KR102641977B1 - Composition for artificial marble including thermoplastic polymer powder and artificial marble comprising the same - Google Patents

Abstract

This application relates to a composition for artificial marble containing thermoplastic polymer powder and artificial marble containing the same. More specifically, it relates to artificial marble that contains thermoplastic polymer powder instead of a liquid binder, simplifies the production process, and can implement various patterns. It relates to a composition for use and artificial marble containing the same.

Description

Composition for artificial marble containing thermoplastic polymer powder and artificial marble containing the same {COMPOSITION FOR ARTIFICIAL MARBLE INCLUDING THERMOPLASTIC POLYMER POWDER AND ARTIFICIAL MARBLE COMPRISING THE SAME}

This application relates to a composition for artificial marble containing thermoplastic polymer powder and artificial marble containing the same. More specifically, it relates to artificial marble that contains thermoplastic polymer powder instead of a liquid binder, simplifies the production process, and can implement various patterns. It relates to a composition for use and artificial marble containing the same.

Artificial marble is made by mixing additives such as natural stone powder, minerals in the form of particles or chips, and resin chips into a base such as synthetic resins such as acrylic resin, unsaturated polyester resin, and epoxy resin, or cement, and if necessary, additives such as pigments. It is an artificial composite material that embodies the texture of natural stone by adding .

Representative types of artificial marble include acrylic artificial marble, polyester artificial marble, epoxy artificial marble, melamine artificial marble, and engineered stone artificial marble.

Interest in this type of artificial marble is growing not only for its functional elements but also for implementing luxurious patterned designs.

Recently, as porcelain slabs with various natural stone designs have begun to enter the kitchen countertop market, there is a demand for technology that can diversify the designs of existing engineered stones.

In particular, in the case of engineered stone, in order to implement a new design, a new recipe must be designed, and the process must be changed or additional process lines must be installed depending on the design, which consumes a lot of cost and time.

It is time to research ways to solve these problems, increase design freedom, and improve process productivity.

According to an embodiment of the present application, it is intended to provide a composition for artificial marble containing a thermoplastic polymer powder that can be applied to a digital printing method by replacing the conventional liquid thermoplastic resin with a powdered thermoplastic polymer resin, and artificial marble containing the same. .

One aspect of the present application relates to a composition for artificial marble.

In one example, the powder may include 10 to 50 parts by weight of thermoplastic resin and 90 to 50 parts by weight of aggregate.

In one example, the average particle diameter of the thermoplastic resin powder may be 4 ㎛ to 400 ㎛.

In one example, the thermoplastic resin is one selected from the group consisting of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), and polyamide (PA). It can be included.

In one example, the aggregate may include quartz.

In one example, the quartz may include 10 to 40 parts by weight of quartz powder with a diameter of 100 ㎛ or less, 20 to 75 parts by weight of quartz sand with a diameter of 100 ㎛ to 1 mm, and 40 parts by weight or less of quartz chips with a diameter of 1 mm or more. there is.

One aspect of this application relates to artificial marble.

In one example, as artificial marble manufactured from the above-described composition for artificial marble, the artificial marble may be composed of a pattern portion forming a pattern of the artificial marble and a base portion forming the base of the artificial marble.

In one example, the pattern portion may be manufactured from a first artificial marble composition, and the base portion may be manufactured from a second artificial marble composition having different brightness and saturation from the first artificial marble composition.

In one example, the artificial marble can be bent by heat treatment at a temperature of 120°C to 180°C.

According to an embodiment of the present application, a composition for artificial marble in which a liquid thermoplastic resin binder is replaced with a powder thermoplastic resin binder can be provided.

According to an embodiment of the present application, artificial marble manufactured using a digital printing method can be provided.

According to an embodiment of the present application, it is possible to provide artificial marble with a high degree of design freedom by forming various patterns.

According to an embodiment of the present application, artificial marble with a simple process and excellent productivity can be provided.

According to an embodiment of the present application, it is possible to provide artificial marble that can significantly improve the working environment by not using volatile substances, which are hazardous substances.

According to an embodiment of the present application, it is possible to provide artificial marble that can solve the problems of producing defective products caused by volatilization of styrene during the process and changing the viscosity of the resin, and the inconvenience of cleaning due to the use of viscous liquid resin.

According to an embodiment of the present application, since thermoplastic resin is used, bending processing is possible by manufacturing artificial marble and then heat treating it.

