AUTOMOTIVE | UNDER THE HOOD
Below: Plastic additives from Songwon are found in a wide range of under-the-hood automotive applications
design, for example, minimising mixed use of materials. More important though is the need to find recycled materials that can be used in the car, with stable, reliable quality, global availability and at reasonable price.” According to Strassler, for lightweighting, the main technical solution remains metal replacement. However, design optimisations (lighter parts with same performance), optimised choice of material (lower density means lower weight, or stronger materials resulting in thinner walls) and density reduction by foaming are also typical approaches. As traditional solutions are expensive and have certain technical drawbacks, there is significant effort invested in developing the next generation of thermally conductive plastic compounds. There are two distinct needs. Materials need to be either thermally and electrically conductive, or thermally conductive but not electrically conductive (electri- cally insulative). For both needs, new additives, combinations of additives and improved formula- tions are being developed and tested. The biggest challenges in recycling for the end user (OEM) is to receive reliable recycled raw materials with consistent quality both over time and across global locations. As the type and quality of recycled plastic pellets (recyclates) changes over time and different regions tend to produce different recyclates, suppliers need to develop ways that guarantee stable quality. Currently, recyclate suppliers are focusing on post-industrial recyclates and post-consumer recyclates, says Strassler. In order to meet these requirements, Cabot says
that it is improving its carbons to maximise colour efficiency, thereby minimising mechanical property degradation in engineering polymers. High jetness carbon blacks can help to provide a consistent black colour to any mix of raw materials with variable characteristics. The latest formulations are
new universal black masterbatches to improve the properties of recyclates. The company adds that it is working on next-generation carbon blacks for stronger polyamide parts under-the-hood. The target is for these carbons to disperse better in the resin and therefore bring better colour at lower loadings to help maximise the mechanical perfor- mance of the polyamide compound. “We have incorporated recyclates to expand our
existing Plasblak black masterbatch range and launched our new Techblak black masterbatch range, which is formulated with recycled material carriers and helps to improve the recycling content in a given formulation,” adds Sebastian Heitkamp, Global Marketing Segment Manager at Cabot. Plastic additives manufacturer Songwon is a major supplier of additives for automotive under- the-hood applications and is also observing some important trends in the industry. “Within an increasingly competitive global business environ- ment, the automobile industry continues its course of rapid change and automotive manufacturers are facing even bigger challenges,” says Thomas Schmutz, Leader Global Tech Service & Application Development. “Along with this, raw material suppliers have been pushed into playing a more sustainably conscious role to meet the ever-chang- ing industry demands. Also, today’s environmen- tally aware consumers expect to see higher eco-friendliness and better fuel economy in their vehicles together with technological advances, increased safety and more comfort. Thus, manufac- turers are required to find ways to reduce costs and cut the time-to-market while optimising sustainabil- ity and finding a balance between the use of conventional materials and higher value alterna- tives, as well as solutions for recycling. “The injection moulding industry as a whole has been working diligently to overcome these challenges with new solutions and greater efficien- cies. In typical applications such as air intake manifolds, engine covers, rocker covers, front-end modules and other components, the trend of replacing polyamide with polypropylene wherever possible, has led to reductions in the amount of energy needed, lowered the required processing temperatures and contributed to overall more environmentally-friendly production processes.” Automotive manufacturers are seeking under- the-hood material solutions that can help them meet today’s extremely tough performance criteria. “Not only must the materials’ key properties enable manufacturers to fulfil the most up-to-date regula- tory and environmental standards and include high deflection temperature (HDT) to withstand the high
46 INJECTION WORLD | May 2019
www.injectionworld.com
PHOTO: SONGWON
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