JP7344741B2 - Castings and casting manufacturing methods - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a casting formed by casting.

For example, a caliper body that constitutes a disc brake used in a vehicle is often formed of a casting made of aluminum alloy, cast iron, or the like. Displaying display items such as brand names on the surface of such castings has conventionally been done by screen printing.

However, in screen printing, when a mesh filled with ink is brought into contact with the surface of the casting object and the ink is imprinted with a squeegee, the printing may become blurred or chipped. On the other hand, Patent Document 1 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-74104) discloses that a flat part is formed on the casting surface after casting by removing irregularities and parting lines, and display items are provided on the flat part. It is stated that this prevents blurring and chipping of printing.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2000-74104

However, in Patent Document 1, although it is possible to prevent blurring and chipping during printing, the adhesion of printing is not sufficient, and display items may become blurred, chipped, and damaged during subsequent distribution and use of castings. There was a risk of peeling.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a method for producing a casting, and a casting, in which display items can be printed on the surface of the casting without blurring or chipping, and the adhesion of the display items is improved compared to conventional methods. The purpose is to

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problem by means of a solution as described below as an embodiment.

In one embodiment, the method for manufacturing a casting according to the present invention includes a display item forming step of forming display items at required locations on the surface of the casting, and after the display item forming step, the display items are heated to a temperature of 120[° C.] or higher. a baking step of baking at a temperature, and the display item forming step is a transfer step of transferring the display item of the instant lettering sheet on which the display item is printed by inkjet printing to a required location on the surface of the casting. This is a requirement. Further, as another embodiment of the method for manufacturing a casting according to the present invention, a display item forming step of forming a display item at a required location on the surface of the casting, and a step of forming a display item at a temperature of 120[° C.] after the display item forming step. ] or more, the display item forming step is a printing step of printing the display items at required locations on the surface of the casting by inkjet printing, and the inkjet printing includes UV curing. type of ink is required .

According to this, by forming the display items on the surface of the casting and then baking them at a predetermined temperature, it is possible to improve the adhesion of the display items compared to the conventional method.

Further, in one embodiment , the casting according to the present invention is a casting in which display items formed with UV-curable ink are baked onto the surface of the casting with a surface roughness of 0.8 [mm] or less. is the requirement.

According to this, since the display items are printed on the surface that has been flattened to a predetermined roughness, it is possible to improve the adhesion of the display items compared to the conventional method.

According to the present invention, it is possible to manufacture and provide a casting in which display items can be printed on the surface of the casting without fading or chipping, and the adhesion of the display items is improved compared to conventional castings.

1 is a flowchart illustrating a process example of a method for manufacturing a casting according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is an image showing the results of Example 1 of the method for manufacturing a casting according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a test method for confirming the adhesion of display items formed on the surface of a casting according to an embodiment of the present invention.

(Casting manufacturing method)
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing a process example of a method for manufacturing a casting according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The method for manufacturing a casting according to the present embodiment includes a display item forming step of forming display items at required locations on the surface of the casting, and baking the display items at a temperature of 120 [°C] or higher after the display item forming step. A baking process is included.
Here, regarding the casting, there are no limitations on the material of the casting or the article related to the casting, but in this embodiment, the casting will be described as an example of a caliper body of a disc brake made of an aluminum alloy. Each step will be explained below.

First, a display item forming step (S102) is performed in which display items are formed at required locations on the surface of the casting. The location where the display items are displayed is not limited, and any required location may be selected depending on the use of the casting product, the purpose of displaying the display items, etc. Further, the areas where the display items are displayed may be appropriately painted in advance.

Here, the means for forming display items is not limited, but the following means are preferable. That is, as an example, this step (S102) may be replaced by a printing step (S102-1) in which display items are printed at required locations on the surface of the casting by inkjet printing. According to this, when printing with conventional screen printing, it was necessary to bring a mesh filled with ink into contact with the surface of the casting object and press it with a squeegee to imprint the ink, whereas inkjet printing Display items can be printed without contacting the casting surface. Therefore, display items can be printed without fading or chipping, regardless of the presence or extent of unevenness or parting lines on the surface of the casting.

In addition, as another example, this step (S102) is a transfer step of transferring the display items of an instant lettering sheet (hereinafter simply referred to as "in lettering sheet") on which the display items are printed by inkjet printing to the required location on the surface of the casting. (S102-2) may also be used. According to this, after printing the display items on the lettering sheet in advance, the display items can be transferred onto the surface of the casting.

According to the printing step (S102-1), the display items are directly printed on the surface of the casting, so the display items can be formed more easily than in the transfer step (S102-2). On the other hand, according to the transfer process (S102-2), since the display items are printed on the letter sheet, the printing machine can be made smaller compared to the printing process (S102-1), and the facility space can be utilized. It is possible to improve performance and reduce equipment costs. Furthermore, according to the printing step (S102-1) and the transfer step (S102-2), the step of previously forming a flat portion on the casting surface in conventional screen printing can be made into an arbitrary step. Therefore, the number of steps can be reduced, and display items can be formed more easily and with reduced manufacturing costs.

