Patent Application
20140272466
The present invention provides rolled surfaces having a dulled gloss finish. The dulled gloss finish has a uniform glossiness with a slightly matted appearance and with minimal directionality.
Surface finishes having a smooth surface are desirable for many manufactured items. Reducing the roughness of a conventional ground surface takes a long time and leads to an extreme sensitivity to grinding imperfections, so that the product can only be made on specialized high-gloss mills. Any imperfection appears immediately and ruins the product impression. Also, a residual directionality is often left in the surface so that the product cannot easily be mixed with others at different directions.
A matted surface, on the other hand, tends to be rougher and to look very grey. For many applications, the roughness is too great. In addition, the surfaces are difficult to produce and dirty, since roughened rolls tend to plough the surface and leave large amounts of fines which hinder further processing unless cleaned. The smearing caused by relative speeds between strip and work roll tends to limit the reductions and speeds that can be used in manufacture. Otherwise, an unusable surface will result.
The present invention solves these problems by providing rolled surfaces having a dulled gloss finish. The dulled gloss finish as described herein has a relatively uniform glossiness with a slightly matted appearance and with minimal directionality. The dulled gloss finish described herein combines the effect of an acceptable amount of gloss with the effect of uniform matting. By breaking off the roughness peaks on the roll and replacing them with a controlled smoothness, the product is not susceptible to smearing of the rough parameters and generating fines. The roughness also suppresses the tendency to be sensitive to minor imperfections in the gloss component. The surface is suitable for lithographic use and for can end use.
The surface of the work roll used for applying a dulled gloss finish on a metal substrate surface, as described herein, can have an Ra value of from 0.15 to 0.4 μm (e.g., from 0.20 to 0.4) and an Rz value of less than 3.0 μm. Optionally, the surface of the work roll has an Ra value of from 0.27 μm to 0.3 μm and an Rz value of less than 2.5 μm. The work roll can be a cold mill work roll.
A method of preparing a work roll for applying a dulled gloss finish on a metal substrate surface is also described herein. In one embodiment, the method includes the steps of roughening an unfinished work roll surface to form a roughened work roll surface, wherein the roughened work roll has an Ra of 0.20 μm or less and an Rz of 2.00 μm or less; polishing the roughened work roll surface to form a polished work roll surface having an Ra of less than 0.015 μm and an Rz of less than 0.25 μm; uniformly roughening the polished work roll surface to form a uniformly roughened work roll surface having an Ra of from 0.35 μm to 0.45 μm and an Rz of less than 5 μm; and finishing the uniformly roughened work roll surface to form a work roll surface, wherein the work roll surface has an Ra value of from 0.2 to 0.4 μm and an Rz value of less than 3.0 μm. Work rolls prepared according to this method are also described herein.
Further described herein are methods for forming a dulled gloss finish on a metal substrate. In one embodiment, the method includes the steps of roughening an unfinished work roll surface to form a roughened work roll surface, wherein the roughened work roll has an Ra of 0.20 μm or less and an Rz of 2.00 μm or less; polishing the roughened work roll surface to form a polished work roll surface having an Ra of less than 0.015 μm and an Rz of less than 0.25 μm; uniformly roughening the polished work roll surface to form a uniformly roughened work roll surface having an Ra of from 0.35 μm to 0.45 μm and an Rz of less than 5 μm; finishing the uniformly roughened work roll surface to form a work roll surface, wherein the work roll surface has an Ra value of from 0.2 to 0.4 μm and an Rz value of less than 3.0 μm; inserting the work roll in a cold mill; and cold rolling the metal substrate with the work roll to achieve the dulled gloss finish on the metal substrate. Optionally, the metal substrate can be aluminum or an aluminum alloy sheet. Optionally, the metal substrate can be a steel sheet.
The present invention solves these problems by providing a dulled gloss surface finish for rolled products. “Dulled gloss” finish, as used herein, refers to a finish having a relatively uniform glossiness with a slightly matted appearance. The dulled gloss finish can be characterized as having an appearance intermediate to that of a bright sheet finish (e.g., a foil-like finish) and a standard can stock finish. Optionally, the dulled gloss finish can be characterized as having a “satin-gloss” appearance. Optionally, the dulled gloss finish can be characterized as having a non-mirror like appearance. Also, the dulled gloss surface finish has minimum directionality when compared with a traditional rolled grit finish. The products having the dulled gloss surface finish described herein have a low level of roughness such that subsequent processing can be improved. For example, less lacquer is needed for coated products, such as can ends, and less customer material removal and processing (e.g., from lithography applications). Products prepared having the dulled gloss surface finish as described herein also exhibit eased manufacturability on standard rolling mills at high speeds and with large reductions in sheet thickness.
