JP2008184669A - Clip, and manufacturing method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a clip which shows a decorative effect without being limited by a design pattern even when having a three-dimensional shape, and has corrosion resistance (durability). <P>SOLUTION: The clip (A) is manufactured by forming multiple metal-plated layers on a substrate and also applying laser working to a plated layer except the surface plated-layer. Specifically, the manufacturing method comprises the steps of: forming a first metal-plated layer on the substrate; forming a decoration pattern having fine unevenness on the surface of the first plated layer through a laser working step; then, activating the surface of the first plated layer; and plating the substrate as a post-process. Thereby manufactured clip has corrosion resistance and shows the highly decorative effect. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a clip formed with a beautiful and decorative metal plating, and a method for forming a uniform, beautiful, decorative and highly durable metal plating on the clip.

  The writing instrument clip mainly uses carbon tool steel, stainless steel, or phosphor bronze as a base material. The plate-like base material of these materials is formed by pressing or crimping into a predetermined shape, and then these metals rust by themselves, so metal plating is performed to give corrosion resistance and decoration. It was.

  In addition, the clip of the writing instrument must have an appropriate elasticity that prevents it from slipping out of the pocket due to its own weight when bent over a pocket of clothes, and it is inconvenient whether it is too weak or too strong. . In addition, when inserting into a notebook or the like, an appropriate opening displacement is necessary so as to correspond to the thickness of the notebook. For example, there should be no inconvenience such as when the clip is opened 3 mm or more from the shaft tube, the clip is broken or the elasticity is remarkably reduced.

  On the other hand, when precious metal plating such as gold or palladium is formed for the purpose of adding high value to products, the corrosion resistance of iron materials is poor due to the poor corrosion resistance of the materials, so that the plating layer is made thicker or a multilayer structure. Was granted.

In addition, it is known that when a material is blasted into a velor-like surface form, a surface having fine unevenness compared to a glossy surface has a low corrosion resistance. This is considered to be because crystallographic structural defects are formed on the surface of the base material, the deposition of the metal to be plated is inhibited, and as a result, a uniform plating layer is not formed (existence of pinholes or the like).
In particular, for iron alloys with low corrosion resistance, when physical processing (engraving, engraving, blasting, etc.) enters the process, it is necessary not only to thicken the plating but also to take various anti-corrosion measures in order to provide corrosion resistance. It was. Further, in the blasting process, when a pattern is to be partially formed, it is necessary to perform a masking process in a range other than the processed part. Therefore, the cost tends to be higher than other physical processing methods.

  As mentioned above, there is a method of increasing the plating thickness as the most effective and easy means of anti-corrosion measures, but by physically increasing the plating, the physical processing surface that has been applied is filled with a plating film, which is desired. There is a problem that the decoration effect of can not be obtained.

  Further, as the clip member, since the plating is thickly attached to the portion where the bending elasticity is obtained as the plating becomes thick, there is a problem that the clip becomes hard and eventually has too much elasticity and is difficult to lift.

  In addition, as an adverse effect of making the plating too thick, stress is concentrated on the base material and plating film of the elastically appearing portion due to repeated lifting in the elastically deformed portion of the clip, and once the plated surface cracks, it becomes easy to break. There was also a problem of end.

There are two methods for decorating the clip: a method of attaching a decorative member as a separate member (Patent Documents 1 and 2) and a method of forming a stamp (Patent Document 3) on the clip base material in advance and then performing a plating process or the like. It was.
However, the method of attaching another member (Patent Documents 1 and 2) has a problem in that the member to be attached is removed later or is caught on clothes due to a protrusion. Moreover, the process of attaching a member was separately required, leading to an increase in cost.
On the other hand, the method of applying the marking to the clip base material in advance (Patent Document 3) is the simplest method. However, depending on the depth of the marking, there is a problem that the marking becomes difficult to see after plating. This is because the plating adheres also to the concave portion of the stamp, and the concave portion is filled with the plating film. In order to prevent this, there is a method of reducing the plating thickness, but when using an iron base with low corrosion resistance, if the plating is thinned, there is a problem in corrosion resistance (durability). There was a problem that red rust would occur. This is a phenomenon in which the base corrodes due to pinholes existing in the plating film and red rust comes out from the pinholes to the surface. In general, thicker plating is considered to reduce pinholes and improve corrosion resistance.
In addition, the engraving for forming the recesses on the clip base material has a problem in that the size and thinness of characters or the complexity of the pattern are limited due to the properties of production, and the decorative pattern that can be formed is limited.
Further, in the engraving, the concave portions cannot be formed uniformly deep unless the clip base material is flat. In the manufacturing process, marking is performed in a flat state, and then bending or caulking is performed. Therefore, the stamp could not be formed in a bent or crimped part, but only in a limited part. The only way to increase the decorative portion by engraving is to increase the flat area of the clip, and there is a problem that the degree of freedom in designing the clip shape is reduced. In addition, although the method of processing after plating can also be considered for the marking, since the marking forms a pattern by deforming the base material by compression, there is a risk that the plating layer may be broken by the compression action. If the plating layer is cracked, not only the corrosion resistance is remarkably impaired but also the substrate is broken, which is not preferable.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-278483. (Attaching decorative elements, longevity) JP 2002-225492 A (A pilot with a decorative body made of resin) JP 2001-96980 A (engraved, pattern formation with small dots, pentel)

