en.Wedoany.com Reported - BASF and Wacoal recently jointly launched a concept car armrest model, extending their collaborative achievements in the sports bra field to the automotive interior sector. The model combines Wacoal's patented "Melooop" 3D melt-blown process with BASF's Elastollan® TPU material, showcasing a new path for manufacturing lightweight, comfort-oriented automotive interior components.

Melooop is a proprietary process developed by Wacoal that directly forms desired shapes from fibers in a single step, without the need for adhesives or multi-layer assembly. This integrated approach helps reduce manufacturing steps, simplify production processes, and lower material usage and waste generation, while supporting single-material design to enhance recyclability. The process allows designers to flexibly adjust thickness and material properties early in development to balance requirements such as lightweight and durability in automotive interiors.

BASF's Elastollan® TPU combines thermoplastic processing performance with elastomeric properties, enabling the formation of flexible and structurally stable 3D fiber structures to support the Melooop process. For passenger contact components such as car armrests, this technology maintains elastic recovery and long-term dimensional stability under repeated compression, while providing a soft touch. Wacoal stated that extending Melooop technology from apparel to automotive interiors helps further unlock the application potential of this process.

BASF noted that this collaboration aligns with its forward-looking co-creation philosophy. Leveraging its expertise in material innovation and automotive applications, the company will explore the feasibility of realizing more automotive interior concepts in the future.