The formability of products prepared having the dulled gloss surface finish is improved over that of material with a standard metal with a “directional” surface. The products with improved formability prepared using the work rolls described herein are less prone to issues resulting from low formability, such as product cracking. Not to be bound by theory, this is due, in part, to the fact that the friction in direction 90° to the rolling direction is highest in the standard directional material. In the standard directional material, the forming loads are increased due to direct impingement from the topographical peaks created with a standard roll ground surface. In the products described herein, the number of peaks is lowered by at least 10% over the standard directional material. For example, the number of peaks can be lowered by at least 20%, at least 30%, at least 40%, at least 50%, at least 60%, at least 70%, at least 80%, at least 90%, or can be absent. Thus, the friction is balanced in all directions and the extreme loads from friction at the 90° component are lowered. Moreover, when a circular product, such as a can end, is formed from standard directional material, the resulting shape is not a perfect circle, but is “off-drawn” into a subtle elliptical shape with the largest diameter being in the 90° direction. This is a direct result of the higher friction (and hence higher forming load) in the 90° orientation. The operating window for forming can be widened with the surfaces described herein to manage the “off-drawn” phenomena.
The dulled gloss surface finish, as described herein, has been developed to replace the rolled grit surface. A view of the surface structure of the dulled gloss finish is shown in
The work roll is made by smoothly finishing a roll before shot blasting it and subjecting it to a final polish. A roughened work roll for a rolling mill made, for example, by sandblasting, can be polished to smooth the upper peaks of the rough surface. The resulting sheet surface can contain a flattish base (i.e., a gloss) dulled by the residual roughness from the rough roll. Optionally, small micro-peaks randomly scattered over the surface can remain. The finish can be generated at high speed and with normal pass reductions in a cold mill.
In some embodiments, the surfaces described herein can be prepared according to a series of steps as described herein. The modified surfaces are characterized herein by various parameters, including Ra and Rz, which are measured in micrometers (microns) and are known to those of skill in the art. Optionally, the parameters can be measured using the MountainsMap® Surface Imaging and Metrology software (Digital Surf; Besancon, France). All roughness values can be mechanically measured with a standard stylus. An unfinished work roll is used for preparing the roll having the finish described herein. Unfinished work rolls appropriate for use can be obtained from a commercial source, such as, for example, Steinhoff GmbH & Cie. OHG (Dinslaken, Germany) and Union Electric Steel BVBA (Lummen, Belgium). The unfinished work roll can be a metal roll, such as, for example, a steel work roll. Optionally, the unfinished work roll is a smooth work roll that does not contain any scratch marks.
The unfinished work roll is then ground, using a grit wheel, to form a ground work roll. The unfinished work roll is ground until a target roughness is achieved. The target roughness after the grinding step can be characterized by an Ra of 0.2 μm or less. For example, the target roughness in Ra after the grinding step can be 0.19 μm or less, 0.18 μm or less, 0.17 μm or less, 0.16 μm or less, or 0.15 μm or less. The target roughness after the grinding step can be characterized by an Rz of 2.00 μm or less. For example, the target roughness in Rz after the grinding step can be 1.80 μm or less, 1.60 μm or less, 1.40 μm or less, 1.20 μm or less, or 1.00 μm or less. Suitable grit wheels for achieving the target roughness in the work roll include 360 and below grit wheels. For example, suitable grit wheels include a 360 grit wheel, a 320 grit wheel, a 280 grit wheel, a 220 grit wheel, and a 180 grit wheel.
The ground work roll is then polished, using a superfinisher, to achieve an Ra of less than 0.015 μm and an Rz of less than 0.25 μm. For example, the Ra of the work roll after the superfinishing step can be 0.014 μm, 0.013 μm, 0.012 μm, 0.011 μm, 0.010 μm, 0.009 μm, 0.008 μm, 0.007 μm, 0.006 μm, 0.005 μm, 0.004 μm, 0.003 μm, 0.002 μm, or 0.001 μm. The Rz of the work roll after the superfinishing step can be less than 0.20 μm, less than 0.15 μm, less than 0.10 μm, or less than 0.05 μm. Suitable superfinishers include the Loser Model SF 100 (Waldemar Loser KG Machinenfabrik; Speyer, Germany) or a GEM 04150-M or 08150-C Superfinisher commercially available from Grinding Equipment & Machinery Co. (Youngstown, Ohio). Following the superfinishing step, the surface of the roll can have a mirror-like appearance.
