TWI547388B - Surface treatment of aluminum-containing products and their products with grain lines method - Google Patents

Description

Surface treatment of aluminum-containing products with wood grain and their products method

The invention relates to a surface treatment method for metal products and metal products, in particular to a surface treatment method for an aluminum-containing product having wood grain and a product thereof.

Today's electronic products are popular in the use of metal casings. The advantages of using metal materials are electromagnetic shielding, good heat dissipation, good rigidity, impact resistance, and environmentally friendly properties that can be recycled, especially aluminum or aluminum alloy metal products. Lighter effects are achieved compared to other metals.

General manufacturers will create various patterns or texts on the surface of aluminum products to enhance the value of the product. One of the wood-like surface decoration can give the surface of the aluminum product a wood texture, so that the aluminum product has both metal characteristics and a woody appearance. The method for processing the wood grain of the above aluminum product includes a mechanical method, a printing method, a lamination method, an electrolysis method, and the like. Among them, the mechanical method, the printing method, and the lamination method can be generally referred to as a physical method, mainly grinding, polishing, dyeing, and the like. The surface of the aluminum product is formed into a wood grain contour, and wherein the electrolysis method is an electrochemical method, and most of the linear grooves such as wood fibers are produced on the surface of the aluminum product by electrolytic etching, as disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 4,420,378. Revealed in the invention patent case Wood grain electrolysis method for aluminum products.

The imitation wood grain decoration formed on the surface of the aluminum product by the above mechanical method, printing method, lamination method and electrolysis method can only present the wood texture contour or the tactile texture of the wood fiber. Therefore, how to make the imitation wood grain surface decoration of aluminum products more visually and tactilely more like real wood is a problem that the technical field desires to solve.

Accordingly, a first object of the present invention is to provide an aluminum-containing article having a wood grain.

A second object of the present invention is to provide a surface treatment method for the above article.

In the surface treatment method of the aluminum-containing article of the present invention, the outer surface of the aluminum-containing article has a first surface and a second surface, wherein the second surface is curvedly extended along the periphery of the first surface edge, and the surface treatment method comprises the following steps: The outer surface of the aluminum-containing article forms a patterned barrier layer that separates the outer surface of the aluminum-containing article into a plurality of wood texture pattern regions that expose a portion of the outer surface and a plurality of non-texture pattern regions that cover the other portion of the outer surface. The wooden texture pattern area is alternately arranged with the non-texture pattern area; the outer surface of the aluminum-containing product is subjected to wood texture electrolytic etching to form a plurality of spaced line grooves on the outer surface of the aluminum-containing product. Removing the patterned barrier layer; and The surface of the aluminum-containing article is colored.

The surface treatment method of the aluminum-containing product of the invention distinguishes the surface of the aluminum-containing product into a plurality of wood texture pattern regions and a plurality of non-texture pattern regions by a patterned barrier layer, and the wood texture pattern regions and the non-texture pattern regions are staggered to form a wood annual ring. The contour is then subjected to wood texture electrolysis etching to form a plurality of linear grooves arranged in the wood texture pattern area, such as wood fibers, and finally surface coloring, so that the color of the non-texture pattern area is shallow, and the wood texture pattern area is lined up. The shape of the groove is darker, and the surface of the entire aluminum-containing product is clearly defined, and has a uniform appearance with wood and a tactile texture at the same time.

