New resin eliminates paint for molded exteriors

Designers and molders will soon get a chance to say hello to Sollx, the trade name for GE Plastics? new polymer (previously codenamed W4). As reported in IMM (June 2000, p. 78; August 2000, p. 78; and September Showcase 2000, p. 86), this material was developed for weatherable exterior surfaces in automotive and marine markets. It is not a new grade of an existing polymer, but was designed at a molecular level to eliminate the need to paint plastic exteriors. Sollx meets several requirements: high gloss and gloss retention, weatherability (seven to 10 years), scratch resistance, and chemical (i.e., gasoline) resistance.

Currently, the new material is available in film form only. As such, it is being tested at all major OEMs as a film insert for injection molded body panels. The system works much like any inmold decorating operation: Sollx film (a multilayer product with color and metallic effects located on separate layers for depth) is thermoformed to the shape of the intended part, trimmed, and then inserted into the mold and backmolded with resin. According to GE, compatibility with various resins can be tailored into the multilayer film.

Injection molding grades of the new material, the real holy grail for automotive body panels, are still under development. At issue here is the problem of injection molding resin with metallic additives while at the same time eliminating knitlines. Venkatakrishnan Umamaheswaran, the market development manager for Sollx, explains, ?To eliminate knitlines, we need to develop both processing and tooling technology, and are moving ahead in both areas, but cannot estimate at this time when development will be complete.?

The Sollx film insert method currently available will eliminate the need to paint exterior plastic body parts. Umamaheswaran believes that the quickest adoption will be among components made by Tier One and Two manufacturers. ?Parts such as mirror housings and exterior trim can be easily converted to Sollx,? he adds. ?The biggest driver for this material is that it eliminates the nearly $500 million investment needed for new paint lines, which also take up 50 percent of the floor space in an automotive plant and produce 1500 tons of VOCs annually.?

Making Plastic Look Like Metal
In other news, the flexibility of molding plastic and the appearance of metal have been combined in a new effect from GE called Ares. As part of the company?s Visualfx line, the Ares effect contains very small metal flakes, barely visible to the eye, that reportedly produce a continuous metallic surface.

Peter Wahsner, global manager for the Visualfx program at GE, points out the advantages of plastics over metal in applications with complex curves. In addition to greater possibilities in geometry, the inclusion of a metal effect in plastic eliminates costly secondary painting operations.

Resins with the effect are initially available in Lexan polycarbonate in eight standard colors or optional custom colors. Additional materials with Ares are planned for 2001. Pricing information was not available.

GE Plastics
Pittsfield, MA
Phone: (413) 448-4690
www.geplastics.com