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US-20260124853-A1 - METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING A DECORATIVE PART

US20260124853A1US 20260124853 A1US20260124853 A1US 20260124853A1US-20260124853-A1

Abstract

A method for manufacturing a decorative part for the interior of a vehicle with a decorative layer, for example made of wood veneer, aluminum, or foil, which can be printed in one or more colors after a material-specific pretreatment using an ink printing method such as a DOS or CIJ method.

Inventors

  • Liesa GUNTHER

Assignees

  • JOYSONQUIN AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS GMBH

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20251105
Priority Date
20241106

Claims (15)

  1. 1 . Method for manufacturing a decorative part for a vehicle interior, comprising the following steps: a) providing a decorative layer made of a material; b) pretreating a front side of the decorative layer in a manner suitable for the material to enable printing on the front side; c) printing the front side using an ink printing process; d) if necessary, trimming the decorative layer; e) preforming a decorative element from the decorative layer; f) back-injection molding of the decorative element with a plastic on a rear side opposite the front side; and g) Painting the front side.
  2. 2 . Method according to claim 1 , wherein: the material is wood and the decorative layer is a wood veneer.
  3. 3 . Method according to claim 2 , wherein: before step c) or before step b), the rear side of the decorative layer is sanded.
  4. 4 . Method according to claim 3 , wherein; after sanding the rear side of the decorative layer, the rear side is laminated with a nonwoven fabric, in particular a cellulose and/or polyester nonwoven fabric, in particular the nonwoven fabric is bonded to the rear side of the decorative layer.
  5. 5 . Method according to claim 2 , wherein: prior to step c), the front side of the decorative layer is sanded.
  6. 6 . Method according to claim 2 , wherein: the front side is treated in step b), in particular immediately before step c), to increase the surface tension of the front side, in particular by means of plasma treatment and/or corona treatment.
  7. 7 . Method according to claim 1 , wherein: the material comprises aluminum.
  8. 8 . Method according to claim 7 , wherein: step b) comprises at least one of the following treatments: A. a wet chemical treatment; B. electrolytic oxidation; C. a plasma treatment; D. a corona treatment; and E. application of a coupling agent.
  9. 9 . Method according to claim 1 , wherein: the material comprises a film, in particular a plastic film.
  10. 10 . Method according to claim 9 , wherein: step b) comprises at least one of the following treatments: i) a plasma treatment, ii) a corona treatment; and iii) application of a bonding agent.
  11. 11 . Method according to claim 9 , wherein: the rear side of the film is printed, in particular using a digital printing method, preferably an ink printing method.
  12. 12 . Method according to claim 1 , wherein: one of the following inks is used: I. a water-based ink; II. a solvent-based ink; and III. a UV-curing ink.
  13. 13 . Method according to claim 1 , wherein: between steps f) and g), the decorative element is machined, in particular by milling.
  14. 14 . Method according to claim 10 , wherein: the rear side of the film is printed, in particular using a digital printing method, preferably an ink printing method.
  15. 15 . A method for manufacturing a decorative part for a vehicle interior, comprising the steps of: providing a decorative layer made of a material; pretreating a side of the material of the decorative layer by increasing the surface tension of the material on the side, whereby adhesion of printing on the side is improved; printing on the side using an ink printing process; and forming the decorative part comprising the decorative layer in a shape configured for installation in a vehicle interior.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a decorative part for the interior of a vehicle, in particular a motor vehicle. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION U.S. Pat. No. 11,679,614 B2 discloses a method for manufacturing a decorative part for the interior of a vehicle. Here, a special resist coating is applied to a decorative layer formed from a metal sheet using a digital printing process and, after application of the resist coating, this is reworked by brushing, whereby the resist coating resists this mechanical reworking. This allows special designs to be produced for a decorative part. It has been found that the approach described in U.S. Pat. No. 11,679,614 B2 is not readily suitable for applying general paint or other printing inks to a decorative layer of the decorative part. In particular, when inks that are not resist varnishes are applied, the quality of the printed images is inferior. However, there is a need to be able to use digital printing processes more widely in the manufacture of decorative parts for the interior of a vehicle. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Based on this, the present invention is based on the task of specifying a method that enables the printing of different decorative layers for the production of decorative parts for the interior of a vehicle using a digital printing method. To solve this problem, a method for manufacturing a decorative part for a vehicle interior is proposed, comprising the following steps: a) providing a decorative layer made of a material;b) pretreating a front side of the decorative layer in a manner suitable for the material to enable printing on the front side;c) printing the front side using an ink printing process;d) optionally, trimming the decorative layer;e) preforming a decorative element from the decorative layer;f) back-injection molding of the decorative element with a plastic on a rear side opposite the front side;g) painting the front side. Depending on the material available, which may be wood, aluminum, or plastic in the form of a film, step b) involves pretreating a front side of the decorative layer. Preferred examples of this pretreatment are described in more detail below. It has also been found that, of the digital printing processes, the ink printing process is best suited for printing decorative layers, especially those made of wood, aluminum, or plastic. With the appropriate inks and the aforementioned pretreatment, it is possible to print decorative layers regardless of the material, and the print image and thus also the corresponding decorative parts can meet the strict requirements of the automotive industry. After pretreating the front side of the decorative layer, which after completion forms the visible side of the decorative part, and printing the front side in step c), the decorative layer can be trimmed in step d). Alternatively, a decorative layer that has already been cut can be provided in step a). In principle, according to the present invention, it is also possible to process the decorative layer before step b), in particular to make one or more holes, to mill the decorative layer, to treat the decorative layer with a laser, and/or to cut it. In step e), the decorative layer is deformed to form a decorative element. Preferably, this involves three-dimensional deformation of the essentially flat decorative layer. The decorative element is back-injected, preferably with a plastic comprising at least one of the following materials: polyolefins, polypropylene (PP), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polycarbonate (PC), polystyrene (PS) and its copolymers, such as in particular acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polyamide (PA) and/or polyoxymethylene (POM), stabilizes the decorative element and thus forms the body of the decorative part, which is completed by painting the front side. In this case, fastening elements can be formed on the rear side of the decorative part opposite the decorative layer, by means of which the decorative part can be fixed in the vehicle interior. Alternatively or additionally, structures can also be formed here by means of which light can be introduced into the substrate formed by the plastic during back molding. The term inkjet printing process refers to printing processes in which liquid ink is applied to the front side of the decorative layer, for example as drops using the DOD (drop on demand) process or from an ink jet using the CIJ (continuous ink jet) process. In the DOD process, individual ink droplets are applied to the region to be printed, whereby, for example, ink droplets are heated via a heating element to form a vapor bubble for discharging the ink droplet (“bubble jet process”), ink droplets are discharged via a piezoelectric element, or valves are used to control individual nozzles, which open when a droplet is to leave the nozzle (pressure valve method). In the CIJ process, at least one ink jet is generated in which a uniform breakdown into indi