The roll can then be uniformly roughened to achieve an Ra of from 0.35 μm to 0.45 μm and an Rz of less than 5 μm. For example, the Ra can be 0.45 μm, 0.44 μm, 0.43 μm, 0.42 μm, 0.41 μm, 0.40 μm, 0.39 μm, 0.38 μm, 0.37 μm, 0.36 μm, or 0.35 μm. The Rz of the roll following the roughening process can be less than 5 μm (e.g., less than 4.8 μm, less than 4.6 μm, less than 4.4 μm, less than 4.2 μm, less than 4.0 μm, less than 3.8 μm, less than 3.6 μm, less than 3.4 μm, less than 3.2 μm, or less than 3.0 μm). The roughening step can be performed using a grit blaster. Optionally, the grit blaster can include a 220 grit containing Al2O3 particles. In some examples, the preferred grit application and exhaust pressure and differential is from 2.5 bar to 4.5 bar. The roughening step can optionally be performed using a shot peening method. As used herein, shot peening refers to impacting the surface of the roll with particles using sufficient force to roughen the surface.
The roughened roll can then be finished using a polisher. Optionally, a 9 μm graded abrasive film polishing band is used to polish the roughened roll. The polisher can be passed over the roll up to four times (e.g., 1 time, 2 times, 3 times, or 4 times) until the desired Ra and Rz values are achieved. The roll after the finishing step can have an Ra of from 0.2 μm to 0.4 μm (e.g., from 0.22 μm to 0.37 μm, 0.25 μm to 0.35 μm, or from 0.27 μm to 0.3 μm). For example, the finished roll can have an Ra of 0.2 μm, 0.21 μm, 0.22 μm, 0.23 μm, 0.24 μm, 0.25 μm, 0.26 μm, 0.27 μm, 0.28 μm, 0.29 μm, 0.30 μm, 0.31 μm, 0.32 μm, 0.33 μm, 0.34 μm, 0.35 μm, 0.36 μm, 0.37 μm, 0.38 μm, 0.39 μm, or 0.40 μm). The Rz of the finished roll can be below 3 μm (e.g., below 2.5 μm). For example, the Rz of the finished roll can be below 3 μm, below 2.9 μm, below 2.8 μm, below 2.7 μm, below 2.6 μm, below 2.5 μm, below 2.4 μm, below 2.3 μm, below 2.2 μm, below 2.1 μm, or below 2.0 μm. Optionally, a single use film polishing band is used to polish the roughened roll. In some examples, a continuously rotating belt polisher or grinder is not used.
The roll can be used in a mill to produce the finish as described herein. Optionally, one or both sides of the roll can be treated. For example, one or both sides of the roll can be treated using one or more of the following steps: texturing, controlled surface modification, media blasting, chrome coating, and embossing. The final finished roll can be analyzed using a Gardner Gloss meter as described in Example 1. The work roll as described herein (i.e., the final roll) can then be used for rolling processes, including cold rolling. For example, the final roll can be used in a mill that includes a cold roll step. Optionally, multiple work rolls as described herein can be used in a mill. For example, two work rolls as described herein can be used to simultaneously or tandemly finish both sides of a metal substrate.
Metal substrates can be cold rolled using the work rolls described herein to prepare products having a dulled gloss finish. Optionally, the metal substrate can be an aluminum or aluminum alloy sheet. Optionally, the metal substrate can be a steel sheet. For example, the aluminum alloys can be alloys from the 1000, 3000, or 5000 alloy families according to the Aluminum Association Register.
The dulled gloss finish described herein is suitable for any product that would benefit from a dulled gloss finish lacking strong directionality and having limited surface peaks (e.g., litho applications, can applications, and lacquer applications). For example, the dulled gloss finish described herein can be suitable for can ends, reflectors, painted and laminated products, signage, transportation, anodizing quality, and decorative finishes. In one embodiment, the can end is the end of a beverage can. An advantage of this finish is that there is a potential for saving coating weights since the roughness peak volumes are reduced for a similar average transverse roughness. Optionally, the dulled gloss finish described herein can be suitable for aesthetic applications, including for electronics (e.g., external surfaces of electronics) and for other applications where visual reflection is desired. Exemplary electronics suitable for the dulled gloss finish include computers, cell phones, automobiles, notepads, and the like.
The following examples will serve to further illustrate the present invention without, at the same time, however, constituting any limitation thereof. On the contrary, it is to be clearly understood that resort may be had to various embodiments, modifications and equivalents thereof which, after reading the description herein, may suggest themselves to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention.
Reflection measurements and confocal microscopy were used to generate quantitative data from the following three finishes: bright rolled finish, standard grit finish, and the dulled gloss finish (DGF) described herein. The data were analyzed to detect parameters that numerically distinguish the DGF finish from the other surface finishes. The visual appearance of the DGF finish is of a satin like gloss with minimal directionality, and significantly different from the usual rolled grit finish.
