Adhesives have long been a mainstay in automotive assembly and have played a significant role in the laminating and assembling of automotive interiors for both aesthetic and performance reasons. As automotive exteriors and vehicle performance have become increasingly similar among models, manufacturers have increasingly focused on vehicle interiors as a way to help their products stand out. The quality, or perceived quality of the automobile’s interior, especially the acoustic characteristics, are now the major differentiators between brands and models. This means that components of the interior must be functional, and many times multifunctional, to meet performance specifications and desired aesthetics.
Challenges and drivers for material changes
The pressure to keep costs in check and vehicle weights as low as possible for fuel efficiency, combined with an increasing emphasis on environmentally friendly and sustainable solutions, have become major challenges and drivers for material changes. Customers are expecting more innovation and service to meet these increasing expectations, but are not willing to pay higher prices for them. However, Mactac, through continued research and development efforts into 100 percent solids technology and adhesive development, is meeting these challenges by providing lower-cost solutions that reduce overall ecological impact and do so with equal or better performance properties.
Driven by price pressures, less expensive low-surface-energy (LSE) polymers, such as polyolefins, have replaced acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polycarbonate-ABS, and polyvinyl chloride. Due to differences in surface energy/tension, many commonly used high-performance adhesive technologies will not adhere to polyolefins without some form of pretreatments, such as a primer application or corona treatment. This added step increases the cost of the process to the point that any potential savings from using lower-cost substrates are lost. To meet this challenge, Mactac has developed several low-surface-energy solutions, such as our IB7372 acrylic tissue tapes, MP-427 line of LSE acrylic products, and MP-899 and MP-593XT long-term rubber products.
100 percent solids adhesives meet environmental, performance requirements
With increasing emphasis on sustainable and environmentally friendly solutions, Mactac’s 100 percent solids adhesives are the logical choice. By eliminating all organic solvents from our manufacturing processes, our ultra-violet and hot-melt adhesives have effectively removed VOCs from the equation. And by not having any solvents to dry, we have significantly reduced our carbon footprint by eliminating carbon dioxide generation through the burning of natural gas.
Mactac’s 100 percent solids adhesives are easy to use/apply and offer manufacturers important benefits, such as invisible bonding, noise and vibration reduction, and the ability to join dissimilar substrates and surfaces. In addition, Mactac’s CleanBond adhesives, help meet automotive designers’ specifications for low-odor materials for use in automotive interiors as they are the lowest outgassing products available.
Mactac’s line of MP-410 and MP-899 adhesives help meet automotive manufacturers’ demands for soft-touch materials that improve passenger comfort, reduce noise and vibration and enhance consumers’ perception of quality. Because the adhesives are formulated to adhere to a wide array of textiles, they are also an ideal solution for aerospace, marine, mass transit, and recreational vehicle assembly applications.