Life Cycle Design of In-Mold Surfacing Film. 3M Demonstration Project.

摘要

This life cycle design project was a collaborative effort between the Center for Sustainable Systems (formerly National Pollution Prevention Center) at the University of Michigan, 3M Corporation, and the National Risk Management Research Laboratory of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The primary objective of this project was to apply life cycle design tools to a new product introduced by 3M. In-mold surfacing film (ISF) is an alternative color-coating system to the traditional paint coating process. It has been tested for application on body side molded (BSM) plastic parts on automobiles. In contrast to painting processes, ISF is manufactured at 3M and is shipped to tier 1 (relative to Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM), i.e. automobile manufacturers) suppliers for application into BSM parts. ISF is a layered product consisting of clear coat, color coat, adhesive, and a Thermoplastic Polyolefin (TPO) backing. A Polyethylene Terepthalate (PET) liner is used during manufacturing, but is removed before the film is die. The analysis is performed for 12.2 g of die cut ISF film applied to a BSM part of surface area of 399 cm2. The material production inventories of Poly Vinylidene Fluoride (PVDF), acrylic, PET, and TPO, which constitute the ISF, were evaluated as part of the analysis. The of the LCD study encompasses manufacturing, application, use and retirement stages.