Method and apparatus for structural coloration of metallic surfaces
AssigneeThe Chinese University of Hong Kong
InventorsPing Guo, Yang Yang
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Abstract
Materials for, and methods of, colorizing a metallic surface with micro-gratings using vibration cutting technologies are provided. Micro-gratings on aluminum, brass, and stainless steel surfaces can be rapidly created to effect, under illumination, at least one color observable in the visible spectrum using elliptical vibration texturing, a vibration-assisted mechanical cutting process. The modified metallic surface can display multiple visible colors, an iridescent effect caused by changes in one or more cutting parameters employed to produce the micro-gratings, the angle of illumination by an incident light, and/or the viewing angle of the surface under illumination.
Claims20
A method of producing an iridescent metallic surface, the method comprising:
- defining on the metallic surface a plurality of distinct regions of the same or different shapes and sizes,
- wherein a number of distinct regions corresponds to a number of colors desired for the iridescent metallic surface to display;
- creating with a cutting tool on a first distinct region of the metallic surface at least one series of periodic features perpendicular to a desired cutting direction,
- wherein the at least one series of periodic features are parallel or substantially parallel,
- wherein the cutting tool is vibrated at a distinct frequency while simultaneously displaced along the desired cutting direction across the metallic surface, and
- wherein a rate of the displacement of the cutting tool is different from the distinct frequency of the vibration of the cutting tool;
- and
- repeating the treatment of the first distinct region of the metallic surface in each additional region of the metallic surface,
- wherein the distinct frequency of the vibration of the cutting tool is held constant while the rate of the displacement of the cutting tool varies from each distinct region to each other distinct region of the metallic surface, or
- wherein the rate of the displacement of the cutting tool is held constant while the distinct frequency of the vibration of the cutting tool varies from each distinct region to each other distinct region of the metallic surface.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.