阅读说明：本技术 一种制造具有聚合物粘合剂基质的部件的方法 (Method for manufacturing a component with a polymer adhesive matrix ) 是由 鲁多夫·帕特诺斯特 沃纳·芬兹尔 于 2018-10-26 设计创作，主要内容包括：一种制造具有聚合物粘合剂基质的部件的方法,其中由丙烯酸树脂与至少一种混合的颗粒填料制成的聚合物粘合剂基质片材是通过机械加工在一个表面上加工成平面,使得所述表面由经处理的粘合剂基质和所述平面加工的填料颗粒形成,其中随后将所述片材加热至高于所述粘合剂的软化温度,使得所述粘合剂基质松弛并且表面上的所述填料颗粒倾斜,继而产生纹理表面,然后将所述部件冷却至低于所述软化温度。(A method of manufacturing a part having a polymeric adhesive matrix, wherein a sheet of polymeric adhesive matrix made of an acrylic resin and at least one mixed particulate filler is processed by machining into a plane on one surface such that the surface is formed by the treated adhesive matrix and the plane processed filler particles, wherein the sheet is subsequently heated above the softening temperature of the adhesive such that the adhesive matrix relaxes and the filler particles on the surface tilt, thereby creating a textured surface, and the part is then cooled below the softening temperature.)

1. A method of manufacturing a part having a polymer adhesive matrix, characterized in that a sheet of polymer adhesive matrix made of acrylic resin and at least one mixed particulate filler is processed by machining into a plane on one surface so that the surface is formed by the treated adhesive matrix and the plane processed filler particles, wherein the sheet is subsequently heated to above the softening temperature of the adhesive so that the adhesive matrix relaxes and the filler particles on the surface tilt, thereby creating a textured surface, and the part is then cooled to below the softening temperature.

2. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that a sheet with a filler content of at least 65% and at most 95% by weight, preferably 75-90% by weight, is used.

3. A method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that a sheet is used in which at least 10 wt.%, preferably more than 30 wt.%, particularly preferably more than 50 wt.% of the filler particles have a particle size of 0.4mm or more.

4. A method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that a sheet of filler particles having a mohs hardness of more than 5, preferably more than 6, is used.

5. A method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that a sheet is used in which the polymer binder matrix is made of a blend of methyl methacrylate and polymethyl methacrylate.

6. Method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that a sheet with colour pigments embedded in the binder matrix is used.

7. A method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the surface of the sheet is machined by grinding or brushing or polishing.

8. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein the sheet is mechanically reshaped during heating to form a three-dimensional part.

9. Method according to claim 8, characterized in that the sheet is reshaped in order to form a tub, in particular a shower tub.

10. A part consisting of a polymeric binder matrix (3), said polymeric binder matrix (3) being made of an acrylic resin and at least one mixed particulate filler (4), said part being manufactured using the method according to any one of the preceding claims.

11. Component according to claim 10, characterized in that its filler content is at least 65% and at most 95% by weight, preferably 75-90% by weight.

12. Component according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that at least 10 wt.%, preferably more than 30 wt.%, in particular more than 50 wt.% of the filler particles (4) have a particle size of 0.4mm or more.

13. A component according to any one of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that the mohs hardness of the filler particles (4) is greater than 5, preferably greater than 6.

14. Component according to any one of claims 10 to 13, characterized in that the polymeric binder matrix (3) is made of a blend of methyl methacrylate and polymethyl methacrylate.

15. Component according to any one of claims 10 to 14, characterized in that a colour pigment is embedded in the binder matrix (3).

16. The component of any one of claims 10 to 15, wherein the component is a sheet.

17. The component of claim 16, wherein the component is a wall or floor.

18. The component of any one of claims 10 to 14, wherein the component is a bucket.

19. The component of claim 18, wherein the component is a tub.

Technical Field

The invention relates to a method of manufacturing a component having a polymer adhesive matrix.

