JP5104354B2 - Metal plate manufacturing method and liquid jet head - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a metal plate, and more particularly to a method of manufacturing a metal plate suitable for manufacturing a nozzle plate or the like in which a small hole is formed in a thin metal plate, and a liquid jet head.

As a method of manufacturing a metal plate that opens a plurality of small holes in a thin metal plate, a punch is pushed in from one side of the thin metal plate that becomes the nozzle plate, and the protruding portion that protrudes on the opposite side is used in the subsequent polishing process. There has been proposed a method of removing and thereby opening a through hole serving as a nozzle opening (for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2007-137039 A

When a plurality of small holes are formed in a thin metal plate by the above-described conventional metal plate manufacturing method, there are inconveniences such as displacement of the holes and deformation of the shape of the holes.
This is because, in order to open a plurality of small holes at a narrow pitch, it is difficult to produce a mold having a plurality of punches provided at the pitch of the holes because the distance between adjacent holes is narrow. In addition, adjacent holes were punched separately on separate stages. Because of this, when opening the next hole after opening a certain hole, the metal moved by being pushed back in the lateral direction by the punch is pushed into the metal plate by the punch. There is a problem in that the shape of the hole is crushed by pressing (so-called flesh escape), or the position of the hole itself is shifted to the opposite side of the punch. In addition, when a large number of holes are sequentially opened, there may be a disadvantage that the positional displacement of the holes due to flesh escape accumulates and the pitch of the holes gradually increases.

  The present invention has been proposed in view of the above, and its purpose is to prevent the shape of the hole from being deformed even if a plurality of holes are formed in the metal plate, and to prevent the interval between the holes from being increased. An object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing a metal plate that can be performed.

The present invention is a method of manufacturing a metal plate that opens a plurality of holes by pressing a punch from one side of the metal plate,
A void forming step for forming a bottomed opening void at a position deviated from the punch push-in planned position on the surface of the metal plate, and
After the void forming step, a punching step for forming a hole by pushing a punch into a punch pushing scheduled position;
The metal plate manufacturing method is characterized in that a hole is opened at a position where the punch is to be pushed through.

  According to this configuration, when the punch is pushed into the metal plate in the punching process, the meat in the vicinity of the surface is displaced in the lateral direction as the punch enters, and most of the meat seems to crush the bottomed open space. It will enter and fill the empty space. Therefore, it is possible to suppress adverse effects such as deforming the adjacent hole formed earlier or changing the position by pushing away the hole. In addition, since the meat easily moves and the load on the punch is reduced, the life of the punch can be extended.

  In the present invention, it is desirable to form a bottomed opening empty portion between adjacent punch press-in positions.

  Further, the above-described bottomed opening empty portion has an opening shape on the surface of the metal plate, the short diameter is located on a virtual straight line connecting adjacent punch press-in positions, and the long diameter is on a straight line orthogonal to the virtual straight line. May be constituted by a bottomed hollow portion that gradually decreases in diameter from the edge of the opening toward the plate thickness direction.

  In this way, when the bottomed open space is made into a long hole, it is possible to increase the ease of movement of the meat and increase the amount of meat accommodated. Therefore, the adverse effect on the adjacent hole can be efficiently suppressed.

  Further, it is desirable to set a plurality of scheduled punch pressing positions in a line, and to arrange a bottomed opening empty portion between adjacent scheduled punch pressing positions belonging to the same column in this column.

  If comprised in this way, the hole as designed can be opened even if the pitch of the punch push-in scheduled position is small. Therefore, when a metal plate is used as the nozzle plate, it is possible to improve the flight characteristics of the droplets ejected from the holes functioning as nozzle openings.

  Then, a back surface space forming step of forming a bottomed opening space at a back surface position opposite to the front surface of the metal plate into which the punch is inserted and corresponding to the punch press-in scheduled position may be included.

  According to the above-described configuration, the meat that has been pushed away moves forward as the punch enters, and most of the meat enters into the bottomed open space on the back surface to fill the space. Therefore, the protruding portion formed on the back surface of the metal plate is formed by the surplus meat after the bottomed open space is filled, and a smaller one is formed compared to the conventional case. For this reason, the work which removes a protruding part can be facilitated.

