pu today june 2009

1P O L Y U R E T H A N E S T O D A Y

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2 P O L Y U R E T H A N E S T O D A Y

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Chairman’s Message

Dear Colleagues,

It is with very heavy heart that I share sad news of the passing

away of our Chairman Emeritus, Mr. Sarangapani at

Hyderabad in the early hours of 19th March’09. He had been

ailing for sometime and unfortunately could not recover. Let’s

all pray to the all mighty to grant the bereaved family and all

of us, the strength to bear this irreparable loss.

As you are all aware, he was the “Bhishma Pitamaha” of

the Indian Polyurethane Industry, which he pioneered way back

in 1960. Born on 4th October, 1927 – a Chemical Engineer from

Anna Malai University, his long list of achievements include

assignments with the World Bank & UNDP.

To truly understand his contribution to the industry, we need

to transport ourselves back to the 60’s, when the markets for

Polyurethane foams were non-existent, technology to

manufacture was new, not only to India but also to the world.

The raw material suppliers enjoyed monopoly and everything

from duties to taxes were huge. Foreign exchange was scarce

and the industry was “Small Scale” only. It was under these

“Wild-west” conditions that this “Visionary” provided the

necessary directions and drive to kick start the new concept of

Flexible Polyurethane Foam in the Indian market. From

then on he always continued to champion the cause of this

industry in all foray and even mentored futuristic issues like

“Environment Protection, Health & Safety” till his very

end.

If there is one man, responsible for what the industry

is today – It is Mr M Sarangapani.

Let’s all recommit ourselves to fulfill his goal of making the

Indian Polyurethane Industry play a dominant role in the global

scenario.

Best regards

Rahul Gautam


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Editorial

Dear Members,

I apologise profusely for this delayed June Issue of PU Today.

I had been hospitalized and was under ‘strict bed rest’

instructions from my doctor. It was impossible to even work

with a lap-top computer, in the supine position, with hips

above face level, due to the traction that was advised.

Still, this issue has been made possible, with only a slight

delay, because of the extraordinary efforts of our Editorial

team: Mr. Ashish Sood, Mr. Ramamurthy and last but not the

least, Mr. Mikhail Bhuta, who has made himself available to

me in the capacity of our ‘GUEST EDITOR’ during his vacation

from the University of Southern California. His help with the

compilation of this issue has proven invaluable in terms of

the minimal delay in the dispatch of this issue. He has also

revamped the Front Cover of our magazine with a fresh design,

and infused a breath of freshness and contemporary trends

to our magazine. Also, a big thank you to Mahesh & Rajesh

from DOW, for helping me out.

We are sad for the demise of Mr. Sarangapani – the father of

the Indian PU Industry. May his family be blessed with the

necessary strength to deal with their loss.

We have planned on using a new theme: of highlighting

various sectors in different issues, so that we have in depth

articles and insights on each individual section of our Industry.

This issue highlights the trends in the PU Automotive Sector,

and the articles are so related. People associated with the

Alternative Blowing Agents, may be especially interested in

the forthcoming issue based on said sector – in September

2009. We hope this trend is appreciated by all of you. Do

write in your feedback to Mr. Ramamurthy.

Sincerely,


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CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE ........................... 3

EDITORIAL ....................................... 4

CREDITS + CONTENTS .......................... 5

TRIBUTE ......................................... 6

DOMESTIC NEWS ................................ 8

INTERNATIONAL NEWS ........................... 16

PRODUCT NEWS ................................. 19

INTERVIEW ....................................... 22

EVENTS & TRENDS ............................. 23

TECHNICAL UPDATES ............................ 24

PREVIEWS & REPORT ........................... 49

ContentsC O N T E N T S

PUBLISHED BY THE INDIAN POLYURETHANES ASSOCIATION

EDITOR

MRS. MEDHA BHUTA

EDITORIAL TEAM

MR. ASHISH SOOD

MR. RAMAMURTHY

COMPILATION & SELECTION

MR. ARUN KUMAR

MR. MAHESH GOPALASAMUDRAM

DESIGN CONCEPT

MR. MUKESH BHUTA

GRAPHIC DESIGN & LAYOUT

RED SKY DESIGNS

PRODUCTION & EXECUTION

MR. RAMAMURTHY

IPUA OFFICE BEARERS

CHAIRMAN

MR. RAHUL GAUTAM 0120 – 4162220 / 4162200 [email protected]

VICE CHAIRMAN

MR. G. RAMACHANDRAN 044-25941025 [email protected]

Mr. MUKESH BHUTA 022-27680303 [email protected]

TREASURER

MR. GIAN JAIN 011-27138428 [email protected]

SECRETARY

MR. K. RAMAMURTHY 044-24995923 [email protected]

[email protected]

IPUA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS

MR JAGANNATH SARANGAPANI 040 23701871 [email protected]

MR G ANAND 022 27787396 [email protected]

MR MANDAR JOSHI 022 6791 7420 [email protected]

MR DEEPAK T. MEHTA 079 – 2630 4652/3/4/5 [email protected]

MR. BALRAM U NICHANI 080 8422851 [email protected]

MR CYRUS JASSAWALLA 0120-3921199 [email protected]

MR M.G. BOHRA 044 2595-2001/2 [email protected]

MR H.S. KOCHAR 0120 4080000 [email protected]

MR S.ARUN 02642-247160/61/62 [email protected]

MR RABINDRA JHAJHARIA 033 2298904, 2295496 [email protected]

MR CHANDRAKANT NAYAK 022 6783 2455 [email protected]

DR G MAHESH 022 6797 8500 [email protected]

Alternate to Mr Chandrakant Nayak

MR SANJAY SANGHI 022-40059350/51/52 [email protected]

MR PRANAYA PRADHAN +91 9731303238 [email protected]

MR VINOD VORA 022-413-5141/5889 [email protected]

MR SUBBANNA YALVIGI 022-6723 8800 [email protected]

MR ROMESH MADAN 011 41613643, 44, 45 [email protected]


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Warm Valediction Mr. Sarangpani

“One can survive

anything these days,

except death, and live

down anything except

a good reputation.”

….Oscar Wilde.

These words seempertinent to the pioneerof the IndianPolyurethane Industry –Mr. MudumbaiSarangapani [1927-2009].A Chemical Engineer byqualification, he hailsfrom a family of firstgeneration technocratswho have all contributedto the growth of the PolymerIndustry in India. Being an Alumnusof prestigious institutions like theMysore University (BSc); theAnnamalai University (BE -chem.)and the Institute of ChemicalEngineers (M.I.I. Chem E), hislifetime growth pattern, stood themproud.

by his knowledge and vastexperience in said field. No wonderthen, that he was the Convener forIndian standards for the cellularfoams sector in the PU Industry,and also was responsible forformulating the standards.

� Rigid Polyurethane foaminsulation for the twindoor units ofrefrigerators were firstinitiated in India bynone other than him.

� As was hisindigenization of rigidfoam for HelicopterBlades.

� He conceptualized,designed & fabricatedthe first living Stationaccommodation forGangotri in the SouthPole, using rigid PUfoam.

Tribute

Medha Bhuta [Editor]

� His first footstep on the thresholdof the nascent PolyurethaneIndustry was in 1960, after whichthere was no stopping of either himor his pioneered PU industry inIndia. Many an Indian technocrathas often picked his brain, whiledealing with technicalities, andhave by and large, been enlightened


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� He was appointed: Convener forthe foams sector in the preparationof the Country Programme for theGovt. of India’s EnvironmentMinistry, for compliance of theMontreal Protocol for the phasingout of CFC use in the foam industryto enforce the conservation of theozone layer in the stratosphere.

� Later, he was appointed as aconsultant for the World Bank andfor UNDP, in providing technicalsupport and project reports for theapproval of the Montreal ProtocolSecretariat through theGovernment of India. All the IndianFoam Industry was covered in thisproject.

� He was then roped in, to helpthe Governments of Vietnam,Malaysia and Thailand in theirimplementation of the MontrealProtocol – by making plant visitsand offering technical support intheir preparation of applicationsto the UNDP/UNEP.

� This lead to his representingIndia and the South East Asianregion in the UNEP TechnicalOptions Committee for Foams –upgrading of Technologies andalternate ecofriendly blowingagents as substitutes for CFCs.

� He was the Original Signatoryin the formation of IPRI’s IndianSection.� Next step was – service as agoverning council member in thefounding Presidents’ Board 1985-86, and as a Chairman of theGoverning Council IPI for 1 year.

� He was a proud recipient ofnumerous awards, such as - TheMeritorious Service Award of IPI onDec. 2, 1955, & the Certificate ofmerit from UNEP for the work donein this sector etc...

This panoply of achievements hasraised the bar in the listing ofattributes to qualify as acoruscating luminary of the

Polyurethane Industry as a whole.This consummate technocrat hasmade his footprints on the sandsof time for sure. It is a fact that hefought his cancer valiantly till hislast breath, and did not allow it todeter his technical creativity nordeter his quest for newerapplications and developments inhis chosen field of interest – PU.

We at the Indian PolyurethaneAssociation join hands and standup in ovation at this curtain call.To felicitate with a final salute: thissapient technocrat who lead usthrough this frontier, that is –Polyurethanes. May his soul go onto a better stage, and may hisfamily and friends have thefortitude to bear this immenseloss. We at the Indian PolyurethaneAssociation will proudly cherishfond memories of the man thatstood tall amongst the giants ofthe Global PU Industry.

Tribute


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Bayer MaterialScience builds newmanufacturing facility forpolyurethane raw materials in India� 20 Million Euro investment underlines growth strategy in the region� New plant in Ankleshwar to produce Desmodur® polyisocyanates from 2011

LLLLLeverkusen, March 26, 2009everkusen, March 26, 2009everkusen, March 26, 2009everkusen, March 26, 2009everkusen, March 26, 2009– Bayer MaterialScience is to

invest EUR 20 million in a newaromatic and aliphaticpolyisocyanate manufacturing facilityin India as part of its strategy to growits business in the country andstrengthen its position as a marketleader in the supply of polyurethaneraw materials. The new plant inAnkleshwar, in the north-westernstate of Gujurat, is scheduled to startoperating in 2011.

The facility will produce Desmodur®

polyisocyanates, raw materials forthe formulation of a variety of

polyurethane coatings, adhesivesand sealants. Specifically, these willbe Desmodur® L for the coating ofwood and furniture as well as forthe formulation of adhesives forflexible packaging, and Desmodur®

N, used in the automotive,industrial and plastic coatingsectors.

“This investment underlines ourcommitment to India and theregion. Despite the currently weakglobal economic scene, we believeIndia holds much promise forsustainable market growth,” says Dr.Joachim Wolff, head of the Coatings,

Adhesives, Specialties (CAS) BusinessUnit and member of the ExecutiveCommittee of Bayer MaterialScience.“The coatings and adhesives sectorcontinues to establish itself in Indiaas its economy grows. TheAnkleshwar investment highlightsour commitment to this market andwill strengthen our ability to meetdemand in the future,” says Dr. Wolff.

Bayer MaterialScience also has apolyurethane systems house in India– its first in the country – which wasopened in Greater Noida, near NewDelhi, in mid-2007.

Polyurethane insulation a key contributor tosustainable constructionShpresa Kotaji, Huntsman

Sustainable construction the drivers

Humanity currently faces itsgreatest challenge ever to

support continued populationgrowth, improved life expectancyand the growing need for food,energy and shelter withindiminishing natural resources andsaturated pollution sinks. Thischallenge is now drivingfarreaching changes at all levelsthrough government, businessand civil society.

Sustainable development is thedriving force for acting more

responsibly and introducingsolutions which minimize resourceneeds over time, while increasingthe quality of life and maintaininga viable economy.

There are three criteria that needto be fulfilled to ensuresustainable development of anyindustry:

� Environmental responsibility� Economic growth� Social progress

Environmentresponsibility

Economicgrowth

Socialprogress

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The construction industry is closelylinked to the various aspects ofsustainable development.Construction activities consume asmuch as 50% of the raw materialsextracted from the earth and thebuilt environment accounts for thelargest share of greenhouse gasemissions in terms of energy end-usage. The construction industry isalso a powerful economic driverand one of the largest employers.On the social side, people spendmore than 90% of their livesindoors with increasing demand oncomfort and well-being. All thisimplies that in order to becomemore sustainable, the constructionindustry faces environmental,economical and social challengesgreater than that of any otherindustrial sector.

The role of insulation

The International Energy Agency(IEA)1 estimates that if buildingenergy consumption in India growsto current US levels, India’sconsumption in 2030 will be seventimes greater than today. Theconstruction boom is increasingenergy demand significantly buteconomic development and otherfactors are adding to the challengebecause they also increasebuildings energy needs.

In India, coal (together with lignite)contitutes the principal source ofenergy with CBM, coal bedmethane, is likely to emerge as akey future energy source. With lowdomestic reserves of oil (0.7 % ofworld) & natural gas (0.4 % ofworld) combined with record highcrude oil prices & rapid growth indemand put forth by thetransportation sector, striving toenergy efficiency is an imperative

for economic growth. Unlike Chinaand US, India is vulnerable toenergy supply disruptions andenergy security is next in priorityto food security.

With these necessities to reducedependence on fossil fuel energyand to combat climate change,designing and renovating buildingsto high energy standards hasbecome vital. After ensuring thatbuildings are compactly designedand orientated to optimize passivesolar access, the primary principlefor achieving low energy buildingsis to minimize heat loss througheffective insulation of the buildingenvelope. Indeed, buildinginsulation offers the largest CO2savings potential of all energyefficiency improvement measuresand achieves energy savings withthe highest negative CO2abatement costs and the highestnet financial gains for society.2 In2001, the Indian parliament passedthe energy conservation act andestablished the Bureau of EnergyEfficiency, BEE, which formallylaunched the Energy ConservationBuilding Code (ECBC) that prescribesguidelines for efficient use of energyin buildings in May 2007.

