FUSE Automotive Coloring System Recognized by Nikkei Asia
COLUMBUS, OH – AERO Sustainable Material Technology recently announced that the FUSE Automotive Coloring System, known as the Ultra-Wide TOM Machine, won a grand prize at the 2021 Nikkei Superior Products and Services Awards from the Asian news magazine Nikkei Asia. The awards were presented on Feb. 2, 2022, in Tokyo, Japan. An environmentally sound alternative to the assembly-line process of traditional paint, the Ultra-Wide TOM Machine is an efficient system for coating automotive body panels and other exterior components by applying AERO’s environmentally sound film-based coatings.
The Ultra-Wide TOM Machine incorporates new Neo-TOM Thermoforming technology, which was developed by Fu-se Vacuum Forming Co. Ltd. (FVF) in Osaka, Japan. This recently developed process addresses the difficulties of traditional compressed air thermoforming where hollow parts (such as an automotive hood) cannot withstand the air pressure, resulting in deformation. With Neo-TOM, the film is heated and softened in a vacuum and placed close to the component to allow air to be introduced to the front side of the film, and then the air pressure difference between the inside and outside of the film causes the film to be attached to the component without deformation. Although this process has been previously utilized for automotive interior components, it had been difficult to apply films uniformly on large automotive parts until the advent of the FVF Neo-TOM process.