Interior/exterior | automotive
injection moulding machine. The system produces two complete A-pillar covers
(left and right) in ASA on every cycle. Each comprises a front and rear part. The face of the cube has four cavities – the front covers are coated with a piano-black polyurea and the backs over-moulded with a TPE seal. Once moulded, and after the coating has fully cured (this takes a few seconds), the cover halves are ultrasonically welded together within the production cell.
OEMs. “The key thing is the costs,” he says, noting that the thickness of the polyurethane lacquer (which is not cheap) is only around 20 microns. “With a very thin layer like this, you can get a very cost-effec- tive product.” Using lacquered films provides an
estimated cost saving of more than 10% compared to a part that is painted in a secondary process, he says. Fischer also highlights the fact that it is very easy to change the decoration of the part. Lasers can also be integrated in the system to trim the component (if necessary) and to apply personal- ised extra decoration on the film surface.
Formed in colour Krauss-Maffei’s ColorForm “one-shot” process for injection moulding and painting high-gloss surface parts is already being used in series production. Since June of this year, Weidplas has been producing ready-to-install A-pillar panels for the new Peugeot 3008 SUV at its factory in Rüti, Switzerland. The ColorForm technology combines injection moulding and reaction process machinery and enables fully automated manufacturing in a one-step production cycle. In its most basic configuration, a thermoplastic base body is injection moulded in one cavity, the mould half then rotates and the part is flow-coated directly in a second cavity using a two-component polyurea (PUA) or polyurethane (PUR) paint. A finished part comes out of the machine around once a minute. At K 2016, KM showed a standardised production cell
– GXW 6502000 ColorForm - in which all components for processing the paint finishing system are completely integrated. The production cell at Weidplas, however, is more complicated and involves production using a cube mould on a 650 tonne SpinForm GXW 650 – 1400/2000
www.injectionworld.com November/December 2016 | INJECTION WORLD 23
Steering the future Covestro, which (when it was still Bayer MaterialScience) partnered with KraussMaffei several years ago on development of the SkinForm forerunner to ColorForm, showed a
prototype steering wheel cover at K2016 made using technology it now calls DirectCoating/DirectSkinning. “This development features a wide range of colours, surface structures and tactile
properties that can be reproduced on the same component from a single mould,” the
company says. It has developed Bayblend and Makroblend polycarbonate blends and Desmodur and Desmophen polyurethane coating raw materials for the technology. The company’s steering wheel cover showcased a
design variant of the process, incorporating a thin illuminated strip that highlights the contour of the
steering wheel cover and produces an ambient light effect. This is achieved by leaving the translucent thermoplastic substrate in the area of the strip uncoated so a light source fitted behind the substrate can shine through. Covestro is now planning a combina- tion of DirectCoating with printed electronics to achieve further functional integration (see Injection World October 2016).
Left: The Weidplas ColorForm A pillar production cell installed in the company’s Swiss factory. A second mould is in manufacture for a second OEM project
Left: A pillar covers with piano black finishes made by Weidplas for the Peugeot 3008 SUV using KraussMaffei’s ColorForm process
Below: A pillar trims on
Peugeot’s new 3008 SUV are produced by
Weidman using ColorForm “one-shot” decoration
technology from KraussMaffei
s
PHOTO: PSA GROUP
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