The contribution ofpolyurethane insulation

Polyurethane insulation s close-cellstructure satisfies the two mostimportant factors in designingeffective insulation solutions: a very

low thermal conductivitycombined with a low failure risk3.

� Polyurethane has the lowestthermal conductivity of any of thelarge volume insulants, whichenables space to be saved by usingsmaller insulation thickness whileachieving the same insulationefficiency as with other materials.

� Unlike traditional fibrousinsulants, polyurethane has low

moisture permeability and is notaffected by air movement. Thisensures high thermal performanceover the building lifetime andguaranteed high energy savings.

Although polyurethanemanufacturing mainly rely on fossilresources, it is important to notethat the manufacturing ofpolyurethane uses less than 0.1%of the total global fossil fuelconsumed per annum while savingup to 100 times more when usedas insulation material.

The following examples illustratehow some key polyurethaneinsulation applications contributeto cost efficient energy and naturalresources savings.

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Self-supporting metal facedinsulated panels

Steel buildings and metal framedbuildings have become thepreferred construction methods fortoday s large industrial buildings,refrigerated and other warehouses,office blocks, exhibition halls, fairpavilions, schools and sport halls.Light weight metal framedbuildings combined with self-supportintg metal-faced insulatedpanels can be built inapproximately half the time and

are less material intensive,compared to conventional brickand concrete constructions, at acompetitive cost.

Polyurethane core metal-facedpanels are factory-made underoptimal conditions and highlevels of control. During themanufacturing process, rigidpolyurethane foam self-adheres tothe metal facings. The resultantsandwich panel has a load-bearingcapability which is many timesgreater than that achieved byadding together the load-bearingcapacities of the individual layers.As a result, these thin, relatively

lightweight sandwich panel cansafely bridge wide spans. They are30 to 50% lighter than equivalentsandwich panels based on mineralfibers meaning that structuralsupport can be lighter and fewer.For example, a panel just 100 mmthick can easily bridge a clear spanof some six meters reducing themetallic structural elementrequirements. Such insulatedpanels will also ensure significantenergy savings.

Factory engineered polyurethane

insulated metal-faced panel-to-panel joints are designed for airtightness and eliminate on-sitesystem assembly, ensuring there areno gaps or missing components.This is important as just five percent of missing insulation in thewalls and roof of an industrialbuilding can result in 30 percentextra heat loss.

Polyurethane insulation andthe the cold chain

With a doubling of the worldpopulation in the last fifty years andan expected eight billioninhabitants by the year 2030, the

world has an ever increasingnumber of people to shelter andespecially to feed.

Agriculture is the major industryof India with total agriculturaloutput amounting to 40% of thenational income. It is estimatedthat due to lack of propertransportation and storagefacilities, about 33% - or 20 milliontons - of products, especially fruitand vegetables are wasted4. As aresponse, the Indian governmenthas set up incentive programmesto increase the number andquality of cold stores.

The insulation efficiency ofpolyurethane foam is a keyproperty for the low temperaturepreservation of food duringprocessing, storage anddistribution to the consumer andpolyurethane core metal-facedpanels are extensively used tobuild cold rooms and cold stores.

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The insulation closed-cell foamstructure between the twomoisture impermeable metal skinsensures long term thermalperformance.

The panel construction eliminatescold bridges which ensures thatboth surface and interstitialcondensation will not occur, as thiscould lead to the formation ofbacteria and mould growth.

Panels are supplied with easy toclean foodsafe liners especiallydesigned to comply withregulations. Such panels arerecommended by majorinternational retailers for their foodprocessing buildings. Polyurethanecore metal-faced panels are alsoextensively used to build insulatedagricultural buildings.

In refrigerated transport, thethickness of the insulation isconstrained by the maximumwidth of the truck and a minimuminternal dimension dictated by thesize of standardized pallets.Studies have demonstrated the keyrole of polyurethane core panelson CO2 saving5.

Hygiene is equally important forother processes that require aclean environment, such aselectronic and pharmaceuticalindustries. These are not negligibleareas of activities when we see thetrend to higher technologyindustries and increasing lifeexpectancy related to propermedication.

Polyurethane insulationboards

Polyurethane insulation boardsare faced with a variety of materials

such as paper, aluminum, cork orbitumen and are used in a varietyof applications such as cavity walls,floor and roof applications.

Because of its relatively lowerthickness, the use of polyurethaneinsulation will not require drasticdesign adjustments or changes inconstruction habits and this willensure lower construction costs forlow energy consuming buildings.

For example, if to achieve therequired thermal performancealternative insulants are 10 cmthicker than polyurethane, thiswill in turn have an influence onthe roof size required to overhangthe wall and foundation width. Theoverall footprint of the house willincrease by about 2.8 m2. On largerschemes this may influence thedensity achievable on the site.

In the case of buildingrefurbishment with a restrictedthickness space for insulation,polyurethane will also offer abetter thermal performance thantraditional fibrous insulationmaterials, increasing the energysavings potential.6

In flat roofs, polyurethane s lowdensity and low thermalconductivity provide insulationsolutions which are five timeslighter than with traditionalfibrous solutions, further reducingdemand on building materials.7

Polyurethane pipe insulation

Rigid polyurethane foam has beenused for the insulation andprotection of pipes for more than30 years. It is now more widely usedthan ever, increasingly displacingalternative materials. One of themost popular areas of use is fordistrict heating and cooling systems,where it is the insulant of first choicefor many specifiers. Other commonuses are in

� on and offshore oil and gaspipelines

� heating and plumbing servicesfor power stations, chemicalplants and refineries

� dairy industry applications

� special applications i.e.swimming pool pipelines

Polyurethane foam’s popularity isbased on its outstanding insulationproperties, which prevent heat loss

or alternatively maintaintemperatures in cold environmentsto prevent freezing or cracking.These energy conservationqualities improve the overall costefficiency of the piping networks.Other important characteristicsinclude high mechanical strength,adhesion, flexibility and goodflowability, necessary for the

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consistent fill and insulation ofpipe sections. It is a material witha proven track record for reliability,durability and efficiency.

For example, India s first heated andinsulated crude oil and gas pipelinewill be insulated with polyurethanefoam. The 24-inch diameterinsulated pipeline will run 600kilometers from Barmer, Rajasthan(in northwestern India) to a refinerydistrict in Jamnagar, on the countrys west coast. The crude oil carriedin the pipeline will be heated inorder to reduce its viscosity, allowingthe oil to flow more easily to itsdestination where it will play a keyrole in helping to boost the countrys domestic crude production byapproximately 25 percent.

Spray polyurethane foam

Spray polyurethane foam (SPF) forwalls, roofs and floors serves thedual function of providinginsulation and a moisture and air-barrier system. It provides a 100%gap-free monolithic layer ofinsulation eliminating air leakageand loss of R-value as occurs withfribrous insulation. SPF roofingsystems have exceptionalsustainability characteristics. Theysave energy, are resistant to highwinds and protect the substrateagainst damage from wind drivenmissiles. SPF has proven itsdurability during recenthurricanes, hail storms, and otheradverse weather conditions. SPF isideal in roof renovation where itrestores and extends the life of theroof while ensuring higher energyefficiency, further reducingdemand on natural resources.

A study conducted in Spain8comparing various roof renovation

options concluded that the majorcost advantage for SPF derives fromsavings in preparatory work as thefoam is usually sprayed onto theunprepared roof, which savesconstruction time on site and alsodown time of buildings. For a fixedrenovation budget, SPF ensuredsignificantly higher insulationlevels with net savings on energydemand and CO2 emissions overthe building life time.

Conclusion

Population growth, improved lifeexpectancy and the growing needfor food and shelter represent themajor factors affecting the planets resource and are central to thesustainable development debate.Polyurethane rigid insulation isone of the answers to cope withthe ever-increasing number ofinhabitants to shelter and feed. Itsinsulation efficiency provides aneffective preservation of thehuman habitat against cold andheat and is a key property for thelow temperature preservation offood. In addition, polyurethane sinherent structural strength andlightweight contribute to an

efficient use of natural resourcesand help reduce the environmentalimpact of buildings.

References

1. International Energy Agency. WorldEnergyOutlook 2006.

2. Caleb Management Services.Assessment of potential for the saving of

carbon dioxide emissions in Europeanbuilding stock. May 1998.

3. XCO2. Insulation for Sustainability. Aguide. 2002.

4. Krishna V. Jog. Cold storage industry inIndia. Conference of Refrigerated

Warehouse & Transport Association ofAustralia (RWTA), Melbourne, Australia.

October 2004.

5. Caleb Management Services. Thermalinsulation and its role in carbon dioxide

reduction. 2001

6. Universitat Wuppertal. Vergleich vonProdukten für die Aufsparrendämmung

unter ökologischen, technischen undwirtschaftlichen Gesichtspunkten. 2009.

7. ANPE. Life Cycle Assessment -Polyuretano & Ambiente. 2008

8. M Marhold and C Meurer. HFC blownPUR in thermal insulation of existingbuilding stock An eco-efficiency study.

Rapra 02/2006

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AUTOTHANE™ enhances suspension for TVSMotorcycles

TVS Motor Company (TVS) hasselected AUTOTHANE™,

microcellular polyurethane fromDow Hyperlast to offer a superiorsuspension solution to theirApache RTR 160cc motorcycle.

TVS-M invited Dow Hyperlast andits AUTOTHANE licensee in India -Harita Seating Systems (part of theTVS group) - to develop and presentsolutions on improving thesuspension of the TVS motorcyclerange.

TVS, India’s third largestmotorcycle manufacturer, employsa number of different suspensionconfigurations to help achieve therequired balance of superior ridecomfort and excellent vehiclehandling for its two-wheelers. Toachieve a progressive spring rate,they use progressive spring, with arubber bumpstop.

TVS Apache RTR160 was beingdeveloped as a performance sportsbike out of their racing experience.TVS was working for an advancedsuspension, using a Mono tubeInverted Gas charged (MIG) Piggyback canister shock absorber.Working together with TVS, DowHyperlast developed anAUTOTHANE microcellular springaid paired with an efficient linearspring, replacing a progressivespring and rubber bump stop, abreak-through in the sense that thisis the world ’s first motorcycleapplication for a spring aid.

The whole idea was to absorb anddissipate the shock input energy as

instantly as possible, with a highlyprogressive rate of the Spring +Spring aid combination.Conventional bumpstop withprogressive coil spring restricts thenonlinearity rate and most of theenergy absorbed has to bedissipated by the damper. Thisinvolves a significant time lag dueto typical system hysteresis. Thenew solution with Autothanespring aid is proved to be far more

efficient in instantly absorbingand dissipating the shock input.

The new suspension passed severeroad testing and was launched onthe TVS Apache RTR 160 in 2007.

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The enhanced dynamics of ApacheRTR160 is well appreciated in theIndian market. TVS is now planningto introduce this suspensionsystem to other models.

The AUTOTHANE™ spring aids arebeing produced in India by HaritaSeating Systems (HSSL) a licensee ofthe AUTOTHANE Technology. HaritaSeating Systems became a licenseein November 2006 and hasconsiderable experiencemanufacturing products to satisfythe specific requirements createdby road conditions in India.

Since becoming an AUTOTHANElicensee HSSL, together with DowHyperlast engineers, has workedclosely with many automotivemanufacturers to introduceAUTOTHANE spring aids and NVH(noise vibration and hardness)components to the automotiveindustry. HSSL has invested in anew manufacturing and testingfacility for the AUTOTHANEcomponents and has assembled ateam of highly qualified managers,engineers and sales people to

service the local market.

About Dow Hyperlast

Dow Hyperlast* is part of DowPolyurethanes, a business group ofThe Dow Chemical Company andits subsidiaries, and is a leadingpolyurethane systems house withover 30 years experience in thedevelopment of custom materials,products and solutions forcustomers worldwide. DowHyperlast products are usedinternationally in automotive, civilengineering, manufacturing,marine, offshore, rail, transportand many other industries.Headquartered in the UK, DowHyperlast ’s manufacturing andtechnical facilities are supported bya network of international salesand support partners providing atruly global service to customers.More information about DowHyperlast can be found atwww.dowhyperlast.com

* Dow Hyperlast is a trading nameof Hyperlast Limited, withRegistration Number 2947247,

having its Registered Office atDiamond House, Lotus Park,Kingsbury Crescent, Staines,Middlesex TW18 3AG UnitedKingdom.

About Dow

With annual sales of $58 billion and46,000 employees worldwide, Dowis a diversified chemical companythat combines the power of scienceand technology with the “HumanElement” to constantly improvewhat is essential to humanprogress. The Company delivers abroad range of products andservices to customers in around 160countries, connecting chemistryand innovation with the principlesof sustainability to help provideeverything from fresh water, foodand pharmaceuticals to paints,packaging and personal careproducts. References to “Dow” orthe “Company” mean The DowChemical Company and itsconsolidated subsidiaries unlessotherwise expressly noted. Moreinformation about Dow can befound at www.dow.com

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New BASF report makes business sustainabilitytransparent

� Report 2008 combines economic, ecological and social as-pects� Independent GRI institution reaffirms highest quality level

Ludwigshafen, Germany – March12, 2009 – BASF creates measur-

able value for employees,shareholders, customers and societywith its products and solutions asproved by the Report 2008published today by the company.The publication has again gainedthe highest quality rating, Level A+,from the Global Reporting Initiative(GRI). The inde-pendent institution’srating reaffirms BASF’s broadapplication of inter-nationallyrecognized criteria for sustainabilityreporting. BASF is the only DAXcompany to date to combinefinancial and sustainability re-porting in an integrated report andto reach the GRI’s highest level.

The report clearly illustrates howcorporate and social interests arelinked. One such example is asolution in the area of energyefficiency: In BASF’s Energy Verbund,heat from production processes isnot dis-charged to theenvironment; instead it is capturedto power other pro-duction plants.The company’s Ludwigshafen sitethus saves •200 million per yearand emits 1.5 million metric tonsless carbon di-oxide. Renewableenergies is another area where thecompany and society benefit inequal measure. BASF is heavilyinvolved in research into organic

solar cells. This innovation isimportant to the company as ameans of securing participation inthe energy markets of the future.

