Product category:
Special purpose moulding machines and systems
News Release from: MacDermid Autotype | Subject: Film Insert Moulding
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 21 January 2005
Film Insert Moulding improves car
interiors
Film Insert Moulding can help production engineers improve radically and enhance the quality, aesthetics and functionality of a wide range of automotive interior parts.
Film Insert Moulding (FIM) is an exciting and rapidly evolving process that can help designers and production engineers to improve radically and enhance the quality, aesthetics and functionality of a wide range of automotive interior parts With the recent introduction of new materials such as anti-reflective and anti-glare films the potential application of FIM has been extended still further
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 15 Jun 2004 at 8.00am (UK)
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Latest Film Insert Moulding developments will help to drive down production costs through effective component integration, while introducing greater opportunity for product customisation.
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Film Insert Moulding is gaining popularity as a method for decorating and manufacturing three dimensional plastic parts and a specialised website is on-line to support the technology.
FIM is a versatile method of producing high quality profiled or three dimensional parts for a wide range of automotive interior parts such as PRNDLs, HVACs and interior trim panels.
Not only can the FIM process impact on how these components are manufactured but it also opens up a range of opportunities in terms of customisation that have not previously been possible without significant cost penalties.
Film Insert Moulding is a far more cost effective method than other forms of In Mould Decoration (IMD) or of competing decoration and print techniques as it reduces the number of process stages, materials and components required.
Further reading
Films and texture lacquers developed further
Hardcoated formable films and texture lacquers for the Film Insert Moulding process include Autoflex films and Aquatex formable texturing inks to enhance plastics components.
Formable hard-coated polycarbonate boosts FIM
To maximise the performance of the Film Insert Moulding (FIM) process, a HMI manufacturer is using formable hard-coated polycarbonate film technology.
Achieve optimum results from film insert moulding
By comparison with traditional methods of product decoration, such as spray painting, laser etching and applique, the FIM process offers excellent benefits to manufacturers says Peter Warwick.
It also lends itself to relatively fast prototyping and high volume production.
The FIM process - the process itself is relatively straightforward.
In essence, the required image is screen printed onto the underside of a special hard-coated film before being formed to the shape of the component part using a vacuum, pressure or thermoforming process; the outer side of film thus becomes the outer side of the finished component.
The sheet is then trimmed and cut to size, to fit a mould cavity on an injection moulding machine, where melted polymer is injected, fusing to the rear of the formed film and bonding the two materials together.
One of the main advantages with Film Insert Moulding is its ability to reduce production costs when compared with traditional techniques.
By integrating components, such as lenses, housings and switches in one part, savings on tooling and processing costs can be achieved.
For automotive parts such as HVAC units or PRNDL trim panels around gear shifts, FIM can reduce costs, when compared, for example, with spray painting.
Many interior trim parts in cars require simulated wood or carbon fibre effect decoration, which usually need high gloss surfaces.
FIM is a good way to achieve this, and the deep "french polish" effect achievable using hardcoated films is extremely attractive.
The durability of the surface finish produced makes for a long lasting quality component.
The use of special varnishes, overprinted during the first stage of production, also enables texture or gloss areas to be created around or on control knobs or switches.
Furthermore, the FIM process produces extremely high definition graphics, text and patterns, which are considerably more accurate than many competing technologies.
Perhaps as importantly, Film Insert Moulding ensures that images are protected from wear and allows sophisticated backlighting effects for switches and instrument dials to be easily incorporated.
The FIM process also allows components that share a common mould to be easily customised in small volumes simply by changing the initial screen print design.
This enables models within a vehicle range, for example, to have different interior panels; it could be something as simple as varying texture/finishes to differentiate models.
This can be achieved as part of the same high volume manufacturing operation.
An additional advantage of Film Insert Moulding is that it has a wide spectrum of formability, for example products can be moulded to a range of depths: shallow, true 3D shapes and deep formed 3D parts.
To achieve these characteristics Film Insert Moulding depends both on the control and accuracy of the production process and the inherent characteristics of the materials involved.
In particular, the films used must be compatible with a wide range of inks and varnishes, be suitable for use both with various forming techniques and the injection moulding process, and match the operating and performance requirements of component manufacturers and car designers alike.
* New developments - a key development that will further extend the application of the FIM process in the automotive sector is the introduction of a range of anti-reflective and anti-glare films, that are designed to provide brightness enhancement, improved readability and glare reduction.
Automotive dashboards typically contain a range of display components, from a simple audio/CD player to car instrumentation and the increasingly common in-car navigation systems.
Traditionally, protecting these instruments can be problematic due to readability in ambient lighting conditions, which can significantly affect safety and ease of use.
The introduction of the new anti-reflective and anti-glare films enable these displays to be used without the issue of glare, plus the benefit of increased brightness and improved viewing angle.
Developed jointly by Autotype and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy in Germany, the new films have been introduced following research into the nano-structures found in the eyes of moths.
These compound eye structures have evolved to collect as much light as possible without reflection, in order to prevent moths being detected by night time predators.
Manufactured using nano replication techniques, the new films are the first of their kind to combine anti-reflective and anti-glare properties on a hardcoated substrate that is both dimensionally stable and easily formable.
This makes it ideal for use in Film Insert Moulding and offers new opportunities for product designers and processors alike, as it reflects less than 1% of visible light, regardless of viewing angle, and eliminates the problems of iridescence and light glare that are often associated with conventional materials.
In the fast moving world of the automotive sector, Film Insert Moulding will enable designers and production engineers to respond faster and more effectively than even before.
Interior component parts can be customised more easily, with manufacturing costs reduced and increased versatility.
Film Insert Moulding is an extremely effective process, offering a wide range of benefits for both low and high volume production, including the ability easily to customise short run components through changes during the screen print stage.
In the fast moving world of the automotive sector, these benefits allow designers and product engineers to respond faster and more effectively than ever before. Request a free brochure from MacDermid Autotype ...
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