Body Shop Adhesive Applications
Stronger Bonds Start With Sika
Sustainable vehicle design has become a major influencing factor in car production. Performance, economic, legislative, and environmental targets are influencing OEM thinking. These targets drive the need for durable body shop adhesives that can improve stiffness, crash durability, and fatigue performance, as well as contribute to weight reduction.
Sika provides a range of innovative solutions for crash durable, semi-crash, structural, hem-flange, anti-flutter, mastic and sealing applications. SikaPower® products, for example, are ideal for bonding similar and mixed-material substrates. While SikaSeal® anti-flutter and mastic adhesives can prevent bond line read through (BLRT) and allow for the use of thinner metals.
When systematically using SikaPower®, welding points can be eliminated, translating to power consumption in vehicle manufacturing. The same structural adhesive technology is also the key to multi-material design, an approach that enables car builders to systematically reduce the body-in-white mass.
The Low Bake Mega Trend
The increasing emphasis on sustainability, reducing global warming potential (GWP), and achieving environmental goals has made energy reduction a critical priority across industries. As a result, we continue to collaborate closely with our customers to meet their targets for the body shop of the future. The use of low-bake adhesives has emerged as a game-changer in this context.
These innovative adhesives are engineered to cure at lower temperatures, dramatically reducing the energy required for the bonding process. All of these, without any compromises on the product performances and properties.
Facts and benefits:
• 130 °C - 150 °C curing versus standard temps of 160 °C - 200 °C
• CO2 reduction & energy saving due to temperature reduction of up to 25 °C
• Faster cycle times – no need to wait 10-15 extra minutes to cure cold spots.
