Gradient master color standard colorant

Abstract

This invention discloses a gradient metering standard color masterbatch and its application method, belonging to the field of plastic color matching technology. Addressing the problems of poor dispersibility of traditional color masterbatches, difficulty in adapting customized color masterbatches to matching parts with color differences, and serious pollution from pigment processing, this invention first prepares micro-volume color masterbatches with a diameter and length ≤1mm, enabling uniform dispersion with a single color addition of 0.5% or more. It also establishes a gradient metering color masterbatch library, setting the pigment content in 500g of color masterbatch according to a geometric progression, achieving a micro-color adjustment capability of 0.01g / 100kg. During color matching, a color masterbatch of corresponding concentration is selected based on the target pigment usage. The addition amount is accurately calculated using the formula: weight = target usage / concentration × 500, allowing for the mixing of multiple color masterbatches. This invention combines the flexible fine-tuning capability of pigments with the cleanliness and stability of color masterbatches, completely eliminating pigment pollution, eliminating shear force interference, significantly improving color consistency between complex components, and adapting to intelligent manufacturing.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of plastic color matching technology, and more specifically to a coloring system for plastic color matching and its application method. Background Technology

[0002] In the field of plastic molding and processing, especially in scenarios with high appearance requirements such as cosmetic packaging, color difference control has long been a dilemma:

[0003] If pigment powder is used for coloring, although it can flexibly handle small-batch color changes, there are three major pain points: ① dust pollution of the environment and health; ② the need for a stirring process, human variables leading to color difference; ③ pigment particles are sensitive to shear force, and in complex structures such as uneven thickness and curved surfaces, the shear difference can easily cause flow channel color difference, resulting in different colors of different kits.

[0004] Using custom color masterbatches can avoid dust and mixing issues, but it faces two major bottlenecks: ① There is a mass production threshold, and small-batch orders cannot be customized; ② Even when using the same color masterbatch, in complex kits (such as thick-walled shells with thin-walled clips), the pigment release rate will still deviate due to differences in shear heat and cooling rates, resulting in color differences between different kits. At this time, the machine needs to be stopped for fine-tuning, but fine-tuning often forces a return to on-site color powder mixing, which introduces dust pollution and process instability again.

[0005] Therefore, the industry urgently needs a new coloring system that combines the flexible fine-tuning capability of pigments with the cleanliness and stability of color masterbatches, and can accommodate differences in kit wall thickness. This invention is proposed based on this need. Summary of the Invention

[0006] 1. Preparation of micro-volume color masterbatch

[0007] To address the issue that traditional color masterbatches (approximately 3mm in diameter, 3mm in length, and 21.2mm³ in volume) require an addition of more than 4% to achieve uniform dispersion, this invention improves the process:

[0008] • Change the discharge port diameter of the masterbatch extruder to 1mm to control the masterbatch diameter at 1mm. Figure 1 );

[0009] • The traction speed and rotary cutter speed of the masterbatch pelletizer are controlled separately. This increases the rotary cutter speed compared to the traction speed to three times the conventional rate, ensuring the masterbatch length is controlled within 1mm. Figure 2 )

[0010] Micro-volume masterbatches with a diameter ≤1mm and a length ≤1mm were obtained, with a volume of approximately 0.785mm³. Figure 3 It is 1 / 27th the size of traditional masterbatch, with a 27-fold increase in particle count, ensuring uniform dispersion with a single color addition of only 0.4%.

[0011] 2. Establishment of a gradient metrology colorimetric library – the core of this invention

[0012] This invention proposes and protects a method for constructing gradient metering masterbatches: using 500g of masterbatch as a baseline, the content of pigment in each 500g of masterbatch is set according to a certain multiple relationship to prepare a series of standardized single-color masterbatches.

[0013] Taking twice the amount of pigment as an example: the pigment content in every 500g of masterbatch is 0.01g, 0.02g, 0.04g, 0.08g, 0.16g, 0.32g, 0.64g, 1.28g, 2.56g, 5.12g, 10.24g, 20.48g, 40.96g, 81.92g, 163.84g, and 327.68g respectively.

[0014] This gradient design has the following characteristics:

[0015] • Geometric sequence relationship: Adjacent gradients have the same multiple relationship. When mixing colors, select the corresponding concentration of color masterbatch according to the amount of target pigment used, and achieve precise addition by adjusting the weighing weight;

[0016] • Full-range coverage: From 20ppm to 65.5% concentration, meeting all addition requirements;

[0017] • Specification consistency: Avoid weighing more than 1000g of a single color masterbatch of a single concentration, and ensure that the amount of each single color masterbatch added in the formula is not less than its dispersion threshold.

[0018] 3. Color Matching Application Method Based on Gradient Measurement

[0019] • Color masterbatch selection: Select a single-color color masterbatch of corresponding concentration from the gradient library based on the amount of each pigment used in the target color.

[0020] • Weighing Calculation: Calculate the weight of each color masterbatch according to the formula. For example, if 0.07g of a certain pigment is needed, and a color masterbatch with a concentration of 0.04g / 500g is selected, then the weighing weight = (0.07 / 0.04) × 500 = 875g.

[0021] • Multi-color combination: Calculate the weight of the masterbatch corresponding to each pigment separately, and then mix multiple masterbatches together. The number of colors depends on the complexity and is not subject to a hard limit.

[0022] • Dosage control: If the amount of a single color masterbatch used in the formula exceeds 1000 grams, a masterbatch with twice the pigment content can be selected. Starting from 500 grams, the proportion of each single color masterbatch in the final formula shall not be less than 10%, which is far higher than the traditional dispersion threshold of 4%, ensuring uniform color.

