PU RIM coating, an established process for the interior trimming of luxury cars, has been used for decades but is seeing a revival in both interior and exterior automotive applications due to improved performance, its ideal matching with thermoplastic parts and the ability to set new standards in the design of electric vehicles.
“Cannon’s experience in PU RIM coating dates back to 2010 and has closely followed the evolution of the process and chemical systems,” said Stefano Andreolli, Sales & Marketing Manager at Cannon Afros. “In designing the new LN /3 series mixing heads, we took into account contributions from various stakeholders in the industry, including our customers, raw material suppliers, mold-makers and injection molding machinery manufacturers. This allowed us to anticipate market trends, to provide purpose-developed and highly-customized products. We collaborate with several injection molding machine manufacturers, easily adapting our equipment for every possible production line configuration”.
The new LN 5/3 and LN 10/3 mixing heads benefit from Cannon's vast expertise in designing and manufacturing components dedicated to specific applications and processes, meeting the latest requirements of the automotive industry. The new mixing heads have explicitly been redesigned to address the needs of injection molding machines and operators. Improvements include a new small and compact design, ideal when combining PU RIM with thermoplastic injection molding, faster fixing of the mixing head to the mold and offering straightforward manual or automatic mixing pressure adjustment, without removing the mixing head from the mold. In addition, the rational distribution of hoses around the mixing head ensures operators’ easy access to the injectors for a quick and effective color change, without any obstruction.
The new LN 5/3 mixing head is commercialized from May 2024, with a prototype on display at the Cannon booth at UTECH Europe 2024, while the LN 10/3 mixing head will be available from January 2025.
