12 Jan 2009
2009 North American Truck of the Year Award-Winner Ford F-150 Shines with Brilliant Direct-Metallized Rear Lamp Bezels Made with SABIC Innovative Plastics Resins
BERGEN OP ZOOM, The Netherlands – January 12, 2009 – Contemporary automotive design has seen the growing importance of the lamp bezel as a key styling feature. Whether the demand is for metallic, textured or body-color, SABIC Innovative Plastics' broad portfolio of special effects resins offers an expanding selection of materials to help designs stand out from the competition. Direct metallization of molded plastic parts are a widely used process for creating stunning lightweight lighting bezels. As Ford Motor Company was designing the direct metallized rear bezel for the 2009 North American Truck of the Year award-winning Ford F-150, the company together with Automotive Components Holding, LLC, selected SABIC Innovative Plastics’ Valox* V2000DM PBT resin for its stylish, metallic-looking rear lamp bezel.
“SABIC Innovative Plastics has a long history of working with the world’s first automakers to replace glass with today’s unique and exciting new thermoplastic lens designs,” said Jim Wilson, marketing director, SABIC Innovative Plastics. “Today, achieving brilliantly shiny, reflective bezels for automotive lighting is critical for driving efficiency and style. Ford set the bar very high for the F-150 rear bezel, and our Valox V2000DM resin rose to the challenge. This resin does an excellent job replicating a highly polished tool surface and delivers parts with an exceptional mirror-like shine after metallization. SABIC Innovative Plastics takes pride in working side-by-side with customers like Ford and Automotive Components Holdings to help them achieve success.”
Metallized Parts Shine Brighter with Valox V2000DM Resin
The direct metallization process involves vacuum deposition of a thin aluminum layer onto an injection-molded part. Challenges inherent in direct metallization include achieving exceptional surface finish for the as-molded part. This is necessary because the ultra-thin aluminum layer cannot disguise underlying surface defects.
SABIC Innovative Plastics’ Valox V2000DM resin is engineered with a unique formulation so that molded parts can closely replicate a highly polished tool while maintaining a wide processing window and enhanced de-molding. As a result, the molded parts provide high gloss and near-flawless smoothness prior to metallization.
Low Tool Deposit Helps Avoid Processing Delays
The same technology essential to high-quality surface finish also enables the Valox resin to help minimize tool deposit, or mold plate-out, common to polyester materials. Tool deposit, resulting from condensation of additives and other constituents on the tool surface, demands periodic tool cleaning in order to ensure consistent part aesthetics.
Direct Metallization Enables Recycling
An important environmental benefit of the direct metallization process is the ability to recycle scrap, short shots and other waste plastic from the molding process. Because Valox V2000DM resin provides such a high-quality surface finish, it does not require painting or coating to improve aesthetics prior to metallization. Therefore, scrap can be reground and reused instead of being land filled.
For more bright ideas on innovative automotive lighting solutions, please go to www.sabic-ip.com.
Photos are available at www.media.ford.com.
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About SABIC Innovative Plastics
SABIC Innovative Plastics is a leading, global supplier of engineering thermoplastics with a 75-year history of breakthrough solutions that solve its customers’ most pressing challenges. Today, SABIC Innovative Plastics is a multi-billion-dollar company with operations in more than 25 countries and over 10,500 employees worldwide. The company continues to lead the plastics industry with customer collaboration and continued investments in new polymer technologies, global application development, process technologies, and environmentally responsible solutions that serve diverse markets such as automotive, electronics, building & construction, transportation, and healthcare. The company’s extensive product portfolio includes thermoplastic resins, coatings, specialty compounds, film, and sheet. SABIC Innovative Plastics (www.sabic-ip.com) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), one of the world’s top five petrochemicals manufacturers.
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* Trademarks of SABIC Innovative Plastics IP BV.
Media Note: The proper name of the company is SABIC Innovative Plastics, and excludes any abbreviations or variations when referring to the company. As an acronym, SABIC should be all caps whenever it appears in print.
