METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING A DECORATIVE ARTICLE

Abstract

A method for manufacturing a decorative article (2) including the following steps of: making a blank by injection moulding a material comprising a metallic material, machining and/or polishing the blank to form a product, and forming the product to print a raised or recessed relief pattern (3) on part of the surface of the product, the product with the pattern (3) forming the decorative article. Also, a decorative article, notably an external timepiece part made of a sintered material having on part of its surface a raised or recessed relief pattern (3) made by a forming process. Preferably, the sintered material is a grade 5 titanium alloy (Ti6V4Al) or a stainless steel.

Claims

1. Method for manufacturing a decorative article comprising the following steps of: making a blank by injection moulding a material comprising a metallic material, machining and/or polishing the blank to obtain a product, and forming the product to print a raised or recessed relief pattern (3) on part of the surface of said product, said product with the pattern (3) forming the decorative article.

2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that said material is a titanium alloy or a stainless steel.

3. Method according to claim 2, characterized in that said titanium alloy is an alloy Ti-6Al-4V.

4. Method according to claim 2, characterized in that the stainless steel is a Bhler P570 or 316L steel.

5. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the decorative article is an external timepiece part chosen from the list including a pusher, a crown, a valve (2), a case middle, a back cover, a bezel, a bracelet link, a bracelet clasp and a dial.

6. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the blank is a semi-finished product subjected to the machining step to obtain said product having dimensions substantially identical to those of the decorative article.

7. Method according to claim 6, characterized in that the decorative article is an external timepiece part chosen from among a valve (2), a crown and a pusher and in that the semi-finished product is a cylindrical billet (1).

8. Method according to claim 7, characterized in that the cylindrical billet (1) is subjected to the machining step prior to the forming step.

9. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the blank produced by the moulding step has dimensions substantially identical to those of the decorative article.

10. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the forming step is a cold process.

11. Method according to claim 10, characterized in that the cold forming step is performed in several passes with a heat treatment between the passes.

12. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the step of making a blank includes the following sub-steps of: a) making a feedstock containing a metal material powder and an organic binder system, said metal material powder having a d50 comprised between 0.1 and 20 m, preferably between 8 and 15 m. b) injection moulding to form the blank, c) debinding the blank, and d) sintering at a temperature comprised between 1100 and 1500 C., preferably between 1200 and 1350 C., for a time comprised between 1 and 10 hours, preferably between 2 and 6 hours, under an inert atmosphere.

13. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that, after the forming step, the product with the pattern (3) is subjected to a finishing treatment such as an electrochemical, satin-finishing or polishing treatment.

14. Decorative article, characterized in that the article is made of a sintered material, said sintered material having on part of its surface a raised or recessed relief pattern (3) made by a forming process.

15. Decorative article according to claim 14, characterized in that the article is an external timepiece part chosen from the list including a pusher, a crown, a valve (2), a case middle, a back cover, a bezel, a bracelet link and a bracelet clasp.

16. Decorative article according to claim 14, characterized in that the sintered material is made of a titanium alloy or a stainless steel.

17. Decorative article according to claim 16, characterized in that the titanium alloy is an alloy Ti6Al4V, and in that the stainless steel is a Bhler P570 or 316L steel.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] FIGS. 1a-1c schematically illustrate the various steps implemented during the manufacture, according to the invention, of a valve.

[0012] FIG. 2 represents a three-dimensional view of a valve obtained by the method according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0013] The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a decorative article made of a metal material. The decorative article may be a constituent element of watches, jewelry, bracelets, brooches, necklaces, etc. In the field of horology, the article may be an external part, such as a valve, a pusher, a crown, a case middle, a back cover, a bezel, a bracelet link, a bracelet clasp, a dial, etc. More particularly, it is a control member, such as a crown or a pusher, or more generally a user-actuated member such as a valve. By way of illustration, a helium release valve 2 with the logo He, referenced 3, on the valve head, made by the method of the invention is represented in FIG. 2. The article is preferably made of a titanium alloy such as grade 5 titanium (Ti-6Al-4V) which contains by weight 6% of aluminium and 4% of vanadium. It may also be a stainless steel and preferably a nickel-free austenitic stainless steel such as Bhler P570 or with nickel such as 316L stainless steel.

[0014] The method for manufacturing the article includes, in succession, a step of injection moulding (also referred to as MIM) a blank, a step of machining and/or polishing the blank and a forming step to print a raised or recessed relief pattern on the machined and/or polished blank. Preferably, the blank is a semi-finished product intended to be dimensioned during the machining step. Thus, as shown schematically in FIGS. 1a-c for a valve 2, the MIM manufacturing process may consist in manufacturing a cylindrical billet 1 of standard dimensions (FIG. 1a), which is then cut machined (e.g. bar turning) and polished to give it the desired geometry and finish (FIG. 1b). This variant is preferred since it makes it possible to make a set of parts having different geometries from the same mould. It is evident that the shape of the mould is adapted according to the type of article to be made and could have another simple shape, such as an ingot shape. It is also conceivable for the blank produced by the MIM process to have a substantially identical geometry to that of the finished product. In such case, the machining and/or polishing step is similar to a finishing step rather than dimensioning step. Next, the product resulting from machining and/or polishing is embossed to print the pattern 3 (FIG. 1c) which is in raised relief in the illustrated example.

[0015] In more detail, the manufacturing method includes the following steps: [0016] a) Making a blank by injection moulding a material comprising a metallic material. In a known manner, the step of injection moulding (MIM) the blank consists in preparing a feedstock containing the metal powder and an organic binder system (paraffin, polyethylene, etc.). Next, the feedstock is injected and debinded, for example by thermal degradation or by dissolution in a solvent. The blank is then sintered. According to the invention, the metal powder has a d50 comprised between 0.1 and 20 m, preferably between 8 and 15 m, and sintering is performed at a temperature comprised between 1100 and 1500 C., preferably between 1200 and 1350 C., for a time comprised between 1 and 10 hours, preferably between 2 and 6 hours, under an inert atmosphere, for example argon. [0017] b) Machining and/or polishing the blank to obtain a product. Machining can be performed by any material removal technique. [0018] c) Forming the product to print a raised or recessed relief pattern on part of the surface of said product. The final step to print the pattern, which can also be called a structure, is preferably a cold process. It can be performed in one or more passes, possibly with a heat treatment between the passes.

[0019] After forming, the product can be subjected to a finishing treatment, such as an electrochemical treatment (anodization, grinding, etc.) or a decorative treatment such as a satin finishing or polishing treatment.

[0020] The article produced by the manufacturing method has the characteristic of being made of a sintered material having on part of its surface a raised or recessed relief pattern made by forming.