DEVICE AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING A MOULDING OF SURFACE PROPERTIES

Abstract

A device (1) for producing a moulding of surface properties comprises a housing (3) having a pressure plunger (4) mounted on or in the housing (3), which can be moved and can be pressed on a surface (2), which pressure plunger has a blank carrier (5) comprising a pressure surface (6) which can be pressed on the surface (2), on which pressure surface a moulding blank (7) comprising a moulding layer (9) made of a curable material can be secured in a detachable manner. The device further comprises a curing device (12) arranged on or in housing (3), with which the curable material of the moulding blank (7) can be cured while being pressed on the surface (2).

Claims

1. A device (1) for producing a moulding of a surface property with a housing (3), with a displaceable pressure plunger (4) that is mounted on or in the housing (3) and can be pressed onto a surface (2), the pressure plunger (4) having a blank carrier (5) with a pressure surface (6) that can be pressed onto the surface (2), on which pressure surface (6) releasably fixable is a moulding blank (7) with a moulding layer (9) made of curable material, and with a curing device (12) arranged on or in the housing (3), with which curing device (12) the curable material of the moulding blank (7) can be cured while being pressed onto the surface (2).

2. The device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the blank carrier (5) is pivotally mounted.

3. The device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the blank carrier (5) has at least two contact pressure segments (18) displaceable relative to each other.

4. The device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the device (1) has a positioning device for the displaceable pressure plunger (4).

5. The device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the device (1) has a force-measuring device (22) with which a tensile force or compressive force exerted on the pressure plunger can be detected.

6. The device (1) according to claim 5, characterized in that the force-measuring device (22) is arranged on a guide rod (17) of the pressure plunger (4).

7. The device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the device has a deformation element (23) mounted with a displacement device, wherein the deformation element can be pressed by an actuating device onto the surface (2) to cause a deformation of the surface (2).

8. The device (1) according to claim 7, characterized in that the deformation element (23) is mounted displaceably in the blank carrier (5) between a pressing position projecting from the blank carrier (5) over the pressure surface (6) and a resting position retracted into the blank carrier (5), not projecting over the pressure surface (6).

9. The device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the curing device (12) has an illumination device with electromagnetic radiation.

10. The device (1) according to claim 9, characterized in that the illumination device emits UV-radiation.

11. The device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the pressure surface (6) of the blank carrier (5) has an adhesive layer for releasably fixing the moulding blank (7).

12. A moulding blank (7) having a moulding layer (9) of a curable material for use with the device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the moulding layer (9) is arranged on a carrier layer (8) with which the moulding blank (7) is fixed on a pressure surface (6) of a pressure plunger (4) and can be released again from the pressure surface (6) after the curing of the curable material of the moulding layer (9).

13. The moulding blank (7) according to claim 12, characterized in that the moulding layer has, in addition to the curable material, a further material component with which, in addition to a surface topography, a further surface property can be moulded.

14. The moulding blank (7) according to claim 12, characterized in that the carrier layer (8) consists of a dimensionally stable material 25.

15. The moulding blank (7) according to claim 12, characterized in that the moulding blank (7) has a recess which is surrounded by the moulding layer (9) of the curable material.

16. A method for producing a moulding of a surface (2) or a surface property, wherein in a pressing step, a moulding blank (7) with a moulding layer (9) of a curable material is fixed on a pressure surface (6) of a pressure plunger (4) and pressed onto the surface (2) with the pressure plunger (6), wherein in a molding step, the curable material of the moulding layer (9) is cured with a curing device (12) during pressing, and wherein in a removal step, the moulding blank (7) with the cured molding of the surface (2) is released from the pressure plunger (4).

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that the curable material of the moulding blank (7) is a cross-linking polymer that is activatable with electromagnetic radiation and that in the moulding step, the cross-linking polymer is irradiated with electromagnetic radiation using an illumination device.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that the curable material of the moulding layer (9) is irradiated with UV radiation.

19. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that a compressive force exerted on the pressure plunger (4) is detected with a force measuring device (22) during the pressing step.

20. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that a tensile force is detected with a force measuring device (22), the tensile force being exerted on the moulding blank (7), while the moulding blank (7) with the cured moulding is released from the surface (2).

21. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that before or during the moulding step, a deformation element (23) is pressed onto the surface (2) and causes a deformation of the surface (2) which is moulded by the moulding blank (7).

