Advances in Competitive Polyurethane Materials for Automotive Fascia 950551

Demands in the marketplace have led to the development of lightweight polyurethane elastomer systems for automotive fascia. These products can offer the automotive fascia molder the advantages of RRIM (reinforced reaction injection molding) polyurethane elastomers in a very competitive package. Current refinements developed in filler packages now allow for the application of reinforced RIM systems which exhibit improved surface quality. Moreover, the use of any of a variety of microspheres offers control of shrink and green strength of molded parts. These microspheres may be solid or hollow, rigid or flexible, and range in size from 1 micron to 300 microns. All of these systems exhibit processing characteristics similar to those of established RRIM products, pass on-car performance tests, and compete successfully with competitive lower-cost fascia materials.