beyond piano black - decorative automotive plastics
DESCRIPTION
In a presentation entitled "Beyond piano black", Tim Wright, R&D director at formable hardcoated film producer MacDermid Autotype, said that although black remains a popular colour, his company is working on "making black even blacker", with "some products already in the marketplace". He said hard coating originally arose as a solution not only to improve scratch resistance, but also to overcome polycarbonate developing a blue tinge over time due to crystallisation. With regard to current concerns about recycling, Wright pointed out that the hardcoat is not thermoplastic, so it can be filtered out from the PC remelt. A breakthrough came in 2005, when Autoflex XF (Xtraform) film with high formability and fairly high chemical and abrasion resistance was first used on the Mercedes S Class. The part involved 44 different components and was the first major automotive piano black application. Wright said: "It was a leap of faith by Daimler, but they recognised the potential compared with paint spray and etching." Piano black decoration has since reached Audi, Ford, Fiat, VW, and GM/Opel models. However, Wright continued: "Designers grow tired of the same discussion [of piano black]. They are thinking 5-10 years ahead, as I do. I am not clever enough to think of everything, but I want to hear about what is required and make it happen - with passion and energy." For example: new textured hardcoats used for the Autoflex S film, with low haze through use of micro-replication technology; or overcoming PC film limits such as its needing a post-cure hardcoat to meet automotive standards, and its short life in switch applications. Here, Wright sees potential for HiForm PE in an oriented PET (OPET) film, as it "has good flex life (ten times that of PC), is surprisingly formable as a pre-cured hard material, and is already used in membrane switches". HiForm PE has been formed to 7mm depth and can handle sharp corner radii. But as it is limited in thermal soaking performance, MacDermid Autotype has a 2012 R&D programme "to make it work in auto interiors", Wright says. One area for OPET in future could be soft touch surfaces, where other soft touch solutions have inadequate chemical resistance. Although MacDermid Autotype has been coating PMMA for 10 years, Wright said it is very soft at 100°C and has too low birefringence for displays. But he sees potential for Toray Picasus non-metallic lustre film for badges and chrome replacement. Picasus is a multilayer film with layers of different refractive index, so it looks like sputtered or aluminised film. It is also compatible with hard coats such as Xtraform and is formable. Wright said MacDermid Autotype had offered textured black film 10 years ago, but it was "not really taken up". Now the time is right, Wright says, for areas of text or ones with, for example, bird and leaf designs.TRANSCRIPT
• Established in 1868- part of MacDermid Inc. since 2005
• Producer of coated films and chemicals
• Proprietary technology for specific applications
• Sales $100m across 85 countries
• 340 employees globally
• World leader in tightly defined global niches- printing, electronics, diagnostics, telecom, display,
automotive & appliance markets
• Expert evangeliser for screen printing and FIM
• Aggressive NPD Processes - 10% workforce is R&D/Tech Support
MacDermid’s Industrial and Autotype divisions fuse ideas to developthe latest coatings and films for styling and design applications…
• FIM Films in Piano Black, Colours and Textures
• Metallic finishes in Chrome, Satin and Lacquers
for illustration only
Chemical & Abrasion Resistance
Form
abili
ty
PCGraphic
films
Autoflex™HF PE
Autoflex™AF
Autoflex™XF
Aquatex
Selective texture
Hard coat
Base Film
Ink
• Early adoptions from Ford/Visteon in mid and late 1990s- HVAC bezels- some very large (Taurus “Football”)
• Driven by pioneering processors:- McGavigans in UK- Serigraph, Northern Engraving,
Kaumagraph/ADS in US- Films were usually Bayfol from BMS
• Textured film (gave good registration)• PC blend with polyester improved chemical resistance
- BUT limitations restricted growth• tendency to become very blue on forming• gloss surfaces became badly scratched
• Early use in button caps 2000/2001- Lancia Delta- BackStickers - now Schuster- Autotype AutoForm film- Very limited formability but early example of piano black by FIM
• Mercedes S Class 2005- Breakthrough adoption- Foliotec/KH- Autoflex® XtraForm™ fully formable hardcoated film- First major piano black FIM application
• Adoptions from– Ford– Fiat– VAG– GM
• XtraForm™ the material of choice– Integration of lenses– Complex backlighting– Secret ‘til lit– Integrated switches– Blacker black available
• Mainstream technology
• OEM’s now have confidence in the process• Competent proven supplier base is ever-growing• Yields and part sizes increasing
However:
• Black panel is not enough• Designers grow tired of the same discussion• What more can the technology offer?
• Economic combination of texture with gloss- Integration of display lenses with texture bezel- Texture feature lines- Textile effects
• Screen printing enabling technology:- Eco friendly Aquatex®
• New easy print option now sampling• Specifically designed to work with XtraForm™
• Microreplication enabling technology:- New textured hardcoats
• Autotex® S• Low haze AG for display integration
• Excellent clarity with reflection suppression
• PC film is a mainstay for FIM today- Great film, but with limitations- Flex life
• Not possible to incorporate long life flex switches- Chemical resistance
• Without hardcoat cannot pass automotive standards• Only post cure hardcoats deliver barrier properties
• Require specialist handling
• What alternatives are available?
• OPET- Very strong- Good indentation hardness- Good clarity- Excellent flex life- Surprisingly formable…
• Enables - switch integration- formable pre-cured hardcoat
HiForm PE - Formable hardcoated OPET
PMMA
Very hard at 20°C
• Good indentation hardness−Can be brittle to cut
• Very soft at 100°C− Very easy to form
• Excellent clarity• Low birefringence
− for displays
• Toray Picasus - Non metallic lustre film- Compatible with XtraForm™ coating- Potential for development
• Badges• Chrome replacement
• MDA have advanced nano-replication capability
– Scalable to huge volume– Motheye AR structures– High cost of origination limiting– New low cost methods in development– Capable of FIM integration– Displays
• Capacitive switches– Advanced development (Schuster)
• Antenna integration– Bluetooth– WiFi– Already implemented by FIM in mobile phones– Printed tracks or selective plating
• MacDermid Electronic Solutions
• Inductive charging– No adoption yet (as far as we know)– Phone/SatNav charging with no cables?– Magnetic location?
• MDA working on transparent conductive films
• No working soft touch films for interior… Yet
• Chemical resistance barrier of these coatings is poor
• Soft touch on OPET could be the answer
• MDA have a film now at commercial launch– Need to work on ink compatibility to fully meet automotive thermal soak
• XtraForm™ already very durable to UV- Capable of further development
• Exterior grade– B and C pillars– Door kick strips
• backlighting– Badges
• backlighting!
• Designers need to be inspired by the possibilities
• Imagine new application areas:– Door spears
• Almost no penetration by FIM today• But what if we can integrate functionality?
– Mood lighting– Switching
» locks, windows, audio controls, interior lights» proximity sensors
– Radio antennae
• 15 years ago the FIM light bulb turned on for me– Let’s make the same thing happen for designers!
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