Society in turn benefits from aninnovative way of convertingsunlight into cost-effective electricityand generating clean energy.

“Long-term success is not possibleunless the environment and societyare treated carefully, and that is whysustainability is a firm componentof our strategy,” said Dr. JürgenHambrecht, Chairman of the Boardof Executive Directors of BASF SE.“Difficult times especially show thatcompanies which conduct theirbusiness sustainably andresponsibly are more successful inthe long term.”

BASF measures its economic,environmental and socialperformance on the basis of clearlydefined targets, most of them long-term. Each year, the companyreports on the extent to which ithas achieved these goals. The reportshows, for instance, that thecompany earned a high premiumon its cost of capital in 2008,reduced specific greenhouse gasemissions by 14 percent, and raisedthe proportion of senior managerswith international experience to 74

percent (in each case versus therespective baseline year).

Last year, BASF achieved externalrecognition for its sustainabledevel-opment strategy and itsimplementation in the companyfrom a number of sources. Forinstance, BASF received theGerman Sustainability Award in2008 and heads the Dow JonesSustainability Index as bestchemical company.

The Report 2008 is availableimmediately on the Internet atwww.basf.com/report. The onlinereport provides several service fea-tures including an interactivestatistics comparison, a keywordsearch facility, a download and pdfmanager, as well as direct accessto impor-tant topics. Readers canuse the interactive comparisonfunction to se-lect individualparameters and periods anddisplay the results in the form of adiagram. Printed versions of theReport 2008 can be ordered on theinternet at basf.com/mediaorders orby e-mail from [email protected].

About BASF

BASF is the world ’s leadingchemical company: The Chemical

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Company. Its portfolio ranges fromchemicals, plastics andperformance products toagricultural products, finechemicals as well as oil and gas. Asa reliable partner BASF helps itscustomers in virtually all industriesto be more successful. With its

high-value products and intelli-gent solutions, BASF plays animportant role in finding answersto global challenges such asclimate protection, energyefficiency, nutrition and mobility.BASF has ap-proximately 97,000employees and posted sales of

Executive Committee approves US $27.5 million funding

(Multilateral Fund) Montreal 30 March to 3 April 2009

At the 57th Meeting, the

Executive Committee approvedinvestment projects and workprogramme activities worth justover US $27.5 million for 84developing countries to phase outozone depleting substances

including, in some cases, HCFCs.Twenty-two countries receivedfunding for institutional

strengthening projects, includingIraq, a new Party to the MontrealProtocol in 2008. Continuing itsefforts to address the remaining

CFCs ahead of the 2010 Montreal

Protocol phase-out deadline, theCommittee earmarked funds forBotswana, Equatorial Guinea, andSierra Leone aimed at phasing outtheir entire CFC consumption. Intotal 31 countries received tranchesof funding for multi-year projectsto address the 2010 ODS controlmeasures. Six countries receivedfunding for ODS disposal projectsand the Committee will furtherexamine the criteria and guidelinesfor ODS disposal projects with aview to funding more projects.

As part of its financial planningprocess, the Committee endorsedthe business plans of the Fund’simplementing agencies for 2009while only noting the activitiestentatively planned for 2010 and

2011 due to the uncertainty in thecosting of activities to acceleratethe phase-out of HCFCs. TheCommittee will carry out a furtheranalysis to equitably allocate thefunds available in the 2010 and2011 business plans of the agenciesto enable all countries to complywith HCFC freeze in 2013 and the10 per cent reduction in 2015.

The Committee addressed complexpolicy questions regarding thefunding of HCFC phase-outprojects, including the choice ofHCFC phase-out technologies inrelation to their costs and impactson climate, whether to providefunding to enterprises that hadbeen previously converted fromCFC to HCFC technology throughthe Multilateral Fund, and the cut-off dates for funding after whichconversions would not be eligiblefor Fund assistance. New

approaches were discussed, one

of which entailed shifting

incremental operating costs

from direct payment to

enterprises, as had been the

practice, to payment to

countries based on a percentage

of the capital cost associated

with the conversion from HCFCs

to the most cost-effective non-

HCFC technology available.

Those resources could be used

at governments’ discretion to

establish, for example, a

framework to address, climate-

related impacts. The other newapproach involved a strategy forsecond-stage conversions beyond2015 and even 2020, taking intoaccount compliance needs andc o s t - e f f e c t i v e n e s sThese approaches are still underdiscussion.

In respect of climate benefits, theCommittee discussed progress onthe development of the functionalunit approach as a basis for theprioritization of HCFC phase-outtechnologies to minimize otherimpacts on the environment, andalso considered possible uses of aspecial funding facility within theMultilateral Fund which mightpotentially cover costs associatedwith climate benefits, as well asother additional environmentalbenefits which are not required forcompliance with the MontrealProtocol. Climate related issuesincluding concrete examples ofthe functional unit approach, thefacility for additional income andresource mobilization will all beon the agenda of the 58th Meetingof the Executive Meeting in July2009.

more than €62 billion in 2008.BASF shares are traded on the stockexchanges in Frankfurt (BAS),London (BFA) and Zurich (AN).Further information on BASF isavailable on the Internet atwww.basf.com.

International News


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International News

Acc issues call for entries for Polyurethanes “innovationaward” nominations for the Polyurethanes 2009

Technical Conference

July 10 at 5:00 p.m. EDT deadline for entries

AAAAARLINGTRLINGTRLINGTRLINGTRLINGTONONONONON, V, V, V, V, VA (A (A (A (A ( JJJJJune 9,une 9,une 9,une 9,une 9,

2009) –2009) –2009) –2009) –2009) – Center for thePolyurethanes Industry (CPI) of theAmerican Chemistry Council, hasissued a call for entries for the 2009Polyurethane “Innovation Award”nominations. This year’s awardprogram’s three categories includePolyurethane Chemicals, ProcessingEquipment and Finished Product.Finalists will be selected andwinners will be announced at thePolyurethanes 2009 TechnicalConference, held October 5 –October 7 at the Gaylord NationalResort and Convention Center inFort Washington, Maryland(Washington, D.C.).

“CPI seeks to recognize the peoplewho work continuously to advancepolyurethanes by bringinginnovative products to themarketplace,” says Neeva-GayleCandelori, director of CPI. “ThePolyurethane Innovation Awardprogram helps identify andhighlight the products andtechnologies that will galvanize theindustry and keep it movingforward.”

Companies or individuals interestedin entering the award programmust submit an application no laterthan 5:00 p.m. EDT on July 10, 2009.Details on the award and an entryform can be found on the CPI website at http://www.polyurethane.org/conference2009. A panel of judgesrepresenting a cross section ofpolyurethanes experience and

knowledge from industry andindustry associations will evaluateall submissions and choose finalistsfor each category.

Finalist entries will be on display atthe Polyurethanes 2009 TechnicalConference, and attendees will havea chance to cast one vote percategory for the entry that theybelieve demonstrates the mostinnovative use of polyurethanes.The results will be announced onOctober 7, 2009, during the closingsession of the conference.

The Polyurethanes 2009 TechnicalConference will feature 16 technicalsessions along with two paneldiscussions, poster presentationsand a full polyurethane professionaldevelopment program.

For more information about CPIand the Polyurethanes 2009Technical Conference, contact CPIat 703-741-5103, or visitwww.americanchemistr y.com/polyurethane for entry forms.

www.americanchemistry.com/newsroom

The American Chemistry Council (ACC)

represents the leading companies engaged

in the business of chemistry. ACC members

apply the science of chemistry to make

innovative products and services that make

people’s lives better, healthier and safer. ACC

is committed to improved environmental,

health and safety performance through

Responsible Care®, common sense advocacy

designed to address major public policy

issues, and health and environmental

research and product testing. The business

of chemistry is a $689 billion enterprise and

a key element of the nation’s economy. It is

one of the nation’s largest exporters,

accounting for ten cents out of every dollar

in U.S. exports. Chemistry companies are

among the largest investors in research and

development. Safety and security have

always been primary concerns of ACC

members, and they have intensified their

efforts, working closely with government

agencies to improve security and to defend

against any threat to the nation’s critical

infrastructure.

w w w. a m e r i c a n c h e m i s t r y . c o m /

polyurethane

The Center for the PolyurethanesIndustry (CPI) of the AmericanChemistry Council promotes thesustainable growth of thepolyurethane industry, by identifyingand managing issues that couldimpact the industry, in cooperationwith user groups. Its membersinclude the nation’s leadingproducers and distributors ofchemicals and equipment used tomake polyurethane andmanufacture polyurethane products.CPI provides a single, strong andcredible voice to advocate on behalfof the interests of the U.S.polyurethanes industry. The businessof polyurethanes is a $56.1 billionenterprise, supports about 220,000jobs and a key element of thenation’s economy.


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Product News

Merquinsa Announces at PLAST 2009:Pearlthane® Eco Is Now Available Across ItalyBarcelona, Spain – March 24, 2009

Merquinsa announced that itsFrost & Sullivan 2008 award-

winning PEARLTHANE® ECO, a rangeof Bio TPU grades made fromRenewable Sources is now availableacross Italy.

“PEARLTHANE® ECO with a

renewable content up to 60%according to ASTM D6866 is aunique, game changing bio TPUproduct for customers who want tobalance performance and cost andthe demand for more sustainable“green” TPE applications”,according to a company

spokesman.

A recent preliminary life cycleanalysis (LCA), indicates that

manufacturing Pearlthane® ECOrange results in 40% less globalwarming emissions.

Merquinsa will display its

innovative TPU portfolio for a widerange of sport & leisure, consumer

goods and footwear applications,among others, at its Italian

elastomers distributor’s (SIRT)

stand: Hall 20P/1 Stand E24.

About Merquinsa

Merquinsa is a leadingthermoplastic polyurethane (TPU)specialty producer, providinginnovative products for injectionmoulding, extrusion, calendering,melt coating, compounding andadhesive applications.

Merquinsa has been one of the

earliest adopters of sustainabilityinitiatives in the chemical industry,having been granted its 14001 ISOcertification as early as in 1999 andput together its Responsible Careprogram in 2001.

Merquinsa was recently granted theFrost & Sullivan 2008 GlobalThermoplastic Urethane (TPU)Product Innovation GreenExcellence of the Year Award. Thisaward recognizes Merquinsa´sinnovation in biopolymers, with itsgroundbreaking Bio TPU madefrom renewable carbon resourcesand successfully marketed globally

under Pearlthane® and Pearlbond®ECO brands.

Merquinsa’s headquarters are inBarcelona, Spain with regionalcentres in Asia and North America.

For more information aboutMerquinsa, and PEARLTHANE®,

PEARLCOAT®, PEARLBOND®,

PEARLSTICK® and

DISPERBOND® specialty TPUresins, please visit our Web site atwww.merquinsa.com or contact.


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Product News

KraussMaffei’s Spotlight event showcases newprocess technology

DIRECT PAINTING FOR LFI PARTS

MMMMMunich, May 7, 2009unich, May 7, 2009unich, May 7, 2009unich, May 7, 2009unich, May 7, 2009 –Production of LFI parts with

high-gloss surfaces has suddenlybecome easier. As of now, a direct(no barrier coat) Inmould Paintingprocess is available for partsproduced using the LFI process.During its Spotlight events on May7, 2009, KraussMaffei willdemonstrate this new direct paintingprocess in a running system.

LFI parts can be painted in-mouldto give them a high-gloss surface, butuntil now, it has always beennecessary to apply a barrier coatwhich prevents the glass fibres in thesubstrate surface from spoiling theoptics of the surface finish.KraussMaffei has now enhanced theLFI process so as to eliminate theneed for a barrier coat between thepaint layer and the fibre-reinforcedsubstrate. Special filler combinationsensure that the PUR matrixcompletely encapsulates the fibres.Mould technology has also beenmodified. These measures havemade it possible to producepremium surfaces without applyinga barrier coat. By saving a completeprocess step, this new developmentmakes the LFI process even moreattractive and cost-effective. Oneimportant application area for thenew process is the production oflarge-format parts for utility vehicles.

Comprehensive expertise,

products and processes

During its Spotlight event,KraussMaffei’s Reaction Process

Machinery division will showcase itswide expertise and itscomprehensive range of machineryand processes for fibre composites.There will be machinedemonstrations, talks andinteresting displays.

Parts made with fibre compositematerials combine low weight andhigh strength. They can be

manufactured in a relatively low-budget operation. The use of fibrecomposite materials is on theincrease – in aircraft and spacecraft,in road and rail vehicles, inbuildings and in other applications.

With its extensive expertise,KraussMaffei offers a wide choice ofmanufacturing processes for fibrecomposite parts. These includeclassical processes that have beentried and tested over the years, suchas Reinforced Reaction InjectionMoulding (RRIM), StructuralReaction Injection Moulding (SRIM)and Resin Transfer Moulding (RTM).Fibre composite parts can also bemanufactured in spray processes,such as Fiber Composite Spraying(FCS), Structural ComponentSpraying (SCS) and a Fiber SprayProcess (FSP). Parts that needreinforcement with long fibres canbe produced by Long Fiber InjectionMoulding (LFI).

KraussMaffei is a competent andreliable partner for all aspects offibre composite technology. Thecompany supports its customersthroughout product design,development and processoptimization. It is a single-vendorsupplier of complete productionsystems, including tooling,trimming, routing and robotics. Thecompany ’s expertise extends toareas other than its core PURbusiness, for example, totechnology for dicyclopentadiene(DCPD) or elastomer-modifiedpolyamide (NYRIM).

These measures havemade it possible toproduce premium

surfaces without applyinga barrier coat. By savinga complete process step,

this new developmentmakes the LFI process

even more attractive andcost-effective. One

important applicationarea for the new process

is the production of large-format parts for utility

vehicles.

The use of fibrecomposite materials is onthe increase – in aircraftand spacecraft, in road

and rail vehicles, inbuildings and in other

applications.


