AUTOMOTIVE | MATERIALS
allows filling of wall thicknesses down to 0.3 mm. In an application like e-motor bobbing, reducing the wall thickness allows the amount of copper in the wires to be increased, thus increasing the efficiency of the e-motor and reducing undesired losses. Rotor sleeves are another application the company sees as critical to the future growth of composites in e-mobility. “Introducing a composite rotor sleeve in an e-motor design helps to achieve higher rotating speeds for the rotor, thus allowing efficiency increases or e-motor downsizing”, Montani said. Syensqo says rotor sleeves are another applica- tion they consider critical for the future growth of composites in e-mobility. “Introducing a composite rotor sleeve in an e-motor design helps to achieve higher rotating speeds for the rotor, thus allowing efficiency increases or e-motor downsizing,” Montani said. The use of carbon fibre reinforced composite rotor sleeves instead of metallic sleeves not only reduces the weight of the component but also reduces eddy currents which are normally generated due to the high electrical conductivity of metals. Syensqo’s offer includes both thermoset and thermoplastic carbon fibre composites suitable for this application, which will be presented at JEC 2024.
Glass fibre
Automotive manufacturers continue to see tremen- dous potential in transitioning their large structural parts from metal and other materials to thermo- plastic composites, and this spurs innovations in material and applications, said Gabe Knee, Marketing Manager at Celanese. The company continues to expand its materials portfolio, follow- ing the acquisition of the engineering thermoplas- tics business of DuPont. Celanese late last year introduced Zytel PA XMP
(eXtreme Mechanical Performance), a material formulated specifically to support metal replace- ment in EV chassis components, Knee said. The Zytel XMP solution, formulated from PA66 rein- forced with 50% short glass fibres, offers mechani- cal properties comparable to PA6 materials with 60% long glass fibre reinforcement. Celanese says Zytel XMP processes easier than a 60% long glass fibre compound and also offers superior strength. Celanese was recognised last November with an Annual Society of Plastics
award at the 52nd
Engineers (SPE) Automotive Innovation Awards Competition in the Vehicle Interior category. The award was for its role as a material supplier for the 2023 Ford F-150 Lightning Mega Power Frunk, an under-hood storage area that locks and seals itself away from the elements.
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The Frunk/Mega Bin part, which SPE judges named the grand award winner, was produced from Celstran PP GF40 AD3004, a 40% long glass fibre PP injection moulding grade specified by Ford. A compression moulded and painted sheet moulding compound was previously used to produce the part. The Celstran part, currently the industry’s largest, provides 400 litres of storage space with a 180 kg weight capability.
Class-A surface The production part achieves a class-A surface finish without the need for painting and provides a weight reduction of 16 lb per vehicle. Part mass was reduced 48% and productivity was increased, owing to a 37% cycle time reduction. The cost and environ- mental burden of painting was eliminated, seal inter- faces were improved and secondary routing of holes was no longer needed, SPE said. The part was moulded on a 4,000-tonne injection press, and a mould equipped with a 16-drop hot runner system was used to mould the parts. Celanese said the reduction in cycle time (injection versus compres- sion) and painting elimination contributes to annual savings of approximately $15m. CAE support is critical for metal replacement
projects. “We take this toolset of materials that we have developed and tie it together with advanced CAE services and unique validation capabilities to optimise the properties of our materials in our customers’ applications,” said Knee. Celanese employs what it calls advanced non-standard testing capabilities, including anisotropic testing and data generation for different load types, plus high strain testing for crash simulations. The company builds anisotropic data cards for customers to reduce development time and costs, while allowing for accurate simulation in many different situations and conditions. Celanese has more than 1,000 different Digimat material
January/February 2024 | INJECTION WORLD 37
Above: Celanese supplied materials for the 2023 Ford F-150 Lightning Mega Power Frunk, an under-hood storage area that locks and seals itself away from the elements
IMAGE: FORD
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