2008-07-11 15:43 GMT
Mold-in-Color Technology Improves Appearance, Durability of Plastic Vehicle Parts
Scratch or chip the wheel lip modeling on a 2008 Ford Super Duty and don’t expect to see the ugly yellow, black or gray paint primer found on most competitive trucks. That’s because Ford is the first automaker to implement a technology called High-Gloss Mold-in-Color. With this technique, the Super Duty’s wheel lip molding is injection molded with the high-gloss metallic color built right in. No primer, no paint required.
In addition to improving long-term appearance and durability (say goodbye to paint peeling, chipping or fading), mold-in-color technology also reduces volatile organic compounds or VOCs released into the environment since priming and painting of the parts are eliminated. From a manufacturing standpoint, deleting these steps makes mold-in-color more cost-effective, energy-efficient and faster too.
Ford continues to perfect the technology – conquering flow line and color-match challenges that are associated with mold-in color applications for plastic parts. For the 2009 model year, the all-new Ford F-150 will have a mold-in-color top cap front fascia available in five different colors. And next year, the technology will make its interior debut on the instrument cluster of the 2010 Ford Mustang – tested and proved ready to handle substances such as hand lotions, perfumes, coffee and your favorite burger’s special sauce.
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“When you paint any part, there is a potential for defects from dirt and handling. Then, you have to rework those parts and put them back into the system. With the mold-in-color, essentially every part that comes out of the process is ready to go the first time through,” said LaRon Brown, a Ford quality engineer.
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