|
Thermoplastic
polyurethanes from Bayer have outstanding wear and scratch reistance,
flexibility and resistance to oils and grease. Applications
of our TPU products in the automotive industry include grommets
and spring sleeves, bushings and dust cups, and supporting and
guide joints. Some grades of Desmopan® and Texin® TPU
are highly resistant to microbial degradation and are used for
cable sheathings and seals (check out Texin
985 and Texin
DP7-1049.)
For
car components
such as door sills and warm air ducts, designers often prefer
high-impact, glass fiber-reinforced grades which have a low expansion
coefficient and good damping behavior at a medium elasticity modulus.
Desmopan and Texin plastics
also have a lot to offer in terms of decoration, surface quality
and tactile properties. Typical applications inside the
vehicle include:
- Center consoles and louvers - overmolded in a process that
produce a soft-touch finish that feels like leather but is still
scratch resistant.
- Gearshift knobs- high wear resistance
- Trays and holders- excellent sound-damping and slip resistant
qualities.
Outside the car, TPU
soft-touch technology is used to produce rear lights and brake
lamps with enhanced weather-resistant sealing lips that remain
flexible over a wide range of temperatures.
New trends in car interior design
include more light and airy colors, and transparent, scratch-proof
surfaces. Both trends can be a problem for conventional
aromatic TPU materials because they gradually turn yellow over
time. Bayer has developed new grades of TPU, such as Texin
DP7-3041, that are based on aliphatic isocyanates with longer-term
light-fastness.
Outstanding
transparency and higher scratch resistance
We offer a number of
Desmopan and Texin grades that can be processed by extrusion and
are highly transparent even at wall thicknesses of more than one
centimeter. This makes them an attractive material for flexible
rear windows in convertibles. Compared with previous materials,
these grades are less sensitive to sratching and better able to
resist external mechanical stresses. TPU windows also withstand
the rigors of a car wash. The product's higher flexural strength
and buckling resistance also means that the windows will retain
their transparency at points where they are folded over.
Array of light
colors in the interior
Grades of TPU that can
be colored in light shades are becoming more popular. With
their good flow properties, they are easy to process by injection
molding. Colored components for the center console in car
interiors made of Desmopan or Texin TPU are already coming off
the production line.
Colored instrument
panel skins made of TPU
Skins for instrument panels are regarded
as one of the most demanding applications in a car's interior.
Desmopan and Texin thermoplastics have the properties required
for these parts, and their ability to to retain their flexibility
in cold temperatures gives them the advantage. This is especially
important in ensuring airbag funtion at extremely low temperatures.
With the new aliphatic grades, the skins can also be made bright
and colorful. We have developed compounds for this that
can be turned into skins by the powder slush process.
And there's more.
In cooperation with others, we have developed alternative processes
to slush-molding for the production of molded TPU skins for car
interiors. These processes are made possible by the new
aliphatic Desmopan grades that form the visible, highly lightfast
skin surface.
Other Markets:
Agriculture
and Mechanical Engineering
Belts,
Hoses, Cables and Profiles
Films
and Coatings
Sports
and Leisure
|
