TW201326468A - Mold with pattern and manufacturing method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for manufacturing a mold is provided in the present invention. The method comprises steps of: providing a metal sheet including a surface; forming a pattern with delicate fine lines on the surface; performing a sheet hydroforming process on the metal sheet to form a master mold with the pattern on a surface of it; forming a metallic mold on the surface of the master mold by an electroforming process; and removing the metallic mold from the master mold. A corresponding mold with a pattern with delicate fine lines is also provided in the present invention.

Description

Mold with fine grain and manufacturing method thereof

The present invention relates to a mold and a method of manufacturing the same, and more particularly to a mold having a fine grain and a method of manufacturing the same.

Today's scientific and technological standards are advancing by leaps and bounds. In order to make the appearance of the product more changeable and textured, it is usually applied to the surface of the product to a certain degree of surface treatment to make the product more competitive. Therefore, giving the product a different material (such as wood, stone, fabric, leather) and different color perception, and at the same time making the product surface has a good texture and touch, is the main subject of research and development personnel.

With the increasing market demand for exquisite, diversified and personalized plasticized product casings, plasticized product casings have developed technologies for casing patterning such as mold biting treatment and film printing in-mold (IMD). IMD can be further divided into In-Mold Decoration by Roller (IMR) technology that transfers ink only to plastic parts, and is attached to the plastic part together with the printed plastic film during the shooting process. In-Mold Film Decoration (IMF) technology, IMF technology has also been subdivided into In-Mold Labeling (IML) technology.

In terms of mold biting technology, there are often some problems at present: 1. After the welding, the biting flower has uneven pattern and different gloss; 2. Due to the steel, the surface line appears after biting the flower; The product is pulled by the angle of the mold or the depth of the pattern; 4, the pattern of the pattern after biting is rigid and not smooth. Therefore, the texture provided by the mold biting technology still has some limitations on the plasticized product casing (especially the high-priced plasticized products).

IMR technology only uses the printing plastic film to transfer the ink to the plastic part in the process. After the ink layer is separated from the film, the surface of the final product does not have a transparent protective film. Therefore, the method has the disadvantages of wear and fading of the printed pattern layer. On the other hand, the surface of the IMF and IML has a hardened transparent film with a printed pattern layer in the middle and a plastic layer on the back. The ink is sandwiched in the middle to prevent the surface of the product from being scratched and rubbed, but this method must be Considering the adhesion and adhesion between the film and the molding material, the molded product is liable to have defects such as peeling off the film.

Taiwan Patent No. 201032995 provides a method of injecting in-mold, which utilizes a first thermoplastic resin to impregnate any natural or chemical fiber in a solvent or hot melt manner to form an impregnated film, followed by Heating and pressurizing to form a delicate film film with plasticity ability and natural fiber texture and color, and then molding in a mold by heating and pressing, and then placed in a plastic injection mold for injection of a second thermoplastic plastic, and An injection finished product is formed which is covered with a natural or chemical fiber texture, a floral appearance and a desired structure.

Taiwan Patent No. M367806 provides a composite structure on the surface of a composite material object, in particular a pre-printed film having a surface pre-printed with a pattern, directly bonded to the surface of the composite material object, thereby improving the surface of the conventional composite material object after molding. Need to carry out the painting process, the modification process caused by the long process, the cumbersome work, the paint process is not environmentally friendly, the cost is high and the quality inconsistency is missing.

Announcement No. I331961 Taiwan Patent provides an IMD process that eliminates a post-forming thermosetting process or UV curing process, ie requires only one hardening step, and the polymer coating on the upper surface of the plastic film has been subjected to UV curing procedures. The surface has excellent scratch and wear resistance characteristics, which can avoid appearance damage caused by equipment and manual work, save the cost of fixed terminal cost and improve product yield.

However, the above prior art does not form the pattern directly on the outer surface of the product, but is formed on the film, so the technique must consider the adhesion between the film and the molding material, otherwise the molded product is easy to be stripped and twisted. Deformation and other conditions, resulting in increased product defect rate.

