KRAIBURG TPE: TPE compound to manufacture three-component plastic pillar cappings

When selecting the materials used to manufacture its three-component plastic pillar cappings, DURA Automotive Systems specified a compound made by KRAIBURG TPE (www.kraiburg-tpe.com). One of the three resins making up the cappings, this compound, blended by the thermoplastic elastomers specialists in Waldkraiburg in Bavaria, makes for superb sealing. Over and above that, its excellent bonding properties let DURA manufacture the cappings in a three-component injection molding process, thus reducing production time and costs. Engineering A-pillar cappings for the first time in this process, DURA is offering its coachwork customers not only rugged protection for all types of weather, but also weight reduction in comparison with metallic trim. And in regard to design the high-gloss surface makes these cappings a winner, too.

Ideal bonding even in extreme situations
KRAIBURG TPE delivers the plasticized resins used in manufacturing the three-component pillar cappings at DURA. This TPE is derived from the THERMOLAST® K product line and is matched specifically to the customer’s requirements. After successfully completing two years of testing under extreme temperature loads, the TPE compounds still exhibit the greatest possible flexibility and best bonding properties. This is true even at severe cold, as low as 40 degrees Celsius, and extreme heat of 90 degrees Celsius. This flexibility makes it possible to manufacture the A-pillar cappings in a three-component injection molding process. Being narrower than the B-pillar, the A-pillar offers less bonding surface area for injection attachment. But TPE’s ideal bonding capacities more than make up for that. Once the basic component for the cap, made of ABS/PC, has been overmolded with the second component, the glossy PMMA material, the TPE is injected directly onto the rear surface as a seal. The three components can thus be joined one with another, in a single process, without any additional effort involved for bonding. Available in Shore A 80 hardness, the TPE also offers excellent resilience properties.

Advert

In addition to the best possible adhesion, the compound made by KRAIBURG TPE offers a clean and reliable seal with the vehicle’s windshield. When used as the sealing component on the A-pillar cappings, the TPE at this particular location, at the front of the vehicle, minimizes wind noise and ensures unhindered water runoff. Thus this three-component plastic capping, up to 40 per cent lighter than its metal counterpart, is convincing not only thanks to its high-quality, flexible and cost-favorable production. With its glossy black optics it is also an attractive alternative to conventional metal trim and an enhancement to automotive design.

Photo: three-component plastic pillar capping, (Source: DURA Automotive Systems)

KRAIBURG TPE GmbH & Co. KG, Waldkraiburg, Germany

back to news list