Sealing of Door Modules

Waterproofing and Vibration Dampening for Car Door Modules

The car door has undergone a long period of development: from the simple foil seal of a bodyshell door and the integration of a few mechanical components to multi-unit carriers developed by leading OEMs. The door module is manufactured as a galvanized stamped sheet metal or, increasingly, from fiberglass-reinforced plastic, with recesses for the incorporation of electronic and mechanical units.

The car door is no longer just the barrier that represents a dry seal to protect the interior of the car from the wet exterior. The door module now incorporates various forms of technology and electronics including safety features, infotainment, lighting, and air-conditioning.

Henkel’s Sonderhoff FERMAPOR K31 polyurethane foam gaskets seal the contours of the door modules and any units mounted on them, such as electric window controls, loudspeakers, door locks, etc., and protects them against water and dust.

Using foam gasket in car door modules creates a barrier between the wet and dry sides of the door shell. Furthermore, the seamless foam gasket dampens noises and vibrations that occur when the vehicle is being driven.

For years, leading automotive suppliers have placed their trust in our Formed-In-Place Foam Gasket (FIPFG) dosing technology and wide selection of innovative material systems for sealing car door modules.

Are you looking for the optimal and most flexible solution for your production? Our machine solutions focus on a dosing system that is very flexible and can be integrated into existing production concepts. Since it is based on modular construction, it allows you to improve production processes. We offer very reliable plant engineering with minimized maintenance intervals for your technical and commercial challenges.

As a result, stable dosing processes are ensured for sealing foams with a high degree of precision and output efficiency, low material consumption, and consistently high dosing quality from us as process experts in the field of FIPFG technology.

Material

Customized Seamless Foam Sealing of Door Modules

We Develop Customized Solutions for Your Specific Requirements

Automotive exteriors such as the unit carriers of car doors, are predominantly made of galvanized steel, aluminum, or, increasingly, fiberglass-reinforced plastic. Medium- to high-viscosity polyurethane sealing foams are used to seal the door module contours on a flat application surface or in a shallow groove. The fully automatic dosing process applies the foam with high accuracy using the FIPFG technology of our mixing and dosing system.

When the foam gasket is applied along the entire module contour, it creates an almost seamless seal with only a barely visible coupling point. Our range of polyurethane foams provide good adhesion on galvanized surfaces of carrier metal sheets. However, adhesion to fiberglass-reinforced plastic (PP/PE) often requires pretreatment with plasma.

Due to the high level of impermeability offered by the foam gasket, which is compressed during installation, the car interior is protected from the weather outside. The electrical components on the door carrier are protected against water spray and dust. The seal also protects against rattling caused by the vibrations generated during driving.

The variably adjustable elasticity of the foam offers advantages concerning low installation forces, during the assembly of the door module and the mounting of electromechanical units on it.

The different reaction phases of the sealing foam in the chronological sequence

Reference Material

Our reference materials for the 2K polyurethane sealing foams shown below meet all the standard door module requirements. Additionally, we offer customizable materials according to your part specifications and special technical demands. Henkel´s sealing foams from the Sonderhoff portfolio can be adjusted in their reactivity, hardness, viscosity, as well as color, and other chemical and physical properties.

	Door module with groove FERMAPOR K31-A-3520-4-G-FC FERMAPOR K31-B-1-FC	Door module without groove FERMAPOR K31-A-4657-1-G-FC FERMAPOR K31-B-1-FC
Mixing ratio	4.1 : 1	4.5 : 1
Pot life	27 sec.	32 sec.
Tack-free time	5 min.	3 min
Viscosity A component	24,000 mPas	60,000 mPas
Foam density	0.17 g/cm3	0.22 g/cm3
Hardness (Shore 00)	40	46
Temperature resistance	from -40 to +80 °C	from -40 to +180 °C
Pretreatment	Plasma for e.g. PP and PE	Plasma for e.g. PP and PE

Caption language

Repeated Removal and Reinstallation of the Door Module or the Components Mounted on it, while Maintaining a Consistent Sealing Effect

The resetting ability provided by our foam gasket material allows the repeated removal and reinstallation of the door module or the components mounted on it for repair purposes in the event of damage, without any reduction in the degree of tightness.

The use of fast-reacting and curing 2-component sealing foams enables short application processes and the rapid processing of parts in your production until the final acceptance of the door modules.

Watch a video showing the foam compression process.

The unpressed polyurethane foam gasket before installation.

Compressing the foam gasket between approximately 30 - 60 % of the original height achieves the required degree of tightness in the installed condition.

Process

Mixing and Dosing System with two 6-axis Robots and Plasma Station, as well as a Conveyor Belt for the Eﬃcient Feeding of the Materials

Fexible and Fully Automatic – Fully in Line with Your Requirements

Our application engineering expertise offers support from the design phase of your door modules to fully automated material application using Formed-In-Place Foam Gasket (FIPFG) technology. When it comes to high part volumes and process speeds, we provide high efficiency with our overall solution which is optimally integrated into your manufacturing processes. As process experts, we work together with you to develop an automation solution that meets your requirements. We also offer various configuration and equipment options for semi-automatic or fully automatic production systems.

The DM 502 mixing and dosing system uses two 6-axis robots as shown in the illustrated reference configuration. The robots are handling the parts in alternating cycles, from the transfer to the plasma station and then to the dosing station, until they are placed on the outfeed conveyor. To improve the strength of adhesion of the foam gasket, the surface of the door module contour is activated with atmospheric pressure plasma.

The robot arm moves the door module under the mixing head, mounted on the traversing unit, for contour-accurate dosing of the sealing foam. In this process, the material is applied with a high degree of dosing and repeatable accuracy into the shallow groove or onto the flat door module contour. The coupling point of the foam gasket closes seamlessly and is almost invisible.

The material components of the polyurethane foam used are mixed dynamically and homogeneously in the mixing head of the DM 502. The resulting fine-cell foam structure is crucial for low water absorption. When installed, the uniform compression of the seamless foam gasket produces a consistently high level of tightness over the entire contour of the door module.

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