BASF's special polyamide Ultramid® Deep Gloss won the German Innovation Award 2018 for "Material and Surface Treatment". The award is awarded by the German Design Council to recognize products from different industries that offer more benefits than previous solutions. The Ultramid® Deep Gloss, launched at the end of 2017, combines the chemical resistance of semi-crystalline polyamides with the high gloss and depth of field of amorphous plastics. Therefore, it is especially suitable for high-gloss automotive interior parts without coating.
Ultramid® Deep Gloss components have piano black, high-gloss surfaces, and for the first time no additional, well-designed protective coating is required. Special polyamides can be used to make UV-resistant, scratch-resistant, and chemical-resistant high-gloss surfaces, achieving a strong contrast between light and shadow.
It allows designers to achieve unusual textures such as ripples, waves, hammers, lines, and rhombuses. The surface structure can also be integrated with tactile design elements to achieve an integrated and functional design for the concept of autonomous driving in the future.
Ultramid® Deep Gloss is suitable for a variety of components such as air vents, decorative accessories, door inlays, center consoles or dashboards.
The automotive industry's emissions and odor requirements were also considered during the development process. During processing, the new BASF polyamides offer the potential for cost savings, without the use of thermally variable temperature injection molding technology and without the need to coat components.
The German Innovation Award was awarded for the first time. Of the 650 applications, only companies nominated by the German Design Council can participate. The jury is composed of independent experts from industry, the scientific community, various institutions and the financial sector. They evaluate submissions based on levels of innovation, user effectiveness, and cost effectiveness. The jury also considered aspects such as social, ecological, economic sustainability, and use of energy and resources. "We are proud of this award," said Xaver Hopfenspirger, project manager for BASF's Ultramid® Deep Gloss. "It confirms that we have achieved this with this material: inside the car, the demand for piano black surfaces is increasing. Durable, high quality And the number of functionalized surfaces is expected to increase. This trend will also become more apparent with the transition to new operating designs for driverless. So we are now also offering other colors to meet the desires of individual customers for personalized car interiors. "