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0048] Embodiments of the inventive concept are hereinafter explained in more detail, which are shown by way of example in the drawing. It shows:

[0049] FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a device according to the invention for producing a moulding with a moulding blank, wherein the moulding blank is fixed to a pressure plunger and the pressure plunger is still at a distance from the surface to be moulded,

[0050] FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of the device shown in FIG. 1, wherein the pressure plunger is pressed onto the surface with the moulding blank fixed thereto,

[0051] FIG. 3 is an enlarged schematic illustration of a portion of the device with a pivotally mounted blank carrier,

[0052] FIG. 4 is an illustration according to FIG. 3, wherein the blank carrier is configured differently and is formed from three contact pressure segments which can be displaced relative to each other,

[0053] FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view of a moulding blank located in a protective cover,

[0054] FIGS. 6 to 8 are a schematic representation of a plurality of method steps of a method sequence, in which a moulding of the surface is produced and subsequently analyzed with a scanning probe microscope,

[0055] FIG. 9 is a schematic representation of a device according to the invention with a force measuring device,

[0056] FIG. 10 is a schematic representation of a device according to the invention, which has a deformation element which can be displaced along the guide rod and which can be pressed centrally onto the surface through an annular moulding blank,

[0057] FIG. 11 is a schematic representation of the device shown in FIG. 10, wherein during the production of the moulding, the deformation element is pressed into the surface and deforms it, and

[0058] FIG. 12 is a schematic representation of the device shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, wherein the deformation element was pressed into the surface and caused a permanent deformation of the surface before the production of the moulding, and the deformation element is retracted into the blank carrier during the production of the moulding.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0059] FIGS. 1 and 2 each show a device 1 for producing a moulding, the device being set up on a surface 2 to be moulded. In a housing 3, a pressure plunger 4 is mounted displaceably in the direction of the surface 2 in a pressure plunger guide, the pressure plunger guide not being shown in detail.

[0060] The pressure plunger 4 has, at its end facing the surface 2, a blank carrier 5, the upper side of which facing the surface 2 forms a pressure surface 6. On the pressure surface 6 of the blank carrier 5, a separately moulding blank 7 shown in FIG. 5 is releasably fixed by means of an adhesive layer. The moulding blank 7 has a dimensionally stable carrier layer 8 and applied thereto a moulding layer 9 made of a curable cross-linking polymer material.

[0061] The moulding layer 9 is initially not yet cured and has pasty properties. By pressing a push button 11 arranged on an end face 10 of the housing 3 and in operative connection with the pressure plunger 4, the pressure plunger 4 can be displaced from a set-up position shown in FIG. 1, in which the moulding blank 7 can be fixed to the pressure surface 6 of the blank carrier 5 and then the housing 3 can be positioned onto the surface 2, into a pressure position shown in FIG. 2, in which the pressure plunger 4 with the moulding blank 7 fixed thereon is pressed onto the surface 2.

[0062] A curing device 12 is arranged in the housing 3 of the device 1, the curing device being supplied and controlled by a control and power supply device 13 with electrical energy. The curing device 12 has a plurality of UV light-emitting diodes 14 arranged concentrically around the pressure plunger 4 on an inner wall of the housing 3. The UV light-emitting diodes 14 radiate UV light in the direction of the moulding blank 7 in the switched-on state. The UV light of the UV light-emitting diodes 14 activates and accelerates cross-linking and curing of the curable polymer material of the moulding layer 9 of the moulding blank 7.

[0063] When the pressure plunger 4 is pressed with the moulding blank 7 fastened thereto onto the surface to be moulded 2, the not yet cured moulding layer 9 deforms and forms a die, or a negative shape of the surface topography of the surface 2. The UV light-emitting diodes 14 can be switched on automatically with a displacement of the pressure plunger 4 onto the surface 2 or manually by a switching device not shown in detail in order to cure the moulding layer 9 adapted to the surface topography of the surface 2 and to permanently preserve the moulding produced thereby. In order to accelerate the curing process, the blank carrier 5 may consist of a UV-transparent material, so that the UV radiation emitted by the UV light-emitting diodes can illuminate the moulding blank 8 and the moulding layer 9.

[0064] In order to facilitate a positioning and fixing of the housing 3 onto the surface 2, the housing 3 has three conically tapered contact tips 16 spaced apart from one another at a lower edge of the housing 15. The contact tips 16 enable a tilt-free setup of the housing 3 onto the surface 2 and reduce the risk of undesired lateral displacement of the housing 3 on the surface 2.

[0065] FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 schematically show variants of the device 1 with a respectively differently configured pressure plunger 4. The blank carrier 5 is pivotally mounted on a linearly displaceable guide rod 17 of the pressure plunger 4 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3. The orientation of the blank carrier 5 can thereby adapt in a simple manner to an uneven or sloping surface 2.