Background

In many private and public areas, such as private and public swimming pools, small and commercial kitchens, industrial buildings or other places where people often visit and where the floor is sometimes wet, high demands are made on wear resistance and slip resistance to prevent people from slipping. To meet these requirements, floor coverings with a sufficiently stable material structure and a corresponding surface roughness or surface texture are used. One example is tiles where slip resistance is enhanced by dispersing non-melting grit into the tile glazing, where the grit protrudes from a smooth surface after glazing, but is still firmly anchored in the glazing.

In case of high demands on aesthetics and easy cleanability, floor areas with a uniformly ground and polished surface are preferred, which usually consist of mineral materials such as natural stone, fine stone or "engineered stone" materials, wherein the "engineered stone" materials are artificial stones, which mainly consist of quartz particles bound in an organic binder matrix. The slip resistance of the polished surface is naturally very low.

Not only are floor coverings required to have corresponding wear and skid resistance, but also, for example, in bathtubs or shower trays or shower bases. Apart from embodiments made of ceramic, such tubs or bases are also made of enamelled steel or deep-drawn acrylic plates, which, depending on the manufacturing method, generally have a smooth or shiny surface and therefore do not have any very good slip resistance.

The slip resistance of such materials is often improved only by the subsequent application of a mat or adhered cleats.

Another common solution for manufacturing shower trays is to work from a single piece of natural or artificial stone, wherein the surface of the natural or artificial stone is ground and polished, both high-value products and therefore also sold at a high price.

By subsequently machining the surface of the component, for example by forming corresponding grooves or corrugations, a surface is formed on these products which is improved in terms of slip resistance. Although the macroscopic, mechanically formed grooves improve slip resistance, these grooves can be inconvenient if the need for flatness of the component (e.g. in a shower tub or bathtub) increases, as dirt particles can be deposited in the grooves or corrugations, thereby reducing cleanability.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved method for manufacturing a component having a polymer adhesive matrix.

Disclosure of Invention

To achieve this object, a method of manufacturing a part according to the invention having a polymeric binder matrix is provided, which method is characterized in that a sheet of polymeric binder matrix made of an acrylic resin and at least one mixed particulate filler is processed by machining into a plane on the surface, so that the surface is formed by the treated binder matrix and the plane-processed filler particles, wherein subsequently the sheet is heated to above the softening temperature of the binder, so that the binder matrix relaxes and the filler particles on the surface tilt, which in turn creates a textured surface, and the part is then cooled to below the softening temperature.

Surprisingly, it is possible by the method according to the invention to produce components with a non-slip, relief-like textured surface, wherein the textured surface is not produced by mechanical machining to form grooves or corrugations or the like, but is flattened by mechanical treatment of the surface and subsequent heat treatment or tempering.

The starting material for the process of the invention is a sheet of a polymeric binder matrix made of acrylic resin, i.e. a resin matrix made, for example, of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) or a blend of PMMA and Methyl Methacrylate (MMA). The filler particles are incorporated into the resin matrix, which is largely uniformly distributed over the cross-section, i.e. over the thickness of the sheet. The sheet is now machined flat by mechanical means, i.e. as flat as possible using machining. The surface of the sheet can be ground by using a very fine abrasive while it can be worked into a flat surface by additional brushing or polishing, if necessary. The resulting flat or planar surface is formed by the planar processed adhesive matrix and the filler particles exposed on the surface and also processed to be flat or planar, respectively. Thus, the surface visually reveals a region formed by flat or planar machined binder and a region formed by flat or planar machined filler particles surrounded by the binder matrix.

