New foam technology yields lower emissions

FoamPartner, which specializes in advanced foam solutions, has developed a foam product family characterized by extremely low emission levels for use in automotive headliners with high demands on processability and design.

 

The foams sold under the OBoSky® brand name benefit from a patented ether prepolymer technology to combine the advantages of ester-based polyurethane foams with those of ether-based materials. The result is a family of hydrolytically stable, low-emission and low-odor foams with optimum processability and an extremely homogenous cell structure. The technology is especially targeted to demanding automotive headliners. However, thanks to their high elongation and good resilience, OBoSky® foams also have a perfect fit in further automotive interior applications requiring a pleasant soft feel.

 

“Vehicles off the shelf are history. Besides looking for an environmentally friendly as possible drive system, consumers today have a keen eye for a stylish interior design using materials that ensure a healthy climate in the passenger compartment,” says Klaus Hellmold, Vice President Global Business Unit Automotive Rolls at FoamPartner. “With our OBoSky® foams for headliners, we have set new standards in efficient processing and environmental compatibility.”

 

The innovative OBoSky® headliner foam grades feature a very uniform structure with fine pores, providing excellent surfaces that can easily be laminated in flame and adhesion processes while also lending themselves to finishing textiles of low surface weight.

 

The ether-based prepolymer technology of the materials ensures not only outstanding hydrolytic resistance and long-term high mechanical properties, but also leads to significantly lower levels in volatile organic compounds (VOC) and fogging (FOG) vs. merely ester-based foams. In VOC and FOG tests according to VDA 278 and VDA 270, OBoSky® shows values clearly below the limits specified in DBL 5450, the strict supply regulation of Daimler AG for flexible foams based on polyurethane.

 

OBoSky® is available in rolls and various net densities as well as with or without flame protecting finish according to FMVSS 302. The unique manufacturing process enables a block foam length of 120 m, which results in 50 percent fewer bonding seams compared to common 60 m blocks in the market. This means customers can save costs in their end-product fabrication.

 

FoamPartner will present the new products of its OBoSky® family at Foam Expo Europe 2019 in Stuttgart, Germany, from September 10 to 12. Foam Expo is a leading tradeshow for manufacturers and buyers of technical foam products and technologies as well as for the entire supply chain of the foam industry. FoamPartner welcomes customers and interested visitors to stop by at booth 504.