Patent Application
20180133839
The present invention relates to an embossing roll, and more specifically, to a manufacturing method for an embossing roll having fine uneven patterns formed on a surface thereof and an embossing roll obtained by the manufacturing method.
As a roll having fine uneven patterns formed on a surface thereof, an embossing roll has hitherto been known. The embossing roll is used for subjecting various sheet-like articles to embossing and is also used for manufacturing electric and electronic products as well as building materials and daily commodities. For example, a thermoplastic resin film is subjected to embossing to manufacture electronic components, such as a prism sheet, a lenticular sheet, a Fresnel sheet, and an anti-reflection film to be used in a backlight for an LCD, a rear-projection screen, and the like, and a metal plate is subjected to embossing to enhance a design property thereof or to impart a sliding preventing function thereto. The applicant of the present application has proposed an embossing roll described in, for example, Patent Document 1.
In manufacturing of an embossing roll, in order to form fine uneven patterns on a surface of a cylindrical base material, engraving, electrocasting, sandblasting, electro-discharge machining, etching, or the like is performed.
Embossing rolls having the same uneven patterns may be manufactured in large quantity. Meanwhile, embossing rolls having various uneven patterns may be required to be manufactured, or embossing rolls having a wide variety of uneven patterns may be required to be manufactured in small quantities. The above-mentioned related-art manufacturing method for an embossing roll is suitable for large-scale manufacturing but is unsuitable for small-scale manufacturing of a wide variety of products.
Further, it is necessary that an uneven shape forming the uneven pattern be formed uniformly and precisely without irregularities. In manufacturing of electric and electronic products, in particular, preciseness is required.
Patent Document 1: JP 2009-72828 A
Patent Document 2: WO 2011/125926 A1
Patent Document 3: WO 2012/043515 A1
An object of the present invention is to provide a manufacturing method for an embossing roll which is capable of being manufactured in a wide variety in small quantities and has uneven patterns formed uniformly and precisely without irregularities, and the embossing roll.
In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a manufacturing method for an embossing roll according to the present invention comprises: a step of preparing a cylindrical base material; and a modeling step of modeling embossing onto a surface of the cylindrical base material with a three-dimensional printer based on three-dimensional processing data.
It is preferred that the three-dimensional processing data is created by subjecting an embossing roll model to three-dimensional scanning. As the embossing roll model, a model made of a synthetic resin, a metal, wood, plaster, or the like, which is produced in a size smaller than that of an embossing roll to be manufactured, may be used.
As the cylindrical base material, any of cylindrical base materials made of a metal and a synthetic resin is applicable.
As a material for the metal cylindrical base material, any known metal is applicable, but it is preferred that the metal cylindrical base material is made of at least one kind of material selected from the group consisting of Ni, stainless steel, brass, Fe, Cr, Zn, Sn, Ti, Cu, and Al. The metal cylindrical base material is made of at least one kind of material, and hence, needless to say, may be made of an alloy.
In the case of the metal cylindrical base material, it is preferred that the modeling step comprises sintering powder to be sintered laid on the surface of the cylindrical base material. As the powder to be sintered, any material capable of being sintered is applicable, but a metal or ceramics is preferred. More specifically, it is preferred that the powder to be sintered is made of at least one kind of material selected from the group consisting of, for example, Ni, stainless steel, brass, Fe, Cr, Zn, Sn, Ti, Cu, Al, Pt, In, Mg, W, Co, and ceramics. The powder to be sintered is made of at least one kind of material, and hence, needless to say, may be made of an alloy. Further, the ceramics include any inorganic substance that forms a sintered compact through sintering and also include carbides, such as tungsten carbide (WC) and silicon carbide (SiC), and nitrides, such as tungsten nitride and silicon nitride.
It is preferred that the powder to be sintered is sintered with a laser. As the laser, a known laser is applicable.
As a material for the synthetic resin cylindrical base material, any known synthetic resin is applicable. However, it is preferred that the synthetic resin cylindrical base material is made of at least one kind of synthetic resin material selected from the group consisting of, for example, a hard plastic, an engineering plastic, an ABS resin, an epoxy resin, a fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP), and a carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP).
In the case of the synthetic resin cylindrical base material, it is preferred that the modeling step is performed by a fused deposition modeling system, a stereo lithography system, an ink-jet system, or the like.
The fused deposition modeling system is a method involving discharging a thermoplastic synthetic resin, for example, an ABS resin or a polylactic acid resin, onto a surface of a base material with a printer head to repeat lamination, to thereby perform modeling.
The stereo lithography system is a method involving irradiating a UV-curable resin with a UV-laser to repeat lamination, to thereby perform modeling.
The ink-jet system is a method involving jetting a UV-curable synthetic resin having a fine particle shape with an ink-jet head and curing the UV-curable synthetic resin by irradiation with UV-rays to repeat lamination, to thereby perform modeling.
It is preferred that the step of preparing the cylindrical base material and the modeling step are performed with a fully automatic laser plate-making system. As the fully automatic laser plate-making system, it is possible to use, for example, a fully automatic laser plate-making system in which a three-dimensional printer processing unit is incorporated into a fully automatic gravure plate-making processing system described in Patent Document 2 and corresponding U.S. patent publication US 2012/0308347 A1, the entire contents of each application are hereby incorporated by reference, or Patent Document 3 and corresponding U.S. patent publication US 2013/0160947 A1, the entire contents of each application are hereby incorporated by reference. Further, it is preferred that a three-dimensional scanner processing unit capable of performing three-dimensional scanning is further incorporated into such fully automatic laser plate-making system.
An embossing roll according to the present invention is manufactured by the said manufacturing method for an embossing roll.
According to the present invention, the following remarkable effect is exhibited: the manufacturing method for an embossing roll which is capable of being manufactured in a wide variety in small quantities and has uneven patterns formed uniformly and precisely without irregularities, and the embossing roll can be provided.
Embodiments of the present invention are described below, but those embodiments are described as examples, and hence it is understood that various modifications may be made thereto without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention. The same members are represented by the same reference symbols.
As illustrated in
The three-dimensional processing data is created by subjecting an embossing roll model to three-dimensional scanning. Further, three-dimensional processing data obtained in advance may also be used.
Then, as illustrated in
Then, the formation of the layer illustrated in
The modeling step may be performed as follows. As illustrated in
A three-dimensional printer processing unit can be used by being incorporated into a fully automatic laser plate-making system.
The embossing roll 18 manufactured as described above is illustrated in
The present invention is hereinafter described in more detail with Examples, but it is needless to say that Examples are only illustrative and not intended to be interpreted in a limited way.
A hollow roll made of iron having a circumference of 600 mm, a surface length of 1,100 mm, and a thickness of 10 mm was prepared as a cylindrical base material, and an embossing roll was manufactured through use of NewFX (fully automatic laser plate-making system manufactured by Think Laboratory Co., Ltd.). A three-dimensional printer processing unit of a type of sintering powder to be sintered was incorporated as a processing unit into the fully automatic laser plate-making system. As three-dimensional processing data, data obtained by subjecting an embossing roll model to three-dimensional scanning in advance was used.
Powder to be sintered (metal powder that corresponds to die steel SKD11 when sintered) laid on a surface of the hollow roll was sintered with a fiber laser to form a layer. Then, the formation of the layer was repeated to laminate a plurality of layers. Thus, an embossing roll having fine uneven patterns formed on a surface thereof was obtained.
A hollow roll made of CFRP having a circumference of 600 mm, a surface length of 1,100 mm, and a thickness of 10 mm was prepared as a cylindrical base material, and an embossing roll was manufactured through use of NewFX (fully automatic laser plate-making system manufactured by Think Laboratory Co., Ltd.). A three-dimensional printer processing unit of a fused deposition modeling system type was incorporated as a processing unit into the fully automatic laser plate-making system. As three-dimensional processing data, data obtained by subjecting an embossing roll model to three-dimensional scanning in advance was used.
A thermoplastic synthetic resin (ABS resin) was discharged onto a surface of the hollow roll with a printer head to form a layer. Then, the formation of the layer was repeated to laminate a plurality of layers. Thus, an embossing roll having fine uneven patterns formed on a surface thereof was obtained.
12: cylindrical base material, 14a to 14e: layer, 16: uneven pattern, 18: embossing roll, 20: opening, 22: three-dimensional printer.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-108893 | May 2015 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2016/063807 | 5/10/2016 | WO | 00 |