  The present invention provides a clip that can prevent corrosion of a base material on which plating is formed and peeling of metal plating, and can decorate a three-dimensional base material with a complex pattern, and can maintain a decoration effect for many years. Aimed to do.

  The present invention has a first feature of a clip characterized in that a metal plating is formed in multiple layers on a base material, and a plating layer other than the surface plating layer is subjected to laser processing, and the metal plating is formed on the base material. In the method, a second manufacturing method of the clip is characterized in that a laser processing step is inserted between a plurality of plating steps for forming a multilayer plating layer.

The present invention can form a complex pattern or a fine pattern regardless of the substrate shape by drying the part in the middle of the plating process of the already formed clip and putting a laser processing process in the middle of the plating process. I found it. In addition, after laser processing, it is confirmed that fine irregularities are formed by the heat and pressure of the laser, and the formed pattern becomes clearer due to the difference between the fine irregularities and the surface condition of the surrounding plating surface. The present invention has been completed.
In addition, since laser processing has a certain depth of focus, it is possible to process even a certain amount of rounded and bent surfaces, and furthermore, the maximum decorative surface can be formed by freely rotating the clip base material. It also has the advantage that it can be done. Therefore, it is possible to provide a clip having higher decorativeness and higher durability.

  In the present invention, a base plating layer made of copper or nickel is formed on a base material, the plating process is temporarily interrupted, and a laser processing step is interposed. We were able to obtain a clip that was not subject to any pattern restrictions. And the clip that keeps the decoration effect for a long time was realized at a low cost.

  FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention. Reference numeral 1 is a substrate, 2 is a base plating layer, 3 is a laser processing layer, 4 is a nickel plating layer, and 5 is a decorative plating layer.

The substrate 1 is made of iron and an iron alloy, copper and a copper alloy. Specifically, in terms of ease of processing, ease of plating, unit price of materials, etc., in the case of iron, carbon tool steel, spring steel, etc., in the case of copper, phosphor bronze.
Moreover, the base material 1 is produced and processed into a predetermined shape using cutting, pressing, injection molding, or the like. After this fabrication, barrel polishing, buffing, blasting, etc. are performed in order to deburr the processing and adjust the gloss and roughness of the surface. Next, degreasing treatment is performed using a solvent or the like, and the resultant is subjected to a plating process.

  The base plating layer 2 is copper or nickel in this example, but it may be any alloy. Moreover, the base plating layer 2 is formed on the surface of the substrate 1 by electroplating or electroless plating. The thickness of the underlying plating layer 2 is preferably 10 to 50 microns. Moreover, nickel plating is formed after copper plating, and there is no problem even if it is a base plating layer in which two layers are overlapped. When the thickness of the base plating layer is less than 10 microns, depending on the laser processing conditions, there is a problem that the base plating layer is removed, the base material is exposed, and the corrosion resistance is deteriorated. If it exceeds 50 microns, there is a problem in that the elastic repulsion part of the clip is difficult to deform and becomes a hard clip, resulting in poor usability. Furthermore, there is a problem that the cost of the plating process is increased.

The laser processing layer 3 is formed using a commercially available YAG or carbon dioxide laser marking device. The laser processing conditions are appropriately selected depending on the desired uneven depth, substrate shape, etc., and are not limited.
Laser processing is performed by forming a pattern by applying a laser beam to the plated surface in the form of dots, forming dots by scanning in a line, forming characters, or performing a plurality of line scans.
On the laser processed surface, the metal on the outermost surface is temporarily melted by heat and solidifies, so that fine irregularities are formed. The pattern can be clearly confirmed by the contrast between the fine irregularities and the surrounding surface state other than the processed part. When the cross section of the processed part was observed closely, it was confirmed that the plated metal on both sides of the melted concave part was raised from the surface along the locus of the laser beam. That is, the concavo-convex cross section of the laser processed portion is formed so as to draw a sine curve around the plating surface. Therefore, the height difference of the irregularities in the laser processed portion refers to the distance between the peak of the mountain and the bottom of the valley.
The height difference of the irregularities in laser processing is not particularly limited, but is preferably 0.5 to 20 microns. This is because if the height difference is less than 0.5 microns, the fine irregularities are too small to recognize the decoration pattern, and if it exceeds 20 microns, the base plating layer 2 can be removed, resulting in poor corrosion resistance or processing. This is because time is increased and costs are increased.