[0023] • Kit compatibility: For kits with varying thicknesses and complex curved surfaces, the amount of color masterbatch added to different kits can be finely adjusted to achieve precise fine-tuning.

[0024] 4. Production Implementation Method

[0025] When used in conjunction with a color masterbatch metering and adding machine with a central mixing chamber, it enables online mixing, precise metering, and direct loading of multiple color masterbatches, resulting in low-labor, high-efficiency production.

[0026] Beneficial effects

[0027] 1. Overcoming the limitation of particle size on dispersibility: It can be evenly dispersed with an addition of more than 0.5%, and is suitable for ultra-micro color matching at the 0.04g / 100kg level.

[0028] 2. Reduced overall usage: Even coloring can be achieved without reaching 4% of the total amount, resulting in a significant reduction in the overall amount of color masterbatch used.

[0029] 3. Precise and controllable measurement: Gradient color masterbatch allows for precise control of trace additions through simple weighing calculations. For example, 0.07g of pigment can be weighed using 875g of color masterbatch with a concentration of 0.04g / 500g, completely solving the problem of trace measurement.

[0030] 4. Eliminate shear force interference: Unaffected by differences in melt shear force, the color consistency among complex kits is greatly improved.

[0031] 5. Completely eliminate pigment pollution: No need for pigment weighing or stirring, eliminating dust at the source and avoiding color differences caused by human factors.

[0032] 6. Achieve standardized production: Colors are produced in a standardized manner according to gradients, which not only meets the flexible needs of small batches, but also solves the problem of the threshold for mass production of customized color masterbatches.

[0033] 7. Adapt to intelligent manufacturing: When used with metering and adding equipment, it enables precise online proportioning, improving production stability and traceability. Attached Figure Description

[0034] Figure 1 Modify the discharge die of the masterbatch extruder. The traditional discharge port diameter is 3 mm, but because fine particles are required, the discharge port diameter is changed to 1 mm.

[0035] Figure 2 In a normal masterbatch pelletizer, the traction speed and the rotating blade speed are constant. However, because it is necessary to make the masterbatch finer, the machine is modified to control the traction and rotating blade separately, which can cut masterbatch with a length of 1 mm.

[0036] Figure 3 Size comparison between traditional masterbatch and gradient standard color matching masterbatch.

Claims

1. A colouring system for the colouring of plastics, characterised in that The coloring system comprises a series of colorant units designed according to gradient concentrations; The gradient concentration refers to the amount of colorant contained in each colorant unit, which is set according to a constant multiple relationship greater than 1, based on a fixed mass of colorant units, so that the adjacent concentration gradients have a geometric progression relationship.

2. The coloring system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The colorant unit is any one or more combinations of color masterbatch, color sand, color flakes or color paste.

3. The coloring system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The colorant units contain colorants in a constant multiple relationship, selected from 2 times, 3 times or other constant multiples greater than 1.

4. The coloring system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The colorant unit has its colorant content set according to the constant multiple relationship, and the finished weight of each colorant unit is a fixed value. The fixed finished weight means that colorant units of different concentrations are all measured using the same standard weight (e.g., 500g / unit), so that precise addition can be achieved by simply calculating the weight based on the ratio of the target colorant dosage to the selected concentration during color matching.

5. The coloring system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The colorant unit includes colorant units of various carrier resins, and the colorant units of various carrier resins are adapted to different macromolecular resins (plastics).

6. The coloring system according to claim 4, characterized in that, If the constant multiple relationship is 2 times, and 500g is used as a fixed weight as a benchmark, the specific content of the gradient concentration pigment is as follows: 0.01g, 0.02g, 0.04g, 0.08g, 0.16g, 0.32g, 0.64g, 1.28g, 2.56g, 5.12g, 10.24g, 20.48g, 40.96g, 81.92g, 163.84g, 327.68g (color content per 500g colorant unit).

7. The coloring system according to claim 4, characterized in that, The constant multiple of the colorant is n times, and the final single colorant is based on a fixed weight of n grams.

8. A colorant for color matching in plastics, characterized in that, The colorant comprises a variety of single-color masterbatches designed at different concentration ratios, and a metering algorithm is performed based on a single-color threshold; The monochrome threshold refers to the lower limit of the amount of each monochrome masterbatch added in the final color formula, and the metering algorithm refers to the method of calculating the weight of the masterbatch based on the ratio of the amount of the target colorant to the concentration of the selected masterbatch.

9. The colorant according to claim 8, characterized in that, The monochrome threshold is higher than 4% in the colorant formulation.

10. The coloring system or colorant according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that, The gradient concentration design allows for precise addition by calculating the required weight of colorant units using a formula based on the ratio of the target colorant dosage to the concentration of the selected colorant unit during color matching.

11. A color matching method based on the coloring system or colorant according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: Based on the target amount of a certain coloring powder in the target color, select a colorant unit of corresponding concentration from the coloring system; Calculate the required weight of the colorant unit using the following formula: For a target color composed of multiple colorants, the above steps are repeated for each colorant to obtain multiple colorant units and their weighing weights, and then the multiple colorant units are mixed and used.

12. A monochrome colorant unit produced according to any one of the coloring systems or colorants of claims 1 to 10.

13. A color kit comprising the coloring system or colorant of any one of claims 1 to 10.

14. A product comprising color chips, color sand, and other products manufactured using the technology of claim 1.

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