For the Golf IV, Volkswagen developed an additional bonded door seal to prevent wind noise. This self-adhesive seal made of EPDM rubber was also be fixed with spots of an MS adhesive at the ends.
Topic: Atmospheric Plasma Treatment. Environmentally responsible alternative to corona treatment and fluorizing.
Openair® Plasma pretreatment: high adhesion values and long-term surface tension without toxic chemicals
In
numerous customer studies, the effects of different physical
pretreatment methods such as corona and plasma pretreatment as well
as chemical fluorizing were investigated in
depth and compared with one another. Critical assessment criteria
were the level of activation achieved on the profiles, the adhesion
values, and the durability of the pretreatment.
SaarGummi – process comparison: LF corona, HF corona, Atm. plasma, gas phase fluorination, wet chemical chlorination
The
results speak clearly in favor of plasma pretreatment.
The
Openair® Plasma process proved to offer excellent long-term
stability, similar to that of fluorizing. EPDM profiles pretreated
using the corona method showed a significant drop in surface tension
only a short while after treatment.
Compared
with fluorizing, pretreatment with Openair® Plasma as a purely
physical
process delivers major processing and cost advantages. Moreover, the
plasma technique is very much kinder to the environment as it
requires no chemicals whatsoever.
Partners & References
HutchinsonPainting and bonding EPDM seals
EPDM profiles for the automobile industry are pretreated with Openair® plasma before painting or flocking at Hutchinson in Aachen, Germany. The advantages: scrap reduction, increased production, and the highest process safety reliability.
