As the facade of a car, the air intake grille is responsible for the appearance and directly affects the appearance of the entire vehicle. As a window that delivers air to the engine, the air intake grille is usually placed directly in front of the car's center grille and rear engine compartment. Its main function is to dissipate heat and provide air intake for the engine. Today, the air intake grille is not only a functional component, but also a display of the brand style and design craftsmanship of major OEMs. However, the performance requirements required by the grille have not changed at all, such as: heat resistance, weather resistance, scratch resistance, toughness and processing performance. Currently, there are three main material solutions for air intake grilles: high-gloss spray-free PMMA/ASA alloy, spray-painted ABS or PC/ABS, and electroplated ABS or PC/ABS. Next, let’s analyze their advantages and disadvantages in detail.
High-gloss spray-free, both environmentally friendly and functional
The air intake grille is made of PMMA and ASA materials with excellent weather resistance, and is matched with high-gloss injection molded automotive exterior parts. The surface can achieve high gloss, high weather resistance, high surface hardness and other characteristics without spraying, and can replace ABS or PC/ABS. The spray-coated parts not only reduce environmental pollution, but also simplify the production process. The spraying process not only pollutes the environment, but also has higher overall costs.
Although spray-free materials are good, due to the characteristics of the materials, two major defects are prone to occur when producing parts - weld lines and flow marks. If not handled properly, it will not only affect the appearance of the product, but may even reduce the overall quality of the product. The spray-free material solution not only perfectly solves the two major defect problems, but its overall cost is about 50% lower than the cost of ordinary materials.
Spray-painting ABS or PC/ABS to achieve better performance and higher-end parts
The air intake grille is made of ABS or PC/ABS. After painting, it can give the parts excellent weather resistance and scratch resistance. Among them, most are painted with high-gloss black paint, and the overall appearance presents a solemn and elegant sense of quality. Plastic spray painting has high process requirements, and production problems such as coating bubbling, pinholes, and sagging may occur during the drying process. Spray-painted materials have the advantages of high dimensional stability, impact resistance, and high heat resistance, which can significantly reduce problems that may arise during the production process.
Electroplated ABS or PC/ABS, combining the advantages of plastic and metal
The purpose of plastic plating is to cover the surface of plastic with metal, which not only increases the appearance, but also complements the characteristics of plastic. It integrates the characteristics of plastic and metal, which not only gives the advantages of metal, but also reduces the weight of the product. Air intake grilles are generally electroplated with ABS or PC/ABS, which can give the parts excellent metallic appearance, weather resistance and scratch resistance.
However, the plastic electroplating process often causes problems such as coating peeling, scorching, blistering, rough coating, surface burrs, and missing plating. Electroplating materials have the characteristics of good metal adhesion, high thermal stability, and high machinability, which can greatly reduce the occurrence of defects such as coating peeling and burrs.
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