EP0897811B1 - Surface treatment method and apparatus for support of lithographic plate and grinding apparatus for graining brush - Google Patents

Surface treatment method and apparatus for support of lithographic plate and grinding apparatus for graining brush Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0897811B1
EP0897811B1 EP98115279A EP98115279A EP0897811B1 EP 0897811 B1 EP0897811 B1 EP 0897811B1 EP 98115279 A EP98115279 A EP 98115279A EP 98115279 A EP98115279 A EP 98115279A EP 0897811 B1 EP0897811 B1 EP 0897811B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
brush
bristles
tips
graining
support
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
EP98115279A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP0897811A1 (en
Inventor
Tsuyoshi Hirokawa
Toru Yamazaki
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Fujifilm Holdings Corp
Original Assignee
Fuji Photo Film Co Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Fuji Photo Film Co Ltd filed Critical Fuji Photo Film Co Ltd
Publication of EP0897811A1 publication Critical patent/EP0897811A1/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0897811B1 publication Critical patent/EP0897811B1/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B24—GRINDING; POLISHING
    • B24B—MACHINES, DEVICES, OR PROCESSES FOR GRINDING OR POLISHING; DRESSING OR CONDITIONING OF ABRADING SURFACES; FEEDING OF GRINDING, POLISHING, OR LAPPING AGENTS
    • B24B19/00—Single-purpose machines or devices for particular grinding operations not covered by any other main group
    • B24B19/02—Single-purpose machines or devices for particular grinding operations not covered by any other main group for grinding grooves, e.g. on shafts, in casings, in tubes, homokinetic joint elements
    • B24B19/028—Single-purpose machines or devices for particular grinding operations not covered by any other main group for grinding grooves, e.g. on shafts, in casings, in tubes, homokinetic joint elements for microgrooves or oil spots
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A46—BRUSHWARE
    • A46D—MANUFACTURE OF BRUSHES
    • A46D1/00—Bristles; Selection of materials for bristles
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A46—BRUSHWARE
    • A46D—MANUFACTURE OF BRUSHES
    • A46D1/00—Bristles; Selection of materials for bristles
    • A46D1/02—Bristles details
    • A46D1/0276—Bristles having pointed ends
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B24—GRINDING; POLISHING
    • B24B—MACHINES, DEVICES, OR PROCESSES FOR GRINDING OR POLISHING; DRESSING OR CONDITIONING OF ABRADING SURFACES; FEEDING OF GRINDING, POLISHING, OR LAPPING AGENTS
    • B24B37/00—Lapping machines or devices; Accessories
    • B24B37/04—Lapping machines or devices; Accessories designed for working plane surfaces
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B24—GRINDING; POLISHING
    • B24D—TOOLS FOR GRINDING, BUFFING OR SHARPENING
    • B24D13/00—Wheels having flexibly-acting working parts, e.g. buffing wheels; Mountings therefor
    • B24D13/02—Wheels having flexibly-acting working parts, e.g. buffing wheels; Mountings therefor acting by their periphery
    • B24D13/10—Wheels having flexibly-acting working parts, e.g. buffing wheels; Mountings therefor acting by their periphery comprising assemblies of brushes
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41N—PRINTING PLATES OR FOILS; MATERIALS FOR SURFACES USED IN PRINTING MACHINES FOR PRINTING, INKING, DAMPING, OR THE LIKE; PREPARING SUCH SURFACES FOR USE AND CONSERVING THEM
    • B41N3/00—Preparing for use and conserving printing surfaces
    • B41N3/04—Graining or abrasion by mechanical means
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41C—PROCESSES FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR REPRODUCTION OF PRINTING SURFACES
    • B41C1/00—Forme preparation
    • B41C1/10—Forme preparation for lithographic printing; Master sheets for transferring a lithographic image to the forme