[0066] In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the blank carrier 5 has three contact pressure segments 18 each pivotally mounted independently of one another, which together form the pressure surface 6 of the pressure plunger 4, on which the moulding blank 7 can be fixed, in order to be pressed onto the surface 2 with the pressure plunger 4. By means of the contact pressure segments 18 which can be displaced relative to one another, the moulding layer 9 of the moulding blank 7 can also be adapted to a curved surface 2 or to an uneven surface 2 and be pressed with a substantially constant contact pressure.

[0067] The moulding blank 7 depicted separately and in an enlarged illustration in FIG. 5 consists of the dimensionally stable carrier layer 8 and the initially still pasty moulding layer 9 made of the cross-linking polymer material, which can be cured by LTV light. The moulding blank 7 is a consumable material and may be surrounded with a light-proof and in particular UV-proof envelope 19 or packaged therein for protection against curing of the molding layer 9 and against damage to the moulding blank 7 during its storage prior to its use.

[0068] Individual process steps which may be carried out to perform a surface analysis using the method according to the invention are illustrated by way of example and schematically in FIGS. 6 to 8. In a pressing step shown in FIG. 6 the moulding blank 7 is pressed with the pressure plunger 4, or with the blank carrier 5 of the pressure plunger 4 with the device 1 onto the surface to be examined 2, so that the still deformable material of the moulding layer 9 of the moulding blank 7 adapts to the surface topography of the surface 2. In a moulding step the material of the moulding layer 9 is then cured by irradiation with UV light. After releasing the deformed and solidified moulding blank 7 from the surface 2 in a removal step and subsequently from the blank carrier 5, the deformed moulding layer 9 shown in FIG. 7 forms a die of the surface topography. Instead of or in addition to the surface topography, the material of the moulding layer 9 may also have been influenced by other properties of the surface 2 to be analyzed, such as, for example, its magnetic properties, its hydrophobicity or its chemical properties, so that by a subsequent analysis of the solidified moulding blank 7 these properties which have been transferred to or influenced the moulding blank 7 can be analyzed with suitable measuring methods and measuring devices. FIG. 8 shows, by way of example, the analysis of the surface topography with the aid of a probe 20 of a scanning probe microscope. For this purpose, the solidified moulding blank 7 forming the die can be arranged on a measuring table 21 of the scanning probe microscope, not shown in detail. Even spatially difficult to access surfaces 2 or time-varying surfaces 2, or surface properties can be analyzed by the moulding according to the invention with little effort, reliably and reproducibly.

[0069] In the exemplary embodiment of the device 1 shown in FIG. 9, a force measuring device 22 is arranged on the guide rod 17 proximal to the blank carrier 5. The force measuring device 22 may include, for example, a deformation-sensitive piezoelectric element or a strain gauge arrangement. The compressive force exerted on the moulding blank 7 can be detected during the pressing of the pressure plunger 4 onto the surface 2 using the force measuring device 22. In the same way, the tensile force can also be detected with the force measuring device 22, the tensile force being applied to release the cured moulding blank 7, thus the moulding produced from the surface 2.

[0070] The force measuring device 22 may be wired or wirelessly connected to an evaluation device, not shown. The measured signals detected by the force measuring device 22 can already be evaluated during the production of the moulding and be used, for example, to trigger an optical or acoustic display as soon as a sufficient contact pressure is reached, or if the contact pressure drops or varies excessively during the production of the moulding. The measurement signals generated by the force measuring device 22 can also be initially stored in the evaluation device and kept available for subsequent evaluation or processing of all information generated via the moulding.

[0071] The exemplary embodiment of the device 1 shown in FIG. 10 has a conically tapering deformation element 23, which is displaceably mounted in the guide rod 17 or in the blank carrier 5. With an actuating device, not shown, a displacement device, also not shown separately, for example, actuates a spring device or an electric motor and the deformation element 23 can be pressed into the surface 2 to cause a change in the topography of the surface 2. The moulding blank 7 is annular and surrounds the deformation element 23 which is pressed through a central recess of the moulding blank 7 into the surface 2.

[0072] A possible use of the device 1 during the production of the moulding is shown in FIG. 11. The deformation element 23 is pressed together with the moulding blank 7 onto the surface 2. As a result, for example, an alteration in the topography of the surface 2 that remains constant for the duration of the moulding can also be effected in an elastic material with a resilient surface 2, which can be detected with the moulding and subsequently evaluated.

[0073] It is also possible to first produce a permanent change in the topography of the surface 2 with the deformation element 23 and then to again retract the deformation element 23 back into the blank carrier 5 before subsequently pressing the pressure plunger 4 with the moulding blank 7 against the previously modified surface 2 in order to create the moulding. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 12, the production of a moulding after a preceding deformation of the surface 2 with the deformation element 23 is shown by way of example.