JP2012210715A - Method for transferring metal foil - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for transferring a metal foil which is suitable for small lot manufacturing and is excellent in working efficiency.SOLUTION: In S1, a laminate 16 is prepared in which the metal foil 12 is formed on the surface of a substrate 10 and a hot-melt adhesive layer 14 on the surface of the metal foil 12. In S2, a pattern with a curable ink is directly printed on the surface of the hot-melt adhesive layer 14 of the laminate 16 to be cured, so that a mask image 18 which is constructed of a cured material of the curable ink is formed to obtain a transfer material 20. In S3, the hot-melt adhesive layer 14 side of the transfer material 20 is piled up on a transfer target material 22 and hot-pressed. Subsequently, in S4, the substrate 10 is separated from the transfer target material 22, and the metal foil 12 is transferred onto the surface of the transfer target material 22 through the hot-melt adhesive layer 14 with a pattern reverse to the pattern in the mask image 18.

Description

  The present invention relates to a metal foil transfer method suitable for small-lot production (manufacturing small amounts of various types of display forms each, which is synonymous with multi-product small-quantity production).

  According to the conventional foil stamping method, an adhesive is applied in a desired pattern on the surface of a transfer material using flexographic printing technology, planographic printing technology, or relief printing technology, and then the metal foil side of the transfer material is applied thereto. The metal foil was transferred in the desired pattern on the transfer material by pressing the sheet repeatedly and separating the transfer material from the transfer material. However, it is necessary to prepare another printing plate each time the pattern to be transferred is changed. It was not compatible with small lot production.

  In order to solve such problems, the following technique has been proposed (Patent Document 1). In this technology, an adhesive is dropped using an on-demand type liquid drop delivery head such as an ink jet head, and an adhesive pattern with a predetermined pattern is directly formed on the surface of the transfer material, and then the metal foil side faces this adhesive pattern. Thus, the transfer material is stacked and pressed, and then the transfer material is pulled away from the transfer material, whereby the metal foil is transferred onto the surface of the transfer material in the same pattern as the adhesive pattern.

Special table 2005-501761

  In the technique of Patent Document 1, since an adhesive pattern having the same pattern as the final metal foil pattern is directly formed on the transfer material using an on-demand type droplet delivery head, it is necessary to prepare a printing plate in the first place. Therefore, it is possible to simplify such an intermediate process. Therefore, it can be said that it is suitable for small lot production as compared with the conventional foil stamping method.

  However, according to the method of Patent Document 1, since the adhesive pattern is directly formed on the transfer material, it is necessary to perform printing adjustment at the time of pattern formation every time the type of the transfer material changes, and work efficiency deteriorates. There was a trend. Also, the adhesive tends to clog the nozzles of the droplet delivery head, and its maintenance is difficult, which also causes the work efficiency to deteriorate.

  One aspect of the present invention provides a metal foil transfer method that is suitable for small-lot production and has high work efficiency. In another aspect of the present invention, a method for producing a circuit pattern using such a metal foil transfer method is provided.

  The present inventor does not form an adhesive pattern of the same pattern as the final metal foil pattern pattern on the transfer material side, but masks the transfer material side with a reverse pattern of the pattern pattern and applies the hot melt adhesive. It was found that by using the non-masked portion of the metal foil to transfer it, the working efficiency can be improved while accommodating small lot production.

That is, the transfer method of the metal foil according to the present invention is as follows:
Preparing a laminate in which a metal foil is formed on the surface of the substrate and a hot melt adhesive layer is formed on the surface of the metal foil;
A step of directly printing and curing a pattern with a curable ink on the surface of the hot melt adhesive layer of the laminate to form a mask image composed of a cured product of the curable ink to obtain a transfer material;
After the hot melt adhesive layer side of the transfer material is superimposed on the transfer material and hot pressed, the substrate is separated from the transfer material, and the metal foil is applied to the surface of the transfer material via the hot melt adhesive layer. And a step of transferring in a pattern reverse to the pattern of the mask image.

