Stock material or miscellaneous articles – Composite – Of polyamidoester
Patent
1997-03-17
2000-06-06
Vargot, Mathieu D.
Stock material or miscellaneous articles
Composite
Of polyamidoester
264245, 264255, 264309, 425130, 425449, 425470, 425DIG50, 427282, 428 422, B29C 3912, B05D 132
Patent
active
060716193
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an elastomeric skin comprising surface portions of at least two elastomeric materials, in particular two differently coloured polyurethane materials, by spraying said elastomeric materials against a mould surface, in which method a portion of said surface is shielded off by means of a mask having at least one edge delimiting said portion, a layer of a first elastomeric material is sprayed onto said surface and onto said edge said mask is removed, and a second elastomeric material is sprayed onto said portion of said mould surface.
A first object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing an elastomeric skin of at least two elastomeric materials which allows to achieve an aesthetic visual parting line between the elastomeric materials, for example in order to produce dash-boards or other interior trim parts for the automotive industry in two or more different colours.
At present, different techniques are available for manufacturing elastomeric skins or moulded pieces made therefrom in two or more colours.
First of all, it is possible to manufacture two independently coloured elastomeric skins which are both further processed to a separate moulded piece which are subsequently assembled as one unit. This known method is, however, time-consuming and involves high costs.
A second known method consists in manufacturing two independently coloured elastomeric skins which are subsequently adhered together involving however the same drawbacks as mentioned hereabove.
According to the two-part mould technique, as disclosed in EP-A-0 386 818 of the present applicant, two differently coloured elastomeric materials are sprayed onto the two mould parts and subsequently pressed together. The complex mould construction technique requires in this case a high capital outlay. Furthermore, the finishing degree of the contact sides between the mould parts is very critical (as to tolerances and stresses) and may result in a two-colour parting line of an optically unacceptable quality.
Using lacquers to paint the different portions of the skins afterwards also does not provide a good solution since this would have a negative effect on the surface quality, in particular in the case of a leather structure, and would also involve a time-consuming process and high costs.
In order to solve the above mentioned problems of the known techniques, the present invention provides a method wherein use is made of the masking technique as indicated hereinabove and which is characterized in that said edge of the mask is placed on top of at least one upstanding edge on the mould surface delimiting together with said edge said portion of this mould surface and said first elastomeric material is sprayed onto one side of said upstanding edge.
In this method the transition between the different elastomeric materials is achieved on the upstanding edge of the mould surface or, when seen from the outside of the elastomeric skin, in a recess of the skin. The actual transition between the elastomeric materials is therefore hidden from view resulting in a nicely finished parting line between the different elastomeric materials and this in an industrially suited way.
A problem arising when using the masking technique for spraying viscous elastomeric materials, in particular polyurethane reaction mixtures, is the formation of filaments or threads of elastomeric material upon removing the mask due to the fact that the sprayed layer of elastomeric material extends from the mould surface up to the mask. Such filaments may arrive on that portion of the mould surface which was covered by the mask resulting in a scrap skin, especially when manufacturing the elastomeric skin from materials of contrasting colours, or in disturbances of the production process.
A further object of the present invention is therefore to solve this problem of filament formation in an industrially applicable way.
To this end, the method according to a second aspect of the invention is characterized in that u
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Patent Abstracts of Japan; vol. 7 No. 145 (M-224) (1290) Jun. 24, 1983.
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Patent Abstracts of Japan; JP3124411, May 28, 1991.
Mason Suzanne E.
Recticel
Vargot Mathieu D.
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