Plastic sleeve for an image cylinder and a method for producing the plastic sleeve

1 . A method for producing a plastic sleeve for use with an image cylinder in an electrophotographic process, the method comprising:

a. positioning a quantity of a solid or a liquid plastic or liquid plastic precursors in a mold having an inside and an outside and an inner diameter equal to the desired outer diameter of the sleeve, the quantity being a controlled amount sufficient to produce a sleeve on the inside of the mold having a selected wall thickness;

b. rotating the mold at a velocity to produce a centrifugal force of at least about 5 times the force of gravity at the inside of the mold until the plastic has solidified;

c. heating the mold to a temperature from about 20 to about 100° C. during rotation of the mold; and

d. removing the sleeve from the mold, the sleeve having a wall thickness from about 125 to about 1000 microns.

2 . The method of claim 1 wherein the plastic sleeve is conductive.

3 . The method of claim 1 wherein the image cylinder has a diameter from about 2 cm to about 400 cm.

4 . The method of claim 1 wherein the plastic is a rigid polyurethane plastic.

5 . The method of claim 1 wherein the plastic is a thermoplastic plastic.

6 . The method of claim 1 wherein the plastic is a thermosetting plastic.

7 . The method of claim 1 wherein the sleeve is formed of liquid plastic constituents in the mold.

8 . The method of claim 1 wherein the sleeve has a Shore A hardness from about 80 to about 100.

9 . The method of claim 1 wherein the sleeve has a wall thickness variation of no more than +/−2.5 microns from the average wall thickness.

10 . The method of claim 1 wherein the mold is cooled to a selected temperature during rotation of the mold prior to removing the sleeve.

11 . The method of claim 1 wherein the centrifugal force is from about 5 to about 100 times the force of gravity.

12 . A sleeve for use by positioning over an outer diameter of a mandrel to form an image cylinder, the sleeve consisting essentially of a plastic sleeve having:

a. a wall thickness from about 125 to about 1000 microns;

b. an inner diameter smaller than the outer diameter of the mandrel;

c. a Shore A hardness of about 90+/−10; and

d. a wall thickness variation of no more than about +/−2.5 microns from the average wall thickness.

13 . The sleeve of claim 12 wherein the plastic is a rigid polyurethane plastic.

14 . The sleeve of claim 12 wherein the plastic is a thermoplastic plastic.

15 . The sleeve of claim 12 wherein the plastic is a thermosetting plastic.

16 . The sleeve of claim 12 wherein the inner diameter of the sleeve is smaller than the outer diameter of the mandrel.

17 . The sleeve of claim 12 wherein the plastic sleeve has a conductivity greater than 10 10 ohms·cm.