  The circuit pattern manufacturing method according to the present invention is characterized in that a circuit pattern is formed on a substrate by using the method.

  According to the metal film transfer method of the present invention, the final pattern pattern of the metal foil is transferred onto the transfer material from the transfer material side without forming an adhesive pattern on the transfer material side. The foil can be transferred. Also, when obtaining a transfer material, a mask image for forming the final pattern is formed by direct printing, so there is no need to prepare a printing plate as in the conventional foil stamping method, making it suitable for small lot production. It is a thing.

  According to the circuit pattern manufacturing method of the present invention, since the transfer method is used, it is easy to form a circuit pattern on a substrate.

FIG. 1 is a process diagram for explaining an example of the method of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the laminate prepared in S1 of FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the transfer material prepared in S2 of FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the positional relationship between the transfer material and the transfer material that realize S3 of FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a state during the hot pressing performed in S3 of FIG. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the state of the transfer material and the transfer material after peeling in S4 of FIG.

  Hereinafter, an example of a metal foil transfer method according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  (1) First, as shown in FIG. 2, a metal foil 12 and a hot-melt adhesive layer 14 are formed on the entire surface of the sheet-like substrate 10 to prepare a laminate 16 (S1 in FIG. 1).

  As the base | substrate 10, what was comprised by synthetic resin raw materials, such as a polyethylene terephthalate, a polypropylene, a vinyl chloride, for example, and was formed in the sheet form about 10 micrometers-300 micrometers in thickness can be used. In addition, it is preferable that the adhesion adjustment process is given to the metal foil 12 side surface of the base | substrate 10. FIG. By doing so, the peeling when the force is applied to the base 10 in the direction of peeling it off becomes easy.

  When the metal foil 12 is used for the purpose of improving design properties such as textiles and crafts, examples of highly reflective metals include aluminum and silver. When it is intended to be used in electronic components such as circuit patterns, for example, gold, silver, copper, tin, lead, tin lead, nickel, indium, or the like may be employed. In addition, when using for preparation of a circuit pattern (wiring pattern), it is preferable to employ | adopt highly conductive things, such as gold | metal | money, silver, copper.

  The thickness of the metal foil 12 is not specifically limited, For example, it can determine suitably in the range of about 0.1 micrometer-500 micrometers. In the case of preparing a circuit pattern (wiring pattern), it is usually 0.5 μm to 500 μm, preferably 1 μm to 100 μm, particularly preferably 5 μm to 50 μm, depending on the current value of the circuit to be obtained. desirable. In the case of using for clothing, it is desirable to determine within a range of 1.0 to 30 μm. It should be noted that if the thickness of the metal foil 12 is too thick, it cannot be accurately transferred when transferring to the transfer material 22 described later.

  The hot melt adhesive layer 14 is a layer that does not exhibit adhesiveness at room temperature, exhibits fluidity by heating, and then exhibits adhesive strength by cooling and solidification. In this embodiment, the hot melt adhesive is dried. It consists of a product or a solidified product. The dried or solidified product of the hot melt adhesive is dried by applying a solution or emulsion of the hot melt adhesive to the entire surface of the metal foil 12, or by applying a melt of the hot melt adhesive and cooling and solidifying. Formed with.

  The hot-melt adhesive is a heat-melt type adhesive made of a thermoplastic material that exhibits fluidity when heated and exhibits an adhesive force when solidified by cooling. This can be applied to a wide range of transfer materials 22 as compared with other adhesives, has a very high bonding speed, has low toxicity and danger, and is economically advantageous. Used for applications.

  Examples of hot melt adhesives include ethylene-vinyl acetate, vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate, polyolefin, polyamide, nylon, polyester, rubber, urethane, cellulose, and reactive hot melt resins. 2 or more types of mixtures can be used as necessary. In particular, it is preferable to use a urethane-based resin from the viewpoint of flexibility to follow the elongation of the fabric and water resistance so as not to peel off during washing. In the case of a circuit or the like, a polyamide system having a high heat resistant temperature is preferably used.