The nickel plating layer 4 is formed by electroplating after the above laser processing step. When the surface form of the base plating layer 2 is desired to be used as it is, a matte or semi-glossy nickel plating is formed. When a metallic luster is required, bright nickel plating is formed. The thickness of the nickel plating layer 4 is preferably 3 microns or more.
The nickel plating layer 4 may be a single gloss plating, but three layers of matte, semi-gloss and gloss may be formed, or two of the three may be selected and formed. . However, from the viewpoint of corrosion resistance, the plating is formed in the order of matte, semi-gloss, and gloss and should not be reversed.
Since the nickel plating layer 4 is performed after the laser processing step, activation is necessary to remove metal oxide and metal sludge on the processed surface. The nickel plating layer is preferably formed after degreasing with an alkali and acid activation followed by strike copper or strike nickel plating.

  The decorative plating layer 5 may be formed of a noble metal plating such as gold, palladium, or platinum (platinum), or a plating that is currently used for decoration, such as chromium or tin-nickel alloy. In particular, when forming noble metal plating, it is preferable to perform electrolytic chromate treatment after the noble metal plating.

  The present invention can be used for clip parts such as ornaments as well as shafts of writing instruments.

(Example 1)
A carbon tool steel plate was pressed to produce a sword-shaped clip with a length of 40 mm, a width of 3 mm, and a thickness of 1 mm, a pentagonal cross-sectional shape and a ridge line in the middle when viewed from the front. Barrel polishing was performed for deburring and polishing of the surface, and this was used for plating. After performing a known plating pretreatment, a copper plating was formed to 10 microns, and then a nickel plating was formed to 15 microns. After washing and drying, the surface of the nickel plating layer was scanned linearly with a laser beam several times, and laser processing was performed in a pattern on both slopes across the ridgeline. At this time, the height difference of the unevenness was 10 microns. Thereafter, plating pretreatment and activation were performed by a known method to form strike nickel plating, a semi-bright nickel plating layer was formed to 5 microns, and then a palladium plating layer was formed to 1 micron. Next, an electrolytic chromate treatment was performed, washed with pure water and dried.

(Example 2)
A phosphor bronze plate was pressed to produce a kamaboko-shaped clip having a length of 40 mm, a width of 3 mm, and a thickness of 1 mm. Barrel polishing was performed for deburring and polishing of the surface, and this was used for plating. After performing known plating pretreatment, nickel plating was formed to 10 microns. After washing with water and drying, the surface of the nickel plating layer was scanned linearly with a laser beam a plurality of times, and laser processing was performed in a pattern on the entire surface of the round shape portion of the kamaboko. At this time, the height difference of the unevenness was 5 microns. Thereafter, plating pretreatment and activation were performed by a known method to form strike nickel plating, a bright nickel plating layer was formed to 5 microns, and then a gold plating layer was formed to 1 micron. Next, an electrolytic chromate treatment was performed, washed with pure water and dried.

(Example 3)
A carbon tool steel plate was pressed to produce a sword-shaped clip with a length of 40 mm, a width of 3 mm, and a thickness of 1 mm, a pentagonal cross-sectional shape and a ridge line in the middle when viewed from the front. Barrel polishing was performed for deburring and polishing of the surface, and this was used for plating. After performing a known plating pretreatment, a copper plating was formed to 10 microns, and then a nickel plating was formed to 20 microns. After washing and drying, the surface of the nickel plating layer was scanned linearly with a laser beam several times, and laser processing was performed in a pattern on both slopes across the ridgeline. At this time, the height difference of the unevenness was 20 microns. Then, plating pretreatment and activation were performed by a known method to form a strike nickel plating, and after forming a nickel plating layer of 5 microns for matte and semi-glossy pure, a platinum plating layer of 0.5 microns was formed. . Next, an electrolytic chromate treatment was performed, washed with pure water and dried.

