Issue 03 – October 2012
Nylon replaces metal in cars
New Radilon A RV500RW 339 NER is a nylon 66 with 50% glass fibre from Radici Plastics in Italy, available in the UK through Plastribution, that moulds easily while offering new opportunities for metal replacement in automotive applications.
With the use of plastics in cars expected to continue to rise considerably, the new material extends metal-replacement opportunities and allows moulders to produce components that are not only lighter—and thus more environmentally friendly— but more complex, with multiple integrated functions.
Enhanced performance When testing Radilon A RV500RW 339 NER against a competing 50% glass- filled nylon 66, property improvements can be observed across the board. Measured at 23°C, tensile strength of the new grade reached 260 MPa, a 12% increase over the other material tested. Strain at break was also about 12% better at higher temperatures (150°C). Tensile strength at weld lines was reported to be 20% higher than the competing 50%-glass compound.
Results of notched and un-notched Charpy impact test results showed that Radilon A RV500RW 339 NER is up to 30% tougher than the other material tested. Other important characteristics of automotive structural materials are high-speed stress-strain properties.
Radici’s tests show that the stiffness and energy absorption of the Radilon A compound are greater than for competing compounds at all load application speeds. These
improved dynamic properties make this material particularly suitable for applications such as engine mounts and gearbox housings.
The material exhibits significant improvements in fatigue limits compared with competing grades, and a noticeable advantage in creep resistance, which is critical for applications such as valve covers and oil cups, because these components are subjected to a constant load for their entire useful life, and maximum oil tightness is always required.
Easy to mould Production tests conducted by Radici reveal that the material processes almost exactly like the standard glass- filled nylon 66. During its development, particular attention was paid to the material’s mechanical properties when the material was exposed to high processing temperatures for prolonged hold times.
Through the introduction of Radilon A RV500RW 339 NER, Radici is bringing to market a material that can be moulded at temperatures above 300°C in order to maximise weld-line strength without polymer degradation.
The chart opposite indicates that the tensile strength of the material, with and without weld lines, does not change for melt
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