automotive | Interior/exterior
LIDAR (a detection system similar to radar, but using laser light).
Some of these features already appear in high-end
car interior instrument panels. “A lot of interior trends can play outside too,” says Paul Platte, Industrial Marketing Manager for Automotive & Transportation with Covestro in the US. The rear end of the car had similar features, and also made use of holographic films and LED light piping to provide information and illumination. Covestro has cooperated with lighting specialist Hella on a number of these developments. Elsewhere on its stand, Covestro was also highlight-
ing the trend to deep, dark, high gloss finishes, with an SUV seat back panel in Bayblend T85 XF PC/ABS blend moulded in a process that takes advantage of variable temperature moulding.
Reduced footprint Most polyamides for automotive applications end up under the hood, but developments from Ascend Performance Materials, Solvay Engineering Plastics and compounder Albis are all aimed at interiors and, to a lesser extent, exteriors. Solvay Engineering Plastics introduced Technyl 4earth at K 2016. This is a new family of polyamides with a lower environmental footprint due to the fact that they are made from offcuts arising during production of airbags. The grades are said to be suitable for applica- tions where haptic qualities and colour are important. Peter Browning, General Manager for Solvay Engineer- ing Plastics, cites automobile instrument panels, cup
holders, and exterior mirror housings as potential applications. He says that, while this was not a key objective in the development project, VOC levels are much lower than rival products and that makes the new grades particularly suitable for interior parts. “Espe- cially with Japanese OEMs, odour is a key factor in materials choice,” he says. Mechanical properties are said to be on a level with virgin products. Solvay says that production of Technyl 4earth grades
has a total carbon footprint around 25% less than with competing grades of polyamide made from virgin material; it requires use of two-thirds less water, one third less energy, and half the level of non-renewables. The company has established a new demonstration production unit at its facility at Gorzow in Poland to provide the raw material for compounding at existing plants. If the concept works in practice, it could be scaled up and Solvay could use additional sources of industrial waste. “We are trying to create a new industrial ecosystem, says James Mitchell, Global Automotive Market Director. The company is currently obtaining airbag offcuts from two major airbag producers, Autoliv and Takarta. “We have contracts to take significant amounts of material from these companies,” he says. Mitchell says that the waste, which is silicone
coated, has until now been exported to countries outside Europe where it has been treated in relatively unsophisticated, high labour content processes. At Solvay’s new plant, the coating is removed in an automated chemical process, yielding a very high quality product. At Ascend Performance Materials, Technology Vice
President Vikram Gopal says the company is looking to be more involved with its polyamide 66 portfolio in exterior technical components such as the “active” front engine grille shutters that are beginning to appear on a number of higher performance cars. These feature slats that move, rather like window blinds, to adjust the amount of air passing under the hood - something that is becoming increas- ingly interesting to OEMs as engine compart- ments grow smaller and temperatures around the engine rise. “The market needs glass filled grades that give
Polymer suppliers are getting increasingly close to automotive OEMs in development of concept cars. The result of one of the closest cooperations to date was on display on the BASF stand at K2016. BASF says its material solutions helped Hyundai to “realise even the most daring design ideas” in its RN30 track car. The car certainly has presence. The bold body panels designed to maximise air flow are reaction injection moulded in Elastolit polyurethane rigid integral foam.
20 INJECTION WORLD | November/December 2016
good aesthetics,” says Gopal. “We have products that meet the requirements and we are working with one tier involved in this area.” He expects applications using its Vydyne compounds to go commercial over the next two to four years. Gopal says Ascend also has various polyamide
polymers and copolymers in use and under develop- ment for applications such as exterior mirrors – shells
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