Kundenmagazin 2016-05 EN

ture core. The honeycomb structure of the board provides an essential ad- vantage: it facilitates lightweight parts. Lightweight construction and the re- lated lower fuel consumption have become a major issue in car manu- facture. The polyurethane boards are manufactured by pouring liquid, par- tially foaming polyurethane over the honeycomb core to cover it with a layer of glass fibre. In the next step, carpets are laminated on the boards using pol- yurethane hot melt adhesives. Since this processing step is not always the same, the adhesive must have differ- ent characteristics, depending on the specific method. Inline manufacturing requires a tacky adhesive layer, to en- sure a reliable bond when the carpet is applied directly onto the board. In semi-manual processing, however, where carpets are trimmed before lamination, the surface of the adhesive should not be too tacky to facilitate easy handling. The adhesive is reac- tivated in a second unit where the car- pet is then laminated onto the polyure- thane board. Polyurethane boards and carpets are not the only material com- binations. Special conditions apply for the lamination process of trunk floors and covers. For instance, different surface geometries with depressions in the trunk floor or extremely high re- storing forces in folding applications for removable trunk covers. Powerful adhesives are needed to handle these difficult conditions successfully. 14

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