Dow Corning has developed advanced seam sealants and silicone fabric coatings that improve the performance of automotive supplemental restraint solutions such as inflatable curtains and airbags.
As the use of inflatable curtains and airbags is expanding across the world, Dow Corning is working on to offer lightweight, high-performance solutions at reduced cost.
Ivan Mini, Global Automotive Interiors division of Dow Corning, commented that the company is widening its solutions to fulfill unique regional requirements and newer applications and also meet the rising competition, as more automotive markets are now incorporating occupant safety systems in their vehicles.
Nowadays, majority of new systems use silicone coatings for low stiffness, thermal aging stability, low gas permeability, good flexibility, abrasion resistance and low flammability that assist packaging versatility.
Dow Corning offers liquid silicone rubber fabric-coating elastomers as two-component solventless solutions that are cured by heat-activation process as well as room-temperature-vulcanizing seam-sealing elastomers as single-component materials, which are cured by moisture without heat. It also supplies pigmentation options, tailored additives and friction-decreasing liquid silicone rubber topcoats.
Moreover, Dow Corning offers various airbag development support and services, including analytical services for product troubleshooting and optimization, robotics testing and prototyping to evaluate the quality of design, selection and tailoring of materials based on the needs of applications, start-up assistance, financing options, equipment solutions with necessity analysis and engineering service for coating line design, tooling and testing.