Mazda Roadster RF adopts coating-free resin material for exterior parts

Mazda's "Roadster RF" compact convertible, which was launched in Japan on December 22, 2016, is equipped with exterior design parts made of coating-free resin
.
Mazda exhibited the car at the environmental exhibition "Eco Products 2016" (held at the Ariake International Convention and Exhibition Center in Tokyo from December 8th to 10th)
.

The interior parts of the new "Roadster" launched in 2015 have been painted free Mounting resin on Roadster RF not only includes internal components, but also extends the scope of application of this resin to exterior components
.

The exterior parts of Roadster RF that use coating-free resin are "triangular window trim" and "side trim"
.
Previously, these two parts were mostly made of coated acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer (ABS) resin
.

After replacing these parts with coating-free resins, they have obtained a texture (darker color tone and mirror-like smoothness) that exceeds that of ABS resin-coated products
.
The weather resistance and scratch resistance of exterior parts are equivalent to those of ABS resin coated products
.
"The material cost is higher than that of ABS resin, but because it does not require a coating process, the manufacturing cost is lower than that of the original coating product
.
The coating-   free resin "Bioengineering Plastic"
will be expanded in future new cars.

It was jointly developed with Mitsubishi Chemicals
.
It is a kind of bio-PC (polycarbonate) that uses plant-derived "Isosorbide" as a raw material
.
In the
  past, petroleum-derived PC has excellent transparency and impact resistance, but it is weather resistant.
Inferior, the surface is easily scratched
.
The coating-free resin jointly developed by Mazda and Mitsubishi Chemical has the same transparency as the original PC, and has excellent weather resistance due to the molecularly strong bone structure, and the surface is not easily scratched
.

  In addition .
, Excellent color rendering, so it can be made into a shiny surface like metal just by mixing with fuel for injection molding
.
After molding, there is no need to paint, and it will not release VOC (volatile organic compound) generated by paint
.

  In addition, In addition to the interior design components of the Roadster, Mazda is also installing interior and exterior design components for the North American version of the new SUV (multipurpose sports vehicle) "CX-9", and interior design components for the sedan "AXELA" and the compact car "DEMIO" Adopted in
.
It is also planned to gradually adopt this coating-free resin in the interior and exterior design parts of new cars that will be launched in the future
.