Mississauga, Ontario — BASF has introduced Ultramid® SI grades for premium and appealing surfaces that gives the interior a distinctive look. The new generation impresses with excellent surface quality for visible parts with low VOC (volatile organic compound) values.
The success of the 2017 Ultramid® Deep Gloss, BASF’s newest surface-improved materials, a special polyamide fabric for durable high gloss trim parts, helped develop a new generation of surface improved structural materials: Ultramid® B3E2G6 SI BK23353 and Ultramid® B3E2G10 SI BK23353.
“With the newly developed SI grades for functional parts in the car interior with a premium surface quality, we are offering a new solution to the existing portfolio,” explained Rainer Xalter, product developer in the performance materials division at BASF. “Structural components with plain, matt and textured surfaces can be produced in just one process step. An additional painting of the component to upgrade the surface is not necessary.”
Visible fiber turbulences, which are commonly observed on surfaces of standard types, are greatly suppressed by BASF’s new SI grades, which are therefore suitable for air ventilation lamellas, steering column levers, armrests, cup holders or even door handles. The good intrinsic material properties of Ultramid® enable high long-term use characteristics.
In addition, the new materials are insensitive to commercially available cleaning agents; an important property regarding the increasing popularity of carpooling. Compared to standard material, the glass fiber reinforces types based on polyamide 6 (tough, abrasion-resistant material) an impressive product, with very low emission values and good UV stability—therefore ideally suited for the use in functional visible parts in the interior.
“Thanks to our expertise in research and development, we can cover the increasing demand for versatile materials for the interior and support the trends towards more design and atmosphere in the car. Since the demands of designers and automobile manufacturers are constantly growing, we try to provide the right solution for every application with our products,” said Ragnar Stoll, interior marketing manager in the Performance Materials division at BASF.