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Interview

PU TODAY: What prompted theHarita management to develop anew process with which you can doin mould painting of LFI parts.

HARITA: Our long range planninghas always focused on technologyadvancement in our core areas suchas Polyurethanes and seats etc. Forthis purpose, a core group has beenformed in our R&D andconsistently engaged intechnologies scan in the focusareas. Their responsibility extendsbeyond laboratory curiosities tomake technically and commerciallyviable product offering. Our teamstarted working on SRIMtechnology in order to enhancefurther our interest in PUcomposites.

We have faced a number of issuesin terms of glass mat preparation,manual handling etc. There wasalso difficulty in post painting ofSRIM parts. Hence we moved to thenext logical technology whicheliminates expensive pre and postpaint operations.

LFI-PUR is a technology which is anautomated process and can beused with in mould coating. Thisprocess also is ideally suitable formedium volume production (lessthan 40 – 50 thousand parts peryear).

Incidentally, Harita thus becamethe first company in the world tohave LFI, barrier coating and in-mould coating in combinationprocess production. Thetechnology has many advantagessuch as low tool cost, highproductivity, different surface

finishes, variable densities etc whencompared to the other nearestcompetitive technologies.

PU TODAY: Since the date ofconception, what time frame wasneeded to get to successfulimplementation of the project?What was the most difficultchallenge that your team facedduring the whole process?

HARITA: It took 24 months for usfrom concept to implementation.Being the first in the world to trythis combination, we had to marryparts of the technology fromvarious partners like Krauss Maffei,Sonneborn & Rieck, Dow and drypart suppliers . Getting allconcerned together to solve issuesat every stage was a majorchallenge and experience. Moreover this being a new technology,convincing the customers in theautomotive industry regarding thesupremacy of the offering viz-a-vizexisting available technologies andconverting the same into order

meant that our team had to workpatiently to get customeracceptance. Having made the firstproduct through, we are nowsuccessfully supplying parts to ourcustomers and the same areperforming exceptionally well.Since then, we have started seeingincreased interest from variouscustomers in adopting thistechnology for their variouscomponent requirements

PU TODAY: Why did Harita decideto work with Krauss Maffei andDow for this project?

HARITA: Krauss Maffei has asuccessful record of having sold anumber of LFI-PUR plants aroundthe globe and their understandingof this technology and designing asuitable machine for the same gaveus the confidence to work withthem. Krauss Maffei’s addedadvantage was that they could offersystem, such as PU meteringmachine, tool design, plant layoutsetc.Harita’s relationship with Dow isover 15 years. Besides this, Dowhad taken a challenge to developa barrier coating system and LFI-PUR system for the first time for usto suit our process requirements.

PU TODAY: Which are the otherareas that Harita will now takelead and develop futuretechnologies?

HARITA: Our future plans includelooking at the areas related to LFI-PUR whereby we can provide valuefor money to our customers.Besides, with the recent signing ofthe Joint Venture with Fehrer AG,

Mr. A. G. Giridharan

“Harita Seatings Systems Limited – an interview”


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Interview

Germany, who has expertise in PUcomposites, we would jointly belooking for developing newercomposites for the future.

Apart from this LFI-PUR technology,the Micro cellular Elastomer- MCUis also implemented by us inassociation with Dow Hyperlast andwe are the sole licensee for India.These parts are used in suspensionsystem of two wheelers,cars andMUVs to improve the occupantcomfort. And this technology alsohas very good reception in Indian

automotive industry.

Our team continues to experimentwith many other technologies suchas spray skin, skin injection, gelpads etc which are in differentstages for future implementation.Harita is known by its tagline“Comfort Unlimited” and our teamis constantly striving for improvingcomfort to its customers and thesociety. Every technology whichmeets this end will be part of ourfuture plan.

Mr. S. Thiagarajan

Events & Trends

29 th Oct. to 01 st Nov. 2009

PUTECH EURASIA 2009

Istanbul Expo Center

May 26 th - 28 th, 2010

PU China 2010

Shenzen Convention & Exhibition Centre.

INTERNATIONAL

Events CalendarEvents CalendarEvents CalendarEvents CalendarEvents Calendar

October 11-13, 2010

Polyurethanes 2010 Technical Conference,

in partnership with UTECH North America

Hilton Americas Hotel and the HoustonConvention Center, Houston, Texas


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High surface quality long fiberglass PU compositePaolo Diena, Maurizio Bottazzi, Alberto Fangareggi Dow Italia s.r.l. Via Carpi, 29 42015 – Correggio (RE) Italy

ABSTRACT

Polyurethane (PU) structuralcomposites reinforced with

long glass fibers are widely

employed in many different

applications in particular for thetransportation industry. The

production processes utilized tomanufacture these composites areknown as structural RIM (LowDensity-SRIM or High Density-SRIM)and, more recently, Long FiberInjection, known as LFI-PUR [1]. Inparticular the LFI technology isbased on the simultaneous pouringof polyurethane and choppedfiberglass.

This production process is wellestablished in the market for overa decade and it shows severaladvantages compared with thecontinuous mat technique

(Structural RIM) in terms of partdesign freedom, fiberglass handling,no needs for thermoforming, justto mention a few.

One of the major limitations of allthe above composite technologiesis related to the lack of exteriorfinishing due to the visible

fiberglass on the surface of themanufactured item. This has beena strong restriction confining theuse of this PU composite only forhidden or covered parts.

Therefore Dow Polyurethane

Systems, a business group of TheDow Chemical Company, has

recently developed a nextgeneration of polyurethanesystems for long glass fibercomposites capable of bringingadditional advantages to thecurrent technology and bettermeeting industry needs.

Combined with excellent internalmold release performance, thenext generation long glass fibercomposite systems offer improvedthermal stability, better fiberwettability and distribution, withno bubble and defects on thevisible surface of the finished itemeven when heating the compositeat temperatures up to 100°C whencompared to current compositetechnologies.

Thank to this and to an optimizedreaction profile these nextgeneration polyurethane systemsdeveloped by Dow can provide along fiber composite showing highsurface quality.

In addition to this, Dow alsodeveloped a high temperatureresistant compact rigid layer systemthat can be sprayed on the moldjust before the long fibercomposite distribution, providingenhanced surface quality to thefinal part. This combination allowsobtaining high quality painteditems by using both in-mold andoff-line painting procedures.

Background

The versatility of polyurethanepolymers as polymeric matrix forstructural composites for theproduction of large and complexshape parts is known in theindustry. PU composites allowtailoring the required mechanicalproperties and applied densityoffering fast cycle times.

Several production processes forthe production of PU compositesare available on the market and

Figure 1. Typical mechanical properties of PU composites and other reinforced polymers

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they can be classified based on thetype of reinforcement, its lengthand the production methodutilized, among which:

� R-RIM & LD-RRIM: compositepolymer based on short mineralfibers having an average lengthof about 150 micron (such aswollstonite, basalt, glass, mica)directly dispersed into the polyoland injected in a closed mold;

� S-RIM & LD-SRIM: compositepolymer based on woven or nonwoven long fiber mats producedin an open or closed mold;

� LFI-PUR[1] and spray moldingbased on the simultaneouspouring of polyurethane resintogether with chopped fiberglassat different lengths.

LFI-PUR[1] and spray molding arebecoming more and moreimportant due to their versatilityand wide range of finalapplications. Figure 1 reports thetypical flexural properties of PUcomposites in comparison withother materials.

Typical applications for structuralPU composites include: doorpanels, sun-shades, package trays,seatbacks, load floors and floorpans, dashboards and many otherautomotive applications.

Polyurethane has shown a goodpotential for growth in compositesapplications thanks to its fastproduction cycles, a wide range ofmechanical properties and last butnot least the possibility to be VOC(Volatile Organic Compounds)emission free.

In order to compete with other

thermoset composites such as GRP(Glass Reinforced Plastic), SMC(Sheet Molding Compound), BMC(Bulk Molding Compound) andsteel, one of the future challengesfor further growth of PUcomposites is the possibility tocombine fast and easy productionprocesses with excellent surfacefinishing allowing for the final partto be painted directly into themold or off-line.

Table 1 reports a comparison ofwall thickness and weight of steel,

SMC and PU in order to achieve thesame final stiffness. The data showhow polyurethane composites canbe used to produce lighterstructural parts.

The aim of this study is to presentthe results of the most recentdevelopmental work carried out byDow Polyurethane Systems which

has led to further processing andmechanical improvements in thelong fiber composite technology.The development activities carriedout by Dow allowed Dow to definenext generation PU systems capableto combine excellent mechanicalproperties, high productivity

together with enhanced surfacequality.

Experimental

The research and developmentwork was carried out in Dow’s R&Dcenter of the Polyurethane Systemsbusiness in Correggio, Italy and inthe R&D center of Krauss MaffeiThermosetting Division in Munich,Germany.

The products evaluated andutilized for the purpose of this

study are reported in Table 2 withtheir description.

All the physical mechanicalproperties reported in this studyhave been tested on polymersobtained from a Rocktool KraussMaffei laboratory mold.

To generate and gather the data a

Krauss-Maffei Rimstar RS1640 LFIModula machine provided withmixing head LFI MK 30/36 and aKrauss-Maffei RS Minidos 8/8 machineprovided with Pegasus MK2-2-AASspray mixing head were utilized.Both mixing heads were installed onABB robots for PU distribution.

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Table 3 reports the LFI and spraymachine processing conditions forthe evaluated polymers.

Table 4 reports the testingmethods utilized to evaluate themechanical properties of thepolymers.

Table 5 reports the typical reactionprofiles of SPECTRIM™ RL 758Polyol & SPECTRIM™ RM 914Isocyanate with a componentstemperature of 25°C and iso/polratio 143/100.

Results and discussion

As mentioned before, the Research& Development activities weremainly carried out by using 2separate dosing units, one for the

LFI composite and the other for therigid aesthetic spray layer.

The LFI process, based on thesimultaneous pouring ofpolyurethane and choppedfiberglass, allows to:

� use different fiber length (25 –50 – 100 mm);� use variable mold thickness;� change fiber content within thesame shot;� mold on different substrates(IMC, PVC, PET, PMMA or PVDF);� obtain mechanical propertiesequivalent to LD-SRIM.

A key element of the LFI processtechnology is the mixing head;Figure 2 represents the mixing headscheme and details.

Figure 2.

LFI Mixing head scheme and detail

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Parts produced with the LFItechnology may be affected bysome imperfections, namely (seeFigure 3):

� air entrapment: the glass fiberis driven in the polyurethanemixture by air at 3-4 bars, thus aircan remain trapped inside thecomposite, causing air bubbles anddefects (Figure 3 - Picture A:sample produced without closingthe mold);

� fiberglass presence on parts

surface: the glass fiber is visibleon the surface of the final part(caused by fiber wettability and PUshrinkage);

� non homogeneous fiberglass

distribution: the glass fiber is nothomogenously distributed in thecomposite.

The development work carried outby Dow brought to the definitionof next generation products; thesystem SPECTRIM™ RL 758 Polyol &SPECTRIM™ RM 914 Isocyanateoffering enhanced thermalresistance is able to significantlyimprove the quality of the finalparts without compromisingmechanical properties.

The next generation products wereevaluated in Dow’s laboratory andparallel tests were performed inKrauss Maffei laboratory using a labtest mold (Rocktool mold) as wellas a real production molds. The

Technical Updates

Figure 3. LFI sample - defects

C Fiberglass Distribution

B Fiberglass on Surface

A Air Entrapment

Figure 4. Comparison between LFI systems

data gathered using this systembelonging to this new family of

polymers demonstrated a clearquality surface improvement.

The improved surface propertiesare strictly related to the chemistryof the next generation materialdeveloped by Dow; further to thatthey are also a function ofoptimized, controlled processingparameters such as for example:

1. the Iso/pol ratio;2. the components temperature;3. the fiber distribution;4. the correct setting of moldpressure ramp rate;5. the fiberglass length and type.

Figure 4 shows the improved surfacequality of a LFI composite produced

Figure 5 shows the variation of Flexural Strength and Flexural Modulus at three different

fiberglass weight ratios 20%, 30%, 40% referred to the total weight of the composite.


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with SPECTRIM™ RL 758 Polyol &SPECTRIM™ RM 914 Isocyanate.The developmental work carriedout on this new family of long glassfiber polymers allowed Dow toformulate next generationproducts with excellent stiffness andimproved thermal properties. Thenext generation composite systemshave been characterized andproperties are reported in Table 6and Table 7.

As confirmed by the experimentalresult, flexural modulus is notinfluenced by fiberglass lengthwhich indeed has an effect on theflexural strength.

Figure 6 reports the FlexuralStrength properties of SPECTRIM™RL 758 Polyol & SPECTRIM™ RM 914Isocyanate upon changing applieddensity and fiberglass length.

The next generation developed LFIsystem was also designed in orderto achieve high thermal resistancerequired by the final applicationsin the transportation industries.DMA analyses performed with ARES

Figure 5. Mechanical properties variation at different fiberglass rates (same length)

equipment (torsionsal test seeTable 4) was carried out on thenext generation LFI polymerdeveloped by Dow and results arereported in Figure 7.

Figure 7. SPECTRIM™ RL 758 Polyol &

SPECTRIM™ RM 914 Isocyanate - DMA

results

Figure 6. Mechanical properties variation vs. fiberglass length variation

The next generation LFI polymerdeveloped by Dow is able towithstand high temperaturesproviding higher glass transitiontemperature (Tan Delta) andimproved modulus versustemperature.

The newly developed LFI polymeris providing improved surfaceproperties when compared totraditional materials, neverthelessthis is still not enough to reach theClass A surface quality normallyrequired by the automotive andtransportation industries. Thesemarket segments typically usesteel, SMC or thermoplastic filmsof PMMA, PC, ABS, PVC combinedwith PU LFI as structural layer. Forthis reason a specifically developedsprayed rigid layer was used tocombine the reported goodmechanical properties of the nextgeneration LFI composite (i.e. highstiffness and heat distortionresistance) with enhanced surfacequality. This high density rigid layeris sprayed on the mold just beforethe LFI and it provides high surfacehardness (75-80 Shore D), goodthermal stability with reducednumbers of defects, allowing boththe in-mold and off-mold paintingprocesses.

