The present disclosure relates to a molded product integrally molded using, for example, different resin materials and in-mold transfer foil used for molding.
The following two-color molding method has been known. First, a cavity mold and a core mold for primary molding are clamped like sandwiching in-mold transfer foil in which the pattern layer or the like is formed therebetween and a molten primary molding resin is injected to mold a primary molded resin portion having the pattern layer transferred to the surface thereof. Then, the cavity mold mounted with the primary molding resin and a secondary molding core mold are clamped and a secondary molding resin is injected to mold a secondary molded resin portion like covering the surface of the primary molded resin portion (see, for example, Patent Literature 1). In a molded product produced by the two-color molding method, the pattern layer transferred from the in-mold transfer foil to the primary molded resin portion is advantageously protected by the secondary molded resin portion.
The in-mold transfer foil used for the above molding will be described below.
The in-mold transfer foil comprises a base film and a transfer layer formed on the base film. The transfer layer comprises a plurality of layers and has a laminated structure of, as an example, a hard coat layer, a decorating layer having a design or characters (pattern), and a bonding layer from the base film side. The in-mold transfer foil on which a pattern is printed is set into a molding die and the transfer layer of the in-mold transfer foil is transferred to the primary molding resin by pressure and heat of the injected molten resin. In this manner, the pattern printed on the in-mold transfer foil is transferred to a resin molding portion to achieve the molding and the surface decoration at the same time.
The decorating layer is a layer to attach design properties to molded products. The bonding layer is a layer to bond the transfer layer to a molded product and the adhesive strength manifests itself by being softened by heat of the injected molten resin. The decorating layer and the bonding layer are formed by, for example, silk-screen printing or gravure printing.
A hard coat layer is provided in most cases on the base film side of the decorating layer. The hard coat layer is a layer to protect the decorating layer from friction and scratches. The hard coat layer may be formed by a printing method, but in most cases is applied to the entire surface of the base film using, for example, a blade coater.