Lanxess announces new application for Tepex in large series production in automotive industry
An emerging application for Tepex continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastic composite is the door module carrier for a compact-class vehicle.
Lanxess recently received a contract from German system supplier Brose Fahrzeugteile GmbH & Co. KG to supply the carrier's manufacturer, ElringKlinger AG, with the composite material.
Bond-Laminates, a Lanxess subsidiary, which develops and manufactures Tepex, will be supplying ElringKlinger in Europe with the Tepex composite sheet.
"The structural component exemplifies the tremendous potential opened up by our composite in cost-effective lightweight design. With our know-how in materials, virtual component design and simulation of the manufacturing process, we've made a key contribution to this successful development," said Henrik Plaggenborg, Head of the Technical Marketing & Business Development Tepex Automotive group.
The weight has been cut by around 1.6 kg per vehicle compared with injection molded component designs. "With four door modules, weight savings of approximately 5kg per vehicle are possible compared with a steel version," said Plaggenborg.
The door module carrier is produced in a hybrid molding process using forming and back-injection of Tepex directly in the injection mold. "The one-shot process industrialized by ElringKlinger eliminates the forming tool, while also enabling cost-cutting integration of functions. These two things are the key to making the component cost-effective," said Harri Dittmar, Project Manager in the Technical Marketing and Business Development Group.
Lanxess said Tepex has already established itself in various series applications in structural lightweight automotive design. For example, it is used to produce front-end carriers, bumper beams, infotainment brackets, underfloor protection paneling, brake pedals, battery consoles, seat shells and seat backrests.
