 1 shows a cross-section taken along line XX. As can be seen in fig. 2. As can be seen in fig. 1, an aluminum panel 1 has an anodized coating 2 on its upper surface. The anodized coating 2 is an alumina layer formed during electrolysis, which is subsequently sealed using standard sealing procedures. The anodized coating 2 may have been dipped into the dye solution prior to sealing and may therefore be coloured.

The anodized coating 2 is removed from the exposed areas 4 by applying an etching solution. Fig. 2 shows the anodized coating removed in the areas 4 exposed by the template 3, exposing the underlying aluminum metal 5.

The panel 1 is then further etched or engraved to increase the depth of the image areas 4 to form recessed areas on the panel 1, any suitable etching or engraving method that removes material to create recessed areas may be used as shown in figure 2.

The panel 1 is then connected to a power supply and the exposed aluminium surface 5 is re-anodised using standard anodisation methods to produce an anodised coating 6 as shown in figure 2. As shown in fig. 4, typically has a thickness of about 25 μm. The original anodized coating 2 is not affected by the second anodization step because it is not conductive.

At this stage, the newly anodized coating 6 is porous and can be dyed by immersion in a dye solution, resulting in a colored anodized coating 6' as shown in fig. 5. 5. Since only the newly anodized coating 6 is porous, only this part absorbs the dye, which means that the recessed part of the panel can be dyed a different color than the original panel. The panel 1 is then sealed using standard sealing methods known in the art, such as hot water sealing or cold sealing methods using nickel salts.

Finally, as shown in fig. 1 and 2. As shown in fig. 6, the stencil 3 is removed to expose the recessed areas 4, which recessed areas 4 have been colored a different color than the original anodized coating 2.

The application of the dye is an optional step and the anodized coating can be sealed without staining to produce a transparent layer.

The following examples illustrate the methods of the present disclosure:

Example 1

An anodized aluminum plate having an anodized coating of 25 μm thickness was provided with a simple vinyl-cut etching template applied to the anodized surface.

the anodized coating was then removed from the exposed areas of the template by etching in a 5% NaOH solution at 20 ℃ for about 3 minutes until the aluminum metal surface became visible.

The plate was then rinsed with water.

The faceplate panel was then etched in a 20% ferric chloride solution at 20 ℃ for 15 minutes using a standard spray etcher to increase the depth of the area exposed by the template.

The plate was then rinsed with water.

The faceplate was then connected to a power supply and anodized in a 20% 10% H2SO4 solution in lead at 15V in 15V anodes at 50 ℃ in a can for 50 minutes at approximately 25 microns

The panel was then removed from the power supply and rinsed with deionized water.

The panel was then dipped into a standard black anodising dye solution at 20 ℃ for 20 minutes until the dye fully coloured the anodised part applied in step (vi).

The plate was then rinsed with water.

The panels were then immersed in a standard sealed tank containing 97.5 ℃ water for 30 minutes.

The stencil is then peeled off the surface and the remaining adhesive is removed using a special general purpose cleaning solvent.

a mask or similar technique may be used to attach more than one colored dye to the panel.

The panels produced using this method include recessed details or graphics, such as may be used as labels, nameplates, signs, emblems, or floors. The recessed details may help enable tactile recognition of information or graphics. The design of the depression may also produce different reflective characteristics between the upper surface of the panel and the surface of the depression.

Claims

1. an aluminum panel comprising an upper surface of at least one recessed region; and a lower surface wherein the panel has a reduced thickness in the at least one recessed area, wherein the upper surface of the panel and the at least one recessed area are each provided with an alumina coating, and wherein the alumina coating of the at least one recessed area comprises at least one coloured dye.

2. An aluminium panel according to any one of claims 1, wherein the aluminium oxide coating of the at least one recessed area is unsealed.

3. The aluminum panel of claim 1, wherein the aluminum oxide coating of the at least one recessed area is hermetic.

4. The aluminum sheet of any of the preceding claims, wherein the recessed regions are of sufficient depth to be discernable by sight and/or touch.

5. an aluminium panel according to claim 4, wherein the depth of the recessed region is at least 0.1mm relative to the upper surface of the panel.

6. The aluminum panel of claim 1, wherein the aluminum oxide coating is obtained by an electrolytic anodization process.

7. The aluminum panel of claim 6, wherein the electrolytic anodization process is a sulfuric acid electrolytic anodization process.

8. The aluminum panel of claim 1, wherein the aluminum oxide coating of the upper surface of the panel comprises at least one dye.

9. The aluminum panel of claim 8, wherein the at least one dye included in the aluminum oxide coating of the upper surface of the panel is a different color than the at least one dye included in the aluminum oxide coating of the recess.

10. The aluminum panel of claim 1, wherein the panel is selected from the group consisting of: labels, nameplates, logos, badges and floors.