In a next step, the planar processed sheet is heated to above the softening temperature of the adhesive, i.e. the thermoplastic adhesive, which has been cured or polymerized respectively during the sheet manufacturing process, is now softened again. This allows the adhesive matrix to become loose. Surprisingly, it has been found that there is some inherent tension in the already polymerized adhesive matrix resulting from the casting and polymerization process. As the sheet is heated above the softening temperature, the adhesive matrix changes from a cured state to a slightly softened state and the tension within the adhesive matrix is released. The adhesive relaxes or contracts, respectively, which causes the surface texture to change due to the release of tension or relaxation processes, respectively. The previously planar adhesive surface locally changes its planarity, i.e. locally sinks slightly due to the released tension. In combination with the softness possessed by the adhesive matrix, this results in the planar filler particles on the surface being at the same time partially stretched by the relaxed or contracted adhesive matrix, so as to be slightly inclined from its plane, which means that the planar filler particle surfaces no longer extend parallel to one another in a common plane, but are inclined with respect to one another and thus with respect to the plane of the component surface. Due to the relaxation or sinking processes within the adhesive matrix, respectively, and due to the inclination of the filler particles, a textured surface is formed, i.e. the previously planar work surface becomes significantly three-dimensionally textured as a result of these methods.

After a corresponding dwell time (the length of which depends on the actual temperature of the sheet during heating), the shorter the dwell time and the higher the actual temperature, the sheet is cooled below the softening temperature, the adhesive matrix is allowed to solidify again and the surface texture and the inclined filler particles are fixed. Unless three-dimensionally reformed during the temperature treatment, the cooled part or sheet, respectively, remains in the same original shape, as will be discussed below. In any case, the component has a corresponding relief-like or textured surface, which is produced only by the relaxation process of the adhesive matrix and the subsequent tilting of the filler particles, without the necessity of using mechanical machining to form grooves and the like to achieve roughness.

Preferred are sheets having a filler content of at least 65% by weight and at most 95% by weight, preferably 75-90% by weight. This means that a correspondingly high filler content is used to ensure that a sufficiently high particle content is present on the surface to be processed.

Furthermore, preference is given to using sheets in which at least 10% by weight, preferably more than 30% by weight, particularly preferably more than 50% by weight, of the filler particles have a particle size of ≧ 0.4 mm. Preferably, a high proportion of larger filler particles is used, and even particle sizes up to 1 mm and larger can be used.

The filler particles themselves should have a mohs hardness of greater than 5, preferably greater than 6, preferably about 7. Quartz sand is preferably used as a filler, which is preferably used for a fine fraction with a particle size of less than 0.4mm and a coarser fraction with a particle size of, for example, 0.4 to 2.5mm, the proportion of the coarser fraction preferably being higher than the proportion of the fine fraction.

Preferably, sheets are used in which the polymeric adhesive matrix is made of a blend of Methyl Methacrylate (MMA) and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). Thus, monomers and polymers are used to prepare the matrix blend. The weight ratio of polymer (i.e., PMMA) to monomer (i.e., MMA) should be in the range of 1: 1.75 to 1: 6, in particular between 1: 2 to 1: 5, preferably about 1: 4. this means that there is an excess of monomer.

The proportion of the polymerizable volume composed of monomers and polymers, i.e.methyl methacrylate and polymethyl methacrylate, based on the total volume of the adhesive matrix should be from 10 to 40% by weight, in particular from 15 to 30% by weight, preferably about 20% by weight.

In addition to the polymer component, the adhesive matrix also contains the aggregates that are usually added and necessary, such as a curing agent, one or more possible additives or initiators/peroxides.

It is also conceivable to use sheets with colour pigments embedded in a binder matrix. This means that using a colored sheet, a finished part is produced with a correspondingly colored surface.

As mentioned above, the surface of the sheet is preferably machined to be flat by grinding or brushing, wherein a very fine abrasive or brushing device is used during the grinding or brushing to make the surface as flat as possible. It is also conceivable to subsequently polish the surface with a finer medium to make it as flat as possible.

