Automobile tires
DIC manufactures metal carboxylates for use in automobile tires.
Supporting the tires that support safe driving
When you drive along mountain roads or highways, DIC is right there with you. DIC technologies are concealed within the steel-belted radial tires that help you to drive safely.
Steel-belted radial tires are constructed cords (reinforcements) made of rubber and steel wires. Flexible rubber side walls, which keep the tire firmly on the road surface, and the strength of the steel belts—the shape is not altered even by centrifugal forces or impact—ensure both ride comfort and durability. Of particular importance here, the rubber and steel wires must remain firmly attached to each other. DIC supplies metal carboxylates for tires that increases the bonding power of both the rubber and the cords.
Providing reassurance and maximizing strengths
“Metal carboxylate” is a general term used for compounds of bonded long-chain fatty acids and metallic salts (other than alkali metallic salts). Cobalt-based metal carboxylates are used in tires. Metal carboxylates are also known as metallic soaps, but they are not the kind of soaps used to clean and remove stains. So what do they do?
Rubber and steel wires by themselves have poor adhesion. However, if you mix metal carboxylates for tires with rubber and then laminate the steel wires with the rubber, the action of the metal carboxylates will cause the rubber and the steel wires to adhere to each other firmly. DIC manufactures metal carboxylates that are used by major tire manufacturers around the world and enjoys a global market share of approximately 25%.
Product development capabilities that respond to diverse needs
Metal carboxylates can be made with cobalt, aluminum, lithium, magnesium, barium or zinc. Applications also vary and depend on the characteristics of the metallic salt used. For example, they work to accelerate reactions, including speeding up the drying of coatings and printing inks and the curing of polyester and urethane resins. They are also used in lubricants for metalworking. Using metal carboxylates thus makes it possible to reduce work time as well as increase productivity.
DIC's lineup encompasses metal carboxylates suited to a variety of applications and its superior responsiveness and design expertise enable it to respond to diverse needs. Looking ahead, DIC sees its principal task in this area as being to reduce the VOC content and to switch to vegetable oil-based raw materials.