According to an embodiment of the present application, artificial marble can be provided that can be applied not only to the conventional kitchen top field, but also to various fields such as walls and flooring.

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining a method of manufacturing artificial marble according to an embodiment of the present application.
Figure 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining a method of manufacturing artificial marble according to an embodiment of the present application.
Figure 3 is an image showing various patterns of artificial marble according to an embodiment of the present application.
Figure 4 is an image showing that bending of artificial marble is possible according to an embodiment of the present application.

The terms used in this application are only used to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In this application, terms such as “include” or “have” are intended to designate the presence of features, components, etc. described in the specification, but one or more other features or components, etc. may not be present or may be added. It doesn't mean there is none.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by a person of ordinary skill in the technical field to which the present invention pertains. Terms defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the meaning in the context of the related technology, and unless clearly defined in the present application, should not be interpreted in an ideal or excessively formal sense. No.

Here, parts by weight are generally a description method of determining one reference material and expressing the content of other components accordingly, or even if the reference material is not specified, the content of other components can be converted into a relative ratio based on one component, so the content of the composition The composition ratio should be interpreted as clearly stated.

Hereinafter, the composition for artificial marble of the present application and the artificial marble containing the same will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. However, the attached drawings are illustrative, and the scope of the composition for artificial marble of this application and artificial marble containing the same is not limited by the attached drawings.

To provide a composition for artificial marble, the method of manufacturing by mixing quartz or silica and thermoplastic liquid resin and then curing has limitations in pattern implementation due to the use of thermoplastic liquid resin, and production efficiency decreases due to composition changes for each pattern. The stability of the work is poor due to the solvent, the productivity is quite poor due to the batch process using a vacuum-vibration-compression press, and the safety during the process is low because thermoplastic liquid resin uses styrene as a solvent. It falls considerably.

To solve these problems, the present applicant seeks to use liquid resin dash powder thermoplastic resin. Through this, it is possible to simplify the process, implement various patterns, and improve productivity.

The composition for artificial marble of the present application is in powder form and includes a thermoplastic resin and aggregate.

In particular, it is preferable to include 10 to 50 parts by weight of thermoplastic resin powder and 90 to 50 parts by weight of aggregate.

The content of powdered polymer resin is relatively higher than the content of liquid resin for manufacturing conventional artificial marble.

Here, the average particle diameter of the thermoplastic resin powder is preferably 4 ㎛ to 400 ㎛, 10 ㎛ to 380 ㎛, 20 ㎛ to 360 ㎛, 30 ㎛ to 340 ㎛, 40 ㎛ to 320 ㎛, 50 ㎛ to 300 ㎛, 60 ㎛ to 300 ㎛. It may be ㎛ to 280 ㎛, 70 ㎛ to 260 ㎛, 80 ㎛ to 240 ㎛, 90 ㎛ to 220 ㎛, or 100 ㎛ to 200 ㎛.

One of the main features of this application is a thermoplastic polymer powder resin, and by replacing the conventional liquid resin with a powder resin, the difficulty in applying it to the powder phase of the digital printing method was solved because the mixture agglomerates due to the viscosity of the liquid resin.

Here, the average particle diameter of the powder may be 4 ㎛ to 400 ㎛, and the appropriate size of the powder may be determined depending on the type of resin and the basic physical properties of the resin.

In other words, it can be applied to anything from a size similar to quartz powder to a smaller size of quartz sand. Since the physical properties of the final product vary depending on the size of the powder, it is important to select a powder with an appropriate particle size.

When the size of the powder is smaller than 4 ㎛, it has good miscibility with quartz aggregate, so it is easy to control the pores of the final product and it is advantageous to manufacture a product with uniform physical properties. However, flow is hindered during dispersion, and the polymer There is a problem that high costs are incurred during the powdering process. On the other hand, if the size of the powder exceeds 400 ㎛, it cannot be mixed uniformly with the aggregate, resulting in the production of products with partially different physical properties, and above all, there is a high possibility of large pores occurring.

Here, the thermoplastic resin is not particularly limited, but various thermoplastic resins can be applied, especially polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), and polyamide. It may include one selected from the group consisting of (polyamide, PA).

Also, the aggregate is not particularly limited, and any material that can be used in artificial marble can be applied, and if additional additives are needed, it may be meant to include them.

