Corrugated or stamped sheet metal

Abstract

Grooving or stamping sheet metal, with a tensile-resistant, flexible base plate and with a linear elevation running along the base plate, which is designed as a cutting edge punch line or as a bead-like groove line, characterized by that the survey was produced using an additive manufacturing process.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a creasing or die-cutting plate with a tensile-resistant, flexible base plate that allows the creasing or die-cutting plate to be clamped onto a die-cutting cylinder of a die-cutting device, whereby, for example, a rubber blanket cylinder of a printing press can also be used as the die-cutting cylinder. The creasing or die-cutting plate is provided with a linear projection running along the base plate, which is designed as a cutting edge or as a bead-like creasing line. A die-cutting plate of this type is known from DE 17 91 853 U.

[0002] To produce the stamped sheets, it is known to cover a steel sheet with protective lines, for example in the form of a protective coating, and then reduce the thickness of the steel sheet by etching to the thickness of the desired base plate, whereby only the linear areas covered by the protective coating retain their original thickness and thus form the raised areas. By a machining process, the raised areas are then given the desired cross-sectional contour, for example a triangular cross-section with a tip designed as a cutting edge to create a stamping line, or an arc-shaped cross-section, similar to a U rotated by 180°, to create a bead-like grooved line.

[0003] The invention is based on the objective of improving a generic creasing or stamping sheet in such a way that it can be provided particularly cost-effectively and within a short time.

[0004] Features according to the invention are specified in claim 1. Further advantageous aspects, details and embodiments of the invention will become apparent from the dependent claims and the description.

[0005] A grooved or stamped sheet is proposed, with a tensile-resistant, flexible base plate and with a linear elevation running on the base plate, which is designed as a cutting edge stamping line or as a bead-like grooved line, wherein the elevation is produced by an additive manufacturing process.

[0006] In other words, the invention proposes that the raised areas of the grooved or stamped sheet metal are produced by an additive manufacturing process. For the sake of linguistic simplicity, the term "stamped sheet metal" will be used throughout, regardless of whether the raised areas are designed as stamping lines or as grooved lines, and thus whether it may also be a grooved sheet metal. In the production of a stamped sheet metal of this type, the raised areas are created by removing material from the aforementioned steel sheet over a surface area that is typically significantly more than 90%. For example, assuming that the stamping lines have a height of 0.6 mm and the base plate a thickness of 0.2 mm, the steel sheet provided has a thickness of 0.8 mm, whereby its thickness is reduced by at least 70% over more than 90% of its surface area.Well over 70% of the material provided as a steel sheet is therefore processed, namely removed, to create the stamped sheet. In comparison, the grooved or stamped sheet according to the invention only requires processing of the material that actually forms the stamped sheet, namely providing the base plate in the desired thickness and producing the raised areas using an additive manufacturing process.

[0007] Although the additive manufacturing process itself is not considered very fast, it has surprisingly been found that the time required to produce the stamped sheet can still be reduced. This is because, compared to the initial volume of a steel plate that would be used to produce the same stamped sheet, the significant reduction in the volume of material to be processed ultimately enables faster production. Furthermore, avoiding an etching process and the materials used in it is environmentally advantageous. Finally, the production of the stamped sheet is also economically advantageous due to the significantly smaller amount of material to be processed.

[0008] Additive manufacturing processes include sintering processes such as laser sintering when working with a powdered starting material. If a liquid plastic is used as the starting material, polymerization can occur within the liquid bath, for example, through photopolymerization. When working with a solid material, in addition to powder, a filament in the form of a wire made of metal or plastic can be used. This filament can then be melted and extruded through a nozzle using a process known as 3D printing.

[0009] In one embodiment, it may be provided that the collection is made of a plastic material.

[0010] The creasing or die-cutting plate can be designed such that the raised section is made of a plastic material, preferably that the raised section is made of a plastic material. Not only the bead-shaped creasing lines, but surprisingly also the cutting die lines exhibit a surprisingly long service life, making them ideally suited for certain applications. This applies, firstly, to the material quality and thickness of the material to be cut. According to initial, non-public tests, die-cutting plates with plastic die lines are particularly suitable for die-cutting paper, but as expected, thin metal foils can also be processed with them.

