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| A conference on the use of plastics in automobiles held during CHINAPLAS 2011 |
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Nowadays, technology that is friendly to the environment has become a continued pursuit in a lot many industries. Without exception, the automotive industry is in a quest for solutions that can make a car more lightweight, more fuel-saving and efficient, and safer in use. Following this market demand, companies from the plastics and rubber industries targeting the automotive industry had their emphasis at CHINAPLAS 2011 - which inherited the vision "Green Plastics . Our Goal . Our Future" from last year - on various of their new, high-performance engineering plastics.
More plastics used in automobiles
German chemical company Lanxess introduced a plastic-metal composite technology that has been used in the front end of the Audi A8. Said to be a breakthrough, this technology not only makes the vehicle lighter, but also safer and more comfortable. For the first time, this hybrid component uses lightweight organic sheets in addition to aluminum.
The lightweight material is used to create a 1.0mm-thin U-section on the lower beam of the hybrid front end. According to Lanxess, compared with its aluminum equivalent, it weighs 20% less. The new structural concept also incorporates a double torsion ring that increases the stiffness of the front end of the vehicle significantly. In the event of a head-on collision, the resulting forces are distributed across three load planes and four load paths in order to maximize safety.
One significant way to improve fuel efficiency is to develop engines that are smaller in size, lighter in weight while being more powerful. In the automotive industry, turbo-charging technology is believed to be more and more often used in China. In this respect, at CHINAPLAS 2011, Lanxess introduced the new Durethan BC 700 HTS, an exceptionally soft polyamide 6. As said, this non-reinforced material is perfect for manufacturing charge air tubes with integrated bellows as a single-material solution using extrusion blow molding. And its high degree of softness gives it excellent sealing properties. Tests that Lanxess conducted using the new polyamide 6 grade in accordance with the OEM testing regulations showed that the material is more resistant to oils, fuels and acidic condensates than thermoplastic polyester elastomers and elastomer block copolyamides, which are also used for blow molding charge air tubes in series production.
Specifically for automotive engine applications, ExxonMobil Chemical launched the Santoprene 101-73 thermoplastic vulcanizate. It can be used in the injection molding of automotive air ducts, the production of which was demonstrated in Chen Hsong's booth.
Ideas in developing automotive plastics
Now, an irresistible trend in the development of automobiles is to improve energy saving capabilities and enhancing fuel efficiency. How do plastics suppliers assist automobile manufacturers to achieve these goals? Ryan Peng, Greater China Auto Industry Manager of DuPont Performance Polymers said there are three trends or ideas.
According to Mr Peng, first is about integration. For example, plastic intake manifolds are one-time formed, compared with their traditional counters that are made up of 14 parts. Second is about the use of high-performance materials, such as DuPont's Zytel PLUS. Third is about the development of new processing techniques, for instance, water or air assisted injection molding, 3D injection molding, and press forming specifically for automotive seats.
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