The aggregate according to the present application can exhibit the appearance and texture of natural stone, and inorganic aggregates used in known engineered stones (resin-based reinforced natural stones) can be used without limitation. In an embodiment, the aggregate is a silica-based natural mineral, such as silica, specifically quartz, which is crystalline silica, fumed silica, and amorphous fused silica. It also includes silica-based glass or forms processed by pulverizing waste glass. The form of silica and glass may be powder with a size of less than 100 ㎛, sand of 100 ㎛ or more, or chips with a size of several mm, and the inorganic aggregate included in this application may include a combination of these. there is.

The aggregate may be quartz, and may specifically include quartz powder, sand, and chips.

In particular, the quartz may include 10 to 40 parts by weight of quartz powder with a diameter of 100 ㎛ or less, 20 to 75 parts by weight of quartz sand with a diameter of 100 ㎛ to 1 mm, and 40 parts by weight or less of quartz chips with a diameter of 1 mm or more.

Within the above range, a resin composition for engineered stone that can achieve an appearance and texture closer to natural stone can be obtained.

In a specific example, the quartz powder may have an average particle diameter of 5 to 50 ㎛, for example, 10 to 45 ㎛, as measured by a sieving method (device). The quartz sand may have an average particle diameter of 0.1 to 1.5 mm, for example, 0.1 to 1.2 mm, as measured by a sieving method (device). The quartz chip may have an average particle diameter (based on the long diameter) of 0.5 to 10 mm, for example, 1.3 to 9 mm, as measured by a sieving method (device).

Within the above range, a resin composition for engineered stone can be obtained that can be easily mixed with the matrix resin, can prevent voids when mixed with the matrix resin, and can achieve an appearance and texture close to natural stone.

In an embodiment, the aggregate may have a Mohs hardness of greater than 3 and less than or equal to 9, for example, 6 to 8. Within the above range, the surface hardness, processability, crack resistance, etc. of the engineered stone may be excellent.

Additionally, the composition for artificial marble may additionally include pigment.

Pigments are not particularly limited, but include, for example, (Ni,Sb,Cr,Ti)O ₂ , TiO ₂ , CrO ₂ , Co(Al,Cr) ₂ O ₄ , (Co,Ni,Zn) ₂ (TiAl )O ₄ , (Fe,Cr) ₂ O ₃ and Cu(Cr,Fe) ₂ O ₄ It may include one or more inorganic pigments selected from the group consisting of.

Pigment can be added to have an appropriate content according to the user's intention, and based on 100 parts by weight of the total thermoplastic powder resin and aggregate, the pigment may be included in an amount of 1 to 10 parts by weight.

However, as will be described later, it is desirable to control it appropriately to match the color combination of the pattern portion and base portion of the artificial marble.

The above-described composition can be mixed in an ingredient ratio that suits the user's intention to prepare a composition for artificial marble.

Here, mixing is preferably performed using a dry mixer applied in the ceramic powder mixing process.

Then, the composition for artificial marble is provided into the hopper.

When a plurality of pigments are used, the artificial marble composition for each color of the pigment can be provided to a plurality of hoppers. As will be described later, a plurality of pigments may be used to express various patterns, and in this case, it is preferable to inject raw materials having each color into each artificial marble composition supply device.

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining a method of manufacturing artificial marble according to an embodiment of the present application.

As shown in FIG. 1, as a supply device for the composition for artificial marble, the composition for artificial marble can be injected into a plurality of hoppers 11 controlled by a digital splitter 13 and dispersed in the mold 15. .

The hopper may include an inlet and an outlet. The hopper may be a container in which the outlet size is larger than the outlet size. The shape of the specific hopper is not particularly limited. For example, the shape of the hopper may be a cone or pyramid. Additionally, the hopper may store the artificial marble composition within the hopper by blocking the discharge port with a stopper or the like until the artificial marble composition is discharged from the hopper.

Then, using a digital separator according to a set pattern, the composition for artificial marble provided in the hopper is injected into the mold.

The digital separator (digital printer) is not particularly limited, but a split pattern is stored and can be controlled to inject the artificial marble composition from the hopper into the mold according to the stored pattern.

The mold may be a container with a certain shape so that the artificial marble composition discharged from the hopper can be contained in a certain shape. For example, when the artificial marble is manufactured in a plate shape, the artificial marble flowing in from the hopper may be filled in a plate shape.

Artificial marble can be manufactured by filling a mold with a composition for artificial marble and then using a high-temperature and high-pressure press. Here, the compression method can be a uniaxial molding method using a general press, and a continuous press such as a double belt press can also be applied.

A schematic diagram of such a double belt press is shown in Figure 2.