Figure 8 shows the scheme for the

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production of the structureobtained with a spray rigid layerand the LFI polymer.

Figure 8. Spray Rigid Layer and LFI structure

Table 8 reports the mechanicalproperties of the rigid layer itselfas well as those of the structureobtained in combination with theLFI polymer.

In case of in-mold paint, the finalcomposite with enhanced surfacequality will have a multi layerstructure as reported in Figure 10.

Figure 10. Multilayer structure of the composite

The surface quality/gloss is strictlyrelated to the mold surfacefinishing (polish). The parts shown

in Figure 11 were produced usingHard Coat Self Release (IMP) fromSonneborn & Rieckt and

SPECTRIM™ RL 758 Polyol &SPECTRIM™ RM 914 Isocyanate (LFI)with SPECTRIM™ RC 313 Polyol &SPECTRIM™ RM 914 Isocyanate forthe rigid layer.

Figure 11.Parts produced with Hard Coat Self Release (IMP)

Figure 12. Pin holes defects and SEM

picture of the air bubbles entrapped in

the spray coating

As mentioned before, the rigidcoating obtained with SPECTRIM™RC 313 Polyol & SPECTRIM™ RM 914Isocyanate can also be painted by

using the off-line process. Whenthis painting process is used, thesurface of the composite has to be

abraded in order to promote paintadhesion. Small air bubblestrapped in the rigid sprayed layeropen when the surface of the partis abraded and pin holes arecreated on the surface of the finalpart as the paint is not able tobridge these small pits; thereforethe spray system and the sprayprocess must be optimized in orderto avoid the formation of airbubbles (Figure 12).

SPECTRIM™ RC 313 Polyol &SPECTRIM™ RM 914 Isocyanate hasbeen developed with the rightviscosity and reactivity profile inorder to reduce the presence anddimension of bubbles andinclusions in the rigid sprayed layer.In Figure 13 it is possible to see apost painted sample not showingany pin hole defect.

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Technical Updates

Figure 14. Releasing properties of IMR free and

Figure 13. Post painted sample with

no pin holes defects

The excellent thermal properties ofthe LFI system and of the spraylayer based on SPECTRIM™ allowthe final composite to pass severeoven tests. In particular completesamples placed into an oven at100° C did not present anydeformation or surface defectsafter more than 12 hours.

In order to further improve theprocessability and economics of thewhole process, a version addedwith an Internal Mold Releaseadditive (IMR) of SPECTRIM™ RL 758Polyol & SPECTRIM™ RM 914Isocyanate is also available, offeringexcellent release performance.

In Figure 14 the data related to thereleasing properties of a non selfreleasing polymer based onSPECTRIM™ RL 758 Polyol &SPECTRIM™ RM 914 Isocyanate andits IMR version are shown; the testis done based on the measurementof the force necessary to open aspecifically designed mold. In thenon IMR polymer version the mold

opening force rises up quickly tovery high values, if the mold is nottreated with a proper releaseagent; whereas the opening forcefor the IMR system remains steadythroughout the test.

Table 9 reports the mechanicalproperties of SPECTRIM™ RL 758Polyol & SPECTRIM™ RM 914Isocyanate IMR and IMR freeversions respectively. The datashow that the addition of the IMRadditive has some effect onpolymer properties.

The two systems SPECTRIM™ RL 758Polyol & SPECTRIM™ RM 914Isocyanate and SPECTRIM™ RG 305

Polyol &SPECTRIM™ RM914 Isocyanatedeveloped byDow offer nextg e n e r a t i o nsolutions tom a n u f a c t u r ecomposites withenhanced surfacequality andbroaden thecurrent LFIoffering and

product portfolio, especially for thetransportation industries.

Furthermore these products resultin an interesting possiblereplacement for SMC and BMC ,thanks to their:

� high dimensional stability andaccurate fit;

� light weight (for densities rangingfrom 800-1500 gr/l)(typical SMC density not lower than1900 gr/l)

� possibility to use low cost glass-fiber rowing;

� low tool costs;

� variable thick & thin walls to bemolded in the same part;

� possibility to apply in-moldfinishing

� possibility to mold very largeparts (up to 2m x 2m).

The production of aesthetic partswith enhanced surface quality byusing SPECTRIM™ RL 758 Polyol &SPECTRIM™ RM 914 Isocyanate andSPECTRIM™ RG 305 Polyol &SPECTRIM™ RM 914 Isocyanate isin a prototyping phase; a firstindustrialization of high classsurface painted part is in progressfor transportation applications,opening new possibilities for thepolyurethane composite market.

Conclusions

Glass reinforced polyurethanes areincreasingly used for theproduction of structural parts forautomotive interior trims andother applications. The LFI-PUR[1]technology is used since severalyears by the automotive industrymainly for the production ofhidden or covered parts, becauseone of the major limitations of this


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technology is related to the lackof exterior finishing of themanufactured part due to visiblefiberglass and the presence ofentrapped air bubbles on thesurface of the item.

One of the challenges for the futuregrowth of LFI-PU composites inorder to compete with steel andothers, or thermoset compositessuch as for example GRP, SMC, BMC,is the possibility to combine quickand easy production processes withexcellent surface finishing capableto be painted reaching excellentsurface finishing.

The Dow Chemical Company hasbeen active in the Research &Development of next generationpolyurethane systems for theproduction of Long Fiberglasscomposites designed andcommercialized under thetrademark SPECTRIM™; inparticular SPECTRIM™ RL 758Polyol & SPECTRIM™ RM 914Isocyanate is able to achieve betterfiber wettability and distribution,reduce number of air bubblesimproving surface quality withoutcompromising mechanicalproperties and allowing to obtainenhanced thermal resistance of thepolymer. An IMR version of thisSPECTRIM™ LFI system has alsobeen designed, showing excellentrelease properties.

In addition, Dow developed ahigh thermal resistant compactrigid layer (SPECTRIM™ RC 313Polyol & SPECTRIM™ RM 914Isocyanate) to be sprayed on themold just before the long fibercomposite distribution thatprovides enhanced surface qualityto the final part. This combinationof products permits to obtainhigh quality painted items byusing both in-mold and off-linepainting procedures.

The production of aesthetic partswith enhanced surface quality byusing SPECTRIM™ RL 758 Polyol &SPECTRIM™ RM 914 Isocyanate andSPECTRIM™ RG 305 Polyol &SPECTRIM™ RM 914 Isocyanate is ina prototyping phase; a firstindustrialization for high classsurface painted part is in progressfor transportation applications,opening new possibilities for thepolyurethane composite market.Global research, combined with astrong local presence, allows DowPolyurethane Systems to be close toits customer base and to offer tailor-made solutions to the market.

Through Dow’s global capabilitiesand its broad network of localfacilities covering many differentcountries (with its 24 locationsworldwide in Europe, North andLatin America, Middle East andAfrica, as well as in Asia Pacific)tailor made solutions can be

supplied to customers in a fast andeffective way to fully satisfy theirproduction and processingrequirements.

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank KraussMaffei who provided LFI processexperience and in particular JosefRenkl, and Otto Kindermann andDaniel Zeller who put extra effortto allow the reportedachievements.

Further to that authors wish tothank Alessio Sabadini, AlbertoFrattini and Mauro Malaguti ofthe Dow Correggio testinglaboratory; Francesco Espositofrom the Dow Correggiolaboratory for producing thetesting samples; Claracq Jeromefrom Dow’s laboratories inTerneuzen for the help providedfor the DMA analyses and AllanJames from Dow’s laboratories inMidland for the SEM analyses onsurface layer pin-holes defects.

References

1. M. Bottazzi. “Innovative Spray or

Injected Aromatic Polyurethane Skins for

Aesthetical Interior Automotive

Applications” The Dow Chemical Company.

Presented at the API Polyurethanes 2006

Technical Conference.

2. David Randall and Steve Lee: The

Polyurethane book John Wiley and Sons,

ltd 2002

Water based-an Eco-friendly-mold release agent forpolyurethane foam application-an introductionDr.Rajan Ramaswami and V. Shanmuganandam Polyflex India P Ltd, Tamilnadu-602105

E-mail: [email protected]

Introduction

Water-based release agentsbegan their rise to

prominence less than a decade agoin response to environmental andsafety concerns and regulations.Today, they’re widely used in the

processing of most rubbercompounds, some Polyurethanegroup of plastics. Flexiblepolyurethane molded foam parts


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are produced in molds such asautomotive seating, arm rests,head rests and steering wheels thatare precoated with a release agentprior to injection of the foam-forming components. There is ahigh level of interest in aqueous-waterbased release agents thatare free from volatile organicmaterial. Water based releaseagents, unlike solvent basedrelease agents, are not tied topetroleum shortages or escalatingprices. As these are not relying onpetroleum based solvents these canoffer a more stable cost ofproduction.

Petroleum based solvents demandmore energy to be used formanufacture and refining, whilewater is readily available andrequires little or no processing.Water based release agent helpsmolding manufacturers meetregulatory requirements in termsof VOC (Volatile OrganicChemicals). In the course of evergreater optimization of productionrates, in particular in theautomobile supplier industry, it isprecisely the coverage on themould that has become animportant quality feature by waterbased release agents.

Historical Development

Water based mold release agentshave been on the market for morethan twenty years. Over the lastdecade two key improvementsoccurred:

First, manufacturers of releaseagents developed the chemistry toallow successful release withoutrequiring that the release agent becompletely dry before thepolyurethane or other part

material was poured. This meansfaster production and successfulrelease. Secondly, releaseformulations were improved toproduce water based releaseagents with a smaller and smallerpercentage of solids, or activeingredients. While early waterbased releases may have had highsolids, today’s successful releasescan have moderate concentrationof solids.

What is a mold release agent?

Molding is a well known techniquefor producing finished parts madefrom plastics, polyester and otherpolymeric materials. Currently,molded parts range from bicyclehelmets to boat hulls to telephonereceiver handsets and beyond.

Molding is performed by processing(e.g. pouring, injecting, spraying,etc.) a liquid resin, or a reinforcingmaterial (such as fiber reinforcingmaterial) and a liquid resin, into amold cavity or onto a mold surfaceand then curing the resin to providea finished solid part conforming tothe cavity or surface. In order toprevent the finished molded partfrom sticking to the mold surface, amold release agent is applied to thesurface prior to pouring the resin.

There are two basic types of moldrelease agent, sacrificial and semi-permanent. A sacrificial moldrelease agent is one that isconsumed or otherwise completelydepleted after a single molded partis made in the mold, and must bereapplied prior to making eachmolded part. For this reason,sacrificial mold release agents arecostly and cumbersome to use.

Semi-permanent mold release

agents are also applied to the moldsurface. They can be of the wipe-on or spray-on type. These releaseagents are preferred because theyare not completely depletedfollowing a single moldingoperation. A single semi-permanent mold release agentapplication can be used to facilitatethe release of multiple successivemolded parts withoutreapplication of the release agent;e.g. up to 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 ormore releases.

Conventionally, room temperaturecuring semi-permanent moldrelease agents, e.g. for roomtemperature molding applications(epoxy-based or polyester-basedcomposites), have been solventbased; that is they containsignificant amounts of volatileorganic compounds (VOCs), andhave relatively low flash points andhigh vapor pressures. Existingsolvent based mold release agentspresent significant health andsafety hazards, both in use andtransport.

There is a need in the art for a non-solvent based semi-permanentmold release agent, which ispreferably water based, and doesnot suffer from the drawbacksmentioned above.Release agentsare materials that are applied tothe surface of a mold in order toincrease the demoldability of themolded products from the moldsurface. It is usually desirable todeposit a very thin film coating ofthe release agent on the moldsurface. To facilitate theapplication of such a thin film, therelease agent is commonlydispersed in a volatile carrier. Afterthe release agent and carrier havebeen applied to the mold surface,


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the carrier evaporates, leaving thedesired thin film of release agent.Carriers commonly used in releasecompounds can be divided intotwo categories: hydrocarbonsolvent carriers and aqueous

carriers .

Conventional mold releaseagents

Conventional mold releasecompositions comprise releaseeffective substances, such as waxesor silicones, dispersed in lowboiling organic solvent carriers

which control film thickness andfilm formation. The high solventconcentration of thesecompositions produces significantorganic emissions during the timebetween the release agentapplication and pouring of thefoam components. Increasedpublic and regulatory agencyawareness and concern aboutorganic emissions have led tosignificant impetus worldwide toreduce and eliminate organicsolvents from mold releasecompositions.

There are several mold releaseagents carriers such asTrichloroethane (TCA), Methylenechloride and naphtha for thepolyurethane foam productions.However naphtha-based releaseagents are very familiar in moldrelease as chlorinated solventsfound there way out due toenvironmental concern. Naphthais a petroleum distillatecomprising mainly of aliphatichydrocarbons. Thesehydrocarbons evaporate duringthe molding process in the sameway as chlorinated mold releasecarriers do.

Types of mold releasants

Based on the application of moldrelease to the process this can beclassified into two types.

1) External mold release agents,in which the mold releaseprocess is dependant uponrepetitious application of moldrelease substances onto moldcavity surfaces after every fewcycles and

2) Internal mold release agents inwhich the release ability will beincorporated into the PU foamingsystem itself.

What is water based moldrelease agent?

When the release agent containswater as a carrier rather than asolvent it is considered as waterbased release agent. Dependingon the types of polyurethaneproducts being manufacturedspecial formulation will berequired.

What does a mold releaseagent do in a PU process?

The mould release agent plays apivotal role in the polyurethanefoaming process in the followingway:

1) Release agent forms a barrierbetween the mold and moldedpart.

2) Provides a lubricating filmwhich allows the molded partto be easily removed.

3) Protect the mold surface fromchemical and mechanical attack.

4) Maintain the mold finish anddimensions on the part.

