FACT Surface Technology for the Environment: An Adhesive Bonding Process Without Wet-Chemicals

Until now, the use of wet-chemical bonding has been essential for bonding metal parts. “That is why we have consistently driven this initiative forward within Freudenberg between Freudenberg Technology Innovation and Freudenberg Sealing Technologies“, says Dominik Langore, Manager Surface Technology EU at Freudenberg Sealing Technologies, T&I. With success: the intensive research work has now proven its worth and reached market maturity. With FACT, the environmental impact of the coating process is significantly reduced. A key factor in the products’ environmental footprint is the elimination of solvents, which were previously required in the material formulations. Even the binders, which previously could contain more than 90 percent solvents, are no longer necessary. This eliminates the need for a wide range of substances that are potentially hazardous to health and the environment.

By eliminating these process steps, the material and energy consumption of the pretreatment process is significantly reduced, which in turn results in a significantly lower CO₂ footprint for the product line. In a life cycle assessment, the CO₂ emissions of a reference process were tested for three coating methods. The most emission-intensive wet chemical process was taken as the 100 percent reference value. A comparative process using a different binder caused 65.2 percent of the reference emissions. With FACT, CO₂ emissions can be reduced to 1.1 percent of the reference value. And that’s not it. Dominik Langore adds: “With every process step we eliminate using our new binding technology, we also reduce the number of potential errors throughout the entire manufacturing process.” From a supply chain perspective, this is advantageous, because the required components are multi-sourced and thus not subject to single-source dependency.

Tailored to the application: FACT broadens the range

Thanks to its excellent resistance to oils, water, hydrogen (H₂), and AdBlue™, the FACT coating process enables the use of elastomers in combinations with metals and plastics that were previously not possible. The adhesion and flexibility of the coated metal substrates are maintained even under high loads and at temperatures as low as -40 °C, without forming microcracks. Additionally, online process monitoring ensures the traceability and quality of the manufactured components.

This cost-efficient process opens up a wide range of potential applications, covering virtually all motorized drive and energy storage systems on the roads, at sea, and in aviation. Its use in battery technologies - for example, in e-bikes - is now also feasible. Dominik Langore says: “In close collaboration with our customers, cross-industry and cross-departmental exchange often generates the most innovative ideas. With FACT, we have created an excellent foundation for developing a wide range of durable applications using a groundbreaking bonding process and new material combinations.”