  In addition, in order to improve the adhesiveness after cooling and solidification, a tackifier, a plasticizer, a wax, an extender, an anti-aging agent and the like may be further added and used. Examples of the tackifier include (modified) rosin, terpene, hydrocarbon resin and the like. Examples of the plasticizer include phthalate, glycolate, fatty alcohol, mineral oil and the like. Examples of the wax include waxes and paraffin. Examples of extenders include talc and clay. Examples of the anti-aging agent include hindered phenols. Furthermore, you may add and use an ultraviolet absorber, antioxidant, surfactant, antistatic agent, PH adjuster etc. to such an extent that various performance is not impaired.

  The thickness of the hot-melt adhesive layer 14 is not particularly limited, and may be set as appropriate within a range of about 1 μm to 200 μm, for example.

  A commercial item can also be used as the laminated body 16 to prepare. Examples of commercially available products include metal foils for thermal transfer (Kurz Japan, Murata Gold, Nakai, Katani Sangyo, K Laser Technology Japan, etc.).

  (2) Next, as shown in FIG. 3, a patterned mask image 18 is formed on the surface of the hot melt adhesive layer 14 of the laminate 16 to prepare a transfer material 20 (S2 in FIG. 1).

  In this embodiment, the mask image 18 is formed in a pattern (for example, pattern B) opposite to the pattern pattern (for example, pattern A) that is to be finally transferred to the transfer material 22. As a result, the portion where the mask image 18 does not exist (exposed portion 14a) on the hot melt adhesive layer 14 is patterned into the pattern A. In the following description, a portion where the mask image 18 exists on the hot melt adhesive layer 14 may be simply referred to as a non-exposed portion.

  In this embodiment, the mask image 18 is composed of a cured product of photocurable ink. The photocurable ink means an ink of a type that is quickly cured by irradiating energy such as ultraviolet rays or electron beams with an appropriate amount of light and irradiation time. By using such an ink, it is possible to reduce the bleeding from the adhering portion and the penetration into the hot melt adhesive layer 14, and the mask image 18 can be patterned with high resolution. Further, these types of inks are preferable from the viewpoints of not containing a solvent and requiring no drying treatment, reducing the environmental load, and improving the working environment.

  For patterning the mask image 18, for example, an existing inkjet printer or the like is used, and after the photocurable ink is dropped on the surface of the hot melt adhesive layer 14 with the pattern B, energy such as ultraviolet rays or electron beams is irradiated. Can be done.

As the printer, for example, a commercially available inkjet printer (Roland LEC-330) in which an ultraviolet curable ink tank and an ultraviolet irradiation device are incorporated can be used.
The mask image 18 may be composed of a cured product of thermosetting ink.

  The thickness of the mask image 18 may be about 0.5 μm to 5 μm, for example.

  It should be noted that the mask image 18 of the present embodiment does not develop an adhesive force that exceeds the adhesive force of the exposed portion 14a with respect to the transfer material 22 during the heat press described later.

(3) Next, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the transfer material 20 is stacked on the transfer material 22 so that the hot-melt adhesive layer 14 side opposes, and the two are stacked at a predetermined temperature, and preferably 50 kg / cm. Hot pressing is performed at a pressure of about ^{2 to} 200 kg / cm ² (S3 in FIG. 1). The heating temperature in this case may be equal to or higher than the softening temperature (activation temperature) of the hot melt adhesive constituting the hot melt adhesive layer 14.

  By doing so, the hot-melt adhesive layer 14 of the transfer material 20 is softened, and the adhesive force of the exposed portion 14a is expressed. When this is cooled and solidified, it adheres to the transfer material 22. Similarly, the non-exposed portion 14 b also exhibits an adhesive force, but this adhesive force is on the back surface of the mask image 18, and as a result, the non-exposed portion 14 b sticks to the transfer material 22. There is nothing.

  Examples of the transfer material 22 include fiber products such as clothing, synthetic resin products, and wood products. When forming a circuit pattern, various substrates can be used as the material to be transferred 22.

  The thickness of the transfer material 22 is appropriately determined according to the applied fiber product, synthetic resin product, wood product, and the like.