Development of water basedrelease agent

A number of factors are to be takeninto consideration while developinga water based formulation. Forinstance, compared toconventional solvent containingrelease materials, aqueous systemsmay require increased evaporationtimes and higher moldtemperatures to remove water (dueto extensive hydrogen bonding). Inaddition to unfavorable evaporationrates, water with its high surfacetension is a poor film-formingsolvent resulting in poor integrityof the release film. Further, excesswater remaining in the mold priorto pouring results in competitivereactions between the water/isocyanate and the Polyol/isocyanate.

The water/ isocyanate reactiondue to excess water can beminimized by masking the watermolecules through an effectcalled “ lyotropic

mesomorphism”. Such maskingof water is achieved through thecombined use of release effectivesubstances, preferably microwaxes, petrolatum fractions,polysiloxanes, and suitableauxiliary masking agents, forexample, emulsifiers such asethoxylated fatty alcohols.

Types of water based release

agent:

Based on the product produced,the water based release agentformulation will differ with oneanother. Some of the formulation


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type of water based release agentsare given below in Table 1:

cured within a shorter time afterdemolding. In Fig.1 a DSC graph

shows the relative melting pointof a polyethylene wax.

2. Film forming agent:

The term film forming agent refersto a substance for resolving oneportion or the whole of the releasesubstance under the condition ofthe temperature of the moldsurface and forming a uniform filmafter the release agent is coated onthe mold.

The substance in order to functionas a film forming agent, thevolatility of the substanceis important. Hydrocarboncompounds are suitable for use,

What are the ingredients used

in water based release agent

Composition?

As described above a number ofcomponents go into make a waterbased release agent.

These are discussed below:

1. Release substance:

Good release properties can beobtained by using release effectivesubstances such asmicrocrystalline or paraffin waxeswith melting points within theoperating temperature range ofthe mold. In general, carnaubawax, montan wax, soaps, oils,branched polyethylene wax andsilicon are capable of being usedin water based release agents.

Wax materials are selected withrespect to the mold type, processtemperature and condition.Waxes having higher meltingpoint than that of processtemperature exhibit good releaseeffect. This in turn favors lesssticky effect since the wax gets

and such compounds should existin a liquid state at 200C.

3. Surfactants:

Surfactants (surface active agents)are wetting agents that lower thesurface tension of a liquid,allowing easier spreading, andlower the interfacial tensionbetween the wax (other chemicals)and water.

In the aqueous mold releasecomposition the combined “solids”has a lower melting point than thatof the individual waxes so that whenthe release composition is appliedto a heated mold, it melts to form acontinuous film. In this liquid state

the components inthe coating stratifywith the surfactantsand emulsifiersmigrating toward theair/liquid interfaceand the waxesmigrating toward themold surface.

Once the waxes areisolated by thismigration, theyattain their

naturally higher melting point andsolidify to form a solid layer on themold surface. After the pouring ofthe liquid foam composition andclosing the mold, the combinedheating of the mold in the ovenand the exotherm of the reactingfoam composition serve to raisethe mold temperature above themelting point of the waxes.

Generally non-ionic surfactants arebeing used besides cationicand anionic surfactants.Diorganopolysiloxanes which havelong-chain alkyl groups bonded tosilicon atoms and poly(siloxane-


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glycol) surfactant having a cloudpoint ranging from 25°-50° C arebeing used.

4. Emulsifier:

An emulsifier is a type ofsurfactant typically used to keepemulsion (mixtures of immisciblefluids) well dispersed. Emulsifierstypically have a hydrophobic(water-hating) and a hydrophilic(water-liking) end. The emulsifierswill surround wax (or otherimmiscible molecule) and form aprotective layer so that the waxmolecules cannot “clump”together. This action helps keepsthe dispersed phase in smalldroplets and preserves theemulsion.

Suitable emulsifying agents forpreparing aqueous emulsions ofrelease-effective substances areparticularly those with an HLBvalue of 8-15 and especiallypolyalkoxylated nonionicsurfactants. In order to obtainefficient emulsification of therelease effective substances inwater, ionic emulsifiers are usedin combination with the nonionicemulsifiers. This combinationallows for an overall lower wax:emulsifier ratio. Typicalemulsifiers that can be includedare one or more compoundsselected from the followinggroups:

a) anionic emulsifiers such as alkylether carboxylates, alkyl sulfates,fatty alcohol ethoxylated ethersulfates, alpha-olefinsulfonates,alkyl phosphates, alkyl polyetherphosphates,Alkylsulfosuccinates,

b) nonionic emulsifiers such asethoxylated fatty alcohols,

ethoxylated oxo-process alcohols,and other alcohol ethers,fatty amines such asdimethylalkylamines, fatty acidalkanol amides, fatty acid esterswith alcohols, including glycerolesters or polyglycerol esters orsorbitol esters.

c) cationic emulsifiers such asacidified alkyldimethylamines,quaternary nitrogencompounds.and

d) zwitterionic surfactants such asamino acids.

5. Leveling agent:

The drying characteristic isbrought about by adding levelingagents by preventing the releaseagent forming droplets on themold surface. Some non-ionicsurfactants exhibit levelingperformance characteristics such aspolyethylene glycol.

6. Other Additive:

The water based release agent maycontain additional additives suchas an insecticide, a foam stabilizer,a wetting agent; and/or anantifoaming agent are used as anadditive in trace amounts.

Formulation:

In general several factorscomplicate the use of water basedrelease agent. First the selection ofwater based release agent is specificto each particular application.Considerable time and trials maybe needed before the product isapproved and commercialized.The operators doing the mold

release spray may require

some additional training. Alsoadditional drying time may be

needed for the mold release agentor the temperature of the moldmay have to be increased to speedup drying.

Based on these criteria the waterbased release agent formulationwill be developed which compriseskey ingredients in the followingrange of usage as in Table 2.

Technical Updates

Evaluation of the release

agent:

The water based release agent ingeneral should satisfy thefollowing characters in terms of itsperformance.

1. The release characteristics:

In order to evaluate the releaseeffect of the part from the mold aspring balance method is beingused. In this method the releaseeffect can be understood byapplying force to set at the carryinghandle of mold, and as the lid wasopened the force required fordemolding the part is quantified..

2. Cell opening

characteristics of the molding

foam:

Water based release agent also

Ingredients Parts Release substance 10 - 40%

Film forming agent 1 - 10%

Emulsifier 0 - 10%

Surfactant 0 - 10%

Foam stabilizer 0 - 5%

Leveling agent 0.05 - 5%

Anti - corrosive agent 0.05 - 10%

Water 100%

Table: 2 List of ingredients and

compositions used in water based

release agent.


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exhibits the cell opening behaviorin the polyurethane foam. This canbe defined as the number of theentire cells within the squire of5cm x 5cm on the surface of themolded urethane foam andwhether there are breaking of cellsor not were visually observed andmeasured. The cell opening ratiowas made as a ratio of the numberof foam breaking cells occupyingin the total cell number. The cellopening characteristic preferably60% or more.

3. Dry characteristic:

The duration from the time whenthe release agent was sprayed inthe mold at the optimumtemperature to the time when itwas dried is measured. The dryingcharacteristic in general is within30 seconds.

4. Odour:

The smell at the time when therelease agent was sprayed on themold at the processingtemperature is determined byhuman. Preferably it should be nouncomfortable smell.

5. Corrosiveness:

The moiety of the release agent isput in the sample bottle, in whichthe degreased iron is immersed. Thebottle stood in the thermostat at650C for 4 hrs, and the possibleoccurrence of the rust is observed.No occurrence of rust should be aresult.

6. Work environmental

characteristic:

The vapor pressure at 200C as the

whole composition shall be lessthan 0.01kPa.

Selecting the right

releasant(s):

Given the wide range of water-based releasant formulations nowavailable, it should be relativelyeasy to find the ideal releaseagent for processors who dealprimarily in large production runsof one primary compound andmolds of similar size, shape andconstruction. Unfortunately, mostprocessors do not have thatluxury. They process a variety ofdifferent compounds, usingdifferent molds for each customer.As a result, what is optimally rightfor one application may proveunsatisfactory for another..Obviously, purchasing multipleformulations can be costly as wellas an administrative headache,causing storage problems, andincreasing the possibility thatemployee error could lead toselection of the wrong releasantfor a particular application.

Ideally, one must find a releaseagent that works satisfactorily onmost molds and compounds beingprocessed. One technique for doingthat is “most difficult first,” thetheory being that a releasant thatperforms well under the mostdifficult circumstances likely will doeven better on less difficultapplications. Of course, that doesnot hold true in all cases, but thisapproach has been provedsuccessful in significantly reducingthe need for multiple releasants formultiple applications.

In selecting, the proper releasants, anumber of factors must beconsidered:

� the chemical and physicalproperties of each stock to bemolded:

� releasant chemistry and filmproperties;

� mold size, shape and material; and

� the time, temperature and otherparameters of processing. Ideally,the process engineer works closelywith the supplier’s technical staffto select - or custom-formulate-releasants that meet all processapplications. And, processorsshould understand that changingrelease agents may requirechanges/additions in equipment,personnel functions and/or theprocess itself if the new releasantis to perform to expectations.

Mold build-up:

Build-up on the molds may betriggered by the reaction of waterwith the material used to createthe parts. This build up issomewhat difficult to remove fromthe mold, meaning additionalcosts. However, the solution to thisissue is by avoiding the releaseagent in a fresh mold without anyprimer or solvent wax coating. Asa mold comes into production itmust be clean and wellconditioned. The conditioningbarrier covering the mold will limitbuild up issues.

Release agent application:

1. Electrostatic spray guns:

Electrostatic spray guns haverecently been developed forpainting and other surface coatingoperations especially for releaseagent application. These aredesigned to reduce coating


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consumption by reducing theamount of over spray, or coatingthat does not adhere to the targetsurface.

2. Air spray guns: Well atomizedair spray gun provides low build up,better spread ability and preventsthe water droplets forming on themould. In the area of automotiveseating production the molds willbe very complicated where thistype of guns will provide betterperformance. Preferably the nozzlesize of the gun is 0.3mm to 0.5mm,the air pressure is around 0.5 Kg/m2 and the flow rate of releaseagent is in the range of 100-150gm/minute.

Eco- friendly and advantages:

Water based release agents aremore environmentally friendlythan petroleum based releaseagents. Petroleum materialsdemand more energy to be foundand then refined, while water isreadily available and requires littleor no processing. Water basedrelease agents can achieve a 10%to 40% reduction in the volume ofrelease being consumed inpolyurethane foam production.

Ventilation requirements are lesscostly and less complex for waterbased mold release agents whereassolvent based release agentsrequire ventilation to the outsideto maintain healthy workingconditions. With the use of waterbased release agents, there is nolonger a requirement to ventilateto the outside. In some situationssimply filtering the air to removeair borne particulates is sufficient.Minimizing ventilationrequirements means savings onenergy costs in normal climates.

No fire risk assessment:

Less flammable material isanother opportunity with waterbased releases. The chances of aspark triggering a fire areminimized. The lower risksassociated with water basedrelease agents can mean loweringinsurance premiums as well ascontrolling costs for storingflammable liquids.

Low VOC and HAP:

Fewer VOCs in water based releaseagent helps molding manufacturersmeet regulatory requirements. VOCreduction can help streamline theprocess for building or expandingan existing plant. Less regulatory redtape speeds the permitting process.Concerns over emissions from HAP-based and naphtha based releaseagents have prompted thedevelopment of some water basedmold release agents which havebeen used successfully at moldedfoam production plants. Unlikenaphtha based and reduced VOCmold release agents, water basedagents eliminate mold releaseemissions.

No additional infrastructure

required:

Finally, switching to a water basedrelease doesn’t meanmanufacturers have to change moldtypes, spray equipment or thematerials used to make parts.Whether the mold is simple orcomplex, made of aluminum,epoxy, steel, or urethane, nochange needed for water basedrelease. Continuing to use the samespray equipment, including, a fixedautomated system, manual guns orarticulating robots will still be

effective. No expensive newequipment is required. This is truewhen manufacturing open or closecell polyurethane molded parts, therange of composite products, rubberapplications and even most types ofconcrete components.

Disadvantages:

1. Discoloration, which are causedby oxidation of the double bondswithin the unsaturated oligomericor polymeric hydrocarbons whenused as a release effectivesubstance.2. Work environment, the frequentincidence of allergies amongemployees who work with theserelease agents or with the shapedparts, produced with theirassistance.3. Polyurea buildup on the moldsurfaces,4. On machines and equipment, asticky, greasy film is formed whichis difficult to remove, even whengreat care is taken, the soiling ofthe surrounding area cannot beavoided with certainty, with theconsequence that a slippery, greasyfilm that is hard to remove isformed, for example, on the floors,and represents an unacceptablehazard potential for the employees.

Conclusion:

An insight has been given on theimportance of the water baserelease agent with special mentionon their eco friendly behavior.Although this is still a growing field,there are other frontiers such asnanotechnology which is alsofinding headway as a favorableoption to develop release agents.This is targeted as an one timeapplication product for multi cycleoperation although not yet beentried in molded PU application.


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TTTTThe Automotihe Automotihe Automotihe Automotihe Automotive industrve industrve industrve industrve industryyyyy

increasingly requiresincreasingly requiresincreasingly requiresincreasingly requiresincreasingly requires

superior noise insulationsuperior noise insulationsuperior noise insulationsuperior noise insulationsuperior noise insulation

solutions to provide vehiclessolutions to provide vehiclessolutions to provide vehiclessolutions to provide vehiclessolutions to provide vehicles

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comfortable and – at the samecomfortable and – at the samecomfortable and – at the samecomfortable and – at the samecomfortable and – at the same

time – of lightweight and withtime – of lightweight and withtime – of lightweight and withtime – of lightweight and withtime – of lightweight and withample spaces in the passenger’sample spaces in the passenger’sample spaces in the passenger’sample spaces in the passenger’sample spaces in the passenger’scompartment.compartment.compartment.compartment.compartment.

