Surface finishing for Thermomix: Combining design with functionality
Multifunctional kitchen appliances that weigh, chop, and cook within a single device are now hugely popular; the top brand Thermomix is flying off shelves all over the world. “Many of our customers have been loyal Thermomix fans for years, because they know they can rely on our quality,” says Dr. Thorsten Gläser, Materials Engineer at Vorwerk. The appliance has been designed so as to perform the various functions without elaborate changeover procedures, and is also easy to clean. “For this we rely on the highest engineering skills and first-class materials,” says Gläser.
High-gloss surface
For the curved white housing of the device Vorwerk decided on a high-gloss surface finish with ACRYLITE®, or, to give it its correct chemical name, polymethyl methacrylate. ACRYLITE® molding compounds allow production of components for many different applications that have long proven themselves in, for example, automotive construction and the lighting industry. And they are always inspiring new ideas. As overmolded or co-extruded finishes, they lend their excellent properties also to the underlying material. And it isn’t just the functionality that impresses: In the Thermomix housing, for example, the excellent transparence of ACRYLITE® results in a seamless and particularly high-gloss surface with a brilliant depth effect. “This gives the housing a distinguished appearance and also a pleasant feel,” says Siamak Djafarian, head of the Business Unit Molding Compounds at Röhm. “After all, Thermomix isn’t just practical, it also looks very good. And our ACRYLITE® molding compounds contribute to that.”
Good looking as well as tough
For the Thermomix, Vorwerk has, moreover, chosen materials that can stand up to long-term use. “ACRYLITE® has the highest surface hardness of all thermoplastics,” explains Andreas König of Technical Service at Ter Hell, a long-standing trading partner of Röhm, “and so makes surfaces more robust.” A knock from a bowl leaves the material unaffected, as does hot food dripping on to the housing or the detergent used in cleaning the appliance after cooking. “ACRYLITE® has excellent chemical resistance,” says König, “and is therefore robust and easy to clean.” Not even direct sunlight can damage the housing: While other transparent plastics yellow with time as a result of UV radiation, PMMA looks just as it did on the first day, even after long use. “For us that was an important consideration, because we set store by the long service life of our appliances,” says Dr. Gläser of Vorwerk.
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罗姆是全球领先的甲基丙烯酸酯生产商之一,共有13 个生产基地,约3,500 名员工。我们在德国、中国、美国、墨西哥和南非都拥有分支机构,在甲基丙烯酸酯化学领域中拥有超过 90年经验,并拥有一个强大的技术平台。我们的知名品牌包括PLEXIGLAS®宝克力®、ACRYLITE®、MERACRYL®、DEGALAN® 和 DEGAROUTE®带格璐®和CYROLITE®科瑞来®,产品广泛应用于涂料、汽车、电子、照明、建筑和医疗健康等行业。
罗姆PMMA(聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯)产品以宝克力®和PLEXIMID®宝米德®为商标在欧洲、亚洲、非洲和澳洲销售,以ACRYLITE®和ACRYMID®为商标在美洲销售。
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