This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwan application serial no. 110118368, filed on May 21, 2021. The entirety of the above-mentioned patent application is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a part of this specification.
The disclosure relates to a decorated molding article and its fabricating method.
Generally speaking, decorations such as patterns or texts on the surface of an object casing are mainly formed through spraying or printing processes in order to present a specific visual effect and add variability of the appearance of the object. The traditional forming method is to apply the hardened layer to the surface of the casing by spraying after the casing of the related product is completed. This method is complicated, has a poor yield, and causes contamination of organic solvent gases, which leads to many pollution problems. On the other hand, because the spraying process has the disadvantages of time-consuming, complicated process, and low thickness uniformity, it is not suitable for mass production.
In order to solve the aforementioned problems, a variety of specific decoration processes using decorative films have been proposed. For example, in-mold decoration (IMD) or out mold decoration (OMD) has become another choice for forming patterns and texts on the object surface.
At present, the commonly used polymer substrate materials in in-mold decoration include polycarbonate (PC), polymethyl methacrylate, also known as poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). However, the hardness of the substrate composed of PC and ABS is low, which makes the surface of the substrate prone to damage. Therefore, most of the substrate surface is coated with a protective layer to increase the hardness and scratch resistance of the substrate surface. On the other hand, the substrate composed of PMMA has high hardness, but it is easy to crack during forming, so the hot pressing process cannot be easily performed.
The disclosure provides a method for fabricating decorated molding article, including: providing a coating, the coating at least includes: a protective material, an ink materials, and an adhesive materials uniformly mixed together; forming the coating on a substrate by a coating method or a printing method; and performing a first curing step to form a composite layer structure, wherein the composite layer structure includes an optical effect layer disposed on the substrate.
In one embodiment of the disclosure, the protective material includes polymethyl methacrylate, aliphatic polyurethane acrylate, epoxy acrylate, polyester polyol, or a combination thereof; the ink material includes polyurethane; and the adhering material includes thermoplastic polyurethane, aromatic urethane acrylate or a combination thereof.
In one embodiment of the disclosure, the coating further includes: a heat-resistant material, a solvent, and a hardener.
In one embodiment of the disclosure, after the first curing step, the method further includes: performing an in-mold decoration or an out mold decoration on the composite layer structure, such that the composite layer structure is attached to an outer surface of a workpiece through an adhesive layer so as to form a decorated molding article; and performing a second curing step so as to increase the hardness of the optical effect layer.
In one embodiment of the disclosure, a step of performing the in-mold decoration on the composite layer structure includes: disposing the composite layer structure in an in-mold decoration mold with a mold molding concavity, wherein the composite layer structure covers at least a part of a surface of the mold molding concavity; pouring a molding material into the in-mold decoration mold, such that the molding material and the composite layer structure are combined with each other; cooling the molding material; cooling the molding material; and taking the decorated molding article out of the in-mold decoration mold.
In one embodiment of the disclosure, a step of performing the out mold decoration on the composite layer structure includes: providing the workpiece; placing the workpiece and the composite layer structure in a fixture; and performing a high-pressure decorative molding process, such that the composite layer structure is attached to the outer surface of the workpiece through the adhesive layer.
The disclosure provides a method for fabricating decorated molding article, including: providing a substrate having a first surface and a second surface opposite to each other; forming a first coating on the first surface of the substrate using a printing method; forming a second coating on the first coating using a coating method; and performing a first curing step to form a composite layer structure, wherein the composite layer structure at least includes: the substrate; a first optical effect layer, disposed on the first surface of the substrate; and a first decorative layer, disposed between the first surface of the substrate and the first optical effect layer, wherein a thickness of the first decorative layer is smaller than a thickness of the first optical effect layer.
In one embodiment of the disclosure, the first coating and the second coating each include a protective material, an ink material, and an adhesive material uniformly mixed together.
In one embodiment of the disclosure, the protective material includes polymethyl methacrylate, aliphatic polyurethane acrylate, epoxy acrylate, polyester polyol or a combination thereof; the ink material includes polyurethane; and the adhering material includes thermoplastic polyurethane, aromatic urethane acrylate or a combination thereof.
In one embodiment of the disclosure, the method of fabricating decorated molding article further includes: performing a first laser engraving process on the composite layer structure so as to form a first groove in the first optical effect layer.
