{"id":116818,"date":"2020-08-03T13:26:59","date_gmt":"2020-08-03T11:26:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/concentrol.com\/steering-wheels-manufacturing-and-concentrol-ranges\/"},"modified":"2025-07-23T15:45:46","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T13:45:46","slug":"steering-wheels-manufacturing-and-concentrol-ranges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hosting175685eu-cp704.wordpresstemporal.com\/fr\/steering-wheels-manufacturing-and-concentrol-ranges\/","title":{"rendered":"Steering wheels: manufacturing and Concentrol ranges"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]1. Manufacturing process<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The <\/span>metal base<\/b> or internal support of a <\/span>steering wheel<\/b> is a skeleton made of any of these strong but light metals: magnesium, aluminium or steel. Once the skeleton is made, the rest of the components are assembled.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

To start assembly, a robot first installs the horn system. Right after, the skeleton is covered with a very durable, soft <\/span>foam<\/b> material, usually <\/span>polyurethane (PU)<\/b>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Originally, these skeletons were lined with wood, which, over time, has been replaced by plastics. Plastic materials reduce costs and, moreover, wood is a material that can split and cause injury in accidents.<\/span><\/p>\n

To form polyurethane foam, a process called injection molding is performed. When the two chemicals that make up\u00a0 polyurethane (flexible, full-skin polyether polyol and MDI-type isocyanate) are mixed, they react and an expanding foam is produced. The reaction takes place inside a mold and this dense foam will take on a specific steering wheel shape.<\/span><\/p>\n

Before injecting the polyurethane, the mold is covered with a release agent so that the foam will not stick on the mold. Also, it is sprayed with protective paint that dyes the foam in the required colour, in most cases black. The paint protects the foam against wear and damage from UV rays, although its use is optional (there are manufacturers that do not paint the foam).<\/span><\/p>\n

The injection molding process leaves an excess of polyurethane on the flywheel, so the next step is to trim it. Steering wheels using flexible full-skin polyurethane foams have a soft feel and can be produced in a good variety of surface textures and colours.<\/span><\/p>\n

Once the excess PU has been trimmed, it is time to install the internal components. Switches, which control the features operable from the steering wheel, are assembled into a unit called a wire loom. First the loom is connected to the switches, it is installed on the steering wheel and then a verification that everything works correctly is performed. If this is the case, the assembly is marked to show that it passes this stage of quality control.<\/span><\/p>\n

While the basics are the same, the features vary from model to model in final adjustments. High-end steering wheels can be leather wrapped and often have additional switch controls for the audio system and for hands-free mobile phone use.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

2. The mold release agent<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Characteristics<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Depending on the process, <\/span>the release agent to be used will be different<\/b>:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

As we saw previously, the manufacture of the foam body can be done in three ways:<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n