Moreover, at present, there is still no better solution for the problem that the curved surface of the plastic case cannot exhibit continuous fine lines.

As a result of the job, the inventor, in view of the lack of the prior art, was carefully tested and researched with a perseverance spirit, and finally invented a novel and fine-grained mold and its manufacturing method, which will solve the above-mentioned habits. The shortcomings of the prior art are the following.

The mold provided in this case can produce fine and continuous lines on the plane, curved surface and R angle of plastic products, especially the bionic patterns such as stone, skin, leaf, petal, wood and other. In addition, since the present invention directly presses the plastic product with the mold with the fine grain, that is, the plastic product forming process does not require an additional film forming step, the mold manufacturing method and the manufactured mold of the present invention are required for mass production of plastic products (especially In terms of 3C product shells, it is quite competitive both in terms of time and cost.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a mold manufacturing method for manufacturing a mold for forming a workpiece. The mold manufacturing method includes: providing a metal plate including a surface; forming a texture on the surface; performing a plate hydroforming treatment on the metal plate to form a prototype mold having a curved surface, the texture is located on the curved surface The prototype mold is electroformed to form a metal mold on the prototype mold, the metal mold replicates the surface and texture of the prototype mold; and the metal mold is released from the prototype mold.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a mold. The mold comprises: a curved surface or a corner 隅; and a grain formed integrally with the curved surface or the corner 隅; thereby forming a workpiece having a grain on the curved surface or corner.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a mold. The mold comprises: a mold body; and a texture symbolizing one of the images of nature, wherein the texture is generated simultaneously with the mold body and integrally formed with the mold body.

The case can be further explained by the following detailed explanation:

The invention will be further described in detail by the following preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings.

In particular, among the molds having fine lines and the method of manufacturing the same disclosed in the present invention, the terms such as curved surfaces, corners, R angles, and rounded corners can be used interchangeably.

Please refer to the first figure, which is a side view of the first preferred embodiment of the mold making method of the present invention. The above method includes the following steps:

The metal plate 10 is provided: the material of the metal plate 10 may be gold, silver, copper, aluminum, titanium, iron or an alloy thereof. The thickness of the metal plate 10 is substantially the same as the thickness of the workpiece to be molded, such as a casing of a mobile phone. However, the thickness of the metal plate 10 is not limited as long as the subsequent steps can be completed.

A texture is formed on the metal plate 10: in the present embodiment, the method of generating the texture includes various conventional methods of patterning on the surface 11 of the metal plate 10, such as etching, laser engraving, and using a wheel having a three-dimensional grain on the surface. Or the mold is formed by rolling, electromagnetic forming, exposure development, or the like. If a bionic pattern is to be produced, such as a grain, a leaf pattern, a wood grain, and the like, which are different in depth and relatively fine, it is preferably carried out by rolling. When the roll is rolled, the desired pattern can be engraved on the surface of the roller of the rolling mill, or the film with fine lines can be electroformed into a metal piece with the surface of the fine grain facing outward. The metal sheet is covered with a roller to roll the surface 11 of the metal plate 10 using the roller. In the embodiment shown in the first figure, the pattern is covered on the surface 11 of the metal plate 10 as shown, but the invention is not limited thereto, and the pattern may be formed only on the surface 11 .

Sheet Hydroforming (SHF): Performs hydroforming of the sheet to form a prototype mold with a fine grain on the surface 11, which will be the size of the workpiece to be formed (the final product to be molded, such as a mobile phone case). And the shape is exactly the same. The surface 11 has a fine grained metal sheet 10 by a plate hydroforming process to form a prototype mold having at least one curved surface (or corner, generally referred to as an R angle) 12, but not limited thereto. In the embodiment shown, the prototype mold further includes a bottom plate 13 having one end connected to one end of the curved surface (or corner) 12. Since the strain rate of the hydroforming of the plate is very slow, the curved surface is not easily damaged or deformed during the forming of the prototype mold, and thus the metal plate 10 having the grain is bent after the bending, that is, the prototype The curved surface 12) of the mold still has a texture, that is, the texture can be formed completely and continuously on the surface 11 of the prototype mold, including at the curved surface (or corner) 12. The process of sheet hydroforming is carried out with reference to the material of the metal sheet 10 used in the art of process technology well known in the art.