  It is desirable that the transfer material 22 used in this embodiment is subjected to an easy adhesion process on the surface to be overlapped with the transfer material 20. By doing so, it is possible to ensure a sufficient adhesive force after hot pressing. Examples of the easy-adhesion treatment include a rubber-based resin layer and an adhesive layer composed of the same adhesive as the hot-melt adhesive constituting the hot-melt adhesive layer 14.

  (4) Next, as shown in FIG. 6, the substrate 10 of the transfer material 16 is peeled off from the transfer material 22 side. Then, both the hot-melt adhesive layer 14 and the metal foil 12 remain in the pattern B (described above) on the transfer material 16, and both the hot-melt adhesive layer 14 and the metal foil 12 according to the pattern of the exposed portion 14 a are present. The pattern A (described above) is transferred to the surface of the transfer material 22.

  That is, through the above steps, the metal foil 12 having the pattern A can be transferred onto the surface of the transfer material 22 via the hot melt adhesive layer 14 as shown in FIG.

  As described above, in this embodiment, a printer such as an ink jet method is used on the surface of the hot melt adhesive layer 14 of the laminate 16 in which the metal foil 12 and the hot melt adhesive layer 14 are formed on the entire surface of the substrate 10. After the photocurable ink is dropped in the pattern B, the patterned mask image 18 is formed by irradiating energy to obtain the transfer material 20 (S1, S2 in FIG. 1). Then, the obtained transfer material 20 is superimposed on the transfer material 22 so that the hot melt adhesive layer 14 side faces, and is hot-pressed under a predetermined condition (S3 in FIG. 1). As a result, the exposed portion 14a of the hot-melt adhesive layer 14 of the transfer material 20 adheres to the transfer material 22, and the substrate 10 of the transfer material 16 is peeled off from the transfer material 22 side, whereby the hot-melt adhesive layer 14 is removed. The metal foil 12 is transferred to the surface of the transfer material 22 in the pattern A.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the transfer material 20 having the metal foil 12 and the mask image 18 formed in a pattern (pattern B) opposite to the desired pattern (pattern A) is used as the metal to be transferred 22. The foil 12 is transferred with the pattern A. That is, the pattern is formed by performing mask printing on the transfer material 20, and the pattern printing is not performed on the transfer material 22. For this reason, even if the type of the material to be transferred 22 changes, it is not necessary to perform print adjustment at the time of pattern formation, and it is only necessary to perform print adjustment on the laminate 16 (transfer material 20). Therefore, the transfer operation can be performed efficiently.

  Further, when the transfer material 20 is obtained, the mask image 18 for forming the final pattern pattern is formed by direct printing, so there is no need to prepare a printing plate as in the conventional foil stamping method, and small lot production. It can be suitable for.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and can of course be implemented in various modes without departing from the gist of the present invention.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Base | substrate, 12 ... Metal foil, 14 ... Hot-melt-adhesion layer, 14a ... Exposed part, 14b ... Unexposed part, 16 ... Laminated body, 18 ... Mask image, 20 ... Transfer material, 22 ... Transfer material.

Claims (4)

Preparing a laminate in which a metal foil is formed on the surface of the substrate and a hot melt adhesive layer is formed on the surface of the metal foil;
A step of directly printing and curing a pattern with a curable ink on the surface of the hot melt adhesive layer of the laminate to form a mask image composed of a cured product of the curable ink to obtain a transfer material;
After the hot melt adhesive layer side of the transfer material is superimposed on the transfer material and hot pressed, the substrate is separated from the transfer material, and the metal foil is applied to the surface of the transfer material via the hot melt adhesive layer. A method for transferring a metal foil, comprising a step of transferring in a pattern opposite to the pattern of the mask image. The transfer method according to claim 1,
A metal foil transfer method, wherein an ink jet printer is used to directly print a pattern of the curable ink. The transfer method according to claim 1 or 2,
An ultraviolet curable ink is used as the curable ink.   A method for producing a circuit pattern, wherein a circuit pattern is formed on a substrate using the method according to claim 1.

Images