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aaaaapplicapplicapplicapplicapplications ftions ftions ftions ftions for SoliSpraor SoliSpraor SoliSpraor SoliSpraor SoliSprayyyyy, the, the, the, the, the

new Cannon technology fornew Cannon technology fornew Cannon technology fornew Cannon technology fornew Cannon technology for

spraying highly-filled PURspraying highly-filled PURspraying highly-filled PURspraying highly-filled PURspraying highly-filled PUR

formulations, developed forformulations, developed forformulations, developed forformulations, developed forformulations, developed for

the manufacture of the Dashthe manufacture of the Dashthe manufacture of the Dashthe manufacture of the Dashthe manufacture of the Dash

InsulaInsulaInsulaInsulaInsulatortortortortor, a large element, a large element, a large element, a large element, a large element

placed under the instrumentplaced under the instrumentplaced under the instrumentplaced under the instrumentplaced under the instrument

panel .panel .panel .panel .panel .

Noise from the engine enters intothe cockpit mainly from two places:the metal wall holding theinstrument panel and the two “pits”near the front wheels, where on oneside the pedals are mounted and –on the opposite one – the frontpassenger’s feet are resting.

Several solutions have beenapplied to meet contrasting needs:high noise-insulation efficiency andlow volume. Sandwiches of heavily-filled polymeric facings and flexiblefoams, felt-based mats, severalcombinations of synthetic andnatural materials. Lightweight,expanded textile-based matsprovide an economic solution withmedium-good noise insulation, butthey steal space inside the cockpitand are prone to moistureabsorption.

RRIM-based injected parts providegood sound-proofing but are made

out of expensive chemicals as wellas expensive production tools andpresses.

Thermoformed combinations ofheavy layers and various facingsare quite labour intensive toobtain. Almost all the currentproducts require expensivemoulding tools, either becausethey must contain rising PURfoams or because they must beheated to provide thermoformingcapability.

An alternative, simpler solutionwas demanded by this very cost-conscious market.

Project Background

Acoustic shield for dashboards,providing a substantial reductionof the noise generated by theengines, have been produced withCannon equipment for many yearsby the major suppliers of theautomotive industry.

Lately, the preferred solution hasbeen the so-called Heavy Layer, asingle-material moulded elementobtained by closed-mouldinjection of RRIM formulationsheavily filled with Barite; this is anatural Barium Sulphate powder,containing small amounts ofabrasive silica and quartz crystalsable to wear severely standardpumps and mixing heads. Piston-driven metering units have beendeveloped since the 1980’s forthese applications, combined withhardened heads and specialinjectors providing a stablefunctioning and constancy of

mixing results in the long run.

Injection of the two-componentformulation occurs in large, closedmoulds, and the pressuregenerated by the expanding PURmust be held by huge presses toavoid that “flashes” of polymersleak from the mould junction,wasting material and forcing tomanually trim the parts afterdemoulding.

When the industry tried to savesome material by thinning thesection of the insulator, a qualityproblem quickly arose: heavilyfilled formulations are very viscous,they flow with difficulty in thincavities and produce parts showingair entrapments, heavy flow marksand poor surface aspect. The scraprate quickly becomes a majorproblem, also due to the relativelyhigh cost of the formulation, andto the high cost of disposing ofthese large, scrapped elements.

Moreover the presses and mouldsnecessary to withstand theinjection pressure must be strongand stiff, therefore heavy, large andquite expensive.

The automotive industry neededlarge parts, able to provide a goodlevel of noise insulation whererequired by the design of the metalsubstrate. Parts that must have verydifferent thickness in specific

SoliSpray for innovative Automotive DashInsulators

A typical Dash Insulator


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zones, that require back foamingwith flexible foam and also a goodand robust surface finish, to beassembled by semi-automatic toolinto the destined positions.

Placed under the dashboard, thesecomponents permit the passage ofthe many services crossing betweenthe engine compartment and thecockpit: each passage must beprecisely sealed, so the finishingwith water jet cutting and theweight tolerance are a must.

Not necessarily a part of constantthickness and not necessarily“aesthetic” parts in terms of look:placed under the dashboard, theseare large components that evenvery few mechanics will have theopportunity to notice in the wholelife of a vehicle.

A different approach had to befound, using these Barite-filledformulations or something else.

Cannon Solution

In the late 1990’s Cannon weredeveloping a number ofmanufacturing systems based onthe spray technology.

The InterWet solutions – forinstance – allowed for the intimatemixing of PUR formulations withlong chopped fibers of glass andof other materials, as well as ofheavy powders, milled scrap ofPUR flexible foams. This technologyrequired a certain amount of effortsfor the precise dosing of theseexternal elements, which providedthe Cannon PUR R&D team withspecial skills in handling andmixing these solids.

Careful attention was dedicated tothe design of heads able to cope

with large amounts of solid, abrasivefillers at relatively high output rate.One of these heads was designedwith the geometry of a standard L-shaped Cannon FPL, a Cannon Patentof the late 1970’s that has introduceda superior level of mixing efficiencycombined with the absence of splashduring the open-mould pouringoperations. This head – modified inits parts in contact with the solid,abrasive fillers – provided very goodresults when pouring simultaneouslya standard PUR formulation and anumber of solid fillers andreinforcements.

When Cannon PUR R&D team wasfaced with the request of analternative method to manufactureHeavy Layers for Dash insulators,the filled-spray alternative wasimmediately taken intoconsideration.

High mixing efficiency combinedwith the absence of splash – inpresence of high percentages ofsolid fillers – are also very importantfeatures for a spray head.

A number of technical constraintswere there to be overcome, but thepotential advantages of a “sprayapproach” immediately appealedthe researchers:

� The possibility to eliminate

half of the tools: a spray foamonly requires the lower half of amould, not being this a mouldingprocess.

� The elimination of heavy

and expensive mould carriers:simple trays would be required tocarry the lower mould halves onwhich the foam will be sprayed.

� The possibility to apply

layers of insulating material

only where it is really

required: the mould areas whereit is unnecessary can be simplyskipped during the sprayingoperation. Where more material isneeded, a second, even a third“pass” can be applied when theformer is sufficiently dried.

� The possibility to position

plastic and metal inserts in

mould prior to the spraying:positioned in mould eithermanually or using robots, they arefully encapsulated by the foam.

Initial Developments

A Development project wasinitiated, to explore the limits ofthe available metering and mixingequipment and define theparameters for the optimumsolution.

A piston-dosing Cannon HE lab

machine was specially modifiedand dedicated to this project, aswell as a large portion of the R&Dlab with a robot handling thespray head, a fully-enclosedspray cabin with forcedventilation of exhausts gases andall the necessary ancillaries andmoulds.

A team of specialists - from variousdepartments of the Company - wasfully dedicated to this task forseveral months.

First things first, a properformulation had to be found.

To start with, also using the previousexperiences with mouldedformulations, a level of 50% of Bariteon the total applied polymer wasset as the minimum one toguarantee good acoustic properties.


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The peculiar reology properties offast and heavily filled formulationsrequire special settings on thetemperature control side: extraheating capacity was built into thecomponent tanks and feed lines,able to guarantee – at least on thefilled Polyol side – a runningtemperature close to 90 °C.

The matter was rather new also forexperienced Raw MaterialSuppliers. A number of them – allthe main players in this field of theAutomotive industry – were invitedto take part in this challenge.

The first of them came with drumsof basic chemicals and jars of their“magic powders” and played inCannon R&D Lab until a decentreactivity profile was obtained andreproduced for a sequence of sprayapplications of one grade of filledfoam.

Compact and characterised by a perfect

spray pattern, the new Cannon head

performs very well with highly filled

formulations.

Various types of pumpand piston-driven

dosing units are available at Cannon for

the application of spray foams for

automotive components

Strong skin, in spite of the thin applied

layers, and minimum overspray between

layers was soon obtained in Cannon R&D

Labs.

After much work and efforts anumber of good Heavy Layers wasproduced: they were judgedinteresting and worth thecontinuation of the project. A sortof “starting point” of thetechnology was set, and the processentered in its “refining phase”.

A number of basic problems wasidentified and duly tackled. Theymainly involved four areas: mixing

quality, effect of abrasive

powders on the mechanicalcomponents, design of the spray

nozzle and head cleaning

procedure at the end of the sprayjob.

Mixing quality of Polyurethanes– in general – derives from severalfactors: ratio and nature ofcomponents, output, size andgeometry of the mixing chamber.When the components are (moreor less) of the same order of

Specifically for the Polyol side –characterised by a very high specificgravity and brought at very hightemperature to lower its extremelyhigh initial viscosity – a special newdesign of jets was derived fromother branches of the industry,particularly from the hydraulicscience. An optimised stream ofmaterial was obtained, whosespeed can reach well above the 100meter per second limit thattransforms this flux of filled liquidalmost in a water-jet cutting tool!Opposite story for the Isocyanate

stream, characterised by very lowpercentage, viscosity and specificgravity. For this component atotally different injector wasdesigned, that performedoptimally with the opposite onecarrying the filled Polyol stream.

magnitude of viscosity, specificgravity and temperature, whathappens in a traditionalimpingement mixing chamber is bynow clear and consolidated – atleast for those who know what theyare dealing with. But when thesame parameters are, as in thiscase, heavily unbalanced, whathappens in a tiny mixing chamberis widely uncertain and cannotsurely be monitored with a videocamera. Not in real life, at least.Only by using dedicated FEA (FiniteElements Analysis) software andmathematical models one cansimulate those processingsituations with a good margin ofreliability, using less time and lessresources than when using a “trialand error” approach.

The abrasion problem was a veryserious one. Natural Bariteextracted from mines and roughlypulverised is sold “as is” includingall its natural pollutants, mainlysilica-based quartz-rich sands. Theyare very abrasive, even if presentin small percentages. It is quiteunderstandable that pumpingthrough a Diesel-like injector adispersion of a lot of this earth inPolyol, at speed above 100 mpscan be quite an experience – forboth the injector doing the job andfor that positioned in front of it in


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a tiny mixing chamber.

This aspect was solved many yearsago for the RRIM heads, and thesolution was found by making theinjectors in hard metal alloys. Theoptimum very hard grade wasfound with several sets of trials, andthe specially designed injectors (plustheir seats) were made with it.

The spray nozzle – positioned atthe exit of the discharge duct –seriously influenced two majorprocessing aspects: the geometryof the “stroke” of blend projectedon the mould’ surface, and theindustrial reliability of the process:seriously attacked by the abrasivefillers, it required a specialexecution in very hard alloy and apeculiar design, to provide a veryflat and regular triangle ofprojected material.

A specific projection angle wasselected as the optimum one toguarantee complete control of thespraying pattern, allowing for acorrect number of “passes” on themould and for a minimumoverlapping of foam between twocontiguous strokes. After thoroughdevelopment, helped by the use ofa laser simulator which optimisedthe computer-programming of thespray patterns, the best resultswere achieved with a overlappingwidth lower than 5% of the stroke’swidth.

The same design allowed to definea spraying distance from the surfaceof min. 300 – max. 800 mm, tocover the widest range ofrequirements dictated by thesmallest and the largest mouldsused for this process.

Cleaning the head after thespray operation involved a

number of practicalconsiderations, mostly linked tothe repetitivity of results requiredby an industrial automatedoperation. The high materialreactivity required thedevelopment of a small washingdevice which cleans the dischargeduct and the spray nozzle with fewgrams of an ester-based cleaningagent, an environmentally-friendlysolvent recoverable by distillation.

Industrialisation of theProcess

Once applied all the describeddevelopments on the lab machine,a second series of trials wasorganised and run using moulds ofpotential customers of thistechnology, and the results verysoon proved that the developmentwork had been successful.

The piston-dosing high pressure metering

unit is usually located over the spray booth.

A positive German industrial

experience

One of the leading Germanmanufacturers of sound deadeningsystems for automotiveapplications – a Cannon customerfor more than 25 years – requireda solution for a large part they hadto supply to BMW.

A heavily-filled formulation, basedon Polymeric Isocyanate (35 pbw),

Polyol with amine-based catalysis(100 pbw) and Barite, well dried toremove water (350 pbw) wastested, to produce a large DashInsulator containing, in the finalblend, 70% of solid filler. Seen inthe pre-blending drum, the Polyolside looked like thick mud. Thesimple idea of spraying that mudpuzzled a lot the developmentteam. This blend was transferredto the Polyol tank using a specialpump, and once there it wasrecirculated for a while at 85°C andprocessed at this hightemperature, working with apressure on the nozzle of 180 bar.The Isocyanate was processed at 35°C and pressure of 190 bar.

The result was beyond anyexpectation. A perfect layer of well-mixed polymer was obtained, whichallowed for the deposition of several“passes” one over the other,increasing the final part’s thicknesswhere it was needed and keeping aminimum layer there where it wasjust necessary a thin film, enough forhandling the part safely during theextraction of the part from thebottom mould half. The lightweightmixhead produced a perfectlytriangular spray pattern, with a veryflat and regular section. The externalborder of the spray left a minimaldrop-out of no more than 2-3% ofmaterial, free from any pulverisationeffect. The overlapping betweencontiguous “strokes” was – asexpected – contained below 4% ofthe spray width.

The measured thickness of a singlelayer was of one mm (+/- 10%)across the whole “stroke” . The“stroke” was applied regularly,continuously and with constantspeed on the curves, avoiding anyeffect of build-up or lack ofmaterial, typical of applications


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where the robot does not keep aregular speed when changing itsdirection.

This is an unwanted result derivingfrom the use of large, heavy headswith many high-pressure pipes: thenew Cannon spray head

deriving from this development –able to work in a output range of80-200 g/sec – features a size whichis one quarter of those used by aqualified competitor for the sametask, it weighs only 4 kg and canbe mounted on a small robot, thesame size of device used for asimple painting task! Also thenumber and size of pipes is

very contained, limiting thedimension of the device that mustbe brought over a mould for aspray operation. This is a majoradvantage when the job must beperformed in a mould destined toperform a foam-backing taskimmediately after the sprayoperation: in this case, in fact, theupper mould half is present, andmany times it is not opened at afull 90° aperture during the sprayjob. The use of a small head with alighter piping allows for betterentrance over the lower mould half,and for less risks of collision withthe upper mould surface.

