WO2020167311A1 - Revêtement pour substrats en aluminium - Google Patents

Revêtement pour substrats en aluminium Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2020167311A1
WO2020167311A1 PCT/US2019/018126 US2019018126W WO2020167311A1 WO 2020167311 A1 WO2020167311 A1 WO 2020167311A1 US 2019018126 W US2019018126 W US 2019018126W WO 2020167311 A1 WO2020167311 A1 WO 2020167311A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
coating
metal
article
recited
light scattering
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/US2019/018126
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Paul Andrew RAMSDEN
Original Assignee
Conde Systems, Inc.
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Conde Systems, Inc. filed Critical Conde Systems, Inc.
Priority to PCT/US2019/018126 priority Critical patent/WO2020167311A1/fr
Publication of WO2020167311A1 publication Critical patent/WO2020167311A1/fr

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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B44—DECORATIVE ARTS
    • B44F—SPECIAL DESIGNS OR PICTURES
    • B44F1/00—Designs or pictures characterised by special or unusual light effects
    • B44F1/08—Designs or pictures characterised by special or unusual light effects characterised by colour effects
    • B44F1/14—Iridescent effects
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41M—PRINTING, DUPLICATING, MARKING, OR COPYING PROCESSES; COLOUR PRINTING
    • B41M5/00—Duplicating or marking methods; Sheet materials for use therein
    • B41M5/025—Duplicating or marking methods; Sheet materials for use therein by transferring ink from the master sheet
    • B41M5/035—Duplicating or marking methods; Sheet materials for use therein by transferring ink from the master sheet by sublimation or volatilisation of pre-printed design, e.g. sublistatic
    • B41M5/0355—Duplicating or marking methods; Sheet materials for use therein by transferring ink from the master sheet by sublimation or volatilisation of pre-printed design, e.g. sublistatic characterised by the macromolecular coating or impregnation used to obtain dye receptive properties
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B44—DECORATIVE ARTS
    • B44C—PRODUCING DECORATIVE EFFECTS; MOSAICS; TARSIA WORK; PAPERHANGING
    • B44C5/00—Processes for producing special ornamental bodies
    • B44C5/04—Ornamental plaques, e.g. decorative panels, decorative veneers
    • B44C5/0415—Ornamental plaques, e.g. decorative panels, decorative veneers containing metallic elements

