UNDER THE HOOD | AUTOMOTIVE
Engineering plastics speed
ahead in automotive parts Using plastics to reduce weight and costs in vehicles is no longer enough. New materials need to meet increasingly more demanding under-the-hood applications. Mark Holmes reports
Whether for conventional internal combustion engines or electric vehicle powertrains, the automo- tive industry is demanding increasing levels of performance from plastic components. OEMs are not only requiring lightweight solutions that can accelerate the replacement of metals, but these materials must be able to withstand a wide range of demanding environments involving extremes of temperature, water and chemical exposure. Under-the-hood applications usually require enhanced temperature or media resistance, accord- ing to Wittmann Battenfeld. “This can be achieved by using today’s high-performance thermoplastics,” says Marco Moser, Application Engineer and product expert for lightweight technologies. “By combining these polymer materials with our lightweight technologies Cellmould and Airmould, manufactur- ers can reach the required material properties and additionally achieve a significant weight and
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therefore cost reduction.” He continues: “Cellmould is a physical foaming technology used to produce automotive case parts such as foamed motor covers and car battery covers, as well as automotive structural parts, for example. With the technology you receive a foamed, closed-cell core surrounded by a compact outer layer. On the other hand, Airmould is a gas assisted injection moulding process to produce rod-shaped parts with a hollow inner section, for example automotive media ducts. With the whole transportation industry looking to minimise weight, these technologies can contribute to this and provide an overall environmental solution.” The Cellmould foaming process involves
pressurised nitrogen gas, which is injected into the plastic melt inside the barrel of the Wittmann Battenfeld injection moulding machine during metering and is finely distributed. Due to the high
May 2021 | INJECTION WORLD 25
Main image: Under-hood materials must deal with exposure to temperature extremes
IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK
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