Making every product unique – from quantity to quality using innovative ideas
With forward-looking surface solutions for plastics, KURZ is turning serially produced products such as radiator grills and steering wheels into icons of function and design for the mobility of the future. Visitors to Hall 5, Stand A19 and E09 can look forward to a world premier: IMD PUR. This process can be used to provide custom decoration to surfaces, with extremely tough, crystal-clear finishing as well as breathtaking depth effects. Functional Foil Bonding even enhances surfaces with an extra layer of smartness. Steering wheels gain intelligent touch functions such as volume control for the radio. Light is also used as a new design element. Beyond these innovative solutions, KURZ is also presenting other highlights for the automotive, household appliances, consumer electronics and health and cosmetics industries.
IMD PUR – Evolutionary jump in IMD coatings and tool technology
KURZ is using this technology to set distinctive accents in the field of autonomous driving. A futuristic radiator grill is first decorated using the IMD (In-Mold Decoration) process, and then flooded with PUR in the same clamping. The result: high-quality designs below a brilliant, crystal-clear surface. PUR coating thicknesses between 0.3 and 15 mm provide an enormous depth effect. The finishings are also extremely durable, with scratches healing on their own. The radiator grill can also be outfitted with autonomous driving functions developed in coordination with Velodyne, a LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) sensor maker. The individual coatings are highly adherent and durable. In addition, IMD PUR boasts significantly shorter cycle times and a high degree of design diversity, this makes the production-ready process economical for auto makers and suppliers. Visitors will experience live how an automobile front screen with a challenging geometry can be produced using the IMD PUR process. There is no better way to grasp just impressive the design flexibility and futuristic surface effects can now be.
FFB: How sensor technology helps make brand statements
A steering wheel demonstrating device with a homogenous surface is a big hit in the automotive industry. There are no controllers or buttons to disrupt the design. Capacitive sensors from KURZ subsidiary PolyIC are integrated mechanically – on view live at the KURZ stand. One touch is all that’s needed to backlight operating functions such as the radio volume and navigation system controls. The surfaces of the cabin interior thus become high-quality and intelligent interfaces (HMI) that are more robust, scratch-proof and easy to clean than ever. Logos are positioned as aesthetic elements on otherwise homogeneous-looking surfaces. Light is also used to set distinctive design accents. Whether dead front design, day and night design, integrated color change, ambient lighting, or intuitive control via gestures or touch — manufacturers can implement a wide range of design ideas to add stylish impact to functionality. Yet the automotive industry is not the only one to benefit from Functional Foil Bonding. The patented process is now series-production ready. As a result, manufacturers of household appliances can also produce identical cover plates for different models, adding the customizations afterward. Because the buttons can be freely assigned their functions via post-production programming of the sensor, it is simple to add extra functions and optional configurations afterward. As such, even small-batch series can be implemented affordably with custom programming.
Staying ahead of the competition
All processes from KURZ offer unique design possibilities that impress at both the design and functional level. It goes without saying that the quality remains uniformly high from the first piece to the last. The specialists for plastics decoration are laser-focused on keeping the process a sustainable and efficient part of their customer’s value chain. After all, responsible handling of people and nature is becoming an increasing economic consideration for customers and consumers alike. Through its “Designed for Recycling” principle, KURZ helps its customers satisfy these considerations, such as through the decoration of recycled materials: in terms of design and flexibility, they can be enhanced just as effectively as new materials. The surface enhancements are less thick than a single human hair, meaning there is no change to a product’s recyclability. Another plus: KURZ offers complete solutions from a single source. That means: one contact partner, short transport paths and a better environmental balance.
For more information, please visit k2019.plastic-decoration.com