New Pretreatment

Purpose and goal

The main objective is to establish within 5 years a reliable alternative to the present Zn/Mn-phosphating and ED-coating used by vehicle producers and major sub-suppliers. The purpose is to develop a pre-treatment system that is robust and allows coating of assembled parts from several materials. The pre-treatment system shall give the same quality versus corrosion and adhesion to the following coating system as to the system used today, with greater flexibility for multi material and less disturbance, disposal products and energy cost. Lower personnel need is essential for the technique if it shall be compatible with low cost countries

Results and expected effects

The project shall give the Swedish vehicle industry direct advantages by more efficient surface treatment. Indirectly the project will give advantages since the processes are expected to be simpler and giving more freedom to choose material for the car body and components. If Sweden shall be able to compete as carmaker, the car production must be given a lead and unique advantages. This project aims at such advantages like flexibility to handle new material combinations and with readiness to change to new product models.

Approach and implementation

The results will be distributed in reports and at seminars and courses, but also as a demonstration of a running plant at a sub-contractor´s and/or one of the OEM plants. Work will start with screening of new pretreatment processes. The most promising processes will be selected, adapted and developed together with the chemical suppliers. To get reliable results test methods must be checked and adapted to the new processes. Beside that techniques and routines for process control coating evaluation in running production must be developed