Example 4
A phosphor bronze plate was pressed to produce a kamaboko-shaped clip having a length of 40 mm, a width of 3 mm, and a thickness of 1 mm. Barrel polishing was performed for deburring and polishing of the surface, and this was used for plating. After performing known plating pretreatment, nickel plating was formed to 50 microns. After washing with water and drying, the surface of the nickel plating layer was scanned linearly with a laser beam a plurality of times, and laser processing was performed in a pattern on the entire surface of the round shape portion of the kamaboko. At this time, the height difference of the unevenness was 0.5 microns. Thereafter, plating pretreatment and activation were performed by a known method to form strike nickel plating, a matte nickel plating layer was formed to 3 microns, and then a palladium plating layer was formed to 1 micron. Next, an electrolytic chromate treatment was performed, washed with pure water and dried.

(Example 5)
A carbon tool steel plate was pressed to produce a sword-shaped clip with a length of 40 mm, a width of 3 mm, and a thickness of 1 mm, a pentagonal cross-sectional shape and a ridge line in the middle when viewed from the front. Barrel polishing was performed for deburring and polishing of the surface, and this was used for plating. After performing a known plating pretreatment, a copper plating was formed to 10 microns, and then a nickel plating was formed to 40 microns. After washing and drying, the surface of the nickel plating layer was scanned linearly with a laser beam several times, and laser processing was performed in a pattern on both slopes across the ridgeline. At this time, the height difference of the unevenness was 20 microns. Then, plating pretreatment and activation were performed by a known method to form strike nickel plating, and after forming a nickel plating layer of 3 microns for matte, semi-glossy and glossy, a palladium plating layer was formed of 1 micron. . Next, an electrolytic chromate treatment was performed, washed with pure water and dried.

(Example 6)
A carbon tool steel plate was pressed to produce a sword-shaped clip with a length of 40 mm, a width of 3 mm, and a thickness of 1 mm, a pentagonal cross-sectional shape and a ridge line in the middle when viewed from the front. Barrel polishing was performed for deburring and polishing of the surface, and this was used for plating. After performing a known plating pretreatment, a copper plating of 5 microns was formed. After rinsing and drying, the surface of the copper plating layer was scanned with a laser beam a plurality of times in a linear manner, and laser processing was performed in a pattern on both slopes across the ridgeline. At this time, the height difference of the unevenness was 5 microns. Thereafter, plating pretreatment and activation were performed by a known method to form strike nickel plating, and a semi-bright nickel plating layer was formed to 3 microns. Next, an electrolytic chromate treatment was performed, washed with pure water and dried.

(Example 7)
A phosphor bronze plate was pressed to produce a kamaboko-shaped clip having a length of 40 mm, a width of 3 mm, and a thickness of 1 mm. Barrel polishing was performed for deburring and polishing of the surface, and this was used for plating. After performing known plating pretreatment, nickel plating was formed to 60 microns. After washing with water and drying, the surface of the nickel plating layer was scanned linearly with a laser beam a plurality of times, and laser processing was performed in a pattern on the entire surface of the round shape portion of the kamaboko. At this time, the height difference of the unevenness was 0.5 microns. Thereafter, plating pretreatment and activation were performed by a known method to form strike nickel plating, and a palladium plating layer was formed to 1 micron. Next, an electrolytic chromate treatment was performed, washed with pure water and dried.

(Example 8)
A carbon tool steel plate was pressed to produce a sword-shaped clip with a length of 40 mm, a width of 3 mm, and a thickness of 1 mm, a pentagonal cross-sectional shape and a ridge line in the middle when viewed from the front. Barrel polishing was performed for deburring and polishing of the surface, and this was used for plating. After performing a known plating pretreatment, a copper plating was formed to 20 microns, and then a nickel plating was formed to 50 microns. After rinsing and drying, the surface of the copper plating layer was scanned with a laser beam a plurality of times in a linear manner, and laser processing was performed in a pattern on both slopes across the ridgeline. At this time, the height difference of the unevenness was 2 microns. Thereafter, plating pretreatment and activation were performed by a known method to form strike nickel plating, a semi-bright nickel plating layer was formed to 1 micron, and then a palladium plating layer was formed to 1 micron. Next, an electrolytic chromate treatment was performed, washed with pure water and dried.

(Comparative Example 1)
A plate of carbon tool steel was pressed to produce a plate-like clip having a length of 40 mm, a width of 3 mm, and a thickness of 0.8 mm. Stamping was performed in the state of a flat plate of fabric, and the depth of the stamping was 0.5 mm. Thereafter, press forming such as bending was performed to obtain a clip shape. Barrel polishing was performed for deburring and surface polishing, and plating was performed. After performing a known plating pretreatment, copper plating was formed to 10 microns, then bright nickel plating was formed to 15 microns, and finally a palladium plating layer was formed to 1 micron. Next, an electrolytic chromate treatment was performed, washed with pure water and dried.