Electroforming: In the electroforming process, a metal mold 14 for manufacturing a plastic product is formed on the surface of the prototype mold having fine lines according to the required thickness. The basic classification of electroforming technology is metal electroforming such as Ni, Cu, Au, Ag, Pt, etc.; alloy electroforming such as Ni-Fe, Ni-Co, Ni-Mn, Ni-W, etc., and composite electroforming such as Ni-SiC, Ni-Al2O3, Ni-diamond, and the like. Although any metal or alloy that can be electroformed can be used as the material of the electroforming metal mold, the preferred electroforming material in this embodiment is Ni or a Ni-Co alloy. In the electroforming process, the prototype mold is placed in a tank containing an electroforming solution and is electrically connected to the cathode of the direct current power source, and the metal of the anode (for example, Ni metal or Ni-Co alloy) dissolves the original mold deposited on the cathode. The surface 11 forms a metal mold 14 for manufacturing a plastic product. When the desired metal thickness is reached, the original mold and the metal mold 14 attached thereto can be taken out from the electroforming solution. The electrochemical principle applied by electroforming technology belongs to the method of ion electrodeposition, which reduces the metal ions in the solution to metal, and can completely duplicate the surface (or corner) 12 of the prototype mold and the surface (or corner) The fine lines of 12, therefore, the mold produced by the method of this case can almost completely copy the pattern of wood, leather, flowers, natural stone, etc., the smoothness of the lines and the hard lines of the machined.

Detaching the prototype mold: Separating the prototype mold from the metal mold 14 results in a metal mold 14 having a continuous fine grain.

Please refer to the second drawing, which is a side view of a second preferred embodiment of the method for manufacturing a mold according to the present invention. This method includes the following steps:

The metal plate 20 is provided: the material of the metal plate 20 may be gold, silver, copper, aluminum, titanium, iron or an alloy thereof. The thickness of the metal plate 20 is substantially the same as the thickness of the workpiece to be molded, such as a casing of a mobile phone. However, the thickness of the metal plate 20 is not limited as long as the subsequent steps can be completed.

A texture is formed on the metal plate 20: in the present embodiment, the method of generating the texture includes various methods of attaching a pattern layer 21 to the surface of the metal plate, such as a spraying method, a printing method (for example, screen printing, etc.), and a surface. Film, etc. Wherein, the surface film is formed on the film by using a technique such as screen printing, pad printing or hot stamping, and then the film is attached to the metal plate 20. The surface film can exhibit an excellent three-dimensional effect and can exhibit complex textures that cannot be achieved by general machining. Therefore, if a pattern layer 21 of different shades and relatively fine is to be attached to the metal plate 20, the surface film is good. The way.

The hydroforming of the plate is performed by hydroforming the metal plate 20 having the patterned layer 21 to form a prototype mold. This process is the same as that of the first embodiment, and thus will not be described herein. In the embodiment shown in the second figure, the prototype mold has a curved surface with the pattern layer 21 on its surface.

Silver mirror treatment: The conductive layer 22 is placed on the surface of the pattern layer 21 of the prototype mold by, for example, coating, vacuum evaporation, vacuum sputtering, or ink jet. The conductive material of the conductive layer 22 may be any material suitable for increasing conductivity such as gold, silver or chromium, and preferably silver is used as the conductive layer. This step is to increase the conductivity of the pattern layer 21 during the subsequent electroforming step. Therefore, when the pattern layer 21 itself is electrically conductive, this step can also be omitted, and the electroforming step can be performed directly after the sheet is hydroformed.

Electroforming: The material of this step is the same as that of the first embodiment, and therefore will not be described again. In the electroforming process, the prototype mold is placed in the tank of the electroforming solution, and after the cathode of the DC power source is turned on, the metal of the anode (for example, Ni metal or Ni-Co alloy) dissolves the original mold deposited on the cathode. On the surface of the pattern layer 21 or the conductive layer 22, a metal mold 23 for manufacturing a plastic product is formed. When the desired metal thickness is reached, the original mold and the metal mold 23 can leave the electroforming solution.

