Spain. Composite materials have great advantages for sectors such as automotive because they allow to obtain products with a low weight and high mechanical properties. However, the use of long fiber composite materials presents certain challenges such as its higher cost compared to traditional materials and its insufficient production ratio for large-scale production.
In this context, the application of a paint in the mold that generates a coating that allows to eliminate subsequent painting phases could contribute to improving production ratios and therefore to the introduction of these composite materials in the automotive sector.
Currently, liquid gel coats are used that are applied in the mold, but it has two drawbacks: high VOC emissions and long curing time.
At the Technological Institute of Plastics (Aimplas) they have managed to overcome these barriers by developing a powdered gel coat with carbonaceous loads that allows to reduce the curing time by around 50%, also eliminating styrene emissions.
The powder coating with electrical conductivity properties for application during the manufacturing process achieves a surface resistivity of 104-105 Ω cm, with a curing temperature of around 130ºC and a curing time in laboratory tests of 15 minutes.
In addition, it facilitates the subsequent painting of composite parts and acts as a first conductor facilitating the application of electrostatic paint / electrostatic baths.
In this way, Aimplas, as a reference R&D center in composites, can advise companies on the development of a gel coat powder to facilitate the painting process of composite materials, whose advantages are the reduction of VOCs due to the application of liquid gel coat and the reduction of gel curing cycles and therefore, reduction of manufacturing cycles of your composite part.
Aimplas offers a customized solution based on the study of your product, the adaptation of the formulation of the gel coat powder to your process parameters and the characterization of your parts through different tests to ensure the final quality of your piece.
Source: Aimplas.