As described above, it is conceivable to heat only the sheet forming the raw material and then cool it again, which means that the shape of the sheet does not change. However, a particularly advantageous development of the invention is the mechanical reshaping during heating to form a three-dimensional component. Provision is therefore made for the sheet, after heating above the softening temperature, to also be mechanically reshaped by means of a shaping tool, such as a stamp or the like, in order to reshape the sheet, which is actually two-dimensional, into a three-dimensional component. The sheet is preferably reshaped in order to form a tub, in particular a shower tub.

In addition to the process itself, the invention also relates to a part made of a polymeric binder matrix consisting of an acrylic resin containing at least one mixed particulate filler prepared according to the above process.

The component itself has a filler content of at least 65% by weight and at most 95% by weight, preferably 75-90% by weight. At least 10% by weight, preferably more than 30% by weight, in particular more than 50% by weight, of the filler particles have a particle size of 0.4mm or more and preferably a Mohs hardness of more than 5, preferably more than 6, in particular about 7.

The polymer adhesive matrix is preferably made of a blend of Methyl Methacrylate (MMA) and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), the proportion of PMMA preferably being from 10 to 40% by weight, in particular from 15 to 30% by weight, preferably about 20% by weight. The weight ratio of polymer to monomer (i.e., PMMA to MMA) should be in the range of 1: 1.75 and 1: 6, in particular between 1: 2 and 1: 5, preferably between about 1: 4.

in addition to any colored filler particles, additional colored pigments may be added to the adhesive matrix. This makes it possible to provide the desired coloration of the component.

The component itself may be a sheet, such as a wall or floor.

Alternatively, the component may be a tub, preferably a shower tray or shower base.

Drawings

Further advantages and details of the invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments and the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of a cross-section of a sheet of the present invention prior to heat treatment for creating a textured surface.

Fig. 2 shows a schematic view of the sheet of fig. 1 after the heat treatment and cooling treatment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 shows a schematic diagram for explaining the method of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 depicts a cross-sectional view of a sheet 1, as shown in fig. 2, the sheet 1 being used as a raw material for making a component 2 of the present invention. The sheet 1 comprises a polymeric adhesive matrix 3 made of acrylic resin, wherein preferably a blend of acrylic monomers, i.e. Methyl Methacrylate (MMA), and acrylic polymers, i.e. polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), is used. In addition to the usual curing agents, additives and initiators or peroxides, and possibly colouring pigments, the sheet 1 comprises filler particles 4 embedded in a binder matrix 3, which may be, for example, quartz sand particles of different sizes. The granulation may consist of a smaller particle fraction <0.4mm and a coarser particle fraction ≧ 0.4mm, up to 2mm or more. The filler content of the filler particles 4 should be at least 65% by weight, at most 95% by weight, preferably in the range from 75 to 90% by weight.

The use of quartz sand as a filler is only an example. Other filler particles may be used, such as corundum or the like, having a sufficiently high mohs hardness value of greater than 5, preferably greater than 6.

The sheet 1 is cured, which means that the adhesive matrix 3 is fully polymerized and the filler particles 4 are firmly embedded in the adhesive matrix.

One surface 5, which is the visible side of the sheet 1 or of the subsequently manufactured component 2, has been subjected to mechanical treatment, preferably grinding, in this figure, for which purpose suitable tools and as fine an abrasive as possible are used. This results in the surface 5 being flat or planar, respectively, in addition to having a very small microstructure resulting from the treatment. The surface 5 may also be polished so that it becomes flatter than, for example, after grinding.

Thus, the surface 5 is defined by a planar portion or surface 6, the planar portion or surface 6 being formed by the adhesive or adhesive matrix 3, respectively, and by a portion or surface 7 of the filler particles located at the surface, which is also planar. Overall, this results in a sufficiently large sheet plane or sheet surface, respectively, which is formed by the adhesive surface 6 and the filler particle surface 7.

Further filler particles 4 are embedded in the adhesive matrix 3, which, based on the schematic representation according to fig. 1, are located at a distance "a" corresponding to the filler particles 4 at the surface.