Detaching the prototype mold: Separating the prototype mold from the metal mold 23, a metal mold 23 having a continuous fine grain is obtained.

The textures on the metal molds 13, 23 shown in the first and second preferred embodiments are simultaneously produced when the mold body is completed, and are integrally formed with the mold body without falling off. Further, the metal molds 13, 23 shown in the first and second preferred embodiments are only the lower mold (or the female mold), and those skilled in the art can manufacture the corresponding upper mold (or the convex mold) of the lower mold according to the above method. ), using the upper and lower molds for plastic injection.

The mold made by using the first or second preferred embodiment can be used to produce a plastic product having a fine pattern, which can be made of polycarbonate (PC), polypropylene (PP), benzene. Polystyrene (PS), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), methyl methacrylate styrene, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polyethylene pair Materials such as phthalate (PET), polyoxymethylene (POM), and nylon (Nylon).

For household appliances, information technology products or transportation, the appearance of plasticized products can be seen, and the high demand for plasticized products can be seen. The fine-grained mold made by the method of the present invention can be applied to plastic products such as a 3C product casing, a lighting cover, and an automobile interior decoration component, and the product made of the mold of the present invention can not only have fine lines on the plane, especially on the side wall. Or the curved surface of the corner can also fully display the continuity and smooth fine lines. Taking the case of the back of the mobile phone as an example, it can simultaneously produce a continuous fine line on the other four faces (side walls) extending outward from the plane of the shell member and its R corner. That is to say, the five sides and the R angle of the back shell have continuous textures, which is not easily achieved by conventional precision processing methods. In addition, the products produced by the mold made by the method of the present invention have no defects such as stripping, distortion of the film, and pattern peeling. The solution of the present invention has the advantages of simplifying the process, saving the cost, being suitable for mass production and high yield, and therefore, the case The molds provided and the methods used to make the molds are known as relatively competitive new molds and methods.

Example

A mold manufacturing method for manufacturing a mold for forming a workpiece, the mold manufacturing method comprising: providing a metal plate including a surface; forming a texture on the surface; and performing a plate hydraulic pressure on the metal plate Forming processing to form a prototype mold having a curved surface on which the curved line is located; electroforming the prototype mold to form a metal mold on the prototype mold, the metal mold replicating the curved surface of the prototype mold and Graining; and detaching the metal mold from the prototype mold.

2. The method of embodiment 1, wherein the metal sheet is made of a material selected from the group consisting of gold, silver, copper, aluminum, titanium, iron, and combinations thereof.

3. The method according to any one of the preceding embodiments, wherein in the step of hydroforming the plate, the prototype formed by the metal plate further comprises a bottom plate, one end of the bottom plate being connected to one end of the curved surface, the texture The system is continuously located on the bottom plate and the curved surface.

4. The method according to any of the preceding embodiments, wherein in the electroforming step, the metal mold replicates the bottom plate, the curved surface and the texture of the prototype mold.

5. The method of any of the preceding embodiments, wherein the texture comprises at least one of a stone, a grain, a leaf, and a grain.

6. The method of any of the preceding embodiments, wherein the texture on the surface is produced by at least one of: etching, rolling, electromagnetic forming, exposure development, and a surface Film.

The method of any of the above embodiments, wherein when the texture on the surface is produced by the surface film, before the electroforming the metal mold, the method further comprises: the A conductive layer is disposed on the grain.

8. The method of any of the preceding embodiments, wherein the electrically conductive layer comprises a conductive material selected from the group consisting of gold, silver, and chromium.

9. The method of any of the preceding embodiments, wherein the electrically conductive layer comprises a conductive material, the electrically conductive material being silver.

10. The method of any of the above embodiments, wherein the metal mold is made of one of a nickel and a nickel-cobalt alloy.

11. The method of any of the preceding embodiments, wherein the prototype mold formed in the hydroforming step is identical in size and shape to the workpiece.

