MATERIALS | AUTOMOTIVE
Hollow profiles in plastics-metal hybrids
Demonstrator for new plastics-metal hybrid technology from Lanxess, which uses hollow profiles rather than sheet metal
Plastics-metal hybrid technology is now an established method for manufacturing lightweight structural components, many of them used in automobile components such as front ends, as well as, more recently, pedal boxes and brake pedals. Originally devel- oped by Bayer and later taken over by spin-off Lanxess, the technology combines the advantages of metal (steel or aluminium sheet) and plastics (normally a glass fibre reinforced PA6). Lanxess has now extended the use of its hybrid technology to metallic hollow profiles with round or rectangular cross sections. “Compared to sheet metal, hollow profiles show significantly higher dimensional stability as well as increased torsional strength and stiffness,” says Lukas Schröer, project manager for lightweight structures in the High Performance Materials (HPM) business unit at Lanxess. He believes the new technology will enable the manufactur- ing of components such as cross car beams, which up until now were not resilient enough using classic plastics-metal hybrid technology. “The result of our development work is a process that is suitable
for large scale production, only requires an investment in standard injection moulds and machines, makes short cycle times just like standard injection moulding possible, and is just as simple as the classic hybrid technology using metal sheets,” says Boris Koch, a hybrid technology specialist at Lanxess. In addition to cross car beams, this new hybrid technology offers significant potential for use with other structural components with high mechanical demands. “We’re thinking about seat structures, front ends, tail gates, and mirror brackets in trucks,” says Schröer. Lanxess also envisages numerous non-automotive applications. Lanxess offers customised polyamide injection moulding compounds for its hollow profile hybrid technology. “This includes particularly easy-flowing material varieties for complex ribbed structures and shapes, as well as highly filled types that, thanks to their outstanding mechanical properties, take the structural performance of hybrid components to a higher level,” says Koch. Work is ongoing to expand the hybrid technology for use with die-cast and extrusion moulding inserts. “Even hollow profile inserts made of fibre-reinforced composite can be used in the new hybrid technology,” says Koch. “This allows manufacturers to achieve further weight reductions in the mass production of structural components.”
20 INJECTION WORLD | May 2018
30% glass reinforced grades, one with enhanced adhesion to silicone sealants. When complete, the range will include grades with various levels of glass fibre reinforcement, flame retardant grades with UL 94 ratings of up to V-0 at thicknesses as low as 0.4mm, and impact-modified grades. Ascend Performance Materials had a spotlight under the hood at Chinaplas 2018 and later at NPE 2018, showing how products from its growing Vydyne family are helping OEMs reduce weight, increase electrification, and improve fuel efficiency (among other things). Compound ranges now include the glass-filled,
heat-stabilised Vydyne H series, the Vydyne HR series (with what Ascend says is best-in-class hydrolysis performance), and the Vydyne HT series, which provides high levels of resistance to property degradation after long-term heat exposure beneficial in turbo-charged systems. Several months ago, the company also introduced electri- cally neutral, non-corrosive and heat stable Vydyne J grades to protect wiring. RadiciGroup, with its broad range of polyam- ides (and more recently PPS), also has products for a range of under-the-hood requirements, espe- cially in cooling circuits and hot air and hot oil management, says Marketing & Application Development Director Erico Spini. The company’s portfolio contains a growing number of specialities to fulfil new requirements. Spini draws attention to Radilon HHR high temper- ature PA66-based compounds that can withstand continuous-use temperatures of over 200°C in contact with air, thanks to a stabilisation system that delays any oxidation on the surface of the part. Some car makers are even calling for long-term
resistance to temperatures higher than 230°C. For this, Radici is working on a new solution that will enable enough stiffness to be retained even under such severe conditions, although Spini cautions that a commercial launch could still require a significant amount of time. “It’s a really challenging requirement,” he says. For applications with less demanding high
temperature resistance (continuous-use tempera- tures of around 190°C), Radici also has Torzen Marathon heat-stabilised fibre-reinforced com- pounds based on PA66, following its acquisition of Invista’s portfolio of injection moulding polyamides. “If we look at products with high resistance to calcium chloride, we also have Radilon D and DT long-chain polymers like PA610 and PA612 and for even more severe requirements we recently launched Radilon Aestus T PPA,” says Erico Spini. Radici has developed PPA grades for cooling
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