JP2005053064A - Manufacturing method for nozzle plate - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the hitting precision of ink by making a water repellent film remain along a discharge opening of a nozzle when the nozzle is formed by perforating a substrate after the water repellent film is formed at a front face of the substrate. <P>SOLUTION: A manufacturing method for a nozzle plate P1 includes the first process of forming a projection 5 at the front face side of the substrate 1 by planting a punch 10 from the rear face side of the substrate 1 and simultaneously forming a recess 4 at the rear face side of the substrate 1 not to penetrate to the front face side, the second process of flattening the front face of the substrate 1 by removing the projection 5 at the front face side of the substrate 1, the third process of forming the water repellent film 3 to the front face of the flattened substrate 1 and the fourth process of forming the nozzle 2 by punching out the substrate 1 by a punch 11 from the front face side of the substrate 1 to pierce from the front face of the substrate 1 to the recess 4. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a nozzle plate on which nozzles for ejecting ink are formed.

  The ink jet head is provided with a nozzle plate on which nozzles are formed, and ink is ejected from the nozzles onto a recording medium for printing. Here, when ink is ejected from the nozzle, if the water repellency (ink repellency) around the nozzle ejection port is poor and the ink gets wet, the ejected ink interferes with the ink adhering to the nozzle ejection port. Since the ink landing accuracy deteriorates, a water repellent film for improving water repellency is formed on the surface of the nozzle plate substrate.

Conventionally, after forming a nozzle on a substrate, a photosensitive resist is extended on the surface of the substrate with a bar coater or a roll coater and filled in the nozzle, and after the resist is cured, other portions are removed, etc. It is common to mask the portion and form a water repellent film around the nozzle on the surface of the substrate. However, this method has a drawback in that man-hours are required because a masking operation consisting of a plurality of steps is required.
Therefore, a method has been proposed in which a nozzle is processed after forming a water-repellent film on the surface of the substrate (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this method, a water-repellent film is formed by applying a fluorine-based or silicon-based resin solution on the surface of a blasted polyimide resin or the like, and then the substrate is backside or frontside by an excimer laser or the like. To form a nozzle.

  By the way, as a method of forming the nozzle on the substrate, there is the following method in addition to the method of forming the substrate through the excimer laser once as described above (see, for example, Patent Document 2). This method is a method of forming a nozzle having a tapered portion that tapers from the back surface side to the front surface side of the substrate and a straight portion that extends from the taper portion to the surface of the substrate. First, on the back side of the substrate, the taper portion is formed in a state not penetrating the substrate by punching or the like, and when the taper portion is formed, the convex portion formed on the front surface side is removed by polishing or the like at the same time, A straight portion is formed by punching from the back side of the substrate from the back end of the taper portion to the surface of the substrate from the back side of the substrate. According to this method, since the convex portion generated when forming the tapered portion is removed, the thinned portion is punched out from the back side with a punch, so that the punching amount is larger than when punching the substrate at a time. There are few, and it can suppress that a burr | flash generate | occur | produces on the surface side.

JP-A-7-304176 (page 2-4, FIGS. 1 to 5) JP 2002-113529 A (7th and 8th pages, FIG. 6 to FIG. 8)

  However, in the nozzle plate manufacturing method described in Patent Document 1, when the nozzle is formed by penetrating the substrate from the back side by one excimer laser processing, the amount of material removed from the substrate during nozzle formation is small. Since it is large, large burrs of the substrate itself and the water repellent film are generated on the surface side of the substrate. In order to improve the ink landing accuracy from the nozzles, it is necessary to completely remove such burrs. However, for this purpose, a plurality of deburring steps are required, which requires man-hours. Conversely, when the nozzle is formed by penetrating from the surface side of the substrate, no burr is generated on the surface of the substrate, but the amount of material removed from the substrate at the time of nozzle formation is large. The membrane gets into the nozzle. Then, since the roundness of the nozzle discharge port is deteriorated by the water-repellent film that has entered the nozzle, the ink landing accuracy when ink is discharged from the nozzle is lowered.

  Moreover, in the manufacturing method of the nozzle plate described in Patent Document 2, since the punching amount when forming the straight portion by penetrating the substrate is small, the generation of burrs on the surface side of the substrate can be suppressed to some extent. . However, it is difficult to apply this method to a substrate on which a water repellent film has been formed in advance. That is, when the tapered portion is formed, the surface side of the substrate protrudes and the flatness of the water-repellent film is impaired, and further, when the convex portion is removed by cutting or polishing, The water repellent film is also removed at the same time, and a portion not coated with the water repellent film is formed around the nozzle.