100‧‧‧ Film formation steps

200‧‧‧Wood texture processing steps

300‧‧‧Downing step

400‧‧‧film removal step

500‧‧‧Coloring steps

1‧‧‧Aluminum products

10‧‧‧ second surface

11‧‧‧Wood texture pattern area

111‧‧‧Linear groove

12‧‧‧Non-texture pattern area

13‧‧‧Oxide film layer

130‧‧‧ holes

14‧‧‧Colored layer

15‧‧‧Protective layer

2‧‧‧patterned barrier

3‧‧‧ outer surface

5‧‧‧ first surface

X‧‧‧Basic direction

Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the accompanying drawings in which: FIG. Figure 2 is a perspective view of an aluminum-containing article pre-treated in the preferred embodiment; Figure 3 is a schematic view showing the formation of a patterned barrier layer on the surface of the aluminum-containing article via a film step; Figure 4 is a Figure 3 is a partially enlarged schematic view showing a partially enlarged schematic view of a surface of an aluminum-containing article that is not covered by the patterned barrier layer via a wood texture processing step; Figure 6 is a partial enlargement Schematic illustration of a step through a membrane removal step The patterned resisting layer of the surface is removed; FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the aluminum-containing article forming an oxide film layer on the surface of the aluminum-containing article through a sub-step of a coloring step; FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating The aluminum-containing article forms a colored layer on the oxide film layer on the surface of the aluminum-containing article through a sub-step of a coloring step; and FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the aluminum-containing article passing through a sub-step of a coloring step A protective layer is formed on the colored layer on the surface of the aluminum-containing article.

Before the present invention is described in detail, it is noted that in the following description, similar elements are denoted by the same reference numerals.

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, in a preferred embodiment of the surface treatment method for an aluminum-containing product of the present invention, the aluminum-containing product 1 is pure aluminum or an alloying element such as magnesium, barium, copper, manganese, iron, zinc or tin. The appearance of the electronic product made of the aluminum alloy, etc., and the outer surface 3 of the aluminum-containing article 1 has a first surface 5 and a second surface 10, wherein the second surface 10 extends along the periphery of the edge of the first surface 5 And the first surface 5 and the second surface 10 may be planar, convex, concave, or a combination thereof, respectively. In the preferred embodiment, the aluminum-containing article 1 is integrally formed by stamping the first surface 5 and the second surface 10, and the first surface 5 is a flat surface, and the second surface 10 is overlapped with the first surface 5 Arc surface, but the invention is not limited thereto. The surface treatment method includes a film formation step 100, a wood texture treatment step 200, a film removal step 300, a film removal step 400, and a coloring step 500.

Referring to FIG. 1, FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the film forming step 100 is formed on the outer surface 3 of the aluminum-containing article 1 after a conventional pre-treatment step such as polishing, chemical degreasing and surface cleaning to cover the first surface. 5 and the patterned barrier layer 2 of the second surface 10. The patterned barrier layer 2 divides the outer surface 3 of the aluminum-containing article 1 into a plurality of wood texture pattern regions 11 which expose a portion of the outer surface 3, and a plurality of non-texture pattern regions 12 covering the other portion of the outer surface 3, the wood texture pattern region 11 and The outline of the non-textured pattern area 12 extends substantially in a curved direction along a base direction X. The contours of the wooden texture pattern area 11 and the non-texture pattern area 12 are matched to each other to form a wood annual ring outline. In detail, the patterned barrier layer 2 is formed by coating a photoresist layer on the outer surface 3 of the aluminum-containing article 1, the photoresist layer covering the first surface 5 and the second surface 10, and then a flexible After the photomask is placed over the aluminum-containing article 1 and aligned with the outer surface 3, the flexible mask is vacuum-applied to the outer surface 3 of the aluminum-containing article 1, and then the photoresist layer is patterned and exposed. In the step, the intermolecular bond of the photoresist layer is interrupted by ultraviolet light, and then the photoresist layer is broken by a developing solvent to form a patterned barrier layer 2 by a portion of the photoresist layer that is broken by the molecular bond. In addition to the above-described forming method, the patterning barrier layer 2 can be formed on a plastic film substrate, such as propylene oxide (PO) or polycarbonate (PC), to form a desired pattern, that is, a patterned film, and then The film is then covered on the outer surface 3 of the aluminum-containing article 1. The patterned film covers the first surface 5 and the second surface 10, and then vacuum-filmed, so that the patterned film is closely attached to the film. The outer surface 3 of the aluminum product 1, when the patterned film is adhesively coated on the outer surface 3 of the aluminum-containing article 1 and covers the first surface 5 and the second surface 10, and finally the plastic film substrate and the aluminum-containing material Product 1 Separating, leaving the desired pattern on the aluminum-containing article 1 described above, completes the outer surface 3 of the aluminum-containing article 1 to form a patterned barrier layer 2.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 5, the wood texture processing step 200 is to immerse an aluminum-containing article 1 having a patterned barrier layer 2 formed thereon in an electrolyte composed of an inorganic acid or an organic acid and an alkali metal salt thereof, and electrically connect a power source. The wooden texture electrolysis etching is performed to form a linear groove 111 which is disposed at a plurality of intervals and substantially linearly extending along the base direction X in each of the wood texture pattern regions 11 of the outer surface 3 of the aluminum-containing article 1, and the linear groove 111 The matching distribution shows a texture distribution similar to that of wood fibers. In detail, during the electrolytic etching process, the acid ions in the electrolyte combine with the aluminum ions to form a mixed resist compound having a high electrical resistance, and cover the surface of the aluminum-containing article 1 to form a barrier film layer. In the electrolytic etching process, the barrier film layer of the mixed colloidal compound is alternately formed between the formation reaction and the dissolution reaction, so that the current density is higher at a portion where the barrier film layer is thin, resulting in partial dissolution of the surface of the aluminum-containing article 1, A large amount of gas is generated, and the trajectory of the gas rise accelerates the dissolution of the barrier film layer, and the aluminum-containing article 1 is oxidized to form a linear groove 111 corresponding to the gas rising trajectory. However, the length, width, depth of the linear groove 111 and the distribution density of the linear groove 111 can be controlled by the composition ratio of the electrolyte and the current density applied to the aluminum-containing article 1, due to the above The conditions of the process are well known to those skilled in the art and therefore will not be further described herein.

