Bayer MaterialScience develops new automotive coating technology

Car manufacturers around the world produce about 60 million new cars a year – about 1.9 new cars per second. As the annual fuel consumption of such vehicles increases accordingly, the demand for lightweight components made of high-performance plastics is increasing. These products are produced by companies such as Bayer MaterialScience, which are the world leader in the polymer market. Automotive parts produced from lightweight plastics play a vital role in reducing the weight of the car. In addition to the above-mentioned urgent need to improve energy efficiency, car manufacturers and consumers are placing increasing demands on lean manufacturing processes. Nowadays, the functionality of the car itself is not enough to meet the needs of customers, and the appearance is equally important. Manufacturers are therefore looking for coating technologies that fully meet these needs.

This is why Bayer MaterialScience has devoted a lot of time to the topic of “mobility” in this year’s “Innovation Outlook” “Polymer: Today's Function, Smart Tomorrow?” seminar. The focus is on innovative coating solutions that bring innovation to the future market. But regardless of the situation, by 2014, the market demand for coated plastic parts for automobiles may nearly double.

“Reverse Coating” – a new key technology to minimize costs, the current trend is to use an off-line process for painting individual plastic body parts. Bayer MaterialScience's recently developed dual-cure coating is one of the ways to save on the investment cost of the coating line. This type of coating directly uses the soft film technology that appears in the "interactive" block, but with one difference: in the body part, a hard coating that resists harsh weather and mechanical car washes throughout the life of the car is required. For this reason, a thin layer of primer and a layer of varnish that were initially only partially cured were applied to the film. Therefore, the film still has sufficient flexibility in the next hot forming, while the primer remains smooth without cracks. Only then will the coating be cured with UV radiation. This important innovation is called “back coating”. The thermoformed film can then be reinforced by thermoplastic injection molding or polyurethane reactive injection molding (RIM). The advantages are the same as for soft films. The Bayer MaterialScience dual cure system is more economical, faster and less prone to enthalpy than other coatings.

Significant time and money savings with “in-mold coating” Bayer MaterialScience's “In-Mold Coating” (IMC) project is currently under development. This is an innovative “two-step” technology that delivers a premium primer that traditional coating methods cannot provide. The first step is to produce the plastic part by RIM or injection molding, and then in the second step, the reaction two-component polyurethane system is injected into the closed mold and solidified there rapidly. This allows the mold parts to be quickly applied with a functional coating or a decorative primer without the need for relatively complex spray applications. This high-efficiency process significantly increases productivity and enables a shorter production cycle, resulting in significant space savings. In addition to being used in the automotive industry, IMC can be used in the future to enhance the surface feel of everyday objects - for example, in the home appliance, communications technology, electrical and electronics, or sports and leisure sectors.

“Water-based” environmentally friendly coating On the other hand, the company has launched an environmentally friendly water-based two-component polyurethane coating system in the market. These systems are primarily used for flooring materials and wood and metal coatings, and are as effective as solvent-based systems, which are now being used in automotive OEM production lines. Bayer MaterialScience has successfully tested the raw materials required for this process and determined that these materials are fully compliant with the latest EU environmental guidelines, the stringent quality requirements of the automotive industry and consumer innovations that combine modernity, environmental protection, aesthetics and superior resistance. The need for coatings. In a wide range of research and development work, Bayer MaterialScience works with partners in other industries to ensure that the application technology is in sync with the engineering design and application-friendly water-based coatings of industrial production units. These products are ready for production and fully demonstrate the superior quality of automotive coatings as an innovative product.

The main player in this development is Bayer MaterialScience's AutoCreative Innovation Division. Through extensive and in-depth consulting and communication with business units, automakers and component suppliers around the world, AutoCreative brings together a wide range of expertise to ensure that future cars are safe, environmentally friendly, comfortable and user-friendly.

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