POWDERBOND · Developing powder coatings for contact curing of structural adhesives for vehicle bonding applications

Adhesive bonding technologies are a substitute for joining processes such as welding which offer vehicle designers the potential to select from a wider range of lightweight materials for vehicle design and construction. The ability to use lightweight materials allows vehicles to maximise fuel efficiency.Current adhesive bonding methods require an energy intensive oven cure process. Furthermore, oven curing has the potential to warp a chassis / vehicle constructed from dissimilar materials. If low energy manufacturing and lightweight construction is to be achieved novel bonding technologies that result in lighter, higher performance and more efficient vehicles with less energy used and lower costs of manufacture must be developed.PowderBond will address the issue of having to oven curing adhesives by developing a 1K epoxy adhesive system that is designed to deliver on-demand curing at low temperature (70°C). We will develop a low temperature cure powder coating (120°C) for primary structures (e.g. chassis components) which will deliver corrosion protection and the catalyst for initiating cure of the epoxy adhesive. The powder coating containing the catalyst will be pre-applied to one of the adherent surfaces (component parts) to be joined and supplied to the vehicle OEM. The 1K adhesive component will be applied to the second adherent surface prior to joining in-line with current adhesive assembly line methods. The PowderBond adhesive system will not require an oven cure at high temperature to achieve bond strength.PowderBond will enable SMEs tier suppliers to add value to supplied components by helping vehicle manufacturers lower manufacturing carbon footprint and meet obligations regarding vehicle CO2 emission through light-weighting. This will help European SMEs to consolidate their position in the supply-chain and maintain a supply-chain opportunity for future vehicle design.