Referring to Figures 1, 5 and 6, the stripping step 300 is an organic solvent such as DMSO (dimethyl sulfur amide), MEA (methyl ethyl amide), BDG, NEA (n, n-dimethylacetamide) and NMP. (n-methyl pyrrolidone) is a high-boiling organic substance belonging to sulfur or an amine, and is dissolved and removed by the patterned barrier layer 2 on the aluminum-containing article 1 which has been electrolytically etched by wood texture.

The film removing step 400 is to use an alkaline solution such as sodium carbonate (Na ₂ CO ₃ ) or sodium hydroxide (NaOH) or an acidic solution such as sulfuric acid (H ₂ ) through the aluminum-containing article 1 after the stripping step 300. SO ₄ ) or phosphoric acid (H ₃ PO ₄ ), the barrier film layer remaining on the surface of the aluminum-containing article 1 and being a mixed colloidal compound is removed.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 7, the coloring step 500 is performed by anodizing the aluminum-containing article 1 after the film removing step 400 to form an oxide film layer 13 having a plurality of holes 130 on the surface of the aluminum-containing article 1; 8, a dyeing process is performed on the aluminum-containing article 1, and a coloring layer 14 filling the holes 130 is formed on the oxide film layer 13. In detail, the dyeing process of the aluminum-containing article 1 includes a printing method such as lithography, screen printing, and a printing process such as inkjet printing, or a general conventional dyeing method such as metal salt (electrolytic coloring), organic dye, inorganic Salt (chemical coloring), and finally, referring to Fig. 9, the pores 130 of the oxide film layer 13 are subjected to a sealing treatment. In detail, the sealing treatment is to form a protective layer 15 to block the colored oxide film layer 13 to protect the ink in the hole 130 from being scraped or caused by external force, and to improve corrosion resistance and wear resistance. Light fastness and other aspects of performance. The sealing treatment includes metal salt sealing treatment, organic material sealing treatment or coating sealing treatment, for example, nickel acetate sealing at a high temperature of 80 to 100 ° C.

In summary, the surface treatment method of the aluminum-containing article of the present invention has the effect of arranging the outer surface 3 of the aluminum-containing article 1 by the patterned barrier layer 2. Divided into a majority of the wood texture pattern area 11 and a plurality of non-texture pattern areas 12, the wood texture pattern area 11 and the non-texture pattern area 12 are staggered to form the annual ring contour of the wood, and then the wood texture electrolytic etching is formed in each wood texture pattern area 11 Most of the lines are arranged like the linear grooves 111 of the wood fibers, and finally the surface is colored, so that the color of the non-texture pattern area 12 is shallow, and the wood texture pattern area 11 is darker due to the linear groove pattern 111, thereby allowing the whole to contain The surface of the aluminum product 1 has a clear and dark surface and has a uniform appearance with the wood. Further, since the film formation step 100 is performed first in the process, and the wood texture treatment step 200 is performed, the outer surface 3 of the aluminum-containing article 1 of the final product is in the wood. The thickness of the texture pattern area 11 is smaller than the thickness of the non-texture pattern area 12, so that the surface 3 of the aluminum-containing product 1 has a wood grain and has a tactile sensation of wood texture, so that the object of the present invention can be achieved.

The above is only the preferred embodiment of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, that is, the simple equivalent changes and modifications made by the patent application scope and patent specification content of the present invention, All remain within the scope of the invention patent.

100‧‧‧ Film formation steps

200‧‧‧Wood texture processing steps

300‧‧‧Downing step

400‧‧‧film removal step

500‧‧‧Coloring steps

Claims (10)

A surface treatment method for an aluminum-containing article, the outer surface of the aluminum-containing article having a first surface and a second surface extending along a periphery of the edge of the first surface, the surface treatment method comprising the steps of: forming the aluminum-containing article The outer surface forms a patterned barrier layer that separates the outer surface of the aluminum-containing article into a plurality of wood texture pattern regions that expose a portion of the outer surface and a plurality of non-textures that cover another portion of the outer surface. a pattern region, wherein the wood texture pattern regions are respectively staggered with the non-texture pattern regions; the outer surface of the aluminum-containing article is subjected to a wood texture electrolytic etching to the wood texture on the outer surface of the aluminum-containing article The pattern region forms a plurality of spaced-apart linear grooves; the patterned barrier layer is removed; and the surface of the aluminum-containing article is colored. The surface treatment method for an aluminum-containing article according to claim 1, wherein the first surface and the second surface are respectively a plane, a convex surface, a concave surface, or a combination thereof. The surface treatment method for an aluminum-containing article according to claim 1, wherein the patterning barrier layer forming method comprises the steps of: first coating a photoresist layer on the outer surface of the aluminum-containing article, and then applying a flexible The reticle is placed on the aluminum-containing product, and after the outer surface is aligned, the flexible reticle is vacuum-applied to the outer surface of the aluminum-containing article, and then the photoresist layer is patterned and exposed. Developing to form the Patterned barrier layer. The surface treatment method for an aluminum-containing article according to claim 1, wherein the patterning barrier layer forming method comprises the steps of: first covering a plastic film substrate having a patterned film on the aluminum article; The outer surface is then subjected to vacuum filming treatment, so that the patterned film is closely adhered to the outer surface of the aluminum-containing product, and finally the plastic film substrate is separated from the aluminum-containing product, leaving the desired patterned glue The film is the patterned barrier layer. The surface treatment method for an aluminum-containing article according to claim 1, wherein the outlines of the wood texture pattern regions and the non-texture pattern regions are substantially curvedly extended along a base direction. A wood grain-containing aluminum-containing article surface-treated by the surface treatment method of claim 1, the outer surface of the aluminum-containing article having a first surface and a second surface, wherein the second surface is along the first surface The peripheral edge of the edge is curved and extended, wherein the outer surface of the aluminum-containing product is divided into a plurality of wood texture pattern regions and a plurality of non-texture pattern regions located outside the wood texture pattern region, and the wood texture pattern regions are respectively different from the non-texture pattern regions. The texture pattern regions are staggered, and the wood texture pattern regions have a plurality of spaced line grooves. An aluminum-containing article having a wood grain pattern as claimed in claim 6, wherein the outlines of the wood texture pattern regions and the non-texture pattern regions are substantially curvedly extended along a base direction. An aluminum-containing product having a wood grain pattern as claimed in claim 7, wherein The linear grooves extend substantially linearly along the base direction. The wood-containing article having wood grain as described in claim 6, wherein the first surface and the second surface are respectively planar, convex, concave, or a combination thereof. The aluminum-containing article having the wood grain pattern as claimed in claim 6, wherein the thickness of the aluminum-containing article in the wood texture pattern region is smaller than the thickness of the non-texture pattern region.