The next generation of PUR surfaces: Efficiency and performance in harmony

摘要

With the introduction of the PUR technology for flooding wood-veneered carrier components in 2002 the production of fine-wood trim for automobiles took on a new dimension. This paved the way for successively making this quality trim class also available to vehicles produced in greater quantities. However, here too there was no getting away from the obligatory grinding and polishing. Only with the use of a new kind of self-separating polyurethane (PUR) casting systems of the puroclear product family has it now become possible to reduce this time-consuming secondary finishing step to a minimum - a high-gloss part straight out of the mold is no longer a utopian dream. This new generation of PUR coating materials has received its first series production application in the decorative trim parts of the instrument panel and door trim of the new BMW 5 Series. Further series-production applications, such as decorative trim in the piano-black look, are in preparation, and here in a completely integrated process in which the production of the injection-molded carrier and its subsequent surface finishing with PUR takes place in a single manufacturing cell, if necessary, even simultaneously, for example, by using swivel platen or rotary plate technology. Material development too is continuously developing in order to open up the further potential of this group of materials and technology. Here the focus is, on the one hand, on the increasing desire for color variety and the use of effect pigments. But even the targeted integration of grained or textured surface areas in or around high-gloss surfaces is possible using this technology. On the other hand, the functional integration of key functions, for example, is the subject of ongoing developments. Not least, the need is steadily growing to use the performance advantages of puroclear even in the vehicle exterior. This desire too is being - successfully taken into consideration by, for example, the further development of the systems in terms of specific weathering requirements. We may well be eager to see what the next applications are.