Method for manufacturing a composite component of a timepiece or of a jewelry part, and composite component obtainable by such method

Abstract

A method for manufacturing a composite component of a timepiece or of a jewelry part, the composite component including a porous ceramic part and a metallic material filling the pores of the ceramic part, including providing a porous ceramic preform of the component, providing a metallic material, heating the metallic material to a temperature higher than the melting point of the metallic material, filling the pores of the ceramic preform with the molten metallic material, cooling the metallic material and the ceramic preform to obtain a solidified metallic material in the pores of the ceramic preform, and applying finishing treatments to obtain the composite component, wherein the porous ceramic preform consists essentially of a material selected from the group consisting of Si 3 N 4 , SiO 2 and mixtures thereof, and the metallic material is gold, platinum, palladium metals or alloys of these metals.

1 . A method for manufacturing a composite component of a timepiece or of a jewelry part, the composite component comprising a porous ceramic part and a metallic material filling the pores of said ceramic part, said method comprising the steps of:
 providing a porous ceramic preform of the component,   providing a metallic material,   heating the metallic material to a temperature higher than the melting point of the metallic material,   filling the pores of the ceramic preform with the molten metallic material,   cooling the metallic material and the ceramic preform to obtain a solidified metallic material in the pores of the ceramic preform, and   applying finishing treatments to obtain the composite component,   
       wherein said porous ceramic preform consists essentially of a material selected from the group consisting of Si 3 N 4 , SiO 2  and mixtures thereof, and said metallic material is selected from the group consisting of gold, platinum, palladium metals and alloys of these metals. 
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the metallic material is pure metal. 
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the metallic material is an alloy of said metal and silicon. 
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the ceramic preform of the composite component is a net-shape preform. 
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the porosity level of the porous ceramic preform is calculated according to a desired carat level to be achieved by the composite element. 
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the step of filling the pores of the ceramic preform with the molten metallic material is an infiltration step by an infiltration process. 
     
     
         7 . The method according to the preceding  claim 6 , wherein no additional pressure is applied on the molten metallic material during the infiltration step. 
     
     
         8 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein it comprises a further step of coating the intern walls of the pores of the ceramic preform with a wetting agent before the step of filling the pores of the ceramic preform with the molten metallic material. 
     
     
         9 . The method according to the preceding  claim 8 , wherein the wetting agent is pure gold or a gold alloy. 
     
     
         10 . A composite component of a timepiece or of a jewelry part comprising a porous ceramic part and a metallic material filling the pores of said ceramic part, wherein said porous ceramic part consists essentially of a material selected from the group consisting of Si 3 N 4 , SiO 2  and mixtures thereof, and said metallic material is selected from the group consisting of gold, platinum, palladium metals and alloys of these metals. 
     
     
         11 . The composite component according to  claim 10 , wherein the porous ceramic part is mainly composed of Reaction Bonded Silicon Nitride. 
     
     
         12 . The composite component according to  claim 10 , wherein the porous ceramic part is a net-shape preform of the composite component. 
     
     
         13 . The composite component according to  claim 10 , wherein the metallic material is pure metal. 
     
     
         14 . The composite component according to  claim 10 , wherein the metallic material is an alloy of said metal and silicon. 
     
     
         15 . The composite component according to  claim 10 , wherein the amount of the metallic material is higher than 75% by weight of the total weight of said composite component. 
     
     
         16 . A composite component of a timepiece or of a jewelry part obtainable by a method as claimed in  claim 1 . 
     
     
         17 . A timepiece comprising a composite component as claimed in  claim 10 . 
     
     
         18 . A jewelry part comprising a composite component as claimed in  claim 10 .