Smart panels for the automotive industry

The optical refinement of plastic surfaces can be easily achieved with the ENGEL foilmelt process. Whether using the roll-to-roll or in-mold decoration process, the result is a component with an aesthetic surface manufactured in just one process step. The foil or design can be changed easily.

Perfect high-gloss surfaces can be achieved with the ENGEL clearmelt process. In one process step, the plastic component is manufactured and then coated with a scratch-resistant, self-healing PUR layer. This saves you time-consuming and expensive painting and coating lines.

In the ENGEL foilmelt process, a foil is fed into the injection mold. Depending on the mold concept (sliding table or turning plate), the back-injected component is then coated with a PUR layer in the clearmelt process. The result: a visually appealing component with a scratch-resistant surface in just one process step.

The integration of lighting elements into plastic components and automotive panels enables new design approaches in both automotive exteriors and interiors. The decorative film is back-injected with transparent plastic using the ENGEL foilmelt process. In the combimelt process, a second, dark thermoplastic layer is produced. This allows geometries to be molded that are required for the subsequent assembly of the component.

Substituting the painting line, achieving scratch-resistant and aesthetic surfaces, facilitating easy design changes of the film layer, and integrating functions can be implemented in a single process step. By combining the injection molding processes combimelt, foilmelt and clearmelt with the corresponding tool designs, complex automotive panels are realized. Optionally, the pre-formed film can be fed into the process from the outside.

With the help of films, not only can the appearance of plastic components be enhanced, but also the integration of functions through, for example, heating films (In-Mold-Electronics, IME), offers another opportunity to effectively utilize plastic components in the automotive industry. The combination of machine and tool concepts with corresponding injection molding processes make visions a reality.

To protect the functional film, a scratch-resistant and self-healing PUR layer is applied using the clearmelt process. The preceding injection molding process in the combimelt process allows for the integration of assembly elements directly onto the component itself, without the need for time-consuming rework.