Manufacturing method of metal component and metal sheet

Abstract

To provide a technology for separably forming a metal component easily from a metal plate while holding a layout of an individual metal component and its surrounding metal plate, in a treatment of forming the metal component on the metal plate.SOLUTION: A method for manufacturing a metal component comprises: a first etching step of etching a first surface of a metal plate to form a recess in the metal plate to form a portion of the metal component in a thickness direction of the metal plate; a step of affixing a protective layer to the first surface; and a second etching step for etching a second surface opposite to the first surface of the metal plate to which the protective layer is affixed to form a recess in the metal plate to form a remaining portion of the metal component in a direction of the thickness of the metal plate.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a metal part and to a metal sheet. [Background technology]

[0002] There is a technology in which, in the etching process, metal parts are cut out (punched out) from a metal plate by etching to form separate, independent metal parts, and then an adhesive is transferred to the back surface of each separate, independent metal part to manufacture decorative metal stickers (see Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2018-134774 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the technology described in Patent Document 1, color printing is performed on the metal parts after they have been punched and divided, which makes the process complicated, as it is necessary to position the metal parts in a separate state so that the processing positions are not misaligned.In addition, no consideration is given to manufacturing the metal parts as a sheet while maintaining the overall layout including the surrounding metal plates, without punching and dividing the metal parts.

[0005] Therefore, a technique is provided for forming metal parts on a metal plate, which forms the metal parts in such a way that they can be easily separated from the metal plate while maintaining the layout of the individual metal parts and the metal plate around them. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a metal part, comprising the steps of: a first etching step of etching a first surface of a metal plate to form a recess in the metal plate and form a part of a metal component in a thickness direction of the metal plate; applying a protective layer to the first surface; and a second etching step of etching a second surface of the metal plate opposite the first surface to which the protective layer is attached to form a recess in the metal plate and form a remaining portion of the metal part in the thickness direction of the metal plate. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, in a process for forming metal parts on a metal plate, a technology can be provided that forms metal parts in such a way that they can be easily separated from the metal plate while maintaining the layout of each metal part and the metal plate around it. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1A] 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a method for manufacturing a metal component according to an embodiment. [Figure 1B] 4 is a flowchart showing an example of an etching process according to the embodiment. [Diagram 2] 5A to 5C are diagrams for explaining a method for manufacturing a metal part according to an embodiment. [Diagram 3] 1A to 1C are diagrams illustrating an example of the configuration of a metal part according to an embodiment. [Figure 4] 1A to 1C are diagrams illustrating examples of use of metal parts according to an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims, and not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the invention. Two or more features among the multiple features described in the embodiments may be arbitrarily combined. Also, the same reference numbers are used for identical or similar configurations, and duplicated descriptions are omitted. Also, in each figure, the up, down, left, right, front and back directions relative to the paper surface are used in the description in the text as the up, down, left, right, front and back directions of the parts (or components) in this embodiment.

[0010] First, a method for manufacturing a metal part corresponding to an embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to the flowchart of Fig. 1A and Fig. 2. Fig. 1A is a flowchart showing an example of a method for manufacturing a metal part corresponding to the embodiment. Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a cross section of a metal part manufactured according to the flowchart of Fig. 1A.

[0011] In Fig. 1A, in S101, an etching process (corrosion process) is performed on a first surface of a metal plate having a thickness of 0.1 mm to 0.15 mm, which is a raw material, so as to form a part of a metal part in the thickness direction of the metal plate. The metal plate may be made of stainless steel, for example, but may also be made of other metals, such as aluminum. Details of the etching process are as shown in Fig. 1B, and will be described in detail later.

[0012] Referring to FIG. 2, FIG. 2(A) shows a raw metal plate 200. The thickness of the metal plate 200 is enlarged for the purpose of explanation, but the actual thickness is 0.1 to 0.15 mm. When etching is performed with the upper surface as the first surface, the surface of the metal plate 200 is etched about halfway in the thickness direction, as shown in FIG. 2(B), and a recess 201 is formed. The width of the recess 201 is not uniform, and can be various widths. The depth of the recess 201 does not have to be uniform. The recess 201 forms a pattern on the surface of the metal plate 200. The recess 201 includes recesses that form the pattern of the metal part and recesses that form the outline of the metal part. The first surface becomes the surface of the seal.

[0013] Returning to the explanation of FIG. 1A, in the next step S102, an adhesive film is attached to the first surface as a protective layer. This adhesive film is a protective layer for preventing the first surface from being eroded when the second surface is etched, and an acid-resistant film that is not eroded by the etching process can be used. The acid-resistant film has a thickness of, for example, 0.4 mm, and is formed of an adhesive layer and a PET base material. The adhesive layer bonds the first surface and the PET base material, protecting the first surface from the etching process that is performed thereafter. Here, FIG. 2(B) shows a state in which the metal plate 200 is turned over and the adhesive film 202 is bonded to the first surface.

