JPH1076381A - Manufacture of hollow article made of noble metal - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method of forming an opening at the optimum position, in working an unprocessed article, by using a device far from bulky. SOLUTION: This manufacture consists of a process for making an unprocessed tubular article 1 constituted of an outer thin layer 2 of a noble metal that wraps around or covers over an inner shell 3, with the inner shell 3 composed of a metal removable by destroying or chemically treating it and provided with an uniform cross section in a geometrical or nongeometrical shape; process for making by laser an arbitrarily shaped opening or a window 4, 4' that penetrates through the noble metal layer of the unprocessed tubular article; and an edging process for removing the inner shell through a chemical destruction.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention generally relates to claim 1
And a method for manufacturing chains, necklaces, etc., of relatively thin layers, usually of hollow noble metals of gold or silver.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In the production of gold or other precious metal chain elements that are hollow inside for economic or aesthetic reasons, jewelry factories are currently using tubular steel coated with precious metals such as gold. It is known that it is usually manufactured by using and elongating an inner shell made of aluminum, copper, or the like. Thereby, a tubular precious metal product having a uniform cross section is obtained. The cross-section of this noble metal tube can take regular or irregular geometric shapes (circles, rectangles, etc.) and the inside of this tube is made of a material that can be removed by chemical treatment or the like. There is a shell that consists of

In a similar jewelry factory, the production of hollow articles made of gold or other noble metals is performed by electroforming using a mold of iron, aluminum, copper, or the like. The mold is covered with a thin layer of noble metal, resulting in a green article consisting of an inner shell of removable material and a layer of noble metal.

[0004] Jewelry factories that manufacture articles by a method called press microfusion also need to remove waste inside the articles.

[0005] The operation of removing the inner shell may be performed directly on the raw article or may be performed when the chain is substantially almost completed in the form of variously connected rings. This operation requires openings through the entire thickness of the outer layer of precious metal to allow materials such as hydrochloric acid, caustic soda, nitric acid, etc. to contact the inner shell to remove the inner shell by corrosion.

[0006] The parts of the article to be manufactured, except for the bent type, in which the two ends of the layer surrounding the inner shell of the hollow tubular article are side-by-side and have a uniform longitudinal groove. The process of creating openings or windows of the appropriate shape and dimensions to make the work is done by removing metal such as grinding, milling and drilling, or by removing the outer cover by deformation, incision or punching. Have been.

In these methods, the same equipment used to create the individual parts of the article, such as the equipment used to manufacture chains, or specialty techniques used to process unprocessed tubes or individual articles. It is performed using a device.

[0008]

A major obstacle to making openings or windows is that the equipment used to make the openings or windows is bulky due to the need for knives, punching means and other equipment. It is.

For this reason, in order to make the window as inconspicuous as possible, a ring or a concave portion of an article is preferably placed at an optimal position for producing a ring or a finished article, for example, a connecting section of a ring constituting a mesh. In addition, it becomes difficult to create windows.

[0010] Furthermore, in order to increase the production efficiency, which is a feature of the equipment used in the jewelry industry, it is necessary to use a cutting and cutting device used for making windows, and as a result,
Even if the economics of the factory are significantly reduced, maintaining a certain level of accurate quality will hinder the quality and precision of the work that is always required.

[0011] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a non-bulk device for processing unprocessed articles.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for creating an opening at an optimum position.

[0012]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The novelty of the present invention is to apply a method not yet utilized in the jewelry industry, but known in other industries, to opening tubular elements or hollow precious metal necklaces. It is used for the purpose of providing a department or a window. Since this method has a simple configuration and is easy to use, it is possible to create an opening at an arbitrary position of an article without changing or adjusting according to the processing apparatus. The method is also applicable to articles such as chains and necklaces, whether the article is before processing or is at the end of the manufacturing process.

This is achieved by using a laser beam emitted from a suitable device as a means for cutting off the noble metal corresponding to the window portion. That is, the method of manufacturing a hollow article according to the present invention comprises an outer thin layer of a noble metal, the outer thin layer wrapping around or covering the inner shell, the inner shell being destroyed or chemically treated or otherwise. Creating a raw tubular article of a metal that can be removed and having a uniform cross-section of a geometric or non-geometric shape, and an opening or arbitrarily shaped opening through said layer of noble metal; Piercing the noble metal by laser treatment of cutting the window with a laser, and further contacting a substance such as hydrochloric acid, caustic soda, sulfuric acid with the inner shell, and removing the inner shell by corrosion or chemical destruction. And a step of performing.

