Metal Plate Flatness Control for Accurate Metal Mask Through-Holes

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Solution Overview

Problem

The wavy shape of metal plates used in manufacturing metal masks for high-definition organic EL display devices leads to variations in through-hole positioning accuracy, affecting the precision of pixel formation.

Innovation Solution

A metal plate with controlled differential expansion rate, where the maximum inclination in the central portion is 1.8 × 10^-3/m or less, and the central portion occupies 80% of the width direction, is used to manufacture metal masks with improved positional accuracy.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Manufacturing precision

If the metal plate is rolled more thinly to improve through-hole dimensional accuracy, then the dimensional accuracy of through-holes is improved, but a wavy shape appears in the metal plate

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedimensional accuracy of through-holesVSAvoidwavy shape of metal plate
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSShape

Solution Approach 1:

The invention changes the physical parameters of the metal plate by controlling the differential expansion rate E to be 1.8×10^-3/m or less in the central portion. This parameter control prevents the wavy shape that normally occurs when rolling thin metal plates, while maintaining the dimensional accuracy of through-holes. The differential expansion rate serves as a key parameter that links the rolling process outcomes.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

2Manufacturing precision

If the metal plate is made flat to improve positional accuracy, then the positional accuracy of through-holes is improved, but the manufacturing complexity increases due to additional processing steps

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepositional accuracy of through-holesVSAvoidmanufacturing process complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The invention performs the flattening action preliminarily during the rolling process itself by controlling the differential expansion rate E. Instead of adding separate flattening steps after rolling, the invention incorporates the flatness control into the rolling process parameters, thereby achieving the desired flatness without increasing manufacturing process complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentEP4585703A1A metal plate and a method for manufacturing the same, and a method for manufacturing a metal mask
Publication Date: 2025.07.16 DAI NIPPON PRINTING CO LTD
  • EP4585703A1 patent drawingFigure 1A
  • EP4585703A1 patent drawingFigure 1B(a)~1B(d)
  • EP4585703A1 patent drawingFigure 1C

AI summary

Provided is a metal plate to be used for manufacturing a metal mask. In a graph in which an arbitrary position n in a width direction of the metal plate is plotted on a horizontal axis and in which a differential expansion rate En in a unit length L0 in a longitudinal direction is plotted on a vertical axis, a maximum inclination of the differential expansion rate E in a central portion in the width direction is 1.8 × 10-3/m or less, and the central portion is a portion that occupies 80% in the width direction excluding both side portions that each occupy 10% in the width direction.