AUTOMOTIVE | INTERIORS AND EXTERIORS
fibre content. Dry as moulded, these compounds exhibit about 80% reduction in water uptake after 24 hours as compared to standard PA 6, and about 30% lower upon saturation. In the conditioned state these new grades, Creamid P2H7G6 and Creamid P3H2G10, exhibit higher tensile elastic modulus and strength at break; as shown in Figures 1 and 2. “The improved tensile properties of Creamid P compounds enable them to meet the demands of certain structural applications where, traditionally, PA 6 compounds did not perform due to high moisture uptake,” says Markus Krippner, Director of New Business Development ETP. “In some cases they may provide a practical alternative to PA 66 compounds as well.” In spiral flow tests, the new compounds exhibit higher flow than comparable grades of standard PA 6 yet similar levels of mould shrinkage, enabling them to be processed with existing equipment and tooling. Creamid P compounds are available globally. Several standard grades are available, with custom compounds also available. Borealis has brought on stream a new com- pounding plant in Taylorsville, North Carolina, US to supply the automotive sector. With dedicated production lines for thermoplastic olefin (TPO) and short glass fibre (SGF) reinforced compounds, the plant is located in the southeast of the US to meet the growing needs of OEM and Tier 1 customers in the region for advanced polypropylene (PP) compounds, while adding another 30,000 tpa to Borealis and Borouge’s global PP compounding capacity. The 50,000 square foot facility, with rail sidings in place, offers further expansion possibili- ties. The companies say that the new plant is an
important addition to the global network of Borealis and Borouge’s established compounding plants in Europe, China and Brazil. Among the first products manufactured at the plant are automotive interior and exterior materials approved and listed by major automotive customers, including Daimler and Volkswagen Group. Borealis has also added a new material to its low-density PP portfolio for interior automotive applications, Daplen EE058AI. “The 10% talc-filled and elastomer-modified high-purity grade is designed to meet the latest OEM requirements for automotive interior applications with low odour, emission and fogging levels, while offering significant weight savings,” says Nicholas Kolesch, Head of Automotive Marketing for Borealis. “It combines an excellent balance of stiffness and impact strength with class A aesthetic surfaces and high scratch resistance.” The first commercial interior applications for Daplen EE058AI include lower dashboard, glove box and centre console mouldings used in the new Škoda Scala compact car as well as in the automak- er’s new Kamiq urban sports utility vehicle. “We have successfully been using existing Daplen products in similar components before, but the new EE058AI grade offers unprecedented weight savings of up to 6.5% without compromising performance, which helps us lower our carbon footprint to meet committed fleet emission levels,” says Luděk Bělka, Coordinator Development Dashboard for Škoda. Borealis Daplen and Fibremod long glass fibre thermoplastic materials are also used in further Scala parts, from the interior door panels and dashboard carrier to the front-end module. Covestro has supplied Maezio continuous
Above: The lower dashboard, glove box and centre console of the new Škoda Scala are moulded in Daplen EE058AI, a low density 10% talc filled and elastomer modified polypropylene compound from Borealis, enabling weight savings of 6.5% over the previous 20% talc solution
60 INJECTION WORLD | November/December 2019
fibre-reinforced polycarbonate (PC) compounds for wheel blades on the ES8 and ES6 all-electric SUVs from Chinese electric vehicle start-up NIO. The wheels feature aluminium rims with opt-in carbon fibre blade inserts, designed to lend the vehicle a high-end aesthetic appeal with a lightweight flavour and improved aerodynamics. The company says that Maezio compounds provide a combina- tion of a unique appearance with unidirectional carbon fibre optics and a wide variety of finishing options. According to Covestro, polycarbonates offer high surface quality and optical performance. Furthermore, PC-based compounds are compat- ible with a wide range of coatings and decoration processes for designing unique surfaces. This makes it possible to develop a clear matt-coating system for the wheel blade that not only retains the appearance of the unidirectional fibres but also
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PHOTO: ŠKODA AUTO
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