Definitions

  • the present invention relates generally to sublimation coatings.
  • the present invention relates to dye sublimation transfer printing onto synthetic organic polymers and metallic articles.
  • the present invention relates to coatings applied to substrates that enhances the luminosity of disperse dyes.
  • Certain fibrous organic materials such as polyester fabric and certain synthetic organic polymers such as acetyl, polycarbonate, and nylon can accept the diffusion of disperse dyes directly and have no need to be coated before receiving the image.
  • their natural ability to accept the diffusion of the dye does not ensure long term persistence of these dyes and often the image will blur or fade over time.
  • harder substances such as metal are naturally resistant to the diffusion of the disperse dyes through their molecular surface structure and into the underlying metal substrate so that image persistence is even less than that with organic substrates.
  • Aluminum is popular because it typically has a flat and hard surface, which allows for a larger format image to be printed onto a single surface, resulting in higher visibility of the image and achieving a greater viewer impact. Also, aluminum is ductile which allows for a final decorated article to be light and highly durable. In fact, the typical thickness of an aluminum sheet used for dye sublimation is between 0.020 inches (.5 mm) and 0.050 inches (1.25 mm) thick, but preferably around .04 inches (1.0 mm) thick. So, a finished dye sublimation aluminum article is relatively light and can be easily mounted on a wall in large format sizes. Also, aluminum is capable of withstanding the high temperatures associated with the dye sublimation transfer process, namely 325-410 degrees F.
  • the background luster of a metal substrate such as aluminum, provides a naturally reflective surface from which a clear polymer coating allows for a deposited image to have a higher level of luminosity than a non-reflected surface.
  • disperse dyes though sublimation onto coated on Aluminum does not result in the reproduction of vibrant images after deposition as might be expected.
  • the problem is that light, while reflected, is also dispersed and certain wave lengths of visible light are absorbed by the aluminum surface surrounding the deposited image and from behind the image.
  • disperse dyes are not paint, nor do they include white pigment such as titanium dioxide, which cannot be sublimated.
  • Sublimated dyes must obtain their white color from the substrate onto which an image will be applied, or from within a coating that covers the substrate prior to applying an image.
  • dye sublimation inks only provide a clear, transparent layer or“non-pigmented” area for an intended white image area in a sublimation image.
  • a metal s surface features are visible through a deposited image, thereby creating a noisy or distracting image area where a continuous color area might be desired.
  • This problem is especially prevalent on skin tones or facial images deposited over a metal substrate. The effect is to cause the deposited image to appear grainy, washed-out and muted, and to include distracting and inconsistent features even when images are adjusted to increase their color content and luminosity.
  • An additional effect is that white areas in an image cannot be reproduced accurately on the metal, rather the white of an image is limited to the color of the underlying metal, which in the case of aluminum is at best a light grey.
  • the present invention provides a new polymer coating for metal surfaces that allows for the application of disperse dyes in a sublimation process that preserves the luster and metal iridescence naturally occurring in a metal surface, such as occurs on a polished aluminum sheet.
  • the coating includes a combination of natural metal oxide additives having the capability to be prepared in nano-sized particles and combined with an organic polymer coating binder and resin in restricted loading levels to allow for light penetration to and from the polished metal surface.
  • An optimal loading level for the additive that utilizes particles having a size of between 5nm and 15nm of metal oxide additives is approximately 20-30 percent by weight of solids, depending upon the dry -film thickness of the coating.
  • Figure 1 is a cross sectional diagram of a coated aluminum substrate
  • Figure 2 is a cross sectional diagram of the coated aluminum substrate shown in Fig. 1 positioned within a heat press in the process of receiving a dye sublimation image from a transfer media
  • Figure 3 is a cross sectional diagram of the coated metal substrate shown in Fig. 2 after heat and pressure have caused the diffusion of the dye into the polymer coating.
  • Fig. 1 shows a cross sectional view 10 of a 1.0mm thick aluminum substrate 11 coated with a synthetic organic polymer 12 applied thereon, such as an organic binder and resin coupled with an inorganic nano-scale material as will be described.
  • a synthetic organic polymer 12 applied thereon, such as an organic binder and resin coupled with an inorganic nano-scale material as will be described.
  • “nano-scale” or“nano sized” or“nano-particle” is herein defined as any particle having an average mean width of less than one-billionth of a meter.
  • Aluminum substrate 11 is an optically opaque aluminum sheet, having a nominal luster exhibited by medium quality polished aluminum.
  • any metal having sufficient ductility to be formed in a relatively thin, smooth sheet of material may be used to the extent that a synthetic organic polymer of the types described herein will adhere to the surface of such metal material.
  • the herein described coating will work with any level of luster exhibited by a polished metal surface, but the greater the iridescence exhibited by the metal surface the greater the effectiveness of promoting a vibrant dye sublimation image exhibiting a metallic iridescence from the image.
  • the herein disclosed coating may be applied to any thickness of metal material as long as the herein described coating can be applied to the surface and a disperse dye diffused into the coating.
  • a polished side of a ship having a thick metal hull may use the herein described coating and method to apply dispersed dyes to its exterior.
  • the organic polymer 12 is a clear urethane coating modified by the addition of light scattering additives 13 that renders it a white translucent, partially opaque coating.
  • a suitable light scattering pigment 13 preferably incudes nano-sized particles of metal oxide, such as aluminum oxide, having an average particle size of lOOnm at a maxim loading level of 5-10% by weight of solids, but even more preferably utilizes a particle size of approximately 5nm maximum width with loading level of 20% by weight of solids.
  • the coating 12 is applied by spraying onto the aluminum 11 resulting in a dry film buildup of approximately 0.10mm (0.004”). In the preferred embodiment, the coating dries at room temperate with a catalyzed reaction to induce polymerization.
  • the inventor has used various metal oxide additives and can obtain satisfactory results across a range of additive formulations by varying loading levels of oxides in response to the added particle size of the metal oxide. For example, as shown in Table 1 below, as the size of oxide particles increases, the loading levels decrease. However, it is critical that the substantial majority of particle sizes are less than 400nm in size irrespective of the loading level, as shown in Table 1.