Definitions

  • the present invention relates generally to method and apparatus for treating the surface of a support of a lithographic plate and an apparatus for grinding the tips of bristles in a graining brush that roughens the surface of the support, and more particularly to an improvement of the graining brush for an aluminium support of the lithographic plate.
  • the aluminium plate has widely been used as the support of the lithographic plate or a photosensitive printing plate.
  • the surface of the aluminium support is grained in order to improve the adherence between of a sensitive layer and the aluminium support and to provide non-image parts on the plate with the capacity to retain moisture.
  • a brush graining method is now widely used as the surface treatment method for graining the surface of the aluminium support.
  • a graining brush which is made of such as nylon, rubs the surface of the aluminium support with abrasive slurry, which contains abrasive particles of such as pumice or pumicite, aluminium hydroxide, or alumina, which have new Mohs' scale of 2 or more.
  • abrasive slurry which contains abrasive particles of such as pumice or pumicite, aluminium hydroxide, or alumina, which have new Mohs' scale of 2 or more.
  • the surface of the aluminium support is sectionally roughened too deeply, or few grains are formed on the surface for some time from the first time a new graining brush is used.
  • the aluminium support, on which the grains are not satisfactorily formed has the inferior surface quality and stains during printing, and hence, the aluminium support is scrapped as an inferior good. For this reason, the yield is deteriorated, and the productivity is lowered.
  • the present invention has been developed in view of the above-described circumstances, and has as its object the provision of a surface treatment method and apparatus for a support of a lithographic plate that is able to satisfactorily perform the surface treatment from the first time a new graining brush is used, thus manufacturing the support that has the excellent surface quality and printing performance.
  • the present invention is directed to a surface treatment method for a support of a lithographic plate in which a brush rubs a surface of the support with abrasive slurry to thereby rough the surface of the support, characterized in that: acute angles of tips of bristles in the brush are previously adjusted between about 20° and about 80°.
  • the present invention is directed to a surface treatment apparatus for a support of a lithographic plate that rubs a surface of the support with abrasive slurry by means of a brush to thereby rough the surface of the support, characterized in that: acute angles of tips of bristles in the brush are adjusted between about 20° and about 80°.
  • the present invention has been developed based on a knowledge that angles of the tips of the bristles in the graining brush greatly influence the quality and depth of grains that are formed on the surface of the support of the lithographic plate when the graining brush rubs the surface of the support with the abrasive slurry.
  • the acute angles of the tips of the bristles in the graining brush are adjusted between 20° and 80°, and thereby, the surface treatment is satisfactorily performed from the first time the new graining brush is used.
  • Fig. 1 is a view illustrating the overall flow of aluminium web, to be supports of lithographic plates, in a surface treatment apparatus according to the present invention.
  • Aluminium web 10 is transported on pass rollers 12 to a graining vessel 14. Pairs of a nozzle 16 and a graining brush 18 are arranged along a transporting route of the web 10.
  • Abrasive slurry 24 is supplied from a circulatory tank 20 to the nozzles 16 via a circulatory pump 22.
  • the abrasive slurry 24 is poured onto the surface of the web 10 at the upstream sides of the graining brushes 18.
  • the graining brushes 18 rub the surface of the web 10 to which the abrasive slurry 24 adheres, so that the surface of the web 10 can be treated.
  • the grains are formed on the surface of the web 10, and the surface of the web 10 can be rough.
  • the abrasive slurry 24 that has fallen into the graining vessel 14 from the web 10 returns to the circulatory tank 20 via a return line 26.
