Adhesives for automotive interior lamination

Laminating vehicle interiors involves bonding a variety of different materials. When in use, these parts are constantly subject to varying temperatures and humidity levels, vibrations, and even the behavior of the vehicle’s occupants. The choice of adhesive therefore plays a decisive role, also in terms of ensuring high process reliability. Typical applications for laminating vehicle interiors include:

• instrument panels & cockpits
• middle consoles
• seat backs
• door panels
• roof linings

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Good aesthetics and haptic quality are important. The carrier material is usually made of light, stable plastics or fibre composites – e.g. fibre glass or plant-based fibre materials such as hemp or flax –

and laminated with decor materials. Interior designers have a huge variety of materials to choose from, ranging from textile fabrics to imitation and real leather. Imitation leather decors lined with foam are currently popular: they are relatively inexpensive, but have an excellent look and feel. They are also sound-absorbing, which has a positive impact on the acoustics inside the vehicle. Typical material combinations are:

Carrier material:
ABS
PC
PP
fibre composites

Decor materials
PVC/TPO
imitation leather films
textile laminates
real leather

Almost any kind of material combination can be glued with the right adhesive at hand. Let us help you find the ideal adhesive solution for your individual needs – tailored to your products and production processes. Get in touch with our experts.

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High-quality and economically efficient bonding requires meticulously planned processes. The key to success is well-configured equipment with a matching adhesive formulation. If short cycle times are a factor, the adhesive must be easy to apply and have a high initial strength. We recommend using reactive PUR hotmelts for laminating vehicle interiors. They are customizable and meet the specific needs of the end product as well as the complex specifications of manufacturing processes.

A typical laminating process for an instrument panel using a PUR hotmelt involves the following stages:

1. The adhesive is applied to one of the parts to be bonded. This is done either with spray heads, rollers or slit nozzles, and can be stuck to individual cuts of the decor material or to meter goods in a roll-to-roll process.

2. The decor and the carrier material are joined under pressure and by applying heat, with the latter reactivating the adhesive. Molding presses (negative/positive molds) and vacuum forming presses are used for this purpose. At this point of the process, and especially when opening the press, it is vital that the adhesive has a high initial strength while still warm. This is particularly important for edge wrapping.

The chemical reaction (cross-linking with moisture) creates an extremely strong and very resilient bond.

The legally permitted emission values in production environments are constantly being lowered, and adhesive manufacturers have to adapt their products accordingly. Users can rest assured of high workplace safety when working with our micro-emission (ME) adhesives. Due to the low content of monomeric isocyanate (<0.1%), hazard statements G + H no longer apply, which eliminates the need for many safety requirements and the related expensive equipment and time-consuming trainings.

We have a selection of adhesive systems for use in vehicle interiors and the matching expertise. Benefit from our decades of experience in industrial manufacturing and let us help you optimize your production process.

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An adhesive bond must be made to last ... for the entire lifecycle of the vehicle. Weather extremes, direct sunlight, vibrations and static loads must not have any negative impact on the bonding, regardless of the materials used. The following properties are essential for adhesives used in vehicles:

• short open times for short cycle times
• high initial strength, e.g. for complex edge wrapping applications
• permanent resistance to heat, cold, moisture, mechanical wear and tear
• low emissions (VOC, fogging, odors)
• high impact resistance (airbag release)

Benefit from our know-how. Our engineers have decades of experience with industry-standard equipment and application methods. Together with our customers, we are constantly researching new adhesives and application technologies.

 Take a look at our product overview and contact us for more advice.