With the progress and development of technology, as well as the deepening of people's understanding of plastic materials, more and more plastics are playing a greater role in contemporary jewelry. In 1869, American J.W. Hayett first discovered the plastic material Celluloid, which was widely used in decorative art jewelry design in the 1920s. This article elaborates on the surface treatment processes of plastic materials such as printing, coating, hot stamping, polishing, electroplating, and laser cutting, as well as the principles and main influencing factors of plastic dyeing and processing. It also analyzes the works of domestic and foreign jewelry designers.
1. Surface treatment process of plastic materials
With the improvement of plastic properties and the advancement of processing technology, there are more and more types of plastics suitable for the jewelry design industry. Different plastic design products have different visual effects. With the progress of plastic surface treatment technology, its process technology is becoming increasingly rich [1]. The commonly used surface treatment processes for plastic materials mainly include printing, coating, hot stamping, polishing, electroplating, and laser cutting. The following will explain each process separately.
1.1 Printing
Surface printing refers to printing text or graphics on the surface of certain products to beautify or explain. Many plastic products often have information related to the product or manufacturer printed on the surface. At present, there are mainly printing methods such as transfer printing, laser irradiation, transfer printing, hot stamping, and screen printing.
1.2 Coatings
This process is to apply paint to the surface of the target object, and through physical or chemical changes, transform the coating layer of the paint into a film with certain adhesion and mechanical strength. Plastic design products, due to their own characteristics, often require spraying various special coatings to improve the surface brightness, color, and hardness of the design product, and strengthen the various properties of the target object.
1.3 Hot stamping
Hot stamping refers to a new technology that uses the dual effects of heat and pressure to peel off the decorative layer from the carrier substrate (film) and decorate the surface of products or semi-finished products. This technology can be used to beautify plastic design products, making the target object have decorative effects such as bright color, exquisite appearance, and realism, thereby improving the grade of the design products, while also playing a certain protective role in extending their lifespan.
1.4 Polishing
Polishing mainly refers to the process of using electrochemical or chemical methods on the surface of the product, using abrasive particles or polishing tools to improve glossiness, and obtaining a smooth and flat surface of the product. The function of polishing is to beautify the appearance of the product. Plastic design products can improve the surface gloss and aesthetics through this processing process, but its effects on aging resistance and corrosion resistance need to be enhanced.
1.5 Electroplating
Electroplating is mainly the process of plating a layer of metal on the surface of a product using the principle of electrolysis [3]. Electroplating not only has a decorative effect on the surface, but also protects the material from wear and corrosion.
1.6 Laser cutting
Laser cutting mainly refers to the melting of the surface of a product after being irradiated by a high-power laser, which is then removed by high-pressure gas on the same track as the laser,