  • Coating 12 must be capable of bonding with the aluminum substrate 11, but possess sufficient flexibility to allow the coated article to be flexed by 5-10% as may be encountered during movement with relatively thin sheets of decorated aluminum.
  • Suitable flexible coating bases for aluminum are polyester or urethane, or a hybrid mixture of two of these coating bases.
  • the coating should either be extruded directly onto the product or applied by conventional coating deposition procedures such as spraying, curtain deposition, or flow-over deposition.
  • the coating may be cured either by low temperature thermal activation, or the application of a chemical catalyst, which is preferred.
  • the coating 12 preferably is not cured by photo-initiated or electron-beam initiated reaction because polymers cured in this manner generally do not possess the ability to be heated and flexed after curing without cracking or delamination
  • coating 12 includes light scattering additives 13.
  • the coating must include particulate that is capable of scattering light, as opposed to reflecting the light, and which can then combine with the natural reflected luminosity of an aluminum surface, sometimes referred to as“metallic iridescence,” to magnify the total luminosity of a final image diffused onto a decorated article once the dye sublimation image has been applied.
  • the light scattering additives must also exhibit their own level of metallic iridescence so that their light scattering effect adds to and magnifies the pre-existing iridescence of the metal surface.
  • Suitable light scattering particulates for the herein described coating include aluminum oxide, zinc oxide, titanium dioxide, silver oxide, zirconium oxide, and other naturally occurring metal oxides capable of being reduced to nano-sized particles having a cross section of less than 400nm, and being of white appearance when viewed as agglomerated particulate.
  • Each particulate must be predominately less than 400nm in size so that each is smaller than any visible wavelength of light. This results in the particulate having a higher refractive index than clear coating surrounding and supporting the particles, resulting in suitable light scattering and a suitable degree of light transmission reflected from the metallic surface.
  • these particulate additives may also render the aluminum substrate more scratch resistant, depending upon he nano-pigment selected.
  • the preferred embodiment for a particle additive is nano-particles of aluminum oxide. This would be the case with the integration of aluminum oxide or zirconium oxide for example.
  • the loading level of the aluminum oxide particulate should be sufficient to impart whiteness and a degree of opacity, but not of such concentrations that the coating ceases to be translucent or partially transparent. Therefore, nanoparticles in a range of 5nm-400nm at a loading level of between 5% and 40% by weight of solids of the coating are preferred, as indicated in Table 1.
  • variations in film thickness, particle loading levels, and mean particle size may be altered to achieve different luminosity characteristics on a metal surface.
  • those individual properties would be tailored in response to the type of reflectivity exhibited by the metal surface onto which an image might be applied, and also in response to the type of lighting effects that might be desired for a particular sublimated image to be deposited on that metal surface.
  • a polished, anodized aluminum surface would require less loading of oxide particle loading to achieve a particular level of luminosity than a standard milled, unbrushed, gray aluminum surface, and a wedding scene image might utilize a higher level of particle loading than say a redwood forest scene.
  • a thicker film would allow for less particulate loading the achieve the same level of luminosity for a particular type of surface or image.
  • the herein described process allows for variations in film thickness, loading, and particle size to suit a particular metal substrate and/or image requirements.
  • Coating thickness is also important.
  • the coating 12 must be thick enough to allow the light attenuation caused by the particulate contained within it to render the aluminum article reflective and to allow the dyes, in concert with the particulate, to render a degree of opacity while allowing the above described iridescence to propagate away from the substrate.
  • This generally requires a coating thickness of at least 0.0015”, ( 0381mm), but preferably greater than 0.0025” ( 0635mm) in thickness.
  • the coating should not however be greater than 0.005” ( 127mm) because disperse dyes may fail to properly diffuse through the coating. The consequence of this is that the iridescence imparted by the particulate present between the aluminum interface and the threshold of the dye saturated part of the coating film causes a desirable metallic iridescence of the image such that any deposited image is enhanced with additional luminosity.
  • Another consideration to accomplish the herein described deposition of disperse dyes 16 onto the substrate 11 is the amount of dyestuff that should be deposited onto the transfer media 17 (see Fig. 2).
  • a higher loading level of dye is required than can normally be deposited by typical, small format consumer printers.
  • the limited volume of dyestuff impedes the saturation of the image 16 (see Fig. 2) into the additives 13 of the coating 12, and as such the process fails to achieve the desired vibrancy and intensity in the final image.
  • RIP Raster Image Processor
  • Fig. 2 is may be seen the coated aluminum piece 10 from Fig. 1 now positioned in an arrangement 15 within a heat press 20 prepared to receive the transfer of a graphic image 16 from a printed transfer paper media 17.
  • the layering from the top of the stack of elements depicted in this cross-sectional view includes a steel heat platen 19 supported by lifting member 21 heated to 400 degrees F, a porous PTFE coated Fiberglass sheet 18 to protect the platen 19 and provide for a breathable interface between the platen 19 and the transfer paper 17.
  • transfer paper 17 having an image 16 printed thereon with disperse dyes that may be deposited via a suitable inkjet printer.
  • the paper is oriented with print side facing downward against the coated side 12 of the coated substrate 11 as described in Fig. 1.
  • the aluminum substrate 11 is supported by a porous ceramic insulation layer 22 which prevents heat from dissipating from any material supporting the aluminum substrate below it.
  • the ceramic insulation 22 furthermore allows for moisture of other gases to wick from the substrate 11 during the heating process.
  • disperse dyes 16 held by transfer paper 17 have turned into gases by a sublimation phase change process and have diffused into the receptive polymer coating 12 thoroughly until reaching the surface of aluminum substrate 11. This occurs after the assembly has been subjected to 400 degrees F for 1 minute under a pressure of 30 PSI, and results in a decorated aluminum article 25 of a size and shape determined by the original size and shape of the uncoated aluminum substrate when removed from the heat press 20.
  • the process may be automated in a rolling assembly process in which the coating 12 and image 16 may be applied along a preformed roll of aluminum that can be cut to a predetermined size and shape after the coating of the substrate 12 and deposition of the image 16 on a timed section of that substrate 12 as it rolls along a moving conveyor of material.

