Interiors door trim panels

Lightweight mats of fibres, which can be die-cut and thermally moulded, can be applied behind any interior trim panel, door panels, headliners or package shelves as superior sound absorbers. 

Applications. Major applications of semi-rigid foams are in the area of automotive parts, especially in the interior of vehicles, for use as shock-absorbing pads, e.g., instrument panels, console-box lids, door trims, head restraints, arm rests, and sun visors. 

Many interior fittings (e.g., instrument panel, door and sidewall panels, package trays, seat linings, boot carpetings, rear window shelves, etc.) are often manufactured by vacuum drawing and laminating the cover sheet material (leatherette, textile, leather, etc.) onto the trim panel. The use of hot-melt (also cross-linking) adhesives and water-based polyurethane adhesives (with hardener) is state of the art for this type of component production. 

PU are mainly used as structural foams (as a core component and interior trim panels), as well as non-structural components (instrument and door panels, seat-back and head... 

Automotive Hardware instrument and interior trim panels, glove compartment doors, wheel covers, mirror housings, etc. 

Growth wiU also come from expandable PP foam with excellent energy absorption properties (see the chapter, Modelling of the compression behavior of pol)q3ropylene foams in this book) which will allow new, innovative designs in bumper systems and monomaterial interior trim solutions, in combination with improved TPO foils for door trim and instrument panels. 

These are represented by classes D and A respectively in Fig. 4.4. The first category includes parts which could impact the driver in a collision, such as B pillar covers and the lower part of the instrument panel, and its adjacent trim panels. Unreinforced ABS and a variety of PP copolymers are commonly used for these components. The same tough, resilient materials are used for the components which need protection from the passengers feet (seat valances, kick plates), or from their golf clubs (boot liners). Door pulls arc also usually moulded from unmodified PP copolymers. Figure 4.7 shows a variety of interior panels in PP. 

Figure 2 Various interior parts made from plastics (a) instrument panel retainer, (b) door trim, and (c) A-piUar hard trim. (Courtesy of LyondellBasell Advanced Polyolefins)...

Recently, a Grupo Antolin door module made from TPO for the Dodge Caliber and Jeep Compass and Patriot received a Society of Plastics Engineers body interior award in 2006 (Figure 6). The door trim module combines all door hardware components plus the trim panel. It was injection molded by The Dow Chemical Company using a specific grade of TPO. 

Typical interior holding adhesive applications are listed in Table 2. One of their major functions is to retain vinyl or ABS films against interior door or sidewall trim panels. The ABS or vinyl sheet material is often vacuum drawn into recesses in the door or trim panel. It may have a tendency to pop loose and creep away from concavities or from the backside of the panels. This behavior, which may be expected whenever the sheet material is under tension, is overcome by the use of adhesives such as epoxies which do not cold flow and which begin to cure when heated in the vacuum forming operation. For panels where there is less tension on the sheet material, hot melts or solvent cements may be used. An example is the use of a hot melt hemming adhesive to secure plastic sheet when it is wrapped over the edge of a door or trim panel. 

PUR adhesives are also used for the bonding of interior materials of automobiles such as door trims, door centre panels, headlining and dash boards that are composed of at least two or more materials. Other polyurethane adhesives such as INSTA-GRIP [48] are used to attach fibreglass liners to trailers. The required properties are their initial adhesive strength, and heat resistance as well as their easy and quick application. 

Automotive is the most important market for ABS. Main applications include loudspeaker grilles, door handles, door trim, instrument panels and consoles. ABS is also used for exterior components, electrical parts such as navigation systems housing and a small amount is used under-the-boimet. PC/ABS blends are used for interior and exterior applications. 

Interior parts are the largest area of application for ABS in the automotive market accounting for around 60% of total market volume. The main applications are instmment panels, loudspeaker grilles, door handles, door trim, glove box compartment lids and centre consoles. PC/ABS blends are also used in many of these applications, mainly in higher value cars. 

The main applications for polycarbonate in the car interior are lenses for instrument panel displays and ceiling lights. Typical applications for PC/ABS in the car interior are instrument panels where fast cycle times are desired and interior components where impact strength, dimensional stability and high heat performance are required. PC/ABS is also used in many other small application areas such as door handles, loudspeaker grilles, B-post finishes, navigation systems housing and interior trim. A small amount of PC/PBT is used inside the ear, mainly for the manufacture of interior trim. 

The auto polymer coatings market has been (1) defined in terms of snb-strate type (hard/soft), substrate material (polymer type), and module (instrument panel [IP], door trim [DT], floor). A summary of the applications that use liquid coatings and the alternatives is presented in Figure 1. The target zones in interiors and exteriors for coatings are sunomarized in Table 2. 

The General Motors announcement in mid-1999 of their intention to minimize PVC in interiors by Model Year (MY) 2004 has prompted substitution for PVC in instrument panel and door trim skins. See discussion of intermaterials competition in skins below (Section 4.1). PVC compounds are becoming more sophisticated (higher flow, better color control, improved compression set) and are gaining share in some applications (e.g., glazing encapsulation, blow-molded interior components). Also, PVC remains a highly cost effective competitor, and this has resulted in considerable difference in the policies of automotive OEMs with regard to PVC substitution pohcy. 

Fig. 2 Interior skin materials and process options for instrument panel and door trim. Notes ( ) indicates incumbent (A) the dominant process (B) evolving processes (C) Recticel process (D) double slush processes evolving (E) also called casting (F) low-pressure molding, primarily used for door trim, starting in IPs and (G) unsupported expanded, integral skin PVC, lowest-cost skin candidate (sometimes called casting). (From Ref. 1.)...

Interior Skins (Instrument Panel, Door Trim)... 

For instrument panel and door trim skins, technical grains having a geometric (e.g., diamond or square) pattern were introduced in the late 1990s as a substitute for imitation leather grains that have dominated interior skin surfaces for 30 years. 

In Western Europe the largest user is the vehicle construction industry where ABS has been used for fascia panels, door covers, door handles, radiator grilles, ventilation system components, heater housings, seat belt fastenings, console panels, loudspeaker housings, interior trim and other uses. For some years there was extensive use of electroplated ABS. Whilst this continues to be used for nameplates, reflectors and other parts where a bright reflecting surface is a requirement, it has tended to fall out of favour simply for decoration. 

Interior trims, dashboards, instrument panel inserts, pillar trims, consoles, airbag system parts, door and quarter-panel trims, lift-gate trims. .. 

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