[Level Up] [Doc Top] [Doc End] [Next Item] [Home Page]

CSIRO CORPORATE MEDIA RELEASE 95/64B

CSIRO AND VENTURE STICK TOGETHER

CSIRO and Venture Industries will work to develop a fully commercial version of SICOR, a revolutionary technology for bonding and painting modern plastics.

Venture is one of the largest producers of motor vehicle components in the United States.

As a full service supplier of plastic components and systems, operating advanced research facilities and with capabilities that include product design, tooling and manufacturing, Venture Industries has the ideal credentials to assist CSIRO in production using the SICOR process. Venture Industries recently signed an agreement with Ford of Australia to purchase the operations at Broadmeadows.

Immediate applications of the SICOR technology are in motor vehicle bumper bars, bodyside mouldings and protective strips and internal panels. Production line tests are planned for Venture painting facilities in both Australia and the United States.

The SICOR process provides a new means of chemically tailoring the surfaces of injection moulded and other plastics in whatever shape or form, so they can be permanently glued to other surfaces or painted more effectively and with longer lasting results.

The surface of a plastic when treated by the SICOR process becomes what is virtually a permanent chemical velcro which provides much stronger and more durable adhesion in bonding to other surfaces or for paint.

The SICOR process has been shown to enhance the long-term durability of adhesion between PP and/or PP/EPDM substrate and paint upon exposure to high humidity, thermal shock and mechanical impact. This has relevance for the automotive industry whose use of polypropylene and TPO bumper bars and bodyside mouldings has grown greatly over the last few years.

CSIRO and General Motors-Holden's Automotive Limited have conducted over 40,000 km of durability tests on car bodyside moulding strips treated with the SICOR process. The tests revealed that even after extensive and rough driving and exposure to the elements the strips could not be removed from the car without damaging the side panel.

These on-road durability results have reinforced laboratory tests which showed that using the SICOR process created bonds up to 20 times stronger than conventional adhesion technology.

With the increasing use of advanced plastics and composite materials in motor vehicles the potential applications of the SICOR process are immense.

The SICOR process could be totally integrated into the existing manufacturing lines for plastic components at negligible cost and remove the need for mechanical fixing of mouldings using screws which provide potential corrosion sites in car panels.

The process is also ecologically beneficial as it does not use chloro-fluorocarbons (CFCs) like other current surface treatment techniques for some typical automotive polymer blends and does not produce undesirable waste products.

The acting Victorian Industry Minister, Roger Hallam, described the strategic partnership between the Melbourne-based CSIRO and Venture Industries as yet another confirmation of the State's position as Australia's leader in research and development.

"The commercialisation of the SICOR process by Venture Industries will result in a world beating product that offers great export potential," Mr Hallam said.

"The potential of leading edge technology developments such as this will be a boost to Venture Industries' plans to establish a strong presence in Australia, following their decision to buy Ford Australia's Plastics Plant in Broadmeadows."

Mr Hallam said the agreement highlighted a trend by international companies to invest in R&D activities in Victoria.

"Recent examples include the Finnish telecommunications company, Nokia Mobile, the US-based Kraft organisation, and the German-based Siemens Group, " he said.

CSIRO and Venture will simultaneously devote their resources to the automotive industries toughest problems of paint adhesion to lower cost resins and the bonding of plastic components to dissimilar materials. Venture resources from its Advanced Engineering Centre and Paint Technology Department, both located near Detroit, will work with CSIRO to resolve technical issues to meet the requirements for these demanding automotive applications.

The SICOR process also has special application to the construction industry in areas such as the manufacture and bonding of plastic pipes, manufacture of cladding panels or fixing of glass window panels in high rise buildings.

For further information please contact:

CSIRO:

Venture Group:

Mr Hallam's Office:

[Level Up] [Doc Top] [Doc End] [Next Item] [Home Page]