3D Texture Decorative Panel Inkjet Printing Process
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for achieving 3D texture effects in decorative panels, such as convex and crack effects, face challenges in replicating realistic wood or stone textures with high simulation and repeatability, often resulting in fuzzy edges and soft hand feelings, and struggle to produce strong and sharp crack effects.
Innovation Solution
A process involving digital inkjet printing with UV varnishes and inks of specific liquid surface tensions, followed by curing and water removal, to create 3D texture panels with sharp edges, clear corners, and rich gradations, allowing for the combination of crack and embossment effects, and enabling flexible and controllable 3D surface simulations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If digital inkjet printing with UV varnish and ink is used to create 3D texture, then texture sharpness and hand feeling are improved, but process complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The process segments the texture creation into distinct functional layers: UV varnish layer for embossment and ink layer for crack effects. This segmentation allows each layer to be optimized independently - the UV varnish provides the 3D raised effect while the ink creates sharp crack boundaries, resolving the contradiction between texture sharpness and process complexity by dividing the complex task into manageable, specialized steps.
Solution Approach 2:
The UV varnish is applied and cured first to establish the 3D embossed foundation before the ink is applied. This preliminary action creates a stable base structure that defines the texture boundaries, allowing the subsequent ink layer to focus solely on creating sharp crack effects without needing to simultaneously create both the 3D form and the sharp edges, thus improving texture sharpness while managing process complexity.
2Productivity
If traditional convex pattern methods are used, then production efficiency is maintained, but texture realism and sharpness deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical pressure-based embossing with digital inkjet printing technology. Instead of using steel rollers or plates to physically press patterns into the substrate, the system uses digitally controlled inkjet heads to deposit UV varnish and ink precisely where needed. This substitution maintains production efficiency through automated digital printing while dramatically improving texture realism by enabling sharp crack effects and realistic wood grain patterns that mechanical methods cannot achieve.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the fundamental parameters of the printing process by using UV-curable materials with specific liquid surface tensions. The UV varnish and ink are formulated to have compatible surface tensions that allow the ink to adhere to the cured UV varnish while maintaining sharp boundaries. This parameter change enables the transition from blurry mechanical embossing to sharp, realistic digital texture creation without sacrificing production speed.
3Manufacturing precision
If steel roller or steel plate with convex pattern is used, then crack effect is achieved, but repeatability and alignment precision worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses digital inkjet printing to copy the desired crack pattern directly onto the substrate through digital file data, eliminating the need for physical steel rollers or plates. The crack effect is created by digitally defining the pattern boundaries and depositing ink only in those specific areas. This digital copying approach ensures perfect repeatability since the same digital file can be reproduced indefinitely with consistent results, unlike physical steel plates that suffer from wear, misalignment, and manufacturing tolerances.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The process achieves highly simulated 3D texture effects with strong hand feelings, stable and efficient crack formation, and flexible production, suitable for industrial use, with the ability to adjust texture heights and gloss levels, enhancing the realism and quality of decorative panels.
Implementation Method 1
carrying out digital inkjet printing on an area where a convex pattern is required on the pattern layer by using a first UV varnish to obtain a first UV varnish layer, and before the first UV varnish layer is cured
Implementation Method 2
the aqueous transparent ink is heated and evaporated to remove water
Implementation Method 3
The liquid surface tension of the UV varnish and the ink is the same or similar
Data Source
AI summary
A process includes printing a pattern on an upper surface of a substrate and curing to form a pattern layer; carrying out digital inkjet printing on an area where a convex pattern is required on the pattern layer by using a first UV varnish to obtain a first UV varnish layer, and before the first UV varnish layer is cured, in a crack area with a predetermined sharp boundary on the pattern layer, digital inkjet printing is performed on an edge of the first UV varnish layer with an ink to obtain an ink layer, the ink layer is in contact with the first UV varnish layer, then the first UV varnish layer is subjected to curing, the first UV varnish and ink being transparent or translucent; and removing the ink to obtain a 3D texture decorative panel with sharp edges.