  Also, if burrs occur when the straight part is formed, for example, electrolytic polishing will be applied, but the burrs present at the opening end of the nozzle will be removed and some of the water repellent film will also be removed. As a result, the roundness of the water-repellent film cannot be maintained. Further, in the formation of the penetrating nozzle by punching twice, since the punching direction is the direction from the back surface to the front surface of the substrate, the substrate tends to be deformed in a convex shape from the back surface to the front surface. This is one of the reasons why the alignment accuracy during construction cannot be obtained.

  The object of the present invention is to suppress the generation of burrs on the surface side of the substrate and the warpage of the substrate when the nozzle is formed by penetrating the substrate after forming the water repellent film on the surface of the substrate, and with a small number of man-hours. It is to produce a high nozzle plate.

Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention

  The manufacturing method of the nozzle plate of 1st invention forms a convex part in the surface side of a board | substrate by driving in the 1st punch from the back surface side of a board | substrate, and forms the recessed part which does not penetrate to the surface side in the back surface side of a board | substrate. A first step of removing a convex portion on the surface side of the substrate to planarize the surface of the substrate, and a third step of forming a water repellent film on the surface of the planarized substrate. And a fourth step of punching the substrate from the surface side of the substrate by a second punch and penetrating from the surface of the substrate to the recess to form a nozzle.

  In this nozzle plate manufacturing method, first, in the first step, the first punch is driven from the back surface side of the substrate to thereby partially protrude the surface side portion of the substrate to form a convex portion, A recess that does not penetrate to the front side is formed on the back side of the substrate. Next, in the second step, the convex portions formed on the surface side of the substrate are removed by cutting or polishing to flatten the surface of the substrate. Next, in a third step, a water repellent film that improves the water repellency around the nozzles and prevents ink wetting is formed on the planarized substrate surface. In the fourth step, the second punch is driven from the surface side of the substrate on which the water-repellent film is formed, and penetrates from the surface of the substrate to the recess.

In this manner, the first punch is driven from the back side of the substrate to form a concave portion that does not penetrate to the front side, and after removing the convex portion formed on the front side, the second punch is driven from the front side of the substrate. Thus, since the substrate is penetrated, the punching amount in this punching becomes small. Therefore, the water-repellent film formed on the surface side of the substrate hardly enters the nozzle, and scratches hardly occur in the water-repellent film around the nozzle. Further, since the second punch is driven from the surface side of the substrate to penetrate the substrate, no burrs are generated on the surface side of the substrate. Accordingly, the water-repellent film remains along the discharge port of the nozzle, and it is possible to ensure good roundness of the nozzle and improve the landing accuracy.
Further, in the first and fourth steps, the first and second punches are driven in a smaller amount than when the substrate is punched at one time, and compared with the case where the substrate is punched from the same direction in two steps. However, according to the present invention, since the first and second punches are driven from the back side and the front side of the substrate, respectively, warpage of the nozzle plate and the like can be prevented.

  A method for manufacturing a nozzle plate according to a second aspect of the invention relates to the first aspect of the invention, and in the first step, the concave portion is formed in a tapered shape that tapers toward the surface side of the substrate. Is. Thus, by making the concave portion into a tapered shape, it is possible to easily guide ink into the nozzle from the back side of the substrate.

  The manufacturing method of the nozzle plate of the third invention relates to the first or second invention, and in the fourth step, a through-hole penetrating from the surface of the substrate to the recess is formed in a straight shape. It is characterized by. Thus, by making the through-hole straight, it is possible to ensure straightness of the ink ejected from the nozzle and improve the landing accuracy.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described. In the present embodiment, the present invention is applied to a method of manufacturing a nozzle plate that is provided in an inkjet head and includes nozzles that eject ink. Hereinafter, a description will be given with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1E, the nozzle plate manufacturing method includes a nozzle 2 formed on the substrate 1 for discharging ink, and a water repellent film 3 formed on the surface of the substrate 1 (surface on the ink discharge side). The nozzle plate P1 provided with
The substrate 1 is made of a metal (for example, stainless steel) sheet, and the thickness of the substrate 1 is, for example, about 70 μm. First, after applying a lubricant to the back surface of the substrate 1 by a method such as spraying, as shown in FIG. 1 (a), a punch having a tapered shape with a tapered tip from the back surface side of the substrate 1 10 (first punch) is driven to form a tapered concave portion 4 that tapers toward the front surface side that does not penetrate to the front surface side on the back surface side of the substrate 1.