As shown in FIG. 2, the mixed composition for artificial marble is charged into the mixing device 21, then appropriately dry mixed, and then injected into the composition supply device for artificial marble 23, and then the powder provided from the supply device is added. After injecting into a mold, it is heated in a continuous heating device (25) and then compressed in a double belt press device (27) to produce artificial marble.

After mixing the composition for artificial marble, thermoplastic powder resin is placed between the aggregates, and at this time, many pores are formed between the powders.

Since thermoplastic resin powder is used, the process of minimizing pores by compressing in a high temperature environment and melting the thermoplastic resin powder is important. Therefore, a process for minimizing pores by heating the composition for artificial marble is needed.

The heating may be applied at various temperature ranges depending on the type or size of the thermoplastic resin powder, but is preferably performed at 120°C to 250°C.

The heating may be applied at various time ranges depending on the type or size of the thermoplastic resin powder, but is preferably performed for 5 to 20 minutes.

And, as described above, it can be compressed in a double belt press. The double belt press is not particularly limited, but the double belt press device is placed above and below the continuously supplied material, rotates in opposite directions, and transports the material while pressing it from the top and bottom.

Compression is preferably performed in the range of 20,000 tons or more, based on manufacturing slabs with a size of 3,000 x 1,400 mm.

The thermoplastic resin powder is liquefied by heating, and the liquid thermoplastic resin can be solidified by compression and cooling.

In particular, when the temperature falls below the glass transition temperature of the thermoplastic resin, artificial marble can be manufactured by demolding.

Through this, compression and molding are possible in a shorter time compared to the conventional vacuum vibration press method. In addition, compression and molding are possible in a short period of time, which can also increase production efficiency in the process.

Artificial marble manufactured by the above-described method may be composed of a pattern portion that forms the pattern shape of the artificial marble and a base portion that forms the base of the artificial marble.

In particular, artificial marble includes the composition for artificial marble described above. That is, it is manufactured from the above-described composition for artificial marble. However, the pattern of the pattern portion is not particularly limited.

Here, the pattern portion may be manufactured from a first artificial marble composition, and the base portion may be manufactured from a second artificial marble composition having different brightness and saturation from the first artificial marble composition.

Additionally, in this application, the pattern portion can be controlled to be darker than the background portion. Here, the term “dark” means that the brightness and saturation of the color are different, and a color with low brightness and saturation is referred to as dark.

In order to control the pattern portion to be darker than the base portion, the ingredient contents of the composition for artificial marble forming the pattern portion and the composition for artificial marble forming the base portion are different.

In particular, it is preferable that the pigment of the first artificial marble composition is darker than the pigment of the second artificial marble composition so that the color of the pattern portion is darker than the color of the base portion.

However, when the same type of pigment is used, a darker color may be provided through differences in pigment content.

The shape of artificial marble is not particularly limited, but may be a slab that has a predetermined size by compression.

This artificial marble not only has excellent color but also excellent mechanical properties. In particular, it has an excellent stain resistance evaluation score and excellent water absorption and flexural strength.

Additionally, the artificial marble may be capable of bending by heat treatment within a predetermined temperature range. Since thermoplastic resin powder is used as a binder, the manufactured artificial marble can be bent by heating to a predetermined temperature range and applying pressure in a predetermined method. The temperature range may be 120°C to 180°C, and more preferably 130°C to 140°C. If the temperature exceeds the upper limit of the temperature range, the resin component may flow, and if it is less than the lower limit of the temperature range, bending cannot be easily performed.

Hereinafter, the present application will be described in more detail through experimental examples.

[ Experiment example One]

36 g of polymethyl methacrylate powder and 144 g of aggregate were dry mixed, charged into a mold, heated, compressed, and then cooled to produce Example 1 in the form of a slab. In addition, after mixing 36 g of liquid polymethyl methacrylate and 144 g of aggregate, Comparative Example 1 in the form of a slab was produced using a vacuum-vibration-compression press.

For Example 1 and Comparative Example 1, stain resistance, water absorption, and flexural strength were measured.

Contamination resistance evaluation follows the ANSI Z124.6-2007 standard and ranges from a minimum of 20 to a maximum of 100, with lower numbers indicating better contamination resistance.

In addition, the water absorption rate was compared with the weight after drying at 105°C (error 5°C) for 24 hours and the weight after immersion in a water tank filled with deionized water for 48 hours so that the sample was completely submerged.