  It is also possible to equip the liquid jet head with a metal plate plastically processed by the manufacturing method described above as a nozzle plate.

  In such a liquid ejecting head, the accuracy of the shape and position of the nozzle opening is high, so that the flight characteristics of the liquid droplets ejected from the nozzle opening can be improved.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the embodiments described below, various limitations are made as preferred specific examples of the present invention. However, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the following description unless otherwise specified. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. In the following description, the metal plate that is a workpiece in the present invention is used in an ink jet recording head (a type of liquid ejecting apparatus; hereinafter simply referred to as a recording head 1) mounted on an ink jet recording apparatus. A nozzle plate is illustrated.

First, the configuration of the recording head 1 will be described.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a main part for explaining the configuration of the recording head 1. The recording head 1 includes a filter assembly 5 including an ink introduction needle 2, a filter 3, an introduction needle unit 4 and the like, a head case 6, a vibrator unit 7 housed therein, a flow path unit 8 and the like. The head unit 9 is schematically configured. A series of ink flow paths (a type of liquid flow path) from an ink cartridge, which is a type of liquid supply source, to the nozzle opening 10 of the flow path unit 8 is formed inside the recording head 1.

  The flow path unit 8 is joined to the front end surface of the case head 6 in a state where the diaphragm 11, the flow path forming substrate 12, and the nozzle plate 13 are sequentially stacked.

  The nozzle plate 13 disposed at the bottom of the flow path unit 8 is a thin metal plate in which a plurality of nozzle openings 10 are opened in a row at a pitch (for example, 180 dpi) corresponding to the dot formation density. The nozzle plate 13 of this embodiment is made of a stainless steel plate (the metal plate of the present invention), and a plurality of rows of nozzle openings 10 (nozzle rows) are provided in the scanning direction of the recording head 1. One nozzle row is composed of, for example, 180 nozzle openings 10. The method for manufacturing the nozzle plate 13 will be described in detail later.

  The flow path forming substrate 12 is a member disposed between the nozzle plate 13 and the vibration plate 11, and ink flow paths such as a common ink chamber 15, an ink supply port 16, and a pressure chamber 17 that are a kind of common liquid chamber. The vacant space is partitioned. The opening portions of the empty portions are sealed by the nozzle plate 13 and the vibration plate 11, respectively.

  The vibration plate 11 is a plate material disposed between the flow path forming substrate 12 and the head case 6, and is a composite plate having a double structure in which an elastic film is laminated on a metal support plate such as stainless steel. . In the portion corresponding to the pressure chamber 17 of the vibration plate 11, an island portion 19 for joining the free end of the piezoelectric vibrator 18 is formed by removing the support plate in an annular shape by etching or the like. This part functions as a diaphragm part. That is, the diaphragm 11 is configured such that the elastic film around the island portion 19 is elastically deformed in accordance with the operation of the piezoelectric vibrator 18. The diaphragm 11 also functions as a compliance unit 20 by sealing the opening surface of the common ink chamber 15 of the flow path forming substrate 12. As for the portion corresponding to the compliance portion 20, the support plate is removed by etching or the like in the same manner as the diaphragm portion to make only the elastic film.

  When the recording head 1 having the above-described configuration gives a pressure fluctuation in the pressure chamber 17 by the operation of the piezoelectric vibrator 18, the ink introduced from the ink cartridge into the pressure chamber 17 through the ink flow path is discharged from the nozzle opening 10. It can be ejected as ink droplets, and an image or the like can be recorded by landing the ink droplets on recording paper or the like as a recording medium.