Furthermore, it is preferable to use UV curing type ink for inkjet printing in the printing step (S102-1) and the transfer step (S102-2). Many inkjet printers have a built-in UV irradiation mechanism, which allows the ink to be cured by irradiating UV (ultraviolet) during printing, allowing display items to be displayed stably. can be formed.

Note that the display item forming step (S102) is not limited to the printing step (S102-1) and the transfer step (S102-2).

Furthermore, before the display item forming step (S102), a flattening step (S100) may be performed to flatten the casting surface corresponding to the location where the display item is to be formed. According to this, it is possible to further suppress blurring and chipping of printing, and it is possible to form display items stably. In particular, when the display item forming step (S102) is a transfer step (S102-2), the adhesive layer can be reliably adhered to the casting surface when transferring the display items to the casting surface, and then the application sheet is attached. It is possible to prevent part of the display item from following and peeling off (creating chipping) when the display item is peeled off. In this way, blurring and chipping of printing can be suppressed.

Here, as a means for flattening the casting surface, for example, in the caliper body according to the present embodiment, polishing (polishing process) of the casting surface is suitable, but in addition to polishing, various surface treatments such as cutting and grinding can be used. Includes means.

Further, when painting the casting surface, a painting step (S101) for painting the casting surface may be performed before the display item forming step (S102). According to this, in addition to being able to paint the casting surface, it is also possible to flatten the surface of the casting by forming a coating film (film of paint) on the uneven surface of the casting surface. Therefore, as in the above flattening step (S100), it is possible to further suppress blurring and chipping of printing, and display items can be stably formed.

Through these steps (S100, S101), for example, when the display item forming step (S102) is used as the printing step (S102-1), the display item forming step (S102) has a surface roughness of 0.8 [mm] or less. When performing the transfer step (S102-2), it is preferable to form the display items on a smoothed casting surface with a surface roughness of 24 [μm] or less, more preferably 17 [μm] or less, without scratching or chipping. can be printed on.

Further, for example, in the caliper body according to the present embodiment, the painting process (S101) as part of the manufacturing process is performed without performing surface treatment such as polishing, that is, without performing the flattening process (S100). It is possible to flatten the surface of the casting as well as painting the casting surface within the existing process. Therefore, display items can be formed more easily and with reduced manufacturing costs.

Note that the flattening step (S100) and the painting step (S101) are both optional steps, and may be performed as necessary. If both the flattening step (S100) and the painting step (S101) are to be performed, for example, the flattening step (S100) may be performed first, and then the painting step (S101) may be performed.

Next, after the display item forming step (S102), a baking step (S104) is performed in which the display items are baked at a temperature of 120 [° C.] or higher. According to this, by printing the display items, it is possible to improve the adhesion of the display items compared to the conventional method. Therefore, it is possible to prevent display items from fading, chipping, peeling, etc. during distribution and use of the casting, and it is possible to stably display display items such as brand names on the surface of the casting. According to Example 1, which will be described later, the baking temperature is preferably 120[° C.] or higher.

The baking in this step (S104) may be performed simultaneously by heating during surface treatment in an existing process as part of the manufacturing process. For example, in the caliper body according to this embodiment, baking may be performed simultaneously with heating during clear coating. According to this, printing can be performed easily and with reduced manufacturing costs.

As described above, according to the casting manufacturing method according to the present embodiment, by performing the baking step (S104) after the display item forming step (S102), the display items can be printed on the surface of the casting without fading or chipping. It becomes possible to manufacture castings that are printable and have improved adhesion of display items compared to conventional methods. Furthermore, for example, in the caliper body according to the present embodiment, the casting surface can be flattened in advance by a painting process (S101), which is an existing process as part of the manufacturing process, before forming the display items. After forming, the display items can be baked in by a clear coating process, which is an existing process as part of the manufacturing process. Therefore, it becomes possible to easily manufacture a casting whose display items are displayed stably and with reduced manufacturing costs.

(casting)
In the casting according to this embodiment, display items formed with UV-curable ink are printed on the casting surface that has been smoothed to a required surface roughness. Specifically, as an example, on the surface of a casting with a surface roughness of 24 [μm] or less, the displayed items are printed using an instant lettering sheet printed with the displayed items by inkjet printing using UV-curable ink, and the displayed items are baked. There is. Further, as another example, display items printed by inkjet printing using UV curing type ink are baked onto the surface of a casting having a surface roughness of 0.8 [mm] or less. The casting according to this embodiment is a casting manufactured by the casting manufacturing method according to the embodiment described above. According to this, the display items can be printed on the surface of the casting without fading or chipping, and it is also possible to improve the adhesion of the display items compared to the conventional method. Note that the material and article for the casting according to this embodiment are not limited, but are preferably made of, for example, aluminum alloy or cast iron.