[0011] Secondly, this concerns the quantities of items to be produced or die-cut, e.g., the number of sheets of paper to be die-cut. Especially for smaller batch sizes, the cost-effective and quickly available design of a die-cutting plate with plastic die lines represents an advantageous alternative to one with metal die lines. Short-notice special campaigns requiring scored and / or die-cut flat materials, particularly paper, can therefore be implemented and carried out very quickly and at advantageously low costs using such a scoring or die-cutting plate. Furthermore, scoring or die-cutting plates with plastic raised sections can be used temporarily, e.g.,when orders have to be carried out under particularly high time pressure or when a creasing or stamping plate with metallic protrusions in use is damaged, and in these cases the creasing or stamping plate with plastic protrusions is used until a creasing or stamping plate with metallic protrusions is ready for use.

[0012] As a particularly alternative form of further training, it can be envisaged that the raised section consists of a metallic material produced using an additive manufacturing process. In this way, the advantages associated with additive manufacturing processes, as described above, can be realized. Furthermore, the metallic raised sections can prove to be particularly resistant, so that, for example, even the processing of large series with long service lives is not hindered by material fatigue or similar issues.

[0013] It may be advantageous for the base plate to be made of a plastic material.

[0014] Such a grooved or die-cutting sheet with plastic raised areas can be designed in such a way that the base plate also has a plastic material, preferably consisting of a plastic material. This ensures a secure connection of the raised areas to the base plate, so that the raised areas do not detach from the base plate when the die-cutting sheet is bent and clamped onto the die-cutting cylinder. The reliable connection of the raised areas to the base plate can be ensured, for example, by bonding or cold welding, so that the raised areas and the base plate are virtually seamlessly monolithic, and in particular, materially bonded. If the raised areas are produced by means of the aforementioned 3D printing, droplets of molten plastic material come into contact with the base plate.The base plate can be heated so that the thermal energy in the plastic droplets impacting the base plate is sufficient to enable fusion with the base plate, thus ensuring a strong bond between the raised sections and the base plate. Despite the plastic materials used, the traditional term "stamped sheet" is retained. However, the present invention is not limited to a grooved or stamped sheet with a metallic base plate.

[0015] It can be particularly advantageous for the plastic material to contain reinforcing fibers.

[0016] A die-cutting or stamping plate where the raised area is made of a plastic material can be designed in such a way that the plastic material contains reinforcing fibers. In practice, for example, plastic filaments for 3D printing are available that contain reinforcing fibers and can produce raised areas with excellent mechanical stability, thus enabling surprisingly long service lives for the corresponding die-cutting plate.

[0017] Furthermore, it may be provided, as part of further training, that the plastic material contains carbon fibers as reinforcing fibers.

[0018] Such a grooved or stamped sheet, in which the plastic material contains reinforcing fibers, can be designed in such a way that the plastic material contains carbon fibers as reinforcing fibers. The carbon fibers provide excellent reinforcement of the plastic base material. Similarly, it can be provided that essentially metallic raised areas incorporate reinforcing fibers, in particular the aforementioned carbon fibers.

[0019] In one embodiment, it may be provided that the plastic material contains metallic or ceramic reinforcing elements.

[0020] The grooved or stamped sheet can be designed in such a way that the plastic material contains metallic or ceramic reinforcing elements. Such reinforcing elements can be in the form of particles or elongated fibers, and they can be present as the sole reinforcing material or in combination with other reinforcing materials made of different materials within the plastic material or in another material, for example, in addition to the reinforcing fibers mentioned above.

[0021] For a particularly preferred further development, it may be provided that the base plate and the elevation are made of the same material and are manufactured together using the additive manufacturing process.

[0022] The grooved or stamped sheet can be designed such that the base plate and the raised section are made of the same material, in particular, consist of the same material, and are manufactured together using an additive manufacturing process. This is surprising because, as mentioned above, additive manufacturing processes are generally not known for their speed. However, due to the thinness of the base plate, it can also be manufactured using the same additive manufacturing process as the raised section, so that the base plate and one or more raised sections can be produced in a single operation, resulting in a virtually monolithic design of the stamped sheet. This ensures that the raised section connects to the base plate with exceptional reliability and high mechanical strength.

[0023] Preferably, it can be provided that a raised area designed as a punch line and a groove line are arranged on the base plate.