This method has never been used before the present invention. The reason for this is that it was considered uneconomical to use this method for precious metals such as gold and silver.

Experiments have shown that laser beam technology is well-suited for production. The laser beam can be used to provide any number of windows with microscopic precision to the precious metal layer covering the inner core. Therefore,
This method advantageously allows the creation of small openings, which allow the acid or other substance to destroy the inner core and remove the products of the reaction. At the same time, it is possible to create appropriately shaped openings without using punching tools and, most importantly, without interrupting the production cycle.

By utilizing the laser beam technique, a suitably shaped aperture that may serve two functions can be created. One is to destroy the inner core, and the other is if necessary, depending on the location of the opening, such as when adding jewelry to the item to increase its value. It is a function as a pedestal for mounting the element.

[0017]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The above and other features of the present invention will be described in more detail below and illustrated with the aid of the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG.

FIG. 1 is a view showing a plurality of connected chains, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a raw article according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a cross-section taken along line III-III of FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a specific example of an article that can be manufactured according to the present invention.

As shown in the figures, a raw article 1 as a tubular element is constituted by a combination of an inner shell 3 and an outer thin layer 2 of a noble metal. Subsequently, this inner shell 3 is made of a metal which can be removed by chemical destruction, in particular by acids which do not destroy noble metals.

After the unprocessed article is made to have a thin layer for elongation or the like according to the size, a process for producing a final part, which is an article such as an annular chain, is performed. During or before this final treatment, which is applied directly to the raw article,
A plurality of openings or windows 4 are made in the outer membrane 2 until it reaches the inner shell 3. In doing so, the opening is created so that the acid can break through the shell through the metal of the shell and remove it. As a result, only the outer thin layer 2, which is the noble metal of the tubular part, finally remains. This destruction processing is performed after the unprocessed articles 1, the individual rings 5 or the articles, and the connected chains 6 are created.

Another novel feature of the present invention is that the opening or window 4 is provided by laser processing. In this way, curved surfaces of rings and articles,
It is possible to perform an undercut process that cannot be reached by a cutting device such as a commonly used punching tool or knife. As shown in FIG. 4, the window 4 'is provided in such a part inside the ring 5 for obvious aesthetic reasons. The number of windows is arbitrary, and in particular, the shape is also arbitrary such as a circle, a square, a rectangle, and an ellipse.

[0022]

According to the present invention, a laser beam can be used to provide any number of windows with micro-precision in the precious metal layer covering the inner core. Thus, the method advantageously allows the creation of small openings, which allow the acid or other substance to destroy the inner core and remove the products of the reaction.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a plurality of connected chains.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a raw article according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an example of an article that can be manufactured according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1: unprocessed article 2: outer layer 3: inner shell 4, 4 ': window 5: ring 6: chain

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. An outer lamina (2) of a noble metal, said outer lamina (2) wrapping around or covering the inner shell (3), said inner shell (3) being destroyed or chemically damaged. Creating a raw tubular article (1) of uniform or geometric or non-geometric shape made of metal that can be removed by mechanical treatment or the like; A method of manufacturing a hollow article made of a noble metal such as a chain, a bracelet, a necklace, and the like, comprising a step of perforating a noble metal by a laser treatment for cutting an opening of any shape or a window (4, 4 ′) with a laser. . 2. The formation of the window (4) is used for processing various articles such as pins and articles having a hollow precious metal part.
The method of claim 1, wherein the creation of the raw tubular article is accomplished by any of a number of methods, such as electroforming, printing, microfusion, and the like. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the laser treatment for forming the window is performed on the same apparatus as used for producing the green article. Method. 4. The laser treatment for forming the window (4) is performed during the operation of making a chain (6) from a plurality of rings (5), each ring being subjected to a chemical destruction of said inner shell. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least one opening is formed in the opening. 5. The laser processing for forming the window (4) comprises:
3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method is carried out at the last stage of the manufacturing process of the chain and / or other articles. 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the window (4 ′) is created at a position that is almost invisible when the article is completed. 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the shape of the opening or the window is made to function as a pedestal for attaching an article, a jewel or the like. 8. A raw article (1) made in the jewelry industry according to the method of any of claims 1 to 7. 9. A hollow noble metal article or article component made in the jewelry industry using the method according to claim 1. Description: