Trade press conference K 2004
on June 22 and 23, 2004, in Ludwigshafen
The versatile foam
Basotect in the sky and on the earth
Report by Dr. Christof Möck,
Manager Basotect Marketing and Sales
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P 260e8
P 260eBasotect® apart from having the properties of high heat resistance, flame retardant and abrasiveness is also lightweight, flexible and has good thermal insulation as well. Only BASF’s Basotect is able to combine these apparent contradicting properties in a foam. To achieve these properties, BASF’s research department (R&D department) has been successful in maintaining the extraordinary hardness of melamine resin while yet coming up with a soft flexible foam. The secret lies in the foam’s structure – a regular, open-cell arrangement with extremely thin (6micron) cell strands / filaments (figure 1).
BASF is producing Basotect in Ludwigshafen and Schwarzheide, from where it is shipped to customers worldwide in the form of large blocks for subsequent transformation into an enormous variety of items.
Classic: Basotect construction and automotive applications
A classic Basotect application is in the construction field, where it is used for sound absorption and thermal insulation (figure 2). The key advantage of Basotect is the combination of flame retardant and the ease of cutting. The foam is used, for example, in acoustic chambers, ceilings of Paris metro stations and in Lufthansa airport lounges worldwide.
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P 260e8
P 260eSimilarly it is used in parts with acoustic functionality for engine and passenger compartments - mainly in medium and luxury class vehicles, but also buses and trucks. This represents another of Basotect’s main applications (figure 3). Here, other properties - low-density as well as resistance to heat and chemicals - play a dominant role.
New Basotect TG – a thermoformable thermoset
Like the melamine resin, which it is based on, Basotect foam is a thermoset plastic. In other words, unlike thermoplastic materials, it usually cannot be shaped – or melted for that matter – by heat. Therefore shape-moulding of Basotect is a complex and costly process, involving impregnation with hot thermoplastic resins, then pressing the foam into shape and finally drying of the resulting part.
BASF scientists have now developed a thermoformable type of Basotect – Basotect TG – which can be moulded quickly and easily by direct application of heat, so eliminating the costly impregnation step (figure 4).
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P 260e8
P 260eBasotect TG thus fulfills all the requirements of efficient mass production demanded by the automotive industry. While having acquired thermoformability, Basotect TG still has not lost any of the properties of standard Basotect – light weight, flame retardancy, high heat resistance and good sound absorbance (figure 5). Basotect TG is available in grey colour, as required by the carmakers.
Innovative: Basotect takes off
BASF’s versatile melamine foam has recently started to be used in aircraft seats for the first time (figure 6). JSO, a seat manufacturer from Toulouse (France), has developed a special finishing technology - in which Basotect is combined with a standard foam - to make this possible. The resulting new seat cushions are up to 50 percent lighter in weight compared to existing solutions - a significant environmental and cost benefit for an industry in which weight savings – and thus fuel savings – are paramount to the economics of the airline business. The Basotect/standard-foam composite, which is marketed under the Soly’t® tradename, also fulfills all other specifications for aircraft seats. It is extremely comfortable, durable, resilient and flame retardant. It is already in use on Boeing 747s as well as several smaller aircraft types. The usage of Basotect functions in aircrafts can be extended to passenger vehicles and trucks
Besides, first aircraft prototypes with Basotect as cabin insulation are currently under development. Aside from its very good thermal and acoustic properties, the aircraft makers are again thinking about using Basotect to reduce weight and costs. That’s because melamine foam is not only lightweight, it is also much faster and easier to install than established solutions.
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