According to the invention, the planar processing sheet 1 is at least heated to produce a part, which will be described later, the temperature of the sheet is raised above the softening temperature Tg of the binder, which means that the binder matrix 3 softens as a result of the heating process, due to the production process of the sheet 1, in which a polymerizable compound consisting of the binder and mixed filler particles, colour pigments, etc. is poured into a mould and polymerized or cured, there being inherent stresses in the sheet 1 of fig. 1. when heated, the cured binder matrix 3 relaxes, which means that the inherent stresses subside, as can be seen in fig. 3, this results in the binder surface 6 losing its flat planar shape, the zones are more or less collapsed, that is to say they assume a wave-like, relief-like texture, as is clear from fig. 2, the filler particles 4 close to the surface and forming the surface 5 also tilt as a result of sinking and relaxation or slight shrinkage, in line with this plane, the flat filler particle surfaces 7 tilt, which means that the filler particle surfaces 7 tilt from their previous horizontal or surface parallel position, respectively, so that the filler particle surfaces are placed at an angle α due to tilting, wherein the filler particles are again embedded in the sheet after a change in relation to the temperature of course, which is lower than the temperature of the previously of the cooling process, which is generally lower than the temperature of the sheet 1, which is generally lower than the temperature of the sheet 1, of the temperature of the adhesive, which is generally lower than the temperature of.

As shown in fig. 2, this results in a three-dimensional, rough surface structure, on the one hand due to the embossed, indented or rough or structured adhesive surface 6 and on the other hand due to the inclined and thus obliquely arranged filler particle surface 7. The surface texture is tactilely perceptible.

Fig. 3 depicts a diagram showing the process of the method of the invention. In step a), the sheet 1 to be processed is selected and then in step b) its surface is mechanically treated with a suitable tool 8, wherein different tools 8 may be used, such as an abrasive tool and a subsequent polishing tool. The surface 5 of the sheet 1 is mechanically flattened in step b) so that it is as flat as possible and exhibits only the slightest microstructure.

In step c), the treated sheet 1 is then placed in a heating device 9, for example a convection oven or an infrared heating device. In this apparatus, the sheet 1 is heated above the softening temperature Tg of the adhesive matrix 3, which means that T is greater than Tg. Since the adhesive matrix 3 consists of a blend of acrylic resin, preferably MMA and PMMA, the softening temperature is about 100 ℃, which means that the sheet is heated to a temperature above 100 ℃. The heating temperature may preferably be in the range of 120 ℃ to 170 ℃. However, the higher the heating temperature, the faster the stress subsides, and thus the faster the three-dimensional textured surface 5 is formed.

In step c) only heating of the sheet 1 is performed, which means that the sheet 1 retains its shape and is no longer shaped. After the dwell time, the heated sheet 1 is removed from the heating device 9 in step d). The temperature is lowered below the softening temperature Tg, i.e. the sheet 1 is finally cooled to room temperature. As indicated schematically in step d), the sheet 1 now has a three-dimensional textured surface 5 in relief, which exhibits a corresponding roughness and is thus non-slip.

Step c), however, represents in dotted lines an alternative possibility of mechanically reshaping the sheet 1 in a heating process, for example to produce a shower tray or shower base. For this purpose, the sheet 1 is mechanically reshaped, for example deep drawn on a corresponding mold or the like, which is possible because the adhesive matrix 3 has softened. After the mechanical reshaping and the dwell time has expired, the reshaped part 2 is removed from the heating apparatus 9 to allow the stress to subside and form the three-dimensional textured surface 5. In this case, too, the temperature is lowered to a temperature T below the softening temperature Tg, preferably of course to room temperature, so that the finished component 2 in the form of a shower tray has a relief-like non-slip surface 5.

As evidence of a rough, sufficiently non-slip surface, three different sheets were produced, which differed in the amount of binder used and the amount and size of the filler particles used. The composition is as follows: