This document relates generally to the production of decorative structural plastic parts and, more particularly, to the production of an automotive air register louver by means of two-shot molding of an integral plastic part body followed by application of a decoration to the integral plastic part body outside of the mold.
Air registers, which are responsible for directing air flow to the vehicle occupants, are also important aesthetic elements that contribute to the overall style and theme of an automotive cockpit.
This document presents an innovative method for marrying a decoration with structural resins wherein a structural plastic resin and a decoration-compatible plastic resin are injected into a mold to form an integral plastic part body. That integral plastic part body is then removed from the mold and a decoration is applied to the decoration-compatible plastic resin of the body.
In accordance with the purposes and benefits described herein, a method is provided for producing a decorative structural plastic part such as, for example, an air register louver or vane. That method may be broadly described as comprising the steps of: (a) two-shot molding a structural plastic layer with a decoration-compatible plastic layer, (b) mechanically bonding the structural plastic layer with the decoration-compatible plastic layer to form an integral plastic part body and (c) applying a decoration to the decoration-compatible plastic layer following molding.
In one possible embodiment, that method may also include injecting a structural plastic resin into a mold to form a structural plastic layer. This is followed by the step of injecting a decoration-compatible plastic resin into the mold against the structural plastic layer to form the decoration-compatible plastic layer and the integral plastic part body. Next are the steps of removing the integral plastic part body from the mold and applying the decoration to the decoration-compatible plastic layer. In addition, the method may include using heat and pressure to apply the decoration to the decoration-compatible plastic layer.
In accordance with another possible embodiment, the method may include injecting a decoration-compatible plastic resin into a mold to form the decoration-compatible plastic body. This is followed by injecting a structural plastic resin into the mold against the decoration-compatible plastic layer to form the structural plastic layer and the integral plastic part body. Next is the removing of the integral plastic part body from the mold followed by applying the decoration to the decoration-compatible plastic layer.
In accordance with an additional aspect, the method of producing a decorative structural plastic part may include the steps of closing a mold, including a first mold section and a second mold section. This is followed by injecting a structural plastic resin into the closed mold to form a structural plastic layer. Next is the opening of the mold while retaining the structural plastic layer in the second mold section. This is followed by replacing the first mold section with a third mold section and closing the mold. Next is the injecting of a decoration-compatible plastic resin into the mold between the structural plastic layer and the third mold section to form an integral plastic part body including the structural plastic layer and a decoration-compatible plastic layer.
In addition, the method includes mechanically bonding the structural plastic layer with the decoration-compatible plastic layer during molding. This is followed by the opening of the mold and the removing of the integral plastic part body from the mold. Finally, the method includes the step of applying a decoration to the decoration-compatible plastic layer after the integral plastic part body is removed from the mold.
More specifically, the method may include the step of forming a mechanical bond between the structural plastic layer and the decoration-compatible plastic layer by providing a first set of alternating projections and channels on a first face of the structural plastic layer. In addition the method may include forming a second set of alternating projections and channels on a second face of the decoration-compatible plastic layer. Further the method may include interdigitating the first set of alternating projections and channels with the second set of alternating projections and channels so as to form a strong mechanical bond between the structural plastic layer and the decoration-compatible layer. Those interdigitating sets of projections and channels may be provided in a dovetail configuration in some embodiments.
Still further, the method may include molding the structural plastic layer from a structural plastic resin selected from a group consisting of 50% glass-filled polyamide 6 (PA6), 60% glass-filled polyamide 6 (PA6), 50% glass-filled polyamide 66 (PA66), 60% glass-filled polyamide 66 (PA66), 55% glass-filled polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) or mixtures thereof. In addition, the method may include molding the decoration-compatible plastic layer from a decoration-compatible resin selected from a group consisting of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polycarbonate+acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (PC+ABS), acrylonitrile styrene acrylate (ASA) or mixtures thereof.
In one possible embodiment, decorative foil is used as the decoration. In another possible embodiment, decorative film is used as the decoration. In any embodiment, the decoration is compatible and will bind securely with the decoration-compatible plastic layer upon the application of the necessary heat and pressure.
In the following description, there are shown and described several preferred embodiments of the method. As it should be realized, the method is capable of other, different embodiments and its several details are capable of modification in various, obvious aspects all without departing from the method as set forth and described in the following claims. Accordingly, the drawings and descriptions should be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive.
The accompanying drawing figures incorporated herein and forming a part of the specification, illustrate several aspects of the method and together with the description serve to explain certain principles thereof. In the drawing figures:
Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiments of the method, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawing figures.
Reference is now made to
As will be appreciated from the following description, the decorative structural plastic part 10 is produced using a method that may be generally described as comprising the steps of: (a) two-shot molding a structural plastic layer 12 with a decoration-compatible plastic layer 20, (b) mechanically bonding the structural plastic layer with the decoration-compatible plastic layer to form an integral plastic part body 28 and (c) applying a decoration 30 to the decoration-compatible plastic layer following molding. As illustrated in
After the requisite amount of curing, the mold M is opened with the structural plastic layer 12 retained in the second mold section 34 (see
As illustrated in
The mold M is then opened and the integral plastic body 28 is removed from the mold. Next, as illustrated in
In one particularly useful embodiment, that decorative structural plastic part 10 comprises the louvers or vanes 54 of an air register 56 such as found on a motor vehicle. See
The foregoing has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the embodiments to the precise form disclosed. Obvious modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings.
For example, the order of injecting the structural plastic resin 36 and decoration-compatible resin 44 may be reversed where the structural plastic resin has a lower softening point temperature than the decoration-compatible resin. Thus, the method may include the steps of: (a) injecting a decoration-compatible plastic resin 44 into the mold M to form the decoration-compatible plastic layer 20, (b) injecting the structural plastic resin 36 into the mold against the decoration-compatible plastic layer to form the structural plastic layer 12 and the integral plastic part body 28, and (c) removing the integral plastic part body from the mold before applying the decoration 30 to the decoration-compatible plastic layer. Further, it should be appreciated that the mechanical bond 18 may take another form such as holes in the structural plastic layer 12 which receive locking posts of the decoration-compatible plastic layer 20.
All such modifications and variations are within the scope of the appended claims when interpreted in accordance with the breadth to which they are fairly, legally and equitably entitled.