[0014] Returning to the explanation of FIG. 1A, in the next S103, an etching process is performed on the second surface (back surface) opposite to the first surface of the metal plate so as to form the remaining portion of the metal part in the thickness direction of the metal plate. As a result, as shown in FIG. 2(C), the etching process is performed so that the recess formed to connect with a part of the recess 201 formed in S101 penetrates the part corresponding to the outline of the metal part, forming a through hole 203, and the metal part is completed. The area surrounded by the through hole 203 constitutes the metal part 204. The recess 201 other than the part connected with the recess formed in S103 forms a pattern or the like on the first surface of the metal part 204. By the etching process on the second surface, each metal part 204 will be separated from the metal plate 200, but since the adhesive film 202 has been attached to the first surface in advance, each metal part 204 is held integrally without being separated or detached from the metal plate 200.

[0015] Returning to the explanation of FIG. 1A, in the next step S104, an adhesive is attached to the second surface of the metal plate. The adhesive may be a known material, but it is necessary to use an adhesive with a stronger adhesive strength than the adhesive layer of the adhesive film 202 attached as a protective layer on the first surface. This is to prevent the metal parts from sticking to the adhesive film 202 when the PET base material of the adhesive film 202 is peeled off. FIG. 2(E) shows the state in which adhesive 205 has been attached to each metal part 204.

[0016] Returning to the explanation of FIG. 1A, in the next S105, a release film is attached as a release layer to the adhesive on the second surface of the metal plate. FIG. 2(F) shows the state where the release film 206 is attached to the adhesive 205. Since the adhesive strength of the adhesive 205 is stronger than that of the adhesive layer of the adhesive film 202, when the adhesive film 202 is peeled off, the metal part 204 remains on the release film 206 side, and the other parts of the metal plate are separated from the metal part 204 together with the adhesive film 202. Therefore, by peeling off the adhesive film 202, only the metal part 204 is separated to the release film 206 side, and by peeling off the metal part 204 from the release film 206, it can be used as a metal seal.

[0017] Although not shown in Fig. 1A, the first surface may be colored after S101 and before the process of S102. In that case, an adhesive film is attached to the colored first surface in S102. Also, Fig. 1A shows a case where the formation of a release layer on the second surface of the metal sheet is carried out in two separate steps, S104 and S105, but it may be a single step by using a release film with an adhesive attached thereto.

[0018] Next, with reference to FIG. 1B, the details of the etching process in S101 and S103 in FIG. 1A will be described. First, in S111, the surface of the metal plate, which is the base material, is cleaned. In the following S112, photoresist is laminated on the front and back of the metal plate. In the following S113, a photomask corresponding to the contour and pattern of the metal part to be formed is placed on the metal plate and ultraviolet light is irradiated. As a result, the photoresist in the part not shielded by the photomask is exposed to light, and the pattern of the photomask is transferred. In the following S114, a development process is performed by removing the photoresist in the part not exposed to light in S113 with a chemical. As a result, the necessary parts are masked. In the following S115, a chemical (etchant) that dissolves metal is applied to the result of the development process in S114 to dissolve the unmasked parts, thereby forming the contour and pattern of the metal part. In the following S116, the resist is peeled off and washed, and then dried.

[0019] Next, referring to Fig. 3, an example of the configuration of a metal part manufactured by the manufacturing method of Fig. 1A is shown. Fig. 3(A) shows an example of the configuration of the first surface side of a sheet 300 including three metal parts. The sheet 300 includes metal parts 301, 302, and 303. The outline of each is defined by the through hole 203 in Fig. 2. Furthermore, the patterns 304 to 306 formed on each metal part are formed by the recess 201 in Fig. 2. The adhesive film 202 in Fig. 2 is attached to the first surface of the sheet 300. The adhesive film 202 is made of a PET base material and is therefore transparent, and is shown by a semi-transparent shaded area in Fig. 3.

[0020] FIG. 3(B) shows a configuration example of the second surface side of the sheet 300 including three metal parts. An adhesive 205 is attached to each of the metal parts 301, 302, and 303 of the sheet 300, and a release film 206 is further attached thereon. The outline of each is defined by the through hole 203 in FIG. 2, as in the case of the first surface. An identification number for identifying each metal part is formed on the second surface. The identification number may be formed so as to be defined by the through hole 203 in each etching process of S101 and S103. For example, in the case of a number in a circle as shown in FIG. 3(B), the number inside may be formed by the recess 201 by S101, and the outline of the outer circle may be formed by the through hole 203 by S101 and S103. In that case, an adhesive 205 may be attached to the identification number so that it adheres to the release film 206 side when the adhesive film 202 is peeled off. In this case, the metal parts can be easily identified because the identification numbers of the individual metal parts remain even when the adhesive film 202 is peeled off. The identification numbers may be formed only by the etching process of the second surface in S103, in which case they remain on the sheet 300 side when the adhesive film 202 is peeled off, and are separated from the corresponding metal parts.

