ClearRIM - New Polyurethane Coating System for Sealing Natural and Root Wood Trim for Automotive Applications

摘要

Many luxury automobiles are supplied with real wood or wood veneer components for interior trim pieces such as gear lever knobs, center consoles, steering wheels and instrument panel inserts. Conventional methods of producing these parts involve up to six coating and drying steps with special unsaturated polyester varnishes. Sanding and buffing processes to produce a high gloss and protective barrier for the natural wood must then follow these steps. The main drawback of the traditional manufacturing technique is its high operating cost. This high cost is attributable to the multiple manual operations, long processing times and overspray-related material loss that also requires environmentally safe disposal. With ClearRIM, these components can be sealed with a RIM process using a special, clear polyurethane system in just one single operation. This single step process offers additional benefits such as minimizing reworking of parts while providing a 90% reduction in component emissions. The durable polyurethane coating created with ClearRIM also protects the wood from marring and potentially damaging ultraviolet rays. ClearRIM is based on the following procedure: The natural wood component is placed into a mold. Then a piston cleaned, loss free mixhead fills the gap between the wood surface and the mold cavity. The polyurethane layer cures within five minutes then the part is removed. Intensive efforts are currently underway to reduce the cure times to a two and one-half minute duration.