Next, Example 1 of the method for manufacturing a casting according to the present embodiment will be described.

(Method)
As an example of a casting, a disc brake caliper body made of an aluminum alloy was manufactured using the casting manufacturing method according to the present embodiment. The manufacturing method included the flattening step (S100), the painting step (S101), the display item forming step (S102), and the baking step (S104) shown in FIG. 1.
The casting surface is flattened to a surface roughness of 24 [μm] or less by the flattening step (S100) and the painting step (S101), and then a transfer step (S102-2) is performed as a display item forming step (S102) to improve the casting surface. Display items were formed. Next, in the baking step (S104), baking was performed simultaneously by heating during the clear coating of the caliper body.
Using the above method, caliper bodies were manufactured by baking at baking temperatures of 60 [°C], 80 [°C], 100 [°C], 120 [°C], and 160 [°C] in the baking step (S104), respectively. In addition to these, a caliper body (denoted as "no baking" in FIG. 2) was manufactured without clear coating, that is, without baking process (S104).

Next, a test was conducted on each manufactured caliper body to confirm the adhesion of the displayed items. In the confirmation test, as shown in FIG. 3, first, the cellophane adhesive tape 12 is completely adhered to the display item 10, and then one end 12A of the adhesive tape 12 is held with a finger and folded toward the other end 12B. The angle between the surface of the tape 12 attached to the display item 10 including the other end 12B side and the surface on the one end 12A side is about 60 [°], and from this state, the direction of about 60 [°] ( The adhesive tape 12 was reliably peeled off in 0.5 [seconds] to 1.0 [seconds] in the direction of arrow C). Thereafter, the display state of display item 10 was visually confirmed.

(result)
The results are shown in Figure 2. The results indicate "x" if the display item has faded, chipped or peeled off, and "○" if the display item has no faded, chipped or peeled off.

As shown in FIG. 2, relatively large scratches, chips, and peeling occurred in the display items "no baking" and baking at 60 [° C.] and 80 [° C.]. Furthermore, in the display items baked at 100[° C.], relatively small scratches, chips, and peeling occurred. On the other hand, no fading, chipping, or peeling occurred in the display items baked at 120 [°C] and 160 [°C].

From the above results, when the baking temperature in the baking step (S104) is set to 120 [℃] or higher, it is possible to suitably prevent display items from becoming blurred, chipped, peeled, etc. during distribution and use of castings. It has been shown that display items such as brand names can be stably displayed on the surface of castings.
It is thought that the higher the temperature, the more effective the baking will be, and the upper limit of the baking temperature is not particularly limited as long as it is within the heat resistance range of the ink. However, from the viewpoint of production efficiency, a range of 120 [°C] to 200 [°C], more preferably a range of 150 [°C] to 180 [°C] is more preferable.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and can be modified in various ways without departing from the scope of the present invention.

S100 Smoothing process S101 Painting process S102 Display item forming process S102-1 Printing process S102-2 Transfer process S104 Baking process

Claims (11)

a display item forming step of forming display items at required locations on the surface of the casting;
After the display item forming step, a baking step of baking the display item at a temperature of 120 [° C.] or higher ,
The display item forming step is a transfer step of transferring the display items of the instant lettering sheet on which the display items are printed by inkjet printing to a required location on the surface of the casting.
A method for producing a casting characterized by : 2. The method of manufacturing a casting according to claim 1 , wherein a UV-curable ink is used in the inkjet printing. a display item forming step of forming display items at required locations on the surface of the casting;
After the display item forming step, a baking step of baking the display item at a temperature of 120 [° C.] or higher ,
The display item forming step is a printing step of printing the display items at required locations on the surface of the casting by inkjet printing,
For the inkjet printing, a UV curing type ink is used.
A method for producing a casting characterized by : The casting according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , further comprising a flattening step of flattening a casting surface corresponding to a location where the display item is to be formed, before the display item forming step. Production method. Before the display item forming step, it includes a painting step of painting the casting surface,
5. The method for producing a casting according to claim 1 , wherein in the display item forming step, the display items are formed on a coating film applied in the painting step. The method for producing a casting according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein the baking in the baking step is performed simultaneously by heating during surface treatment of the casting. 7. The method of manufacturing a casting according to claim 6 , wherein the surface treatment is clear coating. A casting whose surface roughness is 0.8 [mm] or less and display items formed with UV-curable ink are baked onto the surface of the casting. Claim: The display item is printed on the surface of the casting having a surface roughness of 24 [μm] or less , and is transferred by an instant lettering sheet on which the display item is printed by inkjet printing using the UV-curable ink. 8. The casting described in 8 . 9. The casting according to claim 8 , wherein the display items printed by inkjet printing using the UV curing type ink are baked onto the surface of the casting having a surface roughness of 0.8 [mm] or less . The casting according to any one of claims 8 to 10 , characterized in that it is made of an aluminum alloy or cast iron.