[0021] An example of the identification number is shown by reference numbers 307 to 309 in FIG. 3(B), but the form of the identification number may be any form other than the circled number shown here. This allows the metal part to be used as a part when creating a model toy. The position where the identification number is given may be near the metal part associated with the identification number, or may be on the second surface side of the metal part. In this case, since the identification number is given on the adhesive surface side of the metal part, the number does not appear on the outside, and does not affect the appearance of the metal part. In this case, the depth of the recess for forming the identification number may be shallower than that formed by the recess 201.

[0022] 3(C) shows the state in which metal parts 301 to 303 have been removed from adhesive film 202 and release film 206, respectively. Metal parts 301 to 303 thus removed from release film 206 etc. are called metal stickers, decorative stickers, etching stickers etc., and can be used as parts for model toys such as plastic models. These stickers have an adhesive applied to the backside, so there is no need to apply them to the surface of the model toy with instant adhesive etc. as in the past.

[0023] FIG. 4 shows examples of use of metal parts 301 to 303. FIG. 4(A) shows an example of use of metal part 301, and similarly FIG. 4(B) shows an example of use of metal part 302, and FIG. 4(C) shows an example of use of metal part 303. In this way, the metal parts can be attached to each part of a model toy such as a plastic model to express a vent or the like. However, the use of the metal parts manufactured by the method corresponding to this embodiment is not limited to this, and they may be used to decorate the surface of a model toy such as a plastic model, or may be used as a mark or emblem for a model car or a model vehicle. In addition, the appearance of the metal parts is not limited to those shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, and they may have an appearance that expresses any pattern, figure, number, character, animal, plant, etc.

[0024] According to the manufacturing method of the metal part corresponding to the present embodiment described above, a connecting part called a gate that connects the metal part and the sheet, which was necessary in the past, is no longer necessary. The gate was provided to prevent the metal part from coming apart, but it was troublesome to separate the gate one by one when separating the metal part from the sheet. In addition, since it requires skill to separate the gate, it is necessary to be quite skilled in order to separate it cleanly. The metal member according to the manufacturing method of the present embodiment is not connected to the sheet via the gate, and can be used immediately by peeling it off from the adhesive film and the release film, so the metal part can be used simply and in a clean state.

[0025] In addition, the adhesive film used to prevent corrosion during the manufacturing process continues to protect the surfaces of metal parts even after the product is completed, allowing each metal part to remain in an undamaged, like-new condition until just before use.

[0026] The invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the gist of the invention.

Claims

1. a first etching step of etching a first surface of a metal plate to form a recess in the metal plate and form a part of a metal component in a thickness direction of the metal plate; applying a protective layer to the first surface; a second etching step of etching a second surface of the metal plate opposite to the first surface to which the protective layer is attached to form a recess in the metal plate and form a remaining portion of the metal part in a thickness direction of the metal plate; A method for manufacturing a metal part, comprising:

2. In the second etching step, a recess is formed that is connected to a part of the recess formed in the first etching step, thereby forming a through hole that forms an outline of the metal component; The manufacturing method according to claim 1 , wherein the metal part is configured to be separable from the metal plate by the through hole.

3. The method according to claim 2 , wherein the recesses formed in the first etching step other than the part form a pattern on the surface of the metal part.

4. The manufacturing method according to claim 2 , wherein in the second etching step, only a recess for forming the through hole is formed.

5. The manufacturing method according to claim 2 or 3, wherein in the second etching step, identification information for identifying the metal component is further formed.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the metal part has an appearance representing a pattern, a number, a figure, a character, an animal, or a plant.

7. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising the step of colouring the first surface after the first etching step and before the step of applying the protective layer.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of applying a release layer to the metal component at the second side after the second etching step.

9. The step of attaching the release layer includes: forming an adhesive layer on the metal component on the second surface; attaching the release layer to the metal part via the adhesive layer on the second surface; The method of claim 8, comprising:

10. The method of claim 8 or 9, wherein an adhesive strength of the protective layer to the first surface is weaker than an adhesive strength of the release layer to the second surface.

11. A metal sheet including a metal part, the metal component has a recess on a first surface side of the metal sheet, a first surface of the metal sheet is covered with a protective layer; A metal sheet, the metal part having a release layer attached via an adhesive on a second surface side of the metal sheet opposite the first surface.

12. The metal sheet according to claim 11 , wherein the adhesive strength of the protective layer to the first surface is weaker than the adhesive strength of the adhesive.

Images