  • new abrasive particles are supplied to the circulatory tank 20 from an abrasive particle supply line 28, and water is supplied to the circulatory tank 20 from a water supply line 30.
  • the abrasive slurry 24 partially flows into an overflow tank 32.
  • the abrasive slurry 24 in the overflow tank 32 is transferred to a cyclone 36 via a cyclone pump 34, and the abrasive particles are classified by diameter.
  • the abrasive slurry including larger abrasive particles is returned to the circulatory tank 20, and the abrasive slurry including smaller abrasive particles is discharged from the apparatus via a discharge line 38.
  • a centrifugal separator 40 solid-liquid separates the discharged abrasive slurry.
  • the smaller abrasive particles are collected in a treatment tank 42, and then they are thrown away.
  • angles of the tips of bristles 18A (see Figs. 2(A)-2(C)) in the graining brush 18 greatly influence the quality and depth of the grains formed on the web 10. Specifically, if an acute angle ⁇ of the tip of the bristle 18A in the graining brush 18 is more than about 80° as shown in Fig. 2(A), the tip of the bristle 18A is too flat and rubs too hard the abrasive particles in the abrasive slurry 24 onto the surface of the web 10. Then, the surface of the web 10 has too deep grains sectionally.
  • the tip of the bristle 18A in the graining brush 18 is less than about 20° as shown in Fig. 2(B)
  • the tip of the bristle 18A is too sharp and has no ability to rub the abrasive particles in the abrasive slurry 24 onto the surface of the web 10.
  • the surface of the web 10 has too shallow grains, and the life of the graining brush 18 is short because the bristles 18A break easily.
  • the acute angles ⁇ of the tips of the bristles 18A in the graining brush 18 are between 20° and 80° as shown in Fig. 2(C).
  • the angles of the tips of the bristles 18A in a new graining brush 18 are diverse. Accordingly, before the new graining brush 18 is used, it is necessary to adjust the acute angles of the tips of the bristles 18A in the new graining brush 18 between about 20° and about 80°.
  • a number of bristles 18A in the graining brush 18 are folded or broken.
  • Fig. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the graining brush 18 and a grinding apparatus 44 that grinds the tips of the bristles 18A in the graining brush 18 at angles of 20°-80°.
  • Fig. 4 is a side view of Fig. 3.
  • the graining brush 18 is constructed in such a manner that one end of a rotary shaft 48 of a roller 46 connects to a motor 50, which is rotatable both forward and backward, and the other end of the rotary shaft 48 is supported by a bearing (not shown).
  • a number of bristles 18A are provided on the periphery of the roller 46.
  • the bristles 18A may be directly secured to the roller 46, but it is more convenient if the bristles 18A are planted on a number of channels provided on a cylindrical drum 54 and the drum 54 is detachably attached on the roller 46.
  • the grinding apparatus 44 comprises a grinding plate 56 and a movement part 58 that presses the grinding plate 56 against the graining brush 18.
  • the grinding plate 56 is formed in such a way that the width thereof is substantially equal to that of the graining brush 18 and that the length thereof is substantially equal to the diameter of the graining brush 18.
  • the grinding plate 56 has a surface that faces the graining brush 18 and that is curved along the periphery of the graining brush 18.
  • An abrasive tool 60 such as a piece of abrasive paper or a whetstone (as shown in Fig. 5) is attached on the surface of the grinding plate 56 that faces the graining brush 18.
  • the movement part 58 is constructed in such a manner that a column 64 stands on a base frame 62, and a feed screw 66 engages with the column 64.
  • One end of the feed screw 66 connects to a bearing 68 that is fixed to the back of the graining plate 56.
  • the other end of the feed screw 66 connects to a rotary handle 70 that rotates the feed screw 66.
  • a rail 72 is arranged on the base frame 62 toward the graining brush 18.
  • the bottom end of the graining plate 56 is slidably supported on the rail 72 via a linear bearing 74.
  • the rotation of the handle 70 moves the grinding plate 56 toward the rotating graining brush 18. Pressing the abrasive tool 60, which is attached on the grinding plate 56, against the graining brush 18 grinds the tips of the bristles 18A in the brush 18.