Material was taken from the dulled gloss finish production series and compared to both bright rolled surfaces and traditionally rolled surfaces on similar products.
The dulled gloss finish (DGF) has been applied to AA1050 (as litho) and AA5182 (as Can End) alloys on whole coils with satisfactory uniformity and repeatability. Other 3000 series alloys have also been successfully rolled as warm-up coils, without having taken any samples.
One finish that was produced was a mixture of a grit finish with the DGF overlaid. This finish provided the dull sheen appearance, but was visually considered to be too directional, almost like the normal grit finish, and thus was declared unsatisfactory for product use.
The material was at first analyzed with a Gardner Gloss meter at 20°, 60° and 85° angles. The gloss measurement procedure adequately indicates reflectivity differences for metals.
A sample of each surface was then analyzed with a Nanofocus confocal microscope to generate a height distribution of a representative surface area from which numerical surface parameters were generated.
A 20× objective was used, giving a surface area of 0.8 mm×0.8 mm for analysis. The raw measured surface data contained form and waviness components which had to be removed. There is no standardized way for doing this on generalized 3D surfaces, and the procedure applied was as follows: form removal by 2nd order polynomial, calculated for each surface individually (this removes any general large scale surface curvature); waviness removal by applying a robust Gaussian filter with cut off at 0.08 mm, and with edge management so that the resulting area was still 0.8×0.8 mm2 (this removes the smaller scale waves or undulations such that a flat roughness surface is left). This is the surface used to compare to the equivalent rolled-grit or high-gloss roughness surface.
The resulting roughness surface may still contain individual extreme excursions caused by the measurement technique or dust, etc. These were removed by applying a threshold such that any upper and lower excursions were removed approximately symmetrically about the median height level leaving a 2 μm range of each sample for analysis. This was adequate for all the surfaces studied without having any significant feature removed. The points outside the thresholds were set as “missing data”.
To measure distinctiveness (clarity) of image, the standard gloss measurement was used in both parallel and transverse orientations to the rolling direction. This indicates a difference in reflectance, and hence an indication of a) “glossiness” and b) anisotropy. The effect varies with angle of incidence, so all three standard gloss measuring angles were used (20°, 60°,85°). The gloss results for the variants are given in Table 1 below.
The confocal microscope surfaces generated the following data which was analyzed with the MountainsMap SARL Digital Surf software package (Besancon, France) using methods either commonly accepted or adhering to the ISO standards. The confocally evaluated surface parameters after 2 μm thresholding are shown in Table 2.
The isotropy function was zero for totally directional surface, and 100% for an isotropic surface. The parameter was generated from the surface FFT with thresholds of 5% (low) and 50% (high).
Sa and Sku are as defined in International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Standards 2517-28, and the projected areas are from a slice through the surface at two height positions, arbitrarily chosen as quartiles, 25% and 50% up from zero.
The motif maxima were taken from a waterfall analysis of the 3D data assuming that points within 15% height threshold belong together.
Due to the differing surface structures, the motif numbers cannot be compared between the different categories.
The 20° gloss level shows that the finish lies between high gloss and standard grit, both parallel and transverse to the rolling direction (see
The values at 60° angle are shown in
This comes out clearly at 85°, where the anisotropy of the rolled grit finishes is still large, whereas the DGF on grit is nearer the true DGF finish level without anisotropy (see
The calculated isotropy of the surfaces is shown in
The projected areas at the quartile positions give an indication of the material distribution over the surface. The Sku parameter is a similar parameter based on the width of the assumed normal distribution of the heights. These are shown in
There are measurable differences between the bright finish, rolled grit finish, and the new DGF finish that can be quantified. The 20° gloss lies between 500 and 1100 units, well separated from both rolled grit and bright finish. At 60° the gloss anisotropy is half that of rolled grit, and still separated in the transverse direction by >=200 units. The ratio of parallel to transverse gloss at both 20° and 60° angles is well below 1.5, whereas grit finish is well above this. At 85° incidence, the DGF appears isotropic, like bright finish, whereas the rolled grit finish is still anisotropic. Confocal microscopy shows the surface frequency based isotropy to lie between 15% and 30%. Bright finish is over 30% and grit finish below 5%. The Sa of the roughness surface shows DGF to be similar to bright and around 0.05 mm, well away from the grit finished applied. The Sku and projected area above 50% height parameters are best judged against each other, giving clear boundary regions for the 3 surfaces.
All patents, publications and abstracts cited above are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Various embodiments of the invention have been described in fulfillment of the various objectives of the invention. It should be recognized that these embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles of the present invention. Numerous modifications and adaptations thereof will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined in the following claims.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/788,637, filed Mar. 15, 2013, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61788637 | Mar 2013 | US |