  Here, when the concave portion 4 is formed, the substrate 1 is plastically deformed and pushed out to the surface side by the punch 10, so that the convex portion 5 is formed on the surface side of the substrate 1, but FIG. As shown, this convex portion 5 is removed by polishing with a grinding machine or the like, and the surface of the substrate 1 is flattened. Then, in a process described later, the surface of the substrate 1 is dried after applying a primer treatment to the surface of the flattened substrate 1 so that the water-repellent film 3 easily adheres to the surface of the substrate 1.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 1 (c), a fluorine-containing copolymer having a cyclic structure (Cytop: Asahi Glass Co., Ltd.) is applied to the surface of the substrate 1 that has been subjected to the primer treatment described above. A water repellent film 3 for improving the water repellency around the discharge port of the nozzle 2 on the surface side of the substrate 1 is formed. Here, the film thickness of the water repellent film 3 is, for example, about 0.1 to several μm. Thus, by forming the water repellent film 3 on the surface of the substrate 1 before penetrating the nozzle 2, the ink ejected from the nozzle 2 adheres to the periphery of the ejection port of the nozzle 2 and is ejected next. This prevents the landing accuracy from decreasing due to interference with ink. Then, as described above, the surface of the substrate 1 is flattened and then applied with Cytop to form the water repellent film 3, so that the flat water repellent film 3 can be formed on the surface of the substrate 1. Thereafter, in order to stabilize the water repellent film 3, for example, heat treatment is performed at a temperature of about 250 ° C. for about 30 minutes.

  Next, after applying a lubricant to the surface of the substrate 1 by a method such as spraying, a cylindrical punch 11 (second punch) is driven from the surface of the substrate 1 as shown in FIG. Then, the nozzle 2 is formed by penetrating from the surface of the substrate 1 to the recess 4 (FIG. 1 (e)). Thus, since the punch 11 is driven from the surface side of the substrate 1 to penetrate the substrate 1, no burrs are generated on the surface side of the substrate 1. Further, after forming the concave portion 4 that does not penetrate to the front surface side and removing the convex portion 5 formed on the front surface side, the punch 11 is driven from the front surface side of the substrate 1 to penetrate the substrate 1. The amount is small, and the water repellent film 3 formed on the surface side of the substrate 1 hardly enters the nozzle 2, and scratches hardly occur in the water repellent film 3 around the discharge port of the nozzle 2.

  Further, the through hole 6 penetrating from the surface of the substrate 1 to the recess 4 is formed in a straight shape. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 1 (e), the nozzle 2 is composed of a concave portion 4 that is tapered toward the surface side, and a straight through-hole 6 that extends from the concave portion 4 to the surface side. become. As described above, since the concave portion 4 is formed in a tapered shape, ink is smoothly guided into the nozzle 2 from an ink supply source (not shown) connected to the concave portion 4 of the nozzle 2 to the surface side of the substrate 1. Ink is ejected. Furthermore, since the through-hole 6 is formed in a straight shape, the straightness of the ink ejected from the nozzle 2 is ensured, and the ink landing accuracy is improved.

As described above, in this embodiment, the substrate 1 is hardly deburred, but may be deburred if necessary. This deburring can be performed by a known method such as electrolytic polishing, fluid polishing, grinding with a lapping machine, magnetic polishing, or cleaning with low frequency ultrasonic waves.
Finally, for example, by performing re-heat treatment for about 30 minutes at a temperature of 250 ° C., particularly when forming the nozzle 2, scratches formed on the water-repellent film 3 at the discharge port of the nozzle 2 The water-repellent film 3 is smoothed by repairing irregularities and the like. In this embodiment, Cytop is used for the water repellent film 3 and can be reheated at a relatively low temperature. Therefore, at the final stage where the nozzle 2 and the water repellent film 3 are formed on the substrate 1. This reheat treatment can be performed.

According to the manufacturing method of the nozzle plate P1 described above, the following effects are obtained.
In order to penetrate the substrate 1 by driving the punch 11 from the front surface side of the substrate 1 after forming the concave portion 4 that does not penetrate to the front surface side on the back surface side of the substrate 1 and removing the convex portion 5 formed on the front surface side, The punching amount in punching from the front side becomes small, the water repellent film 3 formed on the front side of the substrate 1 hardly enters the nozzle 2, and scratches occur in the water repellent film 3 around the discharge port of the nozzle 2. Hateful. Further, since the punch 11 is driven from the surface side of the substrate 1 to penetrate the substrate 1, no burr is generated on the surface side of the substrate 1. Therefore, the water-repellent film 3 remains along the discharge port of the nozzle 2, and it is possible to ensure good roundness of the nozzle and improve the landing accuracy.
Furthermore, the punching amount of the punches 10 and 11 when forming the recesses 4 and the through holes 6 is smaller than the case of penetrating the substrate 1 by one punching, and when punching from the same direction in two steps Even in this manufacturing method, since these punches 10 and 11 are driven in from the back surface side and the front surface side of the substrate 1, respectively, warpage of the nozzle plate P1 and the like can be prevented. Thereby, when comprising an inkjet head, the nozzle plate P1 can be assembled | attached maintaining a high alignment precision.

