Method for the manufacture of a plastics product and a product made by the method

Abstract

A method for the manufacture of a plastics product (1) and a plastics product (1), which plastics product (1) comprises a first (2) and a second (3) component that are both manufactured completely or partially from molding plastics, and which first component (2) is manufactured by molding in a mold, such as by injection molding, and which second component (3) is made by a process in which it is built in a layer-by-layer fashion, such as by 3D-printing, and having a mounting surface (7); and wherein the first component (2) is ready-molded and ejected from the mold prior to it being joined with the second component (3) to form the plastics product (1). By the first layer of material formed in the 3D-printing process of manufacturing the second component (3) being formed on a surface having the same shape as the mounting surface (7) of the first component (2), it is enabled to manufacture a product with a high degree of design individuality, while simultaneously parts of the product can be made with very fine tolerances.

Claims

1. A method for the manufacture of a plastics product: wherein the plastics product comprises a first and a second component that are both manufactured completely or partially from moulding plastics, and in which the first component is manufactured by injection moulding in a mould and includes a first mounting surface, and in which the second component is made by a 3D-printing process in which it is built in a layer-by-layer fashion and includes a second mounting surface; and wherein the first component is ready-moulded and ejected from the mould and then subsequently configured to be permanently joined to the second component to form the plastics product wherein the first component is manufactured first, following which the second component is manufactured by 3D-printing a first layer of material formed in the 3D-printing process of manufacturing the second component directly on the first mounting surface of the ready-moulded first component such that the second mounting surface is shaped to conform to the first mounting surface of the first component; such that the first component and the second component are secured to each other in such a way that the first mounting surface and the second mounting surface directly abut one another, and wherein the first mounting surface of the first component is configured on a plate-shaped part of the first component; and wherein one or more flanges extend at an angle from the plate-shaped part on a side of the first mounting surface opposite the plate-shaped part, said flanges extending beyond an outer periphery of the plate-shaped part of the first component.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterised in that one or more further moulded components is/are made in addition to the first component; and wherein the second component is subsequently joined with one or more from among the further components.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterised in that the further moulded components are, during joining with the second component, arranged in a fixture which is configured such that the first and the further components are retained in a specific position relative to each other.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterised in that the plate-shaped part, where the mounting surface extends, is essentially plane.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterised in that each of the one or more of the flanges is configured as an uninterrupted round-going flange.

6. The method according to claim 1, characterised in that one or more of the flanges extend essentially at right angles to the plate-shaped part.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that the first component constitutes a building element for use in a toy building set comprising a plurality of building elements; and wherein the first component includes a number of coupling studs extending from the first mounting surface that correspond to coupling studs of the other building elements of the toy building set, and wherein the one or more flanges of the first component are configured as coupling flanges for interconnecting with the coupling studs of the other building elements.

Description

LIST OF FIGURES

(1) FIG. 1: shows, in a perspective view, a joined plastics product according to the invention;

(2) FIG. 2: shows, in a perspective view, a first part of the plastics product shown in FIG. 1;

(3) FIG. 3: shows, in a perspective view, a second part of the plastics product shown in FIG. 1;

(4) FIG. 4: shows, in a perspective view, an alternative embodiment of a joined plastics product according to the invention, shown arranged in a fixture;

(5) FIG. 5: shows, in a perspective view, a building element of the plastics product shown in FIG. 4, seen from one side;

(6) FIG. 6: shows, in a perspective view, a building element of the component shown in FIG. 5, seen from below.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

(7) Thus, FIG. 1 shows a plastics product in the form of a rear spoiler 1 which may, for instance, be mounted on a model vehicle (not shown) built of building elements from a toy building set, and the rear spoiler 1 comprises a first component in the form of a building plate 2 on which a second component 3 is provided which is manufactured by a method in which it is built in a layer-by-layer fashion, such as by 3D-printing.

(8) FIGS. 2 and 3 show the same components as were shown in FIG. 1, but in a non-assembled state, and it will appear from FIG. 2 that the building plate 2 has a plane surface 7 on which a number of coupling studs 5 are configured that are, in a known manner, configured such that they can be interconnected with other elements of the (not shown) toy building set. For instance, the building element 4 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 may be interconnected with the building plate 2 by the underside of the building element 4 being pressed down onto the coupling studs 5 on the building plate 2 to the effect that the sides of the coupling studs 5 abut on the inner side of the round-going flange 8 configured along the building element 4.

(9) However, in accordance with the invention, it is an option to mount the second component 3 instead, whereby the assembled rear spoiler 1, as shown in FIG. 1, resembles an actual rear spoiler to a far higher degree than that which can be obtained exclusively by means of box-shaped building elements using the building plate 2 and the two building elements 4, as shown in FIG. 2. Hereby it is enabled that individually designed pieces can be printed, ie customization, and that a more realistic and organic appearance can be obtained in toy building sets by use of the invention.

(10) According to the invention, the building plate 2 is manufactured first by means of a commonly known modelling process, such as by injection moulding, wherein a suitable amount of fluid plastics material is injected into a substantially closed mould cavity in a moulding tool. Such moulding processes being commonly known to the person skilled in the art, they are not shown herein.

(11) Moreover, the second component 3, which is shown in FIG. 3, is manufactured in a commonly known process, whereby that component is built in a layer-by-layer fashion from plastics. Today, several embodiments of such production processes for the manufacture of plastics products are known, whereby the products are built layer by layer, eg by repeated solidification of a thin liquid layer on a substrate and on a previously solidified liquid layer, or by repeated printing with a thermoplastic plastics material on a substrate or on a previously printed layer of plastics material. A common designation for those processes is rapid prototyping, and such processes are extremely suitable for the production of single or relatively small numbers of identical products.

(12) Underneath the building plate 2, two building elements 4 are mounted which are of the type shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, and which may constitute a part of the toy building set or a part of the building plate 2.

(13) FIG. 4 shows an alternative embodiment of the invention, two building elements 4 being used, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, as the first component; and wherein the two building elements 4 are arranged in a fixture 10 that retains them in a position relative to each other by means of a number of guide pins 12 and a number of platforms 11 that are configured on the fixture 10.

(14) The plastics product 1 shown in FIG. 4 is thus constituted of two building elements 4 that constitute a first component 4, and a further component 4, both of which are made in a mould, and the second component 3 corresponding to the disclosures of FIG. 3, but is 3D-printed layer by layer on top the surface 9 of the first component 4 and the further component 4. It being difficult to 3D-print without substrate, the fixture 10 is configured such that the three platforms 11 each has a surface which is flush with the surface 9 of the two building elements 4.