Additionally, flexural strength was measured according to ASTMD790 standards.

Each result is shown in Table 1 below.

Properties Example 1 Comparative Example 1 Staining resistance 48 40 Absorption rate (%) 0.05 0.05 Flexural strength (MPa) 53 41

As shown in Table 1, Example 1 had a fouling resistance value of 48, which was higher than 40 in Comparative Example 1, confirming that the fouling resistance was poor. In addition, Example 1 had an absorption rate of 0.05%, which was lower than that of Comparative Example 1, which was 0.05%, confirming that the absorption rate was similar.

In addition, Example 1 had a flexural strength of 53 MPa, which was higher than 41 MPa of Comparative Example 1, confirming that the flexural strength was excellent.

Since efficient packing is possible using a high-pressure press, lower absorption rate and improved contamination resistance can be expected.

Through this, it was confirmed that the mechanical properties of artificial marble using thermoplastic resin powder were superior to artificial marble using conventional liquid resin.

[ Experiment example 2]

A first composition was formed after dry mixing 25.2 g of polymethyl methacrylate powder, 100.8 g of aggregate, and 1.3 g of pigment. Additionally, 10.8 g of polymethyl methacrylate powder, 46.2 g of aggregate, and 0.54 g of pigment were dry mixed to form a second composition.

The first composition was used to form the pattern portion of the artificial marble, and the second composition was used to form the base portion of the artificial marble, respectively, into the artificial marble composition supply device.

According to the set pattern, the composition was charged into the mold using a digital dispersion method similar to an inkjet printer. After charging, heating, compression, and cooling were performed to produce Example 2 in the form of a slab.

Additionally, 25.2 g of polymethyl methacrylate powder, 100.8 g of aggregate, and 1.3 g of pigment were dry mixed to form a first composition. Additionally, 10.8 g of polymethyl methacrylate powder, 46.2 g of aggregate, and 0.54 g of pigment were dry mixed to form a second composition.

The first composition was used to form the pattern portion of the artificial marble, and the second composition was used to form the base portion of the artificial marble, respectively, into the artificial marble composition supply device.

According to the set pattern, the composition was charged into the mold using a digital dispersion method similar to an inkjet printer. After charging, heating, compression, and cooling were performed to produce Example 3 in the form of a slab.

For Examples 2 and 3, each image was taken using a camera and is shown in Figure 3.

As shown in Figure 3, it was confirmed that various patterns could be implemented without changing the composition of the mixture by spraying a powder mixture of two or more colors.

Additionally, various textures can be given to the slab surface depending on the surface of the mold.

[ Experiment example 3]

The slab of Example 2 was heated to a temperature between 150 and 170° C. in an oven, then placed in a bending mold and subjected to bending by applying pressure.

For Example 2, images taken using a camera are shown in FIG. 4.

As shown in Figure 4, it was confirmed that the slab was bent around the center.

Although the present application has been described above with reference to preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art may modify and change the present application in various ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the following patent claims. You will understand that it is possible.

11: Hopper
13: Digital splitter
15: mold
21: Composition mixing device for artificial marble
23: Composition supply device for artificial marble
25: Continuous heating device
27: Double belt press device

Claims (8)

It is manufactured from a first artificial marble composition, and is manufactured from a pattern part that forms the pattern shape of artificial marble and a second artificial marble composition having different brightness and saturation from the first artificial marble composition, and forms the base of artificial marble. A method of manufacturing artificial marble consisting of a base part,
A step of charging the first and second artificial marble compositions into the hopper of a digital splitter and dispersing them into a mold, and
Compressing the composition for artificial marble into a mold charged using a double belt press method,
The composition for artificial marble is in powder form and includes 10 to 50 parts by weight of thermoplastic resin and 90 to 50 parts by weight of quartz,
The quartz includes 10 to 40 parts by weight of quartz powder with a diameter of 100 ㎛ or less, 20 to 75 parts by weight of quartz sand with a diameter of 100 ㎛ to 1 mm, and 40 parts by weight or less of quartz chips with a diameter of 1 mm or more,
A method of producing artificial marble capable of bending by heat treatment at a temperature of 120 ℃ to 180 ℃.
According to claim 1,
A method of producing artificial marble wherein the thermoplastic resin powder has an average particle diameter of 4 ㎛ to 400 ㎛.
According to claim 1,
The thermoplastic resin is an artificial marble containing one selected from the group consisting of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), and polyamide (PA). Manufacturing method. delete delete delete delete delete

Images