Views: 0 Author: Nursen Publish Time: 2025-12-10 Origin: https://www.luphitouch.com
The production of coffee machine panels needs to focus on four core aspects: material selection, process implementation, structural design, and production testing. By applying engineering plastics, using in-mold coating/IML technology, optimizing three-plate mold structures, and automating tests, it is possible to balance the durability, aesthetics, and production efficiency of the panels. The following is a detailed analysis:
The coffee machine panel needs to balance durability, aesthetics and cost, with engineering plastics becoming the mainstream choice:
Case Material: Polycarbonate (PC) or Polypropylene (PP), known for their high abrasion resistance and good impact resistance, are commonly used as external protective shells to withstand daily bumps and wear.
Internal components: Polyamide (PA) or Polyester (PET), due to their excellent heat resistance, are suitable for parts such as coffee bean hoppers and heating element brackets, ensuring no deformation in high-temperature environments.
Economic Advantage: Engineering plastics cost less than metal materials and can be injection molded to create complex structures in a single manufacturing process, reducing production costs. For example, by adopting a PC+ABS alloy shell, a certain brand of coffee machine has reduced its weight while lowering costs by 15%.
To enhance the appearance and durability of panels, in-mold labeling (IML) technology has become crucial.
Design of Injection Mold for Film Insertion: By pre-placing a PC film on the cavity surface, the film and plastic parts are formed as one piece. For example, a coffee machine panel uses a 0.18mm thick PC film, which is secured through a three-plate mold structure and bullhorn-shaped gate design to ensure that the film does not detach during injection molding and avoid weld marks affecting appearance.
Advantages of IML technology: clear patterns, no transparency, no light leakage, and a 30% or more increase in surface wear resistance. After adopting the IML process, the lifespan of the panel for a certain smart home brand's coffee machine has been extended to over 5 years, and it also supports personalized pattern customization.
Supplementary surface treatment: For non-coated areas, spray coating (such as water-based paint) or PVD vacuum coating can be used to achieve a metallic texture or matte finish. For example, a high-end model is enhanced with a gun gray PVD coating, improving product recognition.
Coffee machine panels often involve complex structures such as curved shapes and multiple recesses, requiring optimization through mold design to achieve efficient demolding:
Design of Positioning Holes: The inner surface of the panel may contain multiple positioning holes (such as 4 platform-type positioning holes + 3 side wall positioning holes), requiring a combination of inclined push rods and sliding blocks for demolding. For example, a mold employs a stepped sliding groove design to ensure the strength of the sliding block while avoiding affecting the strength of the movable mold insert.
Parting Surface and Casting System: For in-mold coating molds, it is necessary to set up locating structures on the parting surface (such as a stretched curved surface with a height of 6mm) to ensure precise positioning of the film; sprue choices include bull nose or dot sprues, feeding from the inner surface to avoid appearance defects. In one case, a balanced design with two gates solved the problem of uneven filling caused by a diagonal push rod in the middle of the plastic part.
Cooling System Design: To address the issue of shrinkage in coated plastic parts, multiple straight waterways (such as four φ10mm waterways) should be installed in the fixed mold insert and independently controlled to shorten the waterway length and prevent heat transfer-induced local deformation.
To ensure the stability of panel quality, automated equipment and multi-stage testing need to be introduced:
Automated production: Robots are used to complete processes such as film placement, mold closing, and demolding, reducing human errors. For instance, a certain production line employs a vision inspection system to monitor the accuracy of film positioning in real-time, keeping the nonconformity rate below 0.1%.
Performance testing: This includes high-temperature resistance tests (no deformation after 72 hours in an environment of 85°C), corrosion resistance tests (immersion test with caffeine solution), and wear resistance tests (no scratches after 500 friction cycles with steel wire brush) to ensure the panel operates stably under extreme conditions.
User Experience Testing: Simulating real-world usage scenarios, testing keystroke durability (such as 100,000 times press test), haptic feedback (like vibration motor response time), display clarity (e.g. readability in bright light), and optimizing interactive experience.