In one embodiment of the disclosure, the method of fabricating decorated molding article further includes: forming a third coating on the second surface of the substrate using the printing method; and forming a fourth coating on the third coating using the coating method, wherein after the first curing step, the composite layer structure further includes: a second optical effect layer, disposed on the second surface of the substrate; and a second decorative layer, disposed between the second surface of the substrate and the second optical effect layer, wherein a thickness of the second decorative layer is smaller than a thickness of the second optical effect layer.
In one embodiment of the disclosure, the third coating and the fourth coating each include: a protective material, an ink material, and an adhesive material uniformly mixed together, wherein the protective material includes polymethyl methacrylate, aliphatic polyurethane acrylate, epoxy acrylate, polyester polyol or a combination thereof; the ink material includes polyurethane; and the adhering material includes thermoplastic polyurethane, aromatic urethane acrylate or a combination thereof.
In one embodiment of the disclosure, the method of fabricating decorated molding article further includes: performing a second laser engraving process on the composite layer structure so as to form a second groove in the second optical effect layer.
In one embodiment of the disclosure, after performing the above-mentioned first curing step, it further includes: after performing the first curing step, the method further including: performing an in-mold decoration or an out mold decoration on the composite layer structure, such that the composite layer structure is attached to an outer surface of a workpiece through an adhesive layer, so as to form a decorated molding article; and performing a second curing step, so as to increase a hardness of the first optical effect layer and the second optical effect layer.
The disclosure provides a decorated molding article, including: a workpiece; and a composite layer structure, attached to an outer surface of a workpiece through an adhesive layer, wherein the composite layer structure includes at least: a substrate, having a first surface and a second surface opposite to each other; a first optical effect layer, disposed on the first surface of the substrate; and a first decorative layer, disposed between the first surface of the substrate and the first optical effect layer, wherein a thickness of the first decorative layer is smaller than a thickness of the first optical effect layer, and the first optical effect layer and the first decorative layer each include a protective material, an ink material, and an adhesive material.
In one embodiment of the disclosure, the protective material includes polymethyl methacrylate, aliphatic polyurethane acrylate, epoxy acrylate, polyester polyol or a combination thereof; the ink material includes polyurethane; and the adhering material includes thermoplastic polyurethane, aromatic urethane acrylate or a combination thereof.
In one embodiment of the disclosure, the composite layer structure further includes: a second optical effect layer, disposed on the second surface of the substrate; and a second decorative layer, disposed between the second surface of the substrate and the second optical effect layer, wherein a thickness of the second decorative layer is smaller than a thickness of the second optical effect layer.
In one embodiment of the disclosure, the composite layer structure further includes: a first groove, extending from a surface of the first optical effect layer to a direction of the substrate; and a second groove, extending from a surface of the second optical effect layer to a direction of the substrate.
In one embodiment of the disclosure, a material of the outer surface of the workpiece includes plastic, resin, metal, carbon fiber, glass, or a combination thereof.
In one embodiment of the disclosure, the workpiece includes an electronic device casing or component and a vehicle casing or component, or a combination thereof, wherein the vehicle casing or component includes a car interior, a car exterior, a car sign, a car dashboard, a smart key, and an engine start button, or a combination thereof.
Based on the above, the disclosure may use a coating method or a printing method to form an all-in-one coating on a substrate and perform a curing step, thereby forming an optical effect layer with a protective effect, a color effect, and an adhering effect. Therefore, the disclosure may effectively simplify the fabricating steps, reduce the fabricating cost and prevent the pollution problem caused by the adhesive film.
The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the disclosure, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.
Hereinafter, the disclosure will be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the disclosure may be practiced in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described in the text. The direction terms mentioned in the following embodiments, such as “upper”, “lower”, etc., are only directions referring to the attached drawings. Therefore, the direction terms used are used for detailed description, not for limiting the disclosure. In addition, the thickness of layers and regions in the drawings will be exaggerated for clarity. The same or similar element numbers indicate the same or similar elements, and the following paragraphs will not repeat them one by one.
