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Adhesive materials are required to bond cover fabrics to most molded interior headliner substrates. Several thermoplastic adhesive films are qualified and used at U.S. and Japanese OEM's. These adhesive films offer benefits such as convenience, cost effectiveness, excellent adhesive performance and process efficiency while reducing concerns of emissions and hazardous waste handling compared to prior bonding methods. The automotive headliner part is a multifunctional component of the vehicle's interior trim. One of the main headliner functions is to reduce the interior cabin noise. Various adhesive materials are used in a lamination process to form a composite headliner. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of this lamination process and various alternative adhesive materials on the overall acoustical performance of the headliner composite. Various headliner samples were fabricated under controlled process conditions and tested by an independent acoustics testing lab.

Joining dissimilar parts in automotive interior trim applications has been accomplished by utilizing mechanical fasteners, organic and water based adhesives, and more recently, thermoplastic polymers. Recent trends towards reducing solvent emissions and waste management problems, improving the consistency of adhesive application, integrating parts, lowering parts fabrication costs, and designing a specified bond level has increased the use of thermoplastic adhesive films as bonding agents in several applications. Initial efforts began over fifteen years ago with Dow Adhesive Films (DAF) being designed for bonding interior trim fabrics to various substrates. Films have subsequently been designed to improve performance of many interior trim parts in many ways such as: improving water resistance, allowing the part to be molded before installation, imparting a slip surface to a part, and supporting a non-woven fabric.

The construction of most automotive interior headliners requires an adhesive material to bond polyurethane foam-backed fabric to a molded headliner shell. More than ten years ago, The Dow Chemical Company qualified and began supplying a thermoplastic adhesive polymer film for headliner applications which replaced wet adhesive systems at several fabricators. DAF 899 adhesive film has gained acceptance in the industry due to excellent performance, convenience, and cost effectiveness without additional waste handling or volatile organic emission concerns. Recent advancements in headliner design such as additional recessed areas with more demanding contours, new substrate materials and the desire for more efficient operations created an opportunity to design improved adhesive films to meet the emerging industry demands.