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  • Laminated Bodies (AREA)

Abstract

Un nouveau revêtement polymère pour surfaces métalliques permet l'application de colorants dispersés dans un procédé de sublimation qui préserve l'éclat et l'irisation métallique se produisant naturellement dans une surface métallique, telle que se produisant sur une feuille d'aluminium polie. Le revêtement comprend une combinaison d'additifs d'oxyde métallique naturel ayant la capacité d'être préparée dans des particules de taille nanométrique et combinée avec un liant de revêtement polymère organique et une résine à des niveaux de charge restreints pour permettre une pénétration légère vers et à partir de la surface métallique polie. Un niveau de charge optimal de l'additif qui utilise des particules ayant une taille comprise entre 5 nm et 15 nm d'additifs d'oxyde métallique est d'environ 20 pour cent en poids de solides.
PCT/US2019/018126 2019-02-14 2019-02-14 Revêtement pour substrats en aluminium WO2020167311A1 (fr)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
PCT/US2019/018126 WO2020167311A1 (fr) 2019-02-14 2019-02-14 Revêtement pour substrats en aluminium

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
PCT/US2019/018126 WO2020167311A1 (fr) 2019-02-14 2019-02-14 Revêtement pour substrats en aluminium

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2020167311A1 true WO2020167311A1 (fr) 2020-08-20

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Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN114190796A (zh) * 2021-12-17 2022-03-18 武汉苏泊尔炊具有限公司 砧板及其制造方法

Citations (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5580410A (en) * 1994-12-14 1996-12-03 Delta Technology, Inc. Pre-conditioning a substrate for accelerated dispersed dye sublimation printing
US5654036A (en) * 1995-05-23 1997-08-05 Tsuyakin Kogyo Co., Ltd. Method for painting the surface of substrates
US6760157B1 (en) * 1996-02-29 2004-07-06 3M Innovative Properties Company Brightness enhancement film
US20110151150A1 (en) * 2006-05-01 2011-06-23 Surdec Llc Dye receptive polymer coating for graphic decoration
US20160101601A1 (en) * 2012-10-12 2016-04-14 High Voltage Graphics, Inc. Flexible heat sealable decorative articles and method for making the same
US20160221318A1 (en) * 2015-02-04 2016-08-04 Paul Andrew Ramsden Thermal Transfer Printed Polymeric Phone Case Insert

Patent Citations (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5580410A (en) * 1994-12-14 1996-12-03 Delta Technology, Inc. Pre-conditioning a substrate for accelerated dispersed dye sublimation printing
US5654036A (en) * 1995-05-23 1997-08-05 Tsuyakin Kogyo Co., Ltd. Method for painting the surface of substrates
US6760157B1 (en) * 1996-02-29 2004-07-06 3M Innovative Properties Company Brightness enhancement film
US20110151150A1 (en) * 2006-05-01 2011-06-23 Surdec Llc Dye receptive polymer coating for graphic decoration
US20160101601A1 (en) * 2012-10-12 2016-04-14 High Voltage Graphics, Inc. Flexible heat sealable decorative articles and method for making the same
US20160221318A1 (en) * 2015-02-04 2016-08-04 Paul Andrew Ramsden Thermal Transfer Printed Polymeric Phone Case Insert

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN114190796A (zh) * 2021-12-17 2022-03-18 武汉苏泊尔炊具有限公司 砧板及其制造方法
CN114190796B (zh) * 2021-12-17 2023-09-22 武汉苏泊尔炊具有限公司 砧板及其制造方法

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