Topic: Adhesion of water-based, VOC-free anti-friction coatings and dry lubricants. Pretreatment of profiles made of thermoplastic elastomers (TPE) prior to coating.
Openair® Plasma facilitates adhesion of solvent-free coating systems on thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) profiles
Modern
profiles made of thermoplastic elastomers consist of a blend of EPDM
and polypropylene (PP) and are extruded thermoplastically.
The resulting products have only a very low surface tension and need
to be pretreated before applying anti-friction coatings.
One
major challenge to the automotive industry is achieving emission-free
vehicle interiors by using VOC-free manufacturing processes.
As an alternative to solvent-based coatings, it is possible to use
water-based anti-friction coatings and dry lubricants. However, these
will not adhere to the substrate unless it has an especially high
surface tension.
TPU compound materials tableAt the same time, profiles made of TPE have thermally sensitive surfaces and can easily be damaged if the pretreatment is too intense. With all these conflicting requirements, it is difficult to achieve reliable activation over the whole range of products. Nevertheless, this can be done by using patented Plasmatreat rotary jets RD 1004. These can treat a wider area, distributing the plasma power uniformly over the treatment zone.
Partners & References
BASF - ElastogranNew compound materials
Using Openair® plasma technology, TPU manufacturer BASF Elastogran was able to greatly expand and improve the bonding capabilities of TPU with other thermoplastics in multi-component injection molding.
