Automotive Blog

Sometimes car tech isn’t all that flashy and sexy but that doesn’t mean it isn’t important. Rohm and Haas has developed a new adhesive that’s a water-based acrylic called ROBOND. It’s used to make pressure sensitive adhesive tape applied to areas like interior pillars, door panels, ductwork, and instrument panels. This really is groundbreaking stuff because it’s more heat resistant than any bonding agent previously used for such applications.

I had no idea exactly how much damage heat exposure can wreak on a vehicle until I was forced to park my 1992 Ford Taurus in open parking lots pretty much every day for the duration of its life. I was in graduate school at the time and working as an adjunct professor at three universities. I lived in that car and there were no garages or shady areas where I could park. The toll on the interior was incredible and toward the end I found myself pushing gooey bits of trim and dash back into place when I’d climb into my mobile oven.

This is one of those unheralded automotive developments that go toward increasing the life of a vehicle. It’s all well and good to drive a super, ultra-efficient hybrid, but if the trim’s falling off and you’ve had to duct tape the door panels in place, it’s still going to look like a piece of junk destined for cinder blocks in the front yard.

Posted on October 18th, 2007 by Shorty
Filed under: technology |

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