Automotive Design
The material is available with either 35 per cent or 50 per cent glass fibre reinforcement. The new grade is aimed at a number of under-
bonnet applications, including throttle valve bodies, sensors, air control valve housings, electronic throttle control (ETC) and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) covers, and ignition systems. As well as hydrolysis resistance, it has high stiffness, strength and dimensional stability. “Arnite A has been the material of choice in automotive
& Mahindra to develop India’s first injection moulded plastic fender. The fender, developed with Tier 1 supplier Plastic Omnium, is featured on the new XUV500 sports utility vehicle (SUV). Switching from steel to Noryl GTX helped Mahindra to improve fuel economy, reduce emissions, expand design freedom and enhance resistance against minor impact. The resin allows significant freedom to create
flared fenders with accentuated curves in line with the XUV500’s ‘cheetah-like’ design. It can be up to half the weight of steel, and reduced the fender weight by 0.9kg (1.98lbs) - a saving of 27 per cent. The resin’s enhanced resilience compared to steel
allows the XUV500’s fender to flex and absorb energy to regain its original shape, reducing repair costs. At the same time, the design flexibility provided by the resin eliminated the multiple steps, tools and operations that are needed to make steel fenders. Noryl GTX combines the dimensional stability, low
water absorption, and high heat resistance of MPPE with the chemical resistance and flow of PA to create a material with high stiffness, impact strength and heat performance required for online painting.
Fig. 2. Mahindra & Mahindra has developed India’s first injection moulded plastic fender, using Sabic’s Noryl GTX resin.
safety applications like brake booster valve bodies for many years” said Gabrielse. “The new grade can satisfy applications that are closer to the engine, which until now have never been achievable with PET.”
Indian debut
Meanwhile, Sabic Innovative Plastics says that its Noryl GTX resin - a blend of polyamide and polyphenylene ether - has helped automotive manufacturer Mahindra
Plastic limo S design. ‘Mood Indigo’, the latest film
from French director Michel Gondry, features a transparent limousine that incldues extruded and thermoformed acrylic parts. A design team from Peugeot spent
more than six months assembling the ‘LimoVian’ car – named after Boris Vian who wrote the novel on which the film is based – by grafting pieces and accessories onto a Peugeot 404. The transparent parts were made in
8
www.engineerlive.com
ShieldUp from Altuglas International, part of the Arkema Group. The acrylic polymer combines two components – PMMA and an elastomer, structured at the nanoscale – which provides complete transparency while
ometimes, there is nothing other than plastic that can be used to create a particular car
optimising other properties such as mechanical properties and chemical resistance. ShieldUp took 10 years to develop,
and won last year’s Potier prize for innovation. The material is heated to 180°C
for 15 minutes to soften it, then is either vacuum formed or blown with compressed air (8 bar). It took many attempts for the
plastic converter ABP to obtain the
ideal shape for each part. ShieldUp has also been used to create a
panoramic roof on the Renault Twizy, a two- seater electric car. ●
Racing rubber replacement
For many years, Evonik of Germany has supplied materials for components on the Lotus Exige - which are then tested under the demanding conditions of motor racing. This year, Lotus will use a multi-layer tube system that incorporates a bio-based Evonik resin for the first time. Evonik has supplied grades of its Vestamid polyamide to Lotus before, for use in its multi-layer line for charge-air cooling. Now, the line incorporates the company’s new Vestamid Terra, which is derived from sustainable sources.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60