KraussMaffei announced that its Parsdorf, Germany, site now hosts the industry’s largest lab system featuring its ColorForm process, which coats thermoplastic components with a PU or polyurea (PUA) layer to color them directly in the injection mold. The move is in part in response to increasingly strict environmental regulations affecting the use of paint shops in Europe and China.
The new lab system will support the production of outer skin components for vehicles. The company said that for a complex technical process, just making the machine bigger is not practical. For its new ColorForm lab system, KraussMaffei aims to offer customers an all-in-one process flexible enough to handle medium-sized to very large components, with a production process mapped to include injection molding, PU flooding, parts-handling, post-processing and surface treatment.
The lab system includes a cell for trimming sprues, as well as a flame treatment station for plastics (such as PP, PA and PE) that need to be activated to ensure adhesion between the thermoplastic and PU. KraussMaffei said it is the only supplier to develop and manufacture all the components required for the ColorForm in house, allowing it to avoid interface problems and provide an advantage, especially for customers who are new to PU technology.
