AUTOMOTIVE | SURFACES
obvious reasons). Significant cost savings are also apparently possible, thanks to its better paintability versus PC/ABS, which leads to a reduced scrap rate. Elix Polymers envisages a wide range of further
applications for the material, including door panel parts, instrument panel parts, centre console trim, seating parts, luggage compartment trim, and interior as well as exterior pillar covers. Pre-col- oured material in OEM colours is possible, as are tailor-made solutions with special additive pack- ages. Elix Ultra HH4115HI has been tested and approved at several automotive OEMs. Solvay Specialty Polymers says its new Ixef
Above: In the LED Intelligent Light System of Automotive Lighting, which Mercedes-Benz is installing in its current Mercedes-Benz C-Class, three different Plexiglas and Pleximid moulding compounds are used
problem.) He says specialty Plexiglas moulding compounds are optimised for various temperature requirements; Plexiglas Heatresist FT15, for example, withstands heat stress in the projection modules without any problem. Pleximid polymethylmethacrylimide (PMMI) is also said to remain entirely stable under long-term thermal stress, with hardly any changes occurring in transmission, yellowness index, or opacity in a 40-day endurance test at 150°C. For this reason, it is used in many headlamps of the current Mer- cedes-Benz series as a lightguide in the curved, torch-shaped daytime running lights. In this component the LEDs are placed very close behind the lightguide, so that temperatures very quickly rise as high as 130°C.
Another company with an eye on interior and
Right: Injection moulder Maier uses new ABS/ PC from Elix Polymers for exterior pillar cover
exterior automotive parts is ABS supplier Elix Polymers. It said a major moulder, Maier, has selected one of its new ABS/polycarbonate blends to produce exterior pillar covers to be used in an upcoming premium class car “from a well-known German manufacturer.” Maier is using ELIX Ultra HH4115HI in a two-component part that combines the ABS/PC with a PMMA. Elix Polymers pointed out that the central pillar cover is a technically highly demanding part that forms part of a complex assembly with other components. It says the new grade was chosen particularly for its high strength and temperature resistance. The company also claims that Elix Ultra HH4115HI ABS/PC, which was introduced late last year, has several advantages over a PC/ABS (the former has more ABS than PC): these advantages include a 5% lower density (1.07 g/cm³ vs 1.13 g/ cm³), as well as low emission and odour (more important for internal parts than external ones, for
50 INJECTION WORLD | November/December 2017
3012, a 55% carbon fibre and glass fibre hybrid reinforced grade of polyarylamide introduced at Fakuma 2017, has potential in high-visibility auto interior parts that need strength in thin sections. The new material has been developed to provide extremely high strength and stiffness at lower density as well as an exceptional surface finish. Ixef 3012 is targeted at long and thin light- weighting components that require no painting and are capable of meeting demanding mechani- cal functions in automotive, aerospace as well as consumer applications. Its high flowability is said to enable cost-efficient injection moulding of delicate parts with long flow paths. Tom Wood, Head of Crystalline Polymers at the company, said its property profile makes it ideal for intricate applica- tions like air vent lamellas. “You can get good matt and good gloss finishes,” he said. Ixef has the inherent capability of producing parts with poly- mer-rich surfaces, even with grades containing high levels of fibre.
Solvay is not the only company pursuing this sort
of business, though. For the air vent lamella of the current Audi Q7 series, the Dr. Schneider Group chose EMS-Grivory’s partially aromatic Grivory GVX-6H. The Dr. Schneider Group is renowned for high-quality polymer products in the automotive
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PHOTO: DAIMLER
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