MK2—A novel assembly injection molding process for the combination of functional metal surfaces with polymer structures

The scope of this paper is a new production technology for metal/polymer-composite parts. Based on the assembly injection molding technology a so called MK2-composite is fabricated of a thin functional metal surface layer, a thermoplastic base layer for the mechanical stability and an intermediate layer made of a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE). This creates a bond between metal and thermoplastic layer on the one hand and allows a reduction of thermally and mechanically induced internal stresses on the other hand. In order to achieve an optimum adhesion, an in-line Openair® plasma treatment was integrated into the process, reducing the process chain length to a minimum compared to state-of-the-art bonding processes using reaction adhesives. The performance of the MK2-composite was investigated regarding design and process relevant parameters.