JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #106 - July 2016 - 16

automotive

A sun roof frame entirely
made of natural fibres

BASF and the International Automotive
Components Group (IAC) have teamed up to
develop FiberFrame, the first automotive roof
frame entirely made of natural fibres.

The FiberFrame natural-fibre sun roof

n a context where environmental requirements
are increasingly taken into
account, car manufacturers
need to come up with sustainable solutions. IAC and
BASF's FiberFrame car roof,
with its natural-fibre and water-based resin combination,
is environmentally friendly
and lightweight, a necessity
for car components. The
car roof will make its debut
in Mercedes-Benz's new
E-class.

Picking the right resin
Phenolic resins have raised
many health and environmental concerns for a while
now, rendering the search
for alternatives quite crucial,
notably in the automotive
industry where phenolic
resins are often used for
their stability and perfor-

mance. BASF's water-based
Acrodur® 950 L binder
was selected by IAC as the
binding component for the
natural fibres used in the
composition of their car
roof frames. It provides the
required loading capacity
and heat resistance to the
parts, by strengthening the
natural fibres and thus enabling a dimensionally stable
and lightweight solution for
car roof frames. Thorsten
Habeck, head of marketing
for Dispersions for Fiber
Bonding at BASF, details
the benefits of using this

binder: "Natural-fibre roof
frames based on Acrodur®
950 L are around 40% lighter
than roof frames made from
metal. Hence, we help car
makers achieve their sustainability targets because
lighter vehicles consume less
fuel and have lower carbon
emissions".

Customized solutions
Aside from the significant
weight savings - over 40%
compared to conventional
metal-reinforced steel sun
roof frames - and reduced
carbon footprint - 70% of
the components are renewa-

ble - FiberFrame also makes
for a more efficient production process. The integration
of BASF's Acrodur® 950 L
resin was very straightforward as it is easy to mould
and saves valuable production time. IAC's EcoMatHot
fibre mat, made of natural
fibres and BASF's thermoset
binder, is moulded and manufactured in-house thanks to
a hot moulding process. This
allows for customization of
the product depending on
the OEM customers' needs.
n

More information:
www.basf.com

About BASF
BASF creates chemistry for a sustainable future, combining economic success with environmental
protection and social responsibility. The approximately 112,000 employees in the BASF Group work on
contributing to the success of customers in nearly all sectors and almost every country in the world. The
portfolio is organized into five segments: Chemicals, Performance Products, Functional Materials & Solutions, Agricultural Solutions and Oil & Gas. BASF generated sales of more than €70 billion in 2015. The
Dispersions & Pigments division develops, produces and markets a range of high-quality pigments, resins,
additives and polymer dispersions worldwide. These raw materials are used in formulations for coatings
and paints, printing and packaging products, construction chemicals, adhesives, fibre bondings, plastics,
paper as well as for electronic applications such as displays.

16 jec composites magazine / No106 July 2016

http://www.basf.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #106 - July 2016