PreFiHy: Prefinished light metal polymer hybrid parts
By substituting of sheet metal parts with metal-plastic composites the product properties (e.g. design flexibility, weight, stiffness) can be significantly improved and production costs reduced.
The aim of this project is to develop relevant technologies and process routes for the efficient manufacturing of ready to use hybrid parts with the focus on the adhesion layer between the metal and the plastic. The connection between metal and plastic shall consist of adhesive bond in the form of a 2-in-1 (adhesion promoter + surface finishing) powder-coating system.
In the innovative formulation a latent adhesive function is integrated which can be used for chemical bonding in subsequent efficient industrial processes (e.g. injection molding) in order to create structural parts.
The research efforts will be concentrated on light metal substrates like aluminum and magnesium.
This project has the following objectives:
- Easy-to-handle and cost-efficient process routes for the manufacturing of hybrid parts with a minimum amount of pre-treatment technologies
- Shortening of the process chain by the use of multifunctional sheet metal coating systems
- Validation of material combinations with unequal properties especially in terms of thermal expansion and stiffness
- Demonstration of the feasibility in well selected industrial applications that are relevant to the challenges of the target group
By achieving the desired objectives, end users and component developers in Germany and Wallonia will increase the added value of their products. By using this new technology, it will be possible to produce faster, more efficiently and with a better quality assurance resulting in an economic advantage. This has a direct influence on the resources energy, production time and the company's competitiveness.
First applications of the user committee also create an initial market for technology developers. For providers of innovative coating technology the breakthrough opens up new markets with business potential in Europe.
Objectives and Work Packages