May 30 2008
Bayer MaterialScience and Sysprotex GmbH, Kenzingen, have agreed to form a partnership on customer support. The partnership aims in the future to offer processors of glass fiber-reinforced plastics all-in-one solutions comprising the Multitec® polyurethane spray system as well as specially coordinated production equipment and by that an optimized service.
Multitec® has a proven track record in providing cost-effective and environmentally friendly production of molded and deep-drawn parts with reduced weight. This liquid system - with or without glass-fiber reinforcement - can be sprayed into open or closed molds to create a diverse range of shapes and sizes. Multitec® is part of the polyurethane systems business of Bayer MaterialScience, which is operated under the global BaySystems® brand.
While BaySystems works closely with customers to develop solutions tailored to individual applications, Sysprotex specializes in designing and installing turnkey production equipment for Multitec®, based on components available on the market. To achieve this, the company has created a pilot plant for the spray system in which all costing data can be determined. "As well as designing and setting up production machinery, we provide staff with operational training and perform programming for the equipment and robots," explains Michael Driessen, who is in charge of the project at Sysprotex.
"The spray system can be applied cost-effectively and reproducibly using robots," says Dr. Noelia Mansilla, Marketing Manager for BaySystems Diversified Industries. "Compared with conventional production using hand lay-up techniques, the system’s short curing time of between three and five minutes gives a significant boost to productivity." Moreover, the system eliminates the need for styrene solvent and the energy-intensive post-curing process used in the past.
Depending on the application in question, processors can also perform a number of spray operations in succession - with or without glass-fiber reinforcement - to produce a customized composite. Other, rival processes cannot do this. These benefits and the range of surface finishes, which can be varied between Class A and soft touch, make this technology particularly attractive for use in the automotive and in particular commercial vehicle industries.