  The nozzle 2 includes a concave portion 4 formed in a tapered shape that tapers toward the surface side, and a straight through hole 6 extending from the concave portion 4 to the surface side. Accordingly, the ink can be smoothly guided from the back surface side of the substrate 1 to the nozzle 2 through the tapered concave portion 4 and discharged to the front surface side, and the ink discharged from the nozzle 2 by the straight through hole 6 can be discharged. Straightness is ensured, and ink landing accuracy is improved.

Next, modified embodiments in which various modifications are made to the embodiment will be described.
1] As shown in FIG. 2 (e), in the nozzle plate P 2, the recess 24 on the back surface side of the substrate 21 may be formed as a straight hole having the same hole diameter as the through hole 26. That is, first, a cylindrical punch 30 (first punch) is driven from the back side of the substrate 21 to form a straight recess 24 that does not penetrate the surface of the substrate 21 (FIG. 2A). Next, the convex portion 25 formed on the surface side of the substrate 21 is removed to flatten the surface of the substrate 21 (FIG. 2B), and then the water repellent film 23 is formed on the flattened surface of the substrate 21. It forms (FIG.2 (c)). A cylindrical punch 31 (second punch, which may also serve as the punch 30) having the same diameter as the punch 30 is driven from the surface side of the substrate 21, and the recess 24 is formed from the surface side of the substrate 21. The through hole 26 penetrating to the recess 24 is formed in a straight shape that communicates with the recess 24 and has the same hole diameter as the recess 24 (FIG. 2D). Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2 (e), the nozzle 22 is formed in a straight hole shape with the same hole diameter from the back surface side to the front surface side of the substrate 21, so that the ink discharged from the nozzle 22 goes straight. The nature is further improved.

2] The water-repellent film may be formed by applying a fluorine-based or silicon-based resin solution in addition to the cytop of the above embodiment. Alternatively, the water repellent film may be formed by water repellent plating such as nickel plating containing a fluorine-based polymer material such as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE).
3] In the above embodiment, the concave portion 4 is formed on the back side of the substrate 1 by driving the punch 10 once. However, the concave portion may be formed by stepping the punch a plurality of times.
4] As the substrate, in addition to the metal substrate of the above embodiment, a substrate made of ceramics, glass, synthetic resin, or the like can be used.

It is explanatory drawing explaining the manufacturing process of the nozzle plate which concerns on embodiment of this invention, (a) is recessed part formation, (b) is convex part removal, (c) is water-repellent film formation, (d) is a through-hole. Formation, (e) is a diagram showing each step of nozzle plate manufacturing completion. It is explanatory drawing explaining the manufacturing process of the nozzle plate of a change form, (a) is recessed part formation, (b) is convex part removal, (c) is water-repellent film formation, (d) is through-hole formation, (e ) Is a diagram showing each step of nozzle plate manufacturing completion.

Explanation of symbols

P1, P2 Nozzle plate 1, 21 Substrate 2, 22 Nozzle 3, 23 Water repellent film 4, 24 Concave part 5, 25 Convex part 6, 26 Through hole 10, 30 Punch 11, 31 Punch

Claims (3)

A first step of forming a convex portion on the front surface side of the substrate by driving a first punch from the rear surface side of the substrate and forming a concave portion not penetrating to the front surface side on the rear surface side of the substrate;
A second step of flattening the surface of the substrate by removing convex portions on the surface side of the substrate;
A third step of forming a water repellent film on the surface of the planarized substrate;
A fourth step of punching the substrate from the surface side of the substrate by a second punch and penetrating from the surface of the substrate to the recess to form a nozzle;
A method for producing a nozzle plate, comprising:   2. The method of manufacturing a nozzle plate according to claim 1, wherein, in the first step, the concave portion is formed in a tapered shape that tapers toward the surface side of the substrate. 3. The method for manufacturing a nozzle plate according to claim 1, wherein in the fourth step, a through-hole penetrating from the surface of the substrate to the recess is formed in a straight shape.

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