Krauss-Maffei Introduces Colorform Process with Coatings as Thin as 0.1 mm

en.Wedoany.com Reported - Krauss-Maffei is reporting two innovations for its Colorform process: a new multi-color mixing head enables fully automatic direct color changes during production, while, in cooperation with Siegfried Hofmann GmbH, the polyurethane (PUR) coating thickness has been reduced to just 0.1 millimeters.

In Colorform applications, color changes previously required manual intervention on the mixing head, involving the replacement of spray nozzles, color units, or color modules. Although this process was relatively fast, it still necessitated a production interruption. The new multi-color mixing head makes this step obsolete: all colors remain permanently connected to the mixing head, the system automatically selects the required color, and the remaining material continues to circulate in the loop. According to Krauss-Maffei, color changes can now be carried out directly during the process without any mechanical modification.

Krauss-Maffei, in cooperation with Siegfried Hofmann GmbH, has also made progress in the material efficiency of polyurethane-coated plastic parts. High-quality, scratch-resistant surfaces previously required a PUR layer 0.5 mm thick; now, thermoplastic parts can be coated directly in the injection mold with a PUR layer just 0.1 mm thick. This reduces PUR consumption by 80% compared to before, with a corresponding decrease in material costs.

According to Krauss-Maffei, the new thin-layer process can be experienced on site at the Krauss-Maffei Technology Center on a GX 650 equipped with a turnover plate (Wendeplatte), in conjunction with a mobile RimStar Compact 8/8. It can also be viewed in Hall 7 at the Fakuma trade fair in Friedrichshafen.