Referring to
Then, proceed step S14 to form the coating on a substrate 102 (as shown in
Specifically, the coating method is to distribute the coating material in a coating device, and uniformly coat the coating material on the substrate 102 through a coating head of the coating device. In one embodiment, an opening of the coating head may be flat, such that the coating applied on the substrate 102 has a bright surface effect. In another embodiment, an opening of a coating head may have multiple microstructures (for example, micro-dents), such that the coating applied on the substrate 102 has a matting effect. In an alternative embodiment, an opening of a coating head may have multiple concave-convex structures, such that the coating applied on the substrate 102 has a hairline effect. On the other hand, the printing method may include a gravure printing method, a screen printing method, an offset printing method, a reverse printing method, or an inkjet printing method. The printing method. Compared with the coating method, the printing method may form a thinner film layer.
After that, proceed step S16 to perform a first curing step to form a composite layer structure 100. As shown in
After forming the composite layer structure 100, proceed step S20 to perform in-mold decoration or out mold decoration on the composite layer structure 100, such that the composite layer structure 100 is attached to an outer surface 200a of a workpiece 200 through the adhesive layer 120 to form the decorated molding article 10, as shown in
After the decorated molding article 10 is formed, step S30 may be proceeded to perform a second curing step so as to increase the hardness of the optical effect layer 104. In one embodiment, the second curing step may include a thermal curing step, an ultraviolet (UV) curing step, a combination thereof, or other suitable curing steps. In the present embodiment, the first curing step is different from the second curing step. For example, the first curing step may be a thermal curing step, and the second curing step may be a UV curing step; and vice versa. In an alternative embodiment, when the first curing step and the second curing step are both thermal curing steps, a curing temperature of the second curing step may be higher than a curing temperature of the first curing step. It is worth noting that the second curing step may cause the protective material to undergo a cross-linking reaction so as to increase the hardness of the top surface 104a of the optical effect layer 104, thereby enhancing the protective effect. That is to say, when the in-mold decoration or the out mold decoration (i.e. step S20) is performed, the optical effect layer 104 is not completely cured yet and has ductility, and then is completely attached to the outer surface 200a of the workpiece 200. After the second curing step (i.e. step S30) is performed, the optical effect layer 104 is completely cured and has a complete protective effect. In the present embodiment, the hardness of the optical effect layer 104 may have a gradient change. Specifically, the hardness of the optical effect layer 104 may increase from a bottom surface 104b toward the top surface 104a. In other words, a hardness of the top surface 104a of the optical effect layer 104 may be greater than a hardness of the bottom surface 104b of the optical effect layer 104.
Referring to
In one embodiment, the first coating and the second coating each include a protective material, an ink material, and an adhesive material uniformly mixed together. The protective material may include polymethyl methacrylate, aliphatic urethane acrylate, epoxy acrylate, polyester polyol or a combination thereof. The ink material may include polyurethane and similar materials. The adhesive material may include thermoplastic polyurethane, aromatic urethane acrylate or a combination thereof. Moreover, the first coating and the second coating each include: a heat-resistant material, a solvent, and a hardener. In one embodiment, the heat-resistant material may include polycarbonate and similar materials; the solvent may include ethyl acetate, methyl ethyl ketone, toluene, xylene, or a combination thereof. The hardener may include materials such as polyisocyanate. However, the disclosure is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the first coating and the second coating may each include other additives, such as matting powder, pearl powder, etc., such that the optical effect layer 114 and the decorative layer 116 has different visual effects such as matting and pearly luster.
In the present embodiment, the decorative layer 116 may be printed in a single time or multiple times to present different decorative patterns such as wood grain and geometric patterns. The optical effect layer 114 disposed on the decorative layer 116 may have different visual effects such as transparency, monochromatic, matting, pearly luster, and the like to superimpose with the decorative layer 116, thereby enriching the visual effects of the user or viewer. For example, the decorative layer 116 may have a wood grain pattern, and the optical effect layer 114 may be matting silver, such that the composite layer structure 100a exhibits a wood grain pattern with matting silver.
