XtraTHERM
Introducing XtraTHERM – A cutting edge adhesive and dosing system that is revolutionising interior bonding processes within the transportation industry.
XtraTHERM
Developed for use within automotive interiors, XtraTHERM is both an adhesive and a revolutionary dosing system. XtraTHERM comprises of a heat reactivated, two-part PU water-based adhesive, and an intelligent application unit.
The System:
XtraTHERM is not just adhesive, but is an adhesive and dosing system combination. The XtraTHERM unit supplies either a roll coater or spray gun with automatically mixed material at the correct mix ratio.
This is controlled by a PLC and there are a series of ‘checks and balances’ built in to ensure that in the event of either a fault or an operator error, the unit will not dispense incorrectly mixed, or unmixed product.
The system also collects batch number information and stores this data so that at any time, it is known which batch is in use. There are other features available such as data logging of individual users output.
The Adhesive:
XtraTHERM adhesive comprises of two components; XtraTHERM 2201 T Part A / 3103 LV Part B.
This thixotropic two-component, water-based polyurethane, is sprayable, thermally-reactivated, and has very high green strength. This is a high performance, highly effective adhesive which meets with ease the most stringent requirements specified by automotive OEMs.
The 2201 T- Part A component also provides quality results as a single component adhesive for those carrying out laminating processes.
Development:
Hybond developed its XtraTHERM product line for the transportation industry, and have demonstrated an understanding of the problems involved in climatic testing by developing our own testing regime; one which is more demanding than any known OEM.
Hybond Technical Manager Dr Karl Kaye, PhD. has developed a family of adhesives that can be hand applied, sprayed or roll coated, and that need to be applied to one surface only.
Substrates successfully tested include leather, foam and PVC to themselves or to PC/ABS Mouldings.These adhesives are thermally reactivated as is common practice in the industry. There is a specific benefit to XtraTHERM, in that the adhesives do not lose strength during climatic testing, as most others do.
Benefits:
- High Performance Adhesive: XtraTHERM has had extensive testing against the most demanding conditions specified by automotive OEMs and achieves excellent, consistent results. It is about to start the validation process as an FR version for the aircraft interiors industry.
- Cost Saving: XtraTHERM is mixed outside the gun. All waste and disposal costs are eliminated.
- Reduced Usage: XtraTHERM is of such high performance that lighter than usual coat weights can be used, leading to further significant savings.
- Guaranteed Repeatability: XtraTHERM doses the two components accurately, all the time. Manual mixing is eliminated.
- Equipment Faults Ruled Out: The PLC will detect any loss of pressure or pressure spike, so a leak or a blockage (or material not being present) will result in a fault and the operator cannot spray an inaccurate mix.
- Batch Number Recording: When the operator connects a new container of material, the operator has to scan the bar code, storing data on batch numbers in use at any one time.
- Usage Monitoring: XtraTHERM will record the amount of adhesive used in a shift.
- One-Way Stick: Adhesive applied to one surface only, saving time and cost.
- Solvent-Free: This water-based adhesive system is completely solvent-free.
One-way Stick:
The XtraTHERM system dramatically streamlines adhesive processes by ensuring successful one-way stick bonding. Traditionally, material bonding in the automotive sector has required adhesive to be applied to both material surfaces, with each surface then requiring a lengthy force drying period, before they can be joined. With XtraTHERM, adhesive need only be applied to a single surface. The system quite simply halves force drying time and provides a bond quality that during rigorous laboratory testing has produced peel strengths in excess of four times the required industry standard.
Waste Elimination:
The industry standard of manually mixing 2-Part PU adhesive creates:
- Greatly inconsistent mix ratios
- Vast amounts of waste product following each application cycle
- Significant waste disposal costs
Precision mixing of the two adhesive elements via the XtraTHERM system:
- Happens outside of the application gun
- Provides highly accurate mix ratios
- Eliminates adhesive waste & disposal costs
- Enhances the user’s green credentials with zero waste considerations
Environmental Testing:
Exhaustive testing has been carried out within the Hybond Tech Service Laboratory to ensure that both the as-received and long term environmental test requirements of OEMs will be exceeded.
Passing a Stringent Climatic Testing Regime:
XtraTHERM completed multiple test cycles in Hybond’s Espec Climate Chamber, at -40C, +80C and 95% relative humidity, and subsequently provided successful test results on our lab-based Alphatens Tensometer.
