SMC and BMC composite materials are ideal for making lightweight and complex parts that combine structural performance with a smooth surface finish. The appearance of a SMC product and how it feels to the touch are key elements of a successful design and in many cases strongly influence the user’s attraction to the product.
In this second Design Guide, you can find out how to achieve the highest quality finish on SMC parts and discover how state-of-the-art coating technologies can deliver significant cost savings over conventional processes.
SMC and BMC are increasingly used in a broad range of end-use applications and markets. The European Alliance for SMC BMC’s new series of design guides explain to designers how these versatile materials can be used, and converted into parts in larger production series. AOC is active member of the European Alliance for SMC BMC.
A full range of SMC finishing options is available today, ranging from high-gloss, Class A finishes superior to painted metal, to matt and novel textured surfaces. In this guide, we show manufacturers how selecting the right SMC formulation and following best practice design, manufacturing and finishing procedures the aesthetic quality of a painted SMC surface can match, and even exceed, that of a painted metal surface. You will also discover how the latest in-mold coating technologies can deliver significant cost savings over conventional spray processes.
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Achieving Great Aesthetics
SMC parts with tailored function and aesthetics will enable designers and OEMs to enhance and expand their offering in established markets for SMC such as automotive and truck, mass transportation, consumer and sanitary, as well as develop new applications in emerging markets such as electric vehicle infrastructure and 5G-transparent structures.
“SMC and BMC materials are well known in the industry and are increasingly found to offer a great combination of performance and cost”, comments Joan Montobbio, Board Chairman of the European Alliance for SMC BMC. “Showing our customers how to achieve a quality surface finish and a great colour will help to push their imagination as to where these versatile materials can be used.”
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Liliane Maginet
