Printed Glass Appliance Component With Digital Color Coating
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for applying coatings on glass surfaces of appliance components, such as screen printing, are economically inefficient for small series production due to high costs, limited color hues, and resolution limitations, and require separate thermal treatments for each color layer.
Innovation Solution
A method involving digital printing of an adhesion promoter layer on thermally tempered glass followed by radical polymerization of an organic color layer, allowing multi-colored coatings with high chemical and mechanical stability, without the need for separate thermal treatments or physical printing plates.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If screen printing is used to apply coating on glass surface, then mechanical and chemical stability is improved, but production cost increases and manufacturing flexibility deteriorates for small series production
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical screen printing system with a digital printing system that uses a print head to directly deposit coating material onto the glass surface. This substitution eliminates the need for physical screens and thermal treatment processes, enabling cost-effective production for small series while maintaining coating stability through direct digital application and UV curing.
2Reliability
If screen printing is used to apply multi-colored coating, then coating stability is improved, but number of color hues is limited and manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the fundamental parameter of color application from mechanical screen-based deposition to digital printing with variable color output. The digital print head can selectively deposit different colorants in the same printing process, enabling unlimited color hues without requiring separate screens for each color, thus increasing versatility while maintaining coating stability through UV-cured polymerization.
3Reliability
If screen printing is used to apply coating, then coating adhesion is improved, but resolution is limited by mesh size
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical screen mesh system with a digital printing system that deposits coating material directly onto the glass surface without being constrained by mesh aperture size. This substitution enables high-resolution patterns and fine details to be achieved through digital control of the print head, while UV curing ensures strong adhesion of the polymerized coating layer.
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
Enables cost-effective production of high-resolution, multi-colored glass components with improved adhesion and stability, suitable for small series production, while maintaining mechanical and chemical integrity over the appliance's lifespan.
Implementation Method 1
producing the adhesion promoter layer by at least partial polymerization of the preparation applied in step b)
Implementation Method 2
producing the organic color layer by polymerization of the preparation applied in step d)
Data Source
AI summary
A method for producing an appliance component is provided. The appliance component has an operational front side and back side and has a substrate made of thermally tempered flat glass with a coating. The method includes the steprs of: a) providing a glass substrate made of thermally tempered glass with the dimensions of the appliance component; b) applying a preparation for producing an adhesion promoter layer onto a surface of the glass substrate, wherein the preparation is applied onto the surface of the glass substrate that forms the operational back side of the decorative panel; c) producing the adhesion promoter layer by polymerization of the preparation applied in step b); d) applying a preparation for producing an organic color layer onto the adhesion promoter layer produced in step c) by digital printing; and e) producing the organic color layer by polymerization of the preparation applied in step d).