12. A method of manufacturing a mold comprising: providing a sheet; forming a texture on the sheet; performing a hydroforming process on the sheet to form a prototype mold comprising the pattern; and molding the mold using the prototype .

13. The method of any of the preceding embodiments, wherein the sheet material is made of a metal.

The method of any of the preceding embodiments, wherein the metal comprises gold, silver, copper, aluminum, titanium, iron, and combinations thereof.

15. The method of any of the preceding embodiments, wherein molding the mold using the prototype is accomplished by a mold turning step.

16. The method of any of the preceding embodiments, wherein the step of overturning comprises an electroforming step.

17. The method of any of the preceding embodiments, wherein molding the mold with the prototype comprises the step of electroforming the prototype mold to form a metal mold having the texture on the prototype mold And removing the metal mold from the prototype mold.

18. A mold comprising: a mold body; and a mold body that simultaneously produces a pattern of one of the images symbolizing nature, integrally formed with the mold body.

19. The mold of embodiment 15, wherein the mold body is made of a metal.

The mold of any of embodiments 15-16, wherein the metal comprises one of nickel and a nickel-cobalt alloy.

The mold of any of embodiments 15-17, wherein the texture comprises at least one of a stone pattern, a skin pattern, a leaf pattern, and a wood grain.

22. A mold comprising: a curved surface or a corner; and a grain integrally formed on the curved surface or the corner; thereby forming a workpiece having a grain on a curved surface or corner.

The mold of claim 22, wherein the mold body further comprises a bottom surface, one end of the bottom surface is in contact with the curved surface or one end of the corner, the pattern is continuously formed on the bottom plate and the curved surface Or the corner.

24. The mold of embodiment 22-23, wherein the texture is selected from the image of a natural image.

However, the above description is only the preferred embodiment of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. Therefore, the equivalent structural changes of the present specification and the contents of the drawings are equally included in the present invention. Within the scope of the invention, it is given to Chen Ming.

10, 20. . . Metal plate

11. . . surface

12. . . Surface (or corner)

14,23. . . Metal mold

twenty one. . . Pattern layer

twenty two. . . Conductive layer

First: a side view of a first preferred embodiment of the method of making a mold of the present invention;

Second Figure: A side view of a second preferred embodiment of the method of making a mold of the present invention.

10. . . Metal plate

11. . . surface

13. . . Metal mold

Claims (10)

A mold manufacturing method for manufacturing a workpiece for forming a workpiece, the mold manufacturing method comprising: providing a metal plate including a surface; forming a texture on the surface; and performing a plate hydroforming treatment on the metal plate Forming a prototype mold having a curved surface, the texture is located on the curved surface; electroforming the prototype mold to form a metal mold on the prototype mold, the metal mold replicating the curved surface and the texture of the prototype mold; And removing the metal mold from the prototype mold. The method of claim 1, wherein the prototype formed by the metal plate further comprises a bottom plate, one end of the bottom plate is connected to one end of the curved surface, and the pattern is continuously located On the bottom plate and the curved surface, in the electroforming step, the metal mold copies the bottom plate, the curved surface and the texture of the prototype mold. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the texture comprises at least one of a stone, a skin, a leaf, and a grain. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the texture is produced by at least one of the following methods: an etching, a rolling, an exposure development, an electromagnetic forming, and a surface film. The method of claim 4, wherein when the texture on the surface is produced by the surface film, before the electroforming the metal mold, the method further comprises: on the texture of the prototype mold A conductive layer is provided. The method of claim 5, wherein the conductive layer comprises a conductive material selected from the group consisting of gold, silver, and chromium. The method of claim 1, wherein the prototype is formed to have the same size and shape as the workpiece in the hydroforming step of the plate. A mold comprising: a curved surface or a corner; and a texture integrally formed on the curved surface or the corner; thereby forming a workpiece having a texture on a curved surface or a corner. The mold of claim 8, wherein the mold body further comprises a bottom surface, one end of the bottom surface is connected to the curved surface or one end of the corner, the pattern is continuously formed on the bottom plate and the curved surface or The corner is on the raft. The mold of claim 8 or 9, wherein the texture is selected from the image of a natural image.