CASE IH REAPS THE BENEFITS OF FORMING EXTERIOR PANELS USING BAYER POLYMERS' POLYURETHANE RIM SYSTEM
22 June 2003 - Bayer MaterialScience AG

Each combine has a total of nine panels. There are six side panels: left and right front, middle and rear; as well as left and right front panel wraps and a rear panel. The six side panels are common to both models; the front and rear panel are molded in two sizes, depending on the size (3.0 or 3.3) of the combine. The largest part is the left side front panel, which weighs 56 pounds and measures 101 inches long by 76 inches wide by 7 inches deep.

Making the Case for Polyurethane RIM
The Baydur 730S IBS system is a soy-based rigid polyurethane structural foam system that incorporates a specially engineered interactive blowing system (IBS). It is well suited for applications that take advantage of the material's strength, as well as its excellent surface finish, large-part capability and good flowability.

The Case IH AFX Combines are now in a limited production run and will officially launch in October for the 2004 model year. The Combines are among the first commercial applications of a soy-based formulation in a high-density structural foam polyurethane RIM system for the agricultural market. The molder, G.I. Plastek, estimates that 124 pounds, or approximately 2 bushels, of soybeans are used in each combine.

G.I. Plastek molds the panels utilizing the polyurethane RIM process and its proprietary ProTek1 in-mold coating technology, which produces a decorated part with a Class A finish right out of the mold. Due to the elimination of downstream operations, such as degreasing, sanding, priming and post-painting, the in-mold coating process results in significant savings, according to Ryan McNamara, program manager, G.I. Plastek. Furthermore, the RIM process allows the molder to utilize lower-cost highly polished nickel-shell molds instead of steel molds, resulting in overall program capital cost savings, according to McNamara.

A Winning Combine-ation
Cost and weight efficiencies, combined with the material's physical properties and use of soy were at the root of CNH's decision to make the switch from the steel panels used on previous combine models, according to CNH. The company especially liked the fact that the soy-based RIM system enabled CNH to help farmers by using their products.

CNH was also extremely pleased with the support offered by Bayer, which included initial stage design and finite element analysis, as well as technical support during prototyping and production. The company pointed out that this was a total team effort and without its relationship with Bayer and G.I. Plastek, it could not have been done so quickly.

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