Plasnomic finishes first phase of bumper repair benchmarking
Plasnomic announced this week that it has completed the first stage of a polypropylene bumper repair benchmarking initiative.
It adds this marks a “major step” toward the development of industry best practices for repairing damaged polypropylene bumper covers.
“We are excited to bring this new development to the industry as we move closer to establishing data-driven and technical best practices for plastic repairs,” said Mario Dimovski, Plasnomic Global Council head, in a press release.
The testing program is being conducted under an IATF 16949-certified quality management framework for automotive product development, according to the release. This provides a structured automotive-grade foundation for process review, documentation, supplier comparison, and best-practice development.
Plansomic said the initiative has been designed to address how different plastic repair materials and methodologies affect the performance, durability, flexibility, and consistency of modern polypropylene bumper repairs.
During the first phase, weld materials and fusion repair methodologies currently used across the global collision repair industry were evaluated. The objective was to identify repair substrates and fusion methods that most closely preserve the original characteristics, flexibility, and performance behavior of OEM polypropylene bumper systems.
Benchmark testing included comparative evaluation of repair materials and fusion approaches from 11 globally recognized plastic repair solution providers across North America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific markets.
“Initial findings demonstrated meaningful variation between repair materials and weld methodologies,” the release states. “Plasnomic said these results reinforce the importance of establishing a technically validated, OEM-compatible repair substrate before broader comparisons of repair methods are conducted.”
Plasnomic has identified a foundational OEM-compatible repair substrate that will now serve as the benchmark for the next phase of comparative repair methodology testing, according to the release.
The next phase focuses on comparing major polypropylene repair methodologies and their effects on modern bumper system performance. It will assess common industry repair approaches, including filler-based plastic repairs, two-component adhesives and epoxies, reinforcement and staple-based methods, fusion-based methodologies, and hybrid repair processes.
Each methodology will be evaluated against the benchmark OEM-compatible repair substrate identified during the first testing phase, the release said.
“The objective is to better understand how different repair methods influence component flexibility, structural integrity, repair thickness, cycle time, labor profitability, process application, material consumption, operational cost, sustainability, and overall repair performance outcomes,” the release states.
The release states that particular focus will be placed on ADAS-sensitive areas, where material thickness, density, substrate consistency, and repair composition may influence modern bumper system performance.
“The completion of these testing phases will support the development of best practices for polypropylene bumper cover repair and lead to the publication of an industry white paper grounded in data-driven testing, technical evaluation, and evidence-based analysis,” the release states.
It adds that the goal of the whitepaper is to help repairers, insurers, OEM stakeholders, training organizations, suppliers, and industry leaders better understand how different repair methods influence flexibility, durability, repair quality, process efficiency, sustainability, and modern vehicle system integration.
“Its purpose is to establish a practical and technical foundation for safer, more consistent, OEM-conscious, and environmentally-responsible plastic repair decisions across the global collision repair industry,” the release states.
Image
Photos courtesy of Plasnomic.