| Scania has developed a prototype
mould for truck interiors that uses a new process to create a soft-touch
finish on injection-moulded plastic parts.
The technique, called Dolphin, was created by four different plastic processing
companies. It replaces the separate steps of injection moulding, back-foaming
and film lamination with a faster and cheaper process that results in
a soft-touch finish with a leathery appearance.
The base component is BASF’s Ultradur glass-fibre-reinforced plastic,
which is first injection-moulded into the required shape.
The shape is encapsulated in an expandable thermoplastic polyester developed
by Italian plastics specialist P-Group. This has been blown with nitrogen
to create the soft feel.
The similar chemical composition of the two materials creates a permanent
bond between them.
“When compared with rigid injected-mould parts, Dolphin has a soft
touch and only a minor increase in cost,” said Mark Voelkel, technical
marketer for BASF. “Against a high-class polyurethane PVC, Dolphin
has a similar feel but is cheaper.”
The process was refined over three years by getting feedback from 20 tier-one
suppliers and from six OEMs. Their responses showed they wanted varying
levels of gloss, scratch resistance and hardness.
The prototype model is in place on a Scania truck and the system should
be ready for production by early 2009.
It will be used on truck instrument panels as well as a “Golf-segment”
car.
“Interiors are an increasingly important way for OEMs to distinguish
themselves. A lot of effort is put into everything, from colour to smell
and touch,” said Voelkel.
BASF predicts that the process will also find a market with medium-class
cars that aim to appeal to a more premium segment. “Medium-class
cars want the comfort of a higher-class car,” said Voelkel. “They
want the soft touch, but not the extra cost.”
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Nice touch: Dolphin brings a softness to the hard world
of truckers' instrument panels |
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