Bayer Lab Adds Equipment for Long-Fiber SRIM Development.

Bayer Corp.'s Polyurethanes Application Development Center in Pittsburgh has installed a fully automated Long Fiber Technology Lab to develop applications for SRIM composites of PUR and long glass or natural fibers. By chopping continuous fibers right in the mixhead, the technology allows use of lower-cost rovings rather than mats and eliminates the difficulties of handling mats. Other benefits include the ability to selectively vary the amount of reinforcement.

In addition to Bayer's own capabilities in long-fiber technology, the new lab includes a Krauss-Maffei LFI (Long Fiber Injection) system with 150-ton press, in-mold coating equipment, and a robot to handle the mixhead and glass chopper.

Target markets include cars, trucks, and agricultural and construction equipment. Bayer sees this SRIM technology as an alternative for composite fabricators who find new federal styrene-emission limits a hindrance to spraying unsaturated polyester resins.

Meanwhile, Bayer's Polyurethanes Div. and Owens Corning's Automotive Solutions Business in Toledo, Ohio, have formed a global strategic alliance to develop SRIM and RRIM composite technologies for automotive uses. Both firms have already cooperated in the development of the one-piece SRIM composite truck box being commercialized on the GM Silverado. Owens Corning is developing plans to locate business solutions centers in both Detroit and Europe. Bayer already has a Detroit-area office and extensive R&D facilities in Pittsburgh and elsewhere. Initial efforts will be concentrated in the NAFTA region.