Method for producing a molded part

Abstract

A method of producing a molded part comprising a decorative coating with a molded part front side designed as visible side and a rear side opposing the front side and a substrate arranged on the rear side of the decorative coating, wherein the decorative coating comprises (or is formed from) a decorative layer, wherein the method comprises: providing the decorative layer or decorative coating, attaching the substrate to the rear side of the decorative layer or coating, applying a resist lacquer to the front side of the decorative layer by means of a digital printing machine, the resist lacquer being applied in sections to the front side of the decorative layer to form a pattern or symbol or a negative of a pattern or symbol such that lacquer-free surface areas and surface areas covered with resist lacquer are created on the front side of the decorative layer.

Claims

1. A method for producing a molded part, wherein: the molded part comprises (i) a decorative coating with a molded part front side designed as a visible side and a rear side opposing the front side, and (ii) a substrate arranged on the rear side of the decorative coating, the decorative coating comprising a decorative layer or embodying a decorative layer; and the method comprises: providing the decorative layer or decorative coating; attaching the substrate to the rear side of the decorative layer or decorative coating; applying a resist lacquer to the front side of the decorative layer by means of a digital printing machine; wherein the resist lacquer being applied in sections to the front side of the decorative layer to form a pattern or a symbol or a negative of a pattern or a symbol, such that lacquer-free surface areas and surface areas covered with resist lacquer are created on the front side of the decorative layer.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: the digital printing machine comprises a 4-color print head; and the resist lacquer is applied by means of at least one of: the 4-color print head, or the digital printing machine comprising a print head with a resist lacquer nozzle, the resist lacquer being applied by means of the resist lacquer nozzle.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein: the decorative layer is a metal sheet; the application of the resist lacquer being followed by a refinement step in which the metal sheet is at least one of (i) milled in a milling step or (ii) brushed in a brushing step; the applied resist lacquer withstanding the refinement step, so that in the lacquer-free surface areas a surface hatching is produced on the metal sheet by means of the refinement step.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein: the resist lacquer is removed following the refinement step, so that the surface of the metal sheet on the surface areas previously covered with resist lacquer remains untreated compared to the surfaces that have undergone the refinement step.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein: the resist lacquer is removed in a system.

6. The method according to claim 4, wherein: the resist lacquer is removed in one or more substeps.

7. The method according to claim 3, wherein: the refinement step is carried out with at least one of (i)-a milling tool or (ii) a brushing tool.

8. The method according to claim 3, wherein: the refinement step is carried out once or several times; and the surface of the metal sheet undergoes the refinement step over at least part of the entire surface.

9. The method according to claim 3, wherein: the refinement step creates a cut with one or more cut directions on the surface of the metal sheet.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein: the pattern and/or symbol to be printed or the negative of the pattern and/or symbol to be printed is: digitally provided by (i) scanning a template or by (ii) using templates from a database; and made available to the digital printer.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein: in a final step, at least one of (i) a protective or (ii) an optical layer is applied to the front side of the decorative coating.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein: the pattern and/or symbol or the negative of the pattern and/or symbol to be printed represents or embodies a textured structure or lettering.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein color is applied by one of: (i) the resist lacquer is applied in one or more colors; or (ii) one or more colored coatings are applied in addition to the resist lacquer.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein: the resist lacquer for forming the decorative coating is printed partially or over the entire surface area on the front side of the decorative layer in one or more coatings.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The inventive method is explained in more detail below also with regard to further features and advantages on the basis of the description of exemplary embodiments of the method and with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings. In the figures:

(2) FIG. 1a provides a schematic sectional depiction of the molded part to be produced during the printing;

(3) FIG. 1b provides a schematic plan view of the molded part to be produced following the printing;

(4) FIG. 2a provides a schematic sectional depiction of the molded part to be produced during the brushing;

(5) FIG. 2b provides a schematic plan view of the molded part to be produced following the brushing;

(6) FIG. 3a provides a schematic sectional depiction of the molded part to be produced during the removal of the resist lacquer;

(7) FIG. 3b provides a schematic plan view of the molded part to be produced following the removal of the resist lacquer;

(8) FIG. 4 provides a schematic sectional depiction of the molded part to be produced following the application of a protective coating;

(9) FIG. 5 provides a schematic sectional depiction of an alternative embodiment of the molded part to be produced.

(10) Corresponding parts and components are also identified with the same reference numbers in each of the various figures and exemplary embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

(11) FIG. 1a illustrates the application of the resist lacquer 16 to the front side 17 of the decorative layer 15 or decorative coating 11. This step follows a decorative layer 15 or decorative coating 11 being provided and the substrate 14 being attached to the rear side 13 of the decorative layer 15. A symbol 25 is applied to the front side 17 of the decorative layer 15 by means of a digital printing machine with a print head 18 that comprises four ink nozzles 23 and is expanded by a resist lacquer nozzle 19.

(12) FIG. 1b provides a plan view of the front side 17 of the decorative layer 15 with the symbol 25 formed from resist lacquer 16. By way of example, the symbol is the letter “A.”

(13) FIG. 2a illustrates the brushing of the front side 17 of the decorative layer 15 by means of a brushing tool 20, the resist lacquer 16 withstanding the brushing and a surface hatching 21 being produced in the lacquer-free surface areas of the decorative layer 15.

(14) FIG. 2b provides the plan view of the decorative layer 15 with the symbol 25 formed from the resist lacquer 16 and the surface hatching 21 in the surface areas that are free of the lacquer following brushing of the front side 17.

(15) FIG. 3a illustrates the removal of resist lacquer 16 in a stripping system 22. The surface areas previously covered with resist lacquer 16 are washed off in this step, so that the surface areas previously covered with resist lacquer 16 remain untreated compared to the brushed surface areas with surface hatching 21.

(16) FIG. 3b provides the plan view of the molded part front side 12 following the removal of the resist lacquer 16. In contrast to the surface hatching 21 caused by brushing in the previously lacquer-free areas, the symbol 25 on the front side 17 of the decorative layer 15 previously covered with resist lacquer 16 remains untreated.

(17) FIG. 4 illustrates the molded part 10 following the removal of the resist lacquer 16, with the surface hatching 21 in the surface areas that were not covered with the resist lacquer 16. A protective film designed as a protective coating 24 is also attached to the molded part front side 12.

(18) FIG. 5 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the method for producing a molded part 10 in which the resist lacquer 16 remains on the front side 17 of the decorative layer 15 and a protective coating 24 is applied to the molded part front side 12 designed as the visible side.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

(19) 10 Molded part 11 Decorative coating 12 Molded part front side 13 Rear side 14 Substrate 15 Decorative layer 16 Resist lacquer 17 Front side 18 Printer head 19 Resist lacquer nozzle 20 Milling and/or brushing tool 21 Surface hatching 22 Stripping system 23 Ink nozzle 24 Protective and/or optical layer 25 Symbol