Moriroku Technology offers decorative elements based on hot-stamping (hot-pressing) as a substitute technology for plating.

By collaborating with designers from automobile manufacturers from the planning stages, we feel that the potential to realize a balance between mitigating the burden on the environment, attractive decoration and reduced costs at a high level will become even greater.

Conventional plating processes necessitated large-scale processes and equipment, including the removal of harmful components that scatter into the air and the treatment of large volumes of waste fluid. While associated rules and circumstances differ from country to country, only select corporations who fulfill location-based and other conditions are allowed to engage in those processes, giving way to a trend of costs rising year after year. Automotive industries in Europe, where environmental awareness is particularly high, are accelerating a movement to free themselves from plating.

With a view to a future of the global environment, Moriroku Technology has identified the considerable potential of decorative elements using foil (in other words, hot-stamp decorating), and has continued its associated research and test production efforts for many years. While plated parts generally end up becoming industrial waste in the final plating process, decorative elements made with hot stamping leave behind pulverized resin ends that can be reused as materials. As such, that technology has been applauded for having a low environmental footprint throughout the product’s life cycle.

When partially applying plated decorative elements such as edge areas, frames and emblems, one method used is preparing those elements as separate parts and mounting them. Another method is plating everything, then masking and coating the areas that require a plated appearance. Both methods end up with increased part counts and greater time and effort consumed, and as such are difficult to employ unless the product involved is a luxury car.

With hot-stamp decorating, however, there is no need to mold the decoration areas and areas other than those separate of each other. Rather, it is possible to partially plate parts made using a unified mold with pinpoint precision.

For example, certain European cars sport dot-shaped, plating-like treatment on their front grill.

By stamping foil onto a unified resin mold, we have succeeded in conveying a gorgeous impression with a reduced part count and less time and effort spent.

Hot-stamp decorating is not without its faults. It is not suitable for overly-complex solid shapes, and is somewhat inferior to plating in terms of uniformity and durability. At the same time, there are some European manufacturers who aggressively apply it to exteriors and large parts even after factoring in those shortcomings.

In order to compensate for them, over a repeated process of trial and error, Moriroku Technology has exercised its ingenuity through means such as partially applying color and taking on the challenge of delicate decorative presentation for parts with complex curved surfaces and large areas, which prove to be difficult. We believe that such collaboration between our engineers and designers at automotive manufacturers from the initial development stages will result in the greater growth of the possibilities of hot-stamp decorating, which can also be used for solid-color presentation in addition to producing plating-like luster. For example, upon administering minor changes, it is possible to significantly change the impression given at a low cost.

We at Moriroku Technology will continue to boldly challenge new technology and propose new options to our customers while according top priority to environmental issues.