Next, a manufacturing method for producing the nozzle plate 13 according to the present invention will be described.
First, in a state where one end of a stainless steel plate 30 as a metal plate, which is a workpiece, is clamped by a clamp member 31, one surface of the stainless steel plate 30 (the surface opposite to the surface into which the punch 32 is pressed (hereinafter referred to as the surface 30a)). ) (Hereinafter, referred to as a back surface 30b), and a bottomed opening empty portion 35 for flesh escape is formed at the back surface position corresponding to the position where the punch 32 is to be pushed in (rear surface space forming step). Note that the stainless steel plate 30 shown in FIG. 2 can simultaneously process two nozzle plates 13 in which four nozzle rows 13 are provided in parallel, that is, eight nozzle rows are provided in parallel. In this way, the plate material size (size) is set. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the bottomed opening empty space for flesh escape at the upper first to eighth rear surface positions 36a to 36h and the lower first to eighth rear surface positions 37a to 37h indicated by solid lines in FIG. The number of nozzles 35 corresponding to the expected punch-in position is formed, that is, 180 pieces are formed at the pitch P of the nozzle openings 10.

  In addition, the bottomed opening empty portion 35 for flesh escape formed on the back surface 30b is not limited to that formed at the back surface position corresponding to the punch push-in scheduled position, and is near the back surface position. Also good. However, the bottom opening opening 38 for flesh escape formed on the surface to be described later is formed at a position that does not coincide with the thickness direction of the stainless steel plate 30, and the bottom opening opening 38 on the front surface 30a and the back surface 30b are provided. It arrange | positions so that the bottom opening empty part 35 may not communicate.

  As shown in FIG. 3 (a), the bottomed opening vacant portion 35 is formed by a triangular pyramid-shaped bottomed hole or recess having a substantially V-shaped cross section, and the metal of the stainless steel plate 30 is irradiated with a laser beam. It is formed by melting and removing itself. The size of the bottomed opening empty portion 35 is set to a capacity corresponding to the volume of meat to be moved by pushing the punch 32 described later, but the tip of the punch 32 does not reach when the punch 32 is pushed, that is, It is desirable to set the depth so that a small raised portion 37 can be formed on the back surface 30b without penetrating.

  When the back surface void formation process is completed, a bottomed opening void 38 is formed at a position deviated from the punch push-in position on the front surface 30a in a state where one end of the stainless steel plate 30 is inverted and clamped by the clamp member 31. (Empty part forming step). In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3 (b), a bottomed opening empty portion 38 is formed in the middle of adjacent punch press-in positions 39a and 39b that belong to the same nozzle row and are adjacent to each other. Therefore, the pitch for forming the bottomed opening empty portions 38 for flesh escape formed on the imaginary straight line of the same nozzle row is the same pitch P as the nozzle openings 10.

As shown in FIG. 4, the bottomed open space 38 has an opening shape on the surface 30a of the stainless steel plate 30 having a minor axis on an imaginary straight line L1 that connects the adjacent punch press-in positions 10m and 10n. A long hole having a long diameter located on a straight line L2 orthogonal to the imaginary straight line, the bottom hole having a substantially V-shaped cross section that gradually decreases in diameter from the edge of the opening toward the plate thickness direction. Yes.
In addition, this space | gap formation process is not limited after an above described back surface space | gap formation process, The front may be sufficient.

  When the void forming process is completed, the stainless steel plate 30 is set in a press machine, and a hole is formed by pushing a substantially conical punch 32 whose tip is formed into a thin cylindrical shape into the punch push-in position on the surface 30a. (Punching process). When the punch 32 is pushed into the stainless steel plate 30, the meat pushed away by the approach of the punch 32 moves mainly in the plate pressure direction, and most of the meat enters the bottomed opening empty portion 35 of the back surface 30b. Fill the empty space with. Therefore, the bulging portion 37 formed on the back surface 30b of the stainless steel plate 30 is formed by surplus meat after the bottomed opening empty portion 35 is filled, and is smaller than the conventional one. The Further, when the punch 32 is pushed from the surface 30a of the stainless steel plate 30, the meat in the vicinity of the surface 30a is displaced in the lateral direction (plane direction of the plate) and moves as the punch 32 enters, most of which is bottomed. It enters into the open space 38 and the space is reduced or filled. Therefore, adverse effects such as deforming the adjacent hole formed earlier or changing the position by pushing away the hole are suppressed. More specifically, when the right hole is formed after the left hole 10a is formed in FIG. 5A, as the punch 32 gradually enters from the surface 30a of the stainless steel plate 30, the punch 32 enters. The meat in the vicinity of the surface 30a is displaced in the lateral direction and moves. That is, in FIG. 5A, the meat on the left side of the punch 32 moves toward the hole 10a. It will be spent inside and filling in the empty space. Therefore, it is possible to effectively suppress adverse effects such as the deformation of the adjacent hole 10a that has been previously opened or the deviation of the position of the previous hole 10a. For this reason, when the stainless steel plate 30 is used as the nozzle plate 13 of the recording head 1 described above, the position of the nozzle opening 10 is produced with high accuracy as designed, and an improvement in droplet flight characteristics can be expected.

