Under-the-hood | automotive
Lighter component weight and more cost effective system solutions are ensuring plastics continue to displace metals even in demanding under- the-hood automotive applications. Peter Mapleston reports
Plastics take on the challenge of the engine compartment
Metal replacement by injection moulded thermoplastics for applications in and around the engine continues apace. Polymer suppliers and compounders are coming up with new ways to extend the capabilities of their materials, especially in terms of heat resistance, and collaborative projects with downstream partners are enabling plastics to gain traction in both existing and new systems. Developers of all-electric and hybrid vehicles are particularly keen to take advantage of the lightweighting and system cost reduction possibilities that plastics offer, but traditional engine technology stands to benefi t too. This article is going to take a look at some of the
latest examples of the use of plastics in new and existing automotive drive systems. But it starts with a dip into automotive history. Over 30 years ago, US engineer Matti Holtzberg and his company Composite Castings - in collaboration with Ford and with support from Amoco (then the producer of Torlon polyamide- imide) - developed the Polimotor, a car engine largely made out of plastics. In one version of the Polimotor, which was fi tted to a Lola T-616 race car, the engine block, cam cover, air intake trumpets, intake valve stems, piston skirts and wrist pins, connecting rods, oil scraper piston rings, tappets, valve spring retainers and
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timing gears were all made in plastics, many of them Torlon. The engine weighed 76.4 kg, around half the weight of the metal version. After two seasons of competitive racing, the car was
retired and went on a tour of The Big Three’s R&D labs. That appeared to be the end of the story. But not so, it seems. Holzberg, who describes himself as the world’s leading authority on carbon fi bre reinforced polymer composite engine design, has continued to work on related developments, and says there are now 23 companies around the world that have taken out licenses on all or part of the technology used in the Polimotor, “to make all kinds of parts, not necessarily engines.”
Polimotor returns Now, following an approach this May from Solvay (which acquired the Torlon business back in 2001), Holtzberg is working on the Polimotor 2 along with several other partners, the names of which are yet to be revealed. He says Solvay, which is is taking a leadership role in the development of the Polimotor 2, did not realise he was “still playing around” with the Polimotor idea. The all-plastics four-cylinder engine is set to be tested next year and fi tted in a Norma M-20 concept car for racing at the Lime Rock Park circuit in Connecticut, US.
June 2015 | INJECTION WORLD 13
Main image: Plastics
continue to
displace metal in automotive engine
compartment applications, despite rising temperature requirements
PHOTO: BMW
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