Cuprous Oxide Decorative Component Bubble-Free Formation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing decorative component methods face issues with high production costs, pinholes, poor durability, insufficient transparency, and difficulty in achieving vivid colors and uniform oxide layers, especially for precision components like watches.
Innovation Solution
A decorative component with a cuprous oxide layer formed on the surface, produced by heating a copper precursor in an electric furnace under controlled oxygen partial pressure and supply rate, ensuring bubble-free and uniform oxide formation, which enhances transparency and durability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a plating film is made thin to reduce cost and maintain dimensional precision, then manufacturing cost and dimensional accuracy are improved, but pinholes occur and durability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the chemical composition parameters of the plating film by controlling the ratio of Cu to Zn (0.05 to 5 mass%) and the thickness (5 to 50 nm), creating a specific parametric range that prevents pinhole formation while maintaining durability and dimensional accuracy
Solution Approach 2:
The invention creates a composite plating film structure consisting of Cu-Zn alloy with specific composition ratios, combining the benefits of copper (durability, red color) and zinc (corrosion resistance) in a controlled manner to achieve both thin film precision and high reliability
2Reliability
If a plating film is made thick to improve durability and reduce pinholes, then reliability is improved, but dimensional accuracy decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention optimizes the plating film thickness parameter to a specific range (5 to 50 nm) that provides sufficient durability and pinhole resistance while maintaining dimensional accuracy within ±0.05 mm, eliminating the need for excessive thickness
3Reliability
If noble metal plating is used to improve appearance and durability, then reliability and appearance are improved, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces expensive noble metals (Pd, Rh, Pt, Au) with a cost-effective Cu-Zn alloy plating film that achieves comparable or superior durability and appearance, significantly reducing manufacturing cost while maintaining high reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the material composition parameters from noble metals to Cu-Zn alloy with specific ratios (Cu: 95-99.95 mass%, Zn: 0.05-5 mass%), achieving the desired performance at lower cost
4Reliability
If surface treatment such as anodizing or ion plating is used to improve durability, then reliability is improved, but color development capability worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the surface treatment approach from anodizing or ion plating to chemical plating with controlled Cu-Zn composition and thickness, enabling both high durability and vivid red color development through parametric control
5Ease of manufacture
If coating treatment is used to improve appearance and color variation, then appearance is improved, but atmospheric corrosion resistance and adhesion worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The invention creates a composite Cu-Zn plating film that inherently provides both excellent appearance with color variation and superior atmospheric corrosion resistance, eliminating the trade-off between appearance and durability
Solution Approach 2:
The invention optimizes the Zn content (0.05 to 5 mass%) and thickness (5 to 50 nm) parameters to achieve the right balance between appearance quality and corrosion resistance
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 method achieves a decorative component with vivid red color, high transparency, and excellent durability, suitable for precision components, while reducing production costs and avoiding pinholes.
Implementation Method 1
heating a component precursor of which a surface is entirely or partially formed of copper, to 700° C. to 900° C. in an electric furnace under conditions in which an oxygen partial pressure is 1300 Pa or less
Data Source
AI summary
A decorative component of the present invention is a decorative component including an oxide layer containing cuprous oxide on a surface of the decorative component, in which the oxide layer does not substantially contain bubbles. In a method for producing the decorative component, a component precursor of which a surface is entirely or partially formed of copper, is heated to 700° C. to 900° C. in an electric furnace under conditions in which an oxygen partial pressure is 1300 Pa or less and a supply rate is 50 mL/min or less, and then cooled to form the oxide layer.