Injection molding process using a coated mold

Details Injection molding process using a coated mold Injection molding process using a coated mold

2001-02-15

2003-08-26

Heitbrink, Jill L. (Department: 1732)

Plastic and nonmetallic article shaping or treating: processes

Mechanical shaping or molding to form or reform shaped article

Shaping against forming surface

C264S338000, C264S328100

Reexamination Certificate

active

06610239

ABSTRACT:

This patent application relates to a new mold for use in preparing polyurethane products by injection molding. This also relates to a new process for preparing parts by injection molding and to novel products prepared using such a process.
The largest number of articles prepared using polyurethane chemistry are prepared using injection molding. Generally in injection molding the components from which the part is to be prepared are injected into a mold and subjected to conditions such that the materials injected are solidified. Thereafter the article is removed from the mold. Polyurethanes have excellent adhesive characteristics. This is a disadvantage in removing a polyurethane material from a mold. To enhance the removal of the article from a mold it is common to spray the mold before the reactants are injected into the mold with an external mold release. The use of external mold release adds an extra step to the process and significantly reduces the productivity of any molding machine. Alternatively, an internal mold release, such as zinc stearate is placed in the materials used to form the article. The use of an internal mold release can reduce the number of times that a mold needs to be sprayed with an external mold release.
For parts such as body panels used in automotive uses which are coated in industrial coating processes, the internal mold release interferes with the application of industrial coatings to the part. To prevent the internal mold release from interfering with the coating of the part, it is accepted practice to seal the part after the part has been removed from the mold, cooled and washed. These parts or articles are typically sealed with a one part melamine based polyurethane material. The use of the sealer is very costly, up to 30 percent of the cost of the part.
What is desirable is to eliminate this sealing step for articles, which are to be coated in conventional industrial coating processes.
What is needed is a mold that can be used to make injection molded parts from polyurethane materials wherein the parts do not require the use of a sealer before being exposed to an industrial coating process. What is further needed is a process for preparing these parts or articles using polyurethane based starting materials. What is further needed are polyurethane injection molded parts which do not require the use of a sealer before being used in an industrial coating process.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
In one aspect, the invention comprises a mold useful for the preparation of a polyurethane based article wherein the mold comprises a metal in the necessary shape to prepare an article of the desired shape which mold has a coating on the surfaces of the mold to come in contact with the polyurethane materials from which the article will be made, wherein the coating is a continuous matrix of cobalt or nickel having dispersed in such continuous matrix a fluorinated polyolefin polymer.
In another aspect the invention is a process for injection molding a part from polyurethane materials which process comprises injecting a two-part polyurethane composition or a thermoplastic polyurethane prepolymer into a mold as described above, exposing the injected materials to conditions such that a solidified article is formed and removing the formed article from the mold.
In yet another embodiment the invention is an article comprising polyurethane material prepared by injection molding which contains 0.5 percent by weight or less of an internal mold release and which can be coated in an industrial coating process without the need for a sealer coated on the article.
The molds and process of the invention allow the preparation of a polyurethane article which can be coated in an industrial process without the need for a sealer on the outside surface of the article. Furthermore the mold and process allow the preparation of in excess of 200 articles without the need for spraying the mold with an external mold release. Furthermore the use of the coated mold allows for faster injection time of the raw materials and allows the use of a material with a lower amount of internal mold release than used in an uncoated mold.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The molds of the invention comprise a metal mold of any desired shape which is commonly used for injection molding. The metal can be any metal which is commonly used for injection molding such as steel or aluminum. The mold has a coating on the interior surface of the mold which comes in contact with the material to be molded. That coating comprises a continuous matrix of a metal comprising nickel or cobalt, preferably nickel, having dispersed in the continuous matrix a fluorinated polyolefin polymer, preferably polytetrafluoroethylene. The amount of metal present shall be a sufficient amount such that the metal is a continuous matrix. The amount of fluorinated polyolefin present is that amount sufficient to improve the wetting or lubricity of the coating. Preferably the amount of fluorinated polyolefin in the coating is about 10 percent by weight of the coating or greater, more preferably about 20 percent by weight or greater of the coating and most preferably about 23 percent by weight or greater of the coating. Preferably the amount of the fluorinated polyolefin is about 50 percent by weight or less of the coating, more preferably about 30 percent by weight or less and most preferably on the interior surface, which is in contact with the injected material about 25 percent by weight or less of the coating.
The amount of metal in the coating is about 50 percent by weight or greater, preferably 70 percent by weight or greater and most preferably 75 percent by weight or greater. Preferably the amount of metal in the coating is about 70 percent by weight or less, more preferably 80 percent by weight or less, and most preferably 77 percent by weight or less.
The coating on the mold is preferably 0.0006 of an inch or greater, more preferably about 0.0015 of an inch or greater. Preferably the thickness of the coating is about 0.003 inches or less, more preferably about 0.002 inches or less. Generally, the mold is coated by an electorcoating process. Such processes are well known in the art and generally comprise placing the mold into a bath containing the metal and fluorinated polyolefin, applying current to the part or mold under conditions such that a coating of the metal and fluorinated polyolefin of the desired thickness is placed on the interior surface of the mold.
The coatings used to coat the mold are commercially available. One such coating is available from Roehlen Industries NA of Youngstown, Ohio under the trademark TRIBOCOAT, also available from Nimet Industries, South Bend, Ind. under the trademark NiCoTeF Coatings. Other useful coatings are coatings available from Melco Engraving. For aluminum molds coatings available from Nimet Industries, Inc., South Bend, Ind. under the trademark NiCoTef coatings can be used. Another coating is 25 percent polytetrafluoroethylene in 75 percent nickel available from Hall Technologies.
The articles of the invention can generally be prepared by injecting the raw materials into the mold and exposing them to conditions such that a solidified article is prepared. The process does not require coating the mold with an external mold release before the preparation of every part. The parts can be easily removed from the mold without adhesion of the polyurethane part to the mold surface. In one embodiment this process can be used for injection molding. In injection molding, a thermoplastic polyurethane prepolymer is heated above its melt temperature and injected into a mold. The material is cooled to below its melt temperature so as to solidify the thermoplastic polyurethane. Hereafter the solidified part of the desired shape is removed from the mold. Thermoplastic polyurethanes which can be used in this process are well known to those of average skill in the art and are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,627,254 incorporated herein by reference.
In another process parts are prepared by reaction injection moldi

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