(Comparative Example 2)
A plate of carbon tool steel was pressed to produce a plate-like clip having a length of 40 mm, a width of 3 mm, and a thickness of 0.8 mm. Stamping was performed in the state of a flat plate of fabric, and the depth of the stamping was 0.5 mm. Thereafter, press forming such as bending was performed to obtain a clip shape. Barrel polishing was performed for deburring and surface polishing, and plating was performed. After performing a known plating pretreatment, copper plating was formed to 5 microns, then bright nickel plating was formed to 3 microns, and finally a palladium plating layer was formed to 1 micron. Next, an electrolytic chromate treatment was performed, washed with pure water and dried.

(Comparative Example 3)
A plate of carbon tool steel was pressed to produce a plate-like clip having a length of 40 mm, a width of 3 mm, and a thickness of 0.8 mm. Stamping was performed in the state of a flat plate of fabric, and the depth of the stamping was 0.5 mm. Thereafter, press forming such as bending was performed to obtain a clip shape. Barrel polishing was performed for deburring and surface polishing, and plating was performed. After performing a known plating pretreatment, copper plating was formed to 20 microns, then bright nickel plating was formed to 100 microns, and finally a palladium plating layer was formed to 1 micron. Next, an electrolytic chromate treatment was performed, washed with pure water and dried.

(Comparative Example 4)
A phosphor bronze plate was pressed to produce a plate-like clip having a length of 40 mm, a width of 3 mm, and a thickness of 0.8 mm. Stamping was performed in the state of a flat plate of fabric, and the depth of the stamping was 0.5 mm. Thereafter, press forming such as bending was performed to obtain a clip shape. Barrel polishing was performed for deburring and surface polishing, and plating was performed. After performing a known plating pretreatment, bright nickel plating was formed to 80 microns, and finally a palladium plating layer was formed to 1 micron. Next, an electrolytic chromate treatment was performed, washed with pure water and dried.

(Comparative Example 5)
A phosphor bronze plate was pressed to produce a plate-like clip having a length of 40 mm, a width of 3 mm, and a thickness of 0.8 mm. Stamping was performed in the state of a flat plate of the fabric, and the depth of the stamping was 0.3 microns. Thereafter, press forming such as bending was performed to obtain a clip shape. Barrel polishing was performed for deburring and surface polishing, and plating was performed. After performing a known plating pretreatment, a bright nickel plating was formed to 10 microns, and finally a palladium plating layer was formed to 1 micron. Next, an electrolytic chromate treatment was performed, washed with pure water and dried.

(Clip evaluation result)
The sharpness of the pattern was expressed as good when the pattern was recognized by visual observation, and that when the pattern was unclear was expressed as unclear.
The clip elasticity was expressed as 600 grams ± 100 grams as an optimum value, and smaller ones were expressed as soft and larger ones were expressed as hard. If it is soft, the clamping force of the clip against the sandwiched object is weak and will be released immediately. If it is hard, it will be difficult to remove the clip from the shaft tube when clamping.
As for the plating crack, the clip was lifted to a height of 3 mm from the shaft tube, and then the appearance was observed with a loupe to confirm the presence or absence of the crack.
Corrosion resistance was evaluated using a salt spray test (JISZ2371 (2000)).
The evaluation method visually confirmed the occurrence of corrosion every 24 hours. The maximum time was 96 hours. The results are shown in Table 1.

※１ ただしクリップの変位耐久試験１０，０００回でクリップが折れてしまった。

* 1 However, the clip broke after 10,000 displacement endurance tests.

The front view of the clip of this invention. The perspective view of FIG. The principal part cross-sectional enlarged view of FIG. Sectional drawing (schematic diagram) showing the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

A clip 1 metal base 2 ground plating layer (laser processed layer)
3 Laser region 4 Nickel plating layer 5 Decorative plating layer

Claims (5)

A clip characterized in that metal plating is formed in multiple layers on a base material, and laser processing is applied to a plating layer other than the surface plating layer. A method for producing a clip, comprising: forming a metal plating on a substrate; and inserting a laser processing step between a plurality of plating steps for forming a multilayer plating layer. The clip according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the base material is iron and an iron alloy, or copper and a copper alloy, and a method for manufacturing the clip. The clip according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the plating layer for performing laser processing is copper or nickel, and a method for manufacturing the clip. The clip according to any one of claims 1 to 4, and a manufacturing method of the clip, wherein the thickness of the plating layer on which the laser processing is performed is 10 microns or more and 50 microns or less.

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