  When the punching process is completed, the stainless steel plate 30 is removed from the press machine and conveyed to a polishing apparatus (not shown) that performs the next raised portion removing process. In this protruding portion removing step, the protruding portion 37 protruding on the back surface 30b of the stainless steel plate 30 in the punching step is polished and removed to make the hole a through hole, and the thickness of the stainless steel plate 30 is set to a predetermined thickness. Polish to the thickness.

  As described above, in the manufacturing method according to the present invention, when the meat is moved as the punch 32 enters, the bottomed opening cavities 35 and 38 for escaping the meat are formed. As a result, the load acting on the punch 32 is reduced accordingly, and the life of the punch 32 can be extended. In addition, since the size of the raised portion 37 raised on the back surface 30b of the stainless steel plate 30 is smaller than the conventional size, the amount of polishing in the raised portion removing process for removing the raised portion 37 can be reduced. Efficiency can be increased.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a main part for explaining the configuration of a recording head. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state which fixed the stainless steel plate with the clamp member, (a) is the state before a process, (b) shows the state after forming the bottomed opening empty part for flesh escape in the back surface position. (A) is sectional drawing of the bottomed opening empty part for meat escape formed in the back surface of a stainless steel board, (b) is sectional drawing of the bottomed opening empty part for meat escape formed in the surface of a stainless steel board. It is a top view of the bottomed opening empty part for meat escape formed in the surface of a stainless steel plate. (A) is sectional drawing of the state which has formed the hole by the punch after the hole formed previously, (b) is sectional drawing of the state which pulled out the punch.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Recording head 10 ... Nozzle opening 13 ... Nozzle plate 30 ... Stainless steel plate 31 ... Clamp member 32 ... Punch 35 ... Bottomed opening empty part formed in the back surface of a stainless steel plate 36 ... Back surface position 38 ... It formed in the surface of a stainless steel plate Bottomed open space

Claims (7)

A method of manufacturing a metal plate that opens a plurality of holes by pushing a punch from one side of the metal plate,
A void forming step for forming a bottomed opening void at a position deviated from the punch push-in planned position on the surface of the metal plate, and
After the void forming step, a punching step for forming a hole by pushing a punch into a punch pushing scheduled position;
A method for producing a metal plate, characterized in that a hole is opened at a position where punches are to be pushed through.   The method for producing a metal plate according to claim 1, further comprising a protruding portion removing step of removing a protruding portion protruding on the back surface of the metal plate after the punching step.   The method for manufacturing a metal plate according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the bottomed opening empty portion is formed between adjacent punch press-in positions.   The bottomed opening empty portion has an opening shape on the surface of the metal plate, the minor axis is located on a virtual straight line connecting adjacent punch press-in positions, and the major axis is located on a straight line orthogonal to the virtual straight line. It is a long hole, Comprising: It is comprised by the bottomed empty part gradually diameter-reduced toward the plate | board thickness direction from the edge of the said opening, The Claim 1 characterized by the above-mentioned. A method for producing a metal plate.   A plurality of punch push-in scheduled positions are set in a line, and the bottomed opening empty portion is arranged between adjacent punch push-in positions belonging to the same row of the row. The manufacturing method of the metal plate as described in any one of Claims 1-4.   A back surface void forming step of forming a bottomed opening void at a back surface opposite to the front surface of the metal plate into which the punch is inserted and corresponding to a punch press-in scheduled position. The manufacturing method of the metal plate as described in any one of Claims 1-5.   A liquid ejecting head comprising a metal plate processed by the manufacturing method according to claim 1 as a nozzle plate.

Images