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automotive | Interior/exterior


decade, but he believes its time really is now close at hand. Developments, he claims, have been held back more by industry reluctance to go into new manufactur- ing methodologies than material or system perfor- mance. “We have more or less addressed all the questions


Above: The piano black air vents in the current Mercedes C Class car are moulded in Gilamid TR from EMS Grivory


possible.” As an example, he cites the Jeep Renegade, which he says shows how materials can be combined to get the right performance. A floor rocker component on the Renegade body-in-


white, which is normally made completely in metal, now contains a lightweight injection moulded honeycomb structure in in an unfilled Noryl GTX polyphenylene ether/polyamide (PPE/PA) blend with a metal insert that provides strength and also allows the part to be welded to other metal elements. Use of this resin as a chassis reinforcement part was named as the year’s most innovation plastic application in the safety category at the 2015 edition of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) Automotive Innovation Awards Competition. “The part could be made completely in plastic, and be even lighter, but the industry tends to adopt these sorts of game-changing technologies one step at a time,” says UV.


Right: Toyota’s special edition 86GRMN sports car uses a SABIC Exatec plasma coated PC rear


quarterlight, a first for a


production vehicle


18


Crash performance “We are getting more into parts that improve crash performance. Typically, plastics have been used in parts that improve low-speed crash performance, in bumpers and front ends for example, but now we are addressing high-speed impact requirements, roll-over protection and so on, enhancing performance while taking weight out.” UV also cites a prototype rail extension (soon to go into production) that is attached to the vehicle directly behind the bumper and is designed to collapse at a controlled rate in high-speed collisions (tests are carried out at 56 km/h). This is produced in an unfilled Noryl GTX. Discussions with ex-GE Plastics


automotive specialists at SABIC, such as UV, inevitably turn to polycarbonate glazing. “It is the next horizon,” he says. The technology seems to have been on that horizon now for well over a


INJECTION WORLD | November/December 2016 www.injectionworld.com


regarding design and safety. The limiting factor now is more how manufacturing plants are built,” he says. “Now the industry is against the wall in terms of weight reduction, especially with all the new electronic features that are being put into cars. So now the industry has to look at every option. Lexan polycarbon- ate provides the ability to create lightweight designs that are not possible in glass, and it also provides improved thermal insulation. That puts less demands on air conditioning systems, which is particularly critical in electric vehicles for extending their range.” Toyota’s special edition 86 GRMN sports car is the


first car to feature polycarbonate windows with an Exatec plasma coating - used to give the same level of scratch resistance as glass. The windows—rear quarter lights—are admittedly small and non-critical for vision, but UV says they give the car maker a low-risk opportu- nity to move into the technology. More applications are due to debut over the next two years, he says, adding that from a regulatory point of view, polycarbonate can now be used ahead of the A pillar in some regions of the world - which means the front windscreen. However, further work is required to give 100% confidence over the optical quality of the material after long-term wear and weathering.


Seamless innovation Rival polycarbonate producer Covestro put a strong emphasis on the interplay of light and design trends in the automotive section of its stand at K2016. A life-size car mock-up featured a ‘seamless’ front end for an electric car in a tinted clear polycarbonate that enabled designers to use light in new ways. Behind the skin was a mass of electronics providing “hidden until wanted” illuminated messages, as well as forward lighting and


PHOTO: SABIC


PHOTO: DAIMLER


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