Metal for strength… and for beauty
Metal gives mobile handsets rigidity and strength. Thanks to metal, we can design thinner devices with bigger displays. A bare metal surface is, however, well – bare. It takes multiple process steps to give the metal surface its polish, structure, color or feel.
LITEONMOBILE has a strong metal portfolio, which includes die-casting of magnesium and zinc as well as aluminum and stainless steel sheets. Metal components can be used in structural mechanics to increase rigidity, and also to bring the high-quality feel of a real material to the surface.
From blank to beautiful
Cosmetic metal products are a combination of various technologies and can be manufactured in up to ten different process steps. First of all, before the blank manufacturing, the raw material can be pre-treated to create, for instance, a hairline effect or satin finish. Metal blanking is then done with stamping technologies, sometimes utilizing laser cutting for complex 3D shapes.
In addition to the pre-treatment phase, the surface quality can also be created in the post-treatment phase, for instance, with mechanical polishing, blasting or brushing. Surface color and properties can be finalized with diverse surface treatment technologies: for example, PVD, anodizing, painting or functional coatings like easy-to-clean or hard-coating. Special decorations, markings, textures or logos are created for the final product with laser decoration, etching, engraving or printing
Wanted: a flawless surface in a variety of colors
LITEONMOBILE has invested strongly in enhancing the technology offering for metals. It now has an extensive portfolio of in-house solutions to meet the diversifying needs of the market.
“Colored metals are a clear trend. In addition to traditional painting, colors can also be generated with electro-lacquering. For aluminum products, anodizing gives a very wide color scale. Physical vapor deposition (PVD) provides a variety of colors as well as a hard-coated surface,” explains Kimmo Kurvi, LOM Product Manager for Metals.
Hard coatings are one way of achieving longer-lasting surface quality, an issue found critical when using metal in handheld devices. They prevent scratches and marks very effectively.
“We are also developing anti-fingerprint coatings to prevent visible fingerprints and smudges on products, but they are not quite here yet,” says Kimmo Kurvi.
And as its name suggests, an Easy-To-Clean coating makes the surface a breeze to wipe clean.
Under the surface
But the cosmetic advantages of using metals are only half the story. Integrating metal and plastics in components contributes to thinner structures and smarter integration. New technologies provide ways to integrate these materials directly in the injection molding process, offering more design freedom for products.
“Metal is definitely becoming more and more popular in all parts of handheld devices. We are studying the future trends and exploring new opportunities to use and treat metal – we are happy to help in making them a reality,” says Kimmo Kurvi with obvious enthusiasm.