  • Changing the amount of pressing the grinding plate 56 and the pressed state of the brush 18 and the abrasive tool 60 allows the angles of the tips of the bristles 18A to change freely. Specifically, if the grinding plate 56 is pressed little, only the tips of the bristles 18A are ground in a state that the bristles 18A are substantially vertical with respect to the abrasive tool 60. Thus, ground surfaces 18B are short, and the angles ⁇ of the tips of the bristles 18A are large as shown in Fig. 2(A). If the grinding plate 56 is pressed very much, the bristles 18A are ground in a state that the bristles 18A are substantially horizontal with respect to the abrasive tool 60.
  • the ground surfaces 18B are long, and the angles ⁇ of the tips of the bristles 18A are small as shown in Fig. 2(B). Adjusting the amount of pressing the grinding plate 56 makes the acute angles of the tips of the bristles 18A in the brush 18 between 20° and 80°.
  • the grinding apparatus 44 may be arranged independently of the surface treatment apparatus, but it is more convenient if pairs of the grinding apparatus 44 and the graining brush 18 are incorporated into the surface treatment apparatus in Fig. 1.
  • the grinding apparatus 44 grinds a new graining brush 18 to make the acute angles of the tips of the bristles 18A in the new graining brush 18 at about 30°. In a control example, the grinding apparatus 44 does not grind a new graining brush 18 before using it.
  • the new graining brushes 18 of the embodiment and the control example are tested in the surface treatment apparatus in Fig. 1.
  • the aluminium web 10 which is 800mm wide, is transported by 20,000m at a speed of 30m/min through the surface treatment apparatus, and the surface treatment state of the web 10 is evaluated.
  • the surface treatment state is evaluated in surface roughness, surface quality, printing performance and type ratio of the web 10. TABLE 1 shows the results.
  • the surface roughness, the surface quality, the printing performance, and the type ratio are satisfactory after the web is treated by 10m. Thereby, inferior products can be decreased drastically, and thus, the productivity can be improved.
  • the surface treatment method and apparatus for the support of the lithographic plate and the graining brush grinding apparatus of the present invention it is possible to satisfactorily perform the surface treatment from the first time the new graining brush is used.
  • the inferior products can be decreased drastically, and the productivity can be improved.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Finish Polishing, Edge Sharpening, And Grinding By Specific Grinding Devices (AREA)
  • Polishing Bodies And Polishing Tools (AREA)
  • Printing Plates And Materials Therefor (AREA)
  • Grinding Of Cylindrical And Plane Surfaces (AREA)
EP98115279A 1997-08-15 1998-08-13 Surface treatment method and apparatus for support of lithographic plate and grinding apparatus for graining brush Expired - Lifetime EP0897811B1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
JP220356/97 1997-08-15
JP9220356A JPH1159008A (ja) 1997-08-15 1997-08-15 平版印刷用支持体の表面処理方法及び装置並びに研磨ブラシ用研磨装置
JP22035697 1997-08-15

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0897811A1 EP0897811A1 (en) 1999-02-24
EP0897811B1 true EP0897811B1 (en) 2001-11-28

Family

ID=16749864

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP98115279A Expired - Lifetime EP0897811B1 (en) 1997-08-15 1998-08-13 Surface treatment method and apparatus for support of lithographic plate and grinding apparatus for graining brush

Country Status (4)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0897811B1 (ja)
JP (1) JPH1159008A (ja)
AT (1) ATE209574T1 (ja)
DE (1) DE69802630T2 (ja)

Families Citing this family (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JP5556800B2 (ja) * 2011-12-16 2014-07-23 旭硝子株式会社 研磨ブラシ、ガラス基板の端面研磨方法、およびガラス基板の製造方法
US20180281500A1 (en) * 2015-09-28 2018-10-04 Glunz & Jensen System for cleaning flexographic printing plates

Family Cites Families (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5472263A (en) * 1993-09-06 1995-12-05 Firma Anton Zahoransky Apparatus for profiling bristle fields

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
ATE209574T1 (de) 2001-12-15
EP0897811A1 (en) 1999-02-24
JPH1159008A (ja) 1999-03-02
DE69802630T2 (de) 2002-05-23
DE69802630D1 (de) 2002-01-10

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