Product category:
Adhesives and adhesive bonding equipment
News Release from: Sika | Subject: Adhesives in automotive assembly
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 12 May 2006
Adhesives use increases in automotive
assembly
The use of adhesives in the laminating, bonding and assembly of automotive interior components continues to grow as users recognise their technological benefits.
The use of adhesives in the laminating, bonding and assembly of automotive interior components continues to grow as users recognise their technological benefits The use of adhesives in the laminating, bonding and assembly of automotive interior components continues to grow as OEMs and tier one suppliers recognise their technological benefits in increasing productivity while reducing costs
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 8 Apr 2005 at 8.00am (UK)
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Working in partnership at every stage of the supply chain, Sika supplied versatile and economical bonding solutions for its client Faurecia.
Automotive interiors have been the focus of much change and innovation in recent years, much of it driven by consumers' perception of quality that comes from a well-designed and appointed interior.
Improvements in vehicle safety, occupant protection and reductions in noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) have also impacted on vehicle interior design and methods of construction.
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Adhesives play a major role in construction of the interior, providing high performance assembly solutions which offer significant benefits in terms of improved strength, ductility, substrate choice and design freedom, together with aesthetic appeal.
Full range suppliers, such as Sika, have responded to the demands of this fast-moving industry through continued investment in research to meet the specialised requirements of the OES sector with solutions that really deliver.
As a specialist supplier and development partner to the automotive industry, Sika's technology provides customised engineered solutions and support for its customers in the optimisation of the production process to achieve cost and quality improvements.
The company also offers continued technical support from initial contact through to part testing, prototype development and serial manufacture.
Through this customer-focused approach, Sika supplied the best solution for world leading automotive supplier Faurecia with a thorough understanding of the company?s specialised requirements and close liaison with key staff involved in both the specification and buying processes.
* The manufacturing process - Faurecia is a global Tier One supplier with a well-established position among the top ten automotive equipment suppliers worldwide, specialising in the design and assembly of six major vehicle modules, including cockpits and doors.
It operates in 28 countries and employs 60,000 people on 160 sites.
One of its UK plants is based in a 15,000m2 production plant at Fradley, near Lichfield.
Like many of the company's 160 sites, Faurecia's Fradley plant works in Just In Time (JIT) mode to tight deadlines and margins to deliver the right module at the right time to the automaker's assembly plants - in just eight hours or less from receipt of order to delivery.
It uses Sika products in the manufacture of a variety of products, including gloveboxes, driver's access panels and top rail assemblies.
With proven expertise in developing solutions for the automotive market, Sika is already a preferred and established supplier to Faurecia where its bonding solutions are used at a number of their European sites.
On the basis of this existing relationship, Sika was invited to develop a solution to increase productivity and achieve cost improvements at the Fradley site, ensuring that the OEM requirements were met or exceeded.
* The Sika solutions - working in close collaboration with Faurecia to its stringent 'Quality Assurance' procedures, Sika devised separate customised adhesive solutions for Faurecia's customers.
Each required a different approach based on the demands required of the adhesives and their respective characteristics in meeting the strict quality and environmental specifications of both the client and the vehicle manufacturers.
Key requirements of the adhesive solutions in addressing the high quality standards included the ability to withstand wide extremes of temperature and humidity levels as the vehicles are sold around the world to end-users in very differing climates.
* Door panels - Faurecia's stringent quality and environmental criteria for door panels, an already matured product in full production, was met with the two-component laminating adhesive technology of SikaTherm 3437/40 and SikaCure 8112.
Faurecia uses 500kg of adhesive every week in the manufacture of up to 2000 panels a day.
Initial trials were conducted alongside another potential supplier and the original choice of a water-based adhesive solution was eliminated due to de-lamination problems.
"We asked Sika to find a solvent-based adhesive that suited our productivity requirements and then looked at the commercial implications," explained Angela Powers, Faurecia's plant buyer.
"We selected a grade from one used by our other plants in Europe, hence enabling Fradley plant to benefit from the group pricing structure related to volume purchases." Weighing of the components coated with the Sika adhesive was an important part of these trials in determining that the correct amount was applied to ensure effective bonding of the vinyl to the substrate.
Sika's technical team worked with Fauecia's production and engineering staff at every stage.
The two-component adhesive is manually applied to the injection-moulded PC/ABS thermoplastic alloy door panel component.
Sika's laminating adhesives are of liquid consistency and applied, in this case, by spray at a coverage of 50-200g/m2.
Through dispersion of the solvent, they form a thermoplastics film that is activated by the application of heat.
The vinyl, heated to around 120 deg C, is bonded with the substrate in a vacuum-laminating press.
Correct temperature is critical to the whole process - too hot and the vinyl's aesthetic grained appearance can be ruined, too cool and the substrates are not bonded properly.
Extensive testing and trialling ensured the adhesive met Faurecia's strict quality assurance procedures; a preventive approach certifying that the delivered product complies with specifications and customer satisfaction requirements.
SikaTherm's low emission levels met with Faurecia's environmental credentials, while its excellent resistance to ageing easily exceeded the rigorous heat ageing and humidity tests in an environmental test chamber.
Cost savings were also achieved as less adhesive and hardener was needed to achieve positive results following finished part validation testing.
Glovebox lids and driver access panels - Sika was invited at the initial specification stage of a new programme to submit a Request for Quotation (RFQ) to meet Faurecia's requirement for a cost-effective bonding solution in a glove box lid assembly.
Based on the latest water-based adhesive technology for a variety of laminating applications, the SikaTherm 4210 and SikaCure 4901 system was selected for its combination of increased adhesive strength, high heat resistance and low-odour properties, having passed extensive testing to meet the demanding product specifications.
Similar to the vacuum-laminating process, the adhesive bonds a PC/ABS thermoplastics alloy substrate to a smooth vinyl cover stock at a combined temperature of 135 deg C.
Faurecia uses 250kg every week in the daily manufacture of 800 to 1100 components.
"Based on Faurecia's specifications, we proposed an equivalent, more cost-effective adhesive that saves on piece price, thus contributing to overall production savings," commented Stuart Berryman, key account manager, Sika Industry.
* Technical support and flexibility - Sika's technical expertise was of particular value throughout the whole transition process, from initial trials to the start of production, according to Petri du Plessis, Faurecia's industrial engineer.
"We benefited from Sika's technical engineering support and flexibility in working with us to achieve our desired outcome of minimising production costs".
"Sika's status as an existing supplier to the Group meant a good working relationship was already in place".
"Sika delivers when we need it, so we do not have to hold stock." He added: "The adhesives used in the automotive industry have to withstand very demanding conditions in terms of heat and temperature/humidity differences and a supplier, like Sika, has to understand the OEM?s needs and design a product to cope." Berryman commented: "Sika already supplies two out of the three principle adhesives used in the component manufacture at the Fradley plant.
From its comprehensive range of proven process technologies developed for this demanding market, Sika's competitive, yet cost-effective solution succeeded in generating reduced part costs and meeting the client's exact requirements for improved productivity and profitability.".
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