The development work wasvalidated, and Cannon supplied acomplete solution includingpiston-dosing high pressuremetering unit, the new spray head,plus all the required ancillaries.This plant is in production inGermany since June 2008. A positiveItalian industrial experience. Adleris an Italian car part manufacturerbelonging to a family group whichowns similar plants in Italy,Poland, France, Brazil, Turkey andIndia. They provide all sorts ofinterior parts to Fiat, VW-Porsche,

Six kg of filled PUR skin are sprayed over a

naken mould: more than half of the

formulation consists of a fine Calcium

Carbonate powder!

Peugeot, Iveco, Suzuki and othervehicle manufacturers, utilizingseveral thermoplastic andPolyurethane technologies.

In their plant in Pisticci,strategically well positioned tosupply all Fiat ’s plants based insouthern Italy, Adler produces –among other parts – the DashInsulator of the Grande Puntomodel. This large sound-deadeningpart (it measures 165x90 cm) ratherthan being made, as they do forother vehicles, by back-foamingwith PUR a PVC thermoformedskin, thanks to the availability ofthe new Cannon SoliSpraytechnology has been designed as a“All PUR” product composed by athin layer of sound absorbingcompact sprayed PUR, back-foamed with low-density flexiblePUR foam.

The two different processes areapplied in sequence on the sameproduction line, a carousel systemdragging several mould carriers.Each of these book-opening mouldcarriers holds one large mould. Thethin, high-density skin is sprayeddirectly on the surface of the lowermould, and the flexible foam layeris lately poured over the skin by asecond dosing unit.

The upper part of the mould isclosed over the lower partimmediately after the open-mouldpouring operation. The finishedtwo-layers Dash Insulator isdemoulded after a short cure, andthe cycle restarts.

The sprayed skin is composed by atwo-component formulation,which contains from 60 to 75% ofmineral filler over the finishedproduct. For this application a finepowder of Calcium Carbonate is

employed, in a filler-to-polyol ratiothat can reach the 250/100proportion.

Again, also in this case the majorobstacle for a correct applicationof this formulation derives fromthe very high viscosity of this blend.As shown in Graph. 1, at 25 °C theblend is a solid mass bearing aviscosity of 40,000 cps. Only byheating it up to 80 °C its viscosityreaches a more reasonable – butstill problematic to process – valueof 16,000 cps.

Major advantages of CalciumCarbonate versus the previouslydescribed Barium Sulphate – stillmaintaining a very high insulationcapacity – are the lack of abrasioneffect over dosing machine andmixing heads, and a slightly lowerspecific gravity.

This translates into easier processand some weight reduction of thecomponent, bearing a highermileage to the vehicle to whomthe Dash Insulator will belong.Adler development andproduction staff – new to this filledspray technology – had to learneach and every trick of the tradeto reach an optimum result.

As usual, the best compromise had


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A view of Adler’s spray and foaming plant

for FIAT’s dash insulators near Matera,

Italy.

One Cannon piston machine is dispensing

the heavily filled formulation, another

feeds the second layer of sound absorber, a

light flexible foam.

to be found among formulation,machine, head and mould, and thelearning curve was pretty long.Cannon worked very close to thecustomer to adapt and optimisethe process, and this co-operationworked.

At the end of the lesson, few basicpoint were made clear: the bestresults were obtained with anoutput range around 80 g/sec, anextremely precise control of thecomponent’s temperatures was amust, some time has to be investedin the beginning to define themost efficient spraying path for therobot, and the final skin should becomposed – for practical reasonslinked with the maximum specificweight of the final piece – by amaximum of three layers.

The special Cannon head guarantees a

precise and uniform spray pattern, for

optimum distribution of the filled

formulation where it is needed by the part’s

design.

The fast reacting formulation, finetuned after several sessions ofindustrial trials, allowed for a veryquick sequence of “passes” over themould, optimizing the cycle timeand providing high productivity tothe line. This high reactivity allowsfor the application of a uniformthickness of material also on thevertical slopes of the mould:dropping of liquid is minimized afterits application over the mould’surface, guaranteeing homogeneouslayers of skin in each cross sectionof the insulating part.

A perfect skin, whose weight isaround 1.8 kg/sqm for each layer ofone millimetre of thickness,guarantees a nice aspect for theexternal side of the piece and highadhesion for the flexible foam PUformulation which is poured over ita few seconds after the skin has dried.

Says Lino Mondino, Adler’s Chief ofthe Engineering and InnovationDepartment: “It was not an easylearning, it was not as fast as wehoped, but now it is there and it worksvery fine. We supply extremely goodparts made efficiently and this is whatour customers – and we too – likemostly! This is what counts, today.”

The Added Value

What did Cannon achieve from thisnew SoliSpray development

project? Quite a lot:

� An industrial process,

currently in operation in

Germany with 70% of Bariteand in Italy with 75% ofCalcium Carbonate,

� An important saving in

tooling – if the process is appliedwithout a subsequent back-foaming operation – because itcan even avoid the use of mouldcarriers and cuts to less than halfthe investment in moulds. Thelarger the part, the moreconvenient the process results.

� A high-quality finished

part characterised by uniformthickness and constantdistribution of solids within thepolymer, and by a very highdifferential between thick andthin parts, not obtainable witha moulding process.

� A system usable for both

a mass production ofstandard cars and for small

series of large parts for trucks,buses and special vehicles. Allwith the same equipment.

The development continues, andinteresting developments are in the“boiler room” at the moment.Have a complex spray project

in mind? Talk to Cannon: They

Know How!


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Pur Skin Technologies in the Automotive Industry

Aliphatic spray skin dashboard with back foaming

When Integral Skinned foams

were first developed in theSeventies, it was an exciting

material as it was one of the onlyone shot moulding processes whichrealised dual density mouldings

which had a dense outer skin anda low density soft core. This softfeel was much appreciated by theauto industry and many

applications were based aroundthis technology.

Classic applications included

Steering Wheels, Gear Knobs, Armrests etc.

Soon, the industry realised that ISFprocessing had limitations.

Limitations

� Light stable colors were aproblem and most applicationswere in Black Color. As the processused aromatic Isocyanates lightcolors were not possible.

� Surface defects such as voids, Airentrapment and flow lines were aserious concern.

� As the size of the part increased,there was difficulty to make goodquality parts.

Next stage of development was tointroduce In Mold Coatings whichwere based on Aliphatic Isocyanatesand provided a 20 Micron surfacelayer in the desired color. This wasintroduced in Steering wheels,ArmRests etc. Simultaneously, thesearch of systems and equipmentsstarted which would providesprayable skins.

It was important to give this back

ground so that the understandingof the evolution of spray skintechnologies is clear.

Current availableTechnologies and theirFeatures

1. Sprayable 2k Pur Skin

Systems

� PROCESSING TECHNOLOGY-Special machines are available forworking with 2K systems which cancontrol mixing ratios in a closedloop and give a fine mix and spray.Isotherm in Switzerland has donea lot of work in developingmachines over the years and is oneof the well known manufacturerfor this application. Both Aliphaticand Aromatic systems are useddepending on the color and targetcosts.

� DEVELOPMENT IN MATERIALS-Key properties in Automotiveindustry are Tactile feel or softcontact feel, range of light stablecolours, high resistance to abrasion

and low VOC emissions. So muchwork has been done that today youcan formulate anti bacterial sparyskin systems. Flexible Polyureacoatings are a relatively recentdevelopment and they impartshort cycle times.

� COST VIABILITY- Manyapplications where cost is animportant issue are being managedwith a combination of Aliphatic InMold Coating backed by anAromatic In mold skinning in a twostage process.

2. Pur Skin Moulding

� Exciting new technologies havebeen developed in Germany in thelast few years where PUR Skin ismoulded directly onto injectionmoulded substrates in an inlineprocess. This process is givingproductivity of Injection mouldingprocesses and the soft contactassociated with PUR Surfaces. Herea non foaming highly reactive 2KSystem is injected onto the substrateto give very thin moulded skins.

Technical Updates


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This process is competing with Softfeel TPU grades moulded byInjection moulding which are beingused a lot in the European AutoIndustry for trim parts, glassholders etc where the perceivedvalue is enhanced and wheredesigners are insisting on zeroplastic feel parts in the human seeand feel zone in car interiors.

All through the eighties, peoplewere incensed with findingmaterials and process forDashboard Skins.

The winner here wasthermoformed ABS/PVC AlloySkins. These skins are backfoamedwith semi rigid PUR Foam as asandwich between the skin and thesubstrate. This process is very wellestablished and still extremelypopular.

The nineties saw concerns onAmine emissions and fogging of

Example of wear resistant skin back foamed

with different textures

PVC Skinned dashboards and alsothe discussion of sustainability andproduct stewardship came about.Here, it was considered unresponsive on the part of Automakers to produce a compositedashboard which cannot be easilyrecycled due to different materialslike steel, PUR and PVC.

TPU Slush skins were thenintroduced for top end car usingan R-Rim substrate. This created anall PUR Dashboard which wastaken into serial production byBMW for the 5 series in the midnineties. Energised by this

development and also theintroduction of Air bags and dualcolor interiors saw companies likeRecticel take these processes tonew highs and incorporated themin Door panels and dashboards.Spray techniques made it possibleto create twin color skins.

The last few years has convincedthe industry that there is a lot tobe gained by using spray skins inlow volume upper end car models.

As the human desire for soft feelinteriors spreads across theindustry, there is a challenge tocompete with ThermoplasticOlefins( TPO) which offer tactilefinish at a lower cost.

Still, it is accepted by all in theindustry that PUR Spray Skins areat the top of the heap by way ofquality of feel and it is no wonderthat the most exclusive of the carsuse these materials.

Technical Updates

Previews Reports

First International Conference on NanostructuredMaterials & Nanocomposites (Icnm – 2009)April 8, 2009

The 3 day INTERNATIONAL

CONFERENCE ON

NANOSTRUCTURED MATERIALS

& NANOCOMPOSITES (ICNM –2009) was organized by theInstitute of MacromolecularScience & Engineering (ISME) andCentre for Rural Management,

Kerala. This was the first of its kindand was held from April 6 – 8, 2009at Kotayam, Kerala.

The conference was attended byover 350 scientists, academiciansand delegates from 40 countries.170 scientists came from abroad

and the rest were from India. Itwas a unique congregation ofintense intellectual at theconference, which was ofinternational standards. It isindeed a wonder that it was heldat in a small town in SouthernIndia – Kotayam.


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It has been a fantastic effort by Dr.Sabu Thomas, the Convener of theConference who was ably assistedby his students, who were thepillars of this ICNM – 2009Conference.

Some of the highlights of the

Conference are:

� The First INTERNATIONALCONFERENCE ONNANOSTRUCTURED MATERIALS &NANOCOMPOSITES in India

� Participation from 40 countries� 170 Scientists and Academicians

from across the world andcountries like USA, UK, France,Japan, Germany, China, Russiaetc.

� 175 Scientists, Academicians &delegates from different parts ofIndia

� 231 papers presented in all over3 days

� 3 parallel sessions

The conference was inaugurated byPresident Plastindia Foundation,Mr. Arvind Mehta where he madea presentation on PolymerNanocomposites which was verywell received. Some of the majorpresentations done at theConference includes subjects like..

� Metal Nanoparticles� Medical & Biomedical

Applications� Application of Nanostructure� Applications As Sensors� Applications as Solar Cells� Carbon Nanotubes� Applications as Devices� Optical Properties� Self assembled systems

Conferences such as these raise thebar on knowledge in the field onpolymers and also enable theIndian intellect to keep abreast of

international accomplishments.Polymer scientists from India havehad a glorious platform at ICNM –2009 and I am sure we will seeseveral more such conferencesleading to major breakthroughs inpolymeric science.

Outline of Presentation on

Polymer Nanocomposites:-

� Polymer Nanocomposites arevery important inclusions in thelist of novel materials, althoughtheir history is not older than adecade.

� The scope of application of thesematerials have raised a great delof scientific and technologicalinterest and have given R&D inmaterial science, a new direction.

� Progress made in this respect istowards improvement ofprocessing & applicationpotential of the conductingpolymers.

� These materials are suitable forversatile practical applicationsand their appropriate utilizationwill provide a long leap tomaterial science.

Some Major Applications of

Polymer Nanocomposites

� Automotive� Construction� Food Packaging� Textile� Aerospace� Healthcare

In Health Care

Drug delivery commands a sizeableproportion of the overallpharmaceutical market. Especiallywhere nano polymers are used insustained release drug delivery. Thismarket is will grow faster rate thanthe overall pharmaceutical market.

In Optics & Electricals

Nanocomposites added toinorganic particles in polymersimprove their optical and electricalproperties. Such nanoparticles willincrease light scatter which is ofinterest to optics & electricals.

Prevents Cable Fires

Nanocomposites protects cablesfrom flames - flame-retardantNanocomposites act as aninsulating and non-combustiblelayer that reduces the emission ofthe volatile products of polymerdecomposition.

In Automotive

Sophisticated adhesive technologyenables bonding of materials withdifferent properties such as metalsand plastics. This enables the designof light-weight cars and thusreduces fuel consumption.

Future of Polymer

Nanocomposites

� Polymer nanocomposites (PNC)are the future for the Globalpackaging industry.

� By 2012 the usage of PNC inpackaging will be 5 millionpounds.

� The total consumption of PNCin globally estimated to be100million pounds.

� Research continues into othertypes of nanofillers allowing newnanocomposite structures withdifferent improved propertiesthat will further advancenanocomposite use in manydiverse applications.


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PUToday

J U N E 2 0 0 9 FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION ONLY. Edited by Ms Medha Bhuta Published by K. Ramamurthy for Indian Polyurethane Association

Printed by citiprints - 044 4206 4271 [email protected]

pu today june 2009

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