[0024] The creasing or scoring plate can be designed such that a raised section, configured as a cutting line, and a crease line are arranged on the base plate. This is advantageous in several respects when the flat material to be processed, for example, a paper web or several sheets of paper, is to be both die-cut and scored. Separate cutting and scoring plates do not need to be manufactured; instead, the cutting and scoring lines are located together on the same base plate. This allows such a cutting plate to be produced in a particularly short time compared to the manufacturing time for two separate cutting and scoring plates. The precision with which the flat material is processed is also improved because both the cutting lines and the grooves are created in a single operation.The exact positioning of the dividing lines and grooves is ensured in this process, whereas in two consecutive work steps, where the dividing lines and grooves are produced sequentially, the precise alignment of the creasing or die-cutting plate used for the second work step is prone to errors and requires considerable time. To produce the dividing lines and grooves in a single work step, a protective plate can be mounted on the counter-pressure cylinder. This plate has an outer protective layer made of a rubber-elastic material, for example, a so-called latex sheet, which can have a layer thickness of 0.4 mm to 1 mm, advantageously, for example, 0.7 mm.

[0025] In one embodiment, it may be provided that the survey is produced using a filament printing process.

[0026] The scoring or die-cutting plate can be designed in such a way that the raised area is produced using a filament printing process. Initial, non-public trials have shown that the raised areas can be produced with suitable mechanical stability using this so-called 3D printing process, and that the entire die-cutting plate—namely, the base plate and the raised areas—can be manufactured monolithically from a single piece. The plastic filaments used for this purpose are commercially available in materials that, with their embedded reinforcing elements, ensure the appropriate mechanical strength of the die-cutting and scoring lines without requiring any post-processing to improve their mechanical strength.The plastic material also ensures the necessary tensile strength of the base plate, while the plastic component within the material provides the required flexibility of the die-cutting sheet, allowing it to be easily bent and clamped onto the die-cutting cylinder. Alternatively, metallic filaments can be used, either in addition to a plastic material or as a complement to create the aforementioned raised areas using a filament printing process.

[0027] Mechanical post-processing of the 3D printed die-cut sheet can be carried out in the form of conventional engraving to contour the die-cut and / or scoring lines. In particular, the die-cut lines can be machined in this way to give them a cutting edge.

[0028] In comparison, the rounded, bead-shaped grooves can also be post-processed and contoured by engraving. Depending on the precision of the additive manufacturing process, for example, the 3D filament printer used, they can also be printed without post-processing, which allows a grooved or stamped sheet designed according to the invention to be provided with further time savings and thus within a particularly short time.

[0029] Another aspect of the invention relates to an additive manufacturing process, in particular a 3D printing process and / or a sintering process for producing a creasing or stamping sheet according to the invention. Regarding the process design, reference is made to the preceding description.

[0030] Further features, details, and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the wording of the claims and the description. The invention is not limited to one of the embodiments described above, but can be modified in a variety of ways. All features and advantages arising from the claims and the description, including design details, spatial arrangements, and process steps, can be essential to the invention, both individually and in various combinations. QUOTES INCLUDED IN THE DESCRIPTION

[0000] This list of documents submitted by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the convenience of the reader. This list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions. Cited patent literature

[0000] DE 17 91 853 U

[0001]

Claims

[1] Creasing or punching sheet, with a tensile, flexible base plate and with a linear elevation running on the base plate, which is designed as a cutting line forming a cutting edge or as a bead-like creasing line, characterized by , that the elevation is produced by an additive manufacturing process. [2] Creasing or punching sheet according to claim 1, characterized by that the elevation is made of a plastic material. [3] Creasing or punching sheet according to claim 2, characterized by that the base plate is also made of a plastic material. [4] Creasing or punching sheet according to claim 2 or 3, characterized by that the plastic material contains reinforcing fibers. [5] Creasing or punching sheet according to claim 4, characterized by that the plastic material contains carbon fibers as reinforcing fibers. [6] Creasing or punching sheet according to one of claims 2 to 5, characterized bythat the plastic material contains metallic or ceramic reinforcing elements. [7] Creasing or punching sheet according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the base plate and the elevation are made of the same material and are manufactured together using the additive manufacturing process. [8] Creasing or punching sheet according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that an elevation designed as a punching line and a creasing line are arranged on the base plate. [9] Creasing or punching sheet according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the elevation is produced using a filament printing process.