Referring to
Referring to
In one embodiment, the groove 111 may include a groove 113, a groove 115, and a groove 117 of different depths. Specifically, the bottom surface of the groove 113 may be located between the top surface 114a and the bottom surface 114b of the optical effect layer 114. The bottom surface of the groove 115 may expose a top surface 116a of the decorative layer 116. The bottom surface of the groove 117 may extend into the decorative layer 116, but the first surface 102a of the substrate 102 is not exposed. Although
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Next, proceed step S104 to dispose the composite layer structure 100 in the in-mold decoration mold. In detail, the in-mold decoration mold includes a hollow mold molding concavity. The molding concavity has a surface. After that, the composite layer structure 100 is attached to the surface of the mold molding concavity such that the composite layer structure 100 covers at least a part of the surface of the mold molding concavity. In an alternative embodiment, before proceeding step S106, heating pre-forming may be selectively performed and the excess composite layer structure may be removed by die cutting, laser cutting, or water jet cutting.
Then, proceed step S106 to pour the molding material into the molding concavity of the in-mold decoration mold, such that the molding material and the composite layer structure 100 are combined with each other. In one embodiment, the molding material may be a suitable molding material such as plastic material, resin material, metal material, carbon fiber material, glass, etc.
After that, proceed step S108 to cool the molding material to form the workpiece 200. The workpiece 200 depends on the application of the decorated molding article of the disclosure, which may be an electronic device casing or component, a vehicle casing or component, or a combination thereof. For example, workpiece 200 may be, for example, a mobile phone, a digital camera, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a notebook computer, a desktop computer, a touch panel, a TV, a satellite positioning system (GPS), a car monitor, a navigation, a displays, a digital photo frame, a DVD player, an automotive interior trim panel (such as a handles, a trim strip, a touch front bumper, etc.), an automotive exterior decorative panel (such as an exterior handle, a back door decorative strip, etc.), a car dashboard, a car logo, an intelligent key (I-key), an engine start button, a clock, a radio, a toy, a watch, or other enclosures or components used in electronic products that require electricity. However, the disclosure does not limit the shape and structure of the workpiece 200, as long as the shape and structure of the workpiece 200 may be completed by the in-mold decoration are within the scope of the disclosure.
Next, proceed step S110 to take out the decorated molding article from the in-mold decoration mold. The resulting decorated molding articles 10, 20a, 20b, 30a, 30b, 40, and 50 have been described in detail in
On the other hand, decorated molding articles may also be fabricated by out mold decoration. With reference to
Next, proceed step S204 to provide a composite layer structure. The composite layer structure may be, for example, the composite layer structure 100 shown in
After that, proceed step S206 to place the workpiece 200 and the composite layer structure 100 in the fixture. It is explained here that before proceeding step S206, the fixture may be selectively designed and prepared according to the requirements of the final product.
Then, proceed step S208 to perform a high-pressure decoration molding process, such that the composite layer structure 100 is attached to the outer surface 200a of the workpiece 200 through the adhesive layer 120. In detail, the high-pressure decorative molding process, for example, first performs a heating and softening step on the composite layer structure 100. In one embodiment, the temperature of the heating and softening step may be between 80° C. and 150° C.; the time of the heating and softening step may be between 30 seconds and 180 seconds. Next, the composite layer structure 100 is brought into contact with the workpiece 200, and a pressurizing step is performed. After that, the composite layer structure 100 is subjected to a high-pressure vacuum forming step, such that the composite layer structure 100 is attached to the workpiece 200. Finally, the remaining composite layer structure may be selectively removed by die cutting, laser cutting or water jet cutting. In short, in the present embodiment, the composite layer structure 100 may be tightly adhered to a part of the outer surface 200a of the workpiece 200 by using the external decoration.
In summary, in the disclosure, the coating method or printing method may be used so as to form an all-in-one coating on a substrate and perform a curing step thereon, thereby forming an optical effect layer with a protective effect, a color effect, and an adhering effect. Therefore, the disclosure may effectively simplify the fabricating steps, reduce the fabricating cost, and prevent the contamination problem caused by the adhesive film.
Furthermore, in the disclosure a laser engraving process may also be performed, so as to form multiple grooves in the optical effect layer, thereby increasing the user's tactile experience. In the present embodiment, the optical effect layer of the disclosure still has a protective effect after the laser engraving process, and the substrate can be protected from damage and from peeling off the workpiece without forming an additional protective layer.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the disclosure without departing from the scope or spirit of the disclosure. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the disclosure cover modifications and variations of this disclosure provided they fall within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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110118368 | May 2021 | TW | national |