Method of manufacturing an in-mold laminate component
View Patent ↗A method is provided for manufacturing a painted plastic component such as painted air bag covers, side cladding or exterior bumpers, which includes a painted film sheet and a one-piece thermoplastic elastomeric structural carrier. A bottom contact surface of the film sheet bonds with a front contact surface of the structural carrier by diffusion between the contact surfaces thereof within a mold cavity of an injection mold separate from the mold cavity of a vacuum mold which is utilized to vacuum-mold the film sheet to form the desired painted plastic component.
1. A system for manufacturing a molded plastic component, the system comprising:
a pre-painted film laminate sheet including a film sheet selected from the group consisting of polyester, polycarbonate, and polyurethane, said pre-painted film laminate sheet further including a layer of acrylic color, a layer of polyvinylidine fluoride and an acrylic clear coat; and
an injection mold configured to accept the pre-painted film laminate sheet vacuum molded to define a pre-form, the injection mold further configured to receive a thermoplastic elastomer injected, at a pressure of 50 psi to 15,000 psi, into a mold cavity of the injection mold to generate a structural carrier for the pre-form, the generation of the structural carrier creating sufficient pressure and heat to bond the structural carrier to a bottom surface of the pre-form to form the molded plastic component.
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the thermoplastic elastomer is selected from the group consisting of a thermoplastic polyolefin, thermoplastic urethane, polyester, polycarbonate, acrylonitrile/butadiene/styrene, polypropylene, copolymer based thermoplastic elastomer, polyolefin ionomer alloy, a mixture of acrylonitrile/butadiene/styrene and polycarbonate, and mixtures thereof.
3. The system of claim 1 wherein the pre-painted film laminate sheet has a total thickness of 0.2 millimeters.
4. The system of claim 1 wherein the structural carrier has a flexural modulus in the range of 15,000 to 400,000 psi.
5. The system of claim 1 wherein the structural carrier has a durometer in the range of 15 Shore D to 100 Shore D.
6. The system of claim 1 wherein the polyvinylidine fluoride comprises more than fifty percent of the total thickness of the pre-painted film sheet.
7. The system of claim 1 wherein the structural carrier is bonded to the bottom surface of the pre-form by diffusion.
8. An injection molding system for manufacturing a molded plastic component, the injection molding system comprising:
a pre-painted film laminate sheet including a film sheet selected from the group consisting of polyester, polycarbonate, and polyurethane, said pre-painted film laminate sheet further including a layer of acrylic color, a layer of polyvinylidine fluoride and an acrylic clear coat;
an injection mold having an upper mold half and a lower mold half, the upper and lower mold halves cooperating to define a mold cavity of the injection mold, the mold cavity configured to accept the pre-painted film laminate sheet vacuum molded to define a pre-form; and
a nozzle for injecting, at a pressure of 50 psi to 15,000 psi, a thermoplastic elastomer into the mold cavity to generate a structural carrier for the pre-form, the generation of the structural carrier creating sufficient pressure and heat such that the structural carrier is bonded to a bottom surface of the pre-form to form the molded plastic component.
9. The injection molding system of claim 8 , wherein the thermoplastic elastomer is selected from the group consisting of a thermoplastic polyolefin, thermoplastic urethane, polyester, polycarbonate, acrylonitrile/butadiene/styrene, polypropylene, copolymer based thermoplastic elastomer, polyolefin ionomer alloy, a mixture of acrylonitrile/butadiene/styrene and polycarbonate, and mixtures thereof.
10. The injection molding system of claim 8 wherein the mold cavity is configured to accept a pre-painted film sheet having a total thickness of 0.2 millimeters.
11. The injection molding system of claim 8 wherein the structural carrier has a flexural modulus in the range of 15,000 to 400,000 psi.
12. The injection molding system of claim 8 wherein the structural carrier has a durometer in the range of 15 Shore D to 100 Shore D.
13. The injection molding system of claim 8 wherein the polyvinylidine fluoride comprises more than fifty percent of the total thickness of the pre-painted film sheet.
14. The injection molding system of claim 8 wherein the structural carrier is bonded to the bottom surface of the pre-form by diffusion.
15. An injection molding system for manufacturing an embossed molded plastic component, the injection molding system comprising:
a pre-painted film laminate sheet including a film sheet selected from the group consisting of polyester, polycarbonate, and polyurethane, said pre-painted film laminate sheet further including a layer of acrylic color, a layer of polyvinylidine fluoride and an acrylic clear coat;
an injection mold having an upper mold half and a lower mold half, the upper and lower mold halves cooperating to define a mold cavity of the injection mold, the mold cavity configured to accept a pre-painted film sheet vacuum molded to define a pre-form, at least one of the upper and lower mold halves being etched with at least one of a letter having at least a 0.5 millimeter radius on edge and a pattern; and
a nozzle for injecting, at a pressure of 50 psi to 15,000 psi, a thermoplastic elastomer into the mold cavity to generate a structural carrier for the pre-form, the generation of the structural carrier creating sufficient pressure and heat such that the structural carrier is bonded to a bottom surface of the pre-form to form the embossed molded plastic component.
16. The injection molding system of claim 15 , wherein the thermoplastic elastomer is selected from the group consisting of a thermoplastic polyolefin, thermoplastic urethane, polyester, polycarbonate, acrylonitrile/butadiene/styrene, polypropylene, copolymer based thermoplastic elastomer, polyolefin ionomer alloy, a mixture of acrylonitrile/butadiene/styrene and polycarbonate, and mixtures thereof.
17. The injection molding system of claim 15 wherein the mold cavity is configured to accept a pre-painted film sheet having a total thickness of 0.2 millimeters.
18. The injection molding system of claim 15 wherein the structural carrier has a flexural modulus in the range of 15,000 to 400,000 psi.
19. The injection molding system of claim 15 wherein the structural carrier has a durometer in the range of 15 Shore D to 100 Shore D.
20. The injection molding system of claim 15 wherein the structural carrier is bonded to the bottom surface of the pre-form by diffusion.