Process for removing material from a substrate
View Patent ↗A process for skiving a substrate is described, wherein the substrate is skived with a roller or a device or apparatus including the roller. The roller provides a cleaner skive than previously known methods without damage to underlying materials.
1. A process for skiving a substrate, wherein the substrate comprises
a support and
a layer comprising a light modulating material,
the process comprising:
providing the substrate to a skiving assembly comprising at least one roller having a surface;
applying a solvent from the skiving assembly to the layer;
contacting the surface of at least one roller with the layer;
moving the skiving assembly in relation to the substrate to remove at least a portion of the layer and expose at least a portion of the support, and
removing the removed layer from the at least one roller; wherein the exposed portion of the support is undamaged.
2. The process of claim 1 , wherein the roller surface has a central portion and two side portions.
3. The process of claim 2 , wherein at least one of the side portions is longer than the central portion.
4. The process of claim 2 , wherein at least one of the side portions is shorter than the central portion.
5. The process of claim 2 , wherein the central portion is patterned, convex, concave, parabolic, angled, or a chevron.
6. The process of claim 2 , wherein at least one of the side portions is angled, convex, concave, parabolic, or a chevron.
7. The process of claim 2 , wherein the side portions are identical.
8. The process of claim 2 , wherein the side portions are mirror images.
9. The process of claim 2 , wherein the roller further comprises a channel separating the central portion of the surface from at least one of the side portions of the surface.
10. The process of claim 2 , wherein the central portion of the roller surface comprises a first material, and at least one of the side portions of the roller surface comprises a second material.
11. The process of claim 1 , wherein the assembly comprises a roller positioning system.
12. The process of claim 11 , wherein the roller positioning system moves the roller toward and away from the substrate.
13. The process of claim 11 , wherein the roller positioning system moves the roller in an arc relative to the substrate.
14. The process of claim 11 , wherein the roller positioning system adjusts an angle of intersection of the roller with the layer of the substrate.
15. The process of claim 1 , further comprising registering at least one roller of the assembly with the substrate.
16. The process of claim 15 , wherein registering comprises moving the substrate on a flanged roller relative to the assembly.
17. The process of claim 15 , wherein registering comprises moving the substrate on a translating table relative to the assembly.
18. The process of claim 1 , wherein the roller comprises an axle including ball bearings.
19. The process of claim 18 , wherein the ball bearings are at least partially enclosed.
20. The process of claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the roller is coated with a coating material.
21. The process of claim 20 , wherein the coating material is a fluoropolymer or an acetal resin.
22. The process of claim 1 , wherein removing the removed layer comprises applying solvent to the roller surface.
23. The process of claim 22 , wherein the solvent is air, water, an acid, a base, an inorganic solvent, or a combination thereof.
24. The process of claim 1 , wherein the assembly comprises a vacuum source.
25. The process of claim 24 , wherein the vacuum source exerts an absolute force of 0 to 50 N/mm.sup.2 on the roller surface.
26. The process of claim 1 , wherein removing the removed layer comprises vacuuming the roller surface.
27. The process of claim 1 , wherein the skiving assembly further comprises a solvent station, and the process further comprises:
providing the substrate to the solvent station.
28. The process of claim 1 , wherein applying solvent to the layer occurs before contacting the layer with the roller surface.
29. The process of claim 1 , wherein the solvent is water.
30. The process of claim 1 , wherein the light modulating material is disposed on a substrate comprising a conductive material.
31. The process of claim 1 , wherein the roller surface is beveled.
32. The process of claim 1 , wherein the roller surface is patterned.
33. The process of claim 1 , wherein the roller is made of a machinable material, a moldable material, or a combination thereof.
34. The process of claim 1 , wherein the roller is made of stainless steel.
35. The process of claim 1 , wherein the roller has a width of 0.1 millimeters to 2 meters.
36. The process of claim 1 , wherein the roller has a width of 2 mm to 8 mm.
37. The process of claim 1 , wherein the roller is freely rotable.
38. The process of claim 1 , wherein the roller is motor-driven.
39. The process of claim 1 , wherein the roller is removable from the assembly.
40. The process of claim 1 , wherein at least one roller moves in a direction parallel the movement of the substrate.
41. The process of claim 1 , wherein at least one roller moves in a direction non-parallel movement of the substrate.
42. The process of claim 1 , further comprising
changing position of the at least one roller.
43. The process of claim 1 , further comprising
moving the at least one roller toward and away from the substrate.
44. The process of claim 1 , further comprising
moving the at least one roller in an arc relative to the substrate.
45. The process of claim 1 , further comprising
adjusting an angle of intersection of the at least one roller with the layer.